Giáo trình tiếng Anh thương mại - MBA UFM

INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT STUDIES
PERSPECTIVES ON MANAGEMENT
A. What is managing?
Consider several managers and their work.

They all work in different environments, with different stakeholders, that is, all the people who can he
affected by their company's actions, and different key performance indicators to measure success, but they
share some general management responsibilities:






Identifying customers' needs
Setting targets and putting the necessary resources in place
Planning and scheduling their own work and the team they manage
Measuring performance and the outcomes achieved
Reporting on results.

B. Mintzberg
Henry Mintzberg, a Canadian professor of management, has made significant contributions to our
understanding of managerial work and the role of the manager. He has identified different roles in a
manager's job and placed them in three categories:
Interpersonal roles — a manager is the figurehead, providing leadership for the team, the department or the
organization and liaising with other stakeholders (both internal and external)
Information roles — a manager has to be an effective communicator as information constantly moves in,
round and out of the organization
Decision roles — a manager has responsibility for spotting opportunities, allocating resources and dealing
with conflict or the day-to-day differences that can arise in any team or organization.

C. Management practice
Pavel is speaking to some new recruits at a major firm of management consultants, where he is to be
their mentor during the first six months:
`Welcome to Delboi! I have three pieces of advice as you make the move from studying management to the
real-world environment in which we work:
First: you need to be a team player. Our success here conies from collaborating with colleagues to
create feasible solutions when we are interacting with clients.

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Second: all the solutions that you recommend to our clients have to be practical rather than academic. You
have to integrate what you have been learning and constantly challenge your own assumptions. You
need to be able to develop creative thinking skills and discuss complex issues in the workplace from a
'people perspective'.
And finally: if you do not know something, or if you are uncertain about haw we do things here, please ask!
`We hope you enjoy your time here and the look forward to working with you.'

EXERCISES
Task 1: Make 10 word combinations from boxes 1 and 2.

Task 2: Match one of Mintzberg’s 10 Managerial Roles from the box with its definitions below.
Disseminator
Liaiser

Disturbance handler
Monitor

Entrepreneur

Negotiator

Figurehead

Resource allocator

Leader
Spokesperson

Performing symbolic duties as a representative of the organization. …………………..
Collecting all types of information that are relevant and useful to the organization.
Developing and maintaining business networks. ……………………….
Spotting opportunities, being innovative and championing change in products, services or business
processes. ……………………………………
Dealing with unexpected challenges and crises. ………………………………….
Negotiating with individuals and dealing with other organizations. ……………………….
Communicating information from inside the organization to outsiders. ……………………
Deciding on the most appropriate use of the organization's resources. ……………………
Communicating information from outside the organization to relevant groups inside the organization.
…………………………………..
Establishing the organizational culture and motivating the staff. ………………………
Task 3: Complete these testimonials from alumni students from an MBA program using words or
expressions from A, B or C.
1 . Being able to make a p______________ is really only a tiny aspect of business. I____________
with experts from the v a r i o u s f i e l d s of m a n a g e m e n t a s we l l a s c _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ wi t h
o t h e r s t u d e n t s t a u g h t m e t o c h a l l e n g e m y a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of the role of management.
Amongst other things, the course gave me a practical insight into soft management skills as well
as helping to _________ my creative t______________ skills.
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2. I now have a better idea about m______________ ____ work in general. As a marketing manager,
I was able to i__________________my previous experience with marketing. In addition, d _____
of the more c_____________i__________s of psychology during the course means that I am now
much better at i _________ ____________and meeting the ns of my customers. I also learnt how
to become a much more effective c _______________.
3. The part time Executive Programme gave me the chance to put the theory into practice
immediately. l am responsible for s _____________ and m____________ production targets for a
small electronics firm. I learnt about the different management r___________ . This knowledge has
made it easier for me to stick to an agreed b_________ for production and to apply key
performance i __________ to monitor performance more accurately.
4. Not only did I learn how to become a team p__________, but I was able to develop my own
personal l ________________skills. And by the end I had become a much more effective c
_______________. I'm far from becoming a f ________________ but I do have much more
confidence and have applied for management jobs in several different s__________ of i
_________________. I hope that soon I'll be able to m __________a junior member of staff and put
it all into practice.

MANAGEMENT IN DIFFERENT SECTORS
A. Private
H o n g w o r k s f o r a l a r g e h o t e l c h a i n i n Guangzhou, China. She is in charge of a
customer service team:
'The company is under private ownership. O ur f ounder was an ent rep ren eur
w h o spotted an opportunity to provide hig h-quality conference facilities for the growing
number of trade shows and industrial exhibitions attracted to the region. Part of the
equity is still in the hands of the family; a m inority of the shares is held b y a num ber of
institutional inv est ors.
'W e a l s o h a v e s t r a t e g i c p a r t n e r s h i p s w i t h l o c a l , n a t i o n a l a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l a i r l i n e s
a n d tour oper ators.
' In a ll t h at w e d o o ur m is s i on is s tr ic t l y commercial; we have to generate a

p r o f i t f o r t h e f a m i l y a n d f o r t h e i n s t i t u t i o n a l sh ar eh old e rs .
' T h e c u s t o m e r s e r v i c e t e a m w o r k s c l o s e l y wi t h m ana g ers a nd s taf f i n e v er y pa rt of
th e c u s t o m e r e x p e r i e n c e , s o t h a t e v e r y g u e s t rec eives an ex c ellent le ve l of s ervic e
at eac h s t a g e o f t h e i r s t a y w i t h u s . T h e c o m p a n y ope rates within a very
competitiv e business. I f we d o n ' t k e e p o u r c u s t o m e r s s a t i s f i e d w e won't s urvive.'

B. Public
Jo is a public sector employee working for the —or City Council in Madison, Wisconsin. She is a
food safety officer, with responsibility for a team of ten food safety inspectors:
O ur mission is s im ple: we ex is t to s erve the public by ensuring that health is not put at
risk by unsafe food. This m ission is then developed into a s eries of strategic and
operational p l a n s t h a t a r e d i s c us s e d a n d ap p r o v e d e a c h year b y the c ounc il's senior
m anagem ent team .
`M em bers of th e te a m m ak e r e gu l ar v is its to r e s t a u r a n t s a n d o t h e r p l a c e s w h e r e
f o o d i s prepared and sold to the public. We also visit food-proc ess ing f actories to m onitor
s tandards lik e cleanliness, general hygiene and cold storage.
'W e are not profit seeking, rather, we have to m ak e s ure we c an provide s ervic es within
the budget agr eed and endor s ed f or eac h ye ar.
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'M y own j ob involves:
 planning and scheduling the work done by t h e m em bers of t h e te a m
 e n s u r i n g t h a t a d e q u a t e r e s o u r c e s a r e i n pl ac e to s upport their work
 monitoring the regular inspections (including a n y r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s f o r
p r e v e n t a t i v e and co rrectiv e action req ui red) s o that I can provide regular
reports to m y own line manager.'

C. Not for profit
D a v i d m a n a g e s t h e f u r n i t u r e w o r k s h o p i n a social enterprise in Dublin, Ireland:

'A social enterprise is a business with primarily s o c i a l o b j e c t i v e s , s o w e d o n o t
f o c u s o n m ak ing a pr ofit from our activities. An y financial s u r p l u s w e c a n g e n e r a t e
i s r e - i n v e s t e d i n t h e bus ines s or in th e c om m unit y. W e do not hav e t o m a x i m i z e
profits for owners or shareholders.
' T h e r e a r e m a n y d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f s o c i a l e nt erp ris e b u t t he y ar e a ll
ac co unt abl e t o t h e ir s t a k e h o l d e r s s u c h a s e m p l o ye e s , c l i e n t s , l o c a l c o m m u n i t y
groups or other users.
‘Our m ission is to mak e life better in this community by creating incom e and
em plo ym ent f o r l o c a l p e o p l e . W e d o t h i s b y t a k i n g i n d o n at i o n s o f f ur n i t u r e ,
r e p a i r i t if n ec es s ar y and clean it for resale to our customers.
Like other non-profit organizations, we have a triple bottom line:
 w e m i n i m i z e a n y n e g a t i v e e f f e c t s o n t h e en v ir o nm ent
 we ha ve to be a war e of the needs of our staff, both waged and volunteers
 we h a v e t o m ak e en o ug h pr of i t or s ur p l us t o p r o v i d e a s u s t a i n a b l e b u s i n e s s .
It is never easy to balance all three of these but it is very satisfying work.’

EXERCISES
Task 1: Change the nouns in the box into adjectives.
competition/competitor

correction

institution

public

privacy

society

entrepreneur
strategy

finance
sustainability

Task 2: Using expressions from the texts on the left, match the questions (1-6) and answers (a—f) following
an MBA lecturer's session.

1. I was just wondering, Dr Khomer, if you could clarify the meaning of public sector?
2. Dr Khomer, you mentioned something about social objectives, but I didn't quite catch what you said ...
3. Excuse me, could you elaborate a little on what you meant by the term sustainable business?
4. Yes, Dr. Khomer, I just wondered what you had to say about institutional investors.
5. Sorry, I didn't quite understand your point about financial surplus. Could you show us the slide
again please?
6. Yes, I'd like to know what you mean by triple bottom line exactly.

a. They include the production and supply of quality goods and services, adoption of fair-trade practices and
contribution to the general welfare of society.

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b. These consist of entities, such as pension funds, insurance companies and investment banks, with large amounts
to invest.
c. Yes, it refers to the generation of resources, such as capital that exceeds expenditure.
d. Sure. It's an accounting fern, that means the most important factors for measuring an organization’s success in
social and environmental as well as economic terms — We say people, planet, profit.
e. The army is an example of an organization that provides a public service funded by the government.
f. This refers to the need for an organization to make enough profit or surplus for it to survive.

Task 3
Complete these observations from employees of three enterprises. Choose words from the box.
accountable
competitors donate equity
organization planning
profit
resources
social
volunteer
waged

mission
satisfying

non-profit
shareholders

1. We don't hold e................................... and so our m. ............................as a s ............................... enterprise is to
generate financial r ......................................... to facilitate the operation of our association.
2. P ........................a schedule for the v........................................ who run our n ……………..........
is not a simple
task; while we don't have a problem finding people willing to d ………………. their time free
of charge, they are not necessarily available when we need them. Luckily, we also have a group of
w………………….. staff working specific shifts to ensure a permanent presence. They all agree it's highly s
………………… work.
3. Being a ......................... to our s ........................................................ is a necessary evil for any private enterprise. It is
vital that we provide them with an annual report, outlining the amount of p ………
generated over each 12-month period, as well as our positioning compared to that of the current c
……………….. in the market.

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UNIT 1 – ORGANIZATION

OVERVIEW
Businesses come in many guises, from the lonely sounding self-employed person and sole
trader, through the SME - the small to medium-sized enterprise - to the multinational with its
hierarchy and tens of thousands of employees. But the questions about what motivates people in
work are basically the same everywhere. The first question that self-employed people get asked is
how they find the self-discipline to work alone and motivate themselves when there is no one telling
them what to do. Some companies are also looking for this: job advertisements often talk about the
need for recruits to be self-starters. Some organizations (like advertising agencies) want to find
ways of motivating their people to be ever more productive and creative. Employees and their
managers in this type of organization are relatively autonomous - they aren't given exact
procedures on how to meet objectives.
But others (like banks) need people who can follow rules and apply procedures. (You do not want too
much creativity when cashiers are counting banknotes!) These tend to be organizations with centralized
cultures - exact procedures that must be followed are imposed from above.
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In organizations of all kinds, the tendency is towards relatively flat structures, with only a few levels
of hierarchy - this way, the senior management is relatively close to people dealing with clients.
The current buzzword is flexibility. This has a number of related meanings. One type of flexibility has
existed for some time in the form of flexitime or flextime, where people can choose when they work,
within certain limits. Then there is flexible working with some staff hot-desking, particularly those who
are homeworking, teleworking or telecommuting and only need to come into the office occasionally.
The number of teleworkers is rising rapidly, thanks partly to the decreasing cost and increasing
availability of fast broadband Internet connections and mobile Internet.

A third type of flexibility is where employees are recruited on short contracts to work on specific projects,
maybe part time. Perhaps the organization only has a core staff and outsources or contracts out
work to external people or companies as and when required. Some management experts say that
this is the future, with self-employment as the norm and portfolio workers who have a number of
different clients.

Vocabulary notes:
Guise: an artful or simulated semblance
Hierarchy: the organization of people at different ranks in an administrative body
To motivate: to give an incentive for action
Productive: yielding positive results
Autonomous: 1. (of political bodies) not controlled by outside forces 2. existing as an independent
entity. 3. (of persons) free from external control and constraint in e.g. action and judgment
Procedures: (1) a particular course of action intended to achieve a result. (2) a process or series
of acts especially of a practical or mechanical nature involved in a particular form of work
To impose: (1) compel to behave in a certain way. (2) impose something unpleasant
Buzzword: stock phrases that have become nonsense through endless repetition
hot-desking: the practice in an office of allocating desks to workers when they are required or on
a rotating system, rather than giving each worker their own desk.
Portfolio workers: a person who works for several different companies or organizations at the
same time: A portfolio worker may have a variety of different clients that they offer different
services to, or they may work part-time for a company and have their own business as well

STARTING UP
How important are the following in showing a person’s status in an organization? Give each one a score from
1 (not important) to 5 (very important).


a reserved parking space



the latest company mobile phone



an office with a view



an assistant



a uniform



taking your holidays when you like



a personal business card



the size of your desk



a company car



more than one seat in your office



your name on your office door



flying business class
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



a company credit card

fixed working hours

VOCABULARY: Company structure
A. Match the words and phrases (1 – 8) to their definitions (a – h)
1. subsidiary

a. an office where people answer questions and

2. factory / plant

make sales over the phone

3. call center

b. a building from which goods or supplies are sent

4. service center

to factories, shops or customers

5. headquarters

c.

6. distribution center

d. a place where faulty products are mended

7. warehouse

e. a company which is at least half-owned by

8. outlet

a place through which products are sold

another company
f.

the main office or building of a company

g. a building for storing goods in large quantities
h. a large building or group of buildings where
goods are made (using machinery)

B. What do the following departments do?
1. R&D

5. Production

9. Logistics

2. Customer Services

6. Finance

10. Public Relations

3. Human Resources

7. Administration

11. IT

4. Sales and Marketing

8. Legal

C. Match these activities (a-k) to the correct department in Exercise B (1-11). Can you add
any other activities to any of the departments?
a) deal with complaints
b) draw up contracts

e) run advertising campaigns
f) issue press releases

i) keep records
j) transport goods

c) carry out research

g) operate assembly lines

k) install and maintain

d) train staff

h) prepare budgets/ accounts

l) systems equipment

*****

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READING
ORGANIZATION STRUCTURES

A. Organizational structure
Management structures identify the different departments in an organization and set out who answers to
whom in the chain of command.
The traditional types of organizational structure are functional or divisional. In a functional structure, the
organization is divided up into different functional areas or departments, such as Marketing, Finance and
Production. Multi-divisional structures also exist, where the organization is divided along geographical
or product divisions. This allows the company to grow and develop in new parts of the world and to add
new combinations of products. A multi-divisional matrix may also be adopted. This is a combination of
product and geographical divisions that allows a large company to adapt products for particular
markets.
Matrix structures are especially used in large organizations that have a number of dearly defined
projects. Organizations with one single owner, a sole trader, often have no formal structure.
Large organizations may have a tall structure, with complex hierarchies and many layers of
management, but even a very large organization can have a flat structure, with only a few levels of
management.
An organization chart is a diagram showing relationships between different jobs and departments. It
may identify the various functional departments, the hierarchy, from the CEO and the Board of
Management downwards, and the lines of responsibility, to identify reporting channels (including
individual managers' spans of control).

B. An example of a divisional structure

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Exercises
Task 1: Match the terms in the box below

with their definitions, using information from A and B.

Task 2: Give ach sentence below a subheading from the box.

Task 3: Add words from the box into the correct phrase to make noun phrases.

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UNIT 2 – LEADERSHIP

OVERVIEW
Some organizations are their leaders: Bill Gates is Microsoft, Richard Branson pilots Virgin, Michael Dell
runs Dell. Entrepreneurs and founders of their organizations, they are perceived to have visionary
leadership qualities. They are often asked to pronounce on the issues of the day. They are leaders not
only of their companies but of public opinion. They are often held up as role models.
The mercurial leadership that is characteristic of many entrepreneurs means that they might found and
then sell a series of start-ups, not guiding them to the next, more 'mature' stage themselves. In the trio
above we have examples of leaders who have made that transition and gone beyond to create multibillion
dollar corporations that operate on a global scale.
Companies may become large by being successful but they may also become bureaucratic and
conservative. It is a cliché that, in successful companies, change is a precondition of continued success
and the people who can lead that change are key. Formulating strategy is a question of making choices
(often described as ‘difficult'), of deciding to do X rather than Y, with resources that are by definition
limited. The people who can make the right choices about how to use those resources are highly
rewarded. (The people who make the wrong choices are sometimes also highly rewarded with generous
severance packages, but that is another story.)

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Failing companies require yet another kind of leadership: the type of leader who can turn them round and

this third species of leader may not be suited to managing other types of change, preferring to move on to
another company in crisis.
Companies are increasingly thinking about how to nurture their leaders. In the US, corporate
governance, the way that a company is run at the highest level, has become a key issue with
shareholders. They have rejected the previous cozy arrangements, where directors appointed people
they knew to the board and now demand much greater scrutiny over who is chosen and how.
This is part of the process of recognition that companies are led by teams of key managers. The qualities
of the chief executive cannot be seen in isolation. There must be the right chemistry between the chief
executive and other top people and they must have the right mix of complementary skills.
Even so, picking the successor to the current CEO (Chief Executive Officer) is an extremely sensitive
task. Will it be someone from within the company, perhaps someone groomed to take over by the current
boss? Or do you use headhunters (specialized, highly paid recruiters) to track down someone, perhaps
from a completely different industry, and bring them in to shake up the existing order? If your new CEO
leaves after six months in the job, perhaps after what the papers describe as 'irreconcilable differences'
or as a boardroom battle, the company and perceptions of it will suffer and so, probably, will its share
price.
There is debate about whether leadership can be taught, and about whether reading about the lives and
methods of great leaders, business and non-business, can help to develop business leadership skills.

Vocabulary notes
role models: someone worthy of imitation
mature: having reached full natural growth or development
bureaucratic: of or relating to or resembling a bureaucrat or bureaucracy
conservative: resistant to change; opposed to liberal reforms opposed to liberal reforms; unimaginatively
conventional
severance packages: an agreement on the terms on which an employee will leave
corporate governance: the mechanisms, processes and relations by which corporations are controlled
and directed
chief executive officer: the corporate executive responsible for the operations of the firm; reports to a
board of directors; may appoint other managers (including a president)

successor: a person who follows next in order
headhunters: a recruiter of personnel (especially for corporations)
irreconcilable: impossible to reconcile (bring into consonance or accord; come to terms with)
boardroom battle: struggle between board members; a conflict or power struggle between individual
board members or between groups of board members

Discuss the questions.
1. Which modern or historical leaders do you admire most? Which do you admire the least? Why?
2. What makes a great leader? Write down a list of characteristics. Compare your list with other
groups.
3. Are there differences between men and women as leaders? Why have most great leaders been
men?
4. Do you think great leaders are born or made?
5. Do you think first-born children make the best leader?
6. What is the difference between a manager and a leader?

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VOCABULARY: Character adjectives
A. Match the adjectives in the box to make pairs of contrastive ideas.
cautious
diffident

casual
formal

idealistic
critical

assertive
decisive

encouraging
realistic

B. Do the same with the adjectives in this box.
dynamic
approachable

radical

ruthless
principled

distant
conservative
laid-back

C. Complete
criticalthe sentences
decisivewith suitable
realisticadjectives from Exercises A and B. (For
sentences 1-4, use Exercise A; for sentences 5-8, use Exercise B.)

1. She doesn't like to rush into things. She's careful and …………………..
2. He's very good at pointing out problems with people and systems in the company. He's often
…………………..…, but this helps make improvements.
3. He's a serious, ……………………… person, both in the way he dresses and in his dealings with
people. Everyone knows he's the boss.

4. She has a very clear vision for the long-term future of the company, but many people think she is
too ………………….
5. He is a very …………….……… man. He sacked anyone who got in his way.
6. Our boss is friendly and …………..……………. She's very easy to talk to.
7. He's very ……………….……… He doesn't like to try anything new now he's running the company.
8. She's very ……………..….. She would never approve any policies that were remotely unethical.

D. Match the phrasal verbs (1-6) to the nouns (a-f).
1 to take on

a) a proposal/suggestion

2 to be up to

b) the job

3 to put forward

c) criticism

4 to deal with

d) your resignation

5 to hand in

e) responsibility for something

6 to come in for

f) a problem

E. Which of the phrasal verbs in Exercise D mean the following:
a) to manage

c) to receive

e) to be good enough

b) to give

d) to accept

f) to propose

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READING:

LEADERSHIP
A.Transactional and transformational leaders
In the past decade there has been a paradigm shift in leadership theory, as writers such as Burns,
Alveoli and Bass have described the characteristics of transactional and transformational leadership.
According to these theories, transactional leadership is based mainly on rewarding good performance or
punishing unsatisfactory performance, sometimes known as contingent reward leadership. Some
managers only intervene when a subordinate fails to meet expectations: this passive approach is known
as management-by-exception. Other managers may even adopt a laissez-faire approach, avoiding
intervention. However, active transactional managers will take steps to avoid poor performance.
Transformational leadership is a participative leadership style, in which the leader provides:

1. Individualized consideration - listening to followers' concerns, considering their needs and
fostering self-development
2. Intellectual stimulation - challenging assumptions and nurturing creativity
3. Inspirational motivation - communicating clearly and persuasively a vision that will inspire their
followers
4. Idealized influence - Providing a role model which will gain respect and trust. Followers know
that their leader will apply consistent, impartial rules in any conflict.
These concepts have been used in the design of leadership development programmes in which
managers are encouraged to move from passive approaches to active transactional and transformational
approaches.

B. Is there a difference between leadership and management?
Dr White, a lecturer in leadership studies, is Introducing a new module:
The 'great man' theory based on the concept that leaders are born and that leadership cannot be taught
has now been discredited. However, there is wide acceptance that certain personality traits can be
helpful in potential leaders. Warren Bennis has carried out research into the characteristics of leaders in
many different environments. According to Bennis, good leaders have integrity and are trusted by their
colleagues; they are risk takers who are willing to experiment; they have a clear vision which they
translate into reality and a passion which helps them to achieve their objectives. Bennis found that how
they deal with adversity is a most reliable indicator of successful charismatic leaders.
The career of Ernest Shackleton, the Antarctic explorer, is a case study of leadership in action. In
planning the expedition, Shackleton demonstrated considerable skill as a manager. He recruited a
talented and well-balanced team, with relevant skills and experience. He ensured that the expedition
was suitably equipped with the right resources for such a challenging expedition. Teambuilding
activities helped to create strong bonds between the different personalities as the Endurance sailed
south.
When their ship became stuck in ice, Shackleton's leadership qualities emerged. He had a clear focus
on his ultimate goal and was prepared to take risks when necessary to ensure the survival of the whole
team. He kept everyone busy and set a strong personal example of the sort of behavior he expected.
He was able to manage conflict with sensitivity when it arose among members of the team and his

fairness to everyone, his charisma and communication skills were evident to all. It was thanks to his
leadership qualities that the whole crew eventually returned to safety, nearly two years later.
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Exercises
Task 1: Match these expressions with their definitions below.
1. impartial
2. integrity
3. paradigm shift
4. participative leadership style
5. role model
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

a way of interacting with followers that involves them in making decisions and generating ideas
a person whose behavior sets an example that other people like to follow
not favoring one person over another, always fair
honesty and strength of character
a fundamental change in the model or theory on which we base our understanding of something

Task 2: Before a group of managers attend a leadership development program, their subordinates are
asked to fill in a questionnaire on their management style. Use expressions from A to fill in the gaps in the
questionnaire to label the types of management style that the statements relate to.

Management style
……………………..: the person I am rating works out agreements with me on what I will receive if I do

what needs to be done.




…………… management-by-exception: they focus attention on mistakes and deviations from
what is expected of me.
…………… management-by-exception: problems have to be critical before the person I am rating
will take action.
Non-leadership: ………………... my manager avoids getting involved when important issues
arise.

……………………… leadership:
Inspirational motivation: In my mind this person is a symbol of success and accomplishment.




………………………………..: they introduce new projects and new challenges.
………………………………..: they listen to my concerns.
…………………………….: I am ready to trust the person to overcome any obstacle.

Task 3: Dr. White asks his group to answer the questions: to what extent did Shackleton illustrate
Warren Bennis's leadership traits? To what extent was he also a good manager? Use the words in the
box to write your own short answer. The first sentence is given to you below. Use the information in B to
help you.
charismatic leadership
clear vision
create bonds
deal with adversity

fairness
integrity
managing conflict
personality traits
resources
risk taker
team-building activities
well-balanced team

From the case study it is evident that the explorer Ernest Shackleton demonstrated many of the
personality traits identified by Warren Bennis in his research.

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Like any explorer, Shackleton could definitely be described as a …………….. but he also had a
…………….. which he put into action through his management skills, making sure the appropriate
equipment and …………… were in place before the expedition began.
He also made sure he had a ………………………, and showed an active management approach in
carrying out ………………………….. to ……………….. between the team and make sure that they worked
cooperatively together.
However, his achievement was not simply about reaching the Antarctic; his …………………….. when his
ship was trapped in the ice showed his ability to ………………………..and ensured the survival of his
team.
He also earned the trust and respect of his team by his ………….. in setting a personal example of hard
work and in his ………….. and communication skills when ……………….that arose.

*****

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UNIT 3 – CULTURES

OVERVIEW
As the world gets smaller, we need to learn more about each others' values, beliefs, habits and
expectations. Culture is, in the famous phrase, the way we do things around here. The 'here' in question
may be a country, a region, a social class, a company, a university.
Clearly, we each live in a set of cultures and subcultures that interlock in complex ways and, to make a
generalization, one of the most dangerous things is to generalize about them.
Stereotypes are, of course, to be handled with caution. The stereotype may represent the middle of a
range of differing behaviors, it may be at one extreme or it may just not be true. And there may be more
variety in behavior between a culture than between one culture and another.

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Neighboring countries or regions or two companies in the same industry often see themselves as very
different from each other, but that difference may be hard for the outsider to grasp at first glance.
A few years' working in one of the two places will make it seem more apparent, as one gets 'involved' in
one of the cultures.
Here are some intercultural issues (intercultural is nowadays often preferred to cross-cultural), areas
where there are variations in behavior across different cultures.


Religion: Is it expected of people or a matter of individual choice? Does it play a role in business life?



Roles of men and women: Are women often found at the highest levels of business and society?



Hierarchy: What is the distance between managers and the people who work for them?



Levels of formality in language and behavior: Is there an elaborate system of levels of deference in
addressing different people?



Conversation, discussion: Settings (formal and informal meetings, social situations, turn-taking,
proximity, body language, contact, etc.



Dress for different settings and occasions: Is the business suit de rigueur?



The relation of work to private life: Are spouses expected to attend certain types of company event?
Do businesspeople invite colleagues and contacts to their homes, or is everything done in the office
and restaurants?



Time: Timescale of the activity/organization, planning, punctuality, the working day/week/ year,
meals, recreation, holidays, etc. Do meetings start on time? Is the summer break sacrosanct?

A. Why is cultural awareness important for businesspeople? Give examples.
B. What is culture? Choose the 4 factors that you think are the most important in
creating a culture. Give your reasons.
climate
architecture
religion
geography

historical events
behavior and attitudes
social customs and traditions
ceremonies and festivals

language
institutions
cuisine
arts

C. How important are these things when doing business in your country?

















exchanging business cards
shaking hands
bowing
kissing
being formal or informal
small talk before meetings
accepting interruption

punctuality
humour
socialising with contacts
eye contact
giving presents
being direct (saying exactly what you think)
using first names

VOCABULARY IDIOMS
A. Complete the idioms in the sentences below with the words in the box.
end

eye

eye

fire

foot

ice

water

water
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1. Small talk is one way to break the ………. when meeting someone for the first time.
2. I was thrown in at the deep ………..when my company sent me to run the German office. I was
only given two days' notice to get everything ready.
3. We don't see eye to ………with our US parent company about punctuality. We have very different
ideas about what being 'on time' means. It's a question of culture.
4. I got into hot ………… with my boss for wearing casual clothes to the meeting with the potential
Japanese customers.
5. I really put my ………… in it when I met our Spanish partner. Because I was nervous, I said 'Who
are you?' rather than 'How are you?'.
6. I get on like a house on ………….with our Polish agent; we like the same things and have the
same sense of humour.
7. When I visited China for the first time, I was like a fish out of ……….Everything was so different,
and I couldn't read any of the signs!
8. My first meeting with our overseas clients was a real ………..-opener. I hadn't seen that style of
negotiation before.

B. Match the idioms in Exercise A (1-8) to the correct meanings (a-h).
a) given a difficult job to do without preparation
b) quickly have a friendly relationship with someone

c) feel uncomfortable in an unfamiliar situation
d) say or do something without thinking carefully, so that you embarrass or upset someone
e) disagree with someone
f) an experience where you learn something surprising or something you did not know
g) make someone you have just met less nervous and more willing to talk
h) get into trouble

C. Consider the context of each idiom in Exercises A and B and decide which have:
a) a positive meaning

b) a negative meaning

******

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READING
MANAGING ACROSS CULTURES
A. Hofstede
Cultural diversity is becoming a significant management issue because of factors such as globalization
and an increasing number of cross-border partnerships. Based on his experience at IBM, Geert Hofstede
developed a framework for understanding cultural differences and managing problems that can arise
because of lack of cultural awareness. He identified four dimensions for defining work-related values
associated with national culture:


Power distance — the way people perceive power differences and how a society handles
inequalities and differences in status



Individualism/collectivism — behaviour towards the group



Masculinity/femininity — behaviour according to characteristics associated with the genders



Uncertainty avoidance — the need for structure and clear rules.

The framework is used to help determine the suitability of certain management techniques for various
countries. For example, in a country with a small power distance such as the USA, managers find it
natural to delegate responsibility and employees will accept responsibility. This would not be the case in a
country with a larger power distance, such as Mexico, but employees there might accept more discipline.

B. Cross-cultural competence
Johan, who works for a consultancy firm that specializes in cross-cultural training for multinational
organizations, is introducing a workshop:
`Training in cultural awareness is a vital element in the development of the global managers of the
future. Apart from the cultural differences that we can see between countries, you need to be aware of the
cultural impact of working in different business sectors and different functional roles. How people in an
organization act towards each other, deal with customers, approach their work, even how they dress, can
be very similar and fit the organization's values, beliefs and the norms that are shared by all staff.
Senior managers have responsibility for setting the corporate culture and influencing the way members of
staff behave in the workplace. As managers move from one country to another and encounter different
functional areas of management, it is imperative that they get away from a restricted 'silo' mentality, from
cultural stereotypes and from any cultural assumptions they have made.
During this workshop I hope we can explore some of the ways in which people from different

organizational or geographical cultures can have very different norms, unwritten rules and codes of
behavior.'

C. Cross-cultural differences
Going to work in the Gulf state of Qumran for the national oil company was quite a culture shock after my
previous career as an HR manager in the retail sector in Stockholm. The company provided a substantial
briefing on the cross-cultural competences of an international manager as part of the induction
programme as soon as I arrived in Qumran.
For the first few months I thought I had moved out of my comfort zone. I had to get used to differences in
dress code, gestures and body language. Attitudes to time and punctuality were very different from
those I had been used to in Scandinavia. Management meetings and negotiations also followed very
different rules. Socializing with colleagues and the line between family life and working life was different.
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And of course the prevailing culture in the oil company meant that I encountered very few women in
senior management roles.

Exercises:
Task 1: Find eleven collocations in A, B and C using the adjective cultural or the noun culture.
Then use six of these to complete the description of the benefits of this training course.
Why attend?
The Quest Cross-Cultural Training course will provide you with:


A better understanding of the cultural …………… your business and ………………….. culture in
countries where you operate



The opportunity to enhance your cultural …………………. and develop cross-cultural
……………………… by giving you practical tools to reduce cross-cultural misunderstanding



The opportunity to examine your own cultural …………………… and avoid seeing others through
narrow cultural …………………

Task 2: The sentences below are from the findings of a study of different countries. Add the
countries to the appropriate categories in this table.
Small power distance

Large power distance

More individualist

More collectivist

Strong uncertainty avoidance

Weak uncertainty avoidance

More masculine values

More feminine values

a. In the UK the prevailing culture expects people to develop and display their individual personalities,
whereas in China people are defined, and act mostly as part of a long-term group, such as an age group
or profession.
b. In New Zealand employees generally relate to one another as equals and managers delegate

responsibility, unlike Malaysia, where subordinates tend to acknowledge hierarchical positions and do not
expect to accept responsibility.
c. In the USA assertiveness and competitiveness are considered valuable qualities, whereas in the
Netherlands warm relationships and quality of life are given priority.
d. UK workers are comfortable to take risks and change jobs frequently, whereas Japanese workers like
to work in a structured situation and remain with the same company.

Task 3: Match the dictionary definition to the correct term/s from the box.
codes of behaviour/norm/unwritten rules
'silo' mentality
values

comfort zone

1. ………………………: people's ideas about what is right, wrong or important
2. …………………………………..…. a set of rules understood by people in a group about suitable
behavior in a particular situation, for example how to dress appropriately (dress code)
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3. …………………………: a situation or position in which a person feels secure or in control
4. …….…………………: an attitude that occurs when groups fail to share information with other
members of the same company, reducing efficiency of a corporate culture

Over to you
What are the main points you would include in a presentation about cross-cultural issues for
people coming from abroad to work in your country?

*****

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UNIT 4 – ETHICS

OVERVIEW
Bribery and corruption
Whether persuading key officials to give authorization to set up in business, grant government contracts
or just let your goods through customs, the alternatives for the word bribe are many and varied: kickback,
sweetener (AmE), backhander (BrE), baksheesh and the greasing of palms (international).
The law courts, if it gets that far, will refer more prosaically to illicit payments, and defendants in such
cases may just talk about commissions. If payments go to a slush fund to finance a political party, this
form of corruption may be referred to as sleaze, especially by journalists.

The corporation as good citizen
All businesses increasingly want to be perceived as good citizens. Different types of business face
different ethical issues. Following the accounting scandals at Enron and WorldCom, which gave a false
view of their profits, despite the work of their auditors, the outside accountants who are meant to prevent
this, there has been pressure on legislators and regulators to improve accounting standards.
When the strain of competing gets too much, competitors may go for the easier option of price fixing, so
that each can maintain a reasonable profit margin. Competitors who do this form a cartel. This is an area
where outsiders may only find out what is going on if one of the managers involved contacts the
authorities. Someone doing this is a whistleblower.

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Financial institutions try to prevent insider trading by erecting notional barriers called Chinese walls
between different departments: to prevent someone in share trading from discovering from the mergers
department that a particular company is involved in merger talks and that its share price will soon rise.

Financial institutions also have to guard against money laundering, where money passes through the
banking system in a way that disguises its criminal origins.
Manufacturers increasingly claim that their products are green or environmentally friendly in all stages of
their production, use and disposal.
Clothing companies claim to trade fairly and that their products were not made in sweatshops paying
subsistence wages and using child labor.
Companies in general will talk about equal opportunities or, in the US, their affirmative action program, to
ensure that people are recruited and promoted on the basis of merit and not discriminated against on the
grounds of race or gender. Women who get promoted so far and no further complain of the glass ceiling.
These are part of the social issues of equality and diversity.
And, of course, the near-collapse of the banking system in 2008 was blamed by many on the greed of
those who ran them, including their willingness to sell ultimately worthless securities as high-grade
financial investments.

Codes of ethics and mission statement
A company's internal code of ethics contains its ethical credo and may cover any of the issues mentioned
above. Some of the financial, environmental and diversity-related issues may also be referred to in its
mission statement. And there may even be an ethics ombudsman to check that they are put into practice
and deal with complaints when they are not.
All the issues mentioned here are part of the wider picture of corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Companies have to pay attention to the triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental
sustainability.

*****
A. Discuss this list of unethical activities. In your opinion, which are the worst? Are any
common in your country?
1. Finding ways of paying as little tax as possible
2. Using your work computer or phone for private purposes (e.g. online shopping)
3. Accepting praise for someone else's ideas or work
4. Selling something as genuine when you know it is not

5. Using your influence to get jobs for friends or relatives (nepotism)
6. Phoning in sick at work when you are not ill
7. Not telling the truth about your age or experience on an application form
8. Not saying anything when you are charged too little for something by mistake
9. Paying people in cash for jobs done around the home in order to reduce the cost
10. Claiming extra expenses (e.g. getting a taxi receipt for more than the actual fare)

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B. Look at the situations. Which do you think are the most serious?
1. A new contact suggests that a payment into his private bank account will enable a company to win a
valuable supply contract.
2. An employee informs some friends about a company takeover before it is generally known so they can buy
shares and make a profit.
3. A company is making copies of luxury branded products and selling them in street markets.
4. An upmarket private airline only employs attractive women under 25 years old as cabin crew and ground
staff.
5. An industrial company is disposing of waste chemicals in the sea.
6. A car manufacturer is secretly taking photos of a rival's new model at a test track.
7. A cosmetics and pharmaceutical company tries out all its products on rats and mice.
8. Some criminals buy property and expensive cars with money they got from illegal activities. The goods are
then sold and the now 'clean' money is used in other businesses and new bank accounts.
9. A group of rival mobile phone companies get together and agree to charge approximately the same
amount for a range of services and packages.
10. A company tells the authorities that it is making a lot less profit than it actually is.

C. Match words from Box A and Box B to make word partnerships which describe the activities
in Exercise B.
bribery

price

environment

sex

insider

tax

counterfeit

money

animal

industrial

and corruption

testing

discrimination

fraud

trading

fixing

laundering

goods

pollution

espionage

Note on Ethics:
Business ethics (also known as corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that
examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies
to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations.
Business ethics is the study of proper business policies and practices regarding potentially controversial
issues,

such

as

corporate

governance,

insider

trading,

bribery,

discrimination,

corporate

social responsibility and fiduciary responsibilities.
Ethics concern an individual's moral judgments about right and wrong. Decisions taken within an
organization may be made by individuals or groups, but whoever makes them will be influenced by the
culture of the company. The decision to behave ethically is a moral one; employees must decide what
they think is the right course of action. This may involve rejecting the route that would lead to the biggest
short-term profit.

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