Enjoy yourself Test

Are you an optimal performer? Work through this questionnaire. If you haven’t had any work experience, do this test as a simulation exercise (imagine an office situation with the established hierarchy).

1. In the decision making process, you prefer

1. to delegate authority

2. to take decisions for yourself

2. When choosing subordinates/co-workers you make it so that

1. surround yourself with competent people

2. outsmart people at work

3. In your work strategy, you

1. are covered with work from head to feet

2. set goals and stick to them

4. Your communication with people at work is

1. nothing to be proud of

2. businesslike and efficient

5. Your work habits make you

1. labour at your desk from dawn to dusk

2. do overtime only when it’s reasonable

6. When you are working on a project, you focus on the

1. quality of work

2. volume

7. Do you know the emotional effect you have on the others? Do you make them

1. tense b. relaxed c. enthusiastic d. subdued e. open f. guarded

8. If your colleagues or subordinates seem unduly angry or more tense than the situation requires, do you

1. ask them about the emotional display to make them release their feelings

2. join in with a grim smile

3. tell them to pull themselves together

9. In interacting with people, do you

1. tune to the emotional waves fluctuating around you

2. manipulate to make the most effective emotional impact

3. regulate the ways you express yourself to produce the effect you need

4. always work within your personality regardless of the atmosphere around you

10. Misunderstanding often creates all sorts of problems. To avoid wrong interpretations, do you

1. keep your message direct and to the point

2. choose your tone and words

3. concentrate mainly on clear articulate speech

4. check if you are understood by asking question to make sure

5. write detailed memos

11. After work you need to relax. You know this

1. and you do it regularly

2. but never do it because you press yourself to go on

12. You have difficulty sleeping at night even though you’re very tired

1. yes b. no

13. Your personal life is in poor state due to your long working hours

1. yes b. no

14. Family and health risks are part of the price you have to pay for success

1. true b. false

Count your score to see what kind of executive you are.

1. a – 1 b – 0	2. a – 0 b – 1	3. a – 1 b – 0	4. a – 1 b – 0	5. a – 1 b – 0
6. a – 0 b – 1	7. a – 1 b – 0 c – 0 d – 1 e – 0 f – 1	8. a – 1 b – 1 c – 0	9. a – 1 b – 1 c – 0 d – 1	10.a – 0 b – 1 c – 1 d – 0 e – 1
11.a – 0 b – 1	12.a – 1 b – 0	13.a – 1 b – 0	14.a – 1 b – 0

0 – 7 points: Congratulations! You are an optimal performer. You have passion for work, but you are not addicted to it. And you respect your workmates.

8 – 14 points: Be careful! You are not yet a workaholic but very close to it. Think again about your work style, your priorities and attitude to colleagues.

15 – 21 points: You need a rest! You are a non-stop worker. You are overdoing and may well be a candidate for cardiac treatment. And you are pushing your co-workers at that. But don’t panic, there is always hope for the better. You may change.

Do You Know That …

a portmanteau word is a new expression which combines two other words. Smog, for example, is a combination of smoke and fog. Do you know which two words have been combined to create the following expressions? Explain the meaning of the following portmanteau words and then put each in its correct sentence below.

Swatch, bedsit, brunch, Chunnel, Oxbridge, Interpol, Oxfam, Eurovision

1. The ... Song Contest is watched by millions of viewers from Portugal to Finland, from Greece to Iceland, and in other countries. 2. The ... organization, which has the aim of relieving hunger throughout the world, was found in Oxford. 3. The International Police Commission, with headquarters in Paris, is usually referred to as ... . 4. If you get up late at the week-end, you might decide to have ... in the middle of the morning. 5. The British and French governments have taken the first steps towards building a ... to link the two countries. 6. In the past a university degree from ... was a great advantage to anyone wanting a career in the diplomatic service. 7. There’s a certain kind of Swiss watch called a ... . 8. She can’t afford a proper flat. She rents a ...

good-bye is the contraction of God be with ye? Good was substituted for God on the analogy of good night. Ye is an old form for you.

farewell means ‘good-bye’? Fare is an old word for go, travel: go (travel) well!

A P P E N D I X