--PAGE_BREAK--Lesson 6The reading module
Read the text: Organizations
Organizations need to be understood and intelligently managed because they are an ever-present feature of modern life. When people gather together and formally agree to combine their efforts for a common purpose, an organization is the result. All organizations, whatever their purpose, have four characteristics: (1) coordination of effort, (2) common goal or purpose, (3) division of labor, and (4) hierarchy of authority. If one of these characteristics is absent, an organization does not exist. Coordination of efforts multiplies individual contributions. A common goal or purpose gives organization members a rallying point. By systematically dividing complex tasks into specialized jobs, an organization can efficiently use its human resources. Division of labor permits organization member to become more proficient by repeatedly doing the same specialized task. Organization theorists have defined authority as the right to direct the action of others. Without a recognized hierarchy of authority, coordination of effort is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve.
Organizational classifications aid systematic analysis and study of organizations. There is no universally accepted classification scheme among organization theorists. Two useful ways of classifying organizations are by purpose and technology. In regard to purpose, organizations can be classified as business, not-for-profit service, mutual benefit, or common weal. In regard totechnology, there are long-linked, mediating, and inten sive technologies. Each of these technologies has characteristic strengths and weaknesses.
Modern organization theorists tend to prefer open-system thinking because it realistically incorporates organizations' environmental dependency. Early manage ment writers proposed tightly controlled authoritarian organizations. Max Weber, a German sociologist, applied the label bureaucracy to his formula for the most rationally efficient type of organization. Bureaucracies are characterized by their division of labor, hierarchy of authority, framework of rules, and impersonality. Unfortunately, in actual practice, bureaucracy has become a synonym for a red tape and inefficiency. The answer to this bureaucratic paradox is to understand that bureaucracy is a matter of degree. When bureaucratic characteristics, which are present in all organizations, are carried to an extreme, efficiency gives way to inefficiency.
Barnard’s acceptance theory of authority and growing environmental complexity and uncertainty questioned traditional organization theory. Open-system thinking became a promising alternative because it was useful in explaining the necessity of creating flexible and adaptable rather than rigid organizations.
I. Reading Exercises:
Exercise 1. Read and memorize using a dictionary:
Exercise 2. Answer the questions:
1) Why do organizations need to be understood and intelligently managed?
2) What systems do modern organization theorists tend to prefer?
3) What are bureaucracies characterized by?
4) When does efficiency give way to inefficiency?
Exercise 3. Match the left part with the right:
Exercise 4. Open brackets choosing the right words:
When bureaucratic characteristics, which are present in all organizations, are (carried/divided) to an extreme, efficiency (grows/gives) way to inefficiency.
The speaking module
II. Speaking Exercises
Exercise 1. Describe: organizations, division of labor, authority, organization by purpose, organization by technology
using the suggested words and expressionsas in example:
authority
coordination, hierarchy, effort, direct, achieve, recognized, action, others
Exercise 2. Ask questions to the given answers:
1) Question:
Answer: Max Weber, a German sociologist, applied the label bureaucracy to his formula for the most rationally efficient type of organization.
2) Question:
Answer: Organizational classifications aid systematic analysis and study of organizations.
3) Question:
Answer: Coordination of efforts multiplies individual contributions.
The writing module
III. Writing exercises:
Exercise 1. Complete the sentences with the suggested words:
flexible, thinking, because, complexity, acceptance
Barnard’s _____ theory of authority and growing environmental ______ and uncertainty questioned traditional organization theory. Open-system _____ became a promising alternative _____ it was useful in explaining the necessity of creating _____ and adaptable rather than rigid organizations.
Exercise2. Compose a story on one of the topics (up to 100 words):
“Major characteristics of organizations”
“Traditional and modern views of organizations”
“Bureaucracy”
Lesson 7
The reading module
Read the text: Staffing and Human Resource Management
A synergistic relationship exists between individuals and their employing organizations. But students have strong concerns about their future organ izational life, especially about the quality of supervision they will experi ence. Apart from the formal employment contract, an informal and often unspoken psychological contract exists between employee and employer. Serious dissatisfaction can set in when the terms of an individual's psycho logical contract are not met. According to Argyris's incongruency thesis, the principles of formal organization tend to encourage psychological immaturity in the average employee. He believes that the demands of the typical organization are incongruent with the psychological needs of the individual, and individuals naturally strive to be mature but the organizations that employ them often encourage immature behavior.
Within the context of strategic human resource management, staffing encompasses humanresource planning, acquisition, and development aimed at providing the talent necessary for organizational success. Four key staffing activities necessarily linked to organizational strategy and structure are: (1) human resource planning, (2) selection, (3) perform ance appraisal, and (4) training. A systems approach to human resource planning will help management devise staffing strategies for future hu man resource needs. As the organization's gatekeeper for vital human resources, employee selection should be more than a haphazard process of looking around for people to fill vacancies. There are relative advantages to promoting an insider as opposed to transferring in or hiring an outsider. Federal Equal Employment Opportunity laws require managers to make hiring and other personnel decisions on the basis of ability to perform rather than personal prejudice. Because interviews are the most popular employee screening device, experts recommend structured rather than traditional, informal interviews. A structured interview may be defined as a series of job-related questions with predetermined answers that are constantly applied across all interviews for a particular job.
Legally defensible performance appraisals (the process of evaluating individual job performance) enable managers to make objective personnel decisions. Of the three general approaches to performance appraisal – trait, behavior, and outcome – the behavior-oriented approach is the most strongly recommended. The rationale is that behavior, not personal traits or abilities, is ultimately responsible for job success or failure. Listed in declining order of popularity, six common performance appraisal techniques are goal setting, written essays, critical incidents (specific instances of inferior and superior performance are documented by the supervisor when they occur), graphic rating scales, weighted checklists (evaluators check appropriate adjectives or behavioral descriptions that have predetermined weight), and ranking/comparisons. Managers are challenged both to evaluate performance and to develop human potential during the performance appraisal process. This dilemma can be partially resolved by encouraging subordinates to engage in self-evaluation before offering constructive feedback on performance.
I. Reading Exercises:
Exercise 1. Read and memorize using a dictionary:
synergistic relationship, employer, employee, dissatisfaction, term, incongruency, immaturity, average, acquisition, trait, defensible, vital, vacancy, hiring, outsider, prejudice, haphazard.
Exercise 2. Answer the questions:
1) Why do student have strong concerns about their future organ izational life?
2) What does staffing encompass?
3) What are key staffing activities?
4) What is the most popular employee screening device?
Exercise 3. Match the left part with the right:
Exercise 4. Open brackets choosing the right words:
Federal Equal Employment Opportunity laws (require/offer) managers to make hiring and other personnel decisions on the basis of ability to (transform/perform) rather than personal prejudice.
The speaking module
II. Speaking Exercises:
Exercise 1. Describe staffing, incongruency thesis, structured interview, performance appraisals, behavior-oriented approach, critical incidents using the suggested words and expressions as in example:
Exercise 2. Ask questions to the given answers:
1) Question:
Answer: There are relative advantages to promoting an insider as opposed to transferring in or hiring an outsider.
2) Question:
Answer: Apart from the formal employment contract, an informal and often unspoken psychological contract exists between employee and employer.
3) Question:
Answer: A systems approach to human resource planning will help management devise staffing strategies for future hu man resource needs.
The writing module
III. Writing exercises:
Exercise 1. Complete the sentences with the suggested words: resolved, feedback, subordinates, both, during
Managers are challenged _____ to evaluate performance and to develop human potential _____ the performance appraisal process. This dilemma can be partially ________ by encouraging _____ to engage in self-evaluation before offering constructive ________ on performance.
Exercise2. Compose a story on one of the topics (up to 100 words):
“Staffing”
“Performance appraisals”
“Human Resource Management”
Lesson 8
The reading module
Read the text: Communicating
Observational research indicates that managers at all levels spend the majority of their workday communicating. Communication is a social process involving the transfer of information and understanding. Links in the communication process include sender, encode, medium, decode, receiver, and feedback. Noise is not an integral part of the chainlike communication process, but it may influence the process at any or all points. As the term is used here, noise is any interference with the normal flow of understanding from one person to another.
Perception is important to communication because it helps senders and receivers give meanings to environmental stimuli, including messages. Three perceptual subprocesses are selectivity, organization, and inter pretation. Perceptual defense enables one to screen out irrelevant stimuli, and perceptual set does the opposite. Grouping, figure-ground, and closure help people perceptually organize otherwise meaningless stimuli. Specialists often interpret situations differently because of their restricted perspectives.
Four dynamics of organizational communication are structural consid erations, the grapevine, nonverbal communication, and upward communication. Research suggestsa trend toward greater centralization of the overall communication function. The unofficial and informal communication system that sometimes complements and sometimes disrupts the formal communication system has been labeled the grapevine. A sample of managers surveyed had predominantly negative feelings toward it. Recognizing that the grapevine cannot be extinguished, managers are advised to monitor it constructively. Nonverbal communication, including facial, gestural, and postural body language, accounts for most of the impact of face-to-face communication. Managers can become more effective communicators by doing a better job of receiving and giving nonverbal communication. Upward communication refers to a process of systematically encouraging subordinates to share with management their feelings and ideas. It can be stimulated by using formal grievance procedures, employee attitude and opinion surveys, suggestion boxes, an open-door policy, informal gripe session, task forces, and exit interviews.
Process, physical, semantic, and psychosocial barriers and sexist communication are common organizational communication problems. Awareness of the various barriers can improve communication effectiveness. Constructive steps also can be taken to become a better listener, writer, and meeting chairperson.
I. Reading Exercises:
Exercise 1. Read and memorize using a dictionary:
Exercise 2. Answer the questions:
1)What is communication?
2)Why is perception important?
3)How can managers become more effective communicators?
4)What enables one to screen out irrelevant stimuli?
продолжение
--PAGE_BREAK--