English Language🎓 baccalaureate goal

Unit 2 — ILL GOTTEN GAINS NEVER PROSPER Reading and writing

Reading and writing : Write a policy statement to inform potential fund contributors about an ethical investment fund

🔊 The teacher reads for you

A shoe factory where children work instead of going to school; a supplier who pays its workers too little, in terrible conditions. Who checks? More and more companies send an executive to see for themselves, and some investment funds refuse to put a single dinar into such businesses. Reading about ethics in business is one skill; writing the rules of an ethical fund is another. How do you turn a text about responsible business into a statement of your own principles?

🎓في نهاية هذا الدرس ستكون قادرا على:

قراءة نصّ عن التدقيق الاجتماعيّ للمؤسّسات قراءة سريعة لاستخراج فكرته العامّة ⁦(skimming)⁩، وقراءة انتقائية لاستخراج معلومات دقيقة ⁦(scanning)⁩
استنتاج معنى الكلمة من سياقها في النصّ
تحديد ما تعود إليه كلمات الإحالة ⁦(reference words)⁩ واستعمالها لترتيب نصّ
كتابة بيان سياسة ⁦(policy statement)⁩ لصندوق استثمار أخلاقيّ: بيان افتتاحيّ، وحجج مدعومة بأسباب وأمثلة، وخاتمة

🔑يفترض هذا الدرس أنّك تتقن:

الحاضر البسيط والحاضر المستمرّ
أدوات السبب والنتيجة ⁦(because, as a result)⁩ وأدوات التمثيل ⁦(for example, such as)⁩
الضمائر وأسماء الإشارة

1. Before reading — business and ethics

قبل القراءة: تعرّف على الكلمات المفتاحية للنصّ، وفكّر في الأسئلة. لا جواب واحدا صحيحا، المطلوب أن تفكّر وتتحدّث.

Key words of the text

a social auditsocial reportingcorporate social responsibilitylabour standardssweatshop labourchild labouran ethical investment fund

1. Imagine a photo with this caption: « Child labour in a shoe factory ». Which rights of the child does such a company violate? 2. What do you think of companies which use child labour? 3. Would you boycott products from foreign companies which use child labour? Why, or why not? 4. Do you think that Algerian businesses are doing enough to limit child labour? Why, or why not?

أسئلة للنقاش قبل القراءة: لا جواب واحدا صحيحا، المطلوب أن تفكّر وتتحدّث.

2. Read

اقرأ النصّ مرّة أولى بسرعة لتعرف موضوعه، ثمّ مرّة ثانية ببطء.

Read the text once quickly, just to find out what it is about. Then read it a second time, slowly. The words in bold are not important in themselves: you will come back to them in part 6.

Social auditing — when business checks its ethics

Businesses are increasingly aware of the importance of social and environmental issues for their reputation. That's why some of them are commissioning social audits relating to their social performance; these are social reports that evaluate the effect of their behaviour in relation to their employees and to society as a whole. (§1) Supporters of social audits say that social reporting is as important as financial reporting. They say that it provides important information about whether the activities of companies in areas such as employment and community, the environment, and the way of winning new business are morally right or wrong. Social auditing has emerged as a result of pressure groups concerned about problems of pollution, corruption, consumption and employment, but now it is considered by some company executives as one of the best ways of promoting products and services. They say that ethically responsible companies are more likely to prosper than those which behave unethically. (§2) Critics say that a social audit may just be a public relations exercise, with no real benefits. However, in spite of this criticism many companies now are designating executives to oversee the whole area of corporate social responsibility. Giovani Preston is one of them; he works for a Canadian multinational. This is what he says about his job: « A lot of our manufacturing is done by suppliers in developing countries. Companies in the clothing industries are particularly open to criticism about sweatshop labour — the use of underpaid people with terrible working conditions, which amounts to labour abuse or labour exploitation. (§3) My job is to travel to these countries and to check labour standards. I go there to check, for example, that our suppliers are paying their workers fairly, and that they work in good health and safety conditions with low levels of illness and accidents. We also ensure that workers are above the legal minimum age to work. Our suppliers must not use child labour. (§4) We are aware that big companies such as ours are likely to be subject to scrutiny — seen and judged by consumer and environment associations from outside. We know that if we are seen to be socially responsible, the company will benefit. Today, we can no longer separate ethics from business. » (§5) Adapted from Bill Mascull, Business Vocabulary in English, p. 90

3. Skimming — the general idea

القراءة السريعة: نبحث عن الموضوع والفكرة العامّة، لا عن كلّ كلمة.

Skimming means reading quickly for the general idea of a text. You do not need to understand every word: look at the first and last sentences of each paragraph, and at the words that come back again and again — here social audit, ethics, responsible.

Task 1 — Which sentence best summarizes the text? a. Companies are unconcerned about social auditing and ethics in business. · b. Social auditing is both a social obligation and a necessity in doing business today. · c. Social auditing is just a way of exploiting the concerns of public opinion over environmental and social issues. · d. Social auditing is not necessary at all for doing business.

اختر الجملة التي تلخّص النصّ أفضل تلخيص، وعلّل اختيارك.

b. Companies commission social audits because social issues matter for their reputation (§1), supporters find social reporting as important as financial reporting (§2), and the executive concludes: « we can no longer separate ethics from business » (§5). a and d are contradicted by the text: businesses are « increasingly aware » of these issues. c is only the view of the critics in §3 — and the text answers it: « in spite of this criticism », many companies are designating executives to oversee corporate social responsibility.

Task 2 — Give the text a title.

ضع عنوانا للنصّ.

A possible title: Social auditing — when business checks its ethics. Any title is good if it covers the whole text — the audits, the executive's job and the conclusion — not just one paragraph.

4. Scanning — the details

القراءة الانتقائية: تبحث العين بسرعة عن المعلومة المطلوبة وحدها، وتتجاهل الباقي.

Scanning means reading for specific pieces of information: a fact, a detail, a name. Your eyes move quickly through the text to find what the question asks for, and you ignore the rest.

Task 3 — Scan the text. A. Why are some companies commissioning social audits? B. What does Giovani Preston really do? C. What labour standards does he mention? D. What conclusion does he draw about ethics and business? Do you share his point of view?

أجب عن الأسئلة الأربعة بالمعلومة الدقيقة وحدها، ثمّ أبدِ رأيك في السؤال الأخير.

A. Because businesses are increasingly aware of the importance of social and environmental issues for their reputation (§1).
B. He oversees corporate social responsibility for a Canadian multinational: he travels to the developing countries where its suppliers manufacture, and checks their labour standards (§3-§4).
C. Workers must be paid fairly; they must work in good health and safety conditions, with low levels of illness and accidents; and they must be above the legal minimum age to work — no child labour (§4).
D. « Today, we can no longer separate ethics from business »: a company that is seen to be socially responsible will benefit (§5). The second part of the question asks for your opinion: agree or disagree, and give one reason.

Notice that each answer is a detail, not a paragraph: scanning finds, it does not copy.

5. Words from context

معنى الكلمة من سياقها: الجملة المحيطة بالكلمة تدلّك على معناها. ضع التعريف مكان الكلمة، فإن استقام المعنى فقد أصبت.

An unknown word is rarely alone: the sentence around it — its context — often tells you what it means. To check a guess, put the definition in the place of the word: if the sentence still makes sense, you have found it.

Task 4 — Find in the text the words that match these definitions.

A. give the job of doing something to someone (§1) B. do well (§2) C. shared, common to a group of persons running a business (§3) D. give a position to someone in a company (§3) E. look after, control (§3) F. a firm, a company providing goods that are useful to another company (§3) G. detailed examination (§5)

Task 4 — the answers

الكلمات المطلوبة، كلّ واحدة في فقرتها.

A. commission — « some of them are commissioning social audits »
B. prosper — « ethically responsible companies are more likely to prosper »
C. corporate — « corporate social responsibility »
D. designate — « many companies now are designating executives »
E. oversee — « to oversee the whole area of corporate social responsibility »
F. supplier — « done by suppliers in developing countries »
G. scrutiny — « likely to be subject to scrutiny »

6. Reference words — what do they replace?

كلمات الإحالة: كلّ ضمير أو كلمة بالخطّ الغليظ في النصّ تعود إلى اسم أو فكرة سبق ذكرها. ابحث عنها قبلها.

Writers use articles (a, the), possessive adjectives (my, your), demonstrative adjectives (this book, those books), pronouns, synonyms and antonyms to refer back to things already mentioned, or to refer forward to things that will be mentioned. These words are called reference words. They help writers avoid repetition and hold sentences and paragraphs together — and they help us understand texts better: « Businesses are increasingly aware of the importance of social and environmental issues for their reputation. »

Task 5 — What do the words in bold in the text refer to?

إلى أيّ اسم أو فكرة تعود الكلمات المكتوبة بالخطّ الغليظ؟

Word	Paragraph	It refers to
their	§1	businesses
them	§1	businesses
these	§1	social audits
They	§2	supporters of social audits
it	§2	social reporting
those	§2	companies
them	§3	the executives who oversee corporate social responsibility
which	§3	sweatshop labour, the use of underpaid people with terrible working conditions
these	§4	developing countries
their	§4	the suppliers
they	§4	the workers
ours	§5	our company, the Canadian multinational

The method is always the same: look back to the nearest noun or idea that fits the sentence.

Task 6 — Put sentences A-F in order to get a coherent text. Pay attention to the reference words. One sentence is irrelevant.

A. Algeria has recently adopted a new model of economic development. B. It has also set high standards of governance including social auditing and public accounts reporting. C. Such tasks are carried out by the National Economic and Social Council and by the Accounts Court. D. This model balances economic growth, social justice and the sustainable use of natural resources. E. Algeria regained its independence in 1962. F. In addition to the setting of standards of governance, it has accorded ethically responsible companies tax reductions so as to encourage them to promote sustainable development and social well-being.

Task 6 — the order, and the words that give it

الترتيب الصحيح، وكلمات الإحالة التي تدلّ عليه.

A – D – B – C – F. Sentence E is irrelevant: it speaks of independence, not of economic development. This model (D) points back to « a new model of economic development » (A). It has also set (B) adds a second measure of Algeria's. Such tasks (C) points back to « social auditing and public accounts reporting » (B). In addition to the setting of standards of governance (F) sums up B and adds a third measure — tax reductions for ethically responsible companies.

7. Write — a policy statement for an ethical investment fund

الكتابة: بيان سياسة لصندوق استثمار أخلاقيّ، يبدأ ببيان افتتاحيّ، ثمّ حجّتين إلى أربع مدعومة بأسباب وأمثلة، ثمّ خاتمة.

An ethical investment fund is a fund which invests only in socially responsible businesses. Its policy statement tells the people who might put their money into it — the potential fund contributors — which rules the fund follows: what it invests in, and what it refuses. Build it like this: an opening statement; two to four supporting statements, each developed with a reason or an example; and a conclusion. Link your ideas with words to illustrate (for example, for instance, such as) and words of cause and result (because, since, as a result, consequently, so + adjective + that).

Expanding notes — choose two to four

avoid companies that endanger the environmentrefrain from investing in certain sectors — tobacco, arms manufacturing, nuclear power, uranium extractionnot place money in companies that lack ethical labour standards — child labour, bad working conditionschoose to invest in well-managed companies — transparent financial accountinginvest in companies that balance economic growth with social responsibility

Your task

Suppose you were the manager of an ethical investment fund. Write a policy statement to inform potential fund contributors about it. ① Start with this opening statement: « The people and organisations who put their money into our fund want us to invest in ethical ways, and we work hard to make their desires a reality. » ② Develop two to four of the expanding notes into supporting statements, each with a reason or an example. ③ End with a short conclusion.

A model — the same method applied to the notes above

نموذج: الطريقة نفسها مطبّقة على الملاحظات أعلاه.

The people and organisations who put their money into our fund want us to invest in ethical ways, and we work hard to make their desires a reality. First, we avoid companies that endanger the environment. For example, we refrain from investing in sectors such as tobacco, arms manufacturing, nuclear power or uranium extraction, because they can harm people's health and the environment. Second, we do not place money in companies that lack ethical labour standards: a company that uses child labour or imposes bad working conditions on its workers will never receive a dinar from us. On the contrary, we choose to invest in well-managed companies, with transparent financial accounting, which balance economic growth with social responsibility. As a result, your money helps to build a fairer economy. And since ethically responsible companies are more likely to prosper than those which behave unethically, it is also a sound investment.

Check the model with the method: an opening statement, two supporting statements developed with examples and reasons, link words to illustrate and to give causes and results, and a conclusion that speaks directly to the contributors.

In the exam, the reading text is followed by questions that practise exactly these skills: the general idea, precise details, words to find from their definitions, and the words that pronouns refer to; the written expression may ask you to develop notes into a short statement. Have three things ready: ① for a word from context, put the definition in its place — the sentence must still make sense; ② for a reference word, look back to the nearest noun that fits; ③ for a written statement: an opening statement, supporting statements each with a reason or an example, and a conclusion. The frequent mistake: copying the notes as a list instead of developing each one into a full sentence with a link word — because, for example, as a result.

What I keep — I skim for the general idea, I scan for precise details, I guess an unknown word from its context, and I follow each reference word back to what it replaces. Companies commission social audits because their reputation depends on their ethics: « we can no longer separate ethics from business ». To write a policy statement, I give an opening statement, develop two to four principles with reasons and examples, and end with a conclusion that speaks to the reader.

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