Public Administration Studies English Exam

Cognome______Nome______Matricola______Public Administration Studies English Exam Exercise A. Reading comprehension – Multiple choice a. Choose the answer (A, B, C or D) that best completes each sentence. Write the answer in the right-hand column.

Flexible working – the backlash

Marissa Mayer caused uproar when she announced in February a ban on employees working from home. The Yahoo chief executive appeared to be going against a trend that favours flexible working models to increase diversity in the workplace, enhance job satisfaction and improve productivity. But Yahoo company memorandums reveal some of the reasoning behind the ban: “Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people and team meetings.” Other employers would cite additional disadvantages of home working, such as reduced creativity.

A survey of employers by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in May last year, and the resulting “Flexible Working Provision and Uptake” report, revealed that the attitudes of line managers and senior managers can create a barrier to flexible working. Significant employer reluctance to home working was also highlighted by a two- year research project by Cranfield School of Management and Working Families, a work-life balance campaigning organisation. Their “Flexible Working and Performance” report analysed 3,600 responses and found flexible workers were less likely to be chosen for “crucial or urgent work”. “Some employer resistance to flexible working can stem from a belief that the speed of completing a task will be affected if people are working away from the office. They think it will not be done as well or that continuity may be affected. In some organisations, staff who work flexibly can be seen – wrongly – as being less committed, less available and less ready for seniority.”

Laurence Monnery, partner and co-leader of diversity at Egon Zehnder, the executive search firm, suggests there must be changes to leadership style to reflect changing work patterns. She says leaders need to move away from “command and control” style management and to assess how people will function in less rigid roles. “Managers also need to interpret when employees need extra guidance if they are working away from the office.

Richard Kauntze, chief executive of the British Council for Offices, has seen the physical repercussions of flexible working: “Our concept of the office as the place where work starts and ends has been completely transformed over the past 20 years. The potential we now have to work flexibly can offer significant benefits. “However, we are seeing something of a move back to the philosophy that work can be done most productively from the office. Companies are increasingly appreciating the benefits of having employees in the workplace. We’ve seen the rise of informal ‘breakout spaces’, whether a cluster of sofas or a caféteria, valued for the opportunity they provide to bring people together to collaborate and co-create.

Prof Kelliher believes the next challenge is how best to “marry the needs of the employer and the employee”. Flexibility within a structured environment could be a “third way” model for future working.

1. Marissa Meyer is ______. 1.____ A. a British Council executive B. a top executive C. a flexible employee D. a yahoo company

2. The Yahoo company______2._____ A. does not want its employees to work from home B. encourages flexible work C. has banned employees who work in the office D. is against productivity

3. One of the reasons for the ban on employees working from home is ______. 3._____ A. high salary B. increased productivity when you work at home C. limited opportunities to discuss ideas D. lower salary

4. Other employers are not in favour of employees working from home because they say _____ when they work at home. 4._____ A. they are very creative B. they are less creative 1 C. they finish their jobs quicker D. they participate in staff meetings

5. The ‘Flexible Working and Performance’ report revealed that managers ______5._____ A. prefer to give promotions to new workers B. don’t choose flexible workers for urgent tasks C. give pay rise to flexible workers D. choose flexible workers for urgent tasks

6. The Cranfield School of Management______6.______A. is a work-life campaign B. has carried out a research project C. is a family report D. is a chief executive officer

7. According to Laurence Monnery, managers ______7._____ A. need to control their employees more B. need to adapt to the new working models C. should not understand their employees’ needs D. need to have more rigid roles 8. Richard Kauntze ______. 8._____ A. works for a search firm B. works at the Cranfield School of Management C. is a British council officer D. is a Yahoo chief executive

9. According to Richard Kauntze______. 9._____ A. the idea of the workplace has not changed over the years B. the idea of the workplace is always the same C. there are no opportunities for flexible work D. there are important advantages in flexible work

10. Prof. Kelliher thinks that______10._____ A. flexible work must be banned B. flexible work is wrong C. flexible work is another possible working model D. flexible work will disappear soon

Exercise D: Language in context a Choose the answer (A, B, C or D) that best completes each sentence. Write the answer in the right-hand column.

1.The Centre for Management at York University is dedicated to the ______a. develop b. developing c. development d. developed 1.___ 2. of managers in ______public and private sector organizations. a. both b. and c. of d. for 2.___ 3. The Centre ______a flexible, three-stage education by part-time study. a. offer b. offers c. has offer d. is offer 3.___ 4. One-day workshops on ______topics are also required. a. favourably b. prefer c. professionally d. professional 4.___ 5. ______these include project management, management accounting, communication skills. a. actuality b. currently c. current d. actual 5.____ 6. For those senior managers ______wish to continue their studies , a. which b. who c. what d. when 6.____ 7. the Diploma in Management can _____ a portion of a Master’s degree by dissertation. a. to provide b. providing c. provides d. provide 7.____ 8. Students undertake a further one-year period of research related to a work _____. a. job b. topics c. issue d. problems 8.____ 9. ______completion of a dissertation leads to the award of a MA or MSc a. success b. successful c. successfully d. succeed 9.____ 10. depending on the topic _____ and the research techniques employed. a. chosen b. choose c. chose d. choosing 10.___

2 Exercise B. Vocabulary. Filling the gaps a Complete the following text with one suitable word. Write the word in the right-hand column.

Public administration is the 1.______of government policy in the daily lives of citizens. 1.______If you study public administration, you will 2.___ how to manage organizations, to analyze the 2.______effects of government policies, and to use business and statistical tools to 3._____organizational 3.______problems. If your career goals are to help run government agencies or nonprofit 4.______, 4.______you may consider studying public administration. It can be fulfilling to contribute to society through a public administration career. A public administration degree will 5.____ you to 5.______develop career skills 6._____managing, budgeting and conducting research, which you can 6.______also use in other fields. If you 7._____ to study public administration, your curriculum 7.______will draw from related disciplines, including political 8.______, business management and 8.______administrative law. Because these subjects 9._____ complex, you can only study public administration 9.______at the bachelors, masters and doctoral levels. In fact, most 10._____in public administration will require 10.______you to earn a graduate degree.

3 Exercise C: Understanding a grapha Guarda il grafico, leggi il testo e decidi se le frasi che seguono sono vere o false. Inserisci T (true) o F (false) sull’apposita linea. How well-educated are your immigrants? MIGRANTS to rich countries have generally spent longer in education than their native-born peers, according to a new report by the OECD. Since 2000 the proportion of recent migrants to OECD countries who have graduated from university has risen five percentage points to 31%; among the native-born population the proportion has risen four percentage points to 29%. Countries that have succeeded in attracting a higher number of university-educated immigrants have generally implemented immigration policies that actively encourage skilled labour. These lands of opportunity have fared far better than those with less attractive labour markets. Ireland, Portugal, Italy and Greece have seen a sharp decline in the number of well-educated migrants heading their way.

1. The graph refers to data for a ten year period. 1. _____ 2. This graph describes the total number of graduates in poor countries. 2. _____ 3. The information for this chart was researched by OECD. 3. _____ 4. The country with the biggest fall of migrant graduates is Finland. 4. _____ 5. In the last decade the number of migrant graduates to Britain has fallen by over ten percent. 5. _____ 6. Generally native-born people are better educated than recent migrants. 6. _____ 7. Overall the number of native graduates has increased in all countries except for one. 7. _____ 8. This chart is an example of a bar graph. 8._____ 9. Since 2000 the number of migrant graduates in Italy has increased. 9. _____ 10. There are more graduate migrants to Ireland because of the attractive labour market. 10. _____

4 Exercise E. Writing. Write a paragraph (about 350 words) about the following topic. “Public Administration in your territory. What can/should be changed or improved”. Give your own opinions.

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