Учебнометодическое пособие Петрозаводск 2010 ббк 81. 2Англ удк 811. 11 Г 613 Рецензенты
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f) Mitchell was interested in the kind of work he would do. g) The firm invested an enormous amount of time and money in themselves. h) All the partners of the firm become multi-millionaires by the age of thirty five. 4) Answer the following questions: a) Who and what were the interviewers? b) Why did Mitchell feel a little overconfident at the beginning of the interview? c) What kind of firm was it? d) How did Mitchell manage to make straight A’s and play football while at Harvard? e) What is the attitude of the firm to the religious affiliations of the employees? f) What is the policy of the firm towards continuous education of its employees? g) How many hours a week do they work? h) What is the firm’s hiring policy? i) What was the main idea the interviewers wanted to sink in Mitchell’s mind? 4.19 JOB BENEFITS (FROM “THE FIRM” BY J. GRISHAM) 1) What kind of benefits do people have at their jobs? Choose from the following: the high base salary, a raise in salary about …% each year, a bonus at the end of each year, low-interest mortgage loan for buying a house, a car, complete medical and dental coverage for the whole family, a retirement plan, vacations. Could you add anything else? 2) Read the first extract from the text from the beginning up to “What kind of rate?” and translate it into Russian. 3) Read the second extract from “What kind of rate?” up to “What about vacations?” and answer the questions: a) Will there be any financial and other difficulties for Mitchell to pay for the house? Prove by the text. b) On what conditions does the firm provide the BMW? c) Why wasn’t Mitchell impressed with medical benefits? d) What kind of retirement plan does the firm offer? e) What is the goal of the firm concerning retirement? 4) Read the third extract from “What about vacations?” and up to the end and name the statements which are true: a) The firm recognizes the value of leisure, b) The firm provides three day vacations twice a year, c) The firm provides the signing bonus: a cheque for two thousand dollars during three years, d) They want the signing bonus to be spent exclusively on wardrobe, e) They expect their attorneys to dress sharp and conservative, f) The firm invests a lot of money in Mitchell and it expects him to be productive. (1) As expected, the office was a power one with agreat view. It was in one of the prized corners on the fourth floor. McKnight, the managing partner, asked Mitch to have a seat at a small conference table next to the sofa. A secretary was sent for coffee. McKnight asked him about his visit so far, and Mitch said he was quite impressed. “Mitch, I want to nail down the specifics of our offer.” “Certainly.” “The base salary is eighty thousand for the first year. When you pass the bar exam you receive a five thousand dollar raise. Not a bonus, but a raise. The exam is given sometime in August and you’ll spend most of your summer reviewing for it. We have our own bar study courses and you’ll receive extensive tutoring from some of the partners. This is done primarily on firm time. As you know, most firms put you to work and expect you to study on your own time. Not us. No associate of this firm has ever flunked the bar exam, and we’re not worried about you breaking with tradition. Eighty thousand initially, up to eighty-five in six months. Once you’ve been here a year, you’ll be raised to ninety thousand, plus you’ll get a bonus each December based on the profits and performance during the prior twelve months. Last year the average bonus for associates was nine thousand. As you know, profit sharing with associates is extremely rare for law firms. Any questions about the salary?” “What happens after the second year?” “Your base salary is raised about ten percent a year until you become a partner. Neither the raises nor the bonuses are guaranteed. They are based on performance.” “Fair enough.” “As you know, it is very important to us that you buy a home. It adds stability and prestige and we’re very concerned about these things, especially with our associates. The firm provides a low-interest mortgage loan, thirty years, fixed rate, nonassumable, should you decide to sell in a few years. It’s a one shot deal, available only for your first home. After that you’re on your own.” “What kind of rate?” (2) “As low as possible without running afoul with the IRS. Current market rate is around ten, ten and a half. We should be able to get you a rate of seven to eight percent. We represent some banks, and they assist us. With this salary, you’ll have no trouble qualifying. In fact, the firm will sign on as a guarantor if necessary.” “That’s very generous, Mr. McKnight.” “It’s important to us. And we don't lose any money on the deal. Once you find a house, our real estate section handles everything. All you have to do is move in.” “What about the BMW?” Mr.McKnight chuckled. “We started that about ten years ago and it’s proved to be quite an inducement. It’s very simple. You pick out a BMW, one of the smaller ones; we lease it for three years and give you the keys. We pay for tags, insurance, maintenance. At the end of three years you can buy it from the leasing company for the fair market value. It’s also a one shot deal.” “That’s very tempting.” “We know.” Mr.McKnight looked at his legal pad. “We provide complete medical and dental coverage for the entire family. Pregnancies, checkups, braces, everything. Paid entirely by the firm.” Mitch nodded, but was not impressed. This was standard. “We have a retirement plan second to none. For every dollar you invest, the firm matches it with two, provided, however, you invest at least ten percent of your base pay. Let’s say you start at eighty, and the first year you set aside eight thousand. “The firm kicks in sixteen, so you’ve got twenty-four after the first year. A money pro in New York handles it and last year our retirement earned nineteen percent. Not bad. Invest for twenty years and you're a millionaire at forty-five, just off retirement. One stipulation: If you bail out before twenty years, you lose everything but the money you put in, with no income earned on that money.” “Sounds rather harsh.” “No, actually it’s rather generous. Find me another firm or company matching two to one. There are none, to my knowledge. It’s our way of taking care of ourselves. Many of our partners retire at fifty, some at forty-five. We have no mandatory retirement, and some work into their sixties and seventies. To each his own. Our goal is simply to ensure a generous pension and make early retirement an option.” “What about vacations?” (3) “Book early, especially for Vail and the Caymans. You buy the air fare, but the condos are free. We do a lot of business in the Caymans and from time to time we’ll send you down for two or three days and write the whole thing off. Those trips are not counted as vacation, and you’ll get one every year or so. We work hard, Mitch, and we recognize the value of leisure.” Mitch nodded his approval and dreamed of lying on a sun-drenched beach in the Caribbean, sipping on a pina colada watching string bikinis. “Do you know about the signing bonus?” “No, but it sounds interesting.” “If you join our firm we hand you a check for five thousand. We prefer that you spend the bulk of it on a new wardrobe. After seven years of jeans and flannel shirts, your inventory of suits is probably low, and we realize it. Appearance is very important to us. We expect our attorneys to dress sharp and conservative. There’s no dress code, but you’ll get the picture.” Did he say five thousand dollars? For clothes? Mitch currently owned two suits, and he was wearing one of them. He kept a straight face and did not smile. “We want you happy. We take pride in our zero turnover rate, and we go the extra mile to keep careers on track. It’s your decision. The firm will soon invest a lot of money in you, and we want you to be productive.” Mitch sipped his coffee and searched for another question. “Anything else, Mitch?” “No, sir. I can’t think of anything.” 4.20 THE AMERICAN DREAM 1) Before reading the text answer the questions: What is a dream? Do you have a dream? Would you like to share it with us? 2) Everybody knows the expression “the American dream.. Does Russia have a national dream? What is it? 3) Look through the text and say what ideas each paragraph is devoted to. (1) To start with nothing, to work hard, and then to make a fortune – this is the American dream. People in the U.S.A. want more than anything to be successful. And when they make their money, they like to show it off by driving expensive cars and buying beautiful furniture for their homes. One bad result of this is that some people never start working. Some even hold two full-time jobs at the same time. This means that they have no time to enjoy themselves. The good result is the confidence that many Americans have in themselves. They feel that they can do anything, and get whatever they want if they try hard enough. It may take a lot of hard work to do well in America, but it is certainly exciting. (2) A young man with no money and very little education decides he must get to the top. He works all day, studies at night, and looks around for a chance to get rich. He discovers that all his friends like eating his mother's home-made pizzas. He learns how to make them and starts selling them at school. Then he opens a pizza restaurant. It is a great success, so he opens another, and five years later he makes his first million dollars. He is the perfect example of the successful American businessman. (3) Stories like this are very popular in the U.S.A. Men who started out with nothing and built up huge fortunes are national heroes. Every schoolchild knows the names of Неnry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, and Steven Jobs, who founded the Apple computer business. People like to believe that the chance to get wealthy or even rich is there for everyone however poor, who is brave, smart, and hardworking enough to take it. (4) The American admiration for business success is as strong as ever. Americans work very hard. Most people have only a two- or three-week holiday a year, and work for at least forty hours a week. But the situation in American industry itself is changing. Old industries, like steel, textiles, and shoes, cannot keep their prices low enough. New industries, that use computer techniques, do not employ as many people as the old ones, as a result, people who worked in the factories twenty years ago are working in restaurant offices or airlines today. On the other hand, those who manage to get adapted to the new technologies find their way in the new world of business. (5) When Kay Nolan got her first job at an engineering company in England, she was told, “You’ll never earn a proper salary because you are a woman.” Kay had a good degree in physics, but she wasn’t surprised. It seemed normal in those days that good jobs in industry were closed for women. (6) After several different jobs, she moved to an American firm called Texas Instruments. At that time, a lot of American companies were looking for clever young scientists from abroad. They could usually offer better working conditions and more money than the British or other European firms. The stream of brilliant scientists going to America became a flood, which was called “the brain drain.” (7) Kay and her husband, who had a Ph.D. in biology, joined it. They moved to California, which was then becoming one of the most exciting areas for “hi-tech” industry in the U.S. Kay started working at Apple Computer and traveled a lot all over the United States, to Ireland and Holland in Europe, and even to Japan and Australia. Now Mrs. Nolan is a principal engineer at the factory in Elk Grove. She is in charge of five other engineers, and it is her job to look after and repair the test equipment that Apple uses to build their computers. (8) The key to Kay’s success is that she never stopped learning. She finished another course of study, and got her Master of Business Administration degree. Now she is earning a very good salary, and she is still moving up in her career. But when she is not working, she knows how to enjoy herself. In her free time, she sings in a choir that performs classical music. Her eyes light up when she talks about it. “Put me with ten or twenty other sopranos,” she laughs, “and I’ll have a lot of fun.” 4) Answer the following questions: a) What does the expression “the brain drain” mean? b) What is the key to success according to Americans? c) What qualities of character are necessary to get wealthy in their point of view? d) Do Americans admire success as strongly as ever? e) With the old industries like steel, textile and others closing, what way out of the situation do Americans find to be employed? f) How much do Americans work? 5) What tips would you take into account if you decided to get to the top? a) Set realistic targets for yourself. b) Be very good at your job, and the luck will come. c) Hold fast to dreams. d) Get totally involved in what you are doing and answers will bubble up to the surface. e) Keep learning, especially from the opposition. f) Enjoy yourself. g) Be a shark: keep moving forwards. h) Being a manager is an ongoing learning experience. i) Learn from your mistakes. j) Fill your time productively and profitably. 4.21 A Day in the Job of Richard Carrick, marketing director of Airtours 1) Before reading the text, talk about your working day. 2) Read the text and among the provided headings choose the most suitable for it: a) A WORKAHOLIC IN THE HOLIDAY INDUSTRY, b) WORK AS “DAMN GOOD FUN”, c) ONE LIFE – ONE JOB, d) IT’S TRAVEL INDUSTRY’S FRENETIC PACE OF CHANGE THAT CARRIC ENJOYS IN HIS WORK, e) A MAN WHO IMPROVED AIR-TOURS IMAGE. Richard Carrick, the sales, marketing and development director of Airtours, abandoned an academic career in tourism planning and consumer behaviour for the holiday industry. Four years ago he joined Air-tours, the Manchester-based company founded by David Crossland, which has grown rapidly to become the UK’s second-largest package holiday group. The industry is hugely competitive and marked periodically by spectacular failures. Carrick’s marketing style is aggressive. At 43, he thinks he is “old by marketing standards” and should probably be in a general management role. But Airtours gives him a buzz and is “damn good fun.” He has not been tempted by other offers – apart from one in 1995 from Forte, which he joined as worldwide marketing director of hotels and restaurants. A few months later Granada launched its successful hostile takeover bid, declaring it would sell Forte’s internationals hotels. Carrick rejoined Airtours – “we refer to it as my sabbatical.” He enjoys the travel industry's frenetic pace of change. “We take 3m people away with us from the UK every year and the public relations issues are enormous – this is a 24-hour job,” his secretary, agrees. “I don’t think he ever sleeps.” 5.30 a.m. Carrick wakes at his five-bedroom house on 15 acres of moorland in the Pennines, where he lives with his wife and daughter. He works out for 20 minutes in the gym in his garage and has a stand-up breakfast. 6.30. He drives to his office in an old textile mill at Helmshore in a red BMW 328 sports coupe. He could have had a Jaguar but discovered that the average age of their owners is 52. The black leather interior is spotless. Carrick keeps the car clean “because you don't know who you might have to drive in it.” He is scrupulous about cleanliness and checks to see if my shoes are polished. His own have a military shine. “Appearance is all important and image is all important if you are running a marketing department.” 7.00. A full-length mirror at the entrance to the marketing department allows staff to check if their appearance is up to scratch. Carrick clears his e-mail. His office is small, sparse and tidy with views of sheep grazing on the hillside. He keeps his door open. 7.30. Informal meeting with a “board member about Airtours” 1998-99 holiday plans. 8.00. Drives to Manchester for a board meeting of the group’s airline division. 9.30. Carrick gives a slide presentation on the progress of summer 1998 holidays, which went on sale in May. He talks of profound changes in the way holidays are sold – “it’s now a marketing game.” The recent sales pitch at people on holiday or returning on the group’s airline is reviewed. There are satisfied murmurings about how well the Dominican Republic has been selling. “The only problem is I'm not sure clients know where they are going,” jokes one board member. |