Managing the Goldcollar worker

Exercise 9.

I. Study the definitions of some terms from the Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary.

Blue-collar workers do manual work as opposed to office work.

A white-collar worker is someone who works in an office as opposed to someone who works with their hands.

II. Scan the text below and find the definition of the term goldcollar workers.

Exercise 10. Read and translate the following text.

Every Thursday afternoon at the Kansas City, Mo., headquarters of Hallmark Cards Inc., nearly 100 employees come into small theater to watch cartoons. But not always cartoons. Sometimes it's feature films; occasionally it's film classics. And it's all on company time.

These employees are members of Hallmark's creative department. These writers and artists are actually doing their jobs - searching for ideas to use on cards, wrapping paper and other products.

«Thursday Theatre» is one of the tools Hallmark uses to motivate its most talented employees. The company also regularly sends key employees across the country, even to other continents, with instructions to wander in art galleries, watch plays, or window-shop-hunting for ideas that might translate into sales.

Sometimes it pays off handsomely. Several years ago, while viewing the King Tut exhibit at Washington's National Gallery of Art, one employee suddenly pictured the famous gold death mask as a puzzle for children. That one trip brought more than a $500,000 return to the company.

Historically, company R&D centers have been the fortresses of innovation. And R&D managers have long understood that creative employees should be motivated and rewarded differently than other workers. Firms like 3M Co., for example, allow creative people to follow their intuition. And the results have been revolutionary new products -including masking tape and wet / dry sandpaper.

Employees whose jobs require a high degree of creativity and special skills, and who are engaged in major projects, are called goldcollar workers. The term was coined by Robert E. Kelley in his book The Gold Collar Worker (Addison Wesley Publishing). The goldcollar workers include such employees as product-development personnel, computer programmers, advertising copywriters and engineers.

Poor managers don't know how to handle goldcollar workers. Some of them don't understand creative people and interfere with them. Other managers are unwilling to take responsibility and encourage innovation. A third type of manager refuses to treat talented employees differently. For many companies it is important to find managers who know how to motivate goldcollar workers.

One key to motivating creative workers is tolerance. Executives should be tolerant of their independence, behavior, new ideas, alternative ways of doing things. More than any other employees, the goldcollar worker also demands feedback on his performance and evaluation.

Goldcollar workers want autonomy. «The best thing you can do for creative people is just get out of their way. Give them a task and leave them alone», - says Peter F. Drucker, recognized management authority.

Creative people are paid bonuses, royalties and stock. Traditional annual achievement awards are given to them at many companies, 3M and General Electric included.

Exercise 11. Answer the following questions.

1. What are the tools Hallmark uses to motivate its most talented employees?

2. How effective are they?

3. How are creative employees encouraged and motivated at 3M?

4. What have been the results?

5. What employees are called goldcollar workers?

6. Who coined this term?

7. What are the three common mistakes in managing goldcollar workers?

8. What are the keys to motivating creating workers?

9. Should goldcollar workers be treated and rewarded differently, in your opinion?

Exercise 12. Retell the text.

Exercise 13. Draw up a table like the one given below. Make lists of different ways of treating goldcollar workers.

Improper treatment	Proper treatment

Exercise 14. Answer the following questions using the words and word combinations given below.

1. Why are goldcollar workers' ideas so important for the company?

(to bring (brought) return ['briŋ (bro:t) ri'tə:n] приносить прибыль

to be profitable ['profitəbl] быть прибыльным

to get (got) benefit from smth. = derive benefit from smth [di'raiv 'benifit] извлекать пользу из чего-л.

to make (made) money = to earn money ['ə:n'm⋀ni] зарабатывать деньги

to profit by introducing a new idea / technology

['profit baiˌ intrə'dju:siŋ... ai'diə/tek'nolədʒi] получить прибыль от внедрения повой идеи / технологии

to receive money [ri'si:v 'm⋀ni] получать деньги

2. What are goldcollar workers' achievements?

to create a new machine / device [kri: 'eit... mə'ʃi:n / di'vais] создавать новую машину / прибор

to discover [dis'k⋀və] = to make (made) a discovery [dis'k⋀vəri] делать открытие

to develop a new product [di'veləp... 'prodəkt] разработать новое изделие

to develop a new technique [tek'ni:k] разработать новую методику

to formulate a new law ['fɔ:mjuleit... 'lɔ:] формулировать новый закон

to introduce a discovery [intrə'dju:s] внедрить открытие

to invent [in'vent] изобретать

to pioneer a technology [ˌpaiə'niə tek'nolədʒi] быть первооткрывателем технологии

to work out a new method ['meθəd] разработать новый метод

3. Where do creative employees work?

in a research laboratory [ri'sə:tʃ lə'borətəri] в научно-исследовательской лаборатории in a R&D department в отделе научно-исследовательских и опытно-конструкторских работ

in a design office [di'zain 'ofis] в проектной конторе in a creative department в отделе творческих разработок)

4. What are characteristic features of a goldcollar worker?

creative thinking [kri:'eitiv 'θiŋkiŋ] творческое мышление

creativity [ˌkri:ei'tiviti] n способность созидать

genius ['dʒi:njəs] n одаренность; гениальность; гений, гениальный человек

imagination [iˌmædʒi'neiʃən] n творческое воображение

5. What sort of person is a goldcollar worker?

(bright [brait] а способный, смышленый

capable ['keipəbl] а способный, одаренный

clever ['klevə] а умный

creative [kri:'eitiv] творческий

diligent ['dilidʒənt] а прилежный, усердный

efficient [i'fiʃənt] = skilled ['skild] а квалифицированный

gifted ['giftid] а одаренный

imaginative [i'mædʒinətiv] а одаренный богатым воображением

industrious [in'd⋀striəs] а работоспособный, трудолюбивый

persistent [pə'sistənt] а упорный, настойчивый)

6. Why is it sometimes difficult to handle goldcollar workers?

absent-minded ['æbsənt 'maindid] а рассеянный

ambitious [æm'biʃəs] а честолюбивый

conceited [kən'si:tid] а самодовольный, тщеславный

haughty ['ho:ti] а надменный, высокомерный

hot-tempered ['hot 'tempəd] а горячий, вспыльчивый

ill-mannered ['il 'mænəd] а невоспитанный, грубый

obstinate ['obstinit] а упрямый

undisciplined [⋀n'disiplind ] и недисциплинированный

uncommunicative ['⋀nkə'mjunikətiv] а необщительный, замкнутый

Exercise 15. Speak about handling creative employees. Give examples from your personal experience.

Exercise 16. Speech situations.

1. You're a managing director. Tell a new R&D manager how to treat creative employees.

2. You're a manager in a toy factory. You want to make a new doll / toy car / game. Explain the task to your artists. Ask them to search for revolutionary new ideas.

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