Is John Lewis the best company in Britain to work for? Level 2

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1 1 Key words Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text. The paragraph numbers are given to help you. magic shareholder constitution worthwhile recruitment retailer eager trust downturn bonus A is extra money that you are paid in addition to your salary. (para 1) A is a person or company that sells goods directly to the public for their own use. (para 1) If you say that something is, you think it is very good or pleasant. (para 2) If you are, you are very keen to do something or are very enthusiastic about something that will happen. (para 3) A is an organization that manages money or property on behalf of someone else. (para 4) A is someone who owns shares in a company. (para 4) If something is, it is worth the time, money or effort that you spend on it. (para 4) A is a set of basic rules and principles for an organization that control how it operates. (para 4) is the process of finding people to join an organization. (para 8) A is a reduction in economic or business activity. (para 9) Find the information Look in the text and find this information as quickly as possible. How many people work for John Lewis? What is the highest percentage bonus the company has paid over the last ten years or so? How many months pay is a 16% bonus equivalent to? How much do employee-owned companies contribute to the British economy? What percentage discount do John Lewis employees and their families get on most John Lewis products? How long has John Lewis been in business?

2 Is John Lewis the best company in Britain to work for? Jon Henley 16 March, 2010 It s just before opening time on bonus day at John Lewis and everyone is really excited. Up and down the country, the 69,000 people who work for the nation s favourite retailer are gathered, impatient. They are waiting for a specially chosen staff member (or partner as they are called in John Lewis) to open an envelope and read out a number. The number will be a percentage. Over the last ten years or so, it has been anything from 9% to 22%. It s the percentage of their salary that each John Lewis employee, from executive chairman to checkout operative, takes home as that year s bonus. If the number is 8%, they re looking at an extra month s pay; 16% is two months pay. So what s in the envelope is pretty important. Frank d Souza opens the envelope in front of his fellow employees as they count down five, four, three, two, one! He holds the card above his head triumphantly: 15%. Magic, cries his colleague, Lee Bowra. In the middle of the deepest financial and economic crisis since the Second World War, John Lewis clearly has not done badly (operating profit up 20%). That s partly because it stocks goods of a certain quality and sells them to a certain kind of customer with a certain standard of service. If a product is on sale in one of its stores, you know you can trust it. You can also be sure you ll be served by someone who really knows what they re talking about and, most unusually of all, is eager to help. Unlike other high-street names (unlike most companies, in fact), John Lewis is owned by a trust on behalf of its employees, each of whom has a say in its running and a share in its profits. This is Britain s largest and most respected example of worker co-ownership. Its stated purpose is not the making of lots of short-term profit on behalf of greedy shareholders, but the happiness of all its members, through their worthwhile and satisfying employment in a successful business (that s from the partnership s constitution) But what s it like to work for a business run like this? Well, it s worth noting that there are some partners who weren t at work when the 2010 bonus was announced. They were off staying at one of the five holiday centres the partnership owns and runs for the benefit of its employees. Besides the bonus, John Lewis partners also have a generous final salary pension scheme. They and a named other (husband, girlfriend, mother, whoever) get 25% off most John Lewis products. There are half-price theatre and concert tickets and money to help pay for any educational or leisure course they want to follow. It s not easy to find an unhappy John Lewis partner, despite the fact that they stay with the company twice as long as the industry average. That s partly, says Wenn at the Oxford Street store, because if you re unhappy about something, you have a responsibility to do something about it. What does that responsibility mean? We ask not only that you do your day job, but that you play an active role as an owner, says Patrick Lewis, a partnership board member. That you engage with your colleagues and work with them in thinking through what will make the business successful. Another factor in the firm s success is that it believes good service can only come from people who like people, who are happy discussing their needs and who want to help. What is important in recruitment, says Beth, who works in the furnishings department, is behaviour. You can train anyone to do things, she says. But nobody can teach someone how to be. The result of these rights and responsibilities is employees who think and feel rather differently about their work than most. The point, though, is how this different way of thinking and feeling about work works in practice. John Lewis, we ve seen, does very well. Employee-owned companies currently contribute some 25bn to the British economy. Research indicates that employee-owned businesses also create jobs faster; are significantly stronger in an economic downturn; and deliver far better customer satisfaction.

3 So why isn t every company organized this way? It is partly, as Patrick Lewis points out, because it s not easy. We re a commercial organization, he says. We have to make a sufficient profit to maintain and develop the business. That s a difficult task for the commercial success we need. On top of that, we distribute a share of the profits in the form of a bonus, and also in other ways, that will benefit our members collectively. Of course, as Patrick Lewis notes, John Lewis has had 80 years to get its virtuous Comprehension check circle working: look after the partners and the partners look after the customers, who look after the profit. It s a culture and a way of working, he says. You can t do it overnight, and it won t be right for everyone. But it s worth trying. And if we re really talking, as perhaps we are, about where capitalism should go next about what exactly a good company is, and what it should do John Lewis is a good model to look at. Guardian News & Media 2010 First published in The Guardian, 16/03/10 Are these statements true (T) or false (F) according to the text? Correct any false statements. 4 Every year John Lewis employees are given as percentage of their salary as a bonus. During the global economic downturn John Lewis profits fell by 20%. John Lewis is owned by a private individual. All the relatives of John Lewis employees get a 25% discount on John Lewis products. John Lewis employees remain with the company on average twice as long as employees working for similar companies. Employee-owned businesses deliver better customer satisfaction. Find the word Find the following words and phrases in the text. The paragraph numbers are given to help you. a two-word expression that means the person who takes your money when you pay for something in a department store (para 2) an adverb used to show that you are very pleased about a victory or a success (para 2) a two-word expression meaning the profit made from the sale of goods and services (para 3) a four-word expression meaning to give your opinion and be involved in a discussion about something (para 4) a verb meaning to mention (para 5) an adverb meaning at the present time (para 9) 7. a four-word expression meaning in addition to that (para 10) a two-word expression meaning 8. a process in which a good action or event produces a good result that also causes the process to continue so that more good results follow (para 11)

4 5 Expressions with prepositions Complete the phrases from the text using prepositions. 6 the last ten years or so sale on behalf the benefit of engage someone practice Word building Complete the table using words from the text. verb noun employ (general) employ (person) own retail (person) recruit satisfy 7 Discussion Would you like to work for John Lewis? Why? Why not?

5 KEY 1 Key words 4 Find the word bonus retailer magic eager trust shareholder worthwhile constitution recruitment downturn checkout operative triumphantly operating profit have a say in note currently 7. on top of that 8. virtuous circle 5 Expressions with prepositions 2 Find the information 69,000 22% two 25bn 25% 80 years over on of for with in 6 Word building 3 Comprehension check T F F F T T employment employee ownership retailer recruitment satisfaction