New insights into business wb

fe manufacturing sites stages in the manufacturing process people who work in a company types of business organisation different departments in a company 5 Match each of the words that y

Company Structures

Reading 1 Read the first paragraph of the text about MTS Systems Corporation and

complete the following ‘fact file’

a ‘My name's Bernard Levesque and I'm the Technical and Quality Manager at MTS in Paris and work within the MTD —

the Materials Testing Division, which makes equipment used by industrial firms to test the strength and durability of materials like plastics, metals and so forth We're a subsidiary of MTS Systems Corporation, an American firm based in Minneapolis MTS employs roughly 2,200 people worldwide and is a leading supplier of mechanical testing and

simulation equipment Our major development and manufacturing operations are located in the US, France and

Germany, and we have sales and service offices around the world

Before | describe the organisation of my department, I'l outline the structure from the top, starting with Werner

Ongyert, our CEO, who oversees all aspects of our activities here just below him is the General Manager, Jacques

Mordelet, who is my immediate superior Then there’s Sylviane Villaret, the Human Resources Director, and Genevieve Cornetti, the GM's Secretary, who also report directly ta him We have a management team that includes myself,

Dominique Faurieux, the Sales Manager, Jean-Francois Reinauld, the Finance Manager, and of course, Jacques

Mordelet, who is also the Marketing Manager There are also two new departments — Customer Service and NVD, the Noise and Vibration Division — headed by Louis Regnier and Patrick Dhommee respectively

Now, getting back to the way my department is organised, I'm responsible for operations, so I'm in charge of

Purchasing and Planning, R&D and Quality The Purchasing and Planning Department schedules production based on orders provided by the sales team and forecasts from the Marketing Department In R&D, there are three

sub-departments — Mechanical Engineering, Electronics, and Software Engineering — which are involved in developing new products and modifying existing products to meet customer demands They receive technical specifications from the Marketing Department and provide drawings, a parts list and assembly instructions Nathalie Launay works

closely with me on Quality — an area that takes up nearly a third of my time And finally there's the head of Shipping,

as well as the person in charge of Assembly, who also report to me,’

Company Structures @

customer

patent

subsidiary employee marketing purchase factory

4 Match the following definitions to the groups of three words that you identified above

fe manufacturing sites stages in the manufacturing process people who work in a company types of business organisation different departments in a company

5 Match each of the words that you circled with the following definitions

1

2

3

payment for work, usually monthly

an item that has been made

an organisation or club with members who share similar interests

a document that gives the exclusive right to make or sell a new product

a person who buys goods or services

unit one

Language Focus Present perfect and past simple

6 Complete the following company profile with either the present perfect or past simple tense of the verb in brackets

1995, when he was elected Procter & Gamble’s ninth Chairman and Chief

from managing the business under two geographic areas, US and International,

to four regions — North America, Latin America, Asia, and Europe/Middle

East/Africa

introduction and instant success of Tide laundry detergent in 1946, Procter &

product lines as well as new markets around the world The firm’s commitment

to innovation in technology 19 (help) Tide to remain their single largest brand over the years Perhaps the product that

disposable nappy which they 12 (launch) in 1961

As a result of their aggressive expansion policy, Procter & Gamble sales

its brands — to about five billion people around the world In 1998 sales

1 Domestic sales of toothpaste have raised by 4.5% over last year

risen (or increased / gone up)

2 Procter & Gamble increased its market share in the European personal care

category with the acquisition of the Blendax line of products

3 The consolidation of product development operations in Asia brought about a

reduce in the research and development staff

4 The candle part of the business saw a rapid decline after the electric light bulb was invented

5 The successful nationwide marketing campaign rose shampoo sales dramatically

6 With the introduction of refill packs for liquid laundry detergents, packaging was reduced by 85%

7 Consumption of traditional cotton nappies has dropped dramatically since the introduction of the disposable nappy

8 There was a 100% raise in business in South Africa in 1994

Company Structures §W

Writing 8 write a report on Mannesmann AG using the information below Your

report should contain three sections:

¢ general information

* history of the company

¢ changes in the group’s structure

For the latest information on Mannesmann AG, visit their

web site http://www.mannesmann.com

Mannesmann core business sectors and percentage of total sales

Engineering 35%

Headquarters move to Diisseldorf

Establish steel and tube mills

in Brazil, Canada and Turkey

Foundation of Mannesmann Mobilfunk Gmb, a cellular phone company

Dr Klaus Esser becomes Chairman

Telecommunicotions 24%

Acquisition of companies related to steel tube manufacturing

Acquisition of Fichtel & Sachs AG, an automotive technology firm

Establish first private communications network D2 in Germany

A comparison of the jobs pages of The

Times of London, Le Monde of Paris

and Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung suggests not

First, what UK job seekers consider

~ an essential piece of information ~

what the post pays — is absent from French and German adverts It is often left to applicants to raise this themselves In contrast, most British advertisements mention not only salary, but also other material incentives including a car and fringe benefits French or German advertisements rarely refer to these

The attention given to rewards in the

UK indicates the importance of the job and its responsibility In France and Germany, that infarmation is given by the level of experience and qualifications demanded Salary can be assumed to correspond with this

If French and German adverts are

vague about material rewards, they are precise about qualifications They usually demand ‘a degree in , not

simply ‘a degree’, In Germany, for example, a technical director for a machine tool company will be expected to have a Dipl-ing degree in Mechanical Engineering

International Management (adapted)

ee Ra

| Job Ads: Reading Between the Lines

SPOR ee Hee SHH ESE HEHHOHHESEHHSEREOODEH SO TEHEHEH HHO ESO OEESEEOHHH ODES EERE EEE

French advertisements go further

They may specify not just the type of grande école degree, but sometimes a particular set of — institutions {Formation supérieure X, Centrale, Mines, HEC, ESSEC), these being the most famous grandes écoles

All this contrasts with the vague call for ‘graduates’ (or ‘graduate preferred’) which is found in the UK

British companies often give the impression that they have a particular type of applicant in mind, but are not sure about the supply and will

Their wording suggests hope and uncertainty, as in this advertisement from The Times:

“Whilst educational standards are consider others

obviously important, a large measure

of personal oomph’ is likely to secure the success of your application

In the UK qualifications beyond degree level make employers nervous, but in France or Germany it is difficult

to be ‘overqualified’, Many people on German boards doctorates and the French regard five

executive have

or six years of intensive post- baccafauréat study at a grand école as ideal training British managers are not

their selected primarily for intelligence, as managers are in France, of for their expert knowledge, as in Germany Instead, the British give importance to social, political and leadership skills,

* oomph = enthusiasm

** racy = bold, exciting

1 Read the following text which explains how job advertisements differ in three European countries

This difference also shows in the personal qualities mentioned British advertisements stress energy, ability

to communicate and motivate German advertisements like achievement, but it tends to be less personality-driven German companies want candidates with sound knowledge, experience and competence in their field They rarely

British employers French advertisements recruit novices as do refer more to intellectual qualities like analytical aptitude and independence Even the tone of the job advertisements is different in the three countries By French and German standards, British

advertisements are very racy** They

attract young with challenges such as:‘Are you reaching

executives

your potential?’, whereas French and German advertisements are boringly direct, aiming to give information about the job rather than to sell it All this points to three different conceptions of management The French regard it as intellectually complex, the Germans as technically

British as interpersonally complex But they complex, and the

agree on one thing: it’s complex

Jean-Louis Barsoux

1 fringe benefits

2 education

3 stages in recruiting

4A personal qualities

5 people looking for work

11

Language Focus

12

Present simple and present continuous

3 Read the following interview with Margi Bogart, Product Marketing Manager

at Mindsteps, Inc Put the verbs in brackets into the present simple or present continuous tense

MINDSTEPS"

“11 work (work) for Mindsteps, Inc., a start-up firm located in

Silicon Valley that 2 (develop) human resources management software for large corporations that

5 (have) at least 2,500 employees Currently, we

4 (market) our main product called CareerSteps, which is a software program that s (help)

employees to assess their interests, values, and skills in order

to create a career development plan More and more corporations ¢ (buy) CareerSteps as a cost- effective solution to the issues that human resources departments 7 (face) such as staff turnover, motivating workers, and increasing employee productivity

Thanks to the success of an initial pilot, this year Hewlett-

Fackard ° (make) CareerSteps available to

125,000 of their employees around the world As the Product

Marketing Manager, | 2 (coordinate) the planning

efforts for the product An important aspect of my job

a (involve) making sure the product

2 (meet) the marketing requirements once it is completed At the moment, | ø (contact) potential clients and % (work) on the marketing requirements for the next version of our product On Tuesday, we

8 (present) the innovative features of the new version of CareerSteps to our main customers.”

Listening

Recruitment

4 EET vou will hear five extracts from a job interview Decide which of the questions below are answered in each extract Be careful — three of the questions are not answered!

f What is your current job?

What are your long-term career goals?

What part of the job do you least enjoy?

What are the most important rewards you expect from your career?

Why do you think you would be good at this job?

What would you say has been your greatest achievement so far?

What have you done that shows initiative?

What do you think of working as part of a group?

Previous experience: worked for 2 Productions Learnt various

aspects of the ? process

Current position: + at Nomad Productions Has worked there for * years Sometimes does the job of the ¢

Dislikes checking 7 Prefers co-ordinating ä

8 and resolving 9

13

Retailing

Reading 1 Read the text about a controversial customer service programme at Safeway,

a major American supermarket chain Choose the best sentence (A-I) from the

list opposite to complete each gap

A US Grocer’s Embrace of Customer Service

afeway launched its Superior Service Program about five years ago Among its rules:

Make eye contact with the

customer, smile, greet him or her,

offer samples of products, make

suggestions about other possible

purchases that could go with the items

being bought, and accompany them to

locate items they cannot find !

To encourage staff to follow the

rules, Safeway employs an

undisclosed number of “mystery

shoppers” whose job is to act like

regular customers 2 Workers

who do well earn a chance at winning

$500 worth of company stock, and

managers whose workers are

extremely friendly can receive

as much angst* among the sales staff

as Safeway’s has It has also had some unexpected side effects 4 There have been complaints by female workers in California who say

misinterpreted their friendliness and, according to some Safeway workers, the whole program is contributing to growing morale problems among the

Tn recent interviews, half a dozen

Safeway workers said the rigid implementation of the Superior Service Program has left some workers feeling so overstressed that they quit > -

Some workers said they had been penalized for not smiling even though they felt they could not One woman said she was marked down by mystery shoppers when she was going through a painful divorce

The policy of leading customers to

a product they cannot find also causes some problems, workers said 6 Lonely elderly people in particular,

they said, sometimes seek to be

accompanied for an extended period, even through their entire shopping list

Some cynical workers call it smile school; others call it clown school

Some shoppers seem to enjoy directing workers around the store

The sampling policy is being abused by some shoppers

They believe the program has resulted in increased sales

They grade workers on a 19-point scorecard, and the results affect the performance evaluations of the worker and his/her managers

There have been debates on the Internet and among customers about false and genuine friendliness

It also includes thanking shoppers by name at the checkout by using

a wide variety of products

variety of different stores in the same location

15

Language Focus Make and do

3 Complete the sentences below with the correct form of make or do and a noun from the box

suggestions loss research mistake plans money their best decision complaint business

1 Price is not the only thing customers consider when making a decision about

which product to buy

2 Since the early 1980s, many manufacturers have

into developing environmentally-friendly products

3 Many retailers have extended opening hours and some are now even

on Sundays

some frozen foods on sale at our store

6 Customers receive a questionnaire in which they are invited to

about new products that they would like to see on sale

introducing products that carry their own brand name

into other countries

customers are satisfied

and overcharged her for the CD player

16

Retailing @

t g

Wr ran 4 You work as a retail consultant and were asked by the head office of Wright's

Supermarket to conduct a customer survey at their branch in olchester k 3 in C¡

following a numb, n er of complaints Writ ivi

complaints and your recommendations © a report giving details of the

Customer survey — Wright's Supermarket, Colchester 19 March

400 people interviewed (at various times)

Complaints

4 Opening hours

— store often dosed at quarter to7 butsays? —> admit people up to 7+ make

on door

announcement 5 mins before closing

— doesn't open until 10 - people can’t buy things ——> do another survey

to find out the best

on the way to work

time to open

2 Product availability and quality

- things like bread and milk not left at the —————>

review stocking procedures

— some products past their sell-by date

3 Customer service

programme

— shop assistants don't know where things are (employee of the month award?)

— cashiers never put shopping in bags

Units 1-3

Reading Read the article below about a company employee

In most of the lines 1-12 there is one extra word It is either grammatically

incorrect or does not fit in with the sense of the text Some lines, however, are

correct

If a line is correct, write CORRECT

If there is an extra word in the line write the extra word in capital letters The exercise begins with two examples,(0) and (00)

00 LAST

LOUIS GILLET AT WORK

0 Louis Gillet has worked as a Quality Control Manager at the Paris office of

00 Unibond, the plastics manufacturer, for over last 12 years Unibond is a subsidiary of Unibond Corporation, a US firm which based in Detroit.As a result of the company’s aggressive expansion policy, and sales reached €7.| million in 1999 Since then the number of full-time employees at Unibond Corporation has been risen by approximately 200% The company now

I

2

3

4

5 does employs roughly 1,000 staff Its major development operations are

6 located in the UK and France Louis is currently at working in the company’s

7 London office, where he is in the charge of a team involved in Research and

8 Development Compared to French standards, Louis finds that the UK office

9 is much more like informal and he feels he can speak to his superiors without

10 — any of problems Louis says ‘l enjoy learning about the different ways

II of working France may be close to the UK, geographically, but in business

12 things are not very similar, especially in terms of what people are expect

w- Introduction pages 2-3 (BEC Vantage Reading 5)

18

a to be successful Asda has had to keep changing

b many staff have worked for Asda for over a decade

c Asda has introduced new staff contracts

2 The main reason for Asda’s success is its

a efficient processes and systems

b highly-qualified team of senior managers

¢ focus on good communication throughout the company

3 David says that Asda has

a a fiat management structure

b more staff than other UK supermarkets

¢ good relationships with its suppliers

4 What does David say about meetings at Asda?

a Meetings are often held in the canteen

b Team meetings take place every week

c Participants do not sit down at meetings

5 Asda’s senior managers visit stores regularly

a to see if staff are following procedures correctly

b to find out what staff think about the company

c to check new staff have settled in well

6 What is a benefit of working for Asda?

a Employees receive a store discount

b Childcare is organised for employees’ children

c All employees can take part in free legal courses

7 Asda stores receive money to spend on

a parties for staff

b anything they want

c office equipment

8 What happens in all Asda stores at the start of the day?

a Employees all have breakfast together

b The CEO has a meeting with senior staff members

c Feedback is given on how the company and branch are doing

be Introduction pages 2-3 (BEC Vantage Listening 3)

19

3 Now listen to what the recruitment officer says in response to one of the journalist’s follow-up questions Which follow-up question do you think the recruitment officer was asked?

>i Look at the notes below

You will hear a telephone conversation about a job advertisement

Write one or two words or a number in the numbered spaces on the notes below

Notes on job advert Post vacant: |

Salary: £32,000

_ Fringe benefit(s): °

Post specifications: degree in’

preferred Excellent *

Writing You work in the Customer Services Department of a large retail company Your

boss has asked you to give a short presentation to your colleagues about a recent

customer survey

Write a note to your boss:

* agreeing to give the presentation

* outlining what you will speak about

* suggesting a date for the event

Write 40-50 words

be — Introduction pages 2-3 (BEC Vantage Writing 1)

21

Review:.units 1-3

22

Reading Look at the statements below and the advice given by a Human Resources

Manager

Which section (A, B, C or D) does each statement 1-7 refer to?

For each statement 1-7, mark one letter (A, B, € or D) You will need to use some of these letters more than once

1 the relevance of your previous work experience

2 the best time to ask financial questions

3 the importance of preparing your questions for an interview

4 the need to show you are a team player

5 the kind of research you can do before the interview

6 the importance of showing that you know a lot about the company

OOOOOOO

“I the most appropriate types of questions to select

A Imagine the situation It is nearly the end of your hour-long interview, when

you are asked if you would like to ask any questions What do you say? Well, most people just say the first thing that comes into their heads, which does not always impress the interviewers A few minutes spent thinking about, and even making notes on, the questions you would like to ask can ensure that you make a good impression during the interview

B You may want to ask about aspects such as the salary, fringe benefits and

bonus scheme that the company is offering, but I recommend that you try not to ask questions like these straight away It is much better to leave these

until the end of the interview Instead, at the start ask questions that show

your interest in the company and why you think that you would be good at the job advertised

C Before the interview find out about the company’s latest products or services

so you can then ask detailed questions about them in the interview For example, you could ask about the company’s current marketing campaign for one of their successful products The interviewers will be impressed that you are so familiar with what they do

D Ask about opportunities to get involved in different areas of the business Being flexible and versatile is important in all aspects of business life Ask whether you will be expected to collaborate on projects and then show how people-orientated you are Give lots of examples to demonstrate how you

have worked successfully as part of different groups in the past

B= Introduction pages 2-3 (BEC Vantage Reading 1)

Review: units 1-3

Writin You are a Human Resources Director for a plastics company Your boss has asked p

you to give a presentation about your company to a group of visitors next week Write an e-mail to your boss:

* agreeing to give the presentation

* saying what you will talk about

* suggesting a location for the event

Write 40-50 words

Reading T Read these replies to some questions about The Sport Shoe franchising

program, and complete the gaps with the phrases from the box

franchise agreement direct financing

The average ranges between $250,000 and $400,000 depending on the size of the store This figure

includes the franchise fee of $25,000 for a neighborhood store or $100,000 for an Expo location (over 10,000sq.ft.} Also

included in the fees are estimated costs for: real estate/rent; utility deposit; leasehold improvements; initial inventory;

insurance; Grand Opening advertising; signage; working capital

No, The Sport Shae® does not provide for you We do have business relationships with various

financial institutions These institutions have a working knowledge of our franchise program and can assist you with your

financing needs

The continuing services, or , equals 4% of the gross sales derived from the franchise business This

fee entitles you to the continued use of The Sport Shoe® name and trademark, and all the benefits that come with being

part of the The Sport Shoe® organization

You buy your directly from vendors such as Nike, Reebok, Adidas, etc The Sport Shoe® will

assist you in opening your vendor accounts and our buyers will assist you in making your buying decisions

Once a site has been selected, The Sport Shoe® will provide you with a(n} consistent with The Sport

Shoe® concept and a fixture inventory sheet You will purchase these items directly from the appropriate supplier

Building name recognition of The Sport Shoe® will be an important part of your franchise business You will be required

to spend $10,000 on Grand Opening advertising during your first 60 days of operation After the Grand Opening you are

required to spend a minimum of 4% a month of the on such advertising as print, radio, TV, direct

mail, etc

You and your designated employee will participate in an initial that will include classroom and

in-store training The classes will provide instruction on store operations, personnel policies, merchandising, and

accounting During your first week of business a trained representative of The Sport Shoe® will provide additional on

site training with your employees

Once your application is approved, the signed, and the franchise fee is paid, you can expect it to

take as long as six to eight months to be ready to open The Sport Shoe® will do whatever is necessary to help you

expedite the process

Vocabulary

Franchising @

2 Now read the questions and match them with the replies

How much is the fee for continuing support services?

What about store design and fixtures?

How long does it take to open a The Sport Shoe® franchise?

Does The Sport Shoe® offer financial assistance?

How much training will I receive?

What about advertising?

How do I get my opening inventory?

What is the anticipated start-up cost for a The Sport Shoe® store?

- Receives a small percentage of total sales

Pays an initial fee of $25,000

Provides marketing assistance

Seeks individuals with business qualifications

Buys inventory directly from suppliers

Offers assistance in opening vendor accounts

Runs training courses for store employees

Has a minimum of $250,000 cash to invest

Must cover monthly advertising expenses

oO Does not charge for renewing the franchising agreement

4 Make nouns by adding a suffix (-ity, -ness, -ment, -tion) to the words below

You should also make any necessary spelling changes

5 Complete the sentences below with the nouns from Exercise 4

consumers is fuelling the expansion of the home video rental industry

shop

exercise has led to an increase in gym franchises

4 Franchisers will only consider candidates who can make an initial

of at least $85,000

5 Employees who take initiative and constantly seek ways to improve service are

6 Some companies have on-site exercise facilities as they believe that physical

plays an important role in the well-being of the employees

often have to do whatever is needed to be successful

world faster, more convenient and less expensive

25

Language Focus

26

Adverbs

6 Complete the passage below with the adverbs in the box

By the time the shop opens, the bakery staff have 1 already prepared the daily supply of muffins, sweet American-style cakes, which are popular with our early- morning customers who 2 come in for a coffee and snack on their way to work After the morning rush, we start making a selection of fresh sandwiches for the lunchtime crowd We are 3 testing the popularity of a new line of hot Italian-style sandwiches called ‘panini’ Mid- afternoon, when business slows down, | + spend an hour or two checking supplies and placing orders for the next day 5 our sales have risen considerably, probably as a result of the ads we’ve been running

in the local newspaper If business continues to grow at the same pace, we may

/ Used to do; used to doing

7 Read the following sentences and decide if the underlined expression is cor- rect If it is correct, put a tick (“) in the space provided If it is incorrect, write the correction

1 Customers are used to getting speedy service, so 1 sometimes have to handle counter sales when we get a rush ⁄

2 Laura Pyke was used to work as an accountancy teacher at a smal] business college before she became the owner of a Big Apple Bagels franchise

3 When my husband and I first started our franchise, I wasn’t used to working such long hours and at the weekends, but I’ve learnt to manage my time more

efficiently

4 Filter coffee used to be our best-selling drink, but people now prefer Italian-style

cappuccinos and caffe lattes

5 How much time did you used to spend doing the accounts before you invested in

a personal computer?

6 Mary didn't use to get much satisfaction from her nine-to-five office job, so she

decided to set up her own business

Franchising @

Listening 8 ©3 You will hear Quentin Halliday talking about some of the problems that

a franchisee has to face Listen and decide if the following statements are true (T) or false (F)

=

Being a franchisee is not the same as running your own business

2 A stubborn person who does not like following orders would be an ideal franchisee

3 Franchisees can lose their franchise if they do not follow the

company policies

5 Owning a franchise is an easy way to make a lot of money fast

6 Franchisers will provide loans to franchisees that are having financial troubles

7 Hiring and keeping reliable employees is often a challenge for franchisees

8 Franchisees must be willing to work long hours and do any job that

needs to be done

27

A leader should be a good teacher and communicator LÌ

A leader must manage time and use it effectively

A leader must have technical competence

A leader must provide vision

A leader must be visible and approachable

A leader should be introspective

A leader should be dependable

A leader should be open-minded

LILILILILILILILI

A leader should have a sense of humour

1 In large organisations, leaders should spend no more than four hours a day

in their offices The rest of the time, they should be out with their people, talking to lower-level employees and getting their feedback on problem areas They should be making short speeches and handing out awards They should be travelling widely throughout their organisations

2 The best leaders are those whose minds are never closed and who are eager

to deal with new issues Leaders should not change their minds too frequently after a major decision has been made, but if they never reconsider, they are beginning to show a degree of rigidity and inflexibility that creates problems for the organisation

3 Executives must take a disciplined approach to their schedules, their post,

their telephone calls, their travel schedules and their meetings Staying busy and working long hours are not necessarily a measurement of leadership effectiveness

4 Leaders may run efficient organisations, but they do not really serve the long-term interests of the institution unless they plan, set goals and provide strategic perception

5 The leader must be willing to pass on skills, to share insights and

experiences, and to work very closely with people to help them mature and

be creative

6 Leaders should let people know that life is not so important that you can’t sit back occasionally and be amused by what is happening Laughter can be

a great reliever of tension

7 Reliability is something that leaders must have in order to provide stability and strength to organisations Leaders must be willing to be flexible but consistency and coherence are important elements of large organisations

8 Leaders must not only understand the major elements of their businesses but must also keep up with any changes

9 Leaders should be able to look at themselves objectively and analyse where they have made mistakes and where they have disappointed people

International Business Styles 7

Vocabulary 2 Read the following passage and choose the correct word from A, B or C to

fill each gap

Recent research at business schools in the USA has shown that traditional

management styles are rapidly becoming obsolete In the traditional model, senior management exercises its 1 to ensure that

company 3 However, in today’s rapidly evolving

something that all managers will have to live with and adapt to In the modern digital organisation > is no longer restricted

to senior managers, and employees are not expected to blindly

complexity of business, managers have had to 7 tasks to people at lower levels and to # them to take the necessary decisions It has become a systern where what you achieve, in other words your 9 , is what determines not only the respect that other people in the organisation have for you but also how you are 10 for the work that you accomplish As one manager puts it, Today you have to be very careful about what you say to someone who works for you because tornorrow that same person could be

your boss!’

29

unit five

Language Focus _ The imperative

3 Ingrid Kloren is the Human Resources Director of a major multinational group She has just completed a pilot project on electronic or ‘remote’

teamworking and has written the following memo to other human resources managers within the group Complete the memo using the imperative forms of the verbs in the box In some cases you will need to use the negative

To: The managers of all HR departments From: Ingrid Kloren, Human Resources Director Date: 23 March

Subject: Guidelines for remote teamworking

As you are all aware, we have been conducting an international pilot project on using electronic media for teamworking Although I will shortly be forwarding a complete report on this project, | have laid out below some general guidelines, based on this experience, for managers who may already be involved in similar projects

1 Make sure that you arrange for face-to-face meetings to take place before the start of the project in order to establish relationships

2 clear objectives for the team to achieve

3 in constant contact with your team by e-mail, voicemail and telephone conferencing

4 video conferencing more than is necessary as experience shows that some team members may find this intimidating

§ time to talk to people individually to find out if they have any problems They may not otherwise volunteer this information

6 virtual meetings at times that are inconvenient for participants living in different time zones

7 your approach to be automatically superior to that of other team members who are often experts in their national markets

8 people for failing to achieve objectives as this can discourage creativity

9 as much support and advice as you can

10 particular attention to relationships and to different national styles of conducting business

1 team members to accept individual responsibility within the group

2 the flow of information only to-certain people as others will feel :

18 training courses so that everyone is familiar with the different : communication systems

14 a feeling of community and common identity

| hope that these guidelines will prove useful and will enhance performance in virtual teams

5 me here at HQ if you have any queries concerning this project and

16 me know if you would like to take part in the virtual teamworking forum that we will be organising in June:

Writing

international Business Styles i

Adjectives and nouns of nationality

4 Complete each sentence below with an adjective or a noun of nationality, using the information in the accompanying passages

1

10

Packard Bell has already taken a significant share of the US computer market and has performed better, in some areas, than its main national rivals Compaq and Apple

Compaq, Apple and Packard Bell are American computer companies

Nordak is currently recruiting a senior manager who will head up the UK office

of its first foreign subsidiary

The shares of Heineken NV have reached a record level in their home market in Amsterdam, Holland

Whenever we set up a foreign subsidiary, we always make sure that it is managed by someone from the country concerned That will be the case with

our new operation in Finland

Our new subsidiary will be managed by a The authorities in Japan now allow foreign firms to manage investment funds

on the Tokyo market

This year we have decided not to attend the trade fair in Milan as the date coincides with a similar but more important event in Vienna in Austria

We will be attending the trade fair

Our main markets are Eastern Europe and North America However, we also do some business with Portugal

Although our company was originally from Sweden, four years ago we transferred all of our operations to Switzerland

Next year the presidency of the commission will be taken by Spain

The commission’s new president will be a The country is one of the most attractive destinations for business investment

in the EU and its capital, Dublin, has excellent facilities

5 Ingrid Kloren has asked Stephanie Yates, the Senior Training Manager in her department, to send an e-mail to HR managers on the subject of the foram on virtual teamworking (see memo in Exercise 3) The e-mail should include the provisional date, time and venue of the conference and incorporate the following notes which Ingrid gave to Stephanie

conference or attend in person Each HR dept to forward list of possible

speakers to me Any queries contact you or me

31

where money lives

The worldwide access you desire with the control ‘you need : Open a Citibank Current Account and you'll benefit from a package of financial products and services that will change your expectations of a bank

1 We'll put you more firmly in control of your finances by giving you unparalleled access to your money

Citibank’s state-of-the-art technology removes traditional banking limitations of time and location and gives you free 24-hour telephone access to your money 2

As a result, you’ll enjoy the benefits of the world’s most global banking group, whether you are in your home, your high street, on holiday or on business

There are currently 22 million people in over 40 countries around the world who enjoy the Citibank difference 3

International Currency Accounts

If you travel often, invest internationally or you are an expatriate, we have personal Current Accounts in US Dollars, Sterling and Euro to help you manage your financial affairs more efficiently

Whether you want to pay in US Dollars on your regular trips abroad, or you want to avoid hefty transaction charges when you send cheques to the US, or you simply want to save on currency exchange costs, the US Dollar Account is for you 4

24-hour free telephone banking with CiiPhone Banking

Short of making deposits or cash withdrawals, CitiPhone lets you conduct business

conveniently over the phone 5 You have a choice of methods, a touch-tone phone will speed you through automated procedures, or CitiPhone Bankers are on hand if you prefer the personal touch

Total control of your finances, anytime, anywhere World Wide Wishful-thinking?

With Citibank’s Internet Banking, you can access your Citibank Account from almost anywhere you have access to the Internet 6 Change a standing order Download your account details Transfer funds between your Citibank Accounts And you'll see your balance change instantly

At Citibank we re-not just content-with giving you total control of your `

finances, worldwide, 365 days a year; plus no fees - with us your finances

are productive as: well

Vocabulary

Banking §M

A Call free in the UK or around the world 24 hours a day, 365 days a year

B Alternatively, use our free Internet Banking or withdraw cash from over

350,000 cashpoints worldwide

C Full additional overdraft facilities are available to you based on your personal! net worth and individual requirements

D You can pay bills

E Our service is based on a simple promise

F This account gives you the ability to buy, borrow, save and transfer funds

in Euro, and still withdraw cash in the local currencies

G We have harnessed the latest technology to deliver an easier, and more

accessible banking service

H We think you'll enjoy it too

You will always have the power of the world’s most international currency when you travel on business or pleasure

Replace the words in italics with expressions from Exercise 2

cashpoints around the world

current account balance

Just fill out and return the application form or call a Citibank Representative to

set up a banking arrangement

Citibank branches and Citicard Banking Centres

account to another quickly and easily

All you need is a modem or Internet connection to transfer account information onto your personal computer

Just by using the key pad on your phone, CitiPhone Banking lets you

settle invoices from wherever you are

The Citibank Euro Account allows you to buy products

in local currencies without paying any exchange rates

33

unÏit sỉx

Language Focus First and second conditional

4 put the verbs in brackets into the appropriate conditional form, using the information given

1 You have a £500 overdraft and have just received a letter from the bank asking

you to reduce this by £200 by the end of the month, or they will start legal proceedings against you

If you de not realuce (not reduce) your overdraft, the bank uziff start (start) legal

proceedings

2 One of your clients has written to you applying for a personal loan However, she has not included enough information about her financial situation for you

to decide whether or not to approve the loan

(be able to) make a decision

3 You have just received a selection of press articles about your bank Two of them are in German Unfortunately Jack Wubben, who is the only person in the office who speaks German, is on holiday

If Jack Wubben (be) here, he (translate) the

articles

4 For the second year running, the results of your bank have been very

disappointing

5 One of your major business clients has just hinted that it may change banks unless you arrange more favourable credit terms

(lose) one of your best customers

6 Abank representative has just refused your request for a £2,000 loan because

you do not have enough money in your savings account

If you (have) more money in your account, the bank

(lend) you the £2,000

7 Your bank manager has just told you that she can only lend you £5,000 to enable you to buy a new car The car you want costs £11,000 and you only have

£4,000 of your own money available

(not be able to) buy it

8 You have recently applied for a transfer from your present job in London to another position with the company’s Scottish subsidiary

move house to Edinburgh

9 You are making arrangements with your bank for a holiday in Italy next month

10 A friend has invited you to join her as a partner in a new business venture You feel that you do not have the necessary experience

her offer

11 You are talking to a customer who has asked you to replace a lost credit card for the fifth time

‘If you (lose) your card again in the future, I’m afraid that the

34

Banking

Listening 5 You will hear Bertrand Soleil speaking about his personal on-line

banking experiences Listen and decide if the statements below are true (T) or

He doesn’t read the printed account statements that the bank sends him

He can use on-line banking to buy shares

He consults his accounts several times a week

“` One of the on-line services he finds most useful is access to a five-year

It’s not possible to transfer money to other people’s accounts

He has to go to the bank to arrange loans

He usually communicates with his account manager by e-mail

Review

Units 4-6

Reading Read the article below about franchising your business

Choose the best sentence to fill each of the gaps

For each gap 1-5 mark one letter (A-G)

Do not use any letter more than once

There is an example at the beginning, (0)

Franchising your business

sells the right to operate a business, using the same

format, name, brand and trademark.as the ‘franchiser’

This is whether it involves providing a product or a service

9 G While the franchisee is essentially self-employed

and owns the individual unit, they must operate the business

according to the terms of the franchise agreement and to the

procedures set out in the franchise operating manuals

Franchisees also pay for continuing support from the owner of the

business system: ! Payment.is often a proportion of

turnover l

There are a number of advantages of franchising a business

Firstly, franchisees invest their own capital.in the business, and

effectively pay the start-up costs for each individual outlet This

means that the capital cost to the franchiser of expansion is

reduced Using the financial resources of individual franchisees

also means a company can expand more rapidly via franchising

In addition to the individual fee, the franchiser receives an

ongoing income from the franchisee

As the network grows, the franchiser can benefit from

increased buying power, enabling products and: services to be

purchased on improved terms 2 Such reductions in

costs are possible because many of the functions usually provided

by a Central Head, Office are carried out locally by franchisees

Problems with recruiting staff, for example, become the

responsibility of individual franchisees Franchisees, who have

their own capital invested, are generally more motivated and

T he term ‘franchising’ refers to a system where a company

cominitted “to the success of the individual business than employed managers 3 Their ideas can, of course,

then go on to bertefit-the whole network

As we ‘have just seen, there are many advantages of franchising a business, However, it is important to note that it is not always as straightforward as.it might seem at first It’s important for someone thinking of franchising a business to think through all the issues involved first For example, while it is true that it generally costs less to establish a franchisé operation than

it does a-compariy-owned network, it is not true that franchising

a business neéds little capital 4 The franchiser needs to: put up money for developing the package, recruiting and training franchisees and then providing the necessary support In addition, there is often little profit in the early stages until the

franchisees have had thie chance to build up their businesses

The franchiser alsq has less flexibility regarding the future development of the business as lie or she is locked into franchise

agreements ‘lasting a qmbeT of years 5_ — The

franchiser needs to draw up a detailed list of criteria against which to judge all prospective franchisees — ranging from their financial ‘position to: the ‘state of their health! Although the franchisee is obliged to operate the business following the terms

of the agréement, the franchiser will have less control over

franchisees’ activities than they would over employed managers: And’a- final issue.to consider is that if a franchiser wants: to terminate the franchise agreement, it will be much more difficult than getting rid of an employee:

F The franchiser saves on personnel and administrative costs

G Each outlet within a franchise network is owned and run by a ‘franchisee’

— Introduction pages 2-3 (BEC Vantage Reading 2)

36

Review: units 4-6

Writing You work for Altrex, an international company You have just received a fax and

conference programme Look at the fax and conference programme, on which you have already made some handwritten notes Then, using all your

handwritten notes, write a letter to Janet Morrison

Write 120-140 words

If you do not receive all the pages, please telephone us on 0207-968 1423

A_ Improving your decision-making B

12:30-13:30 Lunch

13:30-15:00 Seminars (choose one)

What are they about?

C Providing vision 15:00-15:30 Tea

37

38

Write one or two words or a number in the numbered spaces on the notes below

24 c3

Yop RRR RoR oy fe te de

Seminars: i price per seminar: ° : topics include: advertising and purchasing *

Give reference number: ° to receive discount

a Call Cynthia Fost to confirm new meeting time

Review: units 4-6

Writing You are a team leader at a multinational company Your team has taken part in

a pilot project on remote teamworking You would now like to hold a meeting

to present the project’s findings

Write a memo to your team:

* saying where and when the meeting will take place

* giving the objective of the meeting

¢ asking staff to confirm whether they can attend

Review: units 4-6

Reading Read the article about on-line banking

Choose the best word to fill each gap from A, B, C or D

For each question 1-15, mark one letter (A, B, C or D)

The growth in on-line banking

More and more people in this country are choosing to do their personal banking on-line, But what can on-line banking offer that other types of banking can’t?

Firstly, by banking on-line you are not ! to a bank’s opening hours You can 2 your bank account 24 hours a day, whenever it suits you ? money from a savings account to a

4 account, opening an account or seeing how much interest you have earned, will take you just a few seconds Compare that with the time you need to ° to your local bank, queue up and carry out your §

On-line banking offers you numerous other services, from buying shares, to ” deposits, to

ordering cheque books, to paying bills For many people a ® useful feature of this kind of

banking is the fact that you have ° to a large database, which contains details of all your

accounts and the business you have done over the years

All you need is an Internet connection to download the financial data onto your PC You may not

be able to '° cash on-line As we have seen, though, on-line banking does offer many other

n So, are there still times when you might want to pop into the local 12 of your bank? Apparéntly there are According to a recent survey, for many people 3 of personal data

is still a concern They don’t like giving too much information about their finances in e-mails Some people prefer to meet their own bank manager when !“ with large sums of money, when [ots of

paperwork is involved, or when they want to negotiate a bank '° or overdraft facilities

Introduction pages 2-3 (BEC Vantage Reading 4)

40

Writing

Manegen Me Alon Higheraith Bank, where you are assistant to the Branch

; , lighsmith Your boss has just given you this 1 1 ett

with Look at the letter and other information, on which you have already

made some handwritten notes di de “ {‹ Then, en, usin: usỉ g all our hand: Vi written notes, write tt tes, te a

Write 120-140 words

15 Laurel Avenue

Lauriston

Mr Alan Highsmith Branch Manager National Credit Bank

509 Clinton Street

Lauriston

Apalogise - ne’e a valuable

cugtomer and nag been with

us for ages

Nov 6th, 2000

Dear Mr Highsmith Following the recent telephone conversation that I had with Mrs Henry, Tam confirming the complaint that I made to her concerning the €100 overdraft charge that your bank has mistakenly debited from my account

As | explained to her on the phone, my account has in fact always been in credit

Therefore J can see no reason why J should have to pay for a mistake which must have been made by the bank

She promised that she would look into the problem and get back to me However,

1 have heard nothing from her since Consequently I have decided to forward this official complaint by registered post

Thope that you will be able to rectify the situation as soon as possible Could you please confirm in writing that my account has been credited with the equivalent sum

Awaiting your reply

che'e been off sick so the message Wasn't passed on ~

Howard Chase

Yours sincerely,

Send Wim two Hekets for the

Opening of Khe Wackson Pollock

exibition thot we are sponsoring,

to make Up Lor ik

be Introduction pages 2-3 (BEC Vantage Writing 2)

41

Director of B&Q, a British Do-it-Yourself retailer

1 Replace the words in brackets with an appropriate word from the box

A

Whilst our day-to-day running of the business doés have an environmental Ÿ

1 (the effect of one thing on another), ệ the 2 (difficult questions or problems) with our products were, i and still are, far greater

Business and the Environment @

Sunday newspaper ‘How much tropical 4 timber does B&Q stock?' Unable to answer | the question, the obvious interpretation by Whilst B&Q has stores in the United the journalist was ‘If you don’t know, you Kingdom our fingerprint extends across the don’t care.’ We did care and we knew that world, In the Philippines, people in coastal many of our staff cared and most important villages are collecting shells to make

of all, our customers cared 2 : lampshades in India, there are hundreds of

a looms in cottage units in which our door

This is our third environmental review The — mats and hand knotted rugs are made

first ‘How Green is my Hammer?’ was 5 *

‘How Green is my Front Door?’ was — we launched vote s— : published in July 1995 This report covers a! programme tor store

progress to October 1998 Sonporing stores’ — its success has been

As the title suggests, all the reviews focus We also recognise th 7 h

on the products we sell 3 Many of Ta HH cognise that our stores have a the issues were not obvious and were only nh impact on the local communities realised after considerable investigation oth during their planning and

For example, brass door handles were ï l Tin ÿ construction, but also the subsequent running of the store This includes made in appalling working conditions in ddressi l ber of th India, solvents or Volatile Organic - addressing Our role as a member of local community and the issues associated the : Compounds (VOCs) in paint contributed to with the design and impact of our stores

Vocabulary 3 Use the correct form of the words in the box to complete the sentences

below

4 This particular product is not suitable for use inside the home

We have found that in many countries, suppliers do not understand the

for managing the resources that they use

5 When designing packaging that can be recycled, it is sometimes necessary to use the services of who can advise on the best ways to do this

6 Although selling green products can help to protect the environment, it must

7 Research shows that consumers would like to see more companies making a

air pollution

43

unit seven

Language Focus Expressing contrast

A Read the following passage and choose the correct word from A, B or C to fill each gap

Anita Roddick, the founder of The Body Shop, has recently added her voice

to the campaign to promote the use of hemp as a substitute for various

man-made substances 1 Although hemp in fact belongs to the same plant

group as marijuana, it has none of the narcotic effects of its close relative

stimulate interest in the plant and to persuade the farming community to

grow it commercially, it is still illegal under British law to actually plant hemp seeds

4 hemp is no longer used in Western Europe, it is still a

common and valuable raw material in many other regions of the world

where it provides the basis for a whole variety of products ranging from

entirely biodegradable and therefore does not contribute to the planet’s waste problem & some of the materials that it could

replace, like nylon, hemp requires no energy-intensive production process

to turn it into something you can use or wear

rather unexpected opposition & of all the arguments that

they have produced in its favour Even Anita Roddick herself has been

accused of behaving irresponsibly and of being insensitive to the issues involved in drug abuse

9 some members of the farming community would be only

too happy to grow hemp as a promising alternative crop, the majority of people remain firmly opposed to its reintroduction because of its

association with marijuana

clothing with nylon fibres, it would seem that, for the time being,

cannabis sativa, as the hemp plant is known, is not something you’d want

your neighbours to see you with

A In contrast B Nevertheless C Although

A Eventhough B In spite of C However

Business and the Environment @

to sort and prepare others for collection at specific sites From there they

special machinery will process them for reuse as recyled material

In Britain today, when the contents of the average household dustbin

kitchen waste, 12% of plastics with glass, dust and ashes each representing a

be thrown away after use However, a lot of progress could

fertiliser Indeed, if more people chose to do this then the weight of the average

In terms of glass products, the situation is more encouraging as nearly 20% of all

Nonetheless, it is clear that the mountains of domestic waste will only decrease if

efforts 13 (make) both by individual households and

local government authorities Special equipment such as collection trucks must

increasing success in a number of regions in Europe during the last few years, a

Writing 6 You have recently been leading a committee looking into ways of making

your place of work ‘greener’ Write a short memo to the heads of department outlining six of the suggestions that your committee has made

45