Warm up

I. Do you have any colleagues with the following habits?

· They make personal calls in a loud voice.

· They arrive late and leave early.

· They never return items they borrow.

· They use bad language all the time.

· Their only subject of conversation is their children (any other variant).

· They waste time and never get anything done.

· They smoke continuously.

· They never pay for drinks or meals when you go out.

II. Which of the habits do you find most annoying?

III. How could you deal with these colleagues?

Active Vocabulary

When we react to a suggestion, we often suggest specific action, or propose a possible alternative for action. Look at the expressions used to react to the following suggestion.	Everyone in the office seems a bit down. Why don't we all go out together? That's a good idea... ... We could have dinner and then go out dancing. ... Let's start planning it right now. ... It would be even better if the company paid for a party! ... Shall we put up a poster?
Shall is used with we and I, especially in British English. It is often used to make suggestions along with let's.	Shall we leave now? Yes, let's / let's go.
When we reject a suggestion, we normally give a reason.	Mm, I'm not so sure about that... …It might make things worse. ... I think people would prefer a bonus to a night out.

Listening

Look at the extracts from the conversations. Complete them with the useful phrases for reacting to suggestions.

1. No, _______________________ do that. It would be really embarrassing.

2. No, I'm ___________________________that's such a good idea.

She is the boss ______________________!

3. OK, that ___________________, I suppose.

4. What _____________________! I'll do that next time he calls.

Speaking

Imagine you have to deal with the following situations, in which you have to give feedback.

Plan what you will say.

a) you share an office with a colleague who often goes out, without telling you for how long. When clients phone, you are unable to tell them when to call back. What suggestions can you give your colleague?

b) one of your staff, who often visits clients, insists on wearing jeans at work, despite the office dress code which states “no jeans”. You feel it is necessary to discuss it formally with the staff member.

Writing

Read the following email and suggest ways the supervisor could deal with the problems in the department. Role-play a conversation to follow the email, with you as Charlie and your partner as Sam. Reply to the email with your own ideas.