UNIT 7 Cultures TH E PLACE OF ENGLISH �"f"l • . . ·· , l • ...t. Before you read What is the place of the English language in your country? How many people speak it? Who uses it? Reading Read this article from th e Financial Times and answer the questions. FT e e 0 LEVEL OF DI FFICULTY The difficulties of cross-cultural communication by William Barnes -i m X -i to )> z English has compared frequently to Latin, flourished for centuries " 5 been speakers - who have never been which challenged to acquire the ability as they think they do.' says this to continental as an 35 to overcome what may be, by international norms. their personal is .w language lt not As a first language. English has amount already peaked - the number of to native speakers is growing, but 75 not nearly as fast as non-native o f trust or friendship. speakers. There are many experts used to be thought i n the who say that the flllure of English a guarantee 45 who have forgotten how to switch between their social personalities. common mutual comprehension, let alone is that non-native speakers may high days of the British empire is be better at using English with that everything worth knowing centre of the world shifts east. each other than native speakers. could be known in English. We Graddol, an applied so uncerta i n , as the economic Nevertheless, its current global are more likely to feel these days usc appears as strong as ever. that a language carries with i t China alone adds 20 million to it certain cultural baggage, ways of the global community of English that native speakers must be best thinking that cannot be ex pressed at communicating in English. That may not be true. I n fact , well in another language. l i nguist and consultant, observes: 'Conventjonal wisdom has native speakers may be poor at u s i ng so A man 55 Engl i sh as an international language. What is more, the who runs a speakers ss native every English have worked design year. Many speakers in Asia w i l l who not company in Bangkok thinks that necessarily accept Mr Graddol's fore ign-educated Thais often do warning about the 'native-speaker problem · , while accept ing not fit well into his work teams. presence o f native speakers may 'They think that because they are hinder communication within a group of non-native speakers.' fluent in the "global language", they somehow know all the his idea that cross-cultural communication is a tricky thing. A matter of more than just research secrets of the world. ln acquiring language. shows that, whereas intelligibility an "international" culture. they Mr 138 docs a ambition. l t i s a language that in David 30 speaking European. who has years. They are, he explains . Thais 10 wo rking in Asia will agree that merely essent ial skill of any manager with from its origins. One consequence often don ' t communicate as well worked in Asia for more than 30 usagc. lt is likely that any manager some ways is becoming separated 25 to 'foreign' speakers - may strugg le lingua franca, as it becomes the 20 clear becoming a shared resource for rap idly becoming an i nternational 15 themselves international language, even after the collapse of the Roman Empire, much of the g lobe . English 10 make 65 Graddol says c,o is the most important thing for have lost some of their cu lt ural non-native yardsticks speakers, native and 90 consequently Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Li m i te d 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE TEXT BANK ... ... UNIT 7 1 Look at how the expressions in italic are used. True or false? a) If something flourishes (line 3), it is successful. a) countries that used to belong to the U K b) A shared resource (line 6) can only be used by b) ways o f thinking that belong to a particular one person. A lingua franca (line 9) is only spoken by a small number of people in one country. The origin (line 1 3) of something is where it comes from. A native speaker (line 1 6) of a language learns it as their first language. Conventional wisdom (line 19) consists of opinions that only a few people believe. Someone's presence (line 26) in a place refers to the fact that they are there. If something hinders (line 27) something else, it helps it. c) d) e) f) g) h) 2 Complete the table with words from paragraphs 2 and 3, and related words. noun adjective . . . . . . . . a) convention present ....... intelligible . . able . . . . . . . . . . 5 Find two-word expressions in paragraphs 4 and 5 that mean the following. . . . . . . . . . . . . . b) . . . . c) ....... . d) e) native .n person . g) . . . . .. . . . . foreigner comprehensible ....... . . h) 3 Now match the adjectives in Exercise 2 to their meanings. a) understandable (2 expressions) b) usual c) relating to an individual d) referring to someone from a particular place e) not from the speaker's country f) not absent g) capable 4 What is the most important point in paragraphs 1 and 2? Choose the best summary. country, group, etc., that might not be helpful in another country, etc. c) a language spoken all over the world d) way of judging things in a particular country, group, etc. e) someone from Europe but not the U K or Scandinavia f) the way someone behaves differently depending on the context 6 What, according to someone in paragraph 5 who manages a team of them, is the problem for the members of a particular national group who speak good English? 7 Answer these questions using the words given and information from paragraphs 6 and 7 of the article. (The first one has been done for you as an example.) Is ... a) the num ber of English speakers rising as fast as it was? - No, it h«$P.�(l.k�t;l.. b) the centre of economic power moving? ­ Yes, it . . . . . . . . . . c) English declining as a world language? No, its . . . . . . . . . . d) the number of English speakers in China rising? Yes, it . . . . . . . . . . e) David Graddol right about the 'native-speaker' problem? - Not necessarily, but it's true that . . . . . . . . . . Over to you 1 'Non-native speakers may be better at using English with each other than native speakers.' Do you agree? Why? I Why not? Over to you 2 How long will it be before English is replaced as the world's lingua franca? What will replace it? Give your reasons. a) English is like Latin, as it is now spoken everywhere and is used as a language of international communication. b) Most people think that native speakers are the best speakers of English, but this may not be true when considering English as a language for international communication. c) Some native speakers make great allowances when they speak with non-native speakers and are careful to avoid using unusual expressions. PHOTOCOPIABLE Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Limited 2010 139 UNIT 7 Cult u res LIVI NG A N D WORKI NG A·B.ROAD �" .!.. ' lh' ., - Before you read Would you find it easy to live and work in another country? Why? I Why not? Reading Read this article from the Financial Times and answer the questions. FT e e 0 LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY Moving experiences -1 '"" by Pauline Harris and S i mon Kuper X -1 OJ )> z ;::; I once travelled around Japan with a British friend who was living there. Each new Japanese s without a credit card, you will will come and that i t happens to not exist. To survive. you should a lot of people should help you emigrate to find any address in Tokyo? - documents made me want to go home. But possibly need and hire a relocation says agent. especially if your company of M R I is paying. These people can do France. Otherwise even calling 35 the Japanese grammar book that he carried 60 could ·The language i s fundamental,' Martine Ruiz, Relocation Manager in Lyons. everything from putting your new How to learn it? Make a lot of with you at your rented k i tchen time. Take a course before you 40 �s table as you burst into tears. a plumber will be a torment. leave. I n vest in audio or video tapes. Find a small, local language ' You will do things wrong: it"s had yet to make. I now see that he normal,' says was the perfect expatriate. Many of Statim Relocation in Madrid. good. Hire a personal tutor. Carry 'In a years later, he is still happy i n Tokyo. 45 About 200 million people, or 3 our Soledad Aguirre intercullllral programmes. there ·s 10 trammg a school. many of which are quire bilingual where. classic in curve at two or three months, Paris when already l i v e outside their home down and people find themselves countries,and relocation continues in this hole.' adds Cathie Estevez with of Swift an in Munich. its own oddities. fn so Germany, the excitement has died Relocation 'The difficulties of l i fe in a new country have the become a real ity and they feel it's hard tO arrange for cooked dinners to be delivered. In the US, without an American credit h istory. you ss also French every teachers recommend the school " : i n other words. living Service childcare is hard to come by. I n Netherlands. 7S dictionary Some ecole flori:o111a/e. Or 'horizontal per cent of the world's population. to rise. Each country presents 140 orficial you apartment in their names to sitting the whole country as a friend he 25 more than everywhere. try to and then i nterpret it in the most 20 with understand the Japanese reasoning generous way possible. He treated 1s get through i t . problem - why was i t impossible my friend would look up from 10 home again. Knowing that this might not get a credit card. and 30 a native w local. instant friends. irritating This route work is to your also meeting partner's colleagues and potential mothers- in-law. they"ve made a bad mistake. B u t after seven or eight months. people tend to start feeling at Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Limited 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE r' � � � \ � f!A � � � \ � \ � � � � � � � � � � � r:' r' TEXT BANK ... ... UNIT 7 1 Look through the whole article for people who are mentioned. True or false? a) The name of the British person living in Japan is not given. b) Soledad Aguirre works for an organisation in Spain that helps people to move to other countries. c) She thinks that people should be careful not to make mistakes in other countries from their first day onwards. d) Cathie Estevez works in Germany for another organisation offering intercultural training programmes. e) Martine Ruiz works for the same organisation. f) Her advice is specifically about learning the local language. 2 What is the main message of paragraph 1? Choose the best one. a) Finding addresses in Tokyo is difficult, so you should always carry a street map with you. b) Japanese is difficult, so you should always carry a grammar book with you. c) Adapting to a new culture is difficult, but you should always be as open as possible. 3 Find nouns in paragraphs 1 and 2 that mean the following. a) someone who lives and works abroad b) moving to live and work somewhere different c) things that are strange d) the services of people, organisations, etc. that look after children e) someone's record of repaying loans f) someone whose job is to help people to move abroad 4 Which of these are not mentioned in paragraph 2? Cultural difficulties relating to ... a) financial services. b) food. c) finding work. d) childcare. e) finding somewhere to live. f) meeting people. 5 Use the expressions in the box to replace those in italic in the extract so as to keep the same meaning. • • • • • • be officially recognised as living in the country use the services of start crying be able to live difficult to obtain move to the new country PHOTOCOPIABLE In Germany, childcare is hard to come bya> . l n the Netherlands, it's hard to arrange for cooked dinners to be delivered. In the US, without an American credit history, you might not get a credit card, and without a credit card, you will not exisf:b>. To survivec>, you should emigrated) with more official documents than you could possibly need and hiree> a relocation agent, especially if your com pany is paying. These people can do everything from putting your new apartment in their names to sitting with you at your rented kitchen table as you burst into tearsn. 6 Answer these questions using the words given and information from paragraph 3 of the article. When you move abroad, a) will it be possible to do everything right? No, you will . . . . . . . . . . b) how might you feel after two or three months? - In a . . . . . . . . . . This is all part of the . . . . . . . . . that people follow. •.• c) will you definitely feel, after a few months, that you've done the right thing? - No, you might . . . . . . . . . . d) how will you feel after a few more months, if your experience is typical? - At . . . . . . . . . . e) how will knowing what other people feel about the experience help you? - It should . . . . . . . . . • 7 In which order is this advice given in paragraph 4? a) Buy a self-study language course. b) Find a language school. c) Find a one-to-one teacher. d) If you don't learn the language, even calling someone to make repairs to your house or flat will be very difficult. e) You will meet other people as well! f) Moving in with someone might be the best way of learning the language. g) Take a dictionary everywhere you go. h) Learning the language is extremely important. Over to you 1 Give some advice to someone coming to live and work in your country. Over to you 2 What advice would you give to someone learning your language: a) in your country? b) outside it? Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Limited 2010 141 UNIT 8 H u m a n resources TH E RAPEUTIC CON S U LTANCY . ·�·r . Before you read Are there any easy ways of telling employees that they are being fired? Reading Read this article from the Financial Times and answer the questions. FT e e 0 LEVEL OF DI FFICULTY Helping workers manage b ad news ---4 by Emma Jacobs >< ---4 tD )> z two words that came to mind economic when Professor Binna Kandola, a Bruce Irvine, Executive D i rector m 'Anxiety' and ' paralysis' 5 suggests. was redundancies. frozen, their not take more to understand why people arc simply that has work ' I n times of recession, people 45 1s Sebastian the difficulties that lie under the Executive mental energy goes into worry - su rface and prevent people from distributor gelling on with the task in hand.· energy that is d i verted from our job.' so So how can managers support has take behaviour shown than not to examine tried-and-tested approach .· Director of the TCS. 'We try to Uncertainty is stressfu l . A lot of fall He ways to improve. · Team leaders may just go back to a get teams to address some of will repeat been rather apart. marriages agrees. work fright at the economjc downturn penny of revenue counts. can behave defensively in order their 10 and care organisations and to avoid reality.' says Judith Bell, then Irvine will suffer at a time when every to tend Dr witnessed not lose their ' people home, do work effectively and performance Such a response is common, he job, organ isations conditions, employees will the .to they ' l l if leaders to manage anxiety in tough trading making imagine that so Chief Parsons. of Elysia, of Dr beauty products. will the UK Hauschka be using Described as the 'coaches i n the Grubb Institute to help him white coats' b y one investment motivate his staff and survive an bank. TCS draws on therapeutic the downturn. The challenge is economic downturn? Therapeutic models to examine employees' to come up with new ways of the workforce consultancies through in the behaviour at work. It has worked UK, such as the Grubb Institute of ss ss marketing to customers with less money to spend. Aggressive with organisations ranging from the government bodies to Mars, the methods Tavistock Consultancy Service, offer some interesting answers food group. and Morgan Stanley, the investment bank. productive and cause suspicion of management - many of his Behavioural and are Studies reporting and increased demand for their services. 142 65 she need that was redundancies, 30 fact. may harder to motivate them. says. When managers announce 25 Dr not performing well remarks. 20 In current says that, 35 employees and the managers,' he 1s the of the Grubb Institute. He says 'Everybody 10 in climate.' engineering services organisation busi ness psychologist, visited an " for companies were Ms Bell says that, in highly 60 stressful conditions, people 'Managing a fearful workforce often believe that 'aggressive or is one of the greatest problems bullying behaviour is justified·. 90 may be counter employees have left companies that · treated them like a machine · . Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Limited 2010 P HOTOCOPIABLE TEXT BANK 1 Look through the whole article to find the names of: a) a business psychologist. 6 ... ... UNIT S Read paragraphs 8 and 9 and answer these questions. a) What is the danger for team leaders in an b) two therapeutic organisations. c) the Executive Director of one of these organisations. d) another director in this organisation. e) a company and the name of a bank. f) a company head, and the name of his company. b) economic downturn? Why will Elysia be using the Grubb Institute? 7 What is the key message of the article? Choose the best summary. Therapeutic consultancy is used ... a) for people who are being made redundant. 2 Complete the table by finding grammatically related words in paragraphs 1 to 4 of the article. noun ad jective a) ......... anxious b) ......... paralysed c) ......... redundant ......... ......... d) stressful e) energetic therapy ......... ......... g) to assist organisations get through an economic downturn by helping employees deal with the psychological challenges. c) to help managers to make employees redundant without psychological problems for the managers or the employees . Over to you 1 Is it always possible to change the attitudes of people in difficult situations such as redundancy? Give some examples to support your opinion . f) uncertain h) . . . . . .. . . . fear b) 3 Now match the adjectives in Exercise 2 to these definitions. Over to you 2 What sort of consultancy or coaching would be the most suitable for improving conditions in your own organisation? Why? a) out of work b) not sure c) causing worry, tiredness, etc. d) very worried (2 adjectives) e) unable to act f) curing an illness, bad situation, etc. g) active and hard-working 4 Read paragraphs 1 to 4 and decide if these statements are true or false. When redundancies are announced, employees ... a) think it won't happen to them. b) have extreme psychological reactions. c) are unable to do their jobs properly and the organisation's financial results suffer. d) bring i n therapeutic consultants to help resolve the difficulties. 5 Choose the correct alternative. Coaches in white coots (lines so-51) implies that each consultant is a combination of: a) a bus driver and a surgeon. b) a butcher and a dentist. c) a trainer and a psychologist. PHOTOCO PIABLE Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Limited 2010 143 UNIT 8 H um a n resou rces H U MAN CAPITAL PLAN f•i i NG -.. ...;,: • • .' r i "t " Before you read What's the best way of finding the right person for a particular job? Reading Read this book review from the Financial Times and answer the questions. FT e e e LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY The right people for the right jobs by Morgan Witzel -t rn X -t OJ )> The Diffe rentiated Workforce: Transforming Talent into Strategic Impact (by Brian Becker. Mark Huselid and R ichard Beatty: published by Harvard Business Press) z � For years, there has been much 30 talk about the 'war for talent ' . The idea was that talented people The were a scarce resource for which premise companies had to compete. But hiring talented 10 people is only human requirements 35 must the US human resources follow According to the authors, Sears, the on retailer, capital believes its measures carefully levels of financial performance. truly effective. I f they are given The next is to prepare a 'human believes its the wrong jobs, with the wrong 40 that The book's main impact is to raise the idea that human capital Instead, financial At M icrosoft, the case is put quote Out-of-date HR Nathan Myhrvold. the company's former Chief Scientist, needs to be planned and treated systematically. 1s as saying that ' the top software developers are more productive policies mean too many businesses than average software developers end not by a factor of 1 0 times or I 00 rigorously, Princi ple', promoting employees times or even to the level of their incompetence­ by 1 0 ,000 times·. As the authors identify particular would of even some be better advised to plan more when companies 10 value It has still more strongly. The authors hiring and promoting people on 45 method pred ictive the strategy. argue customer satisfaction and overall performance i n the future. of talents will be able to carry out authors 65 kinds of people with what kinds how much potential talenl they The human capital plan· that indicates what pegs i n round holes, no matter its and capital arc responsible for both from strategy. The first step is to identify the business's goals and past performance is not enough. where talents and and so up following the 'Peter I ,000 times, but skills will be needed and then or they end up full of clones where find, the every employee is recruited and enormous vari ation in perfonnance right people for the right posts. trained according to a set pattern. cited by M icrosoft. but d i fferences among Differentiating employees and investing i n the one are common. especially i n This train is and develop neither quick nor easy. The authors cite a senior 144 that from the strategy for reaching them. the basis of past experience and 2s starts half the battle. They must be have. 20 book powerful i m pact on a business. w found jobs where they can be things to do, they w i l l be square 15 to fi l l a responsible position i n a complex work ing environment. ss executive at one I B M division key ones means that talent should as saying it takes at least two operate in the right place at the years to prepare an employee right time. This can have so comment: 'Few jobs show the in performance of 20- to 50-to­ s5 knowledge-intensive roles . ' a Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education limited 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE TEXT BANK "'"' UNIT S 1 Find expressions in paragraph 1 to complete these statements. a) Someone or something useful that is hard to find is a . . . . . . . . . . b) Conflict among companies to recruit the best people is referred to as . . . . . . . . . . c) When a particular effort is only part of what is required to reach a particular goal, it is only d) People in the wrong jobs are . . . . . . . . . . e) What people have done in previous jobs and the way they have done it is their . . . . . . . . . . �· \ 2 Put these steps into the correct order according to paragraphs 2 to 4 of the article. Companies should ... a) train and develop the people who have been found. b) plan human resource requirements carefully. c) identify the business's goals and the strategy for reaching them. d) find the right people for the right posts. 3 Choose the correct alternatives to replace expressions in italic so as to keep the closest meaning in the context. a) The book's main impact ... (line 43) b) c) d) e) i) collision ii) hit iii) message ... is to raise the idea ... (lines 43-44) i) lift ii) examine iii) hoist ... that h uman capital needs to be planned and treated systematically. (lines 44-46) i) methodica lly ii) superficially iii) subjectively Out-of-date HR policies ... (lines 46-47) i) fashionable ii) contemporary iii) no longer relevant ... mean too many businesses end up following the •Peter Principle', promoting employees to the level of their incompetence . . (lines 47-50) i) corruption ii) inability to perform iii) irrelevance . .. or they end up full of clones where every employee is recruited and trained according to a set pattern. (lines 51-53) i) people who are quite like each other ii) people who differ from each other iii) people who are exactly the same as each other. 4 Find adjectives in paragraphs 6 and 7 that mean the following. a) very big (8 letters) b) forecasting the future (10 letters) c) relating to money (9 letters) d) strong (8 letters) e) frequent (6 letters) f) doing a lot of work (10 letters) g) relating to jobs where information is important (9 letters-9 letters) h) producing a particular result (l l letters) 5 Decide if these statements are true or false according to the article. a) Companies should train and develop all their b) c) d) e) employees in the same way. Sears studies its h uman resource function closely. The review gives figures about the benefit of human resource planning at Sears. The figures for Microsoft show that the best programmers are slightly better than average. Other companies find differences in performance that are similar to those at Microsoft. Over to you 1 What are the arrangements for human capital planning in your organisation, or one you would like to work for? Over to you 2 ... differences in performance of 20- to 50-to-one are common, especially in knowledge-intensive roles (lines 82-85). Do you agree with this? Give some examples to support your ideas. . f) PHOTOCOPIABLE Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Limited 2010 145 UNIT 9 I ntern ati o n a l markets G ETTI NG I NTO N EW MARKETS -.":;�,,. Before you read What are the leading brands of white goods (refrigerators, washing machines, etc.) in your country? Reading Read this article from the Financial Times and answer the questions. FT e e 0 LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY Panasonic enters European white goods market by Robin Harding in Tokyo -I m X -I OJ )> z ;;:: ' I n the past, we had To enter a mature and notoriously competitive recession market might especially during seem foolish, that 'We don't just good at co-ordinating divisions,' this case, we have environmental In In the context of Panason ic's Overseas sales companies were expected turnover o f Y7 ,750bn Js fed products, not suitable. and refrigerators on the European divisions i n Japan. After 2000, market Panasonic rcnccts the group's Japanese w i l l i ngness .j() from a number European brands such by 45 financial ¥380bn - European year loss of appliance its structure to cut overlap and difference. The company's goal is focus on profi tability - it now to double current sales of €260m made money for the past three dominated 65 this its forecast net sales are unli kely to make much European tastes. market ($80bn) changed radically closes any business that has not a technologies,' said Mr Otsuki. - and of be completely redesigned to meet The arrival o f such a deep- ro always goods such as washing machines up ($33 1 m) over the next five years. 10 However, Panasonic sees years - and the company is on the Europe as a stepping stone for offensive abroad agai n . white-goods sales in Russia and The sale o f white goods in as Europe is o n the direct instructions Electrolux and Bosch and is set of Fumio Ohtsubo, Panasonic's the Middle East. on top of its markets i n Asia. M r Otsuki said 75 the company was also considering to be the first of many new areas President. that company. the project has gone abroad. such as hearing aids i n China and other Asian markets, Panasonic invades. That Panasonic is able to make such 146 Europeans. introduce ordinary products. from the front, not the top. Yet pocketed competitor w i l l shake 25 to said Hitoshi Otsuki, the Director electronics 20 strict ofPanason ic 'soverseasoperat ions. washing to take risks. The products had to 1s a division system, but we were not market its Panasonic's launch of large white 10 :10 machines loads when a In the from conception moves renccts the transformation only 1 8 months. The move to that sell the almost company, which every electrical sells and electronic product in Japan. has imaginable undergone over I0 the past so years. ss to launch 111 white goods in Europe i s backed by the revamped while so there of other was products i n terest from buyers. including i n the UK. for belief its new fuel cell-based systems that it has an edge in green technologies. such as low power that generate heat and power at home. consumption. Panasonic · s launch that will appeal Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Limited 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE TEXT BANK ... ... UNIT 9 1 Look through the whole article to find two businessmen. Who are they, and what are their jobs? � \ 2 Use appropriate forms of expressions from paragraph 1 of the article to complete the answers to these questions. a) Is it easy to make money in the European whiteb) c) d) e) f) goods market? - No, ifs very . . . . . . . . . . Is it wise to try to enter this market? No, it may be . . . . . . . . . . Is this market growing fast? - No, ies . . . . . . . . . . Does Panasonic avoid taking risks? No, it has a . . . . . . . . . . Do most Europeans prefer top-loading washing machines? - No, they . . . . . . . . . . Is Panasonic going to sell the same products as in Japan? - No, the products . . . . . . . . . . 3 Choose the alternative with the closest meaning to the expression in italic. a) The arrival of such a deep-pocketed competitor ... b) c) d) e) f) (lines 1 5-16) i) well-dressed ii) long-established iii) well-funded ... will shake up a market ... (lines 1 6-17) i) stabilise ii) transform iii) grow ... dominated by European brands such as Electrolux and Bosch ... (li nes 1 7-19) i) where European brands sell the most ii) where European brands are less successful iii) where only European brands are sold ... and is set to be the first of many new areas that Panasonic invades. (lines 19-2 1) i) withdraws from ii) starts to sell to in large quantities iii) does research i n That Panasonic i s able to make such moves reflects the transformation that the company, ... (lines 21-24) i) shows ii) denies iii) contradicts ... which sells almost every electrical and electronic product imaginable i n Japan, has undergone over the past 10 years. (lines 24-28) 0 imposed ii) overcome iii) been through 5 Read paragraphs 4 and 5 and decide if these statements are true or false. a) Panasonic•s Overseas Sales Director decided to sell white goods to Europe. b) The project took one and a half years to put into action. c) Panasonic•s managers think that it is better at producing environmentally friendly products than some other companies. d) Panasonic's President is quoted talking about these technologies. e) One example given of an environmental technology is in relation to the amount of electricity that their products use. f) Panasonic thinks it might be difficult to attract Europeans to these products because tastes are different there. g) The company is expected make a loss this year but it will be less than a tenth of sales revenue. h) In five years, the com pany hopes to have sales of about €520 million in Europe. 6 Find expressions in paragraphs 5 and 6 with these meanings. a) an intermediate stage (two words) b) devices to help people to hear better (two words) c) devices to produce energy (four words) d) electricity (one word) e) in addition to (three words) f) objective (one word) g) selling products for the first time (one word) h) to produce (one word) Over to you 1 What other consumer goods are modified to reflect different tastes around the world? (Product size, characteristics, etc.) I i L..::.� ._:: - - Over to you 2 What information and advice would you give to a white-goods manufacturer trying to sell in your country for the first time? (Main competitors, sales outlets, pricing, etc.) 4 Read paragraph 3 and answer these questions. a) Why was Panasonic less competitive globally? b) What did it do to compete more effectively? PHOTOCOPIABLE Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education limited 2010 147 UNIT 9 I nternational m arkets B U S I N ESS-TO-BUS I N ESS E-COMMERCE .� '- . . -,.. ·: _:· .. Before you read How important is e-commerce in your country for: a) consumers (for example, eBay and Amazon)? b) business-to-business? Reading Read this article from the Financial Times and answer the questions. FT LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY e e 0 Alibaba by Kathrin H i l le Every time a salesperson at online trading s site Alibaba signs up 30 million triumph. B u t today they have been model is the assumption A l i baba's o f its business - 28.7 registered users are in its home market. To soften 60 the blow. Alibaba has provided loans The key to A l i baba's business in excess of R m b I bn to SMEs that would otherwise have that struggled to get money. online small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are those that trading platform for businesses, can benefit most from the Internet is being interviewed in the open­ because it gives them access to geographic plan office. If Mr M a feels most buyers they would otherwise only financial crisis, we were helping the world's largest 35 B u t a bigger change for Mr Ma's C> s company i s the group's shifting focus. meet at trade shows. With access China's we are thinking about helping closest to what the 44-year-oJd a l s o reduces their dependency o n has been doing over the past 1 5 market-dominant clients. of the I nternet and convincing Now SMEs in the other parts of the world. Help them sell across Wal-Mart, the nations. Help them to sell these big-size buyers, k i l led a to China,' he says. ' I n the next 'Companies 45 10 abroad. this to a wider pool of customers, i t -10 products ' Before it is because their work comes years: preach ing the importance like lot of SME products on Alibaba 's business- M a . ' B u t now most o f the S M E to-business e-commerce website. buyers and sellers started to do a global platform for SMEs to business exchange products.' registered users worldwide and generated revenues of so - Although is ss so others, far a China's so economy faring better than domestic trade has pure China exporting centre to In the past s i x months, Alibaba has made because of the Internet. So 1 think 43 per cent intends to hire another 4,500 this 1s world believe small is beautiful.' up from the previous year. The group employs 1 2 ,000 people and throughout the Mr the world has moved. 1 strongly 2.2bn renminbi ($322m) i n the first n i ne months of last year buyers,' says 1 0 years, we are moving from a companies to pay for offering their Today, A l i baba has 36 million 148 leading which Mr Ma founded in 2003. comfo11able next to his sales force, 25 China's consumer e-commerce platform, of 20 Taobao, entire sales department cheers i n Jack M a , founder and chairman 15 of and an imp011ant new account, the asked to keep the noise down, as 10 year. It also controls Yahoo China big push in this direction with a programme called Export to China, which offers non­ Chinese sellers vi.rtual Chi nese­ language storefronts. slowed, affecting a large chunk Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Limited 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE TEXT BANK .... UNIT 9 1 Look through the whole article and match the figures to the things that they refer to. 1 a) jack Ma's age 12,000 2 15 3 4 5 6 7 b) the number of employees at Alibaba 28.7 million c) the number of years Alibaba has existed d) the number of people to be 44 recruited by Alibaba this year 4,500 e) the number of Alibaba's registered users in China f ) Alibaba's revenues for the first 36 million three quarters of last year $322 million g) the number of Alibaba's registered users worldwide 2 Find expressions in paragraph 1 of the article that mean the following. a) workplace without walls b) telling people about the benefits of something c) shout with joy d) relaxed \ extract below with an appropriate form of one of the expressions in the box. • supply • reduce the negative effects • perform • part • internal (used twice) • find it difficult Although China's economy is so far faringal better than others, domesticbl trade has slowed, affecting a large chunkcl of Alibaba's business - 28.7 million of its registered users are in its homedl market. To soften the blowel, Alibaba has providedfl loans in excess of Rmb1bn to SMEs that would otherwise have struggledsl to get money. 5 Combine the words in the box below to make expressions from paragraph 6 that refer to the following. a) websites in Chinese for companies outside China who want to sell there (4 words) e) persuading b) suppliers not based in China or run by Chinese g) group of salespeople c) changing emphasis on different parts of the world f) between companies rather than consumers � 4 Replace each expression in italic in the h) get a new customer i) be quieter than usual 3 Read paragraphs 2 to 4 and decide if these statements are true or false. a) Alibaba's revenues for the whole of last year will be less than Rmb2 billion. b) There are nearly seven renminbi (Rm b) to the dollar. c) The increase in revenue in relation to the previous year is more than 40 per cent. d) By the end of this year, Alibaba will employ nearly 17,000 people. e) Jack Ma's group only deals with business-to- business e-commerce. f) Alibaba gives small businesses access to a larger number of customers. g) The customers that SMEs can find on Alibaba are the same ones that they would meet at trade fairs. h) SMEs until now have relied on a few, very large customers. i) Large buyers in the past pushed out smaller ones. j) The world has changed, according to Mr Ma. PHOTOCOPIABLE (3 words) d) a website that has users all over the world (2 words) e) a website used only by companies based in China that want to sell abroad (4 words) f) a period when banks do not lend, businesses go bust, people lose their jobs, etc. (2 words) virtual storefronts shifting sellers pure platform non-Chinese language global geographic centre financial exporting crisis Chinese China ·:·; :)):: :. 0�1 ' �/: /?/\''! ·' ':,·:·: : :�:·::'·:// :. . ·. : ,' . / · . } .:,;:.:.· · ·,' :�j;;i ; 1:t jJ focus . ,, . Over to you 1 Imagine that you work for an SME. Would you use the Internet to buy supplies, equipment, etc. from another SME that you had never heard of in another country? What guarantees would you require? Over to you 2 In what ways has the Internet made it easier for small companies to do business, apart from e-commerce? Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Limited 2010 I people (3 words) 149 UNIT 10 Eth i cs -··r-. .,/; ETH ICAL CVS . :.� Before you read In some places, employers are using Google to check the information in job applicants' CVs. Is this reasonable? Why? I Why not? Reading Read this article from th e Financial Times and answer the questions. FT e e 0 LEVEL OF D I FFICULTY Beware the risky business of resume fraud by Jonathan Guthrie -f m X -f tiJ )> z Recent research by the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors " s banker or lied on a curriculum vitae. d i rector.' applicants clements applicants may safely The level of lying i s increasing close up suspicious gaps in their leave out. Date of birth is one. I f you arc over 4 0 , you w i l l increase 35 Third, need the money' i n an application oo employmelll history. In one case competition for jobs rises. lt was investigated by Krol l . a candidate the same during the downturn turned out to have spent a three­ o f the early 1990s. A journalist month gap in prison for fraud. your chance of an interview by c.s leaving this out. You w i l l not get the job, but at least there will be How can the honest candidate .w for a new job. There are other free coffee and biscuits. compete? A newspaper job advcrt­ What troubles me most about isemem can auract up to 700 lying on resumes is that those e x p lai ned a year of total inactivity applicants, reports Owen Morgan by telling possible employers that of he had been writing a guide to the consultancy. A junior HR officer academic will typically reduce these to a Patrick l mbardc l l i , Asia boss of wild nowcrs of the Pyrenees. �5 Penna, a human 10 resources Charles Thomas of Kroll, a long list, spending no more than company whose services include I 5 seconds examining each CY. who have done very good at their jobs. qualifications it I nterContinental 75 exposed as are often Hotels, false only The of were during job Or they may simply do a key­ routine applicants, says that inaccuracies word search on CYs submitted was Colleagues described Neil Taylor, background checks on electronically. Kerwin groups. First, there arc honest counsellor HR mistakes, typically made when Fairplace, on CYs divide into three main so at Hack, a therefore suggests candidates mix up dates. Second, using phrases from the job ad i n the CY. ss when to the he board. fake degree got h i m a £ 1 1 5 ,000 salary as the Chief Executive of a large UK hospital group, as highly competen t ' . • When Hack, Ko checks promoted whose consultancy there is deliberate lying about qualifications. Mr Thomas says: 'A I ie told 20 years ago to get a 150 investment has become a successful finance was entirely fake. Another friend 25 from using the words 'I rea lly he swi tches jobs, even though he his degree from a top university 20 redundant reality. So he tells it again when found that 30 per cent of job colleague admjtted to me then that 15 job can become part of the liar's applicants embellished the truth as unemployment increases and 10 JO I he last encountered Mr was discouraging a Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Li m ited 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE TEXT BANK ... ... UNIT 10 1 Look through the whole article and find these expressions related to lying. a) Someone who tells lies is a I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b) If someone 'improves' their exam results, previous job performance, etc., they • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . t. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . e . . . • t. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • c) Something that is not true or genuine is fa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . or fa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . d) A period on a CV that is not explained may look like a r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · . . . 2 Look through the whole article again and find six examples of lying on CVs and the people responsible for them. 3 Look at paragraph 1. Why is the amount of lying on CVs increasing? 4 Read paragraph 2 and answer these questions. a) What are the three types of false information on CVs? b) Which of these involve actual lies? c) What can be done to see if lying has occurred (two possible expressions of two words each)? 5 Read paragraph 3 and decide if these statements are true or false. a) A newspaper job advertisement might get over b) c) d) e) 7 Use appropriate forms of the expressions in the box to replace those in italic in the extract below so as to keep the same meaning. 700 applications. All the applications are looked at in detail. The applications are reduced to a long list. The CVs in the applications may only by looked at by doing word searches on a computer. It isn't good to use expressions from a job advertisement in the application. • • university make (someone) a director show to be bother extremely good at (one's) job What troublesa> me most about lying on resumes is that those who have done it are often very good at their jobs. The academich> q ualifications of Patrick lmbardelli, Asia boss of I nterContinental Hotels, were exposed asc> false only during routine checks when he was promoted to the boardd>. Colleagues described Neil Taylor, whose fake degree got him a £1 1 5,000 salary as the chief executive of a large U K hospital group, a s 'highly competent'e>. Over to you 1 Is it acceptable in your country to leave out one's date of birth and marital status (single, married, divorced, etc.) from your CV? Why? I Why not? Over to you 2 How much should employers take account of each of the following when considering someone for a job? a) The overall look of their CV b) Their experience c) Their qualifications d) Their performance at the job interview Give your reasons. 6 Read paragraph 4. What two things should applicants leave out from their CV? PHOTOCOPIABLE Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Limited 2010 151 UNIT 10 Eth i cs ,: WHISTLE BLOWERS - ..J......!! Before you read A whistleblower is an employee who tells the authorities about wrongdoing in their organisation. What cases of whistleblowing have you heard about or could you imagine in these industries? a) airlines b) chemicals c) cars d) banking Reading Read this article from the Financial Times and answer the questions. FT e e 0 LEVEL OF D I FFICULTY What whistleblowers should know b y Michael Skapinker The House o f Commons Treasury they did not expect. Long after Committee has been examining the the management of UK banks 5 about all the injustices you have In evidence to the committee, Paul them.' the story, not for yourself.' Mr Moore was i n a far stronger position .w blow the Mr Moore followed that advice, 10 which is why his intervention at whistle the Treasury committee was so HBOS employee. H e was Head devastating. But he made plenty Group Regu latory Risk. of enemies previously along the way. A unpublished review the That meant that it was his job res ignation of Sir James Crosby as to point out the risks the bank of his departure by accountants led to 75 was running. HBOS made him KPMG accused h i m Services Authority. the regulator redundant after a restructuring. matters of the UK banking industry. I t He way ' . was S i r James, at that time HBOS under Chief Executive, who had forced laws and reached a 'substantial' Deputy Chairman of the Financial Mr Moore out of h i s job at the 45 so Accountability Project, organisation that whistleblowers, has a anyone else a whi stleblowcr order that happened. but gagging to suffer. It warns that whistleenormous would ' We l l , they wouldn't they?' The first dramatic Moore's lesson response: say that, of whistle­ blowing is that people will try to s5 discredit you so, hard as it is, keep your cool. The second i s : after every discussion, e-mail Public Interest Disclosure law. The lesson management oo for is even corporate c learer. When you start receiving polite e-mails telling you the company or incompetence, but they need oo of 'stating overly a note repeating your concerns. pointing out cases of corruption think hard before Mr an whistleblowers against employer's you do because you are going so prevented Whistlcblowers are essential i n wrongdoing: an protection of an 'pay dismissal in have no force under the UK's orders 55 message thinking exposing blowers unfair settlement. He had agreed to a had US supports for him talking publicly about what Few whist leblowers enjoy such sweet revenge. The Government for sued gagging bank. 152 to advocate for an than most. He was not just any of Mr Moore's evidence to the committee quickly JO It advises whisteblowers on how to deal with the media: ' Do not talk been through . Be it was expanding too fast. 25 65 your will remember what you did to ago to HBOS, the U K bank, that 20 forgotten brave actions, your former bosses J5 time of his warnings three years 15 has leading up to the banking crisis. Moore spoke publicly for the first 10 public to know how to go about i t . is Whist leblowers can b e extremely pay attent ion. You may see the bitter about their The Government Accountability for their actions - often a price Project recognises the dangers. something wrong, same words 1n a parliamentary experiences. professional and personal price doing 95 report. Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education limited 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE TEXT BANK �. I. 1 Look through the whole article and match the people and organisations to their descriptions. 1 a) a body in the U K Paul Moore 2 Sir James Crosby 3 b) House of Commons c) Treasury Committee 4 H BOS d) 5 e) the FSA 6 the Government Accountability Project f) 7 g) KPMG parliament that looks at problems in the economy and finance industry an accountancy firm who wrote a report about Mr Moore's actions at H BOS the Chief Executive of H BOS and then Deputy Chairman of the FSA before he had to resign the bank where Mr Moore worked Head of Group Regulatory Risk at H BOS until he was made redundant the organisation in the U K that oversees banks to make sure that they are managed properly a US charity that supports whistleblowers 2 Answer the questions using information from paragraphs 1 to 4 and the words shown. a) What did Paul Moore warn H BOS management about three years ago? - That it was . . . . . . . . . . .. .. UNIT 10 4 Look at paragraphs 5 to 7 and find: a) a noun used to talk about someone not doing their job properly. b) an adjective describing the negative feelings of many whistle blowers. c) a plural noun referring to the bad treatment that they often receive. d) a noun meaning someone who expresses a particular opinion. e) a formal noun referring to a time when someone speaks at a meeting, etc. f) an adjective to say that something is very effective. g) an adverb to say that something is done too much, too intensely, etc. h) a verb used to say that someone should not be believed. 5 Look at paragraphs 5 to 7 again and find three pieces of advice for being an effective wh istleblower. Over to you 1 What sort of legal protection do whistleblowers receive in your country? Over to you 2 Why are whistleblowers so often badly treated by their colleagues, even if everyone knows that the company is doing something wrong? b) What happened to him? - He was forced . . . . . . . . . ; he was made . . . . . . . . . . c) Where did he give evidence about his experiences? - To the . . . . . . . . . . d) How did he get his revenge? - His former boss at H BOS . . . . . . . . . from his job at the FSA. e) What happens to most whistleblowers? - They . . . . . . . . . for their actions and pay an . . . . . . . . . . f) What happens in the long run? - People forget . . . . . . . . . , but the whistle blower's bosses . . . . . . . . . . 3 Decide if these statements are true or false. If ... a) a company undergoes restructuring (line 46), it reorganises. b) an employer sues for unfair dismissal (line 47), they lose their job without getting extra money. c) someone in a legal dispute reaches a substantial settlement (lines 49-50), they get a little money. d) there is a gagging order (line 5 1) after an agreement between two sides, the people involved cannot talk about it. PHOTOCO PIABLE Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Limited 2010 1 53 UNIT 11 Leaders h i p ?: . TH E NORDIC LEAD E RS H I P STYLE . .· Before you read Which one of each of these pairs of characteristics do you associate with a Nordic or Scandinavian style of leadership? a) high-profile/low-profile b) consultation before making decisions I telling people what to do without consulting them c) symbols of power such as large offices I modest lifestyle Reading Read this article from t h e Financial Times a n d answer the questions. FT e e 0 LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY J orma 0 llila -i m X -i OJ )> z b y R i chard M i lne " 5 I ndeed, Mr Ollila says he is most The concern for what he calls group of the continent's leading of all 'a people manager' . For 'the human role' above thjngs like industrialists, example, Ollila is oo skills and strategy comes across in approach to business. He echoes the operational 58-year-old Finn, of both largest company, style and Shell, Europe's group. He is is Js 1 992, he Nordic General Electric, in criticising some companies' sole focus on treat Royal Dutch internal conOicts. He argues that shareholder value. 'The current management has to take such a crisis will lead to a rethink task seriously, instead of making t h e corporate world. I t i s n o t just biggest oil Head of Roundtable 40 its people and deal with of it ·an annexe i n the annual report ' . A s CEO, he fe lt his role was 'to continent's leading 50 or so chief get everybody involved, create a to work in the background.' says low-key style contrasts sharply with his record. D uring his so Values are not the only Nordic should 75 the adopt. Nordic He way that but protecting people from expecting negative aspects and providing anything other than part of a team with an average age industrial conglomerate into a global mobile phone powerhouse. under 40 who then turned Nokia around. ' I t was an entrepreneurial to globalisation its everyone w i t h a good education at best.' Most fondly, turned what was once a struggling being open argues o f capitalism - however, he talks of his time as ss or first two years without anybody he He has long had a focus on mid-term Iong-tem1 profitab i l i t y but it is also about certain values. ' much. 'We could work for the survival 1 5 years as of Nokia. short-term, 111 thing Mr Ollila thinks the world and then: run ' . by the fact that nobody expected As well as masking his level of his about 10 M r Ollila was helped at the start Mr Ollila. in what could almost be today. 65 sense of urgency. who does what, 45 h i s mission statement. Chief Executive for the phone Industrialists, a grouping of the i n O uence passion Jack Welch, the former boss of still found time to set out values on how the group should behave. the his mobile also European who Nokia, of executives or chairmen. ' We like 154 was the company's CEO in the 25 Nokia suits world's 20 although in trouble when he took over as Chairman 15 Jonna JO hardly a household name. This the 10 he says. the social aspects of business. Despite chairing two of Europe's largest companies and heading a so - provides the answers that are needed. task. It was extremely rewarding,' Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Limited 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE TEXT BANK ... ... UNIT 11 1 Find expressions in paragraphs 1 and 2 that refer to the following. a) the way that someone works b) someone who is very well known c) heads of companies d) behaviour that is not meant to be noticed e) an unsuccessful group of companies f) a very important business person working in industry g) a sentence that describes a com pany's main purpose h) a dynamic company 2 Decide if these statements are true or false. If ... c) d) e) a) Nobody expected Nokia to do more than H!.IY.f.v..g., at best. b) Mr Ollila talks of his time as part of a team with f. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c) He approached the work like an e. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . d) He talks about the Nordic approach to business with p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . e) What he says about business is an . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . of what Jack Welch has said. f) Companies should not f. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . � . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . on shareholder value. e . a) something suits (line 6) something else, b) 5 Complete these sentences with appropriate forms of words used in paragraphs 4 to 6 of the article. The first one is done for you as an example. it helps it to succeed. you work in the background (line 1 7) , you want to be seen. something masks (line 20) something else, it hides it. something contrasts with (line 22) something else, they are the same. you turn something into (lines 2 5-26) something else, you transform it. 3 Look at paragraph 3. What did Jorma Ollila focus on at Nokia? a) stechnical skills b) people management c) competitive strategy . . . . . . . . . g) The way that companies are managed needs to be r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . h) We need to think less about how to make a p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and more about the a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . of human values. i) There should be o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . towards globalisation but we should give p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to people against its negative effects. . . . . . . . Over to you 1 Would it be easy to apply similar Nordic approaches to management in your country? Why? I Why not? Over to you 2 Is it always possible for managers to work in the background? Why? I Why not? 4 Which of these management tasks is not mentioned in paragraph 3? How a company should ... a) decide salary levels. b) treat its people. c) manage disagreements. d) involve people. e) create a sense that things had to be done quickly. f) pay performance-related bonuses. g) allocate tasks. PHOTOCOPIABLE Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Limited 2010 155 UNIT 11 Leaders h i p -�� LEADERS H I P I N D I FFICU LT TIMES -= · '�' · Before you read What should leaders do and say during difficult times for their company? Should they tell their employees how bad things are, or should they sound optimistic? Reading Read this article from t h e Financial Times a n d answer t h e questions. FT LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY e e e The challenges facing leadership by Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones Leadership is more important than York at the time of the te1Torist ever. Organisations that are well attacks of 200 l led have a much better chance 5 just and constructively reshaping events. in the right place at the right time, Second, a strong focus may be a required for survival. Leaders will your eye off critical processes that New York would be back. leadership and smart this. First, always a development organisations since know leadership contextual 35 is leading pharmaceutical 60 40 of U K retailer Tesco, recently actions are l i kely to be painful. that the unpopularity 65 expense o f team or organisational lf people must leave, opportunity for them to further cohesion. develop their popular brand i n they must leave with dignity. Michael 0 'Leary, Ch iefExccuti ve in their company. The old of low-cost airline Ryanair, goes idea of ' managing by walking even further. He welcomes the on But they should not come at the of Finally, the financial services business. a real sense of what is going including cutbacks and cost control. These Finance the retail banks represented an in a prioritisation, Director Higginson, said company need to be foc used on hard-nosed, tough Tn much the same way, Andrew - i s vital. Effective leaders have sensing situations and building team cohesion will 10 require social closeness to ensure a company-wide sense that 'we are recession. In his view, it will k i l l a l l in t h i s together ' . The criticism truth: you need to be in a position off poor operators and show what targeted at some senior business to collect soft data, to know a great business Ryanair i s . around' contained one great 45 Each what is happening on the shop floor before the B u s i ness leaders will also be of 5o leaders rewrite tested by their capacity to make the sense of a difficult situation. Rudolph Giuliani. Mayor of New entirely both it. danger leaders, for example, stems from these examples that effective demonstrates management i n formation system tells you. 156 not proactively he also offered New Yorkers hope is different from leading 25 involves but for the future - he assured them shi pyard - the ability to adapt 20 reacting This is not the occasion to take in 15 leadersh i p of surviving in difficult times. of 10 30 55 , was not only read context In is the fact that they continue to pay themselves bonuses while others suffer. B u t strong ' i dentification and times, with the troops' should not limit business the ability of leaders to step back difficult that 75 leaders are trapped and become Skilled reactive. so and see the bigger picture. Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Limited 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE • � 1.. TEXT BANK 1 There are three main points in the article. Look through the whole article and find the first word that introduces each point. 2 Match the adjectives (1-6) to the nouns (a-f) that they relate to in the article. 1 a) processes vital 2 soft 3 b) leadership c) data smart 4 critical 5 effective e) ability to adapt 6 contextual f) leaders d) organisations 3 Now match the phrases from Exercise 2 to their meanings. i) related to the human or emotional rather than the ii) iii) iv) v) vi) factual or statistical extremely important capacity to change extremely important ways of doing things ways of leading that depend on when or where something occurs leaders who produce results intelligent companies, etc. �� UNIT 11 7 Complete the table with words from paragraphs 5 and 6 and related words. noun adjective focus .. .. . . . . . . . toughness . . . . . . . . . pain . . . . . . . . . a) b) c) d) dignified e) · · · · · · · · · cohesive . . . . . . . . . organisation · · · · · · · · · g) . . . . . . . . . f) close 8 What is the danger when a leader is too close to the workforce? Over to you 1 Think of someone who provided leadership through difficult times. What was the most important aspect of their leadership style? Over to you 2 What, if anything, should be done about leaders who continue to receive bonuses even when their organisations are in trouble? 4 Look at paragraphs 2 and 3 and find three leaders, their jobs and their organisations. 5 Now match the leaders in Exercise 4 to their ideas. a) He thinks that declining economic activity is a good thing as it will eliminate the weaker companies in his industry. b) He said that the city would recover. c) He says that the banking crisis is good for his company because it will be more able to offer financial services. 6 Look at paragraph 4. Which adjective refers to someone who only acts following events, and which adverb describes the actions of someone who tries to anticipate events? What expression is used in relation to each of these types of leadership? PHOTOCOPIABLE Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Limited 2010 157 UNIT 12 Co m petition TAKI NG ON _COM PETITORS L · ' �. ,.-· � '+'1 1'1r'_.. - Before you read Think of situations where a new competitor might be able to do better than existing companies. For example, what i mprovements could a new competitor bring to the way these products and services are sold? a) fast food b) cars c) consumer electronics Reading Read this article from the Financial Times and answer the questions. FT LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY e e 0 Best Buy 's competitive threat to rivals by Tom Braithwaite .i n London --l m >< --l IXJ )> z Best Buy, the electronics world's retailer, has largest w i l l start to stock laptops at each sent of its a shockwave through the troubled JO European market with a plan to ;;r:::: s such as Germany's MedjaMarkt operate a arc time when struggling margins and consumer it 15 will be under the Plans for the roll-out of Best Buy's trademark 'big box' format, spending. However, time with stores trading under its own over 40 for 'tech stress' suffered 65 ' Except for the accent, we couldn ' t tell the difference between the people we were talking to US retailer, and Charles Dunstone, M innesota Best Buy's European operation is his firing on all cylinders. The UK will be the launchpad next by increasingly together link Anderson, Chief Executive of the counterpart the com pi icated electronic products: name. were being made by Brad before job Mr Anderson. shoppers, attempting to buy and retailers depressed good said US and the U K , he was struck by the brand. the U K . worries terribly After consumer research i n the oo earphone in with some will continue to the By announcing a tie-up with at year, although the people in we were talking to i n Londo n . ' earphone. both and 10 M r Dunstone, w h o h a s al ready brought men Best Buy's successful Geek Squad, a team of roaming have dodged questions as to how , Carphone Warehouse i n the U K . many Best Buy-branded stores technical service specialists, to 20 of a 50-per-cent share in the joint the joint venture would open. M r the venture will open up a new avenue Anderson did acknowledge there the U S group's 45 £ 1 . 1 b n purchase of growth for a company that has 923 stores in the U S , as well as smaller 25 158 a consumer,' venture will inherit earphone's at that o u r industry i s n o t doing market last year. The new joint stores. which Currys and Comet a t t h e heart of t h e deal. ' I t h i n k its successful entry into the PC open stores across the continent. 35 ss following The US group will take on brands and France's Fnac, as well as 10 2,400 stores, operations in Canada so 75 UK. added: 'Consumers in Europe are really ready for was an ' i ncentive to develop a someone to come and try to do a meaningful business in Europe as better job.' rapidly as we possibly can'. and China, and plans to open u p B u t he was keener to talk about i n Mexico a n d Turkey. Over the next three months, earphone the less tangible aspects of selling consumer electronics - which l i e Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Li m ited 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE � � \ TEXT BANK 1 Look through the whole article and match each company (1-7) to its description (a-f). 1 � Best Buy 2 earphone a) a French retailer of consumer b) Warehouse 3 MediaMarkt c) � � 4 Comet d) 5 Currys e) ', � 6 Geek Squad f) � � \ 7 If ... b) c) � d) � e) � � � � � � � f) 3 place, it has a big effect. a competitor takes on (line 6) others, it competes with them for the first time. you struggle (line 1 1) with something, it is hard to do. margins are depressed (line 1 1), the profit for each product sold is more than before. there are worries (line 1 2) over something, people are optimistic. something is firing on all cylinders (line 16), it is working less well than it could. Look at paragraphs 2 and 3 and answer the questions. a) Will the joint venture involve building new stores b) c) d) e) f) g) h) UNIT 12 5 Find these expressions in paragraph 3. a) an adverb meaning 'fast' b) an adjective used to say that something is worth doing c) a verb meaning 'avoid' (give the infinitive) d) a verb meaning 'admit' e) a noun used to talk about someone i n an organisation with the same job as someone in another f) a noun referring to the size and shape of something g) a noun referring to the first stage in a process h) a noun used to talk about a reason for doing something i) a noun referring here to the introduction of a new chain of stores a) an event sends a shockwave (lines 2-3) through a � � Fnac 2 Look at how the expressions in italic are used in the article. True or false? � � electronics a German retailer of consumer electronics a US company that wants to get into the European market a team of technical experts who travel round fixing computers, etc. a U K company that is i n a joint venture with Best Buy a UK retailer of consumer electronics (two companies) �� immediately? Will the joint venture operate under the Best Buy brand? Will it extend this activity? Why has Best Buy entered into a joint venture? How much is Best Buy investing and what does this give them? How are Best Buy and earphone going to work together in the U K? Has earphone Warehouse already started selling PCs? Does Best Buy already have stores in Mexico and Turkey? 6 Find expressions in paragraphs 4 and 5 that mean the following. a) travelling b) more willing c) concrete characteristics d) complex e) are the main reason for f) anxiety when dealing with electronic products 7 Which of these possible reasons for the joint venture are not given in the article? Best Buy ... a) can offer lower prices than competitors. b) thinks that some European competitors may go out of business soon. c) thinks it can offer a better service to people who are confused when buying electronics. d) wants to expand in Europe. e) wants to use the U K as a launchpad for new stores in Turkey. Over to you 1 Do you suffer from 'tech stress' when buying electronic products? If so, what are the main causes? Over to you 2 Retailers often have trouble breaking into new markets. What are some of the possible reasons for this? 4 Now put your answers to the questions in Exercise 3 in the correct order to make a summary of that part of the article. � � PHOTOCOPIABLE Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Limited 2010 159 UNIT 12 Com petition --� BREAKI NG U P MONO POLI ES .·. ; ;�: Before you read Think of two or three important industries in your country. What is the competitive situation in each? Are there any monopolies (situations where there is only one possible supplier)? Reading Read this article from the Financial Times and answer the questions. FT e e 0 LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY Tide slowly begins to turn against private monopolies by Adam Thomson -f m X -f o::J )> z :::-:::: Try asking for a foreign beer i n invest igator any fi n e restaurant Commission for Latin America in Mexico and the chances are that it w i l l n o t stock a single one. Instead, beer from just one of the two big economy lack overwhel ming. is the two big 40 media the regulated,' he to the public i nterest.' So what. are the by said. 'They do not always respond the 10 i f anything, has changed since problems, argues Ms Shatan, has then? Surprisingly, perhaps, some observers are starting to sec small but important improvements. is still largely in the hands of were privatised i n the late 1980s Telmcx and early 1 990s at a time when in the case of fixed­ state-owned companies One example is the banking 1s sector. Changes law to stop case of cellular telephony. The bad state. 'Raising money was bundling products together and paint market is overwhelmingly almost the only consideration,' now associated with just one name: she says. 'Not much thought was i n formation in a way that allows given to how they were going to 50 to Ccmex , the cement giant. is in everywhere Mexico, notoriously potential companies private hands, in passed Another many into in cases keeping their monopolistic status and economists say that it has become simply them customers to provide easily to compare products between banks. behave and operate afterwards.' In practice, these state-owned you competition absent. so obliges banks the have 45 forced in public finances were in a very look ss area is portability telecommunications, the ability of customers from one company to switch providers At the same time, regulations and while retaining the same number. one of the principal reasons for regulators This year. Cofetel, the telecoms the sectors of the country's relatively low growth over the past decade. I t has high also led to prices unnecessarily and a lack of innovation. they say. As 160 of 'The regulators have been captured I ,000 Almost 30 One i nterview last year, he told the Ff: to do with the way more than difficult not to hand money over 25 65 Mexican competition telecommunications and companies. Te lecommunications Comex. Build a house, and it is w of the ment's transport min ister. agrees. In an 'The that result from never from both. Television line services, and Telcel in the 15 111 Mexican brewers - and almost Tc levisa, Economic it i n a recent interview: distortions by TV Azteca and the and the Caribbean (Eclac), put 35 the restaurant will offer you a dominated 10 at Claudia Shatan. 55 governing strategic economy regulator. were Academics say that the result today is often one of institutional finally forced all providers to introduce the change. only set up as an afterthought. 90 potentially creating far more competition between carriers. weakness. an Even Luis Tellez, the govern- Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education limited 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE TEXT BANK ........ UNIT 12 1 Look through the whole article to find names of companies in these industries in Mexico. (In some cases, no company is named.) 5 Replace the words in Italic with nouns from Exercise 3. a) It was when state com panies were bought by i nvestors. a) cement b) banking b) There hasn't been enough of it, and the Mexican c) paints economy is suffering. c) Not much of this was given to how companies would act after they were sold by the state. d) mobile telecommunications e) fixed-line telecommunications f) beer g) television d) This and this were not in people's minds when the 2 Look at how the expressions in italic are used. True or false? a) If something is notoriously absent (line 23), b) c) d) e) people don't mind about it not being there. The principal (line 2 5) reasons for doing something are the main ones. A decade (line 2 7) is a period of 20 years. If prices are unnecessarily high (lines 28-29), there is no way of avoiding this. When there is a lack (line 29) of something, there is a lot of it. f) Innovation (line 30) is the development of new ideas, products, etc. . . . . . . . . . verb a) distort c) compete d) . . . . . . . . . consider . . . . . . . . . a) when you think of something that you should b) c) d) e) f) h) i) have thought of earlier when the situation gets better when systems, organisations, etc. do not work effectively what is best for people as a whole researchers and teachers in universities and similar institutions rules for effective com petition people whose job is to ensure that there is effective competition people who watch a particular situation groups of industries that make up the economy as a whole j) companies whose behaviour is governed by b) . . . . . . . . . privatisation 6 Find words or expressions in paragraphs 4 and 5 that mean the following. g) 3 Complete the table with expressions from paragraph 3 and related expressions. noun companies were sold off. e) They have led to the market not being as efficient as it should be. behaviour . . . . . . . . . e) operation . . . . . . . . . f) 4 Now match the nouns in Exercise 3 to their meanings. a) the way people act b) the way something works c) when state-owned businesses are sold off d) when thought is given to something particular rules 7 Which two improvements for consumers are mentioned in paragraphs 6 and 7? Over to you 1 How easy is it to transfer a mobile phone number between networks in your country? What do you have to do? Has it become easier? Over to you 2 Are there activities where a monopoly might be the best solution? (Railways, healthcare, etc.) e) when something does not work as it normally would because of a negative influence f) when com panies try to be more successful than others in a particular market PHOTOCOPIABLE Scanned for Agus Suwanto © Pearson Education Limited 2010 161