09_Relationship-building
So as we have seen, then, relationship-building is not the same as team-building. When we talk about relationship-building we are talking about a competency in which we cultivate relationships both inside and outside the workplace, with individuals and groups.I’m going to sum up by suggesting practical ideas of how you can all develop your relationship-building competency ... tips that you can easily incorporate into your day-­to-­day lives in such a way that they will eventually become a habit.I’m going to talk about informal relationships but, as we discussed earlier, the ideas can be transferred to a more formal environment. First I’ll talk about initiating new relationships and then I’ll mention a few ways that you can practise developing existing relationships.Let’s start off with the obvious. Common sense is always a good starting point. The first thing we should all do is to practise simple courtesies. This might seem like common sense to some people, but in actual fact you’d be surprised at how many people do neglect these things. Set yourself a goal to say ‘Good morning’ to three people you normally wouldn’t.We should also try to get to know colleagues outside the office. Ask people what their interests are. If you share an interest in tennis, say, suggest a game. Plan an occasional social event with co­-workers. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated, a coffee together or a picnic lunch, for example.Another thing you can do is to actually target somebody in your office – somebody you would like to know better. Make it your goal to talk to them. Small talk is fine. Listen to what they say and take notice of the information you learn about their interests. Make sure you keep yourself up to date on what’s happening in the world too. You won’t be very good at small talk if you don’t know about current affairs.So let’s imagine that we have done these things and that we have started a few new relationships. What can we do to develop them further? How can we nurture the relationships so that they don’t just fizzle out or stay on a plain?Well, for a start we should focus on a person’s good qualities and not on their deficiencies. Nobody’s perfect after all.We should also practise effective listening. We are all good at speaking, but how many of us really listen? And people want to be listened to. They appreciate it and they respond. Try it!If we are in a conflictive situation with somebody, we should focus on the issue and not on the person. So, we can hammer out a point of disagreement but then – shake hands and go for a coffee. Usually it is an issue that is the problem and not a person.Choose somebody who you consider to be an acquaintance and make a point of learning something new about his or her interests. Think of some questions that you can ask them for when you next meet.Finally, when you are talking to people with whom you have a relationship of some kind, get into the habit of asking open­-ended questions. That way they’ll be able to give their points of view. Sometimes people just need to have the chance to say what they think … and very often it doesn’t happen.

10_Line management
Presenter: Welcome back to the second part of our programme ‘How do you manage?’ I have with me Jenny Buxton, who works in Ipswich. Welcome, Jenny.Manager: Hi.Presenter: You work for a well-known firm of retailers, but it’s not the products I wanted to talk to you about today, it’s the people involved. You’ve been responsible for a staff of 15 for a year or so now. Tell me how you got there.Manager: Well, I did the standard round of applications from university and this is my second employer. I enjoy the area of retailing, but as far as managing staff, that‘s more recent and so it's quite a new area for me with a whole new set of challenges.Presenter: You pride yourself on being good with people. You’ve got quite a sociable, outgoing personality. I imagine you’d be a good person to work under.Manager: Well, that’s what I like to think. But managing people isn’t all about sitting down with a cup of tea and talking over issues. Being in a position of responsibility means you can be the bringer of bad news as well as good. You have to develop a thick skin ... to be unpopular, not to be liked for a decision you make.Presenter: And I guess that can be hard at first.Manager: Yes, but the thing you learn, if you stick at it long enough, is that people will still respect you even if they don't like what you had to say on a particular subject, or the way you acted.Presenter: Are there other aspects of line managing that you find difficult?Manager: One of the hardest, most awkward things is the issue of disciplinary action. The company should have a system in place for dealing with this kind of area and you have to make sure the system is understood and agreed by everyone. But ultimately, if you’ve taken the employee through all the procedures and he or she still doesn't shape up, some hard decisions have got to be made.Presenter: We seem to be focusing a lot on the negative side here. What about some of the positive things?Manager: Oh, the chance to help people reflect on things, how they are developing with the company. I like seeing people develop, change and perhaps go off on a completely new path, something that may never have occurred to them if you hadn't pointed them in that direction.Presenter: I imagine it can be quite satisfying.Manager: Yes. And then there’s the sheer variety. You plan your work, you have to get yourself well organised, but ultimately no two days are ever the same. There is always a new challenge, and I like that more than anything. 

11_Complaining
HRO Good morning, Mr Johnson. How can I help you?Mr J Well, I’d like to talk to you about Tim Bond, the department manager.HRO What seems to be the problem?Mr J Well … ever since Sandra left the department, I feel like I’ve been targeted to do all her work as well as mine. Tim has made me work overtime; I’m expected to attend too many meetings and I seem to be spending a lot of my time doing unnecessary paperwork.HRO I’m sorry to hear that …Mr J And … on top of that, I’d specifically asked if I could leave early last Friday, as I’d done a lot of overtime during the week. But we had a deadline on Friday afternoon and even though I’d finished my specific work I was expected to help other colleagues finish their work too.HRO But surely that is a positive sign showing that Mr Bond has a lot of trust in you, in getting you to help other colleagues?Mr J Yes, but I feel like I’m being singled out! Other colleagues get to leave early, and they don’t have such a lot of work to do.HRO So you feel he’s been making unrealistic demands on you?Mr J Yes, absolutely.HRO Do you think it’s because Mr Bond is unaware of what you're doing?Mr J Well, he never seems to ask us to do a job. He just delegates, and that’s another thing, he never listens!HRO Right. Have you approached Mr Bond about this particular problem?Mr J I’ve tried to approach him, but whenever I go to his office he is either in meetings, or he is never there. It seems like he just has no time for us.HRO Well, at this stage it would be better if you approached him directly. If nothing else, showing that you’ve tried to solve the problem yourself, before you take it further, makes it clear that you’re not just a complainer and can boost your credibility. Why don’t you send an email requesting a meeting with him in private?Mr J Hmmm, I’d be a bit worried about his reaction. I wouldn’t know what to say!HRO Well, firstly, you’ll need to plan what you are going to talk about before going ahead with a meeting. You can always take notes to which you can refer. This shows that you have considered what you need to discuss.Mr J OK.HRO This is obviously a delicate situation, so be very careful not to criticise as this could bring on a defensive reaction. You need to be diplomatic when you speak to him. If, after you have spoken to him in a rational way, you still find he is being unreasonable, come and speak to us and we can arrange a meeting between the three of us. But do remember you need to have evidence for us to be able to take further action.Mr J OK, I’ll send him an email now to request a meeting, and we’ll see what happens from there. Thanks for your advice.HRO Good luck, and let us know the outcome.

12_Trend analysis
Interviewer: We have with us in the studio Nicola Bayleigh, our social affairs commentator, to give us some perspective on the changes that have taken place in our working lives over the last twenty years or so. Good morning, Nicola.Nicola: Good morning.Interviewer: Now, we hear an awful lot these days about the end to a job for life, the rise of flexible working, the numbers of women now engaged in employment and so on. It’s very different from our parents’ day, isn’t it?Nicola: Well, it’s true there’s a lot more terminology around these days. Anyone would think from listening to the media that some kind of social revolution was going on.Interviewer: And are you saying that these are not real trends for the future?Nicola: I’m not saying these phenomena are not present today, but I just think we need to put them into some kind of perspective. Traditional 9 to 5 working is not going to disappear quite as fast as some analysts would like to believe.Interviewer: I think you have some interesting figures from recent research on the subject ...Nicola: That’s right. If you look at the proportion of working people in Britain today who have a permanent contract of employment, for example, you’ll find it’s not very much different from twenty years ago. It’s still around 80%. And around 30% of us have had the same job for more than ten years, which is also little changed from the past.Interviewer: That doesn’t mean that people necessarily feel more secure, though …Nicola: Oh, no. Employers still retain the right to use redundancy as a way of reducing their labour force, for example. But the idea that most of us are moving from one temporary job to another is not borne out by the figures. Temporary employment only accounts for about 6% of all jobs.Interviewer: Well, let’s talk about women’s employment. Isn’t it true that there are far more women in the workplace today?Nicola: Oh yes, there are certainly more women with dependent children in the workforce than before, but the overall proportion of women in full-­time work hasn’t really changed in twenty-­five years, especially in the more traditional sectors – clerical, secretarial and sales jobs.Interviewer: And what about specific patterns of working? Is it true there’s more part­-time work in the UK compared to the rest of Europe? And aren't we working longer hours than before?Nicola: Well, yes, both of these are unfortunately true. A third of us work more than 46 hours a week, while for other European countries it’s not much more than 10%.Interviewer: So much for new technology liberating us to do other things. And how about the golden future where we are all engaged in ‘flexible working’? Is this a reality today?Nicola: Again, if you look at how many people have some formal agreement, for example to annualise their hours or job share, it's only about 20% of us. The old working patterns persist …
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