Answer the questions
What do the terms ‘learning organization’ and
‘systems thinking’ mean to you?
Read the text and find out about the terms
above.
Answer the questions about the text.
1. What advantages does a ’learning
organization’ have over its competitors?
2. What are the arguments for and against a
company becoming a learning organization?
Match the phrases in bold in the text to the
definitions.
1. a written record of how an employee would like to
personal development plan
progress in their career _________________________
2. a lack of ability and knowledge amongst a group of
skills deficit
people _________________________
3. a view of the future that everyone is committed to
_________________________
shared vision
4. facilitation of staff achievement and progression by a
performance management
company _________________________
5. personal involvement of a staff member in an activity
employee participation
_________________________
6. a radical change from one way of thinking to another
paradigm shift
_________________________
7. when a company reorganizes itself and introduces
structural change
new systems _________________________
8. ambition and a desire for success that is shared by
the group _________________________
collective aspiration
Complete these sentences with the underlined
phrases in the text.
1. ‘I just don’t believe in this idea that anyone can
become a millionaire if they try hard enough. How
in the real world
often does this actually happen _______________?’
2. ‘Yes, of course this project is going to be a nightmare
to organize – but stop worrying about all the minor
the bigger picture
details – you need to focus on _________________.
3. ‘We’ve increased profitability in every single division
of the company. It’s been an incredibly successful
across the board
year _________________.’
4. ‘I know that we’re spending a lot on training at the
moment, but give it a few years – we’re going to see
in the long-run
huge benefits from this _______________.’
Complete the sentences with phrases from the list.
collective aspiration
performance management
skills deficit
shared vision
paradigm shift
structural change
employee participation
personal development plans
1. ‘We left the company and started our own business together. We knew it would work because we
had a ________________________
of what we wanted to achieve.’
shared vision
2. ‘The company was completely reorganized after those management consultants came in – a radical
collective aspiration
________________________
was implemented.’
3. ‘In the next year, carrying out our business in an ethical way is both a ________________________
and
structural change
a mutual responsibility for us all.’
4. ‘I would like to encourage ___________________________
in all departmental decisions.’
employee participation
5. ‘We need to have more control over staff progression, so we need to start taking
performance management more seriously and I think we should introduce formalized
__________________________
__________________________
personal
development plans for each member of staff.’
paradigm shift
6. ‘There was a real ________________________
in the team when Gareth left and Jens was appointed
team leader. Everyone suddenly became far more target-oriented and enthusiastic. Sales went up
dramatically.’
skills deficit
7. ‘where are all the competent IT specialists? There seems to be a real ________________________
in
this area!’
Correct the mistakes in this conversation.
Andrew: Why haven’t they put salaries up by 8% over the board? Why is it just
management level that get that?
Tiago: That’s what always happens. You need to get in the reality world and realize that this
is just the way it is.
Andrew: I know, but I think this decision is actually counter-productive with the long run.
Some staff might leave. It will cost a lot to recruit new staff.
Tiago: True, but they’ll always defend these types of decisions. They’ll argue that
management deserve bigger pay rises because they’re the ones who have to think about
the huge picture and make decisions.
Discuss what the problems are in 1-5 and what advice you would give. Use the phrases below
and new vocabulary to help you.
There’s a lack of…
There isn’t any…
They should…
There needs to be…
1. ‘A lot of the staff feel that no one is thinking about their career progression.’
2. ‘Everyone’s just concentrating on their own tasks, so there’s no team spirit.’
3. ‘There’s a rigid hierarchical management structure here, and staff feel that they’re never going to
get promoted because higher positions rarely become available.’
4. ‘We’re having real problems recruiting people with the right kind of expertise.’
5. ‘We set up lots of training courses, but hardly anyone has signed up.’
Jane Willis is a training manager at a large media company. Listen to the interview
and answer the questions.
1. Does her company’s training approach encourage ‘systems thinking’?
2. How does Jane categorize the two types of training offered at her company?
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the company’s approach?
What adjectives were used in the interview to describe the nouns training and approach?
training
approach
job-specific
bottom-up
generic
decentralized
centrally-driven
top-down
self-directed
one-size-fits-all
Match the adjectives from the audio to these definitions.
1. answering a wide range of needs (two adjectives)
2. coming from key departments/management (two adjectives)
3. coming from all areas and levels of a company (two adjectives)
4. answering particular work-related needs (one adjective)
5. coming from the individual member of staff (one adjective)
Across
3. We wanted a more __________________ structure so we game a
lot of decision-making power to regional offices.
6. I don’t think the CEO and the board should continue to alter
strategy. Any changes should come from the people who are
actually doing the work – it should be a __________________
approach.
8. I planned and implemented my own learning program – it was
completely __________________.
Down
1. When looking for a job, you can’t just have a
__________________ cover letter – you should adapt the letter for
each job that you apply for.
2. Head Office decide which training courses should be made
available to staff, so I guess you’d say that training is
__________________
5. A few of your team are unhappy about your traditional
management style and I think you need to develop a more
inclusive and less __________________ approach.
7. Franchises use a __________________ business model that is
then adapted to meet local markets.
Read the information about training
approaches at two companies and
discuss the questions.
1. How would you describe each
approach?
2. What are the advantages and
disadvantages of each approach?
Company 1
• no formalized training approach – training needs of each
department are extremely varied, so this would be too
complicated
• no in-house training – only learning from more experienced
employees whilst doing the job
• money for external training available, but only given in response
to a direct request from an employee
Company 2
• structured and formalized training approach
• senior management decide what kind of training courses are
made available
• employees in first year of employment must complete two
courses designed for their particular job – this is decided by the
line managers
• employees in the second year of employment must complete
two more general courses related to the company (e.g. product
presentations, business processes, etc.) – this is decided by the
line managers and employees during appraisals
• employees must complete two training courses per year after
their second year
Think about
your company.
Listening and speaking
Personal development
Answer the questions
Match the phrases to their definitions.
to broaden one’s
horizons
to blow the cobwebs
away
to go back to square
one/the drawing board
to turn over a new leaf
nothing ventured,
nothing gained
Match the phrases in bold to their definitions.
Travel can help
broaden your
horizons.
A brisk walk will blow
the cobwebs away.
to make a new start, to
begin to act in a more
responsible way
a saying meaning you
have to take a risk in
order to get something
Lane has turned over a
new leaf and has
arrived on time every
day since her boss gave
her a warning.
It was a bit of a shot in
the dark taking a job in
a different country, but
nothing ventured,
nothing gained!
to expand your
knowledge or
experience
to start something
again/from the
beginning
He was disappointed
when his plan didn’t
work and he had to go
back to square
one/the drawing
board.
to do something,
especially go outside, in
order to help yourself
think more clearly and
feel better
Using the vocabulary from the previous slide, complete the sentences below (remember the
correct for of the word, e.g. verb conjugation or plural noun)
1. I feel like I’ve not made any progress at all this year. I need to _______________________
blow the cobwebs away and
start to do something useful.
2. I spent my life saving on going back to university when I was 43 to study a completely new
subject, but you know what they say, ________________________________.
nothing ventured, nothing gained
turn over a new leaf when he left prison, but three days later he was
3. Mark promised to _____________________
caught stealing a TV from his neighbor's house.
broadened my horizons I learned so much with this
4. Spending a year meditating in India really _______________________.
experience.
5. We were supposed to launch the product in Macy’s department store, but they pulled out at
go back to square one while we looked for a new location.
the last minute, so we had to _____________________
Answer the questions
1. How could you broaden your horizons?
2. When did you need to blow the cobwebs away?
3. When might people need to turn over a new leaf?
4. When have you had to go back to square one?
5. Can you think of any examples of ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’?
You are going to watch a TEDx Talk titled ‘How to get better at the things you care about’.
How would you answer this question?
Watch the video and make notes about the ‘Learning Zone’ and the ‘Performance Zone’
Learning zone
Performance zone
Answer the questions
1. What would you like to be better at? How could you achieve this?
2. How much time do you dedicate to the performance zone and learning zone?
3. How could you find more time to spend in the learning zone at work?
4. Do you have enough opportunities to make mistakes and learn from them? If not, how could
this change?
5. Why do we settle on an adequate skill level, instead of continuing to improve it?
6. How can you create a low-stake island in a high-stake sea at work, either for yourself or for
your team?
Cooperation and mentoring
Answer the
questions
You are going to watch a video called ‘How can bosses help staff develop?’. Make a list of things you
think will be discussed.
What items from your list are mentioned in the video?
Watch the video again and complete the notes using the words in the box. Some are not used.
• Best way to get ____________is
results
for the CEO to
evolve from being a dictator to being a
mentor.
• Long-term success: organizations need to be
compassionate, ____________
thoughtful and nurturing.
community formed when everyone
• Sense of ____________
gives back to each other.
• Good mentors ____________
provide opportunities to
learn.
loops
• Important to create feedback ____________
between team members.
• Employees need to know that bosses
____________
in their best interests.
act
• Being a mentor isn’t a one/way ____________.
street
• Bosses shouldn’t be isolated and have their
own ____________
of development.
pace
What advantages do
you think companies
have when their
leadership feels that
mentoring is
important?
Look at the words below. What was said about them in the video?
leadership
benefits
feedback
evolve
peers
candid
compassionate
mistrust
nurturing
isolated
Read the definitions and complete the puzzle with words from the video.
Choose the correct option to complete the sentences.
Complete the text with words and phrases from the previous slides.
Think about someone you know who…
1. has your best interests at heart
2. is candid
3. is compassionate
4. is good at calling the shots
5. shows strong leadership
Tell the class about the people you thought of.
Do you agree that companies should have an
atmosphere of give and take? Why / Why not?
Choose one of the cards and answer the questions.
What characteristics should a good
mentor have in your opinion? Use the
words in the box to help you.
Writing
Emails – Stating requirements
Read the email a mentor is sending their mentee. Why is the mentor writing?
Read the email again. Complete the spaces with words below.
if
out
With
win
have
to
were
order
them
are
Complete the table. Use the words and phrases from the email for the first and
last columns and the words and phrases in the box for the middle column.
contact
Firstly
would like
so that you can/
in order to
speak to
Secondly
is important
to encourage them
prepare
Next
you need to
for
arrange
Finally
expect you to
to
Match the sentence parts.
Choose one of the following two options:
A. Look at the mentor’s notes. Prepare a bulleted email stating what Helena needs to do.
B. Look at the mentor’s notes. Write a non-bulleted email stating what David Jessop's is
required to do. Add reasons for the actions suggested.