English Learning: Core Vocabulary and Practical Expressions in Management and Human Resources

Management and HR. A manager supervises a group or team of people. The employees under the manager are called the manager's subordinates, and they report to the manager, meaning they are under his or her supervision. Managers are often responsible for organizing projects and assigning tasks to their subordinates, giving them things to do. They monitor progress and hold people accountable for getting the work done. That means the managers make sure their subordinates are fulfilling their responsibilities. Sometimes the team members will encounter a situation that they need to run by the manager, present it to the manager in order to get his or her input, opinion, advice or perspective, or approval. If a manager signs off on a project, it means he or she gives official approval. If a manager gives the green light, it means he or she gives permission to continue or go ahead with the proposed actions.

There are different styles of management. Some managers are more controlling, meaning they want their subordinates to do exactly what they command. There are also managers who, micro-manage, they try to control every tiny detail of their subordinates' work. These kinds of managers tend to impose, force or establish as obligatory, their own perspectives on the work. Other managers are more hands-off. They interfere as little as possible in their subordinates' work, and give latitude, give freedom for the employees to make their own decisions. Managers with this leadership style often ask for feedback, comments, or opinions from their subordinates, and prefer for the team to come to a consensus, a general agreement about what should be done. Some managers tend to be distant or remote, meaning they are not especially friendly and it's hard to get close to them. Others are open or approachable, meaning they welcome interactions with others.

One of a manager's responsibilities is to do performance reviews, evaluations of an employee's work, skills, and attitude on the job. It can also be called a performance evaluation, or performance appraisal. These are usually done annually, once per year. Here are some positive and negative expressions that can be used to remark on an employee's performance. We'll start with the positive ones. Stays up to date with developments in the field. This means the employee keeps his or her knowledge of the area current. Is conscientious and detail-oriented? This means the employee pays careful attention to every detail. Shows great initiative and is quite resourceful, meaning the employee takes action and is creative in using resources. Is very versatile and has a positive outlook, meaning the employee is capable of doing many different things well and has a good attitude. Is disciplined and punctual, meaning the employee follows the rules, controls his or her own behavior and is on time. Is an excellent team player, meaning the employee works well in a group. Is driven to succeed and strives for maximum effectiveness, meaning the employee is extremely motivated and ambitious.

Here are some negative expressions. Occasionally fails to follow instructions, meaning the employee does not do what he or she has told or taught. Is indecisive and often produces mediocre results, meaning the employee hesitates too much before making decisions and their work is of moderate to inferior quality, nothing special. Is rather inconsistent in meeting deadlines, meaning the employee does not always finish the work on time. Lacks the ability to prioritize projects, meaning the employee can't decide which project is most and least important. Needs to delegate more, meaning the employee needs to give tasks to other people, not try to do it all themselves. Areas for improvement include productivity and time management, meaning the employee needs to improve how much work they do and how they use their time. Is sometimes uncooperative, meaning the employee sometimes does not cooperate or work well with others. Should work on improving the clarity and timeliness of communication, meaning the employee should try to communicate more clearly and at the right time, not too late.

The Human Resources Department, often called HR, has several different functions involving management of the company's staff. HR is involved in recruiting or hiring new employees to fill positions, occupy jobs or roles that the company needs, then providing training to equip new staff members with the skills and knowledge they need. Payroll, the payment of salaries, and benefits, other benefits of working at a company such as health insurance or retirement plans, are also managed by HR. One goal many companies have is to improve retention, how long employees stay with the company, and decrease turnover when employees leave the company and new employees must be hired. When someone chooses to leave their job, HR might conduct an exit interview to find out more about that person's experience with the company and why they are leaving. Sometimes employees need to take a leave of absence, leave the company temporarily. A few common reasons for this include, maternity leave, bereavement leave, and medical leave.

HR also makes sure the company is in compliance with labor laws and regulations, meaning it is following the laws and not doing anything improper or illegal. This department also manages relations with unions, which are organized groups of workers in a particular industry that defend workers' rights. Another job for human resources is to deal with cases of discrimination, unfair treatment of someone based on race, gender, sexuality, etc. As well as performance problems when an employee is not doing his or her job to the necessary standard, and sexual harassment when one employee is making unwelcome sexual advances towards another employee. Misconduct, bad or inappropriate behavior, and interpersonal conflicts, fights and arguments between people. Sometimes if an employee is behaving badly or failing to perform the work properly, disciplinary action may be taken. The employee will be punished, suspended, or monitored more carefully than usual. Finally, HR can contribute to writing the employee handbook. That's a book describing the company's policies for employees.

The above is content collected by Xiao Wu from Qicai.com about business English courses, including listening materials on presentations, meetings, negotiations, and phone calls. We hope you gain something from listening!