Ex. 1. Which words can you derive from the following? Ex. 2. Complete each sentence using a word derivationally related to the word given in brackets:
| 1) apply 2) terminate 3) recruit 4) promote 5) exclude | 6) rotate 7) discreet 8) remove 9) extend 10) assign |
Ex. 2. Complete each sentence using a word derivationally related to the word given in brackets:
1) She kept calling him up to … some new task to him. (assignment)
2) They made an attempt to … her from the General Council. (removal)
3) We are confident that the case will … with two words “Not guilty!” (termination)
4) The University has funds for … awards in special cases. (discretion)
5) The school receives up to 3,300 … each year. (apply)
6) He has been … to captain. (promotion)
7) A fake call from some local phone box was not … . (exclusion)
8) Crop … will help to minimize diseases and weeds. (rotate)
9) Nationalist leaders demanded the … of democratic rights. (extend)
10) He joined the firm as a young … more than thirty years ago. (recruitment)
Ex. 3. Match the words to their definitions:
| 1) assignment 2) application 3) promote, v 4) discretion 5) select, v 6) terminate 7) rotate 8) capricious | a) the ability to judge a situation and to take suitable decisions or actions; b) to give somebody a more important job in the organisation he works for; c) a formal written request to be given a job or a place at a college; d) a task or piece or work that you are given to do, especially as part of your job or studies; e) changing unexpectedly; f) to use something in turn, and, when you have used all of them, you begin with the first one again; g) to end completely; h) to choose something from a number of thing of the same kind. |
Ex. 4. What's the English for:
1) интеллект, сообразительность
2) происхождение, биографические данные
3) смотреть, наблюдать (за чем-либо)
4) простираться, тянуться
5) окончание, завершение, истечение срока
6) подходящий, квалифицированный
7) персонал, кадры
8) местонахождение, стройплощадка
Ex.5. Translate into English:
1) Рекламные компании должны постоянно изобретать новые способы заинтересовать потребителя в покупке товаров или услуг.
2) Председатель был включен в ваш список членов комитета?
3) За последнее время влияние новой политической партии широко распространилось в этом регионе.
4) Начальник отдела кадров отвечает за процесс принятия служащих на работу.
5) Последнее время ученые оспаривают теорию о том, что интеллект во многом зависит от происхождения человека и его семьи.
6) Только квалифицированные работники предприятия были отобраны для участия во встрече по обмену опытом.
Ex.6. Make up situations using the following words and word combinations:
| A 1) to apply 2) to recruit applicants 3) competent 4) intelligent 5) wages 6) to exclude from public employment 7) background | B 1) to examine 2) to select 3) assignment 4) merit 5) considerable discretion 6) personnel managers 7) dismiss |
B. Pre-reading Exercises
Ex.1. Look at the heading of the text and predict the contents of it.
Ex.2. Name some words and phrases you know related to the problem under discussion.
Ex. 3. Guess the meaning of the following words and word combinations:
prior experience, to judge performance, performance examination, competitive wages, on-the-job training, in-house training, racial background.
Ex. 4. Give your own definitions of 'evaluation of employee performance' and 'merit systems'.
Ex. 5. Answer the following questions:
1) What are the functions of personnel administration?
2) What attempts are made by the government to attract competent individuals to jobs?
3) Why is the evaluation of employee performance important?
4) How are new employees examined and selected?
5) Is the further education and training of the employees important? Why?
C. Reading
Ex. 1. Read the text for general information to complete the following statements:
1) The text deals with the problem of ... .
2) There are some steps in the personnel process. They are ... .
3) The text views personnel administration as … .
PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION: STAFFING
AND TRAINING THE AGENCY
An important task in the management of any enterprise, private or public, is the recruiting, selecting, promoting, and terminating of personnel and employee training.
Recruiting
Once jobs have been created, the recruitment starts, i.e. finding people to fill those jobs.
Public administration in the United States has come a long way from the time of Andrew Jackson, when, in the popular view, government jobs could be performed by any individuals (or at least any men) with normal intelligence. Under Jackson and his successors, frequent rotation on office was encouraged; no particular prior training or experience was necessary for most jobs. Merit systems were designed for the most part to keep out the grossly incompetent, not to attract the highly qualified.
Gradually, the pattern changed. The government began attracting especially competent applicants. Openings were more highly publicized, recruiting visits were made to college and university campuses, and wages were made more nearly competitive with those in the private sector. Active efforts were made to attract individuals who, in earlier times, would have been excluded from public employment because of their ethnic or racial backgrounds or because they were women.
Examining and selecting
Once applications have been received, the next step in the personnel process is examination. The term examination does not refer only to a pencil-and-paper test.
Some judgments are made on the basis of an unassembled examination. That is, the application form itself may require sufficient information to permit the assignment of a score based on reported experience and education and on references.
Another possibility, especially important for jobs requiring particular skills, is performance examination. Some jobs call for an oral examination, particularly those for which communication skills are especially important.
One examination of special importance is the Professional and Administrative Career Examination (PACE). PACE is intended to select candidates for federal government careers rather than for particular jobs.
The personnel agency (e.g. Civil Service Commission) considers the list with the names of the individuals with the highest examination scores from which it chooses the new employee. Considerable discretion is allowed in making the final choice.
Following selection, the new employee is likely to serve a probationary period, often six months, during which removal is relatively easy. Personnel managers encourage supervisors to see this as an extension of the testing procedure, but few employees are, in fact, dismissed during this period.
Evaluation
The evaluation of employee performance is a further personnel function. Recently, the trend has been to formalize rating schemes and to regularize feedback to employees. Where possible, objective measures of the work completed are employed. In jobs where this is not possible, supervisors are encouraged to judge performance as accurately as possible using impressionistic techniques.
By supplying a continuing record of performance, such evaluation can protect employees from capricious actions of a subjective supervisor.