Unit 1 Personal development Progress Test

Name: _______________________________

Part 1 Reading

Task 1 (7 points)

Read the text below about performance management.

Choose the best sentence from the list to fill each of the gaps and mark a letter (A – H).
Do not use any letter more than once.
There is an example at the beginning, (0).

The challenges of performance management

Companies always have them and employees always hate them. (0) _____E_____. So what exactly is
the problem with performance management systems? Why are they so unpopular; and what can
companies do to improve both their efficiency and their image?

One fundamental reason why formal performance management systems are so disliked is that they are
usually bureaucratic and involve mountains of time-consuming paperwork. (1) ________________.
The other big problem for managers is reluctance to deliver negative feedback and fear of an
employee’s reaction to it. (2) ________________. When the appraisal review meeting is the occasion
on which an employee learns for the first time that his or her performance is regarded as
unsatisfactory, conflicts inevitably result.

As far as employees are concerned, any process that involves, or could potentially involve criticism
and judgement is bound to be stressful. (3) ________________. When stakes are this high, it is
imperative that the appraisal system is perceived as fair and objective; however this may be easier to
achieve for some jobs than for others. In a competitive area, such as sales, performance can be
assessed on the basis of easily measurable criteria such as number of new customers, quantity of sales,
etc. However, if a job involves a large amount of teamwork or collaborative processes, such as for
example, working in a research laboratory or a publishing house measuring individual performance
can be a more complex issue. (4) ________________.

Most performance management systems share two common characteristics. (5) ________________. If
the objective of performance assessment is understood to be improving or enhancing performance, and
therefore linked with training and personal development, the whole process becomes much more
motivating for employees. (6) ________________. The second characteristic of successful
performance management is that it is ongoing. The annual or bi-annual review should only be a small
part of a continuous process, the giving and receiving of feedback, during which discussion of
strengths and weaknesses arises naturally and is dealt with. For the employee, the appraisal meeting,
when it comes, should feel like quality time with their manager in which to discuss their future
development and aspirations as well their past performance.

Within the time-poor, heavily task-orientated culture of most modern companies, managers may find it
difficult to invest time in this sort of people-centred activity. (7) ________________. However, if
ongoing feedback, both positive and constructively critical can become part of company culture, the
benefits for the organization are considerable. Personnel at all levels of the company not only stop
feeling threatened by feedback, but are actually more likely to act upon it. When this starts to happen,
you know your performance management system is a healthy one.

The Business Advanced Tests / Unit 1 Progress Test 1

A In such environments, to encourage a culture of cut-throat competitiveness among
employees could be counter productive.

B They should feel that it is all about ‘how are you doing?’ rather than ‘what are you doing
wrong?’

C People management often competes unsuccessfully with what seem at the time to be more
pressing matters – often large quantities of paper-work.

D The first of these is that there should be a common understanding in a company that the
objective of the system is improvement and not blame.

E Human Resource departments devote huge amounts of resources to developing them;

managers secretly consider them ineffective and a waste of their time.

F The annual or bi-annual performance appraisal meetings can be particularly tough for
middle managers who often have to juggle all the tasks involved in appraising an entire
department with their usual work duties and responsibilities.

G There are extreme cases: in some companies in the US, for example, employees whose
performance rating falls in the bottom 10 per cent risk are routinely dismissed.

H This is made worse if the manager has not been willing or able to deal with problems as
they arise.

The Business Advanced Tests / Unit 1 Progress Test 2

Task 2 (13 points)

Read the text below about good leadership.

In most of the lines there is one extra word that is either grammatically incorrect or does
not fit in with the meaning of the text. Some lines, however, are correct.
If a line is correct, write CORRECT in the answer space below.
If there is an extra word in the line, write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS in the
answer space.
There are two examples, (0) and (00), at the beginning.

The qualities of leadership

0 Leadership is a hot topic in the business world. Hundreds of and thousands of books
00 have been written on the subject, there exist numerous leadership courses and
1 training programmes of all descriptions and in every business journal and magazine
2 regularly publishes new articles about it, yet we never seem to get tire of the subject.
3 Why is this it? What is leadership and why is so important to us?
4 Good leaders are of essential to businesses because they are able to unlock potential in
5 individuals and in groups and organizations. Contrary to popular belief, a good
6 leadership is not necessarily about telling to people what to do, but about inspiring
7 them to see what they are capable of. Other characteristics that most good leaders share
8 are the openness to change and being prepared to listen. One of the most dangerous
9 misconceptions about leadership is the belief that an effective leader is one who is
10 always knows best. On the contrary, the best leaders are usually highly self-aware
11 people who highly know their own strengths and weaknesses. Whilst there is no shortage
12 of ambitious people in the business world, it does seems that there is a lack of gifted
13 leaders. It is to be hoped, therefore, that the particular skills and qualities that define up a
good leader are not only found as innate ‘gifts’, but may also be learned and acquired.

Answers
0 OF
00 CORRECT
1 ………………………………………………………………………..
2 ………………………………………………………………………..
3 ………………………………………………………………………..
4 ………………………………………………………………………..
5 ………………………………………………………………………..
6 ………………………………………………………………………..
7 ………………………………………………………………………..
8 ………………………………………………………………………..
9 ………………………………………………………………………..
10 ………………………………………………………………………..
11 ………………………………………………………………………..
12 ………………………………………………………………………..
13 ………………………………………………………………………..

The Business Advanced Tests / Unit 1 Progress Test 3

Part 2 Writing

Task 1 (5 points)

The table below shows the performance scores in selection tests of three candidates for a
graduate management training programme at a multi-national company.
The scores shown are for numerical reasoning (N), verbal reasoning (V) and creative
thinking (C) and there are also some notes from the personal interview.
Use the information from the chart to write a report comparing the strengths and
weaknesses of the three candidates.

Candidate N V C Interview remarks

Chen Li (F) 71% 69% 70% Determined, decisive but very pleasant. Grew up in
Singapore mainland China so has some small problems with
Age 25 English (in view of this, her verbal reasoning score is
excellent).
Bellur Mehta (M) 90% 65% 70% Seemed a bit shy and hesitant initially but ended up
Indian building a very good rapport with the interview team –
Age 27 outstanding mathematical ability and IT knowledge.
Thaddeus Wolf 85% 70% 59% Very confident and charming (score on verbal
(M) reasoning test helped by the fact that he is a native
Amercan English speaker) ambitious, astute – may lack maturity.
Age 23

Write 150 – 170 words in the space below.

The Business Advanced Tests / Unit 1 Progress Test 4

Task 2 (5 points)

Use the information to write a short job description for the post of Senior Systems
Analyst with Red Shield Insurance in Vancouver, Canada.

Company: Red Shield Location: Vancouver, Canada Job: Full-Time Employee

Insurance Level: Manager / Supervisor
of Staff
Red Shield of Vancouver is the largest health insurance plan in British Columbia, with about $3.5
billion in revenue. Our mission is to ensure Canadians access to high-quality health care at a
reasonable price.
Minimum Bachelor's degree and 5 years of related experience in vendor-managed
qualifications solution development and / or health care solution development and
implementation.
Duties Maintains existing applications to support business unit requirements.
Provides application development services to create new applications, e.g. develops
user requirements, creates and tests programs, is responsible for documentation and
QA.
Is responsible for new systems implementation. May be involved in all phases of
systems development life cycle from client engagement through post-
implementation evaluation.
Skills Needed Knowledge of SDLC and PMLC.
Understanding of process and workflow analysis and how to apply this in system
design.
Decision making and critical thinking.
Technical writing.
A successful candidate must be also able to:
– work independently and interface with all levels of management.
– take abstract business requirements and turn them into technical documents
that can be used by both the business units and IT.
– interface with the business units and IT to ensure functional and technical
specifications are understood by both communities.

Write 200 – 250 words in the space below.

The Business Advanced Tests / Unit 1 Progress Test 5

Part 3 Listening

Task 1 (9 points)
(Recording 1.01)

You are going to hear three people giving advice about how get on at work.
Match the ideas a)-h) with the speakers 1-3. Write 1, 2 or 3 next to each statement.
You will hear the recording twice.

a) You should volunteer to do anything you think you can make a success of: it will
increase your manager’s confidence in you. ___

b) Managers will always push you to the absolute limits of what you can do. ___

c) Stay in control and learn to say no. ___

d) Don’t talk to your manager about office politics. ___

e) Your manager will only have confidence in you if you stay in their head. ___

f) Treat your manager as a human being, not just as an authority figure. ___

g) It’s OK to send your manager update emails all the time. ___

h) If you just work all the time, it’s a sign you don’t have much of a personal life. ___

i) Always laugh at the boss’s jokes. ___

The Business Advanced Tests / Unit 1 Progress Test 6

Task 2 (6 points)
(Recording 1.07 – 1.11)

You will hear part of a conversation between two people who are playing the truth game
as part of a management skills development programme.
For each question choose a), b) or c) as the correct answer.
You will hear the recordings twice.

1 What does the first question ask about?

a) The strategies the first speaker uses to stay calm.
b) The impression that the first speaker makes on other people.
c) the first speaker’s ability to cope under pressure.

2 What does the second question relate to?

a) How the speakers cope with failure.
b) How the speakers cope with success.
c) The importance of frankness and honesty.

3 In question three, how would you describe the first speaker’s attitude to money?
a) He is generally very motivated by money.
b) He has never had enough money, so he is very motivated by it.
c) Other things, such as relationships, are more important to him.

4 In question four, what does the second speaker dislike or want to change about
herself?
a) She doesn’t know.
b) She doesn’t want to answer the question.
c) She’s never thought about it.

5 What does the last question relate to?

a) The speakers’ plans for retirement.
b) Whether the speakers plan to work abroad in the future.
c) Where the speakers hope they will be working in ten years’ time.

6 After listening to all five dialogues, how would you describe the female speaker?
a) Someone who doesn’t stay calm under pressure and isn’t used to success.
b) Someone who is used to success and is very motivated by money.
c) Someone who copes well with failure and isn’t motivated by money.

The Business Advanced Tests / Unit 1 Progress Test 7

Part 4 Speaking (5 points)

Prepare a one-minute presentation on one of these topics.

You have one minute to prepare your talk.
You may make notes.

• The personal qualities you need to be a good manager

• How to write a job description

• The glass ceiling

The Business Advanced Tests / Unit 1 Progress Test 8