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DuocUC English Program

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ESP People Management

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DuocUC English Program

WHAT’S NEW IN PEOPLE MANAGEMENT?


Let’s share some ideas!

- Have you seen changes in terms of people management during the last 5 years?
- What things have changed?
- Are you aware of the new trends in the field?

Take a look at the following ideas taken from selecthub.com

• A flexible work model can reduce top talent attrition by 20%.

• Companies are transitioning from focusing on individual employee well-being


to a more holistic approach for a healthy organization.

• Employee expectations have evolved beyond pay, benefits and perks — a sense
of shared identity, interactions and a fulfilling employee experience are crucial.

• Businesses are increasingly focusing on developing power skills, a.k.a social,


emotional and advanced cognitive skills.

• 52% of the workforce will have worked or will be working independently as a


contributor to the gig economy by 2023.

Discuss the answers of these questions with the class

- What do the highlighted words mean?


- Do you agree with these ideas?
- What would you add?

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ESP People Management

Pre-activity: Match the trend with its description

TRENDS

a. Transition from employee well-being to healthy organization.


b. Cyber security.
c. Diversity, equity and inclusion.
d. Keeping the human touch.
e. Hybrid work model.
f. Reskilling and upskilling.
g. Embracing gig economy.
h Power skills.

DESCRIPTIONS
1. _____ Having these characteristics at the workplace contribute to the financial suc-
cess of the organization.

2. _____ It’s an employee-centric flexible work model that includes a mix of in-office
and remote work.

3. _____ A holistic and more inclusive enterprise-wide approach that aims at providing
more flexibility and opportunities for employees training and empowerment.

4. _____ The importance of an effective leader and manager has grown. The current
scenario demands empathetic, adaptive and authentic leaders.

5. _____ Communication, emotional intelligence, creativity, adaptability, and the ability


to collaborate.

6. _____ A free market system where organizations and independent workers engage
in short-term work arrangements.

7. _____ Learning a new set of skills in order to perform a different job v/s learning
additional skills to be better equipped to do a job.

8. _____ It safeguards all types of data against theft and loss.

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DuocUC English Program

Activity 1: Discussion in pairs

Look at the picture taken from selecthub.com about upcoming trends. In pairs explain in
your own words what these 8 trends mean.

Discuss the answers of these questions with the class

- Do you know any other relevant trend?

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ESP People Management

Activity 2: Read and discuss

You will read the article The Future of People Management taken from forbesargentina.
com written by Fernando Troilo, Director of the Graduate Program in Human Resources
at UCEMA.

In pairs, answer the questions from the first paragraph in your own words.

The complex environment in which organizations live, invites human resources


professionals to rethink their function and to reflect on some questions such as:
How to think about the management of the area today?; Can we continue to
contribute to organizations and businesses with the current models we have?;
What is the purpose and role of human resources today?; How can we better
accompany the business through the management of people to achieve the
expected results?; How can we contribute value to organizations, but also to
people?1

I (really) think that... I believe (that)... I’m sure that...


In my opinion... I strongly believe that...
SPEAKING
As far as I know... It seems to me that...
TIPS

Activity 3: Summarize Information

On the next page, read the second part of The Future of People Management. In
groups summarize the information of each paragraph and present it to the class.

- To sum up, paragraph number…


- To sum things up, the (first, second, third) paragraph…
- To recap, the primary objective of the paragraph…
- To recap briefly paragraph number…
SPEAKING - All in all, the (first, second, third) paragraph…
TIPS
- In brief paragraph number…

6 1 Translated with www.deepl.com/translator


DuocUC English Program

…According to interviews conducted with executives in general management and


human resources management positions at local and regional level, the future of
work and organizations presents great challenges in relation to people manage-
ment, mainly referred to the need to develop new skills, to be aware of the trends
that are taking place in the business world and to think about the roles that will
be necessary to create, in addition to generating cultures that can accompany the
evolution of strategies.

On the other hand, it will be increasingly important to focus on the unique con-
tribution that people can make, combining the use of technologies to improve
the delivery of value to the inside and outside of organizations. And in turn, in the
current reality of the world of work, placing people at the center implies ensuring
their well-being. For this, it is necessary to redefine the notions of work space and
time and to respond to the particular needs that people have in this context.
As part of the future of human resources, increasing digitalization demands the
transformation of the mental attitudes of leaders and all employees in order to be
truly sustainable. Agility and innovation appear as indispensable capabilities and
organizations in an environment of complexity that requires creative solutions
tailored to each emerging problem. Moreover, for the new skills to be put into
practice and for the capabilities mentioned above to be generated, organizations
and ways of working must be redesigned, with agile and flexible approaches. This
means revising traditional paradigms and redefining conceptions of talent.

Undoubtedly, the current situation of human resources in organizations puts the


area in a unique situation to generate value impact. But achieving this requires its
own redesign as an indispensable condition, from an innovative, collaborative and
flexible perspective. The CHRO (Chief Executive Officer), i.e. the number one in
human resources, must be a business leader, much more than a partner. The future
of people management invites HR professionals to rethink their purpose, and from
there, in continuous learning, to redefine their practices with a double focus: the
business and its human component.
Translated with www.deepl.com/translator

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ESP People Management

Pre-Activities: Concepts

1. What does these words or phrases mean?

leadership - changing - contingent - workforce - expectations


- employee - value - take place - role - work

2. Classify them in the following chart.

NOUN ADJECTIVE VERB

3. Complete the following sentences with 6 words from the previous activity.

a) The meeting is going to ________________ on November 12th.


b) A good _____________ doesn’t mean that employees feel afraid of you when they want to
ask you something.
c) People management trends are always ____________ .
d) A ___________ staff consists of freelancers, independent contractors and consultants.
e) Nowadays power skills play a fundamental ______ in HR.

f) The development of ____________ skills is crucial.

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DuocUC English Program

Activity 4: Listening to Video/Audio

You will listen to part of the video: “11 HR Trends”. Complete the extract with the
missing words according to the video.
Video 1

“...Our first theme centers around the (1) _____________________ between the em-
ployee and the employer. The psychological contract has changed and this is res-
haping the (2) ________________________ proposition.This means that 2023 is the
year in which we will have to revamp the value we offer our employees. Our second
theme looks at where (3) ____________________. Work is going beyond employees
& the organization and includes a (4) ____________________________ supply chain
partners, as well as a digital metaverse. This has far-reaching consequences for how
we practice HR. Our third theme is the(5) ____________________________.
This includes leadership in the organization but also leadership in HR…”

Formative assessment 1: 11 HR Trends, Seizing the Window of Opportunity

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ESP People Management

II

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
The Concept of Culture

Culture plays a very important role in the way employees in a company act,
communicate, relate, work in teams or perform with success. In the context of an
internationalized work force we can no longer say that each country applies its
own methods and management systems based on its culture. Employees come
from everywhere, cultural differences do exist and, consequently, human resources
management has to cope with these differences. Understanding people means
understanding their origins, and only then can one understand their current behavior
and anticipate their future behavior. Each person comes with a specific culture from
their family, native place and country where they spent a certain period of time. 1

Reflection: How do you think Chile is dealing with cultural differences?

Activity 5: Reading and discussion

Take a look at the following situation. What’s wrong with it in terms of cultural
differences? Share your ideas with the class.

On a Tuesday afternoon, as you are getting ready to go to lunch, you receive an


email from your human resources (HR) manager about the need to hire a new
project manager, and there is a $500 bonus for referring a friend who successfully
joins the company. Immediately, you email your friend Daniel, because you know
he would be great for the job. Daniel is eventually hired for the position, and a few
months later a new email goes out asking for friend recommendations for a new
position. You and Daniel both recommend someone, and eventually that person
gets hired. Over the next year, hiring notices are not advertised externally as the
organization has had good luck with this hiring practice.
Human Resource Management

1 Badea, M. (2013). Cultural Influences in human resources management. Review of general ma-
10 nagement, (17 (1)), 179-187.
DuocUC English Program

Activity 6: Writing

Read about some aspects of HR in Europe. What do you know about Chile? Complete
the text boxes with what you know about it.1

EUROPE CHILE
The European human resources
management is very complex. The
European space is the only region in
the world that comprises so many
historical, cultural and linguistic
differences.

Each and every country in Europe


has its own employment system, its
own laws and institutions, its own
educational system and a heavily
personalized managerial culture.

The European model is limited by a


series of legislative restraints,
specific either to the European
Union or to each one of the
countries in the European space.

The European human resources


management model has to provide
organizations with the possibility to
perform in an environment which is
characterized by a high level of
complexity and diversity
economically, socially, politically
and culturally.

1 Adapted from Badea, M. (2013). Cultural Influences in human resources management. Review of general manage-
ment, (17 (1)), 179-187. 11
ESP People Management

Activity 7: Making Comparisons

Once you have completed the text boxes, make comparisons between Europe and
Chile.

COMPARING TWO THINGS


You can use “a lot”, “much”, “a little”, “slightly” and “far” before
“more / less than”

When you use these qualifying expressions in English, remember


the rules about using “-er”. If the adjective is one syllable, or ends
in -y, add -er
SPEAKING
TIPS For example:
“Human resources management in Chile is much simpler than in
Europe”.

WRITING SAYING HOW TWO THINGS ARE SIMILAR


TIPS You can use “almost as … as”, “not quite as … as”, “(not) nearly as
… as”, “nowhere near as … as”, “twice as … as” and “half as … as” to
change the extent of the similarity.

For example:
“Human resources management in Chile is not quite as complex
as in Europe”.

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DuocUC English Program

LEARNING EXPERIENCE 1: REFLECTION


CHECKING LIST

_____ Can you talk about the changes in people management?

_____ Can you describe a new trend in people management?

_____ Can you explain how people management would be in the future?

_____ Can you compare people management in Chile with other countries or
continents?

Answer the tables below:

MY STRONG POINTS:

WHAT I CAN IMPROVE

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ESP People Management

GLOSSARY

A.K.A.: Also known as

Attrition: It is the reduction in the number of employees in an organization. It oc-


curs through a variety of means, including death, retirement, voluntary resignation,
disability, discharge, layoffs or terminations and transfer to other positions.
https://www.quitgenius.com/hr-glossary#G

Gig economy: It refers to the sharing economy and is a term used to describe the
use of temporary positions or freelance work, rather than full-time, permanent
positions.
https://www.quitgenius.com/hr-glossary#G

Metaverse: A virtual-reality space in which users can interact with a


computer-generated environment and other users.

Power skills: Power skills include traits such as emotional intelligence, integrity,
empathy, communication, and more. They were known as “soft skills”

Reskilling: reskilling — also known as professional recycling — sets out to train


employees to adapt to a different post within the company.

Revamp: To change or arrange something again, in order to improve it.

Upskilling: It aims to teach employees new skills to optimize their performance.

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