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Hiring or ring an empIoyee is a chaIIenging, emoIionaI experience and a

paIhvay Io possibIe IavsuiIs. The decision Io empIoy or IerminaIe someone viII
inuence you, IhaI individuaI, his or her !amiIy, your Ieam, your cusIomers, and
your sIakehoIders.
the induStRiAL PhYSiCiSt httP://www.AiP.oRG/tiP/inPhFA/VoL-9/iSS-3/P28.htML
1 Lookattheheadlinebelow.Whatdoyouthinkthearticleisabout?
2 Readthearticletoseeifyouarecorrect.Thenanswerthequestions.
a Doyouthinkthesackingwasjustifed?
b Wouldthisbepossibleinyourcompanyorinyourcountry?
c WhatadvicewouldyougivetoNicola?
3 Findtwomoreverbsinthearticlethataresimilarinmeaningtosack.Whichverbismoreformal?
The passive
4 Findsentencesinthearticlethataresimilarinmeaningtothefollowing:
a Theylaidheroff.
b Theyorderedhertoleavethefactoryimmediately.
5 Comparethetwopairsofsentencesin4.
a Whichareactiveandwhicharepassive?
b Whoismentionedfrstintheactivesentences?
c Whoismentionedfrstinthepassivesentences?
d Whoisthestoryabout?
e Whatistheadvantageofusingthepassivesentences?
f Theagentintheactivesentencesisthey.Whathappenstoitinthepassivesentences?Why?
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88 14 hiRinG And FiRinG
Ibiza phone-in prize
winner fred
Nicola Williams, a 31-year-old single mother from Newbridge
in South Wales, couldnt believe her luck when she was told
she was the winner of a Mediterranean holiday for herself
and her six-year-old daughter.
The weeks break on the sunshine island of Ibiza was
the prize in a radio phone-in competition. She told reporter
hefna Rendle on bbc Wales television that she was totally
over the moon, really excited. however, only minutes later she
was laid off. Nicola, an electronic parts worker, who phoned
the radio station from work using her own mobile phone, was
unaware that her boss was standing nearby. he asked her to
hang up, took her into his offce, and told her she was sacked.
She was ordered to leave the factory immediately.
This was her frst job since the birth of her daughter, and
she was fred by the same manager who originally hired her.
but the story may have a happy ending. The commercial
radio station which ran the competition is now trying to fnd
her another job. a spokesman for the station said that people
should be allowed to take part in competitions from work, as
they are in general life. he said it was sad that the manager
couldnt see the good side and just congratulate Nicola on
her good luck.
Skytronics, Nicolas former employer, refused to be
interviewed by the bbc, and later issued a statement
supporting the action of their manager.
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re: niCOLa WiLLiamS
On two occasions in November Ms Nicola Williams, an employee in the assembly plant,
(a) that using a mobile phone in work hours was against the company rules.
Both these warnings (b) by another supervisor, and (c)
in her fle. Then, in December, on a further occasion, she (d) a written
warning. Finally, on Friday, 12 January at 10.30 I (e) of a problem on the
factory foor. When I arrived there, I found a lot of noise and shouting going on. Ms Williams
was using her mobile phone to participate in a radio phone-in programme. Apparently she
had won a prize. I asked her to put the phone down immediately, and to come in to my offce.
I decided to terminate her employment, and in the presence of Ms Jones, my deputy, Ms
Williams was told that she was being sacked. She became hysterical and abusive, and
(f) to leave the factory immediately. She (g) that her
possessions would be forwarded to her by post.
6Readthemanagersreportoftheincidentin2.Heusesthepassivetosoundmoreobjectiveand
formalinstyle.Completethereportusingtheverbsbelowinthepassive.
ask give (x 2) inform (x 2) note warn
7Inwhatwayarethedetailsabouttheincidentdifferent?
8Improvetheseshorttextsbychangingoneverbtothepassiveineachtext.
a Theyhavelaidoffover35,000peopleinthelastfveyears,unemploymentisrising,andthereare
socialproblemsintheregion.
35,000 people have been laid off in the last fve years, unemployment is rising, and there are social
problems in the region.
b Thebusinessisagreatsuccess.Theyarehiringnewstaffanditisexpandingfast.
c Astherewasarecessionandthenumberofordersdecreased,theyclosedoneofthefactories.
d Toimprovemargins,itismakingthenewmodelinHungary,wherelabourcostsarelower.
e FordhasseveralplantsinEurope.OneofthemisinValenciaanditproducestheEscortthere.
f Theyhaveannouncedplansforthenewindustrialestate.Itwillcovertenhectaresandcreatespace
forover15businessventures.
Discussion
9 Workingroups.Inwhatsituationsdo
youthinksackingisjustifed?Thinkaboutthe
following:
dishonesty disrespect to superiors
inappropriate dress
industrial action (going on strike)
not meeting objectives or achieving results
punctuality revealing company secrets
violence
Addyourownideas,ifyoulike.
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aPPLyinG fOr a JOB
1 2.142.17 Listentofourpeopletalkingabouttheirapproachtoapplyingfor
ajob.Takenotesandmatchthepeopleonthelefttothesummariesbelow.
a Imlookingforachancetodevelopanddemonstratemytruepotential.
b Myqualifcationsandexperiencespeakforthemselves.
c ImsobrilliantatwhateverIdo,theywouldbeluckytohavemeworkingin
theircompany.
d Theremaybepeoplewithbetterqualifcationsandexperience,butnooneis
moreenthusiasticorhardworkingthanme.
2 Whichspeaker(s)doyouagreewith?Whatapproachdidyouusetogetyour
presentjob?Doestheapproachyouusedependonthejob?
3 Readthefollowingextractsfromlettersofapplication.Matchthemtothe
summariesin1.
eading beIveen Ihe Iines
4 Readtheextractsin3again.Therearecertainformalphrasespeopleusein
lettersofapplicationtotalkabouttheirqualitiesandachievements.Underline
phraseswhichmeanthefollowing:
a Idreallyliketoworkforyoubecauseyouresuchagreatcompany.
b Ifyouthinkdoingthingswellisimportant,Idliketoworkforyou.
c Idontreallyhavetheprofleoftheidealcandidate.
d Iveworkedwithmanydifferent,importantcompanies.
e IveshownIcanworkwithallkindsofpeopleandgetonwitheveryone.
f Ilookafterthepracticalday-to-dayaspectsofdepartmentorganisation.
g Iwantanewjobbecausemycompanyprobablywontbeabletopromoteme.
h Ihavefveyearsofinternationalbusinessexperienceworkingforachemicals
company.
5 Usesomeofthephrasesin3towriteaparagraphintroducingyourownCV.
90 14 hiRinG And FiRinG
i i am very keen to work for your company because of its excellent
reputation. i do not have the specifc qualifcations or experience
referred to in your advertisement. however, i am applying because i
feel i am able to make up for this through hard work and willingness to
learn.
ii Ifyoubelieveinthepursuitofexcellence,thenIaminterestedinjoining
yourcompany.Isethighstandardsformyselfandexpectthemfromothers,
especiallytheorganisationsthatIworkfor.Ilookforwardtoanopportunityto
addtothelistofalreadyoutstandingachievements,whichareoutlinedinmy
CV.
iii FrommyCV,youwillseethatfveyearsatachemicalsmultinationalhavegivenmeasolid
businessbackground.Iamresponsibleformydepartmentslogisticalplanning,whichhas
developedmyorganisationalskills.However,Iamnowlookingforopportunitiesforfurther
developmentandresponsibility,whichmypresentemployercannotoffer.
iv Asacommerciallyawareandlinguisticallytraineduniversitygraduate,Ihavea
broadrangeofemploymentexperienceatblue-chipcompaniesinboththeUSAand
Europe.Iamdynamicandcreative,withastrongteamspiritandleadershipqualities.
Ihaveaprovenrecordofworkingwithindividualsatalllevelsthroughhighly
developedinterpersonalandcommunicationskills.
2
3
1
4
a JOB intervieW
1ReadthejobadvertandCVbelow.WhydoyouthinkSaraappliedforthejob?
2 2.18 Sarawasinterviewedforthejob.Listentothe
interview.Questionsaibelowaretypicalinaninterview
forajob.Whichofthequestionsdoestheinterviewerask?
(Hedoesnotusethesamewords.)
a Whydidyouapplyforthisjob?
b Whyshouldweemployyou?
c Whenareyoufreetostart?
d Doesyourpresentemployerknowthatyouwanttoleave?
e Haveyoueverdoneanythinglikethisbefore?
f Howdofeelabouttravelling?
g Howgoodareyourcomputerskills?
h Whatareyourlanguageskillslike?
i Doyouhaveanyquestions?
3 Doyouthinktheinterviewerwasfairintheinterview?
DoyouthinkSarahgotthejob?
14 hiRinG And FiRinG 91
MULTINaTIoNaL FooD PackaGING eqUIPMeNT MaNUFacTUReR
seeks International Sales Manager to call on europe and Latin america.
base $80k and commission, full benefts and expenses.
Prefers: fuency in one or more foreign languages.
Send resum with cover letter indicating citizenship and salary requirements.
CUICULUM VITAE
NAME Sara Verkade
ADDE55 58, Stoppard Drive, London SW16
TELEPHONE Tel: 353 865 344872
E-MAIL sara.verkade@gmz.net
DATE & PLACE Of ITH 23.7.78, Maassluis, The Netherlands
MAITAL 5TATU5 Single
NATIONALITY Dutch
UALIfICATION5 September 1996 - July 1999
BComm, Marketing Management, Haagse Hogeschool, The Hague
EMPLOYMENT HI5TOY June 2000 - present
Management Team Co-ordinator, Helena Rubinstein, LOreal Organising
meetings, events and conferences. Analysing sales fgures and producing
relevant reports and charts. Customer relations and responding to
complaints and queries.
June 1999 - June 2000
SPC Professional, Sales Productivity Centre, IBM Sales team support.
Research, pricing and proposal-writing on million dollar bids.
LANGUAGE5 Dutch, English, German, Spanish
IT 5KILL5 Profcient user of Microsoft Offce suite
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Asking !or cIaricaIion
4 Listenagainandcompletethephrasesbelow.
a Howmuchmanagerialexperiencedoyouhave?Its
yourCV.
b Yes. youretheleaderofateam?
c Oh,Isee. ofpersonalassistant?
d But amanager?
e inyour
previousposition,youwereanSPCprofessional.What
?
f youweredirectlyinvolvedinsales?
g So,
involve?
h Can specifc,please?
fIuency
5 WriteabriefCVforyourselfandgiveittoyourpartner.Thentakeitinturnstointervieweachother
forthejobSarahwantedoranotherjob.AskforclarifcationofthedetailsoftheCV.
WHat aBOut tHe WOrKerS?
1 Whatishappeninginthephotographonthispage?Howdoyouthinkthissituationrelatesto
employmentandstaffng?
2 Workwithapartner.Youwilleachreadanarticlerelatingtotheemploymentsituationinacountry
anddothreeexercises.Whenyouhavefnished,turnbacktothispage.
Student A:Lookatpage136. Student B:Lookatpage137.
3 Thenoun/verbcombinationsintheboxwereinthearticlesin2.Theverbswereinthepassive.
Canyourememberthesentences?Tellyourpartner.
A
conditions / agree frms / contact salaries / negotiate staff / pay survey / carry out
B
anyone / sack country / bring offers / put reforms / defend strike / call
Discussion
4 Discussthefollowingquestionsinrelationtoyourcountry.
a Whatarethelawsaboutunemploymentbenefts?Doyouthinktheyarefair?
b Whatrightsdoworkershave?Howdotheyaffectemployment?
c Whydoyouthinkthereisashortageofskilledworkers?Doyouthinktheuseoftemporarylabouris
agoodsolutiontotheproblem?
d Itisincreasinglydiffculttoprovidepeoplewithjobsforlife.Doyouthinkthisistrue?
92 14 hiRinG And FiRinG
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LanGuaGe LinKS
VocabuIary
Procedures
1 Matchthepartsofthesentences.
a Shewasemployed...
b Theincidentwasreported...
c Johnwasconsulted...
d Thestaffhavebeeninformed...
e Shewassacked...
f Theconditionswereagreed...
g Hedidntaccepttheofferswhichwereput...
h Theworkerwasinjured...
i Thefightwasdelayed...
j Thepassiveisused...
1 ...onatemporarybasis.
2 ...aboutthedecision.
3 ...forwritingreports.
4 ...forstealingoffcestationery.
5 ...tohimbytheemploymentoffce.
6 ...bythebadweather.
7 ...tothesupervisor.
8 ...atacompanywidelevel.
9 ...ofthenewworkinghours.
10 ...byanexplosioninthechemicalplant.
a b c d e f g h i j
14 hiRinG And FiRinG 93
Phrase Bank: asking for clarifcation
now, can we just check out some details?
does that mean ... ?
But do you/are you ... ?
it says on your CV/in your e-mail that ... what exactly
does that mean?
what does ... involve?
Could you be a bit more specifc about ... , please?
2 CombineonewordfromboxAwithonewordfrom
boxBtocompleteeachsentencebelow.
A B
electronics application
written secrets
job position
company rights
workers needs
job security
previous workers
skilled warning
temporary staff
unemployment benefts
staffng industry
a Foryoungpeople isnotusuallyas
importantasagoodsalary.
b Wegavetheemployeea forarriving
latetoworktwodaysrunning.
c Inthesummerthereismoreworksowehavetotake
onmorepeopletomeetour .
d Hewasaccusedofrevealing toa
competitor.
e Ahundredyearsago didntexist
becausetherewerenounions.
f YoualwayshavetoincludeaCVinyour
.
g Educationisimportantbecauseindustryneedsa
supplyof .
h Wasyour afull-timepost?
i Inmanycountriesthereareno for
peoplewhohavenowork.
j AtChristmas,shopstakeon because
itsabusytimeofyear.
k The isanimportantsectorofthe
localeconomy.
3 Reorganisetheletterstoformwordstocompletethe
sentences.
kasc veritwine kemart girinf
dali fof revbal nowd
a Twohundredworkersatthefactoryhavebeen
becauseofthebadfnancialsituation.
b Thismobilephoneisthesmallestonthe
.
c Iaskedhertoputthephone andcome
intomyoffce.
d Theycant youwithoutgivingyouat
leasttwowarningsinwriting.
e someoneisoneofthemostdiffcult
thingsamanagerhastodo.
f Thefrstthingyouhavetodoisgivetheemployeea
warning.
g Howdidyour go,then?Doyouthink
yougotthejob?
Grammar
The passive
Theobjectinactivesentencesbecomesthesubjectinpassivesentences.
Active Passive (to be + past participle)
Someone services the machine every year. The machine is serviced every year.
They have closed down fve factories. Five factories have been closed down.
They decorated the offces last year. The offces were decorated last year.
They are encouraging her to apply for the job. She is being encouraged to apply for the job.
They dont clean the offce on Friday. The offce isnt cleaned on Friday.
Youoftenusethepassivetoputtheimportantinformationatthebeginningofasentence.Thepassivecanbemore
impersonalthantheactive.Forthisreason,youcanuseitinformaldocumentssuchasreports.
Youcanusebytoemphasisewhoorwhatperformedanaction.
The book was written by Peter Hudson.
The equipment is damaged by prolonged exposure to sunlight.
Practice 1
Reorganisethewordstomakecorrectsentences.
a June was at the contract the signed end of

b sackedslowlySheilawasworkingtoofor

c damagedfrethetheinwasoffce

d workersaccidentinjuredweretheinsome

e measuresannouncedthehavenewbeen

f staffemployednewnoyearthisbewill

g redesignedcorporateisimagebeingour

h salariesincreasedyearhavethisbeenour

Practice 2
Rewritethesentencesinthepassive.
a Theyhavecancelledtheorder.

The order has been cancelled.

b Theyhaventfnishedthenewbuilding.

c Someonetoldhimaboutthemeeting.

d Someonestoletheplansforthenewengine.

e Someonewillpickyouupattheairport.

f Theydidntaskhimifhewantedthejob.

g Didanyonetellyouaboutwhathappenedatthe
meeting?

h Theyholdasalesconferenceeveryyear.

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Practice 3
Answerthequestionsusingasentenceinthepassive
andby.
a Whowastheinventorofthelightbulb?

The light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison.

b Whatcurrencywasthereplacementforthepeseta,
francandlirain2002?

c HowmanycountriesformtheUnitedKingdom?

d Whoistheauthorofthisbook?

e Whoistheownerofthisbook?

f Whattypeofheatinghaveyougotinyouroffceoil,
gasorelectric?

g WhowasthedirectoroftheflmSome Like it Hot?

h Whichcompanywastheoriginalmanufacturerofthe
PC?

Answersatfootofpage.
A n s w e r s ( P r a c t i c e 3 )
b e u r o c f o u r d S i m o n C l a r k e
g B i l l y W i l d e r h I B M