B motivation at work

Unit 1

1 A WORK TO LIVE OR LIVE TO WORK?

1. Before you start. Which of these statements do you agree with?

1) Work is the most important thing in life.

2) Work is just a way to get money so you can do the things you enjoy.

2. Reading. Read what three people say about their jobs. Complete the chart with notes on the good and bad things about Anna's, Tony's, and Erika's jobs.

	good things	bad things
Anna
Tony
Erika

3. Vocabulary. Match the highlighted words in the quotes with the definitions (1-8).

1) the people you work with ______________________________

2) the number of hours in the week you spend doing your job

___________________________________________________

3) the money you receive every month for the work you have done

___________________________________________________

4) the things you do, usually with other people, outside work

___________________________________________________

5) the time you have for eating in the middle of the working day

___________________________________________________

6) the time you spend at work after your normal working hours

___________________________________________________

7) a system where you can choose when to start and finish work

________________________________________________

8) the usual order and way that you regularly do things

________________________________________________

4. Complete the sentences (1-6) with an adjective from the box.

boring ■ busy ■ difficult ■ creative ■ interesting ■ stressful

1) If we have too much work and not enough time, it can be quite ___________________________________________________

2) In my job, I use my imagination and ideas a lot, so the work is

___________________________________________________

3) I do the same thing every day - my job is __________________

4) There is so much to do at work that I'm always ______________

5) Sometimes my job is _______________, but I would get bored if it was too easy.

6) My job is very__________________ because I'm always learning new things.

5. Speaking. Work in pairs. Which of the jobs in Exercise 2 would you most like to have? Which would you least like to have? Tell your partner why.

6. Listening 1. People are talking about their jobs. What do they like about their jobs?

7. Writing. Think of a job you would like, or would not like, to have. Write a short text about it, using the texts in Exercise 2 as models.

Get real

Interview someone you know about their job, e.g. a relative or family friend. Ask them what they like and don't like about their job. Find out if they live to work or work to live. Prepare to tell the class about them, in English.

B MOTIVATION AT WORK

1. Before you start.

a) Work in pairs. Make a list of things that are important when choosing a job, e.g. earning a lot of money, working for a big company, helping other people. You have one minute.

b) Why do people choose these jobs?

a teacher b banker c doctor d engineer

2. Reading. Read about the quotes from two people talking about their jobs. Which one is motivated by:

1) helping other people? __ __

2) earning a lot of money? ____

Marie, accountant

I work in the finance department of a large company. There are a lot of benefits. For example, if the company makes a profit, all the employees get a bonus. There's also a profit share, but that's only for managers. I have a company car and I also travel abroad quite a lot -always business class and on expenses, of course. We also get a pension and private health insurance. The company pays for its staff to go on training courses to develop their professional skills. And we get free membership of the local gym. There are also rewards: it's hard work, but I get a lot of satisfaction from it. People recognize it if you do a good job, so there are good prospects for promotion.

Tom, physiotherapist

I work for the health service. There are a lot of

rewards: the main one is the job satisfaction. I get a real sense of achievement when someone says ‘'thank you.' You know you're doing a worthwhile job. If you work hard, there are opportunities for promotion. I like the responsibility of making a difference to people's lives. There are some benefits. We don't get bonuses or anything like that, but there's a very good pension. The health service pays for us to go on training courses, and people with children get help with paying for childcare. If I visit patients at home, I get a travel allowance, but it's not very much.

3. Look at this list of things that motivate people and tick the things

Marie and Tom mention.

MarieTom Marie Tom

pension □ □

training □ □

profit share □ □

expenses □ □

company car □ □

bonus □ □

business class travel □ □

travel allowance □ □

private health insurance □ □

subsidized childcare □ □

job satisfaction □ □

promotion □ □

responsibility □ □

gym membership □ □

doing something worthwhile □ □

4. Which things in the list in Exercise 3 are benefits (extra things you get from your employer)? Which ones are rewards (things that make you feel good about the job)?

5. Speaking. Choose five rewards or benefits from the list in Exercise 3. Number them in order of importance to you. Explain your order to another student.

6. Writing. Choose one of these jobs, or another job you know about:

■ flight attendant ■ architect ■ dentist

■ hotel receptionist ■ salesperson ■ nurse

1 Make a list of the rewards and benefits of the job.

2 Imagine this is your job. Write a short text describing the rewards and benefits. Use the texts in Exercise 2 to help you.

Get real

Interview two people you know about their jobs. Find out about the benefits and rewards they get from their job. Tell the class.

Unit 2

2 A JOBS IN AN ORGANIZATION

1. Before you start. Think about the people who work in your university, e.g. the lecturers, the administrators. What are they responsible for? Who are they responsible to?

2. Reading. Read the text about some of the people in a film crew. Complete the diagram.

This is a fairly typical film set. On this film set, the director, John, is the boss. He's like the managing director of a company. He's responsible for making sure the film is made on time and to budget. The producer is really in charge of the business. In a normal company, he would be the chairperson. Our producer's name is Sam and he is responsible to the studio. They're the shareholders - the people who invest money in the film. There are a lot of people involved in making a film. The camera operator is called Steve. He does all the filming and he's responsible to John. The sound recordist is Emma - she works closely with Steve. Her job is to record everything the actors say. Then there's Tony, the electrician. He looks after the equipment. Martin, the grip, organizes all the practical things and deals with any problems.

Finally, there's me. My name's Pat and I'm the assistant director. I help John, the director. I'm responsible for the rest of the crew, including Tony and Martin. My job is to make sure that everyone is in the right place at the right time and that they know what to do.

3. Vocabulary. Look at these phrases from the text. Use a dictionary to check any words you don't know. Then write them in your language.

Describing responsibility: My / Her job is to... ________________

... is responsible for... ________________

... is responsible to... ________________

... in charge of... _____________________

Saying what someone does:... looks after... __________________

... deals with... ___________________

... organizes... ___________________

... works closely with… ____________

4. Complete the sentences (1-8) with a phrase from Exercise 3. Use each phrase only once.

1) The director tells the actors what to do and ________any problems.

2) Martin __________ the practical things, like finding the right props.

3) I'm the camera operator. _____________ record everything on film.

4) The director is ___________________ everything on the film set.

5) The electrician _______________ the cameras, lights, and recording equipment.

6) Emma is ___________________ recording what people say.

7) The producer ___________________ the studio.

8) Pat ____________________ the director, John.

5. Complete 1-5 with words from the first paragraph.

1) The ________________ is in charge of a company.

2) The _____________ is money you have available to spend on a particular project.

3) The ________________ is responsible for running a company.

4) To ___________ is to put money into a business.

5) _______________ put their money into a company.

6. Speaking. Work in pairs. Draw an organigram of an organization you know, e.g. your university or college. Explain it.

Get real

Talk to someone who works for a company or organization. Ask them how it is organized. Find out about the jobs and responsibilities of some of the people. Draw an organigram of the company and explain it to the class.

2 B PARTS OF A COMPANY

1. Before you start. Look at the photos. Which departments of a company do they represent?

2. Reading. Someone is giving a visitor a tour of a company. Read about the nine departments and match the pictures with four of the paragraphs. Then underline the names of all the departments.

OK, let's start here, in research and development, or R & D. This department is responsible for thinking of ideas for new products and finding ways to improve our existing products... □

This department looks after our computer equipment. They deal with any problems. This is information technology, or IT... □

Purchasing buys all the things we need to make our products. They talk to our suppliers and try to get the best price... □

This is the main factory area, the production department. Here we make our products. It's the biggest part of the company... □

Here in the finance (and accounts) department, they check how much the company is making and decide how much to spend. They also pay invoices and employees' salaries... □

This department looks after the people who work here. Human resources is responsible for recruiting new employees, organizing training and helping with any problems... □

Sales and marketing is very important. The marketing people think up the ideas for selling our products. The sales people go out and sell our products to our customers... □

Customer services processes orders from customers. It organizes transportation, checks that customers have received their orders and deals with complaints... □

Finally, distribution is responsible for transporting our products. They receive orders from customer services, and plan how and when to transport the products so the customers receive them at the right time... □

3. Vocabulary. Match the names of the departments (1-12) with the phrases (a-l) to make a short description of each department.

1)	Sales and marketing	a	transports the products.
2)	Information technology	b	pays the salaries.
3)	Customer services	c	sells the products.
4)	Human resources	d	makes the products.
5)	Purchasing	e	looks after the computers.
6)	Production	f	thinks of ideas for new products.
7)	R&D	g	recruits new staff.
8)	Finance	h	processes orders from customers.
9)	Distribution	i	buys parts from suppliers.
10)	Public Relations	j	checks the standard of finished products
11)	Quality Control	k	checks contracts
12)	Legal	l	talks to the press