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Module 3 Developing Reading Skills Part 4: Academic Reading. Transition Module 3 developed byElisabeth Wielander. Academic reading.
UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES FOR ECONOMICS READING (Module 3) READING 1: E-MAIL: FOR AND AGAINST Activity 1: What irritates you most about these forms of communication? e-mail mobile phone conference calling voicemail BlackBerry web presentation ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Activity 2: What are the advantages and disadvantages of using e-mail? Activity 3: Useful Vocabulary Word/Phrase Part of Speech Definition and Example impetuous fester bizarre medium chronic reprimand hypocrisy uncivil discreet dictate Activity 4: Read the article quickly and choose the best title Time to switch your BlackBerry off How to deal with your inbox A quiet word beats sending e-mail A quiet word beats sending e-mail Luke Johnson E-mail might just be responsible for the productivity increases that economists tell us are the key to rising prosperity But it could also be sending us all mad The truth is that business is generally best done face to face, and if that is impossible, then speaking via the phone But too many of us now hide behind silent, typed communications The trouble is that the recipient of an e-mail does not hear a tone of voice or see a facial expression; nor can the sender modify their message halfway through, sensing that it is causing offence When you read an e-mail you cannot tell the mood of the e-mailer A permanent written form is deadly if you are feeling impetuous and emotional Too often I have made the mistake of sending an irritable response, which will have festered and angered the other end much more than a difficult telephone exchange Spoken words fade, but e-mail is forever It is so much easier to be tough via e-mail, or to get away with weak excuses, or to make things up, or to say no Almost invariably, it is more human and serious to have a real discussion rather than a bizarre online conversation I know employees who have been fired for sending abusive e-mails, or who have faced severe legal consequences for writing something they should have just said verbally Everyone in business finds their inbox is almost swamped every day with spam I notice I spend longer and longer sorting out the e-mails that matter from all the junk It has become, I’m afraid, a dangerously corrupted medium Large companies suffer chronic overuse of “reply to all” Moreover, e-mail can be a terrible distraction, especially if you use a BlackBerry I was recently reprimanded for peeking at mine during a board meeting – a gross form of hypocrisy on my part, because I once threatened to sling out of the window any PDA-type devices being used in meetings I chaired I have now vowed to switch off both BlackBerry and mobile in all meetings – anything less is uncivil It must be admitted that e-mail is hard to beat as a transmitter of documents and data It forces the sender to carefully think through their arguments and express themselves logically It allows you to reply swiftly to a host of different questions when time is short You don’t have to worry about journey times or travel costs, unreliable postage or engaged phones or voicemail E-mail is a marvellously economical tool for keeping in touch with far-flung commercial contacts; you can send them a note at your leisure, 24 hours a day It is also is a terrific method of discreetly and directly pitching to someone powerful It certainly beats trying to get a meeting or even reach them on the phone Like it or not, I could not my job without e-mail Meanwhile, I know a senior financier, an exchair of a FTSE company, who still has his secretary print out his e-mails for him to read so he can then dictate replies for her to e-mail back Now that really is mad Activity 5: Read the article again and list the advantages and disadvantages of using e-mail Does the writer mention any that you listed in Activity 2? Activity 6: Find expressions in the article which mean the following looking at another person (paragraph 2) upsetting or embarrassing someone by being rude or tactless (paragraph 2) not be caught or punished when you have done something wrong (paragraph 4) pretend something is true in order to deceive people (paragraph 4) keeping writing or talking to someone, even though you not see them often (paragraph 8) aiming a n idea or product at someone (paragraph 8) Activity 7: Complete this text with the expressions in Activity in the correct form I don’t have a problem with him …………… (1) his family whilst he’s posted overseas and sending e-mails in office time That’s not the main issue However, if he thinks he can …………… (2) sending such abusive e-mails to colleagues, he is sadly mistaken and he’ll have to face the consequences of his actions later He is clearly …………… (3) about his colleagues and spreading nasty rumours He’d be better off speaking to colleagues …………… (4) if he has problems with them He’s slightly better when speaking with customers, but he needs to think about who he's speaking to when he’s …………… (5) our products to them And he just doesn’t know how to say no to people without …………… (6) Activity 8: Discuss these questions “Business is best done face to face.” Do you agree? How could communication be improved in your organisation? How will communication change in the office of the future? What you when you receive a nasty e-mail? Is communication better these days with all the new technology? READING 2: CORPORATE COMMUNICATION Activity 1: Before you read Think about the biggest company in your country What is its reputation? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Activity 2: Useful Vocabulary Word/Phrase Part of Speech Definition and Example corporate mistrust prevail evolve manipulate receptive reevaluate disruption constituency tremendous Activity 3: Read the article from the Financial Times by Paul Argenti and the exercises that follow Time for communication to move towards centre stage Paul Argenti The last few years have seen the biggest collapse in confidence in business in almost a century - to the point where probably the least trusted spokespeople on the planet today are corporate executives When intense mistrust prevails, whatever a company does says something about it, everything communicates, and communication affects everything This is changing the definition of communication Communication today is more of a two-way dialogue and this has been aided by the rise of social media like Facebook and Twitter and the explosion of information-sharing online Today’s best-in-class companies, such as Dell in the US and Philips in Europe, not just engage in dialogue They use the latest technology as a source of ideas, opinions and competitive intelligence, for product development, employee engagement and media monitoring In addition to rethinking the definition of communication, the best companies are rethinking its structure There is a greater need for integration, collaboration and partnership among corporate leadership, human capital, finance, sales and legal teams Another change in communication by leading companies is the rethinking of key themes This was the main finding of research by the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, conducted with Doremus, a business-to-business communications agency It found that the best-in-class companies have been guided by six themes: a Focus on value and values Stakeholders demand value for money when buying goods and services, but they also expect to see a strong set of corporate values in the companies with which they business Walmart, Hyundai and BMW have used this theme in their advertising and communications b Evolve a sense of responsibility Corporate responsibility today is not just about philanthropy or being green It is about companies being responsible across all business practices NGOs, consumers, employees and investors are ready to punish companies that ignore evolving social values JPMorgan Chase has done a fabulous job reflecting its corporate responsibility initiatives on its website and in advertising c Strategy must drive communication As Jon Iwata, IBM’s senior vice-president for marketing and communications, puts it: “Lincoln said, ‘Character is the tree; reputation is the shadow.’ I’m afraid too many people in PR, marketing and advertising spend more time manipulating the shadow than tending to the tree.” d Shifting from the problem to the solution Stakeholders are most receptive to realistic and optimistic plans, and are often ready to pay so less attention to problems of the past year e Not communicating is a communication in itself You either tell your story or have it told for you f Re-evaluate positioning The crisis has led to disruption in how companies are thought of by constituencies, which provides a tremendous opportunity to reposition, rebrand and redevelop Activity 4: Find words from the article, and related words, to complete the table Verb collaborate Noun collapse define engage explode find prevalence research Activity 5: True or false? (paragraphs 1-4) a There is great mistrust of companies at the moment b When there is mistrust, everything that companies is misunderstood c Corporate communication is seen as increasingly two-way d The best companies have just continued to use their traditional public relations departments in order to communicate e In their new approach to communication, companies have been paying attention to five things in particular Activity 6: Find expressions (paragraphs 5-6) that refer to the following: a a subject that can be used in different forms of communication (5 letters) b what people expect when they buy a company’s products (5 letters) c what they expect to see as guiding a company’s behaviour (6 letters) d employees, shareholders, suppliers and, above all in this context, customers (12 letters) e giving money to charity (12 letters) f having good environmental policies (5 letters, letters) g things that society as a whole thinks are important (6 letters, letters) h actions that have not been taken before (11 letters) Activity 7: Imagine company board meetings where directors say these things (1-6) Which point a-f (paragraphs 5-10) is each director most closely referring to? “We have to have a press conference and be open about our quality problems – if we don’t talk about it and journalists get on to the story, we’re in big trouble!” “Our customers are getting real value for money when they buy our products, and they also have the reassurance of knowing they are dealing with a socially responsible organisation!” “We mustn’t let this crisis go to waste! It gives us the chance to reposition ourselves as the most environmentally aware energy company in the world.” “Corporate social responsibility isn’t something we can just leave to the CSR people – it involves all of us!” “Let’s not keep talking about our past problems Instead, let’s look forward to the exciting new possibilities that exist for the future!” “There’s too much emphasis here on public relations and slick advertising If we behave responsibly, our corporate image will take care of itself.” Activity 8: Choose the best summary for the whole article a Corporate communication is a speciality that is best left to the PR department and advertising agencies b Everything a company does communicates something about it, and executives are becoming increasingly aware of this c Whatever a company does, people will always misinterpret its actions, and companies just have to try to limit the damage Activity 9: Discuss these questions “Lincoln said, ‘Character is the tree; reputation is the shadow.’ I’m afraid too many people in PR, marketing and advertising spend more time manipulating the shadow than tending to the tree.” How far is it possible to ‘manipulate’ the truth about an organisation’s character? Think about your organisation or one you would like to work for In what ways can each department show that it is responsible? How can this be communicated? 10 62 63 64 65 66 67 TEST 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 ... www.nisyndication.com) 39 Article B KPMG Audit, tax and advisory services Annual sales: Staff numbers: Male/female ratio: Average age: Staff turnover: Earning ? ?35 ,000+: Typical job: £1,607 11,788 53: 47 34 16%... underlings hang on squash feat bang on Activity 3: Read this article from the Financial Times by Lucy Kellaway and the exercises that follow 33 A guide to being a successful female boss Lucy... Annual sales: £550m Staff numbers: 11,157 Male/female ratio: 48:52 Average age: 31 Staff turnover: 36 % Earning ? ?35 ,000+: 4% Typical job: Food and beverage associate Marriott checks in ten places