File 6 Unit С Work and motivation

Part1 Work and responsibility

Starting-up
Grades

Square Hole Engineering Inc. has four white-collar grades and four blue-collar grades. Write the
names of all eight grades in the list, from the top (1) to the bottom (8).

clerical grades junior management middle management semi-skilled grades

senior management skilled grades supervisory grades unskilled grades

1.1 Vocabulary
The following sentences define some basic words about work. Which ones?
1 To inspire, to induce, to give a reason or incentive to someone to do something.
A motivate В promote С provoke
2 A person employed by someone else, working for money.
A earner В employee С employer
3 Relations between employers and employees, managers and workers, management and unions.
A human relations В labour relations С labour unions
4 Having control of something as part of your job.
A command В power С responsibility
5 Money paid (per hour or day or week) to manual workers.
A earnings В salary С wages
6 A fixed regular payment made by employers, usually monthly, for professional or office work.
A earnings В salary С wages
7 Advantages that come with a job, apart from wages or salary.
A benefits or perks В profits С supplements
8 To be raised to a higher rank or better job.
A motivation В promotion С sales promotion
9 Knowing that there is little risk of losing one's job.
A bureaucracy В job safety С job security
10 Having particular abilities, acquired by training.
A educated В skilled С talented
1.3 Discussion
Which of the following statements seem to you to be generally true?
1. People dislike work and avoid it if they can.
2 Work is necessary to people's psychological well-being.
3 People avoid responsibility and would rather be told what to do.
4 People are motivated mainly by money.
5 Most people are far more creative and ingenious than their employers realize.
6 People are motivated by anxiety about their security.
7 People want to be interested in their work and, given the right conditions, they will enjoy it.
8 Under the right conditions, most people will accept responsibility and want to realize their own potential.
Reading
Text A
A.1 You may have noticed that the statements above can be separated into two groups reflecting two very
different ways in which employers can treat their employees. These two approaches were summarized by
a well-known American theorist of the psychology of work, Douglas McGregor, who named them Theory
X and Theory Y. Read the following text and then classify the statements above according to which
theory they support.
Statement 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Theory
THEORY X AND THEORY Y

In The Human Side of Enterprise, Douglas McGregor outlined two opposing theories of work and motivation.
What he calls Theory X is the traditional approach to workers and working which assumes that people are lazy
and dislike work, and that they have to be both threatened (for example, with losing their job) and rewarded. It
assumes that most people are incapable of taking responsibility for themselves and have to be looked after.
Theory Y, on the contrary, assumes that people have a psychological need to work and want achievement and
responsibility.
Many people assume that Theory Y is more 'progressive' and an advance on Theory X, but later theorists argued
that it makes much greater demands on both workers and managers than McGregor realized. Abraham Maslow,
for example, spent a year studying a Californian company that used Theory Y, and concluded that its demands
for responsibility and achievement are excessive for many people. He pointed out that there are always weak
and vulnerable people, with little self-discipline, who need protection against the burden of responsibility. Even
strong and healthy people need the security of order and direction. Managers cannot simply substitute Theory Y
for Theory X. They have to replace the security provided by Theory X with a different structure of security and
certainty.
A.2 Summarizing
Read the text again and complete the following sentences, using your own words as much as possible.
1 According to Theory X, employers have to threaten workers because ...
2 According to Theory Y, employers should give their workers responsibilities because...
3 Maslow criticized Theory Y because ...
4 Maslow argued that even though they might want to be given responsibilities at work...
A.3 Discussion
One of the most important functions of a manager is to motivate the employees under his or her
authority. But What kind of things motivate you? Which of the following factors have been or will be
important for you in your choice of a job?
Classify them in order of importance.
• good administration and good labour relations
• good working conditions: enough space, light, heat and time, not too much noise, and so on
• an adequate wage or salary, and benefits such as paid holidays, sick pay, a pension, and so on
• job security
• a challenging, interesting and creative job
• responsibility
• contact with people
• opportunities to travel
• holidays
Are there any other important factors that are not listed here?
A.4 Writing
Write a short account (about 200 words) of the factors that have been or will be important for you in
your choice of a job.
Reading
Text B
B.1 Another well-known theorist of the psychology of work, Frederick Herzberg, has argued that many of
the features listed above do not in fact motivate people. Read the following text and find out why.
'SATISFIERS AND 'MOTIVATORS'
It is logical to suppose that things like good labour relations, good working conditions, good wages and benefits,
and job security motivate workers. But in Work and the Nature of Man, Frederick Herzberg argued that such
conditions do not motivate workers. They are merely 'satisfiers' or, more importantly, 'dissatisfiers' where they
do not exist. 'Motivators', on the contrary, include things such as having a challenging and interesting job,
recognition and responsibility, promotion, and so on.
However, even with the development of computers and robotics, there are and always will be plenty of boring,
mindless, repetitive and mechanical jobs in all three sectors of the economy, and lots of unskilled people who
have to do them.
So how do managers motivate people in such jobs? One solution is to give them some responsibilities, not as
individuals but as part of a team. For example, some supermarkets combine office staff, the people who fill the
shelves, and the people who work on the checkout tills into a team and let them decide what product lines to
stock, how to display them, and so on. Other employers ensure that people in repetitive jobs change them every
couple of hours, as doing four different repetitive jobs a day is better than doing only one. Many people now talk
about the importance of a company's shared values or corporate culture, with which all the staff can identify: for
example, being the best hotel chain, or hamburger restaurant chain, or airline, or making the best, the safest,
the most user-friendly, the most ecological or the most reliable products in a particular field. Such values are
more likely to motivate workers than financial targets, which ultimately only concern a few people. Unfortunately,
there is only a limited number of such goals to go round, and by definition, not all the competing companies in
an industry can seriously claim to be the best.
B.2 Summarizing
Read the text again and complete the following sentences, using your own words as much as possible.
1. Herzberg suggested that good labour relations and working conditions ...
2 According to Herzberg, the kind of things that motivate ...
3 The problem with saying that only challenging, interesting and responsible jobs are motivating is that...
4 Ways of motivating people in unskilled jobs include ...
5 The problem with trying to motivate workers by the belief that their company is the best is that...
B.3 Vocabulary
Use the words in the box once each to complete the paragraph below. Notice that the stressed syllable
changes in this group of words.
pro'duce producer
'product
production
productivity
productive '
unproductive
A few years ago, Harry Coe's, a large (1)...............................of tinned food (2)..............s, decided that some of
their workers were not (3)................enough. Much of the work of preparing fruit and vegetables was done on
rows of tables rather than on a (4).............line. So they decided to introduce a piecework system, whereby
workers got paid according to the amount of work they completed. The company thought that this would
motivate previously (5)...............................workers, and thereby increase (6)...............".................Yet the new
pay scheme did not (7)...............................the results they expected: after six months they were still processing
the same amount of agricultural (8)..............................., but there was a lot of dissatisfaction among the workers
who were now all earning different amounts of money.
Part 2 Working life
Vocabulary
2.1 Here are some professions/ jobs that require considerable training and qualification
boss director manager executive administrator secretary
unskilled worker labourer receptionist public relations officer
safety officer security officer union official economist personnel officer
sales assistant adviser education officer research-worker supervisor
2.2 Here are some trades/ skilled manual jobs requiring on-the-job and other training.
lawyer dentist hairdresser mechanic architect priest farmer
physiotherapist child-minder police officer accountant engineer scientist chef
firefighter civil servant tailor/dressmaker designer builder carpenter plumber
2.3 Which of the job titles would best describe the following?
1 The person who represents the workers' interests in disputes with the management in a factory.
2 A person who has a high (but not the highest) position in a company and whose job it is to make
important decisions.
3 An important person in a company who sits on the Board.
4 A worker whose job requires no special training.
5 A person generally in charge of the day-to-day administration in a company.
6 The person who makes sure there are no risks of accidents from machinery, etc.
7 A person whose job it is to keep an eye on the day-to-day work of other workers.
8 A person who does hard physical work.
9 The person who handles applications for vacant posts.
10 The person who gives out information to the press for a company.

2.4 Think of five people you know who work for a living. Can you name their jobs in English?
2.5 Whose job do these things belong to?
Example: bucket ladder leather window-cleaner
1 board overhead projector chalk 4 make-up script microphone
2. scalpel mask forceps 5 tractor plough barn
3. tippex filing cabinet stapler 6 sewing machine scissors needle
2.6 Would you call the following a trade, a profession or an unskilled job?
1.vet 3 plumber 5 electrician 7 cleaner 9 refuse collector
2.chef 4 architect 6 dressmaker 8 tailor 10 lawyer
2.7 Here are some collocations of words connected with work
It's not easy to get/find work round these parts. I'd love to do that kind of work.
What d'you do for a living? It's difficult to make a living as a freelance writer. [earn enough money to
live comfortably] I've been offered a job in Paris. She's not prepared to take on that job.[includes the
idea of 'having personal responsibility']
2.8 Here are some expressions connected with work. Match them with their definitions or
expressions related to them.
1.to work shift-work a)nights one week, days next
2.to be on flexi-time b)regular day work
3.to work nine-to-five c)flexible working hours
4.to go/be on strike d)e.g.in order to study
5.to get the sack e)expecting a baby
6.to be fired f)industrial dispute
7. to be dismissed g)thrown out of your job
8. to be made redundant h)get the sack
9.to be laid off i)illness
10.' to give up work j)get a higher position
11.to be on / take maternity leave k)fill in forms, etc.
12.to be on / take sick leave l)retire at 55
13. to take early retirement m)love work too much
14. to be a workaholic n)be fired'
15.to be promoted o)thrown out, no longer needed
16. to apply for a job p)made redundant'

2.9 Using the expressions, say what you think has happened / is happening.
Example: I'm not working now; the baby's due in 3 weeks. She's on maternity leave.
1 I lost my job. They had to make cutbacks.
2 He's enjoying life on a pension, although he's only 58.
3 One week it's six-to-two, the next it's nights.
4 They've made her General Manager as from next month!
5 I was late so often, I lost my job.
6 I get in at nine o'clock and go home at five.
7 Your trouble is you are obsessed with work!
2.9 Now make a sentence for each of the verbs you have not used.
2.10 Fill in the collocations.
I’d love to.................................(1) a job in journalism, but it's not easy without qualifications. Since I
have to earn a.................................(2) somehow, I'll have to get...............................(3) wherever I can
find it. I've been.................................(4) some art-time work editing a typescript for a book, but I'm not
sure I want to ........ it……….(5).
Part 3 PAY and PERKS
3.1 Priorities
What motivates you (or would motivate you) in a job? Put the following list in your order of
preference:
• the kind of work you do
• the freedom to act on your own initiative
• a sense of achievement
• the opportunity to be creative
• the chance to travel
• prestige
• a high salary
• financial security
• other things (which?)..............................
3.2 Easily confused words:
Find the definitions of the following words
salary/wages/ earnings/income/revenue/fee/ fringe benefits (perks)

a)money paid monthly directly into a bank account, normally to professional people and office
workers.
b) income, generally the total income earned by the state or a large corporation; it is not used for
people,or money a government receives through taxation.
c) the total of the sums earned by an employee during a regular pay period, or what is left of the net
profit of a business after allowing for transfers to reserves.
d)money paid weekly and usually in cash, normally to manual workers.
e) extras such as a car or free accommodation received by right in addition to a wage or salary.
f)money receive from work, investment etc. It can be earned one (wages or salary) or unearned one
(money from dividends interest, royalties, etc.).
g) a payment to a doctor, etc. for professional services.

3.3 Complete the sentences using the appropriate word.

1 How much did you earn on your shares last year?
2 Our company offers very good : a company car, expense account and so on.
3 The best lawyers often ask for the highest.................................
4 The machine operators have asked for another rise in their weekly…………..
5 Total company for 1996 was the best yet.
6 My total this year, including salary, royalties, fees, dividends and perks, should
exceed £300,000.

3.4 RELATED WORDS: PAY AND PERKS

Complete the spidergram, using the words below. Add any others you think are useful.
commission company car
luncheon vouchers overtime
bonus share option scheme
wages salary
expense account private medical insurance
low-interest loan
3.5 How are these people usually paid?
a factory worker
a sales representative
a senior manager
an executive secretary

3.6 Performance-related pay

What do you understand by (1) performance-related pay? (2) appraisal?

1 List any advantages and disadvantages of performance-related pay you can think of.
2 Which employees should it apply to? All, or only some? (Which?)
3 Who should do the appraisal?
4 How long do you think it should take to implement such a system in a department which doesn't
already have one?
5 Would you expect people to be in favour of or against the introduction of performance-related pay?
6 What would you do with people who are not performing as well as expected?
a dismiss them
b arrange an appraisal meeting to plan improvements in
performance
c cut their salary
d reduce their workload
7 What can be done to make appraisals objective?

Reading

Text C QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE (QWL)

C.1 Vocabulary focus

Explain the meaning of the following words and phrases.
1 motivation 8 brought in
2 assembly workers 9 putting them into effect
3 production line 10 at their own pace
4 challenging 11 status
5 carried out 12 challenged
6 evaluate 13.put down to
7 morale 14.put forward
C.2 Read the text and decide whether the following statements are true or false.

1. Managers who believe in QWL are experimenting with new ways or organising work.
2 The idea of job enlargement is to make work more satisfying for an employee.
3 Job enrichment involves giving workers more tasks of the same level of difficulty.
4 The Kolmar car plant is efficient because workers specialise in one task.
5 The QWL approach makes managers more aware of their workers' interests.

Over the last thirty years, a new approach to management has been developing. Those favouring it say
that the way to increase workers' efficiency is to improve their job satisfaction and motivation.
Followers of the Quality of Working Life movement (QWL) have been trying out various methods of
making work more interesting. These include job enlargement, job enrichment and new forms of group
work.
With job enlargement, the worker is given additional tasks to perform. Thus, the operator of a word-
processor may be asked to do filing duties as well. Job enrichment involves giving extra
responsibilities to workers such as production planning, quality control and technical development of
equipment. In some organisations, special types of work groups have been formed where workers
share responsibility for certain tasks. For example, at the Volvo car plant in Kolmar, Sweden,
assembly workers do not work on a moving production line. They are organised into thirty teams of
fifteen to twenty members. They have their own tasks, like assembling heating and electrical systems,
and they work in their own part of the factory.
As can be seen, the basic idea of QWL is that a worker should have an interesting, even challenging
job. QWL encourages managers, therefore, to be sensitive to the needs of employees.
The roots of the QWL movement can be traced back to the 1920s and 1930s. It was at this time that the
famous Hawthorne Studies were carried out. These were held at the Hawthorne plant of the Western
Electric Company in Chicago, USA, from 1927-32. Most of the studies were directed by Professor
Elton Mayo, a Harvard University psychologist. Their aim, initially, was to evaluate the factors
influencing productivity. However, the researchers soon directed their attention towards studying
people, especially their social relationships at work.
It all began when the Hawthorne Company investigated the effect of factory lighting on production
and workers' morale. They found out that the groups of workers who were studied increased their
output whether the lighting was improved or not. This led them to look for the human factor
influencing efficiency. To help them in their search, they brought in Professor Elton Mayo and his
colleagues.
He directed a series of experiments on how working conditions affected output. In the early
experiments, his subjects were a group of girls who assembled telephone equipment. Such things as
lighting, lunch times, rest periods, wall colours, pay and temperature were varied to see how they
affected productivity. The researchers generally discussed the changes with the girls before putting
them into effect. Once again, it was found that there was an increase in productivity whether
conditions were made better or worse.
The researchers began looking for other factors which would explain the increased productivity. They
realised that their study was also about workers' attitudes and values. It was clear that the girls had
developed a high morale during the experiment and had been motivated to work hard. This high
morale was put down to several factors. First, the girls had enjoyed feeling they were especially
selected for the study and were receiving a lot of attention from management. Secondly, they had
developed good relationships with each other and with their superior during the experiment. This was
because they had been fairly free to work at their own pace and to divide their work up amongst
themselves. Lastly, the good relationships and social contacts had made their work more enjoyable.
This experiment was followed by many others. The researchers came to the conclusion that social
relations, among workers and between workers and their bosses, output, the quality of work and
motivation. Another important ; finding was that a worker needs more than money and good working
conditions to be productive. The feeling of belonging to a group, and his/her status within that group,
strongly affect his/her behaviour - even if the group is an unofficial or informal one.
It is said that Elton Mayo founded the Human Relations school whose offspring is the Quality of
Working Life movement. He directed and publicised the Hawthorne experiments which have been so
influential to this day, The conclusions of the study challenged the theory of Scientific Management
put forward by Frederick W. Taylor. Both men, however, changed the course of management thinking.

C.3 Answer the following questions using the active vocabulary of the text
1. What is the way to increase workers’ efficiency?
2. In what way did the Hawthorne experiments change direction?
3. In Mayo's experiments how did changes in working conditions affect the workers he studied?
4. Why did the group of girls become more efficient?
5. According to the researchers, what other factors, besides money, affect a worker's productivity?
6. Why have Mayo's experiments been so influential?

C.4 Complete the following sentences with the correct word or phrase (a, b or c).

1. People work harder if they know that someone is..................... in their progress.
a enthusiastic b interesting с interested
2 Nothing has been announced but we've heard .....................that the Company Secretary has resigned.
a formally b officiously с unofficially
3. Friendly ..................... no longer exist between members of the sales department because some got
bonuses and others didn't.
a relations b contacts с connections
4 ..................... in the Production Department is low because the workers have heard about the plans to
reduce the work-force.
a morale b feeling с moral
5 This is a useful ......................
a equipment b machine с machinery
6 We have carried out ..................... into the effect of lighting on our workers' productivity.
a a research b some research с researches
7 Strikes can be avoided if managers are ..................... to the feelings of their employees.
a aware b sensible с sensitive
8 Some people like to work at their own ......................
a beat b motion с расе
9 We have several proposals for increasing sales. We must..................... the merits of each of them.
a cost b value с evaluate
10 Has the change in exchange rates had any ..................... on the cost of your raw materials?
a result b affect с effect

Case study: Motivation

According to what you have read and heard, how would you attempt to motivate people with the
following positions?
a bus driver in a big city, who has to work irregular hours, including early morning, evening, and night
shifts
a nurse who works with seriously ill children
a sales representative for a pharmaceutical company, who visits hospitals and doctors
a manual worker in the Printing House at Cambridge University Press
a shepherd
Would any of the following suggestions be appropriate? If not, what else can you
suggest?
• building sports facilities (a gymnasium, tennis courts, etc.)
• establishing a profit-sharing programme
• giving longer paid holidays (such as an extra day for every year worked over ten years)
• giving a company car
• offering career training
• offering early retirement
• paying a higher salary
• paying productivity bonuses
• reducing the working week (e.g. to 35 hours)
• setting up a nursery for workers' pre-school age children
• spending some money on decorating the organization s premises (with plants, pictures, etc.)
• subsidizing the staff canteen