商务英语阅读 Why it pays to put the workers in the picture

Unit 1 Communication

Communication with employees

Before you read

In your organization, what aspects of management do the employees have a right to know about? What aspects of management do the employees have a right to be consulted on?

Do you think it is an advantage for employers to be put in the picture? Why or Why not? Reading

Read the article from the Financial Times by Alicia Clegg and do the exercises that follow. Why it pays to put the workers in the picture?

When workplace disputes flare up, the blame is often laid on a breakdown in communication. Talking may not always resolve disagreements, but withholding management plans until the last moment can certainly make a difficult situation worse. From 6th April 2005, UK employees gain the legal right to know about, and be consulted on, matters that affect them at work. This covers anything from the economic health of the business to decisions likely to cause redundancies or changes in how work is organized. The new rules, which implement a European Union directive, move the UK closer to other European states, most of which already require workplace consultation.

There are good reasons for businesses to forge ahead with such agreements voluntarily. First, there is the commonsense belief, backed by academic research, that companies do better when their employees are well informed and have a say in decisions that affect them. Second, by kick-starting negotiations the employer effectively takes charge. The regulations give organizations free reign to agree internally what consulting and informing employees amounts to in practice---what topics will be discussed, how often and by what means. In the UK—in contrast to most other EU states---once a framework for information and consultation has been agreed,, there is no requirement to work through elected representatives. If the workforce approved, a business could rely solely on face-to-face and electronic communication.

The mobile operator 3 prefers the personal approach, whenever possible, it uses video calls and e-mail to put its young workforce in contact with senior managers. At the other end of the spectrum is AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceuticals group, which has a history of consulting employees through elected forums and union representatives. Consulting through intermediaries can yield dividends, particularly during a change of ownership or under a redundancy program. Another point in favor of a mediated approach, says Ross Hutchison, head of internal communication at KPMG, the accountancy firm, is that representatives can be taken into the confidence of management in a way that an entire workforce can not.

But do the gains from indirect consultation outweigh the attractions of more direct approaches? Not everyone is persuaded that they do. Alison Gill, co-founder of Getfeedback, a talent management consultancy, argues that knowledge exchange and online polling, not elected assemblies, produce better performance. “ The goal is to involve people directly and profit from their ideas.” In spite of earlier opposition, a growing number of companies believe that putting employees in the picture is good for business. If the remainder do not follow suit, they may now find their workers give them little choice.

1. Look through the whole article again and put these paragraph headings into the correct order. a)\ Some advantages of consultation

b) European law encourages consultation

c) Some good reasons for acting now

d) The different approaches

2. Find expressions in paragraph 1 that mean the same as the phrases below.

a)\ people in a company getting angry because they disagree

b) saying who is responsible for something going wrong

c) not telling anyone about the directors’ strategy

d) a law agreed in Brussels to be incorporated into the law of each member state of Europe.

3. True or false (paragraph 2)?

a)\ It is a good idea for businesses to set up these consultation agreements before they are put under any legal pressure to do so.

b) Academic research shows that it is risky for companies to keep their employees informed and give them a say in decisions that affect them.

c) Employers are better able to be in control if they do not even start these negotiations about consultation.

d) Under the new regulations, bosses and employees can agree on the format of the information and consultation process.

e) There is, however, an obligation to use face-to-face and electronic communication

4. Which of the information and consultation processes below were adopted by 3, AstraZeneca

or KPMG (lines 47-70) ?

a)\ sharing secrets with a small group of employees

b) addressing all employees by video

c) working with groups of employee and union representatives

d) sending e-mails to everyone

5. Find words or expressions from lines 71-89 that mean:

a)\add up to more than

b) convinced

c) carrying our surveys by e-mail or via the internet

d) do the same thing