Business Partner B2 Extra activities

UNIT 5 Performance
Lesson 5.1 Performance and rewards

VIDEO A 5.1.1 Watch the video again and decide if these sentences are true (T) or
false (F). Correct the incorrect sentences.
1 Takato Oku felt he had little chance of getting a better job because other people had
worked in the company for a longer period of time.
2 In Japan, the system of rewarding older workers began less than fifty years ago.
3 Takato Oku thinks rewards should be given to those who have worked for the company
a long time and not based on their performance.
4 Using CyberAgent’s model is more competitive.
5 At CyberAgent, they used to give older workers management jobs but they changed
their policy recently.
6 When the economy was strong, it was easier for companies to increase the money they
paid employees.
7 Changing policies in companies regarding financial and non-financial rewards has
always had positive effects.
8 The new salary model at CyberAgent is working out well and other companies in Japan
would like to have the same type of success.

Vocabulary B Complete the text using the words in the box.

achievements advancement appraisals employment evaluate

failure promotions recognition rewards rise success

Today, many companies realise that 1 of the work employees do leads

to increased motivation. Many years ago 2 were usually given to those
who had been with the company the longest, a way of thinking which also supported
the idea of lifelong 3 . Today’s corporate culture has changed, however,
and many companies realise that their 4 also relies on the performance
of employees throughout the organisation. This has led to their 5 being
recognised by management much faster than in the past and has often allowed them to
6
through the ranks quite quickly to higher positions. Senior management
often needs to take the time to 7 the benefits these employees bring to the
company as losing them could lead to problems or even 8 in certain areas.
It is important to have a clear system of employee 9 which help to set
targets and justify the reasons for financial and non-financial 10 . In today’s
ever-changing economic climate, every company needs to remain flexible and consider
the effects that 11 of a younger staff member may have. Fresh ideas and a
new perspective may be just what the company needs.

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Business Partner B2 Extra activities

UNIT 5 Performance
Lesson 5.2 A culture of rewards

Reading A Replace the underlined words, which were used in the text on page 50 of the
coursebook, with a word from the box. Some words are not used.

answer celebration excellent giving hard-working obvious plan

reached react recognising regular situation

1 … who should be rewarded for high performance, …

2 Routine and easily monitored jobs, …
3 … are natural candidates for performance incentives.
4 … it is also possible to respond positively to non-financial rewards, …
5 … a piece-rate scheme … boosted productivity by 50 per cent.
6 Running a competition encouraged workers to sort themselves into productive teams, …
7 … proved a far better approach than providing financial incentives.
8 … those who also hit specific targets on fuel consumption were even more satisfied
with their jobs.
9 … the fact that the company was taking an interest in fuel saving, and acknowledging
success, seemed to delight them.
10 … no performance scheme will fit every occasion, …

Grammar B Link each pair of sentences using the word or phrase in bold. Add commas or
change words where necessary.
1 He often feels like he failed in his career. He rose through the ranks to a very high
positon in the company. even though

2 She did not receive a pay rise. She did appreciate the bonus. though

3 His appraisal was positive. The promised promotion was put off until next year.
nevertheless

4 Our department received recognition for a job well done. We all thought the final
product was not our best work. although

5 Young people we interview expect a wide range of rewards. Most of them are only given
to more senior staff. however

6 We need to revise the rewards system. It was updated a few years ago. despite the
fact that

7 We keep getting more and more work to do. We were told by management that we
should not work overtime. on the one hand / on the other hand

8 We were pleased that we met all the sales targets. It proved to be much more difficult
than we had thought. in spite of

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Business Partner B2 Extra activities

UNIT 5 Performance
Lesson 5.3 Communication skills: Managing challenging feedback

Functional A Match the strategies for handling challenging feedback (1–5) with the dialogues
language (a–e).
1 Accepting criticism
2 Defending your position
3 Finding out more
4 Pushing back
5 Neither accepting nor rejecting but committing to reflect on the feedback
a A: It’s your fault. You sent the wrong report and now I have to correct everything.
B: I don’t agree. It was you who sent the wrong report template in the first place.
b A: There are too many mistakes in your work. You need to improve.
B: Could you tell me some more about the mistakes?
c A: So, are you going to change? You need to change.
B: I’m not sure yet. You’ve given me some interesting things to think about. Thanks. I’ll get
back to you.
d A: Your team often causes delays by asking too many questions. It really disrupts the
project timelines.
B: We can’t deliver our project reports until we have enough information. We need to ask
questions.
e A: You often interrupt others in meetings and it affects the atmosphere for everyone else.
B: OK, that’s a fair point. I know I need to do something about that and I’ll try to not let it
happen again.

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Business Partner B2 Extra activities

UNIT 5 Performance
Lesson 5.4 Business skills: Reviewing projects

Functional A Match the sentence halves.

language 1 We succeeded in a well as expected.
2 I’m really happy with b on the same period last year.
3 Sales in China exceeded c to find a replacement for Paulo.
4 Unfortunately, we didn’t manage d the results of the project in the final quarter.
5 Some aspects of the project haven’t gone as e achieving most of our targets.
6 Sales for the US actually underperformed f all expectations.

B Choose the correct option in italics to complete the sentences.

1 This is mainly caused / down / up to hard work.
2 The team really had / made / took a great effort in the last few months.
3 We’ve worked hard / hardly / strong to establish good distribution channels.
4 This was mainly because / cause / due to a lack of time.
5 I think we underestimated / undermanaged / understated some of the challenges.
6 We had a lot of motivation issues / subjects / topics with our sales force.

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Business Partner B2 Extra activities

UNIT 5 Performance
Lesson 5.5 Writing: Performance review summary

Functional A Choose the correct option in italics to complete the performance review summary.
language

I am very pleased to 1write / report / claim that you have made great progress
this year and that you will be considered for promotion in the next few months.
Firstly, your communication skills are extremely good and your staff enjoy
working with you. You give them all the 2confirmation / support / permission
they need and delegate tasks to 3match / equal / link their skills. In addition,
you 4prove / establish / demonstrate the ability to help your staff improve their
own skills, which is an excellent quality for a manager to have. Furthermore,
you have shown considerable analytical and decision-making skills, which
enable you to 5manage / set / make your own time and that of your staff with
great efficiency. You and your team must also be praised for the great
6
realisation / adaptability / achievement of completing the project ahead of
schedule. The feedback from your own team 7indicates / tells / informs that
you have both good management and communication skills. Nevertheless,
there are one or two areas where I am 8impressed / confident / pleased you can
develop your own skills further. Your role involves a lot of multi-tasking,
which has sometimes been at the 9expense / sacrifice / price of accuracy.
However, this can easily be 10repaired / resolved / decided with additional training.

Keep up the good work!

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