Grade:
Subject:

#3155. Management survey

Language, level: all
Posted Tue Jun 8 22:35:46 PDT 2004 by English-to-go (editor@english-to-go.com).
English-to-go
English-to-go.com, New Zealand
Materials Required: Photocopier
Activity Time: 2 hours
Concepts Taught: Apre-intermediate ESL lesson

Pre-Intermediate
Instant Lesson™




Management
Survey





Pre-Reading Activities





A: Vocabulary


Part One: Match the following words with their meanings:
















Words


company


manager


survey

Meanings


- a person who controls a business, hotel or bank


- a group of people who work together to make or sell things


- asking questions about what people think or do and then recording the results





Part
Two
: Here are some words from today's article. Put each word after the most suitable word in bold below. (Use your dictionary if necessary.)


firms, bosses, polls, businesses







Companies:____________________________________

Managers:____________________________________

Surveys:____________________________________







B: Brainstorming






Answer these questions in small groups.



1. What should a good manager be? Make a list of adjectives. (You may use your dictionary.)




A good manager should be... e.g. honest, organized, confident, ...





2. Which of the qualities on your list do you think is most important for a manager? Which is least important? Why do you think this?









C: What Do You Think?





Answer the questions below alone.





1. Which of the four countries below do you think has the highest number of men bosses?


Japan, Pakistan, Russia, the United States




2. Which of the four countries below do you think has the lowest number of men bosses?


Japan, Pakistan, Russia, the United States





Now compare your answers in pairs.





Reading Activities


A: Understanding The Main Idea






Here is part of today's article about the results of a survey. Read the questions and find the answers in the article. Do this as quickly as you can.





1. Which country has the highest number of women bosses?


2. What percentage of companies in this country have women in senior management?

















Where Are Women Bosses Most Common?
















HONG KONG Mon Feb 23 (Reuters) - Women are included in the senior management of nearly 90 percent of Russian companies, the highest rate among major countries, a survey showed on Sunday.






Glossary:
common - found in large numbers

senior- more important


rate - how often something happens




Article © 2004 Reuters Limited. Lesson © 2004 www.english-to-go.com











B: Ordering Information


1. Today's article lists some of the survey results. Use this part of the article to fill the gaps in the information chart.





Women in Senior Management in Different Countries

























Percentage (%) of Companies



Countries



89

b. ___


c. ___


29


f. ___




a. __________

Philippines


d. __________


e. __________


the Netherlands / Pakistan




































The survey found women were included in the senior management of 89 percent of Russian companies, followed by 85 percent in the Philippines and 75 percent in the United States.





The Netherlands and Pakistan, each with 27 percent, were at the bottom, while in Japan the figure was 29 percent.




Article © 2004 Reuters Limited. Lesson © 2004 www.english-to-go.com














2. Now answer these questions.






a. Which country was at the top of the survey?


b. Which countries were at the bottom of the survey?







C: Complete the Sentences



Use this part of the article to complete these sentences.





1. In Russia the percentage of women senior managers was _______%.


2. In Japan the percentage of women senior managers was _______%.


































However, even in Russia, women held only 42 percent of the total senior manager posts. Japan came last with eight percent.








Article © 2004 Reuters Limited. Lesson © 2004 www.english-to-go.com














D: Complete The Table



Use the article to complete this table of information about the survey.














Survey was done by:


Kind of firm that did the survey:



Number of businesses surveyed:


Size of businesses surveyed:


Number of countries and territories:


When the survey was done:


Regions included in the survey:




















Where Are Women Bosses Most Common?


















HONG KONG Mon Feb 23 (Reuters) - Women are included in the senior management of nearly 90 percent of Russian companies, the highest rate among major countries, a survey showed on Sunday.



Grant Thornton, a business advisory firm, polled 6,900 medium-sized businesses from 26 major countries and territories in September and October last year.



The survey found women were included in the senior management of 89 percent of Russian companies, followed by 85 percent in the Philippines and 75 percent in the United States.





The Netherlands and Pakistan, each with 27 percent, were at the bottom, while in Japan the figure was 29 percent.



However, even in Russia, women held only 42 percent of the total senior manager posts. Japan came last in this category with eight percent.



The regions covered included the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.




Glossary:
advisory - giving help and information on a particular subject




Article © 2004 Reuters Limited. Lesson © 2004 www.english-to-go.com











E: Thinking Carefully


Read and answer the questions below.









"Women are included in the senior management of nearly 90 percent of Russian companies..."







1a. In how many Russian companies are women included in senior management?90% / less than 90%


b. What word in the sentence helped you answer question 1a?










"However, even in Russia, women held only 42 percent of the total senior manager posts."







2. Look at the way the sentence above is written. What words in this sentence show that this result is not high, although Russia has the highest rate of women senior managers?












Post-Reading Activities



You may do one or more of these.



A: Language





"Women are included in the senior management of nearly 90 percent of Russian companies..."







Nearly means 'almost'

or 'not quite'. Today's article told us that "women were included in the senior management of 89 percent of Russian companies." The article also reports this as 'nearly 90 percent' (almost 90 percent).





'Nearly' and 'almost' are often used in report writing with numbers. Here are some examples.

Read them and see if you understand their meanings.






(Japan's figure - 29%) In Japan the figure was almost 30%.
(38% of senior managers - women) In her company almost 40% of senior managers are women.
(8% of senior managers) Nearly 10% of the senior managers in our company earn more than $200,000 a year.





'Nearly' and 'almost' are also used in this way in everyday speaking and writing (e.g. with telling the time, amounts of money, age etc).




Here are some examples used in speaking:




(The time on her watch says 4.50 pm.) She says, "Hurry up! It's nearly 5 o'clock! We'll be late for the meeting."

(She is on vacation for 2 weeks and 5 days.) She says, "I'll be on vacation for nearly 3 weeks."

(He is 58 years old.) He says, "I'm almost 60. I'll be retiring from the company next year."

(I have $4,850.) I say, "I've got almost $5, 000 to spend on furniture."



'Nearly' and 'almost' are both adverbs.




Another adverb that is often used with numbers is 'exactly'. Look at the examples below.





They pay me exactly
$40,000 a year.
(Not $39,000 or $41,000, but $40,000.)

There are 20 people in the room. I have exactly 20 glasses of wine.
(I don't have 19 glasses of wine. I have 20 glasses.)




Put the words in brackets below in the right order to make sentences using nearly, almost and exactly.







1. (worked for /She / years / company / the / for nearly 50) Then she retired.

2. (earn almost / I / a year / $200,000) I'm rich!

3. (exactly one / I / was sick / week / for) But my boss says I was sick for 9 days!

4. (Nearly / survey / were polled / 7,000 businesses / in the) Their answers were very interesting.

5. (was almost / 9 pm / It / when the / finished / meeting) We were all very tired.

6. (I paid / for / this computer / exactly $3,000) The salesman tried to make me pay $3,100 but I refused.







B: Extended Reading




The last part of the article is difficult. You may like to try and read it using your dictionary. Then answer the question.






























Grant Thornton said studying the results needed some care due to cultural differences.



"Women's rights issues, religious constraints and, crucially in the modern world, economic ones, such as childcare costs, are all key factors which can help determine the levels of representation by women in senior management," it said.







Glossary:
determine
- control, decide




Article © 2004 Reuters Limited. Lesson © 2004
www.english-to-go.com











1. What things may help decide what level of manager a woman may reach?






C: Discussion




Answer these questions in pairs.





1. Think about your own country. Are there many women who are senior managers in your country?


2. The last part of the article mentions that things like the cost of childcare stops women from being senior managers. What things do you think make it difficult for women to become senior managers?

3. What things can be done to help women become senior managers?







D: Opposites Game


Work in pairs. Your teacher will give you some words. Each word has an opposite. As quickly as you can, match all the words with their opposite meanings:









For example,
happy - sad
senior - junior









TEACHERS' NOTES AND ANSWER KEY



Please Note: This lesson has a graph interpretation and language activities for your students to do online.






Pre-Reading Activities


A: Vocabulary - Notes


Part Two: A boss is a person who controls any workplace and tells the people what they have to do.




A: Vocabulary - Answers



Part One

company - a group of people who work together to make or sell things

manager - a person who controls a business, hotel or bank

survey - asking questions about what people think or do and then recording the results

Part Two

Companies- firms, businesses

Managers - bosses

Surveys- polls


B: Brainstorming - Notes




There are no right or wrong answers for this activity. You could ask students to compare their answers for 2. as a class by:



a. writing their group's answers on large sheets of paper which are then stuck to the wall for everyone to look at.

b. asking a representative from each group to write the answers on the board.

Students can then make comparisons.




C: What Do You Think? - Notes


Do not tell the students the answers for questions 1. and 2. (according to the survey in today's article.) Students will find out the answers to these in the reading activities. Students may like to talk about why they have chosen certain countries as having the highest or lowest number of managers. Be alert for any racist or sexist comments that may offend other members of the class.




Reading Activities


A: Understanding The Main Idea - Answers


1. Russia, 2. nearly 90%.




B: Ordering Information - Answers



1a. Russia, b. 85, c. 75, d. the United States, e. Japan, f. 27.

2. Russia, b. the Netherlands and Pakistan.




C: Complete the Sentences - Answers


1. 42%, 2. 8%.





D: Complete The Table - Answers

Survey was done by: Grant Thornton

Kind of firm that did the survey: business advisory

Number of businesses surveyed: 6,900

Size of businesses surveyed: medium

Number of countries and territories: 26

When the survey was done: September and October 2003

Regions included in the survey: the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific




E: Thinking Carefully - Answers



1a. less than 90%, b. nearly.

2. however, even, only



Post-Reading Activities




A: Language - Notes


The main purpose of this activity is for students to be able to recognize these adverbs and understand their meanings in reading and speaking.




A: Language - Answers



1. She worked for the company for nearly 50 years. Then she retired.

2. I earn almost $200,000 a year. I'm rich!

3. I was sick for exactly one week. But my boss says I was sick for 9 days!

4. Nearly 7,000 businesses were polled in the survey. Their answers were very interesting.

5. It was almost 9 pm when the meeting finished. We were all very tired.

6. I paid exactly $3,000 for this computer. The salesman tried to make me pay $3,100 but I refused.


B: Extended Reading - Answers


1. women's rights issues, religious constraints, economic factors e.g. childcare costs.





D: Opposites Game - Notes



Make a copy of a set of words for each pair. Cut up each word so that students can sort the words individually. You may like to copy them onto colored card (each pair getting a different color) so it is easier to sort the words into sets. When you give a signal, students sort the words so that each word is facing its opposite.


The game can stop when they have completed all their sorting, or you can give a signal, and students stop whether they have finished or not.


You can 'mark' their work by asking each pair to give an answer and asking each pair in turn. Students can keep score themselves (getting a point for each pair of opposites they match correctly). You could finish by asking them to write sentences with the words from the game. The game itself can be played once or twice during the lesson (you could begin with it and then end with it if you wish). Students can work with the same partner each time or with a new partner.



This game is more difficult than it looks as students may incorrectly choose words that are opposite in meaning but have the wrong form: e.g. incorrectly matching the superlative adjective 'highest' with the noun / adjective ' bottom'. All of the words are adjectives.

With some words the antonym (opposite in meaning) is completely different while in others the opposite is formed by adding a prefix like dis- or un-. In the case of 'careless' the opposite is formed by adding a suffix '-less': careful / careless.



Extra activities - ask students to categorize the words (much as they did in Pre-Reading Activity A Part One and try and find adjectives that are similar in some way. For example, there could be adjectives that describe character, and those that describe position (top, highest).


- look at how the antonyms of adjectives are formed by adding prefixes. Students can make a list of the prefixes that are used for this and a list of adjectives they want to learn.




D: Opposites Game - Words To Be Cut Up And Given To Students





















































































































































senior




junior




male




female




single




married




common




uncommon




top




bottom




highest




lowest




major




minor




little




big




cheap




expensive




hot




cold




strange




normal




easy




difficult




open




shut




wettest




driest




small-sized




large-sized




clean




dirty




careful




careless




foolish




wise




confident




shy




lazy




hardworking




honest




dishonest




correct




incorrect




happy




sad




extraordinary




ordinary




organized




disorganized





D: Opposites Game -
Answers

















senior
- junior

male - female

single - married

common - uncommon

top - bottom

highest - lowest

major - minor

little - big


cheap
- expensive

hot - cold

strange - normal

easy - difficult

open - shut

wettest - driest

small-sized - large-sized

clean - dirty

careful - careless



foolish - wise
confident - shy

lazy - hardworking

honest - dishonest

correct - incorrect

happy - sad

extraordinary - ordinary

organized - disorganized




040223busf






English-to-go.com