SectionC
WhatalovelyplaceXeroxistoworkKimMoloney,aclientservicesexecutive,can’tsayenoughnicethingsaboutheremployer.‘It’saveryspecialenvironment,’shesays.‘PeopledescribeXeroxasafamilyandIwasamazedatthenumberofpeoplewhohaveworkedhereforsolong.’It’stemptingtotakeMoloney’scommentswithapinchofsalt,especiallyconsideringthatwhenyou’vebeenworkingsomewhereforonlytwoyears,asshehasatXerox,everyoneseemsoldandestablished.Butthere’struthbehindherenthusiasm.
TakeCarolePalmer,thegroupresourcesdirector.ShejoinedXeroxin1978asatempandhasbeeninherpresentroleforsevenyears.‘Xeroxhasbeengoodtomeovertheyears,’shesays.‘Ithassupportedmethroughqualifications…andlastyearItookpartinthevice-presidentincumbentprogram.’HumanresourcesistakenseriouslyatXerox,Palmersays,andthecompanyhasapolicyofpromotingfromwithin(whichwouldexplainMoloney’samazementathercolleagues’longevity).ThecompanytakesononlyfifteentotwentygraduateseachyearandMoloneywaspartofanintakewhojoinedhavingalreadyacquiredacoupleofyears’workexperience.ShestartedasaprojectmanagerforXeroxGlobalServicesbeforemovingintosales.Nowherresponsibilityisto‘growandmaintaincustomerrelationships’.
MoloneyisbasedattheheadofficeinUxbridge.‘It’sgreatintermsofworkingenvironment,’shesays.‘We’vejustgotanewproviderinthecanteenand…wehavebrainstormingroomsandbreakoutareas.’MuchofMoloney’sroleisvisitingclients,soshedoesn’thaveapermanentdeskatheadoffice.‘I’mahot-desker,whichisgoodbecauseyougettositwithdifferentpeopleinthehot-deskareas.Andyou’regivenaplacetostoreyourthings.’Headofficestaffnumbersbetween1,200and1,500people,Palmersays.ThecompanyhasfourothermainofficesintheUK.Thenatureoftheorganization,whichencompassessalesandmarketing,globalservices(thebiggestdivision),developingmarkets,researchanddevelopmentandmanufacturing,meansthattheopportunitiesatthecompanyvaryfromserviceengineerstosalesrolesandconsultants.
Perksincludeafinal-salarypensionschemeandvariousdiscountschemes.Therewardandrecognitionschemeisalittledifferent,andrathernice:‘Eachmanagerhasabudgeteveryyeartorecognizeandrewardstaff,’Palmersays.‘Itcanbeintheformofamealfortwo,orabottleofwine.Itcanbeupto£1,000.There’stherecognition,andthenthere’sputtingmoneybehindit.’Moloney,however,likesthenon-cashrewards.‘Xeroxtakescareofallitsstaffbutitalsorecognizesthepeoplewhoputintheaddedeffort,’shesays.‘Itoffersonce-in-a-lifetimeincentivetrips,andrecentlyIorganizedasailingtripformyteam.’
Theideaofworkingabroadwiththecompanyappealstoher,andshesaysthathercareergoalistobepartoftheseniormanagementteam.Here’sanotheremployee,itwouldseem,whoisinitforthelonghaul.
()1.Thejournalistofthisarticlethinksthat.
A.staffatXeroxarenottellingthetruthabutthecompany.
B.Xeroxoffersgreatbenefitstostaff.
C.Xeroxisthebestcompanyintheworld.
D.Xeroxhasthebestworkingenvironment.
()2.Thecompanytendstofinditsnewmanager.
A.onlyformgraduatesB.ontrainingcourses
C.fromexistingstaffD.fromjobmarkets
()3.Whatdoesthephrase“totakeon”inthesentence“Thecompanytakesononlyfifteentotwentygraduateseachyearand…”ofthesecondparagraphmean?.
A.TotrainB.Toemploy
C.TointerviewD.Tomaintain(A)
()4.Aswellasrecognizingitsstaffthroughpromotion,Xerox.
A.givescashbonuses
B.givesunpaidleavetotaketripsofalifetime.
C.providesanumberofperks.
D.provideshugeend-of-yearbonuses.
()5.OnecommonfeatureofXeroxstaffisthattheytend.
A.toworkhardB.togetpromoted
C.worklongerhourseachdayD.nottochangeemployer
TheImportanceofGoodCommunications
Effectivecommunicationisessentialforallorganizations.Itlinkstheactivitiesofthevariouspartsoftheorganizationandensuresthateveryoneisworkingtowardsacommongoal.Itisalsoextremelyimportantformotivatingemployees.Staffneedtoknowhowtheyaregettingon,whattheyaredoingrightandinwhichareastheycouldimprove.Workingalonecanbeextremelydifficultanditismucheasierifsomeonetakesaninterestandprovidessupport.Employeesneedtounderstandwhytheirjobisimportantandhowitcontributestotheoverallsuccessofthefirm.Personalcommunicationshouldalsoincludetargetsetting.Peopleusuallyrespondwelltogoals,providedtheseareagreedbetweenthemanagerandsubordinateandnotimposed.
However,firmsoftenhavecommunicationproblemsthatcanunderminetheirperformance.Inmanycases,theseproblemsoccurbecausemessagesarepassedoninaninappropriateway.Thereare,ofcourse,severalwaysofconveyinginformationtoothersintheorganizationwhichincludespeakingtothemdirectly,e-mailing,telephoningorsendingamemo.Themostappropriatemethoddependsonwhatexactlyitisyouarecommunicating.Forexample,anythingthatisparticularlysensitiveorconfidential,suchasanemployee'sappraisal,shouldbedoneface-to-face.
Oneofthemainproblemsforseniorexecutivesisthattheydonothavethetimeorresourcesneededtocommunicateeffectively.Inlargecompanies,forexample,itisimpossibleforseniormanagerstomeetanddiscussprogresswitheachemployeeindividually.Obviouslythistaskcanbedelegatedbutatthecostofcreatingagapbetweenseniormanagementandstaff.Asaresult,managersareoftenforcedtouseothermethodsofcommunication,likememosornotes,eveniftheyknowthesearenotnecessarilythemostsuitablemeansofpassingonmessages.
Theuseoftechnology,suchase-mail,mobilephonesandnetworksystems,isspeedingupcommunicationimmensely.However,thisdoesnotmeanthatmoreinvestmentintechnologyautomaticallyprovesbeneficial:systemscanbecomeoutdatedoremployeesmaylackappropriatetraining.Therearemanycommunicationstoolsnowavailablebutafirmcannotaffordallofthem.Evenifitcould,itdoesnotactuallyneedthemall.Thepotentialgainsmustbeweighedupagainstthecosts,andfirmsshouldrealizethatmorecommunicationdoesnotnecessarilymeanbettercommunication."
Asthenumberofpeopleinvolvedinanorganizationincrease,theuseofwrittencommunicationrisesevenfaster.Insteadofaquickconversationtosortsomethingoutnumerousmessagescanbepassedbackwardsandforwards.Thiscanleadtoatremendousamountofpaperworkandisoftenlesseffectivethanface-to-facecommunication.Whenyouareactuallytalkingtosomeoneyoucandiscussthingsuntilyouarehappythattheyhaveunderstoodandfeedbackisimmediate.Withwrittenmessages,however,youareneverquitesurehowitwillbereceivedwhatyouthinkyouhavesaidandwhattheotherpersonthinksyouhavesaidcanbeverydifferent.
Theamountofwritteninformationgeneratedinlargeorganizationstodaycanleadtocommunicationoverload.Somuchinformationisgatheredthatitgetsinthewayofmakingdecisions.Takealookattheaveragemanager'sdeskandyouwillseetheproblem--itisoftencoveredwithletters,reportsandmemos.Thisoverloadcanleadtoinefficiencies.Forexample,managersmaynotbeabletofindtheinformationtheywantwhentheyneedit.Communicationisalsobecomingmoredifficultwiththechangesoccurringinemploymentpatterns.Withmorepeopleworkingpart-timeandworkingathome,managingcommunicationisbecomingincreasinglycomplex.
1.InthefirstparagraphthewriterrecommendsthatcommunicationwithstaffshouldincludeA.somefeedbackontheirjobperformance.
B.anexplanationofhowcompanytargetshavebeenset.
C.informationonpromotionprospectswithinthecompany.
D.anindicationofwhichdutiestheycanexpectassistancewith.areastheycouldimprove
2.Accordingtothewriter,thebestwayofachievingeffectivecommunicationistoA.adaptthemessagetosuitaparticularaudience.
B.makethecontentofmessagesbriefanddirect.
C.selectthemostsuitablemeansofconveyingaparticularmessage.
D.ensurethatinformationistargetedattheappropriategroupofpeople.
3.Whatdoesthewritersayaboutthecommunicationoptionsavailabletoseniormanagers?A.Sendingmemostostaffisoneofthemostefficientmethods.
B.Itisimportanttofindthetimetodiscusscertainmatterswithstaff.
C.Theyshouldincreasetherangeofoptionsthattheyuse.
D.Gettingjuniormanagerstotalktostaffcancreatedifferentproblems.
4.Whatadviceisgivenaboutthecommunicationtoolsmadeavailablebytechnology?A.Aimtolimitstaffuseofcertaincommunicationtools.
B.Evaluatethemintermsoftheexpenditureinvolved.
C.Selectthemonthebasisofthefacilitiestheyoffer.
D.Encouragemorestafftoattendtrainingcoursesintheiruse.
5.Accordingtothewriter,aproblemwithwrittencommunicationisthatA.themessagecanbeinterpreteddifferentlytowhatwasintended.
B.itcanbeeasyforpeopletoignorethecontentsofawrittenmessage.
C.mostpeoplearemorecomfortablewithface-to-facecommunication.
D.itispossibleforcorrespondencetogetlostwithinalargeorganization.
6.Accordingtothearticle,whatistheeffectofreceivinglargeamountsofwritteninformation?A.Itiscounter-productive."
B.Itcausesconflictinacompany.
C.Itleadstochangesinworkpatterns.
D.Itmakesthemainpointsmoredifficulttoidentify.
DearMr./Ms,
Mr.JohnGreen,ourGeneralManager,willbeinParisfromJune2to7andwouldliketocomeandseeyou,say,onJune3at2.00p.m.abouttheopeningofasampleroomthere.Pleaseletusknowifthetimeisconvenientforyou.Ifnot,whattimeyouwouldsuggest.Yoursfaithfully,
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