ENM301 - UNIT 3 - READING

READING 1 (TEXTBOOK)

I. Choose the most correct one.

1. What is the purpose of the text?

a. To talk about the history of Mercedes
b. To explain the success of Mercedes
c. To introduce about Mercedes’ CEO
d. To show the organization style of Mr. Zetsche.
2. What is the main idea of the first paragraph?
a. Mercedes succeeded for nearly two decades.
b. Mercedes’ failure in 2002 was very famous.
c. Mercedes’ sales began to rise after losses.
d. Mercedes was recognized as a luxury brand.
3. What did Zetsche mean when he said “Mercedes should not make losses”?
a. The company will not lose costumers anymore.
b. Mercedes should not earn less than it spends.
c. We will not lose the company.
d. Mercedes’ sales will continue to drop
4. What factors mentioned bellowed does NOT contribute to Mercedes’ success?
a. Mr Zetsche’s experience of organization
b. Using a team approach
c. Higher quality products
d. Mr Zetsche’s moustache
5. Why didn’t Mercedes fail on the debate on carbon-dioxide emissions?
a. Because it chose to spot on new cars that had fuel economy.
b. Because it looks better than the BMWs.
c. Because it launched the well-praised models.
d. Because it headed to the C-class saloon.

II. Fill in the blanks with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS taken from the reading text.

1. Mercedes has changed so much for three years from the luxury car having the worst
performance to the _______ traiblazer_______.
2. Mr Zetsche is highly responsible for Mercede
3. s’ excutives____________ at 9.1% on sales return.
4.[3.] Mr Zetsche says that his management style always needs _ combination_____________.
5.[4.] Removing thousands of jobs from workers had a ___ dramatic effect____________ on the
company.
6.[5.] The success of Mercedes gave ___ improvement ______ back to Mr Zetsche’s fame.

READING 2

Law firms get into shape

Until quite recently, even the largest UK-based law firms were fairly loose organisations where
partners had considerable personal autonomy. When important management decisions needed to
be made, the partners could rely on their shared educational and social backgrounds and their long
years of working together to help them reach a common understanding of what needed to be done.
This represented the 'glue' that held the firms together. This glue does not work properly anymore.
In the past 10 years, the leading law firms have expanded rapidly and have grown to accommodate
different 20 kinds of lawyers, doing different kinds of work in different ways, with different
expectations of their careers and their firms.

Law firms have responded to the challenge by developing and implementing more explicit methods
of management that can accommodate this new-found complexity. Senior managers have
introduced a range of new management systems and structures and have expanded the teams of
business services staff to support these initiatives.

All of these schemes, while necessary steps on the road to professionalised management, have
challenged the traditional bonds that have held these partnerships together. Five to 10 years ago,
even the largest law firms were no more than adolescents in the area of management, with
ambitious ideas about their futures and vast amounts of energy but very limited expertise in
developing and executing systematic, long-term strategies.

In spite of (or perhaps because of) this, the leading law firms have been extremely successful. They
have made plenty of mistakes, but have expanded at a phenomenal pace while maintaining
profitability.

These firms have not simply grown - they have grown up. The successful entries in the competition
this year represent a wide variety of initiatives, showing increasing sophistication. Some entries
relate to current hot topics in law-firm management. For example: market entry strategy in China,
retaining and promoting women lawyers (Latham & Watkins); and new models of service delivery
(iLaw).

And lastly, spare a thought for the partners of Baker & McKenzie on their 'Fit for Life' programme.
The firm has introduced a scheme to help its lawyers perform at their best, including a complete
review of their well-being – emotionally, physically and mentally. While all law firms must be aware
of the need to get into shape to survive the tough times ahead, Baker & McKenzie seem to have
taken the advice literally.

I. Decide if these statements are true or false.

1. Until recently, UK law firms were highly structured. false
2. Each partner had a lot of independence.
3. Partners made management decisions by bringing in outside consultants.
4. Partners found it difficult to take decisions because they came from different
backgrounds and did not understand each other.
5. The 'glue' that held firms together refers to the shared values of the people working
there.
6. Law firms have grown quite slowly in the last decade.
7. People working for law firms are now looking for different things in their careers.
II. Why are law firms described as ‘adolescents’ in the third paragraph?
III. Baker & McKenzie seem to have taken the advice (on complete emotional, physical
and mental well-being) literally. Which of these examples of change management are
not mentioned among the competition entries?
a) promoting people from ethnic minorities
b) promoting women
c) introducing flexible ways of working
d) offering years off for study and personal development
 e) finding ways of getting into new markets
f) finding new ways of providing services

Discussion questions:

1. Imagine a competition in your company or industry, or one you would like to work for, to
find the best initiative in change management. Who would win, and what would these
initiatives be?
2. Is it the job of organisations to take care of their employees' complete emotional, physical
and mental well-being? Why? Why not?

Other debate topics: https://www.learn-english-today.com/resources-for-teachers/conversation-

topics_business.html

ENM301 - UNIT 3 - LISTENING

LISTENING 1

You will hear a conversation between a senior manager, Sue and her assistant, David. Mark one
letter (A, B or C) for the correct answer.

1. Sue is particularly pleased about the company

A. receiving an award.
B. increasing its share price.
C. getting a new client.
2. What is the main cause of the company’s rising costs?
A. import taxes
B. publicity
C. premises
3. Which expenses do they want to reduce?
A. entertainment
B. stationery
C. telephone
4. More training is required because the company has
A. bought new computer software.
B. recruited new members of staff.
C. increased its range of customers.
5. How will the company organise the training?
A. send staff to a college
B. use current staff members
C. employ external trainers
6. When the next brochure is printed, it will
A. have an improved design.
B. include a new product.
C. contain extra information.
7. What problem are they experiencing with Johnson’s?
A. the quality of goods
B. the high prices
C. the speed of deliveries
8. What will they do about the problem with Johnson’s?
 A. send them a letter
B. check every order
C. contact other suppliers

LISTENING 2

Listen to a podcast about Managing Virtual Teams and check if these sentences are True (T) or
False (F).

1. When Covid pandemic appears, many blue-collar employees have to work virtually.

2. Many companies have to choose between not going back to workplace or working both online
and offline.

3. A manager should consider on-going management of a team when working online.

4. People are the same when dealing with remote works.

5. In a virtual setting, connecting people can be very difficult.

6. Frequent team meetings will help people connected.

7. Chit-chat is not allowed in online meetings.

8. A manager should wisely request video at some points of the meeting.

9. Some functions like Planning and Professional Development should work online all the time.

10. People have the same communication preferences.