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ORGANISATIONALCULTURE AUDIOSCRIPT

ListentosomeoneworkingforEDF,aFrenchelectricitycompany,talkingaboutthevaluesheldbyhis company. Optionalexercise (Theanswersareatthebottomofthepage). Listenandidentifywhichofthefollowingvalueshetalksabout. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. integrity tolerance solidarity respectforpeople diversity 6. innovation 7. fun 8. respectforthe environment 9. teamwork 10. excellence 11. quality 12. performance

Interviewer: CanyoutellmeaboutthefivevaluesthatEDFhas?Forastartdoyouknowwhattheyare? Worker: Yes,Ido.IfirstfoundaboutthemwhenIcameformyinterviewtwelveyearsago.Theyvebeenslightlyupdated since then but the main ideas have stayed the same. Today they are respect for people, respect for the environment, performance,solidarityandintegrity. Interviewer: Andhowdothesevaluesaffectthewaypeoplework? Worker: WellbecauseEDFisahugecompanytheyaffectsomepeoplemorethanothersbutsomeofthemarecommonto everyone.RespectforpeopleforexamplecanbeappliedtoallEDFworkers.Inmeetingssay,everybodylistenstoeach other,everyonecanspeakandsaywhathethinks.Itsverycommonforpeopletoshakehandsinthemorningtosayhello andwetendtousetheinformalformofaddresswithmostpeople.AtthemomentlotsoftheofficesinFrancearebeing adaptedforwheelchairaccessbecauseofequalopportunitieswhichisareallygoodthing. Interviewer: Whatabouttheothervalues? Worker: Iworkinthenuclearsectorsotherespectoftheenvironmentisobviouslyveryimportant.Weareregularlyaudited andsafetyisthebasisofourapproachtotheenvironmentandtheactualconceptionofnuclearpowerplants.Soonalarge scalewedoeverythingtopreventradioactiveproductsbeingdispersed.Onasmallerscale,inourofficesweseparateour wasteandrecyclepaper,metalandplastic. Interviewer: Itallsoundtoogoodtobetrue! Worker: Wellitsreallyimportanttomakesureeverythingwedoissafewhichiswhywehavetofollowsomeverystrict rules. Interviewer: Whataboutperformance? Worker: Itsgettingmuchbetter.UpuntilrecentlywemonopolisedtheelectricityindustryinFrancewhichmeantwewere suretohavethesameclients.Butnowitsanopenmarketandsowehavetoreallyperformwelltokeepourclients.Onan individuallevel,thereisanewsystemofperformancerelatedpaythatisgoingtobeputintoplacenextyear.Thisshould reallymotivateallemployeestoperformwell. Interviewer: Howdosolidarityandintegrityaffectyoupersonally? Worker: They dont really. Although as a company we have a lot of responsibilities when there are extreme weather conditions.Ourtechniciansfixtheelectricitygridatanytimeofthedayornight.Thishappenedwhentherewerethebad storms in 1999 in France, everyone pulled together and EDF employees worked twentyfour hours a day to restore electricity.Asforintegrity,weworkalotwithsubcontractorsanditsveryimportantforusnottobeinfluencedbybrides. Now when contracts are negotiated there are always at least two people one technician and one sales consultant who actuallynegotiatesthecontract.EDFisacompanywithhighstandardsandIguessthismotivatesmetodowell.

Answers: 1.integrity,3.solidarity,4.respectforpeople,8.respectfortheenvironment,12.performance

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