21. strivev - прилагаться усилия, стараться, бороться с …
22. impactv влиять, сильно воздействовать
23. probetheground прощупывать почву
24. stem(from, outof)v происходить от, являться результатом чего-л.
25. infrequentlyadv. редко, не часто встречаться
26. fairnessn честность, справедливость, совестливость
27. honestyn правдивость, искренность, честность
28. obeyv повиноваться
29. ethicalconcerns этические отношения
30. deceivev обманывать, вводить в заблуждение
31. misrepresentv искажать, представлять в ложном свете
32. intimidatev запугивать, наводить страх, угрожать
33. welfaren благополучие, благосостояние, соц. Обеспечение
Syn.: prosperity, well-being
34. bribe nвзятка, подкуп
35. misleadvвводить в заблуждение; вести по неправильному пути
36. infuriatev выводить из себя, приводить в ярость
37. boostv поднимать, помогать подняться, поддерживать
38. portrayv изображать, описывать
39. inclinationn тенденция, склонность, предпочтение
40. entirelyadv. всецело, полностью, вполне
41. stickto.. v держаться, придерживаться, оставаться верным…
42. associaten коллега, партнер, соучастник, сторонник
43. obstaclen помеха, препятствие, преграда
44. tightcontrol строгий контроль
44. irritabilityn раздражительность
45. arousaln пробуждение
46. rubn камень преткновения, препятствие, затруднение
Syn.: obstruction, difficulty
47. liability n здесь:помеха, источникнеприятностей, обуза
48. hide(hid- hidden) v прятаться, скрываться
49. perksnPl привилегии, льготы
50. mundaneadj. мирской, светский, принадлежащий миру моды
51. meaninglessnessn бессмысленность, бесцельность
52. cohesiveadj. связанный, сплоченный, связующий
53. perceivedproblems осознанные, понимаемые проблемы
54. bash- ам. гулянка, веселое сборище
Syn.: party
55. thrivingculture процветающая, бурно развивающаяся культура
Unit 8. Socio-psychological climate within and outside
a company.
It is the vital task of executives to create a company morale , they should “lend an ear” to each staff member, use “carrot and stick” motivation, otherwise staff will be unable to operate profitable, and that, in turn, will influence company existence in the whole. Top managers should pay great attention to the organizational conflict management, which can change the whole face of any firm. The conflict management must provide step by step measures to capture the “right” staff morale as the important task of in-company communication.
There are different ways companies can reduce their employees’ burnout and ensure the social and psychological climate (SPC) within a company:
- to allow employees to talk freely to one another, and motivate them;
- to reduce personal conflicts at work any time;
- to talk openly to employees and keep the promises;
- to recognize and reward employees for their accomplishments and contribution;
- to treat all employees on principle of equal competitive condition;
- to mind a source of dislike and don’t put pressure on staff to take your decision;
- to be able to build an effective team of professionals and coordinate their work;
- to create training programs;
- to succeed with crisis action approach;
To hire the experienced personnel, respect them equally and do not care which sex they are.
This is a good advice and it helps any company to form the trustful internal relations; due to it professional executives should set the true tone in up-to-date business. But the point is – they first should know “how to manage their personal stress”.
People, according to their nature, education, experience, habits, life style, vary widely; and that can open the door to misunderstanding. When individual identity needs and ethics are ignored they can move to self-centered, uncaring, non-cooperative behaviour; and on the contrary, if the intellectual and identity needs are in agreement, ethical decisions are easily to make, and individuals stand on their principles. Otherwise, they become egoistical, self-centered, interested only in their own well-being; they resist any change in their organization, and that is to be taken into account.
By managing people, it is important to distinguish between the attitude and behaviour: the way we view things is called “attitude”, the way we do things isknown as “behaviour”. To achieve its objectives, a firm should have its code of discipline drawn up and agreed with all employees and written into their service contracts. The shortest way to achieve and maintain a good staff discipline is to ensure a high morale that is the important task of any company.
Monitor your work hours
The first visible, undeniable sign that things are out of hand is that you’re working too many hours. Note how many hours you are working per week. Set a limit and stick to that limit. Ask your peers or boss for help.
Recognize your own signs of stress
Different people show their stress in different ways. Some people have “blow ups”. Some people get very forgetful. Some people lose concentration. For many people, they excel at their jobs, but their home life falls apart. Know your signs of stress. Tell someone else what they are. Ask them to check in with you every two weeks to see how you are doing. Every two weeks, write down how you are doing—if only for a minute. Stick in it a file.
Get a mentor or a coach
Ideally, your supervisor is a very good mentor and coach. Many people have “been there, done that” and can serve as great mentors to you.
Delegating is giving others the responsibility and authority to carry out tasks. You maintain the accountability to get them done, but you let others decide how they will carry out the tasks themselves. Delegation is a skill to learn. Start learning it.
Communicate as much as you can
Have at least one person in your life with whom you are completely honest. Hold regular meetings with staff - all of them in one meeting at least once a month, and meet at least once every two weeks with each of your direct reports. A common problem among new managers and supervisors (or among experienced, but ineffective ones) is not meeting unless there’s something to say. There is always something to communicate, even if to say that things are going well and then share the health of your pets. New managers and supervisors often assume that their employees know as much as they do. One of the first signs of an organization in trouble is that communications break down. Err on the side of too much communication, rather than not enough.
Recognize what’s important from what’s urgent
Fix the system, not the problem. One of the major points that experienced manages make is that they’ve learned to respond to what’s important, rather than what’s urgent. Phone calls, sick employees, lost paperwork, disagreements between employees all seem to suddenly crop up and demand immediate attention. It can seem like your day is responding to one crisis after another. As you gain experience, you quit responding to the crisis and instead respond to the problem that causes the crises. You get an answering machine or someone else to answer the phone. You plan for employees being gone for the day—and you accept that people get sick. You develop a filing system to keep track of your paperwork. You learn basic skills in conflict management. Most important, you recognize that management is a process—you never really “finish” your to-do list—your list is there to help you keep track of details. Over time, you learn to relax.
Recognize accomplishments
Our society promotes problem solvers. We solve one problem and quickly move on to the next. The culture of many organizations rewards problem solvers. Once a problem is solved, we quickly move on to the next to solve that one, too. Pretty soon we feel empty. We feel as if we’re not making a difference. Our subordinates do, too. So in all your plans, include time to acknowledge accomplishments - if only by having a good laugh by the coffee machine, do take time to note that something useful was done.
All managers will have to deal with difficult employees during their careers. First, there will always be difficult employees. Second, it’s your job as the manager to deal with them. If you don’t deal the problem, it will only get worse.
Why Are Difficult Employees Like That?
Difficult employees are that way simply because it is a behavior that has worked for them in the past. They may not know any other behavior or they may choose this behavior when they think it will be most effective. You will be successful in dealing with difficult employees only to the extent that you can make these undesirable behaviors no longer effective for them. In many ways, it’s like dealing with children. If every times a child screams, its parents give it candy, what will the child do when it wants candy? It will scream, of course. The same is true for the employee who “blows up” whenever anyone disagrees with him. When he does that people stop disagreeing with him and he thinks he has won.
Evaluate
It is important when dealing with difficult employees to act quickly. Often you will need to act almost immediately to neutralize a dangerous situation. However, it is always appropriate to think before you act. Clearly if an employee comes to work with a gun, you will need to act more quickly than when someone complains that another employee is always taking credit for her work. In either case, take the appropriate amount of time to evaluate the situation before you act. You don’t want to make it worse.
Recognize that most employees can be “difficult” from time to time. This can be caused by stress on the job or away from it. Some employees are difficult more often than others. It is not always your least-productive employees who are difficult. So take a moment to evaluate each situation for the unique situation it is.
Do your homework
Always act on facts. Don’t base your actions on gossip or rumor. The person spreading the gossip is a difficult employee in their own way. If you have not seen the inappropriate behavior yourself, look into it. Ask the people reportedly involved. Collect all the facts you can before you act.
Don’t use the fact that you haven’t seen the inappropriate behavior as an excuse to delay doing something. It is important to act promptly.
Make sure you aren’t part of the problem. It will be much more difficult to remain calm and impartial in confronting the difficult behavior if you are partly responsible. If that’s the case, be sure you acknowledge your role in it, at least to yourself.
Develop a plan
You’re a manager. You know the value of planning. This situation is no different. You need to plan the timing of the confrontation. You need to select a quiet, private place where you won’t be interrupted. You need to decide whether you need to have others, like an HR representative, present in the meeting. Plan the confrontation and then make it happen. When you have prepared, it is time to act. You do not need to act impulsively, but you must act quickly. The longer an inappropriate behavior is allowed to continue, the harder it will be to change it or stop it.
Confront the problem
Don’t put it off. It may not be pleasant, but it’s an important part of your job. It will not “fix itself”. It can only get worse. You have planned this confrontation. Now you need to execute.
Deal with the behavior, not the person.
Your goal is to develop a solution, not to “win”. Focus on the inappropriate behavior; don’t attack the person.
Use “I” statements like “I need everybody on the team here on time so we can meet our goals” rather than “you” statements like “you are always late”.
Don’t assume the inappropriate behavior is caused by negative intent. It may be from fear, confusion, lack of motivation, personal problems, etc.
Give the other person a chance to develop a solution to the problem. They are more likely to “own” the solution if they are at least partially responsible for developing it.
Try to draw out the reasons behind the behavior.
As you talk with the difficult employee, actively listen to what they say. Stay calm and stay positive, but remain impartial and non-judgmental. Ask leading questions that can’t be answered in one or two words. Don’t interrupt.
When you do respond to the difficult employee, remain calm. Summarize back to them what they just said, “so what I understand you are saying is”, so they know you are actually listening to them.
If you can find out from the difficult employee what the real source of the inappropriate behavior is, you have a much better chance of finding a solution.
Sometimes these confrontations will go smoothly, or at least rapidly, to a conclusion. Other times it will require several sessions to resolve the problem.
Repeat as necessary.
Minor problems, like being late for work, you may be able to resolve with a simple chat in your office with the employee. An office bully, who has used that behavior successfully since elementary school, may need more than one confrontation before a solution can be reached. Be patient. Don’t always expect instant results. Aim for continuous improvement rather than trying to achieve instant success.
Know when you are in over your head
Sometimes the underlying issue with a difficult employee will be beyond your capabilities. The employee may have psychological problems that require professional help, for example. Learn when to keep trying and when to refer the employee to others for more specialized help. Your company may have an EAP or you may need to use resources from the community
Know when you are at the end
While the goals is always to reach a mutually acceptable solution that resolves the difficult employees inappropriate behavior and keeps your team at full strength, sometimes that is not possible. When you reach an impasse and the employee is not willing to change his or her behavior then you need to begin terminations procedures in accordance with your company’s policies.