3 курс English

,≥
Министерство образования и науки Российской Федерации

Федеральное государственное бюджетное образовательное
учреждение высшего образования
«Российский экономический университет имени Г. В.
Плеханова» (ФГБОУ ВО «РЭУ им. Г. В. Плеханова»)
Кафедра иностранных языков №1
Сборник учебных материалов по английскому языку делового

и профессионального общения продвинутого уровня для
студентов 3 и 4 курсов экономических специальностей
Москва
ФГБОУ ВО «РЭУ им. Г. В. Плеханова»
2017
1
Составители: М.В. Бернацкая
Ю.Н. Бузина
О.А. Муратова
Рецензент канд.пед. наук М. В. Романова (ФГБОУ ВПО

МГЛУ)
Материалы публикуются в авторской редакции.
Сборник учебных материалов по английскому языку делового и

профессионального общения продвинутого уровня для студентов 3 и
4 курсов экономических специальностей / сост.: М.В. Бернацкая,
Ю.Н. Бузина, О.А. Муратова – Москва: ФГБОУ ВО «РЭУ им. Г.
В. Плеханова», 2017. – 80 с.
Сборник предназначен для студентов 3 и 4 курсов всех

факультетов экономического профиля ФГБОУ ВО «РЭУ им. Г.В.
Плеханова», изучающих профессиональный английский язык.
Данное пособие является сборником дополнительных материалов
на английском языке для аудиторной и самостоятельной работы
студентов под контролем преподавателя в рамках тем курса
делового английского языка учебника «The Business 2.0» уровень
Upper Intermediate.
Целью пособия является развитие языковых навыков,
расширение лексического запаса студентов, формирование
умений чтения и понимания текста, а также развитие умений
ведения дискуссии на профессиональные темы.
© ФГБОУ ВО «РЭУ им. Г. В. Плеханова», 2017
2
CONTENTS
Unit 1 BUILDING A CAREER
I Subject Background
II Vocabulary
III Questions on the topic
IV Supplementary texts
Unit 2. INFORMATION
II Vocabulary
Unit 3 QUALITY
II Vocabulary
Unit 4 FEEDBACK
II Vocabulary
Unit 5 SELLING MORE
II Vocabulary
Unit 6 NEW BUSINESS
II Vocabulary
Unit 7 FINANCIAL CONTROL
II Vocabulary
Unit 8 FAIR TRADE
II Vocabulary
3
Unit 1 BUILDING A CAREER
Subject Background
In the UK, almost all universities (with only two exceptions) are
financed by the government. These include the ‘ancient’ universities of
Oxford and Cambridge in England, and Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh
and St Andrews in Scotland; the nineteenth century ‘red brick’
universities in cities such as Manchester and Birmingham; the ‘plate
glass’ universities which were built in the 1960s and 1970s; and the
‘new’ universities which used to be polytechnics but changed their
status in the 1990s.
In the UK, fees paid by students are a political hot potato. Until the
1990s, a majority of students paid little or nothing. They had no fees and
a significant number received a grant for living expenses. Since then,
however, in England and Wales, fees have come in and most students
take out a loan from the government which they must pay back. In 2010,
parliament voted to raise a ceiling on tuition fees paid by students to
9,000 pounds. By contrast, in Wales fees are much lower, and in
Scotland there are no fees.
Recent figures comparing industrialized nations are illustrative. The
USA spends 3 % of its GDP
on higher education, Canada spends 2.6% and the UK is behind France
the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries in spending 1.3% of its
GDP on higher education. However, this is higher than Germany and
Italy. Also, the UK actually spends more in real terms (about 9,500
pounds per year on average) on the education of each of its students,
which is more than most other European countries.
In the USA, about two thirds of the money spent on supporting higher
education comes from the private sector and this is reflected in fees for
students which well may be over 30,000 pounds per year. By contrast, in
Finland, almost all funding is from private sector, and education is free.
The UK is somewhere between these two extremes.
Useful websites
Http: //www.resume-resourse.com
http:// www.cvtips.com
Vocabulary
1.1 Cuts in higher education funding, controversial, to spark unrest in
many countries across the world, protests in the form of strikes ,to
widen access to a university education, not to have resources to
4
match (their) ambitions, cost-benefit analysis, to get good value for
money, average graduate, well-off families, to take on a debt,
scholarships, to offer equal opportunities, overall benefits, to
exacerbate, dramatic rise in the cost of smth, to fail to cap
universities’ spiraling costs, to provide subsidies, deserving students,
intriguingly, for-profit institutions, essential difference, to increase the
perceived value, to be (to get) well-beyond smth, to offer
extracurricular activities, ongoing professional development service,
to be sheltered by, benevolent (governments),to provide a degree
course, disastrous, ludicrous (idea), incredible waste of resources, to
benefit from smth, o pump money into smth, to use government
funding, earning potential, faculty, fellow-students, alumni (alum-s),
innovative curriculum, earning potential, to reinforce, selective,
unequal, accessible, to get into college, cutthroat competition, to step
up efforts, to increase the prestige (of the university), to assume, to
achieve amazing results , admission team, to look for talent, to
counter the impression, financial aid policy, fee for tuition,
applicants, to go to enormous lengths, to save taxpayers money,
efficient
1.2 don’t miss out on smth, to gain knowledge, to acquire skills, to
improve employability, to boost (your) future earnings, to have fun, to
go to parties, to make new friends, to receive tuition, to obtain
practical experience, to enhance CV, to have parents with deep
pockets, in your shoes, interest-free or tax-deductible loans, to obtain
grants from the government, to win a scholarship from university, to
give in your notice, to be suspended, to be transferred, to join a
company, to be over the moon, to kick somebody upstairs, to start
over a new business, to start up a company, to make a living, to drop
out of smth (school, university)
1.3 to create a positive image, to develop new markets and interesting
contacts, to hire up somebody, to implement performance-related
incentives, to improve profitability, years of losses, to get
governmental funding, downsizing, streamlining, restructuring, job-
hunting, that’s life, terrific
1.4 better known, terrific, as regards doing something, obvious choice, to
get attention, interest, respect; as far as something is concerned,
significant advantages, for one thing…for another…, student intake,
diverse, to represent better value for money, on the whole, in addition
5
1.5 to exceed objectives, to break sales records, to double revenue, to
capture market share, to optimize profitability, to obtain (diploma,
MBA), to present ideas, an outgoing personality, to serve as, to support
oneself, to enhance education, to embark on a career (in brokering),to
handle clients’ appointments and presentations, to prepare tenders, to be
a household name, to design and implement marketing campaigns
1.6 advantageous features, international metropolis, to compete on a
global market, excellent reputation for quality, to host conferences and
seminars, cultural heritage, tailored, to provide invaluable experience of
international business, to increase research funding, to sit back, to take
risks, to develop new ways to be more competitive, I am counting on
you, unique selling proposition (USP), to give a competitive advantage,
controversial, implications
Questions on the topic
1. Speak about higher education in Europe and the USA. What are the
most famous and prestigious universities you know. How are they
financed and what has changed in the process of their funding recently?
(Subject Background)
2. What difference does a degree make to your career and your earning
potential? How much does a degree cost in your country? Who should
pay for higher education? How can universities persuade students to pay
higher fees?
3. Give a definition of a degree and career. How important is a degree for
you? How did you select the university you are studying in? How are
universities usually selected by potential students? What criterion is
important for students and applicants? What was important personally for
you?
4. What kind of education policy has recently caused unrest across the
world? Why has widening access to a university education become a
serious problem for European governments? (B.1.1)
5. What evidence suggests that the social benefits of education do not
justify their cost? Do you think it is fair that a majority of taxpayers, who
mostly earn much less than graduates, should pay for a minority of
students who will definitely become wealthier in future? Why might
universities show a preference for foreign students? How can private
universities and business schools compete with the public ones? (B.1.1)
6.What is a cover letter? Speak about its structure and some useful tips
on writing it.
6
Supplementary texts
Text 1
Before you read What advice would you give for successfully
making changes in a) your professional life, b) your personal life?
Read this article from the Financial Times by Stefan Stern and do
the exercises that follow.
MASTER THE MIX OF CONTIUNITY AND CHANGE
Stefan Stern
What makes winning businesses different from the also-rans? Having
better products and services helps. Good leadership is essential. But the
strongest companies manage something else that is rare. They cope with
crises and big strategic change without drifting off course. How rare is
this?
Gerry Johnson, a professor at Lancaster University Management
School, and two colleagues from the Rotterdam School of Management,
George Yip, the dean, and the researcher Manuel Hensmans, have been
studying companies that, over a 20-year period, achieved almost
uninterrupted success while dealing with big changes. They have
interviewed senior executives (past and present) from some of these
companies to find out what went on, how decisions were made and what
the prevailing atmosphere was like.
The big danger, even for successful businesses, is strategic drift, Prof
Johnson says. Companies start out on the right track but they can all too
easily lose their way. When things become critical, existing leadership is
kicked out, new leaders come in, and the cycle starts again. But not, in
the case of a few exceptional businesses. Tesco, Cadbury and the medical
products group Smith & Nephew all dealt with big changes while
avoiding disaster.
How? A combination of four characteristics, or traditions as the
researchers call them, seems to be crucial. The first is continuity. This
involves “the reinvention of the company’s distinctive business model”
to fit in with prevailing market conditions.
The second is anticipation. This is where it starts to get tricky. To build
in anticipation, “alternative leaders” have to be allowed to start work on
the future shape and direction of the company but without undermining
the current leadership. At Tesco in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a new
generation of managers (including future boss Ian MacLaurin) began
transforming the business under the nose of the founder Jack Cohen.
7
This leads to the third characteristic of a winning business, which the
academics call “contestation” or “respectful difference that grows out of
conflict”. This is vital. Dynamic, growing businesses benefit from the
creative tension of civilized disagreement. The Smith & Nephew culture
was shaped by argument, Prof Johnson suggests. A witness to Tesco
board meetings in the mid-1980s told him that they were argumentative
and confrontational “but like a family arguing rather that a group of
enemies”.
The final characteristic is mobility, meaning a flexible recruitment
policy that tries to put the best person in the job, which prevents the
growth of a time-serving culture.
Task 1 Look through the whole article and find:
1. A professor of management In the UK.
2. Two management researchers from the Netherlands.
3. A UK business school.
4. A business school in the Netherlands.
5. Three successful companies.
6. Two executives at one of these companies.
7. An unnamed person who went to board meetings at one of these
companies.
Task 2 Find the following in the first 2 paragraphs:
1. A two-word expression, originally from horse racing, to refer to those
who do not win a race
2. A verb that could be replaced by ‘manage to deal’
3. The plural of ‘crisis’
4. An adjective that can also describe important long-term decisions in a
company
5. An adjective to refer to something that is not common or frequent
6. A two-word expression used in the context of organizations that do
well over long periods
7. A two-word expression referring to the main feelings, culture, etc. in
an organization
Task 3 Write questions relating to these answers from paragraphs 3
and 4:
a. ________________________________________________?
Strategic drift. They start out on the right track but they lose their
way.
8
b. ________________________________________________? Existing
managers are kicked out, new leaders come and the cycle starts again.
c. ________________________________________________?
No, there are a few exceptional businesses like Tesco, Cadbury and
Smith & Nephew that all dealt with big changes while avoiding
disaster.
d. ________________________________________________?
A combination of four characteristics or traditions.
e. ________________________________________________?
Continuity.
f. ________________________________________________?
The reinvention of the company’s distinctive business model.
Task 4 Now find nouns in the answers to the question above that
mean:
1. Different things working together.
2. Qualities.
3. Finding something new to replace something that was also once new.
4. Moving to places you don’t want to go to.
5. A very serious failure.
6. The way a business operates in order to make money (two-word
expression).
7. A good direction in which to go (two-word expression).
8. The ways things have long been done in a particular culture,
organization, etc.
Task 5 Continuity is the first success factor mentioned. What are the
other three?
Task 6 What examples are given of the above three success factors?
Task 7 What are the possible disadvantages relating to the first two
of the above that Tesco avoided?
Over to you 1 Is contestation encouraged in your school or
organization? Why? / Why not?
Over to you 2 Think of a company that has been successful for a
long time. How has it avoided drifting off course?
Unit 2 INFORMATION
Subject Background
Information technology (IT) deals with the use of computers and
computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit and
9
retrieve information. The term ‘information’ can usually be replaced by
‘data’. Nowadays it has become popular to broaden the term to include
the field of electronic communication, and so people often use the
abbreviation ICT (Information and Communication Technology).
IT professionals perform a variety of duties that range from
installing applications to designing complex computer networks and
information databases. Major fields of professional activity include:
• Data management
• Computer networking
• Database systems design
• Software design
• Management information systems
IT is a complex, technical and rapidly changing area of business.
Any one-page summary is likely to be rapidly out-of-date. One possible
way in to this topic is to give keywords for further Internet research
(similar activities in the unit are linked to particular texts rather than
being introductory). Typing the words below into a search engine will
produce up- to-date information, and will give both short explanations as
well as longer articles. This research could be done by you (finding texts
for use in class), or by the students (as a homework exercise for them to
report back in the next class).
Business software, application Network computing, collaboration
software tools
CIM (computer integrated Extranet
manufacturing) Information infrastructure
CNC (computer numerical control) Intranet
CRM customer relationship IT security
management) Telecommuting
ERP (enterprise resource planning) Telework
MRP (material requirements
planning)
Mobile and wireless Data and knowledge management
communications Data management
Electronic money Data mining
Information society Data warehousing
Location based devices Knowledge management
M-commerce (mobile commerce) Knowledge portal
Mobile and wireless communication MIS (management information
Mobile portal systems)
VPN (virtual private network)
10
E-business The Internet
Click fraud Google vs Yahoo
Electronic exchange Internet censorship
Online customer service Internet democracy
Supply chain management and IT Internet privacy
Virtual corporation Social networking
Web marketing/Internet marketing Streaming media
VoIP
Useful websites
Specialist sites with useful links include:
http://www.brint.com
http://www.infoworld.com
http://www.itweek.co.uk
And two invaluable encyclopedias of IT terms are:
http://www.webopedia.com
http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia
Vocabulary
2.1 downsizing сокращать штат
globalization
need for speed
take a breather
non-stop workshop
mad dash сумасшедший рывок
to cram into втиснуть
to exceed previous budget and productivity targets
pressure-cooker environment
to do more with less
corporate boardroom
cost structure структура затрат
fierce competition
a quest for efficiency and speed стремление/поиск к эффективности и
скорости
to justify оправдывать
to boost productivity and profits
a technology sales pitch (шаг) предложение по новым технологиям
output per employee
significant initial investment значительные первоначальные
инвестиции
to waste money
to be overhauled быть пересмотренным
11
irrelevant неуместный
expectation
oddly странно
to deliver as promised
standard office tool
to look fully professional
Stone Age technology
the likely outcome (исход)
the grass isn’t much greener anywhere else
to get addicted to something
to increase productivity
not to mention не говоря уж
attendees
to be fed up with something
2.2 A bit more expensive, a whole lot more expensive, considerably

more expensive, far more expensive, marginally more expensive,
infinitely more expensive, slightly more expensive, somewhat more
expensive, a patch, a plug in, a virus, a bug, a hard-disk failure, a crash, a
server, a desktop, a palmtop, a laptop, application, workgroup,
workstation, to install patches, to download drivers, to enter data, to set
up mobile connection, to delete documents, to upgrade the system, to go
down (about server, system etc. ), a thingy, to give a ring, get in touch,
keep somebody in the loop, let somebody know about something, keep
somebody posted re … something, give somebody an update, get back
to somebody/something
2.3 half as fast as,в 2 раза медленнее twice as easy as, ten times as
expensive as, far easier than, a lot faster than, charter flights, scheduled
flights, bed and breakfast/hotels пансион, campsites кемпинг, car ferry
транспортный паром, self-drive tour, coach tour автобусный тур
2.4 small talk, to get down to business приступить к, to make up
excuses, last year’s billing figures последняя цифра на счету, to close
the accounts I’m up to my eyes at work быть по уши в работе, thanks
a million, mustn’t grumble грех жаловаться, do you happen to know
how to… ты случайно не знаешь как, I won’t keep you any longer, I
know this is asking a lot, any chance I could…(borrow your
laptop),cheers, to ask somebody a favor попросить об одолжении, to
have a backup резервную копию, it’s not that I don’t trust you or
anything… ,just forget it
12
2.5 to get ignored, to be a concession to management быть уступкой
руководству, conversational разговорный, unambiguous
недвусмысленный, rigid rules жесткие правила, desired outcome,
time-frame, to carry out the check, to face heavy fines сталкиваться с
серьезными штрафами, criminal prosecution преследование, to be in
everybody’s interest, to set up the fight against (software privacy),
systematic inspections, shareware programs downloaded from the
internet демо-версия, to be inadequate area of concern, in the event of,
forthwith незамедлительно, with a view to alleviating с целью
облегчения чего-то, adjacent to примыкающий, to evaluate budget, to
be dramatically over budget ,act with forethought действовать
обдумано, desired outcome
2.6 better morale улучшенный командный дух , overtime, subsidiary
дочерний, downtime problems простои, high staff turnover, minor
problems, to need investment in something, to feel strongly that, to
investigate, to imply подразумевать, to be deliberate быть
преднамеренным, to be empire building зациклен на карьере, to
increase capacity увеличить мощность, to decentralize system, grid
computing, exit interview, to increase transactions, malicious, to adapt to
changes, inevitable, efficient service, to be exhausted, to react to
accusations, to evaluate somebody’s performance
1. What are the pros and cons of IT Technology in workplace. Does IT
Technology exploit workers and damage health or does it help to
organize our lives better? Do you agree that it causes more problems than
it solves? (2.1)
2. How to write effective memos? Speak about the objective of the memo
and its format. What is the reason that some memos get ignored? (стр.
30-31)
A memo is a document that you send to people inside the company. The objective of a
memo is to get people do something. A good memo tells you clearly what you have to do
and when you have to do it. To write a good memo you need to plan, organize and edit your
ideas carefully.
To write effective memos you should:
1. Personalize your memos: use I, you, we to make people feel directly concerned.
2. Use active rather than passive verbs for a more conversational, reader-friendly style.
3. Use verbs in preference to nouns, and avoid jargon and technical terms; write sentences
which ‘your grandmother would understand’.
4. Make it clear and unambiguous what you want people to do and when.
5. Focus on the benefits to the reader, not on rigid rules or procedures.
Reasons for some memos get ignored:
* unfriendly;
* too many memos;
13
* overloaded information;
* no explanation;
* not personalized;
* no benefits seen
3. How to reduce high staff turnover and keep best employees?

(интернет)
Hire the right people
The best way to ensure employees don’t leave you is to make sure you are hiring the right employees to
begin with. Define the role clearly—both to yourself and to the candidates. And then be absolutely sure
the candidate is a fit not only for it, but for your company culture.
Fire people who don’t fit
As the old saying goes, “a stitch in time, saves nine.” The same goes for cutting employees loose when
necessary. Sometimes even when you follow the advice above, you get an employee who—no matter
what you try to do—just doesn’t fit. And, no matter how effective they might be at their actual work, an
employee who is a bad fit is bad for your culture, and that creates “culture debt.” They will do more
damage than good by poisoning the well of your company. Cut them loose.
Keep compensation and benefits current
Be sure that you are paying employees the fair going wage for their work (or better) and offer them
competitive benefits, or—really—who can blame them for ditching you? This might seem like a no
brainer but you’d be surprised how few companies offer raises that keep up with an employee’s
development and actual rising worth.
Encourage generosity and gratitude
Encourage pro-social behavior in your employees. When they are given the opportunity to connect with
one another through acts of generosity and the expression of gratitude, employees will be healthier,
happier, and less likely to fly the coop. And by encouraging them to be on the lookout for good behaviors
to commend, you give people a sense of ownership of the company.
Recognize and reward employees
Show your employees they are valued and appreciated by offering them real-time recognition that
celebrates their successes and their efforts. Make it specific, social and supported by tangible reward, and
you, too, will be rewarded—with their loyalty.
Offer flexibility
Pay attention to engagement
This one sounds obvious, but for too many leaders interest in engagement is limited to the results of
engagement surveys. It’s not enough simply to run an engagement survey once a year. You need save
most of your energy to take action based on the results and you need to work to build a culture of
engagement in your company all year long.
Prioritize employee happiness
Happiness may sound a bit soft and squishy to many execs, but the numbers behind it are anything but.
Employee happiness is a key indicator of job satisfaction, absenteeism and alignment with values–just for
starters. Investing in the happiness of your employees will pay dividends in engagement, productivity and
yes, retention. (Find some tips for building happiness here.)
Make opportunities for development and growth
Employees place HUGE value on opportunities for growth. In fact, a recent Cornerstone survey drew a
direct connection between lack of development opportunity and high turnover intentions. If you aren’t
developing your employees then you aren’t investing in them. And if you aren’t investing in them, why
should they stay with you?
Demonstrate and cultivate respect
Finally, don’t discount respect when it comes to creating a magnetic culture. In fact, in one 2012 study,
14
respect in the workplace was revealed to be a key factor in voluntary turnover. Find ways to cultivate and
nurture respect in your workplace and it will pay off in higher retention.
Supplementary texts
Text 1
Before you read Think about the biggest company in your country.
What is its reputation?
Read the article from the Financial Times by Paul Argenti and do the
exercises that follow.
TIME FOR COMMUNICATION TO MOVE TOWARDS CENTRE
STAGE
Paul Argenti
The last few years have seen the biggest collapse in confidence in
business in almost a century – to the point where probably the last trusted
spokespeople on the planet today are corporate executives. When intense
mistrust prevails, whatever a company does says something about it,
everything communicates, and communication affects everything.
This is changing the definition of communication. Communication today
is more of a two-way dialogue and this has been aided by the rise of
social media like Facebook and Twitter and the explosion of
information-sharing online. Today’s best-in-class companies, such as
Dell in the US and Philips in Europe, do not just engage in dialogue.
They use the latest technology as a source of ideas, opinions and
competitive intelligence, for product development, employee engagement
and media monitoring.
In addition to rethinking, the definition of communication, the best
companies are rethinking its structure. There is a greater need for
integration, collaboration and partnership among corporate leadership,
human capital, finance, sales and legal teams.
Another change in communication by leading companies is the
rethinking of key themes. This was the main finding of research by the
Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, conducted with Doremus, a
business-to-business communication agency. It found that the best-in-
class companies have been guided by six themes:
A) Focus on value and values. Stakeholders demand value for money
when buying goods and services, but they also expect to see a strong
set of corporate values in the companies with which they do business.
Walmart, Hyundai and BMW have used this theme in their
advertising and communications.
B) Evolve a sense of responsibility. Corporate responsibility today is
not just about philanthropy or being green. It is about companies
15
being responsible across all business practices. NGOs, consumers,
employees and investors are ready to punish companies that ignore
evolving social values. JPMorgan Chase has done a fabulous job
reflecting its corporate responsibility initiatives on its website and in
advertising.
C) Strategy must drive communication. As Jon Iwata, IBM’s senior
vice-president for marketing and communication, puts it: “Lincoln
said, ‘Character is the tree; reputation is the shadow.’ I’m afraid too
many people in PR, marketing and advertising spend more time
manipulating the shadow than tending to the tree.”
D) Shifting from the problem to the solution. Stakeholders are most
receptive too realistic and optimistic plans, and are often ready to pay
less attention to problems of the past year.
E) Not communicating is a communication in itself. You either tell
your story or have it told for you.
F) Re-evaluate positioning. The crisis has led to disruption in how
companies are thought of by constituencies, which provides a
tremendous opportunity to reposition, rebrand and redevelop.
Task 1 Find words from the article (paragraphs 1-4), and
related words, to complete the table:
Verb Noun
Collaborate collaboration
colapse Collapse
Define definition
Engage engagement
Explode Explosion
Find finding
Prevail Prevalence
Research Research(ing)
Task 2 True or false? (paragraphs 1-4)
1. There is great mistrust of companies at the moment. true
2. When there is mistrust, everything that companies do is
misunderstood. false
3. Corporate communication is seen as increasingly two-way. true
4. The best companies have just continued to use their traditional public
relations departments in order to communicate. false
5. In their new approach to communication, companies have been
paying attention to five things in particular.
Task 3 Find expressions (paragraphs 5-6) that refer to the following:
16
1. A subject that can be used in different forms of communication (5
letters)
2. What people expect when they buy a company’s products (5 letters)
3. What they expect to see as guiding a company’s behaviour (6 letters)
4. Employees, shareholders, suppliers and, above all in this context,
customers (12 letters)
5. Giving money to charity (12 letters)
6. Having good environmental policies (5 letters, 5 letters)
7. Things that society as a whole thinks are important (6 letters, 6
letters)
8. Actions that have not been taken before (11 letters)
Task 4 Imagine company board meetings where directors say these
things (1-6). Which point A-F (paragraphs 5-10) is each director
most closely referring to?
1. ‘We have to have a press conference and be open about our quality
problems - if we don’t talk about it and journalists get on to the story,
we’re in big trouble!’
2. ‘Our customers are getting real value for money when they buy our
products, and they also have the reassurance of knowing they are
dealing with a socially responsible organization!’
3. ‘We mustn’t let this crisis go to waste! It gives us the chance to
reposition ourselves as the most environmentally aware energy
company in the world.’
4. ‘Corporate social responsibility isn’t something we can just leave to
the CSR people – it involves all of us!’
5. ‘Let’s not keep talking about our past problems. Instead, let’s look
forward to the exciting new possibilities that exist for the future!’
6. ‘There’s too much emphasis here on public relations and slick
advertising. If we behave responsibly, our corporate image will take
care of itself.’
Task 5 Choose the best summary for the whole article.
1. Corporate communication is a speciality that is best left to the PR
department and advertising agencies.
2. Everything a company does communicates something about it, and
executives are becoming increasingly aware of this.
3. Whatever a company does, people will always misinterpret its
actions, and companies just have to try to limit the damage.
Over to you 1“Lincoln said, ‘Character is the tree; reputation is the
shadow.’ I’m afraid too many people in PR, marketing and advertising
spend more time manipulating the shadow than tending to the tree.” How
17
far is it possible to ‘manipulate’ the truth about an organization’s
character?
Over to you 2Think about your organization or one you would like to
work for. In what ways can each department show that it is responsible?
How can this be communicated?
Text 2
Before you read Do you tweet? Why? / Why not?
Read the article from the Financial Times by Jonathan Moules and do
TO TWEET OR NOT TO TWEET IS A BUSINESS QUESTION
Jonathan Moules
Is there a commercial use for social networking sites such as Twitter and
Facebook? This is an important question for many company owners, who
have found themselves devoting precious resources to keeping online
followers updated through Twitter tweets, while wondering if there is a
bottom-line benefit to their businesses.
David Carruthers, user experience manager at Glasses Direct, the online
spectacles retailer, claims that using Twitter is one of the most enjoyable
elements of his working day as it puts him in direct contact with
customers. “I use it as an engaging way of talking to customers,” he says.
“We’re extremely proud of our customer service here, and this is another
way of making sure customers are happy.”
Twitter is an excellent way to provide immediate feedback to customers,
according to Carruthers. He cites a recent example where he came across
someone using Twitter to complain about not being able to get his
glasses fixed before an important business trip. He had not protested to
Glasses Direct but had used the phrase “glassesdirect” in his tweet,
which Carruthers tracked down through a search. “I found that tweet,
saw he was a director of photography, so probably needed some specs,
and tried to figure out what we could do,” Carruthers says. Within a
couple of hours, glasses Direct had made a basic pair of replacement
frames and had them in the Twitterer’s hands the following day.
But while such heroic tales of customer service can only help with
Glasses Direct’s profile online, Carruthers admits that Twitter is not a
financially important area for the business. Alan Stevens, who advises
company owners on social media use through his business, Media Coach,
says: “I have a lot of examples of people who are using Twitter
incredibly well and thousands more that are using it badly.”
Even the founders of Twitter are famous for failing to come up with a
way to monetize their ingenious and addictive network. However, many
18
companies use the technology to solve business challenges, such as
finding personnel, improving staff productivity and finding new
customers. Vena Ramphal claims she would never have created her
business venture, Divining Femininity, without Twitter – because it was
through chatting on the network that she hooked up with her co-founders.
Her success is all the more surprising since, as a relationship coach, she
had avoided social networking sites, believing that they were inferior to
face-to-face communication. “I have been very pleasantly surprised,” she
says. Her new business will run weekend workshops for women to
explore different aspects of femininity. The founders marked the launch
with a tweet, and were surprised to have more than 300 people view their
posting in the first few hours.
Task 1 Match words from each column to make expressions from
lines 1-22.
1 Social networking line benefit
sites
2 bottom- line benefit spectacles manager
3 User experience networking retailer
manager (менеджер
по взаимодействию с
покупателями)
4 Online spectacles experience sites
retailer
Task 2 Now match the expressions above to the people and things
mentioned in the article that relate to them.
a) An increase in profit for businesses in general bottom- line benefit
b) David Carruthers User experience manager
c) Glasses Direct Online spectacles retailer
d) Facebook or Twitter Social networking sites
Task 3 Use appropriate forms of expressions from lines 1-42 to

complete the statements.
If …
1. You spend a lot of time and money on something that you could
use for something else, you __ devoting precious resources ____
_______ ________ to it.
2. Something allows you to communicate with people, it ___ puts ___
you ______ in direct contact ______ ______ with them.
19
3. Something is an interesting method for doing something, it is an
____ engaging way ____ of doing it.
4. You are very happy with your achievements, you are __ extremely
proud ___ _____ of them.
5. You reply straightaway to someone in relation to what they have
told you, you ___provide___ them with __immediate
feedback____ ______ .
6. You find something after a lot of looking, you __track___ it
___down___.
7. You find an answer about the correct thing to do in a particular
situation, you ___ figure out what ____ ______ to do.
Twitter …
1. is the direct cause of greatly increased profits at Glasses Direct. an
excellent way to provide immediate feedback to customers
2. is used wisely by many people, but not all.
3. has made a lot of money for its founders. Even the founders of
Twitter are famous for failing to come up with a way to monetize
their ingenious and addictive network.
4. is used to solve four particular business challenges. 3
5. was used by Vena Ramphal to find partners for her new business.
True
6. allowed her to found her business but she could have done it in
other ways as well. Vena Ramphal claims she would never have
created her business venture, Divining Femininity, without Twitter
Task 5 Find an expression (paragraph 6) that:
1. Refers to making contact with people and doing things together: to
___ ___ ___ someone. (3 words) hook up with
2. Refers to something that is not just surprising, but especially so
because of a particular reason. (4 words) all the more surprising
3. Is used to describe something that is less good than something else. (1
word) inferior
4. Is used to describe communication between people who are in the
same room, rather than over the Internet. (3 words) face-to-face
5. Refers to a training course with active participants. (1 word)
workshops
6. Refers to an occasion when something is seen or available to buy for
the first time. (1 word) launch
7. Means a message sent on Twitter. (1 word) a tweet
20
Over to you 1 In what ways could Twitter be of use in your line of
business, or a business that you are interested in?
Over to you 2 Will social networking eventually replace face-to-face
socializing completely? Why? / Why not?
UNIT 3. QUALITY
Subject background
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management strategy that puts
awareness of quality at the heart of all organizational processes. This is
combined with a strong philosophy of lowering costs by eliminating
waste and defects. So TQM can be described as a management system
that aims at a continual increase in customer satisfaction while
continually lowering real costs.
The father of TQM was William Deming, an American college
professor, author, and consultant. Deming played a major role in
improving production in the United States during World War II, but after
the war he moved to Japan. There, from 1950 onwards, he taught top
management how to improve design, product quality, testing and sales
(the latter by entering global markets). Deming is regarded as having had
more impact upon Japanese manufacturing and business than any other
individual not of Japanese heritage. Deming’s ideas were developed in
America around the same time by Feigenbaum and others, and an early
adopter of TQM in the States was the US Navy.
In the original Japanese model of TQM there are four steps to
improving performance:
1 Kaizen: a focus on continuous improvement through making processes
visible, repeatable and measurable.
2 Atarimae Hinshitsu: making sure that things work exactly as they are
supposed to.
3 Kansei: examining the way the user actually uses the product in real
life in order to improve the product.
4 Miryokuteki Hinshitsu: making sure that products have an aesthetic
quality.
The slightly more restricted term ‘quality assurance’ refers just to
product quality in a manufacturing operation, rather than wider issues of
customer service, etc. Quality assurance involves sampling a random
selection of the product and then testing this sample for whatever matters
most to the end users. The causes of any failures are isolated and
corrected, and the process of analyzing the causes of any problems often
leads to a redesign of the production process or of the parts and
21
components themselves (to make them easier to manufacture).
TQM peaked in the early 1990s, and it is sometimes seen as just
another management ‘fad’. Perhaps it is a victim of its own success —
most modern products are much better quality than
20 years ago. It has been replaced by other related concepts and
processes. These include
‘lean manufacturing’ and ‘Six Sigma’.
Lean manufacturing (= lean production) aims to eliminate waste in
every area of production, so that means less human effort, less inventory
less time to develop products, and less factory space. Some key
techniques include:
• Pull processing: products are pulled from the consumer end (demand),
not pushed from the production end (supply)
• Perfect first-time quality, solving problems at the source
• Continuous improvement: reducing costs, improving quality, increasing
productivity and sharing information
• Flexibility: producing different mixes or a greater diversity of products
quickly
• Building a long-term relationship with suppliers through collaboration
and the sharing of risk, costs and information
Six Sigma is a collection of tools, training and measurements
developed by Motorola to improve the manufacturing process. It aims to
reduce defective parts to 3.4 per million opportunities (this measure
being called ‘six sigma’ in statistics). One of its features is the
appointment of in-house ‘champions’, ‘experts’ and ‘black belts’ to focus
on quality across functions and departments.
Useful websites
Internet sites with further information include:
http://www.managementhelp.org/quality/quality.htm
http://www.isixsigma.com/me/
http://www.efqm.org/
(for this last one look particularly at the Publications section.)
Vocabulary
3.0 Total Quality Management (TQM), awareness, to lower costs, to
eliminate waste and defects, to aim at something , aesthetic quality,
quality assurance гарантия качества , fad причуда , lean manufacturing
рациональное производство ,6 Sigma, to solve problems at the source
3.1 modernity , durability долговечность, value for money, planned
obsolescence, elusive неуловимый , craze мода проходящая, flaw
изъян/ошибка, lead over преимущество, to shrink (shrank, shrunk)
22
сжиматься, unfair advantage, intrinsically по существу , taken for
granted, to become obsessed, just-in-time industry точно в срок, design
for quality, price of admission входная плата, trap on the road to
(quality) ловушка на пути к качеству , an end in itself самоцель , to
sour, enchanting quality, white goods = household electrical goods =
бытовые приборы
3.2 stakeholder заинтересованное лицо, substandard, shoddy убогий,
marketing manager начальник отдела сбыта , design engineer
инженер-конструктор, process engineer инженер-технолог, quality
auditor контроль качества, end-user, heavy-duty мощный, disposable
одноразовый, in the first place прежде всего, flawed с
изъяном/бракованный , cracked, tolerance отклонение, standardized,
compliance with, flawlessly, statutory requirements установленные
государством требования, design fault ошибка конструирования,
resource management, quality assurance гарантия качества, profit
margin, cost-effective, everyday concern «головная боль»
3.3 to grab a quick break передохнуть, to mend, to service, to repair, to
hassle надоедать, to look on the bright side of life быть оптимистом,
fittings соединения (между трубами), fuel pump топливный насос, to
work round-the-clock работать непрерывно, to top it all сверх всего
прочего, to spot the difference отследить разницу, underlying cause
основные проблемы/причины, let’s put our heads together вместе
подумаем and…
3.4 excessive чрезмерный , signposting верная расстановка пауз,
failure rate частота с которой происходят ошибки , input on
something, to turn things around again вернуться к исходному
результату, quality plan, is that clear so far..?, I think that covers
everything, Just to digress a moment
3.5 lab-ware лабораторное оборудование , a design flaw,
subcontractor, faulty, production line, QA department, a batch of, to be
forced to stop the production, Can you see to it?, to cause us considerable
inconvenience, a dashboard, to investigate the issue further to ensure
that it doesn’t happen again, Sorry to be a nuisance
3.6 to be regarded as, to cultivate, harvest, outlet, nutrition value, display
cases, to install, to extend shelf life, substandard, wastage rate, the bulk
of something, best practice, to ally with, unrivalled quality, to maintain
records, to be checked on each load, to give an incentive, nitrogen
fertilization, shed, to presume, to keep records, mad rush, to learn on the
job
23
1. Speak about Total Quality Management. What is involved in its
strategy? What are the four steps to improving a company’s
performance?
2. Who was W Edwards Deming? What role did he play in the quality
movement? Do you agree that quality is in the eye of the beholder?
3. What does quality assurance involve? How does it help to prevent
failures? Speak about lean manufacturing and its key techniques.
4. What can you say about the Japanese vision of quality? Talk about
enchanting and “taken for granted” aspects. What is included in the
concept of quality? Compare the Western and the Japanese approaches
to quality.
5. What are the two traps a lot of companies fall into on the road to
quality? What are the customers’ expectations towards quality in modern
world?
6. Pros and cons of planned obsolescence. Why do manufacturers need to
take it into account while designing products? What is your personal
attitude to it?
Supplementary texts
Text 1
Before you read What are the top soft drink brands in your country?
Which are international and which local?
Read this article from the Financial Times by Jonathan Birchall and do
COCA-COLA TARGETS MORE $1BN CHINA BRANDS
Jonathan Birchall
Coca-Cola already owns two of China’s three best-selling sparkling
drinks but by 2020 it wants to have four more $1bn brands in what has
become its third-largest market by revenue. The ambitious target reflects
Coca-Cola’s confidence that its long-term plans to more than triple sales
in China are secure both from domestic rivals and from potential political
pitfalls.
Coca-Cola’s revenues have grown by a compound annual rate of 19 per
cent over the past five years and it claims to be widening its lead over its
rivals. It says it has double Pepsi-Cola’s total sales in China, supported in
particular by its stronger presence in still drinks, water and juices. The
company has also continued to expand its range of non-carbonated drinks
where it competes with both local and international brands.
It has launched Glaceau enhanced water, as well as its first dairy and
juice drink, Minute Maid Super Pulpy Milky, entering a 1 billion – case
market where competitors include Wahaha, Danone’s former joint
24
venture partner. Coke and Sprite already each sell more than $1bn
annually and Coca-Cola is forecasting that its Yuan Ye tea brand and its
Ice Dew bottled water – both launched last year – will also be $1bn
China brands by 2020, in spite of facing strong competition from
Taiwan’s Tingyi, which has about half the total ready-to-drink tea
market.
In terms of political challenges, the world’s largest soft drinks company
suffered a blow this March when China’s ministry of commerce blocked
its planned $2.4bn takeover of China’s largest juice company, Huiyuan.
Since the setback, Coca-Cola has continued the kind of high-level
commitment to China demonstrated by its sponsorship of the Beijing
Olympics, recently announcing plans to invest $2bn in China over the
next three years.
Muhtar Kent, chief executive, noted that a meeting with Wang Qishan,
China’s vice-premier for economic affairs, Coca-Cola had been praised
for being the only US company to have pavilion at last year’s Shanghai
World’s Expo. Mr Kent says he regards the potential obstacles to Coca-
Cola – China’s ambitions coming from broader political pressures as
China’s growth could still fall short of expectations. He doesn’t see this ,
including the threat of potential nationalist reaction to Coca-Cola’s US
brand identity. “Everyone’s walking around with Nikes, and drinking
Coke and wearing Oakleys. I think there’s a difference between that and
the view of the US-people don’t worry at a consumer level, at a brand
level,” says Doug Jackson, head of Coke’s China business unit.
Task 1 Look through the whole article and find all the brands and
company names mentioned.
Task 2 Now look at your answers to question 1 and find:
1. Two US soft drinks companies.
2. A French company (the article does not specifically say that it is
French).
3. A Chinese company with which the company above had a joint
venture.
4. A Chinese juice company.
5. A Taiwanese company.
6. Two brands of water.
7. A brand of tea.
8. A brand of flavoured milk drink.
9. Two non-drink brands, used here in their plural forms.
Task 3 Look at paragraphs 1-2 and say if these statements are true
of false.
25
1. Coca-Cola owns the three best-selling sparkling drinks in China.
2. Coca-Cola makes more than a billion dollars in sales in China from
each of these brands.
3. China is Coca-Cola’s biggest overseas market.
4. Coca-Cola’s aim is to sell more than four times as much as China as it
does now.
5. Coca-Cola’s sales in China have grown by nearly a fifth each year for
the past five years.
6. Pepsi Cola’s sales in China are more than half of Coca-Cola’s.
7. Coca-Cola until now has only sold Coke in China.
Task 4 Match the verbs 1-7 with the things that they go with a-d in
paragraphs 3-4.
1 enter a a blow
2 launch b a takeover
3 suffer c a commitment
4 block d brands
5 continue e plans
6 demonstrate f a commitment
7 announce g a market
Task 5 Now match the verbs 1-7 in Exercise 4 with their meanings i-
vii, as they are used in the article.
i) start selling
ii) give information about
iii) prevent
iv) negatively experience
v) show
vi) go into
vii) carry on
Task 6 Choose the best alternative summary for final paragraph.
Coca-Cola’s chief executive thinks that …
a) Coca-Cola will definitely suffer if there is nationalist resistance
to the company’s future expansion in China.
b) The design of Coca-Cola’s stand at the Shanghai World Expo
was highly appreciated by the Chinese.
c) People think in terms of brands rather than nationalities, and
Coca-Cola will not unduly suffer from nationalist resistance to
foreign companies.
Over to you 1 How many of the brands mentioned in the article do you
know? How strong are they in your country? What do you think of them?
26
Over to you 2 Has there been resistance to particular foreign brands in
your country because of their national origins? Give some background
and explain how this resistance came about.
Text 2
Before you read Which do you think are the top ten brands in the world
at the moment, in terms of their value? Make a list.
Read this article from the Financial Times by John Gapper and do the
exercises that follow.
BIG NAMES PROVE WORTH IN CRISIS
John Gapper
For companies whose financial value depends heavily on the health of
their brands, the severity and abruptness of the recession was a challenge.
The abruptness with which many consumers stopped spending, and large
companies reduced capital investment, caused a shock to the system.
Many companies experienced not only the financial crisis, but also a
crisis of confidence.
Marketers and advertising agencies preach the gospel that the companies
that emerge best out of recessions are those that maintain their marketing
budget and protect brands when the going gets tough. In practice, few
companies were certain enough of the future to comply. Yet some of the
Doomsday scenarios about the value of brands in the post-recession
world have not come to pass. Emerging form the recession, luxury goods
companies and many other consumer brand companies are enjoying a
rebound.
The underlying value of any brand – the premium commanded by
products and services with strong reputations and identities – has not
been eliminated by the crisis. Even those companies that did not invest
heavily in their brands in the worst times are regaining some confidence.
“Brands outperform in good times and when there is a recession they do
go down, but they come out the other side with a sustainable advantage,”
says Joanna Seddon, chief executive of MBO, the organization that
compiles the ranking.
The nature of brands continues to evolve. Technology rather than
marketing is now the defining characteristic of seven of the top 10
brands, with Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Marlboro making up the other
three. Google remains the world’s most valuable brand, but edging up
close behind it are two other technology companies, IBM and Apple.
Both of these outrank Microsoft, whose brand value was stable during
the year. The resurgence in Apple under Steve Jobs, through the iPod, the
iPhone and now the iPad, continues unabated and, on present trends, it
27
could be pressing Google for first place within a year or two. That is a
tribute to a company that inspires devotion among customers.
It may also be a reflection of the value of inspirational leadership, and
the way in which consumers identify some of the world’s most valuable
brands, such as Oracle and Starbucks, with founders who embody their
qualities. Larry Ellison of Oracle and Howard Shultz of Starbucks are not
only the founders but keepers of the flame. The social media boom led
by companies such as Facebook and Twitter – as well as the rise in
smartphones led by Apple – has had a broader impact on the top 100. It
has boosted mobile operators such as Verizon and AT&T, despite the
complaints of iPhone users about AT&T coverage.
Task 1 Complete this table with words and grammatically related
words from paragraph 1.
noun adjective
abrupt
confident
healthy
finance
severe
valuable
Task 2 Now match the adjectives above to their meanings.
a. In good condition
b. Very difficult
c. Worth a lot of money
d. Feeling good about the future
e. Very sudden
f. Relating to money
Task 3 Use forms of expressions from paragraph 2 to correct these
statements.
1. If you say that something is true and that people should act in
accordance with it, you preach the bible about it.
2. If conditions become difficult in a particular situation, the journey
gets hard.
3. A series of very bad events that might happen is a fateful narrative.
4. A formal way of saying that something has happened is to say that it
has come past.
5. If a company does well after a period of doing badly, it undergoes a
bounce.
Task 4 True or false? (Paragraphs 2-3).
28
1. The value of brands was completely destroyed during and after the
recession.
2. Companies that did not invest in their brands have been totally
eliminated.
3. The value of brands goes down during recessions.
4. Companies with valuable brands do better that those without in the
long run.
Task 5 Which of the brand(s) mentioned in paragraphs 4-5 …
1. Relate to technology-based companies or their products?
2. Relate to non-technology companies?
3. Is top in the rankings?
4. Is technology-based, and below three other technology companies?
5. Are names of products related to a technology company?
6. Have grown partly because of the success of other brands?
Task 6 Find expressions that refer to (paragraphs 4-5) …
1. The thing that people think about most in relation to a brand. (8
letters, 14 letters)
2. A period of success following a period of decline. (10 letters)
3. Makes you admire a person, brand, etc. (8 letters)
4. A feeling of complete admiration, respect, etc. (8 letters)
5. Company founders who are still building their companies. (7 letters, 2
letters, 3 letters, 5 letters)
6. Companies such as Facebook and Twitter (6 letters, 5 letters)
Over to you 1 Look again at the list of brands that you made before you
read the article. Compare it with the answers to question 5. Were there
any surprises for you? If so, describe them.
Over to you 2 Which of the above brands will still be important 10 years
from now, and which will have declined? Give your reasons.
Unit 4 FEEDBACK
Subject Background
The main focus of this unit is on teams. First, notice that the terms
‘team building’ and ‘team working’ are not the same. Teambuilding is
the first stage, and involves the team leader giving people a sense of
direction, getting to know each other, recognizing skills and abilities,
and establishing a method of working. Once this has been achieved,
team working itself can begin, and this involves sharing ideas, co-
operating, being open and supporting other team members.
Crucial to the success of any team is the team leader. Leadership
styles include: the 'controller', who issues instructions and supervises
29
closely; the 'guide', who clarifies the task but then stands back,
offering advice when needed and encouraging members to do the task
their own way; and the 'facilitator', who gives overall direction and
then delegates responsibility and expects team members to report back
on progress.
The team leader has to see the bigger picture: why the team was
created, how it will be judged, what resources are available to it, etc.
The leader also needs skills such as giving people appropriate roles,
making sure team meetings are productive, monitoring progress and
giving feedback.
It is also important for the team leader to read the group dynamics.
The leader has to be able to spot the two elements that are always
present when people communicate:
 content (the issue on which they are working)
 process (what's happening at an interpersonal level between
individuals).
Failing to notice and deal with the process of communication will
result in a bad atmosphere and unnecessary conflict.
The dynamics of the team change over time, and one of the best-
known descriptions of this process is BW Tuckman's four stages of
team development:
1. Forming: the group gets together for the first time.
Rules/Methods of working are not yet established.
2. Storming: after the relatively polite forming stage, members
grow in confidence and some in-fighting is likely.
3. Norming: now the group moves on to establish norms in the form
of systems and procedures for working and decision-making.
4. Performing: finally, the group becomes cohesive as a unit and
starts to perform as a team.
Teams are not always successful and may take time to produce
results. There are many potential problems and conflict is unavoidable.
Some conflict is productive (it brings out new ideas and raises new
issues), but other conflict is not (personal comments, previous issues
are raised). Conflict is natural - it is up to the team leader to turn it into
a creative force. Possible problems with teams include:
• A skills shortage: the mix and breadth of skills are not sufficient
• Performance issues: how is poor performance corrected? how is
good performance rewarded?
30
• A lack of support within the organization: false expectations of a
quick fix to a serious problem, the changing of
rules/members/deadlines, the withdrawal of resources
• Scattered locations.
Task 1. Read the article and take notes on the following points:
a. the difference between the terms ‘team building’ and ‘team
working’
b. examples of leadership styles
c. the role of a team leader and skills needed for managing their
teams
d. crucial elements for successful communication between members
of a team
e. BW Tuckman's stages of team development
f. causes of conflicts with a team
Task 2. Match the underlined words in the article with the
following definitions:
1. tell somebody about something that they asked you to find out
about
2. to move away from something, to not let yourself
be influenced by your feelings about a situation
3. disagreements over who has power or control among
the members of a group or organization
4. someone who helps a person or organization to find a solution to
a problem
5. to produce (about ideas)
6. combining well to form a strong well-organized unit
7. the act of stopping something or of taking something away
8. as much as is needed
9. the fact that
something includes a wide range of different things or ideas
10. spread over a large area
Task 3. Internet Research
Search for further information about teamwork and present your
findings.
Useful websites
Further information about teamwork can be found at:
http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/
http://reviewing.co.uk./toolkit/teams-and-teamwork.htm
31
http://www.businessballs.com/dtiresources/TQM_development_people
_teams.pdf
Vocabulary
4.1 project team, project manager, milestone, land purchase, project
approval, feasibility study, geological survey, dam construction, to
focus on clear objectives, to create an open and honest atmosphere, to
go round in circles, team spirit, mediocre, apathy, anti-team(adj.),
well-meaning, conventional teambuilding activities, to merge into a
force, emotional commitment, in service of something, to accomplish,
to buy into, to increase teamwork, shortcomings, to be held
accountable, to impose, unrivalled, to aspire, aspiring, to start from
scratch , to get things back on track, completion, to get bogged,
schedule slippage, to face cost overruns, put sth into perspective,
resettlement, prevail , allied (with), touchy-feely
4.2 team player, bully, maverick, workaholic, decisive, cooperative,
obsessive, over-critical, single-minded, unpredictable, easy-going,
anxious, confident, to burn out, to settle in, not to pull one’s weight, to
let somebody down, to pass the buck, to meet/miss a deadline, to set
targets, to reach the next milestone, to stick to the budget, loner, to
cover for, messy
4.3 power plant, evacuate, reactor, impact, a seismic area, downshift,
to do a steady job, dairy farmer, trainee accountant, to turn something
down, to have a slow pace of life
4.4 to elicit, to mess up, to overdo, to eliminate faults, to reprimand,
to praise, to have a heart to heart talk, to give a final warning,
conscientious, to appreciate solidarity with the colleagues, to reduce
tension, to recognize merit, to congratulate sb on, dedication to a
company
4.5 to investigate employee attitude, questionnaire, appraisal
interview, to carry out a survey, external consultant, annual, findings,
to be in favour, consequently, to improve poor performance, to put in
place, due to the tight schedule, to foster team spirit, draft, to allocate
time, to approve the final scheme
4.6 to become accustomed, forecourt staff, to fill the tank, to top up
the oil, windscreen, government-regulated, to handle somebody with
kid gloves, bad morale, to give impossible deadlines, to stop the
appointment, to put up with, accusation of favouritism, disgrace, to
hand smb a resignation, work your fingers to the bone
32
1. What factors are important to create a good team? Which advice can
you give? List the examples of ineffective team-building activities.
2.What are the optimal ways of recognizing merit and giving
constructive criticism? Which mistakes are often made by business
executives?
3. What is the difference between team-building and team-working?
What are the stages of team-building? What does the work in a team
involve? List leadership styles you know. What skills should a great
team leader possess?
4. What are the four stages of team development given by BW
Tuckman? Which types of conflicts within a team do you know? How
to manage difficult people? Give some advice.
5.What is downshifting? What do you know about this trend? What are
the different forms of downshifting? Which one would you adopt if
you had the chance?
Supplementary texts
Text 1
Before you read Would you be willing to do pro bono work-that
is, to work without being paid? Why/Why not/
Read this article from the Financial Times by Rhymer Rigby:
THE CAREERIST: PRO BONO WORK
Pro bono work is usually thought of as the preserve of lawyers, but
organisations as varied as advertising agencies and professional
services firms also donate their staff's time to good causes - either for
free or for reduced fees. Although employees should do pro bono work
for selfless reasons, your good deeds can also be rewarded in terms of
your career.
How does pro bono work add to my experience?
If you are relatively junior, it can be a very good way to step up."
People who do pro bono work in the Accenture Development
Partnerships typically take on more senior roles than they would in big
corporate roles," says Royce Bell, a 20 senior executive at the
consultancy firm. "You get to see a lot of nuts and bolts and it's very
good to get outside the normal cozy corporate world. You'd think that
someone who sets up an IT system in Chad would have a broader view
than a person who has only worked in Fortune 200 companies."
What about opportunities for building relationships?
33
Pro bono work often brings together people from different parts of
organizations who might not otherwise meet. Phil Georgiadis, 35
chairman of Walker Media, the London agency, says it can cut through
hierarchies, too. "I'm about to do some work for the Great Ormond
Street Hospital for Children and I'll enlist a couple of graduates to
work with me - that'll be the account team. So suddenly you have a
graduate who is reporting directly to the chairman, which is very rare,"
he explains.
What about job satisfaction?
Using your professional skills in the service of good causes often
adds a kind of ethical dimension to your career and can be very
motivating. Maya Mehta, a senior associate at Clifford Chance, the law
firm, says that her inspiration for starting the Newham Asian Women's
Project pro bono scheme came from reading about forced marriages:
"It got to the point where I couldn't just turn the page. I wanted to do
something about it." She says it is also one way of bridging the divide
between Canary Wharf and the less privileged areas that surround it.
Pro bono work can be rewarding in other ways, too. Mr Georgiadis
says you can be freer to be more creative with work done for charities:
"You often have the opportunity to do some really interesting
marketing and you have more freedom than you might have with, say,
a breakfast cereal." Mr Bell adds that Accenture Development
Partnership projects tend to be smaller and shorter than their corporate
counterparts: "It's much easier to see overall results and understand the
positive effect of what you are doing."
Task 1 Look through the whole article and match these people
with the organizations that they work for and the pro bono
projects that they mention.
1.Royce Bell a. Clifford Chance i) the Great Ormond
Street Hospital for
Children
2.Phil Georgiadis b. Accenture ii) the Newham Asian
Development Women’s Project
Partnerships
3.Maya Mehta c. Walker Media iii) an IT system in
Chad
Task 2 Choose the correct alternatives.
1 'Pro bono', meaning 'for good', comes from which language?
34
a) Greek b) French c) Latin
2 Working for reduced fees or no fee at all is ...
a) limited to the legal profession.
b) only common in law and advertising.
c) found in a range of professional services.
3 Normally, if you donate your time, you ...
a) charge for it.
b) don't charge for it.
c) charge twice as much as for other work.
4 This article uses 'donate' to mean ...
a) always charging nothing at all.
b) charging nothing or sometimes charging a reduced fee.
c) occasionally charging the full rate.
5 The opposite of 'selfless' is ...
a) selfish, b) self-help, c) self-service.
6 Which of these words is least similar in meaning to 'deeds'?
a) doings b) acts c) thoughts
7 The reward for doing pro bono work comes in the form of...
a) better career prospects.
b) more job satisfaction.
c) a better salary for your current job.
Task 3 Where are these aspects of doing pro bono work mentioned
in the article? Which are not mentioned?
You may have the chance of...
a) seeing very practical aspects of projects.
b) working with the chairman, even if you are a recent graduate
recruit.
c) getting a more rounded way of looking at things than you would in a
large company.
d) improving healthcare in the developing world.
e) doing work with more responsibility.
f) working on projects in the developing world.
g) understanding how hierarchies work.
Task 4 Match the verbs with the expressions that they go with.
1 use a) the divide
2 bridge b) an ethical dimension
3 add c) professional skills
4 start d) more freedom
35
5 have e) the project
6 have f) the positive effect
7 see g) the opportunity
8 understand h) the overall results
Task 5 Now match the opinions (a-e) to the people who might have
expressed them (1-4). (One of these people relate to two of the
opinions.)
1 Rhymer Rigby a) 'I couldn't just ignore this social problem.'
2 Royce Bell b) 'You really have a chance to work
independently.'
3 Phil Georgiadis c) 'You get to see the results of your own
work more easily.'
4 Maya Mehta d) 'It gives you the opportunity to know that
you're doing good.'
e) 'It allows us the chance to have contact
with some of our neighbours.’
Task 6 Think about your organisation or one you would like to work
for. What pro bono projects would it be advantageous for the
organisation to carry out?
Task 7 Identify an area in which you personally might like to do pro
bono work. Discuss the main points of your campaign.
Text 2
Before you read What is your definition of good management?
Read this article from the Financial Times by Julian Birkinshaw
MANAGERS NEED A MAKEOVER
What is the way forward for managers during a period of economic
recovery? Leadership is a process of social influence: it is concerned
with the styles and behaviours of individuals that cause others to
follow them. Management is the act of get-ting people together to
accomplish desired goals. In other words, we all need to be leaders and
managers. How does this line of thinking help you? For starters, it is
interesting to note that almost all the well-known books on
management were written from the perspective of the manager, not the
employee.
Here is a simple exercise. Ask some colleagues you work with
about the last time they felt fully motivated and engaged at work. What
were the characteristics of that piece of work? Chances are, they will
say some of the following: it was a challenging project, one where they
36
had to stretch themselves; they were given a lot of autonomy; they had
an opportunity to work collaboratively with others; and they felt the
work was important to the organisation. I am willing to bet there will
be no mention of money; instead they will focus on the recognition and
kudos they received from doing a project well.
Why is it so hard to do what we know to be right? It turns out that
being a good manager is somewhat unnatural. We can do all the above
things if we work on them. But it is easy to lapse back into old habits,
and as soon as things get busy or difficult at work we quickly revert to
type - which usually means withholding information, telling our
employees what to do, and barking at them when they get it wrong. A
small minority of people are "naturals" at good management. The vast
majority of us have to work very so hard to do the job well.
The job of the senior leaders in an organisation is to put in place an
overall "management model" that encourages individuals to work more
effectively in their management activities. Many companies are
experimenting with innovative management models along these lines,
and when such innovations work, they can be a real source of
competitive advantage. A well-managed company is one that gets the
most out of its people. An engaged workforce, in turn, is one that seeks
out 65 opportunities to add value in creative and unforeseen ways,
which then breeds responsiveness, innovation and resilience.
However, one thing is certain: reinventing the practice of
management is not going to provide your company with any short-term
benefits. But that is the whole point. The road to recovery starts now,
and it is therefore a perfect time to put in place the basic changes that
will accelerate over time.
Task 1 Look at the headline. What types of change is 'makeover'
normally most associated with?
Task 2 Find the following expressions in paragraph 1.
a) a period when business is improving (2 words)
b) the way that people change because of what they see in others (2
words)
c) what people typically do in particular situations (1 word)
d) reaching particular objectives (1 word)
e) a particular way of reasoning (3 words)
f) the way you look at something (1 word)
37
Task 3 Which alternative could not be used to replace the
expression in italics from the second paragraph so as to keep a
similar meaning?
1 'Ask some colleagues you work with about the last time
they felt fully motivated and engaged at work.'
a) completely b) partly c) totally
2 '... it was a challenging project, one where they had to
stretch themselves
a) work nearer the limits of what they were capable
b) try harder than they normally did
c) employ new people to help them
3 they were given a lot of autonomy...'
a) independence b) freedom c) advice
4 '... they had an opportunity to work collaboratively with
others
a) together with b) towards the same goal as c) in parallel with
5 '... instead, they will focus on the recognition
a) concentrate on b) talk about c) emphasise
6 '... and kudos they received from doing a project well.'
a) increase in salary b) increase in respect c) increase in
status
Task 4 Read paragraph 3 to decide if these statements are true or
false.
a) Being a good manager is a normal thing to be able to do.
b) It's possible to apply all the advice given all the time.
c) Managers can go back to their previous behaviour when
under pressure.
d) Two examples of typical behaviour of managers under
pressure are given.
e) There are a small number of people who are good managers
without advice or training.
f) Others can be good managers with just a little effort.
Task 5 Replace the words in italic with nouns from paragraph 4.
(One of the answers occurs twice.)
a) They have a big role to play in improving managers' skills in
their organizations.
38
b) Senior managers are introducing them in organisations to give
managers an idea of what to follow to improve their management
skills.
c) This can really be improved in relation to other firms if
managers' skills get better.
d) This helps to make people perform as well as they can.
e) This means that people are always looking for ways to contribute
in new, productive ways that haven't been predicted.
f) This means that managers react more to problems and are more
able to deal with them.
g) You won't get these, but you will get longer term ones.
Task 6 Think of management from the point of view of employees.
What are the three biggest improvements that managers could make to
the way that they manage?
Task 7 'A small minority of people are "naturals" at good
management. The vast majority of us have to work very hard to do the
job well.' Do you agree? Why? / Why not?
Text 3
Read a letter of resignation.
166, Crofters Street
London
SE4 1AJ
Dear Mr Goodman,
I am writing to inform you of my decision to resign from my post as
Service Engineer, forthwith.
I have had little job satisfaction over the last seven months, and
therefore have no desire to continue in this position or in this company.
As you can imagine, this is not a decision I have taken lightly, and I
trust that you will keep the following reasons confidential, as I have
not spoken to my colleagues about these personal issues.
I am leaving for several reasons, just some of which I will outline
briefly here. They revolve around the poor relationship I have with Jill
Nash, my Manager and Head of Department. I have found her very
difficult to work with on several counts. I am used to a more assertive
style of management and I feel that she has consistently failed to give
me a clear sense of direction. This has been very frustrating. At the
same time, whilst giving little or no guidance, she is always extremely
quick to criticize my work, sometimes publicly.
39
In addition, and on a related issue, Ms Nash never gives any
positive feedback and so I have not felt appreciated, even though I
work extremely hard. You may be aware that my role, along with those
of the other project team members, has been significant in the
development and completion of the 'Mirage' project, as well as with
'Deepest Colour', but this has not been acknowledged by her.
I have felt personally singled out by her, though I do not know
precisely why. I find her general approach very lacking and even
unkind. To give an example, I actually overheard her talking about me
in very negative terms to a colleague recently. This for me was the last
straw. In spite of all of the above, I have not spoken to her about this
directly, or to HR – our relationship is so poor and I am naturally of a
fairly shy disposition.
I would be grateful if you could pass on this letter to the people
concerned.
With thanks and best wishes,
Paula Thomas
Task 1 Read the letter of resignation and find out the main reason
why Paula has decided to leave.
Task 2 Read the letter again, and tick which of the following boss-
related problems are mentioned by her:
1 Ms Nash is not sufficiently assertive.
2 She changes her mind very frequently.
3 She has very high expectations of her staff.
4 She gives little praise.
5 She has no sense of humour.
6 She is very over-critical.
7 She is not a good communicator.
8 She takes credit for others' work.
9 She does not behave in a professional manner.
Task 3 Do you think Paula's argument sounds reasonable? Do you
think she has handled this in the right way?
Text 4
Read the following parts of the text and put them in the
logical order.
NO REGRETS
A. And that was when my life changed. For the first two weeks I just did
nothing but sleep and think, and I had the time to sit back and to
40
assess my adult life critically. I found it to be meaningless. Although I
was on a very healthy salary, I myself was unhealthy and unhappy. I
had been totally single-minded about my work and had stopped
noticing the world around me. I had just become obsessive about my
work and about making money for the company. I had been bullish
with my staff and had very few friends. Strangely, this realization left
me feeling completely liberated. I thought long and hard about my
future and decided to just give myself some space. I handed in my
notice and pledged to do something more worthwhile and fulfilling,
and also to try to develop my relationships with people. I was lucky, I
had come to this realization reasonably young.
B. I felt the buzz of excitement again. I enjoyed working in a different
environment and having new colleagues. Because of my management
role, I theoretically wasn't supposed to do so many house valuations,
so I didn't even see new properties any more. However, I took my
management role very seriously and it paid off. The department I was
in charge of made huge profits, and the partners felt it was mainly due
to my influence. They offered me a more senior position and I
accepted it immediately.
C. I have always had a passion for buildings. When I was young I wanted
to become an architect. However, my father dissuaded me from doing
the training, because he didn't believe I'd have the commitment. I
don't think he really knew me that well. So I studied to become the
next best thing in my young eyes - an estate agent. I didn't bother
going to college, I just left school at 18 and did a short course in estate
agency. When I got my first job, I felt so excited. My parents had
instilled in me the desire to be ambitious and competitive in all areas.
I always viewed that as a positive thing, and couldn’t wait to climb up
the ladder, and of course, to look around properties of all shapes, sizes
and values.
D. I was flattered and started to work even harder. I would typically work
a six-day week, voluntarily, and work an 11-hour day. I think I
relished the positive feedback, and also started to really enjoy the
luxuries of my new-found lifestyle. I worked hard and played hard
and I was also an aggressive and demanding manager of staff. After
four years of hard work, I was offered a partnership post and I
accepted it without a second thought. However, I had started to suffer
slightly from the effects of a heavy and quite stressful workload and a
41
generally unhealthy lifestyle. Soon I found I didn't have the mental
and physical energy to keep up the pace, to meet and surpass the
annual sales targets. Eventually, when I was at the point of taking
tablets to help me sleep, as well as anti-depressants, my GP suggested
I took at least three months off work as I was suffering from stress.
E. I found the job fairly easy, and to be honest, I soon got bored with
valuation and sales after the first couple of years. It started to feel a bit
monotonous and I used to lose the buzz I'd first got when viewing
houses and making a sale. I was good at it, and did well financially
because we also worked on commission, but it wasn't enough. I asked
for promotion and I got a small managerial position in the agency
where I was working as a sales person, but after the first 12 months,
the exhilaration of managing people also waned. I wanted more. As
the company I was working for was quite small, I decided to go to a
larger company, and I was lucky enough to be accepted at interview
for a similar post, but managing a much larger department in a
prestigious agency.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Task 2 Do you agree with the author’s decision to downshift? If you
were him, would you act in the same way? Why? Why not?
Unit 5 SELLING MORE

Subject Background
This unit deals with the related topics of sales and marketing.
Selling is best seen as being one element of marketing, alongside other
elements such as advertising, public relations, direct mail and
promotion (competitions, sponsorship, brochures, websites, exhibitions
and trade fairs, etc.). Selling is the final link - all the other elements of
marketing may increase awareness and interest and move the prospect
closer to the point of purchase, but it is the personal contact between
salesperson and customer that actually produces business.
Of course, many things contribute to sales success, not just the
effectiveness of the salesperson. The quality of the product, and its
price, are clearly very important factors. Nevertheless, selling makes a
big difference, particularly in more commoditized areas
(ориентированный на товары широкого спроса) of business where
products are all similar.
A successful salesperson needs to be:
42
 knowledgeable (of the customer and their needs, of the products
being sold, and of the industry and technical area)
 empathetic (able to see things from the customer's point of view)
 visibly well-prepared, organized and well-presented to inspire
confidence in the other person
 reliable (they phone back when they say they will)
 flexible (able to respond to changing customer needs and offer
tailor-made (заточенный под покупателя) solutions).
In modern business, an aggressive 'hard sell' approach rarely
works - customers are too aware of the techniques and feel they are
being pushed into a decision before they are ready. Nowadays, selling
is about understanding customer needs, addressing both positive and
negative sides of a situation (customers know that no product is
perfect), and then helping the customer to make a decision.
What can be said about 'sales techniques', i.e. the dynamics of the
face-to-face meeting between salesperson and customer? The
following are important:
 Research the company beforehand.
 Try to identify the different roles in the company: Who is the
decision maker? Whose advice will they listen to? Who will be
actually using the product? These may all be different people.
 Ask lots of questions to discover the customer's needs. This
knowledge is a major competitive advantage - it is just as
important as the benefits of the product or its price. Listen
actively: focus your attention on the other person and take notes.
 Emphasize benefits (what a product does - how it will make life
better for the customer) rather than features (what it is). A 5-
speed gearbox is a feature. Its benefits include greater fuel
economy, quieter running at high speed, and less damage to the
engine over time.
 Differentiate from the competition.
 Build a case slowly, based on the individual customer's needs
rather than following the sales script.
 Sell the price by demonstrating value for money (being cheap is
rarely a virtue).
 Make your case believable by referring to some form of proof: a
demonstration of the product, a mention of other satisfied
43
customers, citing the results of tests and research, using the
power of numbers (100,000 sold, 20 years in the market).
 View objections as an opportunity - they are a sign of interest
and are inevitable.
Task 1 Read the article and take notes on the following points:
a. elements of marketing and the final link
b. factors that contribute to sales success
c. qualities of a successful salesperson
d. the meaning of selling nowadays
e. 'sales techniques'
Task 2 Match the underlined words in the article with the
1. has the ability to share another person's feelings or emotions as if
they were their own
2. an area of business connected with buying and selling goods
3. advertisements posted to people at home
4. a statement that shows that you disagree with a plan, or
a reason for your disagreement
5. extremely suitable, designed for
a particular person or group of people
6. a method of selling in which someone tries very hard to persuade
customers to buy something
7. a good quality or habit that a person has, especially a moral one
such as honesty or loyalty
8. impossible to avoid or prevent
Task 3 Internet Research
Search for further information on sales and selling and present
your findings.
There are many Internet sites relating to sales and selling. Here
are two good ones:
http://www.knowthis.com
http://www.salesUnks.com/tss/menu.htm
Vocabulary
5.1 social media marketing (SMM), to spread the message to sb, a
word of mouth, viral(n.), to go viral, a digital marketing mix, brand
image, a digital marketer, to use trickery and deception, to feel
indignant, to break down, a made-up name, fake accounts, downright
illegal, clueless,
44
to pick up on sth, to listen in on sb, dodgy , vertical market, to stack
up (to the competition) сравнивать с конкурентом, a gripe
нытье/жалоба, praise похвала, a double-edged sword палка о двух
концах, to disrupt, to be responsive to sth, to react to sth, to thrive
процветать, to suck обманывать , to endorse a product продвигать
с помощью знаменитости , to be inclined to believe склонен думать
что, on the house, in a reactive way
5.2 mix coherency, mix dynamics, spare parts, undercover marketing,
direct marketing, viral marketing, product placement, market
segmentation, to conduct a market study, to identify suitable targets, to
send out a mail-shot, to provide new promotion tools, to select suitable
prospects, sales pitch реклама товара продавцами/втюхивание ,
telemarketing, declining/rising market, stealth tactics, crucial,
huge development costs, to capture market share захватить часть
рынка, release(n.), to feature отражать, hard sell навязывание /soft
sell тактичное, subliminal подсознание
5.3 branded goods брендированные прдукты, room for negotiations
можно договориться , to do chores домашние дела, to get away from
it all убежать от этого всего , to be out of the question вне вопроса /
даже не обсуждается , to sell at a loss продавать с убытками, to
deserve more than…, to earn the right to do something, to run out of
something, tax-deductible за вычетом налогов , cold calling
холодный звонок (несанкционированный) , luncheon voucher, on
the clock пробег
5.4 an objection, to bill somebody for something, to justify something,
take it or leave it, an obstacle to sth, to have a freeze on new
investments, product’s reliability and durability, a budget extension
5.5 hook, credentials, benefits, promise, PS/PPS, action, to keep up to
date, to trawl through something, digital, handy, to subscribe to/for
something, USP(unique selling point), to grab the reader’s attention, to
expect a return on investment, to handle difficult customers, to build
customer loyalty
5.6 implication, to be on voice mail, to renew something, to negotiate
discounts for longer contracts, admin staff, handset, headset, to be
keen on something, sounds better and better, let me note this down, to
meet resistance in the past, to keep up with something
45
1. Why is selling considered to be one of the key elements of modern
marketing? How important is it nowadays? Apart from the
effectiveness of a salesperson, what other things can contribute to sales
success? Name the qualities of a good /successful salesperson.
2. What is social media marketing(SMM)? Give examples of popular
SMM strategies. What illegal strategies do marketers use? Why do you
think SMM practices can be damaging? Give examples of Web-based
tools that are used to help companies monitor what people say about
them. Do you think the advantages of social marketing outweigh the
disadvantages? Why? Why not?
3. What is the marketing mix? Speak about 4Ps, 4Cs, the marketing
mix coherency and the marketing mix dynamics. Give a definition of
the market segmentation. What marketing techniques do you know ?
Give examples.
4. How to compose an effective, attention – grabbing mailshot? Focus
on organization and stylistic devices. Give some tips on writing
mailshots and sales letters. What is tripling technique?
5. What is meant by a ‘’hard sell’’ approach? What is “soft selling”?
Which approach do you consider to be most effective and why? Give
some advice on how to get a customer to commit to a purchase, close a
sale and make customers love you.
Supplementary texts
Text 1
Before you read What advice would you give to a business visitor
on building relationships in your country?
Read this article from the Financial Times by Isabel Gorst
HOT AND COLD RECEPTION AWAITS MOSCOW'S
VISITORS
When Russia first opened up to foreign investors in the 1990s, some
puzzled international business people would take psychologists into
negotiations to help fathom what was going on. Two decades later, the
Russian business world seems outwardly accessible. Russian
companies have built flashy corporate headquarters and have teams of
English-speaking managers with western MBAs. But deep down,
Russian business culture - a mix of the authoritarian and the free-
wheeling - remains alien to foreigners. For their part, many Russian
business people still regard outsiders with suspicion and prefer to work
- and play - within close-knit circles.
46
The western practice of compartmentalizing work and personal life
has not caught on in Russia, where business carries on round the clock.
Russian laws are unclear and dangerously open to interpretation, so
business people prefer to strike deals on a comradely handshake rather
than rely on written contracts.
Ivan Korsak, the trade commissioner at the Belgian embassy in
Moscow, says: "Fifty per cent of doing business in Russia is about
selling a product, and the rest is about building relationships. "The first
thing is to convince Russians you have a value-added product and that
you are a person they can trust. Price is secondary to all that," he says.
Responsibility for decision-making rests at the highest level in most
Russian organizations. Doing a deal in Russia is about building trust
with one or two people at the top, says Daniel Wolfe, a Moscow-based
entrepreneur. "It's better to spend time figuring out how to get an
audience with them than on devising so flow charts and power-point
presentations to sell your product."
Russian business people prefer face-to-face meetings, reflecting an
ingrained suspicion that telecommunications are tapped. Nonetheless,
fixing a high-level tete-a-tete can be frustrating. All too often, advance
requests for appointments will be brushed aside with "Let's call each
other when you arrive". "It's always a muddle right up to the last
moment, but in the end everything always works out," says one
expatriate banker in Moscow.
Russians address each other by first names and patronymics,
leaving surnames aside. Nicknames add another layer of complexity
providing fertile ground for gaffes. Vladimir met in a boardroom can
turn into Volodya by lunch or Vova in a late night bar. Russians know
their language is difficult and are forgiving of foreigners' mistakes.
External appearances matter a lot. If you have to choose, a big car is
more impressive than a fancy office suite. Business attire is a formal
suit and tie. Clean shoes - the more so expensive the better - are an
absolute must. Chunky timepieces are part of the business kit.
Task 1 Imagine that each paragraph has a heading. Put the
headings in the correct order.
a) The use of names
b) The importance of appearances
c) Arranging meetings
d) Building trust
47
e) The (in-)accessibility of Russia
f) Personal and professional life
g) Talking to the right person
Task 2 Find words in the first paragraph that mean:
a) understand (6 letters)
b) seemingly (9 letters)
c) open (10 letters)
d) attractive but not in good taste.(6 letters)
e) managed by a powerful person whose decisions are not
questioned. (13 letters)
f) very different and hard to understand (5 letters)
g) uncertainty about the honesty of others' motives (9 letters)
h) describing a group, etc. where people know each other very
well and others find it difficult to enter (5 letters, 4 letters)
If...
a) you compartmentalize two things, you keep them together.
b) something catches on, a lot of people start do it.
c) a law is open to interpretation, it may have several
meanings.
d) you strike a deal, you make one.
e) price is secondary, it's the most important thing.
f) a request is brushed aside, it is ignored.
g) a plan works out, it is not realized.
Task 4 Match the two parts of these expressions.
1.ingrained appearances
2.high-level banker
3.advance office suite
4.expatriate requests
5.external suspicion
6.fancy timepieces
7.chunky tete-a-tete
Task 5 Now match the expressions above to these examples of them
(a-g).
a) a one-to-one meeting with the head of Gazprom
b) a Hugo Boss suit and leather shoes altogether worth $1500
c) the idea, impossible to get rid of, that phone conversations are
tapped
48
d) three very attractive connecting offices in an expensive business
park
e) Rolex watches one centimetre thick
f) a French executive working for SocGen bank in Moscow
g) asking to see the head of Gazprom three weeks before your visit
Task 6 Look at the headings in question 1 above. Put your advice to a
business visitor to your country under these headings.
Task 7 'It's not what you know, it's who you know.' Is this true of your
country and others that you know? If so, in what ways? If not, why
not?
Text 2
Before you read Is it possible to have a personal relationship with
a brand? Why? / Why not?
Read this article from the Financial Times by Tim Bradshaw
DO YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH A BRAND?
When first faced with the prospect of marketing on social networks,
many people ask a reasonable question: how many people want to be
friends with a brand? The answer - surprisingly, perhaps - is: millions
do, on a daily basis. More than 10m people each day become a "fan" of
a brand on Facebook. The world's largest social network - with well in
excess of 400m members globally - plays host to more than 1.4m
branded fan pages on Facebook. BrandZTop 100 brands such as Coca-
Cola and Starbucks, along with other smaller brands such as Adidas
that have each "befriended" millions of people.
Social media have matured rapidly in recent years. Sites such as
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter offer scale and reach to rival Google -
still the most dominant single site for online advertising - and many
television channels. The best advertisers use social media alongside
these traditional channels for a combination of brand-building, direct
sales, customer service and PR. The worst simply ignore them, until
they realize the complaints and accusations that unhappy customers are
telling other would-be consumers.
"Social media have given consumers a voice to respond, as well as
35 hundreds of channels through which to do so," says Debbie Klein,
joint chief executive of Engine, a UK- based agency group. "These
websites have fundamentally transformed marketing from a
monologue to a dialogue. Brands cannot hide."
49
Eurostar, for instance, recently faced criticism for ignoring Twitter
messages - which, unlike most Facebook posts, are usually made
public for anyone to read - from angry customers trapped on trains
between Paris and London. Eurostar had failed to grab its brand name
on so Twitter, and its main presence on the site - named "little break"
to tie into a wider marketing campaign - was still showing special
offers rather than information on the disrupted service for some hours
after the problems began.
In the fast-paced, "real-time" environment of Twitter, just a few
hours is long enough for such criticism to spread widely, be chewed
over by its users and, if it reaches a certain volume, be picked up and
amplified further by the mainstream media. Kevin Smith, a film
director, caused a similar Twitter storm when he complained to more
than 1 m followers that Southwest Airlines threw him off a flight for
being overweight. Southwest later made two public apologies on its
blog.
Task 1 Read the first paragraph to find this information.
The number of...
a) people who become 'friends' of a brand each day on
Facebook.
b) people overall who are members of Facebook.
c) brand-related fan pages there are on Facebook.
d) friends that brands such as Coca-Cola and Starbucks
typically have.
Task 2 Complete these statements with correct forms of

expressions from the first paragraph.
a) If you are ___________ of something, you may do it in
the future, and you may or may not be happy about this.
b) Something that is normal and not strange is ___________
c) If a writer thinks that readers may not believe something,
the writer can use the adverb ‘___________ ‘
d) Someone who likes and admires a film star, a brand, etc. is
a ___________
e) Instead of using 'more than', you can say ___________
f) An adverb meaning 'all around the world' is ___________
g) A social website that contains particular pages
___________ to these pages.
50
h) If you make friends with someone, you ___________ them.
Task 3 Complete the table with words and grammatically related
words from the second and third paragraphs.
verb noun
maturity
reach
rival
use
combine
complaint
accusations
respond
Task 4 Now match the nouns in Exercise 3 to their meanings.
a) criticisms that may or may not be justified
b) using a number of things together
c) the number of people that you can communicate with
d) when a market starts to grow more slowly, there are fewer
competitors, etc.
e) you make a when you are not happy about something
f) when you apply particular methods, ideas, etc.
g) competition
h) when two people talk to each other
i) an answer
j) a competitor
Task 5 Read paragraphs four and five and decide if these
statements are true or false.
Twitter...
a) and its potential have been cleverly exploited by Eurostar.
b) only showed advertising for short breaks from Eurostar
even hours after the trains were delayed.
c) allows criticism to spread very quickly.
d) messages are always picked up by the mainstream media.
e) had a problem when Southwest Airlines threw an
overweight customer off a flight.
f) has apologized about this.
Task 6 What is the key point made by the article?
a) Every brand should have a presence on Twitter.
51
b) Brand marketing has become a dialogue, and companies
have to be aware of this.
c) Twitter is a good way of handling complaints about
customer service.
Task 7 Look at the customer complaints in paragraphs 5 and 6 again.
What should Eurostar and Southwest Airlines have done respectively
a) in relation to Twitter and b) more generally?
Task 8 Would you become a 'friend' of a brand on Facebook? If so,
which one(s), and why? If not, why not?
Text 3
Before you read Celebrity endorsement is when famous people
appear in advertisements to promote particular products. Name as
many as you can think of.
Read this article from the Financial Times by Paul J Davies
WHEN STAR POWER HITS THE ROUGH
As Tiger Woods tees off at The Masters tournament, the humbled
athlete is not the only one counting the cost of his fall from grace. The
34-year- old golfer's reputation as a clean-living and dedicated
sportsman and husband was undone when his infidelities were spilled
across television, newspapers and Internet sites after a mysterious car
accident at his home.
Mr Woods' success on the course had enabled him to line up
lucrative sponsorship deals off of it, with is brands including
Accenture, Nike, Gillette, Electronic Arts. Some estimates suggest that
the arrangements made him the world's first sports star to make $lbn in
career earnings.
But as his life became embroiled in scandal, those companies also
took direct financial hits, from having to commission and produce new
advertising to the costs of their own public relations campaigns
explaining their actions in dropping the golfer and legal fees.
According to a study by Christopher Knittel and Victor Stango,
economists at the University of California, Davis, the collective loss in
stock market value of all the companies that Mr Woods endorsed was
worth $5bn-$12bn.
Of course, companies do not need a celebrity relationship to
experience reputational damage. Toyota estimates that its global recall
of cars had a direct cost of about $2bn (€ 1.5bn, £1.3bn). That figure
does not take into account potential lost future sales, or Toyota's own
52
stock price decline, which has knocked Y1,673bn ($17.8bn, €13.3bn,
£11,7bn) off its market value even after a strong rebound in the past
month.
In the wake of the Tiger Woods scandal, DeWitt Stern, the insurance
broker, saw an opportunity to publicize a product it had launched to
cover reputational risk, including how to deal with celebrity endorsers
becoming engulfed in scandal. More recently, Lloyd's of London, the
insurance market, held a conference on how to manage reputational
risk and what cover - if any - might be available.
Companies are increasingly recognizing that reputation is an
important and valuable asset that is vulnerable and volatile, according
to Anthony Fitzsimmons, chairman of Reputability, a consultancy
focused on reputation and crisis strategy, risk and management.
"Reputation can be an organization's most valuable intangible asset,
though it appears in few balance sheets except as goodwill in
acquisitions," he says. "People are generally aware of their brand
values, but many have not worked out what matters most when things
are going wrong. Few have made a systematic analysis of what might
damage their reputation, let alone worked out how to keep their
reputation strong through difficult times."
Task 1 Look through the whole article. Which sport does the
expression 'hit the rough' in the headline come from? Why is it used?
Task 2 Find expressions in paragraphs 1-2 to complete these
statements.
If someone...
a) suffers from losing their good reputation, they have a
____________
b) behaves very well in their marriage, their job, etc. they are
described as ____________
c) does not smoke, drink alcohol, etc. they are described as
____________
d) has a reputation that is destroyed, it is ____________
e) signs deals that make them a lot of money, these deals
are____________
f) makes a total of $1 billion from their job, these are their
____________
Task 3 Match these things from paragraphs 3-4 with what they
cost. (The cost of four of the things is not mentioned.)
53
a) the minimum estimated value of all the shares in all the
companies whose products Tiger Woods endorsed
b) the maximum estimated value of all the shares in all the
companies whose products Tiger Woods endorsed
c) the legal fees of companies dealing with the damage done by
Woods' actions
d) the cost of producing new advertising following the damage done
by Woods' actions
e) the cost of Toyota's recall of cars so far
f) the possible future costs of Toyota's recall
g) the fall in the total value of Toyota's shares initially
h) the fall in the total value of Toyota's shares at the time of writing
1. $12 billion
2. about 1,700 billion yen
3. $2 billion
4. $5 billion
Task 4 Complete the table with words from paragraphs 3-5, and
grammatically related words.
noun verb
commission
campaign
endorsement,
endorser
damage
recall
decline
rebound
publicity
cover
Task 5 In paragraphs 6-7, find:
a) an adverb meaning 'more and more'.
b) an adjective describing reputation as an asset in relation to
the ease with which it can be damaged.
c) an adjective describing reputation as an asset in relation to
possible changes in its value.
d) a two-word expression to talk about plans to deal with
disastrous situations.
54
e) a two-word expression to talk about a business's property,
but one that cannot be physically touched.
f) the value of this asset when the business is sold.
g) a two-word expression used to talk about what people
associate with particular product names.
h) a two-word expression referring to a methodical
examination of something.
Task 6 You head a consultancy specializing in reputation and crisis
management. A car manufacturer comes to you for advice on what to
do to recover its reputation following a recall of 100,000 of its cars
because of a steering problem. (Luckily no accidents were caused by
this, but there were some 'near misses'.) What would you advise the car
company to do in relation to its communications and advertising
following the recall?
Task 7 You are head of an oil company that has caused great
environmental damage following an explosion on one of your oil rigs.
What would you do to restore to try to your company's reputation?
Unit 6 NEW BUSINESS

Subject Background
In this unit the area of 'New business' is approached from the point
of view of financing, but for context it is worth looking at the stage
before that: the business plan. Any provider of funding will base their
decision largely on the business plan, which will typically include:
• Executive Summary: the first and most important section of the
plan
• Market Analysis: an industry description and outlook;
information about the target market; results of any market research; an
analysis of the competition
• Company Description: the specific marketplace needs you are
trying to satisfy; how you will do this (what will lead to your success);
typical customers that have these needs
• Organization and Management: the company's organizational
structure; details about the ownership of the company; profiles of the
management team; the qualifications of the board of directors
• Marketing Strategy: how you will enter the market and then grow
the business; distribution channels; communication strategy (how you
55
will reach your customers); sales strategy (sales force, sales calls,
average value per sale, etc.)
• Service or Product Line: description of your service or product,
emphasizing the benefits to customers
• Funding Request: specify the amount of funding you are asking
for (you can give best and worst case scenarios)
• Financials: forecasted income statement , balance sheet, cash flow
statement, and capital expenditure budget
• Appendix: CVs of key managers; market studies; legal
documents; contracts; name of lawyer and accountant, etc.
With a business plan, the entrepreneur can look for funding.
Sources include self-funding, family and friends, angel investors
(individuals who invest their own private capital into start-ups and
small businesses), venture capitalists (full-time investors who back
small companies that have a high growth potential) and banks. These
sources of funding fall into two categories. 'Equity funding' is where
you exchange shares in the company for the funding you require.
Investors - business angels and venture capitalists - expect this in
exchange for the money they are giving and the risk they are taking.
'Debt funding' is where you get a line of credit which you have to pay
back: bank loans, overdrafts, credit cards, etc. Often you need some
sort of collateral (guarantee) before you can get this - perhaps your
house.
The aim of equity funding is to make money for the investors, but
they are realistic and know that the vast majority of new businesses
fail. To minimize risk, they will analyse any new venture very closely
before making a decision. What they hope is that they will find the rare
cases where they can come in at the beginning, take a large stake, help
the company grow, and then sell their stake at a huge profit later. This
'exit strategy' is fundamental to their business model and they have no
interest in being involved over the long term. They have two options:
either to make a 'trade sale' (sell the start-up to a larger company in the
same industry) or go for an IPO (initial public offering). In an IPO,
they sell their stake when the company is first listed on the stock
market.
Task 1 Read the article and take notes on the following points:
a. the stages of the business plan
b. sources of funding
56
c. the difference between venture capitalists and angel investors
d. two categories of sources of funding
e. ‘exit’ strategy and its two options
Task 2 Match the underlined words in the article with the
1. an occasion when shares in a company are first sold to the public
2. someone who uses money to start businesses and make business
deals
3. property that you agree to give to a bank if
you fail to pay back money that you have borrowed
4. a written statement showing the value of a company at a particular
time
5. a summary of the actual or anticipated incomings and outgoings of
cash in a firm over an accounting period (month, quarter, year)
6. a summary of a management's performance as reflected in the
profitability (or lack of it) of an organization over a certain period. it
itemizes the revenues and expenses of past that led to the current profit
or loss, and indicates what may be done to improve the results
7. planned allocations for acquiring capital assets
8. brief but comprehensive synopsis of a business plan or an
investment proposal, which highlights its key points and is generally
adapted for the external audience
9. investment in the common stock (ordinary shares) of a firm
Task 3 Internet Research Search for further information on small
businesses and funding and present your findings.
There are many Internet sites with help for small businesses. This
official US government site has many useful articles and resources:
http://www.sba.gov/index.html
And this site has information specifically about funding:
http://www.gobignetwork.com
Vocabulary
6.1 to team up with, to jump on (the natural products) bandwagon,
dog eat dog, to step back from sth, to stay on your toes, to rub
shoulders with sb, a retail distribution outlet, to mature into a (an
internationally-known brand), a high-end retail store, to emulate (a
success story), to yearn for sth, the black market, to produce small
batches, to sing sb’s praises, a knack for sth, to acquire the capital, to
57
ring up (14 million in sales), to nurture a brand, stake, a long-term
outlook for a business
6.2 temping agency, to cover start-up costs, to keep control of one’s
business, to have temporary cash-flow problems, to pay for raw
materials, outstanding bill, bank loan, equity finance, leasing,
overdraft, self-funding, grants, to cover maintenance, the downside is
that/on the downside, to provide security, regular repayments, day-to-
day requirements, to put strain in one’s relations, matching funds, to
buy something outright, guarantor,interest-free loan, to turn someone
down, to come up with questions, to put forward( a plan/ a convincing
argument), to work out something, to check out the statements, to track
record in detail, to draw up a term sheet, to weed something out, to set
out a structure, to get through (the screening meeting), financial
forecasts based on assumptions, inadequate financial returns, lack of
trust, lack of market awareness, growth potential, scalable, clear exit
route, IRR( Internal Rate of Return), per annum, to have hands-on
(practical) experience, eventualities
6.3 to float a company, to go public, anniversary, to launch into
something, sustainable solutions/business/development, building
industry, warehouse, to give awards, to wear fancy dress/black tie
6.4 awkward, useful, irrelevant, unnecessary questions; to bluff,
answer session, to reinforce, to clarify, to avoid getting into an
argument, to reassure somebody, to double check something,
speechless(audience),to need a bit of encouragement, to elicit /evoke
questions, to recap, to raise a point, to be precise, to put into
perspective, to convince, to meet sales targets
6.5 an elevator pitch, core values, integrity, commitment, to take sth
back, unbeatable prices, to exceed customer expectations, sophisticated
predictive merchandising, a lean company, mission, innovative
approach, to showcase designs, no quibble guarantee, proven track
record, acknowledged experts, constantly upgraded catalogues, added
value, free returns service,fast turnaround, to stand out from the crowd,
long-term personal customer relationships, high-end shopping
experience, on-demand supply chain
6.6 to start an enterprise, to spot a gap in the market, to devise a
cunning business plan, to stay self-motivated, to be emotionally
resilient, to think laterally, learning curve, to be upbeat about
something, to offer direct funding, executive summary template, to
58
boost one’s moral, to have an emphasis on fair trade, to define a
precise target market, core products, to get overexcited, to stick to
some basic figures, predicted turnover
1. Give the definition of a business plan. What sections does it usually
include? What sections are the most/least important and why? (Subject
Background)
2. What sources of funding do you know? Speak about equity funding,
investors and debt funding. What is meant by ‘exit strategy’? (Subject
Background)
3. Speak about important motivations when you start a business. What
rules for building a blockbuster brand can you name? What rules do
you think you should follow to build a business?
4. What types of business funding do you know? Give the descriptions.
(ex.2 p.72)
5. What is a typical application procedure to obtain funding? (ex5
p.73)? List the reasons why some proposals are turned down. What
things should you remember to get through?(6,7 p.73)
6. What is a company profile? How to write a convincing and
organized company profile for a website, social media site, business
plan, brochure, customer proposal or magazine article? What are the
three key points to remember about writing for publication online?
What is meant by the F-pattern? Speak about the structure guidelines
and impact collocations you can use for writing a company profile.
Supplementary texts
Text 1
Before you read Would you invest in a young company raising
finance on the Internet? Why? / Why not
Read this article from the Financial Times by Emma Jacobs
JUMPING INTO A FUNDING MODEL FOR THE ONLINE
AGE
Earlier this year, Trampoline Systems, a London-based technology
company founded in 2003, realized if they were going to further
expand the business, they would need some more money. So they
sounded out a few venture capitalists. But, says Charles Armstrong,
one of the company's founders, "it soon became clear that it would be
tough to raise finance this way". So Trampoline hit upon another route:
59
"crowdfunding" - raising small stakes from a large group of investors,
particularly through online communities and social networks.
The crowdfunding concept derives from "crowdsourcing", whereby
organizations ask the public, usually via the Internet, to do jobs
typically done by their employees. For example, The Guardian
newspaper's website recently asked readers to trawl through 700,000
expense claims by British Members of Parliament to find acts of
wrong- doing. Crowdsourcing and crowdfunding could, in theory,
occur without the Internet, says Jeff Howe, the man who coined the
term "crowdsourcing" and wrote a book on the subject, but "it
certainly helps to accelerate the process".
Trampoline was encouraged by the crowdfunding successes of the
likes of SellaBand, a site which connects music fans with unsigned
artists looking to record albums. Musicians post their profiles and
songs, and ask the site's users to buy shares, at a minimum of $10. As
soon as an artist sells 5,000 shares, they can record the album and the
proceeds are then split between the artist, SellaBand and the artist's
sup-porters, or "believers", as the site calls them.
Trampoline's effort is unusual, however, because the company is so
already established - it employs 15 and raised £2m in seed capital from
venture capitalists when it launched. But, says Mr Armstrong, with
traditional venture capital funds battening down the hatches in the
current downturn, it seemed like the best option.
Deloitte's Global Trends in Venture Capital report notes: "The 60
second round of raising finance where a business is still finding its legs
... carries more risk given higher burn rates and the current uncertainty
around future financings. So, we're seeing reduced investment levels as
firms either invest smaller sums in very early- stage companies or
invest traditional sums in fewer and much later-stage 70 companies.
The middle ground has been largely vacated."
Trampoline hopes crowdfunding will avoid these obstacles and
create new opportunities. "A typical venture capital funding would be
half a dozen investors. I suspect there'll be about 60 or 70 investors,"
says Mr Armstrong. "The benefits of such a large investor network is
that it will so bring in new contacts and experience and will build a
stronger support system." The investment stakes for Trampoline are
much higher than SellaBand. It is asking 85 investors to put in a
60
minimum of £10,000 and they hope to raise £lm in total. They have
not put a time limit on when they hope to achieve their target.
Task 1 Choose the correct alternative to replace the expression in
italics from paragraphs 1-2 so as to keep the closest meaning.
1 '... they sounded out a few venture capitalists.'
a) listened to b) approached c) heard
2 "it soon became clear that it would be tough to raise finance this
way"....'
a) easy b) straightforward c) difficult
3 '... So Trampoline hit upon another route: "crowdfunding"...'
a) discovered b) ignored c) founded
4 '... raising small stakes from a large group of investors,...'
a) investments b) interest c) bonds
5 '... particularly through online communities and social networks.'
a) e-commerce sites b)email programmes c) sites like Facebook
6 '... The crowdfunding concept derives from "crowdsourcing",...'
a) goes b) originates c) leaves
7 '... The Guardian newspaper's website recently asked readers to trawl
through 700,000 expense claims...’
a) examine in detail b) fish through c) quickly read
8 '... "it certainly helps to accelerate the process".'
a) slow down b) simplify c) speed up
Task 2 Use expressions from paragraphs 3-4 to answer these
questions.
1 Was Trampoline disappointed by the crowdfunding efforts of others?
No, it was _____________ by them.
2 Does SellaBand work with musicians who have not made
commercial recordings?
Yes, it works with ______________
3 Does SellaBand ask banks to invest in musicians on its site?
No, it asks the site's users to buy shares, and they divide the
______________ between them, the site and the musicians.
4 Is Trampoline a start-up?
No, it's already ______________
5 How much did it raise when it was founded?
It raised ______________ of £2 million.
6 Are venture capital funds investing a lot at the moment?
No, they're ______________
61
7 Was the economy booming in 2009?
No, we were in a ______________
Task 3 Among the answers to Exercise 2, find an expression that...
a) contains a word that can also refer to painters.
b) could also relate to ships.
c) contains a word that comes from farming.
d) is also possible as the third person singular of a verb.
e) contains a word that means 'bravery'.
f) means the same as 'recession'.
g) means the same as 'in existence'.
Task 4 Combine words from the box below to make expressions
from paragraphs 5-6 that refer to the following:
a) the second occasion on which companies look for finance, as it
typically happens (3 words)
b) used to describe the situation when companies use the money they
have raised quickly (3 words)
c) people not knowing at the moment what's going to happen in the
future (3 words)
d) later occasions when firms will look for investment (2 words)
e) the amounts of money typically put into businesses (2 words)
f) firms that were founded longer ago than recent start-ups (3 words)
g) firms that are neither very new nor mature in their development (2
words)
burn classic uncertainty companies
second current financings later-stage
rates higher round ground
middle investment future levels
Task 5 What is the main point in paragraph 6? Choose the best
alternative.
a) Trampoline hopes to go into the music business by copying
SellaBand's model and getting a larger investor network.
b) By using crowdfunding, Trampoline hopes to get more investors
than is usual, forming a stronger base for the company's development.
c) Time is not important for Trampoline and it is willing to wait
several years before getting the necessary investment to grow.
Task 6 Go back to the answer you gave in 'Before you read'.
Have you changed your mind after reading the article? Why? / Why
not?
62
Task 7 What types of business would be particularly suited to
crowdfunding? Give your reasons.
Text 2
Before you read Would it be possible to do your job, or one you
would like to have in four days, a week? Why? / Why not?
Read this article from the Financial Times by Alison Maitland
A DIFFERENT WAY OF WORKING
Lee Summersgill was initially concerned when he heard that his
employer, KPMG, the professional services firm, wanted staff to
volunteer for a four-day week to help minimise job cuts in the
recession. The news coincided with the birth of his daughter in January
last year, and he was worried about a reduction in hours and pay. Then
he considered the benefits of a change to his working week so that he
could share the childcare with his partner, a health visitor. Now he puts
away his Black- is Berry every Thursday night and spends Friday with
his two young children.
"I've been doing it for a year and it's worked really well," says Mr
Summersgill, who advises clients on housing projects. "You have to be
really disciplined and try to fit everything into four days. I think it
makes you more loyal. Would any other firm have the same level of
flexibility and understanding? In the market I'm in, I don't think that
would be there." Mr Summersgill's experience illustrates two growing
trends: fathers wanting greater flexibility to accommodate family life,
and employers using flexibility to keep employees motivated, improve
productivity and avoid large-scale job cuts.
Business leaders around the world have remained concerned about
retaining good people, even in the depths of recession. A global survey
by Hay Group, a consultancy, concluded: "While employees fear
losing their jobs, organizations fear the loss of top talent and critical
skills." Amid signs of economic recovery, but with cost constraints
continuing, employers are looking at alternatives to financial
incentives. Offering employees greater control over working time and
location is one such option.
KPMG, for example, is examining new approaches, after the success
of its "Flexible Futures" programme in signing up employees for
taking a year off or working reduced weeks. Roughly 85 per cent of
the 10,000 UK staff volunteered at the start of last year.
Approximately 800 people moved temporarily to four-day weeks. The
63
firm saved £4m last year, or the equivalent of 100 full-time jobs, says
Michelle Quest, UK head of people.
When the programme was relaunched for this year, 71 per cent
volunteered. "One of the softer benefits is moving the whole idea of
flexible working up the agenda for everybody," says Ms Quest. The
firm is now considering more active promotion of job sharing, because
this type of arrangement provides all-week cover for clients.
Task 1 Which alternative could be used to replace the expression
in italics from the first paragraph so as to keep the same meaning?
1 Lee Summersgill was initially concerned ...
a) interested b) worried c) reassured
2 ... when he heard that his employer... wanted staff to volunteer for a
four-day week...
a) offer to agree to b) refuse c) offer to
discuss
3 ... to help minimise job cuts in the recession.
a) increase the number of
b) reduce the psychological effect of
c) reduce as much as possible the number of
4 The news coincided with the birth of his daughter in January last
year,...
a) came at the same time as b) came after c) came
before
5 ... Then he considered the benefits of a change to his working
week...
a) aspects b) advantages c) downsides
6 ... so that he could share the childcare with his partner, a health
visitor.
a) schooling b) childminding c) healthcare
Task 2 Answer these questions with one word nouns, or nouns
related to verbs, from paragraph 2.
Have Lee Summersgill's new working arrangements...
a) increased his feelings of wanting to do his best for his employer?
Yes, they've increased his ________ and ________
b) made him work in a more organised way, keep to deadlines and so
on?
Yes, they've increased his sense of ________ about work.
64
c) shown that KPMG is willing to allow people to work in different
ways?
Yes, they've shown that they believe in job ________
d) been criticised by KPMG?
No, they have shown a high level of ________ in relation to his
personal situation.
e) shown that KPMG understands the needs of families and is willing
to help them?
Yes, they've shown a high degree of ________
f) and those of other KPMG employees shown that their output is less
than before?
No, their ________ actually increases.
Task 3 Match the two parts of these expressions from paragraphs
3-4.
1 top skills
2 critical constraints
3 economic incentives
4 cost talent
5 financial survey
6 global recovery
7 active promotion
8 all-week sharing
9 job cover
Task 4 Which of the expressions above is each of these things an
example of?
a) Growth this year is 4 per cent - last year it was minus 1 per cent.
b) Without people like these, the company would go out of
business.
c) The best and the brightest people in the organisation.
d) Being able to respond to clients' requests Monday to Friday.
e) A report based on interviews in five continents.
f) A company regularly reminding employees about a particular
programme.
g) Not having the budget to do something.
h) Antonia does this job on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and
Hans does it on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
i) She can take a year off and she'll get full salary and benefits.
65
Task 5 Read paragraphs 3-4 again to decide if these statements are
true or false.
a) In the recession, the only people who are worried about jobs are
employees.
b) There are ways of keeping good employees that don't involve
giving them more money.
c) KPMG is looking at this area for the first time.
d) Last year, fewer than half of its UK employees took up the offer
of working less.
e) KPMG only saved £400,000 by doing this.
f) Fewer people were interested in the programme this year than
last.
Task 6 Lee Summersgill's experience illustrates the trend of fathers
wanting greater flexibility to accommodate family life. Is this a trend
in your country? Why? / Why not?
Task 7 What is the attitude of your organisation, or one you would
like to work for, to job flexibility?
Text 3
Before you read How easy is it for young people to get jobs in
your country?
Read this article from the Financial Times by Brian Groom
UNHAPPINESS AT WORK RISES TO RECORD LEVEL
Job satisfaction has dropped to a record low - with a particularly
sharp fall among young people - as the pressures of recession take
their toll, according to a leading business group. A study of 2,000
workers by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
suggests that, even if official figures mark an end lo to the recession,
employees are still paying a high price in job insecurity and stress.
Evidence of unhappiness among young workers is disclosed after the
is launch of the government's guarantee of a job, training or work
experience place for every unemployed person aged 18 to 24 for six
months. "We do not want to have the lost generation of the 1980s,"
said the prime minister.
The government says that up to 470,000 opportunities will be
created over 15 months, with 100,000 youngsters eligible straight
away. ВТ, the telecoms group, announced 3,000 work placements in
partnership with smaller companies. The CIPD's survey, conducted by
YouGov, found job satisfaction levels had fallen from a net +48 last
66
summer to +35. The job satisfaction score is the difference between
those saying they are satisfied and those who say they are not. In
addition, fewer than one in 10 said their standard of living had
improved in the past six months.
Job satisfaction among people aged 18 to 24 fell from +44 to just
+5. Happiness at work was higher among older age groups, with those
aged 55-64 most satisfied. Claire McCartney, a CIPD adviser, said:
"Even though the economy is no longer flat on its back, the 'real
economy' as experienced in the day- to-day lives of workers is
crippled."
She said unhappiness among young people may be partly explained
by the fact they had grown up in an era of plenty and had not seen
anything like this. "The lack of opportunities to learn new skills or
make their first steps up the career ladder is also likely to be grinding
them down. The stagnant labour market means people are not moving
on and up as they would like, leaving many young people stranded in
entry-level jobs."
Most workers surveyed said it would be difficult to find another job
if made redundant, while a fifth thought it likely they would lose their
job. Public sector workers were more likely to report that their
organisation had made, or planned to make, redundancies than in the
previous quarter.
a) an organisation for professionals working in human resources.
b) a telecoms company.
c) an opinion poll organisation.
d) someone who works for the organisation in a) above.
Task 2 Find nouns in paragraphs 1-2 that refer to:
a) feelings of happiness and achievement.
b) feelings of stress, unhappiness, etc. caused by something.
c) damage that something can do.
d) numbers.
e) a period when economic activity goes down.
f) not feeling safe.
g) not feeling cheerful.
Task 3 Complete the table with words from paragraphs 2-4, and
verb noun
67
disclosure
train
launch
experience
announcement
fall
improvement
Task 4 Look at paragraphs 4-6 in order to find the correct
expressions to replace those in italics below, using the same
number of words.
a) If something is in a bad state, it is down on the behind.
b) If something is functioning very badly, it is creeping.
c) A period when everyone has all the things they want is an area of
plenitude.
d) Your first job is your first landing on the job staircase.
e) If bad experiences make you more and more depressed, they ground
you downwards.
f) If you can't leave a place where you don't want to be, you are
abandoned there.
g) Jobs that people have when they join an organisation are described
as entrance-stage.
Task 5 Read paragraphs 4-6 to decide if these statements are true
or false.
a) Young people have never known anything like the present economic
situation.
b) The employment market is growing now.
c) Most people could easily find another job if they wanted to.
d) 20 per cent thought that they might lose their jobs.
e) Those working in the public sector thought it more likely that they
would lose their jobs in the next three months than in the previous
three.
Task 6 Imagine a similar survey in your own country. What do you
think the findings would be about job satisfaction and security in
relation to a) the 18 to 24 age group, and b) the 55 to 64 age group?
Task 7 In what ways are work placements for young people useful to
a) employers and b) the young people themselves?
Unit 7 FINANCIAL CONTROL
68
Subject Background
This unit is about accounting and financial statements. The unit
title ‘financial control’ is a little misleading, as the responsibility for
budgets and credit control lies with people called financial controllers,
who are concerned with planning and monitoring day-today spending
rather than preparing the official financial statements.
Companies have a legal obligation to produce three financial
statements every year: the Balance Sheet (BS), the Income Statement
(IS) which can also be called the Profit and Loss statement (P&L), and
the statement of cash flows. These statements have to be checked by
an external firm of auditors, and are publicly available (statements for
particular companies are easily found on the company’s website, often
under a tab called ‘investor relations’). Users of financial statements
include shareholders, potential shareholders, creditors (such as banks),
customers and suppliers, journalists, analysts working for investment
banks, government agencies, etc.
The Balance Sheet
The balance sheet represents a record of a company’s assets (what
it owns), liabilities (what it owes) and equity (what would be left if all
the assets were sold and all the debts paid — the leftover money
belongs to the shareholders). The three elements balance in the
following manner:
Assets = Liabilities + Shareholders’ Equity
Assets represent the resources that the business owns or controls
at a given point in time. This includes items such as cash, inventory,
machinery and buildings. The other side of the equation represents the
total value of the financing the company has used to acquire those
assets. Financing can come as a result of either liabilities or equity.
Liabilities represent debt (which of course must be paid back), while
equity represents the total value of money that the owners have
contributed to the business — including retained earnings, which is the
profit made in previous years.
The Income Statement
While the balance sheet takes a ‘snapshot’ of the business at a
point in time, the income statement measures a company’s
performance over a period of time (annually, and also often quarterly
as a management tool). The income statement presents information
about revenues (= income = turnover), expenses (= costs) and profit (=
69
earnings) that were generated as a result of the business operations for
that period. A very simplified income statement is:
Revenues
Expenses
= Profit (or Loss)
Tax, dividends, depreciation
= Retained earnings
Statement of Cash Flows
The statement of cash flows represents a record of cash inflows
and outflows over a period of time. Typically, a statement of cash
flows focuses on the following activities:
• Operating Cash Flow (OCF): Cash generated from day-to-day
business operations
• Cash from Investing (CFI): Cash used for investing in assets, as well
as the proceeds from the sale of other businesses, equipment or long-
term assets
• Cash from Financing (CFF): Cash paid or received from the issuing
and borrowing of funds
The cash flow statement is important because it is very difficult for
a. business to manipulate its cash situation. Creative accountants can
massage earnings, but it’s hard to fake cash in the bank. It’s real cash
that pays the bills, not profits.
Useful websites
On the Internet, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has
an excellent introduction to financial statements:
http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/begfinstmtguide.htm
And this site is in ‘lesson’ format:
http://www.studyfinance/com/lessons/finstmt/index.mv
Vocabulary
7.0 creative accounting, accountancy, financial statement, financial
controller, legal obligation, the Income Statement (IS), the Balance
Sheet(BS), the Profit and Loss Statement(P&L),retained earnings,
depreciation/amortization, outflows/inflows, OCF (Operating Cash
Flow),CFI (Cash from Investing), CFF(Cash from Financing), the
Statement of Cash Flows, record of a company’s assets,
liabilities(short term/long-term), shareholder’s equity
7.1 at the forefront of something, image makeover, forensic
accounting, trendy, litigation, financial dispute cases, to testify, to
70
investigate/investigator/investigation, law enforcement agencies, to
search financial records, to indicate a cover-up, fraudster, chiefly,
conviction, to be convicted on tax evasion, to be subject to taxation,
net worth and expenditures to work undercover as…, to gather/
assemble the documentary evidence (on something), scam, white-
collar crime, to avoid capture, the Supreme Court ruling, to assemble
the documentary evidence, to liken
7.2 snapshot, pellets, cash receipts, cash payments, payroll, raw
materials, cost of sales, net sales, gross profit/ operating profit,
administrative expenses, accounts payable/accounts receivable,
extraordinary income/net income, earnings before taxes, current
assets/fixed assets/total assets, loans repayable, owner’s equity, net
assets ,to encourage/ discourage/to compel/ to permit/to enable /to
force somebody to do something
7.3 to bring about, consequently, due to, to arise from, to be caused
by, to stem from, to originate from, to give rise to, to lead to , on
account of, cost of sales/value of sales, admin costs, unfavorable
exchange rate, to remain competitive, notably, spiraling costs, knock-
on effect, admin, aim products at young people , repeat business,
payroll
7.4 financial reporting system, in good shape, it needs some tweaking,
reporting period, to iron out some issues, to set up a meeting, to recap,
I’m not sure I follow you, you’ve lost me, in other words, could you
be more specific, to be precise, to recon, to take stock
7.5 chair, venue, attendees, timescale, expense claims, appraisal
system, covering for absence, AOB (any other business), open- plan
office, partition, late payment/payers, to report back, to put pressure on
somebody, to back somebody on something, to chase up late payers,
minutes
7.6 to warn, to reprimand, to receive a growing number of claims from
smb, to dismiss, throwing a ‘sickie’, petty cash, to embezzle money,
windscreen, forecourt, bodyshop, chasing letter, (temporary)
suspension, to be evasive, whistleblower, dismissal, to embezzle, dent,
scratch
1. What financial statements should a company produce every year?
Who are the typical users of these financial statements? What is the
Balance Sheet? (Subject Background)
71
2. Speak about the Income Statement and Statement of Cash Flow.
Which information do they present? Give details. (Subject
Background)
3. What are the traditional and current views of accountancy and
accountants? How far are you convinced that accountancy’s image is
improving? To what extent do you think accountancy is a good career
choice? (The Business, pp 84-85)
Supplementary texts
Text 1
Before you read If you had an idea for a business start-up, where
would you go for finance?
Read this article from the Financial Times by Brian Groom and
Jonathan Guthrie and do the exercises that follow.
SMALL BUSINESSES AND THE BANKS
by Brian Groom and Jonathan Guthrie
The frosty relationship between business and banks over credit is
at last showing tentative signs of a thaw. Business leaders warn, how-
ever, that bankruptcies could rise sharply in the next 12 months unless
sufficient finance is available, especially for smaller companies, while
banks say companies must overcome their reluctance to borrow.
The EEF manufacturers’ organization reports on Monday an easing of
credit conditions for the first time in more than a year. In a survey of
410 manufacturers, 33 per cent said the cost of finance had increased
in the past two months — down from 47 per cent in the third quarter.
Just one in five reported a decline in availability of new borrowing,
down from one in three.
Annika Bosanquet has been struggling to raise finance to fulfil orders
worth more than 200,000. The founder of upmarket packaging
company Wrapology, which has clients such as Harrods and Armani,
first approached HSBC for a letter of credit this summer but she was
turned down. The bank also declined to support a loan via the
government’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme.
“HSBC said that the scheme was 35 thrust on them the day that the
government announced it to the press and that they had no system for
processing applications,” Ms Bosanquet says. The bank also tried to
halve Wrapology’s overdraft to $50,000, she says. The former
anthropologist, who runs Wrapology with her brother Tom, did not
fare any better with Barclays, which refused her request for a letter of
72
credit and said it could not extend any finance under the EFG because
the scheme was “for refinancing, not working capital”.
Ms Bosanquet, who is a board so member of Enterprise Insight, a
government-sponsored body that promotes entrepreneurship, says: “It
is very depressing because we are not looking for unfunded borrowing
— we have confirmed orders.” The company needs to pay for
packaging orders made overseas before it can collect payments from
its own customers, which include John Lewis,
the department store, and Monsoon, the fashion retailer.
HSBC says it has kept Wrapology’s overdraft at $100,000 and denies
threatening to reduce it, “even though she has gone well over her
overdraft limit”. Barclays says it aims to lend “appropriately” and that
it would be “irresponsible” to put up sums that clients might find hard
to repay. Ms Bosanquet set up Wrapology in 2001. Last year it had a
turnover of $1.4m and according to the entrepreneur will make a profit
this year. She says: “There is no point the government fretting over
economic policy if it cannot get money into the system.”
Task 1 Look through the whole article to find the names of:
a) an employers’ organization.
b) a woman entrepreneur.
c) her firm.
d) four of her clients.
e) a government organisation to back loans to entrepreneurs.
f) a bank.
g) the entrepreneur’s brother.
h) a government-backed organization to encourage
entrepreneurship.
Task 2 Read lines 1—21 and decide if these statements are true or
false.
a) The relationship between business and banks is compared to
weather conditions.
b) These conditions seem to be improving.
c) The number of bankruptcies will fall in the next year, according to
business leaders.
d) Banks say that companies are unwilling to ask for loans.
e) More companies than before say that the cost of finance has
gone up.
f) Fewer companies than before say that its possible to borrow.
73
Task 3 Complete these statements with appropriate forms of verbs
and phrasal verbs from lines 22-48.
If… ...
a) you…… to do something, you find it difficult.
b) you……. an order, you prepare and deliver it.
c) you…… an organisation. you make contact with it.
d) a request is …… ……, it is refused.
e) a request is…… , it is refused.
f) a task is given to you against your will, it is…… on you.
g) an organisation an application, it deals with it.
h) you…… well, badly, etc. in a particular situation, this is what
happens to you in that situation.
i) a bank makes loans to firms, it…… finance to them.
Task 4 Look again at lines 22—48 to find finance-related
expressions that mean:
a) an agreement by a bank to give credit. (3 words)
b) an arrangement by a government to pay back loans when the
borrower cannot, contained in the name of an organisation. (3 words)
c) when you take more money out of your bank account than you put
in. (1 word)
d) when you get loans to replace earlier loans. (1 word)
e) the money needed to operate a business, for example to pay
suppliers before you are paid by customers. (2 words)
Task 5 Match what the people (a-e) might say (1-5), based on lines
49-77.
a)HSBC b) Annika Bosanquet c)Monsoon
spokesperson spokesperson
d)Barclays e) UK government
spokesperson spokesperson
1 ‘I’m sad that we can’t get finance. It’s only because lenders don’t
really understand our situation.’
2 ‘It would be crazy to lend to businesses that can’t repay.’
3 ‘We’re doing everything we can to get banks to lend to businesses,
whatever some entrepreneurs say.’
4 ‘We haven’t reduced Ms Bosanquet’s overdraft, whatever she says.’
5 ‘We’ve ordered goods from Wrapology, but we haven’t paid for
them yet.’
74
Over to you I What is the relationship between small businesses and
banks in your country?
Over to you 2 Imagine you own a small business which is in need of
finance. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a) raising
money from banks, and b) asking family members to contribute?
Compare and contrast the two approaches.
Text 2
Before you read Celebrity endorsement is when famous people
appear in advertisements to promote particular products. Name as
many as you can think of.
Read this article from the Financial Times by Paul j Davies and
do the exercises that follow.
WHEN STAR POWER HITS THE ROUGH
Paul J Davies
As Tiger Woods tees off at The Masters tournament, the humbled
athlete is not the only one counting the cost of his fall from grace. The
34-year- old golfer’s reputation as a clean-living and dedicated
sportsman and husband was undone when his infidelities were spilled
across television, newspapers and Internet sites after a mysterious car
accident at his home.
Mr Woods’ success on the course had enabled him to line up
lucrative sponsorship deals off of it, with brands including Accenture,
Nike, Gillette, Electronic Arts. Some estimates suggest that the
arrangements made him the world’s first sports star to make $1 bn in
career earnings.
But as his life became embroiled in scandal, those companies also
took direct financial hits, from having to commission and produce new
advertising to the costs of their own public relations campaigns
explaining their actions in dropping the golfer and legal fees.
According to a study by Christopher Knittel and Victor Stango,
economists at the University of California, Davis, the collective loss in
stock market value of all the companies that Mr Woods endorsed was
worth $5bn—$l2bn.
Of course, companies do not need 35 a celebrity relationship to
experience reputational damage. Toyota estimates that its global recall
of cars had a direct cost of about $2bn (1.5bn euros, 3bn pounds). That
figure does not take into account potential lost future sales, or Toyota’s
own stock price decline, which has knocked Y1,673bn ($17.8bn,
75
13.3bn euros, 11 .7bn pounds) off its market value even after a strong
rebound in the past month.
In the wake of the Tiger Woods scandal, DeWitt Stern, the insurance
broker, saw an opportunity to publicize a product it had launched to
cover reputational risk, including how to deal with celebrity endorsers
becoming engulfed in scandal. More recently, Lloyd’s of London, the
insurance market, held a conference on how to manage reputational
risk and what cover — if any — might be available.
Companies are increasingly recognizing that reputation is an
important and valuable asset that is vulnerable and volatile, according
to Anthony Fitzsimmons, chairman of Reputability, a consultancy
focused on reputation and crisis strategy, risk and management.
“Reputation can be an organization’s most valuable intangible asset,
though it appears in few balance sheets except as goodwill in
acquisitions,” he says. “People are generally aware of their brand
values, but many have not worked out what matters most when things
are going wrong. Few have made a systematic analysis of what might
damage their reputation, let alone worked out how to keep their
reputation strong through difficult times.”
Task 1 Look through the whole article. Which sport does the
expression ‘hit the rough’ in the headline come from? Why is it
used?
Task 2 Find expressions in tines 1—19 to complete these
statements.
If someone…
a) suffers from losing their good reputation, they have a …… ……
…… .
b) behaves very well in their marriage, their job, etc. they are
described as …… .
c) does not smoke, drink alcohol, etc. they are described as …… -
…… .
d) has a reputation that is destroyed, it is …… .
e) signs deals that make them a lot of money, these deals are …… .
f) makes a total of $1 billion from their job, these are their …… …… .
Task 3 Match these things from lines 20—46 with what they cost.
(The cost of four of the things is not mentioned.)
1 the minimum estimated value of all the shares in all the companies
whose products Tiger Woods endorsed
76
2 the maximum estimated value of all the shares in all the companies
whose products Tiger Woods endorsed
3 the legal fees of companies dealing with the damage done by Woods’
actions
4 the cost of producing new advertising following the damage done by
Woods’ actions
5 the cost of Toyota’s recall of cars so far
6 the possible future costs of Toyota’s recall
7 the fall in the total value of Toyota’s shares initially
8 the fall in the total value of Toyota’s shares at the time of writing
a) $12 billion
b) about 1,700 billion yen
c) $2 billion
d) $5 billion
Task 4 Complete the table with words from lines 20—58, and
noun verb
commission
campaign
endorsement,
endorser
damage
recall
decline
rebound
publicity
cover
Task 5 In lines 59—79, find:
a) an adverb meaning more and more’.
b) an adjective describing reputation as an asset in relation to the ease
with which it can be damaged.
c) an adjective describing reputation as an asset in relation to possible
changes in its value.
d) a two-word expression to talk about plans to deal with disastrous
situations.
e) a two-word expression to talk about a business’s property, but one
that cannot be physically touched.
f) the value of this asset when the business is sold.
77
g) a two-word expression used to talk about what people associate with
particular product names.
h) a two-word expression referring to a methodical examination of
something.
Over to you I You head a consultancy specializing in reputation and
crisis management. A car manufacturer comes to you for advice on
what to do to recover its reputation following a recall of 100,000 of its
cars because of a steering problem. (Luckily no accidents were caused
by this, but there were some ‘near misses’.) What would you advise
the car company to do in relation to its communications and
advertising following the recall?
Over to you 2 You are head of an oil company that has caused great
environmental damage following an explosion on one of your oil rigs.
What would you do to restore to try to your company’s reputation?
Unit 8 FAIR TRADE

Subject Background
Fair trade is an organized social movement which promotes
standards for international labour, environmentalism, and social policy
in areas related to the production of fair trade goods. There is an
umbrella organization called Fairtrade Labelling
Organizations International (FLO) whose mission is to set the
Fairtrade standards; support, inspect and certify producers; and
harmonize the fair trade message across the movement.
Key principles of fair trade, as put forward by its supporters, are:
• Creating opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers.
Fair trade is a strategy for poverty alleviation and sustainable
development.
• Transparency and accountability. Fair trade involves transparent
management and commercial relations to deal fairly and respectfully
with trading partners.
• Capacity building. Fair trade is a means to develop producers’
independence. Fair trade relationships provide continuity during which
producers and their marketing organizations can improve their
management skills and their access to new markets.
• Payment of a fair price. A fair price is one that has been agreed
through dialogue and participation. It enables production which is
socially just and environmentally sound. It provides fair pay to the
78
producers and takes into account the principle of equal pay for equal
work by women and men. Fairtraders ensure prompt payment to their
partners and, whenever possible, help producers with access to pie-
harvest or pre-production financing.
• Gender equity. Fair trade means that women’s work is properly
valued and rewarded. Women are always paid for their contribution to
the production process and are empowered in their organizations.
• Working conditions. Fair trade means a safe and healthy working
environment for producers. The participation of children (if any) does
not adversely affect their well-being, security, educational
requirements and need for play and conforms to the UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child as well as the law and norms in the local
context.
• Environment. Fair trade actively encourages better environmental
practices and the application of responsible methods of production.
The main argument against fair trade, used by those in favour of free
trade, is that it distorts prices and encourages overproduction. Setting a
price floor for a commodity (in effect a farm subsidy like any other)
will benefit a number of fair trade producers over the short run, but
over the long term it will encourage existing producers to produce
more and new producers to enter the market. This will lead to excess
supply and eventually make the world price fall further — so that the
vast majority of producers become worse off. With free trade, on the
other hand, the market mechanism of falling prices would encourage
producers to switch to growing other crops, and lead to greater
diversification and ultimately more sustainable rural development.
Other objections to fair trade are that it only offers certification to
co-operatives of small producers (so that the vast majority of farm
workers, who work on plantations, miss out), and that most of the
premium price paid by consumers goes to the retailers.
In a wider context, fair trade is just one of the issues that comes
under the heading of ‘corporate social responsibility’ (CSR). This is a
rapidly growing field, with companies realizing that their image (and
sales) depend on public perceptions of the social and environmental
impact of their activities.
Useful websites For more information on fair trade visit:
http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/
http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.htm
79
And for CSR in general look at:
http://www.csreurope.org
Vocabulary
8.0 umbrella organization головная организация , to encourage
overproduction поощрать перепроизводство , to set a price floor for
a commodity устанавливать ценовой порог для товара, excess
supply излишние поставки, poverty alleviation облегчение
бедности, economically disadvantaged producers экономически
непривилигированные производители, transparent management
прозрачное управление/руководство , accountability подотчетность
, capacity building развитие компетенций, gender equity, to
encourage application of responsible methods of production поощрать
применение ответственных методов производства, to distort prices
искажать цены, to become worse off оказываться в менее выгодном
положении, sustainable rural development устойчивое
сельскохозяйственное развитие , premium price цена надбавки
8.1 to deprive, to relieve the guilt of middle class consumers,
economic illiteracy, misguided good intentions, to threaten the
prosperity of the poorest producers, government -enforced (fair-trade)
policy, to produce crops, to get an artificially high price under fair-
trade schemes, to kick away the ladder from (the poorest producers),
fair-trade incentive, distorting effect, to buy from more affluent
producers, to wave a magic wand, to pursue higher living standards,
to respond to the demands of the market, to command higher prices, to
make a decent living, to toil возиться/копаться в земле
8.2 to amend внести коррективы /to
sign/negotiate/break/cancel/draft/award заключение /renege
отказаться от /take out a contract, breach of contract нарушение
договора, legally binding contract, penalty clause, two parties, to bend
rules for someone, out-of-court settlement внесудебное
урегулирование споров, irrevocable неотзывный контракт, hereby
таким образом, hereinafter, regardless of the cause thereof вне
зависимости от причины этого, (goods) shall be deemed (received)
товары будут считаться полученными в случае если ,on or before
не позднее, to undertake принимать, to avoid the expense of litigation
избежать трат на судебном процессе, to go to court, pay millions in
damages платить миллионы в качестве ущерба, to be morally
beyond reproach быть фактически вне всякой критики –
80
образцовым, lapse задержка/упущение времени, part and parcel
неотъемлемая часть, to wash one’s hands of, to respect spirit of the
law уважать букву/дух закона, a company’s primary goal
8.3 to follow the guidelines, to disclose sensitive information, rental
period, under any (no) circumstances, to take out extra insurance, to
provide documentary evidence, to use something strictly in
accordance with terms and conditions , to alter/to modify something,
amendment, to terminate the contract, to refurbish, landlord, to lease
the premises to tenant, guests and invitees, to give written notice not
less than 90 days prior to the expiration of the initial terms of lease, to
pay a security deposit, to pay all charges for utilities, first occupation
of the premises, at tenant’s expense, alterations, licensor/licensee,
expiration of the license, responsibility for normal wear and tear,
sewer
8.4 to offer a (five per cent ) pay increase, to threaten a strike, to
discuss productivity and benefits, to reach a compromise, to publish
evidence of corruption, to maintain business relationship, to make late
payments, prefinancing, fair-trade premium, to assume, to meet
somebody half way, to feel strongly about something
8.5 apologetic, confident, submissive, evasive, assertive, especially
frustrating, lack of interest, in principle, as things stand, by and large,
regrettably
8.6 organic farming, fair trade certification, AOB, to employ child
labor, to plant in virgin forests areas, to use increasing amount of
pesticides, to be in breach of the terms, to turn a blind eye to
something, to jeopardize
1. Give the definition of fair trade and speak about its key principles.
What must be paid to get fair trade certification? Why might western
consumers be attracted to fair trade goods.
2. Speak about free trade and fair trade. Consider the pros and cons of
fair trade. Give the main arguments against fair trade.
3. Do you agree that free trade rewards efficiency while fair trade
rewards bad habits? Do you think fair trade is just a fashion among
rich western consumers?
Supplementary texts
Text 1
81
Before you read What is the attitude in your country to takeovers
of companies from abroad?
Read this article from the Financial Times by Robin Harding, Kathrin
HiLle and Song Jung-a and do the exercises that follow.
JAPAN’S RAKUTEN POISED FOR OVERSEAS EXPANSION
In its 13 years of existence, Japan’s Rakuten has expanded from
online shopping into everything from credit cards and stockbroking to
golf reservations and even a professional baseball team. So when
president Hiroshi Mikitani says that he plans to expand into 27 foreign
markets — 10 of them by the end of this year — he deserves to be
taken seriously. Rakuten’s overseas push is part of a growing trend by
Asian Internet companies to expand abroad as their domestic growth
starts to slow down. But in spite of the ambitions of Asia’s young
Internet billionaires, cultural barriers and entrenched local competition
may prove impossible to overcome. There have been a series of deals
so far this year. In addition to Rakuten’s tie-up with search engine
Baidu to launch a Chinese version of its shopping site, South Korea’s
largest search engine NHN has bought the Japanese Internet access
portal Livedoor, and China’s Tencent has invested $300m in Digital
Sky Technologies of Russia.
Kentaro Hyakuno, the head of 30 Rakuten’s international business,
says his company stayed domestic on purpose while building up the
eco-system of merchants that use its e-commerce site. Now it is ready
to expand abroad and, Mr Hyakuno says, “Japan is growing old, with
less children, and if you want to keep growing as a corporation then
you need opportunity.”
South Korea, whose Internet companies began to venture abroad in
the early 2000s, provides some evidence. Its portals and search engines
have struggled to make inroads into other countries, but its online
game makers have become serious contenders in overseas markets
such as China, Japan and the US.
Daum, the country’s largest portal, so took over Lycos of the US in
2004 but had struggled to turn around the loss-making US business as
it could not compete effectively with bigger rivals such as Google and
Yahoo. “They face high entry barriers to offer portal and search
services in foreign countries because such services are already
dominated by big local players,” says Wayne Lee, analyst at South
Korea’s Woori Investment & Securities. “Language and culture are
82
very important for Internet access portals and search services,
compared with online games. And it is not easy for foreign players to
do well in offering such services based on local languages.” For
Rakuten, as it contemplates its international blitz, the answer is to look
for markets where infrastructare such as broadband, credit cards and
delivery logistics are improving but the market is not yet saturated
with established players. “We evaluated about 50 countries, we
grouped them, and then we worked out the best approach,” says Mr
Hyakuno. So far that has included launches in Taiwan and China and
an acquisition in Thailand. India - a huge potential market— may be
next on the list.
a) a Japanese Internet company (with other activities too) and two of
its executives.
b) a Chinese internet search company.
c) a South Korean search engine and the Japanese Internet access
provider that it has bought.
d) a Chinese company and the Russian company in which it has
invested.
e) a South Korean Internet access provider and the US search engine
that it bought.
f) a South Korean financial institution and someone who works for it.
Task 2 Match the two parts of these expressions from lines 1—28.
1 online barriers
2 domestic trend
3 internet push
4 cultural billionaires
5 entrenched local shopping
6 overseas growth
7 growing competition
Task 3 Now match the expressions above to their meanings.
a) strong companies in markets that you want to enter
b) increase in your home sales
c) efforts by a company to expand abroad
d) a tendency that is getting stronger
e) buying things on the Internet
f) ways of doing things in another market that make it difficult to enter
83
g) people who have made a lot of money from web businesses
Task 4 Correct the expressions in italic as they are used in lines 29
—48, using the same number of words.
a) If you do something intentionally, you do it with purposeful.
b) A company that enters foreign markets expansions broadly.
c) People and organizations that sell on the Internet are merchandise.
d) If a company starts trying to sell outside its home market, it
adventures aboard.
e) If a company is not very successful in a foreign market, it fights to
do roads on those markets.
f) Competitors new to a market can be referred to as contentious.
Task 5 Match these questions and answers about lines 29—48.
1 Did Rakuten want to a) Yes, but for real
expand abroad earlier? opportunity they need to look
abroad.
2 Is Japan’s population b) No, it stayed in Japan on
getting younger? purpose.
3 Can Japanese companies c) Yes, they have had trouble
expand in their domestic market? getting into other markets.
4 Is the experience of South d) No, they’ve become
Korean Internet companies serious competitors with overseas
abroad typical? companies in at least three
countries.
5 Is the experience of South e) No, it’s getting older.
Korean game makers the same as
that of Internet companies?
Task 6 Find the answers to these questions in lines 49-81.
Find...
a) the first mention of the first reason for Daum’s difficulties in
making a success of Lycos.
b) the second mention of this reason.
c) the second reason for Daum’s difficulties.
d) four aspects of overseas markets that Rakuten looks at before
deciding which ones to enter.
e) three steps that Rakuten went through in assessing overseas markets
before deciding which ones to enter.
f) three countries that Rakuten has already entered.
g) one country it might enter.
84
Over to you I ‘Language and culture are very important for Internet
access portals and search services, compared with online games.’ Why
is this?
Over to you 2 Give advice on language and cultural issues to a foreign
company that has acquired a company in your country.
Text 2
Before you read Why do so many mergers and acquisitions fail to
produce the promised results?
Read this article from the Financial Times by Rebecca Ranninger
and Scott Moeller and do the exercises that follow.
IS CONFLICT INEVITABLE IN MERGERS AND
TAKEOVERS?
The Executive —
Rebecca Ranninger
Every business has a unique culture. Even when seemingly similar
companies combine, some level of culture clash, along with the usual
internal politics, is inevitable. These undesirable side-effects can be
significantly reduced when there is clarity of purpose and honest
communication by the right people. During my 17 years at Symantec,
we have completed more than 60 acquisitions, and we still learn
something new every time.
What has remained consistent, however, is the need for absolute
agreement as to exactly what we are buying. Is it a particular
technology? An established product? A brand? A particularly skilled
group of engineers? A position in a given geography? Once this
purpose has been established, consistent, honest, and well-thought out
communications to the employees of both businesses, as early as
possible, can go a long way to minimize some of the unavoidable
friction.
While the acquiring company must clearly set the direction for the
future business, the executive leadership of both companies must
spearhead the communications. Employees can easily detect
insincerity, so only those executives who are unequivocally dedicated
to the success of the combined new business should deliver the future
vision.
The writer is chief human resource officer, Symantec
The Academic —
Scott Moefler
85
Think back to your first love. Did it end because you tried to change
each other or tried to embrace each other’s personality? Of course, this
isn’t about romantic relationships, it’s about the problem of bringing
together two companies with established cultures. But a reality check
is healthy, especially when you have just done a deal and are about to
launch a costly integration campaign. With the failed romantic
relationship, it didn’t help to discuss what some combined personality
could look like but it did help when you remembered what first
attracted you to each other.
Back to business mergers: why waste time talking about common
cultural aspects? Instead, focus on the goal. Winning business.
Quickly. Note the success of Deutsche Bank with its marketing
campaign of ‘Leading to Results’ after it acquired Bankers Trust, or
Santander with Abbey. These days, looking at deals, you get the
impression that the cultural aspect of deals is a bit over-engineered.
You’ll notice the internal communications teams are bigger than the
external PR/marketing teams. Being internally focused gives your
competitors a field day.
Leadership is key to successful mergers, and leaders go with their gut.
Why did they buy the other company? Because of their culture? No.
They were bought for their business. That’s the message. The troops
— and clients — will follow.
The writer is a professor at Cass 85 Business School and co-author of
Intelligent M&A
Task 1 Match these adverbs from lines 1—41 with their
expressions that could replace them with no change in meaning.
1 seemingly a) obviously
2 significantly b) apparently
3 exactly c) specially
4 particularly d) to a large extent
5 clearly e) without doubt or
hesitation
6 easily f) precisely
7 unequivocally g) without difficulty
Task 2 Use expressions from lines 1—29 to complete the answers
to these questions.
a) Do all businesses share the same culture?
— No, each one is…….. .
86
b) In mergers and acquisitions, are culture clashes avoidable?
— No, they’re ……….. .
c) How can culture clashes be reduced?
—When there is …… …… ……and …… …… .
d) Has all the thinking behind Symantec’s
acquisitions changed over the years?
— Some of it has, but one thing has remained ……. .
e) What is that?
—There must be total …….. about the reasons for the acquisition.
Task 3 What is Rebecca Ranninger’s key point? Read lines 1—41
again and choose the best alternative.
In acquisitions,
a) communication is important, but in the end culture clashes are
inevitable and you just hope that communication will minimize them.
b) executives who don’t share the combined company’s vision for the
future should not be involved in the negotiations leading to the
acquisition.
c) culture clashes are inevitable, but good communication about the
combined company’s vision for the future can overcome them.
Task 4 Why does Scott Moeller refer to romantic relationships
between people in lines 30—41? Choose the best alternative.
Because…
a) they throw light on relationships between companies in mergers and
the factors that bring merging companies together.
b) thinking about them prepares companies for the disappointment
they will inevitably face when the merger fails.
c) they highlight the differences between people’s relationships and
those between companies.
Task 5 Complete the table with words, and grammatically related
words, from lines 44—60.
verb noun
launch
discuss
integration
attraction
focus
succeed
acquisition
87
Task 6 Now match the nouns above with their meanings.
a) when one company buys another
b) when you concentrate on one thing in particular
c) when two things are combined
d) when one person or organisation likes another
e) when people talk about something
f) when actions produce positive results
g) when something is started
Task 7 Which two examples of successful acquisitions are given in
lines 61—76?
Task 8 Match the expressions in italics from lines 61—83 with
their meanings by choosing the better alternative.
1 ‘...you get the impression that the cultural aspect of deals is a bit
over-engineered.’ (line 72)
a) downplayed
b) exaggerated
2 ‘Being internally focused ...’ (line 75)
a) concentrating on the functioning of the company
b) concentrating on customers
3 ‘... gives your competitors a field day.’ (line 76)
a) a big chance to succeed
b) the chance to fail
4 ‘...leaders go with their gut.’ (line 78)
a) follow their instincts
b) follow logical reasoning
5 ‘The troops — and clients — will follow.’ (line 82)
a) customers b) employees
Over to you 1 How useful is it to compare romantic relationships with
corporate ones in analyzing successful acquisitions? Explain your
reasoning.
Over to you 2 Why can the cultures of companies in the same industry
be quite different? Give some examples from an industry you are
interested in (perhaps your own).
88
Сборник учебных материалов по английскому языку делового
и профессионального общения продвинутого уровня для
студентов 3 и 4 курсов экономических специальностей
Составители: Бернацкая Марина Владимировна

Бузина Юлия Николаевна
Муратова Ольга Анатольевна
Компьютерная верстка Е. П. Савинова
Подписано в печать 27.08.17. Формат 60х84 1/16.

Печать офсетная. Усл. печ. л. 2,25.
Уч.-изд. л. 2,35. Тираж 50 экз. Заказ.
ФГБОУ ВО «РЭУ им. Г. В. Плеханова».
89
117997, Москва, Стремянный пер., 28.
Напечатано в ФГБОУ ВО «РЭУ им. Г. В. Плеханова».
117997, Москва, ул. Зацепа, 41.
90

3 курс English

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Описание:

Авторское право

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Описание:

Авторское право:

3 курс English

Загружено:

Описание:

Авторское право:

,≥

Министерство образования и науки Российской Федерации

Кафедра иностранных языков №1

Сборник учебных материалов по английскому языку делового

Рецензент канд.пед. наук М. В. Романова (ФГБОУ ВПО

Материалы публикуются в авторской редакции.

Сборник учебных материалов по английскому языку делового и

Сборник предназначен для студентов 3 и 4 курсов всех

© ФГБОУ ВО «РЭУ им. Г. В. Плеханова», 2017

2.2 A bit more expensive, a whole lot more expensive, considerably

3. How to reduce high staff turnover and keep best employees?

Task 3 Use appropriate forms of expressions from lines 1-42 to

Unit 5 SELLING MORE

Task 2 Complete these statements with correct forms of

Unit 6 NEW BUSINESS

Unit 7 FINANCIAL CONTROL

Unit 8 FAIR TRADE

Составители: Бернацкая Марина Владимировна

Компьютерная верстка Е. П. Савинова

Подписано в печать 27.08.17. Формат 60х84 1/16.

ФГБОУ ВО «РЭУ им. Г. В. Плеханова».

Вам также может понравиться