281
281
281
es
Coursebook
Uoper lnterme<iiate
Business English
85 Unit 10 Energy
What if ... ?
Competitive advantage
93 Unit 11 Going public
Searching fo r shareholders Crunch time for Apple
Steve Jobs, Apple's enigmatic CEO, has
101 Unit 12 Competition already taken the lead in the market
for personal music systems and now
Winner takes all he's taking aim at PC industry leaders
Targeting the audience Dell and Microsoft. In the process, he
hopes to transform Apple from a niche
The harder hard sell p(:ayer to mainstream computer
The advertising industry is facing more SQpplier. Page 103.
difficult chokes than ever. Whether it
continues to spend money on
traditional media or decides to
embrace alternative methods of Learning to write well in a foreign language is one of the
reachfng cqnsumers, one thing is rnost difficult challenges facing the language learner, This
certai n: the industry will continue to pocket-sized stylt! guide will he.lp you fino the right words1
reinvent itself and meet the creative use an appropriate style and write effectively. See inside
challenges ahead. Page 51. the back cover.
4
Reading Language Vocabulary Career skills Dilemma &
Decision
Fossil fuel Conditionals Negative Problem-solying The power of
dependency prefixes Approaches to problems money
IEnergy
s5 87 90 Collocations 91 92
Page and Brin's Future forms Oefinitions Making a presentation Which way to
daring IPO Presentation styles Wall Street?
Going public Prefixes
. 93 95 98 99 100
Crunch time for Time clauses Expressions with Handling conflict The cola
Apple hove How much comeback
1 Competition confrontation?
101 103 106 Compound n.oruns 107 108
1 Language check: Reference words Clauses and sentence construction; Reported speech; Consolidation
Vocabulary check; Career skills: Persuading; Motivating; Reporting
-
r .;;--- Investing in development
A path to helping the poor
~
C0mbatin9 po11erty in the developing world has
traditonally been tne task of governments and
voll! nti!I}! orgar:1isations, but a top Swiss investment
banker wants to :ehange all that. He encourages prvate
f,Hifil4i'
155
investment through microfinarice institutions in
potential entrepreneurs in the developin!J world, which
he believes will not only help the fight against poverty
hirt a!S.o generate profitS for the investor.$. Page 113.
~
ril@HiI
164
s
As business English teachers, we know how
importa nt it is to learn the key business
language necessary to participate in an
increasingly international work environment.
We also recognise the need to Jearn about
business concepts, devel.o pments in busi ness
and how business works in different cultures.
We are th erefore delighted to have written
IritelLigent Business in partnership with The
Economist magazine, a unique resource of
insights into news and business throughout
the world.
Review of tenses
PAGE 11
Alliances
www.longman-elt.com www.economist.com Dilemma: Breaking the ice
PAGE 14
Company bosses
on the J
prowl
Keynotes
Strategic alliances enable companies
to share resources. This creates
synergies or adva ntages and leads to
increased market share and greater
competitiveness. Pu blic companies
also hope to increase shareholder
value when they form alliances. There
are many kinds of corporate alliance.
Corporate partnerships are formed
when two or more companies decide to
co-operate on one pa rticular project ar
mission. When companies join together,
it is called a merger. When one
company makes a successful takeover
bid to buy another one, it is referred to
as an acquisition.
Preview Mega mergers
Which of the following companies do you think have fonned strategic
alliances? Match the ones on the left with the ones on the right.
O Read the text again. Are the fullowing statements true or false?
l In the .first paragraph, the author says that CEOs cam no longer find
targets for mergers and acquisitions.
2 Studying fa<;ts and figures from the recent past won't necessarily help
CEOs to form a successfu1 alliarrce.
3 The tr.~nd in the 1990s was for companies to build portfolios with
diverse investments.
4 The author suggests that media mergers are always likely to impmve
share value.
5 CEOs need above ali to find the right company to acquire.
6 If business planners wish to avoid sorne of the er.rors of the 1990s, they
shou ld be prudent when taking rislss.
Speaking Do you agree with the author wben he suggests that only one in
four acquisitions actually creating shareholder value is a good
success ratio?
.W hy do companies find it difficult to make mergers work?
8 Unit1
Glossary
dot-com boom rapid growth of
internet-based business
protagonists most important people
involved in a particular situation
/alter weaken
spot identify
herd instinct natural inclination to
follow others rather than act alone
Unit 1 9
Vocabulary 1 Match the words (1-6) from the text with their meanings (a-f).
shareholder value (para 2) a a collection of companies
2 conglomerate (para 3) b an offer to buy
3 portfolio (para 3) e m ost important activity
'i core competen ce (para 3) d controlling all stages of one
5 bid (para 4) particular type of business
6 vertical integration (para 5) e organisation comprisi ng severa)
com p,mies
f what stocks in a public company
are worth
Vocabulary 2 Metaphors
The text contains several hunting and animal metaphors, e.g. on !he
prowl (looking for victims). Why do you think the author uses thas
kind of metaphor1
Find the metaphors in the text which mean:
period of sleeping through the winter (para 1)
2 instincts (para 1)
3 something to aim at (para 1)
4 one who hunts another (para 7)
Practice Complete the article about mergers with the following words from
the text on page 9.
10 Unit1
Language check Review of tenses
Study the examples taken from the text on page 9 and answer the
questions about tenses below.
a ... com.pany bosses are be.g inning to rediscover their animal spirirs. (paa 1)
b ... as many as three out of every four deals have faile.d. to create ... (para 2)
e Companies hadfound by ther~ that they couLd add ... (para 3)
e! ... a strategy which ... regula:rly proves the ruin of many ... (para 4)
e ... CEOs will be judged less for spotting a good target than for ... (para 5)
D Which exampJe:
refers to unspecified time ora period of time up to the present
2 is making a prediction
'\ refers to a situation changing in the present
4 refers to a repeated action in the present
5 gves the background information or an explanation for a past event
Practice Complete the article with the appropriate tense of the verbs in
brackets.
Unit i n
Listening 2 E) D joan Woolley, CEO of Xsellnet, a management solutions provider
for mobile systems, is making a speech. listen to part one and order
the events in the company3s recent history.
a won the 'Technology Company of the Year' award
b was taken over by Wireless Ltd
e started trading independently
d took a d ifficult decision
"'went through a difficult financia! period
f borrowed money from a bank
experienced a difficu lt period of integration
Which reason does she say contributed most to the faiJure of the
alliance?
Speaking Work in pairs. lmagne that you work for a smaJI family-run
business which has just been bought by a big multinationaJ.
Discuss:
- where the various potentiaJ corporate culture dashes might occur
- how you thinkyou personally would adapt to the new culture, and why
what could be done by both companies to ensure a smooth transition
from one corporate culture to another
Writing Write a short press release to announce that your company, Xsellnet,
has won the 'Technology Company of the Year' award. Use tbe
answers from Listening 2 above to give a short history of the
company. (See Style guide, page 30.)
12 Unit 1
Career skills Building relationships
11 Which of phrases a-f above would you use for the tips (1-5)?
Speaking Work with a partner you don't know (well). Introduce yourself and
ask questions to find three points you have in common .
Speaking Work in pairs. Read the extracts of dialogues below and say why the
people didn't manage to build a relationship. Change what speaker
B said in each case and continue the dialogue.
1 A Hi, l 'm Sandra Bogan. l work far Marketing Now magazine. We are
looking for successful companies to feature in our May issue.
B Unfottunately, we've been having a few finanda1 probJems recently, but
here's my card.
2 A rm sorry to ask, but as you've finished, could you help me?
B No, 1 want tb go home early.
3 A Hello, Pm Kevin Hart from Digital Solutions. I see from your badge that
we are in the same line of business. Are you enjoying the conference?
B Not really. 1 haven't made any usefuJ contacts so far.
Unit 1 n
Dilem -.-,...-
ec1s1on
Dilemma: Breaking the ice Decision:
Brief
When Unilever, one of the world's largest consumer products companies, Turn to page 145 to find out
made a bid to buy Ben & )erry's, the trendy ice cream maker, Ben and )erry what Ben and j erry, and Niall
turned down the offer. The companies were too different, they said. Social FitzGerald said about the
responsibility and creative management were the hallmarks of their proposed merger.
business philosophy. Unilever was a majar multinational with a
traditional corporate culture, whose main goal was to make a profit. This,
they felt, could never mix with their concept of 'linked prosperity', where
the community also profits from business success. The then CEO of
Uni lever, Niall FitzGerald, felt that if they could get together and talk, they CEO pro6Jc
would find common ground. They could then build on that personal
relationship and finally make a corporate alliance, which would benefit
everyone in spite of what appeared to be corporate culture d ifferences.
Write it up
Write a memo from Niall
FitzGera ld to the staff of Unilever
informing them of the decision,
and why it was taken. (See Style
gui.de, page 24.)
14 Unit 1
Up, up and away
PAGE 17
Articles
PAGE 20
Speaking Look at sorne exa.mples of past and current projects. Choose one of
the projects and make a Hst of the principal difficulties you think
might be involved. Discuss the project with another student.
Past projects
- The Burt Rutan X2 spacecraft {first private sector
spacecraft - 2004)
- The Norman Foster Millau viaduct (completed 2004')
- Airbus A 380 (test flight -April 2005)
Current projects
- Space mission to Mars (Aurora) (plannecl for 2026)
- Water-fuelled hydrogen car
(Earth 2012) (planned for 2020)
- Electronc navigation ad for
the blind (Noppa project) (under development)
- Indian Kalpasar Ptoject
(world's longest dam 64km) (planning stage)
- Toyota humanoid robot
(human partner robot) (prototype built)
16 Unit 2
Glossary
stint period of work
plague (v) cause continual trouble
bump up suddenly increase
something
corner-cutting doing things badly
or cheaply
spin-off business new company
that emerges from a larger
enterprise
Managing a project
Unit 2 17
Read the text again and find the infonnation to complete the
following lists {1-4).
1 The principal problems related to building airports
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
b ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
b ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The specific constraints imposed by the nature of the site
~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
b ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 The major risks usual ly involved in managing a project like TS (para 6)
Vocabulary Read the sentences a nd find synonyms in the text on page 17 for
the underlined phrases.
The company will be in serious difficulties if they don't complete the
project within the time schedule and cost estimates. (para 3)
on time and on lzud,~et
2 BM decided against giving the project toan outside supplier. (para 4)
1 Suppliers who are partners have the morivation to proyide quality work.
{para 9)
18 Unit2
Find the words and phrases in paragraphs 6 and 9 that are used
to refer to problems and match them with their meanings (1-8).
Para 6
minor errors
'" situations where something is late
_ disagreement over minor details
stops
5 late, overdue
6 expires, is not sufficient
Para 9
doesn't happen as planned
failure to ensure that work is done correctly
Practice Complete the article with words from this Vocabulary section.
Unit 2 t9
Language check Articles
D Complete rules 1-4 with definite or indefinite to show whether
they refer to the definite article the or the indefinite articles a/an.
1The article is used with nouns that refer to one unique th ing.
2 The artide is used before superlative adjectives.
3 The article is used before non-specific singular countable nouns.
~ The article is used when a noun has al ready been mentioned .
EJ Study the examples taken from the text on page 17. Which of the
rules 1-4 above are illustrated in each?
a It wiU indude not just a terminal ... (para 1)
b It wilL include ... connections to the Lonaon Transport network. (para 1)
e ... BAA is unusuaL in running the proj ect itself. (para 4)
d But the biggest novelty is the T5 Agreem.ent. (para 5)
IJ Study the text and find two examples to illustrate each of the
following rules about using no article.
most proper nouns and names
2 u ncountable nouns used in a general sense
3 general plural countable nouns
4 abstract nouns used in a general sense
Practice Look at the cl;lart of the schedule for the AS 90 project and read the
project manager's comrnentary below. Complete the commentary with
a definite article, an indefinite article or no article (0).
The AS project management team have drawn up 1he following schedule for 1 the AS 90 project, wh1ch is due to
kck off at 2 beginning of January. 3 flrst phase of the project will be carrled out by Luke Marshall and
Gianni Visconti. They wlll be organislng 4 meeting with 5 whole team during the first week in January
to discuss the needs analysis questionnaire before it is sent out to 6 hotel managers in 7 United
Kingdorn, Belgiurn and 8 Nether1ands. By 9 mid-January, the software specifications and manpower
requirements wlll be submltted far ' approval by the project manager and 11 work wlll start on the
pilot programme at the end of February. In April, the 8 team will take over the implementation phase. This will require
12 extensive travet for the team members who will be providng trainlng far hotel staff al 13 serles of
one-day workshops, 7 May has been ftxed as 14 deadline for handlng over 15 complete project with
ali deliverables to our customer.
AS 90 project overview
20 Unit 2
Career skills Setting goals
B Listen again and make notes about the dialogue.s.. What is the
role of each person the project manager talks to? What goal is set
in each case?
Speaking 0 Work in pairs. Take tums to play the roles of senior manager
and project leader. Set goaJs (time, resources and budget) together
for each of the projects below.
The senior manager has asked the project leadei: to:
l take responsibility for organising the transfer of the company's
headquarters to a new location
2 _prepare a one-week training course for senior executives
3 create a new company website
4 organise the company's annual sales conference
Unit 2 21
Dilem - .....-.-
ec1s1on
Dilemma: Test crisis Decision:
Brief
lnfineon is an international semiconductor manufacturer which 0 Listen to Oliver Heller
manufactures semiconductor chips at ts five factores in Europe and at its explaining how the
plant in Asia. Each lnfineon plant traces incoming orders and then plans engineers and planners at
its production. Ali the chips are then tested internally at each si te before 1nfineon approached the
delivery. problem.
At the monthly production meeting at the plant in France, managers are
worried. lt looks as if they have identified a serious problem that could
impact on deliveries. Production levels will have to be increased during
the coming months to deal with an increase in orders, but that is not
where the problem lies. It is witb the testing equipment. The planning
and supply chain managers and quality controlJers can see quite clearly
that they will not have the capacity to test the increased production with
their existing machines. They have five months before the situation
becomes critica!. During that time they must find and implementan
effectve soluton.
An emergency meeting has been called to decide what action to take
and to set up a project group to deal wth the mplementaton. The four
managers who will be attending the meeting are each going to propose a
solution and they will then decide together on which solution should be
adopted. They will then set up a project team and fix the objectives.
Task 1
Work in groups of four. Student A turn to page 137. Student .B turn
to page 138. Student C turn to page 140. Student D turn to page 142.
Prepare the arguments that you will use in favour of your
soluton. Assume simi lar costings for each solution.
Task 2
Attend the meeting with your
colleagues. Take turns to present
your soluton. Then, as a group,
agree on the course of action
that you would choose and
appoint a project manager to
implement the solution.
Task 3
Present the solution to another group.
Did tbey choose the same solution ?
Write it up
Write the minutes of your meeting to
circulate to senior management.
(See Sty1e g1A.ide page 26.)
22 Unit 2
Think before you meet
PAGE 25
Modal forms
PAGE 28
Speaking Whicb type of meeting do/woulq you prefer? Are there other
situations they could be suitable for?
Meeting techniques
Unit 3 25
O Read the text again and answer the questions.
1 Why are corridor and coffee machine meetings often efficient?
2 What are the two maj n reasons for holding meetings?
3 What kind of feedback do people give easily?
4 Why do companies consider meetings to be very important?
5 What happens w hen meetings are not properly organised?
Practice Complete the article below with the appropriate form of words
from this Vocabulary section, and the foUowing words taken from
the text on page 25.
brainstorming attend agenda participants
When three peo ple from our department left to jo in another company, 1 team mora/e was very low. We
knew we had to recruit new 2 and that a long integration process would slow our work down
considerably. We were worried that the positive atmosphere and 3 that had taken us a while
to build would be affected by this setback. It was decided to have a meeting, and the fust tem on the
4 5
was a(n) session to 6 ideas on the best way of organising a{n)
7
activity that would h elp the new recruits to fit into the structure as quickly as possible. Ali
8
the at the meeting put their ideas forward and finally we agreed that we shouJd all
9
a day's training scssion organised by a specialist consultant. The day will be spent
socialising and completing simple 10 set by the consultant. We hope to have the new team
operating as efficiently as ever in the next couple of weeks.
26 Un it 3
Reading Team roles
0 Read the article below about team roles. Which role (1- 5) is being
referred to in each of the following statements?
a They make s_ure everyonehas the chance to give their input in meetings.
b They are focused mainly on task not process.
e They are focused mainly on p.rocess not task.
d They can describe w)Jat was said during meetings.
e They can play any role on the team.
f They telJ the facilitator if the meeting is going on for too long.
g They discuss progress witb people outside the team.
Speaking Work in groups of four. Discuss roles 1-4 above and decide which of
them would be most sui~ble for each person in your group. (Try to
agree on one role per person.)
Unit 3 27
Language check Modal forms
D Study examples a-f taken from the text on page 25. Match 1-6
with a-f.
l obligation about a present situation 4 advice about a past situation
2 advice about a present situa tion 5 positive deduction
3 a possibility 6 negative deduction
a However, meetings might not aJways be the best use of the team'.s time.
(para 1)
b But there must be a way to make them work. (para 3)
e They can't aU be a waste of time. (para 3)
d ... team leaders should do everything they can to mal~e sure they
organise them. properly. (para 3)
e That is why cornpanies must leam. how to run them. (para 5)
f Of course, one person should ha.ve done this befare the team started
working together. (para 5)
~ For more informat1on, see page 158.
Past modals
11 Study examples d and f above and notice how modals are used to
refer to the present and past. What are the past forms of the following?
must be can't work rnight know
~ For more rnformadon, see page 158.
Speaking Work in pairs. Discuss past situations where you made mistakes or
could have done something better. Say what you should have done
but didn't
28 Unit 3
Career skills Team building
Team building involves individual members being positive and putting the team's
interests ahead of their own. Lo.ok at the fo llowing usful sentences.
a We're definitely moving in the right dfrection.
b Go on, l 'm listening.
e That's a great idea.
d Let's lookat ways ofgetting round this problem.
e I'm confidentyo.u'll get it dne on time.
f Tell me more.
EJ You have been assigned t he task of collating the team's work and putting
forward the best proposals the}"ve come up wt h. Two solutions appear to be
pote~tlally good. One ~as suggested by you and would be a quck and easy
solutlon. The other, a httle more complicated, was suggested by a team
meniber wh had V.ery negative feedback on her last project and whose morale
needs boostlng. Present t he best proposals.
Unit 3 29
Dilem
ec1s1on
Dilemma: Leading the team Decision:
Brief
Peter Drumand is the team leader of a group who were briefed to come 0 Listen to a business
up with ways of improving customer communications at Walton's consultant saying what he
department store. After three weeks of information gathering and thinks Peter Drumand should
meetings the team made the following recommendations: have done.
extend telephone coverage by one hour per week, to answer more
enquiries
update webpage at least once a week
research further the idea of holding store meetings to answer
customer questions dfrectly
Peter feeJs sure that these are good ideas but fears the management will
not approve them because they are costly. He cannot decide whether to
present the ideas to management or not.
lla;l
Work in pairs. Discuss the following arguments. Which
ones do you agree/disagree with?
Peter should not present the team's recommendations
to the board as final A team leader should never Jet
his/her team make an obviously bad decision. He
should protect the team and the department's
reputation by asking far more time.
If cost was a concern, the team ought to have been told
at the beginning. It is Peter's responsibility to admit
that he is at fault for not briefing the team properly,
and he should ask for a new deadline so they can find
other, less expensive proposals.
On the basis of shared information, the team :.'
developed reasonable, specific recommendations for
improving customer communications. Peter shouJd
-. ~.:::~.
Task 2
Decide what you think Peter should do.
Task 3
Discuss the conclusions you have reached with another pair. Work
together as a team to make a joint decision about what Peter
should do and say. How do you think management will react?
Write it up
Write a memo from Peter to the management explaining what
he has decided to do, and why. (See StyLe guide, page 24.)
30 Unit 3
Language check Modal forms
Revew of tenses Choose the correct forms of the words in
italics.
Complete the sentences with the appropriate
form of the verbs in brackets. Ali meetings can't be/ mustn't be a waste of
time, surely!
The team regularly (meet) to
7 You really shouLd have completed / must have
discuss progress.
co1npleted the planning phase before you
We got the figures late and by that time we sta rted executing the project.
(already go) over budget!
We still might come / tnust corne in under
-1 They (have) the resuJts of the budget, but it looks unlikely.
research in the next few weeks.
4 There must have been / should ha.ve been
A Right now we (work) on the sorne rnistake; those are not the p lans.
p lanning phase of the project.
.5 He might ha.ve been / must have been there
We (look) for a strategic partner but there were so many people that 1 can't say
for months, but wejust can't find one. for sure.
~ The team generally (respect) _ _ __
deadlines. t l 1 L on
'\rL t lt
Choose the correct forms of the words in
italics in the team-building course
Complete the article with either a definite or description. (sis = no article)
indefinite article or no article at ali (~).
in the same industry) may also be motivated by stages of a team 's dcvelopmem.
5 desire for greater market power. In
theory, authorities such as 6 Britain's Becoming an effective team member
Competllion Commission should obstruct any merger The key to 7a / ,a team's success is 8t11e / an
that could create a monopoly, as that would result in e ffort that eacb team member makes. This course
an abuse of 7 power. However, sorne 9reaches / is teaching key poinrs for developing
experts have argued that mergers are unlikely to 10a / tfle team-orienced artitude, and by che end
create monopolies even in a absence of
regulatlons, since there is no evidence thal mergers
you 11 mus/ have leamed / slto11ld '1a1e leam ed
in the past have generally led to 9_ _ __ how best to work with 121/ie / li1 colleagues and
increase in the concentration of io_ _ _ _ other team members. Very quiokly. you
1\vi!l see / wi!I be seeing better team resulrs ao;
market power.
you develop 1 4the / ~ communication ski lls ami
as you fulfil your specific role and encourage
other team members to do 15 rfle / ~ same.
31
1 Vocabulary check Career skills
0 Choose the best options (A-C) to Building relationships
complete the text. Put the dialogue in the correct order.
O a We're interested in featuring your
Europe's bridge projects company in our )une issue.
In Greece, the RionAntirlon bridge opened four months ahead O a Helio, I don't think we've met before. rm
of 1 and, even more surprs1ngty, within its $930m Sarah Beckford from Mana.gement Issues
2 Vinci, a leadlng French 3 company, magazine.
frrned a strategic 4 with a local .5 to bu11d
the bridge. This successfuJ 6 managed to rneet the O a Thank you. Here's my caed.
strict 7 and be on time at every -B of the O b Why don't you contact me next week and
r:iroject. we can discuss it further?
Bridges ane Gften des1gned by englneers, but the Mlla1o1
ViadtJct project in France was designed by the British
O b Plieased to meet you. How can 1 help you?
architect Norman Foster. who worked in collaboration with a
team of engineers to 9 the team's cornmon
Setting goals
' of building the world's highest bridge. Find and correct the mistake in eacb
The next blg 11 may be the planned project to build sentence.
a bridge from Sicily to the ltalian mainland. lndustry
12 believe, however. that the project may not be I'd like you to take up responsibility for the
n : the experts and project sponsors are making ma rket resea rch.
H of 11,000 11ehicles a day - only 1,000 more than 2 How many is the budget on this one?
now go by ferry.
3 We should aim to must finisb on time.
1 A timetable B schedule e agenda 4 They gave to us a provisional budget.
2 A budget B fi gure e expenses 5 Tell me what you need in the way from
3 A creation B structure C construction
resou rces.
6 Does the deadline sound you reasonable?
4 A alliance B grouping C commitment
5 A con tractor B licensee C manufacturer Team building
6 A integration B conglomerate e partnership
Match the sentence halves (l~ with a-f).
7 A delays B rules e deadlines
8 A aspect B phase e factor We're definitely moving in the right direction,
9 A accomplish B succeed C make but
2 Go on, rm listening -
10 A idea Bgoal e proposal
11 A interest B subject e ch allenge 3 That's a great idea, and
12 A analysts Bjudges e referees 4 Let's look at ways of getting rou nd this
problem
13 A sufficient B feasible C enough
5 l'm confident you will get it done on time -
14 A forecasts B plans e figures 6 Tell me more
EJ Replace the words in italics witb the a it's better to say what you have on your mind.
appropriate fonn of a multi-part verb. b I think we should act on it straightaway.
1 Pressure is on the team to invent aew ways of e about the project; fm really interested.
working on each project. d you've never been late before.
2 The new project leader will not tolera.te e wejust need to move a bit faster.
lateness. f rather than just worrying about it.
3 The project will soon be beh ind sch edule if
we don't employ more workers.
t Tbe merger has been successful an d
shareholders can get exeited about higher
dividends this year.
5 As the team leader was away for a few days,
the facil itator assumed resporisibility fo-r the
organisation of the tasks.
32
How about now?
l>AGE 35
Question forms
PAGE 37
The real-time
Keynotes
Information is a key resource
for modern businesses, and
information management
has a direct impact on
efficiency and performance.
lnformation flows between
the different parts of a
business's information
system (people,
procedures, resources) in
the form of data, voice, text
and images. Information
technology, hardware and
software, allows this
information to be gathered,
processed, exchanged and stored.
Managers are thus able to analyse
developments in their business in real
time, i.e. instantaneously, in arder to
solve problems and exploit opportunities.
Information systems are connected to internal
and/or external networks (internet / intranets /
extranets) and must be secured against attack.
Preview Information flows
Look at the graph and answer the questions.
60
The growt of global 1 formation
50
il
3
40
30
s .~ 20
! 10
L1
14SO
ptln~ng
1870 1947
electrf9lty, llllephone transistor
1950
~qmputing
1970
Internet
Speaking How many emails do you receive/answer every day? What are the
main ways that you communicate information?
Listening 1 e amanager,
Listen to an interview with Jennifer Barl<er, an infonnation
and focus on the interviewer's questions. Sorne of the
questions below are not exactly the same as the actual questions she is
asked. Replace these with the exact questions that the interviewer asks.
1 What is an Jntranet?
2 How many employees regularly connect to the intran et?
3 What are tbe most popular parts of the intra net?
4 How difficult is it to manage an intranet?
5 What are the main security issues for the intranet?
6 Who supplies the content for the intranet?
7 How has tbe intranet changed since it was introduced?
Speaking Do you think intranets are a good idea, or do they just contribute
to excessive amounts of information? How do you deal with
excessive amounts of information? Do you think that having a lot
of information makes it easier for managers to do their jobs?
lru.'tant gratification
G But the real-time enterprise is not
simply about speeding up information
l:low. It is also about being able to
Automating management monitor a business continuously and
react when conditions change. Today,
How about now? businesses "are mostly shooting in the
dark", says Michael Maoz, of Gartner, an
IT consultancy. Real-time technology, he
predicts, will give Ams a window into
their business they never had before.
7
Mr Moz als.o emphasises tbe third
lnfonnation technology is speeding up business decision-making and main ben~efit of a real-time enterprise:
creating a real-time economy, says Ludwig SiegeJe using newly avai lable information to
offer new products and services. New
YOU can't accuse Gary Reiner of business. If one of them stays. red or hardware, such as wireless sensors,
being verbose. Ask General Electric's even yellow for too long, Mr R:einer gets makes it possible to gather ever more
chief information officer a question, and the system to email the people in charge information and enter it into a
you get an answer that is right to the via the network. He can also see when company's computer systems. By
point. And he regularly checks whether he had to intervene the last time, or how themselves, these data would just
ls listeners are still following: "Are you indjvidual applications - such as contribute to the increasing infurmation
getting what you need?" programs to manage book-keeping or overload. But they also present a new
1
Anything else wou ld be a orders - have performed. business opportunity: to develop
disappointment. After. all, America's GE ~ As chief information officer, Mr software that analyses them and suggests
is known for its obsessive quest for Reiner was the first in the film to get a ways of optimising tbe supply chain, or
perfection. And Mr Reiner heads the dashboard. Now aJI GE's senior even automates the response to certain
company's most important initiative: managers have them. The princip ie is kinds of new information.
computerising, or "digitising", as much always the same: the dashboard 8 How mucb \<Vil! ali this change the
of its business as possible. That not only compares how certain measurements, company and the economy as we know
means buying and selling things .online sucb as response times or sales or it? IT will probably not spell the death of
but, 1110,re importantly, setting up a margins, perfonn against goals, and big firms. But real-time technology will
digital nervous information system alerts managers (in real time) if they have an impact on ilie workings of
that eonnects everything involved in need to take action. companies. lt is also likely to make
the company's business: IT systems, 5 GE, which estimates that its economies more fluid, and perhaps
factories , employees, supp liers, digitisation efforts saved it $1.6 bi Ilion in more volatile. The financia! mail<ets
customers and products. just one year, has a long history of have already shown that putting even
3 GE's aim is to monitor everything in innovative business management. ln parts of the economy on autopilot can
real time, Mr Reiner explains,. calling up years to come, experts predict, many lead to accidents. The stock market crash
a special spreadsheet on nis PC: a companies will use information of 1987 was caused in large part by
"digital dashboard" with green, yellow re.chnology to become a "real-time automated program trading. Perhaps,
and red colours that signa! the status of enterprise" - an organisation that is one day, the " now economy'' will have
programs that are critica! to GE's able to react instantaneously to changes to have drcuit breakers installed
Unit 4 3s
O Read the text again. Three of the following questions cannot be
answered using information from the text Identify those questions
and answer the other five.
Wht reputation has GE acquired as a company?
2 How many people work in Gary Reiner's departrrient?
3 Which groups of people are connetd through GE's information network?
4 Why are sorne managers reluctant to use the new system?
s How does the digital dashboard help managers to make decisions?
6 When will the d igitisation of GE be completed?
7 What .are the two main benefits that Mr Maoz foresees for real-time
enterprises?
8 What was one of the causes of the stock market cra.sh of 19~7?
Speakjng D Do you think that developments like those at GE will make the
lives of managers easier or more stressful?
Vocabulary Read the sentences and find synonyms in the text for the underlined
words and phrases.
The new system will a link together b all the cmponerit parts of the
company's business. (para 2)
2 Gary Reiner uses a colour-coding system to check the a condition of key
b software applications. He can then use the e interconnected computers
to alert managers. (para 3)
3 Using their a monitoring software, managers have acce:ss to certain
b indicators of performance and can see how they e match the d objectives
that have been fixed. (para 4)
4 The firm a calculates that b adopting automated computer $)1Stems helped
to <: reduce spending_Qy more than one billioi1 dollars. (para 5)
5 The new ntworked cornpanies will be able to a accelerate the
b moveinent of data and gain greater understanding of their opera:tions.
(para 6)
6 New a dectronic devices will enable companies to b collect additional
e data. (para 7)
Practice Complete the article with words from this Vocabulary section.
General Eleomewas one of the first companies to champion '$i)C compu.ter 5' . This is th~n matched w~h the 0perational
Sigma', a r,ev:ohrtfonary approach tg quality rnanagement that was resultS tttat are actually obtained, which allows managers to see how
pioneered by Motorola. S.lx Sigma uses statlstlcs fo .produce exact an operation 6 its original obJeetfve.s. Six: Sigma not only
1 7
mea5urement:; of key busTness indioators in order to. the whole process of quality management1 lt aJso
calculate the;, efficie.ncy of business operations. Te do this, allows businesses to make contihuous improvements and
2
;about specific :r tliat the cmpany a large.qrn,ounts Qf money.
wishes 10 achieve is f'st 4 and tRen entered into a
36 Unit 4
Language check Question forms
Read about the three main types of questions and study the examples
from the text on page 35.
Op"r aucstions are used when we want to ask someone to provide speci fic
in formation about something.
How much will aH this change the compan!j and the economy as we know
it? (para 8)
How do the verb forms in the followi ng ques tions differ? Why is this?
Who did you contact abou t the new software?
Who contacted you a.bou t the new sof tware?
C.lo~' q J"stio l!> wh ich can always be a nswered by either Yes or No, are
used when we want to obtain confi rmation or clarification about something.
Are you getting wha.t you need ? (para 1)
Tag ouc-;t1ons are in two parts. If the main verb is in the affirmative, the tag
question is usual ly in the negative, and vice versa, for exa mple:
You don't hnow what caused the systern to crash, do you?
~ for more mtormanon, see page 158.
Un it4 37
Practice Complete the tag questions. Tbere is more than one possible answer.
1 Last week's meeting (be) very productive, it?
2 You (be able) to help me with these calculations,
_ _ __ _ you?
3 You (suggest) that we didn't give you a1J the information
youneeded, ybu?
4 But that (mean) that the project won't be successful in the
long term, it?
5 T'd !ove to have a copy of that chart you showed us. You (give) _ _ _ __
me one, you?
Listening 2 8 Practise saying each of the questions witb tbe correct intonation.
Then listen and check.
Speal<ing Work with a partner. Prepare tag questions for situations t- 5. Take
tums to read and respond to the questions.
1 You are very surprised to hear that one of your colleagues, Jeff, has been
prometed. Make a comment to another coileague.
You're not telling me he got that job, are you?
2 An important file has gone missing from your office. Talk to the person
you share your office with.
3 You'd 1ike to take part in a training seminar but you think it may be too
late to apply. Ask the HR manager.
4 You need to know if your colleague can take you home by car, as
promised, after Work.
5 You've heard a rumour that one of your best members of staff is
thinking of leaving. Confront him/her.
Questions are used in a variety of different ways and not always just to obtain
information. Asking the right type of question at the right time can make the
difference between a successful exchange and an unsuccessful one. Lookcit the
following exa mples of different question types.
a lf you were in my positfon, how would you approach this?
b Why didn't you follow my instructions?
e Do you know who I cou/d askfor sorne advice obout this?
d Sholl we move on to 'the next question?
Listening 4 0 Listen to four short dialogues. Which two types of question above
are used in each dialogue?
Practice Choose one of the situations below and prepare the questions that
the supervisor would ask. Take tums to play the roles of the
supervisor and the employee.
An employee in your department has been using the company's
computer to update his/her weblog (i nternet diary). You suspect that
he/she may have given away confidentia l information.
2 The report that you asked an employee to prepare conta ins a number of
mistakes. Information about sales figures is inaccurate and there are a
lot of spelling and grammar mistakes.
3 Yo u need to ask an employee to replace you for one day at a trade show.
You know that this is a difficult thjng to ask as be/she has a lot of work
at the moment.
Task 1
Work in groups. GroupA, you represent the Director of Information anq
Public Policy. Turn to page l37. Group B, you represent the Euro,pean
Director. Turn to page 138. Group C, you represent the Trade Union. Tuni
to page 140. Read the arguments you will present during the meeting_.
You should also prepare a short list of questions to ask the qther
particlpants about their positions in relation to the hotl ine.
Task 2
Work in different groups of three, so that each of the three rol~s is
represented in each group. Hold the meeting and present your
arguments. Ask the questions that you bave prepared.
Task 3
Reach an agreement about the best way to deal with the pro.~<ll.Q
the hotline is causing.
Write it up
Write a short rep.ort, summarising the situation and out liningthe
conclusions reached byyour group. (See Styte guide, page 28.)
40 Unit 4
The marGh of t
PAGE 44-
Relatfve ~lause
PAGE 46 r
Preview Unique selling features
0 Read the descriptions of sorne of the latest hi-tech products.
Which ones would you like to own <:>r use, and why?
4 Gaming console
1
2 Jackknife
3 Clip-on
Maf1ufac.1ure.r: ---~----
e featurv.,;
The phone is a _ _ _ _ _ _ __ d
fe.a1 L1re.. ThiS' l!>u99eMs mQbile phones '-Ould be
dtf>i9n~ to perform _ _ __ _ _ __
111 the future.
42 Un it 5
Speaking Work in pairs. Take tums to describe the Blackbeny mobile phone.
If either or both of you own mobile phones, talk about how they
compare with the Blackbeny.
Speaking Wbat reasons can you think of for installing phones on dogs, and
in cars, laptop computers, household appliances and industrial
machinery? Can you think of other useful places where phones
could be installed?
Are mobile phones a good thing for society in general?
Are there any disadvantages to having 24-hour phone
communication?
Unit 5 43
Glossary
start-up new, recently formed
company
untapped market potential market
which hasn't yet been exploited
saturated (market) where thare
are more goods than people who
want to buy t hem
44 Unit 5
Vocabulary 1 Match the nouns (1-9) from the text with their meanings (a-i).
I design (para 1) a a piece of equipment used for a specific task
2 model (para 1) b an area where mobile technology can operate
3 subscriber (para 3) c a particular type of machi ne
,1 laptop (para 3) d software or information that can be moved
5 appliance {para 3) from one electronic device to another
6 sensor (para 3) e a device to read information
7 network (para 4) f a portable computer
8 coverage (para 4) g a person paying to hire a telephone li ne
9 download (para 5) h a set of connected technoJogies or systems
the appearance of something because of the
way it has been planned and made
Practice Complete the article a bout Motorola's new strategy with the
appropriate form of words from Vocabulary 1 and 2.
Padmasree Warrlor, Motorola's chef pressure frorn sf)areholders to find new marketing and lnnovative
technology officer, is launchlng a new growth markets and original strategies in 7 Motorola also plans to
strategy, which, she says, wllf lead to more an effort to boost falling revenues and smooth the transitlon between home,
mobility.This, she hopes. wlll increase the increase 4 _ __ __ work, automotive and mobile
number of 1 :;ubscribers in the almost Ms Warrlor leads an army of 4,600 environments by providing easy and high-
saturated mobile phone market. Nokia is technologists and researchers who have speed 8 on trains and
the mobile phone 2 out in come up with plans to do just that. They email in cars.-and their customers will be
front of Motorola, which is number two in lntend to start by connecting their able to get video 9 onto
thls hlghly competitive lndustry. With an technol0gy 5 lnto one, for thelr phones.The company even lntends
lncreaslng number of competitors trying example combining wireless and to ex~eM ' so t~at
to attract fewer and fewer customers, ali multimedia technologies in their new mobiles can be used on planes. Phones let
telecommunications companies haveseen mobile phones. Their latest you talk everywhere; Motorola will let you
their 3 shrink lately. Many 6 , the Razr V3, has been do everything everywhere!
big telecom companies are facing described asa triumph of engineering,
Writing Write a formal email from Padmasree Warrior to the Motorola staff,
outlining her plans for the company's future. (See Style guide, page
20.)
Unit 5 45
Language check Relative clauses
Study the exampJes of relative clauses from the text on page 44.
Definin g ... the model that was announced last week by a start-up
based in Arizona ... (p ara 1)
Non-defining Thi rd-generation networr~s. which will o.ffer lots of extra
capacity, will ... (para 4)
Shortened relative clauses Sorne relatve clauses can be shortened by using
the present or past participle if the pronoun is the subject of the clause. In
the case of past participles, the verb has to be used in a passive sense.
... the model announced last week by a start-up based in Arizona reaUy
goes to the Limit.
Third-generatiori. networks, offering lots of extra capacity, wiU lead to ...
~ For more information, see page 159.
O Read the arride below, in which the relative clauses are in italics,
and do the following.
Complete the article with the appropriate relative pronoun..
Put brackets round the relative pronoun if it can be omitted.
Add commas where they are needed.
Rewrite 5 and 8 using shortened relative clauses.
Decide which two clauses could be either defining or non-defining.
46 Unit s
Career skills Briefing
Speaking Work in pairs. Prepare a briefing session from the following notes.
Take turns to give the briefing.
Unit 5 47
Dilem -.---
ec1s1on
Dilemma: Turning ideas into reality Decision:
Brief
The Nati.onal Endowment for Science and Technology{NESTA) was set up Now turn t0 page 145 and read
to maximise creativity and innovative potential. They glve financia! what NESTA decided.
backing in the form of grants and loans as well as advice on p.roduetion
and marketing strategies to organisations with new teehrtological
inventions. They are less interested in shorHerm results than other
providers of capital and they consider the social and cultural value of
products to be as important as the long-term commercial value.
.;;sk 1
Work in small groups. Read the descriptions of the applicants for a
NESTA grant below. Discuss the merits. of each product in terms of:
innovative potential long-term returns and the social and cultural
impact of the technology.
Task 2
As members of the NESTA committee that awards grants, decide which
Point and click
product your group would ch0ose to back, and develop your own for learning on
arguments as to why thls technology is of particular importance. Prepare
to present your views to the committee. the move
!fypert~g Ltd wants to produce
_nteract1ve tnobi te multimedia
Task 3
technelogy. Theirtechnolgy uses hand-
Each group should present their chosen product and say why it is the held computers whicl1, when pointed at
most worthy. As a class, decide on the winnin.g product. an electranic device. near an exhibit ata
111useum o art gallery, ca~ offer lots of
r~l'evan~ info.rmatkm inc.l.uding text,
v.:Ldeo, p1ctures and so:und.
working tyrelessly Nanorechnologr 1011 h . ~
Nanosight has de . 1 1bloterrorlsm
tor the environment . ve1oped a wa . 0 f
reproducmg a version of h Y synthet1.cally
.
h has developed a mach)ne b~dy tirst detects a virus w _at happens when the
U.TDR Resea(c s iri an mrnroefectri ' using co111puter and
hict'I can r.ecycle tyre . 1;;.;.... QJJ1c technol@gy 1'h .
:~virnmentlly-frendly fashio-n. ~~ a~; ( uu1rted to cdetectng b. ~ is techn1que is not
1ow~ui.are
rts the waste into market~ e s>eed up drug develo m . . v.uuses b~t can
conve . h Gan roduce revenue for reduce tosts for phat p em.and dr-amaticaHy
products, whic: . P. ooo tonnes maceuticai companii::s.
"" business. At pres-ent, 190, . .
t .,e 'h landftll sites or offic1al
1
of wa_ste tyres a other
dumping
. grounds are, amon
d\sadvantages, un
der constant threat: ot VISION OF THE FUTURE
umanageabte fire.s. Camfed havecome up with a revolutionatY in\i.ention in optics,
which will l.ead to the production of energy-efficent, low-
cost, high-perform.ance .displays and :ultimat.ely home cine.mas
and J\/,. To date, displays have been e1ther thm and expens1ve
Write it up
or sp:ace-Qons1;1ming and cheap.
Write a pr~ss release announcng the
winning product. (See Style guicLe, page 30.)
48 Unit 5
Preview Advertising media
D Look at the examples of adverts that have appeared in ungsual
places .a nd discuss the folfowing questions.
1 What a re the target audlences for each of the adverts?
2 How successful do you think these adverts are?
3 Can yo think of other unusual places t advertise these products?
Speaking can you think of any more new, unusual places where it would be
possible to place advertisements?
How many ;idverts de you see every day? Where are they placed?
Which three media do you think are used the most for advertising?
again and is expected to grow this year man of the London arm of McCann
by 4.7 per cent to $343 billion. How will Erickson, points out that 1V nevcr killed 1997 98 99 2000 01 02 03 04
the money be spent? There are plenty of radio, which in turn never killed news-
altematives to straightforward advertis- papers. They did pose huge creative
ing. They rangc from public relations to challenges, but that's OK, he maintains:
direct mail and include consumer pro- "The advertising industry is relentlessly
motions (suc.h as s.pecial offers), in-store inventive; that's what we do."
displays, business-to-business promo-
tions (like paying a retailer for shelf
space), telemarkcting, exhibitions, spon-
soring events, product placements and
1 US advertising spend (billion $)
11
more. These have become such an insep-
arable part of the i ndusrry that big agen-
cies are now wi ll ing to provide most of
them. 25%
~ As ever, the debate in the industry O Oirect mail
centres on the best way to achieve
results. Is it more cost-effective, for
instance, to use a public relations D
NeYl~petS
Television
agency to invite a joumalist out to
lunch and persuade hn to write about
a product than to pay for a display ad
in that journalist's newspaper? Should
Radio
Cable TV
Business paper5
Unit 6 51
IJ Are the following statements about chart 1 true or f alse?
1 Americans are spending more time reading newspapers.
2 Broadcast television is more popular th an satellite and cable 1V.
3 The number of radio listeners has increased significa ntly.
4 Lnternet usage doubled during the period from 2000 to 2003.
D Complete the sentences about chart 2.
_ _ _ __ __ and were the two medja on
wh ich advertisers spent the most.
2 In the print media, was the least popular medium
with advertisers.
3 ln broadcasting, accounted for a little over double
the amount spent on radio.
Vocabulary 0 Find words and phrases in paragraph 3 and match them with
their meanings (1-6).
l trade fairs and shows - - - -
2 promotional price reductions _ _ _ _
3 featuring a product in a film or 1V programme _ _ __
4 publicity materia l delivered to homes _ _ __
S communicating with the press _ _ __
6 selling to customers over the phone _ _ __
1 to target an 5 to project an
2 to a new campaign 6 to endorse a
3 to a n advert jn the press 7 to a commercial
4 to a sports event
Practice Complete the text with the appropriate fonn of the collocations above.
ignlng a celebrity and using their star status to 1 ene/orne a lzrand is one of the
Practice Complete the article with the gerund or infinitive fonn of the verbs
in brackets.
Cadvertise) Mvsrtlslne dates back to early history ll:!:fj Procter and Gamble launch thelr tvory Soap ad, ~spend)
and inittally consisted smply ot people (2communicate) a record sum of $11,000 on lhe campaign.
- --
_ _ _ messages oraUy about where certain items
AT&Ts New York radio station introduces broadcast
could be tound. 11 was the invention of (3print)
r
advertising by 01nvlte)
11
llsteners ( buy} - - -
- - -4 ttlat really launched wrltten m~ssages as a ten minutes of radio time for $1OO.
vehicle far ( promote) the sale of products.
In London, the first print adS (~appear) were ltj11fl lhe ffrst broadcast televlsion cornmercials are made,
posted on the doors ot churches. (6announce) r 2open up) a new medium for advertisers
- - - tnat prayer books were available from a MlV's new style of video images starts r 3revolutionise)
local prl nter. _ _ __ the way that TV commercials are made.
Newspapers accelerated the growth of advertislng, and
with more and more people able (7read) _ _ _ ;.;w;"""' The amount of mohey spent on Internet actvertlsing
conllnues (14rise) and reaches $2 bllllon ror the ftrst1me.
busnesses began (8take ouij adverts to sell
imported goods like tea and coffee. However, it was in the 11 Procter and Gamble manages C5attract> ____
USA tnat advertislng really became an industry in itself. more than four mlllion consumers to lts website for lhe launch of its new
Sorne of the key moments in this process were: toothpaste.
Unit 6 53
Talking about adverts
Look at the two adverts. Who is being targeted in each advert?
Which advert do you prefer, and why? Which advert do you think is
more effective?
2
Writing Choose a poster advertisement from your country that you find
distasteful Write a letter to the govemment authority responsible for
advertising, outlining the reasons why you think it should be
banned. (See Style guide, page 16.)
54 Unit 6
Career skills Storytelling
When we communicate With other people at work, we spend much of our time
telling stories about things t hat have happened. Telling a good story can
leave a strong impression arid can help your listener to visualise a situation.
look at the following phrases~ which can be used when telling a story.
a It turned eut . . . e ln the end ...
b You'll never believe this .. . f At that very moment .. .
c To cut a long story shorl: .. . g To ge.t to. the point .. .
d Just then .. . h Guess. what happened next?
Listening 2 G Listen to a person telling a story. Does he follow the advice above?
Unit 6 SS
Dilem
ec1s1on
Dilemma: Danger Zone
Brief
The marketing team of Wonder lmage Inc are about to launch their Turn to page 146 to find out
latest action video ga me, Danger Zone, using a series of striking lV what happened with the launch
commercials with real actors. of Danger Zone.
The first commercial takes place in an underground car park, where we
can see the siJhouettes of three people moving in semi-darkness. Then
there is a sudden blinding flash as a gun goes off and a young man is
heard saying, 'This is where l met the two str:angers - and I didn't want
to meet them again.' The storyboard for this commercial has been shown
to two sample groups - a group of target consumers (12-25-year-old
males) anda representative group of older viewers. The reactions of the
first group have been extremely positive, but in the second group severa!
people have expressed concerns that the commercial will be too extreme.
Tbe marketing team are worried: if viewers complain to the
government's Advertising Standards Committee, there is a chance that
the commercial could be banned and the launcb wouJd be endangered.
Task 1
Work in groups. You are members of the marketing team and you now
have to decide what to do about the launch of Danger Zone. Among the
options that you ca n considerare the following:
cancel the first commercial and delay the launch until a new storyline
can be developed (you can suggest ideas for this)
contact the ASC to see if the commercials can be shown after IO:OOpm
go ahead with the launch of the campaign without changing anything
radically alter the campaign and/or choose an aJternative method of
advertising the game
Task 2
Meet with anoth er group and present
your decision about the launch.
Task 3
As a class, review the solutions proposed
by each group and agree on the one that
the class thjnks would work best.
Write it up
Write a fax to send to the advertising
agency informing them of your decision.
(See Style guide, page 22.)
56 Urut 6
Language check
Que~cior f r Complete the text with the appropriate form
of the verbs in brackets.
Complete the frequently asked questions
about the Advertising Standards Commission For many years, scientists have had vis ions of
(ASC). ( 1build) the smart, fuUy automated
home, which contains fridges that are able
_ _ _ __ does the ASC come to the (2suggest) recipes for the ingredients
conclusion that an ad is making false claims? inside them and cupboa rds that have no
2 ki nd of evidence does a difficulty in ('arder) groceries before
company need in order to support the claims they run out.
in its ads? People have dreamed that one day they could
3 Jetters from satisfied customers afford (4buy) internet-capable
considered to be sufficient support? kitchen appliances. So why haven't we managed
4 the ASC review my ads befare I (Smake) the dream a reality yet?
run them to check they comply with the law? 6
( have) wireless networks would
s 1 easily find out if the ASC seem to be the answer, and now Nokia hopes
already had an investigation into my (7tum) its phones into universal
company? remate control devices, (8mean) the
< We offer a money back guarantee, so we don't dream may come true sooner than we think.
need to support our claims, ? o """ e
Choose the correct fonns of the words in
Relative la ses italics.
Read the following sentences about
industrial espionage. Are the relative clauses
more likely to be defining or non-defining? The customer is finally king
Add commas where necessaty.
Thc larcsc d ilcmma 1whtJ/which TV advcrcisers have ro
The office that the team ofUS and Chinese face is how ro am:ict cynicaJ consumers 2 zuhich/uiho
scientists were working in was broken into have found ways ro avoid 3to u111tch / watchingTV
last night. conunercials. A rccenr survcy, '1()rganed ( orgttnising by
2 The thieves who tried to make it look like a 'Thc Economist', showed that consumers are more
simple burglary stole computers con taining inreresrcd in 5gerting I to gut informarion themselves
plans, diagrams and specifications for a rhan simply Cito listen/ listming to whar adverrisers
technology named Butler. have to ~ay. re is becoming increasingly important for
3 Butler which will allow anyone who has a 1V advercisers ~asking /to mk themselves how thcy sJ1ould
to access the internet was top-secret because adapr and 11 how/1uhttt ir means for o rganisarions
of its commercial potential. 9who/thntc.an'r a/Jord 10 10 laselfos11gru1y more
~ The research was being done in conjunction busu1c~. 'For che firsc rime, che consumer is boss,
11
with the University of Buffalo and the visiting who / which is fascinacingly frighrening, becausc whac
professors who recently arrived from China we were good ar 11 to do/ doingwill no looger work!'
says Kevin Robem, chie( execucive of Saarchi and
s The American Society for Industrial Security
Saarchi.
whom they commissioned to do a study said
the potential losses for ali industry could
amount to as much as $63 billion.
57
1 Vocabulary check Career skills
0 Join the nouns in box A to the nouns in Questioning techniques
box B to form compound nouns. Sorne Match the queStions with the answers.
words in box A can go with more than one
word in box B What would you do if you were me?
2 I think we should 1eave the reportas it is. Do you
A B agree?
mass devel.opme.nt 3 Would you like a break now?
informatin access 4 Why weren't you here yesterday?
product pregrammer s Don't you understand how urgent this is?
consumer elecfronics a WeU, l'm sorry, 1 didn't, but I do now.
groWth technolo.gy b I tok a lot of work home with me to do there.
internet demon~traticm
e Ye5, I do. It looks fine to me.
computer ma rket
d Oh, yes, I should think we ali need o-ne.
e I'd tell the truth.
11 Complete the artide with the following Briefing
words and five words from above.
Match the sentence halves (1-5 wi:th a-e).
~ampaign events publicity
phones ad!vertisem.ertt This project will involve
2 As this chart shows,
3 To get quick results, we need to
4 I want the Human Resources department
HumM .0kl rob0ts ate beeoming. :ever more like
hurnans1 ttlanks 'to the ragilil adyanGf;ls In computer 5 Finally, 1 want you to make this
and the ~reatiVlty of thlr designers. But
1
a a priority - we have no time to lose.
why hava mbot,s. takn 0r a human' form'? Is it t b m::ganise retraining programmes for ali the staff
mak~ the
2
feel more Gotrfortable wlth as soon as possible.
thm or is ft oeoause of the 3 they
generate for the rms tfiat make them?
e to find trainers and schedu.le training sessions.
lt is certainly true tat humanoid robots are a d we are far behind our competitors in software
wpnderful 4 f0 r the likes of Honda and terms.
.S.orw: As1mo1 the humaneid robmt trom Honcia, is e a complete change in software systems.
oapable of a eerfect pr@duct -5 ' ,.showing
What Jt car:i de by Walking on stage"at:all th lndustty's Storytelling
11
maJ9r to collect awards for the Complete the stor.y with the following
compa11y. Toyt8 organised a huge media expressions.
7
to lhfotm the wotld about Partner, thir
r,0bot INho plays tfie tr\Jmpe.t. SG'ny's ORIO
y0u'll never believe this to cut a long.$ tOry short
Understands a smaJI number of v.oiGe oommands,
.guess what happened it tt:irhed eut in the end
and wlth lts wlreless oonnectlon to the a it
can broadoast what ts camera eyes see.
But it is also true tMat these companies see their
robots becoming.rn?ss 9 products. Hideki
1 to me al the w~kend . 1 rnet t.his guy al !he
K0miyama of Sony hs no doubts. 'Robots are going
conference who 1ltiougl'lt, was really brlng ar fffst b~t we gol
te b_e a part of everyday llfe,' he S?YS, 'and Will
az l realised he was the very man 1needed
become as commo in the tutu-re as. mobile talk1ng~n ti f
10 to rneet. The tfling is tflat his ~pmpany has oeen the .v1e..rn .o
are today.'
industrial .esplonage, roo, aRd has had ali sorts .o1 pr.oblerns,
a he explaine~ how intormatm_n,gels out 01
AA'f'!{O,Y ' " d'd
11 or~nisation. 4 , tiut fn ther comQany ~hey t
~er.yttiing to dlscover how it lap~ene<L spenl ,a lo.t of tune and
money, arid 80 en, wd s that the problem was .:~
moble phones- be~use, of ~ourse..modern Ol'les h11ve ffleyras l
them, and ne one ha~ t.hoght of ltlatl
58
The people vs the USA
PAGE 6l
The passive
PAGJ 64
In the name
of the law
Keynotes
The activities of all companies are subject to
national and international laws, which lay down
J the conditions under which they can operate in
1 their horne rnarkets and abtoad. Companies and
indivicluals use the services of a law ftrm or of a
corporate legal department to take legal action or
to litigate in arder to obtain compensation for
h-arm they have suffered. Both sides in a lawsuit
a.re represented by their lawyers (US attorneys);
the plaintiff or litigant brings the lawsuit against
the defetldant. Businesses can be sued if they fail
to respect their obligations un.der the Law. Mosd
lawsuits a;re settled out of court through
negotiation ~etween tne two parties.
Preview 0 Legal professions
Listen to extracts fro m interviews with four business lawyers at the
intem ationaJ law firm DavisLaing Associates. Complete the table.
Which of the jobs described do you find the most interesting?
Speaking Read sorne examples of cases where people h ave sued . Jf you were
judging the case, would you award compensation (if so, bow
much?) or would you dismiss the case?
- A woman sued a fast food outlet after she spilled a cup of coffee over
herself and suffered burns.
- A group of consumers sued a restaurant chain because they claimed the
food it served was making them put on weight.
- A father sued the school basketball coach when his son was left out of
the school basketba 11 team.
A young woman sued a local hospital after recogn ising her mother in a
1V commercial (i nfomercial) for the hospital's emergency service. Her
mother had been filmed receiving emergency treatment.
- A computer user sued the manufacturer after his computer was attacked
by a virus which destroyed sorne important files.
60 Unit 7
Glossary
Bubble Wrapn' protective plastic
film used to protect goods
in restrospect looking back to the
past
blunder mistake
teeter be in danger of falling
trigger (n) mechanism that
activates a process; (v) to activate
get out of hand become
unmanageable
Unt 7 61
El Choose the best options (a-e) for questions 1-6.
l What was the principal mistake made by Sealed Air?
a Tt didn't protect its patents.
b lts margns were too low.
e 1t didn't foresee potential problems.
2 Wby is W. R Grace nearly bankrupt?
a It was involved in asbestos litigation.
b It sold a subsidiary to Sealed Air.
e rt paid too much to its lawyers.
3 Why is litigation casting companies more rnoney than befare?
a Levels of compensation are higher.
b New industries have emerged.
e The categories of li tigation have changed.
4 Which of the following is often a direct result of litigation against
companies?
a Share prices rise.
b FinanciaJ markets panic.
e Shareholders receive more money.
5 How could changes be brought about?
a by requiring companies to agree to settlements
b by obtaining more information
e by collecting data about employee benefits
6 What has the Supreme Court decided?
a to limit the number of appeals
b to impose stricter penalties
e to reduce compensation awards
IJ Paragraph 3 lists the six most common categories of litigation. In
which category would you include the following cases?
The Microsoft Corporation is accused of using its dominant position on
th e personal computer market to put other companies out of business.
2 The Merck corporation has decided to withdraw its drug Vioxx after
complaints that it has dangerous side effects.
3 A member of staff has accused his employer of sexual harassment.
4 MetaSoft Ltd has been taken to court after repeatedly failing to meet the
deadline for installing new software for one of its clients.
s lnterStat claims that a competitor has illegally copied technology that it
developed.
6 Investors in Maxinvest claim that the CEO did not disclose
compromising information about the company's results.
Speaking ln sorne countries, more and more people are prepared to litigate
either against businesses or professional people. ls this a good thing
or not? Do you think this will benefit society in the long term?
What cases do you know of involving litigation in your country?
62 Unit 7
Vocabulary D Match tbe words witb their meanings.
1 settlement a money paid to a professional for services
2 damag~s b a qualified legal adviser
3 plaintiff (' use of the leg~J system to settle an argument
4 lawyer money paid to the victim of an injustice
5 fee (.> a problem brought to a court of law
(... judge f a company providing legal advice
7 JUry g the official who controls a court
8 verdict h a person who litigates
9 defendant an agreement reached between two parties in a lawsuit
10 law firm J an official judicial decision
11 (law)suit k a person seeking to prove his/her innocence in court
12 legal action 1 a group of people who evaluate evidence presented in
court
Which of the word'i above have the following synonyms?
a award (n) e attomey _
b compensation _ e litigant
Practice Complete the article with the appropriate forrn of words from this
Vocabulaiy section.
n the Hollywo0@ movie of tfie same name, Julia RooertS P;lays the
1role of Erin Brackovich, a Californial single mother who ls mvelved
in an unsuc~sful 1 /awsuit where she i$ seeking
2 for injuries that she has sustained in a ~r acddent
The 5 whQ is defen<:ling her loses tifo case but offer!:l
h'er a jQ with his 4 insteq,_d._ During. her work she
disc0vers that a large czQrporation has contarrnoted the ~ter supply
of a local school. she '.Pies to corwinc;e the loBI p:eplJlabon to ta~e
s an1 ex.:entually persuades 600 people to become
6 and joiri in a dass action suit. At the hearing, the
1 rules ifl their favour and 8 - - - -
g amourtting te $3E rrdllien.
Unit 7 63
Language check The passive
D Study the sentences taken from the text on page 61 .
a ... Sealed. Air's shares a:nd.1ionds were both hit hard. (para 2)
b ... Sealed Air made ... a da.ssic American. blunder. (para 1)
Practice Complete the arride with the active or passive form of the verbs in
br~ckets. Use the appropriate tense.
When the US pltanna~eutical ,G9mpany profit p~rfomranee and its share prke. lt
Merci< first announced that its best~selling (f>estirtlate) that.mor.~ tban
drug V10'JOt was going: to (1p;ull) be pulled 80 millien people around th.e world have
fr-0m the market, the reaction on the stock takn Voxx sitwe tfte diug (Zmtroqucre)
markets was immedJat~: the frm 's s.hare _ _ _ f l999. ln:2005, Otri:>l Ernst
ptiee (2 drop) 30 per <tentin Qn'.e lleta.me tft' first litigMt to (8 award) _ __
day. lntemal dcuments that (3 leak) datnages, totalling over $25Q :rflllan, wnen
_ _ _ to the press shortly after the a jury in Texas (9find) the firm
announcement .sugg:est that the -0ompny guilty of n~gHgence. Tls tas orough t home
(4kn0w) for severa! years that Vioxx to pnrmaeeuticaL companies the ctang:ers of
C-Ould produce harmfuJ .side effects. lf that ag:gressive marketing: it only succeeds when
information i5communicate) _ __ products j1,Qguarantee) t be
to the press1 it c-0uld have rno p.er cent saie.
a'.ffected both the co!npany's
64 Unit 7
Career skills Negotiating
Interacting with other people in a formal or informal context often involves sorne
degree of hegotiating. Before you negotiate, you should have a clear idea of your
objectives and strategy. You should also find out what common ground you share
with the other side and understand which points will be the hardest to negotiate.
Look at the following phrases, which can be used when negotiating.
a Another option is . .. g I'm prepared to offer you ...
b Here's what we have in mind . .. h Altemcttively, we could ...
e That's out of the question! Done!
d Of course, you'll hove to ... j I'll have to think that over.
e No way! k We'll need more time.
f You've got a deal! Take it or leave it!
Listening 0 Listen to three dialogues. What is the subject and the outcome of
each negotiation?
El Listen again. Which of phrases a-1 above are used? Identify one
phrase from each dialogue to add to the list (a-1) above. lndicate
which stages the phrases correspond to.
Speaking Work in pairs. Take the role of one of the people involved in the
following situations. Prepare the arguments that you would use and
then negotiate with your partner.
Writing Write a letter to the person you negotiated with to confirm the
outcome of your negotiation. (See Style guide, page 16.)
Unit 7 65
Dilem
ec1s1on
Dilemma: Beauty and business Decision:
Brief
Glow Industries was born when Terri Williamson, an experienced 0 Listen to what David
Californian businesswoman, decided to start her own company Schapiro, a business lawyer,
specialising in beauty products and perfumes. Terri launched a very has to say about this case.
successful line of products under the 'Glow' name, which she sold from
her shop in Hollywood. Two years later, she discovered that hers was no
longer the only company selling beauty products with the 'Glow' name.
jennifer Lopez was launching her own line of beauty products: 'Glow by
JLo' through Sweetface Fashion. Terri immediately decided to take legal
action against Sweetface Fashion to stop it from launching its products
on the market.
For both businesses, the consequences of prolonged legal action could
be serious: Glow Industries may lose its access to the mass market and
Sweetface may have to review its international plans. What shou ld they
do?
Task 1
Before further legal action is taken, lawyers representing the two
companies have agreed to rneet to see if they can reach a negotiated
settlement. Work in pairs. Student A, you represent Sweetface. Turn to
page 137. Student B, you represent Glow Industries. Turn to page 138.
Prepare a list of your objectves for the negotiation.
Task 2
Meet and conduct the negotiation.
Task 3
Join another pair and
compa re the outcomes of
your negotiations.
Write it up
Write a short memo to
your staff nformng them
of the outcome of your
negotiation. (See Style
guide, page 24.)
66 Unit 7
PA~E. 69
SONY
IJ Read the text again and put these events in the correct order.
a Guccio Gucci's grandsons took over the business.
b The rich and fa mous started buying the brand.
e Guccio Gucci d ied.
d The first shop opened in Florence.
e A new image campa ign was launched.
f Stores opened in London. and Pars.
68 Unit 8
The name Guccl con jures upan
image o( exclusivity and prestge, an
ltallan brand of quality. As one of the
world's leadlng purveyors of personal
luxury goods, Guccl stands for more
than just fine quality shoes o r suils. The
Cuccl Group is now a multi-brand Lhe glamour Gucci represented advertising and communication
conglomerale. wlth a collection of high- exlernally. there were increasing campaigns with a markeling strategy
fashion brands like Balenciaga Stella d1sagreements within the lamily. Aldo that placed the focus on Gucd's core
McCarlney, Boucheron and Yves Saint and Rodolfo each had two sons who leather products and ready-to-wear. De
Laurent. YSL Beaut, Bottega Veneta. began pulling the brand n dlfferent Sole broughl the much needed
Bdat & Co and Sergio Rossi under lts directions in the eighcies, and decis1ons attenlion back to the quality of the
finely crafted umbrella. Gucci sells lts made about produce distrlbution brand whle :.treamllning the back-end
brand of leather goods. shoes. clothes. affected the brand's reputatlon of the business and expanding the
ties. scarves and jewellery in directly (el Eventua lly, retailers network of directly operated sLores. He
operaled stores arou11d the world as were selected more judiciously and Lhe has received as many prestiglous
well as outlets licensed to sell their brand's reputation returned However, accolades as Ford. and hls effo rts were
products (a) _ _ __ during this period of disagreement over recognised by the Eu ropean Business
2
The beginnings of the Guccl empire distribution the brand wen t from Press Federation. which selected Gucd
go back to Florence. l taly. in 1921 . when headlines to sidelines. perceived asan as European company of the year from
Guccio Gucci opened an exclusive old slandard in the fashion world among 4.000 other companies_
Since then. smart leadership has 6 Strong leadership andan 1mage
leather shop He understood the
importance of building a reputation for driven the Gucci brand to more vsibility revamp literally breathed life back into
his brand and did so by putting an and success Lhan ever before the Gucd brand C::ven so. the rocky
dJ Tom Ford was economic climate of the past few years
identifier on his special edition
creatlons. He concentrated on responsible for the design of all product has made fo r a really bumpy ride for the
producing fabu lously hlgh-qua lty lines from clothing to perfumes and fo r lu.xury goods markct (e) _ _ __
products, makfng the rn status symbols the group's corporate mage, adverli sing Despite the numbers, however, ana lysts
synonymous wlth luxury. campaigns and store design from 1994 stil l cite Gucci as one of the stocks wi th
} A~er Gucci dled, his sons Aldo and to 2004. lt was his elegant vision that the greatest upside polenlal . .giving it
Rodolfo took over the management and placed ths once staid brand back on plenty o room ro r further development.
the backs of the wealthy. Known today
led the brand to iconic status in the
1950s. They succeeded extrecnely well in as one of lhe world's leading visionaries Glossary
promoting Lhe brand lo the rich and in fashion. Ford has accumulated a
famous (b) The Guccis took greaL number of accolades on his way staid sober and unexciting
note of Lhfs popularity and expanded to the top
~ ltalian-born attorney Domenico De accolade prize, award
aggressively, opening stores in
Sole was the other half of this dynamic back-end behind the scenes
glamorous locations s uch as London,
Paris and Palrn Beach. However. for all duo By i ntegratlng elaborate administrative activities
Speaking Which current stars would you choose to endorse Gucd today? Why?
Unit 8 69
Vocabulary Find synonyms in the text for the following words and phrases.
l {para 1) providers, suppliers
2 {para 1) corporation, group of diverse firms
3 (para 1) stores, points of sale
4 (para 2) signs of importance or wealth
5 {para 3) attractiveness, beauty
6 (para 4) commercial, business
7 (para 4) plans of action, strategies to succeed
8 {para 6) renovation, improvement
El Study the following sentences taken from the text and match the
verb-preposition combinations in bold with their meanings (1-3).
The name Gucci conjures up an image of exclusivity ... (para 1)
... Gucci sta.ndsfor more thanjust.fine qua.Lity shoes or s1.tits. (para 1)
He concentra.ted cm producingfabuLously high-quaLity products ... (para 2)
1 represent 2 give attention to 3 make one think of
Practice Complete the article using your answers from exercise l, and the
appropriate form of verbs and prepositions from exercise 3.
E
ric Bemot boughl a lroubfed Spanish confectioner in !he J 950s. He
1
beleve4 In the importance of crealing one brand and knew that
success ultimately 2 ellminating the majortty of the
company's 200 products to coneentrate on building one tnJ/y globdl
1
product- a lollipop, or candy on a stick'. This innovative product alfowed
c~ildren to eat candy without getting their hands ane clothes dirty. Suddenly
Ene Bemot was on the way to becoming the world's leoding
3
of candy that purents worldwide would
4
their children eating!
His strategy had severa! phases, ond the first one s_ __ __
ffndlhg a natne fhat would appeql to children everywhere and
then promoting it worldwide. He chose Chupa Chups (ftom the
Spanish chupar. to suck) ond then osked the famous surrealst
painter Salvador Doli to design a colourful logo to aecompany
the marketing and odvertising 6 The preduct's
70 Un it 8
Language check Adjectives and adverbs
Study the examples taken from the text on page 69, showing
adjectives and adverbs used in different ways.
1 AdJectives
after the verbs be, becorne, seem, appear, Loot~,feel, remain
Tom Ford was respo11Siblefor the design of a.H product l.ines ... (parn 4)
in comparatives and superlatives
He has received as many prestigious a-ccolades as Ford ... (para 5)
... one of the stocks wifh the greatest upsid.e potential ... (para 6)
2 Adverbs
after verbs
The Guccis took note ... and expanded aggressively ... (para 3)
befare adjectives and other advetbs (as intensifier~)
De Sole brought the much n eeded attention back ... (para 5)
befare past participle adjectives to show how sornething is done
... under its finely crn..fted umbreLla. (para 1)
... in directly operated. stores a.round the world ... (para 1)
;:e For more information, see page 160.
Practice Find the adjectives in the text on page 69 that describe the
following.
1 Gucci's position in the luxury goods market (para 1) leading
2 the first Gucci shop (para 2)
3 the type of status Gucci acquired (para 3)
4 Ford's vision {para 4)
5 Gucci's promotional activities (para 5)
Find the adverbs plus the adjective or adverb they intensify in the
text on page 69 that describe the following.
6 the prnclucts he focused on (par.a 2)
7 how Gucci's sons marketed the brand (para 3)
8 the ride this market has had recentJy (para 6)
El Complete the article with the appropriate form of the words in
brackets.
Componies in the ('high) hehly competitive _ _ _ and they ore positioned to beot Motorola
electronics industry ore diseovering something as the secGnd biggest monuodurer of mobile phones.
(2surprise) ond c.urious: bronds motter afmost Somsung has preved thot o combination of clever
as much os excitlng new technology. Thfs has been brand building ond (1good, design) _ _ _
(3cleor) demonstro ted by Samsung products can work mirocles. They hove understood
Efeclronics, which mode o (4dromotic) new thot o brand without good products will tose popularity
5
entry nto the ( particular) diffcul1 digital (11incredible, rapid) , but the (1 2omaze)
market this yeor. _ _ _ thing is that the opposite is olso true. The
Once best known for rhicrowove ovens, it has market Is (13crowd) with firms wlth -0 few
tronsformed itself into o (6reol. cool) brand greol prbducls, but weak brands. To succeed and
ond is (7s1,Jccess) selllng (8style) _ _ _ grow os (1dfost) os Samsun,g has requires a
ffat-screen TVs. digital c-0meras ond mobile phones. strong brand. os wefl os ('5true, innovote) _ __
Their soles figures have done {9inrease, good) products.
Unit 8 71
Ustening 2 0 Corporate brands
D Listen to an interview with a corporate identity and brand asset
manager. Are the following statements true or false?
Brand managemen t and corporate identity management present two
very d ifferent 'faces' of the compa ny.
2 Pricing is tbe most im portant part of establishing a brand id entity.
3 Suivival without a clear brand identity is perhaps possible if there is a
lack of competitors.
4 Companies need t o check corporate bra nd effectiveness every year.
5 Keeping a low corporate profile always protects brands fro m corporate
seandais.
Christian Dior
Check your answers by looking at the company websites.
72 Unit 8
Career skills Dealing with people at work
Unit 8 73
Dilem
ec1s1on
Dilemma: The two faces of Burberry Decision:
Brief
Burberry, 'the originaJ -British luxury brand', launched its first lago in 1900 0 Listen to what a brand
and regigtered the gignature check pattem as a trademark in 1920. ft was asset manager tbinks about
an established luxuiv brand for wealthy middle-class tons.e.rvatives far this issue.
severa! decades, hut sales declined in the 1980s as the brand began to
appear old-fashioned. Then in the 1990s, CEO Rosemary Bravo revamped
its image, repositioning the Burberry brand in Jine with its luxury and
exclusive heritage. Ads were designed to depict the essence of the 'new'
Burberry, giving a modern feel combined with classic British elitism. This
marketing strategy reached the intended target, and even !Prince Willam
has been seen at many events wearing Burberry. However, the brand has
also become popular with hip-hop artists and footbalJ fans. The question
now being asked by business analysts and journaJ ists is: 'Jf Burberry
embraces the new audien'ce, will they lose their core customers?'
Task 1
Read below the options open to a brand facing this type of positioning
dilemma and discuss which ones you agree/disagree with. Can you think
of other arguments?
The case fo r extension The case against extension
lncreased sales from the 'unintended' marl<et are We should ignore these new customers and reinforce
doubling turnver. the 'tr<lditional and classical' image.
Our brand is ranked eighth on American A British newspaper has runa potentially damaging
Brandstand for 'most mentioned brand' in popuJar article about 'design hooligans', describing the bad
song lyrics. behaviour of British football fans who were wearing
We shoulc:l recruit hip-hop artists whose fans are designer brands.
already brand enthusiasts; to endorse the brand Fashions chartge quickly .in the world of hip-bop
officially. and rap. We should concentrate on our Joyal
Young customers will stay loyal to the brand customers, who don't change brands as easily.
throughout their lives, while saJes to ageing If young, less wealthy people buy our brand, it
traditional target custorners will fall off. should be for the same reasons and for the same
brand image as our core customer base.
Task 2
You are the marketing manager of a company facing a similar diJemma. Decide
which action th company should take. Prepare fully-developed arguments from the
notes on page 139 and be ready t present your arguments at a meeting.
Task 3
Work in small groups. Hold a meeting and dedde which course of action the
company should take.
Write it up
You are the marketing director of Clearly Chic. Write a memo to all the staff
informing them of the decision that has been made concerning their present
dilemma, and explaining why this decision has been taken. (See Styl guid, page 24.)
74 Unit 8 '( ~
Freud, folly and flnance
PAGE 77
Emphasis
PAGE 80
the legendary stock trader, who was the trader who caused ttie bankruptcy
known as 'The great bear ofWall Street' of Barings Bank
He took big investment risks but always He specialised in futures (an
analysed the market carefully. agreement to buy or sell something in
He gave his opinion rea~ily but didn't the future ata specific price) and
always follow his own advice. options (a contract which gives you the
He once said, 'Aman must believe in right but not the obljgatlon to perform
himseJf and his judgement if he is to a transaction ata specified time).
make a living in this game.' Whenever Not only did he lose money from the
hls judgement failed him, he incurred start but he also systematically
huge losses. increased the risks.
He falsifted accounts and lost a
staggering total of:f208m.
known on Wall Street as the greatest
investor ever co-founder of Microsoft with Bill Gates;
H~s performance over flve decades has his first investment earned him
never been bettered. $17 billion!
His best deals were in low-risk, blue- He then became an angel, investing in
chlp stock with such giants as Coca- movies, 1960s art, rock music and space
fola aod The Washington Post. travel.
He advises investors to buy and hold His companies are so innovative that it
and never act rashly. is still hard to say whether they are
head-in-the--douds losers or
far-sighted pioneers.
He once said,'The advantage of havlng
the resourm 1have is that you can be a
more patient investor.'
'
Unit 9 n
El Read the text again and match headings a-g with pa.ragraphs 3-9.
a Misplaced priorities
b Counterproductive regret
e rnitial feelings
d Being too cautious
e Being over-optimmstic
f Winning and losing
g Accepti ng when you are wrong
IJ Answer tbe questions.
l Where can we iind evidence of people's bad decisions about the future?
2 What is beha:vioural fi:nance?
3 Why don't companies abandon projects on which they are losing
money?
4 Why is .it irrational t invest ehly in your own country?
s Why are people more concerned about losses than gains?
6 How do.es regretting bad decisions affect stock market investots' futu re
decisions?
Vocabulary 1 Match the words from the text with their meanings.
returns (para 1) a a range of investments
2 traders (para 2) b to estimate
3 diversification (para 6) e people who buy and sell stocks and shares
4 portfolio (para 6) d varying investments
5 losses (para 7) e money earned on investments
6 to assess (para 9) f money lost on investments
78 Unit 9
Vocabulary 2 Prefixes
Look at the following sentence from the text on page 77. Think
about the meaning of the prefix over. What does ovenialued mean?
For exampLe, somebody may buy an overva.lued share beca.use a relative of
theirs has ma.de thousa.nds on it ... (para 6)
fl Match the prefixes (l-6) with their meanings (a- t).
1 post a between / among a group
2 pre b more than one / many
3 muJti (. later than / after
4 bi two / twice / double
5 nter (' before / in preparation
r
6 under notenough
Add prefixes from exercises 1 and 2 to the foUowing to make new
words.
emphasise estmate lingual value national arranged date (v) spend
El Make a list of other words you know with the prefixes above.
Practice Complete the article about art as investment with the appropriate
form of words from Vocabulary l and 2.
Speaking Discuss the pros and cons of investments such as art, antiques, rare
books and wine. Prioritise them in terms of hlghest/lowest risk.
Unit 9 79
Language check Emphasis
0 Study these examples taken from the profiles on page 76 and the
text on page 77. Hew would these. sente.nces be written if the writer
didn't want to emphasise them?
a Not on1y did he Lose money from the sta.rt but he aLso systematically
increased the rishs. (Nick Leeson)
b What surveys have shown is that people's forecasts offuture stock
ma.rket mavements are ... {para 3)
e lt is this myopia in the fa.ce of losses that explains much oj tiie
irrationality ... (para 7)
2 Rarely has so much money been lost by one person gambling with h.is
companys assets.
3 Never has a work of art risen in value by so much in such a short time.
4 Only in exceptionaJ circumstances can a.n investor take high risks and
sti 11be succes.sful.
;:ri For more information, see page 161.
Listening 1 E) 0 Listen to ali intetview with Bradley Hopper, founder and CEO of
a. US casual clothing manufacturer, and answer the questions.
1 Why did Hopper go into textiles?
2 What was his main goal?
3 What does he say ah.out the competition?
4 What does he say about environrnntally friendly products?
5 What are his future plans?
El listen again and change the sentences to what he actually says.
t 1 was intrested in clothes more than anything else.
2 Profit drives me.
3 Making money has to be your first priority.
4 Knowing where to cut costs and where to invest keeps me one step ahead.
5 The hands-on part reaUy interests me.
80 Unit 9
Career skills Prioritising
S~tting priorities mea ns clecioi ng what it is you most w"nt to aehieve and then
organ?inQ your time and activiti!'!S in the best possible way to reach those goa ls
and targets. Look atthe following phrases, which can be useful when prioritising.
1 a This is abslutely imperatiV:e. -e. I ought to do this urgently.
No need to do this. f Forg,et abo1.1.t that.
Speaking Work in groups. Your project team has brainstonned ideas for
setting up a new ethical investment fund. Prioritise the foUowing
tasks that you have come up with.
11 How does this compare with the way you prioritised the tasks?
Writing Write a memo telling management what the plan of action is for
the new service. (See S4Jle guide, page 24.)
Unit 9 81
Dilem .... - -.-
ec1s1on
Dilemma: Your money or your reputation? Decision:
Brief
Two young Californian entrepreneurs, Steven Evans, a.successful Turn to page 146 to :find out what
businessman, and his younger brother Max, a recent MBA graduate, have choice the now successful fouader
just inherited the family fortune and have decided to invest in the of American Apparel made when
manufacturingsector. They plan to supply the European and US screen be was faced witb tbe same
print market with mass-produced, blank T-shirts. Their rivals include giants dilemma a few years ago.
like Fruit of the loom, but they feeJ confident that there is. room for
another cornpetitor in this highly lucrative but risky sector. They both agree
that their main goal is to establish a successful business as quickly as
possible, then sell it and reinvest
Max's business plan
the profit in otber ventures in B~ manutacturJng;site basect 1
Califorriia . n
order to bui ld upa much larger St even's business plan
SUll~ l:lp aA etfiicaJ !'lmP/oyer"
1
Set up factorl~ in sonth east~sia
fortune to leave to their own MnimllID wqge in US $ 89 3 per . re:>utafierl and -establlsh a name
chi ldren. However, they have very montb + liability insurance + he.alth basgct eri lntegrlty !n0 fEi.i!nesS:. -
different ideas on how best to St Ul) tearns_te reduce OOtd
msurance. . ~"' ..
increase turn aWnut1mear.id rn,
redt1
achieve this goa L Read their Bigb staff t;rtrnove"1'. in OS dueto staff tmover. ' ee
respective business plans. monotonous an.d uncomfOrtable
oature of tbe j0b. ~aintain .control over quality
Sell to b1g, well-khwn br:ands .....
Task 1 Reduce rlskot' ~d.reputation .f<><:> t 1 .v 11QS
:--,..r @ ~OOsurn~ top~ fl'lvestlgations
Pay more tbao ro.inimum w~e o1to tnerr supp/iers wlll ~enWnce them
Work in pafrs. Role-play a
reguirement ($18.53 inBaogl~desb to ~l' r;nore. M!TJY. b[:ands have: been
discussion between the two and $ 6 3'.?S ln Goan.dong provmce dam<!QeJ;I by M~ative ~ubtiqify lately.
brothers as they explain their
business plans to each other.
tnCb:ina). Ch~ hlgher Pl'ices
Allow tr~de nnious and make : f).e<JR!e wfff ~ay more tor <:uaJity.
conditions relati~ely better. fii@her PJ.:fits wili -ffSet XJost Gf
Task 2 Get a competitive e(lge .~ llVesting In salarles ald oonditions.
join .a nother pair and discuss as a Rasure we stay iJL business by bcitig ~~ in adVerttslng ..
group which business plan has the able tooffer bighlY competi.tive l:Bu1l.dfn~ a good ~PJ.Jtation and bfana
best chance of succeeding. Prepare prices. image isa.n!P~ long-term
Aifoid dsk, copy su.cc~ssfr1l 11'!Veslrtfent. Cori~mr :!tttules ar~
to tell the class about both p lans,
saying which is better, and why. competitors. d1~1n? - lhe 'futurs 'is '.etlltleal
Minimise advc1:1tisblg GIOthrii.g,. ComPfitors wifl h'ave to do
Consider what is: of vital thssamesoorier or later:
I.of<!>l."JnUg potential customers of
importance to the success of a Nothing . ...
qnaJity to justify h\gb priees would ,ven.oi.red, nothing ga/necJ!
business; a nice idea but not
require a large communication
essential; impractical for the
moment. budget. .
No guarantees that thls can:ipaign
would w~r:k.
Task 3 It "'nll take a ton,g time to uiake real
Present your ideas to the class. i:eturns.
& tkr safe tbansorryf
Write it up
Steven or Max has sent their
business plan to your company,
looking for financia! backing.
Write a letter giving your response
and the reasons for it. (See StyLe
guide, page 16.)
82 Unit 9
Language check 5 Most of the company's oytlets are
_______ by franchisees in eacb of
The passive the main national markets.
Underline the passive forms in italics that 6 The success of the new brand is
are incorrect. Correct them. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ in this diagram.
The new legislation is to introduce sx Emphasis
montbs from now.
Rewrite the sentences starting with the words
2 Lawyers for the defence say tbey are not being given.
givin.g a fair chance to defend their client.
It's the first time I have ever seen a company's
3 lt now looks as tbough an agreement wiLt
shares coll.apse as fast as this.
reach and there is a good chance that tbe
Never _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _~
accusations wiU be wit1ul.rawing.
4 Clients are defended by their lawyers. 2 Private investors are hardly ever able to match
the performance 0f professional fund
5 All evidence mu.st produce in court.
managers.
6 Although sorne litigants had not infor>ned of Rarely _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
the changes, most were aware of the new
procedures. 3 lnvestors sboulcin't on any account concentrate
a.11 their shaTeholdings in one business sector.
7 How m uch will the company ash to pay the
victims in compensaton? On no account _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
8 The jury is going to be selected one month 4 Today, rd like to focus on how to identify stock
before the trial begins. matket opportunities.
V\That _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _~
9 The plantiff claims that his reputation has
da.maged. 5 ln the long run, the return on an investment is
10 Thecourts ma.yforce by the government to the most importa nt thing.
reduce the level of damages that ligants lt's _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
a.wa.rd. 6 The psychology of investors is the thing that
Adjectives and adverbs has always interested me most
VVh at~~~~~~~~~~~~-
Complete the sentences with one word from
each box. Consolidation
Choose the correct forms of the words in
surpr-isingly particularly highly much italics.
clirectly clearly
difficult Little sophisticated cheapel' Johnathan Harpe.r 1 has sue.d / has been sued his
operated demonstratea previous emp:loyer in a 2highli1ighly unu,sua~ l~ws~t:
he claims Uiat be was a victim of d1scnmmat1on
because he 3was forced I forced to go to work dressed
Perhaps the corupany doesn't want any in a shirt and lie whiJe his female colleagues ~vere
publ icity - so far _ _ _ _ _ __ aJtowed to dress more 4 casuallylcasual. When the case
information has been given to the press. sbrought / wa.s brought to tria! 6more earf)' 1 earlier
this month, Harper 7 was awarded / mvardecl ll 0,000
2 The Jatest devices use and
in damages by the La:bour Tribunal. 8No sooner I
nnovative laser tech nology. Sooner had the decision been announced tba:nJawyers
3 The marketing manager said that cond iti.ons for bis ex-employer appealed. However. the eJ'teci'.S of
have become as a result of the decision are already 9tc1 be fell 1 hein$ felt: 10nor
cheap imports. only / only nor are thousands of otber male empJoyees
4 Falling prices of sorne components mean that across the country now saying that they too bave been
discrirninated against., but they are also seeking
the uew models will be - - - - - - -
than initially indicated. compensation.
1 Vocabulary check Career skills
a Put the words in the correct groups. Negotiating
Put the dialogue in the correct order.
image t.arget entrepreneur case idenrit:y
publicity dividends judge risk da mages D a That's a good compromise - you've got a
promotional sue portfolio verdict bonds deal!
D a 1 suppose I could go to f300.
D a How much a re you selling your camera for?
Law Brands Investment
D a That's much too expensive for me.
D b Is it? Well, what price are you prepared to
pay then?
D b f300! No way, but I'd consider f400.
D b l'm asking fSOO for it.
Conditionals
PAGE.,90
What ;f ,
Keynetes
Ali businesses depend direetly on the
energy sector, which s the largest
single market in the worlq. Sorne
energy companies trade in fossil
fuels (coal, gas and petroleum)
while otners supply electricity or
fuel to end users. Many of the
pr1Jducts, deriv~d from
petroleum, like plastic,
chefllicals and fertilisers, are
essential components 0r
ingredients for 1ndustry. As
petroleum reserves become
scarcer, this drives l.1P eil
prices and encourages
companies and gm.vernments
to develop alternative or
renewable energies.
Inneasing energy
consumption is creating
pollutioh and causing
global warming, a problem
sorne countries are
addressing through the
Kyoto Agreement.
Preview The energy quiz
Do the following quiz and find out how much you know about the
energy industty. (Answers are at the bottom of the page.)
How many cars were there Which cour1tty in the How much extra energy
in the worfd in 1950? world has the largest will the worfd need by
a 5 mil/ion petroleum reserves? 2030 compared wth 2005?
b 50 mil/ion a Saudl Araba a + 15%
e 15 milllon b Iraq b +45%
e Russa e + 60%
How many c.ars will there
be by 2030? Which of the fo/lowing By how much could the
a 1,000 mil/ion (a bllion) products does not contain energy consumption of
b 200 mil/ion a petroleum-based individual homes be
ingredient? reduced, using existing
e 500 mil/ion
technologies?
a asprin
b chocolate a 12%
e chewing gum b 25%
e 56%
Answe~
J9 ~ qv PE 'el q. 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050
86 Unit 10
expect that global oil production could peak developing nations? China 1tself could render gasoline/ gas (US) petrel
far sooner than predcted. lf that happened, the figures obsolete: Chinese ol mports rose
OP.EC Orgahis-ation of Petrolet1m
then gettng at the remain1ng ol would by 30 per cent last year and the country's
Exporting Cauntries
become ncreasngly d1ffcu lt and expensve. energy demand is expected to grow
For an economy stll relant on fossl fuels, the significantly in the next 25 years. To put the factor in include as a crnmponent
effects would be catastrophc. As the ol size of China's energy problem in perspectve, of aA equatforn
supply shrinks. essental petroleum- in the last two years its electricity use has
barrel standard unit 0f
dependent products (thal is, nearly everything ncreased by an amount equal to the total
measuement for selling 0[ (159
in modern society, from transportation to power consumption of Brazil.
electricity to basic loodstuffs) are rendered
either unavailable or unaffordable. Eventually,
as companies employ even more complex and
The consequences of overestimating the
global oil supply would be devastating. In the
best-case scenario, industry would recover by
litres)
~ ' ,, ..
Unit 10 87
O Each of the following statem ents summarises information
p resented in one of the paragraphs in the text. Match th e statements
with the correct paragraphs.
a If no alternative energy source is found to replace petroleum, many
everyday products wiU become prohibitively expensive.
b Th e potential effects of a shortage of oil could include envi ronmental
damage and the interruption of power supplies.
e Sorne scientists doubt that levels of petroleum reserves are as high as the
petroleum companies have sai d they are.
d New sources of energy will only be seri ously.developed once petroleum
becomes scarce.
e The economies of sorne countries are growing fast and will require
greater quantities of energy.
88 Unit 10
Vocabulary 2 Look at the list of words that can be used to fonn collocations with
the words ol, enerJW and power. Which of these words can be placed
before ol / en~ / power and which can be placed after them?
Practice Complete the a rride with the appropriate form of words from
Vocabulary 1 and 2.
A new report by
GlobalResources The best-case scenario foresees a world of
relative political stability, where
companies to invest In 5 .and other
environrnentally friendly energy solutions.
presents three interna~ionaJ concern about the security of
Governments will be increasngly reluctant to
scenarios for the the M1ddle East region, with lts huae
subsidise 6 , and plans to build
ol fiel@ . diminishes. Petroleum suppl~
1
future of the costly atomic reattors will consequentJy be
are readily 2 to individual shelved.
energy sector.
consumers and businesses. However,
In the ~ors~-case scenario, the ener-gy supply
petroleum companies are torced to focus
. development an.d chaln is d1srupted by regional and local
more on 3
conflcts. Operations become le%
ensure that they leave a positive economic 7
legacy in countries where natural resources - - -- as the cost of insuring
have been depleted. . and other energy installations
nses. Access to energy is limited and marl<ets
A seco~d scenario predicts that energy
contract. Sorne countries become irnport
comparnes from Russia and China will
dependent for their energy and are forced to
become more 4 in order to secure
adopt new 9 to control dG>rnestJc
markets and supplies for their national
consumptlon. Supplles of electrlcity are
industries. This Will make it more difficult for regularly interrupted by 10
- - --
Writing You were a member of the audience at the conference where Mia
Hansen was inteiviewed. Write an email to your company's
managers, explaining the main points that Mia Hansen m ade. (See
Style guide, page 20.)
Uni110 89
Language check Conditionals
Conditionals are gen erally used to predict the consequences of likely
situations (Type 1) or of un likely or hypothetica l situations (Type 2) or to talk
al;>0ut hypothetical situations in the past (Type 3).
Find an example of each type in the text on page 87.
Mixed conditionals contain two clauses, each of which refers to a different
time (future, present or past).
Which time is referred to in each clause in the following example?
lf there ha.dn't been an oil crisis in the 1970s, people wouldn't be so
worried toda.y.
~ For more information, see page 161.
Speaking Make notes about something you planned to do in the past but
weren1t able to do, and something you dream about doing now but
can't. Discuss the situations with a partner, usng appropriate
conditional forms.
90 Unit 10
Career skills Problem-solving.
Keeping track
H.ow are things going with ... ? Couldn't be better.
---- Yeah. frs working outjus t as we
1
thought.
So, how did it go? _ _ _ _ _ _ _N_o_
tthatwe~ actually.
Are you .still on schedule? 2
Identifying the sourt e of a problem
So wlat exa11tly seems to be hlding There's still no sign of the parts we
things up? ordefed.
1--~
----------
Wha(s 9J ne w.rong? 3
4 It looks like it's the ...
What's up? Weife in big trouble. - - - - - -
Proposing a solution
How ean we sort.this out? ~.etsomeone ohto it fast.
5 We'Lljust have to ...
How do yeLJ suggest we dea l With this:? Lefsjusttake t one ste ata time.
What's fiie best-way to fix this? 6
Unit 10 91
Dilem ----...--
ec1s1on
Dilemma: The power of money Decision:
Brief
The World ~ank is an international institution which provides loans Turn to page 146 and read the
and finan:ce to countries and governments around the world. The extract from a news article about
decisions that it makes are particularly important as they provide the the commission's report.
guarantee that other financia) institutions need befare they will agree to
contribute additional funding to a new development project.
The Bank is currently conducting a review of its policy cm energy. World
demand for energy is set to rise considerably during the comng years,
and the role of the Bank will be critica! in determining, how that
demand is met. Over the last decade1 the Bank has financed hundreds of
fossil fue! projects which will substantially increase the levels of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere a nd accelerate the effects of glol::>al warming.
The dilemma that the Bank now faces is whether to continue to finance
such projects orto change to a radical new policy which would promete
c_leaner or renewable energies.
Tbe Bank has appointed a special commission to prepare a report tbat
will present re:commendations for its future policy in the energy sector.
Task 1
You are members of the commission, whch has representatives from three
groups: the energy industry, developing countries and non-govemmental
organisations. Work in group,c;. Group A. you represent non-governmental
organisations. Turn to page.137, Group B, you represent the energy
industry. Turn to page 138. Group e, you represent developing co.untries.
Turn to page 140. Prepare the arguments that you will present to the
commis.sion and choose a spokesperson to present them.
Task 2
A meeting takes place,. at which the
spokesperson for each group presents his/her
group's viewpoint. Take notes about the
proposals that the other groups make.
Task 3
All members of the commission should give
feedback and express reactions to what has
been proposed. At the end of the debate,
agree on an outline of the future policy that
you will advise the Bank to adopt.
Write it up
Write a short report on future
policy that the commission will
subm it to the World Bank. (See
Style guide, page 28.)
92 Unit 10
Page and Brin's daring IPO
PAGE 95
Future forms
PAGE-98
Searching for
shareholders
Keynotes
An Initial Public Offering (IPO) takes
place when a prvate company raises
capital by introducing its shares on
the stock market and becomes a
public limited company (ple). Befo re
a prvate company can go public, it
rnust comply with the requirements of
the regulators of the stock exchange
{Securities Exchange Commission in
the US) and file an application giving
full details of its accounts. Most
co.mpanies prefer to use the services of
;aninvestment bank to manage or
underwrite the offering.
Preview 0 Stock market launches
O listen to an expert talking about why cempanies decide to go
public. Match the three companies that she mentions with the
reasons that she gives for their JPOs.
1 DxeamWorks a to pay off debt
2 Virgin -.Slue b .t o pay back investors
3 Domino's Eizza e to pay for future expansion
EJ Read the following statements. Whicn show the advant~ges of
going publlc and which show the disadvantages?
J Management will face pressure to produce positive quarterly results.
2 Outsiders may impose their views oh management.
3 The value of the business may suddenly fluctuate.
4 More people will be aware of the company's existence.
5 The company will be obliged to disclose financial information.
6 The company can obtain finance without having to repay a debt.
7 Employees can exercise stock options.
8 Cpital wj]I be available far expansion.
94 Unit 11
Glossary
WALL STREET WDNDERBOYS
drop dead mind its own business
racket (US shakedown) a way of
obtaining money by fraud or
deception
kickbocks (Br backhonders) sums of
money paid to someone in exchange
for a favour
hype promote something with
exaggerated claims
LARAY Paga and Sergey Brin, the price unless they callad their brokers. And notorlously hyped cllents' stocks under the
founders of Google, are dolng something the buyers of equitles were mostly big guise of providing objectlve stock research.
that has never been risked before. Not by financia! institutions - pension funds, insur- Page and Brin built Google by applying
Microsoft's B1ll Gates. Not even by Apple's ance companies - that paid commissions their hyper-mathematical log1c to the inter-
Steve Jobs. The Google guys are telfing to the big brokerage firms for research and net; now they have focused the same
Wall Street to drop dead. rationality on the IPO indus-
2 Those entrepreneurs from
try. In so doing, they might
an ear11er era played the game revolutlonlze Wall Street
of golng public the way 11 had just as they revolutionized
always been played. Before the intemet.
Google carne along, wl1en a 6 or course, the huge
company was ready to sel! populanty of Google's
shares, it h1red b19 Wall Street brand makes it possible for
investment firms such as the company to bypass
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Wall Street. The Googte
Stanley. The firms offered the guys are relying on the fact
stock to their favorita cus- that by the time the publlc
tomers al a big discount. The come to decide whether to
privileged few were guaranteed buy, t11ey wlll have sean
quick profrts. but the company that the old way was collu-
received less money for i!S sive and corrupt while their
IPO. And the newly pubfic way is rational and fair.
company paid a high price for That's a great leap of falth.
the honor. The investment Allenatlng the powers that
firms' oornmisslon was fypical- be in investment banklng
Jy as high as 7 per cent of the has rlsks, too. The first time
money raised. That fee could the newly pubhc company
run 1nto the hundreds of mil- reports disappointing
loos o dollars. results, WaJI Street will be a
3 Page and Brin aren'! pul- very lonely and dangerous
iing up wlth thls racket. Their place. where everyone is
plan is to use a public auction gunning far Google and
lo offer Google's shares to few allies are to be found.
anyone willlng to pay the mar- 1 Page and Brin are
ket price. Google will receive golng to take that chance.
an estimated $100 million Google 1s based on the
more by handling the sale this way. And advice. The lnvestment houses essentially twln principies that brains will trump brawn
whffe major firms like Morgan Stanley will gave kickbacks by cutting them in on IPOs. and that a democracy will always supplant
5 Cracks began to appear In that cartel in
be managing the auction, thelr role - and a hierarohy. This democratic impulse forms
their lees - will be much diminlshed. the late 1990s, when WR Hambrecht & Co. the very core of Google's technotogy; so Jt
' Why dld s.uch famous rlsk-t1'lkers as and Wit Capital pioneered the auctlon goes wlth the fPO: Google has put lts
Gales and Jobs put up with the Watt Street approach. But tew entrepreneurs chose futura ln U1e hands of the people, not Wall
sliakedown? They didn't have much these Wall Street reformers 1or their IPOs. Street. Larry and Sergey are not your typl
dlolce. The brokerages were able to act Why? For one thing, many founders and cal courageous ieaders. But they are at the
ike a cartel because they held a near CEOs pcked traditonal investment banks forefront of a new breed of technocrat
monopoly on 1nformation. CEOs had no to taJ<e them public because they wanted kings who are gambling that they can out-
Idea what was happening to their stock the services of the firms' "analysts" - who think - and outflank - the status quo.
Unit 11 95
IJ Read the text again and study the following statements. Which
refer to the way that companies traditionally issued shares, which
refer to the public auction approach adopted by companies like
Google and which apply to both?
Speaking What are the disadvantages of not following the traditional route
and bypassing Wall Street when going public?
Do you think that GoogJe will be successful in the long term or wilJ it
suffer as a result of having antagonised the Wall Street community?
Writing Your CEO has asked you to give your opinion about whether your
company should plan to launch its new IPO by auction or by using
an investment bank. Write a short letter saying which method you
would recommend, and why. (See StyLe guide, page 16.)
96 Unit u
Vocabulary 1 Find words in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the text on page 95 and match
them with their meanings.
(pub/ic) auction a method of selling !- _ _ __ _ a si tuation where
where people bid against each other there is o nly o ne supplier of
1 _ _ _ _ the price determined by goods o r a service
supply and demand _ _ __ the price of a
_ _ _ __ companies specialised company's sha res
in selling stocks ~ _ _ __ _ stocks and shares
4 _ _ _ __ a group of companies 8 _ __ _ _ the percentage
that form an a lliance to control a pa id on transactions
sector
Vocabulary 2 Prefixes
The prefix out can be added to certain verbs to indicate that
something is done better. Study these examples from paragraph 7.
outthinh think in a more intelligent way
outflanh have a more effective plan of attack
Match the verbs with their meanings below.
Practice Complete the article with the appropriate form of words from
Vocabulary 1 and 2.
Unit 11 97
Language check Future forms
O Match the following with the situations (1-6) in which they are used.
Practice Choose the best options (a-e) to complete the sentences. There may
be more than one correct answer.
Analysts will know more about the company's fi nancial position when it
_ _ its prospectus next month.
a is going to publish b publishes e will publish
2 The auditors say that they _ _ the fina l version of the income statement
by the end of next week as they'd planned.
a will not have finished b are not going to finish e will not be finishing
3 Personally, I _ _ any shares because I don't think the company will ever
be able te> pay a dividend.
a wiU not buy b am not going to buy e might not buy
4 CEOs can make all the predictions they like, but ultimately it's the markets
which _ _ .
a wilJ decide b will be deciding e will have decided
5 l _ _ buy a few shares, but only i f the market looks good.
a might b will e am going to
6 Our Chief Financia! Officer _ _ the first presentation to analysts on
21 ju ne.
a makes b wi 11 have made e will be making
Speaking Make a list of things in the future that you intend to do, you will
have done by a certain time or you will be doing at sorne point.
Discuss your list with a partner.
98 Unit 11
Career skills Making a presentation
When you are making a presentation, it is important to include appropriate
language to show your audience what you are doing at different rnoments. This
will rnake it easier for them to follow what you are saying and will signal the
transitions between the different sections of your presentation.
Look at the following language, which can be used to signal the different sections
in a presentation.
a for instance h to put it in simple terms
b in other words i.e.
V
'1
e in brief
d as you can see here
e to go on to (the next point)
j I'll come back to that later.
k moving on to
l as this chart shows
f to sum up m that brings me to
g such as n another way of putting that
INNOVATex
lffil!,!.11 Who we are
founded by Gary Patton and Francis Fairbank
Registered in 2003
new materials research (chemical and bio-engineering)
Sectors of acflviiy
Products
patented biodegradable plastics
Number of employees 250
Head office and research centre Pasadena, California
CEO
Andrea Herra
Unit 11 99
Dilem ___
ec1s1on
Dilemma: Which way to Wall Street? Decision:
Brief
Hi Wire Ventures was the parent company of Hi Wire magazine - a 0 Listen to Larry Elgin talking
popular business magazine for Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and about what went wrong with
executives. When the internet boom was in full swing, Hi Wire Ventures the Hi Wire !PO.
had big plans: la unching new multimedia start-ups a nd new titles that
would position the group as one of the leading interactive media
companies. Financing that plan meant taking the company to the Stock
Exchange. But it wasn't ali going to be quite as simple as Chief Executive
a nd founder Mario Rossini might have imagined.
The company h ad already been forced to cancel thei r first attempt at a n
!PO at the last m inute when stock prices started to fati. But now, two
months la ter, Rossini is convinced that the market is ready for the
launch. He has found a bank to manage the launch and they have just
fin ished doing the ' road show', a series of sales presenta t ions where
professional investors are invited to comm it themselves to buying
shares. Representatives of the bank and of Hi Wire's senior management
team are now meeting to discuss the results and decide o n the future of
the IPO.
Task 1
Wo rk in groups. Group A, you represent the bank. Turn to page
142. Group B, you represent Hi Wire senior management. Turn to
page 144. Prepare the arguments that you will present at the
meeting.
Task 2
Ha ve the meeting with the representatives of the other
group. Discuss your a rguments and reach a decision
about what action to take for the IPO.
Task 3
Each group should prepare a short presentation
of the fina l decis ion and give their presentatio n
to a li the senior managers of Hi Wire a nd the
bank.
Write it up
Write a short press release expla ining the
decision. (See Style guide1 page 30.)
100 Un it I1
Cfunch time for Apple
~103
Time dauses
IA'GE:f
------
a
Speaking Ali businesses have to adapt as their markets evolve and new
opportunities emerge. Can you match the following companies with
the products or services they originally so)d? Do you know of other
cotnpanies which have recently enteted new markets?
1 American Express a forestry and wood
2 Nokia b min ing an d minerals
3 Nintendo e glass containers and bottles
4 3M d ornaments and decorations
s shell e maiJ delivery
6 Danone f playing ca rds
How might established companies be affected by the foUowing new
products entering their industries?
digital camera mobile phone MP3.plyer
Writing Choose a company that you know weJI. Imagine a new market that
this company could enter. Write a pr'ess release explaining how it
will do this. (See StyLe guide, page 30.)
102 Unit 12
Glossary
hip fashionable, trendy
unveil reveal, disclose
cede give up, abandon
dabble get involved in as an
amateur
peripherals printers, scanners and
other devices used with a computer
revered respected and admired
Unh 12 103
EJ Read the text again. Complete the tables about Apple Computer
and answer the questions.
- - ~-~~
~-
2 New rnarkets
Produc~ Cornpetitors Current market share 1:
1
2
3
Market objective
Speaking What are the main reasons why Apple does not have a larger share
of the personal computer market?
Do you think that Apple's new strategy for the personal computer
m arket wiU be successful? Why / Why not?
Could you check out the latest saJes figures and let me know what our share
of the computer market is?
2 what sort of marketing campaign are you considering?
3 We've encountered sorne problems with the software on the new operating
system.
Blackthorn Industries owns a percentage of the company.
5 All employees are entitled to know where we stand in relation to our
competitors.
6 I don't know what they're planning to do. But the rumour is that they're
bringing out a new version.
104 Unit U
vocabulary 2 Compound nouns
join nouns from the two boxes to form compound nouns from the
text on page 103. Complete the definitions below with the
compound nouns.
Practice Complete the article with the appropriate fonn of words and
phrases from Vocabulary 1 and 2 .
Pixar, the highly successful computer animation company, was originally a divlsion of George Lucas' company, Lucas
Films. In 1986 Steve Jobs, who 1 hada 5ta/ce in the company, bought out George Lucas and took control.
Originally, Pixar's 2 was the. creation of computer systems for visual processing. However, the company
was never more than a 3 in this sector and its ~ was insufficient to justrfy further
investment. Pixar was soon facfng a critica! situation as they were 5 sales of their machines. To promete
6
sales and improve , John Lasseter, the creative director, pre.pared a series of commercials, but he
7
that one day film-making would beco me Pixar's main source of revenue. Today, Pixar is one of the most
successful operations in lts sector and has produced sorne of the most popular animated pictures for the
8
, such as Finding Nemo and The /ncredibles.
Listening J E) Listen to a business analyst talking about the history of Honda. Take
notes and complete the table.
4 alrcraft
en9inea
Unit u 1os
Language check Time clauses
Study the examples taken from the text on page 103.
a Every jtinuary; he cooUy stands aside while other industiy bosses go t
Las Vegas ... (para l)
b Mr jobs hopes that as its seamlessly integrated range of products grows
further, Ap.ple will become the m.ost revered brand ... (para 8)
e That growth will continuefurther once Mercedes, Nissa.n, Volvo a.nd
Ferra.ri have joined BMW a.nd started to o.ffer iPod contra Ls in their
steering wheeLs ... (para 8)
Practice Complete the sentences with the appropriate form of the verbs in
brackets. You may need to use negative verb fonns in sorne cases.
1 We (make) will make every effort to get our new medicine onto the
market before our main competitor (release) theirs.
2 As soon as we (find) a suppl ier who can provide the
circuits, we (move ahead) with the production phase.
3 Whenever a new competitor successfully (enter) a market,
profit margins (tend) to fall.
4 The new vehicle '(go) on sale until it (complete)
_ _ _ _ its road trials.
5 Let me know when you (get) tbe latest sales figures, and we
(decide) what to do then.
6 Once the salespeple (understand) the advantages of the
new model, it (be) much easier for them to sel( it.
7 I don't see how we (can / be able to) confirm the orders
until we (know) when our dealers will receive the goods.
8 San dra (make) the necessary alterations to the website
while ]odie and 1 {prepare) the sales brochures.
Career skills Handling conflict
Look at three strategies for handling conflict and match them with
phrases a-h.
Minimise: ignore a confct or try to make it seem less impo11ant.
J. Accommodate: try to find a compromise solution that is in the interests
of aU those involved.
3 Dictate: use your a u thority to impose a solution to the prob.lem.
Unit 12 107
Dilem ----
ec1s1on
Dilemma: The cola comeback Decision:
Brief
Parle Ltd is an independent company that produces and distributes soft 0 Listen to Dinesh Madhur
drinks and sodas, including its best-selling Thums Up cola, on the talking about the strategy that
market in India. Until recently, the company had ben protected from was adopted far Thums Up.
outside competition by government regulations which prevented foreign
competitors from entering the market. However, the government has
now changed to a free-market policy, and foreign companies are now
able to set up plants and distribution networks inside the country. Parle
is well aware of the power of the US gia nts, Pepsi and Coca-Cola. But
what can they do to protect their market?
Task 1
Work in groups of three. You are directors of Parle and you have
arranged a meeting to decide what strategy your company should adopt
to prepare Thums Up for the free market. Choose a role on page 143 and
prepare the arguments that you would use to convince your fellow
directors to follow your advice.
Task 2
Hold a meeting and present
your arguments.
Task 3
Decide together on the best
course of action for the
company to adopt.
Write it up
Write an email confirming the
decisions that you have made.
(See Style g1de, page 20.)
108 Unit 12
Language check
Con i t , Complete the sentences with the following
words.
Complete the dialogue with the correct fonn
of the verbs in brackets. as soon as whenever when until
1.You know, if you ('use) public after wh ile
transport instead of driving to work every day
last year, l'm sure you (2save) a - -- - - we first introduced the product, it
lot of money! was the only one on the market.
B You're right. And if petrol prices (3keep) 2 looking at ali the facts, tbe
- - - - going up the way they have management has decided to stop
done recently, it {4start) to cost manufacturing in Europe.
me even more. But it's not just the money -
it's so much more convenient by car. rf 1 3 The contract is coming by express delivery.
( 5not/own) a car, T (6have to) - - - - - you get it, sign it and send it
_ ____ take the bus to the station and back. lt's urgent!
then take the train, adding an extra hour a - - - - - we run into design problems like
day onto my journey. this, it always seems to take so long to sort
A WelJ, if l (7be) you, 1 {8 make) th ings out.
_ _ _ __ an arrangement with a colleague ~ T can give you an answer, but not _ _ _ __
and take it in turns to drive. That way, you T've had time to look at the latest sales figures.
9
( not/waste) any time and you At least we'll be able to do sorne work at home
1
( save) money, too. - - - - - the office is closed for renovation.
B You're right. That's exactly what J sbould do.
~ "'ur 1 l
Choose the correct forms of the words in
Choose the oorrect fo rms of the words in italics.
italics.
Chevron. the US ol company, announced that
The company has confirmed that it might go /
it has made a bid \O acquire Llnocal for
will go ah ead with its lPO as long as the
market remains stable. $ 18 bill ion. The planned acquislllon comes a1
a time 1\11h11{while many industry ana lysts are
1 Cornpany spokesperson Gregmy Hansett said
that his firm wilL in.tend!intends to offer five warning that oil prices 2 rise / will ris-e even
million shares for sa le. hi11her lhan the recent peak of $58 per barrel.
3
'! The share price has yet to be fixed, but lfLl,e specialists al Goldman Sachs are 1 will
analysts say that it will !might probably be in he right, the oil markets 4co11tinue 1 will
the order of $10-15 per share. continue LO bccomc even more volatile as
4 By the time its new flagship hotel is opening/ world reserves 5are srarting I start to diminish.
opens in February, tbe group wiH become/ 6Bejore/After Chevron decided to make the
1
wiH ha.ve become tbe market leader in Asia. deal. one thing was already clear: if it hadn '1
Sorne analysts say that tbe CEO will be asking/ boughr / didn 't buy a competitor witb access ro
wiH ash for trouble if he takes the company reserve of natural gas. it 8won 'r be able I
public at such a difficult moment. wouldn 'r be trble to supply its clients growing
6 Economists are predicting that overcapacity appetite for this type of fuel. However. tbe~ is
erodes/wiLL erode profit margins for the no doubt that even if petroleum pnces
industry as a whole. 10
eventually 9/all / lwcl jllen. Chevro n would
nor waste / will nol have wasted its money as
it is paying far the acquisition witb shares.
109
1 Vocabulary check e Not that well, actually. I got stuck in traffic
and missed my tlight.
Correct the adjectives in italics by adding d The d~~Jay is because we don't have
or removing prefixes where necessary. authorisation.
1 One of the arguments that is often used against e Couldn't be better. We've just got two more to
wind energy is that it is not only uneconomical finish.
but also extremely reLiabLe.
Making a presentation
2 It is very hard to increase matket share with
products that are not uncompetitive. Complete the extracts from a presentation
3 Although solar energy wilJ only become
with the following phrases.
expensive once cheaper solar panels are
mc::5virig on in btief in other worG!S
available, it does provide a source of energy
sum up for instance as you can see
that is p1luting.
El Choose the best options (A-C) to complete Our company has always had a reputation for
the sentences. inventiveness - 1 , we were the first to
develop a viable biodegradable alternative to
The companies have formed a(n) which plastic. And we're an innovative company,
fixes prices and production leveis. 2
, we're the type of organisation that
A monopoly B cartel e agreement responds to challenges by findirrg original
2 The products have been designed for the solutions.
_ _ and will be sold worldwide. Before 3 to the next point, l'd like to say
A mass market B niche market C stock market a few words about our financia! performance -
4 from this slid<; we've increased our
3 Compan ies can protect their markets by
ereating barriers _ _ profit margii1s for the last year by 1.5 per cent.
A to en ter B to en try C of en trance Before T conclude this talk, rm going to
5 the main points that 1 have
4 Anotherword for stocks and shares is _ _
mentioned here this morning: 6 we're
A capitals B accounts C equities young, we're dynamic and, most important of all,
5 The advantage of energies is that the we're profitable.
reserves they consume can be replaced.
Handling conflict
A renewable B fossil fue) C electrical
Put the dialogue in the crrect order:.
6 Theyve bought another two million shares,
giving them a 20% in the company. O a But you've known about it for ages.
A stock B stake C part O a But people are sti ll saying 'the colours are
wrong.
O a Well, not if it's going to ruin our sales!
1 Career skills O a 1 don't think I can get things ready in
Problem-solving time.
Match the questions with the responses. O b Listen. l know w.e dorrt see eye to eye on
1 So, how are things going wiih the this, but it is just a mino.r detail. Right?
modifications? O b WeU, you'U just have to, whether you like
2 What seems to be holding things up? it or not.
3 What's the best way to fix this? O b Oh, please, lefs keep things in perspective!
lt's a good product, people like it and it
4 So, how did it go? will seH. Stop worrying!
5 Are you still on schedule? O b Well, we can't change them now. So there's
a There have been sorne minor delays but no point discussing it any further.
nothing too serious.
b Well, if the worst comes to the wQrst, we may
have to rewrite the entire program.
no
A path to helping the poor
MGE 113
Reference words
PAGE 116
Speaking What are the main banking institutions in your count:ry? What
banking services do you use? How do you cany out your banking
transactions (by phone / on the intemet / at a branch, etc.)?
Ustening 1 0 Look at the table, which shows the main departments and services
of an investment bank. Listen to three employees talking about their
jobs. Which department does each one work in?
Speaking Do you agree that investment will help to solve sorne of the
developing world's problems?
Do you think that it's possible to mix business and philanthropy?
What other ways of reducing poverty can you think of?
112 Un 13
INVESTING IN DEVELOPMENT
Copyright (2003) by The New York Times Co. Reprinted with permission.
Unit D 113
Vocabulary 1 Expressions with make
O Look at the following example from the text.
Micmftnance institutions typicalty make Loa.ns (= lend money) ... (para 2)
Complete the following expressions with make from the text. (Each
can be followed by the preposition(s) in brackets.)
get/produce a return on an investment (para 1)
make (on/from)
2 get/produce a retu.rn on an investment (para 3)
make (on/from)
3 have a positive influet1ce on something (para 6)
make (to)
114 Unit 13
Reading Investment bank for sale
Read the extt;act from a newspaper artide about Cazenove, a British
investment bank, and answer the questions.
I What services does Cazenove provide far its dients?
2 Why do you thi nk majar investment banks wanted to buy Cazenove?
Listening 2 0 It was JP Morgan Chase who finally made a <leal with Cazenove.
Listen to an interview with jeff Sanders, a market analyst, who is
talking about the strategic alliance. Choose the best Qptions (a-e) to
complete the sentences.
1 The alliante is a
atakeover.
b merger.
e join:t ven ture.
z The price JP Margan Chase paid fa r the deal is
~ much less than other recent alliances they made.
b much more than other recent alliances they made.
e SO per cent less than other recent dea ls.
3 Cazenove is attractive because it
a is a very powerful bank.
b has very im portant clients.
e is Britain's biggest investment bank.
4 Cazenove's shareholders are
Unit 13 115
Language check Reference words
We use the reference words this, that, these, those, such, the fonner, the
Latter, one and ones to refer to something mentioned before.
Study the examples taken from the text on page ll3 and decide what
the words in bold refer to.
a But Leading microcredit institutions cLaim that only ftve per cent of the
toa.ns they mahe a.re never repaid. This compares withfive to ten per
cent in the consu:m.er finan.ce industry ... (para 2)
b " ... we Lend money to poor people ... n.ot only so that they can mahe
'l'!Wney ... but al.so so that our investors can make money." The latter, of
course, have to be his prima.ry concern. (para 3)
e ... they visit the central bank or Leading a.id institutiom, the emes
generaLLy doing microfinancing. (para 4)
d "J visited a village in Cambodia where the people u.sed m i crocredit
Loa.ns to buy ... Such vi.LLages are being transformed from d:ust to being
productive." (para 4)
e BlueOrchard typically charges two to seven percentage points more
than Libar ... "But you have to remember that other forms of locatly
available credit arefive times higher than tha.t." (para 5)
~ For more nformation, ~eE- page 162.
Practice D Read the extract from an a rticle about a banker and decide what
the words in italics refer to.
j onas Okembo is a microfinance the actual sum lent am:l 3tJie latter
manager.. t T11is involves calculating refers to the percentage charged by
the interest rates the bank should tbe bank for the lending period.
charge customers o n their loans. lt Rating the credit-worthiness of ~such
also means deciding how long it will investors can be the most dfficult part
take disadvantaged customers to of tbe job, but as it often involves
repay both t,he principal and the travelling to lnterestlng places, it is
interest .qn the loans. 2Tl1e former js 5the one he enjoys 1,JlOst.
EJ Read another extract from the same article. Replace the words in
italics below with the latter, tha.t, such, the ones, these or the former.
He was ftrst attracted to the worthwbile to work with,' Jonas says. a slump in my final year in
ml.crofinancing sector by a desice to ' It's a great positlon to be in, and l'm business school, and 1 wasn't really
help people In: developing countties. swe thafjf l ttitln 1t work in tl1i$ type o( qua~ifled for i11temi1tional relations
They are the people 1 _ _ _ __ 3 an environment, l s . However, being a
whosc projects he found the most would probably havc set up my own microfinance account manager is
chaUenglng, and tbeir motlvation business. Originally, 1 wanted to go what 1 want now and being a
and enthusiasm were contaglous. lnto the technology sector and then l microfinance account manager
'Tlleir motivation and enthusiasm thought about a career in 6 is aU that matters for
2 Me tbe things international rela tions, but tl1e tbe moment.'
tbat make them inte.resting and technology sector 4 suffered
,r--A~~~~. .~rlrJr
116 Unit 13
Career skills Persuading
Persuading colleagues to agree. With your p.oint Of view or f llow tne course of
adion yo'U recommen:d can sometimes be a difficult task. You may need tQ use
diffetent (lperoa-c: hes depending on the personalities and rela:tionshi-:s i nvo lv~o.
Look at t he following useful phrases.
a Unless you're prepared to .. .
b Beartng all things in mind .. .
c. We're. ali in this together.
d Ali things considered, I t hink .. .
It's in aLtof our inter~ts to .. .
f Ifyou don't do it this way, then ...
g Ajter looking at all sides of the argument .. .
Listening 3 G Listen to three dialogues. Which of phrases a-g above are used?
Unit 13 117
Dilem ----
ec1s1on
Dilemma: Reliable research? Decision:
Brief
LVMH, the company famous for Dior cosmetics and Vu itton handbags, Now turn to page 140 to find out
is suing the US investment bank Morgan Stanley for a1oom, accusing its what happened.
research ana lysts of giving false reports about its financia! health. LVM H
claims that the bank compared them unfavourably with theit biggest
rival, Gucci, who is a client of Morgan Stanley, causing the LVMH share
price to drop. The bank counterattacked by seeking damages of a1orn
and the publication of the judgement, if it was in their favour, in 20
magazines and newspapers.
Task 1
Work in groups. Read the claims below put forward by the two sides.
Discuss whether you think these claims are valid. Why / Why not?
r Task 2
Work in groups. Based on the claims, prepare a list of persuasive
arguments which could be used by the spokespeople from each party.
Assign the roles of spokespeople to two members of the group and listen
as they argue the points. Did you feel more convinced by sorne
arguments than others?
Task 3
Discuss what you w0uld do if you were the judge in this case. W
you award the requested damages to either side? Compare your
with those made by other groups.
Write it up
Write the minu tes of the meeting your group
had in Task 3. (See Style guide, page 26.)
118 Unit 13
A leadership lesson in Shakespeare
PAGE 121
120 Unit 14
MOTIVAT ION AL TRAINING lea.roed" and "what rn do". Bur the ses-
sioos also include clips from film ver-
sions of the play ar hand; che Caesar
A leadership lesson seminar, for example~ showed Marlon
Brando beseeching "Friends, Romans
and couocrymen" to Iend him their ears.
Unit 14 121
El Read the text again and answer the questions.
1 What kind of man did the group of managers think Brutus was?
2 In what way was Brutus's p lanning insufficient?
3 What assets do the Adelmans have which have contributed to the
success of their training firm?
4 Which executive skills do they explore using juLius Caesar?
5 Which aspects of the training are sim ilar to more conventional
management cou rses?
6 What are the virtues of HenryV, according to the Adelmans?
7 What d id the participants think they should do more often?
Language notes
Hen V speaks to his soldiers befare they go inio battle, and tel~s tlte~n
lw w~ey will alwa)'s be remembered if they fight /Jravely alonss1de Jum. 1 S.haKespeare changes lrorn the
plural we to lhe sihgular he to
H e titen. co11tinueswit11 :
speak aboul ind1viduals.
W e fcw, we happy few, we band of brothers; 2 He will become a genlleman
For ' he to-day that shcds his blood witb me 3 inbed
Shall be my brother: 4 wi/I be sorry they were nol here
This day 2shalJ gentle his condition
3
And genllemen in England now a-bed
4ShalJ think themselves accursed they were not here
Listening 1 G Listen to a trainer who is using this speech to illustrate bis course
on motivation. Compare what he says with your answers above.
122 Unit 14
Vocabulary 0 Put the following words, taken from Preview and the text on
page 121, into four groups: Teacbers, Sessions, Students, M ethods.
Practice Complete the dialogue with the appropriate fonn of words and
phras.es from this Vocabulary section.
Sue: Hi, Mike. I've just signed up for that 1 couree , ' New issues in
management'.
Mike: Yeah, me too. I hope they're going to 2 ethicaJ issues in
management. That's soniething I've been trying to get peop1e around
here interested in forsome time.
Sue: They probably will l heard the 3 a re pretty radical people
and don't exactly stick to traditional rnethods. The last time they did
sessions here, it 4 sorne pretty dramatic changes. Sorne
people didn't 5 them very well anda few of our more
conse1vative colleagues resigned!
Mike: r remember that. l'm not sure we need to change things all that much,
but it would certainly be nice for 6 like us to have the
chance to talk about our own particuJar problems here.
Sue: Yes, that's true, but things can get a bit unpleasant if we have to
diswss how we 7 management - and each other.
Mike: l'm not worried about that as long as we don't have to do too many
8 like last titne - they're sure to ask me to take the part of
the CEO again!
Practice Complete the extract from a report about language training with the
example clauses from the table above.
The objective of the BCC's language survey was to analyse the relationship between foreign language
use a od export performance. 1 After lntervlewin(I fieveral hundred UK mc,r20rt mana(ler::.; , the BCC
analysed their responses to a standard questionnaire and used this information as the basis for the
report. Tbe findings of the survey, 2 , show that
3
, they do agree on one
thing: English has now establisbed ilself as the i_otem ational language of business.
Tbe study divides UK expor ters in to four distinct groups:
Anglocentrics chose to do business exclusively with countries that have had close historical tiesto
tbe UK and a tradition of using English. Bu t this is nota dynamic strategy 4 that presen t
themselves in other parts of the world.
Opportunists do not like to have any direct business dealings in a foreign language. But they are
prepared to consider doing business with non-English-speak:ing countries 5_ __ __
Adaptors go fu rther 6 , and that involves making an effort to present product
information and sales literature in the local language.
Enablers are the most sensitive to linguistic and cultu ral. identity and integrate tbese two factors in
their strategic overview. 7 , tbey ensure that information about ali aspects of their
business operations js available in the national languages of the markets where they are present.
However, 8 , they too are reluttant to actually conduct business in a foreign language.
124 Unit 14
Career skills Motivating
When people feel motivated by their jobs, it gives thern a sense of personal
satisfaction, which results in bett~r quality work. Keeping staff motivated is
therefore a priority for managers and supervisors. Look at the following phrases,
which can be used to motvate people.
a We're ali in this together.
b This is the last chance I'm giving you.
e I'm offering an additional commission to whaever ...
d It's in everybody's interests to ...
e J'm going to let you handle this.
f You get the business, you get the bonus!
g Come on. You've got to da better than that!
h Would you like to take full respansibility for this?
Listening 2 8 Listen to four dialogues. Identify one sentence from each dialogue to
add to the List (a-h) above. Indicate which approaches the sentences
correspond to.
Speaking Which of the approaches in the dialogues above would work for
you? Which would you adopt if you were a manager and had to
motvate a member of your staff?
IJ Work in pairs. Take tums to play the roles of the manager and
employee in each of the situations on page 144. As manager, decide
which approach you would adopt in order to motvate the employee.
Unit 14 125
Dilem ___
ec1s1on
Dilemma: Allocating the training budget Decision:
Brief
Ashdown and Kennedy, a manufacturing plant, had to take their 0 Lis ten to what Joyce
absenteeism problem seriously when they discovered that on any given Moorhead, an HR
day 10 per cent of the factory staff were off sick. In addition to this, high training consultant,
staff turnover was increasing recruitment costs and reducing thinks about the
productivity. Tbey asked People First, a human resources consu ltancy, to options available to
conduct a full study to ascertain the reasons for these problems and to Ashdown and
come up with solutions. Kennedy.
The study revea led that the majority of staff complained of poor
relations with line managers, who were said to be authoritative and
inflexible, and s uffered acute stress due to co-worker disagreemen
the genera lly bad atmosphere in
the workplace. Sorne of the staff
obviously had genuine ill-
health problems, bad backs
being the most common,
while more had problems
caused by poor di et, bei ng
overweight and lack of
exercise.
One of /he best Wc1ys to retain staff and keep help people to thnk more positively, manage
Task 1 moliVEtional levets high Is to provtde incentives time, enjoy cll!Jlenges and enhance
through tcaining schemes. Wetherefore propase relationships with co-workers and managers.
In groups, read the extract
from the report that People thatyou considerthe oplion of implementing an provide
First produced and discuss annuat traininu budget of approximately 5% of - intenslve one-day stress awarenesscourses.
the benefits and drawbacks the payroll lar al/ kinds of differenl training. Cost: 20% of budget
of each of the proposals. Oplions to considerln youtpartlcular - extenslvecourses run over several weeks,
circumstances11re.as folfows.: wlth astressconsulrant avaHab1etor one.to-
Task 2 onediscussions with statt members.
a) Health BiHl Rttlllss Awareness Tralnlng
for all stalf memt\e.rs Cost: 70% of budget
Decide which o ption or
combina6on of options Top Health e) Management Style Training lor ali lirle
you would choose for the managers
offer courses nn occupational health and
short term a nd for the long general litness awareness (keeplng people The Future Manager Consultancy
term, a nd give reasons. heal!hy and showing corporate social offer tailor-made lraining courses lor line
responslbility). managers.
Task 3 Cost 30% ofhudn.et propose acourse based on developing good
could provide gym and fitness lacilities on listening skills, setting reachable goals,
Present your a rguments to
the premises. complete with alitness trainer, becoming better communicalors and working
the class.
lor bes! long-lerm resulls. lowards llexibil ity.
Cost: 100% ofhudget claim that ltyou provide dictatorial managers
Write it up wlth theapproprate training, you will be
b) Stress Management Courses for ali staff
Write a short report on the taking apositlve step towards solving staff
members
Ashdown a nd Kennedy absenleelsm, turnover and health problems.
Key Associates
problem a nd how you Cost: 60%ot budget.
would salve it. (See Style claimtbat stress-reJated issues are always
guide, page 28.) themain r~ason for absenteeism.
126 Unit 14
Global professional-service firms
PAGE 129
Reported speech
PAGE 132
The advice
business
Keynotes
Professional-service firms provide services to other companies, which often rely on expert advice
~om consultants who advise on strategy and policy maki ng. Investment banks and finan ce
companfos offer advice on financial transactions, while bookkeeping and auditing are often outsourced
to indepe ndent accountants or auditors. Legal matters are placed in the hands of law firms, and
information technology systems are regularly looked after by external professionals. Sorne professional-
service firms provide 'complete solutions' by offering legal, accounting and strategic expertise.
~owever, in the USA recent legislation limits the extent to which, for example, audit firms can give
,olicy advice on other aspects of business due to the conflict of interests this practice gives rise to.
Preview Consulting services
Match the services (l-6) that the Chicago Consultancy Group offers
with the following areas of expertise.
branding corporate development pricing strategy
retail globa lisation
We help firms to hove a high~ ccHmlinoted approoch to the image they wanl to projecl.
2 Managers today often.ossume that lhey should focus on reducing costs to stoy competitiva. This is not !he on!y
course of action lo consider. Sometimes choosing to hove experisve ploducts s the best option.
3 Creoting above average shareholder value has moved to the centre of the senior1TJ0nogement agenda. We help
managers to toke the best exponsion options.
4 (omponies hove to deal with many more- markets thon in the post, and ,at different ievels of economic
development.
5 Focusing on the chonging needs and behaviour of consumers helps our clients emerge os leoders in this sector.
6 This is the core aspee! of oll our odvice. We help clients plan far the future ond put forword t~e best options to
choose from in all oreas of their business.
Speaking Read about consultants below. What arguments can you think of for
and against employing them?
Sorne people are very scepticaJ about the value of consultants' advice. There
are many jokes about them, such as 'A consultant is someone who borrows
your watch to tell you the time.' Top consultancy firms charge clients up to
$10 mili ion a year for advice, whether it improves performance or not.
D Read the foUowing sentences taken from the text. Complete the
text with the sentences.
A smaU group of firms is showing how this should be done.
2 Russian subsidiaries now tend to be run by Russians, who prefer to buy
services from fellow nationals with detailed knowledge of local
conditions a nd rules.
3 Wherever western muJtinationals went to set up or buy a new business,
there too went their accountants, bankers, consultants and lawyers.
4 And what they are looking far is not the biggest global brand name in
their neighbourhood directory, nor the firm with the broadest range of
services on offer.
5 Things get done among such groups of individuals more by face-to-face
persuasion than by impersonal commands used by their clients.
6 For the likes of Art hur Andersen, these problems and confl icts have
already ended in disaster.
128 Unit 15
Glossary
heady stuff very exciting moment
cascade huge amount
blue chip well-known and
successful
Cross-border consultants
UKE the various groups of helpers way, today we have a special offer on Besides, the managers of multina-
that accompanied ancient armies on the restructuring your company." tionals' foreign operations are less and
march, professional-service firms fol- 3 This was a strategy which created less likely to be expatriates these days.
lowed rheir industrial clients as they enormous managerial problems, in addi- (d) When those ancient
expanded around the world in the 1980s tion to introducing a cascade of poten- armies had fuught their battles aad
and J990s. (a) From Moscow tial conAicts of interesr among firms' nally won, they left behind locals to
to Buenos Aires, the efficient profession- increasing regulatory and professionaJ run their hard-earned territories. The
al-service firms were ready to advise on duties. (b) For others, such various groups of helpers retumed home
what deals to do, bow to finance them, conAicts are still being discovered, a with the troops.
how to compute their consequences and process which is being speeded up by 6 Yet there is a need fur professional-
how to solve any problems involved. legislation. America's Sarbanes-Oxley Act service firms to be intemational, to a
1 lt was heady stuff, and it led sorne bans accounting fums from carrying out limited extent Firms in the European
professional-service finns to decide that certain consulting and legal services for Union increasingly need to take a trans-
they should fol low their clients' exarn- their audit clients, and there are growing national view of things. And someone
ple and go global as well. They dis- restrictions on the provision of tax has to co-ordinate the muhinationals'
patched their ambassadors around the services as weli. local service-providers, be they auditors
4 The "do everything everywhere" strat-
world and waited for them to attract or lawyers. (e) The so-called
the new business that would juStify egy looks like a problem for profession- "Charmed Circle" of blue-chip New York
their cost. The accounting firms, which al-service firms. too, because no matter law firms has an enviable record of prof-
wcre among the more aggrcssive glo- how multinational tbeir clients, those itability, combined with modest intema-
balisers, thought they could be likened clients buy very few of their professional tional expansion. Most of the.5e firms
to ali the groups of helpers as well as to services centrally. Purchases are, by and have also chosen to join an infurmal net-
the armies themselves. They took over large, the responsibility of local man- work of top-ranked firms around the
consultancy businesses, 6i1artce compa- agers. {e) They want the best wodd. The network's firms exchange
nies and law firrns, setting themselves service fur each individual task, and tbe lawyers and run joint training pro-
up as global chains of one-stop shops nature of professional seIVices is such grammes. (~ Umil someone
with a "we do everything'' attitude: that "the best'' invariably involves a proves there is a better approach. this
"While you're in for an audit why not combination of superior local knowledge seems the way forward for most otber
buy a bit of litigation, too? And by the and close customer-client relationships. professional-service firms as well
Unit 15 129
11 Read the text again and answer tbe questions.
1 What kind of problerns did the accounting firms' strategy create?
2 How has the US tried to solve sorne of these problems?
3 Why do sorne global compnies not use the services of global consultancies?
4 Why is it necessary to have sorne international professional-setvice firrns?
5 What have the top New York law firrns managed to do successfully?
130 Unit 15
Complete the arride with the appropriate form of expressions
with lhe.
Outsourcing to 1 th ch
. eicago Consultancy Group and other bg consult" firms ""n
sometrmes have a negative im et th ing .....,
. pa on e mora le 0f staff. They feel threatened and often i
c:onsultan ts to messengets of b~d 1 - - --
in the firm. lt isn't alwa 3 news, expectmg the downsizing' process to start soon after their arrval
. . ys that, or cota:se, but whatever the effect on individuals or Ol the
company paymg the M1gh fees, consulta nG.y" be"ing .... th lJ t .
vv l s or some time ro cme.
/ consultaht /
/
audit
strategy
regulatory
knowledge /
Practice Complete the article with the appropriate form of words and
phrases from Vocabulary l and 2 .
l ln it 1'i n1
Language check Reported speech
When using reporting verbs like say and tell in the past, we generally make
verb and time changes to the direct speech we are reporting.
'He was here yesterd.ay.' -+ She sa.id (t1tat) he had been there the day before.
We don't always make these changes, especially when reporting a fact that is
still true or when reporting very soon after the d irect speech.
'Consultants can be helpfu! beca.use they're objective.'
-+ They told us (t1tat) corisuLtants can be heLpful beca.use they 're objective.
-+ ... corisUltants could be hel11ful because they were objective.
We often summarise a nd use d ifferent wording instead of reporting word for
word.
'Jt is important to do SD'l'ne research and check as -nia.ny of the fa.cts as we can
arui only then discuss everything so that we can come to a decision about
what course of acticm w e should take.'
-+ He said we should look into i.t al! first and then decide what to do next.
We can use other reporting verbs, which can be followed by:
an infinitive (agree, ash., decide, dema.nd, offer, promise, refuse, want):
'l'U reduce the fees 1fyou lihe.' -+ H e agreed to nduce the fees.
a gerund (admit, deny, rnenti.on, recommend, suggest):
1 made a mistake with the figures.' -+ H e admitted making a mista.he
wi.th the figures.
a n object + infinitive (a.dvise, ask, instruct, invite, remind, teLt, wam):
'You should lower y our pri.ces.' -+ They advised m to lower our prices.
;ri For more information, see page 163.
Speaking If you were the managing director, would you take the consultant's
advice? Why / 'W hy not?
Writing You are the managing director in the conversation above. Write a
forma) email to your staff, summarising the conversation you had
with the consultant. (See Style guide, page 20.)
132 Unit 15
(areer sl<.i\\s Repomng
A large part of offtce life is spent reporting back orally to one's colleagtJes and
bosses about conversations at formal and informal meetings. Reporting back
requires accurate observation and memory skills as well as summarising arid
communication skills. Sometimes the person reporting back is also expected to
make a recommendation about a course of action or decision to be taken.
Look at the following useful phrases for reporting back on conversations and
meetings.
a We ftnaUy all agreed to ... e What he wants us to do is ...
b He suggested telling them ... f The bottom line is ...
e What he was trying to say was ... g I recommeod / I suggest ...
d In short, she is refusing to ...
O Listen again. Which of phrases a-g above are used by the fust
speaker?
Speaking Work in pairs. Student A tum to page 139. Student B tum to page
144. Read the dialogue of the meeting. Imagine you were at the
meeting too and report back on it.
Listening 3 8 Listen to both dialogues and decide if your partner reported all the
necessary information.
Unit 15 133
Dilem
ec1s1on
Dilemma: Consultant with a conscience Decision:
Brief
CIC ConsuJtants is proud of the performance of one of its main clients, 8 Listen to what someone with
Power US, a global enetgy trading company. They have reported high a similar dilemma decided to
earnings and a 10 per cent growth rate since the consultahts started do and what the
advising them five years ago. CIC not only gives advice on strategy, but its consequences were.
auditin.g department produces the official figures for Power US as well
Sue Kelly, a senior accountant at the consultancy firm, was first alerted to
problems when the CFO of Power US asked her to le to one of the
company's partners about an investment. She refused on moral grounds
and soon after that he.[ boss transferred her to another company.
Recently, she discovered that Power US is involved in massive fraud and
she is now facing an ethical dilemma: should she report what she knows
to an outside financia) iegulator? Both companies are very powerful and
even though she can provide proof, her word may not be taken seriously
and in that case, she will never find another job in consulting.
Task 1
Work in smaU groups. Read the consequences of the two options open to
Sue Kelly. Can you think of any other possible outcomes in each case?
Option one lf Sue reports the problem to a regulator, and they open an
investigation ...
She will lose her job immediately.
Power US artd ere Consultants rnay go bankrupt.
She will have to testify in court against former colleagues.
The bosses of both companies will have to pay huge fines and possibly
go to prison.
Option two lf Sue decides to say nothing and leave Cie Consultants ...
lt is possible that the fraud will never be discovered.
lt is also possible that things will get even worse as time goes on.
She will feel responsible for not stopping a criminal activity.
She could probably find work in another consultancy firm
but would have to lie about her reasons for leaving CIC.
Task 2
Hold a meeting to decide which option she should take.
Task 3
Choose a spokesperson to report back to the other groups
what was said and decided at your meeting.
Write it up
Write the minutes of your meeting. (See Style guide, page 26.)
134 W Unit 15
S. We can't fix a date for the training course
Language check _ _ _ _ we know exactly who needs to
n-ference word attend.
6 a lO per cent decrease in our
Read the article and decide what the words
training budget, we have been able to offer a
in italics (J- 6) refer to. Then complete the
wider variety of courses than ever before.
rest of the article (7- 10) using sorne of the
words from 1-6. 7 we do not have the faci lities bere
at head office, we wilJ be running the course at
an externa! training centre.
oldman Sach:.. thc famous investment bank. can
G 1race its origins back to J887. 1
was when
Tlwr
Marcus Goldman set up his first company in New York.
s Improving the communication ski lis of our sales
staff is one of the a reas we need to
The bank was thc first 2one to set up " Mergers and focus on.
Acqujsitions deparunem and a Real Estate Managemelll
department. 3The former spedalised in advising Peported spee'"h
comparues who wished to form partnerships with or
acquile other bu inesses, and 41/ie /a11er provided advice Find and correct the mistakes in the phrases
for the management and acquisition of business in ita.tics. Sorne of the phrases are correct
properlies. 5These wcre two of the foundations of the
co.mpany's success. The auditors have asked we give them full access
The compimy has always hada uniquc reputarion on to our financia! records.
Wall Slreet 6This i!' partly due to the fact that the Our advisers ha.ve suggested introducing a
company was onc o very few prvate investment banh. standard invoicing procedure for ali divisions.
However, a1J 7 was about to change, and in
1999 it launched its owa lPO. 8 was a ~ They have refused accepting responsibility for
hugely successful operation, raising a record the programming errors and they have toLd that
$3.6 biJlion. Since rhen, thc company has conlinued to it is our own fault for installing the system
perform wel l and incrcase its range of serviccs. Today, incorrectly.
9 include debt reslrucruring for governments
and asset managemcnt for wealthy individuals. Goldman 4 The consuJtants have advised that we not
Sacbs' client list include:. such companics as Samsung employ any extra staff during the coming year.
and DaimJer-Bcn7. Only receatly. il advised
10 during its merger with fellow automobile
The firm has promised to complete the survey of
manufacturer. Chrysler. our accounting procedures by the end of tbe
rnonth.
Consolidation
Clauses and s ntence construnon
Choose the correct forms of the words in
Complete the sentences with the following italics.
words or phrases.
In the forthcoming fight to eliminate global poverty,
since unless in arder to although 1 which/that remains one of the UN's top priorities for the
qespite until which whose coming decade, microfinance will be playlng one ofthe key
roles in the attack. Microfinance is not charity, say 2its/their
supporters, 3that/who argue that 4it/this is only another form
Mark Simpson, company of investment, Ssince/although it provides credit to low-
specialises in security training, will be leading income households. Kofi Annan, 6whose/Who s efforts to
the first session. alleviate poverty around the world are well-known,
2 _ _ __ _ sorne companies do provide understands how difficult 7 it/this will be to ma ke tne UN's
systematic language training for ali staff, most Year of Mioro'flnance a success 8unl.ess/despite
microfinance institutions and Wall Street investtnent banks
do not. can find a way to work together to reduce poverty
There is no point in giving employees 9
while/when enabling the rich to stay rich. Speaking at a
expensive training it contributes recent conference, he 0 advised/suggested his audience
to improving their performance at work. that 11for /in arder to achieve this, 12the former / the latter
would have to make sorne fundamental changes to the way
4 The stress management workshops were they see their role in the twenty-first century.
introduced reduce the number of
workdays lost to stress-related illnesses.
135
1 Vocabulary check Career skiUs
D Complete the text with the appropriate Persuading
form of the following verbs. Match 1- 5 with responses a-e.
pay off loan borrow invest deposit save 1 Unless you're prepared to make an effort 1'11
have to consider terminating your contract.
2 Ali things considered, it would be best to
Anwar Khan runs a small bioycle repalr shop. He stanetl his postpone the launch for six months.
business whcn a microcredit banlc agreed to give him a
3 After looking at all sides of the argument, I'm
r of $100. With the money. he was able to
_ _ _ in basic equipment and tools for his wor:kshop.
recommending that we cancel the project
After two years in business. Anwar has 3 half of his
immediately.
debt to the MFI and he has also 4 a small sum of 4 I think we should forget our differences and just
moncy wh1ch he ha~ ~ in a savings account. He now focus all our efforts on findin g a solution as
intends to use thar mone)' as secwity in arder to ~-- quickly as possible.
the $500 that he needs to e.pand his business fun:her. 5 What wi ll happen i.f we lose the contract?
a l agree there's no point in wasting any more
El Choose the correct fonns of the words in money than we already have.
italics. b But then our competitors will get their products
1 We illustrate our strategic planning course with out first, won't they?
specific case studies / tutori.als, which focus on e I don't see how you can say that. rve always
what companies have done in the past. done my best, and you know it.
2 AlJ tretinees/trainers will be given the choice of d l think we know that it's in ali of our interests to
attending either an intensive seminar or make sure that doesn't happen.
regular weekly classes. e You're right. After all, we're ali in this together.
3 The HR department has announced that there
will be a 15 per cent reduction in the training Motivating
course/bu.dget this year. Find and correct the mistakes in each
4 As levels of stress increase, this eventually leads senten ce.
for/to lower productivity. 1 l'm going to Let you to handle this.
5 In today's seminar, we are goi ng to focus at/on 2 It's in ali everybody's interests to sell now.
sorne simple exercise techniques.
3 Would you Jike taking responsibili ty for tbis?
IJ Complete the sentences with the 4 Come on. You've got to do the better than that.
fuitowing words, adding an appropriate 5 We're each in this together.
suffix where necessary. Reporting
manage finance regulate knowledge Put the dialogue in the correct order.
O a And what did they say exactly?
The best way to furth er O a What! 1hey're not suggesting we get rid of it
development would be to sell a stake to a completely, are they?
venture capitalist.
O a So, what did the European director bave to
2 lt's a pity that j eff has decided to leave. He is say about that?
one of the most consultants we
have. O a r wonder what the outcome will be.
3 New graduates always have the technica l O a So, what happened at the meeting?
qualifications but not always the - - - - - O b They said they wanted us to sell our
ski lis needed to supervise staff at work. European subsidiary.
. The SEC acts as the official for the O b Well, the consultants gave usa full summary
stock exchange, and all listed companies have of their findings.
to comply with its rules. O b In short, she is refusing to consider that.
5 The year is divided into four
three-month periods, or quarters.
o b rm afraid they are, yes. The bottom line is
that we may have to close the whole business
6 Jane Farley has been prometed to CFO, and she ifwe don't
wil l bejoining our senior team.
136
Unit 2 page 22 Dilemma: Student A
ne opton is to purehase and instaU additi0nal testing machinery at the factory in
Frnnce to handle tbe additi.onal productiQn. Yu have esti,mated that you wouJd need
between fi.ve and -5ix new maehines. Yeu are sure that they could be deLivered whhin
three months and installed in one to two weeks.
Pairwork 137
Unit 2 page 22 Dilemma: Student B
You think that a good tong-terin optio:n would be to use an 0utside cempany and 1<1).
tonauct ali testihg externaUy. You ktiow that-there are severa! organisations that could
do the work for yu. Infineon would have to paya fixed rafe for each item to be tested
In ~ddition t that th~lle woulcl be a s.et fee fr reserv.jng te~ capaeity- in other words.
Irifi.neen weuld hav~ to pay even when th;ey hacl n:o need for the extra testng capacy.
The ai;g~ments that you would like to pres.e nt are the following:
The world ecpnomy needs to meet increa$ing demand for energy1 and fossil
fuel~ are the only avaiJable and reliable Fesource.
Exploiting these reserves will pro't'ide emRloyment and j0b 0pporruruties
around the w.rld.
The arguments usecl by environmental groups abeut the effeets -of fossil fuels
on global watming may be exaggratoo.
Renewable energies are nota vfaole alternafive.(too costly and unreliable).
Providing finance for fssil fuel projects wJJJ help to eradicate poverty.
138 Pairwork
Unit 8 page 74 Dilemma
Clearly Chic are a luxury bandbag maker facing a similar dilemrna to Burberry's, but with
the added problem ofcbeap fakes of their most expensive models now flooding the
market. Sorne people think the way to deal with the problems is to produce cheaper, more
accessible models to a) encourage the new, trendier customer base and b) compete with
counterfeit goods.
Prepare fully-developed arguments from the fo llowing notes.
Pairwork 139
Unit 2 page 22 Dilemma: Student C
You are in favour of setring up a new, centralised testing plant that would handle ali
the testing for ali the Infineon plants. The advantage would be that all testing could be
p lanned centrally; and co-ordinated with the other pJants in the group. You do not yet
have a precise figure for the investment that would have to be made to build, equip
and staff tbe new facility. This will require furtber research.
140 Pa irwork
Unit 11 page 99 Presentation notes
li@i!.!ifj Review
lffil!.!.fl Analysis
li@!!,!.il Structure
Capital
Existing shareholders Gary Patton 30%
Francis Fairbank 30%
Venture Associates 35%
Employees 05%
Management board
Directors Gary Patton, Francis Fairbank, Daniel R1vers, Bo Larrsen; two
new directors will be appointed
Voting rights E.xisting shareholders wlll retain majority
Emp/oyee stock options Ali employees will be offered 2,000 shares
Pairwork 141
Unit 2 page 22 Dilemma: Student D
Si nce ali of the ex:isting factories have their own test equipment you think that it
should be possible to introduce a new process whereby products to be tested could be
'offloaded', or sent, to another factory which has available excess testing capacity. This
would require standardisation of test procedures across the group, the development
of an informarion system to transmit data to the re~evant production glants and the
setting up of transport and logistics.
'
Unit 10 page 91 Problem ... solving
Statistics for accident rates at one of your factories show that there has been an
unexplained rise during the last month. Journalists from a local television station
have called to askyou for perrnission to vis the factory and interview workers.
2 Your department has finished developing a prototype personal music system,,
whicb you arenow planning to bring to the production stage. You have contacted
the only company that can supply the battery charger, which is a key component
of the system. They have informed you they have just signed an exclusive
agreement with a competitor and will not be able to supply you with the chargers.
3 Your: company Is seeking to qualify for a government subsidy as m
environmentally friendly business. You have just been informed by the
Department of the Environment that you will need to install an expensive new
waste management system in order to qualify.
142 Pairwork
Unit 12 page 107 Handling conflict
Your manager agreed to allow you to take your summer hqliday on specific
dates during the month of August. He/She has just told you that you will
have to take it ata different time as one of your colleagues has been given
p,ri0rity far the same dates.
Your sales manager is trying to impose mi nimum sales of 150 units per
mortth for each sales representative. The reps have already reported that
customers are unhappy with the quality of the products and that sorne are
switching to a new competitor's products. You are a rep who feels that it is
impossible to meet the target.
DIRECTOR A
You believe that Thums Up has a future asan independent company
on the lndian market. In your view, it has various advantages over
other western colas: the company is lndian and enjoys a reputation
that differentiates it from its future competitors' brands. In addition
to this, Thums Up has a stronger taste and appeals to a masculine
audence who consider it to be revitalising. You would advise the
company to enlarge its distribution network and invest in promoting
its brand.
1 DIRECTOR 8
You think that the arrival of the US cola companies will seriously
reduce the market share ofThums Up. In your view, lndian consumers
will quickly switch to the western brands, which will be backed up by
massive publicity campaigns and sophisticated marketing techniques.
You would advise the company to change its orientation and diversify
into other sectors such as bottled water.
!
DIRECTOR (
You fear that Thums Up will not be able to resist the invasion of the
market and that it will be una ble to survive in the long term. You think
that the company should negotiate with either Pepsi or Coca-Cola to
see whether it would be possible to sell the brand to either competitor.
You consider that it might be possible for Thums Up to negotiate a
contract with one of the companies to become the official bottler of
their prod ucts for the lndian market. You woutd use the proceeds to
build up the other soft drink brands that Thums Up owns.
Pai1work 143
Unit 11 page 100 Dilemma: Group B (Hi Wire senior management)
Hi Wire is already committed tG a number of new ventures which Lt mtends to
frnance witb money from the lPO.
At the moment, the TPO is proposing lS million shares at $30 per share.
Without this injection of capital, the long-term plans of Hi Wire would have to be
modified.
lf the bank has not been able to sell the IPO to its investors, you will have to consider
the following options:
further reduce both the ptiee of the shares an the number. of shares that will be
offered for sale
continue with the IPO under existing conditions
organise the IPO as an intemet launch without the support of the bank
cancel the lPO for the second time
144 Pairwork
Unit 1 page 14 Decision
The fo llowing are q uotes and extracts from press releases about
the alliance between the two compan ies.
~
' I got straight on.to a p\ane with a rucksack full o~ ali the good
tbiugs wc do on the enviroumen\ and safety and ui ~he.
comrounity and 1 wcnt to Vermonl to see thcm. t said: 'You1
choice i you can do your \ittle thing in Vermont or you can be
. -----------~
'Neither of us could have anticipated twenty
years ago that a major multinational would
sorne day sign on, enthusiastically, to pursue
7
part of us a:ud we can do it everywhcre'~ . and expand the social mission that continues to \
Niall FttzGerald
b~ ~n essential part of Ben & Jerry's and a
dnving force behind our many successes. But
..--_...,____
Not only win Unilevcr continue to donate 7.5 per cent of
-- today, Unilever has done just that. We hope
that. as part of Unlever, Ben & Jerry's will
contrnue to expand its role in society.'
Ben and ferry
---------.. i
Ben & Jerry's operating profits LO charity, but il wiU use Be
Cohen and Jerry GreenfieJd to help design its social policy~
1
__.,,.._~~ -.
Under the terms of the agreement, Ben & Jerry's will opera te
with an independent board of directors, which wlll focus on
providing leadership for the social mission and brand
ntegrity of Ben & Jerry's.
~--_.__..,,.,......__,,,..-~-,
NESTA decided to give all these companies grants to commercialise their products.
1\.. TESTA invested :1:70,000 in f80.000 in 2002 ro develop Lhc applies tcchnology Lo areas which
1 ~ UTDR R esearch. A lclmology. The B rooklyn could havc huge social benefits
spokesperson from NESTA said, Museum launched lhe ' pocket such as tlcfence againsl tbe ever-
'We are cornmitted to suppo1ting museum' in October 2004. growing lhreat of bioterrorism.
innovative ideas that can help lo NESTA said, 'These are exciting Camfed received an
buiJd a greener, more sustainable times for Rypertag, who have investment of i 150,000 from
fulure. The UTDR team have developed a technol ogy that is so NESTA to help them to develop
found a novel way of dealing wilh attracti ve Lo so man y markets. lt is the protoLype of their tcchnology
a growing environmental problem greaL thac a major US museum has to engagc major corporate
and we are de lighted ro be seen Lhe potencial for using it for customers. The market for
providing the sccd investmenl to educational purposes. consumer clisplays is huge. Sales
help Lhem to develop their tyre Nanosight receivcd .fl00,000 are projecLed to excccd f.1 Obillion
disposal system ar this crucial fovestment from NESTA. M ark by 2009.
stage of the project. White, director of NESTA, said,
Hypertag Ltd received lheiJ 'We a.re delighted to be investing
first finandaJ aid package of in chis early stage of an idea wbich
Pairwork 145
Unit 6 page 56 Decision
----~~~~~~~~~~~~-
Followin the release of its new adventure game Danger Zone, the vid~o ~anufacturer Wonder
gh b asked by the /:>SC to withdraw its frst TV commeroal in support of the
lmage lnc as een t h. h was first shown last week on national televsion. sparked a
launch. The advertisemen w ic . . h di et f t he ASC
storm of protests from viewers and parents' associat1?ns. 8111 Bradley, t e . re or o , se
explained that the decision to ask the co!11pany t~ withdra~ ~e commer~a~:~~~a::~n b;:~
of its 'offensive nature': 'The ASC gudehnes spec1fy that al a ve~isemen 1 t th
taste and should on no account promete volent behavour - wh1ch unfortunate y ~a~ n~the e
case with the Danger Zone commercial.' A spokesperson for Wonder lmage lnc sa1 . . a
d . . b the ASC to ban the commercial was 'an exaggerated response toan original and
a~~~:~~ te~evsion campaign'. The launch of Danger Zone will proceed as planned but wthout
the support of the television campaign, the spokesperson added.
..... :iJ" .. _
The Extractive Industries Revew related projects should cease rights of indigenous peopl es and
(EIR) has published it immediately and financia! support to protect senstive ecosystems. As
rccommendations for the energy foroil production should be phased part of its recommendations. the
policy ofthe WorldBank. Far from out entirely with n the next cen com.m.ission has advscd che Bank
comforting the vested interests of years. But cbe report gocs further to devote 20 per cent of ts ftme
the majar players in the energy tban that and highlights a number loans in the energy sector to the
indust:ry, the report has openly of negarive effecrs lhat have development of allern ative energy
crticised lbe Bank for the way it resulted partly from the World projects. How much of the report
has bandled fossl fuel Bank's energy polky. The ljst willeventually become establisbed
development projects over tJ1e last is a long one and includcs Wodd Bank policy, however,
decade. Far energy ndustry environmenral and human rights remainstobe~s:e:e~
n ~~-~~~~~
executives. the report reads lke a abuses whlch reveal an almost
nighunare: funding for coal - systematic failure to rcspecl Lhe
1~ Pairwork
1m Alliances lm_ Ptojects
acquisition n [C,U] when one company buys allocate v (TJ to decide officially that a particular
another one or part of another one: Sales frorn a. amoun t of money, time, etc. should be used for a
recent acquisition increased revenu.es to $85m. particular putpose: Du Pont has a.lloca.ted fends for
alliance n [CJ an agreement between two or more
the design offour plants. - allocation n [C,l)]
organisations to work together: The two companies budget n ICJ the amount of money that an
agreed to form a.n a.Uia.nce. organisation has to spend on a particular activity in
a given period of time: The service opera.tes on a
bid n [C] an ffer to buy someth ing ata stated very tight budget. - budget v !I,Tl - budgetary adj
price: They niade a successful bid for an es.tahlished
conipany. - bid v [I,Tl - bidder n [C] - bidding n UJ contractor n ICJ a person or company that makes
Synonym offer n tCJ Collocations mahe a. bid,, cwcept an agreement to do work or provide goods for
t;{ bid, rrject a. bid, ta.heover bid
another company: The compa.ny has no plans to
expand its use of contractors. - con tract n [CJ
conglomerate n [CJ a large business organisation
consisting of different companies that have joined control 'V [TJ to limit sotnething or prevent it from
together: 1WE is a cable 1V and film subsidia.'r!'.! of increasing too much; check that something is as it
the worLii'.s la:rgest media. congLomerate. should be: To he1p control costs, the company cut
sala.res by 12 per cent 1ast mon:th. - control n re -
corporate culture n [C,UJ th-e attitudes or beliefs that controller n [CJ
are shared by a partkular organisation: Working
l.ate hours seems to be part of the corpora.te culture. detay n [C] the situation in which something does
not happen or start when it should do: The
merger n (CJ the creation of a new company by government has been biamed for the dela.y in
joining two separate com pan ies: The merger executing the project. - delay 'V [T,Tj
between the two biggest s,permarket chains wiU
have to be a:pprcrved by the authorities. - merge 'V estimate 'V p,T] to calculate what you think the
value, size, amount, etc. of something will probably
[I,TJ be: The valu.e of the deal is estinuited at fl2rn. -
multinational adj a multinational organisation has estimate n [C] - estimation n [CJ
offices, fuctories, activities, etc. in many different
project n ICJ an impmtant and carefully planned
countries: Big mu lti:national compa.nies ca.n ea.rn piece of work that will crea te something new or
huge pro.fits. 1m p rove a situation: British Aerospa.ce expected. the
share n [C) a un.it of the capital of the cornpany. project to be completed by 2005. Collocations project
Sbares in listed companies can be bought and sold fin.anee, project managernent, project 1'nanager,
on the stock exchange: lnvestors are having to pay pilot project
a hgher price far the company's shares. - schedule n [C] a plan of what someone is going to
shareholder n [C) - stockholder n [CJ AmE - do and by when they are going to do it: We a.re
shareholding n [C] Synonym stock n [C] AmE running several weehs behind schedule. - schedule
Collocations sha.re capital, sha.re certifica.te, share v [TJ Collocation time schedule
dealing, sha:re issue, sha.re price
specifications n [usually plural] a deta iled
strategic alliance n [C] an alliance formed as part description of how something should be designed
of a plan with important aims: Snga:pore a.irlines or made: They deLvered parts that di.d not conform
and Luftha:nsa. have a.nnounced a stra.tegic alLiance to contract specgica.ti.orts. Collocation job
with broa.d imptcations far competiti.on. spec!ficatons
synergy n [C,UI additional advan tages, profits, etc. stalkeholder n [C) a person or group of people who
that are produced by two people or organisations a re considered to be an important part of an
combining their ideas and resources: The cmnpanies organisation because they have responsibility within
cauld benfjit from cost sa'Vings, as weU as synergies it or receive advantages from it: When a. cornpany
frarn combi.ni.ng thei:r m.a:niifacturing acti'Vities. - is new and smatl it can stay close to i.ts
synergistic a.dj
stakeholders - staff, customers a.nd suppLiers.
subcontractor n ICJ a person or company wbo is
paid to do part of the work of another person or
company: Always check whether a contr(,l;ctor is
using sitbcontra.ctors, cmd who is liah1e tf things go
-wrong.
Glossary 147
database n [c;::J an organised set of information
stored in a computer: A data.bli!Se of more than
14,000 tra.ining courses is being marketed by a.n
accomplish v [TI to succeed in doing something: We
informaton services compa.rt:!:i.
a.ccomplished all OUT goa.ls on .the last pToject. - gather v [T] to collect information, ideas, etc.:
accomplishment n [CJ - accomplished adj Successful market resea.rch depends 6n the qua.Lity
af the inforinati.on tha.t is ga.thered.
assign v lTJ to give someone a particular job or
task: The tea.m Leader wi.Ll assign ta.shs to all the hardware n [U] computer machinery and
memhers of the tea.m. - assignment n [CJ equipment: The continued evolution of computer
ha.rdwa.re imposes new challenges.
collaborate v (1) to work with someone on a
project: The two tea.ms coUa.bora.ted weU. - information n (U] facts or details that tell you
collaboration n [UI about something or someone: Corpora.tions a.re
commit v [I;f] to agree to do something or say that
ma.hing more .fina.ncial informaton ava.ila.ble to
investors. Collocations inside information,
someone else will do something: Sorry, l\le already informaton system, inforrnaton technology
committed myself to working on the other tea.m. -
commitment n [U] - committed adj intelligence n ru1 information that is collected
?bo~~ the activities <?f an organis~tion or
co-ordinate v !TI to organise all the different parts md1vidual: We ptovide conjidentral reports a.n.d
of somethi:ng to ensure an effective operation: Your inteUigence for compa.nieS operatng in the
job is to co-{)rdina.te the d-~fferent aspects of the biotechnoLogy sector. Collocations business
project. - co-ordination n [UJ - co-ordinator n [C] intelligence, competitive inteUigence
deadline n [CJ a date or time by which you have to measurement n [C] the result of an evaluation of
do or complete something: The team will never the size or dimension of something: Precise
meet these dea.iilines; the!:f~e too tght! measurements ofbusiness perfortn.4nce enahle
facilitator n fCl someone who helps a team to ma.na.gers toma.he better decisions.
work together effectively: A fa.cilitator s1wuld network n [CJ a set of computer:s whkh are
rema.in neutra.L a.n.d ensure everyone follaws the conneeted to each other and operate as part of the
a.greed ground rules. - facilitare v lTJ sarne system, able to exchange information and
feedback n [U] advice or criticism about how messages: Incoming orders a.re processed
sorneone i.s doing their job: I'm sure he'll imprave a.utoma.tica.Uy by the computer networh.
if he gets positive f eedba.ch after ea.ch task. procedure n rci the accepted method and order of
goal n [C] something that you hope to achieve in doing something in a formal situation: We a.re
the future: Our goa.l is to meet all the tea.m's currently reviewing ouT procedures far invoicing
requirements. Synonyms aim n [C] - objective n le] our customer.s.
task n [C] l a piece of work that has to be done, process 'V !Tl to put information into a computer to
especially one that has to be done regularly: be examined and to produce a particular result
Scheduling is a k~ task for team leaders. 2 a piece The accounts are processed by the central system. -
of work that is very difficult but important: The process n fC] - processor n [CJ Collocations
tea.m is fa.cing the dtfjicuLt ta.sk of instalLing a. new (electronic) data. processing, word processing
a.ccounting proced.ure~ software n [U] sets of programs put into a
team n [Cj a group of people who work together to computer to perform particular tasks: There's plenty
do a particular job: We ha.ve recnted ctn excellent of good software on the ma.rket to help us imprave
mana.gement tea.m. Collocations tea.m leader, tea.m security.
player, tea.m spirit, tea.mwork spreadsheet n (C] a computer prograrn that can
show rows of figures and perfurm calculations with
them. Spreadsheets are often used to work out sales,
taxes, profits and other financial information: Most
spreadsheets ca.n tra.nsform da.ta. and figures into
gra.phs a.nd charts.
data n [plural] information or facts about a
particular subject that someone has collected: We surveillance n [Uj the act of monitoring a person
ca.nnot teU yau the results untl we ha.ve loohed a.t or group of people: Employees must be n.oti.fied. if
a.ll the da.ta.. Collocations data. ba.nk, da.ta. they a.re under surveilla.nce a.t their workpla.ce.
mana.gement, da.ta. mining, da.ta. processing, cfata.
wa.rehouse
148 Glossary
~ Technology Hi@!f Advertising
chief technology officer abbreviation ero n [C] audience n [CI the number or kind of people who
the manager with the most authority conceming receive a written or spoken message: The ad was
technology: The Chief TechnoLogy Qfficer b-roailcast on aU ma.jor channels, giving it an
announced the corrtpa.ny 's intention to lau:nch a a:udien.ce of miUions. Collocation target audience
new consumer electronics product next month. billboard n rc.1a large sign, usually outdoors, used
component n [CJ l one part of something: 1he for advertising: 1he agenclj estima.tes that one
-niicrochip department 1s the main component of million drivers pass their hiUboards every da.y.
our technology divison. 2 one part used in making Synonym hoard ing n [CJ AmE
a piece of equipment: ITPcom 1s a .firm that campaign n [C] a series of actions intended to
designs and. m.anufactures software components for achieve a particular result: We are La:unching a
sateLlite navigation systems. campaign to pramote the new product. - campaign
download v [T] to move cornputer software or v [I] Collocation ailvertising campa.ign
information from one computing device to commercial n [C] an advertisement on television,
another: You can now dawn1oail niusic cmd. video radio, or at the cinema: The ca:mpaigns were
clips from the internet onto your mobile phone. - designed to run as television or cinema.
download n ICJ commercials.
invention n [C] l a new product that was not display n ICJ an attractive arrangement of objects
available befare: The pa.percLip was one of the 1nost for people to 1ook at or buy, .fur e.xample in a shop:
usrju.l inven.tions of the twentieth century ! 2 [U] There was a wide range oj goods on display. -
when something is made or designed for the first display v 111
time: Mobile phones ha.ve changed considerabLy exhibition n [C] a public event where busirresses
sin.ce their invention. - inventor n lC] - inventive and other organisations show their products or
ailj services: Exhibitions a.nd tra.de shaws a:re expensive
nanotechnology n [U] a science that combines but effective ways to promote products.
computer technology and chemistry to build things media n [plurall the (rnass) media are ali the
from atoms: Na:rwtechnology could allaw us to different ways of entertaining and giving
inven.t devices that maniefacture at almost no cost, information to the public and advertising goods,.
by replicating atorns in the way that computers for example, television, radio, newspapers and the
produce information. intemet: The company is keen to get its views
revolution n rCJ a complete change in ways of across in the media.
thinking, methods of working, etc.: Computer product demonstration n [C] an act of explaining
technology has caused a revoLutio1't in. working and showing how a product works or how
practices. - revolurionise v [T] - revolutionary adj something is done: We organ1se weehly 1 li:ve
telecommunications n [plural] the process or product demonstrations.
business of sending a11d receiving information by product placement n [C,,U] when the maker of a
telephone, telev1sion, the internet, etc.: product arrange..<> for it to appear or be used in a
TelecornnLunicaticms is one of the fastest growing fiJm or television programrne, as a form of
industries toda.y. advertising: Product placement in video games is
rr1
upload '\/ to move computer s0ftware or part af a new strategy by a.dvertisers eager to reach
information from one computing device to the young consumer.
another especialiy from a local compliter to a promotion n [C] an activity such as special
central server or network: lf you are uploa.ding big advertisements or free gifts intended to sell a
jites, you'U need a high-speed internet connection. product or service: ABC has announced a joint
- upload n [C] prorn.oton with Mullen. - prornote v rI1 -
promotiona1 adj Collocations seasonal promotion,
ptorn.otionaL campaign, promotianaL pri.ce
public relations abbreviation PR n [plural! the
activity of te1ling the pub1ic about an organisation,
person, product, etc. so that people tbink of them
in a good way: Good public relations is always
good for a business. Collocations pubLic relations
officer (PRO), public relations agency
publicise v.lTl.to give information abo~t something
to the pubhc, so that they know about 1.t: Car
mah_ers are pu.bhci~ng q. :new generatio": <?fjuel-
ejJic1.en.t vehides. - public1ty n [U] - publicist n [C]
Glossarv 149
sponsor '\/ [T] to give money to pay for a television
programme, a sports or arts event, training, etc., in
exchange far advertising or to get public attention:
lm Brands
Eagle Star .lnsurance sponsored the charity's fi.rst corporate identity n fC:,U] the way in which a
TV campaign. - sponsor n [CI - sponsorshi p n [U] company uses similar designs and colours on aJI its
p~oducts, adve~~ment':5, letters, etc. so that people
telema~keting n [U] the Rractice of teJephoning
VVlll become familtar w1th the com pany: People
people m order to sell thmgs: Telernarheting can be
used to upd.ate your diertt dcuabase. - telemarketer throughout tite world recognise our company
thanks to our strong corporate identity.
n[CI
creative director n [C) someone who is in charge of
~e work rela~ing to producing advertisements and
150 Glossary
lm lnvestment
trader n ICI someone who deals in shares, bonds,
currencies, commodities (= oil, metal and farrn
products), etc. on a market, either for themselves or
angel n [C] a business angel is a private investor for a financia! institution: Tmders are predicting
who puts money into new business activities: ln that tite doUar wiLL rise in Eu.ropean 1narhets. -
the UK, business angels are a niore importa.nt trade v IJ,TI
sou~ce of investment far start-ups than venture
venture n [CJ a new business activity or project that
CCl.p1.tctl ju:nd.s. involves risk: Investors a:re always Looking fo-r
blue-chip shares n [pluralj shares in a well- business ventures that they thinh wiU show a
managed company with a record of paying profits healthy profit. Collocation venture capital
to shareholders during good and bad economic
mm
conditions: lt's far Less risky to buy bLue-chip shares
tha:n to buy shares in a start-up. Synonym blue-
chip stock n fC,Ul AmE Collocation blue-chip Energy
cornpany
business plan n rCJ a document produced by a alternative energy n [CJ energy that is not derived
company, especially a new company, giving details from fossil fuels like petroleum and coal: There is a
of expected sales and costs and how the business growing number of.firrns engaged in alternati:ve
can be financed, and showing why the plan will energy and power technologies. Synonym renewable
make money: The bank requires a three-year energy n ICJ
business plan from anyone applying for a loan for
their company. crude oil n [U1 oiJ in a natural condition, before it
has been transformed in an industrial proce'iS in
dividend n [C] a part of the profits of a company order to separate it into different products: 300
for a particular period of time paid to the million tons of crude ol are exported. every year.
shareholders for each share that they own: The Synonym crude n [U] (when used in the context of
company 1uls annou.nced a divi.dend of 25 cents the oil industry)
per ordinary share. Collocations annu.aI dividend,
interim dividen.el, share dividend, dividend yield, end user n ICJ the person who actually uses a
dividend payment particular product, rather than someone involvecl
in its production or sale: End users can often
entrepreneur n lCJ someone who starts a company, choose who they huy thei1' electricif1j from.
arranges business deals and takes risks in order to
make a profit: State govenimen.ts had sought to fossil fuel n [CJ a fuel such as coal, gas or oil that
promote econorn.i c growth by wormng dosely with is produced by the gradual decay of animals or
local. entrepreneurs. - entrepreneurship 11 !U] - plants over miUions of years: Fossit .fuels currently
entrepreneurial cidj accountfor about 90 per cent of world energy
consumption.
forecast lt rCJ a description of what is likely to
happen in the future, based on information that is fuel n [C,U] a substance such as coa!, gas or oil that
available now: The figures for 2015 are forecasts, the can be bumed to produce beat or energy: The
others are actu.a k - forecast v [1,Tj Synonyms risin,g cost of fu.el has prompted pro tests ci.cross
prediction n fCI - projection n lCJ Collocations Europe. - fuef v [TI
economic forecast, pro.fit forecast, sales jO-recast, to gasoline abbreviation gas n [UJ AmE a ljquid
rnaJ~e a forecast, forecast growth obtained from petroleurn, used mainly for
producing power for the engines of motor vehicles:
fortune n ICJ a very large amount of money: He The US alone consumes wel1 overa hundred
made a fortune by investing on the stock exchange. bifon ga11ons of gasoline per year. Synonym petrol
lucrative a.dj an activity, project, job, etc. that is n !Ul BrE
lucrative makes a lot of money: Investirig in the ingredient n [C] a component or element that is
Euro tunnel wasn 't as Lucra.tive as 'nvestors added to forma compound or mixture: Mineral
thought i.t wouLd be. Synonym profitable a.dj oit and. petroLeum are the basic ingredients in.
portfolio l n ICJ a collection of shares owned by a mt:tny cosmetic prod:ucts.
person or a com pany: Over 50 per cent of his nuclear power n lUI the energy, usually in the form
porifoLio is in European sha.res and the rest is in of electricity, that is produced by a nuclear reactor:
American ami. Asian investments. 2 ali the products The expansion of nuclear pawer depen.ds
or services offered by a business: The company has substantiaHy on politics.
struch a deal with a biotechnology company of
siniilar size and produ.ct portfolio. Collocations power plant n fC] a factory or building that
portfolio management, portfolio mcrr1ager, portfolio generates electricity, usually by the burning of fossil
mix fuels: The new power pla:nt wiH generate enough
power to meet the annu.al residen.ti.al needs of nin.e
miition people.
Glossarv 151
reserve n [CJ an amount of something valuable commission 1 n [C] an arnount of rnoney paid to
such as oil, gas, etc., kept for future use: Most someone according to the value of goods, shares,
countries ha.ve a strategic reserve of petroleum bonds, etc. they have sold: He didn't charge a
which they can use if supply is interrupted. comniission an trades, as other brohers do. 2 an
scarce adj if something is scarce, there is not official organisation that ensures that the law is
obeyed in a particular activity: 1he F.quaL
enough of it available: Dernand is up, su:ppLy is Opportunities Commission works to eliminnte sex
dwindling ami new firtds are sca.rce. - scarcity n fUI discrimination..
shortage n [C,Ul a situation in which there is not
enough of something that people need or want: equity 1 n fUl the capital that a cornpany has from
IUegal exports aml high world oil prices are the shares rather than from loans: The strang marhet
main causes of the current fa.el shortage. wilL en.courage carnpanies to use equit'IJ to fmance
acquisitions. Collocation shareholder eq-uity
sustainable adj an action or p.rocess that is 2 [plural] tbe sbares of a company listed on the
sustainable can continue or last for a long time: Stock Exchange: Investors a:re placing funds in
The ben~ts from sustainable fuels would be equities as they Looh for higher ret.urns on their
enormous. - sustainability n Ul Synonyrn renewable investnients.
adj Collocation sustaina.bie development
initial public offering abbreviation IPO n q an
occasion when a cornpany offers shares on a stock
cartel n [C] a group of companies who agree to set barrier to entry n [CJ any factor which prevents
the price of something they produce at a fixed leve! new competition from entering an industry, for
in arder to limjt competition and increase their exarnple the need fur a lot of capital or strict
own profi ts: The oit cartel, OPf.C, has just had. its govemment regulations: The aircraft engine
first major su.ce~ in forci:ng up oil prices. industry has high barriers to ent11J and requires a
lot of technologica1 capital.
152 Glossary
competitive advantage n [CJ an advantage that
makes a compllly more able to succeecl in
competing with others: A.dvanced Miro's chip
ca.rries the carnpetitive culv()l;ntage of using less
mm Ranking
central bank n [C] the o:fficial bank of a cou.ntiy,
pawer than IntePs. Collocation camparative which is responsible far setting interest rates,
advantage controlling the money supply, producing bank
notes and keeping the countty's supply of foreign
core business n [C] the business that makes the currency and gold, etc.: China.'s central banJ'{ said
m.ost money for a company and that is considered th.a.t a decline in i.nterest ra.tes is unlke1.y.
to be its most important and central one: US car
rnaker Chrysler is to seU off its $1 biUian clearing bank n [C] one of the higb street banks
technolog~ a:rrn. to concentra.te an its core biisiness. that issues and accepts cheques and passes them
through the banking system: AH cheqiies ha'Ve to be
differentiate v [Tl when a company differentiates a.uthorised by the clearing bank before being
its products, it shows how they are different from a.ccepted. Synonym commercial bank n ICJ
each other and from competing products: The ortly
viable stra.tegtj was to differeri.tia.te Ci.tiba.nk credit collateral n [U] assets promised by a borrower to a
ca.rds from a.U the 1.aw-cost a.ltematives. - lender if the borrower cannot repay a loan: When
differentiation n [U] the fi.rm wen.t bankrn.p t, he Lost his home beca:use
he had used it as collateral for the business.
economies of scale n [plural] the advantages that a Synonym security n [U]
big fuctory, shop, etc. has over a smaller one
because it can spread its fixed costs overa larger exchange rate n [C] the price at which one currency
number of units and therefore produce or sell can be bought with another: 1f the eu.ro-dolla.r
things more cheaply: oys 'R' Vs buys rn.assive excha.nge rate rema.ins a.t ts current level, US
qu.a.ntities directly .from ma.nufa.turers and has exporters could lose $5 bfion i'n business
gigantic stores with huge econmnies af sea.le. annua.lly. Collocations fixed excha.nge ra.tes, .ftoa.ting
exchange rate
market share n rc,U] the proportion of the total
market that is supplied by a particular company: lf interest 1 n [U] an amount paid by a borrower to a
the two compa.nies' ma.rket shares are cambined, lender, for example by a bank to someone who
t~'U have 28 pet crnt of the US ma.rket. saves money with them: An:!'.j spare cash is best put
tl'l. a sa,vings a.ccount where it ca.n ea.rri. i:nterest
mass consumption n [U] buying and using 2 the rate of interest at which a particular sum of
products and services on a large scale: Mass money is borrowed or lent: Srna.ll businesses have
consu.rri.pti.an has tra.nefanned. not anLy ind:ustry to pa.y interest at 12 per cent a.n.d upwa.rcls if thej
but soeiety as a. whoLe. go through microftna.n.ce institutions. Collocations
mass market n [lJ] the market for standardised interest ra.te / ra,te of interest
consumer prod.ucts: We a.ccess the m.a.ss ma.rket by
investment bank n [CJ a bank that buys stocks and
selling our dothing range i'n depa.rtment stores. shares and then sells thern to mernbers of the
production 1 n [U] The process of making or public, and offers financia! advice to businesses:
growing thjngs to be sold as products, usually in ]PMorgcm is a lea-ding US investrnent bank
large quantities: Toshiba. is increa..<ing production of specialising in asset man.agement. Synonyms
its popular line oflaptop computers. 2 an amount corporate bank n [C] - merchant bank n [Cj
of something that is produced: In August, monetary policy n ICJ the way a central bank
production of passeri.ger ca:rs dimbed 12 per cent controls the amount of money in the economy ata
from a yea:r ea.'Ylier. - produce v [TI - prod uctive particular time, for example by changing interest
culj Collocations just-in-ti.me productian, mass rates: Un.Less the Ba.nk of ja.pan rela.xes rnon.eta:r!'.J
protiuctian, productian costs, productian line, policy and ma.kes borrawing easier, the stock
production m.anager, production plcmt, productian rna.rket is unlikeLy to improve.
process
speculate v Ol to buy goods, shares, property, etc. in
profit margin n [Cj the diffurence between the price tbe hope that their value will increase so that they
of a product or service and the cost of producing it, can be sold for a profit: Many individuals ci:re naw
or between tbe cost of producing all of a specula.ting on the stock exchange through specia.1.
company's products or services and the total sum sa.vings schemes provided by their banks. -
they are sold for: Slaw sales ha.ve Ct profit
speculation n [U] - specula tive a.dj
'margins in the industry.
switch v II,T] to change from one thing to another,
usually suddenly: Ccmsumers are switching to more
afforda.hle brands.
Glossa1y 153
mi" Training 111111 Consulting
absenteeism n IUI the problem of employees not audit 1 n ICJ an official examination of a person's
being at work when they should be: We ha.ve a or organisation's accounts by an expert, to check
high rate of ahsenteeism., whidi is m.ainLy du.e to that they are true and honest: An audit of the
stress. - absent adj crnn.pany shawed accumulated los.ses of
$L5 billion. 2 an official examination of how an
customise v IT] to make, build or adapt especially organisation behaves, how well it treats its
for a customer: Our training couTSes are employees, the environment, etc.: The social a.udit
customised to suit alt our customers' specifi.c needs. of Ben. &']erry's commends the ccnnpany, which
delegate n [CI someone who has been chosen by gives 7.5 per cent of pre-tax prajits to charity. -
their company to attend a conference, meeting or auditor n ICJ - audit v ITI Collocations a.ud.it report,
training course: We sent severa.L delegates on a new audit committee, ethica.L o.u.dit, e?<temal a.tulit,
management training course. - delegate v fT] social a.udit
incentive n [C] something which is used to fraud n. ru1 a method of iJlegally getting money
encourage people, especially to make them work from a person or an organisation, often using
harder and produce more: Training opportunities clever and complicated methods: The e?<temal
for staff can be more of an incentive than ji:nancial auditor discovered the ji.rrn was invoL'Ved in
bon.uses. m.a.mve fraud. - fraud ulent a.dj
motivation n [U] willingness, eagerness or desire to network n lCJ a group of people or organisations
do something without being forced to do it Some that are connected or that work together: It is
of the staff seem to 1.a.ck motiva.tion. - motivate v important to bu.il.d up a. network of professiona.l
fTl - motivated a.dj - motivational adj Collocations conta.cts. - networking n fU] - network v lU
highly motivated, nwtivational slriLls, rnotivational outsource v fTI to transfer work to an outside
techniques supplier: The company outsourced all their
seminar n lCJ a fairly informal meeting of a group fina.ncial operations to an accounting consu1.tant. -
of people, who share information and ideas and outsourcing n [VI Synonym subcontract v lTJ
often discuss matters relating to work: The people
a.ttending the man.agement tra.ining semina.r were Sarbanes-Oxley Act n US government legislation
all from accountancy ji.nns. introduced to ensure honest accountancy and
corporate governance practices in US companies:
staff loyalty n ruJ if staff are loyal to their The USA '.s response to Enran ami. other sca.nda.ls
company, they enjoy working for it, they keep wa.s to introduce strict ji.n.anciaL cor1trols through
company secrets and tend to stay for a long time: the Sa.rba.nes-Oxley Act.
The Hutn.an .Resources department has built up
staff layalty by ensuring good worhing conditions,
a.warding regular bon.uses a.nd providi:ng in-
company tra.ining.
stress n IUI continuous feeling of worry about your
work or personal life that prevents you from
relaxing: He has been und.er a 1ot of stress at work
recentLy, du.e to tight dea.dlines a:nd staff shortages.
- stressful adj Collocations stress-rela.ted (illness),
stress ma.n.agem.ent
training n [U] the process of teaching someone or
being taught the skills and knowledge for a
particular job: When the new software system was
instaLled, we had to provide tra.ini11g for a.U the
staff in how to use it. - trainer n ICJ - trainee n 1CJ
Collocations assertiveness tra.ining, computer-based
training, management training
154 Glossary
As profits are falling sharebolders will have to 11 The two sides agreed to a six
accept a reduction in _ _ _ __ weeks befare the court case was dueto start.
A salary B bonuses A settlement B lawsuit
e dividends D stock C legal action D compensation
2 My job involves carrying out various 12 energies like wind power could
_ _ _ _ _ simultaneously. provlde more than 10 per cent of electricity
A tasks B objectives needs within five years.
C goals D practices A Crude B Fossil fuel
3 The computers in the R&D lab are getting too C AJternative D Nuclear
old. We really need to replace them with 13 The studio has negotiated product
sorne new _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ with severa! sportswear and
A inventions B hardware beverage producers, whose brand names will
C telecommunications D software be featured in the new version of the film.
4 We acquired sorne sensitive and confidential A demonstrations B plaeements
- - -- - concerning our competitor. C exhlbtions D displays
A experience B e~periments 14 We employ specialist to make
C intelligence D secrecy all our transactions on the US stock exchange.
5 The bank will lend us money but they are A capitalists B entrepreneurs
going to charge 7.5 per cent on it. C end users D traders
A repayments B rates 15 The department has decided to _ __ _ _
e security D interest an extra ESOk to cover the costs of hirin.g an
outside consultant.
6 fn sorne countries, there is already a
- -- - - of fue!, and petral stations only A budget B control
have limited supplies. e allocate D estimate
A shortage B control 16 The survey is going to _ _ _ __
C speculation D target information about the Asan market.
7 There are lots of free available A forecast B gather
on their website. C upload D pubJicise
A media B incentives 17 Changing the colours and the design of our
e uploads D downJoads Iogo should help us to project a younger and
more dynarnic _ _ _ __
8 We are working under extremely _ _ _ __
conditions at the moment in order to finish A corporate identity B business plan
on time. C competitive advantage D corporate culture
A eventful B stressful 18 The is too tigbt. We need an
e dose D short extension if we are to accomplish our miss iqn.
9 We have been having difficulty reaching our A time B delay
sales , which was too high. C deadline D shortage
A audience B market 19 We've arranged for an extra two mili ion
C forecast D pricing shares to be sold through our _ _ _ __
10 The advertisements will be placed on A brokers B entrepreneurs
_ _ ___ along the major highways C auditors D capltalists
l.eading into the city. 20 We expect our team members to be
A exh ibitions B billboards _ _ _ _ _ to their duties.
C placements D commercials A concentrated B involved
C comm1tted D immersed
Glossary 155
21 We sent 100 _ _ _ _ from our company to 31 When you say you'll buy something at a
last yea r's seminar. particular price, you're making a _ __ _ _
A suppliers B processors A bargain B fee
e delegates D characters C quota D bid
22 The texti le market is very risky but also very 32 development is the only way to
_ _ _ _ _ ifyour busi ness succeeds. preserve natural resources for future
A costly B lucrative generations.
C pri cey D expensive A Scarce B Lucrative
23 The organisers of the extreme sports festjval are C Sustainable D Speculative
looking for companies to the 33 Our public agency wi ll be
even t. sending out press releases a nd o rganising a
A target B issue series of press conferences.
C outsource D sponsor A broadcasts B relations
24 lf the cou rt d ecides in their favou r, the C promotions D media
com pa ny will have to pay substa ntial 34 Our managed to convince the
_ _ ___ to the plaintiffs. j udge that the accusations were totally
A a ll ocations B fees unfounded.
e damages D reserves A defendants B plaintiffs
25 Over 20 per cent of our investment C litigants D attorneys
_ __ __ is in US bonds. 35 Great We're almost halfway through the project
A file B collection and everything is exactly on _ __ __
e blue chips D portfolio A specification B schedule
26 Performance bonuses will provide employees C goal D process
with a n additional to work 36 The national a irline still has a _ __ __
more effectively. as no o ne else is a llowed to offer fli ghts
A dividend B promotion withi n the country.
C incentive D ingredient A cartel B synergy
27 We will gain important by C multinational D monopoly
combining our resources and working 37 The higb rate of is due more to
together. lack of motivation than illness.
A profits B additions A m ismanagement B absenteeism
C extras D synergies C lateness D unemployment
28 lf our are reduced any fu rther, 38 The company is expanding by _ _ __
we may have to consider selling off the whole with one of its competitors.
business. A purchasing B associating
A stock markets B profit margins C sha ring D merging
e business processes D target audiences 39 The investrnent ba nk is asking for a 7 per cent
29 Ali our current products are to - - - - - for o rganising the IPO.
suit our clients' specific needs. A equity B capital
A customised B transferred C commission D brokerage
C appl ied D invented 40 According to the that we have
30 We don't have enough - - - - - to received, the components wi ll have to res1st
guarantee our bank loan. tempera tu res o.f 500.
A gains B colla teral A speci fications B schedules
e interest D accounts C goals D processes
156 Glossary
Review of tenses will + infinitive has the following use.
The agency continued promoting the product Adverbs have the foll owing uses.
despite poor sales.
after verbs
The agency con tinued to promote the product Their ima.ge deteriorated rapid.ly after the
despite poor sales. scan.d.a.L
Key words before an adjective or another adverb, as an
begin, bother, continue, intend, sta.rt intensifier
They experienced an extrem.ely fast decline.
The new bra.nding worked really well.
164 Audioscripts
value? One way to get the answers is by preparing a project include testing and production of a ful! range of
overview, or project charter, which lays out the purpose and samples. But rll need you to give me full details of your
the strategy behind che project. Once you've done that, then exact costs.
the next phase, planning, becomes much easier. When you Alex: Ah, no proble.m with that. 1'11 give you ali the details
plan, you ha ve to do a lot of things - allocate resources, once 1 get the specifications.
forecast costs, prepare a budget and time schedule and,
above ali, evaluate the rsk factor. Perhaps equalty Decision p3ge 22
important is sclecting the project team beca use if you've got
the right peoplc working together, you're more likely to
succeed. 1f the fi rst two phases have been well prepared, Well, in this case we really had to move very quickly. The.re
was no way that we could deliver producis that had not
then executing should be relatively easy, especially ifyou've
been tested to our customers. So the prioriry was first to
thought through the potential problems and developed
determine which solutions were feasible in the time we had
contingency plans if things go wrong. Delivery- well, again,
available. That eliminated the option ofbuildfog a separate
if you've done the planning, you should be able to deliver
testing plant, simply because there wasn't enough time to
the project on time and within che specifications. Bul if you
haven't, then there's not much chance of that happening. complete it. The three remaining options were ali equally
feasible. So then it became a question of choosing the
solution that would be the most cost-effcctive. In fact, the
Listening 2 page 21 onc 1hat was selected was offioading' resting: to the factories
that had excess capacity, and that was chosen mainly
1 because it would be cheaper for thc company and it would
P o 1.1 n. n il!l r So, Sylvia, are you ready to take on che also be a solution that could be used systematically
market research side ofthe project? whenever the same problem occurred at any of the plants. I
Sylvia: Well, 1 really need sorne more detailed information. was the project manager and that was my job for the ne.xi
What exactly would be involved? six months. lt was a lot ofwork co-ordinating all the
1' Well, 1 don't have the specifics yet but 1 can give you a diffurent factors, but in the end it worked out fine and we
general idea. We're planning to create a new range.of still use the system today. For me, it taught me that the
beaury products for women in the Asian and Arab most obvious solutions are not, in fact, always the best.
World markets. We're convinced there's a market out Because. of course, we could ha ve just gone and bought
there but we need to do sorne basic research to find out testing mach ines and insralled them directly.
more about the products that are already being used.
Sylvia: OK. So you want us to conduct sorne inte.rviews Listening page 29
and prepare a full market report, is that it?
f- Yeah. That's exactly it. Your report will tell us what
sorts of products we need to design. A ... so, here are the designs rve done so far - see any
Sylvia: So, how many interviews will I have to arrange? problems?
r 1 1don't know exactly, but we can discuss tha1 later on. 8 Hmm, r'm not su re that 1 can. You've done a great job
And don' t worry, rm sure the Asian office will be able on these. How long will it take to finish thcm, do you
to help us witb all that. That way, you can just focus on think?
the data. A That's the thing l'm worried about. Er ...
Sylvia: OK. But what about dates? When do l have to get B Go on ... that's what we're here for.
th is in by? A Well, l'm a bit stuck for time. rve got so much to do
PM Let's say six weeks from now. Does that sound this week, l'm afraid l might not meet our deadline.
reasonable? B l'm sure we can work this out. Maybe 1 could get sorne
Sylvia: There's no way we can do it by thenl l'd say it'll take of the other stuff done and you can concentrate on
at least two months, if not more. these.
Great - thcn 1 should be able to get these in on time.
2
B lf anyone can do it, you can!
P Thanks for agreeing to do the product deve.lopment
work, Alex. lt's great to bave someone with your
experience working with us. Decision page 30
Alcx: No problem. rve read the project summary and this
is exactly the sort of thi ng that we're good at. L'm very Well, actually, ,I think it is pretty evident what the team
happy to be invo.l ved. So, what's the schedule for this? leadcr should do in cases like this. Team leadcrs shouJd be
PI\ First, we have to get the basic inforrnation from the ve1y cautious about judging a team's decision. lf the proper
markets before we draw up the final specifications for process was fullowed and team members are behjnd the
a full range ofbeauty products. Once we have those, decisions and results, then the ream leader should present
then 1 think we should aim to have everythjng ready the findings as just that: the team's decision. Of course, the
for production in six months. Will tha1 give you parameters of the task should have been shared fully with
enough time? the team at the beginning. This wasn't the case, but under
Alex: Yeah, that should be OK. But I'd like to know exactly the circumstances, the ceam offered seemingly practical
how much we can spend on ali this. How much are ideas. In fact. you know what, presenting tbe team's ideas
you budgeting for our side of things? would have been a perfect example of leadership! Who
'VI Well, l've given you a provisional pudget of SOk for knows, management may even havc approved a budget for
your team for ali the development work. That's to the team's suggestions.
Audioscripts 165
Ideally, the leader should focus on tbe aims of the brief and
provide resources to help the team achieve those aims, but 2 page 38
should not influence the team's decision-making or, worse,
make decisions for them. Last week's meeting was very productive, wasn't it?
Last week's meeting wasn't very productive, was it?
1 page 34 2 Vou wouldn't be able to help me with these
calcularions, would you?
lnterviewer: What is an intranet? You'd be able to help me with these calculation s,
j ennifer: An intranet is an area where people in a wouldn't you?
company can share information of aU sorts, and it can 3 You aren't suggesting that we didn't give you ali the
be accessed by everybody within a company, however infurmation you needed, are you?
large that company is. You're suggesting that we didn't give you ali the
lnt: How many staff regularly use tbe intranet? infurmation you needed, aren't you?
Jennifer: lt's very difficult to say because we don't actually 4 But tbat doesn't mean that the p roject won't be
see where the people who are using it come from, but successful in the long term, does it?
from the number ofhits we can average that at least 50 But that means that the project won't be successful in
per cent of the company use ita U the time. tbe long term, doesn't it?
lnt: What are the most popular parts of the intranet? 5 fd !ove to have a copy of that chart you showed us. Vou
j ennifer: 1 would say generally the most important bits couldn't give me one, could you?
that get used most ofthe time are tbewhat's new f d !ove to have a copy of that chart you showed us.
section, er, maybe tbe special offers, definitely the staff You'll give me one, won't you?
directory and of course useful links giving access to ali
sorts of things outside the company. . . Listening 3 page 38
tnt: What are the biggest challenges in managing the
intranet? lnterviewer: Grard, what exactly is the difference
j ennifer: The biggest challenge is trying to keep lhe between 'business intelligence' and 'industrial
information current and trying not to overload tbe site espionage'?
with too much information. As our intranet has Grard Desmarest: Well, the two terms are reaUy very
contri butors from ali over the different areas of the different because the first is entirely legal and the
company, we don't want people to duplicate second is not. Business intelligence is the collection of
information, so we have to keep our eye on what goes information througb any legal or 'open' source. So that
on, so that we can continuaUy weed out anytbing that's could be through trade publications, business
unnecessary. magazines, govemrnent organisations, specialist data
lnt: What are the main security issues for the intranet? sources, the internet or even just through
jcnnifer: Well, it won't be possible for anybody outside a straightforward observation. On the other hand,
company to actua lly access an intranet site. However, 'industrial espionage' is ali about gathering inteUigence
of course there is always the possibility of people by illegal methods. Now, there are various ways people
downloading information and emailing it to people, so can do that, by electronic surveillance, by steaJing
we do have to make sure we don't put really sensitive confidential informarion and, of course, by recruiting
information about our company on the intranet. Also, human agents from inside a business operation.
we don't put photographs of people there unless they lnt: How should businesses go about protecting their
give us their permission as there is a sligh t risk of information?
someone actually picking u pa photograph and using it CD: l'd say there are really two critical areas where
for sorne purpose. These are very, very minor risks but businesses are particularly vulnerable; the first of those
we do take them into consideration. is tbrough their information systems. It may be that a
lnt: Who supplies the content for the intranet? business hasn't protected its communication network
jennifer: For our in tranet site, we bave content supplied by properly. So it might not even know that critica! files
everyone within the company. Anyone can ask if tbey have been interfered with or have gone missing. So,
can have something on the intranet We just have to protecting your information, how it is accessed and
edit it like we would a newspaper and try to keep how it is exchanged - that's the first thing. On the
certain things, sorne certain criteria, in our minds. human side, there are other dangers. People are nor
lnt: How ha$ the intranet's role developed since it began? always honest and they may be prepared to
jennifer: It's grown enormously. To begin with, intranet communicate confidential information in exchange for
sites just used to give people very minor information, something they want You know, a competitor might
but it's rather like a magazine now and because people try to inAuence or even hire a key member ofyour staff.
use ita lot, more information cango onto it, and So, you really need to have staff you can trust and that
people will want to access it more frequently, so it does means being sure that what they are doing is in the
just grow and grow. best interests ofthe company. So, fm afraid there are
quite a lot of good reasons for companies to instaU
software and systems to monitor the activities of their
employees. lt's sad to have to say that, but these days
information is just too valuable.
lnt: How would you advise an employee to be more aware
of the danger of espionage?
166 Auclioscripts
CD 1 would say that it's more a question oftraining than the people who installed the software?
advising. 1 say that because most employees do not Good idea. 1'11 do just that.
understand the tecbniques that outsiders can use ro
obtain infonnation about a business. So, intelligence 1 have co make a presentation to the directors about
or security training can be very hclpful because it's how we can improve our information system.
always easier for people to protect themselves once B Well, there's plenty to say abour that.
they know what they have to protect themselves A 1 know. That's exactly the problem. lf you were in my
against. You know, competitors can get a lot of useful postion, what would you say?
information from employees just by asking the right B 1 think f'd just focus on the plans for the new
questions at the right time. And an employee may not network. l'd show them that chart we prepared.
even realise that he or she is being manipulated. So, ' Oh, right. Do you have any idea what we d id with
good, basic security training is deftnitely the first that?
thing, and that's something that most companies B l have a copy on my computcr. rll send it to you.
don't provide because they don't know the risks that
they are running.
l n Can you give us an example of a cornpany that you
Decision age 40
llave advised and explain how you helped them?
GD: Well, l'm afraid 1 can't give you any names but, er, yes, This isn't an isolated example by any means. DigitalVisions
1 can answeir that question in general terms. 1 mean, is facing exactly thesort ofdilemma that many majar
l've been involved in cases where we've been called corporations are finding themselves in today. And it's an
into a company that had been the target of industrial extremely complex one with no easy soluton. On the one
espionage, aod our job was to identify and locate the hand, there is a law made by one country which happens to
systems that had been installed. l'hese were mostly be the home of many multinat:ional businesses. And
quite sophisticated electronic devices which recorded corporations can't afford to ignore that law without taking
telephone conversations and monitored meetings and considerable risks. But on the other hand, there is the wbole
then transmitted rhat information to outsiders. So, the question of whether or not a company can, or indeed
first part of the job was to conducta full security should, impose a law on employees in another counuy
review and we did that at tbe weekend when there was when that law directly contradicts its own national labour
nobody at the comany. And then once we'd done that, legislation. So, it raises sorne difficult questions: Is a
well, we advised the company's information managers company entitled to know everything about its employecs
on what tbey had to do to make sure that it wouldn't and their bebaviour? How will it use such information? A
happen agan. But, er, obviously 1 can't discuss the exact lot of people are starting to say that, yes, companiesshould
details witb you - in my profession we don't give away have that information. lndeed, sorne businesses probably
confidencial nfonnation, we protect it! already do have it. Remember that 75 per cent of companies
in the US now have some sort of employee survei llanee
Listening 4 . . 3ge .:SY system - !T or camera. So, my feeling on this one is that it is
a qucstion that will evolve very quickly and that will be
resolved at the highest levels ofgovernment. So, forme, the
\ Head office saythey want the sales information for problem at Digita!Visions has to be solved overa period of
ali our subsidiaries as soon as possible. time - they can't just impose a solurion on their staff like
B Well, so far l'm afratd 1 have on ly been able to get this. 1 think they should definitely not install the hotline in
sales figu res for Europe. countries where it meets with serious opposition. What they
Why didn't you tell me? Don't you realise how have to do first is to open negotiations with staff and their
important this is? representatives and try to reach an agreement on how the
B l'm sorry. l didn't know it was that urgent. hotline should be used.
Look. COuld you just tell me when you'll have it
ready by? Listening 1 page 42
2
\ Shall we go over these figures again before we send Siernens is producing a special range of fushion phones
them to the accounts department? designed to be lifestyle accessories. One of these has
8 l don't th ink that's really necessary.111ey look pretty two clear functions: it is a phone and, more
good to me. importantly, it can be clipped onto a bag or item of
/\ Well, l'm not so sure about that l'd like to be certain clothing, which makes ita fashion statement as well.
that there are no major errors. b Another Siemens model features a large screen on a
8 l'm afraid 1 don't have the time to do that rght now. small devce, which can be closed to protect the screen.
Why don't you check them yourself'? When opened, it provides plenty of room for both
3 display and keypad. lt's called the Clamshell.
We still haven't found what's causing the system to Nokia has a new model where the telephone itself is a
fail like thaL We've tried everything. secondary function. This suggests that the mobile
B That's too bad. It's already caused us a lot of delays. phone as a separate device could disappear aJtogether
/\ Yeah, 1 understand that. So, what would you advise and be designed to perform specific tasks airned at
me to do? particular types ofusers. The primary function ofthis
B 1 don't know. How about arranging a meeting wfth model is as a gaming console.
Audioscripts 167
<I Sony Ericsson has pioneered a clever new shape in
camera phones, seen in a new model which resembles Listening 2 page 55
a camera when closed. The device opens to the side to
revea( a standard mobile phone keypad, and Sony 1
based the controls on their digital camera. This is the Max Schling lived in New York. He opencd a flower shop
Jackknife. there. To publicise his business he rnn an advert in Th.e
New York Times. lt was in shorthand. Sorne bosses asked
Listening 2 page 47 their secretaries to translate it. They told them that it said:
'Remember Max Schling Flowers.'
OK, let me start by saying that wbat we need to achieve is 2
the creation of a corporate website which is an effective One of the best stories l ever heard about advertising is
sales and marketing tool. The fust thing wc need to do is about Max Schling, who was a New York florist. Now this
ask our information technology experts a fuw questions. was back in the 1920s, and Max had just started his
And the answers we need from the JT staff, as you can see business and was looking for a good way to pubLicise it.
from this slide, concern the hardware we require and the And then one day he had this brilliant idea: he ran an ad
time we need to spend maintaining the site. Now, while in 7lie New Yorh Times - only it wasn't like any of the
w~re waiting for those answers, 1 suggest that the marketing other ads in the paper because it was ali in shorthand,
departmen1 starts by preparing product descriptions and which is an abbreviated language that people like
conducting an on line survey. My view is that the online secretaries use lo take notes. Well, of course, none of the
survey should be modelled on the questionnaires we used businessmen who'd bought the paper could read shorthand
for our last market research. Finally, 1 want the so they had no idea what the ad actually said. Guess what
communications department to organise regular meetings happened? As soon as they arrived at work they asked their
to keep everyone up-to-date and informed. Now, any secretaries to translate it. And what did it say? ' Remember
questions? Max Schling filowers next time the boss wancs to send
flowers to his wife.' Now for me that was one smart
Listening 1 page 54 advertisement! And in the end, Schling went on to become
one of the most famous flower businesses in New York.
J. 3
Benetton is, of course, one of the big names in modero Remember that busine..~ trip that 1 was supposed to do?
advertising and everyone remembers 1he series of shock You know, for the International advertising festival. Well,
campaigns that the company did with Oliviero Toscani in you'll never believe thrs! Everything went just fine to begin
the 1990s. Now, that may have been a great way to build with - 1 hada great flight out, the horel was OK and the
awareness of the Benetton company, but it ce.rtainly wasn't festival itself was really a great success. Anyway, to cut a
always a commerc.iaJ success. So 1 think it's very interesting long story short, when 1 was getting ready 10 leave, 1 put my
to see how they've changed their advertising in their new passport and my tickets into the side pocket of my bag -
campaign. Of course, there's no direct connecrion between just to be sure that rd know exactly where rhey were. Wel~ 1
the animal in the p icture and the clothes that Benetton sells, asked the receptionist to call for a taxi and sure enougb ten
but this really is an ad that has great emotional impact. minutes later this car drew up. l went over to talk to the
Benetton is associating its name with a cause - the driver and just then a second taxi arrivcd. And this driver
protection of animals and nature - and that gives them a then starred shouting atthe first driver and saying that l
very good platfom1. This is more than just photography- it's was his client. Well, in all the confusion, 1wasn't paying
art. lt's the type of ad that people will want to put on their attention to my bag and suddenly when I rurned round to
walls, and there's no better place for an advert than rhat. look for it, 1saw that the second driver had taken it and
was putting it in to his car. And then he just jumped in to
Creativity is at the heart of advertising, which is why l've his car and drove off, leaving me with no passport, no
chosen this ad -you know, l think it's a great example of ticket and no money. What a nightmare!
just thar. At first sight, it just looks like a very
straightforward shot of a group of young Maasai people, Preview page 60
standing together cut in the emptiness of the African
plains. And you're a1most left wondering what this advert Marvin Hunt
could be for, because there's no obvious trace of anything 1specialise in the area of employment law, but not just
connected with consumer society. Bur then when you look here in the UK. 1 work ali over Europe and 1 deal with a
more closely, you realise that, in fact, the people have wbole range of legal issues arising out of employment So,
been positioned to forrn the outline of a Land Rover four- one week I could be advising a majar corporation about
wheel drive vehicle - the Freelander Maasai. l think it's a their hiring policies and the next 1 could be involved in
very subtle ad because wbat it's saying to people is 'Look, resolving a dispute between workers and employers. W~e
this is the vehicle that the Maasai have chosen, and gota very challenging case coming up soon where a group
they've done rhat because they know it's a reflection of of fema le cmployees is claiming that they were paid less
their own qualities as a tribe-strong, fearless, intrepid.' than the male employees for the same work.
So for the target audience, this is an ad that's not only
reassuring, it's also one that makes a very direct appeal to
their sense of adventure.
168 Audioscripts
Louise Gramger 2
My training was in Law and in life sciences. So my double Hi, Jane. Well, are you still interested in buying
background is a great help in my line of business, which is the laptop?
the environment. These days, companies are coming under jane: Not at that price. You know 1can't afford that much.
a lot of pressure from lawyers and also from You're askiog for five hundred and 1could probably get
environmentalists who say that their operations may be a new one for less than eigh t. Why don't we say four?
causing damage to the environment or even creating health Ha rvly No way! You know it's worth more than that. lt's
problems for sorne people. So my job is to help businesses on ly six months old and it's sti ll under guarantee. And
to evaluate the risks that they face. At the rnoment l'm you won't have to buy any software - it's aJJ installed.
advising a petroleum company that is accused of polluting jane: f'our hundred, that's my final offer. You can take it or
the local water supply. leave it.
Marsha Maspero
" Oh, wel~ that's too bad thcn.
r'm in IP, which is our jargon for intellcctuaJ property. That 3
refers to things like tbe brand names and the patented J tl '1~ Hi, Rudy. You're just the person 1 was looking
inventions tbat belong toan organisation. So we have a for.
network of associates in countries around the world who Rudy: 1 don't like the sound of rhat! Don't tell me you're
give us specialist advice to help companies to protect their going to ask me to cover fur you againl
intellectual property in international markets. My own Joh mna Sorry to ask you at such short notice, but what
speciality is actually the cntertainment industry, which l'm proposing is that you cover for me at tbe project
means that fin often working with people from tbe music meeting on Friday and 1'11 make it up to you whenever
and fi lm industry. f'Qr instance, l've just finished defending you like.
a very famous client frorn the sports industry whose Rudy: That suits me fine, actually, becausc rrn going to
pictures were being used on a commercial website without need you to cover forme ar 1he end of the rnomh. So, if
his permission. you can do that, then you've gota deal.
Samuel Chase
J , lricJ OK - done!
Product liability is where I work. AJI businesses are
responsible for making sure that their products do not Decision page 66
cause harm to the consumers who use them. What we do is
advise companies when they have to deal with cornplaints. This is a classic dilemrna. Here we have two companies that
That could involve negotiating with other lawyers or had actually both successfully launched Lheir businesses in
actually defending the company in court. We have a big more or less the same sector. The similarities probably end
case at the rnornent where we're helping a pharmaceutical there, too. because on the one hand you have Glow
company to prepare a strategy to deal with tigation that Industries, which is a start-up, and on the other you bave
may result frorn cornplaints about one of its best-selling an international organisation with connections to sorne
drugs. very big players in the beauty business. So big money rneets
small money, ifyou like. because Glow by Jlo has $100
Listening age 65 mi Ilion in annual revenue and Glow Industries just two or
three million. The problem is thar neither of the companies
l is in fact the first to register a trademark containing the
Mumc David, 1 think you know that we've been havi:ng a word clow' because other businesses are already selling
lot of problems with rhe Donsanto case. We're already products under similar names. And this is also where it gets
behind schedule and at this rate we'll never be ready to even more complicated: because when Terri took legal
present the case in court. Here's what I have in mind: action against Sweetface, they responded by buying a stake
rd like you to take on responsibility for the whole case in one of the comparues that was already using the name
frorn now on. 'Glow' and tben whaf they did was to counterattack,
David : That's out of the question! l'm in the middle of accusing Terri herseJf of stealing their name. But that
negotiations with the employees of Dextra generated a lot of negative publicity for Glow by JLo, and
Manufacturing about compensation so 1 don't see how eventually the two sides reached a settlement. There are no
1 can take on a whole new case just like that! Besides, details of exactly what that involved but Terri Williamson
it's a lot ofresponsibility,. agrecd to change tbe na me of her products - so there is
Momea rm sure we can find someone to replace you. every reason to suppose that she received substancial
That way you'd be completely free to deaJ with compensation.
Donsanto. We would give you full support and you'd
be able to choose the people you want to work with. Listening 1 age 68
David : Well, ifyou give mean assistant anda budget to
cover my expenses, 1suppose 1just might be interested. The arnazing thing about most successful brands is that very
But 1can't give you an answcr right now - not before little can knock them off the top once they've become well
l've had a look at the files to see what's been done so established and they've achieved brand loyalty frorn their
far. Wby don't you get those to me and then 1'11 be in a customers. 1 mean, certain big brands have survived scandals
better position to give you my decision? about sweatshops, they've continued to sell even though the
sports teams they e.hose to prom0te them lost ali their
matches in one seas0n! But the one thing that can kill a
Audioscripts 169
brand, and particularly a luxury brand, is if it loses its image Catherine: Yes. lt is a good idea, but 1can't help
of exclusivity. lf you give too many retailers licences and let wondering where thc budget for this is going to come
them sell at the price they see fit - well, thcn you're in fro m.
trouble! You must never lose control of the pricing policy. Jack: Yes, I was going to come to thar. We will of course
J -, have to cut the advertising budget, and 1 feel we sbould
._-unit B. . Listening 2 page 72
\-
scrap the 1V campaign altogether. A better-targeted
' print c:ampaign supported by the new ...
Catherine: Hold on, what do you mean, scrap the 1V
lnterviewcr: You used to be a brand asset manager and
campaign? Why didn't you tell me? We did so much
you've moved into the area of corporate identity. Could
research for that, you know, and that campaign will get
you tell us how corporate identity and brand asset
us the extra sales we need. l'm sorry, but 1 ...
management are linked?
jack Look, don't take this personally - it isn't that your
Manager: I feel qualified to do both because a good
idea is bad, it's just that this is clearly the best way to ...
corporate image, like a brand image, will separate and
distinguish a company and its products and services llilil
from ali others. A 'brand' in this case is the face of the Dedsion page 74
company, the one that the public sees. When you have
a face, you have a brand you own. So the identity, This is a tricky situation indeed, though not unusual.
whether it be corporate identity, brand identity or Managing success in tbe luxury brand business is almost as
both, should be the company's visual statement to the difficu lt as getti.ng to the top in the first place. Wth the sales
world about who and what the company is and what ofbrands like .Burberry increasing as they are,
its products and services stand for. democratisation is inevitable. 1 mean, look at the CEO at
lnt What is the biggest cballenge companies fuce in Dior - he has tripled sales figures in six years and that shows
establishing a clear brand identity? it is possible to expand a brand and keep it exclusive.
Manager: There are many challenges, of course, but they However, tbe Burberry case is a little more complicated as
must ali be faced. Companies must understand who sorne of the new brand entbusiasts are famous for bad and
they are, what their product is and who their customers even sometimes dangerous behaviour- a truly complicated
are - ali of which lead to the key contributor of dilemma. 1 think though, 1would have to say they should
identity: finding the right price. Are they economical embrace the new markets. The increased sales aren't dong
products ata good price, or expensive quality them any harm! And it doesn't look like the altemative
products? The price is a key distinguishing factor in markets are repelling their target customers. Their website
terms of competitors. lf there is no one in the market, does note its 'broad appeal' in its 'About us' section, even
then brand identity rnight not even matter, products though it only features people who look very wealthy and
might just happily survive without an identity. conventionaL For the moment, they seem to be taking the
lnt: How do companies check the effectiveness of their 'wait and see' approach. 1think they should fully exploit
corporate brand? these new market opportunities while they last, but 1gues.s
Manager: They can do a visual audit, which meaos they are too afraid of getting a downmarket image.
conducting i.nterviews and analyses on everything the
company produces, like letterheads, business cards, Listening 1 page 80
vehicles, signage, packaging, ads and so on. This should
be done every tbree to five years, ideally. Ali the visual 1ntcn. icwer. Why did you invest your money in rextiles,
materials need to say 'this is who we are and this is such a difficult market?
what our products stand for'; year in, year out. The Bradley Hopper: Yeah, 1know, people thought 1 was crazy
company name isn't more or less important than tbe but, bey, l could never work with a product 1 didn't
brands they sel!; in most cases the brands and like. And it was clothes that I was interested in more
corporate name are synonymous. than anything else. At first, l wanted to get into the
lnt You say 'in most cases'. When is this not the case? designer end but that's even more difficult
Manager: WeU, Iots of big conglomera tes with a variety of lnt: Your investment has certainJy paid off. Turnover of
brands actually keep a low corporate profile, while the around a hundred million dollars, right?
brands are in the forefr<?nt. People remember the Bl-1 : Yeah, it's been a very good year for us. But it took
products but not the firm that produces them. sorne time to get to this point, although 1 guess 1 knew
However, that doesn't mean tbat if the company is we could do it. lt's profit that drives me. l know l. said 1
involved in sorne wrongdoin g or if their identity gets !ove great clothes and that, but what your first priority
tamisbed, it won't have a negative effect on the brand. has to be is making money, you know what 1 mean.
In the end, the corporate brand's reputation will affect That is the key to success as far as rm concerned.
the product brand's reputation, and vice versa. lnt Can you relax now that you've established the brand?
BH : Well, not exactly. In my business you have to keep
Listening 3 page 73 reinventing yourself, investi.ng in design and
marketing, and hope you get noticed by the best retail
Jack As you can see on the slide here, we are going to outlets. There is so much competition out there and
redesign the imeriors of aJI our directly operated stores they're ali cutting costs in a very price-sensitive market.
in line with the new brand image of classic sobriety. But it isn't being the cheapest that counts. Wbat keeps
This will reinforce the message of thc media campaigns me one step abead is knowing where to cut costs and
and should lead to a considerab.le increase in sales! where to invest.
170 Audioscripts
lnt And what is the next invcstment? sun, for instance, geothermal energy, which uses the
BH : WelJ, l'm proud to say we're planning to launch our heat that is under the surface of the earth, and tidal
rst envi:ronmental product line this year, a T-shirt line energy, which uses the gravitational effect of the moon.
made from 100 per cent grown-in-the-USA certified lnl What's the future for alternative energy?
organic cotton. There's a huge market for that kind of MH : l think it has a very important role to play in the
environmentally friendly product. future because, as r said, it uses energy sources tbat a.re
lnt That sounds like an interesting development. abundant, s there's no danger of them disappearing
BH : Yes, but 1 may not be around to see it- l'm thinking of like our traditionaJ energy resources. But what's justas
selling up and starting out as a venture capitalist, or important is the fact that it's non-polluting - and you
rather a business angeL lt's the excitement you get ar don't have to bum anything 10 produce power. And
the beginning of a venture that l'm after. And l prefer that means it doesn't produce gases that harm the
the image of angel because that would mean beng environment and cause health problems.
more involved than justa venture capitalist, you know, Unfortunately, there's no way you can suddenly switch
and it's the hands-on part that really interests me. 10 usiog only renewable energies - it's just not that
simple.
Listening 2 page 81 lnt Why not?
MH : Well, for a number of reasons, actually. Cost is
Lcader: ... OK, hold on, let's just sum up what has been definitely one of those, becausc power generated from
decided so far and then ifwe are all agreed, we can alternative energies is still relatively expensive. And
continue to prioritise what's left on the list. We ali agree then there's the fact that many of the technologies are
that it is imperative to draw up criteria for the experimental and we don't yet have the systems in
companies we want to trade in, right? Otherwise, we'IJ place that wilJ allow us to generate power cheaply from
never get a comprehensive list together. Now, I know it say, waves - tbough there's no doubt in my mind that
would be useful to establish relationships with the we wilJ have those soon. Yet another problem is with
CFOs of companes on our list, but we dont have to do the nature of the energy sources themselves - the wind,
that now. l'm afraid we can forget about a trip to for example, doesn't always blow so you have to
Frankfurt - it just doesn't make sense, and we're going compensate for variations in the amounts of energy
to recruit specialists for the job, anyway. Right, what that can be produced.
next? lnt: So, what are governments doing to cncourage the
Tcam member: Well, maybe the next step should be to development of renewable energies?
start the recruitment process ... MH: 1 think it's easier to take an example to explain this. lf
we look at the situation in the United Kingdom, we can
see the sorts of problems that govcrnments in many
Listening 1 page 89 countries are facing. The main uses of energy in the UK
at the moment are household consumption and
lntcrvicwer: There's a lot of interest in renewable energies transport. Then to a lesser degree you have industry
these days. Could you explain brieAy what these are? and, lastly, services. rf we just look at the first two - well,
Mia l lansen: Well, when we talk about energy sources, we ifyou wanted to replace the energy that they consume
usually divide these into two very different categories: with electricity from wind, then you'd have to build
non-rene:wable and renewable. Non-renewable refers to hundreds of thousands of wind turbines to do that! And
all the energies that depend on usi11g mineral or today that's just not possible for both technical and
petroleum resources, whlch you can only use once. For environmental reasons. So, in fact, the UK government
example, ifyou use a barre! ofoil to produce electricity has set a fairly modest target, which is to have 25 per
or fueJ, then that energy will never be replaced. On the cent of its energy coming from renewable sources by
other hand, renewable energies depend on natural 2025. But where will the rest come from? WelJ, that's the
forces like sunlight, which, of course, are unlimited. So, big question. Nuclear energy could be one solution, but
when you use renewable energy, you're not reducing nobody wants to live next to a nuclear power station. So
the amount of that energy that is available, because it's at the moment there are no easy answers - renewablc
constant - so the same quantity of energy will always energy can help, but it won't provide a magc solution.
be there in the future.
lnt Can you give us sorne examples of renewable energies?
MH : Of course, l mean ... l'm sure most people today are
ll@i!.i Listeoing 2 page 91
familiar with the wind towers or wind turbines that
you can find in many places. Well, wind power is just A. Hi, Ray. 1 thought I'd give you a call to see how
one example of this, and like most renewable energies, things are going on your side. Everythi.ng going
or 'altemative energies' as they're often called, it smoothly?
originates from sunlight. The action of the sun on the B r'd say we're doing OK, but we have hfr a couple of
atmosphere not only creates wind but it also generates snags recently.
heat, which makes water evaporate. So, almost all A Oh, really? Any idea what the problem is?
renewable energies rely on the sun. Other examples are B The engioeers have found a problem with the
solar power, of course, water and wave power, and also power supply. 1t keeps cutting out and they don't
what we call biomass energy, which comes from plants knowwhy.
and vegetable matter. But 1should add that there are A Well, that doesn't sound too good. How can we sort
other renewable energies that do not depend on the this out, then?
Audioscripts 171
B Why don't we have a video conferente witb the Augustand that's not the best time toget the financia!
supplier? They should be able to come up with community on board because it's right in the middle of the
so.me.sug.gestions. summer vacation. Secondly, there was the attitude
2 A So, Don, can you give mean update on progress so concerning the disclosure of lhe company's plans. Tbese
far? No hitches? were never published in sufficient detail and investors were
B Nothing too serious, no. The next batch of samples left in sorne doubt about what the eompany was planning.
should be ready by tbe end of the month. Lastly, the actual process of the auction was complicated
A The end of the m.ontb! So, whafs gene wrong? 1 ami, if anything, instead of simplifying things, it really
thought we said they had to be ready for testing by made it more difficult for investors to buy the shares.
tbe fifteenth. However, having said that, 1should add that for investors,
B 1 know that's what we were aiming for. But we the Google lPO was a really great opportunity: they could
haven't received sorne of the precision tools we buy ata relatively low price and within a few days the
ordered. shares had risen to $125.
\ Let's hope they're here soon, but if tbe worst comes
to the worst, we could ex.tend the deadline. Why Listening 2 page 99
didn'tyou tell meabout this before, though?
3 \ Hi, Alan. So, how did it go? As CEO of lnnovaTex, f'd like to saya few words about the
B Not that well, actually. company before Lgo on to look at the specific details of our
A Really? Don't telJ me that theyre not ~oing to sign IPO. 'To sum up our company in a few words: InnovaTex is
the .c.ontract. a young company in a vibrant growtb sector. We have first-
B Not just yet, that's for sure. They say they'U only sign dass products, a dedicated arid talented staff and 1 tnink
ifwe give them a guarantee that we won't raise we llave a great future abead of us. 1'11 come back t0 all that
prices by more than two per cent ayear. Jater in this presentation. But now l'd just like to say how
1\ You can't be serious! there's no way we could agree proud r am, not only of wbat we have already achieved but
to that, not with energy prices as high as they are. also fbeing cnosen to lead the company at this critica!
How do you suggest we deal with this? moment in its history s w embark on our nextjoumey.
B l don't know, but 1 think we'd better call head office Today, we are about to begin that joumey. And that brings
first and see what they have to say. me straight to my main message: 1 sincerely hope that as
many of you as possible will be joining us; in other words,
Prev:iew page 94 that you and your clients will be among our future
stockholders!
lfyou have a look at some recent examples of compnies lnmyptesentation tbday, 1'11 be strting with who we are
tbat bave gone public or, at le.ast, announced their and tben giving a review of our recent performance. l'll
intenton of don.g so, then you can see sorne quite distinct then move on to an analysis of the risks and the tliallenges
scenarios. Fer exa.mple, ifwe take Steven Spielberg's film that le ahead. After that, fil look at the capital and
production company, DreamWorks, it's pretty clear that the management structure and how it will be affected by the
primary motivation is to allow the original investors to offering. And finally, 1'11 discuss the more practica! details
cash in their iovestmenl. On the other hand, in the case of a of the offering, such as the timing.
business like Virgin Blue, the ll'O is obviously more directly
tied in to the nature of tht business - airlin.es require huge
sums ofc:apital to purchase aircraft, and getting that capital
li@!f f Decisjon page 100
from tbe publicratherthan froma bank can be very
WeJI, 1 think the whole Hi Wire story gos to show that it is
tempting. Anotber case in point is Domino's Pizza, where
not always that easy to get an IPO right. In this case, first of
the priorities are s lightlydifferent because the company is
ali, there is the que8tion of how the lPO was organised, and
primarly interested in paying off sorne of its debt while
that brings up two problems: the timing and the choice of
also compensating sorne of its senior staff But there are
the bank tQ manage the laund1. For the timing, itwas
other reasons, of course, why a business migbt dei;ide to go
already clear that the internet boom was coming to an end,
publc.
so the company was entering the market at the worst
possible time. But the real problem was thi't they were
Listening 1 page 96 doing that with their stocks priced too high - they hadn't
reduced tbem at ali. Now why they attempted to do that is
1 wouldn~t say that the Google IPO was really all that atso the result of the telationship between the company and
successful even if they did raise $1.7 billion frorn the sale of its investment advisers. ln this case they really weren't that
almost 20 rnillon stocks. Because you have to remember compatible: on one hand, a traditional Wall Street
tha.t initially the company had hoped that its !PO would investment bank with very conservative ideas about how to
bring in almost $317 biJlion and they were expecting to sell launch a public company and ori the other, a yoUng rule-
26 million stocks on the market. So, ifyou compare the breaking, risk-taking enterprise with very definite ideas.
price they actually sold for, $85, withw.hatthe company What happened? WeB, basically, both side!i bad overvalued
had projected, which was.between 108 and $135, then you the company, thy couldn't sign up enough investors and
can see that il did n't re<:1lly work out that weU. You know, l eventually they had to accept the fuct that they couldn'r go
think tbe management teammade quite a few mistakes ahead with the !PO. So it was cancelled for the second time -
and that's why they dido't make their target. Probably the now that didn't do either of their reputatons any good. And
most serious was with the tming of the IPO - it was set for remember, on Wall Street nobody ever furgets a failed IPO.
172 Audioscripts
motorcyclc markets, and after producing a series of
Preview 1 rige 102 revolutionary cars like the Civic and the Prelude, in 2001 its
Accura model became the best-selling car in the US. They
had literally 1aken the automobile market by starm. During
COmpetition is one of the most critica! factors for any
the period from 1970 to 2000 Honda was also busy
business, and knowing where you stand in relation to your
developing new activities in other industries, including
competitors is crucial. And this has become a permanent
robotics, generators and biotechnology, ro mention just
preoccupation for a lot ofbusinesses. But how do you nd
three. And they haven't stopped al that. One of their most
out? Well, there are various ways you can approach it, but
signficant moves was in:to aircraft engines, and ir could
one of the principal tools that's used is based on a theory
well be that from now on we'll see the arrival of
developed by Michael Porter, a professor at the Harvard
commercial aircraft under the Honda name. A prototype,
Business School. According to him, there are five
tbe Honda jet, has already flown and with 441 subsidiaries
fundamental forces that affect a company's compettive
supporting the company's effortS around the world, Honda
position. So, ifwe put this into the form of a diagram, then
represcnts a threat thafs impossible to ignore. So the sky is
at the centre you'd have competitive rivalry'. Then you'd
certainly no limit for them.
put in the four forces or factors that are going to influence
this. In the box right at the cop you'd have 'l1ueat of entry'.
Now thisjust means: what is the probability that other Listening 2 1age 107
businesses wiJI attempt to enter our sector? Then you have
two other facto rs: 'Power of buyers' and 'Power of suppliers', 1
let's say one on each side. Tilis is pretty straightforward and l "wis Hi, Georgia. 1 just wanted to tell you that we've just
it just refers to the power that both of these groups can finalised the prices for the next quarter. We reckon that
exe1t. So, for cxample, if you are a company selling to a we can reduce prices by five per cent max starting next
major distribution chain, then your buyers can impose month.
certain conditions on you. The same is true for suppliers: if Georgia : You must be crazy, Lewis! 1 told you that our
you depend on one source, then you don't have much room competimrs are already at least ten per cent cheaper
for manoeuvre. l.astly, there is 'Substitution' or 'Substitute than we are and they're stilJ bringing their prices down.
products' - now, this is quite easy to understand, too: most There'll be a riot if 1 tell tbe sales staff that. can't we
producrs can be replaced by othcrs, so, of course, the ideal find a bettcr solution?
situation is to have one which can't be. But that's not often Le\'\. IS Listen, Georgia, that's the way it is, so just tell them
the case. it's five per cent - whether they like it or not!
In practice, Porter's theory is very helpful because it suggests 2
a number ofways that businesses can build barriers to ~1 ,~. OK, Martin, so what we've decided to do is to
preven1 other companies from entering into direct introduce electronic sales tracking. That way, each
competition. Among these, there are four which 1 chink are salcsperson will record ali transactions, and the data
particularly important: differentiation - makingyoUI will be centralised at head office.
product or service unique; economies of sea le - getting a Martn: That sounds fine, Steve. But how long will it take
cost advantage over your competition; distribution - having befare the whole system is operational?
a oetwork which gives you access to markets; and switching ': l'd like to haveit up and running in two months.
costs - making it prohibitively expensive for your customers Martin: Two rnonths? That's not long. What are your views
to change to a rival productor service. on nding the time to train everyone to use the system?
~h'\ " 1 don't' know, er, but it should be possible to block a
1
Listening 1 1age 105 week in june and get everybody together then. Do vou
think that would work out? -
1 think that the Honda corporation is a great example of a Martin Well, yes, 1 thnk it might be possible.
business that has successfully entered new markets by using 3
a brilliant combination of quality engineering, efficient C. 1 hope rm not interrupting you, Marta, but there's
production and innovative design. The origi nal company, something l think we need to discuss.
The Honda Tedmical Research lnstitute, was set up in 1946 Mana Go ahead, Greg. What's the problem?
by Soichiro Honda and it was originally just a smaU t.rq!: Well, fve received sorne complaints from your
domestic manufacturer of cycle engines. Their lirst subordinates. They say you have been assigni ng too
commercial product carne out one year later. This was the A much extra work.
Type, a small engine designed to be litted to bicycles. But Ma11a: Listen, Greg, you know we're short-staffed at the
only ten years la ter they had already designed the Supercub, moment so let's keep things in perspective. Especially if
which was the first really successful mass-market you won't let me hre any temporary staff. So why don't
~otorcycle. This was one of the motorbikes that they we just forget about it?
mtroduced to the US market when they opened their first 1 <, Forgct about it? Look, r know we don't see e:ye to eye
office there in 1959, and it was a huge success. lt was on this, but surely we need to do somcthing!
followed by a whole range of new and exciting models that
allowed l londa to take more than 60 per cent of the US
market for motorcycles by 1966. But the company had by
then started to move into a new sector, the automobile
industry, and in 1963 its first car, the S 500, went on sale in
Japan. Honda then repeated what it had done in the US
Audioscripts 173
been in the City of London for 181 years and is one of the
Dedsion page 108 few British investment banks. People are bound to be
interested in the future of such a fum.
Th is is one of the classic cola war stories and also a very lnt: And how did the de.al come about?
interesting case far intemationa1 marketing because it JS: Well, first of ali, 01ase bought Robert Fleming, another
shows how easy it is for a company, even one like Coca- British investment bank, for E4.9 billion ($7.7 billion),
cola, to get it wrong when they entera new market. Parle, and la ter bought JP Morgan itself for $36 billion. JP
the owner of Thums Up, actually decided to sell ils brand Margan Chase is now paying EJIO million to Qmnove
to Coca-Cola, and Coca-Cola imagined that in no time they fura half share of the investment-bankingjoint venture
would be able to get lndian customers to switch to their and putting in ESO million of capital and 70 of its staff.
brands. But that's not what happencd, and after severa! lnt: Why was ]P Morgan Chase so keen to do a deal with
years of poor performance, Coca-Cola's managers realised cazenove?
that many of their 1arget consumers actually preferred JS: Well,just look at the recent press commems: the media
Thums Up. So they revamped the brand, and today Thums says that Gazenove is a uniquely wonderful institution
Up is the bes1-selliJ1g cola on the continent. thac displays ali of the virtues of che City of old and
none of its vices, and that its client list is the envy of its
Listening 1 page 112 rivals.
lnt: How has tbe de.al been received by those who are
Frank directly concerned?
JS: A spokesperson for JP Morgan says ali of cazenove's
Our department specialises in advising and managing
transactions for our corporate customers. These are usua11y clients are delighted about it. lt is a good de.al fur JP
businesses which need our specialist assistance wich Morgan, but also for cazenove's shareholders - and
managing their capital. Now, that could involve arranging most of those are its employees, who will retain control
of a large part of Cazenove's business. They will also see
for a company to go public or issuing shares to enable a
business to acquire another company. But it's not always the release of another fi.30 mi JI ion of capital from JP
Morgan, with the prospect of a lot more in the future.
like that because we also provide assistance to companies
that are having problems and need to find new sources of ln t. So, what do you thinkJP Morgan's long-term p lans
are?
capital. In cases like that, we work with our own specialists
and put together a plan to raise capital but also to look at JS: After five years, JP Morgan will have the right to buy
how the company can be reorganised. Cazenove out, and Cazenove will have the right to sell
to the bank at a price they set independently. Though
Matt there are a few penalties involved, this means chat it is
In my department we specialise in emerging businesses. almost certain that the US giant will end up with the
These are ncw companies which are entering markets with lot.
new products or services. My job is to identify the
businesscs that we chink have development potential and Listening 3 page 117
arrange for invest0rs ro 1ake a stake in the capital of the
company. Then we advise the company in different ways.
This could be about how to develop more effective A After looking at this from ali sides, 1 think it's pretty
marketing solutions or about how to find strategic partners clear that che time has come to expand into the
eastem European markets. Don't you agree?
to assist them irt growing as fastas possible. And, of course,
we can also assisnbem in preparing for a public offering of B 1don't think that's what we should do a1 all l think
their shares. it'd be much better to focus on the markets in
southern Europe, where we already have a foothold,
Claudia and consolidate our position there.
The bank's customers come to us when they are thinking of A Well, all things considered, l'm absolutely convinced
expanding their businesses or setting up in new markets. lt's the right tbing to do is to expand in the east.
our job to estmate their chances of succeeding. We provide B Have you looked at the cost? Where will we get the
information concerning market trends, competition, etc. - money from?
anything we think they need to know - and we also give A lve already discussed the plan wich our advisers and
them our forecasts for the sector they are interested in. lf we they say they can find us the partners we'll need. So
think the prospects are good, we advise our clients to go that shouldn't be a problem. 1would just like your
ahead with their projects, and we generally get involved in support, that's ali.
the slrategic planning of the business, too. B WeU, rm sorry but for me it's no.
A Look, unless you're prepared to change your mind
Listening 2 page 115 on this one, l'll just have to go ahead without you on
the team.
1 tel"\ e,,, Good morning, Mr Sanders, and welcome to 2 A This is the situation: we have an investor who wants
the programme today. to buy into the company, and he's prepared to pay
Jeff Sanders: Good morning. cash for 30 per cent ofour stocks.
lnt. Maybe 1could start by ask:ing why there is such huge B l'm nol so sure that it would be a good idea to have
media interest in this afance. another person making the big decisions.
JS: r think there is one main reason for chat: cazenove has A Well, we need capital to expand, and this guy has
already bdped several other companies to go public
174 Audioscripts
in the hi-tech sector. We've all worked really hard B Great. 1 already have a pretty good idea of what
together to get this far and this could be our big needs to be done. r'll get on to it right away.
break. We're in this together, you know, and it reaUy
3 You do realise that your department has failed to
would be to our advantagc.
reacb its targets, don't you?
B Yes, l suppose you're right. When can we meet up
B Yes, 1'111 aware of that. But 1 still think we did as well
witb hm?
as we could under the circumsta11ces.
3 lt's in ali our interests to take the bank to court- But this is the third time this has happened. So, look.
they should be made to pay us compensation for l'm going to give you one last chance. OK?
our losses.
B Our case is almost impossible to preve, and if we 4 \ How many units are you expecting us co sell per
lose, think of alJ the bad publicity. l'm really against month?
i t. B 1 think that a ten per cent increase for each
l'm sure we could prove it was the bank's fault. They salesperson should be about righr.
did make inaccurate predictions about our f. Ten per cent! That's an awfu 1 lot.
performance, and that caused our share price to fati B Well, J'm not saying that it will be easy. But r am
dramatically. offering a two per cent ncrease in commission to
D Ali things considered, the most sensible thing would anyone who makes those numbers. 1 think that's
be to talk to our lawyers first and see what they have fa ir, isn't it?
to say.
A They may advise another course of action, but you're Decision page 126
right - that should be our first step.
Well, before 1say anything else, 1 wouldjust like to say that
Listening 1 page 122 1 agrec with the consultants when they say that tr:aining is
an excellent motivator. And l find the various options they
Notice how the king uses 'we' straightaway: 'We few. we propase very interesting. lt's difficult to choo e between
happy few'. This puts him in thc position of a democratic them but 1 think it's reaUyirnportaot to solve
leader from the beginning. He too is part of the tearn. It is comrnunication problems as soon as and whenever they
very motivating for the team to feel the leader is part of it occur. There is obviously a huge breakdown in
and working towards the same goals. 1bey are, as be puts it communication here with lhe majority of the staff
so well, a 'band of brothers'. He makes them feel part of an dissatisfied with how they are being managed! Therefore. 1
exclusive club (the 'happy few'). lndeed they are privileged would send the managers on the course offered by the
to be part of this team! They have beco chosen especially, Future Management ConsuJtancy as soon as possible. On
and others have been excluded - the 'gemlemen in England the othcr hand. the employees wouldn't see the immediate
now a-bed'. And the people who really invest time and benefit of this, so l think 1 would use the rest of the budgct
energy and make sacrifices - 'he to-day that sheds his blood for one-day stress managemenr courses at Key Associatcs or
with me' - will be rewarded. He tells them they wi ll be possibly the hea.lth and titaess courses at Top Health. 111e
remembered as beroes and becomc gentJemen. Now, if you fitness courses wou ld be seen to be alife enhancer for
put that in the context of a manager today motivating, let's everyone, and staff would feel that their overall well-being
say, his sales leam, you have al! the necessary elements. lt's was a cause for concern for the compaoy.
like saying: 'OK, guys, we have a difficult mission to Long term, r think it would be a very good th ing to offer a
complete but 1 wouldn't ask you if 1 didn't think you could fuJI course in stress ma11agement as so many staff members
do it - and there are big bonuses and promotions in it for complain ofstress. Or it migh1 be better to consider
us ali if we succeed.' installing gym and training facilities. becausc having a
health and fitness programme for ali staff members is very
Listening 2 I' 3ge 125 important, panicularly in the manufacturing sector - aad it
could climinate a lot of stress in to the bargain!
Oid you get the information about the restructuring
plan? 1 sent it to you yesterday. Listening 1 age 132
B Yeah, 1 got it. Bul it's not going to be easy to get thc
message across. J\nd sorne people are going to be <- "~ 1 : As you can see froru the figures, our
very unhappy. market share has beco falJing by about ten per cent
1 know that. But they have to understand that this every year over the Jast five years. 1 know that l am
a ffects ali of us, and this is the only option we bave. partly to blame - 1 failed to see the need to adjust our
pricing policy in line with the competition. We ali
2. Looks lil<e we have still got some serious problems
with delivery. 1 don't know why we never seem to be
hoped our customers would continue to pay for
quality.
able to get the goods to our customers on time.
Consultant: Have you done any customer satisfuction
B Well, one of the main problerns is with the central
surveys recently?
warehouse. The automated system just isn't
f' .D Yes, it really was a revelation : you see. wc have a
producing the results we expected.
policy of excellent customer service in our stores, but
\ Look. We havc to find a solution, aad fast. Why
that costs a lot. We aim to make shopping a pleasant
don't you take charge of this? ldentify the exact
experience but it turns out, and this is the most
problem and then find sorne way to fix it.
Audioscripts 175
interesting aspect, that people prefer the huge choice Student B
and cheaper goods they find in the hypermarket. Te.am mana(!cr: Hi, Terry, how are you?
Consultant: can you lell me what you think your options Supplier: Fine, thanks.
are now? TM : We have a big arder ro put in this month and it is
MD: Well, we are thinking ofeither sell ing out to the pretty urgent.
hypermarket - tbey have made usan offer, you know - Supplier: What kind of deadline are we looking at?
or possibly trying to compete with them. That's where TM Two to three weeks maximum.
you come in. We fed we need a consultant to advise us Supplier: l don't think we could meet that deadline. J
on the best course of action. What do you think we couldmake you a priority but it would mean a bit of a
should do? price increase. You'U have problems finding anyone
Consultant: 1'11 have to do a full audit before 1 can answer elseintbe market with the same quality - it might be
that but my initial feel ing is: don't sell. Let's look ar the worth your while doing a deal with us on this one.
quality aspect a bit more and possibly even put up TM: Look, 1'11 be honest with you, 1'11 have to t1y to fiad
prices! My job is to turn what seems to be a someone else - a price increase won't be accepted in
disadvantage on its head and make it an advantage. lt's the present climate. 1 get the feeling our consultants are
a risk, but we may need to invest in a huge advertising going to recommend outsourciog production if we
campaign to attract customers back to the store - but it don't become more cost efficient.
often pays off.
Decision page 134
Listening 2 page 133
This is indeed an interesting dilemma. Consultants have a
A rve just come from a meeting with the new consultant confidentiality clause in their contracts, but obviously there
and he said that if we were outsourcing to them, we is a limit to how much one should take responsibility for.
would have to hav complete confidence. This case is obviously pre-regulation and the Sarbanes-Oxley
B What does that mean exactly? Act. In fact, it reminds me of the situation Sherron Watkins
A Well, they need access to every type of information we found berself in at Enron. Of course, she was an employee
have, and he suggested co-operating fully with their of the company and not of their auditors, but she faced a
team. So, 1 told him we would. similar dilemma. She did not contact anyone from outside
B So they can tell us how to do our job! the company straightaway. However, she did write an
i\ Look, the bottom lin e is the CEO wants us to give them anonymous memo to the CEO, to inform him that the
our full co-operation and 1 recommend not judging the company was involved in accounting fraud on a large scale.
outcome just yet. And the consultant pointed out that He later said that he wasn't aware of any irregularities
they may make improvements around here. before receiving the letter. She then met faceto face with
B Or ruin us completely with their fees! him, andan interna! inquiry was opened. Her daims were
\ Look, tbe CEO told us at a meeting last week that he dismissed but we know now that Enron was getting deeper
would be giving promotions on the basis of their and deeper into debt. She finally made the decision 10 go to
evaluation of each department. What he wants us to do the regulators witb her story.
is work with them, not against them - so let's do it! Her critics say she spoke out only when she was sure the
company was going out ofbusiness and that she fust sold
Listening 3 page 133 off her stock options worth $17,000. This was minimal
compared to other executives. However, 1 think she did
Student A achieve something, as sbe said herself: as a result, the 2002
Production manril!er: fm glad to get a chance to speak to Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires CEOs and CFOs to cenify that
you before you prepare your final report. 1 promised to fi nancia! accounts are true. lf they're found to be lying, they
keep team members informed. fa.ce up to 20 years in gaol. Monetary fines don't do it: if
Consultant: No problem. you've made $100 million and you're fined $25 mili ion,
PM So, what have you come up with so far? you're still 'Very rich. But the idea of going to gaol scares
Consultant: Weln, the results of the customer satisfaction these guys to death.
survey are pretty bad, rm afraid. There were a lot of
negative comments about delays, high prices and poor
quality. This seemed to suggestthat the production
department just isn't profitable anymore.
PM" So, what are you saying?
Consultant: Well, to be honest, we were thinking of
suggesting outsourcing production, but a little further
research reyealed that your main problem can be
solved by changing suppliers. So, we're going to
recommend changing to more competitive, efficient
and cost-effective suppliers. Do you tbink there will be
any resistance to a change like this?
PM: 1'11 explain the alternative, which is job losses, and
there shouJdn't be a problem!
176 Audioscripts
ISBN 0-582 - 84809-1
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PEARSON
Longn1an
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780582 848092