Table of Contents
BEST IELTS General Reading Test 552
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 552 – PASSAGE – 2
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 552
READING PASSGAE – 2
Grievance procedures
A good contract that clearly lays out the terms and conditions of employment is essential in reducing frictions and grievances in the workplaces. However, there are times when despite the most comprehensive contract, disagreements can arise between employer and employee. A key element in reducing the impact of such problems is often the establishment of a formal grievance procedure – a standardized set of procedures to follow when someone has a complaint or a grievance. This needs to be clearly laid out at the outset of any working relationship.
For grievance procedures to be effective, both the employer and the employee should see them as positive, a method of facilitating the open discussion of areas that could possibly cause ill feeling. When managed poorly, grievance procedures, even when only laid out in a contract and not actually being used, can create a feeling amongst employees that the employer is not offering support, but is instead protecting their interests through legal means. Even further, some employees are hesitant to use the grievance process out of fear of recrimination.
IELTS General Reading Test
Some studies have shown that employees who raise grievances tend to have lower performance evaluations, promotion rates, and work attendance afterwards. This suggests that some employers may retaliate against employees who raise complaints. It is vital that a company’s grievance procedures include steps to prevent a backlash against those who choose to use them.
From the manager’s side, when an employee raises a grievance, it can be perceived as lack of managerial capability, causing the manager to overreact at the perceived suggestion that they have done something unfair or unethical to require the grievance at all.
IELTS General Reading Test
There are two key factors in establishing a workable grievance procedure. The first is the concept of a progression of levels at which a given complaint may be handled. Typically this begins with a step that provides for rapid and informal addressing of a complaint by those immediately involved, with appeals to successively higher levels of management or other representatives possible in the event that lower-level resolution doesn’t work.
The second factor is the availability of an alternative procedure, to be used if several successive attempts at negotiation have failed. Typically this will be mediation – negotiation with a third party – or arbitration – the introduction of a neutral party to preside over discussions.
Many grievances can be resolved quickly by correcting a misunderstanding, or with a simple negotiation. In this case the grievance procedure saves time, money, and the relationship between the parties. Having the issue handled by those immediately involved is a benefit as well, as they know more about the problem at hand than do people at higher levels.
IELTS General Reading Test
However, a given grievance may involve a more difficult issue, or one or more of the parties may refuse to settle with a simple negotiation. The availability of appeals to a higher level not only provides an end to what might otherwise become frustrating and obstinate refusal to compromise, but often serves to remind a given representative at any level that
reasonableness at this stage will eliminate the need for review of his or her actions by someone higher up. By limiting the time allotted to each step of the grievance process, neither party can stall the process indefinitely.
In the event that the parties have discussed the matter internally at all levels provided in the procedure and are still unable to come to satisfactory solution, it is important that the mediator or arbitrator select has been agreed upon by both parties. The arbitrator or mediator should be familiar with the industry concerned, and should have access to a set of standards against which the reasonableness of proposals made in grievance negotiations can be measured. Previous arbitrators’ decisions (generally known as “awards”) are indexed and published, meaning that the intermediary has access to previous cases in order to make as informed a decision as possible.
IELTS General Reading Test
Question 15 – 19
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
15. Employee grievances
A. are avoided by a carefully worded contract.
B. can be minimised by having a clear procedure.
C. are often seen as positive.
D. must be responded to formally.
16. The establishment of a grievance process
A. often leads to friction.
B. can lead employees to feel victimised.
C. needs to be put in place at the beginning of a working relationship.
D. give the company the appearance of not being supportive.
IELTS General Reading Test
17. A grievance
A. should first be addressed by those concerned.
B. can be mistaken for a lack of ability from the employee.
C. should go directly to senior management.
D. can only be raised at a management level.
18. Resolutions to grievances
A. need to be negotiated with a third party.
B. can often be found by clearing up a point of confusion.
C. are better found by senior management.
D. have a high cost.
IELTS General Reading Test
19. Mediators or arbitrators can help resolve a difficult grievance because
A. they have more knowledge of the problem.
B. awards given are normally higher.
C. they have a time limit in place.
D. they are commonly selected by agreement from both parties.
Read the text below and answer questions 20-25.
Job advertising
It can be useful to think of a job advertisement as a function of advertising. The job is your product; the readers of the job advert are your potential customers. Job adverts and recruitment processes should follow the traditional AIDA selling format: Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. This means that good job advertisements must first attract attention (from appropriate job-seekers); attract relevant interest (by establishing relevance in the minds of the ideal candidates); create desire (to pursue what looks like a great opportunity), and finally provide a clear instruction for the next action or response.
Unfortunately for those recruiting, these simple steps are often lost in the process of writing, designing and placing a job advertisement. A quick glance on a Sunday morning through almost any of the main broadsheet newspapers will demonstrate perhaps the most common mistake – the layout of the advert. Too many different font styles, logos or other graphics and layouts can be distracting, slowing the reader; smaller font styles, when combined with the generally low quality paper found in newspapers, mean that some people can’t actually read the message at all.
IELTS General Reading Test
The same is true of using upper case letters lettering, a feature some mistakenly believe will make the reader keener to read what is written. The key to successful job advertising is to follow the ‘less is more’ approach. Keep your text to a minimum and, unless necessary, avoid too much technical depth. Keep enough space around the text to attract attention to it. Giving text some space is a very powerful way of attracting the eye, and also a way of ensuring the advert is written – and therefore can be read – efficiently.
Obscure headlines that do not clearly communicate the nature of the position can also make many potential viable candidates give up and move to the next job advert. It is far more effective to use one simple headline, and make the job advert headline relevant and clear. Normally the logical headline is the job title itself – this is after all what people will be looking for. If the job title does not implicitly describe the job function, then use a subheading to do so. Better still, if you find yourself writing a job advert for a truly obscure job title which does not convey what the job function is, consider changing the job title.
IELTS General Reading Test
Another common error is trying to make your advertisement stand out by using irregular box sizes, or even half page or full page advertisements. The problem here is largely one of expectation – people become familiar with the general layout of the job advertisements and subconsciously dismiss shapes and sizes that do not conform to what has become accepted as ‘standard’.
A useful point to keep in mind is that you are recruiting a person to do a job, so focus on attracting the person. It is common for many job adverts to aim solely on the job itself, with no specific direction towards the person. Refer to the reader as ‘you’ and use the second person (‘you’, ‘your’ and ‘yours’ etc) in the description of the requirements and expectations of the candidate and the job role. This helps people to visualise themselves in the role.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 20 – 25
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
In boxes 20-25 on your answer sheet write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
20. Writing a good job advertisement follows the common pattern for selling a product.
21. The medium on which it is printed can affect the appearance of the advertisement.
22. Using upper case letters can make your message clearer to read.
23. The content should fill all of the advertising space.
24. Headings or subheadings should clearly define the job.
25. Readers often choose to ignore irregularly shaped advertisements.
IELTS General Reading Test
IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS
15. B
16. C
17. A
18. B
19. D
20. TRUE
21. TRUE
22. NOT GIVEN
23. FALSE
24. TRUE
25. FALSE