Unit 1 Corporate Culture Progress Test
Name: _______________________________
Part 1 Reading
Task 1
15 points
Read the text below about cultural change in companies.
Choose the best word to fill each gap from A, B, C or D below.
There is an example at the beginning.
American President J.F. Kennedy and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were both ‘nappers’. They had short sleeps – ‘naps’ – during the day to help them work (0) A . It might be just what you need to wake up your company and improve your (1) ____.
Do energy levels drop in the afternoon? Do your (2) ____ seem a bit slow and sleepy after lunch? In Spain the traditional siesta is making a comeback in good companies who want their workers to work smarter, not (3) ____. These companies are realizing that their (4) ____ work better with a rest in the afternoon. They are more productive, make fewer mistakes and are happier. It’s not a case of decreasing their (5) ____ – they do even more work.
In California’s Silicon Valley, hi-tech companies provide chill-out rooms for employees to relax in, along with pool tables and gyms. Even family pets, such as dogs, are allowed to go to work (6) ____ their owners. A New Zealand company achieved change in the whole company by encouraging staff in one (7) ____ to go home when they had done all the assignments they could do that day, without any loss of pay.
Other employers want their employees to take responsibility (8) ____ their own success by letting them set their personal work (9) ____. Like all these ideas, this only works when everyone in the company (10) ____ believes in the changes. Even the best intentions of written (11) ____ can mean nothing if one person does not follow them. Everyone from the (12)____ on down should (13) ____ the new rules and follow them themselves.
But perhaps the most important thing to remember is to have a good life-work (14) ____. Go home at five, on time, and enjoy the rest of your life. Take control. Life’s too short to let anyone else (15) ____ it for you.
0 A. better B. best C. good D. worse
1 A. attitudes B. profitability C. working D. shareholders
2 A. employers B. employed C. employ D. employees
3 A. hard B. harder C. hardest D. well
4 A. company B. managers C. staff D. interns
5 A. workforce B. workspace C. working D. workload
6 A. by B. with C. for D. together
7 A. company B. organization C. unit D. place
8 A. in B. with C. to D. for
9 A. ideas B. objectives C. criteria D. jobs
10 A. corporation B. structure C. subsidiary D. department
11 A. guidelines B. rule C. complaints D. instructions
12 A. project leader B. director C. manager D. supervisor
13 A. write B. ensure C. focus D. enforce
14 A. situation B. routine C. balance D. plan
15 A. set B. run C. rule D. decide
Task 2
10 points
Complete the text with the best form of the verbs in brackets.
John Coady (1) _______ (take) his employers to court because his boss (2) _______ (check) on his computer use. Coady (3) _______ (find) out that his supervisor
(4) _______ (put) a key-logging program on his computer to record what Coady
(5) _______ (do). He asked his supervisor what he (6) _______ (do) and his supervisor (7) _______ (threat) to sack him because he (8) _______ (use) the Internet ‘all the time’ and (9) _______ (send) many emails. Coady (10) _______ (lose) the case.
Part 2 Writing
5 points
Write an email based on the following brief. Write about 50–60 words.
You have just finished a two-month summer placement with an international company. You would like to thank your line manager, Julie Johns, for all her help and support and let her line manager know she did a good job.
Write an email to Julie Johns:
· Thank her for the opportunity to work with the company
· Thank her for all her support during your placement
· Identify one occasion where she really helped you
· Say what you learned
To: Julie Johns
Cc:
Subject: Thanks
Dear
Rewrite these sentences so they are more diplomatic. Use the beginning of the new sentence given.
1 Don’t wear jeans to work.
Wouldn’t it be ___________________________________________________________?
2 Ask John for help.
Why___________________________________________________________________?
3 You should learn to delegate.
It’s a ___________________________________________________________________
4 No. Wrong. Do it this way.
You could _______________________________________________________________
5 That’s a terrible idea, isn’t it?
Wouldn’t you agree ______________________________________________________?
Part 3 Listening
Task 1 / Recording 1.08
Listen to Jason and Alex talking. Who says what? For each question, write Jason or Alex.
1 Who doesn‘t want to stay at home tonight? _______________________
2 Who did a placement? _______________________
3 Who compares the company to school? _______________________
4 Who was glad of something he’d studied? _______________________
5 Who thinks doing paperwork is not very interesting? _______________________
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