Exercise 4-1. Decide if these statements are true or false according to the text. Change any which are false.

1. Agents are people, who prefer to work for fixed salary but sometimes they work for commission.

2. The more deals a free agent makes the more money he/she gets.

3. For the last three years many people in Russia have changed their jobs because of economic recession.

4. Realty is the only field where the system of commission is developed.

5. Sometimes it’s very useful to introduce the bonus system to encourage sales.

Exercise 4-2. Answer the questions.

1. What is the best way to earn your living if you want to work for yourself?

2. How much money does a free agent usually earn?

3. What does the exact value of commission depend on?

4. Where is the system of commission well developed?

5. Some companies do not encourage the commission system. Why not?

Exercise 4-3. Translate these sentences from Russian into English paying attention to the words and phrases underlined.

1. Он внес большой вклад в осуществление этой сделки.

2. Наемные рабочие этой фирмы получают 1% от общего дохода с продаж.

3. Никто не возьмет на себя ответственность уволить опытного страхового агента.

4. В сфере недвижимости более развита система комиссионных, нежели фиксированная заработная плата.

5. Подача объявлений в газеты также является обязанностью менеджера по работе с персоналом.

6. Чтобы стимулировать продажи, была введена система премиальных.

7. Не так давно в нашей стране было введено обязательное страхование автотранспорта. Для многих владельцев стареньких подержанных автомобилей оно может оказаться не по карману.

Exercise 4-4. In your own words.

1. Would you like to work for yourself? Why/why not?

2. Do you think it is better to work for commission or for fixed salary? Why?

3. If you are dissatisfied with your salary will you be ready to give up your job?

Text 5.

Read the text and do the assignments. While reading, find words and expressions in the text that mean: препятствовать; противиться; отвечать требованиям; способность; знания и опыт; с рекордной скоростью; мобильность рабочей силы; делать то же самое; за пределами границ; оставаться; сознавать; нанимать; готовность; заработная плата; утечка мозгов; привлекать; неоспоримый; несомненный.

People who need people

Some countries still resist letting a good job go to a foreigner. Under pressure from employers, however, this resistance is fading. Politicians are starting to realize that industries can’t win big internationally with local talent alone. At a time when even rich countries can’t produce enough talent to meet demand, the ability to draw on people from other nations is becoming critical.

Many workers with special expertise seem willing to play alone. They are lumped together with less-skilled migrants such as construction workers. John Salt, a geographer at the University of London, says he believes that talented people are jumping countries at a record rate. He thinks this is partly because of the ease of travel and communications today; the high demand for certain skills, such as engineering, computer programming and nursing; and the apparent payoff from harvesting foreign talent.

“U.S. companies go round the world cherry-picking the best skills,” says Andrew Milroy in London, who analyses labor mobility for International Data Corp. “Now the rest of the world wants to do the same.” Consider Canada, a pioneer in pursuing talented people outside their borders. The country has introduced the “points” system to evaluate applicants for immigration.

Ireland, Europe’s fastest growing economy, has advertised job openings worldwide. Singapore has increased the tax credits that it gives to companies bringing talent into the country, helping to defray the costs of recruitment and moving.

Official barriers to working in many countries remain formidable, whether or not an employee is highly skilled. But many governments, aware of the need, look the other way. In Britain, for instance, an array of regulations would seem to make hiring outsiders difficult. But rules are bent. Employers simply must assert that they have made a good- faith effort to hire a citizen for a skilled position and that they will pay the foreign talent the going wage in Britain for the job.

To benefit from foreign expertise, countries must do more than remove restrictions against importing workers. They must make it possible for globetrotting workers to come and go. Talented people won’t necessarily stay in a place if they don’t like living there. This means governments must look at the new arrivals not as immigrants in the making but as recurring visitors.

The willingness of skilled workers to keep a foot in more than one country means that talent “sharing” may become more common, especially in certain regions. Finland, for instance, is filling its outsized need for engineers and technicians by drawing on Estonia, where wages are much lower. The capital cities of two countries are only a half-hour ferry ride apart, so an increasing number of talented Estonians are commuting to Helsinki for work.

The economic gains from talent infusion are undeniable. A country gets the benefits of talents it didn’t invest in or create. This used to be called “brain drain”, whereby rich nations attract talent from poor nations by offering far higher salaries.

But given that talent flows appear to have such wide-spread benefit, why has it taken so long for more countries to open up to them? There’s a one-word answer: fear. Many countries struggle to square the need for talent with historic unease over immigrants. Tightly knit societies often rebel against newcomers.

Exercise 5-1. Decide if these statements are true or false according to the text. Change any which are false.

1. Rich countries have more talented and high-skilled workers than low-developed countries.

2. Nowadays politicians and especially governments support newcomers less than they did a few years ago.

3. The development of communication helps the highly skilled to look for jobs in other countries.

4. In spite of official barriers many employers manage to find the ways to overcome them.

5. It’s necessary for people with certain expertise to live and work at the same place.

6. If a society is tightly united it is sure to rebel against newcomers.

Exercise 5-2. Answer the following questions.

1. What do Singapore and Canada do to attract skilled workers from other countries?

2. Why are talented people jumping countries at a record rate?

3. What must countries do to benefit from foreign expertise?

4. Why are economic gains from a talent infusion undeniable?

5. Why do very few countries want to accept new visitors realizing at the same time the benefits?

Exercise 5-3. Translate these sentences from Russian into English paying attention to the words and phrases underlined.

1. Утечка мозгов, прежде всего, связана с низкой заработной платой.

2. Неоспоримым фактом является то, что за границей власти многих стран все больше и больше ценят знания и опыт российских специалистов.

3. Правительство Сингапура увеличило налоговое кредитование, для того чтобы привлечь высококвалифицированных рабочих.

4. Многие работодатели препятствуют принятию на работу иностранцев, так как не осознают важности процесса подвижности рабочей силы.

5. Готовность менеджера взять всю ответственность на себя означает его способность великолепно управлять людьми.

6. Важно нанять работника, который отвечал бы требованиям данной компании.

Exercise 5-4. In your own words.

1. What do you think about “brain drain”? Is it a positive process for Russia?

2. If you were a high-skilled worker would you go to another country? Give your reasons.