GUIDE PÉDAGOGIQUE - Hachette

© Éditions Foucher
d. narrow-minded leaders,
e. a home-made movie,
f. a dark-eyed, nineteen-year-old CEO,
g. a time-consuming, well-known exercise.
BUSinESS ConTACTS
(pp .64-67)
Les deux doubles pages ont pour objectif le développement
des compétences requises dans des situations
professionnelles : présenter la culture d’une entreprise et
rédiger un mailing.
1. presenting a company’s
corporate culture (pp. 64-65)
Les documents présentés sur la double page sont tirés
du site de Google www.google.com.
YOUR TASK
3. Many businesses claim to be family-friendly, but
Google takes the concept literally. Walk into any of
its offices and you’re likely to see children playing
with Lego sets or eating with their parents in the staff
canteen.
“I went to our Zurich office the other day and the
first thing I noticed at the entrance was five prams,”
says Liane Hornsey, director of HR in Europe, the
Middle East and Asia. “It’s been a Google approach
from day one that we are completely supportive of
people having families and in all of our offices you
will often find children of various ages. It isn’t even
noticed, and they are welcome in the staff canteens.
It’s not unheard of for people to go home at the end
of the day, get their kids and bring them back for
dinner.”
Word is getting around that Google is a great place to
work: globally, the company fields 1,300 applications
a day. “There’s genuinely a belief from the founders
that your working life takes up a lot of your time
and it’s only right and fair that people have the
opportunity for work-life balance,” Hornsey says. In a
Google office you’re likely to come across employees
playing Connect Four or ping pong. And they don’t
have to wear suits: “People are encouraged to reflect
their individuality.”
The perks of working at Google range from free
food to subsidised gym membership and time off
for environmental projects or charity work. It sounds
more a way of life than a job, and it’s a wonder that
anyone ever leaves the company. “Our attrition rate
is very low and I’m hugely proud of that,” Hornsey
says.
“Our employees say it’s just a fun place to work where
they can have their say. The most important premise is
that anybody can have a great idea and anybody can
run with that idea.” Fun is a word that comes up time
and time again when talking to Googlers. This year,
the company gave free bicycles to its staff – mainly
for environmental reasons, but Maxine Kohn, head of
internal communications, jokes that it was “possibly
to counter all the fantastic food and drink”.
“We let people come up with ideas for what would
make a great benefit,” Kohn says. “A couple of people
in London came up with the idea of meditation and
Pilates, so we introduced that. We offer all the usual
benefits, but the icing on the cake is responding to
what people ask for.”
Stephanie Hannon, a product manager, joined Google
in the US three years ago. She is just back from
four days “locked in a conference room” in the Swiss
mountains with 20 colleagues. While many people
would balk at such an idea, these Googlers enjoyed it
so much that they’re planning to go again. “We came
up with 15 new ideas,” Hannon says. “We all felt it
was something really special.”
Document 2 google Doodles
Script de l’enregistrement
Interviewer: How did you come to draw design
logos for Google?
Dennis Hwang: I got an internship at Google in
2000. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who founded
the company, found out that I was an art major
in college. They said “Hey Dennis, why don’t you
give this a try?” And I’ve been manipulating the six
letters in the Google name ever since.
Now, I am in charge of all Google’s webmasters.
Designing the logos is only about 20 percent of my
job – but that doesn’t mean it’s not a lot of work!
Interviewer: What are your favorite doodles?
Dennis Hwang: My favorite is the birthday series
honoring Michelangelo, Picasso, Van Gogh and
other famous artists. Having been a student of art
history for a long time those are a little bit more
personal. Of course, trying to mimic the style of a
master is always difficult and humbling, so it does
take a lot more time to do those, but it’s also a lot
more fun. But, like any proud parent, I can’t say
which one is my favorite. I don’t think I could pick
just one. They’re all special in their own little way.
Interviewer: How do you decide which events to
cover?
Unit 6 – Corporate culture 45