UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS
GROUP DISCUSSION REPORT
HO CHI MINH CITY
Date: 21st Sep 2021
SCHOOL OF FOREIGN
Time: 10:00 AM 20th Sep 2021
LANGUAGES
******
Venue: Zalo
Group 3 (AM)
- 9/10: - Good ideas, very impressive narrative
paragraph!
- Please review the paper at least 3 times before
the submission.
- Thanks.
No. Full name of members
Titles
Activities
Evaluation
Summarize the content
of the report of the
1
Nguyen Thi Kieu My
Leader whole group. Discuss
A
with members and do
No.1
Nguyen Quoc Phuong
Discuss with members
2
Secretary
A
Uyen
and do No.2
Discuss with members
3
BNuoch Thi Diem
Member
A
and do No.2
Discuss with members
4
Phan Tuyet Nhu
Member
A
and do No.2
Discuss with members
5
Phan Nguyen Phuong Nhi Member
A
and do No.2
Discuss with members
6
Tran Ngoc Van Anh
Member
A
and do No.2
Discuss with members
7
Huynh My Bach Kim
Member
A
and do No.2
8
Hoang Thi Xuan Sang
Member Discuss with members
A
9
Nguyen Kha Nhi
10
Do Anh Thu
11
Ho Doan Bao Ngoc
and do No.2
Discuss with members
Member
and do No.2
Discuss with members
Member
and do No.3
Discuss with members
Member
and do No.3
A
A
A
A.W.O.L: 0
I.
TITLE OF THE TEXT: THE PRICE OF SUCCESS
VOCABULARY
New word
Word
form
Transcription
Meaning
Examples
UNIT 1:
Communication
(sự giao tiếp,
thông điệp,...)
N
- We are in direct
communication with
- the act of
Moscow.
communicating
- We received your
with people
communication on
/kəˌmjuː.nɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/
- a message, letter, 11 March and are
or announcement
sorry to inform you
that we won't be
attending the
conference.
Manufacturer
(nhà sản xuất)
Distributor
(nhà phân phối)
Hi-tech
(công nghệ cao)
Executive
(liên quan đến
việc quản lí,
chấp hành, quản
trị,…)
(ban quản trị,
giám đốc)
N
N
Adj
- Adj
-N
a company or
country that
/ˌmænjəˈfæktʃərər/
produces goods in
large numbers
/dɪˈstrɪb.jə.tər/
/ˌhaɪˈtek/
/ɪɡˈzek.jə.tɪv/
a person or
company that buys
products from a
manufacturer and
sells them for a
profit to other
businesses, stores,
or customers, often
by transporting the
goods to different
places
using the most
advanced and
developed
machines,
equipment, and
methods
- relating to
making decisions
and managing
businesses, or
suitable for people
with important
jobs in business
- someone who has
an important
position in
The company
quickly became a
leading
manufacturer of
TVs.
We have appointed
the company as the
sole distributor of
Samsung in
Vietnam.
The Internet and all
sorts of high-tech
gadgets are
changing the way
children learn.
- His executive
skills will be very
useful to the
company.
- She is now a
senior executive,
having worked her
way up through the
company.
business, making
decisions and
putting them into
action
State-of-the-art
(hiện đại, tiên
tiến nhất)
Adj
/ˌsteɪt.əv.ðiːˈɑːt/
very modern and
using the latest
ideas and methods
Arise
(xuất hiện, nảy
sinh, phát
sinh,...)
(thức dậy)
V
/əˈraɪz
- to happen
- to get out of bed
/ɪnˈtɜːnəl/
relating to
activities,
decisions, etc.
within a particular
organization or
company, not
outside it
Internal
(nội bộ)
External
(bên ngoài)
Adj
Adj
/ɪkˈstɜːnəl/
Defect
(thiếu sót, nhược
điểm, khuyết
điểm)
N
/ˈdiːfekt/
Remedy
(khắc phục, cứu
chữa)
V
/ˈrem.ə.di/
Our company uses
state-of-the-art
technology to
produce cameras.
- If any
complications arise,
let me know and I'll
help.
- We arose early on
Christmas morning.
The problems have
arisen because of
internal
communications.
External demand for
coming from
the products of
outside a company,
industrial countries
organization, or
may decline in the
country
longer term.
Although having
a fault that spoils
some defects, this
something or
product is still
causes it not to
launched into the
work correctly
market.
to do something to
This mistake must
correct or improve
be remedied
something that is
immediately.
wrong
Up-to-date
(hiện đại, cập
nhật)
Multi-functional
(nhiều chức
năng)
Adj
Adj
Withdraw
(rút, rút khỏi)
V
Out-of-stock
(hết hàng)
Adj
Priority
(ưu tiên)
N
modern, recent, or
containing the
latest information
This piece of
/ʌp.tə ˈdeɪt/
software is bang up
to date.
I have a
having several
/mʌl.tiˈfʌŋk.ʃən.əl/
multifunctional
different uses
cooking appliance
- This account
- to take money
allows you to
out of an account
withdraw a
- to stop selling a
maximum daily
/wɪðˈdrɔː/
product or offering amount of $500.
a service, usually
- The product was
because of a
withdrawn from the
problem or fault
market on safety
grounds.
products that are
out of stock are not You will be notified
available to buy in by email if any part
/ˌaʊt əv ˈstɒk/
a store because
of your order is out
they have all been of stock.
sold
something that is
My top priority is to
very important and
/praɪˈɒr.ə.ti/
find somewhere to
must be dealt with
live.
before other things
II. CASE STUDY QUESTIONS
1.
CD 1.7
- William Hooper is unhappy with the weekly reports. The information is
overloaded.
- In terms of appointing a new account manager, William doesn’t think
that’s a good idea because it just increases the costs. Besides, most of the
important customers wouldn’t do business with some new person.
- About defective products, the Customer Services Department should
inform the other departments as soon as someone complains about a
product. Moreover, they should have face-to-face contact instead of
emails.
2.
CD 1.8
- Joanna Merkowitz is against giving daily reports because she thinks it
could be a distraction. It's difficult enough to get orders at the moment, so
she wants to focus on getting new business, not on sending in reports all
the time. In her opinion, a monthly report is sufficient.
- She enjoys her job so much because she has the same opinion as to her
boss that paperwork doesn't generate sales and selling is about personal
contact and building relationships, which does not need to be interfered
with by reports.
3. TASK 1
3.1 International communications
Problem:
Communications between Directors and Head of Department need to be
improved
Recommendation:
Heads of Department should send weekly reports to the Board of Directors
=> Agree because of following reasons:
- Through reports, operational procedures of the company can be
monitored
- The Board of Directors can control the operation and take corrective
actions
- Through reports, the top management can evaluate the performance of
employees
A new manager should be appointed to be in charge of key accounts
=> Disagree because of the following reasons:
- Hiring a key account manager will add cost an amount of money, which
is not a good idea at the moment
- Company’s most important customers like the personal approach. They
would prefer doing business with a permanent employee to a new one
3.2 Problem 2: Sales representatives/Head Office
Recommendation:
Issue all sales representatives with BlackBerry devices and instruct reps to send
daily reports to the Sales Department.
Decision:
Do not totally agree with the recommendation above. It’s unnecessary to issue
BlackBerry devices for each sales representative. However, requiring all sales
representatives to send daily reports to the Sales Department is a feasible and
effective solution. Following those reasons:
- The core cause of this problem relates to the miscommunication, not
about the contacting devices.
- Increasing cost for providing BlackBerry for all sales reps and probably
creating complaints from other departments due to not receiving this
stuff.
- Sensing that sending daily reports is helpful to keep both Sales reps and
Head Office in the loop, as well as encouraging the interaction between
two sides.
3.3 Problem 3: Customer Services Department
Recommendation:
Any complaint about a product that has health and safety implications should
be forwarded immediately to the following departments: Marketing, Research,
and Development, Public Relations.
Decision:
This is an ideal and workable idea and needs to be conducted as soon as
possible. Because of those reasons below:
- Help to build a horizontal communication that fosters interdepartmental
problem solving and coordination and, as a result, cultivating the quality
of customer service.
- Enhancing the information richness, which provides useful data for the
initiatives and development in each department.
- Avoiding extensive work specialization and promoting a coordinated
environment where people can learn new knowledge and skills from
other departments.
4. TASK 2
Other ideas to improve communications in WCH:
- Internal communications
 Holding weekly team meetings is one of the most effective strategies to
foster a professional atmosphere in which all team members feel at ease
interacting with one another.
 Creating a social intranet. It is an internal communication and
collaboration platform which helps employees connect, build
relationships and avoid miscommunication.
- Sales reps/Head Office
 Sales reps should be guided through using a mobile CRM or app to
access remotely and easily provide customers' information for Head
Office.
 Sales reps also can input their sales data, order processing, and target
customers into the internal company website. The Head Office can
directly access all the latest information about products.
- Customer Services Department
 The Customer Service Department should be guided through the process
of identifying client needs, selecting the best product for those customers,
articulating and proving the value that those solutions will provide, and
reinforcing that value to the customer.
 The Customer Services department sends emails to other departments to
announce about customer complaints. After receiving emails, all of them
hold an online meeting through Skype, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams to
suggest some solutions for dealing with customer complaints.
5.
WRITING
As Communications Director at WCH, write a follow-up e-mail to the Head of
Ward Associates, summarising the decisions you have taken, with your
reasons.
From: bettyfriedman123@wch.com
To: head78@wardassociates.com
Subject: Our decisions about your recommendations
Dear Head of Ward Associates,
I am writing to let you know our opinions regarding your proposals on the
communication problems that we are having.
Firstly, in terms of internal communications, the directors have approved that
Heads of Department would send weekly reports to the Board of Directors. By
this, the operational procedures of the company and the performance of
employees can be monitored and evaluated right. In contrast, appointing a Key
Accounts Manager is wasteful and not mandatory at the moment.
Secondly, we found that issuing BlackBerry devices for each sales
representative is not mandatory, as the core cause of this problem was not
related to contact devices, but the miscommunication. However, requiring them
to send daily reports to the Sales Department is a workable solution since daily
reports keep both Sales Representatives and Head Office in the loop.
Thirdly, we expect that your recommendation on Customer Services
Department problems would work smoothly. The new process can be used to
provide data for each department and cultivate the quality of customer service
by building horizontal communication.
Finally, there are still some ideas that need taking into consideration. We
thought about creating a social intranet that helps employees connect, build
relationships and avoid miscommunication. Sales representatives can use
mobile CRM apps or internal company websites to provide customers'
information to the Head Office more efficiently. The Customer Service
Department should hold an emergency meeting or ask other departments for
help whenever a tricky situation occurs.
Thank you so much for your recommendations on the report, as you see that
most of them have been approved. I'll let you know the impacts of the changes
in due course.
Sincerely,
Betty Friedman
Communication Director
W.C. Hooper Inc.
III. WRITING A NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH.
Topic: Arduous trip back home
I’ll never forget the time I was trying to come back home during the Covid-19
pandemic last month. At that time, Ho Chi Minh city was locked down
entirely. I was completely stuck, encountering a lack of money and food. One
day, I received a call requesting to pick me up back to my hometown. I was
delighted to accept. As soon as arriving at my hometown's station, I was driven
to the quarantine area. After a 26-hour journey, my back and neck were really
sore. According to the plan, we would have been home after 14 days.
Unfortunately, there was someone tested positive for Covid-19. Hence, I had to
stay there for additional 7 days. At the end of the 21-day quarantine, I wish I
had met my parents and said loudly "I miss you so much". Yet, my mother
made me stay at a hotel for another 7 days to make sure I tested negative.
Finally, I was officially back home after all hardships I had gone through since
I had left Ho Chi Minh city. The home journey was so long and challenging
although it just lasted one month. I feel so fortunate than others because, in the
end, I’m now safely with my parents.