IELTS Listening · Cam 9

Test 2 Part 4

Good morning, everyone. Now, whether you're going to university to study business

Level: B2 · 71 sentences

Transcript

1. Good morning, everyone.
2. Now, whether you're going to university to study business
3. Or some other subject, many of you
4. Will eventually end up working for a company of some kind.
5. Now, when you first start working somewhere,
6. You will realize that the organization you've joined has certain characteristics.
7. And we often refer to these social characteristics
8. As the culture of the organization.
9. This includes its unwritten ideas, beliefs, values, and things like that.
10. One well-known writer has classified company cultures by identifying four major types.
11. The first type is called the power culture,
12. And it's usually found in small organizations.
13. It's the type of culture that needs a central source of power to be effective.
14. And because control is in the hands of just one
15. Or two people, there aren't many rules or procedures.
16. Another characteristic is that communication usually takes the form of conversations
17. Rather than, say, formal meetings or written memos.
18. Now, one of the benefits of this culture
19. Is that the organization has the ability to act quickly.
20. So it responds well to threat
21. Or danger on the one hand and opportunity on the other.
22. But on the negative side,
23. This type of organization doesn't always act effectively
24. Because it depends too much on one
25. Or two people at the top.
26. And when these people make poor decisions,
27. There's no one else who can influence them.
28. And the kind of person
29. Who does well in this type of business culture is one
30. Who is happy to take risks.
31. And for whom job security is a low priority.
32. The next type is known as role culture.
33. That's R-O-L-E, not R-O-double-L, by the way.
34. And this type is usually found in large companies,
35. Which have lots of different levels in them.
36. These organizations usually have separate departments
37. That specialize in things like finance or sales or maintenance or whatever.
38. Each one is coordinated at the top,
39. By a small group of senior managers.
40. And typically, everyone's job is controlled by sets of rules and procedures.
41. For example, there are specific job descriptions,
42. Rules for discipline, and so on.
43. What are the benefits of this kind of culture?
44. Well, firstly, because it's found in large organizations,
45. Its fixed costs, or overheads as they're known,
46. Are low in relation to its output or what it produces.
47. In other words, it can achieve economies of scale.
48. And secondly, it is particularly successful in business markets
49. Where technical expertise is important.
50. On the other hand,
51. This culture is often very slow to recognize the need for change
52. And even slower to react.
53. What kind of person does this type of culture suit?
54. Well, it suits employees who value security.
55. And who don't particularly want to have responsibility.
56. Moving on now to task cultures,
57. This type is found in organizations that are project-oriented.
58. You usually find it
59. Where the market for the company's product is extremely competitive,
60. Or where the products themselves have a short lifespan.
61. Usually, top management delegates the projects, the people, and other resources.
62. And once these have been allocated,
63. Little day-to-day control is exercised from the top,
64. Because this would seem like breaking the rules.
65. Now, one of the major benefits of this culture is that it's flexible.
66. But it does have some major disadvantages, too.
67. For instance, it can't produce economies of scale
68. Or great depth of expertise.
69. People who like working in groups
70. Or teams prefer this type of culture.
71. And finally, the fourth category is called the person culture.