Task 1.Compile 10 questions to the text. Discuss the text in pairs
Task 2.Draw a mind map of the text. Using the mind map retell the text. Be as close to the original as possible.
Task 3. Write a summary of the text (~150 words)
Task 4.Refute or support the following statements. Give your reasoning.
1.Management is both an art and a science.
2.When products and programs fail companies do their best to improve and develop them.
3.In all kinds of organizations managers perform the same functions.
4.Leading means that employees should regard manager as a boss and follow his instructions.
5.Business can be run without top managers as they do not take part in the production process.
6.Experience is much more important for a manager than his personal traits.
7.Managing and leading mean the same and cannot be regarded as different notions.
SELF-ASSESSMENT QUIZ
CAN YOU PERFORM MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES?
Task. Write "T" (true) or "F" (false) next to each of the following statements. Give you reasoning.
1. If I have a task or assignment that seems too large for one person to do, I try to delegate some of it to others who are qualified to help.
2. At the beginning of each day, I make a short list of all the things I must accomplish.
3. Before I tackle a major project, 1 try to develop a "vision" for it, with an overall direction and priorities.
4. As long as I get my job done, I do not worry about the performance of my organization as a whole.
5. If one of my coworkers is not performing well, I try to pick up the slack so that no one will notice.
6. Whenever I am. part of a group, I try to pull people together and encourage them to do their best.
7. When planning my own work or study schedule, I take into account the schedules of other people and how they might affect my own.
8. To accomplish a task efficiently or accurately, I think I must do it myself.
9. If I am in charge of a project on which several people are working, I check with
them on a regular basis to see whether they need any help.
10. A good manager leaves workers alone; if they have problems with their jobs, they will speak up.
REVIEW AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.Decide whether lower- or higher-level managers would be involved in each of the following planning activities:
a. scheduling and leading weekly staff meetings
b. determining how long it will take staff to complete a major report
c. determining whether to increase the size of the research and development division
d..requesting permission to hire additional accounting staff
e. deciding to cancel a line of products
2.As the manager responsible for producing an important piece of market research, how would you use your organizing skills to accomplish this task?
3.What are the different techniques of management science?
4.In what ways do human capital resources meet the criteria for being a source of sustained competitive advantage?
CASE STUDY
LIZ CLAIBORNE INC.
Task. Read the Case. Make sure you can answer the questions that follow. What disputable issues does it raise?
Sometimes it seems easy to dismiss the role of top executives in an organization; after all, they are not the ones who actually do the work—manufacturing the product, delivering it to customers. They are not necessarily the ones who come up with ideas for actual products. Why, then, are top managers important?
When the chief executive loses sight of the organization's vision and goals, the company suffers. Consider Liz Claiborne Inc.—the country's largest women's apparel maker—which for years enjoyed a lucrative relationship with its customers. Suddenly in 1993, earnings plummeted 40 percent. There were too many Liz Claiborne clothes on the market, under too many different Liz labels, and clothes and labels all looked alike.
Retailers claimed that top managers, chairman Jerome Chazen included, refused to see the problem. One former executive observes, "If the product didn't sell, it was always someone else's fault. The buyers didn't show it right, or it wasn't delivered the right way. They [top executives] didn't allow themselves to think that maybe they just weren’t listening to the consumer. Many critics pointed fingers at Chazen.
But because top managers are human beings just like their employees, they are neither all good nor all bad. Chazen responded to criticism by vowing to establish clear identities for the different Liz lines: career-oriented clothing for Collection; casual sport clothes for Liz Sport; and basics such as jeans and T-shirts for Liz Wear. He appointed Linda Larsen German, formerly head of the company's large-size line, as president of the sportswear division to carry out the new strategy. In regard to the organization's renewed commitment to the customer, Chazen remarked, "It's up to us to make sure she sees the distinction and value in each brand."
Questions
1.What is you vision of the situation in the company?
2. With regard to the managerial functions, what is the difference between Jerome Chazen's role and Linda Larsen German's role at Liz Claiborne Inc.?
3.Do you think that how clearly a chief executive sees the overall mission of an organization has a direct impact on an organization's performance? Why or why not?
FINAL SESSION
1. Prepare a Round Table Discussion on the topic: Management and Managers in rapidly changing competitive environment.
2. Make Presentations connected with the material you studied in the Unit. Possible topics may be: theoretical and practical contribution of famous management writers, various schools of management now and then.
LESSON TWO
BUSINESS ORGANISATION
Text A: Business Structure Basics
Text B: Organisational Structure and Design
Grammar:
1. Non-finite forms of the verb: Infinitive, Gerund, Participle.
2. Modal verbs.
Phonetics:
1. Consonant Combinations;
2. Intonation (Parenthesis)
PHONETIC EXERCISES
Task 1. Practice the pronunciation of the following words. Pay attention to consonant clusters in word initial, medial and final positions.
proprietorship, partnership, simplest, structure, responsible, seized, reluctant, complexities, treatment, protection, preparation, drawback, double, earnings, dividends, taxed, strategy, trust, corporation, franchise, through, example, statute, stipulate, subject, brand, threaten, spread, crucial