C. Number the statements below in the order they are in the text:
1. Many similar cases occur daily.
2. If morale is good, team spirit should be good.
3. Morale is the collective attitude of workers towards each other, their work and management.
4. Each group has a particular kind of acceptable behaviour.
5. The remedy for lack of team spirit is to give staff better education and knowledge.
Vocabulary tasks
A. Match the opposites:
1. simple
a. wrongly
2. collective
b. low
3. broad
c. external
4. high
d. rarely
5. superiority
e. worse
6. constantly
f. individual
7. internal
g. complex
8. rightly
h. inferiority
9. better
i. narrow
B. Complete these sentences with the words from the text:
1. It is the collective _________ of workers towards each other.
2. Work is done _________ .
3. Work is of poor _________ .
4. This participation tends to give the members a _________ of superiority.
5. Individual interests must be _________ to the group interest.
6. Every member is working to achieve the group ________ and obeys internal authority
7. The manufacturing _________ may not achieve its target.
8. Discipline action should contribute _________ improved behaviour.
C. Match these words as they occur in the text:
1. simple
a. way
2. military
b. kind
3. fair
c. quality
4. group
d. sense
5. particular
e. behavior
6. acceptable
f. attitude
7. poor
g. definition
8. collective
h. purpose
Discussion
In groups decide how far you agree with these statements. Give your reasons:
1. Morale is the collective attitude of workers towards each other, their work and management.
2. When morale is low, work is of poor quality and problems arise.
3. Team spirit may be low because people are aware that some members are not pulling their weight.
Discipline
Before you read
Discuss this question:
What is labour discipline?
Now read the article. What does it say about the question above?
A basis for effective discipline is good motivation and sound, clearly-given instructions. It is essential for good communications to be used in order to let staff know what they are required to do.
Ideally, discipline should be based upon co-operation and a high morale, which will ensure rules and conditions are obeyed willingly. By virtue of his position, a superior has the right to command and enforce obedience, if necessary. This gives him the right to punish, because of the harm which may be done to the group’s purpose.
Discipline can be obtained by rewards as well as by punishment, but usually punishment is expected if accepted norms of behaviour are not upheld.
Discipline action should contribute towards improved behaviour, but certain matters must be noted:
§ behaviour expected must be made known and this best done in the period of induction;
§ discipline should be exercised fairly, with no favouritism or excessive penalties, and as soon after the breach as possible. (Some methods of disciplining are by reprimand, downgrading, suspension, refusing a wage increase, transfer or dismissal);
§ management should not break rules itself. A good example is essential;
§ the quality of discipline can vary with the type of leadership and the understanding of the common purpose of the organization.
Reading tasks
A. In pairs discuss these questions about the text:
1. What is effective discipline?
2. Why is it so essential?
3. What should discipline be based upon?
4. What rights does a superior have?
5. How can discipline be obtained?
6. What is necessary to know about discipline?
B. Which of the following statements is false:
1. Only good motivation is a basic for discipline.
2. Discipline should be based on command and enforced obedience.
3. A superior has the right to punish.
4. Management could break rules itself.
5. The quality of discipline can vary with the type of leadership.
Vocabulary tasks
A. Match these words with their definitions:
1. sound
a. interest in an activity
2. instruction
b. breaking of, or failure to observe a law
3. motivation
c. damage, injury
4. breach
d. something given or received in return for what was done
5. reward
e. well-founded
6. harm
f. knowledge or teaching imparted
B. Complete these sentences with the words from the text:
1. The staff should know what they are _________ to do.
2. A superior has the _________ to command.
3. The harm may be done to the _________ purpose.
4. Discipline can be obtained by rewards _________ by punishment.
5. A good example is_________ .
6. The quality of discipline can _________ with the type of leadership.
7. Discipline action should contribute _________ improved behaviour.
8. Punishment is _________ if accepted norms of behaviour are not upheld.
Discussion
In pairs decide how far you agree with these statements. Give your reasons:
1. A basis for effective discipline is good motivation and sound, clearly given instructions.
2. A superior has the right to command and enforce obedience.
3. Discipline can be obtained by rewards as well as by punishment.
Unit 21
Human Rights
Before you read
Discuss this question:
What human rights can you think of?
Now read the article. What does it say about the question above?
Human rights are another basis for making ethical judgments. A right means that a person or group is entitled to something or is entitled to be treated in a certain way. The most basic human rights are those claims or entitlements that enable a person to survive, to make free choices and to realize one’s potential as a human being. Denying those rights or failing to protect them for other persons and groups is normally considered to be unethical. Respecting others, even those with whom we disagree or whom we dislike, is the essence of human rights, provided that others do the same for us. This approach to ethical reasoning holds that individuals are to be treated as valuable ends in themselves just because they are human beings. Using others for your own purposes is unethical if, at the same time, you deny them their goals and purposes. For example, a union that denies a group of women employees an opportunity to bid for all jobs for which they are qualified is depriving them of some of their rights. Or a company that carelessly disposes of hazardous wastes may be guilty of ignoring the rights of others and simply using the environment for its own selfish purposes.
The main limitation of using rights as a basis of ethical reasoning is the difficulty of balancing conflicting rights. For example, an employee’s right to privacy may be at odds with an employer’s right to protect the firm’s cash by testing the employee’s honesty. Some of the most difficult balancing acts have occurred when minorities and women have competed with white males for the right to hold jobs in business and government.
The protection and promotion of human rights is an important ethical benchmark for judging the behavior of individuals and organizations. Surely most people would agree that it is unethical to deny a person’s fundamental right to life, freedom, privacy, growth, and human dignity. By defining the human condition and pointing the way to a realization of human potentialities, such rights become a kind of common denominator of ethical reasoning, setting, forth the essential conditions for ethical actions and decisions.
Reading tasks
A. Understanding main points. Answer these questions:
1. What does a right mean?
2. What are the most basic human rights?
3. What is considered to be unethical?
4. What is the essence of human rights?
5. How can women employees be denied of their rights?
6. Why is the protection of human rights an important ethical benchmark?
B. Understanding details. Mark these statements T (true) or F (false) according to the information in the text:
1. A person is entitled to be treated in a certain way.
2. Respecting those whom we dislike is unethical.
3. Using others for your own purposes in unethical.
4. An employee’s right to privacy must be respected.
5. A kind of common denominator of ethical reasoning is defining the human condition.
Vocabulary tasks
A. Match the opposites:
1. human
a. to deprive
2. to enable
b. careful
3. respect
c. unethical
4. ethical
d. to fire
5. to deny
e. minor
6. careless
f. individual
7. to employ
g. inhuman
8. main
h. disrespect
9. common
i. to confirm
B. Match these adjectives from the text with nouns which they describe:
1. human
a. way
2. ethical
b. purposes
3. certain
c. limitation
4. hazardous
d. denominator
5. selfish
e. rights
6. main
f. benchmark
7. important
g. wastes
8. common
h. judgement
C. Complete these sentences with the words from the box:
1. The person is entitled to be __________ in a certain way.
2. It is __________ to deprive people of their rights.
3. Respecting others is the __________ of human rights.
4. It is unethical to use others for your own __________ .
5. A company may be __________ of ignoring the rights of employees.
6. Minorities and women have competed with white __________ for the right to hold jobs in business and government.
7. It is unethical to __________ a person’s fundamental right to life, freedom, privacy.
Discussion
Protection and promotion of human rights in Ukraine.
Unit 22
Justice: Is It Fair?
Before you read
Discuss the question:
What is justice?
Now read the text. What does it say about the question above?
A third method of ethical reasoning concerns justice. “Is it fair or just?” is a common question in human affairs. Employees want to know if pay scales are fair. Consumers are interested in fair prices when they shop. When new tax laws are proposed, there is much debate about their fairness – where will the burden fall, and who will escape paying their fair share?
Justice (or fairness) exists when benefits and burdens are distributed equitably and according to some accepted rule. For society as a whole, social justice means that a society’s income and wealth are distributed among the people in fair proportions. A fair distribution does not necessarily mean an equal distribution. The shares received by people depend on the society’s approved rules for getting and keeping income and wealth. These rules will vary from society to society. Most societies try to consider people’s needs, abilities, efforts, and the contributions they make to society’s welfare. Since these factors are seldom equal, fair shares will vary from person to person and from group to group.
Determining what is just and unjust is often a very explosive issue because the stakes are so high. Since distributive rules usually grant privileges to some groups based on tradition and custom, sharp inequalities between groups can generate social tensions and demands for a fairer system. An “equal opportunity” rule – that is, a rule that gives everyone the same starting advantages in life (to health, to education, and to career choices) – can lead to a fairer distribution of society’s benefits and burdens.
Justice reasoning is not the same as utilitarian reasoning. A person using utilitarian reasoning adds up costs and benefits to see if one is greater than the other; if benefits exceed costs, then the action would probably be considered ethical. A person using justice reasoning considers who pays the costs and who gets the benefits; if the shares seem fair (according to society’s rules), then the action is probably just. Is it ethical to move a factory from Boston to Houston? The utilitarian would say “Yes” if the net benefits to all parties are greater than the costs incurred by everyone. A person using justice reasoning would say “Yes” if the benefits and costs caused by the move were fairly borne by all parties affected by the move. The utilitarian reasoner is interested in the net sum. The justice reasoner is interested in fair shares.
Reading tasks
A. Understanding main points. Answer these questions:
1. What are consumers interested in?
2. What do employees want to know?
3. When does justice exist?
4. What does social justice mean?
5. A fair distribution is an equal distribution, isn’t it?
6. Is it easy to determine what is just?
7. What does an “equal opportunity” mean?
8. What is the difference between justice reasoning and utilitarian reasoning?
B. Understanding details. Mark these statements T (true) or F (false) according to the information in the text. Find the part of the text that gives the correct information:
1. Justice is ethical reasoning.
2. Benefits and burdens must not be distributed equitably.
3. A fair distribution means an equal distribution.
4. Fair shares vary from person to person.
5. Distributive rules grant privileges to some groups.
6. Sharp inequalities between groups can generate social tensions.
Vocabulary tasks
A. Match these terms with their definitions:
1. justice
a. the amount of money for which a thing is bought or sold
2. price
b. good health, happiness, and prosperity
3. benefit
c. the exercise of authority in the maintenance or right