She's a specialist in modern French literature.
specialist advice/help
manager - the person who is responsible for managing an organization
a bank manager
a station manager
the production manager
I wish to speak to the manager.
Exercise 6. (10 min) Organize a pair discussion. Ask students the following
question:
- What are the consequences for a team and a manager if any of these
qualities are absent?
Elicit the answers.
Exercise 7. (8 min) Ask students to look through the qualities of a good
manager in Ex. 5. Put them in pairs and ask them to discuss some of the 'must'
qualities of a leader and write down some additional qualities of a good manager.
Encourage them to answer the questions:
Do you have any experience with a good manager?
Are these different from a manager's qualities?
Is there another leadership quality you would add to the list?
Exercise 8. (10 min) Tell students that they are going to listen to five
employees describing the strengths and weaknesses of their managers. Tell
students that the first time they listen, they should identify the weaknesses
of each manager. Then, the second time they listen, they should identify the
strengths of each manager. Play the tape.
Tapescript
Strengths and weaknesses
I admire my boss a lot. He's very capable; he knows exactly what he's
doing and he's not afraid to get his hands dirty, not some like managers who
think they're above it all. The one problem is that he takes too much. I don't
think it's because he doesn't trust us to do a good job ----- it's because he
likes to be involved in everything. He's a bit of a control freak. The result is that
he spreads himself very thin, when he could hand more work out to others, and
he's often overloaded and stressed.
Cheryl's not particularly brilliant, but she knows that. She knows her
own limitations, which is certainly one of her strengths. In fact, I don't think you
have to be particularly bright to be a manager - that's more a quality you need
in a leader. A manager's job is to bring order to the workplace and the team, so
that people are clear about what they should be doing and when they should
be doing it. Cheryl is very good at getting everyone working in the most efficient
way and that makes our working environment much less stressful.
He's not an easy guy to work for. He has very high expectations of his
staff and he can be rude and too direct. Sensitivity is not his strong point. He
often puts you on the spot: 'What makes you think this will work?' 'Have you
thought about the cost of this' and so on. You have to be prepared too justify
your actions a lot. Some people can't stand being challenged like this all the
time, but you can't deny that he gets the most out of his staff. People do perform.
There are people who listen to what you are saying, and people who
hear what you are saying. Paul is one of the former. He does try to listen to other
people's ideas, but his mind has often moved onto the next thing, and he doesn't
take on board what you're saying. It's the same thing when he's expressing his
own ideas and wishes. He kind of takes if for granted that everyone has reached
the same point in their thinking that he has, when often they're still two or three
steps behind. Don't get me wrong, he's a very nice guy - kind and clever, and
he has lots of great ideas and vision for the company - but because of these
communication difficulties, he can be very frustrating to work for.
The financial rewards in our company are not so huge, but in spite of
that, in my team we all stay very motivated because our boss really appreciates
our work. She's actually very protective of her own people. She gives us a lot of
praise. Other people in the company say she's a maverick, a kind of loner. They
say she's difficult to get on with and doesn't really have the company's interests
at heart. But I wouldn't know about really, because it's not the side of her that we
see. What we get is 100% loyalty and encouragement.
Exercise 9. (8 min) Ask students to look through A-G sentences. Let them
explain their meaning in listening context. If needed play the tape again.
He's not afraid to get his hands dirty - He is not afraid to get involved with
the unpleasant parts, or the lowest levels of a task.
Ex.: She'll organize the event, but she doesn't like to get her hands dirty
by selling tickets.
He is a bit a control freak - He has an obsessive or compulsive need to
control every aspect of a situation and/or the ways in which others act.
Ex.: My father can be such a control freak sometimes, always dictating
how I should be living my life. Janice is a real control freak—she
wouldn't even let me help her vacuum the carpet!
He's spreads himself very thin - He is involved in too many different activities.
Ex.:Guli works two jobs, goes to school full-time and volunteers to help
the homeless. She is really spreading herself too thin.
He often puts you on the spot - He often cause you difficulty or make you
embarrassed by forcing you at that moment to make a difficult decision or
answer an embarrassing question.
Ex.: Steve rather put him on the spot by asking when we were going to
get a pay-rise.
She's difficult to get on with - It is difficult to do or continue something with
her.
Ex.: Smaller classes would help failing students improve so they could
get on with their education.
He doesn't take on board what you're saying - He does not understand
and accept ideas and opinions which may change the way he behaves in
the future.
Ex.: Banks need to take on board the views of their customers.
She doesn't have the company's interests at heart - She does not make
decisions based on company's interests.
Ex.: I know she was only doing what would benefit her, but she said she
had my best interests at heart.
