Practical Grammar and Vocabulary in the Workplace. Пособие по бизнес-английскому

Vocabulary exercises

1.Read the definition of the new vocabulary and write an appropriate phrase or word

1.To get something good as a result of your own actions -?

2. Willing to do things that are new, difficult, or that involve risks -?

3. An extremely high standard of skills and experience -?

4. The task that should be completed successfully -?

5. A special advantage or benefit, in addition to the money you are paid, that you are given because of your job -?

6.Arranged and cannot be changed by discussion-?

7.To calculate an amount of something (for example tax/ overhead costs)./To solve, to find an answer -?

8.To go down in amount or value very quickly and suddenly -?

9.To avoid typical mistakes -?

10.To formally praise someone or something -?

2. Choose the correct option

1.A way of referring to the situation in modern society in which people compete with each other for money and power

a) a rat race b) a rat cat c) racing d) in a rut

2.Willing to do things that are new, difficult, or that involve risks

a) to play the game b) to be game c) to gamble d) to have a game

3. To formally praise someone or something

a) to commend b) to plummet c) to command d) to figure out

4. To see a situation from a new point of view

a) to look at it from a new perspective b) to have your own point of view c) to figure out d) to learn the ropes

5. To avoid typical mistakes

a) to avoid misunderstanding b) to avoid common pitfalls c) to avoid disappointment d) to pull figures out of the air

6. A special advantage or benefit, in addition to the money you are paid, that you are given because of your job

a) present b) surprise c) perk d) pick

7. To show someone how to do a job or activity

a) to avoid common pitfalls b) to show the way out c) to show somebody the ropes d) to show the rules

8.The task that should be completed successful

a) Task to accomplish b) task to remember c) task to forget d) task to be fixed

9.To learn how to do a job or activity

a) to learn the rules b) to learn the ropes c) to learn the music d) to learn the job

10.To calculate an amount of something (for example tax/ overhead costs) /To solve, to find an answer

a) to figure out b) to make a figure c) to go out 4) to manage

3.Rephrase the sentences using new vocabulary

1. The company places great attention to employee wellness, offering gym memberships and healthy snacks in the office.

2. If you work hard and meet your goals, you’ll receive a generous bonus at the end of the year.

3. With her background in finance, this new project is just what she likes

4. As a senior member of the team, it’s time for you to take on more responsibility and lead the project.

5. We have a big task to complete before the end of the month, so we need to work efficiently.

6. The company’s stock price fell sharply down after the CEO’s scandal.

7. With his brilliant skills and experience, he was commended for his outstanding work on the project.

8. The team has been in a tough spot lately, but we’re working on new strategies to turn things around.

9. By learning from past mistakes, we can avoid common blunders in our upcoming projects.

10. As a new employee, I need someone to teach me and help me adjust to the company’s culture.

4. Choose the correct preposition

1.To place a premium ***

a on

b in

c at

2. To be right *** one’s alley

a in

b up

c over

3 *** a rut

A in

b over

c off

4 To consider yourself *** notice

a of

b on

c at

5 To pull figures *** the air

a out of

b to

c up

6 To look *** it from a new perspective

a for

b of

c at

7. To figure ***

a out

b on

c in

8.To show somebody *** the ropes

a for

b of

c —

9.To be *** game

a out of

b —

c up

10.To assign *** tasks

a of

b on

c —

5.Translate the sentences using new vocabulary

1.Благодаря своим выдающимся навыкам и опыту он получил высокую оценку за успешную работу над проектом.

2.Менеджер похвалила команду за усердную работу и преданность проекту.

3. Генеральный директор решил полностью пересмотреть стандарты после серии неудач.

4. Нам необходимо поднять планку, если мы хотим добиться успеха в этой конкурентной отрасли.

5. Если вы не улучшите свою производительность, вам следует считать, что вас взяли на заметку.

6. Цена акций компании резко упала после публикации негативных новостей.

7.Делая финансовые прогнозы, вы не можете просто брать цифры из воздуха

8. Давайте посмотрим на это с новой точки зрения и выскажем несколько свежих идей.

9. Я готов решать новые задачи и заставлять себя достигать большего.

10. Пришло время ставить задачи по предстоящему мероприятию и приступить к планированию.

Text: How to motivate employees and achieve success in business

1.Find 10 grammar mistakes in this part of the text

Great leaders and managers have the ability inspiring and motivate their employees to reach their full potential and achieve greatness. They understand the importance of discipline and how it can be driven individuals to excel in their work. By setting a positive example and providing guidance, they can empower their team striving for extraordinary accomplishments. Some top managers believe that unconventional methods of motivating the team can bring excellent results.Instead of relying solely of financial rewards, they prefer to offer unique opportunities as rewards, like as concert tickets or weekend getaways. They believe that this types of rewards not only motivate employees, but also show them that they appreciate their hard work and dedication. They also strive to help the team think outside the box. For example, they might invite a motivational speaker or organise a seminar on personal development. They convinced that investing in the growth and the well-being of employees not only boost morale, but also improves overall productivity. Instead from just to offer bonuses, they organise corporate competitions with a fun prizes for the winners. They believe that this not only fosters healthy competition, but also strengthens friendships among employees.Instead of relying on traditional methods, they prefer to be creative.

2 Fill in 10 missing words in this part of the text

Motivational content seems have become overused. What I like about Musk’s motivational ideas is their unique nature. There are some of them that worth reading. “If you need inspiring words, don’t do it’. Real business people don’t read motivational posts, they just don’t waste their time doing it. If you relying on external motivation to keep you moving, you sure you have chosen the right way?“If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it.“Don’t afraid of taking risks if you are determined to do something you are passionate about. If you have nothing to risk, you have nothing to gain. The reward is the direct proportion to the risk.“You should take the approach that you’re wrong. Your goal is to be wrong.“Naturally, people avoid criticism because we were brought to avoid wrong. However, criticism shows you how you can improve and learn, while hearing “good job’ can breed contentment and lead you to complacency.

3. Find 10 factual mistakes in this part of the text

1. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Apple, is known for offering traditional incentives to motivate his employees. For example, he once offered a MacBook as a reward for meeting a challenging production goal at the Apple factory

2. Richard Branson, founder of the Virginia Group, is known for his unconventional approach to employee motivation. He has been known to offer employees very short vacation time and the opportunity to work remotely, as well as prohibiting company-wide parties and events to celebrate achievements.

3. Jack Ma, co-founder of Honolulu Group, is known for his creative approach to motivating his employees. He has organized company-wide talent sales and competitions, as well as offering opportunities for employees to travel and explore new cultures as a reward for their hard work.

4.Find 10 extra words in this text

4. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of the FB, is being known for her focus on her personal development and growth as a means of motivating her team.

She has been organised seminars and workshops on leadership and career development, as well as like offering opportunities for employees to have work on special projects that were align with their interests and goals.

5. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, is known for his emphasis on work-life balance and flexibility as a means of motivating for his employees. He has been implemented flexible working hours and remote work options, as well as offering wellness programs and fitness incentives to be promote overall well-being and motivation among his team.

5.Replace 10 of the words with synonyms

Finally, we can’t help mentioning some fun ways of improving motivation.

Let your team make innocent office pranks, which will help them not only relax and have fun together but become more creative and have better brainstorming skills.

Arrange a special day with a fun theme (for example, crazy T-shirt day or fun English day). Remember that a happy team is a highly motivated team.

Make small gifts, which will demonstrate your appreciation. These little things can make your employees more motivated.

The list of such tips can be very long and you are likely to find your own way to boost motivation

1. What are some effective ways to motivate employees in the workplace?

2. How can managers create a positive work culture to motivate their employees?

3. Why is recognition and appreciation important for employee motivation?

4. How can setting clear goals and expectations motivate employees to perform at their best?

5. What role does leading by example play in motivating employees?

6. Create a recognition program for employees and outline how it can be implemented in the workplace.

7. Develop a plan to foster open communication and teamwork in the workplace to create a positive work culture.

8. Discuss the impact of employee motivation on the overall success of a company.

9. Role-play a scenario where a manager effectively motivates an unmotivated employee.

10. Research and present a case study of a company that successfully motivates its employees and has achieved significant business success as a result.

UNREAL CONDITION OF PAST

You can use past hypothetical conditionals when you are thinking about a past situation and imagining a different result or outcome.

IF + PAST PERFECT., WOULD HAVE +V3

I would’ve got a bonus if I’d hit my performance targets for the year. (I didn’t hit my targets, so I didn’t get a bonus)

And again if you want to sound more formal u can use inversion omitting if

Had I hit my performance targets, I would have got a bonus

Grammar exercises

1.Choose the correct form

1. If you phoned / had phoned me yesterday, I had told / would have told you about the glitch in our project

2. If the new applicant would have listened/had listened more carefully when I was explaining, he wouldn’t have floundered/won’t have floundered

3.If we’d found / found suitable premises, we’d have moved / we had moved long ago.

4. If I’d known / would know about their financial problems, I wouldn’t do / wouldn’t have done business with them. I regret doing it.

5. If our side had been / was better prepared, we succeeded / could have succeeded in the negotiations.

6. if he wouldn’t hesitate/hadn’t hesitated to ask for help, the company would have weathered /would weather the storm.

7. He hadn’t been /wouldn’t have been fired if he would have done/had done everything by the book

8.You wouldn’t be/ wouldn’t have been reprimanded if you would prepare/had prepared the report in time

9.if you had sugarcoated / would sugarcoat your CV a little, you wouldn’t receive/ would have received that job

10. Nobody wouldn’t remember / would have remembered anything if he didn’t recap/ hadn’t recapped key points in a follow-up email

2. Rewrite the following sentences using “IF” to make “Third Conditionals”

1 You faced the music because you didn’t tell me the truth.

If…

2 He didn’t get promoted because he never toed the line

If…

3 The company was in a touch-and-go situation because they did business illegally.

If…

4 She picked her colleague’s brain because she couldn’t use that program.

If…

5 My coworker did it at his peril because none of us supported him.

If…

6 My friend didn’t do his job properly, so he was sacked.

If…

7 The idea was half-baked so we didn’t accept it

If…

8 They couldn’t meet the deadline so the boss increased workload

If…

9 I didn’t know that you flip-flopped again, so I wasn’t ready for the negotiations.

If…

10 I didn’t get the papers signed because of terrible red tape in the department

If…

11 I was not delighted because we didn’t take the kudos

If…

12 I didn’t have any time because I assumed more responsibility than I could bear

If…

3.Put the verb in brackets in the correct form

1. If I /work/ harder last month, I /get/ a bonus..

2. If I / have/ more time, I /do/ it up to scratch. But I didn’t have time.

3. If our manager /provide/ incentives, we / be/ better motivated.

4. If I / see/ him at the meeting, I /ask/ him to support us.

5. If I /know/ him better, I /delegate/ some of my responsibilities to him

6. If I /see/ him at the meeting, I /advise/ him to look at it from a new perspective

7. If I / have/ a better mentor, I / learn/ all the ropes in this business

8. I / do/ it if I / give/ a free hand

9. I / not say/ that he had pulled figures out of the air if he /not take/ all the kudos.

10. He / not let/ him show me the ropes if I / not ask/ about it mysel

4. Insert a missing word

1. I would ***** finished the report if none of you had bothered me with stupid memes

2.***** you come a bit earlier you would have met our seagull boss

3. if his wife hadn’t given him fake-aways, he ***** have spent a fortune in their office canteen

4. But ***** him, they would have lost that tender

5. If you ***** delegated a few responsibilities, you would have managed to finish the project in time

6. If you had thought twice before doing it, we ***** have had to face the music.

7. If we ***** seen the light at the end of the tunnel, we would have left the company long ago.

8.We would have been back on track ***** you had agreed to cut corners.

9.***** he not called it a day, we would have protested.

10. If he hadn’t mitigated the effects of our poor negotiations, we would have ***** fired immediately.

5. Translate the sentences using past hypothetical conditionals

1. Если бы не ты, меня бы вчера уволили. Мой босс устраивает скандал каждый раз, когда я опаздываю.

2. Если бы тогда вы приняли во внимание мои комментарии, наша работа не была бы уничтожена одним махом / In one fell swoop/.

3. Если бы мы тогда заморозили / put something on hold/ эту сделку, бы мы не понесли такие убытки.

4. Если бы нашу программу не заморозили /put smth on ice / в самом начале, мы бы смогли начать свой бизнес.

5. Если бы вы предупредили нас заранее, мы бы смогли исправить ситуацию.

6. Если бы ты действовал решительно /take the bull by the horns/, мы бы смогли договориться с ними.

7. Если бы ты создал условия / pave the way for/ для нашего развития с самого начала, нас бы пригласили для участия в этом тендере.

8. Если бы вы поторопились, то этот проект уже давно бы перешел из стадии разработки в стадию завершения.

9. Если бы он не вывел компанию из того критического положения, где она оказалась во время пандемии, его бы никогда не поставили во главу /at the helm. /

10. Если бы они поняли раньше в каком тупике /a blind alley / окажутся, они бы отказались от этого рискованного проекта, но тогда они были готовы на все.

Unit 4:
Workplace Difficulties

“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

– Michael Jordan

Almost everybody must have already experienced at least one difficulty at their work-place. If not, it means you are at the very bottom of your career ladder and are likely to have at least one of the difficult issues in the near future. The most common problems involve bullying, lack of motivation, miserable salaries, work-related stress, redundancies, interpersonal conflicts, harassment and misunderstanding. We spend nearly half of our lives at work, and workplace issues are a common source of stress for many of us. It is impossible to imagine having any workplace without conflicts. Most issues may cause negative psychological consequences like decrease in performance and productivity, termination, loss of satisfaction, stress and a wide variety of mental health issues.

Vocabulary related to difficulties at workplace

1.To tackle- to attack or to deal with something

Решать

The company decided to tackle the issue of low employee morale by implementing a new team-building program.

2.Rota- a list which gives details of the order in which different people have to do a particular job

График

The manager created a rota to ensure that all employees had fair and equal shifts.

3.To give priority to – to give an advantage to

Уделять приоритетное внимание

The CEO gave priority to increasing diversity and inclusion within the company.

4.In the doghouse – in a state of disfavour because of something done wrong.

В немилости т к что-то сделал не так

After making a major mistake, the sales manager found himself in the doghouse with the company’s leadership.

5.Surveillance — monitoring, control of something

Наблюдение, надзор

The company installed surveillance cameras to monitor employee behavior in the workplace.

6.In the works – in the process

В работе

A new marketing campaign is in the works to attract more customers.

7.Kickback – money paid back, usually secretly and illegally, in order to get a favourable job or contract

«Откат»

The supplier offered the purchasing manager a kickback in exchange for a large order.

8.Good value for money– correlation between comfortable price and good quality

Хорошее соотношение цены и качества

The new software system provided good value for money and improved efficiency for the company.

9.To lower the boom on– to rage against somebody, to punish

Наложить максимально допустимое взыскание

The CEO decided to lower the boom on any employees found engaging in unethical behaviour.

10.Risk-averse – unwilling to take risks or wanting to avoids risks as much as possible

Нацеленный на предотвращение риска; стремящийся уйти от риска.

The company’s risk-averse approach led them to miss out on potential opportunities for growth.

11.To shell out – to pay money for something; especially when the cost is unexpected and not wanted

Раскошеливаться

The business owner had to shell out a significant amount of money to cover unexpected expenses.

12.To be committed to– to have dedication to something

Быть приверженным

The company is committed to promoting a healthy work-life balance for its employees.

13.To revisit a pay scale -to make changes in different levels of pay for all types of work

Пересмотреть шкалу оплаты труда

It’s time to revisit the pay scale and ensure that all employees are fairly compensated.

14.Commensurate with -suitable in amount or quality compared to something else; matching in degree

Соизмеримый чему-либо

The salary offered was commensurate with the candidate’s level of experience and expertise.

15.To gripe – to make a strong complaint

Жаловаться

Some employees tend to gripe about minor issues rather than focusing on finding solutions.

16.Culprit – someone who has done something wrong

Виновник

The culprit behind the accounting error was finally identified.

17.Collaborative spirit -spirit of cooperation

Дух сотрудничества

The company fosters a collaborative spirit among its employees to encourage teamwork and innovation.

18.To hold one’s tongue-to keep mouth shut

Держать язык за зубами; прикусить язык; помалкивать

Sometimes it’s best to hold one’s tongue and listen before speaking in a business meeting.

19.Ins and outs-the detailed and complicated facts of something

Подробности, подноготная

New employees need time to learn the ins and outs of the company’s policies and procedures.

20.To make a go of it – to succeed in something

Добиться успеха; преуспеть

Despite facing challenges, the entrepreneur was determined to make a go of it with their new business venture.

21.In on the ground floor – participating from the very beginning

Вовлечен во что-либо с самого начала

As an early investor, he was in on the ground floor of a successful startup company.

22.Concurrence -a situation in which people agree or have the same opinion

Согласие, совпадение

The decision was made in concurrence with the recommendations of the board of directors.

23.For the sake of argument-In the interests of discussion

В интересах дискуссии

For the sake of argument, let’s consider the potential drawbacks of this new business strategy.

24.To recharge one’s batteries-to get new energy or to give new energy to something

Набраться сил

After a long week of meetings and deadlines, it’s important to recharge one’s batteries over the weekend.

25.Be burnt out-to be devastated

Быть измотанным

The constant stress and pressure at work led to burnout for many employees in the department.