BUSINESS ENGLISH

1ST YEAR STUDENTS

Contents
Unit 1a .......................................................................................................................................3
Teamwork .................................................................................................................................3
Assessing teams ........................................................................................................................3
VOCABULARY ......................................................................................................................6
Arranging a course ...................................................................................................................6
Unit 1b .......................................................................................................................................9
Communication .............................................................................................................................9
Leaving voicemails................................................................................................................ 11
SELF-STUDY ....................................................................................................................... 13
Unit 2a .................................................................................................................................... 21
Business hotels ...................................................................................................................... 21
Choosing a hotel .................................................................................................................... 21
Making conversation ............................................................................................................. 24
Unit 2b .................................................................................................................................... 26
Corporate hospitality................................................................................................................. 26
Mixing business with pleasure ............................................................................................. 26
Arranging a company visit .................................................................................................... 29
SELF-STUDY ....................................................................................................................... 32
Unit 3a .................................................................................................................................... 38
Ordering goods ...................................................................................................................... 38
Placing an order ..................................................................................................................... 38
Discussing changes................................................................................................................ 41
Confirming changes .............................................................................................................. 41
Unit 3b .................................................................................................................................... 43
Cash flow ................................................................................................................................. 43
Managing cash flow .............................................................................................................. 43
Improving cash flow.............................................................................................................. 44
SELF-STUDY ....................................................................................................................... 46
Unit 4a .................................................................................................................................... 52
Brand power.............................................................................................................................. 52
Selling points ......................................................................................................................... 52
Unit 4b .................................................................................................................................... 56
Public relations.......................................................................................................................... 56
What is public relations? ....................................................................................................... 56
The benefits of good PR........................................................................................................ 57
Organising a PR event ........................................................................................................... 59
SELF-STUDY ....................................................................................................................... 61
Unit 5a .................................................................................................................................... 65
Relocation.................................................................................................................................. 65
Why do people relocate? ....................................................................................................... 65
Arranging to relocate ............................................................................................................. 67
Unit 5b .................................................................................................................................... 70

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New premises........................................................................................................................... 70
Finding the right location ...................................................................................................... 70
SELF-STUDY ....................................................................................................................... 73
Supplementary Exercises ...................................................................................................... 80
Staff development and training............................................................................................. 80
Getting started........................................................................................................................ 80
Recruitment brochure ............................................................................................................ 80
Vocabulary 1 .......................................................................................................................... 83
Vocabulary 2 .......................................................................................................................... 83
Training course ...................................................................................................................... 84
Training at Deloitte in China ................................................................................................ 85
Vocabulary ............................................................................................................................. 87
Job descriptions and job satisfaction .................................................................................... 89
Getting started........................................................................................................................ 89
Job responsibilities ................................................................................................................ 89
A human resources manager ................................................................................................. 91
Human resources ................................................................................................................... 92
What I like about my job....................................................................................................... 93
Getting the right job .............................................................................................................. 96
Getting started........................................................................................................................ 96
Job satisfaction at Sony Mobile Communications ................................................................. 96
A website entry ...................................................................................................................... 99
Advice on job applications.................................................................................................. 100
A short email and an email of a job application ................................................................ 100
Making contact .................................................................................................................... 104
Getting started...................................................................................................................... 104
A phone call to a hotel ........................................................................................................ 105
A telephone quiz .................................................................................................................. 105
Enquiring about a job .......................................................................................................... 108
BIBLIOGRAPHY: .............................................................................................................. 112

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 Unit 1a

Teamwork

SPEAKING

Assessing teams

1 Work in pairs. Look at the following characteristics of a good team. Choose the
five most important and put them in order.
What makes a good team?
1 The members work towards a common objective.
2 They disc uss role s and alloc ate them to te am me mb ers .
3 T he y c o -o perate full y with e ach other.
4 The y h elp individuals deve lop within the team.
5 T he membe rs trus t e ach other .
6 Everyone makes an equal contribution to the team.
7 The membe rs sh are info rmation e ffe ctive ly within the te am.
8 The y l is te n to diffe rent poin ts o f view.
9 The y t al k o penly and honestly within the team .
10 When people are u nder pres sure, others offe r he lp.
11 Members show re spect fo r oth ers and for t heir opinions.
12. Me mbe rs c arry ou t the tas ks th e y are as signed to do .

Which of these have you personally experienced in a team? Did it help make the team
successful? Why/why not?

READING

2 Read the article about how PZ Cussons plc developed teamwork at its Polish
subsidiaries. What did PZ Cussons do? What do they continue to do? What
benefits did this bring?

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 No longer Poles apart
After 50 years of living in centrally-controlled economies, one of the challenges eastern European companies faced was
how to develop effective teams to improve efficiency.PZ Cussons plc is a good example of a company that succeeded with this
goal.

When Peter Welch, President of PZ Cussons plc Polska and Uroda SA, arrived
at Cussons' newly acquired factory in Poland to take over as CEO he discovered that
the concept of teamwork didn't exist. 'The guy who ran it before had a queue of people
outside his office waiting for decisions on everything from taking a day's holiday to
major investments. All decisions were made by one man.' PZ Cussons entered Poland by
taking over a manufacturer of cleaning products in Wroclaw. Two years later they
bought Warsaw-based Uroda toiletries. Turnover increased at Wroclaw from £llm to
£50m and the smaller Uroda quickly grew into a £22m business. Both businesses are
now major brands in Poland and export to other eastern European markets.
But in spite of these successes, it is still hard to develop new approaches. 'The
company culture here is the result of fifty years of regulation and control,' explains
Welch. 'It's not easy to get people to take on responsibility and be accountable when
things go wrong. The sales department used to be a guy next to the phone waiting for it
to ring.'
To help solve these problems, PZ Cussons brought in three expatriate
managers to work closely with the local sales staff in project teams. They also
brought in senior Coverdale management consultant Keith Edmonds to work on
the team's managerial skills and improve communication within the team. Edmonds
held two one-week programmes, working on team-building and developing creative
thinking.
'The imaginative ideas participants came up with were extraordinary - electric." He
describes the programmes as helping people recognise that there is a range of effective
management styles. 'We wanted to throw new light on old problems.' The participants
responded very positively. In one task, they were given £500 and told to make as much
profit with it as possible. "They came up with amazing ideas,' says Edmonds. "They put on
discos. They went to the Czech border, bought products and then sold them at a profit.'

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 Welch believes the programmes were excellent at 'getting people excited about
their jobs'. But he warns, 'we need to ensure that what happens on the programme
happens back in the workplace'. The results, however, are already very positive. 'The
two programmes cost us about £40,000 in total, including food and accommodation,'
says Welch, 'but the returns we are getting from them are huge. We saved about
£200,000 from the first programme and we're expecting savings of around £700,000
from the second one.'
The programmes also form the basis of monthly reviews, in which progress is
measured against targets set in the programmes. 'You can see the results improving
each month. I'm very pleased with the way it worked out,' says Welch. PZ Cussons
has continued to support and encourage team work. Part of their company strategy is
the active recruitment and development of staff. They look for people who share,
and will help grow, their values. Their ultimate goal is to create a culture of high
performance in the company and work as a meritocracy where staff become leaders
due to their talent and hard work.

3 Using the information in the article, complete each sentence with a phrase from
the list.
1 When Peter Welch visited the new factory he found one man ...
2 Cussons tried to deal with the problems at Uroda by ...
3 The programmes succeeded in ...
4 It is possible to see the programmes ...

A waiting for a decision about holidays.

B making people enthusiastic about work.
C setting up training courses.
D taking responsibility for everything.
E organising amazing discos.
F contributing to improved profits.
G employing foreign sales staff.

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VOCABULARY

4 Match the following verbs, prepositions and nouns from the article. Then use
the phrases to describe what happened at PZ Cussons in Poland.
1. wait decisions
2. take in ideas
3. bring for a consultant
4. work on a profit
5. come up with people
6. sell at responsibility
7. look managerial skills

SPEAKING

5 Do you know of other companies who effectively use teamwork? Give examples.

Arranging a course

1 Carmichael, an American cosmetics group, has a Polish subsidiary. Gina Theismann, Head of
Central European Sales, receives an email from Tom Granger, the local manager in Warsaw. Read the
email and answer the questions.

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From: Tom Granger
To: Gina Theismann
Subject: re: sales team for new product launch in Poland
Date: 14 January 2011

Hi Gina,

Thanks for sending me the profiles for Steve Cerny and Joni Morgan. They both look very interesting and I think they
will work very well with the three local people here.

I was thinking about getting the whole team together for a week in London. Would the week of 9th February be
convenient for Steve and Joni?

The team could first spend a couple of days with team-building exercises, followed by discussions on the launch. I think it
is important that they come to an agreement on objectives, roles and schedules by the end of that week. They'll also
need to give some thought to how they plan to communicate within the team.

Do you have any ideas for team-building? Should we send them on a survival course? Alternatively, we could bring in a
consultant to run a more traditional seminar if you think this would be better. I've attached some advertisements from
different providers.

They are:
 Executive Adventures
 Team Management
 Melville Management Training

Could you let me know asap about the dates and which provider you prefer?

Regards

Tom Granger

1 How many people will be in the sales team?

2 Where and when does Tom suggest a meeting for the team?
3 What are the objectives of the meeting?
4 When does Tom want an answer?
5 What needs to be decided?

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 Don't forget:
Making arrangements
The following phrases are useful for making arrangements.
o Suggesting times and dates
How about I What about the following week IA few weeks later? Would the week of... work for everyone?
Shall we say 8th February?
o Asking for suggestions
When would suit you/your team? Did you have a time/place in mind? What would you suggest?
o Saying we are unavailable
I'm afraid I'm / we're / he's /she's busy then. Sorry, but I can't make it then.
o Using the present continuous for talking about fixed arrangements
They're working on another project until 12 February.

2 Work in pairs. Look at the question below and discuss the different aspects of
team building. Add ideas of your own. What is important when deciding on team
building?
 where to hold a training session
 setting clear goals before you start
 what type of training would work best for the team

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 Unit 1b

Communication

READING

1 Read the article below about using English for international business. Think of a
title for each paragraph.

2 Answer these questions about the article.

1 Why does Ericsson use English as its official language?

2 What can native English speakers do to communicate more effectively?
3 Why are native English speakers unaware of the difficulties of listening to foreign
languages?
4 How does Ericsson make its employees more aware of these difficulties?

Is your English too English?

English may be the language of international business but, as Alison Thomas reports, it's not only
non-native speakers who need to learn how to use it effectively.

1. Ask a Swedish Ericsson executive 'Talar du Svenska?' and he may well reply 'Yes.
But only at home. At work I speak English.' Ericsson is one of a growing number of
European companies that use English as their official corporate language. These companies
recognise and, at the same time, increase the dominance of English as the language of
international communication. Soon the number of speakers of English as a second language
will exceed that of native English speakers.
2. Although a company might use English as its official language, its employees are
unlikely to be bilingual. Language trainer Jacquie Reid thinks we consistently over-

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estimate the fluency of non-native speakers. 'We always assume that because their
language skills are better than ours, they understand everything we say.'
Don't over-comp licate the message. Reduce what you're saying to manageable chunks.
3. So how should we adapt our use of language and what are the common problems?
'Simplify it,' is Reid's advice. 'Don't over-complicate the message. Reduce what you're
saying to manageable chunks.' Reid always tells people to limit themselves to one idea per
sentence. 'It's also important to slow down and not raise your voice.'
4. Dr Jasmine Patel, a language consultant at Europhone, says different languages also
have their own approach to dialogue. 'The British start with idiomatic expressions such as
So, should we get down to it? and understate important issues with phrases such as There
could be a slight problem. They also say That's a good idea, but... when they mean No and
they repeatedly use the word get with different meanings. And worst of all, they insist on
using humour which is so culture-specific that no-one understands it.'
5. The majority of English native speakers are insensitive to the stress of trying to
understand a foreign language in a work environment because they rely on the business
world speaking their language. At Ericsson, however, this is not the case. At the UK
subsidiary, Ericsson Telecommunications, management training courses include seminars
on both language and cross-cultural issues. A frequent comment made in follow-up
evaluations is that increased awareness has improved communication and, more
importantly, given participants a better understanding of their own language and how
others might interpret it.

3 What is important when talking with native speakers?

 ask them to speak more slowly
 ask them to repeat words you do not understand
 ask them to explain using different words and examples

Discuss these points with your partner and add any other ideas you might have.

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Leaving voicemails

LISTENING

1 Frida Andersson, a manager at Sanderlin AB in Stockholm, receives five

voicemails. Listen and decide what each speaker is trying to do.

1 …….. 2 …….. 3 …….. 4 …….. 5 ……..

A make a complaint
B request some information
C change an arrangement
D decline an offer
E give feedback
F confirm arrangements
G make an offer
H ask for permission

Don't forget!

Leaving voicemail messages

When we leave messages, it is important to be very clear.
• Prepare the listener for the message
This is Frank Larsen from Scandinavian Conferences. It's 9.30 on Wednesday morning.
I'm ringing about the sales report.
 Make requests simple and polite
Could you send me the report, please?
Could you please call me back?
 Give clear contact information
I'm in Helsinki until Friday.
My telephone number is 346 766.

Taking messages
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Frida tries to return two of the calls. Listen and complete the forms below with one or two words
or a number.

TICKET ORDER FORM

Event: Danish Telecommunications (1) …………………………….
Name: Frida Andersson
Company: Sanderlin AB
Address: Torhamnsgatan (2) …………….. Stockholm
No. of tickets: (3) ………………………
Date of tickets: (4) ………………………
Other name(s): (5) …………………………………………………….

WHILE YOU WERE OUT

To: ....... SueMellor ............... Date: ..... l.Nov
From: ...Frida Andresson ...... Company: ...Head Office
Tel: …………………………………
Returned your call [√
Please ring back | j
ring back | |

MESSAGE
She received (6) _____________________________________
She's (7)___________________ the meeting on 13 November.
She's (8) __________________ the following week.
Can you meet her on (9) __________________ ?
Could you call her and (10) ____________________ the date?

Don't forget

Taking messages
The following phrases are useful for taking messages..
• Offering help
I'm sorry, she's not here today. Can I help you? I'm
afraid he's visiting a client. Can I take a message?
• Asking for information
Could I ask who's calling, please?
Could you give me your mobile number, please?
 Checking information
Could you spell that, please?
So, that's 27 November.

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 Promising action
I’ll give her the message as soon as she gets back. I'll
ask her to call you as soon as possible.

SELF-STUDY

1 Choose the correct word to fill each gap.

PZ Cussons bought its first Polish (1) …………. in 2003. The Canadian company soon
discovered that it would take more than a few (2) ……….managers to make the business
profitable. To improve teamwork, PZ Cussons decided to (3) training sessions to
improve (4) ………………. within the cross-cultural teams. PZ Cussons then (5) in a
management consultant, who (6) ……………. on managerial and communication skills.
Although the programmes cost almost £40,000, the (7) ………………. over the
following twelve months included savings of up to £1 m and a clear improvement in
management skills and (8) ......... towards cross-cultural teams.

1 A branch B subsidiary C office

2 A strange B overseas C expatriate
3 A allocate B contribute C arrange
4 A responsibility B togetherness C co-operation
5 A brought B fetched C took
6 A developed B worked C put
7 A values B benefits C profits
8 A attitudes B trust C views

2 Complete the telephone conversation.

• Paul Ricard speaking.
o Hello Paul. It's Angela. (1) I'm calling about the new project. Could we have a
meeting for the
sales team next week?
• Sure. (2) ___________
o Well, (3) ___________________next Tuesday? Would that be OK for you?

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• That should be fine. (4) ___________________?
o I'd like to meet in the morning, early if possible. (5)_________________________9.30?
• (6) ________ Could we meet a little later, at say 10.30?
o Sure, that's no problem. I'll send everyone an email. Should I ask people to bring
anything with them?
• No, just their great ideas.
o OK, that's fine. See you on Tuesday, Paul.
• Right. Thanks for calling, Angela. I'll see you on Tuesday at 10.30. Bye.

3 Use the words to write sentences with team.

She's an effective team member.
multi-cultural
manage work
successful
develop organise
effective team leadership
contribute to member
improve
building courses
skills

Present tenses

4 Complete the conversation. Put each verb in brackets into the correct form of
the present simple or present continuous.
• Hi Julie. How are you?
-Fine, thanks. But I'm very busy at the moment. I (I prepare) 'm preparing for the
big meeting tomorrow.
• What's that all about?
-Oh, it's all about that new product which we (2
launch)________________________next month.

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• Yes. I hear it (3 not/go) __________ well.
T You can say that again. We're behind schedule
and I (4 begin) ________________ to think we won't
be ready in time for the launch.
• What's the problem?
T The Marketing Department. They're the problem.
Every time we (5 agree) ________________ on a
final design, they (6 want) _______________ to
make some small change. It's so annoying.
• (7 you/meet)____________ them tomorrow?
-Yes. We're going to tell them we can't make any more changes. We (8 not/have)
____________________
the time for any more.
• What (9 you/think) ___________ they'll say?
To be honest, I (10 not/care) ______________ .
We (11 have) ______________ to stick to the schedule. It's as simple as that.

5 Choose the correct word to complete each sentence.

1 OK, I'll (tell I say) him you called.
2 Could you give her a (telephone I call) after lunch?
3 It's been (put back / cancelled) until next week.
4 Unfortunately they are not (sensible I sensitive) to other people's difficulties.
5 We're trying to (rise I raise) awareness of good telephone practice.
6 Could you (ask I request) her to call me back?
7 Please (adopt I adapt] your language to the listener.
8 Shall we (go / gef) down to business?

6. Put the telephone conversation into the correct order.

Reception
 So that's the Alsterhof Hotel for three nights from 22 August. Could you spell the
name of the hotel for me, please?

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  OK, Ms Meier. I'll give Paul the message.
 I'm afraid he's in a meeting. Could I take a message?
 Thanks for calling. Bye.
 And could I ask who's calling, please?
 Good afternoon, Pace Systems. Can I help you?
Caller
o Sure. That's A-L-S-T-E-R-H-0-F.
o Yes, please. I'm ringing about accommodation for his trip to Berlin. I've booked
him a room at the Alsterhof Hotel for three nights from 22 August.
o That's great. Thanks very much. Bye.
o Could I speak to Paul Kerridge, please?
o It's Kerstin Meier from Althaus Press in Berlin.

7. Are the sentences in each pair usually written (W) or spoken (S)? What is the
function of each pair?
1 So, that's tomorrow at 10 am in your office.
2 I would like to confirm our meeting tomorrow at 10 am in your office.
3 Would it be possible to postpone the meeting?
4 We couldn't put the meeting back, could we?
5 Please inform me by next week.
6 Could you let me know by next week?
7 I am afraid I am not available on 12 November.
8 I'm sorry but I can't make it on the 12th.
9 Is it OK if we offer customers a 5% discount?
10 Would it be possible to offer a 5% discount?
11 We can takel 0% off the price, if you like.
12 We would be willing to reduce the price by 10%.

8. Complete the sentences with in, at or on.

1 I'm afraid he's not here _____ the moment.
2 We'll be _____ Copenhagen until Friday.

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3 She's busy. She's _____ the phone to someone.
4 The meeting's ______ 3 o'clock tomorrow.
5 I'm afraid I can't make it ____ the 18th.
6 I'm taking two weeks off ____ Christmas.
7 You can call me back _____ 0207 244 666.
8 I'm visiting the Madrid office ___ April.
9 We'll have the meeting _____ the weekend.
10 We should get the report _____________ Tuesday morning.

Past simple and present perfect

9. Add a time phrase to each sentence.
when I on Friday lately
started so far just
yet 20 years ago already
so far
1 We haven't bought anything from them so far this year.
2 You don't need to order them because I've done it.
3 The goods arrived.
4 They haven't phoned the suppliers.
5 I didn't have much experience.
6 We've been very busy.
7 She's gone to lunch but she'll be back in an hour.
8 The company was founded by two brothers.

10. Complete the telephone message. Put each verb in brackets into the correct
form of the past simple or present perfect.
Hi, Stefan. It's Maggie. I (1 get) ______got your email yesterday, but I (2 be/not)
___________ able to open the attached report yet. You'll have to tell me which
program you (3 use) ________________when you (4 do) _______________ it. I (5 try)
____________to open up the document with different programs, but none of them (6 work)
____________________so far. I also think we need to discuss one or two things before the

17
meeting. I agree with what you (7 say) ________________ in your email about the
department training budget being far too small. I (8 tell) ______________Chris that ages
ago but he still (9 not/do) ___________anything about it. Anyway, I'd better go. I'll speak to
you soon.
Bye.

Reading Test
 Read the text below about interviewing candidates for jobs.
 Choose the correct word from A, B, C or D to fill each gap.
 For each gap 1-15, mark one letter A, B, C or D.

Catching out the dishonest candidate

Most personnel managers agree that job interviews are one of the least objective recruitment
methods. But the advantages of testing are not going to change the (0) ………… of the
interview to employers. The appeal of the inter view has everything to do with the (1) ………..
factor.
Most people believe they are a (2) ................. judge of character and trust their instinctive feelings.
We might use some kind of test to aid the (3) …………….process, but we usually pick a candidate
who interviews well, has good (4) ................. and an impressive work record.
But (5) ................. the candidate lies or is less than completely honest 'This can be a serious,
problem for employers', (6) …………….. Alan Conrad, Chief Executive at Optimus
Recruitment. "The most difficult liars to find are those who (7) half-truths rather than complete
lies' Research (8) that up to 75 per cent of curriculum vitaes are deliberately inaccurate. The most
common practice is (9)
Interviewers should therefore concentrate on areas of (10) ................. such as gaps between periods
of employment and job (11) .................................................................. that seem strange. 'Focusing
on these areas will force candidates to tell the truth or become increasingly (12) ……………….This
is usually when people signal their (13) ................................................ by their body language. Sweat
on the upper lip, false smiles and nervous hand movements all (14) ... discomfort.'
Conrad does not suggest an aggressive police-style interview technique, but insists that (15) .................
inspection of a curriculum vitae is absolutely essential. Only by asking the right questions can you
confirm the suitability of the candidate or put pressure on those who are being less than completely
honest.

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1 A emotion B feeling C human D person
2 A reasonable B sensible C substantial D normal
3 A choice B selection C identification D discovery
4 A examinations B papers C notes D qualifications
5 A pretend B think C suppose D fantasise
6 A reveals B admits C exaggerates D explains
7 A say B tell C inform D talk
8 A shows B predicts C calculates D reckons
9 A ignorance B forgetfulness C omission D carelessness
10 A error B incorrectness C uncertainty D indecision
11 A descriptions B advertisements C interpretations D routines
12 A untrue B illegal C dishonest D criminal
13 A annoyance B anger C anxiety D disappointment
14 A indicate B prove C present D picture
15 A immediate B tight C near D close

Reading Test
 Read the extract from a business management book.
 In most lines 1-12 there is one extra word which does not fit in. Some lines, however,
are correct,
 If a line is correct, write CORRECT.
 If there is an extra word in the line, write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS.
Example
0 THE
00 C 0 R R E C T

Managing Your Business Finances

0 If you want to succeed in the business, you need to know about financial
00 management. No matter how skilled you are at developing a new product,
1 providing with a service, or marketing your wares, the money you earn will
2 slip between your fingers if you do not know how to collect it, keep on track
3 of it, save it and spend or invest it wisely. A poor financial management
4 is one of the main reasons why businesses fail. In many cases, failure
5 could have been avoided against if the owners had applied sound financial
6 principles to all their dealings and decisions. So what is the most best way of
7 making sure that you are handling after your money correctly? The truth of

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8 course is that you must have to pay a professional to do it for you. This
9 should be looked at as another investment: you have to spend money in the
10 short term to save money in the long term. However, you are then faced
11 with a new other problem: how do you find the best consultant for your
12 business and make sure of you are getting value for money? The short
answer is that only time will tell.

Writing Test
 You are the Human Resources Manager of an insurance company. You want to arrange
a 2-day
team-building event with the training company Team-Plus for eight sales staff.
 Write an email of 40-50 words to your assistant:

 telling him to contact the provider

 saying who and how long the event is for
 suggesting two possible weekends for the event.

20
 Unit 2a

Business hotels

READING

Choosing a hotel

1 Read the customer satisfaction form. Which three of the criteria are most
important 1 you when choosing a hotel for a business trip?

Thank you for choosing to stay at a Biztel Group Hotel. We are constantly striving to
improve the quality of our service and would welcome your comments. Please help us
by taking a few moments to complete this form.

Excellent Satisfactory Poor

Location □ □ □
Atmosphere □ □ □
Comfort □ □ □
Cleanliness □ □ □
Room furnishings □ □ □
Mini-bar □ □ □
In-house restaurant □ □ □
Breakfast buffet □ □ □
Business facilities □ □ □
Value for money □ □ □
We look forward to your next visit.

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SPEAKING

2 Work in pairs. Use the criteria above to ask your partner questions about the last
hotel he / she stayed at while travelling for business.

READING

3 Read the three descriptions for business hotels on the following page. Which hotel
do each sentence 1-7 refer to?

1 This hotel won an award for being very up-to-date.

2 An attraction of this hotel is the building that houses it.
3 You will be greeted by modern technology right from the start of your stay.
4 You receive personal attention before, during and after your stay.
5 This hotel has a sports facility which gives guests the feeling they are outside.
6 The location of this hotel provides flexibility for travellers arriving by air.
7 This hotel has a restaurant which never closes.

SPEAKING

4 Work in pairs. Describe the most memorable hotel you have stayed in.

The Shanghai Plaza Hotel, Shanghai ****

www.shanghaiplazahotel.com
This exclusive hotel is located in modern Pudong, the financial and commercial centre
of Shanghai, making it convenient for business travelers. The location is also ideal for
visiting the cultural attractions of the city and both the Pudong International Airport
and the Hongqiao Airport are only 45 minutes away. In 2007, due to its modern design
and technology-equipped rooms, the Shanghai Plaza was ranked in the top ten business
hotels in an online survey conducted by Travel tor Business, Inc. There is ample space
for business meetings and banquets in rooms which can accommodate up to 400 people.

22
The business centre is available for guests at any hour and WiFi is complimentary
throughout the hotel. For relaxation, a hilly equipped spa and indoor heated swimming
pool are found on the top floor and guests can enjoy fine dining in any of the
restaurants or cafes located in the hotel. The newest innovation is the Plaza e-butler
which enables guests to make online requests before they arrive, takes care of all needs
while at the hotel and is available for feedback and questions after check-out.

The Grande Hotel, New York *****

www.grandeehotelnyc.com
Boasting an ideal location on Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in Manhattan, the Grande
Hotel New York is in the centre of the prestigious business, shopping and cultural
centre of New York City. The location of the hotel in a landmark building from the
1900s adds a feeling of elegance to this exclusive hotel. The 125 spacious guest rooms
and 40 suites have recently been remodelled adding all the amenities that the business
traveller needs to feel at home. At the touch of a button guests can control their
environment with the state-of-the-art technology found throughout the hotel. One of
our latest additions is a glass-enclosed spa, fitness centre and pool affording a view of
midtown Manhattan. Guests can also take advantage of the rooftop garden by relaxing
or enjoying a drink at the Garden Bar. We have three restaurants which provide business
travellers with power breakfasts as well as comfortable settings for business lunches and
dinners. Once you have stayed with us, you will never look for another hotel in The Big
Apple.

citizenM Hotel, Amsterdam ***

www.citizenMhotei.nl
We have one goal - we aim to offer affordable luxury accommodation for business
travellers as well as all mobile citizens globally. Our Amsterdam location has twice won
the Traveller's Choice award as the world's trendiest hotel. Located in the centre of
Holland's capital city, we are within walking distance of the World Trade Center, the
RAI Convention Center and the historic Amsterdam canals. Our rooms feature wall-to-
wall windows, extra large king-size beds, power rain showers, free on-demand movies,

23
free WiFi internet connection, and VoiP telephone rates. You can create the mood you
would like for your room with our Philips designed touch screen mood pad. It allows
you to control the blinds, the lights, the temperature, the TV and music system, or to
arrange for a wake-up call. Our 24/7 canteenM provides you with a variety of food. An
additional feature is our self check-in service on touch screens found in our lobbies.
CitizenM Ambassadors are also on hand to help with any questions you may have. Come
and stay with us - you will feel right at home as soon as you enter our lobby with its
living room ambiance furnished with designer pieces. You will see, citizenM will soon
become your home away from home.

Making conversation

LISTENING

Five people talk about their business trips. Listen and decide which of the questions
each speaker answers.
1… A What did you think of the food?
2… B How was your trip?
C What was the factory like?
3… D What's your hotel like?
4… E How was your journey from the airport?
5… F How did the meeting go?
G How useful was the information we sent?
H What do you think of Rio?

2 Listen to a complete version of the last conversation. Look at the techniques

below. Which ones does the speaker use?

24
Don't forget
Encouraging conversation
We can encourage conversation in the following ways.
• Showing interest/surprise
Really?
I'm surprised to hear that.
Do you?/Did you?/Are you?/Have you?
• Asking follow-up questions
What did you think of...? When are you going
to...? How do you feel about... 1
• Using the speaker's words in a follow-up question
So the meeting's been postponed until next March, m Next March?

SPEAKING

3 Work in pairs. Develop these statements into conversations. Use the techniques
above.
1 The trains were all running late, so I knew I'd miss my flight to Lisbon.
2 And when the bill came, I realised my wallet was in my other jacket.
3 The interview went like a dream and they're going to offer me the job.
4 I love English breakfasts. We have nothing like this in my country.
5 As a way of saying thank you, my boss has given me a few days' holiday.

25
 Unit 2b

Corporate hospitality

Mixing business with pleasure

SPEAKING

1 Read the profiles of the business people below. Choose ways of entertaining them
from the following list.
 a meal at an expensive restaurant • an evening at the theatre
 a round of golf • a visit to a sports event
 a sightseeing tour of the city • a shopping trip

A party of four Japanese business people in their mid-forties. They are on a fact-finding
mission to help them decide whether to offer your company a substantial contract.

Andrea Bergen, 38, the Manager of a German computer software company, and her
Personal Assistant, Regina Meier. Several orders you placed with their company
arrived late. As a result, you nearly lost a valued customer.

Pietro Zanelli. 45, the Managing Director of your company largest client. He is flying
in from Rome to finalise one or two small details concerning a major deal with you. His
wife, Vittoria, is with him on this trip.

Mike Greenwood, 35, the Sales Manager of Shirts & Jackets, a manufacturer of fashion
sportswear. This is a new but important customer. He has a two-day stopover on his
way back to New York.

26
READING

2 Read the article on the opposite page. Which ways of entertaining business clients
are mentioned?
3 Read the article again. Choose the best title for each numbered paragraph.
Paragraph 1 .......
Paragraph 2 .......
Paragraph 3 .......
Paragraph 4 .......
A Being sociable
B Building relationships
C Choosing the right event
D Choosing the right moment
E Enjoying corporate events
F Getting down to business
G Setting clear objectives

Training to be entertaining and making it pay

Tips on how hosts and clients can mix business and pleasure more effectively.
Got a lunch with a client or contact today? Are you sure your objectives for the meal are
clear? If your answer to the last question is yes - having some nice food and getting to
know the other person a little better - you could be in need of a training course.
Fortunately, one is now available. Called Effective Social Influencing, the tailor-made
programme run by Huthwaite, the UK-based training consultants, will give you the
knowledge and skills to plan and achieve business objectives in a social setting while
ensuring that your clients and prospects still enjoy themselves.
1 The first thing the course stresses is that what you enjoy may not be the ideal event for
the goal you have. For example, a night at the opera could be a much appreciated 'thank
you' to a valued client but you will not have much chance to discuss business unless you
arrange for a quiet meal afterwards. There's no point in taking clients to a rugby match if
you want to discuss the details of a business deal, but you might find that a cricket match

27
lends itself well to a long conversation and the opportunity to combine business and
pleasure.
2 Another common mistake many businesses make is to send staff to corporate events
without telling them why they are there or what they should do. It is not surprising that
they see this as a chance simply to stand around having free drinks on the company and
chatting to each other rather than talking to clients. Everyone feels uncomfortable in this
situation.
3 Also, many business people seem to be afraid of even mentioning the word 'business' at
corporate events. Yet too much social chit-chat and getting-to-know-you-type
conversation adds up to missed opportunities. Corporate events need to be seen for
what they are - business meetings in a social setting.
4 A further difficulty lies in deciding exactly when you bring up the matter of business at a
social event. Some people simply have poor timing. What client wants to spend an evening
at the theatre listening to you whisper half-yearly sales figures into his ear, no matter how
exciting you may think they are?
According to Huthwaite, the recipe for success and the key to building good business
relationships is to consider the time you spend at social events as 'influencing' rather than
selling. Effective business people have the ability to mix 'social' and 'purposeful'
conversation, moving smoothly from one to the other, so if you're having lunch with a client
today ...
Adapted from the Financial Times

4. Using the information in the article, complete each sentence with a phrase from
the list.
1 In order to do business without distractions, do not...
2 At a social event, it is a mistake to ..
3 It is important to choose the right moment to ...
4 The key to establishing a business relationship is to ...

A tell staff what to do in social settings.

B combine both business and pleasure.
C chat to colleagues and ignore clients.

28
D improve techniques for social chit-chat.
E mention the subject of business.
F take clients to certain types of sports events.
G have a nice meal and a good time.

SPEAKING

5 What are the advantages and disadvantages of mixing business with pleasure?

Arranging a company visit

1 Mr Fellini, the Purchasing Manager of Cuore Sportivo, has received this invitation
from Angela Goddard of Trackplus Ltd. Read her letter. What is the invitation for?

Your ref:
Our ref: AG/MLTF/PF
Mr Paolo Fellini
Purchasing Manager
Cuore Sportivo
Via Nicolosi 3
20121 Milan
Italy
5 November 2011

Dear Mr Fellini
(1) _________________ to finally meet you at the Milan trade fair last week and I
would like to thank you for the interest you expressed in Trackplus and our range of
children's and teenage fashion sportswear and accessories.
(2) _________________ to spend a couple of days in the UK visiting our factory in
Oxford so you can get an overview of our facilities and production methods. This
would also be an opportunity for you to visit our Head Office in London to meet our
design team and Marketing and Sales Directors to discuss common areas of interest.

29
As you would be our guest, we would of course meet all your expenses. We can also
put a company car and driver at your disposal during your stay in London. (3)
____________that you are a keen theatre-goer. We would, therefore, be pleased to
arrange an evening at a theatre in the West End if you like.
In terms of possible dates, we were hoping that we could set up something for the end
of the month. (4) __________in the next few days if this would be suitable for you.
Please let me know, however, if you would prefer alternative dates.
(5) _________________ your schedule will allow you to accept our invitation.
(6) _________________ soon.
Yours sincerely
Angela Goddard
Communications Manager

2 Read the letter again. Are the following statements true or false?
1 Mr Fellini first met Ms Goddard at the Milan trade fair.
2 Mr Fellini has already seen Trackplus's production processes.
3 Trackplus will pay for Mr Fellini's accommodation expenses only.
4 Ms Goddard would like Mr Fellini to visit at the end of November.
5 Ms Goddard is sure that the dates will be convenient for Mr Fellini.

3 Choose the most appropriate phrase (A or B) to fill each numbered space in the
letter.
1 A It was really great
B I was delighted
2 A We'd really like you to come
B We would like to invite you
3 A I believe you mentioned
B I'm pretty sure you told me
4 A I would be grateful if you could tell me
B It'd be nice if you could let me know
5 A I'm really hoping

30
B I do hope
6 A I look forward to hearing from you
B Please drop me a line

Don't forget
Letters of invitation
The following phrases are useful for formal written invitations.
• Inviting /Offering
We would like to invite you...
We should be very pleased if you could...
We would be delighted if you could...
• Thanking
Thank you (very much) for your (kind) invitation to...
It was very kind of you to invite me to...
I was delighted to receive your invitation to...
• Accepting
I would be very pleased to ... / would be delighted to...
• Declining
Unfortunately, due to..., I am unable to....
I am afraid I will not be able to accept... because...

4. Mr Fellini decides to accept Angela Goddard's invitation. Write a letter of acceptance

of 120-140 words:
 thanking Ms Goddard for her letter
 expressing interest in her suggestions
 accepting the invitation to the theatre
 saying the dates are unsuitable and explaining why
 suggesting an alternative date.

31
SELF-STUDY

1 Complete each sentence with a suitable preposition.

We are located _____________ the centre.
Guests control their environment ______________ pushing a button.
Guests feel _____ home in our hotel.
We look forward _________ your next visit.
We are __________ walking distance of the canals.
Self check-in is done _________ touch screens.
The rooms are furnished ___________ designer pieces.
Guests enjoy the service ____________ the Shanghai Plaza Butler.
The meeting's been postponed ___________ Friday.
We're a long way ____________ a decision.

2. Complete each sentence with the correct forrr the word in capital letters.
1 SATISFY
Customer __________________ is high.
2 LOCATE
The hotel is _______________ in the centre of London.
3 COMFORT
The rooms are extremely ___________________
4 CLEAN
Hotel _____________ and friendliness of staff are important criteria.
5 ENTERTAIN
Perhaps we should organise some ____________ for our visitors.

3. Read this letter. Replace the numbered expressions with more suitable phrases.
Dear Mr Rausch
1) It was fantastic to finally meet you in Berlin last month and I would like to thank you
for the interest you expressed in our products.

32
2) We really want you to come to spend two or three days in the UK to visit our
factory to get an overview of our facilities and production methods.
3) It'd be nice if you could tell me in the next few days if the end of March would be
convenient for you. Please let me know, however, if you prefer alternative dates.
4) I'm really hoping your schedule will allow you to accept our invitation.
5) Please drop me a line soon.
Yours sincerely

4. Complete the sentences with the following verbs.

meet; set; place; build; finalise
1 It was generous of them to _____ my expenses.
2 We can _______ details at the meeting next week.
3 We hope he'll _____________ an order with us.

4 Corporate events are a good chance to _______________relationships with

new customers.
5 It helps if you _________ clear objectives for staff who are attending a
corporate event.

5 Complete the sentences with the following words.

social; valued; missed; poor; golden; free
1 Staff sometimes see this as a chance to have _______drinks on the company.
2 Corporate events are an opportunity to do business in a ____________setting.
3 The _____________rule of corporate hospitality is to turn every social event to business
advantage.
4 Unfortunately, some people have _____ timing.
5 It's a _______ opportunity if you don't mention business at a corporate event.
6 We always look after____ customers.

3 Complete each sentence with a suitable preposition.

1 We would like to give you an overview__ our production facilities.

33
2 You can bring the matter______ at the meeting.
3 They placed a car ______ my disposal.
4 There is no point _________taking a client to a rugby match if you want a serious
discussion.
5 The key _________ a good business relationship is mixing purposeful and social
conversation.

Countable or uncountable
4 Choose the correct word to complete each sentence.
1 He set up several (business / businesses) in the UK.
2 Gianna gave me some good (advice / advices) about how to do business in Italy.
3 There (is I are) still some work to be completed.
4 I need some (information / informations) about marketing opportunities in Sweden.
5 The news about the contract (is / are) good.
6 Have you made (much / many) progress?
7 I've only got (a few / a little) money, I'm afraid.
8 We've spoken (much / many) times on the phone.
9 I asked if I could help with her (luggages / luggage).
10 He has a lot of (experience / experiences) of dealing with Japanese business people.
11 We rely a great deal on her (knowledge / knowledges) of market opportunities.
12 I have (little / a little) time at the moment, so we could talk about it now.

Reading Test
 Look at the four job advertisements and the sentences below.
 Which job does each sentence 1-7 refer to?
 For each sentence, mark one letter A, B, C or D.
 You will need to use some of the letters more than once.
A
Administrative Assistant
We are seeking a well-organised and mature department assistant to act as PA to the Head of
Marketing and provide administrative support to three other busy department heads. The

34
successful applicant must have strong office skills and a command of business software.
A good sense of humour and excellent communications skills are essential.
B
Science Marketing Assistant
This position would suit a recent science graduate with an interest in developing a career in
marketing in a publishing environment. Marketing experience is preferable but not essential
as full training will be given. The company also has a strong performance-based
advancement policy.
C
Assistant Museum Manager
Reporting directly to the Manager, your role will be to help improve visitor services. The
flexible 35-hour week will regularly involve working weekends and evenings. Previous
experience of working in a similar role is required. This is initially a one-year appointment
but may be extended.
D
International Management Consultant
Suitable bilingual applicants will have worked in a similar position here or abroad for at least
two years. Excellent communication and presentation skills are vital, as is the willingness to
invest the necessary time in order to succeed in a highly competitive and challenging
market.
Example
0 A knowledge of languages is important for this job. - D
1. Being computer-literate is essential. __________
2. This company likes to promote people from within the firm. __
3. The successful applicant must be prepared to work long hours in this job.
4. Previous experience is not necessary for this job. ___________
5. In this job, the official working hours will change from week to week.
6. In this job, you would have to report to more than one person. _
7. This job would be unsuitable if you were looking for long-term employment.

35
Reading Test
 Read the letter below about a late delivery of goods.
 Choose the correct sentence from A-G to fill each gap.
 For each gap 1-5, mark one letter A-G.
 Do not use any letter more than once.

Dear Mr Walker
I am writing in response to your letter of 13 May concerning the late delivery of order
reference no. S19/611.
First of all, I would like to apologise for your order not being delivered on the date we
agreed in our contract
and also for the difficulties you have had in trying to reach me. (0) The conflict
involved all employees
and, as a result, all production came to a complete standstill. Administrative staff were
also involved; this is why it has been so difficult for you to reach me.
I am pleased to inform you that the dispute has now been settled and we should be back
to normal production
within a few days. (1) ... I have spoken to our Production Manager this morning, and he
informs me that it will take at least ten days to clear these.
I can assure you that we are doing everything we can to reduce this delay. To help
us achieve this, our production workers have agreed to work overtime. Our overseas
sales outlets are also returning stock to help us fulfil these outstanding orders. (2) …
We do realise, however, that the goods may not arrive in time for you to meet your
commitments to your own customers.
You mentioned in your letter that any losses suffered due to late delivery would result
in your taking legal action against us. I would like to point out, however, that our
contract does state quite clearly that in the event of unforeseen circumstances, we cannot
be held liable if we are unable to meet agreed delivery dates. (3) …
However, we do realise that the delay in delivering your order puts you in a very
unfortunate position with a new customer. In view of this, we are prepared to allow you
to cancel your contract with us so that you can place your order with another company.

36
(4) … We have been in touch with our legal advisers on this matter, and they have
informed us that we are not legally responsible for any claims you might bring against
us.
We deeply regret the inconvenience this delay has caused you and other established
customers. (5) … I would like to take this opportunity to assure you that we will
continue to do so in the future. I would be grateful if you could let me know as soon as
possible how we should proceed with your order.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
P. Davis
Manager

Example: 0 - G
A I think you must agree that an industrial dispute is something over which we have
no control.
B Yours is only one of many other important orders that have been delayed by this
dispute.
C Nevertheless, as you can imagine, we are now faced with a sizeable backlog of
orders.
D We must make it clear, however, that we will not accept any responsibility in the
event of legal action.
E I am sure you will agree that until this incident we have provided a reliable and
efficient service.
F We are giving your order priority and we hope to deliver by the end of the week.
G As you may have heard in the news, we have experienced a major industrial dispute.

37
 Unit 3a

Ordering goods

Placing an order

SPEAKING

1 Schneider, the Frankfurt-based mail order company, has suppliers all over the
world. What qualities do you think Schneider looks for in its suppliers?

READING

2 Korinna Kramer works at Schneider's headquarters. She writes an email to

Antonella at Schneider's Italian subsidiary and asks her to contact the vendor to
confirm the purchase of several items and to make some changes in the original
order. Read her email. Are the statements below true or false?

38
An/to: Antonella
Von/From: Korinna Kramer
Subject: Christ! Si Faci skirts
Date: 9 October 2011

Dear Antonella
Mr Hubner and the other buyers have finalised their reports and recommendations for the
summer collection. Mr Hubner thinks that there might be problems with the different
lengths of some of the skirts included in the catalogue.
As a result, we've decided to buy the following items in a standard length only.
Supplier Item Article no.
Cristi Skirt 315227
Faci Skirt 314739
This, of course, means cancelling other lengths of the skirts this year. We'd also like to
reduce the order quantity. Can you find out from the vendor if it is possible to order only
400 pieces of each article? Please let me know asap.
Best regards
Korinna Kramer

1 The products mentioned in the email are men's clothing.

2 The buyers have now decided what they want to include in the summer catalogue.
3 Mr Hubner wants to order the skirts in different lengths.
4 Korinna wants to increase the order quantity by 400 pieces.
5 She asks Antonella to reply quickly.

READING

3. Read Antonella's reply to Korinna and answer the following questions.

1 What is the purpose of Antonella's email?
2 Why was she surprised by Korinna's email?

39
3 What is Antonella going to do?

To: Korinna Kramer

From: Antonella Zanetti
Subject: Christi & Faci skirts
Date: 11 October 2011

Dear Korinna
Thanks for your email concerning the Cristi and Faci skirts for the summer katalogue
articles 315227 and 314739 respectively. I discussed the problems regarding the two
skirts with Mr Hubner during his trip to Italy. The skirt made by Faci has a slit at the
bottom which might make it difficult if the customer wanted to change the lenght of the
skirt so we agreed the vendor would have to supply the skirt in two different lenghts. Mr
Hubner thought it might be better to leave the two different lenghts of the Cristi skirt.
The skirt has a special knitting technik and it might be difficult if the customer wanted to
shorten it. When Mr Hubner left Italy I thought we had sorted the problems out. I was
surprised by your email cancelling the other sizes. Please let me know if you definitly
want to cancel the other lenght skirts. As for reducing the total quantity, I will wait for
confirmation of the information about lengths before I contact the vendors.

Thanks and best regards.

Antonella

4. How could you improve Antonella's email? Make notes under the following
headings.
CLARITY: layout, accuracy, paragraphs, sentences, connectors.

5. Now write a clearer version of Antonella's email.

40
Discussing changes

LISTENING

1 Korinna receives Antonella's reply and phones her. Listen to their conversation.
What does Antonella have to do?

2 Listen again. What phrases are used to express the following functions?
1 Stating the reason for calling I'm ringing about...
2 Confirming information
3 Requesting action
4 Promising action
5 Thanking
6 Referring to future contact

How would these functions be expressed in a formal letter?

Confirming changes

1 Antonella speaks to the vendors and then emails Korinna. In most numbered
lines of her email there is one extra word. Find the extra words. If a line is
correct, mark it with a /.

To: Korinna Kramer

From: Antonella
Zanetti
Subject: Christi & Faci
skirts Date: 11 October
2011
Dear Korinna
1. Further to our phone conversation of this morning, both the Cristi and Faci have
2. confirmed that they will be produce articles 315227 (Cristi) and 314739 (Faci] in

41
3. standard length only. They are also able to reduce by the quantity to only 400 pieces for
4. each skirt. Please advise whether the measurements charts we already have will need
5. to changing or not. Does this mean all knitted skirts will now be produced in a
standard length?
Thanks and best regards
Antonella

WRITING

2. Write a 40-50 word email to Antonella. Use the information below:

 tell her not to change the charts
 confirm that all knitted skirts will be in a standard length
 suggest a delivery date for the finished order.

42
 Unit 3b

Cash flow

Managing cash flow

SPEAKING

1. What are typical inflows and outflows for a company?

2. Read the case study on the opposite page about a computer business owned by
Steve and Sue Quick. Answer the following questions.
1 How much money does Steve receive when he takes an order?
2 How much does the system cost to build and install?
3 When does he receive final payment?
Now summarise Quick Computers' problem.

3. Do these words refer to inflows or outflows in the Quick Computers case study?
down payment; total sales price; early settlement discount; labour costs; wages; outstanding
balance; to finance; interest.

The cash flow gap

Steve and Sue Quick own Quick Computers, a small computer company in Atlanta. The
company installs personal and small business computer networks and employs two people.
Background
When a customer places an order, Steve charges 10 per cent of the total sales price as
down payment. The customer is then billed for the remainder after the system has been
installed. The total sales price of a small business computer network is $10,000. The
components are priced at $4,000 and come from one supplier. This supplier offers a 2 per
cent discount if Steve pays for the supplies no later than 10 days after receiving them. Steve
always takes advantage of early settlement discounts.

43
The problem
On day 1 Steve receives the $1,000 down payment and orders the parts. He pays for these on
day 7 ($4,000 less 2 per cent early settlement discount = $3,920).
The system is ready for installation by day 28 and Steve calculates direct labour costs of
$2,700. As he pays his employees every two weeks, these wages are paid on days 14
($1,200) and 28 ($1,500). A week later, on day 35, the system is installed, with further
labour costs of $300. The customer is then billed and given credit terms of 30 days.
Finally, on day 65, Steve receives the outstanding balance of $9,000.
The cash flow gap opens on day 7 when Steve pays for the supplies; it widens to $5,920 by
day 35. This means he has to finance, and possibly pay interest on, the $5,920 for 30 days
until the customer pays the final $9,000.
The more we sell, the less cash we have.' Steve Quick

SPEAKING

4. Work in pairs. Think of three other reasons why many small companies fail.

Improving cash flow

WRITING

1 Steve and Sue are finding it difficult to pay suppliers because of a shortage of cash.
Steve emails Barbara Capel, a friend and management consultant, to ask for help. Read
the email. What solution are Steve and Sue considering?

44
To: Barbara Capel
From: Steve Quick
Subject: CASH FLOW PROBLEMS
Date: 11 October 2011

Hi Barbara
How are you doing? Sue and I are fine and the business is going well. Sometimes I think
it's doing too well. It seems that the more we sell, the less cash we have! Our order books
are full but we're still having problems paying our suppliers for components.
Sue wants to offer early settlement discounts but I think that'll be too expensive. Could
you possibly have a look at our books and give us some advice? We'd both be very
grateful for some help. '•.
All the best
Steve Quick
Quick Computers ;

2. Write a 40-50 word email reply to Steve:

 agreeing to help
 commenting on Sue's idea
 suggesting a time and place to meet.

LISTENING

3 Barbara discusses the cash flow problem with Steve and Sue. Listen to their discussion.
What are their attitudes to early settlement discounts?

4 Listen again and answer the following questions.

1 How does Barbara describe the problem?

2 How many customers would be interested in a 1% early settlement discount?

45
3 Why doesn't Steve want to offer discounts?
4 What is the company's average monthly turnover?
5 What does Steve forget to include in his calculations?
6 How much extra would the 1 % discount really cost the company?
7 How would a 2% discount improve Steve's cash flow?
8 What action do Steve and Sue decide to take?

SPEAKING

5 Work in pairs. Look at these suggestions for improving Quick Computers' cash
Choose the best five ideas. How would they benefit the company?

 ask customers for cash on delivery

 reduce credit terms from 30 to 20 days
 add penalty charges for late payment
 pay suppliers after 30 days, not 10
 reduce inventory to a minimum
 find cheaper suppliers
 pay staff monthly
 cut the staff wages
 increase prices
 increase sales

SELF-STUDY

1 Re-arrange the words to make formal phrases from written correspondence.

1 interest trust I find you the points following of will
I trust you will find the following points of interest
2 the you could please confirm date
_________________________________________

46
3 you remind may that I
____________________________
4 of further letter your to
____________________________
5 you very I would grateful be could if
____________________________
6 you concerning email your for thank
____________________________

2 You are a buyer at a mail order company. You have decided to reduce the size of
next year's catalogue. This means cancelling part of an order.
Write a letter of 120-140 words informing the supplier. Make sure you mention all
the points below and use your own words.
 explaining the cancellation
 saying which articles you wish to cancel
 apologising for the cancellation
 confirming the delivery date for the order
 mentioning working together in the future

3 Complete each sentence with the correct form of the word in capital letters.
1 RECOMMEND
The __________________ retail price is £24 a unit.
2 FINAL
We'll ________________ the order details by the end of next week.
3 DELIVER
Can I arrange _____________ on 6 May?
4 MEASURE
I think we'll have to change the ___________ for the new catalogue.
5 SUPPLY
We deal with a number of Italian _________________

47
6 STANDARD
We've decided to ________________ the lengths of all the skirts in the summer
catalogue.

4 Which of the four words in each group cannot combine with the word in capital
letters?
1 CASH
flow purchase terms discount
2 PAY
wages costs interest supplies
3 PAYMENT
down late labour cash
4 COSTS
labour customer production financing

5 Complete each sentence with a suitable preposition.

for; of; within; in; at; on; as
1 Our cash flow problems meant paying financing
costs in the form of interest _______ a loan.
2 We can't pay ______ our supplies.
3 Is there a discount if we pay ______ cash?
4 We've priced the work ______ $3,000.
5 They offer a discount if we pay ____ 10 days.
6 The bill includes the cost _____ labour.
7. We always ask for 10% _ down payment.

6 Complete the text with the following phrases.

cash on delivery; down payment; outstanding balance; 30 days net; early settlement
discount; penalty charges

48
We offer our customers a range of credit terms. Normally, when we sell a product we
ask for a (1) __________of 10% of the total sales price. The (2) ________ is then due
when the customer takes delivery of the finished product.
We normally offer (3) ___________ with an (4) _____________ of 1 % if the customer
pays within the first ten days. For customers that pay late we add (5) ______________ . If
they regularly pay late, then we insist on (6) _________________.

Reading Test
 Read the article below about the use of hold music on company telephones.
 Choose the correct sentence from A-G to fill each gap.
 For each gap 1-5, mark one letter A-G.
 Do not use any letter more than once.

Putting the caller on hold, not the business

Have you ever wondered just how many potential customers call your company every
day, fail to get through and hang up never to try again? Most businesses still take it for
granted that callers will wait patiently for a connection and see no reason to do
anything more than tell them what they already know - that the lines are busy. (0) ___
If it is something familiar and easy to listen to, potential customers are far more likely
to wait or try again later.
In the U.S. 70 per cent of calls are put on hold and the average person spends almost 70
hours a year waiting to speak to people on the phone. Despite these facts, businesses
show an amazing lack of imagination when it comes to the simple task of keeping
potential customers happy while they wait. (1) … Anyone who has listened to such
a statement repeated over and over again understands why callers hang up.
A recent study in the U.S. found that 60 per cent of on-hold callers hang up, and over
30 per cent do not try to call again. It also shows that callers find voice messages
aggressive and cheap, leaving the caller with a negative picture of the company. (2)…
Furthermore, if it is well-chosen and enjoyable, it can help shape a customers image of
the company. This is already established practice in the retail sector, where music is

49
used to encourage shoppers to spend more time in the store. Research also shows that
playing French music in a supermarket, for instance, can increase sales of French wine.
In the U.S. however, some companies have developed the idea further, offering more
than just music to callers. This fast growing part of the on-hold business is referred to as
on-hold marketing: the combination of music and brief promotional messages. (3) …
Others are putting on-hold time to equally good use with airlines announcing special
offers and hotels taking the opportunity to describe conference facilities.
One company says that its on-hold marketing programme, combining messages with
'brand enhancing' music, reduces hang-ups by 50 per cent and increases sales by up to 20
per cent. (4) …For maximum effect the music should communicate a message in line with
the company's image. According to the usual stereotypes, classical music says 'quality and
intelligence' while pop music says 'youth and fun'.
One American marketing company says a typical 4-minute piece of on-hold marketing
comprises 15-second segments of music alternating with 15-second voice messages.
During the voice messages the music fades into the background. (5) … Donald Rich,
the company's founder says that messages that leave the caller both informed and
entertained work better than those that deliver just the hard sell. 'It should not be used
as an obvious selling tool. It should be more of a relaxing experience for the customer, a
you-mean-a-lot-to-us type thing.'
Example: 0-G
A Cable television companies, for example, are already using it to advertise
forthcoming movies.
B The music that works best is the easy-going kind that causes activity in this part of
the brain.
C Most companies still only offer these callers a brief voice message saying they are
on hold.
D Such claims demonstrate the importance of choosing the right on-hold music.
E The switch from one to the other helps keep potential customers interested.
F Music, on the other hand, is easier to listen to and far more relaxing.
G However, businesses that want to increase sales can do so by providing on-hold
callers with music.

50
Reading Test
 Read the extract from a business management book.
 In most lines 1-12 there is one extra word which does not fit in. Some lines, however,
are correct.
 If a line is correct, write CORRECT.
 If there is an extra word in the line, write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS.

0 Many organisations are seeking to take advantage of flatter management

00 structures by moving through to self-managed teams. In our experience, these
1 teams produce us very impressive results. However, as the companies
2 we work with can tell it you, they are neither a 'soft option' nor a 'quick fix'.
3 Self-managed teams operate in dramatically different ways from the other
4 teams and they can only succeed if the organisational culture, along with a
5 number of systems and procedures, are been re-shaped. Thus, changing to
6 self-managed teams requires not only most top level support but a clear
7 understanding of the concept which at all levels. Often staff who find themselves
8 at the lower levels of a traditional structure imagine that operating in self-
9 managed teams simply means that they will be free to do what they are want
10 without having to be obey the orders of upper management and this simply is
11 not the case. One of the most important areas we address with our clients
12 is the need to re-educate staff with a regard to the practical meaning of the
word 'team'. Such re-education is required from shop floor to board level.

Writing Test
 You are the HR director at a large international company. You have just appointed Ms
Francesca Bianchi as the new Sales Manager at Head Office.
 Write a memo of 40-50 words to Head Office staff:
 giving the reason for Ms Bianchi's appointment
 saying when she will start work
 asking staff to offer her assistance.

51
 Unit 4a

Brand power

SPEAKING

Selling points

1 Work in pairs. What brand of each product do you think your partner would
buy? Why?
- e-reader
- DVD-player
- car
- fridge
- mp3 player

2 Five people explain why they bought one of the products. Listen and decide the
main reason for each purchase.

1 ...
2 ...
3 ...
4 ...
5 ...
A after-sales service
B environmental-friendliness
C performance
D price
E reliability
F reputation
G style
H user-friendliness

52
READING

Ethical businesses
Read the first paragraph of the article and then talk to your partner about it. Do
you agree or disagree with what it says? Give reasons for your opinion. Then
read the rest of the article and discuss how the Co-operative Bank achieves its
goal of being an ethical business.

Banking on ethics
Advertisements are created to persuade people to buy products. They may try to teach you something or to entertain you in some way, but the
bottom line is that their ultimate aim is to convince you to buy a product or service. Many companies sell an image and to do this they appeal to
your emotions. If you own a particular product, you will also acquire the characteristics that it exemplifies and your life will improve by
making the purchase. However, will this ownership really change your status or the way you live? Is it possible to advertise and be ethical at
the same time? How can companies convince their customers that they are ethical businesses?

There are, however, companies who put ethics high on their list of corporate goals and
values. One company usually connected with ethical business is The Body Shop, which
was founded in the mid 70s as an alternative to other cosmetics and toiletries companies.
From the start, The Body Shop has supported environmental issues, human and animal
rights and have been strong proponents of Fair Trade items.
Perhaps less known is that there is a bank which feels that ethics are important. The Co-
operative Bank admits in their adverts that they are in business to make money. They lay out
the ground rules by saying that banks earn income by borrowing your money and lending it
to someone else at a higher interest rate. But they point out (hat most banks do not tell you
who they lend your money to. In 1992 the Co-operative Bank launched an Ethical Policy
which encourages customers to tell them who they should support financially. Since this
policy went into effect, the Co-operative Bank has withheld more than £1 billion in
funding from companies that their customers feel are involved in unethical business
practices. In addition, the Co-operative has an Ethical Engagement Policy in place for their
insurance and investment business, and attends the Annual General Meetings (AGMs) of
companies it invests in to ensure that business dealings are in line with the Co-operative's
ethical policies.

53
These two policies work in different ways. The first gathers information from
customers about areas of concern such as genetic modification, Fair Trade, human and
animals rights and sets a social agenda. It then makes sure that they do not enter into
business dealings with companies who do not comply with their policies. The second works
at changing companies from the inside using their power as corporate shareholders to
bring about change.
The Co-operative Bank has been in business since 1872 and has tried over the years to
do what is best for its members and the community it operates in. Today the bank is
part of The Co-operative which is the largest consumer co-operative in the world and
has over 6.5 million members. The members are both customers and shareholders and
have a say in how the business is run. They also receive a share of the profits based on the
amount of trade they do with the different branches of the Co-operative family. Today the
Co-operative runs not only the bank, but also an insurance company, a supermarket
chain, pharmacies, travel agents, electrical goods stores, and even makes up the largest
group of farmers in the UK. Using some of the same slogans and logos, the Co-operative
has carried out a successful brand-stretching policy by making sure their core values run
throughout the diverse businesses. Its goal is to practice what it preaches in all aspects of
the business. For example, the supermarkets carry over 200 lines of Fair Trade foods and
sell food grown on their own farms under their own brand. The pharmacies offer free
health checks and provide healthcare for communities and the insurance company was the
first to offer EcoMotor insurance for cars with lower emissions.
The Co-operative, which has been in business for over a 100 years, has proven
that it is able to make profits, cling to its ideals and create brand loyalty,
demonstrating that ethics and business can go hand-in-hand.

2 Read the article again and answer the questions.

1 Why are advertisements unethical?
2 How does The Body Shop express its ethical values?
3 What role do the customers at the Co-operative Bank play regarding
the bank's lending policies?
4 How does the Co-operative Bank try to change companies it invests in?

54
5 Who owns the Co-operative?
6 How does The Co-operative practice what it preaches?

3 Gill Barr has been appointed as Group Marketing Director of The Co-
operative Group.

LISTENING

Listen to the interview and answer the questions.

1 What positive development has the revival of the Co-operative brand had for the
group?
2 What do the different areas of the Co-operative business have in common with each
other?
3 How do customers benefit from the fact that the Co-operative has the highest
number of farmers in the UK?
4 Why does the Co-operative buy shares in other companies?
5 What is meant by a 'sustainable future'?
6 What does the Co-operative consider to be a 'win-win' situation?

4 Listen to the interview again. This time, the recording will pause at certain points.
Choose the best phrase from the list below to continue the conversation.
to change certain business practices
stand for ethical sourcing concentrating on the bottom line
continue this trend have grown to over 5,000 stores
against us investing
launched a new campaign
put money back into communities
provide so many different services
various aspects of marketing

5 Use some of the phrases in the box to give a brief summary of Gill Barr's
interview.

55
 Unit 4b

Public relations

What is public relations?

LISTENING

Catherine Sleigh, Public Relations Manager at Skoda UK, talks about her job.
Before you listen, decide whether the following are the responsibility of the PR or
Marketing Department at Skoda.
 communication with the press
 research into the public's needs
 development of the company's reputation
 brand development
 decisions about product pricing
 public awareness of company values
Now listen and check your answers.

2 Match the verbs with the phrases to describe the role of the PR Department at
Skoda. Then listen to Catherine again and check your answers.
1. manage A. the press, television and radio
2. deal with B. the public relations strategy
3. provide C. long-term relationships
4. give D. goodwill and understanding
5. maintain E. an accurate picture of the company
6. build F. the press and public with information

Don't forget
Describing duties and responsibilities
The following phrases are useful for talking about responsibilities.

56
My job is to ...
I'm responsible for...
My job involves...
In this job you have to...

3 Work in pairs. Find out what types of duties and responsibilities your partner
expects to have in a job.

The benefits of good PR

LISTENING

1 Catherine Sleigh explains Skoda's success both in the UK market and abroad. Before
you listen, suggest what a company might do when launching a new ad campaign and how
they can work on improving their image. Then listen and check your answers.

2 Listen again and choose one letter for the correct answer.
1 Skoda's reputation has changed enormously over the last twenty years and
A they have won a number of international awards.
B their models are considered to be on the same level as Porsche and Lexis.
C their cars have been rated among the ten best models in the UK.
2 When Skoda first entered the UK market
A it was voted the most satisfying car.
B it was not at all successful.
C people said they would rather buy a Skoda.
3 The original campaign using the slogan It's a Skoda, honest was a success because
A the company acknowledged that there was a problem with the image.
B people believed the adverts.
C they took a risk.

57
4 The Skoda advertising campaign was
A powerful enough to sell the cars.
B a disaster.
C backed up by high quality products.
5 When the PR campaign for the Fabia vRs started, Skoda
A used a YouTube clip in a TV commercial.
B put adverts in the leading trade magazines.
C got the press interested before the actual campaign began.
6 The PR campaign for the Fabia vRS worked well because
A they advertised on Facebook and Twitter.
B they were able to get people to talk about the product.
C they spent a lot of money on TV advertising.
7 The microsite set up for the time of the campaign
A featured a contest.
B was the main medium Skoda used to connect to their target audience.
C became very trendy.
8 Skoda
A is selling well both in the UK and abroad.
B has had a strong brand image since its early days in the UK.
C sells best in Asia.

SPEAKING

3 Work in pairs. What companies do you know with positive public images? What
makes them positive? Does social media have a influence on how companies are
viewed today? In what way?

58
Organising a PR event

READING

1 Heidi McTravers, head of PR for Careedo Cars, organised the UK media launch of
the Careedo Crescent. Complete her launch schedule on the opposite page with the tasks
below.
A Ensure all equipment, branding displays and paperwork etc. are transported to venue.
B Be available to answer questions on all aspects of products/brands.
C Send out invitations and monitor replies.
D Send guests confirmed details of venue, dates, times and format.
E Choose and book venue.
F Ensure all guests have access to information/personnel/products.
G Begin writing press launch packs.

UK Media Launch of the Careedo Cresent

Advance preparation
3-4 months ahead
 Set UK 'on sale' date.
 Make sure launch date does not clash with other manufacturers.
 (1) …
 Decide on best event format for launch.
 Decide on invitation list (target most important auto magazines, national
papers, major regional papers and freelance journalists). Film YouTube clip and
upload to internet. Start fan club on social media site.
6 weeks ahead
 (2) …
 Organise photographer for launch.
 (3) …
 Send requests for attendance at launch to senior executives.
3 weeks ahead

59
 Send details of event to venue.
 Vehicles arrive for preparation media.
 Photography takes place. Choose pictures for press information packs and send
to printers.
 (4) …
1 week ahead
 Finalise details with venue (room bookings, presentations, menus, parking etc.).
 Prepare welcome information and itineraries for guests.
 Final brief for Skoda staff, venue, vehicle management staff.
 (5) …
At the event
 Ensure everything runs smoothly.
 (6) …
 (7) …
 Enjoy yourself.

SPEAKING

2 Work in pairs. Your company is launching a new product in four months' time.
Agree on the following details. Then present your ideas to the class.
 the name of the product
 the venue for the launch
 the date and time of the event
 some details of the event programme
 a final date for returning replies

WRITING

3 Write a formal letter inviting the media to the event. Write 120-140 words. Make
sure you include the five points above.

60
SELF-STUDY

1 Read through the unit. Find words which can go before or after brand.

2 Match these idioms from the unit with their meanings.

1 a 'win-win' situation
2 the answer to someone's dreams
3 go hand-in-hand
4 concentrate on the bottom line
5 practice what you preach
6 to cling to ideals

A be closely connected
B do things the way you tell others to do them
C be primarily interested in making a profit
D to hold on to values
E something that both sides benefit from
F something a person has always wanted
3 Complete the table.
Verb Noun Adjective
____________ persuasion ______________
_________________________ supportive
diversify ____________ ______________
____________ ____________ reliable
____________ entertainment ______________
encourage ____________ ______________
____________ competition/ competitor ______________
____________ ____________ growing

4 Complete each sentence with a suitable preposition.

1 The members have a say _______ how the company is run.

61
2 Adverts often appeal peoples' emotions.
3 This policy went _______ effect last week.
4 We plan to continue and build ______ this positive trend.
5 Our products stand ______ ethical sourcing.
6 We don’t do business _____ companies we don’t believe in.
7 Ethical business practices are high on our list ______ corporate goals.
our farm-grown
8 Our customers benefit _______our farm-grown products.

5 Choose the correct word to fill each gap.

The role of the PR department
The primary role of public relations is to talk to the press and the public in order to (1)
… accurate information from the heart of the company. The overall (2) … is to
provide information about the company's brands and its (3) … so that the public has
a positive (4) … of the organisation. An essential part of this process is (5) … good
long-term relationships with the press. Marketing, on the other hand, is more to do with
(6) … customers' needs and developing the right products to (7) … those needs at an
affordable price. Marketing (8)......the public through advertising, whereas public relations
works more with the press and broadcast media.

1 A display B communicate C explain

2 A objective B responsibility C duty
3 A reputation B goodwill C values
4 A look B image C aspect
5 A staying B maintaining C remaining
6 A viewing B deciding C identifying
7 A satisfy B provide C manage
8 A touches B reaches C gets

6 Which word in each group is the odd one out?

62
1 reputation brand image opinion
2 attitude awareness product understanding
3 PR campaign marketing advertising
4 invitation programme schedule itinerary
5 manufacture display build produce

7 Complete each sentence with the correct form of the word in capital letters.
1 RESPONSIBLE
Working in a small team means a lot of personal
_____________ , which I enjoy.
2 AWARE
We're trying to raise public _______________ of the brand in Europe.
3 SATISFY
Our cars were voted the most____________ to own.
4 AVAILABLE
We'll release details regarding ____________ of the product next week.
5 REPUTE
At the beginning, we had problems with the
brand's _______________
6 SUCCEED
We have been extremely ____________ with our new PR campaign.
7 ADVERTISE
We've placed _____________ in newspapers.
8 RELY
The new model was considered to be
very ______________

Articles
Complete the text by adding the, a or an where necessary. Some gaps will remain
empty.
The Fabia vRS production plant

63
Shortly before (1) .......... official UK launch of the
Fabia vRS, 100 journalists were invited on
(2) .............organised tour of (3) ... production facility
at Mlada Boleslav in (4) ........ Czech Republic. The
factory is one of (5).......... most advanced in the
world. At the plant, (6) ........ independent component
suppliers also have production facilities, manned
by their own staff, producing (7) ........doors,
seatbelts etc. All of (8) ..........other suppliers are
linked to the production control system and (9)
........... deliveries of parts and materials are made
'just-in-time' to (10) ......... precise schedule.

64
 Unit 5a

Relocation

Why do people relocate?

SPEAKING

1 Work in pairs. Discuss the following questions.

 Why do people relocate to another part of their own country or to a new country?
 Would you consider relocating for a job? Why or why not?

READING

2 Read the extract from an article about relocating to Australia. Choose the best title
for each paragraph. One will not be used.
Paragraph 1 ........
Paragraph 2 .........
Paragraph 3 …..
Paragraph 4 .........
Paragraph 5 .........

A Problem solved
B Prosperity in Australia
C The world-wide financial crisis
D Advertising for migrants
E Why people move
F Who is in demand?

Thinking of relocating?

65
1 There are a number of reasons people decide
to relocate to another country for a job. An employee may be afraid of being made
redundant at the company he or she is currently working at. Political and economic
changes in a country may help to contribute to a decision to make a major move.
Sometimes companies open branches overseas and employees see the chance as an
excellent career move to increase their own visibility within the corporation. And in
some cases it may simply be an interest in trying out new tasks and challenges in a
different environment and culture or seeking a better quality of life.
2 Australia has increasingly been drawing brain power and talented employees not only
from Oceania but also from Europe and North America. One factor behind this is the
fact that the Australian economy is growing and predictions for future growth are very
good. Unlike both Britain and the UK, Australia has come through the GFC (global
financial crisis) due to the strict supervision of the banking sector. This has certainly
helped Australia to weather the financial problems which have affected most of the
industrial countries. It has also been helped by China's demand for raw materials,
something that Australia has in abundance.
3 The boom in Australia is not all positive, however. The country is experiencing a skills
shortage and is actively looking to recruit people from all areas of the professional
spectrum including tradespeople, teachers, architects, health care professionals, IT (or
ICT) professionals, civil engineers and cartographers. When natural disasters such as
earthquakes or flooding take place, the demand for construction workers and engineers
also increases.
4 One of the major barriers to relocation and immigration has been addressed by the
government which has created a points-based visa system. Top priority is given to
employers interested in sponsoring individuals and points are awarded on the basis of
English language skills, work experience, higher-level qualifications and age.
Interestingly, the Australian immigration authorities often favour older workers as they
have the experience needed for a number of jobs.
5 Australia has long been a destination for migrants from the British Isles. There are
about one million expats (expatriates) there. Programmes on the BBC such as Wanted

66
Down Under or Relocation: Phil Down Under have served to attract people living in the
UK to look at Australia as the next step on the career ladder.

SPEAKING

Which reasons mentioned in the text would be important for you if you decided to
relocate? Discuss this with your partner.

Arranging to relocate

SPEAKING

1 Work in pairs. Discuss the following questions.

 What arrangements do people have to make when relocating?
 Is there a difference if someone relocates alone or if he or she brings family members
along?

2 Fenway Software is relocating several employees to Sydney. Read this report about a
relocation company, Executive Relocation Services (ERS). Tick (/) the services it offers
in the table on the opposite page. Cross (X) any services ERS does not offer.

Date: 12 November 2011

Report on: Suitability of Executive Relocation Services (ERS)

Introduction
This report aims to assess whether ERS meets Fenway's needs (see attached document) in
relocating employees and families to Sydney, Australia.

Findings
ERS offers a comprehensive house search service including Internet pre-viewing.
Although it offers no partner employment services, ERS does place children in local
schools. ERS also arranges all necessary documentation including entry visas and work

67
permits and offers full packing, storage and shipping services. In addition, ERS can
find you dog and cat relocation experts who deal with necessary vaccinations and other
paperwork.

Conclusion
It was concluded that ERS would fulfil most of our key needs and offers a high quality
service. The costs also compare favc competitors. However, it is proposed that no
further dec made until other companies have also been considered.

Amanda Ramane
Human Resources Manager

Fenway’s needs ERS Worldwide relocation

Accommodation search
Visas and work permits
Removal and shipping assistance
School search
Integration programmes
Partner employment assistance
Pet relocation

3 Complete the information below with phrases from the ERS report.
Don't forget
Report writing
The following phrases are useful when writing reports.
• Introduction
The aim/purpose of this report is to ... This report sets out to ...
Conclusion
It was decided/agreed/felt that...
No conclusions were reached regarding...
Recommendations

68
We would recommend that... It is suggested that...

LISTENING

4 Bob Richards phones Amanda Ramone to discuss another relocation

company, Worldwide Relocation. Listen and complete the table above.

WRITING

5 Which relocation company should Fenway choose? Write a report comparing the
two companies and making your recommendation. Write 120-140 words.

69
 Unit 5b

New premises

Finding the right location

LISTENING

Gerald Slater works for PLP Immobilier, an international property consultancy in Paris
He gives a client, Jim Flower, directions to an office site. Listen and mark the correct: on
the map below.
Now look at the audioscript and underline the sentences Jim uses to make sure he he the
correct information. How does Jim do this? Circle the sentences Gerald uses to make
the directions easier. How does Gerald do this?

70
 GerrilH s client is here

2 Read the article below about office locations. How do you think your company's
location contributes to its corporate image?

71
1 Work in groups. Jim Flower decides to lease the pl. Jean Moulin property. Look
at the floor plan below. Which rooms do you think the company should allocate to the
following? You must reach agreement in your group.

Management
Managing Director Sales Manager Finance Director Office manager HR Manager
Marketing Manager
Staff
Sales (12) Accounts (4) Support staff (3)
Facilities
Boardroom Reception area Photocopier room Post room Kitchen Stationery

72
SELF-STUDY

1 Complete the paragraph with the following words.

barrier supervision recruiting shortage sponsor predictions demand
Australia has been growing and (1) _____________for future growth are very good. The
strict (2) _____________________ of the banking sector has helped Australia come
through the financial crisis better than other industrial countries. China's (3)
______________________ for raw materials has also helped Australia's economy stay
strong. One problem they do face, however, is a skills (4) ____________ The country is
actively (5) _______________________ professionals from all over the world. A major
(6) ___________________to immigration has recently been removed and it is easier
today for migrants entering the country. Top priority is also given to employers who
would like to (7)_____________________ people in roles they have a shortage of.
All reasons to take a good look at the opportunities 'Down Under'.

5 Correct the mistakes in the sentences below.

1 Job opportunities are more greater than in many
European countries.
2 The range of leisure activities is now varieder than
ever before.
3 Australia has one of faster growing economies.
4 Employment costs in Germany are among the
most high in the world.
5 The scenery is more spectacular that I expected.
6 Sydney is among the interestingest cities in the
world.
7 There are good reasons for relocating, but there
are even more better reasons for relocating to
Australia.
8 When natural disasters occur, demand for
construction workers is more high.

73
9 Come to Australia. You'll feel at home more quick
as you thought.
10 Australia had a more strict supervision of the banking sector as than other countries.

5 Read through the unit. Find words connected with facilities and amenities.

1 Complete the text with the following adjectives.

wide; easy; major; available; immediate; impressive; numerous; fast-growing

This office site, which is shared with an (1)_____________ selection of companies and
organisations, is prominently located in a (2) ________________corporate business area.
There is (3) _____________ access to public transport with (4) _______________bus
routes servicing the area. Two underground stations are also within walking distance. In
the (5) ______________area there is a (6) ________ range of bars and restaurants and
most (7) _________ High Street shops. Staff facilities in the area are therefore excellent.
These premises will be (8) ________from early July.

6 Complete the sentences with the following words.

renovation; square metres; premises; tenant; appointment; properly; location

1 The last ___________________ left the place in a terrible condition.

2 Viewing is by ________ only through the official agents.
3 There's still a little __________work to be done on the outside of the building.
4 The office is in an excellent central _______________
5 Where are your new ___________ ?
6 Each of the offices measures approximately 40 __________________
7 This __________________ should be available soon.

Listening Test Part One

Questions 1-12
 You will hear three telephone conversations.

74
 Write one or two words or a number in the numbered space on the forms below.
 You will hear each conversation twice.
Conversation One (Questions 1-4)
 Look at the form below.
 You will hear a man giving information about a course.
Telephone message
For: David Taken by: Joanna Date: 1.6.2011 Time: 5pm
Peter Carver rang about the (1) ......................................... you're interested in. It's called
(2) ............................................. and the next one is on (3) ..........................................If you're
interested, call (4)..................... on O1 723 667762.
Conversation Two (Questions 5-8)
 Look at the form below.
 You will hear a man booking a taxi.
Longside Taxis Booking form
Date: 13.5.2011
Booking taken by: Julia Customer name: Wentworth Engineering
Pick-up time: (5).............................................
Passenger name: Susan (6) ............................................
Destination: (7).............................................
Pick up from: Wentworth Engineering (passenger in (8) ……………………
Conversation Three (Questions 9-12)
 Look at the form below.
 You will hear a man giving information about a talk.
NAME OF SPEAKER: Dr Alan Barker
ORGANISATION: Institute of European Management Consultants
TITLE OF TALK:........ (9) ……………
DATE/TIME: 19th March 2011,9.30 am
VENUE: (10) ……….., Ridgeway Park Management Institute
EQUIPMENT: Speaker will use their (11) ………. to run the presentation.
FEE: (12) ..........................

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Listening Test Part Two Questions 13-22
Section One (Questions 13-17) i|Qf
 You will hear five people talking about different items of office equipment.
 For each piece, decide which item A-H the speaker is talking about.
 Write one letter A-H next to the number of the piece.
 Do not use any letter more than once.
 You will hear the five pieces twice.
13.......................
14.......................
15.......................
16.......................
17.......................
A company mobile phone
B data projector
C fax machine
D scanner
E paper shredder
F photocopier
G printer
H laptop

Section Two
(Questions 18-22) O QT)
 You will hear another five short pieces.
 For each piece, decide what the speaker is trying to do.
 Write one letter A-H next to the number of the piece.
 Do not use any letter more than once.

You will hear the five pieces twice.

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18 …
19 …
20 …
21 …
22 …
A place an order
B make a complaint
C change an appointment
D give a warning
E explain a delay
F thank someone
G make an announcement
H reject an offer

Listening Test
Questions 23-30
 You will hear a report about Vie Vitale, a manufacturer of health and beauty products.
 For each question 23-30, choose one letter (A, B, or C) for the correct answer.
 You will hear the report twice.
23 How many jobs are likely to be lost at Vie Vitale?
A 200
B 300
C 500
24 Job cuts are not expected in
A manufacturing.
B distribution.
C product development.
25 Vie Vitale is in a difficult situation because
A their ideas are no longer unique.
B the market sector is no longer fashionable.
C competitors now have cheaper products.

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26 La Face announced it is going to
A develop its own retail outlets.
B concentrate on mail order sales.
C sell through department stores.
27 As a result of restructuring, Vie Vitale's share price is now
A lower than at the start of the year.
B the same as the start of the year.
C higher than at the start of the year
28 How does Vie Vitale intend to win back its market leadership?
A By bringing out new products.
B By changing its basic approach.
C By modernising its image.
29 What is Vie Vitale's strategy concerning its shops?
A It is reducing the number of its shops.
B It is buying back more of its outlets.
C It is creating more franchises.
30 Vie Vitale owns all of its shops in
A France
B Germany
C the UK

Reading Test
 Read the extract from a business management book.
 In most lines 1-12 there is one extra word which does not fit in. Some lines, however,
are correct.
 If a line is correct, write CORRECT
 If there is an extra word in the line, write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS.
Example
0 - HAS
0 00 - correct

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0 From the outside looking in, it has may seem that what we offer our clients is
00 nothing more than a simple delivery service. However, actually delivering the load
1 is just the one small part of our operation. Our team includes a comprehensive
2 and efficient administration service which is also been essential for operating at the
3 high standards demanded by today's customers. Our centrally-controlled group
4 administration department is a channel for all of information about each and
5 every delivery. This department is a responsible for providing our customers with
6 a wide range of services and information, which will involves processing customs
7 and proof of delivery documents, providing full pallet control and delivery updates
8 via our unique tracking system. Customers can also be access this information
9 independently by using our new website. Security and an absolute confidentiality
10 are ensured by the use of individual consignment numbers which we have assign to each
11 load when we accept it. Links with our partners throughout worldwide mean that
12 every customer is able to follow the progress of their goods all the way from
Argentina to Zimbabwe!

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 Supplementary Exercises

Staff development and training

Getting started

Work in pairs. Which of these benefits of working for a company would you find most
attractive? Why?
 the opportunity to travel
 a permanent contract
 long holidays rapid promotion
 a bonus scheme
 responsibility
 a high salary
 an in-house training scheme

Useful language
Giving opinions - agreeing and disagreeing
I think .... would be the most attractive because ...
I'm not sure about that. For me, … would be more useful than … because...
Perhaps you're right. And I don't think … is as important as ...

Recruitment brochure

READING

1 Work in pairs. You are going to read an extract from the recruitment page of a
travel company's website. Before you read, discuss what training you think
university graduates might need when they first join a company like this.

2 Read the text below quite quickly.

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 1 What training does Flight Centre offer new staff?
2 Why does Flight Centre think staff training is so important?

Flight Centre - This company has been offering advice and making travel arrangements for customers
since it opened its first store in Australia in 1981. It is now one of the world's largest and most successful
independent travel retailers, with 1,700 stores around the globe.

GO ANYWHERE YOU WANT TO GO

At Flight Centre, we believe in giving you a lot of responsibility from day one, so
one of our main priorities is to make sure you get the training and support you need to 1
… the skills which will allow you to succeed.
Training starts as soon as you 2 … — and it never stops. The initial programme is
3 … partly at your office and partly in our dedicated Learning Centre. For the first 12
months, you'll have a regular programme of training, 4 … topics as diverse as Advanced
Sales, Goal Setting and Time Management.
After that, you can develop in any direction you choose by 5 … a range of
courses and events in key areas: Sales and Service, Products and Airfares, Systems, and
Personal Development. All this is provided at no 6 … to you. We have a consistent 7 …
of promoting from inside the company; currently about 90 per cent of our Team
Leaders have come through the ranks, and we want to keep it that 8 … .
We're also keen to train the leaders of the future with our Leadership
Development programme. It's an intensive training course 9 … up by specialist project
work. After all, becoming a high flier in any company shouldn't be about just waiting
to shuffle up the ladder. Here, the best people develop as far as they like, as fast as they
like. We hope you'll be one of them. And the success of our philosophy of cultivating
personal and 10 … development, as well as promoting from within, has earned us a
Training and Development award for excellence, as voted by our employees.

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3 Read the text again and choose the best option - A, B, C or D -for each gap.

1 A win B gain C earn D collect

2 A join B recruit C contrac D employ
3 A situate B located C based D fixed
4 A dealing B covering C learnin D workin
5 A going B assisting C having D attendin
6 A money B payment C cost U price
7 A record B reputatio C activity D standar
8 A type B sort C kind D way
9 A set B backed C held D kept
1 A career B work C life D professi

SPEAKING

Work in small groups.

1 Would you like to work for a company like Flight Centre? Why / Why not;
2 Which of these statements do you agree/disagree with? Why? / Why not?

 Companies should pay for training to do the job, but staff should pay for training
which gives them qualifications.
 'Training should be done in employees' free time.
 II a company trains you, you should agree to work for that company for a number
of years afterwards.
 All staff need continuous training - not just new recruits.
 It doesn't matter what you study. The important thing is to get a good degree.

Useful language
Saying how much you agree/disagree
I partly/completely/totally agree with … because I think/feel that... I completely/totally
disagree with … because ...

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Vocabulary 1
Check the meanings of these words, then use them to complete the sentences
below.
certificate course degree development experience knowledge qualifications skills
1 Our training programme aims to teach you key skills such as using spreadsheets.
2 Although he lacks any formal …………………., such as a university degree, he's
now one of our best managers.
3 The …………………. you study for at university is likely to decide the sort of job
you do afterwards.
4 At the end of the four-week training …………………., you will receive a
…………………. . You'll gain a thorough …………………. of the company's
activities. However, there are a lot of things which you can only learn from the
…………………. you'll get working here.
5 With our policy of professional …………………., we expect him to soon become a
manager.

Vocabulary 2
Business students often confuse these words: work and job; training and training
course. Look at these extracts from the CALD. Then choose the correct alternative
in italics in the sentences below.
work [U] - something you do to earn money:
He's looking for work.
job [C] - used to talk about a particular type of work activity which you do:
He's looking for a job in computer programming.
training [U] - the process of learning the skills you need to do a particular job or activity
training course [C] - a set of classes or a plan of study on a particular subject
1 Due to your excellent job / work, you have increased productivity by 25%.
2 She has also done an excellent job / work with our staff, who are now working as a
real team.
3 We haven't enough people to deal with this amount of job / work.
4 Wish me luck in my new job / work.
5 I have to go on a training course / training to learn about the new safety regulations.

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6 We need to give health and safety training course / training to eight senior
executives.
7 Is it possible to hold this training course / training with just six trainees?

Training course

LISTENING

1 Work in pairs. You are going to listen to a short conversation about a training
course. Before you listen, read the notes below and decide what type of information
you need in each gap.
Skills Development College
 Had an enquiry from 1 ...... Company.
 Want an advanced computer course for their 2 ……
 Require a course lasting 3 ......
 Director of Studies should:
- conduct needs analysis
- give a 4 …..

2 Listen and write one or two words or a number in the numbered gaps in the notes.

3 Match these phrases (1-6) with their definitions (a-f).

1 tailor-made
2 learning goals
3 training budget
4 hands-on training
5 computer literate
6 core skills

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a. practical, not theoretical, training
b. able to use a computer
c. basic, essential skills
d. money reserved for training staff
e. specially designed to meet your needs
f. your objectives when doing the course

Training at Deloitte in China

READING

Deloitte - A worldwide company offering management consultancy, auditing and financial advisory
services

1 Work in pairs. Read the article in the next column, ignoring the gaps and the
underlined words. What is the subject of each paragraph?

Encouraging employees

In each of the main offices in Shanghai, Beijing and I long Kong, Deloitte
China has dedicated facilities known as the Deloitte Institute training centres.
Employees who develop their careers within Deloitte believe that the benefits are
multiple. 'In Deloitte, some managers are only in their early thirties, and this
encourages young people like me,' says Shawn Su from the Tax Department. '1 think
Deloitte offers employees a clear upward path for development. 1 G’
Charlotte Chen says, '1 knew Deloitte was different when I first came here for
interview.' During the interview, Charlotte was impressed by the professionalism of
the Deloitte interviewers. 'They didn't act in a superior manner; they were friendly
and patient. 2 …' When Charlotte was about to take her professional exams, her
manager said, 'With the test coming in June, you should take some days off. You will
have a better chance of passing if you have (l i n e to study.' Attention from managers
often works better than material incentives. Jessica Li from the Audit Department

85
recalls. 'The third year with Deloitte was crucial, and passing my exams was
essential for my career. 3 … What touched me most was that they came to wish me
good luck the day before I took my study leave. I was very emotional to see
their concern.' 4 … Jessica says, 'Deloitte cares about my personal development, and
that suits me. Now, when I get calls from headhunters, I tell them. "I reall y li ke
working here and can develop my career within Deloitte. I don't need to change
environment.'"
Attention and recognition by management are elements of Deloitte's
corporate culture. Shawn Su, who is about to be promoted to manager, says he
always gets an immediate reply from his supervisors, no matter how late. They always
say 'Thank you for working so late.' Shawn says, '5 … Now a manager-to-be, Shawn
says, I’ll follow in the footsteps of my bosses, encouraging and paying .mention to my
staff.'
This is how Deloitte's corporate culture is passed down through the
company. Every new recruit has a 'counsellor', who guides them, helps them at work
and cares about them. 6 … Counsellors are li ke Deloitte second bosses. Although they
don't necessarily lead you directly when 11 comes to work, they guide every Deloitte
employee with their own professional experience.

Work in pairs.
1 Look at the example given in gap 1. Why is sentence G below the correct option
to fill the gap?
2 Choose t h e best sentence (A-G) to fill each of the gaps. Use the underlined
words and phrases in the sentences and in the text to help you.
A At the time, my managers helped me apply for training courses, and they let me
take time to attend training and to study.
B Interest and commitment from the management retains talent.
C I thought, if my bosses are like these people, I 'l l feel comfortable here.
D Jessica Li believes that it was a recommendation from hers that gave her
the chance to work abroad.
E This policy has led to a great expansion in Deloitte's services.

86
F Young people don't mind doing overtime, but we tend to feel frustrated when what
we've done is not recognised.
G This gives everyone the chance to ascend to the top, as long as they remain
committed and perform well.

3 Discuss in small groups.

1 What positive aspects of working for Deloitte are mentioned in the text?
2 Which ones do you think are most attractive? Why?

Vocabulary

Match these words and phrases from the text (1-6) with their definitions (a-f).
1 dedicated facilities
2 material incentives
3 headhunters
4 corporate culture
5 commitment
6 overtime
a people who try to persuade someone to leave their job by offering them another
job with more pay and a higher position
b buildings and equipment provided tor a particular purpose
c something, especially money, which encourages a person to do something
d the beliefs and ideas that a company has and the way in which they affect how it
does business and how its employees behave
e time spent working beyond the usual time needed or expected in a job
f when you are willing to give your time and energy to something that you believe in

Training scheme for new staff

Role-p ay
1 Before you do this task, work alone and prepare by making some brief notes
about your ideas.

87
You work in the human resources department of a company. Your company has
decided to provide a one-week training course for new employees. You have been asked
to help prepare the programme. Discuss the situation with a partner and decide:
a what things the course should include;
b whether the course should be given by people inside the company or by an outside
organisation;
c whether the course should happen during work time or free time.

LISTENING

Two business students discussed the task in Exercise 1. Match these

sentences (1-6) from their discussion with points in the task (a-c). Then listen
to check your answers.
1 How about getting them to spend two days learning how our computer systems
work?
2 Why don't we ask an external organisation?
3 1 think another useful thing is to explain what to do when they have a problem.
4 We could also spend some time introducing people in the company.
5 What about holding the course for two hours every day, from nine to 11 in the
morning?
6 I suggest that on the first day, we should explain what the company does.

3 Study the underlined phrases in Exercise 2 and think how you could use them
when you discuss the situation.

4 Work in pairs or small groups. Discuss the situation using your own ideas and
some of the language from Exercise 2.

88
 Job descriptions and job satisfaction

Getting started

1 Work in pairs. Which of these activities would you enjoy in a job, and which
would you dislike? Why?
1 working with figures
2 dealing with customers
3 supervising staff
4 taking important decisions
5 writing reports
6 working with new technologies

2 Which of the activities in Exercise 1 (1-6) are part of these jobs?

a receptionist
b marketing assistant
c accountant
d human resources administrator
e logistics controller

Job responsibilities

Vocabulary

1 Underline phrases in these statements which are useful for talking about jobs.
1 My main responsibilities are to keep financial records, make sure the company
pays its taxes by the deadlines and supervise how funds are used. I deal with financial
paperwork, and look after budgeting and planning any future investment.
2 I help to recruit new employees, keep staff records and reports, help to plan staff
training, and organise team-building activities. I also participate in evaluating the
performance of junior members of staff.

89
3 I work as part of a team promoting the company's products. We have a budget
for advertising and promotion and we work with outside agencies to design effective
promotional campaigns.
4 I'm really the first person visitors see when they walk in through the door, so I
have to look good, be polite and efficient, and pass them on to the right person. I
answer the phone, issue visitors' passes, organise meeting rooms and make sure that
mail and other messages are distributed correctly.
5 My job involves ensuring th.it goods are transported to and from our factories
and warehouses in an efficient and co-ordinated way. In other words, I' m responsible
for goods arriving at their destination on time and in good condition.

2 Match the statements above (1-5) with the jobs (a-e) in Getting started
Exercise 2.

3 Find words in Exercise 1 to match these definitions

from the CALD.
1 to plan how much money you will spend on something budgeting
2 to persuade someone to work for a company or become a new member of an
organisation
3 judging or calculating the quality, importance, amount or value of something
4 encouraging the popularity or sale of something
5 the act of putting money into something to make a profit
6 money needed or available to spend on something
7 how well a person, machine, etc. does a piece of work or an activity
8 times or days by which something must be clone

4 Check how the phrases in the Useful language box are used in Exercise 1. Then
work alone and think of a job (not the job you do now). Write a short paragraph
like the ones in Exercise 1 to describe the job, but without mentioning the job
title.

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Useful language
Talking about jobs
My job involves ... (+ verb + -ing) I'm responsible for. I deal with ... I look after...
My main responsibilities are to ...
I help to ... I participate in ... I have to ...

5 Work in small groups. Take turns to read your paragraphs. The others in your
group should guess what job you are talking about.

6 Complete these questions by writing one word in each gap.

1 What does your job consist ?/

What you studying?
2 How long you in your present job? / How long you
studying?
3 When you first become interested in your present job/studies?
4 What your goals and ambitions the future?

7 Work in pairs. Take turns to ask and answer the questions.

A human resources manager

LISTENING

1 You are going to hear Christina Bunt, a human resources manager for Tesco,
talking about her job. Before you listen, underline the key idea in each of these
questions.
1 What part of her job does Christina enjoy most?
A teaching job skills
B challenging tasks
C maintaining discipline
2 What, according to Christina, makes managing people easy?

91
A strong discipline
B recruiting the right staff
C having friendly staff
3 How did Christina become a personnel manager?
A Tesco recruited her as a personnel manager.
B She trained in another company as a personnel manager.
C She started at the bottom and came up through the ranks.
4 What would she like to be doing in ten years' time?
A opening new stores
B working as a store manager
C continuing her present job
5 What advice does Christina give for job candidates?
A Dress very smartly.
B Try to look relaxed.
C Behave in a friendly, casual way.
6 How does she know when a candidate will be good at the job?
A They are ambitious about their career.
B They express interest in their other activities.
C They are good at the other things they do.

2 Now listen and choose the best answer - A, B or C - for each question.

Human resources

SPEAKING

Work in small groups.

1 Do you agree with these opinions?
 First impressions are really important. Be totally natural and don't try to put yourself
forward as something you're not.
 I'll always know that I'm talking to somebody that's going to be enthusiastic, because
they're enthusiastic about the things they like in their normal life.

92
2 Do you think enthusiastic people are more successful? Why? / Why not?
3 What other interview advice would you give?

Tesco - Britain's largest chain of supermarkets and the biggest food retailer in the UK

Vocabulary

1 Business students often confuse these words and phrases: staff, employee and member
of staff. Match these words (1-3) with their definitions from the CALD (a-c).
1 staff a one person who works for a shop, company, etc.
2 employee b someone who is paid to work for someone else
3 member of staff c the group of people who work for an organization

2 Correct these mistakes made by students in Cambridge business exams. More

than one answer may be possible.
1 I'm pleased to announce that every staff will be given a bonus.
member of staff / employee
2 Around 70% of customers felt that the staffs were generally unfriendly.
3 She's a very hard-working staff.
4 In fact, we need 35 new staffs.

What I like about my job

LISTENING

1 Work in pairs. Look at these reasons why people might like their jobs. Which, for you,
are more important, and which are less important?
a balancing working life with family life
b being my own boss
c building customer relationships
d finding solutions for customers

93
e improving my staff's performance
f observing trainees' progress
g seeing the success of my company
h having a variety of tasks

Useful language: Talking about yourself

I (would) find . very interesting/enjoyable because ...
For me, …. is very important because ...
I wouldn't be / I'm not so interested in …………… because ...
....... is something I'd really enjoy / find challenging / find exciting because ...

2 Listen to five people talking about why they like their jobs. What reason does
each person give? Choose from the reasons (a-h) in Exercise 1.
1 Jane Milton
2 Amanda Hamilton
3 Rob Liu
4 Adam Evans
5 Harriet Barber

3 Complete these sentences by writing one word in each gap. Then listen again to
check your answers.
1 I love being able to ………………………… out what a …………………………
needs and ... and do it.
2 I absolutely thrive on the ………………………… , just being able to make, you
know, my own …………………………
3 You sort of somehow don't mind those longer hours because it's
…………………………
4 You see people, sort of, improve, really, within a short, quite a short time
sometimes. That's very, um, …………………………,1 think.
5 I'm getting their future ready, so when they arrive, there's a job there for them, and
that's ………………………… I enjoy - that's of the main things.

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6 It's …………………………to see, like, how these projects are progressing,

SPEAKING

1 Work alone. Imagine you are going to an interview for a job. Look at these questions
and think how you might answer them, using words and phrases you have studied in this
unit where possible.
 What do you most enjoy about your job/studies?
 Is there anything you dislike?
 What do you regard as your most valuable job skills?
 What other job skills would you like to acquire? Why?
 What sort of job would suit you best? Why?

2 Now work in pairs. Take turns to ask and answer the questions.

95
 Getting the right job

Getting started

Work in small groups and discuss this question.

What, for you, would make a company or organisation a great place to work? Here are
some ideas to help you:
 opportunities for • challenging work
promotion • friendly colleagues
 a good salary • developing new ideas
 opportunities to travel • taking responsibility
 working in teams

Job satisfaction at Sony Mobile Communications

READING

1 Work in pairs. You are going to read what four employees say about their jobs at
Sony Mobile Communications. Before you read, discuss the advantages of working
for a multinational company.

2 Work in pairs. Underline the key idea in each of these statements, then express the
key idea using your own words.

1 I like to see how the people I work with evolve.

my colleagues develop
2 I like producing things which people will enjoy.
3 It's important to continually improve our ways of working.
4 My team's work affects the whole company.
5 Recent recruits are encouraged to contribute ideas.
6 The company wants its employees to have a variety of attitudes and opinions.

96
 7 To survive in this industry, you continually have to be producing new products.
8 We need to be aware of our customers' different ways of thinking.

3 Read these opinions expressed by Sony Mobile Communications employees. Which

person does each statement from Exercise 2 refer to?

Useful language Talking about importance

I really like ...
For me, .. is very important because ...
One of the things I think is essential is because .
I don't think is so important because ...
For me, would be / is a priority because ...

A Gurshan Kaal, Senior Manager Android Software, United States

The employees here are from very diverse cultural backgrounds. It all makes for a really
open workplace where different views and mindsets are accepted and encouraged. Mobile
technology has been evolving fast. As soon as you've mastered a technology, a new one
crops up. There's also fierce competition that's always changing, forcing us to stay on our
toes and innovate. Ever-changing technologies and new ideas keep my job intellectually
stimulating and really satisfying I've always been interested in mobile technologies. Sony
Mobile Communications attracted me because it's a leader in communication technologies.
The people here are passionate, fun-loving, hard-working and looking to make a difference.
They're not intimidated by change, but they do understand the importance of being able to
adapt.

B Katie Wu, Head of Engineering and Material Management, Beijing

I never feel work is just about eight hours a day. Everyone here's so passionate, positive and
full of energy. We love our work and we also have a lot of fun together. I think what I
contribute most to Sony Mobile Communications is bringing an analytical mindset to my
team. We work hard, but also we want to do it more intelligently, more efficiently and
effectively. We like to challenge the status quo. I have a real passion about people.

97
Developing my team and seeing them grow is what makes me happy - seeing them change
overtime.

C Hikaru Kimura, Software Developer, Japan

There's a great culture here where you can really discuss things with all your colleagues,
even if you're a newcomer. It's a very open atmosphere. For the last four years, I've been
working in software development. I take real pride in creating applications that are fun
and satisfying for our customers to use. It's great working for such a diverse company
where you can learn a lot and get inspired by sharing ideas with other cultures and
mindsets. I also value having the chance to suggest new ideas and speak out freely.

D Sarah Hewitt, Senior Global Brand Manager, London

The strength of our brand is hugely important. It isn't just a logo or an advertising
campaign: it's who we are and what we do. I'm lucky to have a role that touches every part
of the organisation. It's rewarding to see our team's thinking and plans shaping and
changing all parts of the company from internal culture through to packaging, product
design and advertising. I love working in Global, as we get to interact with people from all
over the world: it's about understanding the cultural sensitivities of different markets.

Vocabulary

Find words or phrases in the first two sections of the text which mean:
1 learned how to do something well (A)
2 appears unexpectedly (A)
3 to continue directing all our attention and energy to what we are doing (A)
4 having a way of thinking which examines facts and information in a very careful
way (B)
5 to question the present situation (B)

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SPEAKING

Work in small groups.

1 What impression do you get of Sony Mobile Communications?
2 Which of the jobs mentioned sounds most interesting to you?
3 On their website, Sony Mobile Communications say, 'Sony Mobile
Communications is a global company and our corporate language is English.' What
are the advantages and disadvantages of working in English?

Sony Mobile Communications - A leader in communication technologies

A website entry

WRITING

1 Find these phrases in the texts on Sony Mobile Communications and note how they are
used.
I've always been interested in ...
I think what I contribute most to ... is ...
I have a real passion about ...
... is what makes me happy.
I take real pride in ...
It's great ...
I also value ...
I'm lucky ...
It's rewarding ...

2 Imagine you have been asked to write a paragraph about yourself for your
organisation's website (your college or your company). Write the paragraph using
four or five of the phrases in Exercise 1.

3 Work in small groups and compare your paragraphs.

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Advice on job applications

LISTENING

1 Underline the key ideas in these pieces of advice.

a Include a photograph with your application.
b Send your application by email.
c Make sure your application is not longer than one page.
d Mention your interests outside work.
e Ask someone else to check your application before sending it.
f Phone your prospective employer.
g Tell the truth about yourself in your application.
h Include names, addresses and telephone numbers of referees.

2 Now listen to the five speakers. For each one, decide what advice from Exercise 1
is being given.
1 Jiirgen 2 Marta 3 Alex 4 Luli 5 Ivan

3 Which of the pieces of advice from Exercise 1 would you give someone applying for a
job in your country? Why? / Why not?

A short email and an email of a job application

WRITING 1

1 Work in small groups. Read the job advertisement below from Sony Mobile
Communication's website and discuss what sort of person this job would suit. Think
about:
 age • studies/qualifications
 previous work experience
 personality

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Team Assistant
(Job ref.: 23998G)
JOB DESCRIPTION
• Handle phone calls and visitors, compile documents for approval, organise and co-
ordinate Team Leader's daily routine/biz working schedule and travel arrangements.
 Initiate and organise internal and external meetings, write follow-up reports etc., act
as department facilitator to co-ordinate within team and with other departments
when needed.
 Plan, organise and improve administrative services and implement company policies.
 Carry out tasks assigned by Team Leader according to business needs.

2 Mia Zhang saw the job advertised and thought it would suit a student doing an
internship in her department. Complete the email she wrote by writing one word in
each gap.

Hiroshi,
I've seen a job 1 ……………… a Team Assistant advertised 2 ……………… the intranet. I
think 3 ……………… might be just right for you because it matches your organisational
skills and will 4 ……………… you an opportunity to work 5 ……………… everyone on
the team 6 ………………you apply, I'll be happy to supply a reference.
Mia

3 You have seen a job advertisement on your company intranet. Write an email to a
colleague (40-50 words).
 Explain where you saw the advertisement.
 Say why it suits them.
 Offer to help them with their application.

4 Work in pairs. Imagine you have seen the job of Team Assistant advertised on the
company's website and are thinking of applying. Choose which of these things you
should mention in an email of application.

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 1 a summary of relevant work experience
2 how you heard about the job
3 references from your employers
4 the other jobs you're applying for
5 the reason for writing the email
6 what you studied
7 why you're applying
8 when you are ready to be interviewed
9 your CV
10 your free-time interests

5 Write a plan for your email, deciding in which paragraph you will put each of the
things you chose in Exercise 4.

6 Read this email, ignoring any mistakes you see in the English. Was Christa
Schmidt's plan the same as yours? In what ways was it different?

Dear Sir or Madam,

1 I am writing for to apply for the post of Team Assistant (job ret.: 23998G), as
2 currently advertised on your website, correct
3 As you will now see from my curriculum vitae, I am a 24-year-old graduate in
4 Business Administration from Hamburg Business College. At present time. I am
5 working as a trainee in the Marketing Department of Audi AGF based in Bremen
6 As part of my university studies, I have completed a year's internship at Abengoa,
7 a Spanish engineering and telecommunications company, in Seville the last year.
8 As a result, I am able to work fluently in English and Spanish, and as well as
9 German. Since leaving university, apart from following the standard graduate
10 training programme, I have also done more extra courses in Business Skills and
Marketing.
11 However I am interested in the post advertised because I would like the opportunity
12 to work for a multinational producer of consumer products suet as yourselves and I

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13 would value the opportunity to gain my experience working with an international
team.
14 I hope my application is of an interest to you. I am available fcr interview at any time,
and
15 my present employers would be too happy to supply a reference
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully, Christa Schmidt
christaschmidt@fastmail.com

7 In most of the numbered lines in the email above there is one extra word. It is
either grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the meaning of the text. Some
lines, however, are correct. Find and delete the extra words.

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 Making contact

Getting started

1 Work in small groups. Look at the options in italics in each of these sentences and
discuss which one you think is true.
In a business situation:
1 when you meet someone face to face for the first time, your body language and
appearance is much more important than / not nearly as important as your choice of
words.
2 making a good first impression for most people takes a little more / a lot less than
five minutes.
3 i t's far easier/ harder to make a good first impression than to change a bad
one.
4 when von go to a first meeting, you should dress a little more / slightly less
formally than usual
5 when your first 'meeting' is on the phone, your choice of words is considerably
more important than / not quite as important as how your vo ce sounds.

2 Listen to Chandra, an occupational psychologist, talking about first impressions

in business and see if she shares your opinions.

3 Discuss these questions.

1 What is good body language for a first business meeting in your culture? Think
about how you stand, the expression on your face, where you look, your handshake,
etc
2 How can you make a good impression:
 on the phone?
 using Skype or video-conferencing?
 by email?

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3 In general, why is talking on the pho le more difficult than talking face to
face?

A phone call to a hotel

LISTENING

1 Work in pairs. You are going to hear a telephone conversation between a

customer and a hotel receptionist. Before you listen, look at this form and decide
what type of information you need to fill the gaps.

RESERVATION FORM

RESERVATION MADE BY: Alexei 1 ……………………………..

COMPANY: 2 ………………… International
TYPE OF ROOM: a small …………………. room
PURPOSE: 4 …………………………
DATE: ………….. …….from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS: 6 ……………………………………

2 Listen and complete the form in Exercise 1. For each gap, write one or two
words or a number and a word.

A telephone quiz

READING

Work in pairs. Answer these questions about how you should speak on the phone
in English. In some cases, more than one answer is possible.
1 Which do you think is the best way to answer the phone at work?
A by saying Hello!
B by saying your name

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C by saying your name and the name of your department or company
D by saying the name of your company
2 Which of these do you think would be the best way to reply when someone on the phone
says Can I speak to (your name)?
A That's me!
B Speaking.
C Yes, I am.
3 How should Alberto Costa introduce himself for the first time on the phone?
A It's Alberto Costa.
B I'm Alberto Costa.
C My name's Alberto Costa.
4 How should Lucia Falcone introduce herself on the phone to someone who
already knows her?
A This is Lucia Falcone
B I'm Lucia Falcone.
C It's Lucia Falcone here.
5 When you ask someone to wait on the phone, which of these is quite formal, which is
informal, and which would you probably never say?
A Could you hold on a minute, please?
B Hang on!
C Wait, please.
6 When you want to know who is calling you, which of these is formal, which is informal,
and which sounds rude?
A Who's that?
B Who are you?
C Who's calling, please7
7 Which of these is the most formal way to introduce the subject of your phone call?
A want to talk about the sales conference in March.
B I'm calling in connection with the sales conference in March.
C Let's talk about the sales conference in March.

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8 Which of these would you say when you want to find some information on your
computer while you're on the phone7
A Wait while I get it on my computer please.
B Just a moment while I get it up on the screen.
C I'm just bringing up your details now.
9 What should you say when you don't understand something?
A What?
B Could you repeat that, please?
C I'm sorry, but I don't know.

SPEAKING

1 Work in pairs and discuss this question.

What's important when making a business phone call in English?
Use these ideas to help you if you like.
 preparation
 speaking clearly
 checking understanding

2 Change partners. Imagine you are giving a brief talk at a business meeting. Take
it in turns to explain what you think is important when making a business phone call
in English. Try to talk for a minute. As in a business meeting, your partner should
listen and not comment until you have finished.

Useful language: Listing and giving examples

I think there are three important things to remember when making a business call in English: ...
The most important thing is because ...
For example, ...
Another thing which is important is ...
For instance, ...
Finally, you should ...

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Enquiring about a job

LISTENING

1 You are going to hear a man phoning a company to enquire about a job. Listen and
tick (/) the phrases the speakers use from the quiz.

2 Listen again and complete the man's notes below with one or two words in each
gap.

Amposta Metale, S.A.

Post:1 ..............
Working hours: 2 …………..
Duties: office admin, typing and 3 …………
Starting date: 4 ………… of September
How to apply: 5 ……………

Role-play
1 Work in pairs. Juanita is also recruiting for the job of Marketing Assistant at
Amposta Metals. Read your role card below.
Student A
You are Juanita. Invent details of the post. Answer the phone and give information about the
job. Use the conversation you have just listened to as a model.
Student B
You are interested in the job at Amposta Metals. Prepare some questions and phone to find
out details of the job. Use the conversation you have just listened to as a model.

2 Juanita also needs an accountant. Change roles and find out / give details
about the post.

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READING

1 Work in small groups. You are going to read some advice about how to use the
telephone to improve your business.
1 What things annoy you when you phone companies or other organisations?
2 What problems have you had when phoning companies, either in English or in
your own language?

2 Read the article below without paying attention to the gaps. While you read, note
down the main idea of each paragraph.
Example: 1 The Importance of first Impressions

PHONE-ANSWERING TIPS TO WIN BUSINESS

Phone-answering skills are critical for businesses. The telephone is s till many
businesses' first point of contact with customers, so the way you answer your company's
phone will form your customers' first impression of your business. These phone
answering tips will ensure that callers know they're dealing with a winning business.
Answer all incoming phone calls before the third ring and when yon answer the
phone, be warm and enthusiastic. Your voice at the end of the telephone line is
sometimes the only impression of your company a caller will get. Welcome callers
politely and identify your organisation and yourself. Say, for instance, Good morning.
Cypress Technologies. Susan speaking. How cuii I help yon? No one should ever have to
ask if they've reached such-and-such a business. Keep your voice volume moderate and
speak slowly and clearly. 1 … Train your voice and vocabulary to be positive, even on a
‘down' day. 2 …
Always ask the caller if it's all right to put him or her on hold and don't leave
people on hold for longer than is necessary. 3 … Offer them choices such as, The line is
still busy. Will you continue to hold, or shall I ask Mrs Lee to call you back?

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 Take telephone messages completely and accurately. If there's something you
don't understand or can't spell, such as a person's surname, ask the caller to repeat it or
spell it for you. 4 …
Respond to all your calls within one business day. 5 … The early caller can get the
contract, the sale, the problem solved and reinforce the favourable impression of your
business that you want to circulate.
Train everyone else who answers the phone to answer the same way. 6 … If they
don't pass the test, go over these telephone-answering tips with them.

3 Read these missing sentences and underline a word or phrase in each one which might
refer to something in the article.
A Call in to check and see if this is being done in a professional manner.
B For example, rather than saying / don't know, say Let me find out about that for
you.
C You really should not leave it any longer.
D If possible, provide these callers with progress reports every 30 to 45 seconds.
E However, research carried out in Hong Kong and Singapore has shown this is not
usually true.
F Then make sure it gets to the intended recipient.
G This will help your caller to understand you easily.

4 Now choose the best sentence from Exercise 3 (A-G) to fill each of the gaps in the
article.

5 Work in pairs or small groups. Discuss which advice is very useful, and which is
not so useful.

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SPEAKING

Work in pairs or groups of three. Your company has decided to run a one-day course on
effective telephone skills at work. You have been asked to prepare the course. Discuss the
situation together, and decide:
 which staff in a company would most benefit from this type of course
 what advice and training should be given during the course.

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 READING AND COMPREHENSION TESTS

READING TEST 1
Find words or expressions in the above article which have the following meanings:
a. good condition overall
b. in general
c. the general name for refrigerators, televisions, etc.
d. go up and down in an irregular way
e. getting rid of workers/making workers redundant
f. change the true meaning or reality (of, for example, figures)

Sales in recessions
Sales figures are often used as evidence of the general health of the economy. In a
recession, any rise in high street sales is quoted by government ministers as evidence of the
increase in consumer confidence that is the first step on the road back to economic growth.
In free market terms, sale figures reflect the state of local market forces at any one place
and at any one time. They show the amount of a product that the public wants to buy at the current
price.
To a large extent, this is true. At times of falling sales, high street shops are forced to reduce
prices - with out-of-season sales, special offers and even "closing down" sales. Newspapers are
full of advertisements for special offers on consumer durables, cars, for example, or computers
and video recorders.
The reason for these goods being the ones that are most frequently discounted in times of
recession is that they are the most expensive in terms of their opportunity cost - their relative value
to buyers compared to the value of alternative goods and services on which they may want to spend
that same amount of money. If you have £X, you can buy a CD player or go on a short holiday,
but you cannot do both.
Even more important, perhaps, is the consumer's fear of his or her personal future. In
recessions come job losses, with job losses comes an increased reluctance to spend; it is expensive
luxuries such as videos that are the first items to be cut from household budgets. People feel the
need to save against the possible future loss of income. In recessions, a greater proportion of the
public's income is saved than in times of economic growth.
The effect of all this on manufacturers can easily be seen. Falling sales lead to production
cut-backs. This results in the under-capacity of plant and machinery. Since fixed overheads remain

112
basically the same, other ways of cutting back on costs and thus of reducing prices have to be
found. Almost always, this is achieved through cutting back on jobs.
But therein lies the problem. Although, for a manufacturer, cutting back on the workforce
is a relatively simple short-term solution, it is not necessarily the best long-term strategy. In certain
key industries, skilled labour is hard to find - and keep. the job market can fluctuate as erratically
as the consumer market. There are fashionable jobs and unfashionable jobs. There are glamorous
jobs and jobs that nobody wants to do. These trends are reflected in the kind of further training
chosen by school leavers and in the kinds of further education courses on offer.
Manufacturers, therefore, tend to wait longer before laying off any staff than they would
do if they were obeying market forces. To keep these workers fully occupied, companies may have
to depress prices artificially to a point lower than that demanded by prevailing market forces,
merely in order to maintain production levels.
It is almost certainly true, therefore, that there are forces at work at the time that an
economy is entering a recession that distort the real value of sales figures. It may also be true that,
on the way out of a recession, or in a boom period, the competition for scarce labour has the same
distorting effect.

READING TEST 2
Read the following text about finding a job these days and then choose the correct answer
to the questions that follow:

In Land of the Jobless, the Extreme Approach

You revamped your résumé months ago, networked until you can't stand to look at a
telephone and even hired a job coach. You still can't find a job. You're ready to wear a sandwich
board to advertise yourself, or send a gimmick along with your résumé. Maybe even work for no
pay.
You have company. In September, John Sawicki, 30, who has an M.B.A. and five years'
experience as a product manager with Deutsche Bank in Manhattan, signed on with Novantech
Solutions, a start-up in Palisades, N.Y., to work free. "Normally someone my age, with my
qualifications, would have to be crazy to do this," he said.
With unemployment claims steady and companies still delaying hiring because of lower
profits and the threat of war with Iraq, desperate times do not just call for desperate measures for
job seekers like Mr. Sawicki. They shout for last resorts.
So when Mr. Sawicki, who lives in Brooklyn, learned that Novantech had openings —
albeit not the paying kind — he did not hesitate. He had been attending graduate school part time
113
while working at Deutsche Bank, but decided to finish his degree full time and try to find a more
rewarding position in the technology field. Armed with an M.B.A. in finance and information
systems, Mr. Sawicki had been job hunting since his graduation from Fordham University in
August 2001.
Novantech's offer of a future salary when the company became profitable seemed
attractive. Mr. Sawicki will be learning a new field and gaining marketable skills, and he could
continue job hunting in case the company did not turn a profit. "I'd have to be crazy not to take
their offer," he said.
Mr. Sawicki was interviewed on a park bench; the company does not have offices yet. But
that is fine with him, as long as he can learn. He does a little bit of everything for the company —
marketing, recruiting, updating the Web site, for now, and eventually he hopes to manage projects.
He works from his home three days a week while continuing to look for a paid position.
Sacrificing a salary might seem a little extreme, but at least it makes a good impression on
a potential employer. Some job hunters, straining to stand out from the crowd, make the mistake
of resorting to gimmicks that are more likely to rub hiring managers the wrong way. Christopher
Jones, vice president for content development at HotJobs.com, tells the story of an applicant who
sent a company a box of chocolates with his résumé. Another made a stab at humour, asking a
food company in his cover letter whether it was "hungry for a good worker." Yet another put a bag
of sand and a gold coin in his packet, promoting himself as "buried treasure."
"That's taking a metaphor a bit too far in the job hunt," Mr. Jones said.
Well, that may not always be true. In creative fields like advertising or television, pushing
the envelope is accepted, even admired. Robert Wilson, now a resident of Vermont, recalls his
early days of job hunting, when he parlayed a hyped résumé, a messenger-delivered follow-up
letter and a half-dozen phone calls to the producer of "NBC Nightly News" into an audition, even
though he had no on-camera experience.
"I heard that their consumer reporter was leaving, so I wrote and told them what that person
had been doing wrong and what I'd do to improve the segment," Mr. Wilson recalled. Alas, he did
not get the job.
Stuart Simons is hoping his artistic talent will give him a leg up in his job search. He has
his own commercial-photography, illustration and digital-imaging company and went back to
school for an M.B.A. Now he wants to sit on the other side of the creative desk. In September, he
responded to an ad for a marketing manager with Kiehl's, a Manhattan cosmetics company.
Mr. Simons, a resident of Pound Ridge, N.Y., designed a label with a message styled after
an advertisement on one of the company's shampoos and applied it to one of their shampoo bottles.

114
Then he designed a custom box for the bottle and used his résumé as packing material. On tissue
paper covering the box, he wrote yet another message, about thinking inside and outside the box.
"The whole thing was pretty impressive," he said, although he is still waiting to hear.
The proliferation of such gimmickry comes as no surprise to Gary Chaison, professor of
industrial relations in the graduate school of management at Clark University in Worcester, Mass.
"In a job market with few layoffs, people have a sense that there's something they can do
to find a job," Mr. Chaison said. "But now, almost everyone at least knows someone who's been
laid off, so job seekers feel they have to take extreme measures to be noticed. It's especially sad
for people who are highly specialised and aren't able to relocate."
Sad or not, extreme measures can work if they are done right. Allison Hemming is president
of the Hired Guns, a Manhattan temporary employment agency, and also the author of a book —
"Work It!"— about job hunting, due out in February from Simon & Schuster. She said unusual
tactics can "build buzz and get your name out there."
But she warns that the technique can backfire. An employer like an ad agency might reward
confidence and risk taking, she said, but a more conservative company might find it off-putting or
just plain weird. Mr. Sawicki recently heard from a recruiter. "But the job is with a company that
just announced more layoffs," he said. "So I'm hoping for the best and assuming the worst."

1. Mr. Savicki decided to apply for a job with Novatech Solutions as:
a. … he was a young graduate trying to find his first job.
b. … he was lured by the attractive pay and fringe benefits.
c. … he could not find a better position for the time being.
d. … he was made redundant by his previous employer.
2. Mr. Savicki was pleased with the offer because:
a. … they offered him a fully-equipped office room.
b. … of the prospect of gaining experience in a new field.
c. … of the prospect of a high salary.
d. … he was not qualified for a different post.
3. At present, Mr. Savicki …
a. is working at the company’s headquarters.
b. is working as project manager.
c. has given up the search for a paid position.

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d. has rejected another company’s offer for a job.
4. According to Mr. Christopher Jones …
a. companies delay hiring because of the threat of war with Iraq.
b. job hunters may find a job by resorting to gimmicks that make them stand out from the
crowd.
c. a rather traditional approach is more appreciated by employers.
d. creative fields welcome innovative techniques used by job searchers.
5. According to Ms. Allison Hemming …
a. job seekers resort to extreme measures as they are highly specialised and can’t easily
relocate.
b. unusual tactics can always do it for you.
c. one has to probe into the profile of the company they want to find a job with.
d. in the current job market conditions, almost everybody has been made redundant once in
their lives.

READING TEST 3
For questions 1 - 6, you must choose which of the paragraphs A - G match the numbered
gaps in the extract from a newspaper article. There is one extra paragraph which does not
belong to any of the gaps.
Job Hunters are abandoning the suit and dressing in outrageous clothes in order to stand out from
the other candidates.
1
Another candidate, determined to show the prospective employer how desperately he needed the
job had large holes in his shoes.
2
Examples of odd interview attire offered by managers taking part in a survey we conducted varied
from the merely inappropriate to the provocative, and even revolting: earrings, pony tails, shorts,
bright yellow suits and pink corduroys were listed. And that was just for men.'
3
In a slightly different approach, another man tried to unsettle the interviewer by refusing to take
off his overcoat although it was a sweltering hot day and the interview room was warm.
4

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One woman showed how much she felt at home in the office by finishing off her interview attire
with a rather delightful pair of gold slippers. Laddered tights, loud and revolting ties, sunglasses
and tattoos were cited as pet hates on the interview circuit.
5
`In creative environments such as advertising, people can get away with more unconventional
dresses than within, say, accountancy,' he explained.
6
`You are likely to score more points in that crucial time by looking smart and professional rather
than by trying to stand out from the crowd with a style of dress that may be alien and ridiculous to
the interviewer.'

A. Mr Grout said: `To increase your chances of getting a job at the interview stage, you need to
play the interview game and ensure that you are appropriately dressed for the profession and
the position.
B. Jeff Grout, Managing Director of Robert Hall, the financial recruitment specialist, said: `Many
interview candidates are abandoning the conservative suit and sensible shoes for a look that is
bound to get them noticed - but for the wrong reasons.
C. While the men tended to be unconventional or just plain scruffy, the women dressed to kill.
D. Another female candidate, who was extremely thin, managed to turn up in a suit which she
had apparently borrowed from a friend several sizes larger.
E. However, as the decision to hire is made within the first five minutes of the meeting, possibly
before the candidate has spoken, dress and personal presentation are the key to the decision-
making process.
F. One young hopeful sped into the interview room on a skateboard.
G. Other male candidates made their mark at important interviews by turning up in a boiler suit,
baseball boots or different colour socks.

READING TEST 4
Read the following text about CV writing. Choose the best sentence from below to fill each
of the gaps in the text above. E.g. 0 – B. Do not use any letter more than once. There is one
extra sentence.

On a Résumé, Don't Mention Moon Pies or Water Cannons

When MTV Networks advertised a junior-level editorial position that required a good eye for
bad English, it was inundated with nearly 800 applications — many riddled with typographical,
grammatical and spelling errors.
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 The incongruity is not quite so stark in other professions, but the job of wading through all that
paper is every bit as frustrating. In one of the most competitive job markets in recent years, human-
resources employees, recruiters and hiring managers say, nearly every opening in the metropolitan
area is generating a deluge of résumés. 0…..
It isn't just the spelling mistakes, the recruiters say. 1…………Do not just write that you
increased widget sales, experts say; say you increased them by 25 percent, or by $2 million.
Also, they say, the days of the one-size-fits-all résumé are over; applicants should customize
each to match the job opening.
"The biggest mistake that people are making is that their résumés have no real impact," said
Martin Weitzman, president of Gilbert Career Résumés in Manhattan. "People need to establish
their value. Many times accomplishments aren't defined or focused. 2……….
That is a crucial accomplishment these days, when even people with impressive job records and
impeccable credentials can be lost in the shuffle.
Errors in spelling, typography and grammar topped the list of résumé-writing sins singled out
by 2,500 recruiters and headhunters in a survey by RésuméDoctor, a career-services company in
Burlington, Vt. But incomplete contact information (some people actually forget to give their own
names and phone numbers), wordiness and meaningless introductions also ranked high.
3………For example, one job hunter's statement that he sought a job that would be less likely
to give him panic attacks than his old one and another applicant's request that her letter be
disregarded if anyone within the company lacked a "pleasing personality," suggest that you should
focus on what you can do for the prospective employer, not what the employer can do for you.
Similarly, personal information like one job seeker's description of himself as a "single, white
male" (which prompted the hiring manager to ask, "Am I supposed to place him or date him?")
and another's boast that he loved to play with his "17 children that resulted from 9 marriages"
argues strongly for eliminating extraneous data.
Using e-mail addresses like sonofsatan, hotlips and imrbaby; enclosing a photo showing the
applicant with his children or pets or, in one case, dressed in a tuxedo and sitting on a throne-like
chair; listing achievements like "able to fit a whole Moon Pie in my mouth" and "getting shot 70
feet out of a water cannon"; and composing a résumé in the form of a comic strip — all of these
tactics made poor impressions. 4…….
And so is overenthusiasm, as in: "I am an electrifying, spirited, alluring, and amazing
programmer who has been known to defy gravity, wrestle anacondas (and win), and type thousands
of lines of error-free code with my left hand only."
5…………"As the Director of Strategic Sales, my charter focuses on catalyzing the relevant
ecosystem to deliver optimized and synergized solutions to my strategic E.U. customers."
How to do it right? Think of yourself as a salesman with five seconds to make your pitch before
a door is slammed in your face. 6……….."Some hiring managers get 200 to 300 résumés a day
and will give yours exactly 5 to 10 seconds. You've got to give them the information they want on
a silver platter."

A. Any form of cuteness is generally a losing proposition.

B. And yet, for all the how-to resources available on the Internet and in bookstores, the
submissions are often so amateurish they sometimes make Mimi O'Connor, MTV's editorial
manager, want to "jump off the Brooklyn Bridge."
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 C. A good résumé won't get you a job, but it will get you in the door."
D. Almost as bad is unintelligibility, like this buzzword-saturated job description:
E. Recruitment agencies are barred because they are not hiring for a specific vacancy and will
not be responsible for terms and conditions of employment. Employers can use agencies to help
them recruit but any work permit must be tied to a specific job.
F. "Whether you're a C.P.A., an electrical engineer or a nurse, you are your own product,"
said Michael Worthington, the operations manager at RésuméDoctor.
G. It is also poor formatting, exotic fonts, unnecessary personal information and, worst of all,
vague descriptions of professional achievements.
I. Some of the faux pas cited by these professionals, though extreme examples of how not to
do it, can nonetheless be instructive.

READING TEST 5

Each of the following statements refers to one of the companies mentioned in texts A – C.
On your answer sheets write the letter of the text referred to (A, B or C) and the name of
the company to the corresponding spaces numbered from 1 to 10 below.

1 A company that is combining several acquisitions into a new business unit.

text __________ company _______
2 A company that has reached an agreement with another one that will help it to perform
better.
text __________ company _______
3 A company whose shareholders have rejected an offer.
text __________ company _______
4 A company that is working with one of its direct competitors.
text __________ company _______
5 A company that has been trying to take control of a foreign operation but that has faced
unexpected opposition.
text __________ company _______
6 A company that was hoping to own almost two thirds of the share capital of another.
text __________ company _______
7 A company that will soon lose its top executives.
text __________ company _______
8 A company that has a guaranteed source of revenue for the next few years.
text __________ company _______
9 A company that has started negotiations to purchase one part of another business.
text __________ company _______
10 A company that will now have to review its expansion strategy.
text __________ company _______

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A
MADRID - Endesa SA’s shares fell Thursday after Spain’s largest company lost a bid to control
Enersis SA, Chile’s biggest utility holding company. Enersis shareholders blocked a $1.5 billion
offer late Wednesday that would have let Endesa double its 32 percent stake. The shareholders
refused to increase the maximum amount an investor can own in Enersis, dashing Endesa’s hopes
of taking over Enersis to make it the vehicle for its Latin American expansion plans. “We were
very surprised by the outcome of the vote”, said Ramon Olleros, a fund manager at AB Asesores,
a brokerage in Madrid. “It’s very bad news for Endesa.”
B
NEW YORK – Dell Computer Corp said Thursday that it would buy $16 billion of equipment
from International Business Machines Corp under a seven-year deal that also calls for the
companies to jointly develop new computer technology. Both companies’ stock rose on the
announcement. The deal initially calls for Dell to buy such IBM equipment as disk drives, flat-
panel displays and memory chips to use in its computers. The companies eventually expect broader
sharing of technology, including co-developing new products. Dell said the deal would help the
company increase its competitiveness in notebook personal computers, storage products and
servers, which are powerful corporate machines that run networks of PCs. IBM, in turn, will get a
guaranteed source of sales. “ These companies are about the biggest competitors that I’ve ever
seen get together on a technology agreement,” said George Logemann of the Boston consulting
firm Yankee Group.
C
NEW YORK – Siemens AG of Germany is about to expand into the fast-growing data network
business by forming a new American subsidiary, acquiring two private companies in the United
States, investing in a third and hiring a senior executive from IBM, executives close to the
company’s planning said. Siemens, one of Europe’s biggest manufacturing companies, also is in
preliminary discussion with 3Com Corp about paying $1.2 billion for the 3Com unit that sells
networking equipment to telephone companies, the executives said. Siemens plans to announce
Monday that it has agreed to acquire Castle Networks Inc, a private data-networking company
based in Westford Massachusetts, for about $300 million in cash, and Argon Networks, Inc, a
private data-networking company in Littleton, Massachusetts, for about $240 million in cash,
executives said. Siemens also will announce an agreement to acquire a $30 million stake in
Accelerated Networks Inc, a private company based in Moorpark, California. The acquisition will
be folded into a new Siemens venture to be based in Boston, the executives said.

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 READING TEST 6
Find words or expressions in the above article which have the following meanings:

a. say or do something wrong or inappropriate, usually as a result of thoughtlessness, and so

cause an awkward situation
b. quick and not thorough
c. something to eat which is considered rare or expensive
d. having a fixed, and often incorrect, idea of what someone or something is like
e. inability to accept ways of thinking and behaving which are different from one's own

Is the sun red or yellow? Should you crack a joke in a business presentation? Are such
questions important? Is it only language you need to learn?
International business people often invest time and money in improving their knowledge of
foreign languages in order to be able to communicate with colleagues from around the world.
Language, of course, is vital, but it is only half the problem.
There are hidden rules for playing the game of doing business with people of other cultures.
It is all to easy to "put your foot in it" by making mistakes which can upset your foreign
counterparts.
An American, greeting a mid-European businessman by saying "Hi Dieter, great to meet
you!" may not be favourably regarded in a country where more formal modes of address are
usual.
In the West, business cards are given a cursory glance and pocketed. In Japan, they are
highly regarded, looked at closely and left on the table during a business meeting.
In Britain, most business presentations would include a joke. In many other countries, this
would be unheard of.

Will you cause offence if you refuse to eat something generally regarded as inedible in your
country? Your counterpart may be watching your reaction when he offers you this local delicacy.
Small talk and relationship building are considered highly important in some parts of the
world; talking about the weather, the wine and the local area come before business. In other
places, people get down to business immediately.
It is important to know the way things are usually dealt with in your host country. Problems
arise because we see things differently. It helps to be aware of how other nationalities perceive
certain things.

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 The Japanese see the sun as red. It is an important national symbol which appears on their
flag. When Japanese children paint pictures, they paint a red sun. European and American
children paint the sun yellow. When children travel and see the sun painted in a different colour,
they are surprised and find it very strange.
Adults find these differences harder to accept. Both sides may feel uneasy because they are
unsure of the rules of the game in the opposite culture.
It is, however, very dangerous to have stereotyped views of what the other culture is like.
Such views are often narrow and can cause criticism and intolerance. "A little knowledge is a
dangerous thing" and can encourage you to make predictions about what will happen in your
business transactions. If your ideas are too narrow, you may be surprised at all the people you
meet who do not fit into your pattern and who behave differently from the way you predicted
they would.
Our ideas then, have to be flexible and constructed from thorough research and observation.
We should also recognise that it is not only people's national background that influences their
behaviour and personality, but also their particular regional background, their personal
background and their company culture.

READING TEST 7

In the book Managing Cultural Differences, there is a section about the timing of
cultural awareness training. Here are five paragraphs. Their first sentences are given
below in the correct order. Below them are the paragraphs. Read the first sentences to get
the general idea of the text. Then decide which sentence goes with which paragraph.

1. Various opinions exist on when it is most appropriate to provide cultural awareness input,
and how long it should take.
2. The real issue, however, involves organisational representatives assigned outside their native
culture for short- or long-term visits.
3. The length of time devoted to preparation for foreign deployment varies according to the
organisation and the availability of time and finances for training.
4. Program planners in the Canadian International Development Agency believe timing is a
critical factor.
5. The 'where’ of training also depends on the different information needs of participants in the
training.

a ..................... Some non-profit agencies devote a year prior to departure for such preparation,
beginning with self-study and weekly meetings, and gradually accelerating the amount of time
devoted to cross-cultural and related training in group settings. One major multinational
corporation devotes three to six months to getting the employee and the family ready for
assignments abroad.
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b ..................... Many trainers maintain that such educational programs belong in professional
schools and continuing education classes.
c ..................... When engaged in international relations work, service or business, cross-cultural
knowledge and skills are integral to the role requirements. Some believe cultural training should
be given before going abroad, while others opt for such training only after arrival in the host
culture. Still others insist that it must be a combination of before, during and after the overseas
assignment.
d ..................... There is an interaction between 'survival' information needs (schools, doctors,
housing, compensation, etc.) and other information needs (adjusting to the new society, how to
get the job done, making new friends, effective functioning in society, etc.). The interaction is
illustrated in Figure 1.
e ..................... If too close to departure, trainee anxiety may block learning. Without foreign
experience; the volunteers find it hard to focus on the input. Therefore CIDA prefers to
emphasise recruitment and selection
for the overseas tour, and concentrate on in-country training. Whether circumstances or opinions
dictate a long- or short-term approach to cross- cultural training, it is the quality of that training
that is most important.

READING TEST 8
You are going to read a newspaper article which gives advice about the personal
qualities needed for office work. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A – I for each
part (1-8) of the article. There is one extra heading which you do not need to use.

A Be tactful
B Don’t spend long on simple tasks
C Keep money secure
D Have confidence – know your business
E Be aware of health and safety rules at work
F Be reliable
G Use your initiative and common sense
H Be helpful
I Respect confidentiality

THE PERSONAL QUALITIES YOU NEED

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1

At the start, everything will be new and you will probably be nervous about answering the
telephone and dealing with customers. You will become more assured as you develop knowledge
and experience – set about gaining that knowledge about your company as soon as possible.
2

Good timekeeping and regular attendance are vital qualities for every office worker. If there is no
one available to answer the telephone or type up invoices, the system will soon grind to a halt. If
you are genuinely ill, phone your employer as early as possible so they can arrange for someone
to cover for you. If you think you are going to be off sick for more than one day, let them know

Assess a situation and try to assist in any way you can. First impressions of a company are often
gained from someone answering the telephone or sitting at a reception desk. If that person is you,
then your company’s reputation can hinge on how you deal with customers.

Even if you know a customer is wrong, never be rude in return. If necessary, refer them to a senior
staff member or to your employer to deal with.

You should be able to work on your own and find solutions for simple problems which happen
throughout the day. If you have finished your current task, don’t sit and gaze around an untidy
office. The time you have spare could be used in clearing up or sorting through old files.
Management decisions should still be passed through your employer. If a salesman has arrived
with brochures for new office equipment, it is not up to you to order yourself a new office chair –
this is a decision you leave to your employer.

It is important not to gossip about your employer or the people you work with. If someone shares
a confidence with you, don’t spread it around the rest of the office. People will soon learn whether
they can trust you or not.

If you deal with petty cash, make sure the cash tin is not left around for anyone to help themselves.
regularly double-check that the amount in the tin ties in with the amount in your petty cash book.
Don’t ‘borrow’ from the petty cash. This is a bad habit and one you should not get into.

Be aware of potential dangers and follow safe practices strictly. Avoid having trailing leads from
typewriters or kettles, which people could trip over. Check fire extinguishers regularly. Ensure fire
exits are not blocked by boxes or filing cabinets.

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 READING TEST 9
For questions 1-6, you must choose which of the paragraphs A-G below fit into the
numbered gaps in the following newspaper article. There is one extra paragraph which does
not fit in any of the gaps.

A Perhaps – but there seems no real reason for such pessimism. The improvements in plant
productivity that made up the Green Revolution came from classical plant breeding, with no
contribution from the new, and potentially far more significant, genetic technologies. And, as the
recent launch of a new wheat variety in New Delhi makes clear, it is also not yet appropriate to
write off classical methods.
B The change has come about because of dramatic drops in fertility in many countries.
Replacement level, put at 2.1 children for each woman, has been reached in an increasing number
of countries.
C Falling fertility and successes such as these show that there is at least a case for feeling
optimistic about the future. Paradoxically, the greatest problems may come not from soaring
populations but from the declines now beginning to become evident in some developed countries.
D He was wrong. Like other scientists, he underestimated the effects of the Green Revolution,
which was transforming agricultural productivity even as he wrote. But he was at least in good
company. The physicist Lord Blackett spent much of the 1960s worrying about how India was
going to feed its millions, even as new varieties of wheat and rice were making that task easier.
E Dr Lutz believes the “ideal” figure achieved in the world in which both fertility and
mortality are low would be a population of 6.5 billion by the year 2100. That seems pretty unlikely,
even to optimists, but Dr Lutz gives it a 60% chance of coming true.
F Even maintaining the infrastructure of modern society could become harder as the tax base
grows smaller. People hate to see the village school or the local hospital close, but that becomes
inevitable when there are fewer children to teach or patients to treat.
G Although the most likely peak figure was predicted to be about 10 billion, much lower
figures were not ruled out. According to Dr Wolfgang Lutz, who edited the institute’s report, “The
widespread pessimism about population explosions is exaggerated. What we have shown is that
we can see the end of population growth on the horizon.”

There’s plenty of room aboard planet Earth

For decades the population explosion has been giving people nightmares. The world’s human
population increases by three every second and by a billion – equivalent to the present
population of China – every decade. With figures such as these, the gloom has been
understandable. In his 1968 book The Population Bomb Paul Ehrlich wrote: “The battle to feed
all of humanity is over. In the 1970s the world will undergo famines; hundreds of millions of
people are going to starve in spite of the crash programmes embarked upon now.”

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Today, environmentalists argue that the crisis has been deferred, not avoided. Like Malthus three
centuries ago, they believe that the human race will ultimately outgrow its ability to feed itself.
Were population to increase for ever, that would certainly be true. However, while the pundits
have been worrying, people everywhere have been changing their habits.
World population is still rising fast, but it is already plain that the worst forecasts will never
become reality. Far from reaching fifteen billion, nearly three times today’s figure, the odds are
that it may never get to ten billion.
2

In China, this is the result of tough government policies on family size, but, in many countries,
including the United States and Brazil, it has been achieved without coercion. In Most of Europe,
the birthrate is now well below replacement level. In Italy, for instance, it is just 1.2 and it is not
much higher in Spain or Germany.
So dramatic have been these changes that it is increasingly difficult to predict future population
levels. One attempt, carried out by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in
Austria, attempted to include future changes in fertility along with such factors as mortality and
migration. This exercise produced a wide range of projections of future population.

Some doubters question whether even the lower estimates will defer disaster. They claim the Green
Revolution, which enabled food production to stay ahead of population growth, is faltering. The
disaster which Paul Ehrlich so confidently and erroneously predicted for the 1970s could be
waiting for us in the new millennium.

The new wheat, which is a product of the International Wheat and Maize Improvement Centre in
Mexico, produces nearly double the yield compared with the other best varieties – a huge boost
compared with recent progress.

In the past, economic growth has marched in step with population growth. So what will happen
when populations decline? One effect is obvious: there will be fewer people of working age to
support those in retirement, at least during the transition phase. Also, it may prove much harder to
recruit people to do unpopular jobs.

Those who have painted a rosy picture of an environment recovering its natural beauty as the
impact of human numbers declines could find that the opposite is nearer the truth.

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 BUSINESS ENGLISH IN USE TESTS
TEST 1
Fill in the gaps in the text below with the one of the words numbered from 1 to 15. On
your answer sheet mention the letter corresponding to the gap and the suitable word:
1. résumés 2. job 3. layoffs 4. ladder 5. senior 6. employment 7. assignments 8. prospects
9. severance 10. cuts 11. liability 12. executive 13. seekers 14. charge 15.marketplace
GREG DRISCOLL took little for granted before accepting the …….a) of president and chief
executive of Enerwise Global Technologies, an energy technology company. He interviewed the
company's board members and its entire …….b) team and even spoke with middle managers. He
then prodded people outside the company to get a sense of Enerwise's reputation in the industry."In
companies like this, everyone has an aggressive view of how fast it's going to grow, so you have
to take that with a grain of salt," Mr. Driscoll said. "Today, things aren't always as they seem."
Satisfied with the answers he received, he took ……..c) of the company, based in Kennett Square,
Pa., last winter. The company began operating 18 months ago as a spinoff of Conectiv Inc. of
Wilmington, Del.
Job …..d) and employees on different rungs of the corporate ……..e) are doing all they can to
protect themselves from problems, economic or sometimes ethical, that have been dragging down
many companies. Some executives, even those well below the level of chief executive, are trying
to negotiate specific contracts and ……..f) packages, or inquiring about …….g) protection. Others
are working to improve their …...h) and reputations in their companies, by taking courses, for
example, or by volunteering for extra work ……...i).
The trends appear widespread, if too new to quantify, according to interviews with recruiters,
outplacement experts, ………j) lawyers and corporate executives.
"It's pretty apparent that in today's ……..k), there's a flight to quality and safety," said Dale E.
Jones, a managing partner at Heidrick & Struggles, the executive search firm based in Chicago.
"People want to know where they're going, and how they can minimize the risk."
Employees at all levels have reason to feel vulnerable. As the economy has weakened, many
businesses have made large-scale job ……...l) Accounting scandals, like those at Enron and
WorldCom, have led to thousands of additional ……..m).
As a result, trust in business is eroding. Only 45 percent of workers have confidence in their
……..n) management, down from 50 percent two years ago, according to a nationwide survey,
involving 12,750 employees from all major industries, that was conducted last winter by Watson
Wyatt Worldwide, the consulting firm.

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In this gloomy business climate, employees are aiming to bolster their career ……...o). With
survival as the goal, many are trying to make sure they are seen as valuable players in their
organizations.
(from the New York Times)

BUSINESS ENGLISH – ENGLISH IN USE TEST 2

Choose the best word from below (A, B, C or D) to fill each gap:

Proposals to ease rules covering work __________1. for workers from non-EU states have been
rejected after a Home Office investigation.
____________ 2. companies had hoped the Government would relax current arrangements that
prevent them from issuing work permits for staff they hire from overseas.
Their hopes have been dashed by strong opposition from unions, Whitehall departments and other
bodies who feel that relaxing the rules would damage job _________ 3. for UK workers and
increase recruitment _________4.
____________ 5. recruitment of information technology staff is at the heart of the issue.
Thousands, mainly from Australia, South Africa and India, are already working in the United
Kingdom after applying directly to companies employing them. Agencies are barred from hiring
and placing them.
The HO launched the review to see whether changes were needed to reflect current and future
__________ 6. market issues. There were initial signals that ministers and officials were prepared
to ease restrictions but the ________7. in demand for IT staff and the problems afflicting the sector
are said to have produced a rethink.
The hopes for change had been reinforced by the government decision to grant work permit
authority to _________ 8. involved in recruiting teachers to hire foreign staff to ease shortages in
UK schools.
Agencies are, however, planning to maintain the _________9. for change. Ann Swain, chief
executive of the Association of Technology Staffing Companies, says her members are
disappointed at the outcome of the review. She added: "We believe that this decision is a short-
sighted one and is partly based on complacency about IT skill _________10. The IT market may
be depressed at the moment but it will recover and once it does the Government will find itself
fire-fighting again to fill the skills ___________11."

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The HO review looked at three options - retaining the existing policy, allowing agencies to apply
for work permits for specified ____________12. or sectors where there were shortages, or
allowing agencies to seek permits for any occupation.
The review report pointed out that the rationale behind current policy is that work permit
_____________13. are designed to help UK employers fill specific short-term ___________14.
that cannot be filled by British workers.
Recruitment agencies are barred because they are not hiring for a specific vacancy and will not be
responsible for terms and conditions of _____________15.
(adapted from Telegraph.co.uk)

1. a) permission b) allowances c) permits d) authorisation

2. a) employment b) recruitment c) engagement d) enrolment
3. a) prospects b) vistas c) perspectives d) lookout
4. a) expenses b) costs c) overheads d) prices
5. a) abroad b) inland c) domestic d) overseas
6. a) employment b) work c) job d) labour
7. a) slump b) upturn c) stagnation d) depression
8. a) channels b) agencies c) means d) ministries
9. a) stress b) pressure c) tension d) strain
10.a) failure b) inadequacy c) deficiency d) shortage
11.a) laguna b) division c) gap d) breach
12.a) occupation b) calling c) business d) affair
13.a) setups b) manoeuvres c) arrangements d) tricks
14.a) jobs b) vacancies c) appointments d) offices
15.a) work b) job c) occupation d) employment

BE – ENGLISH IN USE TEST 3

Read the text below about “employment pollution”. For each gap 1-10 write one word
against the corresponding number.
There is an example at the beginning: 0 – threatening.

Beware 'employment pollution' threat

A new threat is 0……… small and medium-sized businesses - "employment pollution".

129
The phrase has been 1…….. by the Bank of Scotland's business banking service to describe a
situation where the workload pollutes social and family 2………
The bank conducted a 3…….. among 200 owner-manager customers after branch managers
became concerned at signs of growing stress.
It produced 10 questions and is now telling business customers that 4…….. they answer more than
four of them with a "yes" they are likely to be spending too much time at, or thinking about, 5…….
The survey which led to the guide 6.…….. that 60pc of them found difficulty in "switching off"
after leaving the office, although almost 70pc said that work did not 7……… with their social life.
Just over 80pc felt their work did not affect the quality of their home relationship 8……. almost
50pc said they charged for the overtime they worked.
There was also little difference between the numbers working more than the EU 9…………. 48
hours a week with 43pc declaring they did not work excessive hours.
A Bank executive commented: "It appears the spectre of employment pollution 10……….. heavily
on the minds of the nation's small businesses, even when they are trying to switch off after working
some of the longest hours in Europe."
(from Telegraph.co.uk)

BE – ENGLISH IN USE TEST 4

Read the text below about illegal workers. In most of the lines 1-12 there is one extra word. It is
either grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the meaning of the text. Some lines, however,
are correct. If a line is correct, write CORRECT against the corresponding number; if there is an
extra word in the line, write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS against the corresponding
number on your answer sheet. E.g. 0 - CORRECT
00 - HAVE
Ministers move to combat illegal workers

130
 0 The Government has set up a committee to find more ways of catching illegal workers.
00 Home Office minister Beverley Hughes have said: "By its very nature, the scale of illegal employment is extremely
1 difficult to be measure, but the most reliable indicators suggest that the number could run into hundreds of many
2 thousands."
3 Illegal working "fuels the underground economy, creates unfair competition, often involves dangerous and
4 clandestine entry and leaves workers vulnerable to every dangerous conditions, poor pay and exploitation from the
5 unscrupulous employers and criminal trafficking gangs," she added.
6 Under the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996, a business can already be fined £5,000 per illegal employee - people
7 in the UK illegally or legally here but without the right to work.
8 The Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act passed this actual year gave immigration officials powers to enter into
9 business premises, and required public authorities, employers and banks to tell the Immigration Service about
10 suspected illegal workers.
11 The committee has its representatives of the Commission for Racial Equality, the Construction Skills Certification
12 Scheme, the National Farmers Union, the British Chambers of Commerce, the Small Business Service, Marks &
Spencer, the Health and Safety Executive, the British Hospitality Association, Confederation of British Industry, J
Sainsbury and the TUC.
(from Telegraph.co.uk)

BE – ENGLISH IN USE TEST 5

Read the text below and use the words on the right, listed 1-12, to form a word that fits in the same
numbered space in the text . E.g. 0 – business

Patricia Hewitt, the Trade & Industry Secretary, yesterday scrapped all 183 0. BUSY
of its 0……… support schemes, saying the system was confusing and 1. WASTE
1………….. 2. TRANSFER
The £1 billion that her department used to dole out is now being 2………… 3. INVEST
to a single pot distributed by an 3…………. committee. 4. SEE
From now on, the money will be considered as part of an investment 5. CHAIR
portfolio 4……….. by a committee. The committee will be 5………. by
American businesswoman Fields Wicker-Miurin, who is a non-executive 6. EMPLOY
director of United Business Media and of Savills. 7. PRODUCE
Under the new rules, any money would have to be used to increase 6………. 8. PROSPER
and improve 7…………. and each case would be tested to see if it gives 9. INTERVENTION
value for money.
"We are not going to do anything unless it can be shown to help British 10. SPECIAL
8………. and we will only 9……….. if it can be shown to help," Ms Hewitt
said. 11. GOVERN

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 Key areas for support will be innovation, enterprise, investment and skills.
It may take two years to wind down most of the existing schemes, 10………. 12. ASSESS
if contracts are already signed, but the DTI reckoned it could take up to 10
years to close down some of them.
There could be a further 400 business support schemes in existence, from
other 11……… departments and local authorities. Miss Hewitt said the
DTI's lead may form the basis for a similar 12………….. of other
operations.

BE – ENGLISH IN USE TEST 6

Choose the best word from below to fill each gap:

Mass production
Henry Ford ____________1. mass production not because he believed in the most advanced
production methods, but because he needed to make cars that people could afford. His aim was
to produce a car for ‘everyday wear and tear’ suitable for the masses: ‘Anything __________2.
on the idea of the greatest good for the greatest number will win in the end’. Competitors like
Cadillac were expensive, at many thousands of dollars, and so _________ 3. the reach of the
majority of ordinary people. Ford knew that the mass car market existed, and he recognised that
costs could only be _____________ 4. and vehicles could only be produced in sufficient
quantities through increased efficiency and standardisation. The Model A, priced at $850,
_________ 5. its rivals and, in its basic but solid design, appealed to the mass market.
The _____________ 6. demand for his next car, the Model T, forced Ford to modify the
production process and make it more efficient. Initially the cars moved along the production line
on cradles. At each stop, men climbed over the cars ____________ 7. to different tasks. Ford
simplified the process and made it more predictable. First, he ____________ 8. tasks so that one
man performed one task repeatedly, instead of several. Second, he roped the cars together so that
they moved at a __________ 9. speed through the plant. These simple but effective measures
were so successful ___________ 10. increasing production, that between 1908 and 1916 he
reduced prices by 58 %—at a time when demand was such that he could easily have ________
11. them. Fifteen million Model Ts were produced between 1908 and 1927.

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Management by demarcation
Model Ts, as everyone knows, were black, straightforward, and ____________ 12. But just as
Ford did not believe in Models Ts in different colours or with fins and extras, __________13.
did he believe in management.
Production was based __________14. strict functional divides and demarcations. Ford believed
in people getting on with their jobs and not raising their heads above functional __________15.
He did not want engineers talking to salespeople, or people making decisions without his say so.
(from The Economist)

1. a) elaborated b) developed c) realised d) established

2. a) starting b) fundamented c) founded d) cherishing
3. a) above b) below c) along d) beyond
4. a) rose b) lowered c) raised d) upheld
5. a) undercut b) undermined c) undervalued d) understated
6. a) overpowering b) overbearing c) overwhelming d) overlapping
7. a) catering b) gratifying c) pampering d) attending
8. a) delineated b) designed c) defined d) imagined
9. a) enduring b) steady c) static d) uneven
10. a) over b) on c) in d) out
11. a) raised b) lifted c) stepped d) picked
12. a) cosy b) affordable c) cheap d) reachable
13. a) besides b) moreover c) or d) neither
14. a) round b) around c) about d) above
15. a) tasks b) structures c) parapets d) ramparts

BE – ENGLISH IN USE TEST 7

Read the text below about Henry Ford. In most of the lines 1-15 there is one extra word. It
is either grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the meaning of the text. Some lines,
however, are correct. If a line is correct, write CORRECT against the corresponding
number; if there is an extra word in the line, write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS
against the corresponding number on your answer sheet.
E.g. 0 - ONE
00 - CORRECT
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 0 Henry Ford is frequently cited as one of the most important and one influential businessman
00 of the 20th century. Although Ford didn’t invent the motor car—or mass production—he
1 was responsible for turning the car into a mass-market commodity. The pre-Ford car was a
2 toy for the wealthy—unreliable, poorly engineered, an impractical and above all expensive.
3 Ford changed all that, starting an industrial revolution founded on his Model T. It was a
4 revolution that made Ford $1 billion dollars double richer and made travel a reality for
5 millions. General Motors chief Alfred Sloan commented, ‘Mr Ford’s assembly line
6 automobile and production, high minimum wage, and low-priced car were revolutionary and
7 stand among the greatest contributions up to our industrial culture’.
8 To the extent that the adoption of mass production for the Model T was customer-driven,
9 Ford might be said to have some connection with modern management thinking. In general,
10 however, he was the antithesis of a management thinker, an autocrat who did not believe in
11 the delegation and tended to treat management as if it too was rather on an assembly line.
12 This coercive style grated among the all workforce. To sweeten them, Ford introduced profit
13 sharing and an extensive welfare programme. However, he stopped short of allowing the
14 workers to form a union. When Roosevelt had introduced the Wagner Act of 1935, allowing
15 the unionisation of the motor companies, Ford almost resisted the legislation bitterly,
refusing to let unions operate at Ford plants. It was only after adverse publicity—in May
1937, several United Auto Workers’ own officials were badly beaten, allegedly by Ford
employees—that Ford was forced to back down and permit union organisation at the
company.
(from The Economist)

BE – ENGLISH IN USE TEST 8

Read the text below about the history of a company. Fill in the gaps in the text with the
suitable word (numbered 1 – 12):

Coillte was a)…….. under the Forestry Act 1988, which defines the principal objectives and
duties of the company. These objectives and duties are elaborated in the companies
Memorandum and b)……. The company is a private limited company registered under and
c)……… to the Companies Acts 1963-86. All of the d)………shares…… in the company are
held by the Minister for Finance and the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources on
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behalf of the Irish State. The Board of Directors is e)……. by the Minister for the Marine and
Natural Resources.
Coillte is organised in two principal business f)………: Coillte Forest which manages our core
forestry business and Coillte Enterprises which g)…………. a range of businesses developed
from the company's core skills and forest h)…... In addition the company has one wholly-
owned i)………: company Coillte Consult Ltd. which provides consultancy services in Ireland
and overseas. Coillte is also a 35% j)…….. in its associated company Louisiana-Pacific Coillte
Ireland Ltd. which manufactures Oriented Strand Board. These business k)…… are supported by
a number of corporate functions including l)………, Human Resources, Corporate Affairs and
Public Relations.

1. divisions
2. subject
3. assets
4. shares
5. established
6. subsidiary
7. Articles of Association
8. entities
9. comprise
10. shareholder
11. Finance
12. appointed

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 BE – ENGLISH IN USE TEST 9
Read the text below about the cellular business of the future and use the words on the right, listed
1-12, to form a word that fits in the same numbered space in the text . E.g. 0 - hierarchical

THE CELLULAR BUSINESS OF THE FUTURE

The age of the large 0…………….organisation is coming to an end. If big 0.
companies are to flourish, they will need to be reorganised in a series of HIERARCHY
1………… creative compartments--ideally of about 100 people each. 1. LINK
Fairtlough uses the 2………… cell as a metaphor for the creative compartment. 2. LIFE
Also, there are striking 3……….. in the 'ecological' balance between
companies and that of animal species, where 4…………. and prey populations 3. SIMILAR
co-evolve, each needing the other. In Japan and China, fierce 5…………. often 4. PREY
exist between companies in the same sector, but there is also much co- 5. COMPETE
operation, particularly when one is also a 6………….. to another, or where two 6. CONTRACT
or more companies might be investing in core research that would be too 7. COST
7……… to carry out otherwise.
As the hollowing-out of large firms continues, we may expect them to become
co-ordinators rather than primary operators, concerned with big objectives but
only doing some of them in-house. Benetton, the Italian fashion house, is a
successful example of this structure. It has several thousand retail franchises 8. PRODUCE
which contract to sell only Benetton 8…………. but remain separate firms.
Again, on the manufacturing side, it is parcelled out among more than 200 9. DEPEND
companies, small 9………… firms and even individual home-workers, mostly 10. CELL
in northern Italy. 11. DIFFER
This 10…………….. process raises questions whether parent group directors 12. JOY
will be as important as they once were, and, if not, should they continue to
merit the pay 11…………. that they have traditionally 12………...
(by Gerard Fairtlough)

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 BE – ENGLISH IN USE TEST 10

Read the following text about stress in hierarchies. For each gap 1-10 write one word against
the corresponding number. There is an example at the beginning: 0 – reasons.

STRESS IN HIERARCHIES
by Michael Marmot

There may be economic 0………… for paying huge salaries and bonuses to senior executives,
but there is no scientific 1……………... for saying that they need to be compensated 2………..
their long working hours and stressful jobs. On the contrary, our 3………….. have shown
consistently that, in naturally hierarchical mammals such as homo sapiens, individuals at the top
of the tree are much healthier and suffer less stress than those lower down.
4………….. to work fast or under pressure shows little sign of being bad for your health on its
own. The most stressful jobs are those where the person has the least control, least variety and
little or no 5……………. to develop or use new skills. In our study of the British Civil Service,
for example, the lowest grades are three times more likely to die over a ten year period than
senior administrators and they have six times more sick leave, although they are not
6………………. by any absolute standards.
The three classic 7…………….. factors for heart disease--cholesterol levels, blood pressure and
smoking-- 8………………. for only a third of the different rates of heart disease that we found.
There is some strongly 9………………… evidence that people at the bottom of a hierarchy
produce higher levels of a stress hormone called cortisol and this can cause widespread
biological 10……………….. in the long term, including heart disease and diabetes. Stress over
long periods also 11………….. the immune system. This contributes to the higher levels of
cancer and infectious 12………….. in the lower social classifications.
(Learn.co.uk – from the Guardian - Home Business Magazine online)

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 BE ENGLISH IN USE TEST 15

III. Read the text below and choose the best word to fill each gap from A, B, C or D. For each
question mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your answer sheet.
There is an example at the beginning, (0).

When it comes to making the right decision on getting an important memo from the boss,
managers react so differently. Here you can read about two different reactions.
The first manager read the memo, quietly filed it (0) -B- and went on with routine matters. This
is a case 1___unconflicted adherence where the decision 2___complacently decides to continue
with whatever he has been doing, ignoring the new information. This style of decision-making is
essentially an attempt 3___risk-free management. By sticking with 4___and trusted matters, a
manager can sometimes 5___time and effort. The savings may be worthwhile in minor matters,
but habitual adherence to them can 6___to lost opportunities, short-term solutions to major
problems and 7___in creativity throughout the work group.
This executive was infected by the obvious enthusiasm in the memo. He picked up the phone
and 8___the boss. “When can we start it in our plant?”, he said. This type of 9___is called
unconflicted change; the executive uncritically adopts 10___new course of action is most salient
or most strongly 11___to him. The style of decision making can appear to be the most safe, 12___
be the riskiest of all. The manager who is attracted to something, 13___because it is new or because
others are enthusiastic, without analysing the possible 14___is fortunate not to suffer the 15___of
them.

Example A out B away C in D back

0-B

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1 A about B like C of D in
2 A maker B doer C performer D manager
3 A to B of C by D at
4 A trial B tried C tied D tight
5 A save B sell C sale D sail
6 A go B prove C cause D lead
7 A reducing B redeeming C reduction D refusing
8 A called B dialed C said D formed
9 A respond B response C report D repetition
10 A whichever B what C whatever D when
11 A offered B given C remembered D recommended
12 A yet B still C but D though
13 A as B simply C twice D like
14 A conditions B circumstances C consequences D symbols
15 A worst B bad C first D worse

BE ENGLISH IN USE TEST 17

The following sentences are incomplete. Four words or phrases marked a, b, c and d
are given beneath each sentence. Choose the one word or phrase that best completes the
sentence.

1 Domestic sales have ___ by 6% over the last year.

a. raised b. rose c. risen d. arisen
2 Continued expansion into new markets will depend___ whether we are able to raise new
capital.
a. of b. in c. for d. on
3 The___ department staff has been cut back substantially.
a. product b. production c. produce d. producing
4 Our headquarters are___ in Mountain View, California.

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 a. positioned b. located c. set out d. established
5 The new management team has succeeded___ stricter cost control.
a. to introduce b. the introduction of c. in introducing d. for introducing
6 Jack Bogart___ the post of Managing Director since 1995.
a. has filled b. filled c. fills d. has been filled
7 Companies often___ job applicants to take personality tests.
a. is required b. are requiring c. require d. requires
8 We firmly believe___ providing career development opportunities for all our
employees.
a. on b. for c. in d. at
9 It looks like you have ___ a mistake on our invoice.
a. make b. do c. made d. done
10 I’d like to introduce you to James Stewart, who ___ our accounting department last week.
a. joined b. has joined c. was joined d. has been joined
11 When David kid opened his franchise, he ___ such long hours.
a. wasn’t used to work b. didn’t use to work c. wasn’t used to working d.
didn’t used to working
12 The bank has ___ approved our loan application.
a. currently b. already c. eventually d. always
13 Television was invented by a ___ engineer.
a. Scot b. Scottish c. Scotch d. Scotland
14 You can use your bank card to ___ cash at ATMs worldwide.
a. transfer b. pay c. deposit d. withdraw
15 On-line banking ___ you check your balance whenever you want.
a. lets b. enables c. allows d. permits

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Ian Wood, Paul Sanderson, Anne Williams, Marjorie Rosenberg: PASS CAMBRIDGE BEC
VANTAGE, Second Edition, Student’s Book, National Geographic Learning, 2013.

Guy Brook-Hart: Business BENCHMARK, Upper-Intermediate, Student’s Book, 2nd Edition,

Cambridge University Press, 2014.

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