UNIVERSITATEA ,,ȘTEFAN CEL MARE” SUCEAVA

FACULTATEA DE ECONOMIE, ADMINISTRAŢIE ŞI

AFACERI

Lector dr. Oana Nesteriuc

Comunicare în limba engleză de afaceri

- Caiet de seminar pentru anul I de studiu
(semestrele I si al II- lea)

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Motto:

"If you talk to a man in a language he

understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to
him in his language, that goes to his heart."
Nelson Mandela

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 The following graphical symbols were used throughout
the course:

reading activity

vocabulary practice (choose, find, supply the best word

and match types of activities)

new information and/or new business terms to study

group discussion (i.e. talk to a partner)

writing activity

speaking activity

quiz

revision tests

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 dictionary

fun time

Good luck!

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 UNIT 1

"Good companies will meet needs; great companies

will create markets." Phillip Kotler (Management Guru &
Professor of International Marketing at the Kellog School of
Management)

I.1. Read the following text:

BUSINESS AND BUSINESSES

I.1. A. Business is the production, buying and selling of
goods and services. A business, company, or
firm/entity/business entity is an organization that sells goods
and services. A business may also be referred to formally as a
concern. A business may be referred to approvingly as an
enterprise to emphasize its adventurous, risk – taking qualities,
and business, in general, may be referred to in the same way,
for example in combinations such as free enterprise and private
enterprise. The well – known word combinations with
enterprise are: free or private enterprise (i.e. business activity
owned by individuals, rather than the state), enterprise culture
(i.e. an atmosphere which encourages people to make money
through their own activities and not rely on the government),
enterprise economy (i.e. an economy where there is an
enterprise culture), enterprise zone (i.e. part of a country where
business is encouraged because there are fewer laws, taxes etc.).
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 I.1.B. Business is also referred to as commerce. This word,
and its related adjective commercial, are often used to
distinguish the business sphere from other areas such as
government or arts, or to distinguish it from non- money –
making activities.

A large company, especially in the US, is a corporation.

The adjective corporate is often used in the following word
combinations: corporate culture, corporate ladder, corporate
partners, corporate headquarters, corporate logo, corporate
image, corporate profits.

I.1.C. Commerce is used to refer to business: a. in relation

to other fields such as "literature, politics and commerce”; b. in
relation to government departments that deal with business
(e.g. the US Department of Commerce); c. in the names of
organizations which help business (e.g. Chamber of Commerce);
d. on the internet (e.g. electronic commerce or e-commerce).
The adjective commercial describes money – making business
activities (e.g. commercial airline, commercial disaster,
commercial artist, commercial land, commercial television).

I.1.D. Types of Businesses

The economy can be divided into two overall sectors:

 goods – producing businesses (manufacturing,

agriculture, construction, mining) and
 service businesses (wholesale and retail trade,
finance and insurance, transportation and utilities,
and other services).
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 The goods-producing businesses are businesses that
produce tangible products, while the service businesses are
those that provide intangible products or perform useful labour
on behalf of another person.

The best way of classifying businesses is according to the

business ownership. The most common forms of business
ownership are:
 sole proprietorship;
 partnership;
 corporation.

Each form of ownership has a characteristic internal

structure, legal status, size and field to which it is best suited.

A sole proprietorship is a business owned and usually

operated by a single individual. It is the easiest form of business
to start with limited funds. As a sole proprietor, you work for
yourself, you are the only one who decides when to work, how
many hours a day, whom to hire, in a word you are
independent. But you also have unlimited liability and restricted
financial resources. When the owner dies, the business dies,
too. An owner who wants to make sure his business will grow
and continue without him, generally forms a partnership or
mergers with a larger business.

A partnership is an unincorporated business owned and

operated by two or more individuals under a voluntary legal
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association. There are general partnerships, in which all partners
are legally equal and are liable for business’ debts, and limited
partnerships, in which one or more people act as general
partners, the other partners are passive investors whose liability
is limited to the amount of their capital contribution. The
general partners have an unlimited liability, they might have
management problems. That is why, many professionals (such
as doctors, accountants, lawyers) prefer establishing
corporations to partnerships.

There are different types of corporations: public

corporations (that is, companies owned by large numbers of
public investors; these investors buy stock on the open market,
therefore providing public corporations with large amounts of
permanent capital; in return, the shareholders receive the
chance to share the profits if the corporation succeeds); private
corporations (corporations whose stock is not available to the
general public; they finance any expansion out of their own
earnings or borrow from some other source); non-profit
corporations are incorporated institutions whose owners have
limited liability and they exist to provide a social service rather
than to make a profit. (adapted from Business Today by David J.
Rachman & Co., 1990, p. 39)

PRACTICE

Are the following statements true or false?

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 a. The owners of limited companies have to pay all the
company’s debts. ……………….
b. Many companies are not owned by their managers.
…………………….
c. Partners in businesses are not liable for the partnership’s
debts. ……………………….
d. External directors can usually give more objective advice
than full-time directors. …………………

Choose among a, b or c (refer to section I.1.D.)

1. A sole proprietorship is a business owned by………….……,

although it may have many employees.
a. a family;
b. an under – aged person;
c. just one person.

2. Control and freedom are………….……..…..specific to sole

proprietorship.
a. an advantage;
b. a disadvantage;
c. both an advantage and a disadvantage.

3. Shareholders are…………..………..of a corporation.

a. the employees;
b. part of the managerial staff;
c. the owners.

4. The non – profit corporations are ………….…….profit – making

institutions.
a. therefore;
b. not;
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 c. non.

5. A partnership is a ……………………..association of two or more

individuals as co – owners of a business for profit.
a. loyal;
b. legal;
c. lawyer.

6. The most common types of business ownership

are……………………….
a. partnership corporation, sole proprietor, multi
proprietors;
b. sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation;
c. capital -intensive businesses, labour intense
businesses.

7. …………………..is a benefit of sole proprietorships.

a. unlimited liability;
b. secretary;
c. secrecy.

Company activities. Study the structure of this

organization.

Operations:
a. Production
b. Research and Development
c. Quality
d. Logistics
e. Production Planning

Finance:
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 a. Purchasing
b. Finance
c. Bookkeeping

Human Resources:
a. Salaries
b. Recruitment
c. Personnel
d. Training

Sales and Marketing:

a. Sales
b. Market Research
c. Marketing
d. After-sales
e. Advertising

Support Services:
a. Legal Affairs birou juridic
b. Security
c. Maintenance
d. Public Relations

PRACTICE (refer to Company activities section)

Look at Operations department. Find the department

which:
a. invents new products and improves the existing ones;
b. prepares schedules for manufacturing the products;
c. manufactures the products;
d. organizes transport and distributes the products;

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 e. designs and implements procedures to ensure the
products meet specifications and there are no
mistakes.

Look at Human Resources department. Find the

department which:

a. hires new employees; Recruitment

b. runs courses for the employees; training
c. pays the employees; salaries
d. keeps employees’ records and deals with any problems
employees have. personnel

Look at Sales and Marketing department. Find the

department which:
a. positions products in the market to attract customers;
b. collects information about potential customers and
what they want;
c. writes and places ads for products in magazines,
newspapers etc.;
d. sells the products;
e. deals with problems and complaints from customers.

Look at Support Services department. Find the department

which:
a. protects the company from loss and theft;
b. services the machines and equipment and looks after
the buildings;
c. provides advice and answers questions about the law
and contracts;
d. deals with the press

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 Different types of business

A.Match the different types of business with the

definitions given below:

a. subsidiary
b.
c. 1. A very large company with offices in many different
countries. multinational

2. A business that is owned by another larger company.

d. 3. A company which controls a smaller company.

parent company
e. 4. A company which sells its shares to the public.
limited company

5. A business which has a licence to use the name and sell

the products or services of a larger company which
provides support. franchise

B. Use the following words to complete the sentences:

private enterprise family firm shareholders branches

directors

1. It’s a small ................. business. My brother and I

started it four years ago.

2. It’s a huge company. They have ............... in every

major city.

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 3. The ....................... are the people who oversee the
running of a company.

4. She works for a ...................... of solicitors.

5. This government believes in .................... , so they do a

lot to help people starting new businesses.

6. As a limited company, we have a responsibility to

our .................... .

Business verbs (1)

For each of the verbs below, three of the four words or
expressions fit. In each case, circle the one that does not fit:

a. Do business/a profit/a job/a deal;

b. Make money/business/a loss/ a decision;
c. Take a long time/a decision/appropriate measures/a
deadline;
d. Have progress/something to eat/shares in a company/a
meeting;
e. Meet a deadline/customers’ expectations/an
appointment/a target;
f. Launch a product/a ship/a campaign/a team;
g. Cut costs/jobs/a decision/a price;
h. Carry out a meeting/duties/research/a market survey;
i. Achieve progress/a breakthrough/a job/little;
j. Reach a decision/a strategy/an agreement/a target

Business verbs (2)

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 John Smith has just won the Top Manager of the Year
Competition. Take a power verb (1-15) and add a sentence –
ending from the column on the right (a-o) to make the
sentences that the judges used to describe him:

1. He thinks strategically.
a. costs.
2. He focuses n. on the customer
b. organizations.
3. He motivates c. market opportunities.
4. He overcomes d. change.
5. He identifies e. performance.
6. He adds m. Value
f. results.
7. He reduces
8. He leads o. by example.
h.
9. He builds i. people.
10. He resolves k. conflict. .
11. He transforms j. winning teams
12. He manages the facilities l. obstacles.
13. He measures .
14. He maximizes g. profits. .
15. He gets

Business sectors
Match the companies (1-23) with their sectors (a-w):

1. A company which makes aspirin a. automotive;

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2. A company which mines diamonds b. construction;
3. A company which makes men’s suits c. consumer;
4. A company which sells package d. financial services;
holidays
5. A company which makes trucks e. confectionery;
6. A company which distributes f. software;
electricity
7. A supermarket chain g.
telecommunications;
8. A company which builds houses h. media;
9. A company which makes washing i. pharmaceuticals;
machines
10. A company which sells hamburgers j. beverages;
11. A company which makes k. textiles;
camcorders
12. An airline l. toiletries;
13. A company which makes fighter m. real estate;
planes
14. A company which makes shampoo n. transport;
15. A restaurant chain o. utilities;
16. A newspaper publisher p. household goods;
17. A company which sells things over q. retail;
the internet
18. A company which makes mobile r. fast food;
phones
19. A company which sells investment s. catering;
advice
20. A company which makes chocolate t. defence;
21. A company which makes beer u. e-commerce;
22. A property company v. tourism
23. A company which writes computer w. extractive
programs
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 Business expressions

Which is correct? Circle the correct word or expression:

1. If a business "breaks even" it makes neither profit nor loss.

2. If a firm "goes into liquidation" it cannot pay its debts.
3. A "board meeting" is a meeting of a company’s a meeting
of a company’s directors.
4. A "sleeping partner" is a person who provides a
percentage of a company’s capital but takes no active part
in its manafgement.
5. "Sharp practices" are fast business dealings/dishonest
business dealings/fast and successful sales techniques.
6. If you "pull a fast deal", you close a deal quickly/close a
deal unfairly/refuse to close a deal quickly.

Collocations. Business

7. Which one of these is not a collocation?

8. 1. business/joint/national venture
9. 2. business lunch/associate/friend/meeting
10.3.heavy/light/trade/motor industry
11.4. trade embargo/deal/agreement/deficit
12. take up/start up/manage/launch a business

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 Work on your phrasal verbs related to business. Choose
the correct particles:

1. The manager would like us to team together/out/up to do

the next task.
2. The sales in Korea will make down/up/out for the loss of
sales in Europe.
3. His first business idea really took off/away/up and he now
runs a very successful company.
4. I wish they would bring around/off/out a product that
could charge all electronic devices with one single
charger!
5. Remember to send the package over/up/off by airmail in
order to get there on time.
6. We’re downsizing in order to keep costs up/down/off.

I.2. PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS

"People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The

leader leads, and the boss drives." Theodore Roosevelt (the 26th
president of the United States of America)

I.2.a. Types of business people (types of business people;

entrepreneurs; managers & executives; labour force; personnel
vs. human resources)

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 A businessman is "a man engaged in a business enterprise
especially on a executive level."(Webster’s New Encyclopedic
Dictionary, p. 132)

When supposedly more "creative" types such as writers or

actors deal with businesspeople, they may refer to them,
informally and slightly insultingly, as suits. Note that
businessman, businesswoman and businesspeople are also
spelled with hyphens or as two words.

PRACTICE

Find combinations in the box that refer to business people

who:

1. are well – known (2 expressions);

2. have a great ability to change things;
3. have been good at their jobs and made a lot of money;
4. are important in the place where their business is, but
not nationally;
5. are from abroad;
6. own businesses that are not large.

prominent local small leading* successful

foreign business people

*NOTE: The superlative is not used with leading. You cannot talk,
for instance, about the ‘the most leading businesspeople.’

Use the words in the above box to complete the extracts

by choosing the suggestions in brackets.
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 a. Many ______________________ business people
consider it a compliment for an expatriate to be able
to converse in their language.
(prominent/foreign/small)
b. Matilda Paterson, a ceramic artist, found herself
becoming a __________________ businesswoman
when she needed factory floorspace to lay out the tiles
she had agreed to make for an architect working on a
pop star’s swimming pool. (small/foreign/powerful)
c. All the management techniques we use in business,
they knew already. They would be very
______________________business people in their
own right. (successful/local/leading)
d. Other help to businesses comes from out Training and
Enterprise Councils, run by local business people who
understand __________________________needs.
(foreign/local/successful)
e. Only the most _________________ businessmen, like
Mr. Ambani, can cut through the red tape by going
straight to the top. (powerful/small/leading)

An entrepreneur is the "one who organizes, manages, and

assumes the risks of a business or enterprise [French]."(Webster’s
New Encyclopedic Dictionary, p. 335). It is usually someone who
builds up a company from nothing: a start-up company.
Entrepreneurs may one day become tycoons, magnates or
moguls – rich and successful people with power and influence
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who head big organizations. They have built them up
themselves and have a large personal stake.

Managers and executives. A manager is someone in a

position of responsibility in an organization. An executive is
usually a manager at a quite high level. People at the head of an
organization are senior executives or senior managers, top
executives or top managers.

In its analysis, the following article from "The Independent"

lists eight characteristics of «great managers». Before you read,
try to predict what they might be. Scan the following text quickly
to see if your predictions were accurate. Read the text and
decide which of the following comments you would expect the
writer to agree with. Use the text to support your answers.

Successful managers …….

1. are happy when their staff make progress in the company.

2. try to be positive even when times are difficult.
3. tell head office if any of their staff make mistakes.
4. praise their staff as often as they can.
5. encourage employees to speak out if they are unhappy.
6. make sure they know what’s going on outside their
organisation.
7. keep in touch with their staff and customers.
8. never dislike any member of their staff.
9. concentrate on their employees’ strong points and try to
correct their weak ones.

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 10. ignore people’s weak points, pretending they don’t exist.
11. enjoy new challenges.
12. don’t find it easy to delegate responsibility.

How to be a great manager

At the most general level, successful managers tend to
have four characteristics:

 they take enourmous pleasure and pride in the

growth of their people;
 they are basically cheerful optimists – someone has
to keep up morale when setbacks occur;
 they don’t promise more than they can deliver;
 when they move on from a job. They always leave
the situation a little better than it was when they
arrived;
The following is a list of some essential tasks at which a
manager must excel to be truly effective.
Great managers accept blame: When the big wheel from
the head office visits and expresses displeasure, the great
manager immediately accepts full responsibility. In everyday
working life, the best managers are constantly aware that they
selected and should have developed their people. Errors made
by team members are in a very real sense their responsibility.
Great managers give praise: Praise is probably the most
under-used management tool. Great managers are forever
trying to catch their people doing something right, and

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congratulating them on it. And when praise comes from outside,
they are swift not merely to publicise the fact, but to make clear
who has earned it. Managers who regularly give praise are in a
much stronger position to criticise or reprimand poor
performance. If you simply comment when you are dissatisfied
with performance, it is all too common for your words to be
taken as straightforward expression of personal dislike.
Great managers make blue sky: Very few people are
comfortable with the idea that they will be doing exactly what
they are doing today in 10 years’ time. Great managers
anticipate people’s dissatisfaction.
Great managers put themselves about: Most managers
now accept the need to find out not merely what their team is
thinking, but what the rest of the world, including their
customers, is saying. So MBWAWP (management by walking
about – without purpose), where senior management wander
aimlessly, annoying customers, worrying staff and generally
making a nuisance of themselves.
Great managers judge on merit: A great deal more
difficult than it sounds. It’s virtually impossible to divorce your
feelings about someone – whether you like or dislike them –
from how you view their actions. But suspicions of
discrimination or favouritism are fatal to the smooth running of
any team, so the great manager accepts this as an aspect of the
game that really needs to be worked on.
Great managers exploit strengths, not weaknesses, in
themselves and in their people: Weak managers feel threatened
by other people’s strengths. They also revel in the discovery of

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weakness and regard it as something to be exploited rather than
remedied. Great managers have no truck with this destructive
thinking. They see strengths in themselves as well as in other
people, as things to be built on, and weakness as something to
be accommodated, worked around and, if possible, eliminated.
Great managers make things happen: The old-fashioned
approach to management was rather like the old-fashioned
approach to child-rearing: "Go and see what the children are
doing and tell them to stop it!" Great managers have confidence
that their people will be working in their interests and do
everything they can to create an environment in which people
feel free to express themselves.
Great managers make themselves redundant: Not as a
drastic as it sounds! What great managers do is learn new skills
and acquire useful information from the outside world, and then
immediately pass them on, to ensure that if they were to be run
down by a bus, the team would still have the benefit of the new
information. No one in an organisation should be doing work
that could be accomplished equally effective by someone less
well paid than themselves. So great managers are perpetually
on the look-out for higher-level activities to occupy their own
time, while constantly passing on tasks that they have already
mastered. (from "The Independent")

PRACTICE

Finish the list of adverbs. Then, using each adverb once

only, complete the sentences that follow:

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 Adjective Adverb
basic basically
common
constant
full
true
virtual

a. There are ……………………….no women in top positions in

our company.
b. ……………………. a good manager is someone who knows
how to handle staff well.
c. In business, you need to be ……………………….. aware of
what your competitors are doing.
d. We have quite a reputation for our innovative approach
to product design – we are ……………………on the lookout
for new ideas.
e. I am ……………………. delighted to hear of your promotion –
it is well deserved.

Quiz How do you rate as entrepreneurs? (adapted from

Zsuzsanna Ardo, English for Practical Management)

1. Are you a self- starter?

a. I only make an effort when I want to.
b. If someone explains what to do, then I can continue from
there.
c. I make my own decisions. I don’t need anyone to tell me what
to do.

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2. How do you get on with other people?
a. I get on with almost everybody.
b. I have my own friends and I don’t really need anyone else.
c. I don’t really feel at home with other people.

3. Can you lead and motivate others?

a. Once something is moving I’ll join in.
b. I’m good at giving orders when I know what to do.
c. I can persuade most people to follow me when I start
something.

4. Can you take responsibility?

a. I like to take charge and to obtain results.
b. I’ll take charge if I have to but I prefer someone else to be
responsible.
c. Someone always wants to be the leader and I’m happy to let
them do the job.

5. Are you a good organizer?

a. I tend to get confused when unexpected problems arise.
b. I like to plan exactly what I’m going to do.
c. I just like to let things happen.

6. How good a worker are you?

a. I’m willing to work hard for something I really want.
b. I find my home environment more stimulating than work.
c. Regular work suits me but I don’t like it to interfere with my
private life.

7. Can you make decisions?

a. I am quite happy to execute other people’s decisions.

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b. I often make very quick decisions which usually work but
sometimes don’t.
c. Before making a decision, I need time to think it over.

8. Do you enjoy taking risks?

a. I always evaluate the exact dangers of any situation.
b. I like the excitement of taking big risks.
c. For me safety is the most important thing.

9. Can you stay the course?

a. The biggest challenge for me is getting a project started.
b. If I decide to do something, nothing will stop me.
c. If something doesn’t go right first time, I tend to lose interest.

10. Are you motivated by money?

a. For me, job satisfaction cannot be measured in money terms.
b. Although money is important to me, I value other things just
as much.
c. Making money is my main motivation.

11. How do you react to criticism?

a. I dislike any form of criticism.
b. If people criticize me I always listen and may or may not reject
what they have to say.
c. When people criticize me there is usually some truth in what
they say.

12. Can people believe what you say?

a. I try to be honest, but it is sometimes difficult or too
complicated to explain things to other people.
b. I don’t say things I don’t mean.
c. When I think I’m right, I don’t care what anyone else thinks.

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13. Do you delegate?
a. I prefer to delegate what I consider to be the least important
tasks.
b. When I have a job to do I like to do everything myself.
c. Delegating is an important part of any job.

14. Can you cope with stress?

a. Stress is something I can live with.
b. Stress can be a stimulating element in a business.
c. I try to avoid situations which lead to stress.

15. How do you view your chances of success?

a. I believe that my success will depend to a large degree on
factors outside my control.
b. I know that everything depends on me and my abilities.
c. It is difficult to foresee what will happen in the future.

16. If the business was not making a profit after five years, what
would you do?
a. give up easily.
b. give up reluctantly.
c. carry on.

Key to the questionnaire:

1. a=0 b=2 c=4 9. a=2 b=4 c=0
2. a=4 b=2 c=0 10. a=0 b=2 c=4
3. a=0 b=2 c=4 11. a=0 b=4 c=2
4. a=4 b=2 c=0 12. a=2 b=4 c=0
5. a=2 b=4 c=0 13. a=2 b=0 c=4
6. a=4 b=0 c=2 14. a=2 b=4 c=0
7. a=0 b=4 c=2 15. a=0 b=4 c=2

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8. a=2 b=4 c=0 16. a=4 b=2 c=0

44 or above
You definitely have the necessary qualities to become the
director of a successful business. You have a strong sense of
leadership, you can both organize and motivate and you know
exactly where you and your team are going.

Between 44 and 22
You may need to think more carefully before setting up your
own business. Although you do have some of the essential skills
for running business, you will, probably, not be able to deal with
the pressures and strains that are a part of the job. You should
perhaps consider taking some professional training or finding an
associate who can compensate for some of your weaknesses.

Below 22
Managing your own business is not for you. You are better
suited to an environment where you are not responsible for
making decisions and taking risks. To operate successfully you
need to follow well defined instructions and you prefer work
that is both regular and predictable.

***Extra materials

Reading

Success stories

To be successful in business, one needs to be adaptable

and plan all the details in advance. Many people think that they
can be immediately rich, simply by looking into the life stories of
a handful of lucky people. Some other times they struggle a lot,
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invent and reinvent themselves, but in the end, everything is
about planning and organization.
A couple of beautiful stories will tell you that everything is
possible if you want it very much. Back in the 1970’s, two friends
from Brooklyn, John Ferolito and Don Vultaggio, started a small
beer distribution business at the back of an old VW bus. Twenty
years later, after seeing how well the beverage business was
doing, they decided to try their hand on the soft drinks industry
and launched the AriZona Green Tea, which is today #1 in
America and distributed all over the world.

***

According to a recent Forbes report, the net worth of

Howard Schultz is now $3.4 billion. After a trip to Milan, the
young marketer working for a Seattle based coffee bean roaster
company, realized that the potential of the Italian style upscale
espresso cafes. His employer, who had no interest in the area,
agreed to finance Schultz’s idea, and even sold him their brand
name, Starbucks.
***
John Paul DeJoria, co-founder of Patron tequila and Paul
Mitchell hair products, was not a billionaire from the beginning.
When he was young, he was twice homeless, even with a two-
year old son, on the streets. He was a persistent visionary, who
started the John Paul Mitchell system with $700 in startup
capital. Toaday, he is a real philanthropist, supporting many
causes, such as providing material resources for homeless
people.
***
In 1917 in Japan, a young apprentice at the Osaka Electric
Light Company, named Konosuke Matsushita, came with the idea
of an improved light socket. He started creating samples in his
home’s basement and later expanded with battery-powered

30
bicycle lamps and different electronic devices. Matsushita
Electric, as it was named until 2008, changed its name to
Panasonic, and is now worth $66 billion.

***
However,specialists consider that there are a couple of
steps that need to be followed in order to gain fame and success
in these modern times:
 Understand all the risks: take only calculated risk, to help
your business grow. If you ask yourself in advance about
the worst-case-scenario, then the risk can help you
generate enourmous reward.
 Be organized: if you are an organized businessman,
starting from planning, to documentation and ending up
with task accomplishment and including even daily to do-
lists,, checked every time a task is solved, then you have
the guarantee that nothing is left aside and thus, the risk of
disappointment for the clients is kept at a minimum level.
 Competition nurtures: one should not be afraid to study
competition and be inspired by the success of the others. In
the end, what works well in a place could be implemented
in your business, generating financial capital.
 Creativity is the key: in an extremely competitive world, be
open to new ideas, particularly if they come from young
people, who have the power and will to work and become
successful next to you.
 Stay focused: no specialist will guarantee you that you can
start making money immediately. Keep your faith and an
eye on targets and with a little luck, goals can be achieved.
(Adapted from
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/243099)

PRACTICE

31
 Can you think about other similar success stories?

Fill in the gaps with the words given below:

competitive/ services/ financial/ business/ possibilities/

research/ owners/ successful/ onnovative/ opportunity

Starting a (1)…………………………. is tough, and not a lot

od start-ups make it. To ensure your business is as (2)
……………………as possible, you’ll need to do lots of (3)
………………………into your competition and see what other (4)
………………………………….. businesses are doing. Here are
just a couple of useful ideas for starting your own(5)
…………………..business.
Everyone is busy these days. After work, no one wants to
have to climb up on a ladder to try and fix a hole in the roof or a
shorting light fitting. This creates a business (6)
………………………………….for you. You can offer everything
from handyman (7)…………………………. To interior decorating
and home energy services.
Pet(8)………………………….. are happy to spend
money on their pets, whether it’s training, boarding or day-care,
there are a lot of (9)…………………………in the pet space. If
you’re an animal lover and want to work with them all day, you
can turn this passion into a full-time pet business.
You can use your (10)…………………………………
experience to start your own business for private individuals or
businesses.

Provide synonyms for the emphasized words:

32
 Understanding where your customers are coming from
gives you clarity. Companies with a clear understanding of
customer acquisition are in control.Sucessful businesses always
seek to understand how customers find out about them. Asking
“How did you hear about us?” can provide you with a great
insight. It is not enough to find out how you obtained your lasy
few customers. One of the keys to building a successful business
is to understand where they come from. The process is simple;
you simply ask them. Make it part of your business culture to
know. Thus, you will learn whether they found out about you by
word-of-mouth, e-mail, a trade show, search engine or social
media. Understanding where your customers are coming from
enables you to start scaling your business. It empowers you
because it tells you what works and what doesn’t. Do more of
that works and less of what is ineffective. Businesses that are
more likely to succeed cann share their most effective customer
acquisition channels. They are essential to understanding and
growing your business.

I.2.b.Labour force
People working for a company are referred to as its labor
force, workforce, employees, staff , or personnel and are on its
payroll. In certain work environments, employees and
workforce refer to those working on the shopfloor of a factory
actually making things. Similarly, staff is sometimes used to
refer only to managers and office – based workers. This
traditional division is also found in the expressions white-collar
and blue-collar. Another traditional division is the one between
management and labour. (Note that labour is spelt labor in American
English)
33
PRACTICE

Some of the words in the box go in front of labour and

others go after. Find which ones go where and match the
combinations to the corresponding definitions.

shortage cheap mobility skilled manual relations

disputes union
labour (BE)/labor(AE)

1. These can be good, or they can be bad and lead to a lot

of disagreements with management.
2. The willingness of people in the workforce to change
jobs, or move to another part of the country to find
work. [labour mobility]
3. Organizations designed to protect the interests of
workers in the United States. These organizations are
known in Britain by another name. What are they
called?
4. Workers with specialist knowledge and abilities.
5. A lack of workers in relation to the number required.
6. People who work with their hands.
7. Workers who don’t cost much to employ.
8. Disagreements between labour and management, for
example over pay.
34
 I.2.c.Personnel vs. human resources

The people working for an organization are, formally, its

personnel. In large organizations, administration of people is
done by the personnel department although this expression is
now sometimes rejected. Companies talk instead about their
human resources or HR as well as about human resource
management or HRM.

PRACTICE

Read the articles A and B about Management styles

Article

READ
Who would you rather work for?

35
 Women are more efficient and trustworthy, have a better
understanding of their workforce and are more generous with
their praise. In short, they make the best managers, and if men
are to keep up, they will have to start learning from their female
counterparts, a report claims today.
The survey of 1.000 male and female middle and senior
managers from across the UK is an indictment of the ability of
men to function as leaders in the modern workplace.
A majority of those questioned believed women had a more
modern outlook on their profession and were more open
minded and considerate. By way of contrast, a similar number
believe male managers are egocentric and more likely to steal
credit for work done by others.
Management Today magazine, which conducted the
research, said that after years of having to adopt a masculine
identity and hide their emotions and natural behaviour in the
workplace, women have become role models for managers.
The findings tally with a survey of female bosses carried out
in the U.S. A five-year old study of 2,500 managers from 450
firms found that many male bosses were rated by their staff of
both sexes to be self-obsessed and autocratic. Women on the
other hand leave men in the starting blocks when it comes to
teamwork and communicating with staff.
In Britain more than 61% of those surveyed said men did not
make better bosses than women. Female managers use time
more effectively, with many of those surveyed commenting that

36
juggling commitments is a familiar practice for women with a
home and a family.
Female managers also appear to make good financial sense
for penny-pinching companies: most people, of either sex,
would rather ask for a rise from a man.
‘If men want to be successful at work they must behave more
like women,’ said the magazine’s editor, Rufus Olins. ‘Businesses
need to wake up for attracting and keeping the right people. In
the past, women who aspired to management were encouraged
to be more manly. It looks now as if the boot is on the other
foot.’ (from "The Guardian")

Article B
Which bosses are the best?

How do you like your boss? Sympathetic, empowering

and not too busy, probably. They will be aware of the pressures
of your job, but delegate responsibility where appropriate. They
will be interested in your career development. Oh, and
preferably, they will be male.
In a survey for Royal Mail special delivery, a quarter of
secretaries polled expressed a preference for a male boss. Only
7% said they would prefer a woman. The future of management
may be female, but Ms. High – Flier. It seems, can expect little
support from her secretary.
One should not, of course, assume that all secretaries are
female, but women still make up the overwhelming majority. So
it makes uncomfortable reading for those who like to believe

37
that a soft and cuddly sisterhood exists in the previously macho
office environment, where women look out for their own. The
findings also raise questions about neat predictions of a
feminised future for management, where ‘womanly’ traits such
as listening skills, flexibility and a more empathetic manner will
become normal office currency.
Business psychologist John Nicholson is surprised by the
survey’s findings, asserting that ‘the qualities valued today in a
successful boss are feminine, not masculine.’ He is empathetic
that women make better bosses. ‘They listen more, are less
status-conscious, conduct crisper meetings, are much more
effective negotiators and display greater flexibility.’
They are also considerably more common than they used
to be. According to information group Experian, women are no
longer scarce in the boardroom – they occupy third of the seats
round the conference table. Women directors are still relatively
uncommon in older age groups, but among young directors the
proportion is growing.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that a reluctance to work for
a woman may be more a question of management style than
substance. ‘It’s just women bosses’ attitude,’ says Martha, a PA
for 25 years who has worked predominantly for women,
including a high – profile politician. ‘It’s something women have
that men don’t. When they are critical they are much more
personal, whereas men sail through not taking a blind bit of
notice.’
Sonia Neil, a former secretary at Marks and Spencer, has
experienced power struggles between women even where there

38
was a significant disparity in status. ‘Women either find it
awkward to give you work or they try to assert themselves by
giving you really menial tasks. Men never do that.’ ( from "The
Guardian")

PRACTICE

Find words in both articles with the following meanings:

Article A

1. people with the same jobs as each other (paragraph 1);

2. a clear sign that a system isn’t working (paragraph 2);
3. thinking only about yourself (paragraph 3);
4. giving orders without asking others for their opinions
(paragraph 5);
5. wanted to achieve an important goal (paragraph 8);

Article B

6. aspects of a person’s character (paragraph 3);

7. based on stories about personal experience (paragraph 6);
8. a difference between things (paragraph 7);
9. behave in a determined way (paragraph 7).

Look at Article B and answer these questions:

1. Find the word boss. Then find three references to boss

in the same paragraph.
2. Find the word women. Then find six references to
women in paragraphs 4,5,6 and 7.
39
 3. !Paragraphs 8 and 9 of article B, which are not
included in the article, are given below. Complete
them by using the pronouns given the box below.

it them we they their they they

A particular bugbear is secretaries who have moved up

the ladder. ‘You expect…………………..(1) to be more sympathetic
because………………..(2) know what……………….(3) is like being at
the bottom, but instead ………………..(4) seem desperate to prove
a point.’

Marilyn Davidson, Professor of Management Psychology

at UMIST, suggests national assumptions on gender and status
are more tenacious than………………(5) might like to think. ‘I
interview women in managerial positions who’ve advertised for
secretaries and when the secretary realises…………..(6)boss is
female ………………..(7) have walked out.’ (from “The Guardian”)

Which of these statements do you agree with? Talk to

your partner and explain your reasons.

A manager should:

1. know when your birthday is;

40
 2. know where you are and what you’re doing at all times
during the work hours;
3. not criticise or praise;
4. not interfere in disagreements between members of staff;
5. not ask people to do things they’re not prepared to do
themselves;
6. be available at all times to give staff advice and support;
7. keep their distance from staff and not get involved in
socialising outside work;
8. use polite language at all times;
9. work longer hours than their staff;
10. comment on the personal appearance of their staff.

I.2.d. Authority and control

Practise your idioms1: (Sandra Anderson & Cheryl Pelteret,

Work on Your Idioms, p. 86-87)

To be breathing down on somebody’s neck = to watch

somebody closely

To call the shots = to make all important decisions

To get out of hand = not to be able to control anymore

To go over someone’s head = to communicate with someone

higher in position to try to get what you want
1
An idiom is "an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings
of its separate words but must be learned as a whole[…]"(Webster’s New
Encyclopedic Dictionary, p. 493)

41
To have someone eating out of your hand = to do whatever you
want because they like or admire you so much

In high places = who has power and influence

To be on top of something = to deal with a situation successfully

To pass the buck = to accuse someone of failing to take

responsibility for a problem and expect someone else to deal
with it instead

To pull strings = a trage sfori

To put one’s foot down= a se impune

To wrap someone around one’s little finger = to make someone

do anything you want him/her to do

To wear the pants (AE)/trousers (BE) = to take all the important

decisions

Based on the above information, decide if the sentences are

true (T) or false (F):

a. People in high places are important people. ……….

b. If someone calls the shots they follow someone else’s
orders. ………
c. If someone is on top of something that person hasn’t
got things under control. ………
d. A person who pulls strings manages to do something
because of their connections with someone. ………

42
 Choose the best answer to complete the sentences:

a. You may be unhappy but you shouldn’t eat out of his

hand/go over his head/get out of hand unless you feel
your boss is being irresponsible.
b. Many parents are tempted to pass the buck/get out of
hand/go over their heads to schools and other
organizations for teaching their children about their moral
issues.
c. We’ve had some serious problems but we think we’re
getting out of hand/passing the buck/getting on top of
them now.
d. He likes to be in control of everything – he’s always the
one who gets out of hand/calls the shots/passes the buck.

Management styles. In the grid below, the words

connected with management qualities are hidden horizontally,
vertically or diagonally. One has already been found. Find some
other words:

C O S O C I A B L E M
T H O U G H T F U L O

43
 M I A F O R M A L S T
E N E R G E T I C D I
F D E C I S I V E R V
A C C E S S I B L E A
I R O A P A M O I F T
R A R P R E L A T E I
E F F I C I E N T E N
E P I S T O N I N I G
T A C T F U L D U N C

I.3. EMPLOYMENT

"It is all one to me if a man comes from Sing Sing2 or Harvard.

We hire a man, not a history." Henry Ford (founder of Ford Motor
Company)

I.3.a. Job satisfaction

"It is not real work unless you would rather be doing

something else." Sir James Barrie (1860-1937 Scottish dramatist
and novelist)

A. Which of the following would motivate you to

work harder? Choose your top five and rank them in order of
priority:

bonus more responsibility

2
A famous prison in the United States of America
44
 bigger salary threat of redundancy
commission hard-working boss
praise good colleagues
promotion opportunities a better working environment
benefits working for a successful
company

B. What do you think? How far do you agree with

the following statements?
1. People are the most important resource a
company has.
2. Most countries neglect the talents of women in
the workplace.
3. Business should do more to encourage women
employees.

In your group, share your ideas by answering to the

following questions:

1. Would you prefer a male or a female boss?

2. For what reasons might you change jobs? How often
would you expect to do so in your lifetime?
3. Do people change during their working lives? If so,
how?

Read the article

Job Satisfaction Is All in a Name

45
 Bosses who are cash-strapped but want decent typists
without having to give them a pay rise would do well to call
them "Digital Data Executives".

A report published yesterday revealed that officeworkers

have become so "snobby" about job titles that they would be
willing to forgo an increase in salary for a more professional –
sounding position.

According to the study by Office Angels, the secretarial

recruitment consultancy, job-title snobbery creates such envy
that 90 per cent of employees said that it caused staff division.

Filling clerks long to be known as "Data Storage

Specialists", photocopying clerks as "Reprographics Engineers",
secretaries as "Executaries" and post-room workers as "Office
Logistics Co-ordinators".

The report found that 70 per cent of office workers

questioned replied that they might give up a bigger pay cheque
for a more "motivational or professional" job title to make their
job role seem more dynamic and inspirational. It also found that
70 per cent of staff believed the people they meet outside work
instantly judged them by their job title. (From “The Times”)

PRACTICE (refer to the article Job Satisfaction Is All in a Name)

A. Decide which meaning is more appropriate for the word

written in italics:
1. If you are cash – strapped
a) you are short of money. b) you have a lot of money.
46
 2. If you are snobby you are very concerned
a) with possessions. b) with social status.
3. If you forgo something
a) you give it up. b) you give it back.
4) If you long to be something
a) you want it very much. b) you regret it very much.

B. In the final part of the same article, the writer

mentions other job titles. Match the jobs on the left with their
more professional – sounding job titles on the right.

1. cleaner a) chief imagination officer

2. telephonist b) voice data executive
3. tea lady c) environment technician
4. creative assistant d) catering assistant

A well-known theorist of the psychology of work,

Frederick Herzberg, has argues that good working conditions are
not sufficient to motivate people. Read the text below on
“satisfiers” and “motivators” and find out why.

It is logical to suppose that things like good labour

relations, good working conditions, job security, good wages,
and benefits such as sick pay, paid holidays and a pension are
incentives that motivate workers. But in The motivation to
Work, Frederick Herzberg argued that such conditions – or
“hygene factors”- do not, in fact, motivate workers. They are
merely “satisfiers”- or, more importantly, “dissatisfiers”where
they do not exist. Workers who have them take them for

47
granted. As Herzberg put it, “A reward once given becomes a
right.” “Motivators”, on the contrary, include things such as
having a challenging and interesting job, recognition and
responsibility, promotion, and so on. Unless people are
motivated, and want to do a good job, they will not perform
well.

However, there are and always be plenty of boring,

repetitive and mechanical jobs, and lots of unskilled workers
who have to do them. How can magers motivate people in such
jobs? One solution is to give them some responsibilities, not as
individuals but as part of a team. For example, some
supermarkets combine office staff, the people who fill the
shelves, and the the people who work on the checkout tills into
a team and let them decide what product lines to stock, how to
display them, and so on. Other employers encourage job
rotation, as doing four different repetitive jobs a day is better
than doing only one. Many people now talk about the
importance of a company’s shared values or corporate culture
with which all the staff can identify: for example, being the best
hotel chain, or hamburger restaurant chain, or airline,, or
making the best, the safest, most user-friendly, most ecological
or most reliable products in a particular field. Unfortunately, not
all the competing companies in an industry can seriously claim
to be the best.

48
 In your group, decide whether the following
statements are true or false and then share your ideas with the
class:

1. Herzberg argued that “hygene factors” motivate workers.

2. Challenging jobs and responsibility are hygene factors.
3. Some unskilled jobs will always be boring and repetitive.
4. Workers might be motivated by having responsibilities as
part of a team.
5. Job rotation can make a day’s work more interesting.
6. You can always motivate workers by telling them that
they work for the best company in the field.

Find the words in the text that mean the following:

1. interactions between employers and employees, or

managers and workers..............................................
2. knowing that there is little risk of losing one’s
employment.............................................................
3. advantages that come with a job, apart from
pay...........................................................................
4. things that encourage people to do
something...........................................................
5. to be raised to a higher rank or better
job.......................................................................
6. regularly switching between different
tasks.....................................................................
7. a company’s shared attitudes, beliefs, practices and work
relationships........................................................

49
 I.3.b. Finding the right job

Read the article about finding the right job.

Peer Pressure for Jobs

…Lord Strathalmond out of job at the RW Sturge

Syndicate in Lloyd’s, is undergoing an outplacement course
tailored to executives at FPMG Career Consultancy Services.
He is better off than most. Financially, the wolf is till way
from the door. He has a network of old friends and contacts
that should, in theory, be able to provide a safety net of sorts.
But Strathalmond is reluctant to rely on the old school tie.
Now, at the age of 46, Strathalmond has found himself for
the first time in his life standing back and taking a long hard
look at his future. The experience, he admits, is not free from
fear and worry. But he is far from downhearted. ‘I have
always believed that change is the best sort of challenge,’ he
says. The outplacement was included as an optional part of
his severance package. It gives him the use of an office and
secretary and access to training sessions and techniques
aimed at improving his chances of finding employment.
As a qualified chartered accountant, Strathalmond should
not find opportunities wanting, but he is concerned to find
the right kind of job and he has set himself a nine-month
target to find a suitable position. What this may be is not yet
clear but he says he is seeking a job that will best utilise his

50
skills. ‘I want something to which I can add value. I know that
when it feels right I will be able to tell.’
Strathalmond’s position demonstrates that
unemployment is no longer the preserve of the unskilled or
unqualified. He is, however, obtaining the kind of help with
job search not normally provided for the laid-off production
worker.
The executive programme at KPMG provides private
offices and secretaries on a separate floor of the consultancy.
The idea is to provide a more sophisticated outplacement
service, partly to soothe the bruised pride of losing a top job,
and partly in recognition that the shock of losing the trappings
of position can often be as severe as that of losing the job
itself.
Other job-seeking managers and staff work in an open
plan office environment where all have access to telephones,
a research department and various classes, such as
programmes on telephone technique or negotiating skills.
One obvious benefit of this arrangement is that all also have
access to each other to share their experiences… ( from "The
Financial Times")

Share your ideas with the class by answering the

following questions:

1. If the wolf is at the door, are you well off?

2. If you are far from downhearted, are you uphearted?
51
 3. If something is optional, it is not com………………….
4. If you find opportunities waiting, are there
a) a lot of opportunities, or b) not many opportunities?

I.3.c. Job advertisements

A. Duty manager. Salary £260 per week. Experienced person

needed for busy self-service restaurant in Gratten Centre.
Applicant must be good with people and responsible for
good hygene standards. 5 – day week, daytime only. Call
Steve for interview.

B. Harland Motors requires full – time qualified mechanic. Start

immediately. Must be reliable and self – motivated. Good rate of pay
for the right applicant. Tel: Sam or David at 519-977-6360.

C. Female teacher, in late 40’s, loves classical music,

theatre, art, seeks honest, gentle, sensitive, capable and
amusing man for marriage. Box 344

D. TELESALES person required for fast-growing company.

Experience preferred. Salary,bonus, negotiable. Call Jane on 419-
323- 4450.

52
 E. Good-looking rock – climber, 29, WLTM adventure –
loving, athletic a lifetime of fun, the outdoor life and
lots of parties. PO Box 265

Look at the newspaper advertisements (often called ‘small ads’).

Which one is looking for:

a. ……….someone to talk on the phone all day? [ ]

b. ………. a wife/girlfriend? [ ]
c. ………. someone to work with cars? [ ]
d. ……….. a husband/boyfriend? [ ]
e. ……….. someone to work with food? [ ]
Write the matching number in the brackets for each of them.

PRACTICE

Complete the following sentences using words from the

advertisements:

a. ………………………………….. Sue on 01229…………..

b. …………………………………..negotiable.
c. 50-something man………………………………..happy, artistic
woman.
d. Cook …………………………………for a new restaurant in
downtown Toronto.
e. Experience………………………………………but not essential.
f. The successful…………………………………..will earn a lot of
money.

53
 g. The applicant must……………………………..with people.

Match the words in the box with their meanings (a-i):

applicant/hygene /good with people /mechanic /negotiable/

rate of pay/salary/the outdoor life/WLTM

a. friendly and polite ….………………………………………………………..

b. walking, cycling etc. ….………………………………………………………
c. keeping things clean ………………………………………………………..
d. something that can be changed or agreed through
discussion…………………………
e. someone who asks someone for a job ……………………………..
f. someone who fixes cars ……………………
g. the money that is paid every month …………………………………
h. would like to meet ……………………………………………………………
i. the amount of money offered for a job
……………………………………

I.3.d. Job applications

Introduction

When applying for your first job as a business graduate, you

are probably only one of many applicants, most of whom will
have similar experience and qualifications to your own.

54
 Share your opinion with the whole class by
answering to the following questions:

1. How can you get your name onto the shortlist for
interviews when applying for a job?
2. What can you do to impress the organization which is
hiring staff?
3. Which of the following extracts from different application
letters would get the candidate to get an interview and
why?

 Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to express my interest in applying for the position
of Community Fundraiser advertised in the Morning Herald on
May 13, 20…..I am looking for a challenging entry-level position
that allows me to contribute my skills and experience to
fundraising for a charity.

 I play the university basketball team. We have won the national

championship for the past two years.

 I am writing to express my interest in the position of Account

Manager that was advertised on your website on 13 February,
20….. I’m extremely interested in this position, and I would like
to take the opportunity for an interview in which I could show
you how I can benefit your company.

55
 My parents are French and Russian, and because they work for a
multinational company, I grew up in four different countries. I
did all my schooling in English , but I speak and write fluent
French and Russian. I can also read Italian, Spanish, Romanian,
and most Slavic languages.

 I have travelled extensively during my last three summer

vacations. In 20….., I travelled around the Mediterranean
(Spain, France, Italy, Greece) for ten weeks. In 20…., I went to
Florida for a month, and I spent six weeks in Bali in 20…..I have,
consequently, met a great many people from many different
cultures, and I am absolutely convinced that these cross-
cultured experiences make me suitable for a position in
international marketing, and that your company would have a
great deal to gain from employing me.

 Dear Mr./Mrs. [name],

I am applying for the Sales Associate position which we
discussed during the Career Fair at the National University in
[city] on [date]. I believe my varied sales experience and my
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration are an excellent
match to the qualifications you are seeking. As you can see from
the enclosed resume, I have sold a variety of products in part-
time jobs during my studies and have worked in sales
departments during two internship positions. This experience, as
well as my oral and written communication skills, should prove
valuable in increasing [company’s name]‘ s sales volume. I am
enthusiastic about pursuing a career in sales with [company
name] because of your varied product line and international
distribution network.

56
 I am seeking a challenging position with a progressive company
that will offer opportunities for professional growth and
advancement. I am results oriented, a self-starter and a team
player. I am a good communicator, and have excellent project
management, interpersonal, people management and negotiation
skills. I can also work unsupervised. I am committed, creative,
competitive, ambitious, adaptable and flexible. I am good at
meeting deadlines, solving problems and making decisions.

 As you will see from my CV, I scored an average of 91% in my

university examinations (94% at the end of the first year, 87%
in my second year, and 92% in my final year exams). I stayed on
to do a post-graduate degree in finance and banking, and was
encouraged to extend my Master’s dissertation into a doctorate,
which I have done in the past ten months. I expect to be
awarded my PhD in six weeks’ time.

cv
57
 The structure of a Letter of application(AE)/covering
letter(BE)

Paragraph 1 should state clearly why you are writing and where
you saw the job advertised:

~ I would like to apply for the post (BE) /job (AE) of ... ….as
advertised in today’s issue of……...;
~With reference to your advertisement in ... on ..., I am
writing to apply for the position of….
Paragraph 2 should give a little information about your
qualifications and experience. Make sure the information you
give is relevant to the job that you are applying for:

~ As you can see from my enclosed CV, I have worked in my

present position for five years. During this time I have
gained invaluable experience in ...;
~ I am currently a student at TPU studying ........ . I am due
to graduate in.......;
~ Although I have been studying full time, I have had a
number of summer jobs which have helped me gain
experience in ...;
58
 ~My experience over the past two years has been at the
managerial level, where I have had responsibility for ...

Paragraph 3 should say why you believe you are suited to the
job and what you can offer the company. Those currently
employed can state the reason for wishing to change their
present job. However, you should not sound critical of your
present employer:

~ I am currently working as a ……..in .....The reason for my

seeking a new position is that I wish to pursue a ………. career.

Unfortunately, there are no openings for advancement in my
present employment;
~ For the last two years I have been working as a …….. in
~...Unfortunately, the company is moving its main offices

overseas and I have therefore decided to look for a new

position. I believe that the experience I have gained in ...
has given me the qualities you are looking for;
~ I believe I would be an asset to your company. I will be
able to bring with me my experience as a ... which I believe
would be useful in this position;
~ I feel that my ability to ... will help/enable me to ...

59
Paragraph 4 should tell the reader when you are available for an
interview and how to contact you:

~I would like to have the opportunity to talk to you further

about my application. I am available for an interview at any

time and I can be contacted at (phone number);
~ I am available for an interview at any time;

~ I look forward to hearing from/meeting you soon;

~ As requested in the advertisement, I enclose a copy of my

resume/CV together with a recent photograph;

~ I look forward to meeting with you to discuss my

application further. I am available at any time and I can be

contacted at (phone number).

Writing a Letter of application

When writing a letter of application, take into

consideration the following clues as the beginnings of the
paragraph:

~ I am writing in order to enquire about…………………

~I am particularly interested in finding a position that would

offer me ……………..and that would involve…………………

60
~At the moment I am working as a…………………..

~The work I have been doing has been

challenging……………………..

~Please find enclosed my resume/CV containing…………………….

~I would very much appreciate if you would

consider…………………………….. .

61
The skeleton/format of a letter of application(AE) or covering letter (BE)

Your name and surname

Your address
Tel no:……………..

Mr./Mrs (name of the recipient- if specified in the ad)

(recipient’s position if specified)
Company’s address or P.O. Box no…….
date

Dear Sir/Madam (or Dear Mr……/Mrs……) =salutation

Re: name of the job(#23………..- if it is specified in the ad)

1st paragraph………………………………………………………………………..

2nd second paragraph…………………………………………………………

3rd paragraph…………………………………………………………………………

4th paragraph……………………………………………………………………….. . I look

forward to meeting you soon.

Thank you in advance!

Yours sincerely,

(your signature)

Your name in full

62
Your letter of application or covering letter should be written on one page
only.

I.3.e. Notes on CVs(BE)/resumes(AE)

 European CVs generally include photos; US resumes do

not;
 British CVs include personal details such as date of birth,
marital status, number of children etc.; US resumes do
not;
 British CVs usually include outside work interests (sports,
travelling); US ones sometimes don’t;
 Your CV should be totally honest; you should emphasize
your strengths , but not lie about your experience or skills;
 Leave out information that is irrelevant or that could give
some people a chance to discriminate against you
(personal details such as your height, weight, health,
country of origin, religion, etc.);
 Limit your CV to a maximum of two pages;
 Lay your CV out neatly;
 Always check for grammatical and spelling or
typographical errors, and do not rely on an automatic
spell checker;
 Get someone to check your CV before you send it.

Study the following model skeleton for a CV(BE)/resume(AE)

63
 Curriculum Vitae
Name
Address
Phone number(s) [daytime phone number, with the international
access code]
Email address
Date of birth [write the month, the date, the year]
Nationality [always begins with a capital letter]
Marital status [Single or Married]

OBJECTIVE
[what you want to do next is more important than what you have done]
e.g. A job in international marketing ; A traineeship in trading; Production
assistant; Account manager; Financial Analyst

WORK EXPERIENCE
[in reverse order starting with the most recent] e.g. Part-time technical
Assistant, Economics Faculty, IT Centre (September 2008- June 2010)
(repair and maintenance of department, faculty, staff, and student
computers)

EDUCATION or QUALIFICATIONS
[in reverse order, starting with the most recent]
20---- Master’s Degree in International Affairs, Oxford University (expected
date of completion July 20-----)
20---- Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Finance major, Faculty
of Economics and Public Administration, “Ștefan cel Mare” University of
Suceava, Romania

64
19----- High School Diploma (specializing in Maths and Informatics)

COMPUTER SKILLS
e.g. Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Oracle Financials

LANGUAGES
e.g. Fluent in English and Spanish, some knowledge of French and Arabic or
Italian(mother tongue), good knowledge of English, elementary knowledge
of French.

HOBBIES AND INTERESTS

[Ideally, these should include hobbies that demonstrate qualities that are
relevant to the job you are applying for]

REFERENCES
Available upon request

PRACTICE

65
 How to get a job. What comes first?
Put the following sentences into the correct order:

1. The company needs another person. 1

2. You apply for the job. __
3. You earn more money. __
4. You see the advertisement. __
5. You arrange an appointment for an interview. __
6. They advertise in the paper. __
7. You accept the job. __
8. You have an interview. __
9. You do well and get promotion. __
10.You retire at 60. __
11.They offer you the job. __
12.They employ you for 40 years. ___

Match the verbs with the appropriate nouns given below.

Sometimes there is more than one possibility.

an application form/ a covering letter(letter of application)*/ a

CV(BE) or resume(AE)/ an interview/new staff/a probationary
period/a reference/a short – list/ a vacancy

66
Example: to advertise a vacancy

1. to attend an interview
2. to complete a cv
3. to draw up* cover letter/ letter of aplication
4. to fill in/out an aplication form
5. to hire new stuff
6. to submit a CV and a covering letter
7. to supply reference
8. to write* a cv
9. to advertise a vacancy

I.3.f. Preparing for an interview

Which five of these tips do you consider as the most

useful?

 Research the company thoroughly before the day of the

interview;
 Have complimentary things to say about the company and
its products or services;
 Be confident and enthusiastic;
 Have examples of successful experiences with groups or
teams;
 Be prepared to talk about your strengths and weaknesses;
 Expect questions about difficult situations you have faced,
problems you have solved, etc.;
67
  If you need to talk about your hobbies, try to say
something interesting and memorable (and not just
‘music, ’travel’, ‘cinema’);
 Have some questions at hand that you can ask the
interviewer such as:
~ Can you tell me more about your training programmes?
~When would be the best time for me to contact you in
regards to your feedback for my interview?
~ Can you tell me how performance is measured and
reviewed?
~Is there a dresscode for this position?
~ Are there possibilities of promotion for someone whose
results are good?

I.3.g. What is the employer looking for?

During an interview, employers will usually look for three

things. Firstly, they want to see evidence of the technical skills
and background knowledge required to do that particular job.
Secondly, they will look for the business skills such as the
ability to achieve targets, meet deadlines and manage costs.
Thirdly, they want to see evidence of "soft" persona skills such
as:

 teamworking -I am a teamplayer…….
 leadership

68
  communication-I have excellent communication
skills.
 influencing
 motivation/initiative: I am proactive.
 time-management: I am good at meeting
deadlines………..
 creativity I am creative……?????
 data analysis I pay attention to details.
 decision-making
 integrity: trustworthy ***

Read the following text about going for interviews.

How to survive that interview

by Charlene Stewart

You’re going for that all-important interview – for a place

in a school or college, or for a new job. You walk into the room
and there they are – the interviewers – waiting to see what you
are made of.

But did you know that the actual words you speak are less
important than the way you look, the way you behave?
Remember, they won’t just be listening to you, they’ll be
watching you, too, receiving all the messages you send out,
consciously or unconsciously. And then they’ll decide whether
you are the right person for that place or that job.

69
 Nervous? Don’t be. Relax. Just follow our seven – point
plan.

1. Don’t cross anything! Keep arms, legs and feet relaxed

and uncrossed. People with folded arms look like they’re
trying to protect themselves from something. They seem
to be saying ‘I am not confident.’ If you’re wearing a
jacket, undo the buttons and open it up. An open jacket
says ‘I am an honest, open person. I have nothing to hide.’
2. Lean forward! Don’t sit back. It makes you look tired or
nervous. Sit forward, project yourself into the space.
Show by the way you sit that you are ready and eager,
that you want to be part of the scene.
3. Make direct eye contact! Avoid looking away all the time
because it makes you look suspicious. Look directly at the
people who are asking you questions or who you are
talking to. If you lower your head all the time, they won’t
be able to see the enthusiasm in your eyes.
4. Mirror their actions! One of the best ways of gaining
people’s trust and confidence is to move in the same way
as they do. Listen to the speed at which they’re talking,
and watch the way they sit or move around. Do the same,
but do it slowly first. You don’t want them to think you
are making fun of them.
5. Go in confidently! A lot depends on how you enter the
room. If you walk in nervously with your head and
shoulders down, the interviewers won’t think much of
you from the outset. Go in with your head held high, a
slight smile on your lips. When you shake hands with the
70
 interviewers, don’t be too enthusiastic, but make it strong
and decisive. Nobody likes a weak handshake.
6. Use your head! When somebody asks you a question,
don’t just say the first thing that comes into your head.
Think about your answers. Always say to yourself, ‘Why
are they asking this question?’ because when you know
that, you’ll probably be able to give an appropriate
answer!
7. Think quickly! Studies have shown that people during
interviews get most nervous when there is a silence. So be
prepared to speak quickly and fluently. But use your head
(see above). (from "The Financial Times")

PRACTICE

A. Look back at the text. Circle the best ending to each of the
following:

1. The way you look and the body language you use are:
a……….as important as what you say;
b………more important than what you say;
c.……..not as important as what you say.

2. It is important to:
a. ……..cross your legs;
b. ……..uncross your legs;
c. ………look open and relaxed.

3. In an interview you should:

71
 a. ……..not look at the people asking you the questions;
b. …….. look directly at the people asking you the
questions;
c. ……… look away when you are answering.

4. At the beginning of the interview, you should:

a. ……..show that you are confident;
b. ……..behave quietly and modestly;
c. ……...smile a lot.

5. When you are asked a question, you should:

a. …….. say to the interviewer: ’Why are you asking this
question?’;
b. …….. think carefully but ask quickly;
c. ……… give yourself time to think carefully before
answering, even if this involves silence.

B. Read the text again. Then decide whether the following

statements are True (T) or False (F). Write T or F in the
brackets:

a. Jackets should be kept undone during the interview.[ ]

b. Try out your interview in the mirror before you go in.
[ ]
c. If you sit forward it shows that you are keen to get the
job. [ ]
d. A quick answer to a question is more important than
saying the right thing. [ ]

72
 e. Looking at interviewers makes them suspicious. [ ]
f. A firm handshake is a good start to an interview. [ ]
g. You should try to understand what the interviewers
are thinking. [ ]
h. Silence makes people nervous. [ ]

Match each of the following colloquial names for certain

types of people with the correct description below:

a pain in the neck a rolling stone a crank a sponger a

tomboy a lone wolf a battle – axe a day-dreamer a dare-
devil a slow coach a golden boy

1. She’s got extremely odd, eccentric, unconventional ideas

and theories. a crank
2. He’s always got his head in the clouds, always fantasizing.
_____daydreamer_____
3. He loves taking dangerous risks.
_____daredevil_________
4. He can’t settle down. He goes from job to job, place to place.
_____rollingstone_____
5. He’s always borrowing money and living off other people.
_______sponger_______
6. She’s very aggressive and bossy. She likes to dominate.
______battleaxe_______
7. Everyone thinks he’ll get rapid promotion. He’s destined to
succeed. ____goldenboy_____
8. He’s always slow and behind the others in his work or
studies. _____slowcouch______

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9. He’s a real nuisance. I can’t stand him. _______a pain in
the neck_______
10. He likes to do things on his own. ____________
11. She’s a girl who likes to play rough, boy’s games. tomboy

Describing people (1). The following pairs of words

describe employee qualities and performance. From the words
on the right, choose a synonym for each adjective (1-12).

1. tidy neat clever

2. friendly ________________ timid
3. careful ________________
4. intelligent ________________ acceptable
5. shy ________________
6. reliable _________________ cautious
7. relaxed easy-going __
8. self-confident __ self-assured neat
9. systematic _ flexible adaptable
consistent
10.___ outstanding
11.satisfactory __________________ dependable
12.excellent __________________ warm

74
 Describing people(2). Write the negative forms of the
following adjectives using the prefixes un-, in-, dis-, ir-, or im-:

Adjective Negative
1. tidy untidy
2. organized disorganized
3. accurate inaccurate
4. systematic unsystematic
5. sensitive insens
6. patient impatient
7. conventional un
8. traditional un
9. convincing un
10.responsible __irr________________
11.efficient inefficient
12.secure insecure
13.obedient dis
14.reliable un
15.predictable un
16.friendly un
17.diplomatic un
18.trustworthy un
19.tolerant un
20.sincere in
21.honest dis
22.experienced un

75
 Describing people (3). Collocations: Physical appearance

A. Choose the best answer:

1. Liz always looks/ good – she has great dress change.
2. Simon is nearly fifty but he’s ageing well – he doesn’t look
his years at all.
3. He noticed that his hair was going grey.
4. The police are looking for a man in his early twenties, of
average height and with a full beard.
5. As the suspect has very distinctive features, it will be
difficult for him to take a disguise.
6. I don’t usually spend much time doing my make-up – I just
put on a bit of lipstick and eyeliner.
7. His scruffy clothes and badly-cut hair didn’t make a very
good impression on his boss.
8. You look great! Have you lost weight?
9. He was wearing sunglasses and carrying an umbrella.

a. What’s the opposite of these expressions? Choose from

these adjectives:

crooked dry broad curly

1. straight hair / curly hair

2. oily skin / _dry___skin
3. narrow shoulders / __broad__ shoulders
4. even teeth / __crooked_ teeth
76
b. Collocations. Gestures

A. Match the two parts of the following sentences:

1. She sniffed the farmyard air and screwed up her

noise
2. He shouted at the other driver and made a rude
gesture
3. When he saw the figures he raised his
eyebrows
4. It’s rude to stick out your tongue
5. He heard the bad news and pulled a face

c. Write the following adjectives in groups:

affectionate, aggressive, talkative, romantic, self-

confident, dependent, assertive, sociable, competitive,
inconsiderate, trustworthy, faithful unfaithful, fair,
generous, reserved, helpful, moderate, rude, self-
conscious, tolerant, sincere, fishy, progressive,
blunt(sincer, transparent), shy, obedient, organized,
tolerant

good bad sometimes good,

sometimes bad

77
 d. Mixed sentences. Personality

Rearrange the words to make complete sentences:

1. funny / she / me / laugh / makes / she’s

2. all / about / he / so / is / computers / boring / talks / he’s

3. you / of / really / help / us / it’s / kind / to
4. bed / out / of / thing / you / lazy / get
5. a / scientist / he / brilliant / is
6. won’t / he / if / he’s / mind / you / easygoing / are /
late / very
7. very / likes / Rob’s / he / sociable / parties
8. the / you / birthday / are / generous / for / thank / very /
you / present
9. teacher / let / class / in / talk / us / won’t / our / very /
he’s / strict
10. teacher / rather / son’s / my / says / often / is / careless
/ that / he
11. nasty / a / he / to / used / child / sister / was / he / hit /
his
12. her / he / him / shy / too / ask / was / to / dance /
with / to
78
 13. well / will / she / she / do / is / young / ambitious /
lawyer / an
14. bright / always / does / he / he / well / tests / at /
student / is / a
15. always / the / in / mornings / she / bad-tempered / is
16. she’s / a / she / childish / cries / argues / but / very / lot
/ 34 / is / and / she
17. dynamic / will / and / addition / she’s / and / great /
young / be / a / team / to / the
18. teacher / impatient / but / he’s / good / a / tends / be /
to / slow / with / learners

Study the following section on Appearance and Character

Note: Words and phrases on one and the same line are NOT synonyms.

Appearance

o attractive, good-looking, beautiful(ladies),

handsome(men), lovely, pretty, cute, nice;
o a pretty girl; a beautiful woman; a handsome man; a
good-looking man (woman, girl, boy);
o plain, homely (=not good-looking AE), unattractive, ugly;
an ugly fellow; a plain face;
o a pretty (beautiful, ugly, intelligent, round, oval) face;
regular features; delicate features;
o well-dressed; nicely dressed; casually dressed; poorly
dressed; elegant; fashionable;
o neat, clean, tidy; untidy, dirty, filthy; a neat person; neat
clothes.
79
Height

o tall, very tall, quite tall; six feet tall; not very tall; short;
o he is tall; he is taller than his mother; she isn't tall; she
isn't as tall as he is;
o average height; medium height; middle height;
o he is average height; she is of medium height; she is of
middle height.

Weight and Build

o thin, quite thin, slim, slender; skinny, underweight; a thin

girl; she is thin; she is slim;
o plump, chubby, stout, overweight, obese, fat; a stout
woman; he is overweight;
o medium-build; heavily built; thickset; broad-shouldered;
he is medium-build;
o a slender young girl; a slim figure; a delicate figure;
delicate constitution;
o strong, muscular, athletic; weak, feeble.

Hair

o dark, black, brown, chestnut, red, auburn; blond, light,

fair; white, gray (grey);
o a brunette, a brunet; a redhead; a blonde, a blond; a dark-
haired man; corn-colored hair;
o long, short; medium-length; shoulder-length; she has long
dark-blond hair;
o straight, curly, wavy; thick, thinning, bald; she has curly
hair; he is bald;
o shiny, smooth, neatly combed hair; soft, silken hair; lank
hair; dull hair; oily hair; greasy hair;
80
 o tousled hair; disheveled hair; plaits, ponytail; beard,
mustache (moustache)

Eyes

o blue, grey, green, brown, dark; she has blue eyes;

o light-blue; dark-gray; grayish-blue; her eyes are dark
brown;
o big eyes; large eyes; bright eyes; expressive eyes; sharp
eyes;
o eyebrows, eyelashes; thick eyebrows; green eyes with
dark lashes;
o nearsighted, shortsighted (near-sighted, short-sighted);
blind;
o eyeglasses, glasses, spectacles, sunglasses; a pair of
glasses; he wears glasses.

Age

o young, middle-aged, elderly, old; grown-up, adult;

o he is twenty years old; she is in her thirties; he is about
forty;
o a child; a kid; a little boy; a little girl; a five-year-old girl;
she is five years old;
o a teenager; a teenage boy; a teenage girl; a young boy; a
young girl;
o a young man; a young woman; a middle-aged man; an old
man.

Character, personality, nature

 good (excellent, fine, strong, firm, weak, bad, terrible,

evil) character;
81
  traits of character; qualities; he has a terrible character;
his character is very good;
 a woman of great character; a man of character; he has
no character at all;
 pleasant (friendly, strong, weak, interesting, charismatic)
personality;
 she has a friendly personality; he has a lot of personality;
 she is soft-hearted by nature; it is not in his nature to be
rude.

Strong, honest, reliable, hardworking, active, etc.

 strong, tough, hardy, mature, independent; weak,

immature;
 strong-minded, strong-willed, hard-headed, determined,
resolute;
 honest, sincere, truthful, decent, scrupulous; dishonest,
insincere;
 cunning, deceitful, crafty, sly, treacherous; unscrupulous;
 dependable, reliable, trustworthy; faithful, loyal, devoted;
true;
 unreliable, untrustworthy; unfaithful, disloyal;
irresponsible;
 hardworking, diligent, conscientious; responsible;
persevering; ambitious;
 disciplined, organized, accurate, methodical, careful;
thorough;
 undisciplined, disorganized, inaccurate, careless;
forgetful; shallow, superficial;
 reasonable, sensible, rational, prudent, level-headed,
practical;
 just, fair, objective, impartial, unbiased; unjust, unfair;
opinionated;
82
  unreasonable, irrational; unpredictable; impractical;
naive; superstitious;
 active, energetic, vigorous, quick, fast; lazy, idle, slow,
inert, passive, sluggish;
 attentive, alert, perceptive, observant, insightful, shrewd;
inattentive;
 brave, bold, courageous, fearless; reckless; cautious;
timid, cowardly.

Friendly, kind, polite, patient, humorous, selfish, etc.

 good-natured, good-tempered, easygoing; bad-tempered;

ill-natured; malevolent; mean;
 friendly, amiable, amicable, sociable, outgoing; unfriendly,
hostile, unsociable;
 generous, noble; kind, kind-hearted, soft-hearted,
unselfish; helpful; gentle;
 firm, strict, stern, severe; cruel, harsh, hard-hearted;
merciless, ruthless;
 thoughtful, considerate; compassionate, sympathetic;
tolerant; intolerant;
 polite, civil, urbane, tactful; impolite, rude, tactless; well-
mannered; bad-mannered;
 naughty, arrogant, impudent; aggressive, pushy;
stubborn, obstinate;
 confident, self-confident; shy, diffident, timid, modest,
humble; unassuming;
 serious, calm, quiet, placid; patient; self-possessed;
impatient; impulsive;
 formal, official; informal, relaxed, casual, simple;
sophisticated; unsophisticated;
 humorous, amusing, funny, interesting; creative;
inventive; dull, boring, uninteresting, tedious;
83
  cheerful, happy, carefree; optimistic; moody, melancholic;
gloomy, morose; pessimistic;
 temperamental, emotional, nervous; self-conscious,
sensitive, touchy;
 selfish, egoistical, self-centered; inconsiderate; jealous,
envious, possessive.

Other qualities

 pretentious, self-important, vain, pompous; domineering,

oppressive; unpretentious;
 capricious, wayward, whimsical; mischievous;
argumentative, irritable, quarrelsome;
 critical, fault-finding; docile, dutiful, obedient;
disobedient;
 talkative; noisy; reserved, reticent; laconic; taciturn;
silent; secretive;
 economical, thrifty, frugal, tight, stingy, miserly, greedy;
wasteful, prodigal, extravagant;
 strange, odd, weird, eccentric, crazy; normal, ordinary,
regular.

Mind

 intelligent, wise, clever, smart; sharp, keen, bright, quick,

agile;
 broad-minded; open-minded; narrow-minded; small-
minded; absent-minded;

84
  a sharp mind; a quick mind; he is intelligent and broad-
minded;
 foolish, silly, stupid, dumb; dull, slow; crazy, insane, mad;
he is foolish.

Related phrases and examples in sentences

What does she look like?

 She is young and good-looking, with dark eyes and long

red hair.
 He is tall and thin, with brown hair. He is twenty-five years
old.
 She is average height, dark-haired, quite thin, and wears
glasses. She's about fifty.
 She is of medium height, with straight black hair and
brown eyes.
 He is old, short, medium-build, with gray hair and a beard.
 She has dark eyes, wavy blond hair, and a nice figure. She
looks great.
 He is a handsome middle-aged man. She is a pretty young
girl.

How do I look?

 You look good. You look great. You look nice.

 You look terrible. You look awful.

What is he like?

 He is friendly and dependable. He is interesting and

amusing.

85
  He is smart and honest. He also has a good sense of
humor. I like him.
 She is careless and lazy. You can't depend on her.
 She is serious, organized, hardworking, and tough.
 He is old, sick, and lonely. She is a nice clever girl.
 His character is terrible. He is hostile and bad-tempered.
He doesn't have many friends.
 She is knowledgeable and broad-minded, and she likes to
help young people.

Who does he take after, his mother or his father?

 He takes after his father in appearance, but he is like his

mother in character.
 He looks like his mother, but he takes after his father in
character.
 Like his father, he is tall and handsome.
 She takes after her mother. She has the same chestnut
hair and green eyes.

What does he like?

 He likes ice cream and chocolate. She likes apples and

oranges.
 She likes modern music. He likes old movies and classical
music.
 She likes to read. He likes to play with his dog.

What are you interested in?

 I'm interested in medicine. He is interested in politics. She

is interested in history.
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  I'm interested in sports. I'm into computers. I'm a movie
fan. I like rock music.

Other related words

Note: Some of the words below are informal or slang words;

some of them may be perceived as offensive.

 a bookworm; a history buff; a sports fan; a music fan; a

movie fan; a TV addict;
 a computer whiz kid; a computer freak; a number-
cruncher;
 a fashion plate; a dandy; a fashionmonger; a warmonger;
a newsmonger; a scaremonger;
 a junk collector; a pack rat; a miser; a squanderer; a
spendthrift; a spender;
 a homebody; a couch potato; lazybones; a workaholic; a
Jack -of- all -trades;
 an adventurer; a thrill seeker; an oddball; a weirdo; a
chatterbox; a scatterbrain; a teaser;
 a prude; a hypocrite; a chronic liar; a gambler; a smooth
operator; a city slicker; a simpleton;
 a super achiever; an underachiever; a winner; a loser; a
tough guy; a softy;
 a woman-chaser; a womanizer; a ladies' man (a lady's
man);
 a black sheep; a scapegoat; a scarecrow; a white crow; a
night owl.

TEST 1: Physical appearance

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1. His two older daughters are real beauties, but his youngest
daughter is …….., I'm afraid. a)quite plain b)quite pretty
c)rather attractive d) very handsome

2. His aunt is an attractive ……… woman. I think she is about 35.

a)middle-aged b)old c) young

3. She is ………….. , with short red hair. She said she would be
wearing a light-brown leather jacket. You'll recognize her.
a)average height and slim b)medium-build and blonde c)short
and gray -haired
4. She …………      her mother in appearance. She has the same

brown eyes and curly chestnut hair. a)goes after b)is after
b)looks after c)takes after

5. He is …………….. He is also very friendly. a)bad-tempered and

rude b)cheerful and good-natured c)hostile and mean d)moody
and unsociable

6. He is ……………... I don't think that such qualities will make him

a good team player. a)creative and energetic b)knowledgeable
and helpful c)selfish and jealous

7. He is ……………. . You can rely on him. a)hardworking and

responsible b)immature and inefficient c)lazy and careless
8. What ………. like? – He is intelligent, broad-minded and
independent. a)does he b)does he look c)is he d) would he

TEST 2: Jobs

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1.A general practitioner (GP) is a …………. …a) doctor b) lawyer
c)philosopher c)yoga master

2. A bank teller ………..  in a bank. a)manages advertising b)

receives and pays out money c) tells banking stories

3. A ……………..makes and repairs wooden objects. a)welder

b)carpenter c)plumber

4. A ……………marks errors in the first printed copy of the text. a)

caretaker b)controller c)printer d) proofreader

5. A(n)……… translates the speaker's words into another

language. a) attorney b)auditor c) inspector d)interpreter

6. He is looking for a…………in electrical engineering. a)job

b)labour c)occupation d)work

7. What do you do in your spare/free time? What is your

favorite…………..? – I like to read books about travelling.
a)labour b)occupation c)hobby d)job

8. He is a member of staff and works from nine to five in the

main office. He is a…………. worker. a)freelance b)full-time
c)part-time

9. A …………….. is usually paid by the month. a)bonus b)income

c)salary d)wage

TEST 3: Say, tell, speak

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1. Can you……………. me the time? a) say b)tell c) speak d) talk

2. My watch………………. ten o'clock.

a)says b)tells c)speaks d)talks

3. It is often………… that history repeats itself. a)said b)told

c)spoken d)talked

4. I can't ……………….. the difference between them. a)say b)tell

c)speak d)talk

5. It goes without ……………………. that he should pay his debt in

full. a)saying b)telling c)speaking d)talking

6. We should …………………… him out of going there. a) say b)tell

c)talk d) speak

7. …………………. for yourself. I have a different opinion. a) Tell

b)Speak c) Say

8. I'd like to……………….it over with my family before making a

decision. a) talk b)speak c)say

9. Please ……………up. I can't hear you. a) speak b) tell c)say

10. Don't …………………back to your teachers! a) talk b)say

c)speak

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AM
RAMAS
AICI
Collocations. More practice
Choose a verb from the box. Change the form of the verb if
necessary:

make burst clap shrug grin cross

1. When I asked for directions, he just ___________ his

shoulders.
2. When she got the good news, she was __________from
ear to ear.
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 3. He __________a face when he tasted the bitter coffee.
4. She sat down and ____________her legs.
5. The child fell over and immediately ____________into
tears.
6. Come on everybody! Tap your feet and __________
your hands in time to the music!

Quiz. "Do you see yourself as others see you?" (Dr.

Dorothy Mc. Coy, Personality Quizzes, p. 59-61) Circle what suits you:

1. You are described as a giving person. True/False

2. You are more rooted in reality than floating in fantasy.
True/False
3. Your friends would say (or have said) that you are calm
rather than dramatic. True/False
4. You have been told that you are kind and compassionate.
True/False
5. You must straighten crooked pictures, and you like
absolute neatness. True/False
6. Your friends and colleagues laugh at your jokes.
True/False
7. You have a great laugh. True/False
8. You handle the ups and downs in life without getting
overly frustrated. True/False
9. Being gorgeous is not particularly important to you.
True/False

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 10. You can see the silver lining in most storm clouds.
True/False
11. You have been described as friendly and affectionate.
True/False
12. Your friends say they can depend on you when you give
your word. True/False
13. You have been compared to a kitten – playful and
mischievous. True/False
14. You have been told you are creative and imaginative.
True/False
15. You are loyal to your friends – and they have said so.
True/False
16. You are responsible about paying your own way.
True/False
17. You are curious about the world, and it is reflected in how
you spend your time. True/False
18. You are adventourous and enjoy exploring with your
friends. True/False
19. You are good at your job, and it shows.
20. You have been told that you are tolerant and you are not
judgemental. True/False

Scoring. Give yourself 1 point for each "true" response. Tally

your score and find your profile below.

0-8 points: More Cold than Hot

You don’t give off as many of the positive warm-and-fuzzies as
you could. To be certain that you are not being too tough on
yourself, ask your friends to answer these questions about you
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and compare their answers to yours. If they jibe, you may want
to make more changes. Or you may be perfectly happy with
yourself as you are – and that’s okay, too. Now thhat you know
how you are perceived, the choice is yours.

9-15 points: Room Temperature

You are highly thought of in quite a few areas. No one is perfect,
but you have a generally strong reputation. If you want to tweak
your public persona, you won’t have to go too far. You are doing
quite well.

16-20 points: More Hot than Cold

You are probably well repscted, admired, and liked. Since you are
quite popular, you may be content to continue doing what works
so very well for you. There’s always room for improvement,
though, so may choose to make those few adjustments and
continue to grow. Congratulations! People like you are
exceprionally rare. When you look in your mirror, you will see
what everyone else sees. That is a good thing.

What sort of person are you? Circle a) or b):

i. A sensitive person is one who

a) is very aware of other people’s feelings;
b) has good sense of judgement.

ii. If you fantasize about things, you

a) daydream about the impossible;
b) often dream when you sleep.
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 iii. You’re a reasonable person, so you’re
a) logical;
b) just and fair.

iv. You revise your opinions so you

a) change them;
b) look at them again.

v. If you make sense of things, you

a) know that they are sensible;
b) can understand things easily.

vi. You’re easily moved, so you

a) like to go from place to place;
b) are emotional.

vii. You’re frank so you

a) like to tell the truth;
b) don’t chat, steal or lie.

viii. You are a mature person, so you’re

a) grown up;
b) ripe.

ix. You have a genial nature, so you

a) are very talented;
b) are cheerful and friendly.

x. You recall things that happened, so you have

a) a lot of souvenirs;
b) a good memory.

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 Quiz. "Are you self-confident? "(Dr. Dorothy Mc. Coy,
Personality Quizzes, p. 161-163) Tick (√) the degree to which you
agree or disagree with the following statements:

Strongly Agree Strongly

agree disagree
I often feel self-conscious
for no obvious reason.
Sometimes I wonder
what my friends are
thinking about me.
I have doubts when I set
a goal for myself.
If somepne asks me to
break out of my comfort
zone, I feel fearful.
When I am having a
conversation with
someone, I evaluate
everything I say while
the words are coming
out of my mouth.
I really like people to like
me, and sometimes I find
myself acting like
someone I’m not.
I don’t consider myself a
cheerful person.
If I’m at a restaurant and
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my order is messed up, I
don’t say anything. I’d
rather just eat what I’m
served.
I want to speak up at
meetings and express my
views,but I just can’t
seem to do it.
I hate it when people
look over my shoulder at
work.
I seem to always be
saying "I’m sorry."
I would rather be drawn
and quartered than
make a presentation in
public.

Scoring: Give yourself 1 point for "Strongly agree," 2 points for

"Agree," and 3 points for "Strongly disagree."

12-18 points: Doubtful

You have doubts about wearing an "I am so fabulous" pin.
Please, think back over the past week. How many successes did
you have in that seven-day period? Now is the good time to
define your goals, no matter how small. You might also want to
define a few steps you can take toward achieving your goal.
Even though these steps on their own may not seem like much,
your self-confidence may surge when you see just how much you
accomplish –unnoticed. By the way, you may want to consider

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spending more time with optimistic , self-confident folks. Self –
confidence can be contagious.

19-25 points: Growing

You are a middle-of – the road, "show me" type of individual.
The middle of the road is a very comfortable place to be, isn’t it?
Since the mean so comfortable, it may be tempting to resist
moving forward. However, if you should decide to ratchet up
your confidence a notch or two, start by rereading the quiz.
Which of the statements did you mark as "agree" or "strongly
agree"? Ask yourself, "How would my life be different if I
strongly disagreed with that statement? Would it be better?" If
you challenge yourself to cjange your mindset in one or more of
these categories, you’ll begin to notice a change. Notice that the
heading to your scoring group is "Growing": change is aboslutely
going to happen.

26-36 points: Enlightened

To whom do you owe your positive attitude? Why not call him or
her right now and say "Thank you so much"? You trust yourself
becuase of a positive attitude and a long line of successes, and,
obviously, you’ve been doing the right things. But....be sure you
read the sidebar(below), because there really can be too much of
a good thing. True confidence is gentle and kind – and helpful.

Missing words. People’s characteristics

Put the following words in the correct sentences:

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 ambitious/intelligent/immature/rude/big-headed/
moody/eccentric/strict/sympathetic/talented

1.John is always telling people how well he plays the guitar. He’s
so talented .
2. Many girls of 16 and 17 are far too immature to get married
and have children.
3.I see Nathaniel passed his exams again. It must be wonderful
to be so inteligent .
4.The trouble with Jane is that she is so moody toane . One
minute she’s laughing, the next minute she’s sulking. You just
don’t know where you are with her.
5.One of the things I like about Pamela is that she is so
sympathetic . If you have a problem you know you can go to her
and she’ll listen to you and try to help all she can.
6.Mrs. Smith’s children are so……………….. . They never say
“Please” or “Thank you” and only last week I heard them
swearing at the postman.
7.My son’s very …………………………… he doesn’t want to work in
an office all his life. In fact, he keeps telling me that one day
he’s going to be Prime Minister.
8. My uncle is very eccentric . No matter what the weather, he
always wears a bright red cape when he goes out and a
matching pair of boots. Everyone stares at him, but he doesn’t
mind. He likes being different.
9.My husband never sees my point of view. He has his opinions
and nothing I say will ever change them. He’s so………………………..

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10.When I was a teenager, my father was very strict . He’d
never allow me to wear make – up or have a boy-friend, and if I
went out with friends, I always had to be home by 10 o’clock.

Dressing for Success

"The problem with appearance is that it translates to

performance. Even if your boss doesn't think that they're
thinking any less of you, they will subconsciously think it."
Nicole Williams (a career expert at LinkedIn)

Read the following statements and write Agree [A] or

Disagree [D] for each and every one. Share your opinions with
your partner:

1. The way people dress at work usually indicates how

competent they are at their jobs. [ ]
2. People should be allowed to wear exactly what they want
at work. [ ]
3. Companies who want employees to wear particular
clothes should pay for those clothes. [ ]
4. In most companies, the way you dress will affect your
chances of promotion. [ ]
5. People work best in the clothes they feel most
comfortable in. [ ]
6. People wearing unusual clothes to work give a bad
impression to clients.
[ ]
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 7. As long as a person is good at his/her job, it shouldn’t
matter what he/she wears. [ ]
8. I object to senior female staff wearing trousers. [ ]
9. Sloppy clothes mean sloppy work. [ ]
10.I wouldn’t have faith in a businessperson who wore jeans
at work. [ ]
11.Men shouldn’t be allowed to take off their jackets at work
even in summer time. [ ]
12.Bosses should always be smartly dressed. [ ]

Study the following business and casual attires (pictures

from Richard Feloni, Samantha Lee, Aine Cain, How to dress your best in
any work environment, from a casual office to the boardroom, "Business
Insider", May 16, 2018)

101
102
 Imagine you are a careers advisor. What advice would
you give to someone who is................. . Share your ideas with
the rest of the class.

a. money motivated and who is prepared to take risks?

b. a very talented musician who is not necessary money
motivated?
c. an achiever who has a background in IT and is a very
confident person?
d. suffering from a lack of job satisfaction in his/her present
job?

I.3.g.A job interview

"Never give up searching for the job that you’re

passionate about." Warren Buffett (American investor,
businessman and filantropist)
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 A job interview is your chance to show an employer what
he or she will get if you’re hired. That is why it is essential to be
well prepared for the job interview. There are five basic types of
interviews:

The Screening Interview

This is usually an interview with someone in human
resources. It may take place in person or on the telephone. He
or she will have a copy of your resume in hand and will try to
verify the information on it. The human resources
representative will want to find out if you meet the minimum
qualifications for the job and, if you do, you will be passed on to
the next step.

The Selection Interview

The selection interview is the step in the process which
makes people the most anxious. The employer knows you are
qualified to do the job. While you may have the skills to perform
the tasks that are required by the job in question, the employer
needs to know if you have the personality necessary to “fit in.”
Someone who can’t interact well with management and co-
workers may disrupt the functioning of an entire department.
This ultimately can affect the company’s bottom line.

The Group Interview

In the group interview, several job candidates are
interviewed at once. The interviewer or interviewers are trying
to separate the leaders from the followers. The interviewer may
104
also be trying to find out if you are a “team player.” The type of
personality the employer is looking for determines the outcome
of this interview. There is nothing more to do than act naturally.

The Panel Interview

The candidate is interviewed by several people at once. It
can be quite intimidating as questions are fired at you. You
should try to remain calm and establish rapport with each
member of the panel. Make eye contact with each member of
the panel as you answer his or her question.

The Stress Interview

It is not a very nice way to be introduced to the company
that may end up being your future employer. It is, however, a
technique sometimes used to weed out those that cannot
handle adversity. The interviewer may try to artificially
introduce stress into the interview by asking questions so
quickly that the candidate doesn’t have time to answer each
one. The interviewer may also ask weird questions, not to
determine what the job candidate answers, but how he or she
answers. On the whole, the typical questions will refer to:
education, work history, current job, the new job and the
company, the candidate’s personal qualities.
Here are some of the most frequent questions that may
be asked during an interview:

Small talk to begin/Warm – up questions:

~ Did you have any trouble finding us?

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~How are you enjoying this hot weather/snow etc.?

Standard interview questions:

~ Tell us something about yourself3 (see letter of application,

par.3).

~What university do/did you attend and why did you choose it?
I attended………………………..
~Why did you choose to study business/economics etc.?

~What do you know about our company?

~Why would you like to work here?

I am seeking a challenging position………………….(refer to letter of
application – 3rd paragragraph)
~Who would you consider to be our main competitors?-I know
that there is a tough competition right there, on the market in

3
When talking about yourself, about your personality, you may want to use
some of the following personality idioms: 1. a down to earth person is a
person who has realistic expectations and doesn’t try to do anything
impossible or doesn’t dream about things he/she cannot do; 2. a good egg
is just a nice person; 3. a straight-forward person is a direct and honest
person; 4. a laid-back/easy-going person doesn’t get stressed and is pretty
relaxed most of the time; 5. a people person is an individual who likes
people, is sociable, likes to talk to them a lot; 6. a good laugh type of
person is simply good fun to be around; 7. a jack of all trades is a very
skilled person who can do a lot of things quite well; 8. a sharp person
notices the details, can think and make decisions quickly and is smart; 9. a
go-getter type of person is the one who sometimes succeeds, and
sometimes fails but he/she tries (www.clarkandmiller.com – Gabriel Clark,
41 Personality Idioms to Describe People You Love (and hate), Vocabulary
in English, posted September 12, 2018).
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terms of ………..products. I have read about ………(name of a
competitor company).
~What attracted you to this particular position?

~What do you see as your strengths?

~How do your skills and experience match the job

requirements?

~What skills did you develop/have you developed at

university/in your current job?

~What languages can you speak?

~What do you like doing in your spare time?

More difficult questions:

~What do/did you dislike about university/your current job?

~How would you describe the way you work?

~Would you describe yourself as an ambitious person?

~What are your weaknesses?

~What skills do you think you need to improve?

~Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

~Tell me about a time when you experienced pressure at

university or at work.

~Tell me about a time when you had to make a difficult decision.

107
~Tell me about a time when you played an important role in
your team.

The things NOT to do during an interview:

~Never tell lies – you will always be found out;

~Do not be over-confident;

~Don’t deviate from the interview or state strong views on any

political issues;

~Do not be overly familiar with your interviewer;

~Do not discuss personal financial matters;

~Don’t indicate that this role may only be a stepping stone for
you;

~Do not make any derogatory remarks about current or

previous employers;

~Never be late for an interview;

~Do not have a negative outlook on anything;

~Do not ask how well you have done at the end of the interview;

~Do not raise the subject of salary, holiday entitlement or perks,

etc. at the first interview. (adapted from Ashley Stewart -Recruitment
Specialists)

108
 First impression

a. Read the following quote from Oscar Wilde and share

your opinion with your class:
“It is only shallow people who do not judge by
appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible,
not the invisible.”
b. What conclusions do you draw from the following
information?
1. A woman who wears an earring in one ear.
2. A woman who wears an earring in her nose.
3. A woman who wears a heavy make-up.
4. A 60 year-old with a long hair.
5. Someone who wears a lot of jewellery.
6. Someone who is always laughing.
7. Someone who always bites his/her nails.
8. Someone who has tattoos.

A.Read the following eight interview questions and the

suggested ways to answer:

1.Q: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

109
 A: This looks like an informal question to put you at your ease,
but don’t improvise as first impressions are always very
important. It is advisable to give a three – part answer: talk a
little bit about who you are, what your biggest strenght is, and
why you are there.

2.Q: What do you like about your current job?

A: In this case, don’t be too specific, but use the question as an
opportunity to show your personality.

3.Q: Describe a challenge you faced.

A: Describe how you handled one particular difficult situation.

4. Q: Why do you want to leave your current position?

A: You have to answer this in a way that is not too negative.
Never criticize your current employer.

5.Q: Why do want this job?

A: Give an answer that refers both to the company and to your
skills.

6. Q: What are your strong points?

A: This question needs to be an opportunity to talk in detail
about both your personal and business skills.

7. Q: What are your weak points?

A: Turn a negative into a positive and show how you are willing
to improve.

8. Q: Where do you see yourself in five years from now?

A: Show how you will continue to add value to the company.
110
Now match the actual words spoken (a-h) with the answers (1-
8) that were given above.

a. My job is a good entry level position, but now I’m

not really learning anything new. I would like new
challenges and the opportunity for both personal
and professional growth.

b. I’m a Retail Manager with vast experience. I started

as Assistant Manager but my employer saw that I
was intelligent and hard-working and I was soon
promoted. I worked in several stores and I learned a
lot about leading a sales team. Now I’m looking for
a senior position in a large, international retail
group.

c. I enjoy being with my colleagues. It’s a great team.

The atmosphere is fun and friendly but also hard-
working at the same time. We really get a lot done.

d. I am a perfectionist, so sometimes I spend a little

too much time checking my work. But I always leave
time for this so that I don’t miss deadlines.

e. I know that I need to improve my typing skills, and I

recently enrolled on a course.

111
 f. I am enthusiastic and highly motivated. I have
exceeded my sales goals every quarter since I
started with my current employer.

g. I would really love to work here – this company is

well-known in the industry for its successful
strategies and its innovative solutions. With my
skills, I feel that I can make a real contribution here.

h. This company is on the way up, and with my energy

and dedication I would like to be a part of your
future success.

B. EXTRA INFORMATION: Some Job Interview Questions and

Answers

1. What do you know about our company?

Do:

 Make sure to research the company before the interview

(on their website, their LinkedIn page, and Google)
 Understand what industry they’re in, what they sell and
how they make money
 Try to have some sense of their company size. Are they
100 employees? More than 10,000 employees?
 In your answer, show you’ve done research and show that
you’re excited about interviewing with their particular
company.

Don’t:

 Say you don’t know anything

112
  Say facts that are incorrect or you aren’t sure about (it’s
better to know one or two facts that you can say
accurately, than five facts you’re not sure of)

Interview answer example 1:

“From what I read, your company is one of the leaders in

providing …….. to other businesses. I read the list of clients on
your website. I saw a couple big companies mentioned on the
list, including ___ and ___.”

Interview answer example 2:

“You’re one of the largest ………..in (name of the country) Your

headquarters is in (name of the city), and you have a large
number of employees worldwide based on what I read on your
website.”

2.  How did you hear about the position?

Mention a product, a mission statement on the website, a

reputation for talented employees, or whatever else seems
applicable to that specific company. Come up with a great
reason. Don’t make it seem like they’re just one company among
many. Or that you’re sending your resume out to them for no
particular reason other than wanting a job.

This is one of the simplest question and answer scenarios in any

interview, but that doesn’t mean it can’t ruin your chances at the
job if you answer incorrectly.

Do:

 Be clear, direct and upfront

 Tell the truth unless it’s something very embarrassing (for
example, when I was much younger, my Mother actually
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 found me a job to apply to. That does *not* sound great,
so I told them a friend saw the job posting and mentioned
it to me. A white-lie is okay but only when needed).
 Explain why the job interested you, if possible (e.g. “I was
excited to apply because ___”)
 Compliment them if possible (e.g. “My colleague said
you’re one of the top …… firms/companies in……..”)

Don’t:

 Say you don’t remember or don’t know

 Sound unsure of yourself
 Hesitate

Good answer examples:

“I found the position while I was looking for jobs online.”

“I heard about it from a colleague/friend.”

“Your company was recommended to me by somebody I worked

with in a previous job and had heard good things about your
organization.”

“I saw the job posted on LinkedIn, and the position seemed

interesting so I wanted to learn more.”

3. Why did you apply for this position?

Pick something specific that interested you. If you say you love
their products, tell them why. That’s the key to giving a
convincing answer for this job interview question.

Stay away from sounding like you’re desperate, or that you want
just any job.

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You need to sound like you want the RIGHT job and that you’re
being picky. Companies want the best performers, and the best
performers are picky in their job hunt. Stay away from negatives
and complaints too. Don’t bad-mouth your current company or
boss. Focus on the positives of the company you’re interviewing
with.

Do:

 Make them feel like you’re interested in them for a

specific reason
 Show you’ve done your research and understand what
the job involves
 Phrase everything as a positive. Don’t badmouth your
current situation, just talk about what you hope to gain by
coming to work for them (experiences, challenges,
opportunities).

Don’t:

 Say you just need a job in general

 Explain that you’re unemployed and just need to find work
 Say you just need money or have bills to pay so you need
work
 Badmouth your current boss or company and sound like
you just want to leave there, however you can
 Sound desperate, or sound like you will take any job
you can get and you don’t care what it ends up being
 Mention any other personal reasons like “I need to find a
shorter commute.”

Example answer 1:

“Since the beginning of my career, I have wanted to work for a

larger organization in this industry, and I know you are one of
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the leaders in this space/field. I am very interested in your
products/services, especially the (type of activity) you are
building recently, so I would be excited to come here and grow
my skills with an organization like yours.”

Example answer 2:

“I have heard great things about the work environment here

from a few colleagues. And when I saw this job posting, it
seemed to match my skills very closely. For example, I saw on
the job description that you need somebody who’s an expert in
………... . This is what I focused on in both of my previous
positions, and was even the focus of my academic work before
graduating university. I consider myself an expert in (name of an
application) and it is a skill I hope to continue specializing in.”

4. Why are you looking to leave your current company?

Now, not everyone is job searching while employed, but if you

are – this is one of the most important interview questions and
answers to know.

The most important thing is to stay positive and never

badmouth.

How do you sound positive? Rather than complaining or talking

badly about your current situation, say that you’re looking for
more of something.

Say that you’re looking for an environment with more leadership

you can learn from.

Do:

 Sound positive and focus on what you want to gain by

making a move
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  Show gratitude for your current job (e.g. “This job has
been great and I’ve learned a lot in the 2 years I have been
here, but I feel I’m ready for ___ now.”)
 Sound like you’re ambitious, motivated, and eager to find
the next challenge in your career.

Don’t:

 Badmouth your current employer in any way

 Sound like you’re trying to escape a bad situation, or
you’re failing or not fitting in at your current job
 Say you’re struggling or failing to perform the work
 Say it’s too difficult or stressful
 Say you’re not sure

Good sample answer:

“I am looking for more leadership opportunities. I have been at

my company for ………. years and have really enjoyed the
experience but I feel in order to take the next step in my career, it
would be helpful to join a larger organization and use what I
have learned in the past to lead more projects. That is why this
(the job title) role stirred my attention.”

5. Tell us about a challenge you’ve faced and how you

handled it

Focus on a specific work-related challenge and talk about how

you overcame obstacles, used it as a learning experience, used
the resources around you (including people/colleagues if
applicable), and ended up with a positive result! That’s how to
answer this interview question. Keep it work related, not
personal.

Do:
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  Explain the situation, the task you needed to accomplish,
and what method you chose (and why)
 Share the outcome. What was the result?
 Share what you learned from the experience. Did you
take away knowledge that has helped you in your career?

Don’t:

 Share any story that involves personal conflicts, arguments

or disagreements at work
 Talk about an argument you had
 Talk about a challenge that you didn’t overcome, or
didn’t find a solution for

Answer example:

“In my previous job, we were facing a tough deadline and my

boss was out for the day. Our client was expecting a project to be
delivered by 5PM, but we were far behind schedule. I took the
lead on the project, delegated tasks to the four other team
members in a way that I thought would utilize everyone’s
strengths best. And then I re-organized my own personal tasks so
I could dedicate my entire day to contributing to this project as
well. The project was a success and we delivered the work on-
time. I went on to lead more projects after that, and used what I
learned to be a better project manager.”

6. How much money are you looking to earn?

Unfortunately, this question is left off of many lists of job

interview questions and answers examples. But it’s extremely
important, and the wrong answer here can cost you thousands of
dollars in the negotiation later on.

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DON’T say a number. Why? You have the least amount of
leverage possible at this point, assuming you’re early in the
interview process. You haven’t finished interviewing with them,
they don’t know if you’re any good or if they even want to hire
you. So you can’t command a high salary right now. If you go
too low with your price, they’ll hold you to it later. Go too
high? You’ll scare them off before they even know what
you’re worth!

Remember… when you’re preparing what to say in a job

interview, especially an early stage interview, salary
goals should not be a part of it!

Do:

 Stand your ground and tell them you don’t have a number
in mind yet, or aren’t sure.
 Repeat this multiple times if needed (if they pressure you
or “push back” after your first response).

Don’t:

 Tell them a specific salary you’re hoping for

 Tell them a range you’re hoping for

Example answer:

“Right now I am focused on finding a job that is the right fit for
my career. Once I have done that, I am willing to consider an
offer you feel is fair, but I do not have a specific number in mind
yet, and my priority is to find a position that is a great fit for
me.”

7. Do you have any questions for us?

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If you don’t ask good questions to each person you speak
with, you are very unlikely to get hired.

You can ask about the work, the training, the challenges you’d
face, the overall direction of the company.

Don’t ask about salary, benefits/perks, time off, or anything

that isn’t related to the work. Wait for them to bring it up, or
until you know they want to offer you the position.

Do:

 Be ready to ask questions to every single person you meet

with
 Ask about the company, the team, and most importantly –
the specific job
 Ask about things you heard during the interview that you’d
like more information about
 Ask about the interview process: (e.g. “when will I hear
feedback, and who will be in touch after this?”)

Don’t:

 Say you don’t have any questions

 Say “so-and-so answered all my questions already”
 Ask about salary, benefits, work hours, dress-code, or
anything else that isn’t related to.

8. Why should we hire you?

Employers want to see how well you understand the role, and to
hear your perspective on how your skills can help them.

Try to talk about them and how you’ll help them. What will be
better for them if they hire you? What will you improve for
them?
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And show you’ve done your research. Make it clear that you
know what this position involves, and you’re ready to perform
the tasks.

Do:

 Be confident in your skills and abilities

 Talk about specific things you can help them do or achieve
if they hire you
 Do your research before the interview and understand their
needs, so you can “tailor” your answers and target the
specific things they’ll need if they hire you in this role

Don’t:

 Say “I don’t know”

 Say “You should hire whoever you want”
 Give a generic answer that’d fit any company. You really
need to “tailor” this to the specific duties you’ll be
performing in THIS specific job. Otherwise your answer
will not impress them.

Example interview answer:

“I read on the job description that you’re looking for someone

with experience in ____. I have done that for______ years and
can immediately help you accomplish ____”.

9. Why do you want to work here?

Show you’ve done plenty of research to learn about them before

coming in to interview. You want to make them feel like you
chose them for a reason. This is very similar to the previous
question: “Why did you apply for this position?”

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Show them that you know what that their job involves (at least as
much as you could learn from the job description and company
website), and that you’re excited to be interviewing for this
position.

Do:

 Mention specific, work-related reasons why their job

and company interest you
 Talk about your own career goals and how this job and
company fits those goals
 Sound excited about the opportunity to work for them
 Show you’ve done your research

Don’t:

 Say, “I have bills to pay and need money”

 Say, “I just need a job”.
 Share any personal details like, “I live 5 minutes away so it
would be a very short commute”

Sample interview answer:

“I have been actively searching for jobs since graduating. I am

interested in …………. I thought the job description matched up
well with my background, and saw some of my personal strengths
mentioned, like multitasking and being able to thrive in a fast-
paced environment, so I would love to begin my career in your
organization.”

10. Tell me/us something about yourself

This is one of the most popular interview question and answer

examples people look for, because it’s extremely common to
hear AND difficult to answer. Here’s how to handle it:

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Keep it professional when answering the question. You don’t
need to share personal details.

To answer, walk them through your background, starting at how

you began your career or your current line of work. Take them
through key accomplishments, key career moves you’ve made,
and end by sharing what you’re looking to do next in your career
and why you are job hunting.

Do:

 Focus on sharing your professional story only

 Keep it under 2 minutes
 Walk them through how you got started in your career, key
moves you’ve made, and then bring them up to speed on
your current situation

Don’t:

 Share personal details

 Talk for more than 2 minutes

Interview answer example:

“I started my career in (name of the field) after graduating with

a Business degree in (year). I am looking to join a smaller
company now, and take on more leadership and project
management.”

11. What is your greatest weakness?

It is highly recommended picking something skill-based, not

personality-based.

You never want to say you struggle working with others, or

you’re bad at resolving disagreements, or taking direction from a
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manager, etc. Those things will get you rejected from the
interview.

So pick a specific skill, but pick something that won’t severely

impact your ability to do this job. 

For example if the job involves data entry with Excel

spreadsheets all day, you do not want to say Excel is your
weakness. Or that you struggle paying attention to details.

Finally, end your answer by explaining what you’re doing to

overcome or improve your weakness.

Take a look at the do’s and don’ts, and the interview answer
example below, to get a sense of what your answer might sound
like.

Do:

 Name a real weakness

 Pick something that’s skill-based, not personality-based.
For example, say, “I am not particularly strong in
Microsoft Excel…”, rather than, “My weakness is working
on a team and following directions.”
 Mention what you’ve done to overcome this weakness and
improve recently.

12. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

1. They want to see if you’ve thought about your

professional future
2. They want to make sure you’re ambitious and hard-
working
3. They want to make sure the job they’re offering fits with
your goals

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So, pick a work-related goal of where you’d like to be 5 years
from now, and make sure it’s slightly challenging or ambitious-
sounding.

You don’t want to say, “I see myself in the same position 5 years

from now.”

And make sure to share a goal that is related to the type of job
you’re interviewing for. You want to sound like the experience
you’ll gain in this job fits your long-term goals.

Otherwise they’re going to be scared to hire you. Why would

they offer you the job if it doesn’t fit the goals you described to
them? You’d be unsatisfied, bored, and would probably quit
within the first year. No company wants this.

Do:

 Show you’ve thought about this topic and question

 Sound ambitious and motivated
 Be realistic. Don’t say you want to be CEO in 5 years if
you’re entry-level
 Make sure your answer is related to this job. They won’t
hire you for a job that has nothing to do with your 5-year
goal

Don’t:

 Be sarcastic or give a joke answer like, “I plan on having

your job.”
 Say you’re not sure, or say you’d be happy staying in the
same role for 5 years (most companies do not want to hear
this)

Example interview answer:

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“I am glad you asked that. In 5 years I see myself taking on more
responsibilities, either through management or higher level
individual contributions. I am not sure which path will make
sense to pursue, but I know my goal right now is to build a strong
foundation and gain valuable experience so that I will have a
successful future in this industry/field.”

***

Study the information given below:

Pre-Employment Testing & Screening Assessments: A

Comprehensive Guide

by Daniyal Wali

What Are Pre-Employment Tests?

Pre-employment tests are a standardized way of gathering data to

screen job applicants. They may be used to test knowledge, physical and
motor abilities, work skills, emotional intelligence, personality, language
proficiency and cognitive abilities.

Based on the type of the test being used, pre-employment tests can
unveil relevant information on an individual’s ability to perform in the
workplace, allowing companies to hire the best-fit candidates and screen out
those who are unqualified.

Why do Companies Use Pre-Employment Tests?

Pre-employment tests are becoming immensely popular in recent

years as they help companies identify the candidates most likely to perform
well on the job. Psychology Today reveals that about 80% of Fortune 500
companies use pre-employment testing as a recruiting strategy, which in
turn helps them save money and time, increase productivity, decrease
turnover and improve morale.

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 According to a survey by the American Management Association,
“Almost 90 percent of firms that test job applicants say they will not hire
job seekers when pre-employment testing finds them to be deficient in basic
skills” (Greenberg, 1996, p. 24).

Types of Pre-employment Tests

There are a couple of pre-employment tests that serve as useful tools

for recruiters:

• Personality Tests
Personality tests are one of the most commonly used pre-
employment screening tests. Personality tests that are specifically designed
for the hiring process measure characteristics such as interests, emotional
adjustment, attitudes, interpersonal relations and motivation to assess
whether the candidate will be a good fit for the job and the company.

Usually companies use the most widely accepted taxonomy of

personality among industrial-organizational (I/O) psychologists – the Big
Five Personality Traits: Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion,
Openness (to Experience), and Stress Tolerance. These traits reveal if the
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candidates will excel in the role and stay long-term. For example, event
planners who score high on openness and extraversion tend to better.

Other personality tests, however, like the DISC and the Myers-
Briggs shouldn’t be used in the pre-employment process as they are not
validated for this purpose.

• Cognitive Aptitude and Skills Tests

Cognitive aptitude tests are used by organizations to measure a
candidate’s memory, arithmetic skills, reading comprehension, reasoning as
well as knowledge of the job role. While they only measure general
intelligence or brainpower, cognitive aptitude tests indicate how well the
candidate thinks critically, learns new skill and solves problems.

According to LinkedIn Learning’s 2020 Workplace Learning

Report, the three highest-priority skills employers need in candidates are
leadership and management (57%), creative problem solving and design
thinking (42%) and communication (40%). And it is not possible to assess
these skills solely on the basis of resumes and interviews. This is where
aptitude tests step in to help.

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 With their application in almost any occupational context, aptitude
tests are, unsurprisingly, the most accurate predictor of job performance.
They can even help employers identify candidates who may have been
ignored based on their resume alone, but who demonstrate high potential in
the long-term.

With their application in almost any occupational context, aptitude

tests are, unsurprisingly, the most accurate predictor of job performance.
They can even help employers identify candidates who may have been
ignored based on their resume alone, but who demonstrate high potential in
the long-term.

Research shows that cognitive aptitude tests are four times as

predictive as education level, three times as predictive as experience, and
twice as predictive as job interviews.

• Situational Judgement Tests

Situational judgement tests, often abbreviated as ‘SJTs’, are
designed to determine how well candidates prioritize, follow the
instructions, and handle unpleasant situations in the workplace. Commonly
used as a pre-employment test, they present candidates with different
scenarios that they might experience in the job they’re applying for.

For each situation, the candidate is suggested a number of possible

actions, out of which they have to choose the most effective course of action
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– the action they would take if they encounter a similar situation. SJTs
invariably reflect the real-life aspect of the job.

A variety of organizations are using situational judgement tests as a

part of their recruitment process. Some examples include Deloitte, Walmart,
Waitrose, the NHS, and Sony.

• Physical Ability Tests

Pre-employment physical ability tests are conducted for prospective
employees in the manual and physical labor sectors to assure companies
they are mentally and physically able to take on the job responsibilities.

The exam may test the potential employee’s endurance, flexibility,

mental fortitude under physical strain, balance, stamina, and cardiovascular
health.

Many employment-based legal battles often stem from these

physical ability tests as women, elderly and minorities usually become the
victim of inequitable or uneven testing. It is, therefore, important for
employees to understand the laws set out by the ADA to protect them and
recognize employer discrimination when it occurs. Also remember that in
case of any injury incurred during a physical ability test, the employer will
be liable for it.

• Emotional Intelligence Tests

Emotional intelligence, also known as Emotional Quotient, is the
ability to understand and manage your and other people’s emotions. EI is a
valuable skill that helps improve problem-solving, management,
communication, and relationships within the workplace.

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 In fact, according to Harvard Business Review, emotional
intelligence comprises nearly 90 percent of what sets apart high performers
from their fellows with similar technical and skills. This is why, 75 percent
of recruiters surveyed by CareerBuilder valued EQ over IQ.

Pre-employment emotional intelligence tests help organizations

identify which candidates possess better relationship management skills and
have a strong control over their emotions, and thereby will perform better in
the job role.

Validation of Pre-Employment Tests

If a pre-employment test is well-validated, it doesn’t mean it has

received a stamp of approval or has undergone certain standardized
qualifications for validity.

Test validity of a pre-employment test is merely an objective

measure that provides proof of the assessment being able to actually
measure what it purports to measure. A pre-employment test has predictive
validity if there is an evident relationship between test results and job
performance.

Types of Validity Measures

A number of validity measures are used to validate pre-employment

tests. Here we list down the most important of them all:

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Construct validity:

Construct validity is used to find out how well a test measures what
it is supposed to measure. It is usually authenticated by comparing the test to
other tests that measure similar attributes.

Content validity:

Content validity evaluates how well the items on a test are relevant
to the skills and capabilities required for the job role. In order to ensure the
content validity of a pre-employment test, it needs to make sure that the test
content reflects the knowledge required for a particular position.

Criterion validity:

The most powerful way to establish a pre-employment test’s validity

is by criterion validity. However, it is more difficult to measure compared to
other types of validity because it requires large sample sizes for each
position. Also known as concrete validity, criterion validity indicates that
the test demonstrates a correlation or other statistical relationship between
test performance and job performance. When it comes to pre-employment
tests, the most frequently used variables are test scores and a particular
business metric, such as retention rate or employee performance.

Benefits of Pre-Employment Tests

From streamlining the hiring process to strengthening an

organization by ensuring the new employees will be successful in their
roles, pre-employment tests offer a multitude of benefits. They help
organizations align their recruitment process with the desired business
outcomes, such as reduced turnover, increased sales, and higher customer
satisfaction.

However, the most important benefits that a company may reap by

adopting an effective pre-employment test include:

• Improving the quality of hire

Well-validated pre-employment tests offer the highest accuracy

when it comes to predicting future job performance and productivity. They
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help companies identify the candidates best-suited for the role and the
organization and thereby, predict the employee’s productivity across a broad
range of industries.

Pre-employment tests take into consideration the knowledge,

abilities and skills that the new hire possesses and thus accurately predict
how they will perform in the role.

• Streamlining the recruitment process

The hiring process can be unbelievably time-consuming. According

to Recruiterbox, it typically takes around 45 days to fill a new position. This
is not due to a dearth of applicants, but because of the rapidly increasing
applicant pools that make it hard for recruiters to sift out the best candidates
from a sea of resumes. However, companies can significantly streamline
their recruitment process by making pre-employment assessments a part of
it. With the right pre-employment testing, hiring managers can weed out the
incompetent candidates early in the process, cutting both time and cost to
hire.

• Eliminating unconscious hiring bias4

Resumes alone can be roadblocks to a more diverse workforce. An

excellent way to avoid resume hiring bias is by administering a pre-
employment test to a candidate and then reviewing both the candidate’s
results and their resume.

Using pre-employment testing, hiring managers can make decision

on hard facts rather than on a resume that may incite bias. For instance, a
black woman applies for a job in a company whose workforce is
predominantly white men. By just going through her resume, the recruiter
would know her gender – case goes worse if she has attached a picture too –
and subconsciously assume that she’s not the right fit for the company.

4
Types of unconscious bias that can influence hiring: affinity bias – the tendency to prefer
candidates who are similar to ourselves in beliefs, appearances and background; halo
effect- a cognitive bias in which our overall impression has an impact on the way we think
and feel about one’s character; availability heuristic – the human tendency to assess
situations based on most recent events rather than looking at the big picture.
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 In contrast to that, if the same candidate scores well on a pre-
employment test, the hiring manager would deicide to go ahead with her.
Most of the pre-employment solution providers are now using AI to
eliminate bias from the recruitment process. The use AI can help companies
in making sure that the unconscious bias is taken out of the equation.

• Improving the legal defensibility of your hiring decisions

In addition to helping a company improve its business outcomes in

countless ways, pre-employment testing also boosts the equitability,
objectivity, and legal defensibility of a company’s hiring process. This is
because the pre-employment tests governed by federal guidelines ensure
equitable and non-discriminatory hiring practices are utilized.

• Decreasing employee turnover

Employers are always on the lookout for ways to retain their top
talent and decrease employee turnover. And pre-employment testing can
help them do that. Pre-employment tests allow employers to evaluate if the
new employee has the basic aptitude required for the position along with the
appropriate personality, to perform efficiently at work. This works in favour
of both the applicant and the employer. The employer determines if the
candidate is the right fit for the position while the candidate chooses to
move forward or not depending on their skillset or if they are ill-equipped
for the job role.

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 A study reveals that replacing entry level employees costs about
16% of their annual salary, mid-level employees costs about 20% of their
annual salary and high-level executive employees costs over 200%. This
speaks volumes about the costs associated with turnover, and the
tremendous importance of pre-screening tests in the recruitment process.

• Create a positive candidate experience

Everyone wants to be given a fair shot. When you have a pre-

employment assessment in place, you put all candidates in the same boat,
giving everyone a level playing field.

These tests offer candidates an opportunity to influence the decision-

making process, showcase their true talents and skills, and present a more
complete picture of their abilities. This enhances the candidate experience
and ensures they land where they are a perfect fit.

Pre-Employment Testing Solution Providers

Pre-employment testing software objectively gauges candidates’

personality, aptitude, traits and skills (to name a few) to help organizations
make well-informed decisions. While some software are especially designed
to test soft skills, such as problem solving, communication, organization,
etc., others are developed specifically for particular position-based skills
testing for roles such as technical writers or retail/sales managers.

Following are some companies that are providing pre-employment

testing solutions:

 The Talent Games

 Pymetrics
 Revelian
 HireVue
 Codility
 talentReef
 Harver
 Interview Mocha
 Bryq
 Xobin

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Pre-Employment Testing & Screening Assessments in 2020

So the question is! What should companies aim to achieve from

using pre-employment tests?

Well, it is necessary that companies set realistic goals and

expectations for what a pre-employment testing software can do for them.
Recruiters shouldn’t use tests to replace their hiring process but only to
streamline and improve it. Plus, the other elements, such as education,
resume, interviews, job experience need to be also taken into consideration
along with the pre-employment tests.

The truth is, when implemented, administered and evaluated

properly, pre-employment tests can make your entire hiring process a breeze
and help you discover the very best candidates for your business.

(Adapted from https://thetalentgames.com/preemployment-tests-

complete-guide)

I.3.h.Your job

Introduction

Your job is the particular work you do to earn money. You

have a job title (i.e. sales consultant). The words post and
position are more formal, and are often used in job
advertisements. The word occupation is used in official forms.

Your job can be: badly – paid, boring, depressing, fun,

glamorous, hard, interesting, routine, secure, stressful, varied,
well – paid, worthwhile.

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Describing what you do for a living

People might ask you:

~What do you do?

~What kind of work do you do?

~What do you do for a living?

You will answer:

~I’m a/an………….(specify the name of your profession and /or

job title and/or business area). For example: I’m an accountant.
I’m a Marketing Manager at a consumer electronics company.

Note the use of prespositions:

~I work in a bank/an office (the preposition in refers to the

general place of work);

~I work at Head Office (the preposition at refers to the specific

place of work);

~I’m working on the design of ……(the preposition on refers to a

project);

~ I work as an engineer (profession)

Ways to describe your job

~My job involves ……(+ing form);

137
~I spend a lot of time/most of my time …………(+ing form);

~I deal with/handle ………………;

~ My role is to………………….;

Ways of talking about what you personally control

~I’m in charge of……………………….

~ I’m responsible for…………………...

~ My role is to …………………………….

~I look after/take care of…………………………

Tasks and responsibilities

In order to give a detailed description of your day-to-day

work, you can use the phrases listed below:

~ I answer hundreds of emails each day.

~ I develop the business.

~ I do market research.

~I give presentations.

~I implement the decisions of the management team.

~ I interview the job applicants.

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~I keep computer files up to date.

~I make decisions about the budget.

~I maintain all the equipment and machinery.

~I monitor the production process.

~I negotiate with the suppliers.

~I process customers’ orders.

~I recruit new staff.

~I set the sales targets.

~I solve problems.

~I supervise the day-to-day work of my team.

~I support/assist the Marketing Director.

~I write the monthly reports.

Dirty jobs?

Which of these organisations would you work for if you

had little or no alternative? How much is one really contributing
to the problem by working for such companies? Share your
ideas with the rest of the class.

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 i. A pharmaceutical company which tests its beauty
products on animals.
j. A nuclear power station.
k. A tobacco company.
l. An arms producer or a company whose products
can be used for military purposes.

Types of jobs
Using a dictionary, if necessary, give one example of:

1.a manual job5 ...................................

2. a vocational job 6.............................

3. a job with great variety of tasks to complete ....................

4. a job with irregular hours .............................

5. a job with routine tasks ................................

6. a job with lots of paperwork 7..........................

People and their jobs

Complete the table below:

Job Place of work Duties

1 mechanic/garage
5
A manual job is a hard and physical type of job.
6
A vocational job is a type of job which involves helping people (e.g. teacher, nurse etc.).
7
Paperwork refers to letters/reports to write, f orms to complete etc.
140
 attendant
2 secretary
3 looks after your
teeth
4 court or office advises and
represents people
5 model
6 farm
7 takes photographs
8 journalist
9 designs houses
10 accoutant
11 fireman/woman
12 plumber
13 pilot
14 dustman
15 church
15 sales assistant
16 operates on people
17 mine
18 nurse

Who is talking?

Choose from the list of jobs given in the chart above and fill in
the gaps:

1. "It’s a highly skilled job – I’ve studied for several years. It’s
quite stressful because you’ve often got a lot of people to look

141
after. The hours are very long, and it’s a badly-paid job – we earn
much less than doctors." ___________

2. "It’s only a part-time job – I only work in the evenings. I hope it

will be only a temporary one – I don’t want to do this for very
long – it’s dirty and badly paid. You get quite cold too standing in
the rain and it’s also very boring doin the same thing again and
again – one car is much the same as the other." _____________

3. "I’m unskilled and left school with very few certificates and no
training. This is my first job. It’s quite stressful, surprisingly –
queues of people waiting with their shopping carts – some of
them get quite angry with me sometimes. One day, though, if I
stay long enough, maybe I’ll get the manager’s job!"
_____________

Now compile your own chart of the good and bad points of
these jobs. Work with a partner and use a dictionary to help
you:
Job Pros Cons
pilot well paid job, long hours, stressful,
exciting, high early retirement, a
status huge responsibility

142
 In your group decide and put the following sentences
into their right order:

1.She accepted the

job. ....................
2.She saw the advertisement in a local
newspaper. .....................
3.She got a
promotion. .....................
3.She applied for the
job. ....................
4.They weren’t satisfied with her
work. ....................
5.They asked her to come for an
interview. ....................
6.They sacked
her. ....................
7.They offered her the
job. ....................

Work and jobs

143
Supply the most suitable words from the list below:
work/boss/chauffeur/chef/college/conductor/doctor/engineer/
job/manage/mechanic/medicine/owner/police/
policeman/professor/teacher/typist/ typewriter

1. ....................is hard to find at the moment.

2. The quality of the food in a restaurant depends on
its.......................... .
3. I work in a garage as a car .......................................... .
4. Jane has started a new....................................... .
5. Mrs Smith is the ................................... of this shop, not
the owner.
6. If you want to know thw way, ask a ............................... .
7. Who’s the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra?
8. Laura Bates was an university ................................at the
age of 26.
9. He has a car with a uniformed chauffeur .
10. His teacher at school has given him a good report.
11. An engineer designs bridges and roads.
12. The ...................................of our shop is putting up the
rent.
13. There had been a burglary, so we called
the ............................... .
14. I went into business after I left ..................................... .
15.I can’t use a ............................ , never mind a word
processor!
16. Bob is a doctor. at the local hospital.
17.Has the nurse given you your medicine?

144
 18. Mr.Brown is a boss of mine at the office.
19. It’s useful to be a good tipist if you use a computer.

Two-word jobs
Match a word on the left column with a word in the right hand
column to make the name of a job:

1. lorry e a. cleaner
2. shop c b. instructor
3. window a c. assistant
4. bank clerk d. clerk/teller(AE)
5. driving e. Driver
6. taxi f. worker
7. traffic g g. guard
8. security h h. warden
9. social f i. agent
10.estate i j. driver

Circle the best word or words related to jobs people do:

1. The person in charge of a business is informally known as

the chief/chef/boss.
2. The person who is in charge of a car is the
leader/guide/motorist/driver/conductor.
3. A person who prepared food is a cooker/cook.
4. A person who works in an office is an officer/office
worker.
5. A person who takes photographs is a
photographer/plumber/sailor.
145
 6. A person who knows how to use a keyboard is a
typewriter/typist/typing machine writer.
7. A woman who looks after other people’s children is a
nurse/nanny.
8. The person you work with is your college/colleague/
collaborator/co-worker.
9. The person who is in charge of a restaurant is the
patron/manager.
10. The person who would service your car is a
mechanic/engineer/technician.
11. A person who studies the origins of the universe is a
physician/physicist/medicine.
12. Another word for a doctor is physician/physics/medicine.
13. The person who teaches you or taught you at school is a
teacher/professor.
14. If you are one of the people waiting to be served in a
shop, you are client/customer/patient/guest.
15. If you serve people who come into a shop, you are an
official/a shop – assistant/a bank clerk.

Describing jobs: Match the adjectives on the left with

their opposites on the right. They all describe jobs.

1. part – time a.dirty e. full –

5.interesting time

2.temporary 6. b.boring f.
skilled relaxing/easy

3.well-paid 7. c. unskilled g. badly -

146
 stressful paid

4.clean d. permanent

Collocations. Work

A. Choose the correct word to complete the collocation:

1. Ben’s ambition was to ___________ a career in advertising.

a. get b. pursue c. take

2. Sally was feeling stressed so she asked her boss for some
___________ work.

a. time out of b. time off c. break from

3. How long have you been working ____________this project?

a. on b. in c. for

4. Unfortunately, there are over ten thousand people

___________ work in the area.

a. without some b. out of c. away from

5. It’s a nightmare ______________every day by bus.

a. travelling to my job b. going to work c. getting to work

6. A: So what do you do __________?

B: I work in a supermarket.

147
 a. to win money b. to earn c. for a living

7. Greg’s _________ business in Japan at the moment.

a. in b. on c. at

B. Match the two parts of the sentences:

1. I’m so busy! I’ve got a really heavy a. hours

2. The company has a highly-skilled b.workload

this month.

3. I can work flexible c. career as a diplomat.

4. The personnel manager offered him a short-term

d. workforce.

5. He had a long and distinguished e. contract.

Job or work?

Complete the sentences given below with either job or work:

1. I’m a bit nervous. I am starting a new job next week.

2. I hear you’re a truck(AE)/lorry(BE) driver. I bet that’s a
hard................, isn’t it?
3. I’m looking for a part-time job . A full-time ...............
would be too much for me at the moment.
4. I didn’t really want to go back to work after I had the
baby.
5. I’m sorry, I can’t talk to you now. I’ve got a lot
of.................... to do!
148
 6. Judging by the car he drives, I’d say he’s got a pretty
good..................... .
7. I’m hoping to find some casual ...................... while I’m at
the college – working in a bar or a in a shop.
8. I want to do something a bit different. I wouldn’t like a
regular nine-to-five ………………………………..

Job or career?
Complete the sentences given below with either job or
career:
1. Jack started as the office junior. Now he’s MD. He’s
had a very successful................... .
2. I work in advertising. The pay’s pretty good but there
isn’t much ................ security.
3. I’d go mad if I had to do a dead-end ................... like
working on a supermarket check-out.
4. He was the best football player in the world until a bad
knee injury ended his career. .
5. Don’t you think you should stop travelling and get
yourserlf a steady...........?
6. Sue’s planning a .................... in politics when she
leaves university.

Work on your phrasal verbs8 on jobs and career. Decide

if the following sentences are true (T) or false (F):

8
A phrasal verb is a "phrase consisting of verb and preposition, often with
meaning different to the parts (e.g. take in)."(Canadian English Dictionary,
p.307)
149
 1. If workers are laid off , they are told they must leave
their jobs. __t____
2. If you take time off, you remain in your place of work.
___t__
3. If you step down, you leave an important job. __t_____
4. If you fit in, you are happy and accepted by a group of
people. ___t____
5. If you settle in, you become used to a new job. ___t___

Work. Mixed sentences

Rearrange the words to make complete sentences:

1. at / she / a / works / hospital / the / cleaner / as

2. have / several / packages / designed / software / I

3. gained / working / she / her / a / as / consultant /

experience
4. day / the / happened / the / before / planned / we /
event / it
5. on / promoting / so / see / they / facebook / are / their /
product /people / of / lots / will / it

6. a / university / trained / as / I / doctor / at

7. need / my / to / an / assistant / meetings / organise / I

8. a / manage / work / hard / requires / efficiency / patience /

and / to hotel/it

9. need / our / to / we / plans / develop / marketing

150
 10. ensure / by / you / the / work / must / is / Monday /
finished

11. manager / with / before / work / you / start / liaise / your

12. produces / the / cars / luxury / company

13. you / strengths / need / to / your / identify

14. maintain / system / engineers / the / the / heating
15. be / you / during / supervised / your / training / will
16. he / a / he / team / in / demonstrated / can / work / has
17. the / to / information / get / we / researched / market
18. the / a / business / to / we / create / analysed /
information / plan

Find words in the grid connected with personnel

C O N T R A C T A P

151
B O C D E P A Y F O

B O N U S P G H I S

J K K S A L A R Y T

N D F T U Y J O B R

S H O R T L I S T T

T I B F F Z T R P M

A R E S I G N A E M

F E P E N S I O N P

F I R E Z E J S C T

Complete the sentences below with the words you have

found. The first one was done for you:

1. We want you to hire him on a six-month contract.

2. What is your annual ..............? £30,000 a year,
plus.............. .
3. We.......all our.........on the thirtieth or thirty-first of each
month.
4. What’s your................? I’m an engineer.
5. We now have a .............. of five graduates for the post of
Marketing Manager.
6. He’s not at the company any more. Oh, really? Did
he.resign.or did the company..............him?

152
 7. If you want to receive your full .pension., you have to
work until 65.
8. I am writing to apply for the position of Production
Manager.

Education: Circle the best word or words:

1. A timetable/schedule lists the times of classes.

2. When the schools close, the children are on holiday/ /
trip.
3. The head of a school can be called the principal/principle.
4. A school for the very young is called the
nursery/kindergarten.
5. You can remove mistakes with a gum/rubber.
6. Have you seen the new programme/syllabus for the
exam?
7. You might receive a letter/report/reference at the end of
each term.
8. Universities can only admit/receive a few students during
the 1st and 2nd semesters.
9. I need my Cambridge First Certificate/Diploma
10. What mark/degree did you get for the spelling test?
11.No one likes to lose/fail the exam.
12. History is my favourite subject/object at school.
13. Physic/Physics is the most difficult of all the subjects.
14.It’s hard to get/enter into university.

Work on your phrasal verbs on studying and learning by

answering the following questions:
153
 1. If you opt for something, do you choose to do it or not?
2. If you hand something out/in, do you give it to someone
or take from someone?
3. If you sign up for something, do you agree or disagree to
become involved with it?
4. If you need to catch up on work, are you at the same
standard as others, or below it?
5. If you go over some work, do you repeat it or examine it
closely?
6. If you run through some work, do you do it quickly or in
detail?

I.3.i.Pay, benefits and motivation

The words pay, salary, wage/wages, income all refer to

the money an employee receives from an employer. You earn
(NOT win) money from your job. You win money on the lottery.

Pay is the most general word. A pay rise (AmE a raise) is

when you get more money. Salary is used in the context of
white-collar (=professional/office jobs)and it is paid once a
month for a full-time type of job. The basic salary is what you
earn before extra payments such as overtime (=extra hours that
are not part of your contract), sales commissions, car
allowances, and any end-of-year bonus.

Wage(s) is used in the context of blue-collar

(=manual/factory) jobs and also casual jobs that are paid daily or
weekly. This word is also used for money earned by the whole

154
workforce in a country (e.g. Wages are lower in Vietnam than in
China).

Income refers to the total amount of money you receive

in a year. It includes your salary but also money from other
sources, such as investments, savings etc.

Your payslip is a piece of paper that shows your gross pay

(i.e. the pay before anything is taken away), then all the
deductions (such as income tax and social security), and finally
your net pay (i.e. the amount you actually get in your pocket).
The phrase "take home pay" is an informal way of saying "net
pay."

Benefits

As an employee, you can receive all sorts of benefits in

addition to your salary. These include:

 a company pension scheme (the pension is money

you receive when you stop working because you
are old);
 health insurance which is the most common benefit
in the US where there is no national health service;
 paid vacation and paid sick leave (the paid sick
leave is the time away from work). In Europe these
are a normal part of one’s contract whereas in the
US they are considered as a benefit.

Perks

155
 The perks are a whole range of benefits that include
company car, a laptop, a smart phone, going to conferences,
cheap meals in the company’s canteen etc.
Pay and benefits are very important motivators at work.
But there are many other things that make people feel good at
work, and managers should always be aware of them. These
include:
 varied and interesting work;
 a sense of achievement which refers to the feeling of
success when you do something good and
impressive;
 recognition by your manager and collegues for the
work you have done;
 working with colleagues who get along with;
 good working conditions;
 opportunities for career development.
The sense of achievement, recognition etc. are often
referred to as non-financial rewards.

PRACTICE

Which of the following forms of remuneration involve the

employee receiving cash and which do not? Tick the appropriate
column:

156
 Remuneration Cash Other
golden handshake
bonus
fringe benefit or perks
perks
share/stock options
performance-related pay/award
compensation
benefits package
wage/salary

Choose and circle the fringe benefits or perks given below:

a. stock options
b. rapid promotion
c. overseas travel on company business
d. use of a subsidized canteen
e. relocation package to cover moving expenses
f. company car
g. attendance at board meetings
h. supply of company stationery

***

Extra material

Read the following text:

The right path to choose

157
 In today’s fast changing and ever-growing society,
business careers are available in almost any field of activity you
can think of, because every sector needs inspired leaders,
financial advisors , efficient managers etc. If the more traditional
career pathways in business such as human resources,
consulting, marketing, banking, are not particularly appealing to
a business graduate, there is always the choice of enrolling in
more creative industries such as media and fashion.
Besides the job security which comes with the fact that
people with business knowledge are needed in practically every
field of human activity, there are other advantages in pursuing a
career in business. One of them would be that business careers
offer more promotion opportunities which, in turn, come with a
high salary, a heightened professional status and even the
opportunity to challenge and improve oneself. Another
advantage would be that it is easier to switch more easily from
one job to another. This is particularly feasible in business rather
than in other more specialized professions such as engineering
or architecture; this switch is possible due to the fact that
business skills can be more readily transferred from one industry
to another than in other jobs. And, finally, a significant benefit of
choosing such a career path is that business savvy is

158
particularly important if one intends to set up one’s own
business.
Careers in management. Being a manager is not an easy
job for obvious reasons, among which a huge amount of
responsibility, constant extra hours and tough decisions to make
constantly. However, the perks are commensurate with the
responsibilities and usually translate into higher salary and more
promotion opportunities. Another option for a career in
management is business consultancy. This requires working in a
team and using your analytical skills and expertise to help
companies optimize a project or a part of their business. It may
be a challenging job due to the variety of customers and projects.
Careers in accounting and finance. Usually, a person
who works in these fields has to review the company’s financial
statements, get involved in mergers and acquisitions, advise
clients on taxes, expenses, investments, and manage records and
business transactions.
Careers in retail and sales. Retail and sales do not mean
arranging shelves and cold-calling, as people usually think. If
you are part of a sales or retail team, there are numerous
opportunities from shop-based and office based positions to jobs
that require much travelling for which you need very good
knowledge of global markets.

159
 Careers in marketing and advertising. In these industries,
business graduates will most likely use their skills for activities
such as developing marketing strategies, analyzing markets and
assessing the results of any advertising campaigns, keeping in
contact with designers and copywriters, managing customer
relationships etc. Since the team usually comprises professionals
such as copywriters, designers, video producers etc., the job is a
constant challenge since you need to permanently expand and
enrich your skills and keep up with the latest advances in
technology. But if you hold a business degree and you are not
particularly happy with following the typical professional
pathways, you can opt for jobs within more creative companies.
Positions tha require business acumen and analytical thinking
are needed even in the most creative fields of activity.
Careers in media. If you envisage embracing a career in
media as a business graduate, you should know that you can find
jobs in human resources, accounting, marketing and branding,
management, sales or PR, to mention but a few. But you need to
be aware that although it is unlikely that you would be involved
in creative tasks such as production, writing or editing, you still
have to possess some knowledge of the media sector in which you
work.

160
 Careers in human resources. Great communication skills
and business knowledge are a mix that can get you an interesting
job in the human resources sector. The HR depertment deals,
among others, with staff recruitment, remuneration and training.
Although interpersonal skills and basic understanding of
management and business operations are a must for a job in HR,
you also have to be constantly informed on company regulations
and employment laws.
(Adapted from http://www.topuniversities.com)
PRACTICE
A.Find words in the above text which have the following
definitions:
a)the ability to think clearly and make quick decisions (paragraph
7);
b)the process of finding people to work for a company or become
the new member of an organization (paragraph 9);
c)an agreement between a buyer and a seller to echange goods,
services or financial instruments (paragraph 4);
d) a rule or directive made or maintained by an authority
(paragraph 9);
e) an advantage or something extra, such money or goods, that
you are given because of your job )paragraph 3);

161
f) an occasion when two or more companies join to make one
larger company (paragraph 4);
g) the activity of selling goods to the public, usually in shops
(paragraph 5);
a title conferred by univesrities and colleges as an indication of
the completion of a course of study (paragraph 7);
the purchase of a financial product or other item of value with an
expectation of favourable future returns (paragraph 4).

B. State whether the following statements are true or false

according to the text:
a. A business degree does not allow you to work in more creative
firlds of activity. T/F
b. The financial statements of a company are usually drafted by a
person specialized in accounting. T/F
c. If you work as a business consultant, you do not work in a
ateam. T/F
d. In human resources, interpersonal and communication skills
are not always necessary. T/F
e. Business careers provide a higher stability level and allow an
easier switch to other professions. T/F
f. A business graduate cannot work in advertising or media. T/F

162
g. Human resources workers must be updated with any
amendments to the labor legislation. T/F

C.Provide synonyms to the words written in bold:

Business and employment cooperatives (BECs) represent
a new approach to providing support to the creation of new
businesses. The first BEC was started in France in 1996. The
idea has also been adopted in countries such as Belgium, Sweden
and Morocco. Like other business creation support schemes,
BEC’s enable budding entrepreneurs to experiment with their
business idea while benefiting from a secure income. The
innovation BEC’s introduce is that once the business is
established, the entrepreneur is not forced to leave and set up
independently but can stay and become a full member of the co-
operative. BECs allow a small business person to achieve
control over their working life, but with the support of a group of
people who are facing the same problems and want to pool their
enthusiasm and expertise. They help to overcome one of the most
discouraging features of becoming self-employed -isolation.

D. Fill in the gaps with the words provided below:

Employees/ law/ actions/ development/ earned/ firms/
lifelong/ increasing/ career/ assistance//position/ occupation

163
 A career is the progress and (1)
……………………………….. taken by a person throughout a
lifetime, especially those related tp that person’s (2)
……………………………………… . A career is often
composed of the jobs held, titles, (3)
………………………………….. and work accomplished over a
long period of time, rather than just referring to one (4)
………………………………. . While (5)
…………………………………………in some cultures and
economies stay with one job during their career, there is an (6)
………………………………..trend to employees changing jobs
more frequently. For example, an individual’s (7)
……………………………. Could involve being a lawyer,
theough the individual could work for several different (8)
…………………………………. And in several ldifferent areas
of (9)………………………………. over his/her lifetime.
Career development is the (10)……………………………
process of managing your work experience within or between
organizations. Many universities have a career (11)
…………………………….. department that offers information
and placement (12)…………………………….. to graduates who
are looking to start their careers in the business sector.

164
E. Match the words on the left column with the concepts on the
right column so as to create meaningful collocations:

full-time, part-time;high, low, benefits

large scale;skilled, unskilled
competitive, gross, net, business
average, starting, low, tax free
to recruit, to dismiss, to lay off, employment
to sack, to hire
substantial, additional, fringe, expertise
tax, mutual, long/short term,
economic
to lack, to pool, to divert, to an employee
allocate, to exploit, to draw on
to have, to acquire, to gain, to salary
apply, to call on, to pass on
To conduct, to do, to go out of, resources
to go into

F. Complete the sentences below with collocations identified in

the above table:
a. Our organization ………………………….
………………………………… in the field of mining and coal
exports.
165
b. The ………………………….
…………………………………… that we provide are private
health insurance and holiday vouchers.
c. For the moment the company ………………………………
the necessary…………………………… to expand nationally.
d. The…………………………………
…………………………………. They offered was not
motivating enough for me to consider them as a potential
employer.
e. First you have to……………………………….. some
…………………………………. In the field and only then you
can ask for a promotion.
f. This IT company relies heavily on……………………
……………………………… of undergraduates from
specialized schools.
g. As a result of the merger, it was necessary to
……………………………… a number
of……………………………………………. Aater paying them
a compensation.

166
 UNIT 2

MARKETING

"Don’t find customers for your products, find products

for your customers.”Seth Godin (American author and former

business executive)

Which of the four definitions of marketing do you

prefer and why? Share your opinion with your partner:
 Selling means you sell what you make; marketing means
you make what you can sell.
 Marketing means the right product, in the right place, at
the right price, and at the right time.
167
 Marketing means identifying customers, defining and
developing the products of services they want, and
making and distributing them.
 Marketing means anticipating and creating needs:
producing useful things customers didn’t know they
wanted until you produced them.

Based on your previous knowledge, match up the basic

marketing terms with their defintions(1-10):

distribution channel/market segmentation/market

skimming/product differentiation/product features/sales
representative(reps)/wholesaler/market opportunities

Example: wholesaler = an intermediary that stocks

manufacturers’goods or merchandise, and sells it to retailers
and professional buyers

1. ...............................= all the companies or individuals

involved in moving goods or services from producers to
consumers.

168
2. ............................=an intermediary that stocks
manufacturers’goods or merchandise, and sells it to
retailers and professional buyers
3. ....................=dividing a market into distinct groups of
buyers who have different requirements or buying habits
4. ......................=making a product (appear to be) different
from similar products offered by other sellers, by product
differences, advertising, packaging etc.

5. .....................=someone who contacts the existing and

potential customers, and tries to persuade them to buy
goods or services
6. ......................= the attributes or characteristics of a
product, such as size, shape, quality, price, reliability etc.
7. ......................=the extent to which supply or demand (the
quantity produced or bought) of a product responds to
changes of price
8. ..............................= the strategy of setting a low price to
try to sell a large volume and increase market share

II.1.PRODUCTS AND BRANDS

169
 A product is something that is produced or manufactured
and sold, often in large numbers. Products are often referred to
as goods. For example, consumer goods that last long time,
such as cars and washing machines, are known as consumer
durables. Consumer goods such as food products that sell
quickly are fast – moving consumer goods or FMCG.

Word combinations with "product":

 product catalogue(BrE)/catalog (AE) refers to a
company’s products;
 product line/range refers to a company’s products of a
particular type;
 product lifecycle refers to the stages in the life of a
product, and the number of people who buy it at each
stage;
 product positioning refers to how a company would like a
product to be seen in relation to its other products, or to
competing products;
 product placement refers to when a company pays for its
products to be seen in films or TV programmes.

Describing products. The features of a product

The features of a product are its selling points. Here are a
list of adjectives that can be used to talk about product features.
Example: Our new range of clothing for the summer is
attractive, affordable and stylish.

adjustable low-cost
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affordable low-risk
attractive made-to-measure
best-selling man-made
built – in modular
compact off-the-shelf
convenient one-touch
cost effective optional
customized portable
easy-to-clean practical
easy-to-maintain reliable
economical to run revolutionary
efficient secure
energy-efficient shock-absorbent
environmentally-friendly sophisticated
expandable state-of-the-art
functional stylish
fully automatic customized
hands-free time-saving
hard-wearing trouble-free
high-quality ultra-light
high-speed up-to-date
high-tech user friendly
innovative integrated
labour-saving well-built
limited edition well designed
long-lasting well-made

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 In addition to describing the features of a product, you
may also have to describe it physically by referring to its shape
(i.e. the form that it has), size (i.e. dimension), weight and
materials. When talking about shape, one can use adjectives and
nouns (Example: It’s square/circular/rectangular/L-shaped or
It’s the shape of a square/circle/rectangle/letter L). When
talking about dimensions, one can use adjectives or nouns
(Example: The product is 8 mm long/wide/high/deep or The
length/width/height/depth of the product is 8 mm or It’s
50 cm in diameter or It ranges in height from 2 mm at one end
to 3 mm at the other.). One might want to specify the product’s
area and volume (Example: It measures 50 cm. So that’s 1,200
square centimetres.). To talk about weight, we can say: It
weighs 10 kilos. One can also talk about materials. In this case
we can say It is made of aluminum, reinforced concrete, copper,
fibreglass, glass, leather, moulded plastic, nanomaterials,
rubber, steel, wood etc.

Brands and branding

A brand is a name a company gives to its products so they
can be easily recognized. In many cases, this may be the name
of the company itself: the make of the product. For products
like cars, you refer to the make and model, the particular type of
car. Brand awareness or brand recognition is how much people
recognize a brand. The ideas people have about a brand is its
brand image. Branding is creating brands and keeping
them in customers’ minds through advertising. A brand should
have a clear brand identity so that people think of it in a

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particular way in relation to other brands. Products that are not
branded, those who do not have a brand name, are generic
products or generics.

Sales
Businesses live ot die, of course, by their sales. The
salesperson’s or organization’s sales target is the number or
value of goods that they (=the sales reps)hope to sell during a
given period. Sales figures show unit sales, the number of goods
sold, and sales revenue, sales revenues , or sales turnover, the
money resulting from these sales. Sales volume, confusingly,
can mean either unit sales(the number of goods sold), or sales
revenues. Do not confuse the noun sale with the verb sell, sold,
sold. If you make a sale, you sell something. Do not confuse
sales in this context with sale used to talk about a period when
prices are reduced temporarily. Note that turnover referring to
sales is used mainly in British English.

Costs and cost-cutting

The money that a business spends in order to produce goods

or services is its costs. Businesses of different kinds have
different cost structures and define, calculate, and refer to their
costs in different ways. Fixed costs do not vary in relation to the
output level of goods or services; variable costs do. Direct costs
are directly related to the things produced. In manufacturing,
direct costs include raw materials and wages and indirect costs
may include things like social security charges on top of the

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wages. Overhead costs or overheads are used to mean different
things but usually cover all the regular non-production costs of
running a business, such as salaries and telephone bills, and can
be extended, for example, to include the cost of marketing
activities.

Expenses and expenditure

Costs are also referred to as expenses or expenditures.

Spend, until recently only used as a verb, is now also used as a
noun in expressions like marketing spend and in noun
compounds like overspend.

PRACTICE

1.Give three examples of brands to which you are

loyal. Why are you loyal to them? How can you best describe
them to the other members of the class?
2. What products are there for which you are what
marketers call ’’a brand-switcher”(i.e. you have no preference
for or loyalty to a particular brand?
3. What products can you think of for which the name of
the brand is totally unimportant so that you don’t even notice?
4. Do you rely on famous brands? Can you provide some
relevant examples?

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 5. The most recent Forbes survey mentions the following
brands in the top 10 (i.e. ORACLE, McDonald’s, Apple, IBM, Coca
Cola, BMW, General Electrics, Google). What do they have in
common? Rank them in a personal order.

Comment on the following quote: ”A brand for a company

is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to
do hard things well. ”(Jeff Bezos- founder and CEO of
Amazon.com Inc.)

Use the following terms to complete the definitons below:

brand/copyright/convenience goods/product/brand
name/product line/trade mark/specialty goods

1. A........................................... is defined as anything capable

of satisfying a need or want (including services such as bank
loan, a haircut, a meal in a restaurant, etc.).
2. A.............................. is a name (or sometimes a sign, symbol
or design) used to identify the goods or services of a
particular manufacturer, seller or supplier and to
differentiate them from the goods or services of the
competitors.
3. A ................................. is a group of closely related products
which usually have the same function and are sold to the
same customer groups through the same outlets.
4. .................................... is the exclusive right to reproduce,
publish or sell the manufactured goods.
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 5. .................................... are durable goods with unique
characteristics that informed customers have to go to a
particular store to buy.
6. ...................................... are cheap products which people
use regularly
7. ........................................ is a brand or part of a brand that is
given legal protection.
8. ....................................... is part of a brand which can be
vocalised, it is utterable.

Put the following words in the two columns to form a

”product” or a ”brand” compund:
loyalty/positioning/line/life
cycle/range/mark/quality/awareness/recognition
Example: product line
Product Brand

Study the several ways by means of which you could

choose a brand name:
 Initials (e.g. HBO)
 Numbers (e.g. Boeing 77)
 Invented name (e.g. Kleenex)
 Personal name (e.g. Ford)
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  Mythological characters (e.g. Samsonite luggage)
 Geographical names (e.g. Northwest airlines)
 Foreign word (e.g. Nestle)
 Combination of words, initials, numbers (e.g. Head &
Shoulders shampoo)
In your group brainstorm the name of a brand you intend to
develop. Discuss in your group how you would name your brand
and then share your idea with the rest of the class.

Match each of the sales techniques given below with one

of the comments:
direct sales channel/ personal selling/
online retailing/ loyalty cards/ cold calls/ direct mail

a. ’’I really hate it when someone phones me at home and

starts trying to sell me something.” ...................
b. ’’It’s OK buying books and CDs, because seeing them on
the screen is all you need.” ....................
c. ’’Yesterday some people were handing out satchets of
shampoo at the railway station. I used it today and it’s
really good, so I think I’ll buy some.”...............
d. ’’Every time I buy gas, they give me points on my card
which add up so that every six months or so I can
choose something nice from their catalogue.”..............
e. ’’I hate it because you can’t see the things you want
like you can online, only what they choose to show
you.”..................
f. ’’I get so much junk mail in my mail box that I put most
of it straight in the bin.” ........................
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 g. ’’I like it because it’s good to have everything
demonstrated and explained.” .....................

Discuss with your partner and choose one business that

is unlikely to use that method to sell its products:

a. Loyalty cards
b. Personal selling
c. Free samples
d. Cold calls

gas stations
shoe manufacturers
insurance company
supermarkets
industrial cleaners
high- fashion boutiques
breakfast cereal company
cosmetics company
gas/electric company

Read the following text, and then write a brief heading for
each and every section

1.______________________

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 A product is anything that can be offered to a market that
might satisfy a want or a need. This means that services, leisure
activities, people (like politicians, athletes, actors), places (like
holiday resorts) and organizations(like hospitals, colleges,
political parties) can also be considered as products.
Most manufacturers divide their products into product
lines – groups closely related products, sold to the same
customer groups, and marketed through the same outlets.
Because customers’ needs and markets are constantly evolving,
and because different products are generally at different stages
of their life cycles, with growing, stable or declining sales and
profitability, companies are always looking to the future, and re-
evaluating their product mix.

2____________________

Most products offered for sale by retailers are branded. A

brand is a name, or a symbol, or a logo that distinguishes
products and services from competing offerings, and makes
consumers remember the company, the product or service. A
brand name can be reinforced by distinctive design and
packaging. The key objective of branding is to create a
relationship of trust. Customers have an image of the brand in
their minds, combining knowledge about the product and their
expectations of it. Some brands are seen as more than just
products or services: they successfully represent customers’
attitudes or feelings (e.g. Nike, Starbucks, Apple Computer, The
Body Shop etc.). By way of extensive advertising, companies can

179
achieve brand recognition among the general public, including
millions of people who are not even interested in the products.
Branding is used for Business-to-Business marketing of materials
and components, as well as for consumer goods in Business-to-
Consumer marketing.

3.________________________
Some companies include their name in all their products
(corporate branding) e.g. Philips, Yamaha. Other companies do
individual branding, and give each product its own brand name,
so the company name is less well-known than its brands
(compare the name Procter & Gamble with its individual brand
names Pampers, Pringles, Duracell and Gillette). Some
companies, such as the major producers of soap powders, have
a multi-brand strategy which allows them to fill up space on
supermarket shelves, leaving less room for competitors. Even if
one brand ’’cannibalizes”(or eats into) or takes business away
from another one produced by the same company, the sales do
not go to a competitor. Having three out of 12 brands in a
market generally gives a greater market share than having one
out of ten, and gives a company a better chance of getting some
of the custom of brand-switchers.

4._____________________________

The brand consultancy Interbrand publishes an annual list

of the best global brands which shows that the worth of a brand
can be much greater than a company’s physical assets. For

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example, in the early 2000s, the value of the top ranked brand,
Coca Cola, was calculated at over 70 billion dollars.
Consequently, a company’s market value (i.e. the combined
price of all its shares) can be much greater than its book value –
the recorded value of its tangible assets such as buildings and
machinery. Brand value largely comes from customer loyalty:
the existence of customers who will continue to buy the
products.

In your group, try to answer the following questions by

referring to the above text:
a. Why do companies’ product mixes regularly change?
b. Why do companies brand their products?
c. What is the difference between corporate branding and
individual branding?
d. Why do the big soap powder producers have a multi-
brand strategy?
e. Why can the market value of the companies by much
higher than the value of their tangible assets?

Are the following statements true or false? Circle T or F in

the statements given below:
a. Own label products sell at higher prices than branded
products. T/ F
b. The purpose of developing a brand image is to enable
consumers to identify with the product. T/ F

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 c. Memorable brand names are often long and complicated.
T/ F
d. The diversification of a brand name can be a failure if it
weakens the brand’s core values. T/ F

Brand(s)
Look at the seven word combinations with the word
’’brand” and then match each one to one of the comments
below:

brand name/ brand awareness/ brand recognition/ brand

image/ brand loyalty/ brand stretching
a. ’’When ice-cream bars were first launched, I could pick out
the Jupiter ice-cream bar straight away because the
packaging was so familiar to me.”→
b. ’’I always buy Aveeno shampoo because it’s just as good
as a branded product, but much more cheaper.”→
c. ’’I always buy their jeans. I would never buy any other
brand.” →
d. ’’Cool-Cola is the most famous one I can think of.”→
e. ’’I love the adverts. I think they’ve made the drink seem
really appealing.” →
f. ’’I don’t know anything about the different mobile phones
on the market, I’m afraid.”→
g. ’’I think companies that use a famous name on lots of
products just make the brand seem cheap.”→

***
Extra materials
182
Reading
The Force of a Logo

Tommy Hilfiger is one of the world famous clothing brands

founded in 1984, selling in more than 65 countries and benefiting
from more than 1,000 retail locations. Beginning with the 1990s,
Tommy Hilfiger turned from a niche brand which was targeting
high-class American customers to a global retailer of youth
apparel. But the big mistake was over supplying the
demandwhich had as a direct result the leveling off and coming
down from $1 bilion a year to less than $500 million in the U.S.
At the same time, from a $40/share price in 1990, Tommy
Hilfiger’s share price fell to $22.62 in 2000.
Hilfiger himself has an explanation for the failure: ”At one
point, I told my people ’We have to be the first in trends,’ so we
rand out and tried to do the coolest, most advanced clothes. We
didn’t do just denim embroidery. We jeweled it. We studded it.
We really pushed the envelope because we thought our customer
would respond. But the customer did not respond in a big way,
and our business last year – men’s, women’s, junior’s – suffered
as a result.”9
The company disposed of the strong logo that made them
famous in the 1990s, when the most successful products had been
the T-shirts with the red-white-and-blue logo emblazoned across
them. By getting rid of the logo, making it very small and
9
htpps://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/keep-the-heritage-of-the-brand-intact-
tommy-hilfiger-weathering-the-ups-and-downs-of-retail-fashion
183
adopting an urban appeal, Tommy Hilfiger copied the market
policy of companies such as Polo, Nautica or Munsingwear (the
first to launch the original Penguin golf shirt in the U.S.) who
needed a shortcut to making it at the suburban mall with inner-
city attitude in the hope of merging the two areas – suburban and
the inner-city.
But this megalomania of a logo-eccentric brand, like CK,
Ralph Lauren or Dolce & Gabbana, is suggested by specialists to
have been a step too far from a brand positioned between Gap
and Ralph Lauren, based on a strong logo with 100% US
identity.
Another mistake observed by specialists was to open stores
in expensive locations, such as London’s Bond Street and
Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive, where the target customers’average
age is 50, while the target customers of the brand had definitely
been youngsters. ”We thought all the cool people in LA come to
Rodeo. But they don’t.” Still, the company decided to launch a
limited edition luxury collection, accounting for 3% of sales,
inclusing garments amounting up to US$7,000 a piece, with the
announced purpose of fueling growth though high profile
runaway shows or by dressing celebrities.
But Tommy Hilfiger cannot compare with Louis Vuitton,
Gucci or Dolce & Gabanna, as they positioned from the very
beginning as an ”affordable, accessible, aspirational,cool,
American classic”, and the very moment you are not conforming
to the rules, you start losing market share.
Since 2001, the company is struggling to learn from
previous mistakes and regain its confident customers. That is
why they returned to the rrots: classic with a twist, at the cost of

184
never again being the hot, sexy, overly talked about, flashy,
zippy, fast-growing company that they used to be.
” Would I like to be a luxury brand? Absolutely,” Hilfiger
recently said, but forced to cope with harsh recession realities,
he said that the main focus is on being an affordable premium
brand based on the force of the logo.
(Adapted from Matt Haig, The Truth About the 100
Biggest Branding Mistakes of All Time, 2010, pp.170-174)
Practice

A.Fill in the blanks with the words given below:

identity/brand/ advertising/ tag/ marketing/ astounding/

fashionable/ promoted/ campaigns/ corner

In 1994, the food conglomerate Quaker Oats Company,

owned by Pepsi until 2001, bought a quirky soft-drink
(1)..................................... called Snapple for US$ 1.7 billion.
The company believed that the drink brand was worth the price
(2).............................., because they had already achieved an
(3)................................ success with the sports drink Gatorade.
However, considering their brand
(4)..............................................., the two drinks couldn’t have
been further apart. Gatorade was about sports and a high
energy, Snapple, on the other hand, has always been
(5)................................ as a New Agey and
(6)................................... alternative to the more usual soft drink
brands. The mistake came from the fact that Snapple drinks were
sold at (7).....................................shops and petrol stations, while
Quaker deployed its usual mass (8)....................................
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techniques and placed the barnd in supermarkets and
hypermarkets. The other problem was the way Quaker decided to
promote the product, abandoning the extravagant advertising
(9)........................ in favor of a more conservative approach. The
day after Quaker announced that it would sell the Snapple drink
business for US$300 million (over five times lower than the price
they had bought it for), The New York Times pointed the finger at
the misguided (10)................................. campaigns.

B.Match a concept (1-10) with its definition(a-j):

1. rebranding=
2. brand awareness=
3. marketing=
4. logo=
5. marketing management=
6. brand identity=
7. market segmentation=
8. buying behavior=
9. target market=
10.market share=
***

186
 Describing products

Match the adjectives 1-15 with the words a-o that have
the similar meaning:

1.functional a.weighing very little

2. ultra-light b. integral/fitted

3.expandable c. high-tech/the newest

4.state-of-the-art d. useful/practical

5.built – in e. able to include other things in

the future

6. innovative f. available to buy without being

ordered specially

7.off-the-shelf g. strong/long lasting

8. tailor-made h. new/original

9. integrated i. customized/personalized

10. hard-wearing j. already combined in order to

be more effective

187
11. labour-saving k. water cannot pass through

12.water-proof l. advanced in design

13.affordable m. parts can be bought

separately and then joined
together later

14. sophisticated n. resonably priced

15. modular o. makes it easier to do the job

Types of material: bio-degradable10 vs. non-bio-

degradable

Work with a partner and decide which of the following

types of materials given below fall into the two categories:

metal / wood / glass / rubber/ plastic / leather / wax /

cardboard / cotton / paper/ wool / nylon/ chalk / cement / cork /
stone / steel

Bio-degradable Non-bio-degradable

Types of materials: Metal, wood and precious stones

10
Biodegradable means “capable of decomposition by natural means.”(Canadian English
Dictionary, p. 40)
188
A. Categorize the following materials under the four categories
given below:

iron/ gold/
diamond/steel/oak/silver/emerald/tin/pine/copper/platinum/ru
by/lead(plumb)/walnut/mahogany/bamboo/brass/beech/
aluminum/ bronze

Precious Precious Other metals Types of

stones metals wood

B. Answer the following questions using the types of materials

given above:

1. Which precious stone is green?

2. Which precious stone is red?
3. Which type of wood is the most expensive?
4. Which metal has the symbol Pb?
5. Which type of wood are the Chinese sticks made of ?

189
C. Materials. Idioms

Certain types of material are often used in idiomatic

expressions. Use the following types of material to complete
the dialogues:

wood/stone/silver/gold/golden/iron/lead/steel

1. A:I’m hoping to go and see the men’s tennis final at

Wimbledon this year.
B: You’ll be lucky! Tickets are like ................... dust.

2. A: I thought Sue would be nervous giving that lecture.

There were more than two hundred people there.
B:No, not Sue. She’s got nerves of..............

3. A:How long have you been driving now?

B: Ten years! And I’ve never had an accident!
Touch ................!

4. A: I hear you’ve lost your job.

B: Yes, it seemed like really bad news, but every cloud
has a ................ lining – I’ve got a new job at double the
salary!

5. A: What’s your boss like? I hear he’s a bit of a dictator.

B: He rules with an............... fist. If anybody disagrees
with him, they’re out!

190
 6. A: I’ve been offered a job in New York, but I’m not sure
about going to live abroad.
B: You really should think about it. It sounds like
a .............. opportunity to me.

7. A: We need to go to the supermarket.

B: Yes, and I need some cash. Let’s go to Walmart.
They’ve got a cash machine there. We can kill two birds
with one ............... .

8. A: Did you have a good day at work?

B: Not exactly! When I told my boss I needed a couple of
days off, it went down like a .................... balloon. He was
not happy at all!

D. Underline the correct word in italics:

a.The features/characteristics of a product are the
important and interesting things that help to sell it.
b. Dimensions of a product include /don’t include weight.
c. What form/shape is it?
d. How length/long is it?
e. What is its long/length?
f.How much does it weigh/weight?
g.What is the weigh/weight?

Dressing and clothes

Circle the best word or words:

191
 1. How long does it take you to get dressed/dress up/dress
yourself this morning?
2. You can’t go to the interview dressed with/dressed in/
dressed up in jeans and an old jacket!
3. Just a minute! I must take a shower and change/exchange
before we go out.
4. You’d better wear/dress in/have on/put on your coat
before you go out in the cold.
5. Test/Prove/Try on that blue dress to see if it suits you.
6. I can’t go out in this shirt. I’ve dressed it in/had it on/got
dressed in it all day.
7. The doctor asked me to put off/take off/take out/put out
my shirt.
8. We got John a new dress/costume/suit/suite for his job
interview.
9. How much would you expect to pay for a pair of men’s
socks/stockings/tights?
10.They won’t let you in the restaurant without a ribbon/tie.
11. These are the (an item of)clothing/clothe/clothes/cloth I
work in.
12. Your collar looks very tight. Why don’t you
loose/lose/loosen your tie?
13. Ticket inspectors usually wear a blue suit and a
casket/peaked cap.

192
14. It was so early in the morning that she answered the door
in a dress/dressing gown/robe.
15. How much is that trouser/are those trousers/are those
pantaloons in the window?
16. What mark/brand/trademark of toothpaste do you see?
17. A business has to pay a lot for
advertising/propaganda/publicity on TV.

Clothes and materials

Supply the best word or words:

1. You often find these on shoes............

a) shoelaces b) cordons
2. A monk might wear a..........................
a) costume b) habit
3. A man’s three piece suit includes a...................
a) waistcoat b) vest
4) A..................... is a thin material covering the face in some
cultures.
a) veil b) shawl
5) Items of clothing that go together are............................
a) assorted b) matching
6) If something looks good on you, it ...................you.
a) matches b) suits
7) You often make curtains out of heavy............
a) stuff b) material
8) Shoes are usually made of ...................
a) skin b) leather
193
 9) A woman might wear a ................. in her hair.
a) tape b) ribbon
10) Damaged clothes need to be....................
a) corrected b) repaired
11) You can make a dress from a paper....................
a) patron b) pattern
12) A thing becomes smaller in the wash; it........................
a) shrinks b) gathers
13) How did you get that ..................on your tie?
a) spot b) speck
14) I’ll have to .....................my skirt at the waist.
a) widen b) let out
15) You can.......................a costume for the party.
a) rent b) hire
16) I can’t .....................which one I want.
a) determine b) decide
17) I’ll try it on in the .....................
a) cabin b) cubicle
19) Jackets are often .....................with satin.
a) lined b) doubled

Materials

Write the name of the materials given below next to the

object it is most likely to be made of:

reinforced concrete/ copper/leather/moulded plastic/

nanomaterials/steel/wood/aluminum/brass

194
1. washing machine ............................

2. chairs .........................

3. fizzy drink bottle, cheap toy ....................

4. seat of luxury car, shoe ..........................

5.handbag, wallet, gloves .......................

6. walls and floors of a building ........................

7. pots and pans .......................

8. the blade of a kitchen knife .............................

9. a coke can .............................

10. a trumpet or a trombone ...........................

Clothing
Decide whether the following clothes are usually worn
above the waist, below it, or both, and whether they are
worn usually by women or men, or both.

Above below above/below women men men/women

nightgown
suit
vest
tights
top hat
turtleneck
skirt
shirt
195
dress
tie
socks
jeans
trousers
cap
jacket
bra
underwear

Match the clothes and accessories on the left with the

correct part of the body on the right:

Example: earrings ears

gloves wrist
socks hands
tie waist
belt finger
ring feet
bracelet neck
cap head
brooch chest
necklace neck and shoulders
scarf

Work on your phrasal verbs on clothing and fashion by

filling the blank spaces with the appropriate particles given
below:
196
 up on out off with in

1. The dresses were all so pretty, it was hard to pick

________ the nicest one.
2. He untied his shoes and took them ________.
3. She always likes to dress ________ when hop out for
dinner.
4. That T-shirt doesn’t really go _________ those pants.
5. These trousers are too wide – I’ll need to take
them________.
6. Try this dress _______ and see if it fits.

Quantities

We buy things in different units. Match each item on the

left with the most suitable item on the right:

1. a bar a) of matches
2. a pair b) of soap/chocolate
3. a box c) of potatoes
4. a pound d) of cloths
5. a roll e) of shoes
6. an ounce f) of milk
7. a yard g) of tobacco/beer
8. a pint h) of film
9. an acre i) of flowers
10. a bottle j) of toothpaste
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 11. a gallon k) of land
12. a bunch/a bouquet l) of wine
13. a tin m) of sardines
14. a tube n) of petrol/gas
15. a packet o) of jam
16. a jar p) of cigarrettes

When assessing the quality of a products, which of the

following factors do you think should be considered? Choose a
particular product and share your opinion with the rest of the
class.

a. physical appearance □
b. after-sales service □
c. reliability □
d. durability □
e. image □
f. price □
g. reputation □
h. suitability □

Translate into English11:

a.Dezvoltarea unei game largi de produse permite firmei

să acopere o suprafață mare de piață și să delimiteze mai clar
principalele segmente de consumatori cărora li se adresează.
11
Suggested translation search engine: www.magicsearch.org;
Suggested online dictionaries: www.dictionary.com; www.lexicool.com;
www.dictionary.cambridge.org; www.dictionary.reference.com
198
 b. Procesul de creație vizează și ambalajul noului produs.
Acesta trebuie să fie conceput astfel încât să-i asigure protecția
împotriva agenților din mediul ambiant, păstrarea integrității
formei și conținutului în timpul transportului, manipulării și
depozitării.

II.2. PRICING

Manufacturers’ pricing strategies

 Companies’ prices are influenced by production and

distribution costs, both direct and indirect.
 Mark-up or cost-plus pricing: some companies just
calculate the unit cost and add a percentage.
 Most companies consider other factors, such as demand,
competitors’ prices, sales targets and profit targets12.
 Market penetration pricing: some companies launch
products at a price that only gives them a very small profit
because they want a big market share13.
 Market skimming: some customers will pay almost any
price so the company can charge a really high price, then
lower it to reach other market segments.14
 If a company has a higher demand for its products than it
is able to supply, it can raise its prices. This is often done
by monopolists.15

12
Sales target/ profit target: the quantity of sales/ profit a business wants to achieve.
13
Market share refers to the proportion of the total sales in the market.
14
Market segments are those groups of consumers with similar needs and wants.
15
Monopolists are those companies that are the only suppliers of a product or service.
199
  Prestige pricing or image pricing: products positioned at
the luxury end of a market need to have a high price. The
target customers will not buy them if they think the price
is too low (e.g. BMW, Rolex).
 Going-rate pricing: if a product is almost identical to
competitors’ products, companies might charge the same
price.

Retail pricing strategies

 Loss-leader pricing: retailers (such as supermarkets) often

offer some items at a very low price that is not profitable
in order to attract customers who then buy more
products which are profitable.
 Odd pricing or odd-even pricing: many
producers(manufacturers) and retailers believe a
customer sees a price of 29.95 $ as the 20$ price range
rather then the 30$ one.
 Elasticity: demand is elastic if sales respond directly to
price variations (e.g. if the price is cut, sales increase. If
sales remain the same after a change in price, demand is
inelastic).

PRACTICE

Find verbs in Manufacturers’ pricing strategies and Retail

pricing strategies sections that can be used to make word
combinations with ’’prices”. Then use the verbs to complete the
sentences below:

200
........................

........................

prices

........................

........................

........................

a. Economists say that if sales increase when

you...................................a price, demand is elastic.
b. If we have more customers than products available, we
generally .......................... our prices.
c. Luxury goods companies make huge profits because their
customers are prepared to ......................really high prices.
d. Our product’s really the same as our competitors’, so we’ll
probably...................... the same price.
e. After we,ve skimmed the market, we
can.........................the price to get more customers.

II.3. QUALITY

What is quality?

The word „quality” has an everyday meaning that has to

do with features, reliability, performance, durability, aesthetics,

201
value for money and conformance to requirements. It has more
specific meanings, too.

Quality control and quality assurance

Quality control is about detecting flaws or defects after

they happen. It involves random sampling, spot checks,
inspection and testing. Quality assurance is about prevention
rather than detection. If a failure happens, then it’s isolated, the
causes are analyzed, and there is a redesign of the process or of
the parts to make sure it doesn’t happen again. The aim is zero
defects, to get things right from the first time.

Quality management

Total quality management (TQM) is a philosophy that was

very popular in the 1980s and the 90s. It aims to put an
awareness of quality at the heart of all organizational processes
(e.g. customer service) and not just production. It puts an
emphasis on a continual increase in customer satisfaction
combined with lowering costs by eliminating waste.

European Foundation for Quality Management

This organization has taken the ideas of quality

management hop s trying to apply them to all organizations,
including those in the service sector and public sector. It has a
framework for assessing and improving organizations that is
based on 8 concepts of excellence: results orientation, customer
focus, leadership and constancy of purspose (i.e. beong faithful
to aims and objectives), amanagement by processes and facts,

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people development and involvement, continous improvement
and innovation, pertnership development, and corporate social
responsibility.

A variety of approaches

As can be seen, quality is a topic that occurs under the

umbrella of many different philosophies. But certain thungs are
common to all the approaches: measuring and systematizing
processes; reducing variation, defects and cycle times; and
employee involvement and teamwork. The differences between
the approaches are related to which tools, checklists,
measurements and training they use.

Quality costs

Quality isn’t free – it comes with a cost. But if there are no

quality procedures, then the cost is much higher: continuing
problems with the product, a loss of confidence in the brand,
the fewer sales as a result. Here are just some of the ways that
companies have to spend money and time to ensure quality:

 Prevention costs (quality assurance): engineers have to

spend time with the marketers during the development of
new products to facilitate design for manufacture. There
have to be supplier capability surveys to make sure that
suppliers can achieve the quality levels that they claim.
There have to be regular meetings, education and training
about quality improvement.

203
  Evaluation costs (quality control): the company has to
inspect and test incoming material, material that is being
processed, and the finished product. There is also the cost
of buying and servicing any equipment used for
measuring and testing.

 Failure costs before delivery: there may be scrap, rework,

re-inspection, re-testing etc. If these continue at a high
level, then perhaps there will be a fundamental review of
suppliers and materials.

 Failure costs after delivery: time is needed to process

customer complaints, to process customer returns, to
deal with warranty claims and to handle products recalls.

PRACTICE

Find a word in the above text that matches each definition

below:

1. Things that a customer is particularly interested in; selling

points ....................................
2. Lasting long ......................................
3. Taking occasional small quantities for
testing............................................................
4. (2 words) examining a process suddenly without
warning...........................................................
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 5. Materials that are left after a process and have hop
s....................................................................
6. Something that is popular or fashionable for a short time
only.......................................................................
7. Materials or small parts that are no longer
useful...........................................................................
8. (2 words) the return of products, for example because
they’re faulty or dangerous............................................

Fill in the missing letters:

1. If quality is really good, then it’s out............ing quality.

2. If quality isn’t as good as other similar products, then it’s
i..................r quality.
3. If quality is bad, then we say it’s p...............r quality.
4. If you make certain that something has quality, then you
ensure the quality.
5. If you improve the quality of a product, then you enhance
the quality.
6. If you state the quality that you want in an exact and
detailed way, then you specify the quality.
7. If you regularly watch or check the quality of something to
find out what is happening, then you monitor the quality.

Match the words given below related to quality with their

definitions:

reliability/goodwill/benchmarking/warranty/
serviceability

205
 1. benchmarking =comparing what competitors are doing
and adopting the best solutions;
2. reliability =accurate, regular performance according to
specification. Parameter which is taken into consideration
since the research and development stage.
3. warranty =a guarantee or promise that goods will meet a
certain specified level, will be repaired or replaced free of
charge in the specified period of time.
4. .....................................= ease of maintenance and repair.
5. .....................................=customer’s satisfaction and loyalty
to a company (hence the reputation of a company).

What does the word ’’quality” mean to you? In your

group, brainstorm as many ideas as possible and share them
with the rest of the class.

1. What else do you know about Total quality

management (TQM) beyond what is mentioned in the text?

2. ’’You get what you pay for”. Is this true? Think of some
examples for both sides of this argument. Write a short essay.
Here is an idea to get you started:

A packet of high-price, brand-name cereals is sittting on a

supermarket shelf. Next to it on the shelf is a packet of the
supermarket’s own-label brand, selling at a lower price. The
contents are identical – the supermarket bought the cereals
from the manufacturer and repackaged them.
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 II.4. ADVERTISING

„Advertising is the greatest art form of the twentieth century.”

Marshall McLuhan (1911- 1980, Canadian author)

Do you agree or disagree with the following claims?

Share your ideas with your class:
1. Advertising is essential for business, especially for
launching new consumer products.
2. A large reduction of advertising would decrease sales.
3. Advertising often persuades people to buy things they
don’t need.
4. Advertising often persuades people to buy things they
don’t want.
5. Advertising lowers the public’s taste.
6. Advertising raises prices.
7. Advertising does not present a true picture of products.
8. Advertising has a bad influence on children.

II.4.a. The promotion of a product

The promotion of a product may refer to any marketing

effort to encourage people to buy it, including advertising.
Promotion is often used to refer specifically to marketing
activities other than advertising: offers such as discounts, cut-

207
price vouchers, free gifts (informally called freebies),
competitions, and displays or events at the point-of-sale, the
place in the retail outlet where the product is sold. Discounts
may be given in a sale at a particular time of year such as
summer or January, often to get rid of the remaining stock.
Merchandising refers to the ways goods are presented at
the point-of-sale, and more commonly, to goods such as toys
and T-shirts that are produced to promote things like films or
rock groups.

The aims of promotion

Promotion can have a variety of different aims. Its classic
aims are:
 To build awareness of a new product;
 To reinforce a brand;
 To stimulate demand, either by getting new customers to
try a product (e.g. free sample, free trial), or by getting
the existing customers to buy more or sooner.
Promotional activities
1. Advertising: This includes the whole variety of media
outlets (television, radio, print, Internet, direct mail,
outdoor, indoor, product placement, mobile devices and
sponsorship).
Large companies rarely handle their own advertising. They
usually use the services of an advertising agency.
Who does what in an advertising agency?
 Account manager: works with the client to develop
the strategy;
208
  Creative team: generate ideas and take the initial
concept through to the final advertisement;
 Market researchers: assess the client’s market
situation and test creative ideas;
 Media planners: actually place the advertisements in
the various media and negociate deals with them.

2. Sales promotions This includes coupons, special offers,

contests, loyalty programs.

3. De
invățat
4. Personal selling This can be either face-to-face or via
telephone (cold calls).
5. Public relations (PR) This has various functions:
 Monitoring the media for any coverage of the
company and maintaining contacts with people in
the media;

209
  Keeping in contact with customers and/or
employees through company newsletters, blogs
etc.;
 Crisis management when something happens that
threatens the company’s image;
 Organizing special events to build both brand
awareness and brand loyalty. Events might include
parties, product demonstrations, seminars etc. –
often in unusual locations;
 Building goodwill through community programs and
philanthropy.

Other targets of promotion

It’s important to remember that customers aren’t the
only target of promotion. Other targets of a marketing message
might be news media, special interest groups (e.g.
environmental organizations), opinion formers (e.g. doctors for
the pharmaceutical industry), trade associations, partners in the
distribution channel (e.g. retailers), investors, employees etc. An
often overlooked area is the importance of in-house promotion:
explaining a new product to the sales force and motivating them
to sell it.

Trends in advertising
 Changing media choices: cellphone screens, social
networking sites, podcasting(audio and video);

210
  Digital convergence: everything will connect to the
network (not just computers, televisions and cell phones,
but also wallets, fridges and cars);
 Audience monitoring: tracking and measuring how
consumers respond to advertisements is becoming easier
and more important;
 GPS in personal mobile devices: this allows businesses to
push targeted, location-specific advertisements (e.g.
restaurants, bars).

PRACTICE

Which of the following are features of merchandising?

Share your opinion with the rest of the class:

a. creating am appropriate ambience □

b. maintaining the stock levels in shops □
c. designing the layout of the stores □
d. displaying the products attractively □
e. setting the price □
f. collecting customer data □

Make phrases by matching an item from each column:

Example: to build awareness of a new product

to build an advertisement in the media

to stimulate in contact with customers
to take demand by offering a free trial

211
to place awareness of a new product
to issue how customers respond to advertisements
to keep an initial concept through to the final ad
to monitor targeted advertisements to a mobile device
to push a news release

Underline the verbs that make sense in the sentence:

a. The agency carried/placed/ published/ put/ ran/ took out
an advertisement in a magazine.
b. The magazine carried/ placed/ published/ put/ ran/ took
out the advertisement.

Write a short essay by answering the following question:

What makes a good advertisement? You may use some of the
words below:
clever/ interesting/funny/inspiring/eye-catching/powerful
humorous /shocking/informative

In your group, share your ideas on the following topic:

Do you think that advertising practices described below are
acceptable?
1. Using children in advertisements;
2. Using nudity in advertisements;
3. Promoting alcohol on TV;
4.Comparing your products to your competitors’
products.
212
Are there any other types of advertisements that you find
offensive?

II.4.b. Advertising and media methods

6. Newspapers and TV are two advertising media. Can you

think of others? Share your ideas with the rest of the
class.

2.What do you undestand by outdoor advertising? Give

examples.

Complete the chart below with the words in the box. Can
you think of other words? Use a good dictionary to help you.

directories/persuade/promote/cinema/run/mailshots
place/free samples/commercials/public transport
/launch/leaflets/exhibition/billboards/hoardings/word-
of-mouth/radio/point – of- sale/posters/research
/sponsor/target/endorsement/slogans/television/press
/jingles/sponsorship/publicise

Advertising

Media Methods Verbs

radio jingles persuade

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 advertisement/advert/ad(in writing)
commercial(on TV or over the radio)
poster

Read the following text and decide which paragraphs

should be given the following headings:

A. Advertising spending and sales

B. How companies advertise
C. Word-of-mouth advertising and viral marketing
D. Potential drawbacks of advertising

___b____ Advertising informs consumers about the existence

and benefits of products and services, and attempts to persuade
them to buy them. Most companies use advertising agencies to
produce their advertising for them. They give the agency a
statement of the objectives of the advertising campaign known
as a brief, an overall advertising strategy concerning the
message to be communicated to the target customers and a
budget. The agency creates advertisements (often abbreviated
to adverts or ads), and develops a media plan specifying which
media- newspapers, magazines, the Internet, radio, television,
cinema, posters, mail etc. – will be used and in which portions.

214
___a______ It is always difficult to know how much to spend on
advertising. Increased ad spending can increase sales, but many
companies just spend a fixed percentage of current sales
revenue or simply spend as much as their competitors (the
comparative-parity method). On the other hand, lots of creative
and expensive advertising campaigns, including television
commercials that lots of people see and remember, and which
win prizes awarded by the advertising industry for the best ads,
don’t lead to increased sales.

___d_______ Advertising is widely considered to be essential for

launching new consumer products. Combined with sales
promotions such as free samples, price reductions and
competitions, advertising may generate the initial trial of a new
product. But traditional advertising is expensive, it doesn’t
always reach the target customers, and it isn’t always welcomeif
it does reach them. People might choose to look at posters in
the street or on public transport (and virtual ones in computer
and video games), or look at the ads in newspapers and
magazines, but may other ads interrupt them when they’re
trying to do something else, like read a web page, listen to the
radio, or watch a TV programme or a film.

____c____ This is why the best form of advertising has always

been word-of-mouth advertising: people telling their friends
about good products and services. For example, at the end of
the last century, more and more people were saying to their
friends: „Have you used Google? It’s great!” Today, word-of-
mouth has developed into viral marketing: companies succeed

215
in getting people to spread commercial messages, like a virus,
via peer-to-peer networks on the Internet. The classic example
is Hotmail which added a little advertisement for itself at the
bottom of every e-mail sent using a Hotmail address. In the mid-
1990, the number of users increased from 500,000 to 12 million
within a year. More and more companies are trying new
strategies like setting up blogs or online forums, commenting on
other people’s blogs and social networking websites, making
podcasts, and putting videos on Youtube, and hoping that
people will use the „Share” function to send a link to all their
contacts. Viral marketing allows companies to inform and
persuade, and create a „buzz”, so that an idea spreads very
quickly, at very little cost.

PRACTICE

A. Read the text again and answer these questions:

1.What are the two functions of advertising?

2.What is the role of the advertising agencies?

3. What does the text describe as disadvantages of

traditional advertising?

4. What ways of using the Internet to advertise are

mentioned?

B. Find the words in the text that mean the following:

1.companies that design advertising for clients advertising

agencies
216
2. the advertising of a particular product or service during a
particular period of time. advertising campaign
3. the statement of objectives that a client works out with an
advertising agency. breef
4. a defined set of customers whose needs a company plans to
satisfy. Target customers
5. the amount of money a company plans to spend in
developing its advertising and buying media time or space.
Advertising budget
6. the choice of where to advertise in order to reach the right
people.
7. choosing to spend the same amount on advertising as one’s
competitors. ___________
8. a small amount of a product given to customers to encourage
them to try it. Free sample

9.free advertising, when satisfied customers recommend

products to their friends. Word-of- mouth

10. trying to get consumers to forward an online marketing

message to other people. Viral marketing

Write short summaries (30 – 50 words) of:

 The disadvantages of traditional advertising;

 The advantages of the viral marketing.

Some of the techniques of persuation used in

advertising are :
217
  Questions;
 Repeating sounds;
 Repeating a word /pattern of words;
 Using opposite words/contrasting ideas.

Look at the advertising slogans given below and decide which

technique of persuation has been used:

Put a tiger in your tank. ………………………………………

We’ll take more care of you. ……………………………………..

Let your fingers do the walking. ……………………………………..

It’s the real thing. ……………………………………..

Match the above advertising slogans with the following

products:

British Airways Esso Petrol Coca Cola Yellow Pages

Share your ideas with the class on successful

advertising by answering the following questions:

1. What do you think makes and advertisement memorable:

humour? Originality? The use of famous actors or
personalities? Endless repetition? Other elements?

2. Do you find the advertisements on television generally:

informative? Persuasive? Amusing? Well made? Artistic?

218
 Worth watching? An annoying interruption to the
programmes? Sometimes better than the programmes?

3. Give examples of ads that you have enjoyed.

4. Give examples of ads that have persuaded you to buy the

product.

Translate into English the follwing text:

,,Brandul tău personal e o promisiune a valorii. Te separă de

semenii tăi, de colegii tăi, de competitorii tăi. Și îți permite să îți
extinzi succesul. Brandul personal nu se referă la construirea
unei imagini pentru lumea exterioară; se referă la înțelegerea
combinației unice dintre atributele raționale și emoționale –
puterea, îndemânarea, valoarea și pasiunea ta – și folosirea lor
pentru a te diferenția de ceilalți și a-ți ghida deciziile în carieră.
Elementele definitorii ale brandului personal sunt: identitatea
personală clară, creativitate, spontaneitate, charismă,
seriozitate, capacitatea de a lua decizii rapide, flexibilitate,
puterea de a trece peste dificultăți, caracterul, cât de mult
însemni pentru ceilalți, dar și stilul, modul de a te pune în
valoare.”(Alexandru – Mircea Nedelea, Marketing personal,
Editura Casa Cărții de știință, Cluj-Napoca, 2018, p. 126)

”Your own/personal brand is a gurantee of your

own/personal value. It sets you apart from your fellow beings,
from your peers/colleagues/co-workers, from your competitors
219
and it....../.It also allows/enables you to increase/to enlarge/to
expand your success. Your own/personal brand does not refer
to/has nothing to do with creating an image for the outside
world. It refers to /It has to do with the understanding of the
unique/one of a kind combination/mixture among the rational
and emotional characteristics/attributes - /such as: your/one’s
ability, skill(s), value(s) and passion - /as well as their use in
order to set you apart from the others/the rest of the world
together with guiding your career decisions. The defining/The
main elements of /in terms of one’s brand/in terms of the
personal/own brand are as follows/refer to: one’s clear/specific
identity, one’s creativity/resourcefulness, one’s spontaneity,
one’s charisma, one’s reliability, one’s ability to make quick
decisions, one’s flexibility, one’s ability of overcoming obstacles,
one’s personality, how much you mean for the others/one’s
personal value for the others around you, yet/but also/as well as
one’s style, the way you make yourself visible for the rest of the
world as such.”(Alexandru – Mircea Nedelea, Personal
Marketing, Casa Cărții de știință Publishing-house, Cluj-Napoca,
2018, p. 126)

II.5. Sales

”Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of

learning.” Bill Gates

What sales thinks about marketing?

Sales consultants will quickly tell you how their job is

different to marketing. They’re the ones who have direct contact
220
with the customers, they’re the ones who really know what is
going on the market, and, of course, they’re the ones who live
with the insecurity of sales targets and commissions. The
marketing guys just sit in their offices on fixed salaries, dreaming
up fancy promotions, or thinking of new products that later
research will tell them no one wants. If only the marketing guys
spoke to the sales guys more often, the business would do so
much better!

What qualities does a salesperson need?

A salesperson needs to be:

 Knowledgeable (of the customer and their needs, of the

products being sold, and of the industry and technical
area).
 Visibly well prepared, organized and well –presented to
inspire confidence in the other person.
 Reliable (e.g. they phone back when they say they will).
 Flexible (e.g. they’re able to respond to changing
customer needs and offer tailor-made solutions).

It is an old fashioned cliché to think of a modern sales

consultant as behaving like someone who sells second-hand
cars. These days an aggressive hard sell very rarely works.
Customers want to be helped to make their own decisions, not
to be pushed before they’re ready. There are a variety of
methods to close the deal: a direct request, a command, a
reference to an immediate gain, fear, presenting alternatives, a
summary, and, finally, simply an assumption that the customer

221
is going to buy (i.e. behaving as if it’s true even though the
customer hasn’t actually said yes).

Sales techniques

General points: Try to identify the different roles inside a

company. Who is the decision-maker? Whose advice will they
listen to? Who will actually be using the product? Take time to
socialize and build relationship in the first few moments. In
particular, show interest in the customer.

Discovering customer needs: ’’Have big ears and a small

mouth.” Ask lots of questions. Listen actively, focus your
attention on the other person and take notes. Acknowledge the
customer’s needs. Check the needs by restating them to the
customer. Refer to the information that you collected
throughout the rest of the meeting.

Presenting the best case: Build a case slowly, based on the

individual cutomer’s needs, rather than working from a script. Be
clear and precise, judge the level of detail required, and avoid
jargon.Sell the price by demonstrating value for money.
Differentiate from competition without openly knocking
them.Refer to an ongoing relationship with the customer.

Handle objections: View objections as an opportunity – they’re a

sign of interest and are inevitable. First, acknowledge the point.
Then, either remove the objection, or minimize its significance or
turn it into a positive one.

222
Closing: Look for buying signals that show the customer is nearly
ready to make a decision:

 The customer makes a reference to the product in use

perhaps with an assumption in their way of talking that
they’re the users.
 The customers asks about what results they can hope to
achieve after they have been using the product for some
time.
 The customer asks after-sales questions (i.e. questions
about installation etc.)

PRACTICE

Match the above mentioned sales techniques with the

sales consultant’s comments:

1. Direct request .........

2. Command ..........

3. Immediate gain .........

4. Fear ..........

5. Alternatives .............

6. Summary ..............

7. Assumption ..........

a.’’If you give me the go-ahead now, then I can have it up and
running within a week.”.............................
223
b. ’’We have them in stock for immediate delivery, but you know
they are selling fast.”.................................

c.”Right, let’s get this organized.”/”Let me have written

confirmation as soon as you can and I’ll start the ball
rolling.”.....................

d. ”Shall hop ahead?”..........................

e. ”Are you more interested in the regular model or the executive

model?”/”Do you want to schedule this for this month or next
month?”............................

f. ”Yes, I can see that this is going to work really well for
you.”..............................

g. ”So, this solution gives you something that works well with
your existing equipment, is easy to install, and gives you
significant cost savings. Can hop ahead?”..........................

Underline the correct word in italics:

1. So, it looks like this solution works well for you. Shall hop in
front of/go ahead?

2. We can have it up and running/up and going within a week.

3. I don’t want to knock/critic the competition, but this is a much

better product.

4. This is the actual /latest model.

224
5. You’re lucky – it’s for sale/on sale this month. We’re running a
special promotion.

6. Yes, the one in the shop window is for sale/on sale – you can
buy it.

7. In the week before Christmas, we usually see very high sales

volumes/quantities.

8. North America counts for/accounts for 40% of our worldwide

sales.

Share your ideas with the class based on the following

topics:

1.Think carefully about the last time that a salesperson

sold you something. How did they discover your needs? How did
they present their case? How did they handle your objections?
Are there any special techniques that they used but that you
were unaware of at that time?

2. Can you think of any situations where a ”hard sell”

might be appropriate?

Business idioms. Phrasal verbs

Match up the phrasal verbs(1-15) with the verbs that have

a similar meaning(a-p):

Example: give up (production)→get rid of, discard (because

unwanted)
225
1. give up(production)

2. go along with (the decision)

3. kill off(a silly project)

4. come up with (a new idea)

5.do without (a pay rise)

6.make room for(another expansion)

7.take off (after performing less well) c

8.throw away (some good ideas) e

9.weed out (uneconomic departments) f

10.carry on (in the same old way) d

11.account for (rise in profits) k

12.carry out (a market survey) j

13.(production levels) drop off b

14.look ahead to (the future) o

15.look for (a new solution) p

a. accept
b. decrease, become fewer or less
c. begin to be successful
d. continue
e. destroy or abandon
f. find space hop su to something else
226
 g. get rid of, discard
h. have, create ideas
i. make up
j. perform, undertake or do
k. produce, launch
l. remove (from something larger)
m. agree to stop or discontinue ......
n. survive or live while lacking something
o. think about, prepare or plan the future
p. try to find

II.5.a. Retailing

Pre-reading

Share your opinions with the class by answering the

questions given below:

1. What is the difference between retail and wholesale?

2. What types of retailing do you know?
3. Who are the major retailers in your area?
4. Do retailers specialize in specific items or do they sell a
variety of goods?

Read the following text:

227
 Retailing is often defined as ”the sale of goods in small
quantities to the public”. It also includes services such as repairs
or dry-cleaning.

The retailer is the last link in the chain of distribution

between the manufacturer and the consumer. The retailer’s task
ist o provide consumers with the goods and services that they
want at the right time, in the right form and quantities, in the
right place.

A retailer performs a series of functions such as:

anticipates consumer’s demand by stocking adequate amounts
of goods, stocks a variety of types, brands, sizes and prices of
goods, chooses goods which are suitable for the demands of
his/her customers, provides information about the goods and
services on sale, sorts, packs and displays goods attractively,
provides a pleasant atmosphere for customers, accepts the
most common methods of apyment, provides and arranges
credit, arranges delivery, provides after-sales services etc.

A retailer may buy directly from a manufacturer or from a

jobber who is a person who then sells to a retailer in his turn.

Retailers are usually classified according to the number of

shops and outlets they have.

The major types of retailing found, in one form or

another, around the world are:

228
 Unit shops are also called independent shops or outlets.
They are usually sole traders or partnerships. In recent years,
they have faced tough competition form the large chain stores.

Supermarkets are shops of over 2,000 square feet selling

mainly food and household goods. Supermarkets generally sell a
wide variety of packaged and branded goods. The larger shops
also sell a variety of non-food items. They concentrate upon
selling at low prices.

Multiple stores (multiples) consist of large numbers of

shops (at least 10), also known as chain stores, owned by one
company(or firm). They usually sell a wide variety of items and
are called ”variety chain stores.” Some of them operate from
out of town locations with parking facilities. They are known as
either ”superstores” (over 20,000 square feet) or
”hypermarkets”(over 50,000 square feet). Multiples have
several distinguishing features such as:

 competitive prices;
 they sell the same range of goods;
 they are located in popular sites in town centres or
important suburbs;
 they have a similar layout and display;
 they practise a centralised buying of goods;
 they focus on extensive advertising campaigns;
 they do their own national training of staff.

Department stores are sometimes described as being

several hop sunder one roof. The most famous one is Harrods in
229
London UK. They are organised in departments, each with its
own manager. Deptartment stores are usually located in city
centres.

Co-operative retail societies are owned and operated by

local groups of farmers or other consumers. They are also called
”Co-ops” and are popular in rural areas. They market such items
as: groceries, animal feed, petrol(BE)/gas(AE).

Direct retailing is also called ”house -to- house”, ”door-to-

door selling” and makes up a large part of the retail business in
certain products, particularly household items and makeup.

Vending machines sell many types of small-sized, low-

cost, popular-demand, standard-quality goods. They are usually
installed in high-traffic areas.

PRACTICE

Provide synonyms for: amount, variety, to perform,

customer, to display, multiples.

Based on the information given in the text, write T (true)

or F(false) next to each and every statement(1-5):

1. The local corner grocery store is a consumer outlet.→

2. There is no difference in distribution to industrial and
household consumer.→
3. Department stores are consolidation of many speciality
hop sunder one roof.→
230
4. Vending machines are used to sell any consumer item
which will fit into the machine.→
5. All intermediaries have no need to take into account
Geography in choosing their distribution channels.→

Choose the best answer:

1. If there are too few retail shops, prices may rise because:
a. bigger shops spend more on advertising;
b. more shop assistants are needed for the bigger shops;
c. there is too little competition;
d. there are too few goods on sale.

2. A multiple shop organisation

a. has many department in one place;
b. owns many shops in different parts of the country selling
the same goods;
c. has uniformity of name and style throughout the country;
d. must be owned by a cooperative society.

3. A retail cooperative society

a. passes on its profits to its customers;
b. has its shared quoted on the Stock Exchange;
c. passes on its profits to its employees;
d. must buy all its goods form the Cooperative Wholesale
Society.

231
 4. A department store is
a. difficult to reach for people without cars;
b. successful in business where specialist knowledge and
personal service is important;
c. a large building with several floors, sited in the centre of a
large town;
d. a sole trader.

In your group share your ideas in order to complete

the following list of advantages and disadvantages for customers
buying in superstores, co-ops and department stores and fill in
the chart given below:

Advantages of buying in Disadvantages of buying in

superstores superstores

Advanteges of buying in Disadvantages of buying in

department stores department stores

***

Extra materials
232
Reading

The virtual world of shopping

The communication role of marketing is accomplished

either traditionally or via the virtual means of communication.
More and more customers rely solely on the websites, which
perform a dual function: one as a distribution channel, and the
other as a media for marketing communicating ideas about new
products, new promotional schemes, changes in product features
or design etc.

Studies revealed that 10 times more products can be sold

only 1/10th of the advertising budget used by traditional
marketing, allowing us to affirm that marketing via web is 4
times cheaper than traditional marketing methods.

Virtual marketing involves a constant dialogue and

feedback from the potential customers, as well as a new set of
tools that cannot apply to retail. The difference consists in the
way companies can rapidly turn prospects into confident
customers following the four important steps:

 Awareness: during the first stage, the customer becomes

aware of a company, being able to recognize the name,
logo and have aslight idea about its products;
 Familiarity: the customer acquires more information and
is now able to draw comparisons between companies and
products;
 Trust: the consumer gains trust in the brand and develops
a bond;
233
  Commitment: when the prospect customer places an
order,, and the more satisfied the customer, the stronger
the relationship and the possibility of repeated exchanges.
But the greatest of al lis the risk of a brand failure, because
the Internet is a fast means of communication, and allows
dissatisfied customers to spread the anti-brand message. And
when a brand fails to deliver its promise, there are always a
dozen of replacements that are on a click distance from the
customers.
Amazon.com is an example of how relationships can be built
on the Internet. Once a customer purchases a book, Amazon.com
starts collecting information about the interests of the person,
making book selections and guiding the individual towards them.
Brands such as Amazon, eBay, Yahoo! understood the
importance of communication between users, which not only
increases loyalty to the brand, but allows the brand to expand its
activity in line with people’s interests.
When Amazon decided to introduce variable pricing, they
decided to launch a one-week trial on the DVD products only.
Then the company employees monitored the DVD Talk chat
forum to gauge the consumer behavior. When they discovered a
set of negative comments, they immediately withdrew the policy
because, in the words of Amazon’s chief executive Jeff Bezos,
”it created uncertainty for customers rather than simplifying their
lives.” They acted quickly, and avoided a disaster, but this is not
always the case, because in most of the situations, the fast
transmission of a negative message via the Internt can
permenently damage a brand.
”On the Internet, there is less control over the brand message.
If a business fails to inform the online public about a product
234
flaw or a weakness in its service, consumers will be quick to
inform each other. They can join a chat room, post a message to a
discussion board or even set up their own Web site. Everyone is
connected to everyone else an can make their opinion heard. This
means that the perception of the brand has never been closer to
the reality of the product or service as it is today. There is no
fooling the target market.”
But the greatest of all mistakes ist o think that you can do
anything on the Internet. Once the customer created a certain
image of the brand, it is very difficult to change that perception.
This the case of Amazon.com, which turned from number 1
books and CDs shopping platform to a destination site where
customers could find almost everything:DVDs, electronics,
software, toys and video games, interior decoration products, a
gift card generation system, electronic cards, auctions, inclusing
a partnership with Sotheby’s auction house (where Amazon
invested $45 million for a 1.7% of Sotheby’s shares), credit
cards, through a co-brand agreement with NextCard Inc. That is
unbelievable!
From ”The best bookshop in the world”slogan, they had to
alter it into ”The largest range of products in the world.”
(Adapted from Matt Haig, Brand Failures – The Truth About 100 Biggest
Branding Mistakes of All Time, 2010, pp.185-188; Al Ries & Laura Ries, The 11
Immutable Laws of Internet Branding, 2000, pp. 137-154; Sameer A. Kulkarni, A
Textbook of Virtual Marketing, 2008, pp. 57-74)

PRACTICE

A. Match the sentence or phrase halves appropriately in order

to build up the 10 immutable laws of Internet branding:

235
1.The either/ot principles states
2. Without interactivity, a web page or
3. The most important marketing decision
4. Internet is like a football gane
5. Virtual marketing is revolutionary, as
6. Globalization is the most
7. The vanity law of virtual marketing states that the biggest
8. Haste makes waste, but
9. Everybody talks about convergence, while
10. The retail business on the Internet will turn

a)........................ because the second place means nothing.

b) ....................... important slogan in virtual marketing.
c) ........................ a brand will never reach its target.
d) ........................ mistake is to think you can do anything.
e) ........................ is related to the brand name.
f) ......................... into a price competition.
g) ........................ that the Internet can be a business or a means
of communication, but not both.
h) ....................... in daily life the opposite applies on the Internet.
i) ........................ rush is the important ingredient of a successful
Internet product launch.
j) ........................ it is interactive, targeting clients for specific
brands.

B. Match a concept (from 1-10) with its definiton (a-j):

1. distribution channel
2. free trial
3. promotional scheme
236
4. prospect customer
5. product flaw
6. target market
7. auction
8. hit
9. E-commerce
10. surfing

a) the movement of products within the shop during each stage of

the parts’ manufacturing process.
b) a competition in which participants compete for prizes by
accomplishing something that requires skill, different from a
lottery, as there are no fees charged, but requiring a certain
number of proof-of-purchase tokens (such as bottle caps or
empty packages).
c) common name for several types of sales where the price is
neither set nor arrived at by negotiation, but is dicovered through
the process of competitive and open bidding.
d) exploration of the World Wide Web by following one
interesting link to another, usually without a definite objective or
search strategy. In comparison, browsing is exploration with a
definite objective but without a planned search strategy;
e) a particular market segment at which a marketing campaign is
focused.
f) an opportunity to test a machine or product with no payment.
g) business conducted through the use of computers, telephones,
fax machines, bar code readers, ATMs or other electronic
appliances (whether or not using the Internet) without the
exchange of paper-based documents.

237
h) the path through which goods and services travel from the
vender to the consumer or payments for those products travel
from the consumer to the vendor.
i) a match of data in a search string against data that one is
searching or a connection made to a website over the Internet or
another network.
j) potential customer or client, also called sales lead qualified, on
the basis of his or her buying authority, financial capacity, and
willingness to buy.16

UNIT 3

ECONOMICS

"Money talks they say. All it ever said to me was

«Goodbye»."Carry Grant (1904-1986, American film star)

Answer the following questions. Then compare your

answers to the ones of your partner:

1. How much cash do you have with you at the moment? Do you
a. know exactly?
b. know approximately?
c. not know at all?

2. Do you normally check

a. your change?
16
Read more on http://www.businessdictionary.com
238
 b. your bank statements and credit card bills?
c. restaurant bills?
d. prices in several shops before you buy something?

3.Do you
a. give money to beggars?
b. give money to charities?
c. give away used itms, such as clothing?

4. If you go for a meal with someone you don’t know well, do

you
a. offer to pay the whole bill?
b. suggest dividing the bill in two equal parts?
c. offer to pay the whole bill but expect he/she to pay next
time?
d. try to avoid paying anything?

5. What do you think about people who do not pay the correct
amount of tax? Is this
a. a serious crime?
b. morally wrong but not a crime?
c. excellent business practice?

6. If you lend a colleague a small amount of money and he/she

forgets to pay it back, do you
a. say nothing?
b. remind he/she that he/she owes you money?

239
 c. arrange to go for a drink with them and say you’ve
forgotten your wallet or purse?

III.1.WHO’S WHO IN FINANCE?

The tax inspector is a government official who checks that you

are paying enough tax.
The tax consultant is someone who advises you or a company
on how to pay less tax.
A bank manager is the person who is responsible for an
individual bank.
A commodity trader is someone who buys and sells large
quantities of goods, especially food products such as tea,
coffee, and cereals, or raw materials such as wood or metals.
An accountant is someone who prepares an individual’s or a
company’s tax return.
A finance director is the person who is responsible for the
financial side of running a business. !!!!!!
A market analyst is someone who comments on business and
share prices in a particular sector of the economy.
An insurance broker is the person who finds you the best
insurance policy at the best price.
A stockbroker is someone who buys and sells stocks and shares
for clients, and charges a comission.

III.2.WHAT’S WHAT IN FINANCE?

240
Pension is when you are old, you have one of these.
Bank is where you go to borrow money or get cash.
Tax is something that the government collects and no one likes
to pay.
Dividends are received by those individuals who invest their
money in a company and hope to receive these regularly.
Bankruptcy is the situation where a company does not have
enough money or property to pay its debts, and so the
company closes.
Capital is a type of investment made by a company when
buying equipment.
Assets is the name for all the property, equipment, investments
and money owned by a company (or individual).
Turnover is the total amount of sales in a year.
Liabilities is the name for everything that a company owes.
Mortgage is how you can pay for a house, unless you can pay
for it in a single payment.

PRACTICE

Word families
Financial vocabulary covers areas including economics,
banking, marketing, personal finance and planning. Here is a
selection of key words. Complete the chart:

Verb Personal General Adjective

noun(person) noun

241
 (”object”)
to analyze
competitor
To advise
To merge -
To
industrialize
trader
exporting/exported
producer/
manufacturer
supplier
consumer
To
guarantee
To credit
- debit
earner
investor

Key terms in banking

Complete the words below to match the given meanings:

payee/ loan /bank draft /internet banking/overdraft /clearance/

commercial bank/savings bank/base rate

1. The person to whom a cheque is written.

payee
242
 2. Money provided by a bank to a customer for an agreed
purpose. l___
3. A bank which offers a full range of services to individuals
and companies. c_m_ _ _ _ _ _l b _ _ _
4. A type of bank with a strong local or regional identity
mainly used by small, private investors who get interest
on
their deposits. s______ b___
5. An instruction from one bank to another bank asking
it to make a payment to a supplier. _ _ _ k d _ _ _ _
6. An agreement that an account can remain in debit up to
certain amount for an agreed time period.
o________
7. The time taken from when a cheque is presented to a
bank
To when the receiving account is credited. cl _ _r _ _ c_
8. The lowest level of interest that a bank charges for
lending money. b_ _ _ r _ _ _
9. Conducting banking services from a computer using the
bank’s website. I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ b _ n_ _ _ _

Bank charges

Choose the best explanation for each of the terms in italics

from a), b), c):

1. setting up fee
a) a charge made for a new account;
243
 b) a charge when money is paid in or taken out from an
account;
c) a fixed charge when an overdraft agreement is made.

2. base rates
a) the rate of interest charged to customers who borrow
from the bank;
b) a rate used to help decide the level of interest on loans
from the bank (the bank usually sets the actual interest
rate several points above the base rate);
c) all charges made to an account in a year.

3. margin
a) the percentage above the base rate that a borrower is
asked to pay;
b) the profit that a customer makes from having an
account in credit and so earning interest;
c) the cost of borrowing.

4. fixed rate lending

a) an agreement to lend money at a current rate of
interest that could change if base rates go up and
down;
b) lending money at an agreed interest rate for a fixed
time;
c) any agreement to lend money for a fixed period of
time.

244
 III.3. MONEY AND INCOME. PERSONAL FINANCE

All the money a person receives or earns as payment

represents his/her income. This can include:
 a salary which is money paid monthly by an
employer, which differs from wages that means
money paid by the day or hour, usually received
weekly;
 overtime which means money received for working
extra hours;
 commission which means money paid to
salespeople and agents - a certain percentage of
the income the employee generates;
 a bonus which means extra money given for
meeting a target or for good financial results;
 fees which means money paid to professional
people such as lawyers or architects;
 social security which means money paid to the
government to unemployed and sick people;
 pension which is money paid by a company or the
government to a retired person./retiree

Salaries and wages are often paid after deductions such

as social security charges and pension contributions. Amounts
of money that people have to spend regularly are outgoings.
These often include:

245
  living expenses refers to money spent on everyday
needs such as food, clothes and public
transportation;
 bills refers to requests for the payment of money
owed for services such as electricity, gas and
telephone connections;
 rent refers to the money paid for the use of a house
or apartment;
 mortgage refers to repayments of money
borrowed to buy a house or an apartment;
 health insurance refers to financial protection
against medical expenses for sickness or accidental
injuries;
 tax refers to money paid to finance government
spending;
 budget stands for how money a person or
organization expects to earn and spend;
 currency refers to the money used in a country (e.g.
dollars, euros, pounds).

PRACTICE

A. Complete the sentences with the words from the box.

Use the above given information to help you:

commission bonus currency earn (vb.) mortgage tax

overtime pension rent salary social security

246
1."After I lost my job, I was living on……………for three months.
This was difficult, because the amount was much lower than the
………….I had before."
2. "I used to work as a salesperson/sales assistant, but I wasn’t
very successful, so I didn’t …………..much………… ."
3. "If the company makes 10% more than last year, we’ll get a
…………… at the end of this year."
4. "It’ll take me at least 25 years to repay the ………….on my
house."
5. Many European countries now have the same ………………….,
the euro.
6. "My wages aren’t very good, so I do a lot of ……………….. ."
7. "Nearly 40% of everything I earn goes to the government as
…………… ."
8. "The owner has just increased the ……………………… on our flat
by 15%."
9. "When I retire, my …………………….will be 60% of my final
salary."

Decide whether the following statements true (T)or false

(F):
1. People earning wages get paid more often than people
earning a salary.→
2. People working on commission always get paid the same
amount.→
3. When you stop working at the end of your career, you receive
a pension.→
4. Most people pay a rent and a mortgage.→
247
 How important is salary in your choice of career?
Share your ideas with the class.

There are lots of things you can do with money. Here

are six:

lose it/spend it/give it away/ invest it/save it /waste it

Of these six, which give you the most pleasure and

happiness? Share your ideas with your partner.

Circle the verbs that can be used with money:

make/do/buy/sell/wash/fly/win/pay
back/pick/steal/earn/donate/withdraw/spend/save/
invite/shop/waste/own/borrow /lend/lose /find

Read the sentences below and decide if the people have

lots of money or little money:

248
 1. We live in an affluent society. People can afford a lot of
things.→
2. I can’t eat out tonight. I’m broke(AE)./peniless(BE)→
3. He always donates money to the charity. He is so
generous.→
4. She won’t buy a new dress for her brother’s wedding. She
is short of money.→
5. He runs a prosperous business.→
6. Only the rich stay in that expensive hotel.→
7. She comes from a wealthy family. She went to the best
schools in the country.→
8. They can’t go on holiday. They are too poor.→

When you buy things, what is the most important to

you? Share your reasons with your partner:

 Price
 Quality
 Fashion
 Your preferences
 Your friend’s opinion
 Other people’s recommendations
 Brands
 Necessity

Money
Circle the best word or words:
249
 1. Money you are paid for your work is money you
earn/win/gain/profit/benefit.
2. You want to make a phone call but you only have a
(bank)note. You need some small money/little
money/small change/exchange.
3. You want to know the price of something, so you say:
"How much is it?"; "How many is it?"; ”What it costs?”
4. When you finish a meal at a restaurant, you ask for the
bill/addition/account/reckoning.
5. If you visit a doctor privately, he will certainly charge a
tariff/fee/tax. fee=charge
6. How much did you pay/pay for the plumber?
7. A professional person’s bill is often referred to as a
tariff/a charge/an account.
8. You want one of the oranges on display, so you ask how
much they are each/the one/the piece.
9. When buying something by weight, you may want to
know how much they’re a kilo/per the kilo/for the kilo.
10. You pass an empty house and see a notice outside it
which reads To sell/On sale/For sale.
11. Nobody likes to pay high/tall/big/great prices.
12. Rich/The rich/The riches should pay more taxes.

Group the following in columns under the headings(*** 3

words may fit in both columns):

bill/pocket
money/charge/commission/interest/premium/inheritance/tip/

250
 instalment/dividend/wages/tax/subsidy/salary/deposit/rent/
royalties/subscription/tariff/fine/bonus/(bus)fare/fee

Money to receive Money to pay

dividend instalment

Fill in the blanks with some of the words in the left hand column.
The first one has been done for you:

1. High wages throughout the country can lead to inflation.

2. Stephanie earned a $10,000 ........................ for being the
best sales person/sales assistant of the year.
3. Most insurance agents are on .......................... and some
earn a lot of money.
4. Farmers are waiting for the new........................ to help
them grow cereals.
5. She has a very attractive ................................ in a
multinational, not to mention the fringe benefits.

Fill in the blanks with some of the words from the right hand
column:

1. I bought a fridge which I have to pay in six

months......................... of 150 dollars each.
2. If you fail to return the book by the due date,
the ..........................will be of 1$ a day.
3. He is not very satisfied with his job as he only earns
12,000 $ per year after................... .

251
 4. The flat was downtown, yet the........................... the
couple had to pay was reasonable.
5. We made a............................. of 25% to be sure that the
shop will not sell the furniture we liked so much.

Extend your vocabulary. Money "metaphors"

In the English language money is frequently viewed as a

liquid. Look at the sentences below. What has happened to the
money in each one?

1. Buying a car took a huge chunk out of our savings.

2. The university fees swallowed up most of my grant.
3. The company made large profits and the workers wanted
a slice of the pie.
4. The government is pouring money into education.
5. We are having a problem with the cash flow.
6. They splashed out on a new television.
7. You’re buying a new car? That’s just pouring money down
the drain.

Money. Collocations

A. Which of these verb/noun combinations is not a natural

collocation?

1. make/earn/waste/do/spend money
2. cost/get into/make/lose/win a fortune
252
 3. owe/pay/raise/take out/cut tax
4. go up/expand/gain/increase in value
5. pay back/pay off/take out/borrow a loan
6. economic climate/fortune/development/growth
7. monetary policy/economy/control/reform
8. financial currency/backing/difficulties/year
9. tax benefits/break/income/evasion
income tax

B. Verb collocations with money

Match the verbs on the left with the phrases:

1. spend b a. to a beggar
2. lose d b. on food
3. give a money c. in a will
4. save e d. at the casino
5. leave c e. by walking to work
6. lend h f. in a new business
7. invest f g. into the bank
8. waste j money h. to a friend
9. pay i i. for your holiday
10. change g j. on silly things

C. Match the two parts of the sentences:

1. Karen has a steady job with a regular a. inheritance

2. The student was awarded a b. income

253
 3. The charity received a substantial c. benefits

4. You may be entitled to receive state d. donation

5. He gave up work when he came into his e. scholarship

Cash terms
Read the following definitions below, then complete the
phrases that follow by combining an appropriate word from the
box with cash
advance/delivery/flow/hard/petty/ ready
Example: Small amounts of money in notes and coins for
regular, small purchases. petty cash
1. Money in (bank)notes and coins, not cheques or credit
card transfers.
____________cash
2. Cash which comes into a company from sales, overheads
etc.
cash _______________
3. Payment when the consumer receives the goods.
cash on _______________
4. A loan in cash against a future payment.
cash _______________ cash advance
5. Notes and coins available for immediate expenditure.
____________ cash

Work on your phrasal verbs on money and spending.

Choose the correct particle:
254
 1. The cost of the operation will amount to/at/in 156,000
euros.
2. I’ve come into/to/in a little money. I’ll be able to repay
that sooner than expected.
3. Are you still struggling to pay over/off/down your debts?
4. We have put to/over/down a deposit for the new house.
5. The company plans to sell off/over/down the shares next
month.
6. The cash was set around/aside/away for road and rail
improvements.

Interview your partner and then share your answers

with the rest of the class:

 Do you enjoy shopping?

 Where do you usually go shopping?
 Do you go shopping alone or with your family/friend(s)?
 How much money do you usually spend every day?
 Do your parents usually give you an allowance(pocket
money)?How much?
 Do you sometimes buy things that you don’t really need?
 What’s the most expensive thing that you have ever
bought?
 Are you good at saving money?
 Are you saving money to buy something?
 Do you compare the prices beforehand in different shops
when you buy something?
 Do you like shopping online? If yes, why?
255
  How have your spending habits changed over the last ten
years?
 Is talking about money a taboo subject in your country?
 What thing do you most regret having bought?

Rewrite the following sentences by using one of the verbs

given below for each sentence:

borrow/afford/rent/earn/sell/cost

Example: I bought it from John. → John sold it to me.

1. How much did you pay for that watch? ................................... .

2. Could you lend me a pen? ..................................................... .

3. I’m afraid that car is too expensive for me. ............................ .

4. My salary is about £10,000 a year. .......................................... .

5. She’s going to let her house to some of her friends.

…………………………………………................... .

Match the numbers/figures/digits (1-6) with the way they

are said (a-f):
1. 790 4. 70,900
2. 7,900 5. 79,000
3. 7,990 6. 7,900,000

a. seven thousand, nine hundred and ninety

256
 b. seventy-nine thousand
c. seven hundred and ninety
d. seven million, nine hundred thousand
e. seventy thousand, nine hundred
f. seven thousand, nine hundred

Write in words how you would say the numbers below.

You can choose whether or not to include "and":

1. 460 ……………………………………………………
2. 1,300 …………………………………………………
3. 6,820 …………………………………………………
4. 80,500 ……………………………………………….
5. 43,000 ……………………………………………..
6. 4,200,000 ………………………………………..

Numbers.Collocations

A. Match the two parts of the sentence:

1. He counted up the number of days a. an estimate

2. I can’t keep track b. for figures
3. She’s got a good head c. in numbers
4. I don’t know precisely, but I can make d. on his fingers
5. There seems to have been a significant reduction
e. of how many
there are
257
 B. Which of the following is a collocation?
1. large/big/vast/huge number
2. unemployment/sales/double/price figures
3. to work out the
answer/figures/money/price/cost/finances
4. a rough guess/idea/estimate/approximation

Fun time!

Read some of Murphy’s Laws 17 on money and management

 “Money is like manure. If you spread it around, it does a

lot of good. But if you pile it up in one place, it stinks like
hell.”

 “It’s better to be rich and healthy than poor and sick.”

 “In order to get a loan you must first prove you don’t need
it.”

 “Money isn’t everything (It isn’t plentiful, for example).”

17
Murphy’s Law n. "a supposed law of nature, expressed in various
humorous popular sayings, to the effect that anything that can go wrong
will go wrong." (www.wikipedia.org)
258
  “A carelessly planned project takes three times longer
than expected; a careful planned project will only take
twice as long.”

 “If your project doesn’t work, look for the part you didn’t
think was important.”

 “The ideal resume will turn up one day after the position is
filled.”

 “To estimate the time it takes to do a task, estimate the

time you think it should take, multiply by two, and change
the unit of measure to the next highest unit. Thus, we
allocate two days for a one-hour task.”

Which one most appeals to you? Share your comments with

the rest of the class.

UNIT FOUR

REVISION TESTS

Circle one right word:

TEST ONE

259
1.The company saw net profits fall as a result of the……………. in
the industry worldwide.
A downfall B downgrade C downturn D downward

2. It is important for many small businesses to improve their

credit …………………and ensure customers pay on time.
A limit B control C risk D term

3. All letters of credit should include an expiry date when

payment is …………………..
A called B complete C ready D due

4. Thank you for your ……………………… of 500 $ which we

received today.
A remittance B remission C remains D remuneration

5. The credit terms ……………………….that payment should be on

presentation of the goods.
A remind B stipulate C agree D settle

6. It’s important to ……………………….. customer references when

offering credit.
A take on B take down C take up D take in

7. If you do not pay /If you fail to pay your bill within the next
few days we will have to consider taking legal…………………….
A prosecution B action C instruction D presentation

260
TEST TWO
1. The company will be ……………………. a new range of health
foods over the next few months.
A promoting B encouraging C competing D supporting

2. Although prices have remained ………………for the past two

years we are expecting a sharp rise in the near future.
A still B immobile C the same D static

3.This particular …………………..of ice cream is supposed to

contain very little fat.
A name B brand C label D product

4.Their products are only available through

selected……………………
A outlooks B outlets C outlines D outfits

5. The sales ……………….. for the next few months is not

particularly optimistic.
A figures B drive C forecast D trend

6. The advertising company has come up with a catchy

………………for the new car.
A slogan B saying C image D feature

7. It’s going to be difficult to break ……………..the Far East market

but I believe it will become a key market for us.
A through B up C into D down
261
8. We’re hoping that the new software package is going to make
a big………………….
A effect B impact C influence D mark

9. Supermarkets often find point of ……………… sale very useful

when introducing new products to their customers.
A displays B exhibits C presentations D exhibitions

10. When deciding what kind of advertising to use it’s important

to find out as much as possible about your ………………….
A companions B competitions C competitors D
components

TEST THREE
1. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know all the technical
………………..as long as you can describe the process.
A conditions B terms C particulars D qualifications

2. There was a major breakdown in the factory so the assembly

line was brought to a ……………………….
A stoppage B close C halt D pause

3. The temperature of the chocolate mixture has to be carefully

…………………as it affects texture and flavour.
A monitored B guided C followed D surveyed

262
4. Paper can get …………………. to the drum or between the
rollers.
A fixed B joined C connected D stuck

5. The motor should rotate the wheels at very …………..speeds to

ensure a consistent mix.
A correct B precise C definite D particularly

6. This model is fitted ………….all the latest electronic gadgets.

A on B for C with D up

7. Full ……………………are given on the back of the packet.

A instructions B operations C outlines D functions

8. There was no room in the warehouse as all ……………….space

was taken up with unsold machinery.
A allowable B available C attainable D applicable

9. A microprocessor…………….. temperature changes.

A contracts B conveys C controls D converts

TEST FOUR
1.For many people job ……………………..is more important than a
high salary.
A satisfaction B expectation C achievement D acceptance

2. The company needed to make job cuts so they asked staff to

………………..for redundancy.
263
A offer B choose C volunteer D select

3.Employees are allowed up to three weeks unpaid

…………………..a year.
A absence B vacation C time D leave

4.Carol’s reliability and confidence make her an

……………………..employee.
A idealized B ideal C idyllic D idealistic

5. The interview panel’s ……………………..impression was that Sam

was the most suitable candidate.
A overdone B overall C overbearing D overblown

6. Many people would jump …………………..the chance of working

for a successful travel company.
A off B in C at D over

7 Although I am a very ………………..junior member of staff, my

prospects are good.
A long-lived B long-standing C long-winded D long-term

8. One of the advantages of this job is that they offer

accommodation at a ………………rent.
A nominal B small C poor D deficient

9. I’m looking for a career which will give me plenty of

………………….to use my foreign languages.
A area B room C scope D space
264
10. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of ……………………against
older people in the workplace.
A distraction B discrimination C discretion D distortion

TEST FIVE
1. The operations ……………in how a photocopier works are
clearly explained in the manual.
A invested B invented C involved D investigated

2. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know all the technical

………………. as long as you can describe the process.
A conditions B terms C particulars D qualifications

3. There was a major breakdown in the factory so the assembly

line was brought to a …………………………… .
A stoppage B close C halt D pause

4. The temperature of the chocolate mixture has to be carefully

…………………… as it affects texture and flavour.
A monitored B guided C followed D surveyed

5. Paper can get …………………. to the drum or between the

rollers.
A fixed B joined C connected D stuck

6. The motor should rotate the wheels at very ……………….speeds

to ensure a consistent mix.
265
A correct B precise C definite D particularly

7. This model is fitted …………………all the latest electronic

gadgets.
A on B for C with D up

8. Full …………………… are given on the back of the packet.

A instructions B operations C outlines D functions

9. There was no …………………..room in the warehouse as all space

was taken up with unsold machinery.
A allowable B available C attainable D applicable

10. A microprocessor …………………temperature changes.

A contracts B conveys C controls D converts

TEST SIX
1.Sweden is known for the success in maintaining
full………………….. since the war.
A employment B time C labour force

2.Most people in a company…………………………a line superior.

A call to B report to C answer to

3.Highly motivated workers will be more…………………………. .

A selective B productive C intense
266
4.Match the noun with the following verb to make (a) common
collocation(s): to delegate
A performance B responsibilities C decisions D objectives

5. …………………….is giving another person the right to use part of

one’s authority.
A Recruiting B Delegating C Interviewing

6.Organizing is the process of creating a structure of

relationships between …………………….. by setting up……………………
and job descriptions.
A employees/departments B employes/departments C
employers/departments

7. When a worker is no longer required, he/she is

made………………….and this entitles him/her to some …………… .
Auseless/reward Bjobless/restitutionC redundant/compensation

8.The company will replace the person who…………………..with an

internal candidate who can be………………………. .
A dismisses/promoted B resigns/promoted C
discharges/advanced

9.There are incentives(=stimulente) for working………………….or

…………………..weekend.
A extra time/in B overtime/on C extra hours/on D
overtimes/on

267
10.Clerical staff are…………………………….. .
A blue-collar workers B white-collar workers C manpower

11.To offer people paid work is……………………… them.

A to recruit B to interview C to hire

12.The money earned for a week’s manual work is

called…………………… .
A income B tax C salary D wage

ENGLISH – ROMANIAN BUSINESS VOCABULARY18

Accelerated depreciation s. amortizare accelerată

Account s. cont, calcul, socoteală
Accountancy s. profesia de contabil
Accountant s. contabil
Account book s. registru contabil
Accounting s. contabilitate
Accounting period s. exercițiu financiar
18
The selection of the English business terms is based on Voroniuc, A.,
Dicționar englez-român de termeni economici și juridici, Institutul
European, 1999

268
Accounts s. înregistrări contabile
Accounts payable s. conturi de creditor
Accounts receivable s.pl. conturi debitoare; ~ de creanțe
Advance adj. anticipat; payment in advance s. ~ plata anticipat
Advertising account s. buget de publicitate
Advice of dispatch s. aviz de expediție
Afford v. a-și permite
Allowance s. 1. indemnizație; 2. alocație
Amendment s. modificare a condițiilor unui acreditiv
documentar
Amount s. cantitate
Applicant s. solicitant, candidat
Application s. cerere, solicitare
Appointment s. numire, ora rexervată, întrevedere
Appreciation s. creșterea valorii
Ascertain v. a constata; a stabili
As is goods expr. mărfuri oferite fără garanție
As per expr. conform cu
Assessor s. expert evaluator
Assets s.pl. 1. activ; 2. fond
At a discount expr. la un preț mai mic
At a premium expr. la un preț mai mare decât valoarea
nominală
Auction s. licitație
Audit s. audit, revizie contabilă
Auditor s. auditor, revizor contabil
Average s. medie

269
B

Bad debt s. credit neperformant

Backlog s. restanță, marfă nevândută
Balance of payment s. balanța de plăți
Balance of trade s. balanța comercială
Balance sheet s. bilanț contabil
Bank s. bancă
Bank run s. retragere masivă și rapidă a depunerilor de la o
bancă
Bankrupt adj. falit, insolvabil
Bankruptcy s. faliment
Base year s. an de referință
Bear s. operator la bursa care vinde anticipând scăderea
prețului
Bear v. 1. a suporta (cheltuieli); 2. a purta (dobândă)
Bearer s. purtător
Beneficiary s. beneficiar
Bid s. curs, ofertă de cumpărare
Bill of exchange s. rată de schimb
Binding adj. obligatoriu
Board of directors s. consiliu de administrație
Bogus cheque s. cec fals
Bond s. obligațiune
Bonus s. primă
Bookkeeping s. evidență contabilă
Book of prime entry s. registru contabil de evidență primară
Boom s. perioadă de avânt economic
270
Boost v. a spori
Borrow v. a lua cu împrumut
Bottom line s. marja finală a profitului
Bottom out v. a atinge punctul cel mai scăzut
Bounce back v. a-și reveni
Bracket s. categorie, interval (cu referire la venituri în vederea
stabilirii tranșelor, procentelor de impozitare)
Bulk s. grămadă, vraf; încărcătură
Bull s. operator care cumpără acțiuni anticipând creșterea
prețurilor
Bull market s. piața de valori unde se cumpără anticipându-se
creșterea prețurilor
Buygrid s. rețea de cumpărare
Buy out v. achiziționare de firme în vederea obținerii controlului
lor

Call s. convorbire telefonică

Cancel v. a anula
Cancellation s. anulare
Capital s. capital, suma investită, activul net al acționarilor
Capital market s. piața de capital
Cash s. numerar
Cash book s. registru de casă/de încasări
Cash card s. card bancar
Cash discount s. rabat pentru plata în numerar
271
Cash dispenser s. bancomat
Cash flow s. flux de numerar
Ceiling s. plafon, limită superioară
Ceiling price s. preț maxim
Central bank s. bancă centrală
Certified accountant s. contabil autorizat, membru al unei
asociații a contabililor autorizați
Certified public accountant s. (în S.U.A.) contabil autorizat;
revizor contabil
Chairman s. președinte al unei companii
Chartered accountant s. expert contabil, membru al unei
asociații oficiale din Anglia
Checking account s. cont curent
Class price s. preț discriminatoriu
Clause adj. cu rezerve (despre documente)
Collection s. încasare
Commercial bank s. bancă comercială
Commodity market s. piața de materii prime; piața de mărfuri
Common stock s. (în S.U.A.) acțiune ordinară
Consign v. a expedia mărfuri
Consignee s. destinatar
Consignment s. lot de mărfuri expediate
Consignor s. expeditor al mărfii
Contingency s. situație neprevăzută
Contingency clause s. (în cadrul unui contract) clauză de forță
majoră
Credit s. credit
Credit v. a credita

272
Credit card s. carte de credit
Current account s. cont current
Current assets s. active curente; capital circulant
Current liabilities s.pl. datorii curente (cu scadență la perioada
contabilă prezentă)
Current price s. prețul curent
Cut out v. a stopa

Damage s. pagubă, deterioare, daună

Damage v. a deteriora
Damages s.pl. despăgubiri
Day book s. registru de intrări primare, zilnice
Deadline s. termen limită
Debit s. intrări în cont, debit
Debit card s. card de debit
Debit entry s. înregistrare în coloana de debite
Debt s. datorie
Decrease v. scădere, reducere
Decrease v. a scădea, a se reduce
Deduction s. bonificație, reducere, reținere, scădere
Deliver v a livra
Delivery s. livrare
Demand s. cerere
Direct adj. direct
Direct costs s. costuri directe
273
Direct labour s. munca ce se calculează ca fiind cheltuieli
directe de producție
Discount s. rabat, reducere de preț
Discrepancy s. neconcordanță
Disparity s. decalaj, diferență, iregularitate
Dispatch s. expediere
Distribution s. distribuție
Distribution costs s.pl. cheltuieli, costuri de distribuție
Dividend s. dividend
Donation s. donație
Donee s. donatar
Donor s. donator
Double-entry bookkeeping s. contabilitate în partida dublă
Down payment s. acont/ rata plătită la încheierea unui
contract
Drawee s. persoana care achită o poliță
Due adj. datorat, cuvenit
Due date s. scadență
Duty s. impozit, rată, tarif

Effective adj. în vigoare

Efficiency s. eficiență, eficacitate
Employ v. a angaja
Employee s. angajat
Employer s. angajator
274
Employer’s liability s. răspunderea angajatorului (în caz de
accident de muncă)
Employment s. 1. folosire a forței de muncă; 2. Serviciu
Encashment s. încasare, plată în numerar
Enclose v. a include, a anexa, a alătura un act/o scrisoare
Enactment s. lege, decret, ordonanță
Endorse v. a gira
Endorser s. girant
Engagement s. 1. logodnă; angajament
Entity s. entitate
Entry s. înregistrare într-un registru contabil
Equities s.pl. acțiuni obișnuite
Equity s. valoarea capitalului aflat în proprietatea acționarilor
Exchange s. 1. bursa; 2. schimb
Exchange rate s. curs de schimb
Excise duty s. acciză
Expenditure s. cheltuială
Expenses s.pl. cheltuieli
Expiration s. expirare
Expire v. a expira
Extend the validity of a document expr. a prelungi valabilitatea
unui document
Extension s. prelungire
External adj. extern

275
Face value s. valoare nominală
Fail v. a nu reuși
Fair adj. corect
Fall s. cădere, devalorizare
Fall v. a scădea
Fall due expr. a ajunge la scadență
Falling market s. o piață în care prețurile sunt în scădere
Favourable adj. excedentar; favorabil
Favourable balance of trade s. balanța comercială excedentară
Fee s. onorariu, comision
File v. 1. a face o cerere; 2. a îndosaria
Fill a demand expr. a satisface o cerere
Financial adj. financiar
Financial accounting s. contabilitate financiară
Financial statement s. situații/rapoarte financiare
Fixed assets s.pl. active fixe
Floor s. limita minimă
Flotation s. deschiderea, prin vânzarea de acțiuni, a unei noi
firme
Flow s. flux
Foot a bill v. a achita o notă de plată
Foreign exchange s. devize
Foreign exchange market s. piața valutară
Format s. prezentare
Free market s. piața liberă
Fringe benefit s. beneficiu suplimentar
Full – time (job) adj. cu normă întreagă

276
G

Gainfully employed s. serviciu bine remunerat

Gearing s. raportul dintre capitalul imprumutat de la o firma, cu
o dobanda fixă, si capitalul propriu
Get out of debt expr. a scăpa de datorii
Glut s. supraabundență, saturație
Grade v. a sorta
Gross adj. brut

Hard currency s. valută forte

Hedging s. protejare împotriva riscului unor pierderi datorate
creșterii de prețuri prin contracte la termen
Hike v. a crește/urca prețul, creștere
Hold steady v. a rămâne constant
Hostile takeover bid s. ofertă de cumpărare a unei alte firme,
neagreată de administrație al acesteia din urmă
I

In bulk expr. în cantități mari

In cash expr. în numerar
Income tax s. impozit pe venit
277
Incomings and outgoings expr. încasări și cheltuieli
Increment s. plus valoare
Indelible adj. care nu se șterge
Indenture s. angajamant contractual legal
Insolvent adj. insolvabil
Instalment s. rată de plată, tranșă
Interest s. avantaj, dobândă
Interview s. interviu, examinare a unui candidat
Interviewee s. candidat, examinat
Interviewer s. cel care examinează un candidat pentru
evaluarea calificării
Inventory s. inventor, stoc
Investment bank s. bancă de investiții
Invoice amount s. sumă facturată
Issue v. a emite (acțiuni, bani)

Jeopardy s. pericol, risc

Job sharing s. ocuparea unui post de către două personae,
fiecare cu jumătate de normă
Joint account s. cont comun
Jump v. a crește brusc (prețuri)
Junk bond s. obligațiune cu risc mare

278
K

Knock down v. a adjudeca

Know-how s. cunoștințe tehnice, experiență, pricepere

Label s. etichetă, marcă

Lag s. decalaj, întârziere
Landowner s. propietar de pământ, moșier
Ledger s. registru contabil
Lender s. împrumutător, creditor
Level off v. a se nivela, a se stabiliza
Leveraged buy out expr. cumpărarea acțiunilor unei firme,
garantând cu activul acesteia împrumuturile necesare
acoperirii plății
Levy v. a percepe (impozite)
Liabilities s. pl. datorii
Liability s. răspundere
Licence s. autorizație, brevet, patent, licență
Life insurance s. asigurare pe viață
Limited liability s. răspundere limitată
Liquid assets s.pl. active lichide
Liquidation s. lichidare
Liquidity s. fonduri lichide disponibile pentru efectuarea
plăților
279
Lodge v. a depune/a face o reclamație, a ridica pretenții (la
despăgubiri)
Long –term liabilities s.pl. datorii cu scadență îndepărtată

Made out to bearer expr. emis la purtător (despre cecuri)

Managed exchange rate s. curs de schimb dirijat
Management s. conducere, direcție, gestiune/administrare
Managerial accounting s. contabilitate managerială
Man-made adj. făcut de om, artificial
Manufacturing overhead s. costuri indirecte de fabricație
Market s. piață
Marketing s. marketing
Market price s. prețul pieței
Market value s. valoare de piață
Mature v. a ajunge la scadență
Maturity s. scadență
Meet a deadline expr.v. a se încadra într-un termen limită
Meet a demand expr. a satisface o cerere
Merchant bank s. bancă de afaceri/de investiții
Miss a deadline expr. a nu se încadra în termen
Money supply s. masă monetară
Mortgage s. credit ipotecar, ipotecă

280
N

National bank s. banca națională

Negotiable adj. negociabil
Net adj. net
Nominal value s. valoare nominală
Non-payment s. neplată
Notice-account/deposit s. depozit/cont bancar la vedere

Option s. opțiune
Order s. comandă
Order v. a comanda
Outlays s.pl. cheltuieli
Outstanding adj. neachitat
Overdraft s. aranjament între bancă și client privind plăți
efectuate cu depășirea sumelor existente în cont
Overdraw v. a depăși la retrageri suma existentă în cont
Overdue adj. întârziat, neplătit la scadență
Overhead(s) s.pl. cheltuieli indirecte
Overstaffed adj. cu personal ce depășește necesitățile din
punctul de vedere al numărului
Overstaffing s. încărcarea unei firme cu personal peste
necesitățile reale
Overtime s. ore suplimentare prestate

281
Owner s. proprietar
Ownership s. drept de proprietate

Nominal value s. valoare nominală

Partner s. asociat
Partnership s. parteneriat
Part-time (job) adj. cu program de lucru parțial, cu jumătate de
normă
Pass on v. a transmite
Pay v. a plăti, a onora
Payee s. beneficiar(al unei plăți)
Payroll s. stat de plată
Peak s. vârf
Peak v. a atinge un maximum
Peak hour s. oră de vârf
Pegged adj. fix (cu referire la cursul de schimb)
Perishables s.pl. mărfuri perisabile
Piecework s. lucru plătit la bucată
Plummet v. a scădea vertiginos
Plunge v. a scădea
Policy s. poliță(de asigurare)
Portfolio s. portofoliu
Premises s.pl. sediu, incintă
Premium s. primă de asigurare
Price s. preț
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Price list s. listă de prețuri
Public liability s. răspunderea proprietarului (în cazul unui
accident suferit de cineva pe proprietatea acestuia)

Qualification(s) s.(pl.) competență, calificare

Qualified adj. calificat(ă)
Quantity discount s. rabat pentru cumpărarea unor cantități
mari
Quotation s. cotație
Quote v. a cota

Raise v. a procura, a colecta, a strânge(fonduri, capital)

Raw material s. materie primă
Receipt s. chitanță
Receiver s. destinatar, primitor
Recession s. recesiune
Reckoning s. socoteală, calcul
Recover v. a recupera, a-și reveni, a se redresa
Recovery s. redresare
Report to sombody v. a fi în subordinea cuiva

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Research and development expr. cercetare-dezvoltare
(departament)
Retail bank s. bancă ce oferă servicii persoanelor fizice
Retail banking s. servicii bancare pentru clienții persoane fizice
Retailer s. vânzător cu amănuntul
Retail price s. preț cu amănuntul
(Tax) return s. declarație de venituri
Revenue s. venit
Run up a debt expr. a acumula o datorie

Sample s. eșantion
Script s. document original
Seal s. marcă, ștampilă, sigiliu
Securities s.pl. titluri de valoare
Security s. garanție (pentru un împrumut bancar)
Sender s. expeditor
Seniority s. vechime în câmpul muncii
Set v. a stabili (un obiectiv, un termen)
Set a deadline expr. a stabili un termen limită
Settle a debt expr. a achita o datorie
Share s. acțiune
Shareholder s. actioner
Sinking fund s. capital/fond amortizabil
Sleeping partner s. partener care are acțiuni, dar nu participă la
managementul firmei

284
Slump s. scădere bruscă a prețurilor(la bursă), perioadă de
declin economic
Soft currency s. valută instabilă
Solvent adj. solvabil
Spread out v. a eșalona
Staff s. personal
Standing order s. serviciu bancar constând în plata la date
regulate a unor facturi ale titularilor
Stockholder s. acționar
Storage s. înmagazinare
Straight time s. plată fixă pe oră
Subsidiary s. filială
Subsidy s. subvenție
Supply s. ofertă, aprovizionare, provizie

Takeover s. preluare, cumpărarea a 50% din acțiunile unei

firme
Takeover bid s. ofertă de preluare
Tangible assets s.pl. active corporale
Target customer s. client țintă
Task s. muncă, sarcină, treabă
Tax shelter s. înțelegere financiară
Third party liability s. răspundere față de terțe părți (în
asigurare)
Timeliness s. oportunitate
Time policy s. poliță pe o perioadă definită
Trade s. comerț
285
Trade discount s. rabat comercial
Treasury bill s. bon de tezaur

Unemployment s. șomaj
Upstairs market s. bursă
Upsurge s. creștere, dezvoltare
Unrealizable goods s. mărfuri nevandabile
Unskilled worker s. muncitor necalificat
User s. consummator, utilizator

Vacancy s. post neocupat/vacant

Validity s. validitate
Value s. valoare
Value added tax s. taxa pe valoare adăugată
Valued policy s. poliță cu valoare stabilită
Void adj. nul

Wage(s) s.(pl) salariu (plătit săptămânal)

Warning s. avertisment
Wasting assests s.pl. active epuizabile
Weak currency s. valută instabilă
286
Wholesale bank s. bancă ce oferă servicii exclusiv marilor firme
Wholesale price s. preț cu ridicata, preț en gros
Wholesaler s. angrosist
Wind up (a company) v. a lichida, a închide o firmă

287
References

Anderson, S., Pelteret, C., Work on Your Idioms. Master the 300
most common idioms, HarperCollins Publishers, 2002

Barker, C., Boost Your Vocabulary (4), Pearson Education Ltd.,

2002

***Canadian English Dictionary, Harper Colins Publishers Ltd.,

1991

Emerson, P., Business Vocabulary Builder, Macmillan, 2009

Flinders, S., Professional English. Business: Intermediate,

Penguin English, Pearson Education Limited, 2002

Flower, J., Build Your Vocabulary (1), Language Teaching

Publications, 1989

Gairns, R., Redman, S., Oxford Word Skills Intermediate, Oxford

University Press, 2008

Greenall, S., Pye, D., Reading 1, Cambridge University Press,

1991

Harmer, J., Just. Reading & Writing (Intermediate), Marshall

Cavendish Ltd., 2004

288
Mann, M., Taylore-Knowles, S., Use of English for Advanced,
Macmillan, 2009

Marcheteau, M., Berman, J.P., Savio, M., Daube, J.P., Delbard,

O., Demazet, B., Engleza pentru Economie. Business and
Economics, Editura Teora, 2005

Mascull, B., Business Vocabulary in Use, Cambridge University

Press, 2002

McCarthy, M., O’Dell, F., English Vocabulary in Use: Upper –

Intermediate, Cambridge University Press, 2010

McCarthy, M., O’Dell, F., English Idioms in Use, Cambridge

University Press, 2003

Mc Coy, D., Personality Quizzes, Publications International Ltd.,

Illinois, 2009

Misztal, M., Test Your Vocabulary, Editura Teora, 1994

Radice, F., English for Banking, MacMillan Publishers Ltd., 1995

Redman, S., English Vocabulary in Use: Pre-Intermediate and

Intermediate, Cambridge University Press, 2010

289
Spooner, M. D., McKellen, J.S., Applying for a Job in English,
Penguin Books, 1990

*** Test your Professional English. Business, Penguin Engish

Guides, Pearson Education Ltd., England, 2002

Thomas, B.J., Advanced Vocabulary and Idiom, Longman, 1989

***Vocabulary Games and Activities. CEFR Levels B1/B2,

UCLES, 2013

Voroniuc, A., Dicționar englez-român de termeni economici și

juridici, Institutul European, 1999

Watcyn – Jones, P., Test Your Vocabulary (2), Penguin English,

1979

Watcyn – Jones, P., Johnston, O., Test Your Vocabulary (3),

Penguin English, Pearson Education Ltd., 2002

Webster’s New Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1994 edition

WEBLIOGRAPHY:
http://europa.eu
http://www.market-leader.net
http://www.englishclub.com
http://www.angelo.edu
http://www.businessinsider.com

290
http://www. bbc.co.uk
http://www.careerprofiles.info/business-careers.html
http://www.clarkandmiller.com – Gabriel Clark, 41 Personality
Idioms to Describe People You Love (and hate), Vocabulary in
English, posted September 12th, 2018)
http://www. wikipedia.org

291
TEMA PE PARCURS PE SEMESTRUL I (se va preda în
ziua colocviului în format A4)

Read the following article:

Bank by Computer: A Way to Save Cash

If you’ve been overwhelmed by all the hype and still aren’t

clear about what high-tech banking means, here’s an overview.
The biggest game in town is electronic cash management – the
ability to access account information directly, without a visit to a
real teller or even an automatic machine (ATM). The most
technologically advanced banks allow their customers to use
their computers to dial it for up-to-the-minute accountings.
Others can provide customers with account-balance updates at
specified daily intervals, either by fax or secure voicemail.

How does bank automation benefit a business? With

timely information, business owners can make better decisions
about how to manage their funds. On-line banking lets them
move cash among accounts, paying bills while still earning as
much interest as possible on their cash reserves. With PC
banking, cash – management decisions are transmitted from
business to bank by computer. These days, companies can use
their computers to control automatic payroll plans as well, and
they no longer have to phone or fax salary-payment instructions
to their banks. And the computers can handle tax-payment
authorisations and international-currency maneuvers.

Because banks save money by reducing their use of paper,

it pays to ask your bank to give you a financial incentive for
putting your company online!

292
A. Find the words in the text that are synonyms to bank by
computer.

B. According to the article, which of the following

statements are true?
1.a. Publicity on high-tech banking is very intense.
b. Publicity on high-tech banking is exaggerated.
c. Publicity on high-tech banking is insufficient.

2.a. You have to go to the bank to find information

about your account-balance.
b. You have to use your computer to find information
about your account-balance.
c. You have to ask an ATM to find information about
your account-balance.

3.a. Companies receive a high interest on their deposits

with on-line banking.
b. Companies receive no interest on their deposits
with on-line banking.
c. Companies receive little interest on their deposits
with on-line banking.

4.a. Companies can only send faxes to their banks with

instructions concerning the payroll.
b. Companies may control automatic payroll plans
on-line.

293
 c. Companies cannot phone to their banks with
instructions concerning the payroll.

5.a. You can ask the bank to repay you the cost of
paper.
b. You receive more money from the bank for using
their services.
c. You can ask the bank to give you some stimulus
for using the PC banking.

C. Explain in your own words the following compounds

taken from the above text. The first example was done
for you:

Example: high-tech banking → banking services that use

high technology

1. up-to-the-minute accountings
…………………………………
2. account-balance updates
……………………………………….
3. cash-management decisions
……………………………………
4. tax-payment authorizations
…………………………………….

D. Make up sentences in English with each and every

expression from point C.

294
 E. Decide whether the words written in bold are written in
their right form. If not, rewrite the whole sentence by
using their right form:

1. I’d really like to study economy at the university.

……………………………………………………
2. You can make your pays at any of over 2000 cash
machines around the country.
……………………………………………………..
3. All employees receive a day allowance to cover the costs
of meals.
……………………………………………………….
4. The company is doing much better financing this year.
…………………………………………………………
5. Did your mom get any profitable when she sold her
house?
………………………………………………………….
6. There has been an increase of the inflation by 3% this
year.
………………………………………………………….
7. This car is very economic as it goes so far on one tank of
petrol.
…………………………………………………………….
8. Some people commute to London every day form as far as
Leeds.
……………………………………………………………..

6. Translate into English:

295
 Potrivit unui studiu realizat la nivel global de Oficiul de
Muncă din SUA, bărbaţii lucrează în medie 48 de ore pe
săptămână, mai mult decât femeile care au o medie de doar 35 de
ore pe săptămână. Responsabilităţile legate de îngrijirea casei, a
copiilor, a vârsticinilor din familie sau a membrilor bolnavi, nu
permit femeilor să rămână mult la serviciu după terminarea
orelor de program. Conform studiului, la cuplurile căsătorite car
au şi copii, orele de muncă ale bărbaţilor cresc, în timp ce
programul femeilor se reduce. De exemplu, în Ungaria, prezenţa
copiilor în familie se reflectă prin prelungirea programului de
lucru al bărbaţilor cu 13-19% faţă de cel al femeilor, iar acest
procent creşte odată cu numărul de copii dintr-o familie. De
asemenea, în ultimii 3 ani, în Malaezia, nu mai puţin de 23%
dintre femei au încetat să meargă la lucru pentru a-şi îngriji
copiii. Datele culese arată că industriile unde se lucrează peste
program sunt cele de vânzări, hoteliere, pază şi securitate,
transport, depozitare şi telecomunicaţii.

BONUS POINT (OPTIONAL)

SEMESTRUL I

Choose one of the quotes from Murphy’s Laws (pp. 215-216 in

your book) and write a 3 paragraph essay (approximately 1
page) expressing your opinion on that specific topic.

296
 TEMA PE PARCURS PE SEMESTRUL AL II-LEA [se va
preda în ziua colocviului în format A4]

1. Read the following text about Public finance:

People, the disadvantaged ones in particular, may receive

money from the government as well as a form of social security
or welfare. For instance, the government pays out pensions,
unemployment benefit, disability allowances, child allowance,
grants and scholarships to help students pay for studying.
Recipients draw a pension, an unemployment benefit.
In order to be able to redistribute some money, the
government has to form the budget first and cover its expenses
according to its fiscal policy. The government levies the money it
needs from citizens through various taxes. Income tax is the tax
collected on individuals’ wages and salaries. Inheritance tax is
levied on what people inherit from others as legacy. The tax
collected on inheritances and donations are capital transfer
taxes.
Companies pay corporation tax (US income tax) on their
business profits. Income tax and corporation tax are direct taxes.
VAT or value added tax is paid at each stage of production on
most goods and services when they are brought or purchased.
When certain goods such as alcohol, tobacco or petrol are sold
within a country, excise duties have to be paid collected at ports
and airports. Sales taxes (VAT), custom duties, excise duties are
indirect taxes. If you pay too much tax, you are entitled to be
given some money back, as tax rebate. The amount of tax to be
297
paid may be reduced to a legal minimum by tax avoidance. Tax
havens are those countries where taxation is very low and,
therefore, attract investment from foreigners who wish to
escape paying tax.
When public spending exceeds receipt from income taxes,
VAT, and so on, the government issue bonds. Long-term
government (six months) bonds are known as gilt-edged
securities (or gilts) in the UK, and treasury bonds in the USA.
Central banks also sell the money supply. To reduce the money
supply, they sell these bills to commercial banks, and withdraw
the cash received from circulation; to increase the money supply,
they buy them back paying with newly created money which is
put in circulation in this way.
Every country has its own special currency. Every day
banks and exchange bureaux display the exchange rate for the
customers to know how much the national currency is to the
main hard currencies.

1. Complete the sentences below with some of the words

from the above text:

a. The ……………………. he received to finance his educational

studies was barely enough for him to buy all the course books
he needed.
b. The reduction in alcoholic beverages ……………………………will
lead to a decreasing tax evasion.
c. I bought this perfume from the …………………….-free shop on
my way back to Toronto.

298
 d. The progressive …………………….. will benefit the people with
lower incomes.
e. Some companies try to avoid paying the …………………….by
building new expensive premises.
f. The government will implement a new scheme for private
……………………….to help senior citizens.
g. Exchange bureaux display their …………………..daily.
Many people are interested in buying ……………………..as they
are safe investments.

2. Pick out 10 (ten) different words from the list of business

terms (English-Romanian Business Vocabulary pp. 225-246) and
make up 10 (ten) sentences in English of your own.

3. Translate into English:

,,Trebuie să vă simțiți bine când munciți, iar asta nu e posibil

dacă lucrați ceva ce nu vă place. Simțindu-vă bine la locul de
muncă, veți găsi mereu modalități de a face bani. Ba mai mult,
banii vă vor căuta pe dvs. Pentru că orice muncitor(în sens
general) dacă se simte bine, va lucra bine, iar dacă va lucra bine
va avea mereu clienți pentru produsele sale, iar în cele din urmă
și recunoașterea apare, indiferent de domeniul
ales.”(Alexandru-Mircea Nedelea, Marketing personal, Editura
Casa Cărții de Știință, Cluj-Napoca, 2018, p. 275)

299
BONUS POINT (OPŢIONAL)
SEMESTRUL AL II-LEA (0,50 pct.)

“You get what you paid for.”

Write a short 3 paragraph essay(approximately 1 page) on this
topic.

3 paragrafe
1 pagina A4

300
Student’s notes

301