OXFORD BUSINESS ENGLISH SKILLS

JEREMY COMFORT "

with

YORK ASSOCIATES

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

Oxford Umversity Press

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First published 1997
EIghth Impression 2004
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Language focus Time expressions and tenses

Past time

The past sim ple

sometime ago
lastyear
in tl,('past

Th e pa st simple is u sed to indicat e fini shed t ime:

back ill 1978

Sizejoined the company in 1994.

Regular verbs for m the past sim ple by add ing -ed to the verb stem.
T he -ed end ing can be pronounced in th ree different ways:

It / announced

/Id/ started

Id ! ordered

Irregu lar vcr bs form the past simp le in a number of ways. It sometimes
helps to gro up t hem by so und:

buy - bOllght

oucb - caught

te,/Ch - taught

Recent time

Th e present perfect

overtile lastfew years

recently
since 1992

T he present p erfect is used when the t ime is unfi nished or not sta ted .
lt is formed with 'law/has + t he past pa rt iciple:
He }lIl S resigned.

They haveretired.
Th e au xiliary have/hasw usually co n tr acted in spoken En glish:

'He's just started:

'They'veulready left .'

Present tim e

The present simple

currently
at tile momi"'1t
now
at present

The present simp le is used to report on current status:

It currently stands at 180.

He is retired 'IOW.
Don't forget to pronou nce the -s in the thi rd person:

It stands.
He lives.

Com plete th ese sent ences. Use th e time exp ression to hel p yo u choose the
cor rect tense of th e ver b: past simp le, presen t perfect, or p resen t sim p le.
Chec k yo ur answe rs in the key on page 58.
a Some t ime ago, we
b Recently, we

(sell) the company.

(invest) a lot in new equipment.

c T he cur rent head co un t

d Since last yea r, we
e In 1985, he

(stand) at 2S0.
(increase) o ur P R bu dget.

( retire) fro m th e com pany.

W HAT IS TH E P O IN T?

\}

Language knowledge

GEOff MAXWElL

Hello awl welcome to Standard

Electronics. I'm GeojJMaxweil, the

Factory Afa nl lger if! chargeoft},e
piant you'llbe seeing foliay.'

Language focus Introducing yourself and your tal k

Greet ing, name, posi tion
Good morning. My IIlI mc's (.. ). I'm the Flew Finance
Manager.
Ladies and gentlemen, It's a ll honour to have rile
opportu nity to mlclresssuch d distinguishe d audience.
Good morning. Let me start by sayiflgjllsr a few words
about ",YOl\l/l background. l started Ollt in ...

\fe/come toStandardElectronics. I know l've mersome

of yOIl, bill justfor thebm cfit of thosc 1haven't, my
1IlTme's ( .. . ).

Title/Suhject
I'll like to ttllk (to YOIl ) today about .. .
I'm goil/g to present the recent ...

Length
I shall only take (.. . J minutes afyour time.
Tplan tobebrief
This sho/lld 01l1y I,l st (... J minutes.

Outline/Main parts
J've di, idt,d my presentation into[our ptlrfs/seetio1lS.
They are . ..
TIre subject can be looked at WIder tile fol/owing
hmdings: . .

We ca" bmll.; this drea dOM' it/to the fol/owitlgfie/ds:

Firstly/first of111/ ...
Secotltlly/t1Jell/",'xt _..
Thinlly/alld then we come to ...

explain ollr position 011 ...

briefyou 0 11 ..

Finally/lastly/last ofall."

inform )'/lllll/mllt . ..

Questions

describe ...

Fd be g/tld to allSwer any questions at tile end ofmy talk.

If)'01/ '1IH'' tllly questions. pft'tlse feel fn'e to interrupt.
Pleaseinterrupt tilt' if then's sometlli"g w1lich needs
clarifying. O ther wise. there'Il be ti me filr discussion at

subject ofmy t,lik

presentation
focus
paper (academic )
topk

theend.

specch ( lIsllully tcl pllblic a ll/ t iel/Cl.')

Purpose/Objective

Reference to the a ud ience

We are here today to decide .,.

Ilgret'...
learn about ...

The purpose of this talk is to updatey OIl 011

Pllt YOII ill the picture
about . ..

gi\'e yOIl the baccground

to ...

Istarf fht' /lIlll rolling.

This talk isdesigned fo act as 11 sprillgl"'llrdfor discussion.

14

US IT T W O

call SCt' "WIly of }'OII arc . ..

I know YOII"'e all travelled a IOllg "'ay.
rOil at/look as "lOlIgll you'l't/reani this before.

Yo u are going to hear twelve extracts from the int roduction s to two
presentations-one internal, one external. As yo u listen , decide which
presentation each extract comes fro m and complete the table. The first on e
has bee n d one for you. Check your answers in the key on page 59.
Pre sentation

Extract

Internal: to collea gues ,11 a

budget meetin g

"

Externa l: to delegates at a
professiona l conference

Co mplete thi s present atio n in trod uction with word s fro m the list. Check
you r ans wers in th e key on page 59.
talk abo ut
q uestio ns
hear

loo k at
b rief
act as

po ints of view
finally
go alo ng

Good afternoon and th an k yo u for ma king th e effor t to be here with us

today. My na me's Ruche! Rawlins and I'm responsible for p ublic affairs.
Wh at I'd like to do today is a

our recent co rporate

talk will hopefully ,,

cam paign. Thi s b

a sp ringboard for d iscussio n. I' m going to d

corporate campa ign from three e
secondly, the finan cial insti tutio ns; and f
sha reholders. If yo u have any g
h

to I

_
the

: firstly, th e custo me rs;

, the

. jusr in terr upt me as I

, Your poi nt of view may well be d ifferent, and we'd like

fro m you .

MA KI!'G A ST A RT

IS

Language knowledge

GFOFF MAXW E LL

'Ami that brings me to thefinal part

ofthis short introduction,

T he items on the left are extracts fro m Geoff"s pr esen tation. Mat ch each
o ne with a sentence o n the right whi ch mean s the same. The first o ne has
been done for you. Check you r ans wers in the key on page 59.
a OK, let's start with th e In passing. let me tell r ou abo ut a

b Anyway. I'U leave the histor y

there.
c So, let's turn now to a brief
overview of our main markets.

cl By the way, you may have seen

the story in the news.
e Anyway, let me get back to wha t I
was saying about ne w markets.

f And that brings me to the fina l

part of th is short introd uction.

g So, before I go on, are there any

question s?

cutt ingCo st s ~

healthy margins
not the only ones
point -of-sale competition
launch new packet size
initiatives have failed

LoS1

(U1 fl!l ~

MWIN"

3.,0 r.M.

U S I T TtlRf f

3 To start wit h the h istory th en .

4 That covers the histor y.

5 To come back to the poi nt I was
making.
6 Let's stop here and see if there are
any questions.
7 So, we can go on to a survey of
ou r principal markets.

You are going to hear six extracts from another presentation about cutting
costs. The speaker uses a variety of words and phr ases to link the po ints he
is making. As )'ou listen, identify the linked ideas. The first one has been
don e for you. Check your answers in the key on page S9.
a
b
c
d
e
f

20

press repor t.
2 So, we come to the last part of my
introduction .

I
2
3
..
5
6

raise salesin major outlets

no change in sales
losing money
competitor has dosed plant
over-hasty reaction s
aggressived iscounting

Language focus Linking ideas

Sequenci ng/Ordering

Comparing

Digressi ng

firstly secondly.. . thirdly ...

then next finallyllastly.
iet's start with .

similarly
in thesame way

by the way
in passing

Contradicti ng

Giving exam ples

infact
actually

forcxample
for instance

let's move/go on to...

now wecome to .
that brings us to .
let's leave that...

Summarizing

that covers...
let's get back to...

such as

tosum up

Generalizing

Giving reasons/ca uses

in brief
in short

usually

therefore
so
asa result

Concluding

that's why

in conclusion
toconclude

Cont rasting

High lighting

but
however

in particular

generally
as a rule

especially
3

Link t he ideas in these sentences by add ing an app ropriate wor d or phrase.
Com pa re your answers with the key on page 60.
a That was a good meeting. (By the way ... )
Did I tell you about the ma tch last night?
b Our competitors are becoming stronger.
One o f them, Falcon, has a joint venture wi th a Japan ese firm .
c I've divided th is into two parts.
Th e issue of profit-sharing.
The ques tion of share option schemes.
d This rear we have lost ma rket share.
We expec t to rem ain No. 1 in the market.

e There are some vital factors to conside r.

The risk of a take-over bid .
f Falcon has reduced its costs by relocati ng.
\Ve must consider cu tti ng the cost of our prem ises.
g We've had a difficu lt year.
We've still made a healthy profit.
h We expected to lose money in th e Far East.
Th is was our most profitable market.
The yen dropped against th e dollar.
\Ve made considerable profits on the exchange ra te.
There have been some failures on occasions.
\Ve have been very successful.
LINKING THE PARTS

21

Language knowledge

[Version I]
'Nex t slide. In the American part of
DN. lIN U EN

the surveyit was[ound that... '

UR L1l'1o' OES

(Version 2)

'Ho'e am sec in this /lext slidt' the results

from thv American part of thesun'er.'

l ook at the d ifferences between writt en and spo ken lan guage. Th en read the
ext racts from Dr Lind en's presenta tions, a-clbelow, and deci de which are
written language and wh ich are . . po ken lan guage. Find examples in each
ext ract to su ppo rt yo ur an swers. C heck yo ur an swers in the key on pageel .
Written language

Spoken langua ge

long sentences

sho rter sentences

simpler vocabu lary
sim pler arguments
personal style

complex vocabulary
com plex argument s
im person al style

a You can see here, 35% o f th e group uf managers classified as particip ative
reach ed sen ior mana gem ent posit ion s. On the o ther hand. 74% of th e more
indivi d ualistic ma nagers achieved senior man agem ent status.
b An individualistic style appears to be closely associated with rapid car eer
path progression. whereas a group or parti cipat ive st yle, despit e its evident
attractiveness 10 all members of staff. is correlated with a relati vely slow
career progression .
c Although lip service is paid 10 th e co ncept o f participative man agement .
th eir real perc eptions of lead ership qualities co m pletely contradict this
view. 11 can be further seen that such surveys .. .
d So, we find th ere is a massive contradiction . Good managers arc supposed to
be participative-. to ma ke sure th ey consult und discuss. Good leaders are
supposed to be stro ng individuals - able to make dec ision s on th eir own.

You arc go ing to hear a point from ano ther pr esentation. delivered in three
diffe rent styles. As )'ou listen . complete the tabl e. Check yo ur an swers in the
keyon page et .

a
read or spo ken?
distan t or human?
spon taneous or prepared!
personal or impersonal?

26

U N IT FO UIt

Language focus Personal and impersonal styles

Active and passive forms
The passive is formed with the verb to be + the past participle. It is less personal than the active.
Tense

Active

Pass ive

present simple

I think

it is thought

present continuous

we arc discussing

it is being discussed

present perfect

the boss has said

it has been said

past simple

John called a meeting

a meeting was called

future

I will refer to this later

this will be referred to later

"----

Personal pronouns

Everydaylanguage

Active verbs use more personal pronouns:

Using slang and everyday expressions can make an

im pact on the audience an d add d rama:
H.'here's the caring side ofemploymentgone? I'll tellyou
where. It'shiding behind a damned set oftargetsand
objectives- that's where it is.r

I think...
Weareworkingon.. .
Be careful not to overuse 1. We is a good alternative
for talking about companies:
We will launch theproductill June.

Referen ce to th e audience

You need to know your audience very well to use this

kind of language.

As I'm su re you know.. .

We have al/ experienced.. .
You may remember. . .

As I'm surewe'd allagree...

Make these sentences more personal by us ing the active not the passive.
Check your an swers in the keyon page 61.
a The issue of restructuring was discussed.

w,

b Money is being directed into the wrong accounts.

The Finance Manager

c The agreement will be signed later this month.

Both companies

cl It has been found to be rather unreliable.

e It is reported that shares are due to rise.

The press

THE RIGH T KIND OF LANGUAGE

27

Make these sentences tr ansitive. The first one has been done for yo u.
Check your answers in the key o n page 62.
a Our salaries have remained constant for five rea rs.
The company

salaries et the same level.

b The temp erature in the building has fallen.

The caretaker

the temp erature in the building.

c Interest rates have risen over the last two weeks.

Banks

their interest rates.

d Produ ct ion has stayed the same for some tim e.

The co mpany

prod uct ion at the same level.

e The average age has decreased in the company.

Recruiting policy
4

the average age.

Weoften use noun phrases instead of verbs to describe trends. For

exampl e:
Prices haverisen considerably.
There has been a considerable rise in prices.
Cha nge the following sentences to includ e a noun phr ase. Compare your
answers with the key on page 63.
a
b
c
d
e
f

The market has expa nded slightly.

Prices are going to fall d rama tically.
Ou r export sales collapsed suddenly.
Sales are increasing steadily.
Salaries have dropped grad ually.
Profits will certainly rise significantly.

'Ourexport sales collapsed sl/ddenly.'

H

U S IT FI V E

Presentation practice
1

Design and present some effective visuals on the information below.

Nike Inco rp ora ted

Foundation: 1972
Em ployee s: 45 ( 1972); 6,500 ( 199 2)
Sales: $3.2 million ( 19 72) ; $3.4 billion ( 1992)
Share price: $5.50 (1980) ; $fi5.00 a share ( 1992 )
199 1: profit increase ~ 15% , sales increase - 13/(1

Total world-wide revenu e

foo twea r: $2.62 b illion (77(o)
appa rel: $628 millio n ( 18%)
other: $ 162 million (5%)

Design and present visual s to communicate the following me ssages.

a An employer's desire to introduce TQM (Total Q uality Management ).
b A decisio n to b an smo king throug hout the build ing.
c An an no uncement of a competition for the most successful sales person.

\' ISl]A L A I DS

);

Language knowledge
JOAN~A

BROOKES

'So, before wemoveon todiscuss

these matters, let me just summarize
the main issues. Firstly . .. secondly. ..

t!lirdly... So, I suggest we take things

in that order.. . Beforewestart, are

there allY questions you'd liketo ask?'

EEl

You are going to he ar the fina l part offour different p resentations. As you
listen , decide whic h presen tati on each extract comes from, and comple te
th e table. Check your an swers in the key on page 65.
Extract

Pre sen tati on

The Sales Presentation
(by a salesman to a group of prospective customers)
The Welcome Presen tation
(to a group of visitors to a plant )

The New Idea Presen tation

(to a group of m anagers)
Th e Mot ivation Prese ntation
(by a Perso nnel Director to a gro up of new employees )

Language focus Endings

Signalling the end

Recom mending

That brings me to the endof my presentation.

Thatcompletes my presen tation.
Before I stop/finisll. let mejustsay...
Tuat covers all 1 wantedtosay today.

50, 1wouldsuggest that we...

I'dliketopropose... (m ore formal)
In my opinion, theorlly wayforward is.. .

Summarizing
Letmejust run overthe key pointsagain.
I'll briefly summarize the main issues.
To swn up.. .
Briefly .

Concluding
As you can see. there are some verygoodreasofls.. .
111 conclusion ...
I'd like to leave yOll with thefollowing thought/idea.

42

UN IT SEVE:-<

Closing
Thank youforyourattention.
Thank youfor listening.
I hope you willhavegained an insight into...

Inviting questions
I'dbegladto try and answer any questions.
So. let's throw it open to questions.
AllY questions?

Language focus Asking and answering questions

Direct quest ions
Do you have any plans fora flewp roduction plant ?
Where do you plan to locate it?

Polite questions and answers

Q UESTIONS

Do
Would

you mind

A negative stateme nt question is loo king for the

answer'no':
H.,e haven't won the contract, have we?No, it doesn't look
like it.
I wasn't a success? Not much ofone.
We aren't going to make it on time, arewe?I'm afraid not.
lf t hc answer contradicts t he statement, t he wor d
actually is often used:
The plant'sgoing to close, isn't it?Well, actually, I've j ust
heard the company is employing more staff.

if I ask you
telling me if/whether.. .

what/where/elc. . .
Could/Ca n you tell me... about. ..
I'm interested to know. .
I'd like to know.

Clarifying a quest ion

That's interesting.

If I understand you correctly, you are sayitlg/asking...

I didn't quite catch tha t.
Could you go over that again?
I'm not sure what you 'regetting at.

Statement qu estions and answers

Avoid ing giving an answer

AI'>:SWERS

Go ahead/Please do/Certainty.

That's agood question.

Perhaps we could deal with that later.

Can we talk about that on another occasion?
I'm afraid that's not my field.
I don't have the figures with me.
I'm sure Mr (... ) could answer that question.
That '5 interesting, but I'd prefer not to answer that today.

QU ESTION S

All the space was booked for an October launch .. ?

(question in tonation)
It worries me that we don't have allY replacements in the
pipeline. {)ncsn'r it w()fry you lOO?
AN SWER S

A positive statement questio n is looking for the

answeryes':
It'sgoing to be late, isn't it? I'm afraidso.
YlHI've got problems with the assembly? Yes,a few.
The suppliers have done their job. /s that right? Yes, asfar
as I know.

EiiI

Checking the quest ioner is sat isfied

Does that answer your question?
Is that clear?
May we go on?

You are going to hear six questions. Listen and choose the bes t response to
each question. Che ck your answers in the key on page 65.
a
1 No, of course not.
2 Please do.
3 No, that's a prohlem.

b
1 Well, actually, it's confident ial.
2 Yes, I do.

3 Certainly.

c
1 You co uld say so.
2 That's right.
3 I'd prefer not to.

cl
1 I need a break.
2 I don't need a break.
3 That's a go od idea.

e
I No, they aren't.
2 You're wrong.
3 Actua lly, some are at headquar ters .

f
I Any moment.
2 That' s a d ifficult question .
3 That's interesting.
QUES TIO N TIME

47

Answer Key
Unit 1 What is the point?
Communication skills

Overall
Awareness o f your audience (Who are th ey? Wh at are t heir ne eds or
interests? What do th ey expect fro m yo u?)
Clea r objectives (10 inform, persuad e, welcome, ctc.)
System
Planning - have a dear st ruc ture an d a sense of tim ing
Organization - have clear co nnect ions between th e differen t parts or ideas
Information - ma ke sure what you say is interestin g and relevant to your
audience
Impact - make sure you have a strong int ro duct ion an d conclusio n

Delivery
Clea r, simple, and fluent
Use of nat ural spoken language
Use of pauses for emphasis
Body language
Use of strong, clear gestures for em phasis
Good eye contact with the audience
Positive, confident, and relaxed ma nner
No distracting gest ures
Visual aids
Clear and simple rnesssages
Efficient, professional use ofequipment

Overall
She doesn't seem aware of the needs or interests of her au die nce .
Her objectives are not dear.

System
She is obviously not prepared.
Her presentation is unstructured an d confusing.
The information is not organized logically, or linked clearly.
She does not give much useful in for ma tion.
She has not thought about timing.
T here is no strong introduction or conclusion.

Delivery
She hesitates a lot.
She reads from a paper (badly).
She refers to herself negatively.
She uses specialist language.

ANSWER KEY

[peges e-c]

57

Hod}' language

Her gestures are not linked to he r speech.

She does not m aintain eye contact with her audience .
She does not ap pear con fident.
She ha s so me di stract ing gestu res.

v isual aids
She ha s a scree n bu t does not use it.

Language knowledge

a back in 1982 (fin ished)

b since that date {uu finished}
c some time ago (finishe d )
d over th e last few yea rs (u nfin ished)
e no w ( presen t)
f over the sa me per iod (u nfin ished )
g last yea r (finished)
h ten years ago (fin ished )
in 1985 (fin ished )
since the n (u nfinished )

a
b
c
d

a back in th e cigluics
b at th e moment
c since Jan uary
d last m onth
e over the last few yea rs

l'd've liked to spea k for lon ger o n this subject, but I'm afrai d I haven't got
eno ugh t im e. However, l'dtlike to say a few words abo ut future prospect s.
This year, we've had some major problems; next year, we'll face even more
severe ones. This is ce rt ain, as th e ma rket's beco m ing eve n more
co m pet it ive.

sold
have invest ed
stands
have increased
e ret ired

, would like can be used here for em phasis.

58

A NSWf.R K E Y

[pages Scro ]

Unit 2 Making a start

Communication skills

Geoffonly includ es a referen ce to the aud ience.

Geo ffi nd udes all the items in th e checklist.

Language knowledge

Intern al presen tation : a, d . f. g. i, I

External presentat io n: b, c, c, h. j , k
2

a
b
c
cl
e

talk abo ut
bri ef
act as
lookat
points of view

f fina lly
g questions
h go along
hear

a
b
c
d

2
3
2
3

e I
f 3
g 3
h 3

a I'm deligh ted

f sect ions
g don't hesitate
b I take care
c My pu rpose is h a chance
in mo re depth
d go th rough
e divid e

Unit 3 Linking the parts

Communication ski lls

It is not at all clear what Geoff is talki ng abo ut and th ere seems to be no
o rganiza tion beh ind his talk.

Point 1: Histor y
Point 2: Main m arkets (and Mauton news sto ry)
Poi nt 3: People

Language knowledge

a 3
b 4
c 7
d 1

e 5
f 2
g 6

d 1

a 3
b 6

e 2

c 4

f 5

ASSWER KEY

[pages 13-20 )

59

(other answers are possible)

a Tha t was a good mee tin g. By the way, did I tell yo u about the match
last n ight?
b Our compet itors are becomi ng stro nger. For example/In particular, one
of them, Falcon, has a join t ven ture with a Ja pa nese firm.

c I've di vid ed t his into two parts: firstly, the issue of profit -sharing;
secondly. the qu estion of sha re option sc he mes.

cl This year we have lost market sha re. However, we expec t to remain No . 1
in the market.
e There arc some vital factors to co ns ider. for example/in particular. the
fisk ofa take-over bid.

f Falcon ha s reduced its cos ts by relocat in g. Sim ilarly. we must consider

c utt ing the cost of our premises.
g We've had a difficult year, b ut we've still ma de a healt hy pro fit.
h We expected to lose money in th e Far East. In fact/Actually, this was our
most profitable market.
The yen dropped against th e dollar. As a result, we made cons id erable
profits on the exchange rate.

J There have been so me failures on occasions. However, as a rule, we ha ve

been ver y successfu l.

Unit 4 The right kind of language

Communication skills

Advantages ofreading It presentation

Ther e is little hesitatio n
It m ay be easie r la follow the topic because ther e are fewer dist raction s
Th e speaker feels more co nfident
Disadvantages ofrending a presentation
No eye con tact with t he audience
Writte n Eng lish is more complex and often difficult to understa nd
Th e ton e is mo re impersonal
T he delivery is less spo ntaneous
Th e p hras ing is less na tural, so it's di fficult to listen to
The reader often speaks too qu ickly

VasimJ 1

Eye contact - no eye contact with th e audience

Language - complex (w ritte n), lo ng sen te nces, few pa uses, impersonal
Ma nner -. closed, unin tere sted

Vers ;"" 2
Eye co ntact - good eye co ntact with aud ien ce
Language - simpler lan guage. shorte r sen te nces, more pauses, more
personal
Manner - open , int er ested

60

A N SW f.II. KfY

[pa ges 21-5 1

Language knowledge

Spoken language: a, cl
Written lan gua ge: b, c

a read; d istant; p rep ared; impersonal

b spoken; distant; prepared; imp ersonal

c spoken; human; spontaneous; persona l

we d iscu ssed the issue of restructuring.

The Fina nce Ma nager is directing money into th e wrong accoun ts.
Both co mpa nies will sign the agreement later th is mon th .
I have foun d it rat her unreliable.
T he press reports th at shares are d ue 10 rise.

a
b
c
cl
e

a A reduct ion in wo rking hour s is favoured .

h He was forced to resign.

c The money has been transferred via the bank.

cl An aut u m n sales campaign is b eing planned.
e The new Research Depart me nt will be reorgan ized by Susa n.
5

1 cl
2 f
3 g
4

5 h

Presentation practice

6 c
7 a
8
9 e

10 b

(ot her versions are possi ble )

I'd like to tal k today about t he costs and benefits o f introduc ing job
sharing. What I aim to do is to provide the necessary in form ation for us to
make a dec ision within the next two months. I have d ivid ed my talk int o
t he following parts: firstly, we'll look at th e financial im plications; th en ,
we'll turn to working practices; an d finally, we'll loo k at socia l effects.

So. let's start with t he finan cial im plications. We have ca rr ied out a detailed
st udy o f personnel and associated costs. And we have seen that, from a
payroll point of view. 10% of staff choos ing to job sha re will m ean no
act ua l increase in direct salary cos ts. Ho wever, we need to be aware that
there will be additional costs in administer ing salaries.

ANSWER KEY

[pages 26-9 ]

61

a
b
c
cl
e
f

There has been a slight expans io n in th e market.

There is go ing to be a dra mat ic fat! in prices.
There was a sudden co llapse in expor t sales.
There is a steady inc rease in sales.
Ther e ha s been a gradual drop in sala ries.
Ther e will cert ai nly be a significan t r ise in p rofits.

Unit 6 Body language

Commun ication skills

Eye contact
Main tain good eye co ntac t w ith d ifferent people in the audi ence.
Don't just look at o ne perso n.

Facial expression
Use facial exp ressions (e.g . smi les) to em phasize yo ur feelings.

Hands
Use you r hands to emphasize w ha t )'OU say.
It is safer to keep hands out of pock ets - in some cult u res this shows
disrespect.
Hold a pen or pointer if yo u fed more co mforta blc -. hut don't pla y wit h it.

Movement
Don't sta nd co m pletely still c- a little movem e nt bet ween ta ble an d boa rd , or
between notes a nd au d ience , is more in te resti ng .
Don 't move a ro u nd too mu ch , o r th e audie nce may wa tch you instea d of
listening to yo u!
Posture
Tr y to keep yo ur po st ure upright bu t relaxed .
Look st raight ahead , not down at th e floo r or up at th e ceiling.
4

Version 1
Gen er al appearan ce:
Stance and posture:
Ha nds - position:
Hands - gestures:
Eye contact:
Facial exp ress ion:
Move men t:

scruffy
hun ched
in pockets
no helpfu l gestu res
none
depressed
static- several nervous gestu res

Version 2
Ge ne ral appearance:
Sta nce and postur e:
Hands - posit ion :
Hands - gestu res:
Eye co ntact:
Facial exp ressio n:
Movement:

sma rt
upr ight
visible an d act ive
clea r, hel pfu l gestu res
a lot
co nce rned, e nthusiast ic
dynam ic

ANSWE R K EY

[pages j a-z]

63

a Th ese cost cu rs are goi ng 10 ca ux considerable pain.

b We need to draw up a plan o f actjon. 1 have pu t so me ideas o n th e boa rd.

c ~ are~ of the measures we cou ld consider. There are bro ad ly
three ap proaches.
d Eirst, we co uld accept th e gill and ~ staff drastically. Secondly, we
co uld fight an d hope to ach iew Mlmeredu ction in th e level of th e cuts.
O r thirdly, and ~ is what 1support, we coul d pu t forward an alte rna tive
proposal. Now. thi s wou ld ...

Language knowledge

Emphasize: c. d. c. h
Minimize: a, b, f g
2

(ot her answers are possible)

a This has been an ext rem ely/a very good year.
b We have had a fairly difficult tim e/q uite a difficult time.
c We have seen an abso lutely/a totally disas trous decline in our profits.
d It was quite/fairly easy to achieve our objectives.
e The ann o un cement was completely/ tot ally unexpected.
f I've got so me very/ex t remely bad news.

(othe r an swers arc po ssible )

a We tend to sec thin gs differentl y. Maybe your experience is a little bit
limited.
b To som e extent , you' re righ t. But perhaps we m ight co ns ide r th e
long-term view.
c Th ere's just a little bit of tim e. Perhaps we might d iscuss this q uestion now.

Presentation practice

(other versions are possib le)

T he trouble \...-ith busin ess today is that nobody has any tim e at all.
Co m panies ha ve drastically redu ced their wo rkforccs so that far fewer
people have to do th e same amo unt o f wo rk. To some exte nt, th is mean s
that managers don't see what is happening aro und them . T hey need th eir
tim e to just work through th eir regular tasks, and they have absolutely no
time to take on new initiatives.
Time for reflection is very important . Decisions taken now not onl y affect
toda y's bu sin ess, th ey can also ha ve a significan t influence o n business in
th e long term. It seems that st rategy is too o ften the co nce rn of jus t senior
mana gem ent . when it need s to be th e conce rn ofeverybody in the com pany.

Unit 7 Finishing off

Communication skills

64

AN SWER KF.Y

[pages jz-ao]

Tti e firwl part oflilt' presentation sho uld inclu de:

a clear signal that )'O U are about to end
a b rief, clear su m mary of what yo u have said
a conclusion or recommendation (if appropriat e)
an invi tation for questions, to mak e comments, or star t a discussion.

\ 't'rsion I

A signal to end
Version 2

A signal to end
A summar y
A reco m me ndatio n
An in vitation for qu estions

Language knowledge

Signal to end:
Su mmar y:
Recommendat ion :
Invitation fo r q ues tio ns:

So, before we move on to discuss ".

3 personnel

To follow the same orde r in discussion.

Before we star t, are there any questions you'd
like to ask?

a T he Mot ivation Presentat ion

b The New Idea Presentation
c The Welcome Presentat ion
cl The Sales Present at ion

d. b.c.c;a

a n
b 5
c I

d 3
c 4
f 2

Unit 8 Question time

Communication skills

Hatltiling questions
Welcome the question
Listen ca refully tu the quest ion - don't int er rupt
Take tim e to th ink befo re yo u answe r
Check yo u have understood the qu estion - reph rase o r clari fy if necessar y

Reply positively - be brief and clear

Accept cr iticism positively
After your answ er, check that the qu estioner is satisfied

Language knowledge

a any real future?

b not such great sales
c are n't }'o u worried?
cl new products in other areas
e when will it be read}'?
f ask Ton)'
g will it be ready for launch date?
h yes

" 2

h I
c 2

cl 3
e 3
f I

ANSWER KF. y

[pages 40-71

6S

A: Excu se me, could I in terrupt?

B: Of course.
A: I'd like to ask )'O U about nex t year 's promotion cam paign.
B: Sure. what exactly would you like to know?
A; Well, could yo u tell me at this stage ,...hethcr you have fixed a budget ?
8: We've got a meeting next week to decide. l'Illet you know straight
away. if that's OK.
A: Sure, that'll be li ne.

b
A: May I ask a qu..'slion?
B: Go ahead.
A: w ould yo u mind tellin g us w hen you're going to retire?
H: Not at all. I'm plan nin g to stop work just after Ch rist ma s.
A: Oh good! We'd like to in vite y O Ll to our Ch ristmas party, Can yo u
come?
H: when is it?
A: It's 011 t he 24th fro m seven onwards.
8: T hat so unds fine. I'll loo k fo rward to it.

c
A: Are there any ques t ions!
B: Yes, I wo nder if you have considered any other options!
A: I'm not sure wha t you're getting at .
B: Well, you know, other possibilities such as relocating to a chea per
area.
A: I see what you mean . Yes,of course we've looked at all the options
an d we think th is is the bes t one.
K: But sur ely relocation would be better for t he stam
A: I'm afraid th at's all we have time for now. Perhap s you 'd like to talk
abo ut that later.

Unit 9 Putting it all together

Language knowledge

a The first thin g 10 be said about t hese product s is that t hey' re I'cry
divers e. \Vdl, let 's lake o ur premium expo rt lager, Hohenbrau. Now thi s
product has always been positioned at the-top end of the market. It ha s a
high price an d it's on ly availabl e th rou gh selec ted retai l outlets.
Altogeth er. it's IllIiteexclus ive.

0 " tile OIlier hand, our Rut tcr 's hitter has an CtItirdy d ifferen l
personality. It's br ewed in a t radit io nal way. We put a lot of ma lt in to it,
which gives it a rich golden colour. As far as I know, it's always been sold
at a medium price and is available through most supe rm arkets.
So, as you can see. th ese are two verj-differem products. One an
up-market Ccrrnan-r ype Pilsener, the other a w ry English bitter. One
point for discussion . then , is whe the r we should ma inta in such
diffe rent products in o ur range.
Let's 11101'1:' on to marketing, and I onl y wan I to ra ise one issue.

66

A N SW F.R KEY

{pages 48- 531

b The third elem ent is the people / ... and primarily here, I mea n the
brewery workers IUlIlthe managemen t. / One of the th ings that shocked
me when I first jo ined \Vestwood was th is ... / organization chart. It's like
something from the last century. / Do you rea!izethere are ten layers
between the shopfloor workers and the Managing Director? I ln my
view,this makes the company slow and unresp onsive. / I hwwthere are
many good things about wcstwood, I but our image is much the same as
it was in, say, the times of Queen viaoria-. a very traditional,
paternalistic employer. I Well, the very least we need to do is discuss
whether th is image is appropriate for the late 20th century, / let alone
the2l st.

A:-/S\v ER KEY

[pagc sj ]

67

Tapescript

Unit 1 What is the point?

Language knowledge

PETER BLAKE

As yOll all know, the brewery was bought back in 1982 an d, as I'm sure
you're all aware, thcre've been some major cha nges since th at date. I'd like
to focu s on some of th ese changes and the effect they've had on th e way the
brewery works.

Some ti me ago, the new owners an nounced a new st rategy fo r grow t h. This
stra tegy had some specific ta rgets - bo th tu rnover and p rofits had to
increase a lot. These objectives have led to some very majo r cha nges,
especially in the areas of production and marketing.
On the prod uc t ion front, we sta rted by red ucing the workfor ce by 5<Y;J, but
in fact , over the last few years it ha s droppe d further, so that it now stands at
just 180, nea rly 20% less than ten years ago. Ov er t he same per iod, we have
invested heavily in new plant an d equ ipmen t. As an indicatio n, last year we
spent nea rly E1 million o n new vats. I'd also like to m ent io n the recen t
appointment of Geoff Stone, o ur new Prod uction Manager. He has a wea lt h
of experie nce in the hre wing in d ustr y a nd J think we've already seen the
sort of influence he ca n have o n the product io n side of t he bu sin ess.
1also m ent io ned ma rketing. It m ay su rprise you to know that te n years ago
wesrwood had no marketing depart m ent . There was Gordon Peters, the
Commercial Direct or - he's reti red now - hut o therw ise th er e was no real
m ar ket in g orientation. In 1985, we recruite d Pam ela Taylor as Ma rketing
Manager an d since th en she has built h er depa rt m ent in to a ma jor force in
t he co m pa ny. It's curre ntly act ive in seve ral areas - notably on the P R fro nt,
especially in the local co mmun ity, a nd also in sales promotions with a
nu mber of rece nt cam paigns in loc al pubs to promote o u r beers.
Right , I'll sto p there. That should help yo u to un derstan d some of t he
recen t changes at the b rewery befo re we go on to ta lk ahout. ..

Unit 2 Making a start

Language knowledge

a My name's Cordon Macrcaughton. I'm the new Finance Manager and I

hope you won't give me too hard a time!
b Ladie s a nd gentlemen. It's an h onour to have the o ppo rtunity of
address !ng suc h a dis t inguished audience.
c The subject of my pap er today is a critical analysis of the effects of a low
carbohydrate diet o n ...
d I'd like to tel l you today a bout the im plicat ions of our rece nt survey in to
po tent ial cost sav ings.

68

TAPESC RJ PT

e Myaim is to update you on recent research findings and to draw some

tentative conclusions.
f This talk should serve as the springboard for a d iscussion of the benefits
and drawbacks of these savings.
g I plan to take on ly ten minutes of your t 'le this morning.
h During the next half-hour, you will hear about a wide range of research.
I've divided up my presentation int o three pa rts; firstly, we'll loo k at the
level of savings which we need to make; secondly, I'll run through the
options open to us; an d, finally, I'll be presenting my recommended
course of action.
The subject can be looked at under two headings: firstly, the defin ition of
this kind of diet; and second ly...
k Wc have ten minutes allotted for questions following the presentat ion.
I

Feel free to interrupt me at any time.

Inte rnal presentation: a, d, f, g, i, I

External presentation: b, c, e, h, j, k

Unit 3 Linking the parts

Language knowledge

a There are some very good reasons for cutting costs. In particular, the fact
that we are actually losing money at the moment.
b Now, as a rule, we operate o n healthy ma rgins of around 20-25%, but
recently we've been forced into aggressive discounting.

c Now, I'm not saying we're the only ones who are suffering. For example,
our ma in competitor, Triton's, has already closed down one of its plants .
d Let's consider the recent poin t-of-sale competition . The main aim here, by
the way, was to raise sales in ou r major outlets.
e The marketing department launched a new packet size a few months ago.
However, sales have hard ly taken offat all.
f Both these initiatives have failed. So, in brief, we have been over-hasty in
our reactions to the harsher economic climate.

Unit 4 The right kind of language

Language knowledge

a The research indica tes a failure to recognize the importance of

psycholog ical factors on the pa rt of many ofour members. It is highly
significant that mos t managers failed to identify this as a critical clement
in both the making an d im plementation of decisions.
b It may come as a shock to you to realize that many managers fail to
recognize the psycho logical factor as important. In my view, it is highly
significant that we, as a profession, have no t really understood how
im portan t this factor is in ho th short-term and long-term success.

c Th e prob lem is we've forgo tten tha t ou r employees are human. We treat
them like machines. We give them targets and expect them to get on with
it. Where's the caring side of employment gone? I'll tell you where . It's
hiding behin d a damned set of targets and objectives - that's where it is!
TA P E SC RI P T

69

Unit 5 Visual aids

Language knowledge

f RA~CESCA

HO C C A

I th o ught it would be useful to look at so me figures for a moment. Let's

sta rt with turnover. As you can see on th is graph, I've plotted two lines. The
solid one represents the group's turnover, an d the bro ken one the sales
generated by our subsid iary in Germany. T he figures have been converted
into dollars and are shown on this axis in thousands.
O K, let' s look at the group's turnover first of all. Five years ago, it stood at
$1.1 million. It rose steadily over the following five years and now stands at
S 1.45 m illion. Now, we have done some forecas ts for the next five years and
we anticipate a flauening out at around s 1.5 million as pr ice compet ition
becomes more and more fierce.
Fortunately, the figures for our German subsidiary are even better. we
started this subsidiary nearly ten years ago. In the early years, growth was
gradual and we reached sales of$400,UOU five years ago . This rep resented
just under 30% of the group's turnover. Over the last five years, the
Ge rman market has continued to grow steadily and our turnover is now
around 5600,000. Unlike our group forecasts, we anticipate some further
significant growth and have projected sales of$750,000 in another five
years, represent !ng 50%) of the group's to tal turnover. So, as you can see, the
German operation is vita l to our future.

Unit 6 Body language

Language knowledge

a I think we have to get this into perspective. It's just a minor problem. It's
nothing serious.
b I'd like to make a suggestion . Perhaps we cou ld consider moving our
production northwards.
c I'm afraid we can't get away from it. Our pitifully low quality levels are
threatening the future of this company.

cl I've got to say that l've never heard such a ridiculous argument. There is
no way we can consider taking this sort of action.

c There's one more point I'd like to make. It's absolutely essential we make
money on this product.
f We've got a litt le bit of a problem here. Perhaps it's not central to our
business, but I tend to think we should ta lk about it briefly.
g ln a way, I would say th is is quite important. On the other hand, I rea lize
we've got quite a full agenda today.
h Before we go any fur ther, let me say this has been an extraordinary year,
and we've seen some truly remarkable achievements.

70

'fAPES C IUPT

Unit 7 Finishing off

Language knowledge

a Well, thank you for listening. That brings me to the end of this
presentation. Before I leave you to get on with your work, I'd just like to
say how glad we are to have you with us, and I wish you a very successful
and happy time here at Sin ton's. Thank you.
b So, before I stop, let me just run over the key benefits. Firstly, flexibility:
it'll work anywhere. we've triallcd it extensively and the results arc
excellent. Secondly, price: as you've seen, it's going to be highly
competitive. And lastly, innovation : this is really a breakthrough in the
field. Now, I'm sure you've got lots of questions, so fire aW<ly.
c So, ladies and gentlemen, that completes my brief introduction. Seville's
is a fascinating company, and hopefully you'll get to know us better as you
go around the plant. So let me hand you over to Caroline, who 's going to
be showing you around.
d That brings me to the end of my presentation. I realize that many of you
already knew something about our company. Hopefully, I've filled in
some of the gaps. As you can see, we've got an impressive displayofour
products here. \Vhy don't you come and get some hands-on experience?

Unit 8 Question time

Language knowledge

SAMAKTHA O'NElLL

So that brings me to the end of my presentation. I'd be glad. to answer any

questions.
QUESTIONER 1

I was interested to hear what you had to say about our medium-range
product. Do you think it has any real future?
SAI'>IANTIIA O'NETLL

Certainly I do. However, we can't expect the same level of sales as we've
generated over the last ten years. wouldn't you agree?
QL'ESTTONER I

r suppose so, It worries me that we don't have any replacements in the

pipeline. Doesn't it worry you too?
SAMANTHA O 'NEILL

well, that's difficult to say. It's true we haven't come up with a replacement
for the 843. On the other hand, as I pointed. out, we have new products in
the pipeline in other areas.
QUESTIONER 2

On that subject, I'd like to ask you about the CII product. Can you tell us
how much longer before it's ready for production?
SA.\1ANTHA O'1\EIL1.

That's not really my field. Tony should be able to give you an idea about that.
QUESTIO:-lFR 2

Right, I'll talk to him after the meeting.

3
Sarnantha, could I ask you about the production delays on our new AIS
product?

QL:ESnONER

TAPESCRIPT

71

SA M A N T U A O ' NEIL L

Please go ah ead .
3
Well, as you know, we've p ut together a fairly large-scale advertisi ng
campaign. Allthe space was booked for an October lau nch ... ?

QU ES TIO :>: IO K

SAMA:-IT HA O ':-OIOILI .

Don't worry. w e'll be ready fur th e launch dale. There an: one or two
technical problem s, h UI they won't delay us much longer.
QUES TIONER 3

T hat's good 10 hear.

2

a
b
c
d
c
f

May I ask yo u a q ues tio n!

Do yo u mind telling m e w here yo u go t those figu n.' s?
I suppose you're in town for ,I week. Is th at right?
Don't yOll think we need to take a break?
All the job losses arc in the plant, aren't the y?
Cou ld I ask yo u whe n you're going to leave?

Unit 9 Putting it all together

Language knowledge

JO A :-O S A B RO OKE S

The first th ing to be said about th ese p rod ucts is tha t they're very di verse.
Well, let's take our premium export lager, Hoh enbrau . Now this product
has always been positioned ar the top end of the rnarket.It has a high price
and it's only available through selected retail outlets. Altogether, it's quite
exclus ive.
O n th e othe r ha nd, ou r Rutter's bitter has an entirely diffe rent personality.
It's brewed in a traditional way. We put a lot of malt into it wh ich gives it a
rich go lde n colou r. As far as I know, it's always be en sold at a medium price
and is available through most supermarkets.
So, as you can sec, th ese ar e Iwo very diffe rent produ cts. O ne an up-market
Germ an -t ype Pilscncr, the other a very Engli sh bitt er. One point for
discussion then, is whe ther we should mainta in such different products in
our ra nge.
Let 's move on to marketin g, and I only want to raise on e issue.

Th e th ird clement is th e peo ple ... and pr imarily here, I mean th e br ewer y
wor kers and th e mana gement. One of th e things tha t shocked me when I
first jo ined westwood was this ._. organi zati on cha r t. It's like somet hing
from th e last centu ry - do you reali ze there are ten layers between the
sho p-floor wor kers and t he Managin g Director! In my view, this m akes the
company slow and unresponsive. I know there are many good thin gs a bo ut
\ \ 'C'Stwood, but our image is much the same as it was in, say, the t imes of
Queen Victoria - a very tr adi tional, patern alist ic employer.
Well, th e very least we need to do is discuss w het he r th is image is
a ppro priate for th e late 20t h cen tury, let alo ne the zlsr.

72

T A P E SCIUPT

Video Transcript

Unit 1 What is the point?

JOANNA BROOKES

l'm sorry I'm a bit late ... um ... I'm not exactly sure how 10 start this ... urn
... I suppose I should start by telling you something about the brewer y ... It's
old of course, very old, and ... urn ... And it was founded in 17, 1778, yes, I
think that's right. So it's a very old brewery and ... urn ... we use traditional
prod uction methods and the products themselves are very, very old ... urn
... as you can see, and we have an im per ial stout which is very, agai n vcry
t radit ional, and it's described as dark, immense, rich with a depth ofburnt
fruit iness, this beer is anidea l nightcap. Imperial stout is 50% stronger than
any of th e othe r beers in the export premium range ... the re ... urn ... Oh, we
also do a lager, we also make a lager whic h is Euro pean, a European type
beer and, well, sales have increased a lot over t he last year.
Of course, we were a fami ly firm well, in fact, we still are a fam ily firm. As
you know t he presen t owner is Ben wcstwood ... urn ... There was a take over bid ... urn ... I'm not exactly sure when, but it was resisted, and ... urn ...
we con tinue to ru n as a family firm and this is im portant for the corporate
image. well, in fact this is why we're here to day to discuss the corporate
image and decide if we, well, it needs to ch ange. We also have horses ... you
may have seen them del ivering the beer to th e local pubs? Yes?
Yes, yes ... urn ... production has actually dropped a little over the last few
years, although profits have actually held up and that's someth ing we need
to discuss ... I mean can we actually continue as a sma ll, indepe ndent
brewery?
Anyway, that's about it. So ... um ... tha t is the ma in question today. So I
don't know whet her that helps at all, b ut it's all I can think of really, so I, I'll
leave ... I'll leave ... I think that's that, so I'll leave it there, OK?

Unit 2 Making a start

Version :l

GEO FF MAXWELL

Right , the tour. I've got some overheads here to give you a pict ur e of ... Oh
well, never mind, we'll manage with out. Anyway, I' ll tell you somethi ng
about th e pla nt we'll be hav ing a look around. [ don't know how much you
know about us. Perha ps some of you have been he re befo re?
Anyway, I'll start by telling you a bit about the plant so that later you can ...
urn ... ask ques tions ... and it shou ld help to u nders tan d the process. So,
here we are in the main bui lding ...

VIDEO TRANSCR IPT

73

Version 2

GEOF F MA XWEL L

Hello and welcome to Sta ndard Electronics. I' m GeoffMaxwell, t he Factory

Manager in charge of th e pla nt you'll be seeing today. I know some of you
have come a lo ng way today so we aim to ma ke you r tour bo th interesting
and worthwhile. Before we start t he lo ur, I'd like to give you a brief
presentation about the company - th is will help to put th e production side
of the business into context.
My tal k will last about 15 m inutes an d I'll be using the flip chart. Now
th ere's qui te a lot to cover, so I'd be gra teful if you'd ho ld any questio ns until
the end of my talk.

As you ca ll see, I've divid ed up my presentat ion into th ree main parts.
Firstly, we' ll fu n briefly through the h isto ry of the com pa ny. Secon dly, I'll
tell you something about our ma in markets - this is im portan t in
understand ing th e prod uction process. An d finally, I'll come to th e peo ple ou r mo st imp orta nt asset.
OK? Let's start with th e history. Sta ndard started out as a private limited
com pany wh en it was first established in 1935 ...

Unit 3 Linking the parts

Version :t

(i E OFF MAXWE L L

In any case, I' ll ... um ... I' ll tell you something ab out the plant so that later
you can ... ask questions ... an d it should help to understand the process ...
so, here we are in the main b uilding. Not much of a buil ding. Anyway, we've
been based here for more than fifty years, one ofthe country's best -loved
engineering firms. Anyway, it sta rted back in 1943 when there was a nee d
fo r high quality connections. You know, the sor t Britain's famous for.
What we use is a process called pre-pr iodine electrostatic coating. In this
process we apply ...

Version 2

G EOF F MAXWELL

... im portant in u nde rstanding the p rod ucti on process. And fina lly, I'll come
to t he peopl e - our mos t important asset. OK, let's start with t he h istory.
Now don't worry! I'm not go ing to give you a histo ry lesson . just a few key
dates. Stan dard started o ut as a pri vate lim ited ...
.. went p ublic. So we've had a pr ett y eventful 60 years or so. Anyway,
I'll leave the history there. If you're interested, you'll find more about
Standard in this pretty brochure. You should find one of th em amon gst all
th e othe r bits of paper our PR people love to give out. So, let's turn now to a
b rief overv iew of our main markets. If you look at t his chart, you' ll see our
slice of th e pie, which in the European ...

74

V I DEO T RA NSC RI PT

Bythe way, you may have seen the story in the news today about our main
competitor, Manton. It seems they're going to bring out a new product
which could seriously infringe the copyright ...
So, we'll have to wait and sec how the market reacts. Anyway,let me get
back to what I was saying about new markets for Standard. I think wc have
to say that ...
Nobody really knows what the next century will bring. What's for sure is
yOll need people who can adapt quickly. And that brings me to the final
part of this short introduction to Standard, and that is to talk about our
people. As 1said, they arc our most important asset. Our total world-wide
headcount ...
We've even sponsored a group to sail around Britain. So, before I go on, are
there any questions about our personnel policy?

Unit 4 The right kind of language

Version 1

DR Ll'!':DES

The significance of these figures incorporating data from multicenrre

studies cannot be underestimated. Next slide. In the American part of the
survey it was found that success in business can be correlated directly with
leadership styles.
An individualistic style appears to be closely associated with rapid career
path progression, whereas a group or participative style, despite its evident
attractiveness to all members of staff, is correlated with a relatively slow
career progression. Next slide. This is further illustrated in my next slide
which shows the results of another survey into senior management
attitudes.
Although lip service is paid to the concept of participativc management,
their real perceptions of leadership qualities completely contradict this
view. It can he further seen that such surveys ...

Version 2

DR UI'DE'"

We can't really afford to ignore these results. The survey was one of the
most extensive of its kind and covers a wide range of corporations ... \Ve
can see in this next slide the results from the American part of the survey.
This survey was based on interviews carried out with senior managers in
200 corporations. Youcan see here ... 35%) of the group of managers
classified as participativc reached senior management positions. On the
other hand, 74% of the more individualistic managers achieved senior
management status. So, I think the conclusion is self-evident. If you want
to reach the top of American companies, you have a much better chance if
you adopt a fairly autocratic, top-down approach.
What is important here is not to dismiss the last ten years. Ten rears in
which the value of participative management has been preached ... No,
what we must do is to better understand the motivation of senior
management.

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75

If we look at thi s next slide. we can sec the results from an other survey into
sen ior man agement att it udes. Th is shows how man agers firstly evaluate
the quali ties o f a goo d manager ... and seco ndly, how th ey evalua te the
q ua lities o f a goo d leader. What is q uite dear is that managers are suppose d
to be sens itive, adapta ble, an d cooperati ve while lead ers need to be
decisive, dynam ic, an d single-mi nde d.
So, we find there is a ma ssive co nt radic tio n. Goud mana gers are suppose d
be participati ve -. to make sure they co nsult and disc uss. Go od lead ers art'
supposed to be st ro ng indi viduals - able to make decisions on their own.
10

Unit 5 Visual aids

Version 1.

/OASr.;A HROOKES

So, we need to think about the products. Our premium export lager is
descr ibed as a German -b rand,..d Pilscncr with an above average alcohol
content ... urn ... it's positioned at the top end of the ma rke t and is only
available through selected me rchants and retailers.
Anywa y, I'm sure yo u're all familiar with that prod uct ... urn ... Our high
m alt bottled b itter. Rutter 's. is described as a t radit ional west Cou ntry
bitter wit h a very dark colour and thick consistency ... urn ... It has a h igh
price for a bottled bitter ... um ... and is ava ilable through all major
su pe rmarke t cha ins an d offl icences.
As yo u can see, production in 1984 was aro und the 245.000 bottles and
th en during th e next five years men..a scd steadily ... fi ve years ago th e
an nual outp UI reach ed 480,000 bottles there. as yo u can sec ... an d as yo u
can see the figures stayed at that sort offigure until last year whe n th ey
d ipped to 460,000 the re, as you can sec.

Version 2

JO AN S A BRO OK E S

A very im portant . perhaps Ihe most im portan t, clem ent in our co r po rate
ident ity, is our pro duct ran ge. Th e first thing to ht' said about this product
range is that it's wry diverse. w ell, let's tak e our p rem ium export lager,
Hohcnbrau. Now this product has always been pos itioned at the top end of
th e market . lt has a very high pri ce, and is on ly availabl e through specialist
retail outlets. Altogct her, it's q uite exclusive.
On th e other hand , o ur Ruu cr's bit ter has ,111 entircly different pc rso nalit y.
It's b rewed in a traditional way. Wt' I'll! a lo t of malt in it wh ich gives it a rich
go lden co lour. And, as far as I kno w, it's at a me di um price and sold
through mo st supe rma rkets.
So. as you can see, th ese are two very different products. One an up-market
Gerrnan -t ype Pilsen cr, the ot her a very English bitter. Our problem is we' re
110 lo nge r su re about what sort of brewer y we are ... Anyway, let's leave the
products for a mom en t, and tu rn to o ur recent reco rd o n th e product ion
side.

76

"IDEO TRANSCRIPT

To make sure we're all in the picture, I've prepa red a graph wh ich illustrates
our production record over the last twelve years. As yo u can sec, we're o nly
going to be look ing at bottled beer p rod uct io n. Now, twelve years ago, we
had an annual output of 245,000 bo ttles - as you can see. Over the next six
to seven years, prod uct ion grew stead ily and reached 480,000 way back in
1990. Those were the easy years. It seemed all we had to do was to turn up at
work, produce the beer, and the beer would sell itself.
The last five years have been quit e different. Pro duc tion flatte ned ou t to
around 4HO,OOO for four years, an d th en , more worryingly, dropped to
460,000 last year. So, thi s is th e background to our mee ting today. we can
no longer sit back and let the well-establis hed na me ofwesrwoo d do the
work for us ...

Unit 6 Body language

Version 1

D R Ur-;DEK

These cost cuts are going to cause considerable pa in. we need to draw up a
plan of action. I have put some ideas on the board ... These are some of the
measures we could consider. There are bro adly three approaches. First, we
cou ld accept the cuts and reduce staff dras tically ... Secondly, we could fight
and hope to achieve some red uctio n in the level of the cuts. Or th ird ly, an d
this is what I su pp ort, we co uld put forward an alternative proposal. Now,
th is would mean we have to or gan ize ...

Version 2

[H t llN D E N

These cost cuts arc going to cause considerable pain. Wc need to draw up a
plan of action. I have p ut some ideas on the b oard ... These arc some of the
measures we cou ld cons ider. Th ere are broadly th ree approaches. First, we
cou ld accept the cuts and reduce staff d rastically. Secondly, we could fight
and hope to achieve some reduction in the level of the cuts. Or th ird ly, and
this is what I support, we cou ld put forward an alternative proposal. Now,
this would mean ...

Unit 7 Finishing off

Version 1

rOANNA RROOKF: S

Yes, yes ... urn ... pro duction has actu ally dropped a littl e over the last few
years, although profits have actua lly held up ... urn ... an d that's something
we need to di scuss ... I mean, can we actually con tinue as a small
independent b rewery?
Anyway, that's about it, so ... um ... th at is th e m ain question today ... urn ...
so ... I don't kn ow whet her that helps at all, but it's ali i can think of realty,
so I, I'll leave ... I'Illeave ... 1th ink that's that ... so ... l'lllcave it there, OK?

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77

Version 2

10,.\:'>1"-,\ BIH)OKES

SO, before we move o n to discuss these ma tters, let me just su m ma r ize the
main issues as I see them. First ly,on the product side. there's the question of

diversity of product range. Second ly.on the marketing front, we need to

review our d istrib ut io n networ k. And thirdly. on the personnel side, we
nee d to look at the sort of em ploye r we are, and want to become. So. 1
suggest \\'C look a t things in that order: product. dis tr ibu tio n, an d people.
Hopefully th is will help LIS to agree o n a clear way fo rwa rd. Right . be fo re we
start, are th ere any questions yo u'd like to ask?

Unit 8 Question time

Version 1

QU ES T IOS I' R I

You seem to have com plete ly igno red the q uestion of male domin at ion of
top management post s. Do n't you thi nk yOU T results a rc almost ent irely d ue
to the fact that there are practically no women in senior positions in
American companies!
OR L1:-OD EN

I di d not address the q uestio n of gender becau se it was not my purpo se to

address it, No doub t it wo uld be in teresti ng to discuss it on an other
occasion.
Q UES TI O NE R 2

Dr Linden ! If YOLl don't mind me aski ng, co uld you tell us ho w the
res ponde nts assessed difficult co ncep ts suc h as indiv id ua lism?
IlR UN PEN

Well it is not important, but if you wa n t to kn ow, just a mo ment, ... yes, as I
thought ... we used the Belb in persona lity tes t to position res pondents.
J
Dr Linden. could I ask you how th e sun'eys were set up? Ynu know, d id rbcy
use a cont rol group?

QUrcSTIO:-JER

P R Ll XD F.:-J

! believe they used a con tro ! gro up. Th ese weren' t m y su rveys, yo u know, I
can' t tell you the details.

Version 2

QU EST IO N E R 1

You seem to have completely igno red the question of male domination of
to p management posts. Don 't yo u th ink you r results a rc almost e nt irely du e
to the fact tha t there are practica lly no women in sen io r posit ions in
American compan ies?
UR L1NIHN

I thin k that's a very interesting point. I'm afraid I d id n't have time to
add ress t he question of gender itse lf, beca use I was mainly co nce nt rat ing on
the question of management sty le. However , I feel sure th at th is aspect
wo uld be worth d iscuss ing at len gth o n anothe r occasion .

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V IrJ EO T R A S SC RI PT

QU ES T I O :-.l E R 2

Dr Linden! If yo u don't m ind me asking . cou ld rou tell us how the

respondents assessed difficult concepts such as indi vid ualism?
IlR ( .I SD E S

O f co urse. I suppose yo u're referring to the second survey I mentioned?

Well. I'll just check. if! mar ... yes ... as I thought. we used the Rclbin
person alit y test in ord er to positio n responden ts. I think th at yo u' ll find
th at th is is a fairly standard psychologi cal test with such management
su rveys. Arc there any more quest ions you would like to ask about the trial?
QU E S T I O N E R

Dr Lindcn , could I ask you how the surveys were set up ? Youknow, did
they use a control gro up?
I) R lIS U E:"l

I thi n k I see what you mean. You're interested in the procedu re followed for
the surveys?
Q Ul'S TlONF.R

That' s righ t.
HR I.ISDEN

I'm afraid that's really outside my field, I mysclfwas not invo lved in
carrying out the surveys. However, I can give you the references afterw ard s,
if the y would be helpful.
QUFS Tl O N E R

Th an k yo u.

Unit 9 Putting it all together

JOASNA BKOOKF.S

Good mo rni ng. Some ofyou m ay know me better than others, so let me
just b riefly introduce myself. M y name's loanna Broo kcs. and I'm in charge
of Pub lic Relation s for westw ood Brewery, As yo u may kno w, this is a
relatively new post, and its creation reflects the Board's conce rn over our
po sition and image in the market . So, on e of my first tasks is to define a
d ear company identity for wcstwood . one that wilt carry us forward into
the next century, For th is reason , I ha ve asked you all to join me here tod ay
tu hear you r views on a way forward for Westwoo d. So me of yo u have been
with the brewery for many years, othe rs no t at all, so before we start I'd like
to ou tlin e three main aspec ts which I sec con tr ib uting sign ificantly to the
brewe ry's ident ity.
The first aspect is the products, the second ou r ma rkets and distribution in
part icular, and the thi rd key clement is our people. So, let's just spend the
next few minutes reviewing these th ree elements ... and please, in terrupt
me if you have any q uestio ns or po int s yo u'd like to ra ise as we go along.
So, th e products. Arguably.the mo st im po rtant elem ent in o ur cor porate
identity is our product range. The first thing to be said abo ut these
products is that they're very diverse, Well, let's take our prem ium export
lager, Hohcnbrau. Now this pro du ct has always been po sitioned at the top
end of the mar ket. It has a high price and it's onl y available th ro ugh
selected retail outlets. Altogether, it's q uite exclusive.
V IU l:() T RASSC R I I'T

79

On th e othe r han d. ou r Rutter 's b itter has an en tirely d ifferent persona lity.
It's b rewed in a t raditional way. We p ut a lot o f malt into it whic h gives it a
rich golden colour. As far as) know. it's always been sold at a medium price
and is available through most supermarkets.
So, as yo u can see. these arc two very d ifferent prod ucts. One an up-market
Germa n- type Pilsene r. tbc o the r a very Engl ish bitt er, On e poin t fo r
disc uss ion the n. is whet her we should maint ain suc h different products in
ou r ran ge.
Let's mo ve on to m arketing. and I onl y want to raise one issue. It's
connected with th e products really. It seems to me it's going to be ver y
d ifficult strengt heni ng westwocd 's identit y in the market when some of
o ur beers are o nly available th ro ugh specialist ou tlets.
QUF.STlONEK I

Excuse me, if you do n't mind me saying. J th ink you'll find t here are very
good reasons fur restricting the channels for some of our beers.
10AK"'-A

Tha t's interesting you should say so and I look forwa rd to hea ring more
about th at in o ur d iscussion s. Perh aps .....e ca n leave it that the re arc
pro ba bly \'Cry good prod uct reason s why. but th at these may con flict with
th e p romotio n of the tota l com pany image, Would you ag ree?
QU ES TI O :-< ER I

Th at's certa inly tr ue.

IOA~"'A

So. that covers two o f th e elemen ts which I th ink we need to disc uss. Th e
th ird clem ent is the people ... and primarily here. l mean the brewery
workers and the management. One of the things that sho ...ked me whe n I
first joined Westwood was this ... organization chart. Ifs like something
from the last (CnIUr)' - do you realize there are ten layer-, bet wee n th e shopfloor w orkers and the Man aging Directo r! In my vie w, th is ma kes th e
co m pany slow and u n responsive. I know there arc man )' goo d t hings about
West wood, hu t o ur image is much th e same as it was in. say. the tim es o f
Queen Victoria - " very trad itional . pat ernalistic employer.

well. the ver y least we need to do is discu ss wheth er thi s image is

appropriate for the late 20th cent ur y, let alone th e 2 Ist. So, before we move
on to discu ss these matters.J et r nc just su m marize th e main issues as I see
the m. Firstly. on the product side. there's the qu estio n of diversity o f
prod uct range. Secondly. o n the marketing fro n t. we need to review our
dist ribut ion network. And thi rd ly,on t he personnel side. we need to loo k
at the sor t of employer we are and want to become.
50, I suggest we loo k at things in that order: prod uct , dist rib ut io n. and
people. Hopefully this will help us to ag ree on a clear way forward. Right,
before we start. are there any questions you'd like to ask?

80

V ID EO TKA:-lSCR IPT