Speaking. 1. Which of the following would motivate you to work harder?

1. Which of the following would motivate you to work harder? Choose

your top five and rank them in order of priority. Which ones have you ex-

perienced?

bonus

bigger salary

commission

praise

good colleagues

working for a successful company

a better working environment

promotion opportunities

perks or fringe benefits

threat of redundancy

hard working boss

more responsibility

2. Give a number of benefits provided by companies. Which of the fol-

lowing do you think can be provided in Belarus?

childcare company holiday cosmetic surgery sushi

counseling dance classes guitar lessons

haircuts masseurs tennis lessons

3. Which of the following statements seem to you to be generally true?

Why?

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 mon-

ey. 5. Most people are far more creative and ingenious than their em-

ployers realize. 6. People are motivated by anxiety about their security.

7. People want to be interested in their work and, given die right condi-

tions, they will enjoy it. 8. Under the right conditions, most people will

accept responsibility and want to realize their own potential.

4. Working in pairs or in small groups, discuss the following questions:

1. A recent US survey showed children preferred parents to go out

and earn money rather than spend more time with them. What does this

show, in your opinion? 2. Would you prefer a male or female boss? Why?

3. For what reasons might you change jobs? How often would you expect

to do so in your lifetime? 4. How much should companies be involved

in the lives of their employees? 5. How can businesses help to improve

the balance between employees` working and leisure hours? 6. To what

extent do you judge someone by their job title? 7. Which would motivate

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you more: a pay rise or a better job title? Why? 8. Why might job titles

cause problems among staff?

5. Discuss what you would do and say in these difficult situations:

1. Your colleague applied for a promotion but didn`t get it. 2. You

borrowed a colleague’s mobile phone but now it`s stopped working.

3. You invite a client for a meal and they ask if they can bring a friend.

You see this as a business rather than a social occasion. 4. You`re staying

at a hotel that your host is paying for. It is uncomfortable and you want

to move. Your host asks, ‘How do you like the hotel?’

6. Describe the most common methods that companies use to recruit

people in your country.

1. How do companies ‘fire’ people? Is it easy for companies to do

so or do employees have rights in that situation? 2. How powerful are

trade unions in your country? Are strikes common? 3. What types of dis-

crimination exist in your country? On the grounds of sex, ethnic group,

age, disability? Are these laws against discrimination? How effective are

they? 4. What factors do you think motivate employees? 5. Remunera-

tion such as bonuses, perks, share options, performance related pay? Or

empowerment through, for example, increased responsibility, the free-

dom to work flexibility, the chance to update and widen skills? Or are

there other factors which motivate?