Pass Cambridge BEC Higher (Student's Book)

MULTILINGUAL WORD LISTS

MULTILINGUAL WORD LISTS

PASS Cambridge BEC Higher Student’s Book

Published by Summertown Publishing 29 Grove Street Summertown Oxford

0X2 7JT United Kingdom www.summertown.co.uk ISBN 1-902741-35-8 © Summertown Publishing First published 2001 Reprinted 2002, 2003 (twice), 2004, 2005, 2006 Editor: Anne Williams Authors: Ian Wood, Louise Pile Revised Edition Author: Catrin Lloyd-Jones Series Editor: Elizabeth Clifton Produced for Summertown Publishing by the Linguarama Group Pedagogical Unit. © Linguarama International 2001 Edition 2. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holder. Cover Design by Richard Morris, Stonesfield Design © Summertown Publishing

Introduction TheCambridgeBECexamination The Cambridge Business English Certificate (BEC) is an international business English examination which offers a language qualification for learners who use, or will need to use, English for their work. It is available at three levels: Cambridge BEC Higher Cambridge BEC Vantage Cambridge BEC Preliminary Cambridge BEC Higher is a practical examination that focuses on English in business-related situations. The major emphasis is on the development of language skills for work: reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Pass Cambridge BEC Higher The book contains: • Introduction

•

Core units

An introductory unit which gives you information about the examination and this preparation course. Eight double units which cover a wide range of business-related topics. Many of the exercise types

Language development in Pass Cambridge BEC Higher • Reading Reading is the most tested skill in the examination. The book therefore contains a lot of reading practice, using authentic, semi-authentic and examination-style texts. Do not panic if you do not understand every word of a text; sometimes you only need to understand the general idea or one particular part. However, you need to read very carefully when answering examination questions; sometimes the most obvious answer on the first reading is not correct and you will change your mind if you re-read the text.

© Writing In the examination you have to write letters and reports and also describe trends. You need to ensure that you fulfil the task while observing the word limit. If you have good spoken English, it does not necessarily mean that you can write well; to be successful, you need training and practice. •

Listening Listening is also a very important skill for the examination and most units contain listening activities. You can find the Tapescripts to the audio cd at the back of the book. In the Student Book, the tapescripts from the Exam focus are shown in blue.

® Speaking You can find help on how to prepare for the Speaking Test in the Exam focus section. In addition, there are speaking activities in every unit.

Examination preparation in Pass Cambridge BEC Higher •

Introduction The Introduction presents the content of the examination and important examination dates.

• Cor e units and Self-study All units contain at least one examination-style exercise and there are also some examination-related tasks in Self-study. • Exam practice Each double unit is followed by at least two pages of Exam practice, which supplement the examination practice in the core units and Self-study, Complete Listening Tests follow Units 4 and 8. By the end of the book, you will have practised every part of the examination several times. • Exam focus The Exam focus section in the centre of the book gives you information about how to succeed in each part of the examination. The Writing and Speaking Test Assessment Sheets provide a framework for you to evaluate your own writing and speaking skills.

ntents

i
lb

Language

Introduction

i

Workroles

5

Company

structure

9

Self-study

13

Exam practice

15

2a

Stocks&shares

17

2b

Mergers& acquisitions

21

Skills

Introduction to the examinatic

Talking about jobs and duties

Reading

Report language

Listening

Present simple and continuous

Report writing

Talking about organisational structure

Reading

Past simple, present perfect simple and continuous

Listening

Present, past and present perfect tenses

Review of 1a / 1b Reading

Talking about financial trends Language o f trends

Reading Listening Report writing

Talking about mergers and acquisitions

Reading

Linking

Listening

Language

Staff motivation

77

Talking about motivation at work Formal report language

Skills

Listening Report writing

Reading

Recruitment

Talking about recruitment

Speaking

Reference words

Listening Letter writing

6a

6b

Self-study

85

Exam practice

87

Passives, refer ence wo rds

Review of 5a/5b Reading

Corporateculture

Talking about company culture

Reading

Gerunds and infinitives

Listening

Culturaldiversity

Talking about cultural differences Agreeing and disagreeing

Reading Speaking

Introduction C am bridge B usiness E n glish C ertificate H igher All Cambridge BEC Higher candidates receive a statement of results showing their overall grade (Pass grades A, B, C or Fail grades D, E) and their performance in each of the four papers. Look at the following extract from a sample statement.

Exceptional Reading Good

Speaking Listening

Borderline

Writing

Weak

Successful candidates receive a certificate showing a single grade. Each paper represents 25 % of the total mark.

Im porta nt C am bridge B E CH ighe r date s Your teacher will give you some important dates at the start of your course. Write these dates in the boxes below. 1.1

Cambridge BEC Higher examination

Your teacher will give you the dates of the written papers but can only give you the date of the Speaking Test after your entry has been confirmed by Cambridge.

• PAPER I Reading & Writing Test • PAPER 2 Listening Test • Speaking Test (to be confirmed)

Between

and

Entry date

This is the date by which the examination centre must receive your examination entry. • Entries must be confirmed by Grades and certificates

P re paring for C a m bridge B E CH ighe r ^

Look at the following activities which you are going to do on your BE C Higher course. Which two are you most confident about? Which two are you least confident about? Why?

© answer questions on business-related texts • focus on the structure and organisation of texts • proof-read short texts

© describe graphs write formal letters • write short reports

• complete notes from presentations • identify the main ideas from short extracts

Q u izs P ass C am bridge B ECH igher O

Wher e would you find the following in this book? Write the unit or page numbers. 1 Information from a famous furniture retailer 2 A list of the top ten global brands 3 An exercise on articles 4 A tapescript of a presentation by a headhunter 5 Advice on writing reports 6 An exercise about linking words and phrases 7 A questionnaire about working from home 8 Advice on the language of agreeing and disagreeing 9 Helpful tips for each of the Cambridge BEC Higher papers 10 A card exercise focusing on the language of trends I I A Self-study vocabulary exercise on mergers 12 A checklist to help you evaluate your writing

H elp in gy o urself succeed O

Look at the areas below. Add further ideas for using your time outside lessons to help you improve your English skills. How could each activity help you in the exam?

Reading

. j o t l '.'.

Speaking

Work in pairs. Find out the following information about your partner. • position ® responsibilities • duties

■

Reading 1 ©

Read Read the brochure brochure extract on the opposite opposite pag page e from the the managemen managementt consultancy Belbin Associates. How does the WorkSet system use

What Is WorkSet? WorkSet is an advanced means of setting up jobs and developing employees in response to the changing nature of work. By B y adopting the use of colours, companies can specify spe cify the exact level of responsibility to be allocated to the key tasks that form an employee's job description. WorkSet replaces the often static job description with a more dynamic short-term job brief. The employee interprets the manager's brief and uses it as a framework for approaching the tasks that that make make up the job. A feedback feedback and review rev iew process then enables the manager to keep abreast of what the employee employe e actually does and provides an opportunity to jointly assess performance, re-align the job and decide on the development needs of the employee.

Core colours .....B ..... B L U E W O R K refers to tasks tasks an employee has to carry out in a prescribed prescribed way to an an approved standard. Example: machining machining an engineering component to a specification.

.

involves personal responsibility for meeting an objective. Exactly how the work is done does not matter too much as long as the goal is achieved. Example: initiating procedures to reduce costs by 15%. 'JiiLLTv IfC 'lW 'lW refers to tasks that vary according to the reactions reacti ons and needs of others. Example: helping the the hotel service servi ce manager at times of peak peak occupancy. involves involv es shared rather than individual responsibility responsibili ty for achieving an objective. Example: contributing to a m management anagement team. team. ih :; c

Language Q

Look Loo k at the present simple simple and and present continuous forms in the following sentence sentences. s. Find further examples of these forms in the tapescript and discuss how they are used. / work for the UK subsidiary of o f a Japan Japanese ese compan company. y. I’m working for a small leisure group on a one-year contract.

Speaking

o

Reading 2 Q

Work in pairs. Use WorkSet to produce a pie chart describing your partner’s job.

Barrie Watson of Belbin Associate Associates s has has just just led led a Team Team Leadersh Leadership ip Workshop at Ekstrom Engineering. Read his report on the workshop. How did he use WorkSet?

Report on Effective Team Leadership Workshop The The aim aim of this this repo report rt is to summa ummari rise se issues aris arisin ing g from from the the rece recent nt Team Leadersh LeadershipWorkshop ipWorkshop atEkstrom atEkstrom and recommend appropriate action.

Findings The The work worksh shop op bega began n with ith an asses ssessm smen ent t of how how the the Ekstr kstro om team team lead leader ers s under understo stood od their their role roles. s. Perc Percep epti tion ons s range ranged d from from assi assigni gning ng and check checkin ing g other other people'sworktomotivatingotherstodothework.This people'sworktomotivatingothers todothework.Thisdisparity disparityclearl clearlyshowe yshowedthat dthat the team team lead leader ers s had had diffe differen rent t under understa stand ndin ings gs of their their role roles s and that that Ekst Ekstro rom m thereforeneeded to communicate itsexpect itsexpectations ations moreexplici moreexplicitly tly.. In order to do this this, , Ekst Ekstro rom m ident identifi ified ed key key task tasks s and and used used WorkS WorkSet et colour colours s to

Q

Read the re port again and answer the following questions. 1 2 3 4 5

What were the team leaders asked to do first? Wh at did this show? What did the use of WorkSet colours then allow the company to do? W hy does Barrie Watson distinguish between skills and attributes? How can Ekstrom ensure its team leaders have the right attributes?

Look at the following diagrams. What kind of company structure do you think each one represents?

T im e

I

fo r

d a© M g

n the hierarchical companies of the 1960s and 1970s, information moved slowly and channels of communication were limited. Over the past few years, however, large companies have come under ever-increasing pressure to collect, process and distribute information more quickly in order to compete with smaller, more nimble rivals. The key challenge facing any sizeable organisation today is how to achieve responsiveness without losing the control inherent in a hierarchical structure. All types of organisation are controlled through two sets of processes. Operating processes define how a company produces, sells, distributes and supports its products and services. Management processes define how a company directs, co ordinates and controls these operations. Typical management processes include planning,

§ i m 11

Information age organisations can manage the complexity of the large hierarchical structure without losing the speed of the entrepreneurial start-up. IT plays a critical role. It co-ordinates complex fast-cycle operating processes and, more importantly, gives decision-makers quick access to detailed, real-time information about operations and market performance. Once all this information is flowing, employees can quickly evaluate their decisions and continually refine both strategy and operations. Organisational control then becomes a dynamic, informationenabled learning process rather than a static monitoring system. However, although IT makes the ‘big small’ company possible, it cannot motivate people to use information in order to act on behalf of the organisation. The challenge for organisations is

f -j i _

s

Listening O

^ S88ffi

©

. ..

Neil McLocklin from the Wo rkstyle Consultancy Group at British Telecommunications (B T) talks about new working practices. Listen and explain what Options 2000 is.

Listen again and choose one letter for the correct answer. 1 Wh at A to B to C to

is the main reason for introducing Options 2000? reduce the company’s operating costs offer employees alternative work styles develop the company’s technology

2 How has BT’s company structure changed? A Employees now work in task-based teams. B It has now been fully departmentalised. C BT is now divided into separate companies. NeilMcLocklin BritishTelecommunications

3 Wha t has been the most important change in BT’s company culture?

Language ©

Look at the tenses in the following sentences. Find further examples of these forms in the tapescript and discuss how they are used. Surveys showed that 96 per cent of our staff wanted to work at home. We’ve had to develop 24-hour 365-day-a-year support services. We’ve been developing a project-oriented culture.

Speaking

f e s

Work in pairs. Use the BT questionnaire to assess the suitability of your partner s job for home-based working. What other factors would be important?

B T

Home-based Working Questionnaire

Please complete the questions and use this document in discussions with your line manager. Q1 On aver age, how much tim e do you currently spend each day commuting? less than 30 mins

30-60 mins

60-90 mins

90-120 mins

120+ mins

Choose the correct word to fill each gap.

0

Research has shown that in today’s dynamic working environment the traditional job description is no longer

Use the prompts to write sentences to be included i a formal report. 1 'There’s a lack of communication in Sales.’

doing itsjob. Today’s jobs are not ( I) _______ -they are

(it/feel)

constantly changing. This leads to (2) _______ , with

communication in Sales.___________________

employees uncertain of their precise work roles. This can be illustrated by the following quotation from a job description: ‘Meet or exceed customer (3) _______ The initial reaction may be that this (4)

_______

It was Pelt that there was a lack oF

2 ‘Let’s organise some training for our team leaders.’ (it/suggest) ________________________________

is

perfectly clear but on closer examination it poses a number of questions. For example, is it (5) _______

3 ‘We’re going to bring in a consultant.’ (it/decide) _____________________

employees to do whatever they feel is necessary to (6) _______

this end without restrictions? Or is it

saying (7) _______ our procedures and this will be the outcome? Who knows? Perhaps the manager, but the description certainly does not (8)

4 ‘It seems team leaders’ roles aren’t clear enough.’ (■ it/find) __________________________________

_______ things

sufficiently from the employee’s point of view.

5 ‘OK, w e’ll start implementing WorkSet next month.’ (it/agree)

1 A static

B

routine

C standard

2 A disparity

B

initiative

C ambiguity

objectives

c expectations

3 A undertakings B

c statement

4 A schedule

B feedback

5 A authorising

B

allocating

c prescribing

6 A support

B

achieve

c carry out

_________________________________

6 ‘Ekstrom needs to set up new assessment centres.' (we/recommend) ___________________________

Match the words as they appear in the unit.

Some of the following lines contain an unnecessary word. Underline any extra words in lines 1-12.

6

1 support 2 virtual

intranet services

I

Many firms now offer home-based working opportunities

3 corporate

manager

2

to their staff as those demands for more flexible

4 line

organisation

3

arrangements grow. Companies such like the BBC, for

5 business

support

4

example, are running pilot schemes where managers,

6 hierarchical

environment

7 on-line

costs

5 journalists, producers and accountants all have work from home. The manager of one project said, ‘It is popular with 6

8 operating

team

7

all staff. They are lot happier, use their time more

8

productively and are less stressed. They are saving money

9

by not commuting and can spend themselves more time

10

with their families.’ He also mentioned the need for

Complete the table. Verb

Noun

Adjective

II

home-based staff and to be able to cope with technology.

standardise

...................

..............

12

‘Good information technology support is the absolutely

...................

diversity

..............

...................

...................

responsive

...................

operation

..............

...................

...................

...................

supervision

...................

...................

suitable .............. varied

Which word in each group is the odd one out? 1 collaborative

remote

crucial to the success of any home-working scheme.’

team-based co-operative

Past simple and present perfect

O

Complete the conversation. Put each verb in brackets into the correct form of the past simple, present perfect simple or present perfect continuous. • Linda, ( I you/hear) have you heard T What news?

the news?

E xa mpractice Reading Test Part One

• Look at the sentences below and the profiles of five international executives. • W ho does each sentence refer to? • For each sentence I - 8, mark o n e letter A, B, C, D or E. • You will need to use some of the letters more than once.

Example

0

He was once involved in national politics.

A B C D E ■■ 1=1 !=□ CZZ) 1=] 1 He has cut operating costs by reducing the number of senior staff. 2 He does not enjoy making presentations and speeches. 3 He started his career working for a television station. 4

He improved the company’s financial position by selling off assets.

5 He is expanding the company with a series of takeovers.

6 He is famous for his imagination and tough business strategies. 7 He has been with the same employer all his working life.

8 He has worked in a variety of different industries.

Lord Wootten, Chairman, Unimarket

D

Erik Johanssen, Chie f Executive , Mor genRey nold s

MorgenReynolds’ CEO Erik Johanssen admits to crying occasionally and says he is not the tough hard-nosed businessman that people expect when they meet him. He is, however, universally regarded as a shrewd politician within the industry. A self-styled company man, the chain-smoking 55 year-old Johanssen has been with Morgen for over 20 years. Since Morgen took over the innovative but under-performing Reynolds, Johanssen has streamlined the business radically, axing half of Reynolds’ top managers. Johanssen lives modestly in Stockholm and travels to work by underground.

E

Joe Anderson, Chief Executive, Dayton International Hotels Jo e Anderson joined the imaginative Seattle-based Foyles restaurant chain after graduating in 1963. He worked his way up through the ranks, performing a variety of different roles, eventually becoming the Managing Director in 1976 and joining the parent company’s executive board in 1980. In 1994 he became CEO and President of the group’s Dayton International Hotels division. Anderson has focused on Dayton’s core restaurant and hotel activities and reduced the group’s debts by disposing of several properties and a chain of beauty salons. His next project is likely to be the search for strategic alliances with major European hotel chains.

Reading Test Part Five

• Read the article below about working practices in Europe. • For each question I - 10, write o n e word.

Stocks & shares S l ie r ©

Speaking0

p r ic e ©

Whe re can you find out about a company’s share price?

Reading© Look at the following extract from the Nasdaq-amex stock market listings. Match the letters a-f with the explanations below.

F

I N

A

N a s d a q

Stock

N

C

- 1 0 0

I A

L

/

' P/ Vo| / ' D iv . E 1 0 0 s H ig h

T F

M

L

■ ill /

Low

Last C h n g

Nasdaq

Speaking©

How common is investing in shares in your country?

M a r k e t trends

Listening 1 ©

©

Listen to a television report about the share prices of Internet companies. H ow have they performed over the last year?

Listen again and choose one letter for the correct answer. 1 What drove up the price of Internet shares? A the promise of a quick profit B the lack of availability of the shares C the opportunity of a safe investment 2 How profitable are most Internet companies? A They now make huge profits. B They just manage to break even. C They consistently lose money.

Speaking© Wou ld you be prepared to invest in Internet shares? W hy /W hy not?

D escrib ing graphs

Speaking© The graph shows the price for Amazon.com shares over a twelve-month period. Your teacher will give you some cards. Describe the graph using all the words on the cards.

Similarity and difference

The following language is useful when comparing. • Similarity Both share prices rose sharply in January. Neither company has made a profit yet. Like X, Y fell in June. X rose just as sharply as Y. •

Writing O

Difference X fell sharply whereas/while Y remained steady. X fell quickly compared to Y. Unlike X, Y rose by 10%. X rose far more dramatically than Y.

Look at the share prices of IBM Corporation and America Online, Inc. over a twelve month period. Wr ite a 120-140 word report comparing the performance of the two shares.

Mergers & acquisitions U nd erstanding m ergers

Speaking® Why do companies merge with or acquire other companies? What problems can arise?

VVORI

inMs most mb.

UK Trade Secretary clears Coca-Cola Cadbury deal

Merger talks boos t pharmaceutical s ector Helen Arnold reports oharmaceuticais industry has been boos

:nd!t

’■'*

" '.......... 1

UK insurer on acquisition trail

pokesHjsan said ihe fake an announcement in due course.

^Commission investigates Airtours bid for First Choice

D

was undoubtedly the year of the merger. More companies than ever before joined together in deals that totalled $2.25 trillion and created the world's largest ever bank and the world's biggest oil company. Faced with plummeting oil prices, oil giants Exxon and Mobil sought to achieve economies of scale through a $250bn merger. There are several factors behind the increase in mergers and acquisitions. Firstly, the accelerated rate of globalisation has left companies desperately seeking overseas acquisitions in order to remain competitive. Deutsche Bank bought its way into the US with its takeover of Bankers Trust, whilst Siemens hopes that its acquisition of Matra, the French defence group, will allow it to gain access to France's railway business, which is dominated by Alstom, the Anglo-French consortium. Another factor behind the increase in merger activity is the record performance of stock markets, which has enabled companies to finance major acquisitions on the strength of their inflated share prices. Earlier this year

Not all mergers, however, are the result of global economic trends, political change or technological innovation. BMW's takeover of the Rover Group injected much needed investment into the struggling UK car manufacturer whilst extending BMW's product range. And when the UK pharmaceutical firm Zeneca merged with Swedish drug company Astra, the new company started life with strong combined R&D capabilities, further strengthened by the world's best selling drug Losec in its portfolio of products. Despite all these potential benefits and their promise of competitive advantage, mergers and acquisitions are not risk-free ventures. Such alliances are more than just financial agreements; they also involve the coming together of different corporate and, in many cases, national cultures. This can have a destabilising effect on a workforce and may mean projected efficiencies are not delivered. Daimler and Chrysler, for example, face the challenge of integrating two very different corporate and national cultures. A further destabilising effect is the prospect of

2 Vodafone was able to acquire AirTouch by A selling highly-valued shares to customers. B obtaining a loan based on its share value. C exchanging shares as part of the deal. D buying under-valued AirTouch shares. 3 Wh at is Microsoft’s interest in AT&T’s acquisition of Media One? A It will raise Microsoft’s equity stake in AT&T. B It will give Microsoft access to new technologies. C It will increase the size of Microsoft’s core market. D It will help Microsoft break into new markets. 4 Why was the B M W takeover in Rover’s interests? A Rover was able to raise capital. B It extended Rover’s product range. C Rover gained new distribution channels. D It reduced Rover’s operating costs. 5 What is the main challenge facing Daimler and Chrysler? A Customers may not want to buy foreign products. B Workforce reductions could affect delivery times. C Their managers might not work together effectively. D The cost of the merger will outweigh any savings. 6 Merged companies can usually increase short-term profits by A cutting their combined labour costs. B boosting the company’s productivity. C using single marketi campaign.

Am erger o f eq uals

Listening©

Steve Brown, Media Relations Manager at U K pharmaceutical company Zeneca, addresses shareholders prior to the company’s merger with Astra of Sweden. Listen and complete the notes with up to three words or a number.

&

AstraZeneca

news release

Introduction 1

The boards of both Astra and Zeneca have agreed to the terms of an _____________________ merger of equals to form AstraZeneca.

2

The merger combines two companies with similar ____________________________ cultures and a shared vision of the pharmaceuticals industry.

Merger benefits 3

AstraZeneca will be better able to generate _____________________ and shareholder value.

4

The merged group will benefit from the combined power and _____________________ of its global sales and marketing resources.

5

6

Combined sales will rank AstraZeneca as the in the world.

___________________ pharmaceutical company

Investment in R&D will provide a strong foundation for _____________________ growth.

a ®

Match the following words with the diagrams. recover fluctuate

^

general upward trend peak level off bottom out

Write a 120-140 word report comparing the monthly sales of Fresh ’n’ Cool with those of the previous year. Sales in units

Fresh 7V CoolSales LastYear Fresh 7Y CoolSales ThisYear

(000)

1500 1250 1000

750 500 April

May

June

July

August

Describing trends

Q ®

Complete the text with the following words. broker listings

merger flotation

commission investment

dividends shares

The first time I ever bought ( I) _______ was in 1988. It was during the (2)

of British Telecom. I didn’t

The graph shows the share price of two companies from 1996 to 2000. Find and correct any mistakes in the text. - Consort Industries - MandarinTechnologies

Read the article on page 22 again and put the following companies in the correct groups. AirTouch Astra AT&T Bankers Trust BMW Chrysler Daimler Deutsche Bank Exxon Matra Media One Mobil Rover Siemens Vodafone Zeneca Was acquired by Acquired another Merged with another company another company company AirTouch

Match the words as they appear in the unit. achieve

operating

^ of scale

integrate

economies

value

add

different

prices

undercut

cost

improvements

reduce

long-term

cultures

generate

competitors’

costs

Fill each gap with a suitable word. Advanced Technologies pic, the automobile components manufacturer, yesterday agreed (I) _______ consider an offer from the French-based Avignon Group of 68p a share. This latest bid, which (2) _______ an increase of 13p on their original offer, beats (3) _______ of German rival Heilman AG, who last week offered 60p a share. The bid values Advanced at £ 19m, almost twice (4) _______ market capitalisation when it was floated in 1996. It is not

Now find examples in the article of the + noun + of. What nouns follow the phrases? Think of two other nouns to follow each phrase.

yet clear (5)

the prospect of redundancies expansion

for two weeks (7) _______

_______

Heilman will return with a

counterbid. Advanced Chairman Tom McGillis said the company would (6) _______ contact any other parties it considered Avignon’s

newest offer. An Avignon spokesman said that the merger

E xa mpractice Reading Test P art Two

• • • • •

Read the letter replying to an enquiry about con ference facilities. Choose the best sentence from A - H to fill in each of the gaps. For each gap I - 6, mark o n e letter A - H. Do not use any letter more than once. There is an example at the beginning (0).

Dear I was delighted to meet you at the UK Conference Exhibition last week in Bath and I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for the interest you have shown in the wide range of conference centres we represent. P q TJh [Photographs of our superb centre can be viewed on our website at www.devonshiremanor.co.uk . Devonshire Manor is set in 100 acres of private woodland and gardens approximately 10 miles south of Exeter city centre and jus t seven miles from the M5 motorway. fl~| [Desp ite the changes, Devonshire Manor has managed to retain the atmosphere of a traditional English country estate. Devonshire Manor provides the ideal venue for both conferences and meetings of up to 40 delegates. |~2 1 jThese gardens are an immensely popular setting for functions such as openair press conferences and product launches. The me eting rooms themselves are completely selfcontained, with full air-c onditioning and sound -pro ofing . [~3~[~ jFlip charts, overhead projectors, whiteboards, TVs and videos are all included as standard. Facsimile and photocopying facilities are also available at an extra cost. Devonshire Manor has 20 en suite bedrooms, all o f which are beautifully furnished and contain

E xa mpractice Reading Test Part Four

• • •

Read the memo below about sales people’s performance. Choose the best word to fill each gap. For each question I - 10, mark o n e letter A, B, C or D.

•

There is an example at the beginning (0).

Salesperson of the month OursalespersonofthemonthisKurtSteinerfromStuttgart,whowinsfourbottlesofthe finestchampagne.Kurtachievedsalesworth€150,000,whichmeansthathe ( 0 ) .... his monthlytargetbyover€40,000.CongratulationsKurt! There was another excellent performance in Switzerland from Cecile Fourget, who almost won the prize on account of her (1) .... high sales figures throughout June. AnotherSwisssalespersonwithvery good ( 2 ) .... in Junewas Marie Dupont, withtotal salesofmorethan€130,000. After abadstartto the month, sales in London( 3 ) .... swiftly, mainlydue tothe superb performance of Mike McGillis. Mike was successful in winning a major( 4 ) .... with LTV Production, which will beworth over€120,000 forthecompany. In France, Claudette Le Blanc from Lyon sold €70,000 worth of business. This will obviously goa long ( 5 ) .... towards increasing the turnoverof one ofour newest sites, whichhas been forcedto(6) .... atalossforthelastsixmonths.OurLisieuxcentrehas also done well, with one of the newest( 7 ) .... ofour French sales team, Jerome Zola, selling€50,000worthofbusiness.

once Reading Test Part Five

• •

Read the article below about industrial action at a bank. For each question I - 10, write o n e word.

Example

° mis[ ! □ □ □ □ □ □ Bank says strike fails to make impact Newham Bank and two major finance unions were fighting a war of words yesterday over the impact of a long-running pay dispute. A spokesman for the BBU, (0) .... larger of the two unions, claimed that a second 24-hour strike (1)

. had a serious impact on the bank’s

operations and that support for industrial action was growing. An estimated 28,000 staff walked out on Wednesday, causing ( 2 )

....

the union called ‘serious disruption’.

These claims, however, have been branded (3) .... . ‘nonsense’ by Newham. The bank said that fewer than 100 branches had closed ( 4 ) ....,. of a total of over 1,500 and that the number of people taking part in the strike had been only about 4,000, The bank also denied claims by the unions that the action had put as (5)

....

as half its 2,000 cash machines out of

service and caused delays to mortgage and loan authorisations.

E xa mpractice Newsletter 0

Just one year after moving into the suburbs of Stockholm, our largest

00

Swedish branch this has outgrown its current premises. The centre will be

1

moving again in the next few weeks, this time order to purpose-built

2

offices in the city centre. Business has grown by more than a fifty per cent

3 4 5

during the past year. Moreover, the branch has recently been gained a

6

initially be for a two-year period but we hope it will be extended. Wha t

7

helped us win the contract was in the success of the training we have

8

been doing for similar companies in the recent years. Even though it is not

9

yet clear how big the contract will be, but it is expected to grow steadily

10

as more and more management training is gradually outsourced. W e are

11

positive the excellent new location will be provide further boosts, both to

12

sales and morale. W e would like to take this chance to thank you staff and

prestigious new contract with one of the city’s major accountancy firms, currently outsourcing its management training. The contract which will

management for their efforts over the last twelve months.

Reading Test Part Six (B)

• •

In most lines of the following text, there is o n e unnecessary word. It is either grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the sense of the text. For each numbered line I - 12, find the unnecessary word. Some lines are correct. If a line is correct, write CORRECT

Trade fairs E xh ibiting at a tradefair

SpeakingQ

What are the benefits of trade fairs for exhibitors and visitors?

Earls Court Two Exhibition Centre, London

Reading1 @

Read the advertisement. Wha t details are given about the following?

the exhibition

the exhibitors

the visitors

SpeakingQ

Your company wishes to exhibit at a trade fair. Discuss and decide the following. • your objectives for the trade fair • where and when you should exhibit

R ep ly in g toanen q u iry

Speaking Q

What information might trade fair organisers include in a standard letter of reply to enquiries about an exhibition?

Q

No w read the Top Draw er letter and compare your answer.

top draurar

I

_____________

c

LONDON

~yx.~

%

Top Drawer Summer 7th - 9th May 2 0 0 0 %<*

Earls Court Two, London

Dear Thank you for your interest in the above event. As requested, I enclose full details of this and future shows for you. Held in Central London, Top Drawer attracts buyers who understand the importance of good design and new products. If you rely on meeting customers face to face in an environment that allows you to show your products to their best advantage, you will not be disappointed. Now in its eighteenth year, Top Drawer continues to be the showcase event for personal gifts and home accessories. Both summer and autumn exhibitions attract some 20,000 UK and overseas buyers from independent retailers, department stores, mail order houses and contract interior designers. The key to the continuing popularity of Top Drawer is its selection process, ensuring that

■ |

I

LanguageQ

Look at the following sentence. Find further examples in the letter of the present simple referring to future time. All applications will be given our full attention the moment we receive them.

0

Complete the following information with phrases from the Top Draw er letter.

Standard letter phrases

The following phrases are useful when writing letters. • Referring to an earlier letter or conversation With reference to your letter dated ... in which ... Further to our conversation o f... • Enclosing Please find enclosed •

Offering assistance Should you have any further questions, please contact me on ...

•

Referring to future contact We look forward to meeting you on .

Entering a m ark et R e sea rching a m a r k e t

Speaking® What research would a company do before entering a foreign market?

China, with onefifth ofthew orld’s population and one ofthefastest ratesofeconomic growth, is am ajortargetforglobal business. Direct UKexports to Chinaamounted to £928.2 millionin 1997; exportstoC hinaviaHong Kongwereworthanother£697million. With pledged investment of US $12 billion, the UKis acknowledged to be the leading EuropeaninvestorinChinaandthemainEUsourceoftechnology.Wecannowbuildon this baseto increaseour exports and tode velop ourcomm ercial interests. Our strengths match China’s needs, particularly in telecommunications, financial services, aviation and environmental technology. Substantial opportunities alsoexist in awide rangeof othersectors andthe chancesarethatcom panieswith profilessimilar toyourown arealreadydoing businesswiththeChinese,eitherdirectlyorthrough Hong Kong. There are a number of different strategies for entering the Chinese market. Agents or d istrib uto rs  in H on g K ong are often a ble  to  ge ne ra te sales in m ain la nd China, particularly inthe south, butthereisa growing privatesectorwithin China itself. Agents anddistributors are still ararity, however, and most business is done byidentifying end users an d/or possiblejoint venture partners. Success in Chinawill require long term

B u siness p ractices in C hina Listen ing Q

1

2

co | c _c O c. CIS

Tanya Liddell, a successful exporter, addresses a local business association about doing business in China. Listen and complete the notes using up to three words or a number.

There are few universally accepted business norms in China as __ vary throughout the country. It is essential to do thorough

_ before visiting China.

> 3 4

cd c O

It is viewed as extremely rude if you are

in China.

When travelling from your hotel, always take into account the severe _____________________ in Chinese cities.

Upon arrival, you will normally be met by a _____________________ and fellow staff.

First of all, everyone exchanges _ The host will then formally open the meeting with a _ company and its operations.

with one another. to the

Writing Q

You have received the following letter from a business acquaintance in China. Read the letter and write a 200-250 word reply.

on ohina Floor 1A 15March2000

BeijingCommercial Centre 9 Chang Road, Beijing China

I do not know if you remember me but we met at the RC Mandarin Hotel in Shanghai last month. You gave me your business card and kindly offered to help me i f I ever planned to visit your country. I am pleased to say I will be attending a trade fair in your city next month. I am in the process of making my travel arrangements and, as it is my first trip to your country, I would appreciate it if you could give me some advice. In particular, I would welcome your advice on accommodation and how to get around the city. Should I arrange car hire, for example? Also, as I will have my evenings free, could you recommend places to eat? I will have a free day for sightseeing as well. What would you suggest I do? I hope we can meet during my visit. I would very much like to invite you for a meal one evening if it is convenient.

f


©

1 With a reference to your letter dated 13 November, in

Re-arrange the words to make formal phrases from written correspondence. 1 enclosed / please /find

2 which you requested information about our forthcoming

Please find enclosed_______________________

3 exhibition ‘Management in Action’, please do find

2 letter /of /to / reference /with /your

4 enclosed details about this and future events in the region. 5 ‘Management in Action’ which is the showcase event for

3 look / meeting /we /forward /to /you

6 the region’s major business training organisations. This

7 year’s exhibition it includes thirty free taster workshops, 8 covering these areas such as motivation, health and safety,

4 to /our / conversation /further /of

9 team-building, presentation skills and e-commerce. If you

10 require any further information, and please do not

5 further /questions /should /have /you /any

' I I hesitate to contact either myself or Elizabeth Wellington

12 on 01952 345642. We are look forward to hearing from 6 not /do / please /me /hesitate /contact /to

you in the near future.

Complete the puzzle. Which words run vertically through the answers? Time clauses

©

Complete the conversation. Put each verb in brackets into the correct form. • Hi Ross, it’sjan. I hear (I you/go)

you're going

to the trade fair in Poznan next week. Yes. How about you?

Look at the information comparing average prices in London and Beijing. Write a 120-140 word report comparing the cost of doing business in the two cities.

Find words in the unit which go after business. business

__ partnership

Inde x (Lo ndo n = 100)

0

50

100

150

Average cost of one night in a 5-star hotel

i

Average cost of office space per sq. metre

i |

Average wage of a bilingual secretary

j i

Average monthly rent for a small apartment

i j

The cost of a 5-minute local phone call

i j

Complete the sentences with the following words. amount to allow for

respond to enquire about participate in intend to invest in build on

1 Many UK financial service companies are particularly keen to ________________ China. 2 Ensure that you warn your hosts in advance if you use audio-visual equipment. 3 This year direct UK exports to China are estimated to ________________ well over £ I bn. 4 Having entered China, many UK companies are now looking to ________________ their success.

Q

Match the words as they appear in the unit. 1 generate -v. 2 forge 3 pledge 4

d

business cards ^

sales needs di

200

E xa mpractice Reading Test Part Three

• Read the following article on investing in shares and the questions on the opposite page. • Each question has four suggested answers or ways of finishing the sentence, A, B, C and D. • Mark o n e letter A, B, C or D for the answer you choose.

Investing in the stock market has always been more profitable than putting money into a traditional savings account. However, it is only in the last few years that private share ownership hasbecomeaccepted as a reliableformofinvestment.There are manyreasons whymore and more people arenow buying shares.To begin with, thewhole processisnow farmoreflexibleanduser-friendlyandpublicawarenessofinvestmentproductsandtheirtax implicationsisalothigher.Evenmoreimportantly,thisawarenessmeanspeoplenowrealise thatin the medium tolongterm sharesare farmore lucrativethandepositaccounts.Today, peoplearealsomorelikelytoinvestinacompanyforethicalreasonsorasashowofsupport forthatcompany. When decidingto invest in shares, it is essentialtothink about yourobjectives. In orderto avoidanexpensivemistake,youneedtoconsideryourexistingshortandlong-termfinancial commitments and how quickly you expect to see a return on your investment. Most importantly,you needtodecidetheextenttowhichyou are preparedtospeculate and then selectthe investmentproductswhichbest reflectyourattitudetowardsthe perilsinherentin anystockmarketinvestment. Recently, newspapers havebeenfullofstoriesofinvestors realising massiveprofits, usually in connectionwiththeflood ofInternetcompaniesthathave issued shares inthe lasttwelve months.Suchcompanies,however,areanythingbutasafeinvestment.Althoughpeoplehave

1

According to the text, more people are now buying shares because A more ethical investments are available. B investors get a better rate of return.

C investment periods are more flexible. D investors pay less tax on earnings.

2

What is the main consideration when deciding to invest in shares? A how much you pay for the shares B how quickly you can make a profit

C how willing you are to take risks D how financially secure you are

3

Investors are attracted to Internet companies because they A sell their shares at a low price. B have a large number of shares.

C are often a very safe investment. D offer potential for rapid growth.

4

Investors can reduce risk and still make good profits by A investing only in blue chip companies.

The futu re of w o rk V isio n s Read the extract from a magazine article about the future of work and answer the questions.

P red ictio n s

Reading2®

Five managers make predictionsaboutthefutureofwork. Lookatthestatements theymake.Matcheach ofthe statementswith one ofthemanagersbelow. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

People will work for more than one company at a time. People will want to have more free time in the future. There will be a lot more concern about health in the workplace. As work becomes more flexible, people will work longer hours. Governments will find it difficult to collect revenue from workers and companies. Companies will have to ensure that communications remain polite. Companies will be more closely involved with local communities. Large organisations will become more powerful than some governments.

Jeanne Desail I In future, work space will become less rigid, with hotdesking being the norm. People will expect a better standard of working environment too. There’s likely to be more shiftwork, partly to make better use of office equipment but also to offer services around the clock. In fact, I think working hours will probably change quite dramatically. For instance, there’ll be no guarantee of free time even at the weekend. Some of the business community worry that staff won’t work unless supervised but the real issue will be recognising when staff are overtaxing themselves.

Joshua Cold erPeople are beginning to make the connection between lifestyle, performance and sickness, so I th . we’re bound to see a move towards promoting lifestyle issues in the office. W e’re already seeing this in the US, where smokers are coming under increasing pressure to change their behaviour. There’ll also undoubtedly be a lot of larger companies realising the importance of their social obligations.

£

1

V

LanguageQ

Lookatthefivetexts again. How manydifferentwaysofexpressingpredictionscan you find?Putthepredictionsinorderofstrength.

Speaking ©

Lookattheeightstatements onthe previouspage.Whichofthem doyouagreewith? Reality

ListeningQ

ChangeManagement ConsultantJan Dunntalks aboutBritishAirways’newWaterside premises.Listen andchoose one letterforthecorrect answer.

BRITIS H AIRWAYS '

r .

le

Jan Dunn British Airways pic

6 BA provides high street facilities at Waterside because A they are a source of income. B it saves time during the day. C there are no facilities nearby. 7 The company is changing its meetings culture by A holding all large meetings in the main theatre. B encouraging people to hold smaller meetings. C promoting the use of cafes for meetings. 8 Wh at changes has working at Waterside made to Jan Dunn’s day? A She works a lot more efficiently. B She uses computers more often. C She spends less time in meetings.

Speaking Q

LookattheresultsofasurveyabouthowresidentsadaptedtoworkingatWatersidein thefirsttwelve months. Howdid themovechangeworkingconditions for BAstaff?

Can printwhen I needto

Cancontactpeople I needto easily Candoconfidential workeasily

Canobtaininformation todomyjob

Storagespace isaccessible Storagespaceis adequate

Canfaxwhen I needto Canphotocopy whenIneedto

e-business W h at is e-b usiness? How often do you use the Internet and for what reasons?

Fite

Edit

View

Go

Favorites

Help

Search

Favorites

History

Channels

Fullscreen

Mail

Print

Edit

A d d re S S [ ®] htlp://www.ibrr>.corn/e-business/wliatis.htrnl

Search je -business

©oj

What is e-busiriess? e-busi-ness (e’biz’nis)Thetransformationofkeybusinessprocessesthrough

theuseofInternettechnologies. TheWeb is changingeveryaspectofourlives, butnoarea is undergoing as rapid and significantachange as theway businessesoperate.Today companieslarge and small are usingtheWebtocommunicatewiththeirpartners,transformtheirorderprocessingsystems and transactcommerce.Thisis e-business -wherethestrength and reliabilityoftraditional informationtechnologymeetthe Internet. It’s about business, not technology

e-businessisn’tabout re-inventingyourbusiness. It’s aboutstreamliningyourcurrent businessprocessesto improveoperating efficiencies,which in turnwill strengthen thevalue youprovidetoyourcustomers-valuethat cannot be generatedbyanyothermeans,and value thatwill giveyouaseriousadvantage overthecompetition. Webelievethatthebestplace tostartis withyourmostcritical businessprocess -customer relationshipmanagement. Startby improvingyourcustomerinteractionsand internal

T he adv antages o f e-b usiness

Listening Q

pjve

clients talk about how Web technology has transformed an area of their business.

Listen and decide which area and which benefit each speaker refers to.

Taskone:areaofbusiness Which area of business does each speaker say has been most transformed?

2

.....

^ 4 .... 5 ....

advertising methods after-sales service client information service customer purchasing process production processes supply management sales network training methods

Tasktwo: benefit Which is the main benefit each speaker mentions? 6 .....

7

\ '

LanguageQ

Look at the future perfect and future continuous forms in the following sentences. Could other verb forms be used? Find further examples of these forms in the tapescript and discuss how they are used. By the time the project’s implemented, we’ll havenetworked300,000 employees. And this year we’ll bedelivering up to 30 per cent of our courses by distance learning.

Writing ^

[jdc^ at the graph showing the predicted growth of worldwide Internet commerce. Write a 120-140 word report comparing e-business and e-commerce.

There's no business like Internet business Emergingbusine ssmodel:fu ndamental characteristics DigitalAge

IndustrialAge

r Companies

Inwardlyfocused

Extendedenterprises

Customers

Limitedaccesstomanufacturer

Directaccesstomanufacturer

Suppliers

‘Arm's length' relationships

Electronic relationships

Intermediaries

Stand-aloneentities/separateprocesses

Extendedenterpriselinks/sharedprocesses

Self-study 4a Complete each sentence with a suitable preposition.

Do the following statements refer to positive or • negative situations at work? 1

1 There’s a connection _______ lifestyle and

He’s been overtaxing himself a bit lately.

performance in the workplace.

2 Our new line manager’s really created a team spirit.

2 The use of e-mail has a definite impact _______ things like formality in the office environment.

3 Some members of staff are struggling to cope with some of the new technology.

3 We’re very dependent _______ the intranet, so if it goes down our operations are badly affected.

4 We have noticed that old courtesies have tended to

4 Some jobs, such as marketing, are more suited

disappear since we’ve been using e-mail.

flexible working than others.

5 My new workstation makes it a bit more convenient

5 I bumped _______ Sarah at the cafe this morning.

for doing any confidential work.

6 The company I’m working for now has even got a

6 Flexible working means there’s less of a conflict

gym and a cafe _______ site.

between my work and home life.

©

©


Match the verbs with the appropriate nouns.

Well, I’ve been here for a few months now and I’m really

a meeting

enjoying it. It’s quite different from my last job. For one thing,

save

the working (1)

meet

here is definitely very different

from the old company. The managers have (2) flexible working up the agenda and (3)

spend areas

where it would make more (4)

to work from

home. After all, if we are all (5)

onto the same

run predict suit

X

needs X

time /

Self-study 41 Fill each gap with a suitable word.


Many companies have recently been taking their first

1 take —

tentative steps in the world of electronic business. Initially,

2 manage

they expected the Internet to be ( I) _______ more than

3 improve

customer wants

an ‘add on’ to (2) _______ current business procedures.

4 handle

customer behaviour

However, companies are now discovering (3) _______

5 communicate with

operating efficiencies

electronic business will not just prove to be an efficient or

6 analyse

inventories

cheaper sales channel (4) _______

7 personalise

partners

8 anticipate

transactions

will fundamentally

change the way they do business. Companies in sectors (5)

offerings ---orders

as retailing or financial services are already

realising substantial savings by using the Internet to encourage (6) _______ growth of ‘self-service’ activities

O

Match the words.

for customers and suppliers. Corporate intranets now

1 competitive

support

allow staff to access training at (7) _______

2 after-sales

advantage

make travel arrangements and file expenses on-line,

3 product

turnover

reducing the costs (8) _______

4 staff

base

5 customer

learning

6 distance

service

time and

are common to such

processes.

Complete the puzzle. Which word runs vertically through the answers?

2

Futureperfectandfuturecontinuous Use the prompts to write sentences using the future perfect and future continuous.

E xa mpractice ListeningTestPartOne

• • •

Youwill heartheManagingDirectorofacosmeticsmanufactureraddressingagroupofvisitors aboutthehistoryofthecompany. Asyoulisten,forquestions I - 12,completethenotesusing upto three wordsoranumber. Youwillhearthe recordingtwice.

The History of Eldertree Cosmetics Earlydays 1

The company was established in

2

Her products sold well because of the

3

In order to satisfy demand, the owners had to find

________________

by Olivia Jenkins.

________________

of natural products.

________________

in 1977.

The1980s 4

The introd uction o f new produc ts resulte d in the _________________ of the business.

ListeningTestPartTwo

• Youwill hear fivedifferentpeople talkingabouttrainingcourses. • Foreachextract therearetwotasks.ForTaskOne,choosethecourseeachspeakerattended fromthelist A-H. ForTaskTwo,choosethecomplainteachspeakermakes aboutthe course fromthelist I - P. • Youwillheartherecordingtwice. TASKONE-TRAININGCOURSE

• • •

Forquestions 13 - 17,match theextractswith thetrainingcourseattended, listedA -H. Foreach extract,choosethetrainingcourse attended. Write one letterA -H nexttothenumberoftheextract.

13 .... 14 .....

15 16 17

A B C D E F G H

telephoning skills presentation skills time-management skills team-leadership skills assertiveness skills negotiating skills meeting skills writing skills

ListeningTestPartThree

• • •

Youwill hearaninterviewwiththemanagerof acorporatetravelagency. Foreachquestion 23-30, mark one letterA,B or C forthecorrect answer. Youwill heartherecordingtwice.

23 The main effect of winning the award has been the increase in

A staff motivation. B media publicity. C new business. 24

Why did Peter start Corporate Direct?

A His local travel agencies hadno vacancies. B His wife wanted him to work from home. C His ambition was to be self-employed. 25 Which Corporate Direct service is expanding most

A the car rental scheme B the company magazine C the currency exchange service 26

Why is Corporate Direct unique in the South-East?

A It is an independent travel agency. B It holds detailed client information.

rapidly?

Reading Test Part Four • • • •

Readthetermsand conditionsofemploymentbelow. Choosethebestwordto fill eachgap. Foreachquestion I - 10, markone letterA, B,C or D. Thereisan exampleatthebeginning (0).

Terms and Conditions of Employment The employee works a 37 V 2 hour week, which includes some evening work. The salary is based on Key Scale 3, with a (0) for shift work. Weekday overtime is paid at a standard hourly (1) , which increases to double-time at weekends. The employee's (2) are as detailed in the attached letter of employment. ....

....

....

The salary is calculated from 25th - 24th inclusive of each month and is (3) to the employee's bank account on the last day of the month, except where the last day of the month falls on a weekend, in which case it is paid on the previous Friday. ....

The company's holiday year runs from April 1st each year. The employ ee is (4) to two days' paid holiday per month worked, with three extra days' holiday during the Christmas period. All holidays must be taken within the holiday year (1 st April - 31 st March). Those not taken by 31st March may not be (5) over to the following year. All holiday dates are (6) .... . to management ap proval. ....

....

The Reading Test Overview

TheReadingTesthas six parts testingvariousreadingskills. PartFour specificallytestsacandidate’s knowledgeofvocabulary.

Part

Input

Task Matching sentences with texts

1

Five 90 word texts

2

450-500 word text

Sentence level gap-filling

3

500-600 word text

Multiple-choice comprehension questions

4

250 word text

Single word multiple-choice gap-filling

5

250 word text

Single word gap-filling

6

150-200 word text

Proof-reading: identifying

T h e r e a d in g

©

ta s k s

Part Oneteststheabilityto read for both gistand specific information. Readthetext andthethreesentencesbelow.Whichsentencematchesthetextbest?Underlinethe partsofthetextwhich helpyou to identifythecorrectoption.

A

BusinessStrategiesfo rtheInternet

What opportunities does the Internet offer your business? Can it make significant cost savings? Can it reshape your entire supply chain? Bu sin ess Str ate gie s fo r the In tern et uses basic business principles to show how businesses can make best use of the Internet. The authors argue that imagination and lateral thinking, not technical know-how, are the key sources of competitive advantage. They demonstrate why much corporate investment in the Internet has been unsuccessful and show how failures could have been avoided. More than 100 case studies are analysed, showing how the In tern et’s strengths have been suc cessfully exploited. The authors are senior partners in N et Ga ins , one of the country’s leading consultancies on the commercial exploitation o f Web-based technology.

1 The authors demonstrate the importance of specialised technical skills. 2 The book shows how to cut distribution costs dramatically.

E xa mfocus ©

PartTwoteststheabilityto ensurethattheoverallmeaningofatextisclearandthat ideas arelogicallyordered andlinked. Read the extractandthethree sentences below. Whichsentencefillsthegapbest?Whydotheothersentencesnotfit? are still faced by the question ‘Will staff actually want to relocate?’. To assume that staff will automatically relocate in order to keep their jobs is a mistake. They may have family commitments or regard the destination as undesirable. Staff that are being considered for relocation are probably valuable and could find another job locally. 10 | This might not be cheap, but neither is losing key staff that the compa ny has invested in over several years. The company needs to weigh up the attractiveness of

A It makes sense then to consult staff when choosing a destination for relocation. B Therefore, a company needs to offer a package that will persuade them to move. C By providing practical help, a company can minimise these difficulties.

Examtips: ReadingTestPartTwo • • • • •

Read at least one sentence either side of each gap before filling it. Ensure that each sentence fits the gap grammatically. Pay special attention to linking words, reference words and pronouns. Check each sentence fits in with the logic of the text as a whole. Read the completed text to check your answers. Does it feel right?

E xa mfocus Q PartFourtestsvocabulary. Candidatescomplete atext bychoosing one offouroptions to filleach gap. Beforelookingattheoptionsonthenextpage, underlinethewords aroundeachgap indicatingthetype ofword missing.Thinkofaword foreachgap.

Calgary Plastics has a policy of actively promoting the development of its staff. This is achieved in a range of ways throughout the company including induction courses, in-service training, training weekends, external training and appraisals. We believe that this personal and professional development is of ( 1 ) to both the company and individual employees. It enables the company to re tain high-calibre, (2 ) .... . staf f and thus o ffer a better produc t to our custom ers. It also provides us with a ( 3 ) of able people with relevant experience for the managem ent positions which inevitably ( 4 ) within a large company such as Ca lgary Plastics. .....

.....

.....

Our focus on staff development and our policy of internal recruitment where possible mean tha t skilled employees have the opp ortun ity to ( 5 ) their careers rapidly within a framework which offers the necessary training to help them ( 6 ) effectively in more senior positions. .....

.....

This booklet is intended to assist us in (7) ...... your development by providing an easily accessible record of your training and professional development to date. It also ( 8 ) ..... appraisal procedures and gives advice on how to prepare for appraisal interviews. Please try to ensure that you (9) your records up to date and present your training portfolio at appraisal interviews so that your line manager or department ( 10) .....

E xa mfocus Q

Nowchoosethebestwordto fill each gap inthetext onthe previouspage. I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

©

A profit A A A A

committed fund present progress

A function A proving A outlines A maintain A guess

B credit B engaged

C benefit C contracted

B pool B arise

c c c c c c c c

B B B B B B

elevate serve testing portrays keep value

collection happen advance practise controlling represents retain assess

D D D D D D D D D D

merit pledged store develop raise officiate monitoring displays hold rate

PartFivetestsgrammarandunderstandingofcohesion. Candidates completeagapped textwith suitablewords. No optionsare given. Underlinethewordsaroundeachgap whichhelpyou identifythemissingword. Nowfillthegaps.

Female entrepreneurs as successful as men A report published this week by WestLink Small Business Services shows that women are still ( 1 ) likely to start new business ventures tha n men, although they are usually better qualified and mo re realistic in their business planning. The report found (2 ) .. . .. women were responsible for only 30 per cent of the 232,000 UK start ups in the first half of 1999. Moreover, there has been little change in the proportion .....

©

PartSixtestsproof-readingability. Candidatesidentifyanyextrawords in thenumbered linesofashorttext. Somelinesarecorrect. Read thefollowingtextand underlinethe incorrectwords.Whyaretheyincorrect?

Language skills in business 0

In toda y’s global markets, businesses have to comm unicate internationally

00

and every language barriers have to be overcome. That’s the reason why

1

people with good language skills they are needed by international

2

busine sses order to nego tiate with customers, deal with suppliers,

3

contribute to meetings and manage overseas subsidiaries. One o f the best

4

ways to deal with such a varied language needs is throug h well-plann ed and

5

relevant language learning programmes. An individual training programme

6

which can focus on the precise language skills people need to do their job

7

prop erly and help them to achieve their learn ing objectives appropriately.

8

Developing language skills takes time but the effective comm unication is

9

crucial in toda y’s international mar kets.

E xa mfocus

The Listening Test O v e r v ie w

TheListeningTesthas three parts.

Input

Task

1

3-4 minute monologue

Gap-filling (words and numbers)

2

5 short monologues

Matching monologues with topics/places etc, Matching the same monologues with functions,

Part

attitudes, opinions etc.

3

4-5 minute conversation

Multiple-choice comprehension questions

Length: A total of 15 minutes of listening material played twice, plus 10 minutes at the end to transfer answers to the Answer Sheet.

B efore listening

Itisimportantthatyouuseyourtimewell before youlisten. Herearesometips.

W h ile listen in g

Q

LookatthefollowingPartThreequestion andthetapescriptbelow.Whymightsome candidateschooseawrongoption? 2

| | E x a m tty *

The company dramatically improved its profits by A cutting production costs. B developing new products. C reducing product prices.

Always li ^ sn

careful^ to the who\e recording. Inco rrect options often use the same words th at you hear.

neeueu 10 improve margm*. Interviewer So just how did you manage to improve profits so dramatically? Ann ette Well, first of all, we looked at ways of cutting produ ction costs and the possibility of a large adv ertising cam paign to re-launch existing brands. But in the end we decided to revamp our lines - several people at the time wanted to win market share back by aggressive discounting but we were confident that our designers could win back customers with fresh, exciting ideas. It meant a lot of investment, but it’s paid off. t , jt has. Whal ' : ' 1 *1 1 i-i ■ A fter listen in g

Alwayscheckyour answersverycarefully. Lookatthe question papers below. Find the candidate’smistakes.

PART ONE

E xa mfocus

The W ritin g Test O v e r v ie w

TheWritingTesthastwoparts.

Input

Task

1

Instructions and graph

Writing a short description of a graph ( 120-140 words)

2

Instructions

Writing a letter, short report or proposal (200-250 words)

Part

Length: 70 minutes

H o wtosucceed

TheWritingTestassessesperformanceinseveralareas:taskcompletion,organisation andlinkingofideas,appropriateness, rangeandaccuracyofvocabularyandgrammar. Task • Successful task completion means fulfilling all parts of the task. Full marks can be awarded only when all the points in the rubric are covered fully and appropriately.

E xa mfocus D escribing graphs

Q

PartOneteststheabilitytodescribeagraph.Lookatthefollowingtaskandthesample answerbelow. Doestheanswerfulfilthetask?

PART ONE

f

• Thegraphbelowshowssalesfor twocompaniesbetween1995- 1999. • Usinginformation from the graph,writeashort r e p o r t describingandcomparingthe performance of the two companies during this period. • Write 120-140 wordson yourAnswerSheet.

Sales $m

80 70 60 50 40 30 2010

I I Di Ol

1995

1996

1997

1998

AS EF Chemicals □ Chemicon Ltd H

1 1999

In 1995 A SEF Ch emica ls mad e sales of just a little bit over $30m and then in the following year, which was 1996, the sales at ASEF Chemicals went down to about

{ t \ J

E xa mfocus R e p o r t w r it in g

Q

In PartTwocandidates maybeaskedtowriteashortreport. Readthefollowingtask andthesample answerbelow. Doesthe answerfulfilthetask?

PART TWO

• Yourcompany hasdecided toinvestsomeofthisyear’s exceptionallyhighprofits in oneofthefollowingareas: Newcomputers Languagetrainingcourses Special bonuspayments. • You have been askedtowritea r e p o r t recommendinghowthe profits shouldbe investedandwhatbenefitswouldbeachieved. • Write 200 - 250 wordsonyourAnswerSheet.

This report is about how the company should invest some oP this year’s exceptionally high profits into one of the following areas - Ne w Computers, Language Training Courses, Special Bonus Payments. First of all new computers. Most employees have computers which are fast enough to handle the work which they normally do on them. These computers are not very old. The company wants to increase its expo rt sales. This is especia lly in Spain and France. Language training courses would be a very good idea for all the staff who have to speak with business partners and customers in these countries.

Whatmain pointsdoyou thinkthewriter istryingto make?What reasonsdoeshe/she give in support ofthese mainpoints? Mainpoints

Supportingideas

Is the sampleanswerorganisedinlogical paragraphs? How manyparagraphsdoesthe reportneed?

E xa mfocus F orm al l e t t e r  w r it i n g

Q

Alternatively, candidates maybe askedtowrite aformalletterin PartTwo.Readthe followingtaskandacandidate’s handwritten notes below.

PART TWO

• Aforeign businessassociateis visiting yourcompanyforthreedays.You have been asked toorganisethevisitand plan appropriateentertainment. • Writea l e t t e r tothevisitoroutliningatimetableforthe visitanddescribingthe activitiesyouhave planned. • Write 200 - 250 wordsonyourAnswerSheet.

F^ck^cardo up at 10.15 from Che airport

j 1 Friday

q

, n

Meeting until about 17.00

I

§

E xa mfocus E s s e n t ia l r e p o r t  w r it i n g p h r a s e s Introduction This report aims/sets out to ... The aim/purpose of this report is to ... The report is based on ...

Findings It was found th at... The following points summarise our key fndings. The key fndings are outlined below.

Conclusion (s) It was decided/agreed/felt th at... It is clear that... No conclusions were reached regarding ...

Recommendation (s) It is suggested/proposed/recommended th at... We (strongly) recommend th at... It is essential to ... It would be advisable to ...

Signalling The following areas of concern have been highlighted. There are a number of reasons for ... There are several factors which affect... A further factor is ...

E xa mfocus _

K S A T

ro gl T e s s t t i4 s i s © s ;3 ! n r D @ [ n ! 'i S B

Are all the points in the rubric adequately covered?

Is the answer the correct length? ■

Is it easy to follow the writer’s ideas? N O I T A S I N A G R O

Are the writer’s main points adequately supported?

Is the layout clear and appropriate? (paragraphs, headings, bullets etc.)

■

Is the answer free of redundancy and repetition?

d

© o 11

E xa mfocus

The Speaking Test O v e r v ie w

TheSpeakingTesttakesplacewith two, or possiblythree, candidatesandtwo examiners.Thefirstexaminerspeakstothecandidates.Thesecondexaminerlistens and assesses thecandidates’ English.

Part

Format

Input

Task

1

Examiner talks to each candidate individually

Examiner asks questions

Speaking about yourself Responding to questions

2

Candidate talks to candidate

Written prompt

Giving a one-minute talk

3

Candidates discuss a topic together

Written prompt

Completing a collaborative task

P erso nal in fo rm atio n

O

Candidate 2

In PartOne of theSpeakingTesttheexaminerwill askthe candidatessomegeneral questionsaboutthemselves.Work in pairs.Yourteacherwillgiveyou somecards. Take acard andaskyourpartneraboutthetopiconthecard.

Q Now listen to Natachaand Salvatoredoingthetaskagain. Inwhatwayistheir performancebetter?

Q Followingeachshorttalk,theother candidate is expectedto askarelevantquestion. Whatquestionswouldyouask NatachaandSalvatore?

©

Usetheframeworkbelowtoplan aone-minutetalkononeofthefollowingtopics.

C olla bora tivetask

PartThreeteststheabilityto discussagiven issue andreachcertaindecisions. Lookat thefollowingtaskandtheSpeakingTestAssessmentSheetonthe opposite page. Then listentoNatachaandSalvatoreandassesstheirperformance.

Yourcompanyis entertainingforeignvisitorsfor threedays.You have been askedto organisesocialactivitiesforthem. Discussanddecidetogether: • which companyrepresentativestheguestsshouldmeet • whatactivitieswould besuitable.

Exam tips: SpeakingTestPartThree • • • • • • • •

Read the task instructions very carefully. Use the preparation time given to organise your ideas. Begin by quickly agreeing on a context (the type of company you work for etc.). Give reasons to support your ideas. Invite your partner to express his/her ideas and respond to them. When you disagree, say why and give an alternative idea. Make sure you are moving the task towards a conclusion. Recap and summarise your decisions when necessary.

StudentA Does the student show a clear understanding of the task? Is there an appropriate introduction and conclusion?

K L A T T R O H S

Are the student’s ideas well-organised and logically ordered? Is appropriate signposting and linking language used? Does the student develop ideas rather than repeat them? Are the ideas clearly expressed and easy to understand? Does the student speak in a clear and natural manner? Is the talk of an appropriate length?

■ S T N E M

StudentB

;\ea
S p e a k in g ©

Read the following statements. Do you agree? W hy /W hy not? • Managers assume that the goals of employees are those of the company. • Motivation stems from job satisfaction and not financial reward.

Meeting the company’s motivational challenge A d ria n F u r n h a m discusses the thorny issue o f pu tting motivational techniques into practice. ">>

n

anagers, company owners and pe op le to meet, talk and share together. supervisors have always been D Publicly recognise and congratulate frustrated and bewildered by employees fo r good work. Celebrate enrt2ioy€es^¥iiW^

We have all seen the ‘quit-but-stay employees who have severed their) isychological contact with the organisatiop Nothing seems to fire them up. TKeyTirmly .park their brains and their enthusiasm for life in the staff car park in the morning, reO engaging them with gusto 30 seconds after °the official end of work time ^^However, they shrewdly avoid dohigx anything that warrants dismissal and are content to keep their heads down, doing the/

success; create heroes.

EH Provide regular and specific feedb ack to all st aff through both form al appraisals and informal channels o f communication. Encou rage f eedb ack fro m st aff and involve employees in decisions that affect their work. □

^ people what ry, ^ they vv^, xPay „lt,; are worth.

Consider such factors as market forces, pre dat ory com petito rs and the contribution each individual makes.

The astute reader may be tempted to ask: so what is really new? The answer is:

A

Listening ©

i .r J

TerrainLtd,a leisurewear manufacturer, is investigatingstaffmotivation. Listento five Terrain Ltd,a leisurewearmanuf employeestalkingtothe HR Manager.Which grievancedoes each speakerreferto?

A too much responsibility B

uninteresting work lack of communication uncooperative colleagues lack of recognition unsatisfactory pay inflexible working hours lack of clear objectives

Q CompletetheFindingssectionofthereportbysummarisingthegrievancesof theTerrainemployees.

Report on Staff

Motiv ation I

Introduction This report presents the results of the recent survey of staff motivation. The findings are based on interviews with employees from all departments within the company.

Findings

Speaking 0

Whatare theadvantages and disadvantages ofthefollowing? internal re< job adverti recruitmer headhuntir 4 ^.d was keen to install a candidate for the new position as a delay in

cccptcorporations. .t

with the new in place it

- unlikely that the CEO will bo capuof maintaining such trict control over the oinpany’s recniitment policy, which, up until now; has dictated tin type of candidates that

.1. j .il be headed uy i\ .Stevens, who will k-ad the new Finance Division of the company.

HUNTERS pic]

‘The reason headhu nting works is because we target the individu al,’ says Ade laide Mac aulay o f London-based Morgan Howard International. ‘If a company needs to fill a niche role in a niche market, then they’ll come to us.’ Macaulay recruits for a number of clients spread throughout Europe. Each company needs to fill an important or highly-specialised role and thinks traditional advertising would not beaeffective. This is particularly the case as 99 pe r cent o f the peo pl e M ac au lay targets are no t ac tiv ely on the market. She usually targets people who are happy in their job and not looking to move. However, an Achilles heel can usually be found that allows the headh unter to persua de them that they are, in fact, wanting to bchange. It ma y be tha t they are fe d up with the company, that they want more money, or that they want a change o f location.

c

In tern et head hu nting fi rm Netsearch is mor e blu nt than M acau lay ab ou t the reason why companies turn to headhunters: ‘Hea dhun ting is relatively cheap and on the increase as selection

gets wors£‘and worse.’ Recruiters divide their business into ‘selection’ and ‘search’ processes. The form er category refers to traditional advertising and the latter to the activities o f the headhunter. Recruitment officers believe that for certain vacancies advertising is too expensive

eand throws up hundreds of largely unsuitable CVs, which take hours to process. Headhun ters, on the other hand, have enou gh tricks up their sleeve to prod uce a shorter, bette r quality list o f candidates. With search, they insist, you can get a better person more quickly.

Headhunters are understandably unwilling to reveal their methods. However, one source did claim that if he had one name and extension number, within a matter of hours he would have a good idea of who everyone in the department is and what they do. 1 By a simple process of deduction, it is then easy to work out that per son ’s position in the company; if peop le are sitting at adjacen t desks, the chances are that they are in similar roles. 2 This informati on can

teauu

un ting process T h e headh Listening 0

GuyKirkwoodspecialises in executivesearchinthe ITsector. Listento his presentation aboutheadhuntingand completethe notesusinguptothreewordsoranumber.

Headhunting Apresentation byGuyKirkwoodfromtheexecutivesearch firm antiphon
© The headhunting process The headhunter begins by identifying possible candidates through_______________________or extensive contact networks. After making contact, the headhunter interviews candidates at their company offices or at a

Q Lookatthefollowingchecklistfor planningshorttalks. Listento Guy’s presentationagain. How doeshe addressthefollowing points? \ J k > '

Planning sh o rt talks Remember these points when planning a short talk.

• Purpose What is the purpose of the talk? (e.g. to explain a procedure)

• Content What are the main points? How are these points supported?

• Organisation How could you order your main points? (e.g. chronological sequence) How could you introduce and conclude yourtalk?

•

Language What Sinking words and phrases could you use? What other useful phrases could you use?

Self-study 5a O


Match the verbs with a similar meaning. Then think of a word or phrase to follow each verb.

1 The findings are being based on interviews with ten senior

1 remain

cut

2 managers and two directors which as well as a

2 restore

stay

3 questionnaire sent to more than fifty employees at the

3 schedule

resign

4 leisurewear manufacturer’s main production facility in

4 appreciate

deal with

5 Suffolk. It was found that such levels of staff motivation

5 sever

rebrand

6 were extremely low throughout of the organisation. In

6 rename

repair

7 particular, staff expressed any dissatisfaction with their

7 address

value

8 current salary levels and said they felt undervalued by the

8 quit

plan

9 company. It was also found that those inflexible working 10 hours are a certain major grievance among staff at all

Complete each sentence with a suitable preposition.

I I levels. Other reasons given for job dissatisfaction included 12 uncooperative colleagues, lack of the clear objectives and too much responsibility.

1 I prefer working on big projects because I like to have something to get my teeth _______ . 2 A lot of the problem stems _______ a personality

0

Add un, in or ir to each of the following words to form its opposite.

3 Attitudes _______ motivational techniques vary substantially within the workforce.

1 effective 2 significant

_______

3 satisfactory

_______

4 regular

_______

5

_______

appreciated

clash between Helen and her line manager.

4 In terms of pay and conditions, I don’t think we are falling _______ our competitors. 5 There’s a lack _______ promotion opportunities. 6 Not working overtime is often seen

a

Put the following steps of the executive search process into the correct order.

©

Use the words to write sentences with recruit(ment). Candidates go through our recruitment process.

□ The client appoints one of the candidates. □ The headhunter identifies possible candidates.

apply

agency

□ The candidates are interviewed by the headhunter. qualities

□ The client instructs the headhunter to fill a vacancy. □ The headhunter provides a shortlist of candidates.


2 extension

agency

3 future

player

4 executive

shortage

5 neutral

reference

6 key

information

7 sensitive

search

8 skills

number

method

^recruit(ment)^

pb

□ Candidates go through the client’s selection process.

location

process

sector

□ The client pays the headhunter his completion fee.

1 recruitment-^^

candidates

cv

performance appoint

vacancy

headhunter

@

Complete the table. Verb

Noun

apply appointment

Complete each sentence with a suitable preposition. 1 Headhunting is __

the increase as advertising

becomes less and less cost-effective.

compare explain category

skills

shortlist

E xa mpractice ReadingTestPartOne

• • • •

Lookatthesentencesbelowand thefive newsbulletins. Which bulletindoeseach sentencereferto? Foreach sentence I - 8, mark one letterA,B,C,D or E. You willneed to usesomeofthelettersmorethanonce.

Example 0 Thiscompanyhas suspendedplanstowork closelywith anothercompany. A

B C D E

H i CZD CZ3 CZ=1 EZ3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

This company will be working with a government organisation. This company’s decision to restructure will result in staff shortages. This company is to reduce the number of administrative posts. This company will sell off assets to offset poor financial results. This company has made cuts which are unpopular with senior staff. This company is in the process of upgrading some of its facilities. This company has postponed its entry into new western European markets. This company is suffering from the effects of increased competition.

E xa mpractice D

Shake-up at BTED

Nina Rantanen, former government adviser and the new CEO at BTED Power in Finland, has announced cost-cutting measures at the company. This decision has already led to the resignation of one of the company’s most respected employees. Annika Ehlers had been with BTED Power for over 20 years, most recently as its Head of Operations. It is believed that she objected to company plans to reduce staffing levels at two of BTED Power’s plants. Indications are that further high level resignations will follow in the next few months.

E

Restructuring plans announced at San Freight

San Freight has responded to redundancy rumours by revealing that it is to cut the number o f office-based staff employed in its Scandinavian division by 25% over the next 24 months. The announcement follows confirmation that the company has also decided to postpone the planned upgrading of haulage systems at its Stockholm subsidiary. A senior staff member has revealed that San F reight’s business has deteriorated in recent months due to the escalating price war with central and eastern European rivals.

ReadingTestPartFive

• Readthearticle belowaboutcorporatehospitality. • Foreachquestion I - 10,writeone word.

Example

»H u i n m m n a

Corporate culture W h at shapes corpo rate culture?

Speaking© Whatcanthefollowingtellyouaboutacompany’sculture? • • • •

mission statement organisational organisational hierarch' compan company y building buildings s dress code

A strong and and liv living co corpo rporate rate cu culture lture I KEA has a strong and living corporate culture. It has grown step by step, bit by bit, along with wit h our business idea. idea. Our culture and business idea are the cornerstones of our operations. They support and strengthen each other. Our corporate culture helps us to retain the spirit and vitality of the early years, and to create a feeling of belonging in a large international organization. Our corporate culture is what binds us together. Our corpora co rporate te culture is based on o n shared values: values: a simple and optimistic lifesty lifestyle, le, a natural way of working and being together, without imposing exaggerated respect and complicated regulations. The key words are simplicity and humility, thrift, a sense of responsibility, enthusiasm and flexibility. Perhaps the most important of these* is simplicity, as seen in the unpretentious way we associate with each other. There are no status symbols to create barriers between managers and their fellow workers. Our customers don’t expect to pay for first-class hotels, I directors’ direc tors’dining dining rooms and flashy cars. cars. It is important importa nt that th at all all employees share our o ur basic values. values. We take a lot of trouble with wit h recruitment. recruitment . IKE IKEA is an ideas company. company. Our business idea and culture provide us with wit h a framework, f ramework, and we look for people to build upon upo n and promote our culture. But But we also also want people peo ple who w ho can cut across across our organiza organization tion,, who wh o are strong enough to question, question, renew rene w and change. change. Such Such people promote development and a nd should f be encouraged encoura ged not no t punished.

v

Speaking Q

In what wh at ways is your you r own company culture culture similar similar or different different to IKEA ’s? ’s?

: i ,

Smaland in Sweden, where IKEA's founder Ingvar Kamprad grew up

T h e IK E Aw a y

Goran Goran Nilsson Nilsson, , Manag anaging ing Directo Dire ctor rof of IKEAUK IKEAUK, ,talksaboutthe talksaboutthe company’s corporate corporat e culture. culture. Liste Listenan nand d choo choose se onele oneletter tterfor forthec thecorrect orrectan answ swer er..

7 What role does culture play in promotion decisions at IKEA? A Only Swedes can become senior managers. B A knowledge of Swedish culture is vital for promotion. C Nationality plays no part in promotion decisions. 8 Since the mid-1980s IKEAs development has been most affected by the A stepping down of Ingvar Kamprad as President. B challenge of increasingly competitive markets, C way it has expanded over the last ten years.

Speaking

Q Whatdoesyourcompanydoto promote its corporateculture?

Cultural diversity sin ess H owculture influe nce s bu

Speaking ©

Whatfactorsaffectdecision-makingintheseareasinyourcountry? © ® 9 •

Reading 1 ©

recruiting new employees promoting staff fixing salary levels making staff redundant

Lookatthearticle ontheoppositepage aboutaresearch projectwhich examinestheeffectofculturalvalueson managementdecision-making.

National cultures, international business

i Segalla describes bo u l

<'

n today’s hyper-competitive global the organisation is a prerequisite o f effective markets, any company that operates employee relationships. internationally is faced with the task of The research is based on semi-structured integrating many value systems into a interviews with managers from 74 European framework that allows the organisation not banks. The managers are presented with only to survive but also to compete common dilemmas focusing on the four key effectively. A European research group - the areas: recruitment, promotion, remuneration European Managerial Decision Making and reductions in the workforce. 3 Project - was formed in 1994 to examine the The respondents are asked to solve these effect of different national value systems on dilemmas and give their reasoning. organisational policy. The pr ojec t’s research The responses are then plotted between methodology is simple: given identical two opposing logics. The first is called business problems, do managers in six ‘group logic’. 4 Even decisions such different European countries choose similar as who to promote or make redundant can

Reading2Q

Read theconclusions belowfrom the European Managerial Decision MakingProject. Whichcountrydoeseachcolourreferto? England

France

W ^ z ak

Germany

Italy

Spain

Building International teams Speaking O

Work in groups.Yourcompanyis enteringintoan overseasjointventure. First decide onthe detailsofthe companiesinvolved(nationalities, activitiesetc.). Thenreadthefollowinge-mailand decideon a recruitment policy.

International Sales From: Sent:

Jocelyn Garvie, HumanResources 22 January200009:59

To: Subject:

Recruitmentpolicyfornewjointventure

Weneed todiscussthemanagementteamforthenewjointventure.We’vedecidedwe need a teamoffourbut haven’t thoughtaboutpersonal profiles yet. I’veorganised a meeting fornextTuesdayand I suggestwe thinkaboutthefollowingissues. • • • •

Ideal age, sexand nationalityofthe teammembers Recruitmentpolicy(internal,nationalorinternational) Hierarchyandcommunication withintheteam Paystructurefortheteam members

Choosethecorrectwordtofilleachgap.

7

INFLUENCE Our new CEO has been very _______ in reshaping our corporate culture.

8

PERCEIVE I find her really ______ ; she notices what’s going on, even when it’s not obvious.

The number of training organisations in the country has been increasing at a rapid (I) _______

over the last

decade and this trend seems set to continue. Management Worldwide Ltd is one of the country’s most

(2) _______ training organisations, with over 50 centres throughout the UK. Its focus is on a (3) _______ area: management skills training. Management Worldwide

Matchthewordswithasimilarmeaning.

employs over a thousand people in areas as (4) ______

1 diverse

new

2 similar

different

3 informal

hard

4 fresh

crucial

5 economical

worldwide

6 vital

thrifty

7 tough

casual

8 global

alike

as accountancy,

marketing, computing,

sales and

languages. It has a non-hierarchical approach to management and believes in giving (5) _______ to staff

at all levels of the organisation. Its corporate (6) _______, as stated in the company’s mission (7) _______ , include

optimism,

respect

and

flexibility.

Management

Worldwide’s business goal is to increase shareholder value by concentrating on its (8)

_______ training

business and offering excellent service to clients.

1 2 3 4 5

A pace A successful A reduced A irregular A initiative

B speed B exaggerated B single B flexible B pressure

C initiative C valuable C uniform C diverse C responsibility

Gerundsandinfinitives Complete the text. Put each verb in brackets into the correct form. Birte Soltvedt has been the Managing Director of Denpak for five years now and it is easy ( I see)

to see

the

Self-study 6b Completethetextwiththefollowinglinkingwords

€>

Matchthewordsastheyappearintheunit.

and phrases. I do 2 fix 3 conduct

differences business a

4 appreciate

a belief

Japanese companies are not always as traditional as in the

5 build

salary levels

past. (2) _______ , there are still a number of important

6 s°lve

understanding

cultural factors which need to be considered when doing

^ f°ll°w

a meeting

business in japan.

8 hold

a dilemma

while therefore however similarly means that as opposed to although Increased exposure to international business (I ) ________

•

During negotiations, it is common for there to be long periods of silence (3)

•

_______

your Japanese

Complete the table.

colleagues formulate their response.

Verb

The Japanese will still usually avoid saying ‘no’. You

choose

may (4) _______

...................

success

expect

..................

...................

effect

in the USA, with people being addressed by their title

pay

..................

and surname (5) _______ their first names.

believe

..................

...................

solution

a smart suit and tie the expected dress code in all

promote

..................

business situations,

...................

diversity

Business remains still very much a male domain and

examine

..................

leave a meeting with the wrong

impression. • Japanese meetings tend to be more formal than those

• Dress is a very important issue for the Japanese, with

•

©

Noun

Reading Test Part Three • • •

Readthefollowingarticleon business ethicsand thequestionsonthe opposite page. Each question has foursuggestedanswersorways offinishingthe sentence,A ,B,C and D. Mark one letterA, B,C or D fortheansweryouchoose.

Companies turn to ethics for competitive advantage In the old days measuring company performance was simply a case of looking at turnover, profits and dividends. However, the last few years have seen environmental and ethical issues move to the forefront of public concern and resulted in a closer scrutiny of a company’s performance in terms of its business ethics. As the Government has been slow to respond to the increasing importance of ethics, companies have been forced to address the subject themselves and re-align their own management policies accordingly. These policies will determine how a company conducts all aspects of its business, from dealing with clients to reporting to shareholders. By setting themselves up as ethical, however, companies are not so much promoting the importance of ethical conduct, the well-being of the local community or the development of society as a whole, as engaging in a powerful marketing and PR exercise to attract both discerning clients and bright young recruits. In today’s markets, any company without a coherent ethics policy is in danger of surrendering a competitive advantage to its rivals. In order to develop an ethical code of conduct, companies will have to deal with issues such as the legal implications of their disciplinary measures and the effect any new procedures will have on employees. However, new policies can only be developed once the company has

E xa mpractice 1

Business ethics are becoming more important as a result of

A consumer demands. B shareholder concern. C management theories. D government legislation.

2

Why are companies promoting ethical practice?

A to develop customer awareness of social issues B to help raise money for the local community C to enhance the positive image of the company D to improve the conduct of employees

3

Wh at must companies do first to develop an ethical code?

A take appropriate legal advice B consult employees at all levels C establish their basic principles D set up disciplinary procedures

4

A code of conduct helps employees

A work together more effectively.

E xa mpractice Reading Test Part Four • • • •

Readthearticlebelowaboutculturalawareness in business. Choosethebestwordtofilleachgap. Foreachquestion I - 10,mark one letter A, B, C or D. Thereisan exampleatthebeginning(0).

Cultural awareness To succeed in today’s global market place, it is essential to learn as much as possible about the (0) .... in overseas markets. In the past, companies with international aspirations simply familiarised themselves with any differences in the legal system or in the (1)....used in the day-to-day business of import and export. Modern trade, however, ( 2 ) .... more. Today the company seeking international success must also understand the people who live and work in countries they deal with, how they think, behave and do business. In short, today’s market leaders must ( 3 ) ....greater cultural awareness. Business people operating in foreign markets often fail to consider that cultural differences can result in a (4) .... of approaches to everyday business activities such as the way a cross-cultural team ( 5 ) ....or how it conducts its meetings.

Reading Test Part Five • Read thearticlebelowabouteffectivenegotiating. • Foreachquestion I - 10,writeoneword.

Example 0

Effective negotiating We are always negotiating, not only in business, but (0) ..... in our private lives, from deciding what to watch on TV to deciding where to go on holiday. Rarely, in fact, ( 1) .. .. . any form o f decision reached without some form of negotiation. But (2)... .. we practise the art on a regular basis, it is always useful to review what we already subconsciously know. The following tips provide you (3) .....strategies for negotiating effectively, no matter ( 4 ) ..... situation you find yourself in. Firstly, try to make it a win-win situation. Start with the attitude that all parties should get something out o f the deal. L ook at the common ground, ( 5 ) ..... only at the gaps between you.

Q

Howcan acompanyaccess informationaboutcompetitors?Which methodsdoyouthinkareethicallyacceptable?

M o w

s e

c iu if c b

Is

yo u u r

lb m i§ m © § s ?

All those spies wh o ca me in fr o m the co ld had to fi n d somew he re to g o , writes So , like everyo ne else, th e y’ve gone into business. A

hev may well he no more tha n ur ba n legends bu t th er e’s nothing quite like a good spy story. Take for instance the tale of the Japanese executive who, while on a visit to a wellknown brewery, leaned over a vat a nd dangled the end of his tie into it. B ack home, his tie was analysed and his company was able to produce an imitation product.

W hat the court ru ling shows is that w ithout clear guidelines one man ’s espionage may be anoth er m an’s m arket r esearch strategy. T here is little evidence to show that bugging and infiltration are on the increase bu t the fea r of them certainly is. 4We are rapidly becoming far too pa ran oid in relation to the size of the pro blem ,’ suggests business academic Stu art Macdon ald. ‘Com pany are confusing information exchange with industrial espionage. Information exchange is health\: no company can develop very far in isolation.’

However, despite increased spending on security, most people in the industry agree that the real thre at comes from within. Even hacking is not the problem it is repo rted to be. F ar m ore common is simply copying information onto disk and taking it home. A careless or disgruntled employee can do far m ore damage tha n a bug in the coffee machine. ‘In m ost cases when a company gets beaten to a tender and suspects foul play, it’ll be someone inside that’s leaked crucial details,’ says Ted

Whichmeasuresmentionedinthearticledoesyourcompanytaketoprotectitselffrom industrialespionage?Whatothermeasuresdoesittake?

Rick Haywood, Managing Directorofelectronicswholesaler Octacon,discusses informationsecuritywith two colleagues. Listen andidentifytheproblem.

Lookattheconditionalformsinthe followingsentences. Find furtherexamples oftheseformsin thetapescriptsand discuss howtheyareused.

Ifthere genuinely is a problem, then we’ll have to find out... IfI knewthat, we wouldn’tbe here. Completethe followinginformationwith phrasesfrom thetapescripts. Askingforclarification The following phrases are useful when asking for clarification. Are you saying ... ?

4 ) Whichofthefollowingstatementsaboutethicsdoyou agreewith? Ethics provide the rules within which an organisation must conduct itself. Ethics show an organisation’s attitude towards society. Ethics are a source of competitive advantage.

1999 KPMG Business Ethics Survey: Managing for Ethical Practice Executive Briefing Toronto, Canada March 1999 In December 1998, KPMG sent a questionnaire to the CEOs of 1,000 Canadian companies, selected on the basis of size in terms of number o f employees. In respon se to an increasing level of interest expressed by managers in the public sector, we extended our sample to include the senior executives of a further 225 organizations in the public sector. The following points summarize our key findings. ■ When executives responding to our survey described an organization as ‘highly ethical’, the behaviours they gave the most weight to were legal compliance, fair employment practices and delivery of highquality goods and services. Corporate philanthropy was given the least weight in making this judgement . ■ Written statements o f values and principles were reported by 85% of participating organizations. The proportion of organizations with formal polic ies to protect employees who report ethical or legal

0

Five peopletalkaboutunethical behaviourattheircompanies.Listen and decidewhich ethicalissue andwhich consequence each speakerrefersto. Taskone:ethicalissue

Whichethical issue doeseachspeakerreferto?

2

industrial espionage

3

workplace safety

4

racial discrimination

5

environmental protection executive salaries sexual harassment financial mismanagement corporate gift-giving

Tasktwo:consequence

Whichconsequencedoeseachspeakerreferto? 6 .. 7 .. 8 ..

a manager was dismissed computer security was reviewed

@

Lookattheconditionalformsinthefollowingsentences. Findfurtherexamples ofthese formsinthetapescriptand discuss howtheyare used.

Ifshe’d complainedto him in person, he’d havestoppeddoing it. She warned them that she’d takelegal action ifnothing wasdone about it

O

Talkaboutoneofthefollowingtopicsforone minute. • how to encourage ethical behaviour from employees • the importance of ethics in today’s business world

M O R E M O N E Y FLOWS INTO E T H I C A L

Self-study 7a {p

Are the following examples of industrial espionage or measures against it?

Q

Match the words as they appear in the unit. solve

paperwork

1 infiltrate a competitor

call

2 monitor photocopier use

bear

measures

3 bug an office

devise

a grudge

4 hack into a network

break

foul play

5 shred important documents

suspect

the police

6 leak sensitive information

shred

the law

take

a system

7

bring in a security adviser

problem

8 steal confidential data 9 identify a perpetrator 10 resort to shady practices I I protect a computer system 12 install passwords

Conditionals Complete the conversation. Put each verb in brackets into the correct form. • Jill, it’s Rick. I’m just calling to see whether you’ve

^

Some of the following lines contain an unnecessary word. Underline any extra words in lines 1-12. 1 Octacon, the electronics wholesaler, isworried about this 2 information security within the company. It has recently

3 lost several of major contracts to Centronics, its largest 4 competitor. Centronics seems to have been acquired 5 information regarding to the terms and conditions of

come across anything in those appraisal files. T Well, there are one or two interesting things but nothing shocking. If you ( I have) a moment, I (2 come by)

_ _ _ _ _

have______

can come by

and

show you what I’ve found so far. • Well, I'm just about to go into a meeting right now. But if you (3 be) afternoon, we (4

_________ ______ )

free this through it

Read through the unit and add more ethical issues.

Fill each gap with a suitable word. As you know, our company had been doing business out there for years, working with the smaller family-run firms.

information security

Nigel Beynon, (I) _______ was the Head of Purchasing for over fifteen years, had managed (2) _______ build up several solid relationships with local suppliers. In fact, Isometimes thought he felt (3) ________ at home out there than he (4)

_______

back here in the UK.

Anyway, problems first arose (5) _______ newspapers decided to do a feature (6)

one of the

_______

ethics in the clothing industry. They discovered

Which issues do the following refer to?

(7)

1 employees copying confidential data onto disks

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

one of our suppliers was using child

labour. It was (8) _______

information security___________________

much of a shock to Nigel

as it was to everyone (9) ________ . You see, he’d never

2 physically intimidating the opposite sex

actually visited (10) _______

single factory. He'd just

believed the suppliers ( I I ) _______ they assured him 3 accidents occurring at work

they conformed to our workplace standards. If only he (12) _______ taken the time to check their claims,

4 conforming to government legislation

he’d never have had to hand in his notice.

5 senior managers receiving massive pay increases

Conditionals

6 rewarding clients with expensive freebies

0

Complete the sentences. Put each verb in brackets into the correct form.

E xa mpractice ReadingTestPartTwo

• • • • •

Readthehealth andsafetyguidelines. ChoosethebestsentencefromA - H tofillineachofthegaps. Foreachgap I - 6, mark one letterA - H. Do notmarkanylettermorethan once. Thereisan exampleatthebeginning (0).

Health and Safety Guidelines - Visual Display Units (VDUs) In order to eliminate risk to the health and safety of employees, appliances should be used in a cc or da nc e w ith s up plie rs ' and m an ufa ctu re rs ' instru ctio ns. As f ar  as is reasonably practicable, all appliances should be kept in a good state of repair.[0 [ H[ Any appliance which is consequentlyfound to be faultyo r potentially dangerous should, where possible, be immediately isolated from the electrical supply and reported to a supervisor. Itis required by lawthatemployees usingVDUsshouldhaveregularbreaks.| 1 | |In both cases supervisors are responsible for ensuring that these breaks are observed. The company provides word processors which have been specially selected to provide a safe system o f w ork  and every e ffo rt has been m ade to  ensure th at they have been ergonom icallydesigned .] 2 | [Thismaybeduetoindividualphysical characteristicsofthe op erat orra therthanthe machine itself. In such cases, thecom pany iso bliged totake every action to improvethesituation. All employees are expected to notify their manager about any discomfort experienced

E xa mpractice Reading Test Part Six •

In most linesofthefollowingtext,thereisone unnecessaryword. Itis eithergrammatically incorrectordoesnotfitinwiththesenseofthetext. Foreach numberedline 1 - 1 2 ,  findthe unnecessaryword. Somelinesarecorrect. Ifalineis correct,write CORRECT. Theexercise beginswithtwoexamples(0) and (00).

• •

Example

o

0

©

00110

n o n

oo

Working overseas 0

W e are currently recruiting engineers, nurses, teachers and managers for

00

placements of six months long in a variety of locations worldwide.

1

Working overseas can offer you a once in a lifetime opportunity to live,

2

work and build the friendships in a very different environment. This

3

experience which will also give you a chance to widen your outlook on life,

4

encounter with cultural differences and develop new skills. To join us, you

5

must be fully qualified and have at least two years’ full-time experience. In

Speaking Q

Whatforeignbrands doyoubuy?Why?

Q Completethetablebelowwith thefollowingbrandsand industries. Coca-Cola Disney IBM Marlboro McDonald’s

Automobiles Diversified Semiconductors Software Telecoms

World’stop10brandsbyvalue,June1999

Brandname 1

2

Microsoft

3 4

Origin

Industry

Value ($m)

USA

Beverages

83,845

USA General Electric

56,654

USA

USA

Computers

43,781 33,502

brands work 'Whatare global brands anddothey makesense? Jean-Noel Kapferer

reportsonthe advantagesof ' the global brand.

o-one disagrees with the economic necessity of geographically extending a product. Not only does it increase turnover but it also makes economies of scale possible, thus giving companies a competitive advantage in local markets. But how far do we push the global idea? Should we globalise all aspects of a brand: its name, its creative concept and the product itself? Global branding implies the wish to extend all three aspects throughout the world. Rarely, though, is it realistic and profitable to extend all of them. The Mars brand, for example, is not absolutely global. The Mars chocolate bar is sold as an all round nutritious snack in the UK and as an energiser in Europe (different concepts and positioning for the same physical product). Nestle adapts the taste of its worldwide brands to local markets. The Nescafe formulas vary worldwide. Nowhere is globalisation more desirable than in sectors that revolve around mobility, such as the

people no longer identify with long-established local values, they seek new models on which to build their identity. They are then open to influence from abroad. When drinking Coca-Cola, we all drink the American myth - fresh, young, dynamic, powerful, all-American images. Nike tells young people everywhere to surpass themselves, to transcend the confines of their race and culture. Globalisation is also made easier when a brand is built around a cultural stereotype. AEG, Bosch, Siemens, Mercedes and BMW rest secure on the ‘Made in Germany’ model, which opens up the global market since the stereotype goes beyond national boundaries. People everywhere associate the stereotype with robust performance. Barilla is another example: it is built on the classic Italian image of tomato sauce, pasta, a carefree way of life, songs and sun. IKEA furniture epitomises Sweden. Lancome expresses the sophistication of the French woman.

I

^

j \

; ■*:

i j j | | | j j

Vv

2 Companies such as Hertz globalise their advertisements by using A national character types. B successful executives. C Italian businessmen. D universal stereotypes. 3 What is the main aim of global marketing campaigns? A to improve margins B to maximise turnover C to cut advertising costs D to increase product appeal 4 Young people are a good target for globalised products because they A have a great deal of spending power, B distance themselves from traditional ideas, C are easily influenced by advertising. D want to live an Americanised lifestyle. 5 Cultural stereotypes can help globalise a product when the A customers like the nationality of the stereotype. B culture is known for high production standards. C associations match the type of product. D target market is a cosmopolitan culture. 6 Why have American companies been so successful at globalisation? A They are good at adapting products to local tastes. B They choose good locations for European headquarters.

Speaking A

Haveyouboughtanyofthese companies’ products?Why/why not?

^ ^*L'JO,-i)iJS -=)Ls

Speaking© Whattypesofsupplierdoesyourcompanyuse?Whatcriteriadoesyour

companyapplywhen choosingsuppliers?

©

Thinkofasuppliertoyourcompany.Whatareits strengthsand weaknesses?

£ j'

Listening O

)[jj'

CraigBarksdale,aconsultantatJeffersonWatson,talksaboutdifferenttypesof supplierrelationship. Listen andchooseoneletterforthecorrectanswer. 1 Global sourcing has become so widespread because of the increasing A number of international mergers. B competitiveness of foreign markets. C efficiency of global communications. 2 What is the main attraction of global sourcing? A access to overseas markets B increased profit margins C quicker delivery times 3

CraigBarksdale,consultant JeffersonWatson

Wh at is the most common mistake companies makewhen sourcing globally? A They fail to consider all their important objectives. B They ignore the effect it might have on their image. C They forget to allow for exchange rate fluctuations.

4 When deciding on criteria for choosing a supplier, managers should A insist on consistently outstanding performance. B list and prioritise all their main objectives. C be as flexible as possible with their criteria.

> o u rc in g Reading ©

QuayWest,a European clothingcompany, has shortlistedfivesuppliersforits new range ofleisurewear.Matcheachofthefollowingstatementswith acompany below.Then giveeach supplierarating(from I to 5)for price,quality,deliveryand flexibility. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

This supplier is able to offer a wide range of products. There is a lot of old machinery in this supplier’s factory. This supplier is able to manufacture to the highest standards. Orders are delivered extremely quickly by this supplier. This supplier is hoping to improve its delivery times in the near future. Doing business with this supplier could harm the company’s reputation. This supplier would be unable to adapt its product lines quickly. This is the best supplier in terms of the relationship between price and quality.

Consort Trading Co. Ltd. Yungtong-Dong 968, Korea

Price

.........

Quality

.........

Delivery

.........

Flexibility

.........

By far the most reasonably priced of the potential suppliers, this medium-sized company exports to many countries in Asia, the Pacific Rim and Europe. The company is well-established and employs a large but poorly paid workforce. This, along with obvious lack of investm ent in new plant, probably explains how the company is able to produce at such exceptionally low costs. These factors, however, also account for the modest quality of the goods, some of which could even fail to meet European standards. It seems that the supplier would be in a position to deliver within satisfactory times and the owners insist that they would be flexible enough to deal with last-minute orders. However, a supplier relationship with this company could possibly have serious PR implications.

.

S h i v a

Price

Shiva Trading Co. Ltd. ° Mumbai 400034, India

.........

Quality

.........

Delivery

.........

Flexibility

.........

The Shiva Trading Company is a small but well-established family-owned business that has been exporting throughout the sub-continent and is now looking to enter the European market. To help with this expansion, it is offering very reasonable prices to potential European customers, especially in relation to the satisfactoiy levels of quality that its products display. On the other hand, its present size and limited capacity could lead to delays and a certain amount of inflexibility in terms of schedules and short notice orders. However, the owners insist that planned expansion of the premises will ease these pressures by increasing capacity and reducing production cycles, thus enabling the company to turn orders around more efficiently.

Hai Xin Group Co. Ltd. | jAj Shanghai 200051, China xiN

Price

.........

Quality

.........

Delivery

.........

Flexibility

.........

This dynamic young company is looking for sales outlets in Europe. Although its goods tend to be slightly pricey, their quality is acceptable, with some evidence of attention to detail. However, it is not clear as yet whether these goods will conform to all EU regulations. The owners are confident, though, that their modem machinery and flexible production processes mean that the company will be able to cope with any changes in product specifications and garment features necessaiy to meet legal requirements. This flexibility also means that the company has already built up an impressively varied catalogue, with many items offering optional and additional features. This would suggest that introducing new product lines would not be a problem . Hai Xin also appear s able to offer satisfactory delivery times.

Self-study 8a ©

The graph shows the share prices for Microsoft and Apple, July-November 1999. Write a 120-140 word report describing and comparing the share prices.

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the following words. universe adaptation profit advertisement globe culture diversity product 1 Coca-Cola’s marketing campaigns always transcend differences. 2 Companies no longer have to develop different campaigns for different countries. 3 To begin with, a company has to decide whether or not to _______ all aspects of the brand. 4

Nestle _______ the taste of its Nescafe brand to local tastes.

5 A single centre of _______ can give a company an

Microsoft Corporation

important competitive advantage.

Apple Computer, Inc.

6 The aim is to develop products which are _______ appealing to different nationalities and cultures. 7 Brands such as Nike are popular in such _______ markets as China and the USA. 8 To market a product ___________, companies often choose to use a global campaign.

0

Complete each sentence with a suitable preposition.

Q

Match the words as they appear in the unit. national

campaign

spending

stereotype

target

presence

global

power

creative

market

marketing


The graph shows unemployment in Italy and Germany, 1993-1998. Write a 120-140 word report comparing unemployment in the two countries.

‘Buying the market’ is an arrangement whereby companies publish component (I) _______ and ask pre qualified vendors to bid for the contract. It is a short-term

Percentage of workforce unemployed

deal with almost no (2) _______ with the supplier and the length of the bidding process is (3) _______ by half. Furthermore, the cost of order (4) _______ around $5 an order as (5)

falls to

to $50 when it is

done on paper. For companies such as aircraft manufacturer Boeing, (6)

_______ , such an

arrangement with its engine suppliers would be unsuitable because of the complex (7) _______ between the body of the aircraft and its engines. For companies like Boeing, strategic (8) _______ make far more sense because they allow the company to work (9)

_______

Italy

with its

Germany -

supplier, developing the aircraft’s engines together. An added (10)

_______

of this collaboration is that it

reduces the financial risks of development programmes. A standards

B specifications C criteria

A exchange

B feedback

C communication

A decreased

B reduced

C limited

A processing

B developing

C delivering

A contrary

B opposed

C different

Grammarreview ^

Complete the text by choosing the correct options. An unexpectedly high number of high-profile boardroom changes (I were confirmed/have been confirmed) by industrial chemicals giant Chemin last week. In addition, the company announced a major reorganisation of (2 it's/its)

E xa mpractice ListeningTestPartOne

• • •

Youwill hearasales executive presentingacomputersystem forelectronic meetings. Asyou listen,forquestions I - 12, completethenotesusinguptothree wordsoranumber. Youwill heartherecordingtwice.

D e c i si o n M a k e r ® - S o l u t i o n s f o r E l e c t r o n i c M e e t i n g s

What is DecisionMaker®? 1

DecisionMaker® allows vou to hold electronic meetings on

2

Using computers enables people to express ideas freelv without

Advantages of DecisionMaker3 3

The svstem venerates more ideas bv using the group.

of the entire

Listening Test Part Two • •

•

You willhearfivedifferentpeopletalkingabouttheirjobs. Foreach extracttherearetwotasks. ForTaskOne, choosethedepartment eachspeaker worksinfromthelistA-H. ForTaskTwo,choosethe complainteach speakermakesabouta colleaguefromthelistI - P. Youwill heartherecordingtwice.

TASKONE-DEPARTMENT • Forquestions 13 - 17, match theextractswiththedepartments, listed A - H.

• •

Foreachextract,choosethedepartmenteachspeakerworksin. Write one letterA-H nexttothenumberoftheextract.

13 14 15 16 17

A B C D E F G H

legal sales accounts purchasing customer service despatch production personnel

E xa mpractice ListeningTestPartThree

• • • 23

Youwill hearan interviewwithan HRdirectorabouttheintroductionofa new flexibleworkingscheme. Foreach question 23 - 30, mark one letterA,B or C forthecorrectanswer. You will hear the recording twice. The main reason why ZSV introduced the flexible working scheme was

A to cope with social changes. B to respond to market forces. C to integrate new employees. 24 Wh at is the main advantage of the scheme for ZSV?

A keeping existing staff B recruiting new employees C reducing the training bill 25 Most staff join the scheme to dedicate more time to their

A children. B hobbies. C education. 26 The old scheme was only available to

A female workers.

E xa mpractice Reading Test Part Four • • • •

Readthearticlebelowaboutforeignlanguage skills. Choosethebestword tofill eachgap. Foreachquestion I - 10,markone letterA, B,C or D. There is an example atthe beginning(0).

UK comes bottom of European language league The United Kingdomhasthe poorest languageskillsbase in Europe, accordingtoresearch findings published today. A European Union (0) .... found that UK companies could be losing billions of pounds worth of ( 1 ) .... exports due totheir poorforeign language skills. Nearly twice as many UK companies (2) .... experiencing difficulties due to language barriers as other European companies. Furthermore, one in eight UK companies thought theyhad probablymissed out on abusiness ( 3 ) .... dueto their inabilityto communicate effectively in an international (4) ....... According to the report, ‘Failure to communicate effectivelyand efficientlywith ( 5 ) .... export markets in Europe, Latin AmericaandtheAsia Pacific region means that for many British firms more than a quarter of their possible revenuesareatrisk’. TheUKwas( 6 )..... lastina Europeanleaguetable,withonly74percent ofcompaniessaying theyhademployeeswithforeignlanguageskills,comparedwith89percentinGermanyand

Tapescripts workingwasverymuch awin-win-winsituation. It'sawinfor technology, usingou rownp roducts and practisingw hat wepreach. Ando fcourse, itreduces BT’sofficespaceand cutscosts. ButIthink therealdriverforchangewasacceptingthatourpeoplewantedto workdifferently

Listening I’vejustmovedfromacompanywithaverystricthierarchytoafastgrowingsoftwarecompanyand it’sbeenh ardcomingto termswiththe changes. Imean, don'tgetme wrong, Ienjoymynewjob alotmore. I havea lotmoreresponsibilitynowandeverything’sdoneinprojectteams and ma naged by objectives. Theonethin gIdo miss, however, is tha tnow, onceaprojec t’srunning, thete am ’spre ttymuch onitsownand leftto

I

Right. Andhow m anyofthem willactuallyendupworkingfromhome?

N

Ourtarget's 10,00 0 bytheend oftheyear.

I

10,000!

N

Yes, tha t’souto fabout55,00 0office-basedstaff.

I

Andwhateffecthas thishadoncompanystructure?

N

solveanyproblems byitself. Before, there wasalwaysa superiorIcould

doneinseries, youknow, passedfromonedep artme ntto thenext.

turnto forhelp, andto behonest, I'dbemuch happierifthatwerestill

Butproductlifecyclesarealotshorternowadays-fortheInternet,

the case. Especiallywhenyo u’restarting an ewjob, havingsomeoneto

say, it ’s lessth an 6 monthseven. Sopeoplecometoge therfora

talkto can make thingsa loteasier.

specificpurposean dthengoo fftojoinnewprojectswhen thejo b ’s

Iproducetechnicaldocuments, youknow, users’m anualsandth atsorto f thing-nothingcreative, I’m afraid. Our team's responsibleforitsownwork schedules. And aslongaseverything ’sfinishedb eforethe m achine's shipped, it’sup touswhenwedo it. Soyou'dthinkwithe -mailand everything, we’dallbeable toworkfrom home orcomeand goaswe

done. I N

deskfromninetofive. Butthe reallyfundamental changeisth at we’vebecome alotm orecollaborative, bothinternallyandinour

supposethe managershavealwaysworkedaroutineninetofive andjust

dealingswithpartners andclients.A ndpeopleare, o fcourse, now

can’timagineanythingelsebeingpossible.

gettingusedtoworkingonseveralteamsa tonce, which meansthey

I’man ITconsultantand I’mworkingforasmallleisuregroupona one-

tendtoge ta lotmorevarietyinthe irworkaswell. I

veryglamorous, buti t’sjust a caseo f je tt in g in, fix in g a h o te l’s co m pu te r andthenjetting outagain. ItalsomeansI’moncallandworkvery ... shall

Well, as Isaid, we'vebeendevelopingaproject-oriented culture. So, peoplenowarepaidforwhattheyactuallydoandnotforsittingata

companysoeveryone’s stillclockingin ando uta tthesame time. I

wesay ‘flexible’hours, includingmanyweekends. Ohan dI’malso

So, theseorganisationalchangesmusthavehadquiteaneffecton BT’sculture.

please-b utth at’sno tthe case. Unfortunately, it’sa veryconservative

yearcontract. So I’m travellingaroundEuropealot,whichIknowsounds

Well, thec om pany’sbeenorganisedaroundbusinessunitsforsome timen ow Itusedtobeverymuch departmentalised, withworkbeing

Yes. Andhow aboutthetechnology?Howdoyouhelpyourteleworkers copewith it?

N

Well, peopleworkingfromhomehave, Isuppose,had tobecomemore independentab outcopingwith technology. Buto urcorporateintranet

however, ishistory. Infu ture, mobilepe rsonalinform ation systemswill

R

haveallthe toolsweneedforourjobs. Thedaysofputtingbitso f

K Well, Richard, th at ’sthe milliondollarquestion, isn'tit?Some of the

paperindrawersaredefinitelynumbered, I’mafraid.

So, K a ti e,  t h e  b i g  qu e st io n . W h a t ’s t h e  m a r k e t g o in g  t o d o  n e x t ? pricesbeingpaiddoreflectthevalueofthesecompaniesso Ica n’t reallyseepricesfallingmuch more. And although confidencewill return, enthusiasm isco olingso don’t expe ctto seepricessoaringin

Unit 2a: Stocks & shares R

Listening I R = R ichard R

K

thenearfuture. Sohowdoyouseethe futureforcompaniesinthissector?

K Well, Ithinkthesector'sgoingtoseelotso fconsolidationactivityas K = Katie

thebiggerplayerslookto buytalent andm arketshare. Lycos, for

Now, internetstocks. Theyweregoingthrough theroo fearlierthis

example,hasjustacquired HotBo t, oneof itsrivals. W e’llalsoseeone

yearuntiltheyraninto theirrecentdifficulties. Sothe questionis: has

ortwolargeestablishednon-Internet companieslookingtoen terthe

thebubblefinallyburst?OurtechnologycorrespondentKatieJohnson

market. ThegiantGermanp ublisherBertelsmann, forexample, has

jo in s m e in th e stu dio . So Kati e, fir st o fall, w ha t dro ve the se pri ce s up

ju st en te re d int o ajo in t ve nt ure w ith US bo oks elle r Bar ne s an d No ble

sohigh in the firstplace?

tochallengeAmazo n’sdominanceonthe Net. And iftheInternet

W e ll , a l l t h e  h y pe  a b o u t  t h e  I n t e r n e t w o u l d h a ve  a t t r a c t e d  s o m e

continuestogrowlike itis, thenafew ofthesecompaniesarebound

investorslookingforaqu ickprofit -b ut Ith inkth e realdrivingforce

toseesubstantialreturnsonth eirinvestments.

hasbeen thefact tha tde mand hasfarexceededalimitedsupply. Therew ereonlya hand fulo fInternet shareofferslastyear, so

Listening 2

opportunitiestojum p ontothe Internetbandwagonhavebeenvery limited.

R

N ow , e a r li e r yo u  m e n t i o n e d A m a z o n .c o m ,  t h e  I n t e rn e t  b oo ks el le r.  A n d Ibelieveyo u’regoingto showusagrap h illustratingwh at’sbeen

R

A n d  a l l t h is  i s d e s p it e  t h e  f a c t t h e y ’r e  f a r f r om  w h a t  y o u ’ d c a l l a  s af e

K

A b so lu te ly , ye s.

R

B u t  w h a t  a b o u t  g o od  o l d p ro f it s?  D o  t h e y  m a t c h  t h e  p e r fo r m a n c e  o f

happeningthroughoutthiswholesector. Asyoucansee, therewasa

theshareprices?

generalupwardtrend in thefirstsixmonths,withsharesgoingfrom

happeningtotheirsharesoverthelast 12m onths.

investment.

K

K

Yes, andhereitis. Now thisexample reallyistypicalo fwh at’sbeen

Well, thisiswha t'ssofascinating. TakeAmazon.com , forexample, the

ju s t $ 1 4 to ove r $ 1 0 0 a sh are by D ec em be r la st year. B ut th en in

Internetbookseller. Theyhaveama rketvalueo f$18bn, turnoverin

Januarythisyear, theyreallytookoff, soaringtoalmost $200.

excesso f$Ibn, andyet theyhaven’tevenreachedthe break-even

Predictablyenough, Isuppose, investorstook advantage of thesesharp

point.A partfrom acoupleofcompanies, suchas Yahoo!a ndAmerica

gainsand wesawasell-off,whichm ean ttha tbyFebruary,Ama zon

Online, mosto fthem arealonglongwayawayfromm akinganykind

shareshadfallenback totheirD ecem berlevelagain.

o fprofitwhatsoever, neverm ind the hugeprofits everyone’sho pingfor.

Thecombinedstrengtho fthe twoR&D functionswillalsoensurean

Chinesepeoplealmostalwaysseek to preserveh armonyand face. Flosts

excellentbasisforinnovation-ledgrowth. With a combinedR&D spendo f

believeit is their duty to offerthe irvisitors hospitality, even though the

nearly$2bn,A straZeneca willbeoneo fthe largest R&D organisationsin

visitorsthemselvesm aymuch preferaday off afterintensenegotiations.

theworld, whichwillmean that the companywillalsobeo fgreatinterest

It’sverycommon, forinstance, forthehostenterprisetoorganise

toacadem icinstitutionsand biotechcompaniesseekingpartnersfortheir

sightseeingtripsforitsguestsa nd itwould, o fcourse, bea discourtesyno t

researchprogrammes.

toaccepttheseinvitations.

A tastrategiclevel, manag ementishopingthat themergerwillcreate sizeable operational efficienciesby restructuring areaso fduplication. Ithas

Unit 4a: The future of work

been calculatedthatsynergiesresultingfrom themerger couldleadto cost reductionso foverabilliondollarswithin then extthreeyears. Although thissoundslike asomewhatoptimisticfigure,we arequiteconfidenttha tit

Listening

canbeachievedthroughstreamliningtheworkforce, particularlyinareas

I =  Interviewer

likeadministrationan darestructuringo fthetwosalesoperations.

I

Movingonto theboard now, theboa rdo fAstraZene cawillbedrawn

j

J = Jan Dunn

So Jan, whydidBAdecidetomovetoWaterside? Wel l, we ha d a lo t o fpeo ple sc at te re d ab o ut in a lo t o fd iffe re nt

equallyfromthe twocompanies, with TomMcKillop, the ChiefExecutive,

buildings. BritishAirwayshas beena round a longtime so we've

runningthecompanyalongwithhisexecutive team. Theboardwillbe

inherited a loto foldofficesa nd buildings. Leaseswere runningou ton

headedbyPercyBarnevik, thenon-executiveChairman, whosejob it will

aloto fkeybuildingsonthe Hea throwsiteandwedecidedth at rather

beto checktha tstrategyand policyareperiodicallyreviewedand

than trytorenew them, itwouldmakem oresenseforusfinanciallyto

agreementismaintained. Thetwod eputyChairmen, SirDavidBarnesand

buildanewbuildingonthissite. Soalthoughitwasa 120 0m project,

Hakan Mogren, bothhaveextensiveexperienceo fthep harmaceu tical

itwas, infact, acost-effectivemoveforBA.

industryan d businessingeneral. Theywillbe availableto advisean d

I

Butwhysucharadicallydifferentbuilding?Wh atwasthemain objective?

suppo rtthe Chie fExecutiveasnecessary. J

Well, weknewfromopinionsurveysthatourworkenvironmentneeded improving. When designingthebuilding, weverymuch wanted to

Unit 3b: Entering a market

realiseavisionwhichwasteam -baseda ndspaced, onetha tinvolved bringingpeopletogetherin anopenworkingenvironment. Wenow

Listening So,w ha t’sitlikeactua llydoingbusinessw ith the Chinese?Well, it ’s

havean excellentfacilitywherepeoplecan mee tand workanywhere in thebuilding.An dbycentralisingourinformationa nddata, wecan

I J

Ohright. Yes, that'shandy. Now Ibelieveyou'vealsolookedat

wayo fusingtheInternet, wehavebeenabletocreate aninternational

changingthe meetings culture.

presenceat afractiono fwha titwouldhavecosttoadvertiseoutsidethe

Yes, we’reencouragingpeopleonthe classicsreally: makingsureyou

domesticmarket.

needam eetingandth atyou'reinvitingtherightpeople. Isuppose

Afterrecentrestructuringwefeltweneededtochangethecompany

we'resuggestingthatwewouldn'texpectausefulmeetingtobebigger

culturetore fect ourleanerstructure. Processestha tusedtobehighly

thansay20 people. Butwe'vegotaloto fflexibility. Ican choosea

bureaucratisedneededtobesimplified. Oneareawereallyhad totackle

locationsuitedtothe typeo fmeetingIwant torun. There’severything

wasprocurement. Afterfillingin massiveam ountso fpaperwork,getting

from thecafesand informalmeetingroomsrightup tothe theatre,

requisitesignaturesa nd then faxingordersoff, ourem ployeessometimes

whichseats4 00people.

hadtowaitoveramonthforthingslikeofficematerialandPCstoget

I

So w h a t  d i f fe r e nc e  h as  W a t e rs i de  m a d e  t o  y o u r t y p ic a l d a y ?

here. Arealadvantagewiththe newsystemisth ere’slessmarginforerror

J

R ig ht , w el l,  f i r s t t h i n g  in  t h e  m o r n in g  I h a ve  a  c h o ic e  o f w h e t h e r  I c o m e

becausei ftheform isn'tfilledin correctly, then the systemsaysso

intoWatersideornotbecauseI’vegotalaptop andaccessto the

immediately. Solesstim e'llbewastedonsortingoutproblems. Bytheend

comp uternetworkfrom homeorfrom othersites. Sowh atI’vetende d

o ftheyea rwe ’llhave reduce dou rpap erInvoicesfrom fivem illion tozero.

todoistryan dbookmeetingsallon thesameday if Icanasitcuts downmytravellingtime basically.And if I do comeintoW aterside, I’ve ju s t go t mo re opti ons . I rea lly fee l Ig et thi ng s do ne qu ick er a nd mo re effectivelyandtha tI’mm akingbetteruseo fmytime.

Unit 4: Exam practice

(Examfocusaudiocd)

Listening Test Part One

Unit 4b: e-business Listening Well, it’salreadymade ahugeimpa ctandby the time theproject'sfully implemented,w e’llhavenetworkedover30 0,0 00 employeesandsuppliers -th ey ’llallbeabletocom municatethrough e-mail.A ndi t’sthis interconnectivity, it'schangingeverythingabout thewaywework. Imean, lastyeararound 15pe rcento fourin-servicesta ffdevelopmentwas carriedout throughWe b-baseddistancelearningusingthe company intranet.And wereckonth atforevery 1,000 daysofclassroom-based teachingth at’ssuppliedbydistancelearning itgeneratesabout

GoodmorningandwelcometoEldertreeCosmetics. M yna m e’sM aria Darcyand I'mtheM anagingDirector. I’mheretoday totellyoua littlebit about thehistoryo fthecom panybeforeyou’retakenon theofficialtour. So, Eldertree Cosmeticswasfounded by OliviaJenkinsin 1915 originally underthen ame ofEldertreeCottage.A ndinthosedaysitreallywasvery much acottage industrywithOliviaan dherhusbandM ikeproducinga rangeofnaturalsoapsintheirownkitchen. Thesoapsprovedtobea recipeforsuccessand salestook off due to the popu larityo fsimple, chemical-freeproducts. Itsoon became clear, though, that Oliviaand Mikewouldbeunabletosatisfydemandiftheycontinuedworkingoutof theirkitchen. Soin 1911M ikebegansearchingforsuitablepremisesand

Onth atribte, I’dliketohand youovertoS amanthaEagle, ourPR

S

Manager, who’llbeconductingyourtourofthefactorytoday

P Well, about sixyearsagoIwasmade redundant. Icouldn'treallysee

SowhydidyoustartCorporateD irect? myse lfworkingforanyo fthe localtravelagencies. And I ’dalways wanted todo myownthing. So Idecideditwasnowornever.

Listening Test Part Two S Well, Iguesson thewholeit wasquite interestingtalkingaboutsettingand

P Shewasn’ttoo keeninitially. Shedidn'twant me turningherhomeinto

meetingobjectivesa ndco -ordinatingprojects. It'sjust that I'dhopedwe’d

atravelagency. But thankfullyitwasn’t longbeforewecouldopena

learnmorepracticalthingslikehowtomotivategroupsandmanage conflictandmakegroupcomm unicationmore effective.Anyway, Iwas

smalloffice. S

prettytiredbytheendofthedayandIgotinquitelatebecausethe centre wasa longwayfrom home. But tha tinitselfwasn’treallya

W hatdidyourwifethink?

And businessisstillbooming. Someofyourservicesareexpandingveiy rapidly.

P

Yes, theyare. Coreserviceslikecarrentalwerepopularrightfrom the

problem. Ithinkonedaywouldhavebeen morethan enough. Ididn’t

wordgo, although wh at’sreallytaken o ffiso urm onthlyjourna l Travel

reallyunderstandwhytheyneededtwowholedays. Itwasn’tthat

Direct. Subscriptionsareincreasingat tento twentypercenta

expensivethough, so I’mho pingI'llbe allowedto goona noth ercourse

month. W e’realsolookingatwayso fpromotingourcurrency

soon. Therea resomegood writingskillscoursesa round, Ibelieve.

exchangeservice.

Ifeelalotmoreconfidentnowhavingdonethe course. Thetrainergaveus

S

myselfonvideo. ThereIwastalkingabou tourlatestproductwhenmo stof

Sothingsare obviouslygoingverywellforyou. Butwh atexactlymakes Corporate Directso unique?

somereallygreattipsonpreparingmoreeffectivelyAnd Ialsogottosee

P Well, although therearetwoo therindependenttravelofficesherein

the timeIwasstandinginfronto fthescreen. Sono-one in theaudience

the area, offeringpeoplethe same unbiasedadvice, asfaras Iknow,

couldseemyniceOHTsanyway Wecertainlydidn’thaveanycom plaints

we'restilltheonlycompanykeepingacomprehensivedatabaseof

about thepriceeven though itwasprettyexpensive. ButIcan't

clients’travelguidelines, thingslikewhich airlinesthe yuse...

understandwhytheyhelditin Newcastle. Ittookmeh alfthedaytog et

S

shouldhavefoundsomewhereclosertotheoffice. Ihad agreattime. Wedid lotso frole-plays, mainlyaboutdelegatingor dealingwithinterruptions,which Ireallyenjoyed. And Ithinkitm usthave donemesomegood. Evenmybosshasnoticedtha tI’mgettingbe tterat prioritisingmyworkload.And thisweekImanagedtoge tmyrepo rtin beforethe deadlineforachange. Theremu sthavebeena bouttw entyof us bythetime allthe latecomershad arrived, whichwasabou trightfor

... meaningyoumakearrangementsinlinewitheachcompany’s policies ...

thereand Iwasexhaustedbeforethe courseevenstarted. Wereally P

Yes, that’s right. And liketheother bignames, wecanalsoprovide

S

AndasIunderstandit,you'vealsobeen developingtheconsultancy

verycompetitiveratestoo. arm o fthecompany aswell. W hat servicesdoyoucurrentlyoffer? P

Well, advisingcompaniesontheirtravelpoliciesisa verypopular servicean done whichlooksse tto developevenfurther. W ha treally attra cts companies, though, iso urcorpo rate hospitalityconsultancy. We advisepeople onallsortso fPRtypethings, everythingfromw ine-

Unit Un it 5a: Staff motivation

Thereisafairlystandardoperatingprocedureforthedeliveryof headh untingassignments. untingassignments. Itbeginswitha clientgivinga clientgivinga head hunter

Listening

exclusiveinstructionan exclusiveinstructionan da brie ftofillavacancy. ftofillavacancy. The hea dhu nter’sfirst nter’sfirst

Well, Well, I'veonl I'veonlybeen ybeen hereafewmonths hereafewmonths but IfeelasIf feelasIf I’ve I’vefitted fitted Inquite Inquite

taskis to target potential companies, then individualswithinthose individualswithinthose

wellso wellsofar far. . Everyo Everyonesee neseemstohavetime mstohavetime totalkto mewhenIneedhelp, mewhenIneedhelp,

companies, eitherthrough deskresearch deskresearch orthrough extensivecon tact

which Ireallyappreciate. Ireallyappreciate. Thew Thew ork’sbeginningtoget ork’sbeginningtoget interestingtoo. It's ju s t th a t by now, If ee l I rea lly s hou ld be ge tt in g up to spee d. On ly it' s a relativel relativelynewposi ynewpositi tionand onand nobody’sreall nobody’sreallyspelt yspeltoutw outw hattheex actscope o fthejob fthejob iso iso rwha tm yresponsibiliti yresponsibilitiesand esand prioritiesshouldbe. Ithinkm y linemanagernee linemanagerneedstogi dstogivemea vemea moreconcreteideao fwha fwha tsheexpects tsheexpects me toachieve toachieve. . She’ She’sbackfrom sbackfrom holidaynextweekso holidaynextweeksom m aybewecouldsit aybewecouldsit downtogetherthen. Well, Well, Igetthefeelingtha getthefeelingtha twe’restartingtofall twe’restartingtofallab ab itbehindother

network networks. s. Theheadhunterthenspea Theheadhunterthenspeakstothose kstothoseindivi individual dualswhoma swhoma tch the specifiedcriteriacloselyand specifiedcriteriacloselyand are mos tapp ropriate forthejob in question. question. Theheadhunterthenm Theheadhunterthenm eetsanum bero fpotentialcandida fpotentialcandidates, tes, eitherat theirownoffic theirownofficesorataneutrallocati esorataneutrallocation. on. O fcou fcours rse, e, thesemeeting thesemeetingshave shave tobearrangedandheldwith tobearrangedandheldwit h theutm ostdiscreti ostdiscretion. on. Theheadhun Theheadhun terthen terthen puts togeth erthe curriculum vitaesandpresents hisfindingsto hisfindingsto the client. client. A tthismeetingtheclient tthismeetingtheclientis isgi given vena a shortlistofabouteight shortlistofabouteightcandidatesand candidatesand selectsthree selectsthree orfouro fthem forinterview. forinterview. Thisnum Thisnum bergivesagood bergivesagood

companies companies. . Imean, whenyoulook whenyoulookinthepaper inthepapers,youca s,youca n'thelpnoticin n'thelpnoticing g

chance o fasuccessf fasuccessfulcandid ulcandid ate beinghired. The candidates thengo

there’sa there’sa bito fagapbetweenour fagapbetweenourse selve lvesand sand thecurrentgoingrate. thecurrentgoingrate. I

throughth e client’sown client’sown interviewprocedure, possiblyalongwithothe possiblyalongwithothe r

mean,it'snot that I’m I’m unhappyhereoranythi unhappyhereoranything. ng. Ireally Ireallyli likemyj kemyjob ob -it ’s

candidatesthatapplieddirectlytothecompanyinresponse to an

interestingw interestingworkandIthinkit’s orkandIthinkit’sgreattha greattha tthejob'ssofle tthejob'ssoflexi xible. ble. It’sj It’sjust ust that,

advertisement. Afterwards, the headh unte rgives rgivesprofessiona professionaladviceto ladviceto

at theendo ftheday ftheday nobodylik nobodylikes estofeelunderv tofeelundervalue alued, d, dothey?Andin dothey?Andin

bothsides bothsidesand and facilitat facilitatesthe esthe offerpr offerproce ocesstomakesuretha sstomakesuretha tthewhole

myposition myposition, , it’snot it’snotjust just myse lfI’ lfI’ve vegotto gotto thinkabo ut I'vegot I'vegot

assignmentendswith asuccessfulhire asuccessfulhire..

responsibilitiesoutsideworkaswell. Well, Well, it ’sgreattobepart of asucces asuccessfu sfulteam. lteam. Idon'tthinkyoucouldwi Idon'tthinkyoucouldwish sh forharder-worki forharder-workingormorededicatedcol ngormorededicatedcollea league gues. s. But I justsometimes thinkthat oureffort oureffortsaren’talwa saren’talwaysrewar ysrewarded. ded. Iknowdiff Iknowdifferentmanager erentmanagerss havedifferent stylesbut, stylesbut, well, well, everyonelike everyonelikesto sto feelappreciated, don’t they?Imean, they?Imean, inm inm ylastjob, ylastjob, managersalway managersalwaysmade smade apointo fprai fpraisingu singuss

Asforremuneration, Asforremuneration, theheadhunterwillrecei theheadhunterwillreceiveaproport veaproportion,usual ion,usually ly about3 0p ercent, ercent, ofthefirstannualsalar ofthefirstannualsalaryo yo fthepers fthepersonappoint onappointed. ed. When asearchcompanyhasbeeng asearchcompanyhasbeengive ivenanexclu nanexclusi siveinstruct veinstructiontofill iontofilla a vacancy payment isnormallybill isnormallybilledin edin threeinstalments:firstofa threeinstalments:firstofalla lla retainer, retainer, then asecondins talmen tuponsubmissiono ftheshortlistand

whenwe whenwe beatourtargets. beatourtargets. Onemanagerevenusedtoencoura Onemanagerevenusedtoencourageus geusto to

fina finall lly, y, acompletionfeewhentheappointeestartswiththeclien acompletionfeewhentheappointeestartswiththeclient. t.

clapand clapand cheereachother cheereachother.A .A ndImustadm it, Idomissth domissth ata ttimes. I

Nowtheadvantageofagoodheadhunteristhathecanprovideaclear

findpraisehereissometimes abit, shallwesay, shallwesay, limited. It'sliketh It'sliketh ere’sa

understandingo fthe fthe business businessenvironme environme nt, a client’sactivities, client’sactivities, their

'That'swhatyou’repaidfor'typeofattitude.

strengthsand weaknesse weaknessesan san dthose o ftheir ftheir rivals rivals. . This Thiskind kind of

5b One-min One -minute ute talk: The i mportance of having a good C V

G

Vide Videos os andbrochuresarehelpful andbrochuresarehelpfultools toolsbu bu tonlyifusedi tonlyifusedinconjunct nconjunction ion with ‘walkingtheta walkingtheta lk’anddiscus lk’anddiscussi singv ngvalu alueswithmanagement. eswithmanagement. We

Well, Well, in myopinion, myopinion, youcanneverunder-esti youcanneverunder-estimate mate theimportance of

havevariousinitiativeswhich havevariousinitiativeswhich regularlyprovide regularlyprovide co-workerswith the

havingagoodCV

opportunitytoparticipateand contributetothesediscu contributetothesediscuss ssio ions ns..

In the majority o fcase fcases,y s,y ourCVisth ourCVisth e employer'sfirstimpressiono employer'sfirstimpressiono fyou, fyou,

I

yourfirst chanceto impressyourpoten tialemployer, tialemployer, let'ssa let'ssay. y. Itisthe

G  I t  h as as  a  m a j o r  i m p ac ac t . A l th th o u gh gh  i t ’s i m p o r t a n t  f o r  us us  t o o g e t  h ig ig hl hl yy-

essentialillustrationo essentialillustrationo fyoursu fyoursu itabilityforthejob, showinghowyourskill showinghowyourskillss

So,  d o es es  c u l tu tu r e  a f fe fe c t  I KE KE A s s r e c r u i tm tm e n t  p r oc oc es es s? s? skill skilledpeo edpeopleintothecompan pleintothecompany,w y,w e'renot e'renot interestedif interestedif there'sa s a

andexperiencematch andexperiencematch youremployer' youremployer'srequirements. s requirements.

conflicto conflicto fval fvaluesy uesyste stems. ms. Anyoneexpectingafash Anyoneexpectingafash carorstatus carorstatus symbolshasnofutu re with us. us. Recruitm ent at IKEA’san extensive extensive

Butmore thanthat, itshowsyourabi itshowsyourabilitytosummar litytosummarise, ise, priorit prioritiseand iseand present information effecti effectively, vely, essentialski essentialskill llsin sin today'sjob today'sjob market. Italso

proces process, s, basedon basedonjudgements judgements abouta candida te’sval te’svaluesys uesystems temsand and

showsyourlinguisticandcommunicativeabilities.

attributes. We canadd retailsk retailskil ills ls, , noproblem, noproblem, but it’stoughto it’stoughto changesomeone'smindset.

Eventhough Eventhough employers employers thesedaysusea varietyo fselecti fselection on techniques, techniques,

I

D oe oe s s t h a t  go go  fo fo r  ca ca re re e r r a dv dv a nc nc e m e nt nt  to to o? o?

suchasanalysingyourh suchasanalysingyourh andwriting, agood CVisstil CVisstillthe lthe singlemost singlemost

G  Yes, i t  do do es es .

importantpartofanyapplication.

I

So Swed Swedis ishmanagerswi hmanagerswill llalway alwayshave shavem m orechanceo fpromotion fpromotion then?

Unit 6a: Corporate culture

G

W e  f n d  t h a t  m a n y  S ca ca nd nd in in av av ia ia n s s i d e n t ifif y  m o re re  e a si si ly ly  w i th th  o u r  c ul ul tu tu r e but thereisnowritten thereisnowritten orunwrittenruleconcerning orunwrittenruleconcerningthenationalityof thenationalityof seniormanagers. Itwould beimpossible, beimpossible, howeve however,fo r,fo ranyoneto

Listening I I =  I nt nt e r v i e w e r

advancewithin advancewithin IKEAwithoutwholl IKEAwithoutwhollyunderstandingandbuyi yunderstandingandbuyingint ngintothe othe com pany ’sphilosophyand sphilosophyand culture. Somanagersare encouragedto

G —  Go G o r a n  Ni N ils so n

visit visitSwed Sweden en andlearn thelanguageetc thelanguageetc. . andm anagement inductio inductions ns I

A n d  n o w  t o o I K EA EA . Th e e S w ed ed is is h h f u r n i tu tu r e  r e t a ilil e r h h as as jj u s t  r e p o rt rt e d turnovero f56billion Swedish Swedish kronerfrom its 150storesworldwide. 150storesworldwide.

A n d  f in in al al ly ly , I ng ng v ar ar  K a m p r ad ad  s t e pp pp e d  d ow ow n  a s s P r e si si de de n tt i n n t h e  m i d -

Now, Now, IKEAputsitssu IKEAputsitssucce ccessdow ssdown n tocorporateculture. tocorporateculture. Sowithme

80s, replacedbyAndersMoberg. replacedbyAndersMoberg. W hat effectdidthishaveon effectdidthishaveon the

todaytoexplain todaytoexplain thesecretofIKE thesecretofIKEA' A'scultur scultureisManagingDirectoro eisManagingDirectoro f

developme nto fIKEA’ fIKEA’sculture? s culture?

IKEAUK, IKEAUK, GoranNils GoranNilsson son. . Goodmorning Goodmorning, , M rNilsso rNilsson. n. G  G oo oo d d m or or ni ni ng ng . I

includeat includeat leastoneweeki leastoneweekinAlmhult,wherethe nAlmhult,wherethe companybegan. companybegan. I

N o w  i s s e v er er y y I K EA EA  s t or or e  r ea ea l ly ly  e x a c tltl y  t he he  s a m e? e?

G Well, Well, in termso fculture fculture they ’reprettywellunifo ’reprettywelluniform.Althoughour rm.Althoughour culturewill culturewillnaturallybondwiththelocalculturetosomeextent, naturallybondwiththelocalculturetosomeextent, our

G

BothMob ergand ourcurrentChiefExecut ourcurrentChiefExecutive, ive, AndersDahlv AndersDahlvig, ig, worked worked closel closelywithK ywithK ampradformanyyearsandhaveadeepknowl ampradformanyyearsandhaveadeepknowledg edgeand eand understand ingo fKam prad ’soriginalvisi soriginalvision on andphilosophy andphilosophy. . Naturally, IKEAis IKEAisdifferenttodaythan differenttodaythan itwas 10yearsago 0yearsago, , primarilybecau primarilybecauseit seit isthreetimes isthreetimes biggerandha biggerandhasenteredmany senteredmany morediverse morediverseand and

0  OK . J

T h a tt w a y  II s h ou ou ld ld  b e e a b l e e t o  g e t  a n n i d e a  as as  t o  w h e t h e r a a n yo yo n e' e' s bearingagrudge.

0 J  =  Ji Ji llll J

0 = O liv e r

R = Rick

Goodidea, Goodidea,Ji Jill ll. . OK, OK, dothat. Butm akesureyoudoitdiscr akesureyoudoitdiscreet eetly. ly. Ifword Ifword gotout aboutthis, aboutthis, thenwhoever'sdoingitwouldst thenwhoever'sdoingitwouldstopanddestroythe opanddestroythe evidence.

G o od od  m o rn rn in in g. g.  S or or ry ry  I 'm 'm  a  l itit t le le  l a t e. e.  H o w  d i d  t h e  b o a r d d m e e t i n g g g o yesterday?

J

0

I d i d n ’t’t  k n o w  th th e r e e w a s s a  b o a r d  m e e titi n g p p l a n ne ne d  f o r r y e st st e rd rd a y

0

W h i c h  i s s a l re re a d y y l o w e e no no ug ug h  a r o un un d  h e re re  a t  t h e  m o m e n t .

R

There Therewasn’t wasn’t. . Itwasan Itwasan emergencymeeting emergencymeeting..

R

Yes, thisisn' thisisn'texactlywha texactlywha tweneededrightnow, tweneededrightnow, isit? isit?

J

W h a t  i f w w e e d o n ' t  c o m e e u p  w i t h h a n y t hi hi ng ng ,  w h a t  a r e  w e  go go in in g g t o  d o

0  E m e r g e n c y ? So und s e x c it in g .  W h at a t ’s t h e R

T h a t ’s ’s w h a t  w e ’r’r e e h e re re  t o o t a lk lk  a b o ut ut  th th is is 

p ro b le m ?

then?

m o rn rn in in g. g.  C lo lo se se t h e  do door,

wouldyouJill? J

Yes, o f c co ur urs e. e.

R

Than Thanks ks. . Righ Right, t, asyoumay asyoumay know know, , we'velostse we'velostsever veralmajorcontracts almajorcontracts thisyearto thisyearto Centron Centronics, ics, ourbigge ourbiggest striva rival. l. Each time the y’vetargeted y’vetargeted

That's true. It wouldn't domuchformoraleeither.

R

Theboard’s Theboard’sthinking thinkingabout about bringin bringingin gin asecurityconsultan asecurityconsultant. t. She'd She'd poseasatemp poseasatemp in theSale theSalesDe sDe partme nt- youkno youknow, w, talktopeopl talktopeople e andgetthegoss andgetthegossip ip, , findoutwho'sunhappyandth atkindo fthi fthing. ng.

J

B u t  I  d o n 't't  s ee ee  t h e  p oi oi n t.t.  H o w  w o u l d d s he he  b e e a b l e t o  f in in d  o u t  a n yt yt h in in g thatwecouldn’t?

thecustom erjust erjust as theircontractswere upforrenewa upforrenewal. l. J

Areyousayingthey Areyousayingthey ’vesomehowgotacc vesomehowgotaccess essto to ourfile ourfiles? s?

0

And it'dcertainlygo it'dcertainlygodownwellin downwellin Sale Salesiftheyfoundoutabout siftheyfoundoutabout it. it.

R

W el el l,l,  o n e e o f  ou ou r customers was stillloyal enough to inform us that

R

Yes, w e l l . .. ..  L e t ’s ’s ju ju s t  h o pe pe  i t doesn’t come to that.

Centronics Centronicsseemedto seemedto havegoodinf havegoodinformationabout ormationabout theterms and conditi conditionso onso ftheircontractwith ftheircontractwith us. 0

Butsure Butsurely ly,you ,you don’tthinkthat someone’s someone’spassingo passingonth nth atkindo f

R

W e  d o n ' t t k no no w. w.  T h a t ’s ’s t h e  p r ob ob l em em .  A n d  t h a t ’s ’s w h a t  w e ’ ve ve  g ot ot  t o  f in in d

information? out. Iftheregenui Iftheregenuinelyi nelyissaproblem, thenwe'llhavetofindout thenwe'llhavetofindout wheth erCe ntronicshasinfiltrated usor wheth erit's an inside insidejob. job. So, weneedtolookatoursystemsandourpeople weneedtolookatoursyst emsandourpeople -and tha t’swhyyou’ t’swhyyou’re re bothhere.

Isuppose, suppose, in away, away, it'sa kindo fgeneration fgeneration thing. When Georgestarted, Georgestarted, there was nosuchthing asp asp oliticalcorrectnessinth e officeenvironment. officeenvironment. In thoseday thosedays, s, I'msureitwascom I'msureitwascom monpractice tocallcolle tocallcolleagu agues es ‘love’ love’or 'darli 'darling', ng', paycomplimentsabout theirfigur theirfiguresorev esoreven engiv givethem ethem giftsand giftsand things things. . Butyoujust Butyoujust can’tdotha tnowadaysand tnowadaysand heshouldhave heshouldhaveknown known better. better. He says sayshis hissecretarynever secretarynevercomplainedaboutit complainedaboutit tohim in person person andth ati fsh fshehad, ehad, he’dhavestoppeddoingi he’dhavestoppeddoingit, t, butshedidn’t Instead Instead

with ourclients- asorto fmoralpoliceman, Iguess. Sheevenw rote toall

avoidsomevery, veryexpensivem istakesonacco unto fcultural conflicts.

ourcustomerswarning them nottoacce ptanykindo fpresentsfrom any

Once more, itcan spreadthe riskof doingbusiness. Ifacompany sells to

o fourreps.

morethan onemarket, itcansuiviveadownturn inanyoneo fthose

Everybusinesswantstobeethicallysoundbutit'sahyper-competitive worldoutthereandwhenyou’reund erpressuretomakemoneyand keep toabudget, It’sa differentmatter. Pete,the ProductionManager, didn’t likethe newregulationspraypa int -it jus twasn’t asgood-soheca rried onusingtheoldstuff. He knewthere’dbetroubleif anyonefoundout. But

markets, that'squitedear.A ndif acompanybecomestrulyglobal, itcan moveitsproductionaroundfrom countrytocountryandtakeadvantageo f thebestconditionsat anygiventime. And thesizeo fthecompanymeans it canrealiseeconomies of scaleinadvertisingord istributionorshipping, forexample.

Iguesshejusthop edthe ywouldn't. O fcourse, somecam paignerstested

So Ithink, allinall, when thesethingsaretaken intoconsideration, it's

thelocalw ateran dfound evidenceo fthebanne dchemicals. Isuppose

quite cleart ha tany comp anyn ot lookingto establish aglobalpresencein

whenyouthinkaboutthePRnightmareth atfollowedandtheheftyfine

futuremaynothaveafuture.

thecompanyhadtopay, Petewasluckytogetawaywithjusta letter

8a One-minute talk: How to promote an imported brand

threatening dismissalif heusedthe oldp aint everagain.

With som anypeople thesedaysmakinga consciousdecisionto buy

Mode! answers to Ex o , page I 10 (Exam focus audio cd)

domes ticproducts, thepressureonthose companieswishingtop romote

7b One-minute talk: How to encourage ethical behaviour from employees

importedbrandsisgreaterthaneverbefore.

Figuresshowthat moreandm orecompaniesarenowreportingtheir ethicalperformanceand it's clearIthinktha tcompaniesnowhave to addressthe issueo fensuringethicalbehaviouramongst theirstaff. The questionIso fcourse - how?

Initially,a comp any needsto showhowtheirp roduc tissuperior to th e localequivalents. Ma ybe it'sb ette rquality; maybe it'sm orestylish.A companyneedstoshowcustomersthebenefitsofbeingmoreadventurous in theirbuyingdecisionstoencouragethem tomoveawayfrom the currentproductstheyuse. Ifyoumarketaprodu ctassomethingexoticor unusual,you ’reboundtoattra ct newclients. Culturalstereotypesarealso

To beginwith, awarenessiskey. The company needstoset out anofficial

apowerfulsellingtool. A cosmeticsrangeassociatedwith Frenchchic, for

codeo fethicalpractice a ndensure tha tallemployeeshaveaccessto it

example, isbound toattra ctcustomers.And ifpeoplearelookingtobuya

andcanunderstanditeasily. Thecompanythenneedstoimplement an

reliablecar, there'snob etterlabelthan ‘made in Germany'. These

effectiveandanonymoussystemofreportinganybreachesofthiscode.

national associationscanalsobeex ploiteda t thep oint of sale. Playing

Oncetheseproceduresareinplace, thecompanycan thenbenchmarkits

Frenchm usicinsupermarkets, forexample, isproven toimprove thesales

ethicalpracticeagainst those o f industry leadersand see how it's doing. I

o f French wine.

thinkit'salsovitalthatcompaniesensurethattheirseniormanagersseta

Basically, if youw ant tosuccessfullypromote anim ported brand, youneed

goodexa mp le,‘walkthe talk ’soto speak. Iftheydo n'tbehavee thicallywhy

togiveyourcustomersagoodreasonto trysomethingalittle bitmore

shouldstaff?

companiesto lookfurtherafieldintheirsearchforcompetitive

of itsproducts, Du Pontisverymucha ffectedbytheavailability, and

advantage.AlthoughIthinktheprocesshasreallybeena ccelerated

thereforecost, of oil. Du Pontreducedtheseuncertaintiesby

byrapidadvancesinITandtelecoms. That’sbeenthe realcatalystfor I C

I

purchasingConoco, itsma inoilsupplier.

change.

I

A n d  w h a t ’s  t h e  gr e a t  a t t ra c t i o n ?  W h y  a r e  c o m pa n ie s  so  k ee n t o

C

T hu s k e ep in g  it s c o s ts  d ow n . Possibly. Owningthesupplierdefinitelyincreasesfinancialcontrolo fthe

sourceabroad?

supplychain. Butwhenyoutake thecosto facquisition intoaccount,

I t  d e pe n ds  o n t h e  c i rc u m s ta n c es  o f t h e  c o m p a n y  in  q u es t io n . I t  c o ul d

therearenoshort-termsavings.

beanythingfrom bette raccesstooverseasmarkets,lowertaxes,

I

So,allin all, doesglobalsourcingmakesense?

lowerlabou rcosts, quickerdeliveryora com bination o fanyo fthese.

C

Well, therearelotso fverypowerfulbenefitsb utmanagershaveto

B u t  i t  w o u ld  b e  f a ir  t o s a y t h e  f i na n c ia l  b en e fi ts  a r e  t h e  m a in

considerallthemainoperationalfactorsverycarefullyfirst.

incentive, wouldn’t it? C

I n m o s t  c as es  i t  p ro b a b ly  w ou ld , y es . W i t h o u t  t h e m ,  I  su pp os e f e w companieswouldbetha tinterested. But therearerisksinvolvedas well, you know.

I C

A n d  w h a t a re  t ho se  risks? W e ll , t h e  m o s t  c o m m o n  m i st a k e c o m p a n ie s  m a k e  is t h e y  o nl y s ee  t h e savingsanddon'tbothertothinkabouttheeffectonotherkeycriteria

electronicmeetingssystem. I’vegotahandou ttogiveyouat theend. But

Such as? Well, suchasnegativepublicityasaresulto fpoorworkingconditions inthe supp lier’scountry. And, o fcourse, the re’salwaysc urrency exchangerisk.

C

Goodmorning. Firsto fall, thankyouforinvitingmeto talkaboutour pleasefeelfreetomakenotes.

criticalfo ra clothingcompany. Thereare othe rpossiblerisksaswell.

I

Listening Test Part One

suppliersat lowcost,fo rinstance, willfindtha taslabourrates increaseovertime, it'llhavetoislandhop tofindnewlowcostsites.

C

(Examfocusaudiocd)

likequalityanddelivery.A clothingcompany tha tonlybuysfromAsian

And this, o fcourse, introducesuncertaintyabo utquality- andth at ’s I

Unit 8: Exam practice

Sohowdoyougoab outweighingupallthesefactorsandchoosinga

So,w hatisDecisionMaker9?Well, quitesimply, itenablesyoutoconduct meetingseitherface-to-face orremotelyusingnetworkedcomputers. Now, you’reprobablywondering‘W hat'sthe pointo fusingcomputers?’. Well, thepointisthat unlike traditionalmeetings, everyonegetsthechance to contributebecausetheycom municate through thekeyboard. Thismeans peoplecan comm unicateopenlywithnofearo fcriticism. And believeme, tha tcanm akeabig, bigdifference.

supplier?

Sow hat are the keyadvantageso fDecisionMaker®?Well, firsto fall, there

I t ’s c r u c i al  t h a t  c o m p a ni es  k n o w p r ec i se l y w h a t  t h e y ’ re  a f t e r  fr o m  a

issimultaneousinput, meaningtha teveryone ‘talks’at once -although

supplierandtha ttheyfullyunderstandtheirkeyselectioncriteria.

electronically o fcourse. Thisproduceslotso fcontributionsasthe process

Listening Test Part Two I'm quite wellorganisedreallysoIhave noproblems dealingwith things

J

So w h a t  a r e t h e  a d v a n ta g es  o f t h e  s ch e m e  f o r Z SV ?

S

Well, forone thing, weputgrea temphasisonprovidingourstaffwith regular, highqua litytraining. Itcostsalot of time andm oneytotrain

likecreditnotesand invoices. W hat Idofindstressful, though,ishavingto dealwithpeoplewhentheyringupandcomplainaboutdamagedgoodsor alate delivery. We ’reonlyasmallcompany, youknow,soit ’supto me andm ycolleagueto sortthingsout.Although, havingsaidthat, my colleagueisn’tactuallytha tbigahelpat all. Shespendsm osto fherday

ouremployees. So, obviously, it makessenseto retain them. J

that? S

carrieson. It ’sveiyirritating, youknow.

especiallyhigh-calibregraduates. J

S pe ak in g o f y o u r  st af f,  w h a t ’s  t he  m a i n  a t t r a c t i o n  f o r  th e m ?

S

W e ll , t h e  m a j o r i ty  o f  pe o pl e i n  t h e  s ch e m e  w a n t  t o  s p en d  m o re  t i m e

M ynew colleague'sreallynice. SheworkedinDespatch upuntilabout threemonths ago, soshe’salreadyfamiliarwithalltheformsandthings

improvingtheirqualificationsbydoinganMB A orsomethinglikethat. J

weuseherea tthe company I’vestarted heroffonsome basic procedures, likepayingsalariesa nd dealingwith credit control,w hich

T h a t' s  r ig h t.  B u t  t h a t  i s n' t t h e  m a i n  b e n e fi t.  W e  s ee  t h e  s ch e m e a s primarilyatoolforattractingpotentialstafftoourcompany -

gossipingtofriends, sopeoplecanonlygetthrough tom yextension. It’sno good tryingto interr upt hereither. Shejus tshrugshershouldersand

A n d  p r o vi d in g  t he m  w i t h - f le xi bl e w o r ki n g p a t te r n s  c a n  h e lp  y ou  d o

I i m a g in e  t h e  s c he m e  m u s t  m a k e  i t  m u c h  e a s ie r f o r  s t a f f t o  lo ok  a f t e r their children too.

S

meansth at Ican concentrate onpreparingfornext m onth ’saudit. She’s

Yes, t h a t  i s a n  a d d e d  b e n e fi t,  a s i s b e i ng  a bl e t o  d e d i c at e  m o r e t im e to their outsideinterests, suchassports.

doingquitewellactually-well, whenshefinallymakesitintothe office,

J

N ow , I b e li ev e  t h e  sc h e m e i s n ’t  t o t a l ly  n ew .

tha tis. It'salmost 20 pastbythe timeshe’sgetsin...an deven laterif

S

That'sright. Therewasan oldschemebutawarenesso fitwas very

shegoestothe canteentogetsom ethingtoeatfirst. Ithinkshejustgoes

low. A/lost men, forexample, assumeditwasonlyavailabletowomen,

thereforagoodgossipwith herfriendsfromD espatch, myself.

which, o fcourse, wasn’t thecase. Thenewschemewillalsocontinue

Well, Isometimesstruggleto keepm ycoolwiththe SalesD epartm ent

toofferalternativeworkingpatterns tosta ffonbothshortand long

alwaysonat ustoget thingsmovingmorequickly. W e’rebusyenoughasit

term contracts. Onlythistime, we’remakingitavailabletoemployees

is, wha twith planningand organisingoperations, schedulingprojectsan d

at alllevelso ftheorganisationa ndno tjust peopleinm orejunior

dealingwithplantm aintenance. Itdoesn'thelphavingtosharesucha

positions.

smallspacewithm yboss. Well,weget onallrighteventhoughhe'squite

J

atidypersonand Itend to leavetheplaceina bito famess. Butw hat reallydoesannoymeistheamountoftimeIhavetospendunjamming

I s ee . A n d  w h a t  d o  y o u t h i n k  w il l b e  t h e  m o s t  p o p u l ar  e le m e n t  o f t h e scheme?Flexiblehours?

S

I t 's  d i f fi c u lt  t o  s a y a t  t h e  m o m e n t  b u t ,  y es , f l e xi t im e  i s l ik e ly  t o  b e

theprinterorthe photocopierafterhe’sbeen usingit. Ij ust finditso

popular. Typically, though, with the oldscheme, employeesshowed

inconsiderateofhimtoleavemetodealwithitallthetime.

mostinterestinhavinglongerbreaksfromwork, and Iexpectit'llbe thesame thistime. Theremightbesomeinterestin, sayjobshare

I'm usedto keepingrecordso fpricesan dord eringofficesupplies, o f

arrangementsinthefuture. Butwe'llhave

waita ndse

Answer key Unit I a: ExO:

Ex©:

operate suit supervise vary

W ork roles (Self-study) 2 C

3 C 7 A

4 C 8 C

operating suitable supervisory varied

Ex©:

1 remote 4 specify 7 challenge 10 motivation

2 sequential 5 back up 8 impact

3 virtual 6 interaction 9 e-mail

2 He was given feedback on his performance during hisjob appraisal.

Ex©:

1 into 4 on

2 for 5 with

3 under 6 on

3 Her job description didn’t outline her main duties and responsibilities very clearly.

Ex©:

1 Correct 4 Correct 1 lot 10 Correct

2 5 8 11

3 such 6 Correct 9 themselves 12 the

Ex (D:

2 've/have just promoted 3 hasn’t/has not even been working or hasn’t/has not even worked 4 did shejoin 5 told 6 saw 7 ’s/has broken 8 ’s/has been looking 9 thought 10 was 11 ’s/has made

Suggested answer: 1 The company hasjust set up a new job share system.

4 I’m really enjoying my newjob. 5 The employees carried out the job as soon as they were given their brief. 6 WorkSet was used to classify and highlight aspects of the job. 7 One of the most important things in thisjob is the ability to communicate. 8 We need to monitor the way he carries out hisjob.

Ex©:

operation suitability supervision variety

2 It was suggested that some training should be/ be organised for our team leaders.

those have Correct and

Ex 0 :

Suggested answer:

the result of global economic trends the merger these job losses

( 133 words)

This year, April sales of Fresh 'n' Cool reached 725,000 units, which was slightly down on last year's total. May saw sales fall to a new low of 700,000 units before they began to make a recovery in June. Sales rose steadily to peak at 1,3m units inJuly. However, in August, they fell slightly, to 1.25m units.

the coming together of

the challenge of

In contrast to this spring's poor performance, last year's sales showed strong growth between April and July, rising from 750,000 to over 1.25m units. However, they then fell sharply in August, finishing back at their April level of 750,000 units. Therefore, although sales of Fresh 'n' Cool were initially down on last year’s figures for the same period, they actually had a much stronger finish this year equalling last year’sJuly peak of 1,25m units. Ex ©:

the prospect of

Ex©:

At the start of 1996, shares in Consort Industries stood at $ 160. However, by the end of the year they had collapsed to just $50. They recovered steadily over the next twelve months but fluctuated sharply all through 1998. In 1999 they continued their recovery, climbing to $160 per share, where they remained throughout 2000.

Ex €):

Shares in Mandarin Technologies started trading at $150. Like Consort, Mandarin saw its shares fall during 1996 and then pick up the following year. This recovery then turned into a general upward trend, which

Ex©:

takeover growth benefits restructuring 2 3 4 5 6

different corporate cultures two companies both parties integrating two very different corporate and national cultures restructuring the department increasing profit margins redundancies failure leaving 2 merging 4 competitive 6 streamline 8 acquisition

integrate different cultures add long-term value undercut competitors’ prices reduce operating costs generate cost improvements to that

2 represents/is 4 its

R5:

/ had 4 out 7 no 10 their

2 what 5 many 8 all

3 as 6 such 9 which

Ex©:

R6A:

I order 4 Correct 7 in 10 Correct

2 5 8 11

a which the be

3 been 6 Correct 9 but 12 you

Ex©:

R6B:

I they 4 have 7 of 10 a

2 5 8 11

Correct Correct Correct make ake

3 Correct 6 that 9 to 12 for for

Unit 3a: Trade fairs (Self-study) Ex O:

I 3 5 7 9 I

Ex©:

do which it Correct Correct

'M\d \MM\r2 tr 'l

2 Correct 4 Correct 6 Correct 8 these 10 and 12 are are i s e m e | n| t| e P 1 y 0

Ex © :

I 3 5 7

invest in amount to allow for respond to

2 4 6 8

intend intend to build on participate in enquire about

make do conversation a mailshot an investment business a request research a commitment preparatory work Suggested answer:

enter into a joint venture a partnership a relationship

(130 wor words) ds)

Doing business in London London and Beijing Beijin g Look Looking ing at the overall situation, it is far cheaper cheaper to do business business in Beijing than in London. The most dramatic dramatic differences can be seen in the cost of of office space and salaries. Renting office space is currently ten times cheaper cheaper in Beijing Beijing than in London. Likewise, a bilingua bilinguall secretary secretary in Beijing Beijing earns barely a ttenth enth of the goin going g rate in London. The cost of a local local phone call call in China is more more reasonable reasonable than in the Unite United d Kingdo Kingdom, m, a five-minute call being approximately approximately 25 25% cheaper in Beijing, Beijing, as is the average cost of accommodation accommodation at a five-star five-star hotel. hotel. The The single area in which which Beijing Beijing outstrips London in terms of cost cost is rent, with the price almost double double that of a comparable property in in London.

W2: W2:

Suggested answer:

(229 words)

Ex © :

Dear Mr Salter Salter

2 It is unlikely that that the office will cea cease se to be important.

Re: Reference for M Mrr John Bridge Bridge

3 The Internet Internet looks set to explode.

Further to your lette letterr dated 15 October, October, I am writing concerning the application of o Joh fJohn Br Bridg idge for the position of Training Manager Manager at STC International.

4 More More people are are bound to want to work from home.

I have know known John John for over 15 years, and feel that that the length of our friendship, togethe togetherr with my personal experience experience of ofworking as Training Manag Manager er at at Tarbus UK, allows me to comment on his suitabilit suitability y for the advertised position position..

5 It is improbable improbable that everyone everyone will want Internet access. 6 Working from home will undoubtedly undoubtedly increase in future.

As you are aware, aware, John John is currently currently employed by Tarbus U nit nit 4b: UK as Training Training Co-ordinator for the busy Marmouth Marmouth branch, where his main responsibility is to assess the E x O : training needs needs of of the the employees and arrange training programmes to meet these needs. This involves involves liaising with a large number number of language and business skills E x © : organisation organisations s as well as evaluating evaluating the effectiveness of of the training training employees employees receive. Joh John has excel cellent interpersonal skills and and is so sociable, patient patient and a good good listener listener.. As a friend, I particularly particularly appreciate appreciate his loyalty loyalty and sense of humour. I also admire the calm and logical way in which which he approaches difficult situations. I have no hesitation hesitation in recommending him for the position of of Trainin Training g Manager Manager for your company and wish

ib

e-busine e-business ss (Self-study) (Self-study) no/little such

2 their 6 the

n t e 2w e b 3b u r a n s 50 n 1 i 6 i n 7 i n t e '11'

3 that/how that/how 4 but 7 any8 any8 which/that

n e t s i t e 1 1 e t i n s a c t / 0 n s r

n e

r a n e g r a t e r 0 w s e r t

Unit Un it 4:

Exam practice

L I:

2 popularity 1975 4 rapid expansion expansion suitable premises resources and knowledge substantial contracts 6 resources new factory high-street chemist 10 marketing marketing operations 9 brand name 12 market leader leader /1 family atmosp atmosphere here

L2: L2:

13 D 17 G 21 L

14 B 18 N 22 M

15 C 19 K

16 £ 20 J

L3: L3:

23 A 27 C

24 C 28 A

25 B 29 A

26 B 30 A

R4:

1 B 5 C 9 B

2 C 6 A 10 C

3 D 7 D

4 A 8 A

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

The client client instructs instructs the headhun headhunter ter to to fill fill a vacancy vacancy.. The headhunter headhunter identifies identifies possible candidates. candidates. The The candidates candidates are interviewed interviewed by the headhunter. headhunter. The headhunter provid provides es a shortlist of candidates. candidates. Candidates Candidates go through through the client client’’s selection selection process. process. The The client appoints one of the candidates. candidates. The The client pays the headhunter headhunter his completion fee.

Ex© :

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

extension number future reference executive search neutral location key player player sensitive information skills shortage shortage

Ex i

I

on for to in to

Ex O:

present findings 3 shortlist candidates pay a retainer

Staff motivation (Self-study)

Unit

ExO:

Ex O:

1 3 5 7 9

being Correct such any h

2 which 4 Correct 6 of 8 Correct 10 certain

2 4 6 8

on into across with

Ex & :

2 which 4 which 6 which 8 who/that 10 these/the

Unit 5:

/ 6 5 D

R5:

I 3 5 7 9

Unit 6a:

O:

Ex®:

dramatically over the same period.

its those This this/such

During 1996 and 1997 there were 175,000 employees at Svensson. Employee numbers rose steadily over the following three years to reach 2 10,000 in 2000. On the other hand, from 1996 to 1999 Mustermann saw employee numbers fall from 230,000 to an all-time low of below 175,000. In 2000, however, Mustermann felt sufficiently confident to start taking on new employees once more with the result that by the end of the year employee levels stood at 185,000, slightly higher than the figure for 1998.

Exam practice

R l:

Ex

3 5 7 9

2 C 6 C

which however each such one

4 A 8 £

2 unlike 4 only 6 a 8 both/each 10 than

Ex©:

Corporate culture (Self-study)

1 A ■ 2 A 6 6 5 C 1 3 5 7

3 E 7 B

adaptations operations interpretations infuential

3 B 7 A

4 C 8 A

2 competitors 4 promotional 6 expansion 8 perceptive

Ex

0:

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

fix salary levels conduct a meeting appreciate differences build understanding solve a dilemma follow a strategy hold a belief

Verb choose succeed expect affect pay believe solve

Noun choice success expectation effect pay/payment belief solution

Recommendations In order to deal with the issue of paper, it is suggested that the department installs a system to recycle all used printing and photocopying paper. It is expected that by adopting new recycling procedures, the department could save as much as £100 a month. As for refreshments, it is recommended that tea and coffee should only be offered free to employees during morning and afternoon breaks. At all other times employees should be required to pay for refreshments. This measure should reduce the company’s monthly bill' for refreshments from £320 to £110, thereby making a saving of over £200. Conclusion It is felt that the above measures will result in immediate and substantial savings for the Administration Department. Although these recommendations are not expected to affect the running of the department in any significant way, managers should be prepared to encounter initial resistance from staff. R4:

/ D 5 A 9 B

2 C 6 6 10 D

R5:

1 is 3 with 5 not

2 although/while 4 what 6 for

I look forward to working with you in the near future. In the meantime, if you have any further questions, please contact me on (+44) 1431 23776. Yours sincerely Martin Wallis Communications Officer

Ex

O:

Examples of industrial espionage: infiltrate a competitor, bug an office, hack into a network, leak sensitive information, steal confidential data, resort to shady practices Measures against industrial espionage: monitor photocopier use, shred important documents, bring in a security adviser, identify a perpetrator, protect a computer system, install passwords

Ex © :

1 this 4 beer) 7 Correct 10 by

Ex © :

Verb Noun Adjective accept acceptance / acceptability acceptable suspect suspect/suspicion suspect/

3 7

2 5 8 II

Correct to who it

3 of 6 Correct 9 Correct 12 a

I I do you still want 12 didn’t find/did not find 13 doesn’t/does not need to 14 ’s/has 15 's found/has found 16 ’II put

ExO:

Unit 7:

workplace safety, sexual harassment, racial discrimination, conflict of interest, environmental issues, product safety competitive practices, privacy executive salaries, gifts and entertainment/corporate gift-giving, corporate philanthropy, whistle-blowing, legal compliance, fair employment practices, delivery of high quality goods and services, industrial espionage, financial mismanagement 2 4 6 8

sexual harassment legal compliance corporate gift-giving whistle-blowing

3 workplace safety 5 executive salaries 7 racial discrimination

Ex©:

1 illegal 3 unfair 5 incorrect

2 unethical 4 unlawful 6 unofficial

Ex©:

2

precaution

Exam practice

R2:

1 C 4 G

2 F 5 D

R6:

1 Correct 4 with 7 that 10 you

2 5 8 II

W2:

Suggested answer:

the Correct what Correct

3 A 6 B 3 6 9 12

which and Correct a

(240 words)

Report Working conditions Introduction The aim of this report is to assess the main reasons for staff complaints about working conditions and propose ways of improving the situation. It is based on the results of a detailed questionnaire sent to all employees in addition to in-depth interviews with managers and union representatives. Findings As might have been expected, low pay is the main reason for staff complaints. Furthermore, a significant number of employees are not satisfied with the current level ofbonus payments and fringe benefits. Another major complaint is the employees’ working environment. In particular, poor

Ex ©:

ExO:

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

busy essential domestic cosmopolitan robust classic beneficial

Suggested answer:

hurried vital national diverse strong traditional advantageous

Ex 0 :

(137 words)

Unemployment in Italy and Germany, 1993 to 1998 General trend Unemployment figures in both Italy and Germany rose significantly over the period from 1993 to 1998. Italy Despite an overall increase, the unemployment figures were characterised by number of peaks and troughs over the six years. In 1993 unemployment stood at just over 9% of the total workforce, rising to 12% in 1995. It then fluctuated around this level until 1998, never falling below 11.5%.

(139 words)

Report: Comparison of Microsoft Corporation and Apple Computer, Inc. shares At the start of the period Microsoft’s share price was virtually twice that of Apple, by late November however, Apple had outstripped Microsoft with a share value of almost $100, $10 more than Microsoft.

Germany In contrast, unemployment in Germany rose steadily with far fewer fluctuations, increasing from 8.5% to almost 10% by late 1993. Despite an improvement the following year, with the level falling to just under 9.25%, the upward trend continued, with unemployment reaching a peak of I 1.5% by the end of 1997. However, 1998 saw unemployment drop sharply to 10.7% before levelling off.

Microsoft saw its share prices change constantly; they reached a peak of $100 in mid-July, fell to under $80 in mid-August and then recovered to $90 by September. The share price then fluctuated at or around this level until the end of November. Apple shares, on the other hand, showed an overall upward trend. The price rose from $45 per share in July to almost $80 by mid-September. Following a sharp fall at the beginning of October, the share price picked up and increased steadily, reaching a peak of $100 by the end of November.

Suggested answer:

Ex©:

I 2 3 4 5

were confirmed its the to win who

Pass Cambridge BEC Higher (Student's Book)

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