1 The text on the opposite page describes two main differences between British and German management. What are they?
2 Mark these statements Т (true) or F (false) according to the information in the text Find the part of the text that gives the correct information.
a) Mergers between British and German companies rarely succeed
b) The study mainly concentrated on middle managers.
c) Both German and British managers consider technical skills to be very important.
d) German managers prefer working with technicians in British companies.
e) British managers are very concerned about their executive status.
f) There is much more change in British companies than in German companies.
g) German companies are strong and successful because of the way they are organised.
h) British managers are probably more flexible than their German counterparts.
3 In your opinion does the article suggest that one country's approach to management and organisation is better than the other's?
4 Pick out some extracts from the article which make positive or negative comments about British or German approaches.
В How the text is organised
These sentences summarise the main idea of each paragraph. Match each sentence to the correct paragraph.
a) British managers change jobs within a company far more often than the Germans.
b) A study has shown big differences in managerial behaviour in Britain and Germany,
c) Approaches to management in both countries have disadvantages which are clearly different.
d) British managers are 'generalists' rather than 'specialists'.
e) Attitudes to the qualifications and the role of managers are different in Britain and Germany.
f) The structure of British companies changes frequently.
g) German managers are 'experts' in their jobs.
Vocabulary tasks
A Words with similar or related meanings
1 The article mentions the 'gulf which separates managerial behaviour in German and British companies.
a) Does the word 'gulf suggest a big or small difference?
b) Find two other words in the first two paragraphs of the article similar in meaning to 'gulf.
2 The study is mainly concerned with middle managers. What words can be used to describe managers at levels above and below middle management. One example is in the text.
3 The article mentions that thirteen British managers 'had held their current job for less than two years'
a) What word could replace 'current'?
b) Think of two other words with the same meaning as 'job'. One is in the article.
4 Many of the British manager bad a\so moved between unrelated 'departments' or 'functional areas'. Two examples are given in the text. Can you think of at least four other 'functional areas' in a typical company?
В Collocations
1 Find at least three adjective-noun collocations in the text which create a negative impression (e.g. severe problems).
2 Match these verbs and nouns as they occur together in the text.
a) pose change
b) carry out problems
c) solve jobs
d) undergo a position
e) change a study
f) occupy problems
С Word search
Find a word or phrase from the text that has a similar meaning.
1 work closely with another company (para 1)
c…………………….
2 skill of being a manager (para 2)
m.................................................... e..............................
3 sequence of jobs you take during your working life (para 2)
с.................................................... P..............................
4 structure of an organisation with its different levels (para 3)
о…………h
5 companies that you are working closely with (para 4)
p……………..с...........................
6 problems which are not complex or difficult (para 4)
r.................................................... p..............................
7 position of being a manager (para 4)
m……………r..............................
Задание № 3: Выполните следующие грамматические задания.
1. Вставьте нужную форму глагола «be»:
a) I............ glad to see you. How................................... you?
b) She.............. shocked by what she saw.
c) He said he................... sorry about the situation but there………………….nothing he could do.
d) I can't understand people who................................. cruel to animals.
e) They............... in London in five days.
2. Задайте 4 типа вопросов к следующим предложениям:
a) They were so unfriendly to Tessa.
b) We are always so jealous of other people.
c) He was responsible for all that noise last night.
d) I am a bit short of time.
e) Mrs. Davis is a very keen gardener.
3. Сделайте предложения отрицательными:
a) I am tired of doing the same thing every day.
b) She is a very honest person.
c) I was surprised she changed her mind at the last moment.
d) These days everybody is aware of the dangers of smoking.
e) She will be more successful next time.
4. Поставить существительное в нужную форму:
a) Не does that for (amusement).
b) He found a (mean) of helping them.
c) He gave me some good (advice).
d) In Egypt (ox) are holy animals.
e) There has been no rain several (day).
5. Употребите существительные в нужной форме:
a) Her (hair, to be) dark.
b) This (money, to belong) to him.
c) (fruit, to be) cheap in summer.
d) His (clothes, to be) wet as he had been caught in the rain.
e) There (to be) many (people) there.
6. Напишите существительные, выделенные жирным шрифтом, во множественном числе, сделав, где необходимо, соответствующие изменения в предложении:
a) The cargo of the steamer consists of different raw materials.
b) Woman and child came to the shore.
c) The key to the box was lost.
d) The wolf has been shot.
КОНТРОЛЬНАЯ РАБОТА № 2
ВАРИАНТ 1
Задание №1: Прочитайте, переведите и перескажите текст
Moscow
Moscow was first mentioned in the records dated back to the year 1147. So it was founded more than eight centuries ago by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky. Historians have accepted the year 1147 as the start of Moscow's history. At that time it was a small frontier post at the edge of Suzdal Lands. Moscow Prince Yuri Dolgoruky died in 1380. By the 15th century Moscow turned into a wealthy city.In the 16th century, under Ivan IV Moscow became the capital of the State of Moscovy. At that time the Kremlin was rebuilt and the largest Kremlin Cathedrals were erected. Under Dmitry Donskoy the Kremlin was built of white stone. During the reign of Ivan IV the walls of white stone were replaced by new redbrick walls and towers. On the territory of the Kremlin you can see old Cathedrals, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, the Palace of Congresses the Tzar-Cannon and the Tzar-Bell, the biggest Cannon and bell in the world. The Kremlin is the heart of Moscow. It is the oldest historical and architectural center of Moscow. Red Square is a favorite place of many people too.
There is a monument to Minin and Pozharsky in Red Square the Kremlin and Red Square consist the center of Moscow. In 1712 Peter the Great moved the capital to St. Petersburg, but Moscow remained the heart of Russia. That is why it became the main target to Napoleon's attack. Three quarters of the city was destroyed by fire during Napoleon's occupation, but the mid 19th century Moscow had been completely restored. After the Great October Revolution Moscow became the capital again. Now Moscow is the capital of Russia its political, economic, commercial and cultural center, one of the largest cities in Europe. Its total area is about nine hundred square kilometers (ancient Moscow occupied the territory of the present day Kremlin).
The population of the city is over 9 million. Moscow is the seat of the Russian Parliament (the Duma) and the center of political life of the country. Moscow is one ofthe most beautiful cities in the world. The Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral are masterpieces of ancient Russian architecture. The main Kremlin tower, the Spasskaya Tower has become the symbol of the country. There are a lot of beautiful palaces, old mansions, cathedrals, churches and monuments in Moscow. Now Moscow is being reconstructed and we all hope that in a few years the city will become even more beautiful.
Задание №2: Прочитайте, переведите текст и выполните задания к тексту.
How to learn
Cultural differences are an important factor when it comes to how and what managers should learn and from whom. Different cultural responses to management education are particularly revealing. For example, German and Swiss managers tend to favour structured learning situations with clear pedagogical objectives, detailed course outlines and schedules, and the 'right answer' or superior solution. This is very much in contrast with the view typically held by people from Anglo-Saxon cultures such as Britain and the USA. Most British participants in courses dislike a structure that is too rigid. They tend to prefer more open-ended learning situations with loose objectives and practical tasks. The suggestion that there could be only one correct answer is less acceptable to them.
The idea of working in groups may come more naturally to Asian managers than to the more individualistic Anglo-Saxons. On the other hand, Asian participants experience more difficulty having to 'sell' their ideas in a group, with the potential for open disagreement and conflict, and therefore possible loss of face. Nor do they quite see the point of learning from other students who are no more knowledgeable than themselves. Wisdom resides in the hierarchy.
Group discussions may seem perfectly natural to Americans, who have been encouraged as students to express their own ideas and opinions. British students too have been educated to challenge and debate the ideas put forth by each other, including the teacher. British culture values the ability to prove one's case, eloquently, even at the expense of others. Anglo- Saxon culture is more tolerant of confrontation and uncertainty, and is less concerned with status differences, either among participants or between themselves and the teacher. This can be quite a shock to students from Asia and many Central European countries, who are not used to either voicing their opinion in class, disagreeing with each other, or actively debating with the professor.
Training that makes extensive use of case studies, business games, and management exercises such as role-plays, favours learning by doing rather than learning by lecture and reading. It indicates a preference for experiential or active learning rather than cognitive or reflective learning. It also reflects an inductive rather than deductive approach; cases or exercises are used to arrive at general principles or theories (the Anglo-Saxon approach) rather than starting with a theory or framework, which is then applied to a given situation (the approach in many countries in Europe). As a result, European managers may not always see the point of some of these exercises, and some complain that seminars conducted by US trainers are not sufficiently serious or theoretical. US managers, on the other hand, want training to be more concrete, practical and fun.
With each culture favouring different training and development practices, it may be difficult to integrate these into a coherent or consistent policy within an international organisation. However, standardising training methods may be important if the company needs to communicate specialised knowledge quickly across different units, or if the special quality of the company training programmes is regarded as a major source of attracting new recruits.
On the other hand, multinational companies may have a lot to gain from cross-fertilising different approaches, and providing opportunities for training and development that appeal to people with different abilities, learning styles, educational backgrounds, and, of course, cultures. In fact, working with groups of managers from different countries often requires a mixed pedagogical approach, as well as the use of trainers of different nationalities.
Discuss these questions.
1. How do you most like to learn, e.g. lectures, discussions, multimedia, case studies?
2. Do you think there are different ways of learning and teaching in different countries? Can you think of
some examples?
Reading tasks
