Pre-reading Activities. 1. Complete the table with missing words

1. Complete the table with missing words. Consult a list of Key Vocabulary and a dictionary if necessary.

Verb	Noun
	belief
perceive
	government
solve
employ
	behaviour
restrict

2. Translate the sentences into Russian. Mind the words from exercise 1.

1. People’s creativity is restricted by routine and traditional office hours.

2. Many governments cut advertising expenditures during poor economic times.

3. A slogan is believed to express a key corporate value.

4. In recent years, there have been changes in employment, which have affected practically all the work force.

5. It’s known that employee’s behavior influences the image of the company.

Reading

Read the text and be ready to speak about corporate culture and its characteristics.

Corporate culture can be defined as a set of key values, beliefs, understandings and norms shared by members of an organization. It represents the unwritten, informal norms that bind the company staff together. Just as tribal cultures have rules and taboos that dictate how members will act toward one another, modern organizations have cultures that govern how their members should behave. In every company, there are systems or patterns of values, symbols, rituals, myths, and practices that have evolved over time. These shared values determine what employees see and how they respond to their world. When confronted with a problem, corporate culture restricts what employees can do by suggesting the correct way – “the way we do things here” – to define, analyze and solve the problem.

Corporate culture is a perception, because individuals perceive the culture of the company on the basis of what they see or hear within this company. Even though individuals may have different backgrounds or work at different levels in the organization, they tend to describe the organization’s culture in similar terms. That is the shared aspect of culture.

Corporate culture is also a descriptive term, because it is concerned with how members perceive the company and it is not concerned with the fact whether they like it. So, corporate culture describes rather than evaluates.

Research suggests that there are 7 characteristics which cover the essence of an organization’s culture.

1. Innovation and risk taking. The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and to take risks.

2. Attention to detail. The degree to which employees are expected to show accuracy, analysis and attention to detail.

3. Outcome orientation. The degree to which managers focus on results or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve those outcomes.

4. People orientation. The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization.

5. Team orientation. The degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals.

6. Aggressiveness. The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easygoing and cooperative.

7. Stability. The degree to which company activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth.

Comprehension Check

1. Agree or disagree with these statements about the text.

1. Corporate culture represents the unwritten, informal norms that bind the company staff together.

2. Corporate culture evaluates rather than describes.

3. Research suggests that there are 10 characteristics which cover the essence of an organization’s culture.

4. In every company, there are systems or patterns of values, symbols, rituals, myths and practices that have evolved over time.

2. Answer the following questions.

1. How is corporate culture defined in the text?

2. Why is corporate culture considered to be a perception?

3. Why is corporate culture considered to be a descriptive term?

4. What are the characteristics which cover the essence of an organization’s culture?

3. Choose the suitable title for the first paragraph of the text.

A. The shared values of corporate culture.

B. The definition of corporate culture.

C. The informal norms of corporate culture.

Vocabulary Focus

1. Match the words with their definitions.

1. corporate culture	a. the existing state of affairs.
2. staff	b. a person’s social class, education, training, or experience.
3. background	c. a set of key values and beliefs shared by members of an organization.
4. status quo	d. systematic investigation to establish facts or principles, or to collect information on a subject.
5. research	e. a group of people employed by a company.

2. Use the words from the list of Useful Vocabulary to complete the sentences.

1. We use the term ….. to speak about a system of shared values that distinguish this organization from other ones.

a. corporate culture

b. background

c. status quo

2. ….. are required to follow rules and regulations in this firm.

a. researchers

b. governments

c. employees

3. They have their own interest in maintaining the ….. .

a. accuracy

b. perception

c. status quo

4. She joined the ….. as an accountant.

a. corporate culture

b. staff

c. research

5. Nothing will change my ….. in a promising future of our company.

a. believe

b. belief

c. perceive

6. Mr. Black has the right ….. for this position.

a. background

b. perception

c. behavior

3. Give the English equivalents to the following expressions.

- система ценностей

- решить проблему

- иметь разное происхождение

- сущность корпоративной культуры

- быть конкурентоспособным

- поддерживать статус-кво

Talking Points

1. Give your arguments for or against the following statements.

1. Corporate culture is especially important for top managers.

2. Corporate culture helps to improve quality management (управление качеством).

3. It’s impossible to change an organization’s culture.

2. Imagine you have got your own company. Describe an effective corporate culture you would like to have in it.

3. Finish the phrase.

- A strong corporate culture helps ….. .

Summary Points

1. Read the passage and divide it into 3 paragraphs.

Although all organizations have their own cultures, not all cultures have an equal influence on employees. Organizations where the key values are widely shared have strong cultures. The more employees accept the organization’s key values, the stronger the culture is. Employees in firms with strong cultures are more committed to their firms than employees in firms with weak cultures. Moreover, strong cultures are associated with high performance of organizations. Whether an organization’s culture is strong, weak, or somewhere in between, depends on the intensity with which the culture was originated. It is necessary to remember that organizations where the key values are intensely held and widely shared have strong corporate cultures.

2. Choose from the list A-D the sentence which best summarizes each paragraph (1-3) of the passage. There is one extra sentence which you don’t need to use.

A. The main characteristics of strong cultures are: shared key values, employees’ commitment to their firm and high performance of the organization.

B. Any organization has its own corporate culture.

C. The cultures of some organizations encourage employees to take risks.

D. The intensity with which the culture was originated plays the most important role.

3. Summarize the passage, basing on the sentences from Task 2.

Unit 13

EMPLOYMENT

Lead-in

1. In your opinion, which factors below are important for getting a job? Choose the five most important. Is there anything missing from the list?

- age

- appearance

- contacts and connections