ESP BUSINESS ENGLISH UNIT ONE NEW BUSINESS

Make a list of things that are important to do before you start a new business.. What two questions does your market research need to answer.. HOW TO ADD THE HUMAN TOUCH By Dough richard

DA NANG UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS

ESP BUSINESS ENGLISH

Edition 2

UNIT ONE: NEW BUSINESS

I Starting up:

A What conditions are important for people starting new businesses? Choose the four most important from this list Can you think of any others?

B Many economies contain a mix of public- and private-sector businesses Think of

companies you know in the areas below Which are public-sector companies and which are

II Vocabulary: Economic terms

A Match the economic terms -10) with their definitions (a (1 –j)

1 interest rate a) total value of goods and services produced in a country

2 exchange rate b) general increase in prices

3 inflation rate c) cost of borrowing money

5 tax incentives e) price at which one currency can buy another

6 government bureaucracy f) percentage of people without jobs

7 GDP ( gross domestic product) g) low taxes to encourage business activity

8 unemployment rate h) money from overseas

9 foreign investment i) official rules / regulations / paperwork

10 balance of trade j) difference in value between a country‟s imports and exports

B Try to complete this economic profile without looking back at the terms in Exercise A

The economy is stable following the problems of the past two years By following a tight monetary policy the government has reduced the _ _ to 2% After going up dramatically, the _ _ is now down to 8% The last si x month has seen a slight improvement in the _ against the dollar The G _ has grown to 0.15% Exports are increasing and the _ of _ is starting to look much healthier

The _ continues to be a problem as it is still 16% In order to stimulate the economy and attracts _ the government is offering new as well as making a renewed effort to reduce _

Finally, a large skilled _ means there could be attractive investment opportunities over the next five years

C Listen to the report and check your answers to Exercise B

D Write sentences about the economic profile of your country

III Listening: Starting new businesses

A Work in group Make a list of things that are important to do before you start a new business

B Alan Martin, a young entrepreneur, descibes five important steps for setting up a business Listen and complete the chart below Did you have the same ideas as Alan

Step 1: ………

Step 2: ………

Step 3: ………

Step 4: ………

Step 5: ………

C Listen again and answer the questions 1 What percentage of business ideas fails? 2 Why do they fail? 3 What two questions does your market research need to answer? 4 What two things does a business plan help you to do? 5 What does it usually include? Name three things 6 Which step does Alan think is the most important? Why? D Alans says most businesses fail because people don’t understand the market What other reasons can you think of?

IV Reading: The Human Touch A Go through the article quickly to find the four elements that a good team needs A good team needs: 1 ………

2 ………

3 ………

4 ………

HOW TO ADD THE HUMAN TOUCH

By Dough richard

When thinking about how you start your business,

getting the right team together will be the most important and

the most difficult decision you make

The reason is simple No one person has all the skills,

experience, contacts or reputation that are recruited to get a

business up and running So, in order to succeed, you will

have to form a core team of people

Before that, however, you can only know who else you

need by knowing your strengths and your weaknesses Having

a great business idea does not mean that you have the skills to

manage others The hardest of all your decisions may be to let

someone else lead the company you founded

What, then, does the team need?

First, it needs the ability to sell and in particular the –

ability to persuade others to buy into your vision

Second, the team needs the ability to count The business is

managed by managing the flow of cash It may be the accountant‟s job to do your books, but it

is your responsibility to understand them so well that you use them to drive the business

Third, the team needs experience There are three types: customer experience, product experience and start-up experience If you are going to sell an Internet service to restaurants, you need experience in the development of Internet services and the experience of running reastaurants If your team has only one or the other, you will either know what product to build

or how to build it, but not both

Fourth, the team needs to have contacts, relationships, a network Having people who can help you informally or formally will help your business succeed

Finally, you and your team must be fully aware that starting a business means giving up two things- time and money It frequently means working evenings and weekends and being last in line for payment Succeeding with an innovation-based company takes everything: all of your time, all your great ideaslots of personal sacrifices and it may take all of your money –

There is no magic formula to building a business It is like putting together the pieces of a puzzle But it is worth remembering that the team is the most important piece

3 Good cashflow managem,ent is a necessary condition for a business to be successful

4 An effective team will have experience in three key areas

5 You need to put in a lot of time and effort before you can enjoy the rewards of owning a fast-growing start-up

6 Building the right team is the magic formula to setting up a successful business

IV Language Skill: Socialising

A Making Contacts:

1 What activities are involved in socialising? Add some more to the following list

- Introducing visitors

- Greeting visitors

2 You will hear three dialogues about people meeting visitors.Complete the chart

Dialogue 1 Dialogue 2 Dialogue 3

1 Have the speakers

did the visitors have

during the journey?

5 What are they

doing next?

3 Compete the sentences from the dialogues Listen if necessary

1 You be Raj

2 It‟s great to _ meet you in _ after all our phone calls and emails

3 I _ you haven‟t been long

4 It‟s a _ to meet you

5 How was your ?

6 Hi, Paul, good to you _

7 Sorry to keep you

8 Can I _ you with your _?

9 Would you taking this?

Which sentences above are used to:

a Welcome or greet the visitors? (1,2,4,6)

b Talk about the journey (5)

c Offer (or ask for) helping with something? (8,9)

d Apologize for a delay? (3,7)

B Talking about weather

1 Kasia Janiak is accompanying Mr Syms from the airport to his hotel Look at the

dialogue below Listen and complete the gaps What is the topic of their conversation?

Mr Syms: I can‟t belive it‟s so _ here It makes a nice from England!

Kasia : How was the when you _?

Mr Syms: It was as usual This summer has been _

Kasia : Well, we‟ve been very here The last couple of weeks has been very Mr Syms: Do you normally _ _ summers here?

Kasia : It depends Ususally we get at least a few _ days, but sometimems it rains a lot

Mr Syms: I imagine the winters here must be pretty

Kasia : Oh yes Sometimes it _ _ to minus 15

Mr Syms: Well, at least it never gets that cold in England The winter there is usually just grey and _ It can be quite depressing!

Kasia : Ugh! Well, I‟m glad the weather is nice for your visit here

2 The weather is one of the most popular small-talk topic It is a topic everybody can talk about Put the words below into the right categories

Words describing temperature Words describing the sky Words to do with water

3 Roleplay: Work in pair Use the profiles below to practise meeting visitors

roasting sunny warm

Student A: Christ: You are meeting Catherine Br own, a supplier from Britain, at the airport in Franfurt You have never met before but have spoken a lot over the phone Catherine is carrying heavy bags Greet her and ask about the flight Make some

small talk ( weather, job, company) and take her to your car

Student B: Catherine: You have just arrived at the airport in Franfurt and have made arrangements for your business partner, Christ, to pick you up You have spoken a lot over the phone but have never met before You are carrying several heavy bags Your flight was fine and you had a DVD to watch

C Entertaining visitor

1 Bruno and Carlo are entertaining Anna at a local restaurant Listen to the conversation and answer the questions below

1 Have the hosts been ot the restaurant before?

2 Why is Anna hungry?

3 What do we discover about Bruno‟s wife?

4 Who is driving?

5 What do they plan to do later?

2 Match the two halves to make sentences from the dialogues Listen again if necessary

4 I‟m afraid they don‟t have d recommend?

5 How many courses e catch the waiter‟s attention

7 It comes with asparagus g you like it

9 What would you like i a really nice place

10 Let‟s see if we can j and small potatoes roasted in the oven

D Keeping a conversation going

1 Anna, Bruno, and Carlo are finishing their meal Tick the topics they talk about

mutual accquaintances their jobs

2 The answers to the questions below are too short Make them longer by adding extra information and a question, as in the example

1 A: So, do you live near here?

B; Yes, I do

( only 2 km) Our house is only two kilometres from here

( you / live?) What about you? Do you live near here

2 A: And how old is your daughter?

( you / be with your company long?)

5 A: Have you been to Moscow?

7 A: It‟s so hot today Is it normally like this in the summer here?

B: No, it‟s not

( very hot for us / usually 25 degrees)

( weather / where you live?)

3 Commenting on what people say is a good way to keep a conversation going Match

B’s comments to what A says Sometimes more than one answer is possible

1 I just got married last year actually a That must be very stressful

2 My husband is a meteorologist b Really? That‟s an interesting job!

3 Last year I won a prize for one of the c Oh, congratulations!

products I designed d You must be very proud of her

4 The project deadline is next week and e That must have been very exciting

and we‟re not going to make it f You must have felt very pleased

5 My daughter has just got a place at one of g Oh, I‟m sorry to hear that I imagine that the best universities in the country was a difficult time for you

6 Before I got this job I was unemployed for

two years

7 I went to Peru on holiday last year

4 Work with a partner to make small talk at a restaurant Use the information in your file to ask questions and keep the conversation going

File A: You are having dinner in a restaurant with an important business partner (You are the host) Ask your partner questions to keep the conversation going

Here are some things your partner mentioned earlier:

● He/ She has recently bought a new house

● His / Her partner has a new job

● He / She wants to go to Italy on holiday this year

Begin by saying something about the food

File B: You are having dinner in a restaurant with an important business partner ( You are the guest) Ask your partner questions to keep the conversation going

Here are some things your partner mentioned earlier:

● He/ She plays badminton in her free time

● He/ She has an adopted son

● His / Her mother is visiting at the moment

Begin by asking your partner a question about the restaurant

Unit Two: MARKETING

2.1 PRODUCT POLICY

A Starting up:

1.“The four Ps” form the basis of the marketing mix If you want to market a product successfully, you need to get this mix right Fill the gaps in these sentences, using t he words from the list

a What is marketing mix? If consists of “the four Ps”: providing the customer with the right at the right _, presented in the most attractive way ( ) and available in the easiest way ( _ )

b What is “a product” ? A good product is not just an assembled set of components: it is something customers buy to _ a _ they feel they have The _ and the of the product are as important as its specification

c What is “price” ? The product must be priced so that it competes effectively with products in the same market

d What is “promotion”? The product is presented to customers through advertising (TV commercials, , etc), packaging (design, _, etc.), publicity, P.R and personal selling

e What is “place” ? Your product must be available to customers through the most effective channels of _ A consumer product must be offered to _ in suitable retail _ or available on or by

4 Give three examples of brands to which you are loyal Why are you loyal to them?

5 Discuss with your partners to think of the reasons for consumers' brand loyalty

B Vocabulary: Brand Management

1 Match these word partnerships to their meanings:

B 1 loyalty a) the name given to a product by the company that makes

it

R 2 image b) using an existing name on another type of product

A 3 stretching c) the ideas and beliefs people have about a brand

N 4 awareness d) the tendency to always buy a particular brand

hire purchase promotion image product place

mail order need rival labels satisfy outlets

D 5 name e) how familiar people are with a brand

P

R 6 launch f) the set of products made by a company

O 7 lifecycle g) the use of a well-known person to advertise products

D 8 range h) when products are used in films or TV programmes

U 9 placement i) the introduction of a product to the market

C 10 endorsement j) the length of time people continue to buy a product

4 David Beckham advertising Vodaphone is an example of _

5 A consists of introduction, growth, maturity and decline

6 The use of BMW cars and Nokia phones in James Bond films are examples of

C Listening:

1 Why do people buy brands? Why do you think some people dislike brands?

2.Listen to two speakers talking about brands What reasons does each person give for liking

or disliking brands?

D Reading :

1 Read the following text, and write a brief heading for each paragraph:

PRODUCTS AND BRANDS

1

Marketing theorists tend to give the word product a very broad meaning, using it to refer to anything capable of satisfying a need or want Thus services, activities, people (film stars, singers), places (holiday resorts), organizations (hospitals, colleges), and ideas, as well as physical objects offered for sale by retailers, can be considered as products Sales of physical products can usually increase by benefits such as customer advice, delivery, credit facilities, a warranty, after-sales service, and so on

2

Some manufacturers use their name (the family name) for all products, e.g Philips, Colgate, Yamaha Others, including Unilever and Procter & Gamble, market various products under different brand names, with the result that many customers are unfamiliar with the name of the manufacturing company The major producers of soap powders, for

example , are famous for their multi-brand strategy which allows them to compete in various market segments to fill shelf space in shops, thereby leaving less room for competitors It also gives them greater chance of getting some of the custom of brand-switchers

3

Most manufacturers produce a large number of products, often divided into product lines Most product line consist of several products, often distinguished by brand names, e.g a range of soap powder, or of toothpastes Together, a company's items, brands and products constitute its product mix Because different products are always at different stages of their life cycles with increasing, stable or declining sales, and because markets, opportunities and resources are in constant developing, companies are always looking into the future, and re-evaluating their product mix

4

Companies whose objectives include high market share and market growth generally have long product lines Companies whose objectives is high profitability will have shorter lines, including only profitable items Yet most product lines have a tendency

to lengthen over time because companies add additional items to cover further market segments Additions to product lines can be the result of either line-stretching or line-filling Line-stretching means lengthen a product line by moving either up-market or down-market, i.e making items of higher or lower quality Yet such moves may cause image problems: moving to the lower end of a market weaken a company's image for quality, while a company at the bottom of a range may not convince customers that it can produce quality products Line-filling - adding further items to the existing product line might be done in order to compete in competitors' niches, or simply to utilize excess production capacity

1 Find words or expressions in the text which mean the following:

Par.1 : a the possibility of paying for a product over an extended period

b a promise by a manufacturer or a seller to repai r defective goods during a certain period Par.2 :c customers who buy various competing products rather than being loyal to a particular

brand

Par 4 : d the sales of a company expressed as percentage of total sales in a given market

e the extent to which an activity provides financial gain

f a small, specialized but profitable segment of a market

2 Comprehension:

a Why do big soap powder producers have a multi-brand strategy?

b Why do companies' product mixes regularly change?

c What factors influence the length of companies' product lines?

d What are the potential dangers of line-stretching ?

e Why might companies undertake line-filling?

2.2 MARKET RESEARCH

A Vocabulary :

1 Find words and expressions in italics in the text below which mean the same as:

1 slice 6 results

2 identified to be of interest 7 typical

2 Match the marketing research methods in the box to the descriptions below:

Data collection methods:

Companies or organisations which want to find out how the

public perceive their products or services perform market research

This research often takes the form of a survey, designed to investigate

the attitudes of the public People are asked to respond to a carefully

formulated questionnaire Researchers may use a completely random

sample of people, or a selection of people with shared characteristics

For example, women accompanied by one or two small children or

people over sixty-five, who are representative of the segment of the

market that has been targeted The findings of this research will then be

the object of a great deal of analysis and interpretation

Street survey questionnaire Blind testing Focus group Dustbin survey

What advantages and disadvantages do the different methods have? Which is the cheapest? Which is the most expensive? Listen again if necessary

2 Haike, one of the members of Euphony’s marketing team, is calling Greg at Inside the

Market, a market research firm in the UK Listen to the conversation and complete Greg’s

● qualitative and data:

- price and _ the phone should have

- number of people interested, what willing to pay

● basic demographic information:

Then prepare a list of survey questions and give the survey to another group in your class

Group 2:

Your company is going to launch a new model of laptop targeted at businessmen You would prefer a focus group for your market research, but you need to discuss this with your partner(s) first Work together to decide on the best data collection method to use

Then prepare a list of survey questions and give the survey to another group in your class

2.3 LANGUAGE SKILL: MEETING

A Warm- up

1 Meetings are not the same all over the world Answer the following questions for your company

or your country

1 Is punctuality important? Do meetings have to begin exactly on time?

2 Is it important to reach an agreement quickly (time is money), or are getting to know people and reaching a consensus more important than speed?

3 Who has the power to make decisions an individual (usually the most senior person at –the meeting), or a group?

4 Are meetings sometimes too long? How much time do you spend in meetings, and how could this be reduced?

2 Vocabulary: Check your understanding of words and phrases for organizing and controlling meetings by matching them with their definitions (a-f)

i any other business

ii apologies for absence

iii compromise

iv consensus

v to digress

vi minutes

a to move off the subject and start talking about something else

b a written report distributed to participants after a meeting

c often the last item in a meeting, when participants discuss issues not on the agenda

d a way of reaching agreement in which each side concedes or gives up something it wants

e the situation in which most or all of the people at a meeting agree about something

f often the first item in a meeting, concerning people who can not be present

B Listening

1 Freestyle is a sports equipment company It has developed a new product, a pair of

swimming goggles which adapt to each person’s face and eyesight The Marketing Department

held a meeting to discuss the launch of the product Listen to the meeting Then answer these questions

1 What are the two aims of the meeting?

2 Why does Katharina want to launch the goggles early in the year?

3 Which months for the launch do the participants discuss?

4 Which types of shops does Julia want to target?

2 Listen again Tick the expressions which Inge, the chairperson, uses

1 Can we start please?

2 The purpose of this meeting is to decide the date of the launch

3 Katharina, what do you think?

4 OK, let‟s hear a few more views

5 Nadia, how do you feel about this?

6 You‟re right, Katharina Let‟s get back to the point

7 OK everyone, I think on balance we agree…

8 I want us to talk about sales outlets now

3 Listen to the meeting again and complete these extracts

Katharina : I‟m in ………… of February or March There‟s a gap in the market for our products Why wait any longer?

Inge: … Kenneth, what‟s your opinion?

Kenneth: Mmm, I ……… ………… about February It‟s a bit early in the year I

……… we ……… in May or June People go on holiday then

Nadia: …The price should be high I‟d say, at least £50

Katharina: ……… ……… a minute I thought we were talking about the launch date, not about promotion or price

Inge: …Which outlets do you think we should target?

Julia: ………… ……… we should start with the specialist stores That‟s where most swimmers buy their goggles

Inge: What ……… ………… ……… by specialist stores, Julia?

C Speaking

Role-play Work in groups of four people Read your role card A, B, C, D

Freestyle has developed a new tennis racket called Worldbeater It is light but gives players increased power and control It will be launched i n the US The Marketing Department holds a meeting to discuss a strategy

Hold the meeting At the end, the chairperson should summarise your decisions

Useful language

CHAIRPERSON

Can we start please? What do you think?

Right, let‟s begin How do you feel about this?

The main aim of the meeting is to… Let‟s move on now to …

The purpose of this meeting is to … The next item on the agenda is …

What do you mean by… ? OK, let‟s summarise

Sorry, I don‟t quite understand Right, let‟s recap…

Useful Language

PARTICIPANTS

I think … I think you‟re right Hold on (a moment)

As far as I know … I (totally) agree Can I say something?

Perhaps we should … I don‟t know about that

We could … I‟m afraid I don‟t agree

Rolecard A

Chairperson

You will lead the meeting Ask for participants‟opinions, encourage discussion

and help them reach agreement You must decide the following points concerning

the marketing of Worldbeater

1 Its selling price 3 Special offers for first purchase

2 Its target consumer 4 Advertising / promotion

Rolecard B

Participant

You have the following opinions concerning Worldbeater

- selling price : $240 approximately

- target consumer: professional players and serious clubplayers

- Special offer for first purchase : 30 free tennis ball

- advertising / promotion : special magazines such as Professional Tennis

Role-card C

Participant

You have the following opinions concerning Worldbeater

- selling price : $150

- rget consumer: ta all tennis players

- Special offer for first purchase : free tennis at a local club

- advertising / promotion : advertisements in national/ local newspapers and

- target consumer: all tennis players, all age groups

- Special offer for first purchase : a 20% discount off any Freestyle product

- advertising / promotion : endorsement contracts with famous players or film

stars

2 What do customer and supplier often negotiate?

3 What skills and qualities do you think a good negotiator has?

4 Do you think people should tell the complete truth when negotiating?

- contract disputes - labour disputes - trade disputes

 Match the headlines to the types of negotiations mentioned above:

C Negotiating scenario:

At the beginning of a negotiation, follow these steps:

1> Arrange these phrases Jose uses at the beginning of the negotiation in the correct order:

a As you all probably know, Mr Watanabe and I met at Aerospace Trade Fair in Frankfurt last year and we had a very interesting discussion about the possibility of our two companies working together

b I believe you‟re flying back on Friday evening, so that gives us three days I think two days should be enough to cover all the points On the third day, Friday, if we have an agreement, I‟ll ask our lawyers to finalize conditions for the contract with you

c Mr Watanabe, good to see you again How are you? Let me introduce my colleague: Sandra Lisboa, our chief purchasing officer

d Shall we go to the conference room and make a start?

e Well, we‟ve looked at the potential market for our new plane, and looks as if we will need 100 engines over the next three years

f Would you like some coffee or tea, or would you prefer juice? How was the flight?

2> Discussion: Discuss these questions with other members of your group:

a Is socializing an important pre-negotiation strategy in your country? What does this socializing typically consist of?

b What elements help you in judging whether you wish to negotiate with a particular person or group of people (e.g physical appearance, level of responsibility)? Or

do you consider such factors to be irrelevant?

A Reading

1 You are going to read about negotiating Before you read, check your understanding of the words and phrases(1-10) below by matching them with their definitions (a- j)

1 compromise a a description of a possible event in the future

2 concession b a useful piece of information or advice

3 counter-proposal c an agreement that settles an argument when people reduce

their demands in order to agree

4 deal point d an exchange involving giving up one thing to get something else

5 to leave something hanging e an individual item or element in a negotiation

6 parameters f an offer responding to somebody else‟s offer

7 scenario g fixed limits within which something can or must happen or be

done

8 to set something aside h to delay making (or to forget to make) a decision about

something

9 tip i to temporarily ignore or not think about a particular fact

10 trade-off j something which is accepted or given up by one side in

order to end a disagreement

2 Read the text by Eric J Adams, which gives advice about negotiating Which of the negotiating tips do you think is the most difficult to put into practice?