C a m b r id g e

M ichael Handford, M artin Lisboa, Almut Koester, A ngela Pitt

Business
Advantage

Student’s Book Upper-intermediate

 Business
Advantage

S tu d e n t’s Book
Upper-intermediate
Michael Handford, Martin Lisboa,
Almut Koester, Angela Pitt

<PE e n e m y
HHCTMTyT
n P H K JIA fl H O l/l * /0 5 0
JIMHTBHCTHKM
0001299219
■ a " y /< iy '

C a m b r id g e
U N IV E R S IT Y PRESS
C A M B R I D G E U N I V E R S IT Y PRESS
Cambridge, N ew York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town,
Singapore, Sao Paulo, Delhi, Tokyo, Mexico City
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
w w w . C a m b rid g e , o r g
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521132176

© Cambridge University Press 2011

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception

and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.

Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge

A catalogue recordfor this publication is availablefrom the British Library

ISBN 978-0-521-13217-6 Student’s Book with DVD

ISBN 978-1-107-42231-5 Teacher’s Book
ISBN 978-0-521-28130-0 Personal Study Book with Audio CD
ISBN 978-0-521-13218-3 Audio CDs

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or

accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in
this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is,
or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Information regarding prices, travel
timetables and other factual information given in this work is correct at
the time of first printing but Cambridge University Press does not guarantee
the accuracy of such information thereafter.
 Business
Advantage
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ i s u c c g s s s ta rts h o ro

Business Advantage contains a wealth o f expert advice from

global business leaders, thinkers and specialists, and uses
content taken from a corpus o f business language as well as
vocabulary from real meetings in real companies. This ensures
that you benefit from learning the skills and the language that
reflect the reality o f w orking in business.
Dr Sally Hibbert Muhammed Yunus
Associate Professor of Marketing, Founding Director ofGrameen Bank
Nottingham University Business School and Nobel Peace Prizewinner
Dell Renault-Nissan

RENAULT NISSAN

Dr Jochen Runde Suleyman Narimanov

Director of the MBA Programme Project Manager, Russian oil industry
and Reader in Economics, Cambridge
Judge Business School, University
of Cambridge

Havaianas Nokia

The case studies th a t accompany each unit o f Business

Advantage have been carefully selected, meaning you will
benefit from seeing how business is done across a wide range
of different industry sectors, in organisations o f all sizes (both
profit and not-for-profit), and from all around the world.

Thanks to the innovative Theory-Practice-Skills approach and

U p p e r -in te r m e d ia te
the substantial inp u t into the lessons and activities from the S tude nt's Book w ith DVD 978 0 521 13217 6
Personal S tudy Book w ith Audio CD 978 0 521 28130 0
world of business, success starts w ith Business Advantage. Teacher's Book
Audio CDs
978 1
978 0
107
521
42231
13217
5
6
plus online m aterial

www. ca m b rid g e.org /elt/b u sin essa d va n ta ge

 Map of the course

T op ic: B usiness L esso n Focus L an gu age Input: Output:

e n v iro n m e n t R ea d in g /L iste n in g S p ea k in g /W ritin g
Unit 1: 1.1 Theory Concepts of Language to describe Interview with Professor Prepare and deliver a
C om p etitive competitive markets levels of competition Jochen Runde, Cambridge competitive analysis
en viron m en t judge Business School,
University of Cambridge

1.2 Practice / Case A highly competitive Past tense review Saint-Gobain Extract from Present to a potential
study company company website distributor

1.3 Skills Building relationships Making your feelings Recording of small talk in an Develop a relationship
across companies understood international meeting with clients

Unit 2: 2.1 Theory STEEP analysis Language of certainty/ Interview with Dr Hans-Martin Conduct industry sector
Future uncertainty Beyer, ESB Business School STEEP analysis
u n certain ty
2.2 Practice / Case Global consumer Language to describe Global Consumer Goods Launch a new product
study goods industry the consumer goods Industry industry association
sector report

2.3 Skills Presenting a case at a Discourse markers to Recording of an IT meeting in Present the benefits/
meeting link speech a multinational bank stages of a future change

W riting 1 Preparing Creating a strong Summarising Presentation materials Design effective

presentation slides visual impact information for from the Global Commerce presentation slides
presentations Initiative
Q « W atch S eq u en c e 1 on the DVD to find out m ore about B u sin e ss en viron m en t.

T o p ic: M a n a g in g L esso n Focus L an gu age Input: Output:

p e o p le R e a d in g /L iste n in g S p ea k in g /W ritin g
Unit 3: 3.1 Theory Employee reward Vocabulary of pay and Interview with Professor Construct a pay package
R ew arding strategies incentives Stan Siebert, Birmingham
p e rfo rm a n ce University Business School

3.2 Practice / Case Performance-Related Compound nouns Nokia Corporation Extract Make executive pay
study Pay (PRP) in practice from company Executive decisions
Compensation Report

3.3 Skills Negotiating a pay rise Language for Recording of a performance Negotiate a pay rise
negotiations appraisal in a business with your employer
consultancy
Unit 4: F ostering 4.1 Theory Creative thinking and Word formations Extract from Creative Solve problems
creativity- creative management Management by Dr Jane creatively
Henry, Open University
Business School

4.2 Practice / Case Innovation in practice Past modals Carnegie Wave Energy Make a product into a
study Interview with Jeff Harding, commercial success
Non-Executive Director

4.3 Skills Decision-making Evaluative metaphors Recording of a meeting Decide between two
and idioms about contracts between contracts
two companies
W riting 2 Describing a process Describe a creative Review passives; Creative problem-solving Write a description of a
problem-solving linking language processes from the Open business process
process University MBA programme
D « W atch S eq u en ce 2 on the DVD to find out m ore about M a n a g in g p eo p le.

4 MAP OF THE COURSE

T op ic: M a n a g in g L esson Focus L an g u a ge Input: Output:
c u ltu re s R e a d in g /L iste n in g S p ea k in g /W ritin g
Unit 5: 5.1 Theory Understanding Vocabulary to talk Extract from Understanding Decide on an
O rgan isatio n a l organisations about organisations Organizations by Professor appropriate culture for
cu ltu res Charles Handy, founder of an organisation
the London Business School
5.2 Practice /Case Creating a successful Ways of asking Mundipharma International Allocate budgets across
study culture questions effectively Ltd Interview with Ake departments
Wikstrom, Regional Director
5.3 Skills Dealing with Language for making Recording of an inter­ Improve
problems across summaries in meetings departmental meeting communication across
departments departments
Unit 6: 6.1 Theory Culture and individual Vocabulary for culture; Interview with Professor Maintain good relations
W orking a cr o ss strategies in business reporting verbs Helen Spencer-Oatey, the in difficult situations
cu ltu res University of Warwick
6.2 Practice / Case Multicultural mergers Vocabulary to make Renault-Nissan Extracts from Manage an alliance
study positive and negative company website and an between companies
judgements academic article from different cultures
6.3 Skills International team­ Metaphors of Recording of a meeting Develop guidelines for
building movement between two international an international team
logistics departments
W riting 3 Argument-led Arguments for and Vocabulary of reason, Arguments for and against Write about pros
writing against result and contrast privatisation from and cons of private
BusinessWeek ownership
□« Watch S eq u en ce 3 on the DVD to find out m ore about M a n a g in g cu ltu res.

T op ic: M a n a g in g L esson Focus L a n gu age Input: Output:

o pe ra tion s R e a d in g /L iste n in g S p ea k in g /W ritin g
Unit 7: 7.1 Theory DICE theory Cohesion and Extract of article from The Plan and evaluate a
C hange referencing language Boston Consulting Group change to study or work
m anagem ent project
7.2 Practice / Case Implementing change Present perfect Laird Technologies Beijing Improve team
study tenses; non-verbal Interview with Charlie performance and
communication Peppiatt, Vice-President of productivity
Global Operations, Laird PLC
7.3 Skills External negotiating Ways to organise Recording of meeting Negotiate issues in a
spoken language between two multinational joint venture
pharmaceutical companies
Unit 8: 8.1 Theory The principles of Verb/noun Extract from The Project Schedule a project
Project project management combinations Workout by Robert Buttrick,
m anagem ent Programme Manager at
Cable & Wireless
8.2 Practice / Case Russian oil industry - Future perfect and Sakhalin-1 Project Interview Plan the goals and
study Sakhalin-1 Project future continuous with Suleyman Narimanov, objectives of a project
tenses Engineering Project Manager
8.3 Skills Maintaining Inclusive and exclusive Recording of a sales meeting Negotiate sensitive
relationships language between two IT companies arrangements
W riting 4 Describing graphs Describing graphs Compare and contrast Graphic information from The Describe graph showing
figures and trends Carbon Trust carbon emissions across
industries
D * W atch S eq u en c e 4 on the DVD to find out m o re about M a n a g in g operations.

MAP OF THE COURSE 5

 Topic: M a rketin g L esson Focus L a n gu age Input: Output:
R e a d in g /L iste n in g S p ea k in g /W ritin g
Unit 9: 9.1 Theory The 4Cs of marketing Vocabulary of Extract from journal article Improve a company's
E -m arketing and e-marketing marketing and by Dr Charles Dennis, Dr e-retailing operation
e-marketing Tino Fenec and Professor Bill
Merrilees

9.2 Practice / Case The benefits of selling Review of standard Dell Computers Interview Conduct and report
study on- and offline conditionals; with Alastair Brown, Chief market research
introduction to mixed Operating Officer of
conditionals Bizantra, London, and former
Marketing Director, Dell, Asia

9.3 Skills Organising a Language for Recording of an Prepare and deliver an

presentation introducing and linking e-presentation by Philip e-presentation
slides Weiss, Managing Director of
ZN, a specialist e-marketing
agency

Unit 10: 10.1 Theory What is branding? Vocabulary of branding Lecture by Dr Sally Hibbert, Discuss own brand v.
B randing Nottingham University manufacturer's brand
Business School

10.2 Practice / Case The Havaianas brand Brand and product Havaianas Extract from Develop brand
study collocations Alpargatas Annual Report extensions

10.3 Skills Using persuasive Use if to persuade and Recording of the beginning Persuade staff to change
communication in direct of a staff meeting at a luxury
meetings hotel

W riting 5 Persuasive Online persuasion Language to change An online forum discussing Write persuasive copy
communication features into benefits benefits and features for an internet site
online
Watch S eq u e n c e 5 on the DVD to find out m o re about M arketing.

Topic: A ccounting L esson Focus L an gu age Input: Output:

and finance R e a d in g /L iste n in g S p ea k in g /W ritin g
Unit 11: 11.1 Theory Activity-based costing Gerunds; financial Text on ABC accounting from Compare traditional cost
A ccou n tin g (ABC) vocabulary Guide to Management Ideas accounting and ABC
and Gurus by Tim Hindle
11.2 Practice / Case Cost and price Vocabulary to describe Ukrainian International Decide the pricing
study different types of costs Airlines Interview with strategy for an airline
Richard Creagh, company
Vice-President

11.3 Skills Developing internal Polite language Recording of the end of a Apply politeness
relationships staff meeting at a luxury strategies in difficult
hotel situations

Unit 12: 12.1 Theory The concepts of Used to, be used to and Extract from United Nations Research microfinance
M icrofin an ce microfinance get used to Conference on Trade and
Development website

12.2 Practice / Case Grameen Bank Word formations about Grameen Bank Presentation Integrate conventional
study banking by Professor Muhammad banking and
Yunus, Nobel Prize-winning microfinance
founder of Grameen Bank

12.3 Skills Delivering a Good delivery Speech by Barack Obama, US Presentation about a
presentation techniques President project
W riting 6 Formal and informal Functions of emails Formal and informal Business emails Write an email to your
emails at work email language manager
□« W atch S eq u en ce 6 on the DVD to find out m ore about A ccou n tin g and fin a n ce.

6 MAP OF THE COURSE

 Topic: Strategies L esso n Focus L an g u ag e Input: Output:
and d ecisio n ­ R e a d in g /L iste n in g S p ea k in g /W riting
m a k in g
Unit 13: 13.1 Theory Business ethics and Vocabulary linked to Extracts from business Debate the part ethics
C orporate Social Corporate Social CSR texts on Corporate Social has to play in business
R esp o n sib ility Responsibility Responsibility

13.2 Practice / Case The business case Phrases with The BBC Interview with Present on how to
study for Corporate Social dependent Yogesh Chauhan, the BBC's improve CSR
Responsibility prepositions Director of Corporate Social
Responsibility

13.3 Skills Supporting the Language for Recording of a telephone Encourage speakers
speaker supporting a speaker conversation between a to communicate their
manager and the owner of a ideas clearly
travel company

Unit 14: 14.1 Theory Corporate strategic Verbs used in strategic Extract from Strategic Create a strategic plan
Strategic planning planning planning in non-profit and for
p la n n in g profit organisations by Carter
McNamara, Developer and
Director of Free Management
Library

14.2 Practice/Case Planning within a Multi-word verbs Abercrombie & Kent Interview Devise a strategy for a
study company with Justin Wateridge, travel company
Managing Director

14.3 Skills Using narratives in Narrative tenses Recording of an internal Improve job interview
interviews meeting at a medical skills
company

W riting 1 First contact emails Analysing emails Language tones Business emails Apply for a job via email

D H Watch S eq u en ce 7 on the DVD to find out m ore about S trategies and d e c isio n -m a k in g .

Authors'thanks
We are enormously grateful to all those people who contributed,
supported and put up with us during the writing process. Particular
thanks go to all the team at Cambridge University Press.To our
editor Neil Holloway, who has played several roles in the project - a
clear-minded editor, a motivating guide, a critical reader, and a solid
supporter and helper.To Chris Capper, the commissioning editor,
for being a firm guiding hand who led the project with skill and
diplomacy. To Joy Godwin, who has been an enormous help with
her experience and judgem ent o f what will work and with her voice
of calm and good sense. To Laurence Kosterfor being an excellent
sounding board and a dab hand with technology. To Alison Silver for
her sharp focus and attention to detail and layout. To Chris Doggett
for helping to track down all the permissions that have retained the
book's authenticity.
Our thanks go to all the interviewees, who kindly gave us their time
and valued expertise: Dr Hans-Martin Beyer, Alastair Brown, Yogesh
Chauhan, Richard Creagh, Jeff Harding, Dr Sally Hibbert, Suleyman
Narimanov, Charlie Peppiatt,Tim Rabone, Professor Jochen Runde,
Professor Stan Siebert, Professor Helen Spencer-Oatey, Justin
Wateridge, Philip Weiss, Ake Wikstrom, Professor Muhammad Yunus.
We would like to thank our students, colleagues, friends and family,
who have helped so much to make this book what it is.
Michael: Thank you to my wife Mayu and my children Julia and
Maya for being so understanding and loving.Thanks to my students
at the University ofTokyo and trainees at Isuzu and JCG, to Mike
McCarthy, Ronald Carter and Hiro Tanaka for their support and
encouragement, and to Graham Webb and Simon Gibbs for their
insights. And to my fellow authors for such an interesting and
educational journey.
Martin: A big thank you to my wife Manuela for her support, ideas
and knowledge o f the Havaianas brand. To my children, Max and
Nico for their sense o f humour and knowledge o f life.Thanks are
also very much in order to the numerous students, colleagues and
friends in business and academia whose ideas and suggestions have
added real value to the material.
Almut: Many thanks to Winnie Cheng, Seunghee Choi, Astrid
Jensen, Ian McMaster, Anne Pauwels and Michael Pritchard for
providing texts and data. Very special thanks to my husband Terry
Pritchard for help with data, ideas and activities and his patience,
support and encouragement throughout this project.
Angela: Special thanks to the staff and students at Neu-Ulm
University; to Susan, Amelia and Mabel for their good-humoured
intelligent sense; to Michael for his patience, and to all my family for
reminding me that there is life beyond the keyboard.

MAP OF THE COURSE 7

 Introduction

W hat is Business Advantage and how can it help you?

Welcome to Business Advantage Upper-intermediate. Business Advantage gives you the theory, practice
and skills that will lead you to success in international business.

Business Advantage Upper-intermediate is the second book in the Business Advantage series. It is aimed at
students who wish to progress through the B2 level.

How is the course organised?

There are 14 units in each book.The unit topics have been carefully researched and chosen to provide
you with a comprehensive foundation in the main areas o f business you would expect to find on a
general management training course or on an academic Business Studies course. Each unit is divided
into four lessons.

■ Theory
Presented by professors and lecturers from business schools and universities - you will gain new
understanding o f key business principles and ideas.

■ Practice
A case study based on texts and interviews with managers in real companies - you will learn how
business theory is applied in practice in the real world.

■ Skills
Based on real recorded communications in companies - you will understand how business people
really speak to help you perform successfully at work.

■ W riting
Based on authentic material which will enable you to produce a variety o f effective written business
communications (every tw o units).

W hat is included in each lesson?

In trod uctio n
You are introduced to the main content in a user-friendly format. We use your personal experiences,
visual images and quizzes to prepare you carefully.

Language focus
To improve and broaden your vocabulary and grammatical range. The language syllabus covers the
main tenses and grammatical structures appropriate to your level plus key vocabulary and phrases. The
language presented is drawn extensively from research and actual examples o f English used in business
taken from the Cambridge English Corpus & ' - one o f the world's largest databases of authentic
written and spoken language. You can be confident that the language presented is real language used in
business today.

Reading or Listening
Introduces and develops theories, topics and ideas about business that are useful in both English and
your own language. You also have the chance to improve your speaking skills through discussion
questions at the end o f each section.

8 INTRODUCTION
O u tp ut
Each lesson builds to a final Output section. This is usually a group task where you have to use the
language and ideas presented to solve a problem or deal with a business dilemma or issue.

Critical analysis and Intercultural analysis

Every unit also includes at least one Critical analysis and Intercultural analysis section. Critical analysis will
help you develop questioning skills that are necessary in the academic and business world. Intercultural
analysis will help you develop an understanding o f your own culture and other cultures - a vital skill in
today's business world.

Transferable skill
You will also find a Transferable skill section in each unit which will provide you with some very useful
tools, such as speed-reading techniques, that will improve the way you learn and the way you work.

What is on the DVD?

The DVD in the Student's Book contains video case studies to watch after every tw o units. You can use
the DVD for extra listening practice and to find out more about the business topics in Business Advantage.
There are documentaries filmed at companies as well as round-table discussions filmed with MBA
students from the Cambridge Judge Business School, University o f Cambridge. When you see in
your Student's Book, ask your teacher about watching the DVD sequence in class, or watch it at home on
your computer orTV.

The video case studies are accompanied by worksheets available on the Business Advantage website:
w w w .c a m b r id g e .o rg /e lt/b u s in e s s a d v a n ta g e

What is in the Personal Study Book?

The Personal Study Book gives you extra practice o f the grammar, vocabulary and skills you have covered
in the Student's Book.There are also additional reading activities focusing on inspirational business
leaders and thinkers, together with further case studies on a variety o f organisations.

Where can I find more activities?

Ask your teacher about the Professional English Online website for extra activities to do in class:
w w w .c a m b r id g e .o r g /e lt/p r o

We hope you enjoy learning with Business Advantage and wish you every success.

(n ru .

Michael Handford Martin Lisboa

University ofTokyo, Japan Foundation Campus, Lucca / University o f Pisa, Italy

Almut Koester Angela Pitt

University of Birmingham, UK University o f Neu-Ulm, Germany

INTRODUCTION 9
 C om petitive environm ent

1.1 Theory: C oncepts of com petitive markets

Learning outcom es
■ Learn theory, language and concepts o f competitive markets.
■ Learn mind-mapping and note-taking techniques.
■ Prepare and deliver a mini-presentation using a mind map.

Introduction

1 Discuss the fo llo w in g questions.

■ How competitive are you in your work or studies?
■ Is it always important for you to be successful?
■ How important is it to be ambitious in order to become successful?

2 There are many parallels between the w orlds o f com petitive

business and professional sport. Label the 'strategies fo r
success' b elow (1-4) as follow s (A, B, C or D).

A Appropriate for business C Appropriate for both

B Appropriate for sport D Appropriate for neither

1 Pay significant rewards to top performers

2 Maintain a large pay differential between best and worst performers Language focus 1: Sport as a metaphor and analogy for
3 Fire the worst performers business
4 Create a culture that focuses on winning at all costs
1 Sport is seen by many people as an analogy fo r business
Discuss your answers and explain yo ur reasons. co m p etitio n. Complete th e fo llo w in g sentences th a t lin k sport
to business using verbs from the box.
3 The fo llo w in g developm ents arguably make the business
enviro nm e nt m ore com petitive. W hat effect w ould th e y have acted m onopolised regulated invested globalised
on business in your country?
1 Manufacturers increasingly locate factories in low-cost countries. 1 Different sports, like different industries, are largely____________
2 A single global currency is introduced in all countries. by a small group o f teams or companies.
3 The government forcibly breaks up large companies that 2 Some business people, like some sports people, have
dominate their industry sector. illegally to 'win at all costs'.
4 New competitors from emerging economies enter the world 3 Sport, like business, needs to be heavily____________ to ensure
stage. that competition is fair and equal.
5 The speed o f technological change increases. 4 Both business and sport are becoming increasingly
6 The government cuts tariffs (import taxes) on goods and services compared to the past.
from overseas. 5 Sports teams and companies have____________ heavily to
attract top talent.
4 How co m p etitive is the e nviro nm e nt you w o rk in (or w an t to
w o rk in)? What makes it co m p etitive (or uncom petitive)? In pairs, tell your partne r a bo ut any examples th a t illustrate
some o f the points above.

2 U nderline the h igh-frequency collocations w ith adverbs in

the sentences above. Then try to m em orise them .
Example: Largely monopolised

1 0 1 COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
3 Look at th e fo llo w in g sports m etaphors th a t are com m only
used in business and decide w hich sport th ey origin ate from .
Then com plete the sentences below w ith the correct m etaphor.
touch base kick o ff take it on the chin
the ball's in th eir court score an own goal
5 What metaphor does he use to describe a sport that has unfair
rules that favour some teams over others?
6 What word or phrase that Professor Jochen Runde defined in
Language focus 1 question 3 best describes'level playing field'?
Critical analysis

1 We've sent them our final offer, so now
2 We've arranged to have lunch first and then
the meeting after that.
3 That's a good idea. Let's_________________________ on that
tomorrow.
4 If we're not careful here, w e'll__________________________
5 It's hard to accept, but sometimes we just have to
1 What teams have the most market power in sports in your
country? How do they use this power? How can sports
governing bodies create a more'level playing field'by
reducing their market power?
2 What about business? What companies have the most
market power in their industry sector? How do they use it?
What can national governments and international institutions
do to restrict this power?

4 What do you th in k these metaphors mean?

Listening 2: Monopolies, oligopolies and perfect
Business view _______________________________ competition
Professor Jochen Runde is Director
o f the MBA Programme and Reader
1 Listen to the second p art o f th e intervie w and answer the
in Economics at the Cambridge
questions.
Judge Business School, University of
1 What tw o things do monopolies do with their market power?
Cambridge.
2 In what tw o situations does it make sense to have a natural
monopoly?
3 How possible is it in practice to create perfect competition?
4 How can you make markets more competitive?

2 Professor Jochen Runde uses th e term 'reduce e ntry barriers',

w hich is also com m only expressed as 'reducing barriers to
5 Listen to Professor Jochen Runde's definitions o f the key
e n try 'o r're d u c in g m arket e ntry barriers'. Here, we are referring
terms below and p ut them in the order you hear them being
to barriers th a t companies build around th e ir products and
described.
services to stop com petitors entering the market.

Look at th e fo llo w in g strategies th a t big companies can use to

■ oligopoly ___ build barriers and categorise them as follows:
■ perfect competition ___
a Probably illegal in most countries
■ natural monopoly ___
b Would probably be investigated by Competition Authorities
■ business environment ___
■ monopoly ___ c Generally considered acceptable business practice
1 Make a takeover bid for a rival company ___
Listening 1: The competitive environment in sport and 2 Agree common price strategy with rivals ___
business 3 Propose a merger with a rival company ___
4 Become a global company ___
5 Lower prices to below cost price ___
1 Listen to Professor Jochen Runde describe some connections
6 Register a lot o f patents ___
between co m p etitive sport and th e w orld o f business, and note
down the fo u r sports he mentions. 3 M ost countries or regions have institutio ns and laws to
m o n ito r m o n o p o ly activities and restrict th e ir m arket power.
2 Listen again and answer the fo llo w in g questions.
Match th e in stitu tio n s below to th e ir correct co un try or region:
1 What lessons can business learn from the Oxford-Cambridge boat
1 Monopolies and Mergers Commission USA
race?
2 Federal Trade Commission UK
2 What examples does he give o f teams with'market power?
3 Competition Commission EU
3 Why do these teams have 'market power' in his opinion?
4 Which sport has rules to ensure competition is fairer and more W hat is the name o f the corresponding in stitu tio n in your home
equal? region or country?

1 COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT 11
 Transferable skill: Mind-mapping and note-taking
M ind maps are useful fo r taking notes during meetings,
lectures and presentations. They are also a good way of
recording inform ation th a t you can easily and quickly refer to at
a later date.
Output: Competitive analysis
In small groups, choose a w ell-know n company or product from
one o f the industry sectors below. Think about this company in
relation to o ther companies or products in its industry sector.
Decide if you w an t to take a country, regional or global focus.

1 Look at the o utline o f a m ind map below and note how it internet services MP3 players Formula 1 soft drinks
is constructed w ith circles, lines, b ullet points and summary European football computers food retail fast food
titles. The main subject is always placed in the centre o f the
m ind map. To ensure th a t you take dow n inform ation quickly,
Stage 1
you need to develop good note-taking techniques. W rite down
Discuss the fo llo w in g questions and then record your
examples from the m ind map.
conclusions in a large mind map.
Examples ■ Who is the competition?
1 use abbreviations ___________ _ ■ How strong is the competition?
2 use shorthand ____________________ ■ Why does the company or product enjoy such a strong position in
3 use acronyms ____________________ its market?
4 miss o u t articles (a, an, the ) __________________ ■ What examples are there of how they exercise their market
5 miss o u t prepositions ____________________ power?
6 miss o u t subject nouns ____________________ ■ How do you think the market should be regulated?
2 In pairs, com plete the m ind map below w ith o u t referring ■ Should the company be investigated for anti-competitive
back to your notes or to the tasks in this lesson. practices? Why/Why not?

Stage 2
Use your m ind map to present the main points o f your
discussion to the class in a short ta lk (2 minutes). Conclude your
ta lk by stating w he th er you th in k the company is m onopolistic
or not in its given geographical and industry sector market.
Monopoly
1_____
Perfect Competition = .
Many -firms producing Level playing -field Examples o f teaws w / lots
same product. No -firm 5 m. power
Oligopoly
a in Key words
= industry
• 6 _______________________________________
2 ______________ or terms • 7 __________________
dominated by
a. -few -firms
Connection between Lessons from O xford-
N atural monopoly
comp' sport and Carobridge boat race
e.g. railways +
business
3

Competition Authorities
• EU 1 0 ______________
COMPETITIVE
ENVIRONMENT • UK 11____________
MSA 12.

WViy monopolies and oligopolies -Expand abroad - in t 'l s tra t

Legal:
are bad -for consumer '1 3 ___________________
• restrict output
• 4 __________________

Strategies to increase m.power7 _--14

e.g. by erecting m. entry barriers
15.

'C ould lead to -Make takeover bid -for rival

investigation by
comp' authority -1 6 ______________________

1 2 1 COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
 C ase study
Hall of mirrors, Versailles
1.2 Practice: A highly competitive company

Learning ou tcom es
■ Understand how a com pany w ith market power
operates and remains com petitive.
■ Review tenses used to talk about the past.
■ Persuade a potential distributor to accept a proposal.

Nanjing Olympic
Centre, Nanjing

Profile: Saint-Gobain
Saint-G obain is a m ultin atio n al group o f over 1,000 com panies, and
is one o f the oldest com panies in th e w orld. It was created in 1665,
em ploys over 191,000 people, an d is am o n g th e to p 100 industrial
com panies in the world, as well as th e G lobal 100 m ost sustainable
corporations. It has bu ilt a presence in 64 countries, an d is European Glasinform,'Vienna
or w orld leader in all o f its activities; for instance, it is th e w orld's
largest producer o f glass and other m aterials used in construction
and hom e-building.

Introduction Reading 1: The history of Saint-Gobain

1 Which large m ultina tion al corporations seem very pow erful The fo llo w in g headings have been removed from the te xt
at the moment? What sectors are th ey in? Who are th e ir which follows, which is from the Saint-Gobain website. Quickly
competitors? Why do you th in k th ey are so successful? Is it only skim th ro u g h the te x t and p u t them in the correct place. One
because th e ir products are so good? has been done fo r you.

Would you like to w o rk fo r any o f these companies? Why/W hy
not?
3 What characteristics do you th in k a hig hly com petitive
company should have?
Look at the pictures above. What is the link between them?
5 Have you heard o f Saint-Gobain before? If not, does the
inform ation in the profile surprise you? Do you th in k th a t Saint-
Gobain is a highly com petitive company? Why/W hy not?
Back to the future, or 20+ years evolving non-stop </
From legal monopoly to free competition
Industrial revolutions and modern times
An ‘a la fran^aise’ multinational, then nationalisation
A workshop goes industrial

1 COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT 1 3

1 6 6 5 -1 7 8 9 :
Louis XIV signed the letters patent establishing the Manufacture
des Olaces de Miroirs in Paris in October 1665 — and founded
another 25 such establishments that year.
Louis XIV’s Chief Minister at the tim e was Jean-Baptiste
Colbert. His underlying political and economic agenda involved
undermining Venice’s supremacy in Europe’s glassmaking
industry. He accordingly granted this manufacturer a number
of tax breaks and advantages (including a temporary but
renewable monopoly) to help it keep pace with the demand for
mirrors in homes and royal buildings. The workshop nevertheless
received an impressive and symbolic order in 1684: 357 mirrors
for the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles.
1 7 8 9 -1 8 5 6 :
The French revolution signalled the end of the legal monopoly,
brought the days of privilege to an end, and forced the
manufacturer to adjust its business model — and culture.
Privileges were abolished and business competition was
introduced. English and newer Belgian rivals took over half
the European glass market when glassware casting technology
became commonplace, and the legal and technical monopoly
vanished. The company, however, reacted.
1 8 5 6 -1 9 7 0 :
Buoyant markets, international expansion and market
diversification kept Saint-Gobain on an upward trend for three-
quarters of a century.
The glass industry blossomed during the second half of the 19th
century. Worldwide production grew practically 9% a year from
1850 to 1870, and Saint-Gobain started honing its strategy to
stay on the move and thereby fend o ff foreign competition. It
merged with its main domestic rival, Saint-Quirin, in 1858.
......... ..___ __ _ ..■ ~ .-
Reading 2: Sharing information about Saint-Gobain
W ork in pairs.
Student A: Read th e history o f Saint-Gobain from 1665 to 1970.
Why were the fo llo w in g im p o rta n t in the history o f Saint-
Gobain? Tell Student B a bo ut th e people and events in your
own words.
Jean-Baptiste Colbert the French Revolution Saint-Quirin
Student B: Read the history o f Saint-Gobain from 1970 to the
present day. Why were th e fo llo w in g im p o rta n t in the history o f
Saint-Gobain? Tell Student A w h a t happened in these years in
yo ur own w ords.
1982 1986 2006
1 4 1 COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
' ---- ~ ------- ------------- ffs
1 9 7 0 -1 9 8 6 :
The 1960s and 1970s brought deep-reaching changes across
French society — and predictably sent ripples through a number
of business sectors. Big industrial firms were trying to find the
critical mass they needed to survive in the new ‘economic
world war’ .
A political development promptly shelved those plans: a left-
wing coalition won France’s 1981 presidential election and the
group was nationalised in 1982.
In 1986 it regained its freedom and took stock of the lessons it
had learned over the previous decade.
19 8 6 to th e p re se n t day:
Bclck to th e -future, or 2.0+ years evolving non-stop
The 1986 privatisation initiated a careful reshuffle. The
business portfolio it shaped as a result largely foreshadowed
the group’s profile today. It rolled out its transformation in two
main stages (one each decade).
Saint-Gobain spent the bulk of the first decade striving to
restore sustainable and profitable growth, and to establish
worldwide leadership across its business lines. Then it
redirected its strategy towards high-tech materials.
In those 20 years, from 1986 to 2006, Saint-Gobain saw its sales
m ultiplied by 350%. New business acquisitions accounted for
54% of that growth. 1
It has recently refocused its strategy on the habitat and
construction markets and set out to:
• build the homes of the future
• step up development in emerging countries
• further its operational excellence.
About 77% of Saint-Gobain’s €40 billion in sales last year
came from business lines associated w ith the housing and
construction markets. The Group is active in 64 countries.
It is s till on the move today, and pushing ahead on three fronts
— expanding in emerging countries, consolidating certain
business lines w ith acquisitions, and stepping up its investment
in R£tD.
▲
T
,3. -
.........r-f-v.-,- .. . . ..
Language focus 1: Adjective and adjective + noun
combinations
Match the adjectives w ith th e nouns below, fo llo w in g this
pattern: adjective and adjective + noun.
Example: Legal and te d w la i! monopoly
Adjectives: legal sustainable econom ic political impressive
technical profitable symbolic
Nouns: order agenda m onopoly growth
Quickly scan th ro u g h the te x t to fin d the phrases and check
your answers.
Critical analysis
Do you believe that the government should protect certain
industries? Why/Why not? What about state monopolies? Do
you think that they are a good or bad thing?
 Language focus 2: Tenses that talk about the past
S3
Match these sentences from th e te x t w ith th e tenses below.
Big industrial firm s 'w ere try in g to find the critical mass they
2needed.
It 3has recently refocused its strategy.
I t 'took stock o f the lessons it 5had learned over the previous decade.
■ past simple
■ past continuous
■ present perfect
■ past perfect
2 Match th e tenses above w ith th e ir definitions.
1 The____________ is used to talk about single events, habitual
events or states that happened at a definite time in the past.
2 The____________ is used to talk about events taking place in the
past that connect with the present.
3 The____________ is used to talk about a timeframe leading up
to a point in the past.
4 The____________ is used to talk about events in progress around
a particular time in the past. It may refer to past time events
occurring as a background to other events which interrupt them.
Output: A company presentation
Stage 1
W ork in pairs. You w o rk fo r a com pany in the clothes ind ustry
(or an in d u s try o f your choice), and you are going to make
a short in tro d u c to ry presentation a bo ut your com pany to a
pote ntia l foreign d is trib u to r (choose the location). Look at the
list o f questions you need to th in k a bo ut fo r yo ur presentation.
Questions to consider:
■ When did your company start?
■ What were some o f the important developments in your
company's past?
■ What market does your company target (women, young people,
etc.)?
■ Have you changed target markets during your history?
■ What age groups, gender and demographics (e.g. income group)
do you target?
■ Why did you decide to enter this foreign market?
■ What problems have you had with other distributors before?
■ What do you expect from this distributor?
■ What support can you offer this distributor?
■ Why is your company interesting?

Certain tim e words and expressions tend to go w ith Stage 2

particular tenses. Match the fo llo w in g w ith the tenses (some Form groups o f six people (three pairs). Each pair makes its
are used w ith more than one tense). presentation to the others, w h o are th e d istributors. A fter all
the presentations, all six people vote fo r the best presentation,
in my life last week when it happened this is the first tim e
b u t each pair is n ot allowed to vote fo r itself.
for one year recently already yesterday
one hundred years ago this century in the 1980s

4 Complete the sentences using th e correct tense o f the verb in

brackets.
1 At the time she____________ part-time in a shop to save
money to go travelling (work).
2 MarkWalker____________ Amazon.co.uk in May
last year (join). Before that h e ____________ first
as a retail bookseller and then as an editor on
Gramophone magazine (work).
3 I ____________ for B&Q as a graduate
management trainee in 2008 and 2009
(work). Since then, I ____________ on
some smaller projects (work).
4 I was at the Doncaster office recently.
I thought what th e y ____________
looked marvellous (do).The finished
project looked fantastic.

5 In pairs, use the tim e expressions

in exercise 3 to ask questions and tell
each other a bo ut your own past.
1.3 Skills: Building relationships across com panies

Learning outcom es
■ Develop relationships w ith other companies.
■ Create a good impression in informal business situations.
■ Learn strategies for small talk.

Introduction
Business view

Listening 1: Pre-meeting small talk

You w ill hear the b eginning o f a logistics planning m eeting

between tw o large pharm aceutical com panies.The participants
are:
Peter Drucker/the founding father o f management studies'said:
LHN Pharmaceuticals Worldpharma
More business decisions occur over lunch Manufacturing director (Brian) Supply manager (Helga)
and dinner than at any other time, yet no MBA Finance manager (Eldric) Supply manager (Gisella)
courses are given on the subject. Brian is from the UK and the o the r participants are from
1 Do you agree th a t b uilding cooperative relationships can Germany. The participants are w o rkin g to g e th e r to develop a
give you and your com pany a co m p etitive edge? W hy/W hy not? new p ro du ction fa cility in Germany. Listen to the recording and
then answer the fo llo w in g questions.
2 When m eeting people fo r th e first tim e in business, w hat
1 W hat to p ic do th e y ta lk about?
conversation topics are suitable? Make a list. Move around
2 Why do you th in k Brian, th e director, asks so much a bo ut
the classroom and tr y to have as many short conversations
the meal?
w ith your classmates as you can in three m inutes. Finish the
3 Does this com m unication seem more like a business m eeting
conversation by saying 'Well, it's been nice ta lkin g to you, b u t I
or a conversation betw een friends?
have to ...'.

3 Which o f the conversation starters b elow w ou ld be suitable Critical analysis

in an inform al interna tion al business situation in your culture?
In meetings between different companies, people often 'chat'at
What w ou ld you th in k a bo ut th e speaker if th e y opened the
the beginning and end o f meetings.
conversation w ith any o f these sentences?
■ Why do people tend to talk about non-business related
■ Did you know I went to the best university in my country?
topics at these stages o f meetings?
■ Hi. We're really excited about our new venture together.
■ Why could it be a problem for your business if you don't join
■ I really hate my boss. Have you met her?
in with these discussions?
■ My husband is out o f work at the moment.
■ Would this be the same in your first language?
■ Have you tried the local food? It's very good.

1 6 1 COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
 Language focus 1: Making your feelings understood
_ _
It's n ot ju s t the th ing s we say b u t the way we say them th a t
is im p orta nt. When ta lk in g socially it is im p o rta n t to sound
interested and friendly, so the way you speak can be very
im portant.
3 Missing o u t w ords like this is know n as ellipsis. It makes
s
the com m unication more d irect and inform al. Would it be
app ro priate to use ellipsis w ith your boss? What a bo ut w ith a
very im p o rta n t, p ow erful client?
Listening 2: Judging emotions
m

1 Listen to a speaker say The hotel was fine five times, all w ith
Listen to th e recording o f the m eeting again and answer these
different meanings. Match the recording w ith the choices below.
questions.
a a worried question about the hotel ______
1 W hat do you notice a bo ut Brian (the first speaker)? Does he
b the speaker is amused ______
seem: friendly? aggressive? bored? interested?
c the speaker is bored ______
2 Does Brian often use ellipsis? Look at the audio script on
d the speaker is angry ______
pages 147-8 and underline all th e examples o f ellipsis. Does
e the speaker is relieved ______
this make him seem friendly?
2 In pairs, take turns to ask How was the flight? and to reply It 3 When using ellipsis, w hy is into n a tio n especially im portant?
was OK. When answering the question, use one o f th e em otions Think a bo ut th e grammar.
above. 4 How successful does this conversation seem as small talk?

3 The way we say things can also show w h a t is im p o rta n t

inform ation and w hat is not. In the above example, is th e w ord Output: Developing the relationship
'flight'em phasised? W ork in groups o f four, w ith tw o hosts and tw o visitors.

4 Listen to the answer: Well, the flig h t was OK, b ut the hotel was
terrible. Which w ords are stressed and why?
5 Now practise doing the same w ith these answers, giving
feedback to your partner.
■ Well, the food was OK, but the service was terrible.
■ The flight was OK, but the taxi from the airport wasn't.
Stage 1: Hosts
You w o rk fo r a com pany th a t supplies materials to
m anufacturers, and you are g oing to have a m eeting w ith a new
client. You w a n t to develop a good relationship w ith the client.
Make a list o f ways you can develop the relationship and also
list some topics th a t you can discuss at the b eginning o f the
m eeting. Discuss w ith your partne r the typ e o f impression you
w a n t to create, and how you can do it. Try to use some o f the
strategies from th e lesson.

Stage 1: Visitors
You are going to have a first m eeting w ith yo ur new supplier.
Sometimes we leave w ords o u t o f a sentence because the You are keen to develop a good relationship w ith the supplier,
meaning can be understood from the situation. This is much and you w a n t to make sure you can tru s t them . Your previous
more usual in inform al situations. supplier proved very untrustw o rthy, and you do n o t w an t to
make the same mistake again! Discuss w ith your p artne r w hat
1 Which o f the sentences b elow have some words missing?
questions and topics you can ta lk a bo ut w ith th e supplier
What are the missing words?
before you begin th e first m eeting.
1 Nice place?
2 I haven't been there. Stage 2
3 Little bit jealous, actually. The hosts should welcom e the visitors, and start the m eeting.
4 I had a bowl o f cereal. Stage 3
2 Make these responses shorter and frie n d lie r by ta king w ords When you have finished, discuss these questions in your
out. groups:

1 I've just been to the cafe. ■ How well did you help to build a relationship?
2 Have you read the report? ■ Do you have any advice about what the group could do better?
3 Can I have a glass o f water, please? ■ What would you do differently next time?

1 COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT 1Z
Learning outcom es
■ Understand how business deals with future uncertainty.
■ Learn language o f future certainty and uncertainty.
■ Prepare a macro-environmental STEEP analysis.

Introduction

N othing can be certain

except death and taxes. ^ •)
Benjamin Franklin, scientist and one o f the founding fathers o f the USA

1 Are you o p tim istic or pessimistic a bo ut the fu tu re o f your

country? Give some examples.
2 Im agine th a t the fo llo w in g changes happen in your co un try
over the next five to ten years. Which o f th em m ig h t affect your
fu tu re career or your com pany the most? Explain why.
1 A law is passed to reduce the average working week to 30 hours.
2 Friends see each other far less, online friendship is the norm.
3 Immigration increases dramatically.
4 Bank interest rates go down 50 percent.
5 The price o f oil rises 100 percent.
6 Your government refuses to sign international agreements to
limit carbon emissions.
7 The cost o f using internet-enabled mobile phones falls to almost
nothing.
8 Clouds o f volcanic dust regularly stop all air travel.
9 Your country joins/leaves an international trading bloc (EU,
ASEAN, NAFTA, etc.).
10 Higher broadband speeds lead to a big increase in online
distance-learning courses.
1 Read the first p art o f a te x t on STEEP analysis from learn
m arketing.net on page 19, and find words w hich have the same
m eaning as these:
1 influence (verb)___ _______ __ ______
2 b u y ____________________
3 very larg e ____________________
4 natural foods grow n w ith o u t chem icals____________________
5 on th e other h a n d ____________________
6 insufficient supplies____________________
7 th inking a g a in ____________________
2 Answer the fo llo w in g questions according to the text.
1 Why are people jo in in g health clubs and buying organic food?
2 W hat factor will lead to increased com petition?
3 W hat are the tw o results o f a rising w orld population?

3 How much do you th in k individuals and companies are able

to control th e ir own future?

Organisation/
Reading: STEEP analysis Company
A STEEP analysis is a com m only used to o l in business th a t
companies and organisations use to make sense o f th e ir w ider Industry
m acro-environm ent. The th e o ry is w id e ly ta u g h t in business
schools.
Macro-enviroment

1 8 2 FUTURE UNCERTAINTY
 1 Listen to Dr Hans-M artin Beyer describe five long-term trends
A STEEP analysis is used to identify the external forces
in the m acro-environm ent th a t he believes w ill have an im pact
affecting how individual companies compete within their
on business in the future. W rite the STEEP factors 1-5 in the
industry sector. These external forces within the wider
macro-environment consist o f Socio-cultural, Technological, ta ble below in the o rder you hear them .
5 Economic, Environmental and Political factors.
STEEP factor Notes
Socio-cultural
This aspect focuses its attention on forces within society 1
such as family, friends, colleagues, neighbours and the
media. Social forces affect our attitudes, interests and 2
10 opinions. These forces shape who we are as people, the way

we behave and ultimately what we purchase. For example, in 3

many countries in the world, people’s attitudes are changing
towards their diet and health. As a result, these countries are
4
seeing an increase in the number o f people joining fitness
is clubs and a massive growth in the demand for organic food.
5
Population changes also have a direct impact on
organisations. Changes in the structure o f a population will
affect the supply and demand o f goods and services within an
2 Listen again and note dow n some o f the details m entioned
economy. Falling birth rates will result in decreased demand
fo r each o f these factors.
20 and greater competition as the number o f consumers fall in
developed countries. Conversely, an increase in the global 3 How m ig h t some o f these factors im pact d irectly or ind ire ctly
population is currently leading to calls for greater investment on an ind ustry such as th e global a u to m o tive or com puter
in food production. Due to food shortages African countries, industry? Are th e y o p p o rtu n itie s or threats fo r the industry?
such as Uganda, are now reconsidering their rejection o f
4 W hat o th e r trends do you th in k w ill be im p o rta n t fo r these
25 genetically modified foods.
tw o industries? Will th e y present new o p p o rtu n itie s or be a
threat?

3 Work in groups o f four.

■ Student A w ill read about technological factors - see page 137.
■ Student B w ill read about econom ic factors - see page 142.
■ Student C w ill read about environm ental factors - see page 145.
■ Student D w ill read about political factors - see page 146.
After reading th e te xt carefully, close yo ur books and tell each
other a bo ut w h a t you have read.
4 As a group, categorise the changes in exercise 2 o f the
Introduction into th e relevant STEEP factor.
Example: 1 P olitical
Listening 1: STEEP factors
Business v i e w _____________________________
Listening 2: H ow industries plan fo r th e fu tu re
Listen to th e second part o f the intervie w w ith Dr Hans-Martin
Beyer, in w hich he talks a b o u t how industries plan fo r the
future. Answer the fo llo w in g questions.
1 How long does it take to develop a new car?
2 What do manufacturers of'complex products' need to do?
3 In what way was Bill Gates right about the future?
4 How does Apple manage to get the future right?
5 In what way have some automotive companies'not made the
right decisions'about the future?
6 Where are the decisions made'at the end o f the day'?
7 How important are the methods used by companies to forecast
the future?

Dr Hans-Martin Beyer is Professor Critical analysis

and Associate Dean at ESB
Business School Reutlingen
University, Germany and former
project manager for New Business
Development at the Ford Motor
Corporation (Europe).
1 Do you think Apple and Microsoft are still 'getting it right'
about the future? Why/Why not?
2 Which car manufacturers do you think are 'getting it right'?
Which ones aren't? Why?

2 FUTURE UNCERTAINTY 1 9
 Language focus: Future certainty and uncertainty b enefit or lose the most, if the changes in the In trod uctio n
came true? Explain why.
1 Look at th e fo llo w in g sentences from Listening 1 and place
th em on the scale below. Example: Leisure. Industries such as cinemas and theatres
1 I think people will be more mobile ... might well benefit -from a. shorter working week as people
2 We will need to look to Asia ... would, have more leisure time.
3 We may even see Russia join the EU ... ■ leisure industries, e.g. cinemas and theatres
4 it'll probably be the dominating su bject... ■ companies with high debts
Uncertain -----------------------------------------------------------------► Certain ■ tourism
■ publishers o f educational textbooks
■ pizza home-delivery companies
2 Listen to th e fo llo w in g pairs o f predictions from meetings. ■ online advertising industry
W hich pre diction in each pair (A or B) seems the m ost certain? ■ global car manufacturers
Why? T hink a bo ut the words and the inton atio n. ■ e-marketing consultancies
1 A I guess they may come back to me.
Output: Conduct an industry sector STEEP analysis
B We may subcontract that to a partner.
2 A Noel will stop on Thursday as well, won't he? You are going to conduct a b rie f STEEP analysis o f d ifferen t
B Things will change. segments o f th e a u to m o tive ind ustry and then re p o rt your
3 A We will definitely sign the contract. fin ding s to another group.
B We m ight well find a solution during the meeting.
Stage 1
4 A You're going to need a firewall.
In small groups, th in k about the fo llo w in g types o f car which
B I suppose it's how many you think you m ight need in Ireland.
represent m arket segments. Future sales o f these cars w ill
depend on STEEP factors.

3 Listen to 1B again.This tim e the into n a tio n is very different. luxury cars
Which w ord is stressed in the less certain version? Practise sports cars
saying this. family cars
small city cars
4 Look at the predictions in exercise 2 and underline the verbs low-priced budget cars
th a t are used to ta lk a bo ut the future. SUVs
5 Put the fo llo w in g w ords and phrases in the table below: people carriers
electric cars
could looks probable th a t is highly unlikely th a t must hybrid cars
Example: A rising middle class In emerging economies,
possible probable certain especially In Asia., w ili really push the demand -for budget
cars as people sell their motorcycles and tra d e up to their
fir s t car.

T hink a bo ut the situation in your co un try and then g lobally

over the next five to ten years. Discuss the questions below in
your gro up and make notes.
■ Which segment do you think will grow fastest/slowest?
■ Do you predict that sales m ight decline for certain segments?
Why/Why not?
■ Which STEEP factors are pushing sales up or down?
■ How are they doing this?

Now add th e words you underlined in exercise 2 in th e table Stage 2

above. Present your fin ding s to another g ro up and discuss to g e th e r
how these changes m ig h t affect co m p etitio n w ith in the
6 Which o f th e fo llo w in g companies and industries m ig h t ind ustry both g lo b a lly and in your ow n countries.

2 0 2 FUTURE UNCERTAINTY
 C ase study
2.2 Practice: Global consumer good s industry

Learning o u tco m es
■ Understand the scope and future trends o f the consum er goods industry.
■ Use speed-reading techniques.
■ Present the launch o f a consum er product in a new co u n try market.

Profile: The global consum er goods industry

The global co nsum er goods industry is a huge indu stry consisting o f

m anufacturers and retailers o f different ind ustry sectors covering a
vast range o f products from m ilk to w ashing m achines. The biggest o f
these sectors is FMCG (Fast M oving C o n su m e r G oods) w hich itself
takes in massive sectors, such as food an d drink, hom ecare, a n d health
and beauty. These products are generally o f low value an d sold o n a
daily basis, very quickly in large quantities. A large n u m b e r o f sales o f
these p roducts in m any countries in th e w orld are m ad e th ro u g h large
superm arket chains.

Do you tend to shop in small shops o r supermarkets? What
are the advantages and disadvantages o f both?
2 What changes have happened d urin g your lifetim e in the
way people shop fo r food?
3 Products such as m ob ile phones and washing machines are
also now sold in large superm arkets in many countries in the
w orld. In th e past, these types o f p ro d u ct were considered
'consum er durables', w hich customers ke pt fo r a long tim e and
were n o t available in supermarkets. Why do you th in k this has
now changed?

2 FUTURE UNCERTAINTY 2 1
 Language focus: Consumer goods sectors
1 Look at th e table and match th e companies to th e ind ustry
sectors and sub-sectors th e y are m ost associated w ith .
Example: Tesco, Walmart, Carre-four, Metro -> 4 supermarket
re ta il —>■ f most (or ail) o-f the above product sectors
M u ltin a tio n a l com panies In d u s try sector
Procter & Gamble 1 food and drink
Tesco, Wal mart, Carrefour, Metro 2 consumer electronics
Johnson & Johnson 3 home care
Sony, Samsung, LG, Philips 4 supermarket retail
Nestle, Kraft 5 health and b ea uty/
personal care
Whirlpool, Bosch, Electrolux 6 home electrical
2 Brainstorm examples o f as many products as possible
fo r these sub-sectors w ith in a tim e lim it o f 3 m inutes. Try to
id e n tify at least tw o products per sub-sector.
3 In w hich countries do the companies in th e ta ble have th e ir
headquarters? Have you ever used any o f th e ir products? Which
ones?
Transferable skill: Speed-reading
Speed-reading enables you to increase your speed and im prove
yo ur com prehension. Read th ro u g h the fo u r phases o f this
process and answer th e questions a bo ut th e te x t w hich follows.
Compare your answers w ith a partne r after each phase.
Phase 1:Text o rie n ta tio n and pre diction (tim e lim it - 2 m inutes)
1 Check the source o f the article -»■ How w ill this affect how the
te x t is w ritte n and w ill it favour a particular p o in t o f view?
2 Read the title carefully - ► W hat do you th in k this te x t w ill be
about?
3 Read th e first paragraph carefully. It o fte n contains the key to
the organisation o f th e te x t -> How w ill the te x t be structured?
Phase 2: Skim -reading (tim e lim it - 3 m inutes)
1 Read the te x t quickly (do n't read every w ord) -*■ Were the
predictions th a t you made in phase 1 correct or not?
2 Build a 'm ap o f the te x t' by skim -reading it again to
understand b e tte r th e structure o f the te x t so you know
w here blocks o f in form a tion are located. How many blocks (or
sections) does the te x t contain?
2 2 2 FUTURE UNCERTAINTY
Sub-sector
a kitchen care, laundry care, bathroom care
b hair care, skin care, cosmetics, dental care, fragrance
c small electrical appliances, small kitchen appliances, large kitchen
appliances
d mobile phones, computing, TV and audio
e bakery, frozen, dairy, confectionery
f most (or all) o f the above product sectors
3 Put the fo llo w in g section title s in th e te x t to divide it
correctly into fo u r sections.
a A rise in incomes and consumption
b Urbanisation
c Serving the needs o f low-income consumers
d The ageing population
A fter this phase you should have a reasonably good general
understanding o f w h a t th e te x t is about.
Phase 3: Scan-reading (tim e lim it - 2 minutes)
Scan a section o f th e te x t loo king fo r specific in form a tion to
answer a question. We are n o t concerned at this stage w ith
w h a t the answer is, we w a n t to kn ow where it is.
W ith o u t loo king at the text, read the fo llo w in g questions. What
section w ill you fin d th e answers in?
1 What kind o f flavours will older people be demanding from food
producers?
2 What partners does the global consumer goods industry need to
work with to reach the poorest people in Asia?
3 How many people will migrate to the cities over the next few
decades in Asia?
4 What has been the result of higher incomes in India?
Phase 4: Detailed reading (tim e lim it - 3 minutes)
Finally, read o nly the section o f the te x t you identified in phase
3 to answer th e questions (1-4) above.
 Reading: The trends th a t w ill change Asia O u tp ut: Launching a new consum er product

You are going to launch new consumer p roducts on the

Urbanisation and a growing elderly population are clear Japanese market. Your ta rg et m arket is th e over-50s. Read the
global trends. These two dem ographic swings are also in form a tion below. W ork in fo u r groups, and look at page 137.
1 apparent across m ost Asian countries, along with the
polarisation between the new middle class and the poor. Target market
Projections indicate that more than 500,000,000 Asians
will m ove to cities in the next 25 years - alm ost 2,000,000 You are launching a new product o n the lapanese market.
2 people per month. This m ovem ent is placing a huge strain Your target m arket is the over-50s, w h o are increasing in
on already inadequate transport, electricity, w ater and n u m b er and w ho have a high am o u n t o f disposable income.
sanitation systems. Before you m arket your product, look at the following factors
w hich are all o f im portance to the target group.
Improved health care is resulting in the elderly living
• Raw m aterials in Japan are scarce. T he m a in agricultural
longer. The increase in the elderly population is
products are rice, vegetables, fruit, dairy products, eggs
3 particularly significant in Japan, where more than 20% o f
an d fish.
the population is over 65. • Increased w orries a b o u t th e env iron m ent, global
In Japan, unlike many other markets including m uch o f w arm ing an d p ro d u ct safety are p rim e concerns.
the West, Japanese pensioners have econom ic security and • K now n as 'silver surfers', th e vast m ajority o f the over-
considerable buying power. They also com m and a great 50s have access to th e Internet.
deal o f respect from society. Task
This growing dem ographic group presents unique physical You sh o u ld design a 3 -m in u te pitch th a t you w ill th e n give
and emotional needs and requires different product design, to th e o th e r groups.
packaging, m arketing and retail distribution. Over the next W h en you have h eard all th e presentations, choose w hich
ten years this group will trigger a surge in products that p ro d u c t you w ill invest in. You c an n o t choose y o ur ow n
5 focus on the elderly, from preserving health and wellness to product.
spicier foods to stimulate aged palates. But these Japanese
senior citizens o f the future will also be spending m oney
on their grand- and great-grandchildren, creating a market
for premium children’s products.
In m ost Asian countries, average household incomes are
increasing significantly. This is particularly so in cities:
6 urban households in China have over three times more
disposable income than rural households, according to the
National Bureau o f Statistics o f China.
India, in particular, has experienced dramatic income growth
7 for a large segment o f the population in the last two decades.
This prosperity has revolutionised consumer aspirations.

At the same time as average income is rising, there is still

a vast segment o f Asian households that live on veiy low
incomes, particularly in India but also in rural China too. This
g income disparity has implications for the grocery industry,
which needs to rise to the challenge o f serving the needs
of low-income consumers. To deliver this, our industry
will need to work together and with governments and
communities to develop innovative products and services.

Source: GCI (Global Commerce Initiative), Global Consumer Goods

Industry Association Industry Report (Spotlight on Asia)

In w hat o the r ways do you th in k th a t urbanisation, a rising

m iddle class, co ntin uing p ove rty and ageing p op ulatio n
could im pact on th e consumer goods ind ustry in Asia?
23
2.3 Skills: Presenting a case at a m eeting

Learning outcom es
■ Present the benefits and stages o f a future change.
■ Use discourse markers to organise and clarify your arguments.
■ Analyse differences in presentation styles across cultures.

Introduction

1 What are th e main differences between a m eeting and a

presentation?

2 Have you ever had to give a form al presentation in class or at

work? How did you feel?

3 W ould you prefer to give a form al presentation or lead a Q&A

(question and answer) session w here you have to provide the
answers?

4 C om plete the table below com paring form al presentations

and Q&A sessions in meetings. The first has been done fo r you.

Formal presentation Q&A session

Turn-taking Not usually Yes

Spontaneous speech

Communication is one-way

Questions and answers

Rhetorical questions (asked for effect,

not for an answer)

Active listening (responses, e.g. yes,

uh-huh)

Immediate responses

5 Which requires more preparation, a presentation or a Q&A

session? Can you prepare fo r a Q&A session?

6 Choose one o f th e fo llo w in g :

■ Your company has launched a new product, e.g. food, clothing,
media. Think o f what the product m ight be. It is not selling well
and your boss wants to know why. Think o f a course o f action, and
present it.
■ Think about how you could market a product that sells well in
your domestic market to an international audience. Think o f ways
o f making this product popular abroad, and present it.
When m aking a presentation at a m eeting, the speaker usually
presents th e case first, and a discussion or Q&A session then
follow s. You are going to listen to a presentation at th e Tokyo
office o f a m ultin a tio n a l bank's IT dep artm en t. The presenter,
Alison, is describing the upgrading o f a new operating system.
1 Before you listen, th in k o f tw o reasons w h y installing an up-
to -d a te operating system (OS) is im p o rta n t fo r a company.

2 4 2 FUTURE UNCERTAINTY
2 The presentation has th e fo llo w in g stages. Put them into
a logical order. Then listen to th e presentation and see if you
were correct.
A Giving background inform ation
B O utlining the problem and the risk
C O utlining how the solution w ill be achieved in practice
D Starting the presentation
E Stating the proposed change
Intercultural analysis: Presentation styles
Presentation styles are different in different cultures. For
example, in the USA the main point of the presentation is
usually made at the start. In some countries, like Japan, people
often give the background and state the main point near the
end. The presentation at the meeting you have listened to is
from an American bank in Japan.
Which style do you think is preferred in the workplace in the
Listening? Which style do you prefer? What are the advantages
and disadvantages of each?
Discourse markers lin k segments o f ta lk to one a nother and
show how speakers organise, manage and feel a bo ut the
inform ation. They do n o t contain inform a tion . Common
markers include: So, I mean, right, on the other hand, it's time to,
then. A presentation th a t contains many discourse markers is
easier to follow .
1 Here are some sentences from the presentation you heard in
Listening 1. U nderline th e discourse markers.
1 OK, we may as well start.
2 So, our Windows operating system. We've been using our present
OS in Japan for at least four years and it's time to upgrade.
3 It's more a question o f what will happen if we don't upgrade ...
Obviously, this creates a business risk for us because ... The longer
we wait, the greater this risk becomes.
4 So, how do we start? Well, I've already done this.
5 So, just to give you a bit o f background. Mainstream support for
the present system expired ...
2 Match the sentences w ith th e five stages in Listening 1
exercise 2.
D * Watch S eq u en ce 1 on the DVD to find out m ore about B u sin e s s en v iro n m en t.
Listening 2: Q&A session
Follow ing the presentation, there is a Q&A session. One person
in the audience, Nigel, asks a bo ut th e global im p lem en ta tion
o f th e new operating system (OS). He wants to know if any
departm ents have im plem ented this system in all o f th e ir
w o rld w id e offices. Listen to th e recording.
1 What answer does th e presenter give to the question?
2 The answer given by the speaker is n o t very clear. W hat are
some possible reasons fo r this?
3 When answering questions, the fo llo w in g fo rm a t is useful:
Showing you w ill rephrase, e.g. So you m e a n ...
Rephrasing, e.g. You w ant to k n o w ...
Checking th e response is sufficient, e.g. Does th a t answer your
question?
Listen again and see if the speaker follow s this form at.
4 Practise this fo rm a t in pairs by asking each o the r a question.
Output: Presenting a case
Stage 1
Look back at Listening 1 and the five stages in a presentation.
W ork in pairs. Prepare a 3-m inute presentation on one o f these
topics:
■ The problem o f motivating lazy workers/students
■ The introduction o f new working hours at your workplace / place
o f study
Use the five stages to p u t yo ur presentation in a logical order,
and make sure you use discourse markers to organise your
presentation. Remember to note some key language from the
audio script (page 149). Make your solutions as im aginative as
you like. Then try to predict tw o or three questions th a t you
m ig h t be asked in a Q&A session. Practise answering them
fo llo w in g the steps in Listening 2.
Stage 2
Make your presentation to another pair, and encourage
questions afterwards. Listen to the o the r pair's presentation,
and ask some fo llo w -u p questions.
2 FUTURE UNCERTAINTY 2 5
Learning outcom es
■ Summarise information into concise bullet points.
■ Discuss dos and don'ts of slide-writing techniques.
■ Create presentation slides with strong visual impact.

Introduction

Business v i e w ___________________________________

A picture tells a thousand words.

Fred R. Barnard, advertising executive

1 Do you agree w ith th e quote? W hy/W hy not?

2 Look at some o the r units in th e book. Can you find tw o

images w hich you th in k w o rk very well w ith th e u n it title? Why
do you th in k th e images you have fo un d are suitable fo r the 4 Which o f the fo u r b ullet points on slide 2 below does the
u n it title? cartoon refer to?

3 Can you th in k o f any presentations or lectures th a t you have

been to w here th e slides were particularly good or bad? In w hat Rising cost (and scarcity) of raw m aterial
way were th e y good or bad? ■ Continuing rise in cost of energy and raw material
■ Population spikes put pressure on water and food supplies
Writing skill: Creating a strong visual impact
■ Increasingly volatile climate, affecting production and the
supply chain
The fo llo w in g slides are taken from a 10-slide presentation by
the m anagem ent consultancy company, Capgemini, w ith the ■ Effects of ical instability “ {5 £ s ^ S S ? W
SINCE YESTERDAY!
title 'Eight trends and th e ind ustry o p p o rtu n itie s fo r the global
consumer goods industry'. Supermarket chains and food and 4 DROPS OF PETROL, / ~r^ p I
please ... m) - met.
d rin k producers form a large p art o f this industry.

1 Look at the fo u r images in slide 1 above. W hat do you th in k

the presenter w ill ta lk a bo ut w hen this slide is on the screen?

2 Match the fo llo w in g headings to the fo u r images on slide

1 and label th em .T h e headings are examples o f m icro-b ullet
points. Slide 2

5 How could you change th e fo u r standard b u lle t points on

Low income Urbanisation Ageing population
slide 2 into fo u r strong visual images?
New m iddle class
...................................................... ....................... - .................. ........................................................

Intercultural analysis
3 Do you like the style o f slide 1 or w ou ld you prefer to see
more inform a tion included on the slide?
Discuss the following questions.
■ Are you surprised to see humour used in a serious
presentation as on slide 2?
■ How useful do you think the humour is in communicating
the information on the slide?
■ How acceptable would it be to use humour in a presentation
in your organisation or country?
■ Would you personally use humour in a presentation?

2 6 WRITING 1: PREPARING PRESENTATION SLIDES

 Language focus: Summarising information into concise
bullet points

The tw o slides in the W riting skill section show tw o techniques

for presenting inform ation.
Slide 1: W riting hig h-im p act micro-bullet points (m axim um
three words)
Slide 2: W riting in standard bullet points (NOT in fu ll sentences)

1 Change th e fo u r standard b u lle t points in slide 2 into fo u r Slide 3A

m icro-bullet points (three w ords m axim um each).

2 Complete th e sentences b elow to change the fo u r standard

bullet points from slide 2 in to fu ll sentences.

1 There____________ (be) a continuing rise in _____________ cost

of energy and raw material.
2 Population spikes_____________ (put) pressure on w ater and
food supplies.
3 increasingly volatile c lim a te _____________
(affect) production and the supply chain.
4 Rising costs____________ (lead) to political instability. What Slide 3B

will be the effects o f that instability on th e ____________

_____________industry?
Developing BrandYou
3 The trends b elow are fu ll sentence descriptions o f the fo u r Ask yourself these questions:
m icro-bullets in slide 1 . Change them in to fo ur standard b u lle t
• Who am I?
points.
• What do I believe in?
1 Rapid urbanisation across the developing world is expected to
• What are my values?
increase even faster.
2 There will still be a very large segment o f the world's population • What's my passion?
living on very low incomes.
Slide 4A
3 Ageing populations are going to create challenges as well as
opportunities.
4 There will be a big increase in the number o f middle-class
consumers, particularly in Asia.

4 The headings o f slides are o fte n w ritte n as statements, • Who am I?

although th e y often pose a question. Change the m icro-b ullet • What do I believe in?
points fo r slide 1 in to fu ll sentence questions.
• What's my passion?
Critical analysis • What am I great at?
® Where do I want to go?
1 There are some presentation slide guidelines at the back of
• What's my essence?
the book. Student A should read about how n o t to write Slide 4B
presentation slides on pages 137-8, while Student B should
read about how to write them on pages 142-3.
Output: Designing effective presentation slides
2 Look at tw o pairs of slides (slides 3A and 3B, 4A and 4B)
and decide which slide in each pair you prefer. Explain your In pairs, sketch o u t tw o slides in th e same fo rm a t as slides 1 and
reasons to your partner with reference to the guidelines you 2 on page 26 on th e to p ic 'The future'. Decide w he th er to take
have just read. a personal, company, ind ustry or global focus. A fter finishing
yo ur slides, present the in form a tion to another pair.

WRITING 1: PREPARING PRESENTATION SLIDES 2 7

 Rewarding perform ance

3.1 Theory: Em ployee reward strategies

Learning outcom es
■ Learn about the pros and cons of different types of reward system.
■ Learn word partnerships with incentive and pay.
■ Construct an appropriate reward package for your boss or teacher.

Introduction

1 John Wesley Hardin was a dangerous Texas g u n fig h te r in the 19th

century w ho killed over 30 people. Why do you th in k the authorities
had to pay a reward to capture him? What w ould have happened if
th ey had increased or decreased the reward th ey were offering?
REWARD
2 The w ord rew ard can be used as a com pound noun and as a verb
in relation to executive pay, as in the statements below. Read the
statem ents and decide to w h a t e xtent you agree w ith them . Circle
the num ber th a t reflects your opinion.

1 = strongly agree 7 = strongly disagree

1 Rewarding people with a higher salary

is the best way o f motivating them. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2 Most senior executive reward
packages are far too generous. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3 Managers should be rewarded
for their performance at work. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4 It's impossible to create a reward
system that truly aligns managers'
pay to their company's success. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 JOHN WESLEY HARDIN
Compare your answers in pairs and give reasons for your opinions.

3 What are the similarities and differences between a b ounty hunter

$5,000 REWAlll)
in the 19th century w ho g o t paid a reward to capture a wanted man
and how senior business executives are rewarded today? DEAD «RALIVE
4 The nouns in the ta ble below are all synonyms to describe
earnings, b u t th e y have slig h tly d ifferen t meanings. M atch each
w ord to its d efin itio n.

1 pay a a technical word often seen in recruitment adverts for senior positions

2 reward b a generic word to describe workers'earnings

3 salary c used generally but also specifically to describe office workers'earnings, usually paid monthly by bank transfer

4 wage d used generally but also specifically to describe company earnings

5 remuneration e a semi-technical word emphasising payment linked to performance

6 income f used generally but also specifically to describe factory workers'earnings, traditionally paid weekly in cash

2 8 3 REWARDING PERFORMANCE
 Listening 1: The role and function of pay Listening 3: Fair pay and motivation
B u s in e s s v i e w
0DQ1
Professor Stan Siebert, Professor of Listen to th e final part o f th e interview . Answer the fo llo w in g
Labour Economics at the University questions by choosing the best answer (A-C).
of Birmingham Business School, is a
1 What does Professor Stan Siebert say about the Theory X and
specialist in the study o f company
Theory Y view o f people?
reward strategies.
A Theory X views people as mainly motivated by money.
B Theory Y views people as mainly motivated by money.
C Theory X and Y are confusing.
2 According to Professor Stan Siebert, how big a factor is pay in
motivating people?
A It's probably an enormous factor.
B It's probably a small factor.
C It's probably a changeable factor.
& EO
3 What is Professor Stan Siebert's view on fair pay?
Listen to the first p a rt o f th e intervie w w ith Professor Stan
Siebert and answer the fo llo w in g questions. A People are right to be worried about fair pay.
B The idea o f fair pay is in both companies'and workers'interests.
1 What are the tw o main functions o f pay?
C He is not very concerned about fair pay.
2 What are the tw o main types o f reward system?
4 What does Professor Stan Siebert say about his own salary?
3 What are the different ways you can pay a company chief
A It wasn't enough 30 years ago.
executive, an apple picker and a coal miner?
B It's not enough now.
C It's appropriate.
Listening 2: Advantages and disadvantages of different
reward systems Critical analysis

1 How important do you think fair pay is in general? What

1 Listen to th e second part o f the intervie w and com plete the about groups of workers, notably women, who are
gaps in the table. Use no more than three w ords in each gap. consistently paid less than their male counterparts?
2 Professor Stan Siebert mentioned how apple pickers and
Disadvantages
chief executives can twist incentives for their own personal
Payment by tim e 1 There is a cost in terms of benefit. How can the owner o f the apple farm or the directors
o f companies stop this happening? Are there alternative
reward systems that can produce better results for the farmer
Payment by o u tp u t 2 You need to find a or the shareholders?
that is
in the best interests o f the company.

Payment by tim e
Advantages

3 It is
Language focus: Word partnerships with in c e n tiv e
and p a y

1 Com plete the gaps in the Cambridge Advanced Learner's

E
D ictionary defin itio ns o f incentive and pay.

Payment by o u tp u t 4 People put in

1 incentive /in 'sentiv/ noun something which
someone to do something
2 incentivise /in'sentivaiz/ verb t o ____________
someone want to do something
2 Listen again and answer the fo llo w in g questions.
3 pay /pei/ verb (paid, paid) - to give money to someone
1 What are some o f the risks o f paying chief executives according
fo r____________ which they have done
to share prices?
4 pay /pei/ noun the money you receive for doing a
2 What reward system is used to calculate Professor Stan Siebert's
pay?

3 REWARDING PERFORMANCE 2 9
2 The w ords p ay (uncountable noun) and paym ent (countable Output: Constructing your boss or teacher's reward
noun) can be confused. Payment refers to th e a m o un t o f m oney package
paid fo r goods or services provided, w hile pay is a synonym for
In small groups, decide on an appropriate reward package for
salary or wage. C om plete th e fo llo w in g sentences using pay or
your boss or teacher.
payment(s).
Stage 1
1 It's an interesting job, but th e ____________ is really bad.
In your discussions you should reach agreem ent on at least five
2 We need a deposit o f £165 plus m on thly____________ of £60.
o utp uts you are g oing to measure (e.g. how much hom ew ork
3 Executive_____________ _ is increasing at an alarming rate.
he/she marks). Remember th a t he/she m ig h t fin d ways to
4 Usually we ask fo r ____________ on receipt o f the goods.
use your incentive scheme to personal advantage (e.g. he/
3 The fo llo w in g groups o f words o ften collocate w ith incentive, she m ig h t not m ark th e h om ew ork p ro pe rly if there is a lo t to
incentivise and pay. Circle th e w ord or phrase in each group mark). Make notes and com plete the table below.
th a t does not make a collocation w ith the ta rg e t w ord.
O u tp u t to be m easured C om m ents
1 provide a(n) / give a(n) / big / bright / financial / less / little / long­
term / no / strong - incentive 1
2 incentive - bonus / plan / package / pay / programme / scheme 2
/finance
3
3 difficult to / designed to / forecast to / the best way to / want to -
incentivise 4
4 incentivise - investment in / management to / inflation to / staff 5
t o / sales force to
5 high / low / average / strong / basic / performance-related / Stage 2
annual / executive - pay (noun) Discuss and agree on the ind ivid ua l w e ig h tin g (percentage)
6 pay (noun) - rate / package / cut / terms / scale / rise fo r each o f these five factors. For example, if your g ro up thinks
th a t each o f the five w eig htin gs is equally im p o rta n t, then each
4 Com plete the gaps using the correct collocation listed above.
fa cto r w ill be w eighted at 20%. Com plete the table below.
1 Supermarkets have a b ig ________ _ incentive to sell ethnic food
as Hispanic shoppers spend more per annum. O u tp u t to be m easured W e ig h tin g (%) Reasons
2 CEO WJ. Sanders earns an incentive_________ equal to 0.6% of 1
operating profits.
2
3 Winsor complains that Network Rail is_________ incentivise due
to the absence o f shareholders. 3
4 The government finds it difficult to incentivise_________ 4
renewable energy from private capital.
5
5 The company's policy o n _________ pay for sales staff means
they get paid by how much they sell. Stage 3
6 He had to take a pay_________ when he decided to go part- Decide w h a t p ro p o rtio n o f your boss or teacher's reward
time. package should be linked to tim e spent w orking and how much
5 W rite a list o f points on the to p ic below. Each p o in t should to the to ta l o u tp u ts o f th e ir w ork. Draw a pie chart to reflect
include a collocation from exercise 3. your decision. For example, if your g roup thinks th a t three-
quarters o f the pay package should be linked to o utputs, it w ill
Topic: What are the best ways to motivate people at work?
look sim ilar to the one below.
Example: Companies sHowUt incentivise- s t a f f to keep fi-fc by
offering to cover 50% o f the- cost o f gym membership. Are there any other
factors which you th in k
Compare your points w ith o the r students and agree on a
should be included?
shortlist o f th e best points.
If so, note them dow n
and include them in
your pie chart.

Stage 4
■ Reward by time
Present your plans to
□ Reward by output
another group.

3 0 3 REWARDING PERFORMANCE
 C ase study
3.2 Practice: Performance-Related Pay (PRP) in practice

Learning o u tco m es
■ Understand how and w hy PRP is used.
■ Distinguish main ideas from
supporting information.
■ Learn how to form compound nouns.

Profile: Nokia
Corporation

Nokia was form ed in 1865 and

started life as a paper mill. It took
its nam e from the N okianvirta
river in Finland, o n w hich the
mill was situated. In 1960 it
started its first electronics
departm ent after becom ing one
of the m ajor players in the paper Language focus: C om pound nouns
industry. In 1967 N okia merged
w ith Finnish Rubber Works and 1 Match the fo llo w in g phrases w ith th e ir meanings on the right.

Finnish Cable to create Nokia 1 compensation programme the percentage o f customers

Corporation. The new com pany that stay loyal for the long term
began to concentrate o n m obile 2 stretch goals / stretch targets cash generated from operating
com m unications. It is now one activities
of the best-know n and m ost 3 comparison companies system of payment and rewards
successful m anufacturers o f for employees
m obile pho nes in the world. 4 annual base salary company earnings before
V___________________________________ ' interest and taxes
5 short-term cash incentives stock given to employees as
rewards
Introduction
6 increased shareholder value better returns for shareholders /
1 Which o f the fo llo w in g m otivates you the most maximisation o f share value
in choosing a jo b : money, holidays, jo b security, jo b 7 operating profit strategic objectives that are
satisfaction, com fortable w o rkin g conditions, a good extremely difficult to achieve
social side to th e job? How a bo ut m o tiv a tin g you to keep 8 operating cash flow bonuses to encourage better
working? Are th e factors th e same? performance

2 Which o f the fo llo w in g jobs do you th in k should use some 9 equity-based awards income generated from recently

form of perform ance-related pay (paym ent by results not released products
just tim e): investm ent bankers, e lem entary school teachers, 10 new product revenue yearly salary, excluding bonuses,

professional sports players, salespeople, cleaners, doctors, pensions, etc.

actors, others? Which o f these job s do you th in k should be 11 customer-retention rates competitors

the most hig hly paid? Why? 2 The phrases on the left above are all com pound nouns.
Which o f the patterns b elow do th e y follow? Do any o f them
n o t fo llo w these patterns?
■ adjective + noun
■ noun + noun
■ adjective + adjective or noun + noun

3 REWARDING PERFORMANCE 3 1
3 Do you th in k com pound nouns are more com m on in spoken
or w ritte n business English?
Reading 1: Nokia's approach to PRP
1 W hat w ou ld a com pany like Nokia hope to achieve by using
PRP?
2 Read th ro u g h the first p art o f Nokia's re p o rt on executive
com pensation. Why do you th in k Nokia considers each
o bjective im portant? Which objective do you th in k is the m ost
im portant?
n The obiectives o f N okia's executive com pensation
program m es are to:
• attract and retain outstanding executive talent;
• deliver a significant am ount o f performance-related
variable com pensation for the achievement o f both
short- and long-term stretch goals;
• appropriately balance rewards between both Nokia's
and an individual's performance; and
• align the interests of the executive officers with those
o f the shareholders through long-term incentives in
the form o f equity-based awards.
L performance and represent a significant portion of an
3 The personnel com m ittee considers th e factors below in
its review w hen d ete rm inin g the com pensation o f Nokia's
executives. Which o f th e fo llo w in g factors do you th in k the
executives can directly control?
1 The compensation levels for similar positions in relevant
comparison companies.
2 The performance demonstrated by the executive officer during
the last year.
3 The size and impact o f the role on Nokia's overall performance
and strategic direction.
4 The internal comparison to the compensation levels o f the other
executive officers o f Nokia.
5 Past experience and time in role.
4 Which o f th e above factors do you th in k is th e m ost
im p o rta n t fo r m aintainin g m o tiva tio n w ith in th e company?
Which are im p o rta n t fo r encouraging executives to stay w ith
Nokia? Can you th in k o f any o the r factors th a t should be
considered?
3 2 3 REWARDING PERFORMANCE
Reading 2: Understanding PRP in terms of short-term
cash incentives
1 Read th ro u g h the next p art o f Nokia's report. Are the
fo llo w in g statements true or false?
1 Shares are given as short-term incentives.
2 Cash incentives can be considerable amounts of money.
3 Financial objectives are based on goals that are easy to achieve.
4 The company's and individual's targets are assessed by the
personnel committee.
5 The president and the CEO are responsible for entry into new
markets.
C o m p o n en ts o f executive com p en satio n
O ur com pensation programme for executive officers
includes annual cash com pensation in the form o f a base
salary, short-term cash incentives and long-term equity-
based incentive awards in the form of stock options and
shares.
A nnual cash com pensation: short-term
cash incentives
Short-term cash incentives are tied directly to
executive officer's total annual cash compensation.
M easurement criteria for the short-term cash incentive
plan include those financial objectives that are
considered im portant measures o f Nokia's success in
driving increased shareholder value. Financial objectives
are established which are based on a num ber o f factors
and are intended to be stretch targets that, when
achieved, Nokia believes, will result in performance that
will exceed that o f Nokia's key competitors in the high
technology, telecommunications and internet services
industries.
The incentive payout is based on performance relative
to targets set for each measurement criterion listed:
(a) a comparison of Nokia's actual performance to
pre-established targets for net sales, operating profit
and operating cash flow and (b) a comparison o f each
executive officer's individual performance to his/her
pre-defined individual strategic objectives and targets.
Individual strategic objectives include market share,
quality, technology innovation, new product revenue,
customer-retention rates, environm ental achievements
and other objectives o f key strategic importance which
require a discretionary assessment o f performance by the
personnel committee. In the case o f the president and
CEO, the annual incentive award is also partly based on
his performance compared against strategic leadership
objectives, including entry into new markets and services
and executive development.
Source: Nokia report on Corporate Governance
2 Discuss the fo llo w in g questions in small groups.
1 Do you think that people in similar positions in different
organisations should receive approximately the same pay? Why/
Why not?
2 Do you think people working for the same organisation in the
same position in different countries should receive the same pay?
Why/Why not?
3 What do you think about pay being linked to experience? Should
pay be based more on merit, or experience, or time spent with the
company?
Critical analysis
In some companies, the CEO may receive 20 times the pay o f the
average worker, or possibly much more. Do you think this is fair?
Transferable skill: D istinguishing m ain ideas from
supporting in fo rm atio n
1 We can separate m ain ideas from su pp orting inform a tion
through o ur use o f language. What is the main idea and w hat
is the su pp orting inform a tion in the fo llo w in g sentence? W hat
language helps to separate the ideas?
Our compensation programme for executive officers
includes annual cash compensation in the form of a base
salary, short-term cash incentives and long-term equity-
based incentive awards in the form of stock options and
shares.
2 What are the main ideas o f the texts in Reading 1 and
Reading 2? Summarise the main points in less than 50 words.
<4, SOZ6«750'-2i
Output: Boardroom PRP decisions
W ork in small groups. You are the board o f directors fo r a large
telecom m unications company, and you have to make decisions
on the fo llo w in g situations.
Stage 1
You have to develop a new benefits package fo r your
executives. Several o f your executives have recently left the
com pany and m oved to your com petitors.T raditionally,
yo ur com pany pays the average salary fo r th e industry, w ith
substantial equity-based awards. Up u n til now, o nly the CEO
has received substantial bonuses. Make the reward package as
detailed as possible.
Stage 2
Over th e past six m onths your com pany has n o t entered
any new m arkets or developed any new services. These key
objectives are th e responsibility o f your (new) CEO. Decide
w h a t size bonus, if any, you w ill give him /her. The previous CEO
was very strong in these areas, b u t left last year fo r one o f your
com petitors.
Stage 3
Maria Rodriguez, the sales d irector fo r Asia and Africa, has
w orked fo r the com pany fo r five years longer than Geoff
M utto n , the d irector o f sales fo r Europe. Maria's first fo u r years
were successful, b u t last year she perform ed badly due to a
cancelled contract in South Africa. Geoff has o nly w orked for
th e com pany fo r one year and has increased sales due to a big
contract in Italy. Decide w ho should receive a bigger bonus.
Stage 4
Compare your decisions w ith another group.
3 REWARDING PERFORMANCE 3 3
Learning outcom es
■ Negotiate a pay rise.
■ Use vague language to negotiate.
■ Learn and use strategies to negotiate.

Introduction

Business view

Hi The purpose of
business negotiations
is to solve problem s of
conflicting interests.
Professor Anne Marie Bulow, Department
of Culture and Communication,
Copenhagen Business School

1 Which people are usually involved in pay n egotiations in

a com pany (e.g. d urin g a perform ance review), and w hat are
some o f the p o ss ib le 'p ro b le m s 'a n d 'co n flictin g interests'?

2 If you were a boss deciding on an employee's pay rise, w hat

factors w ould you consider? W ith a partner, make a list o f five
factors (e.g. relations w ith colleagues) and p u t them in order o f
im portance.
2 The fo llo w in g list includes several strategies fo r neg otia ting a
3 Find another pair w ith a d ifferen t list o f priorities, and
pay rise. Which fo ur are w in -lo se strategies? Could any o f them
negotiate w ith them to come to an agreem ent a bo ut the tw o or
be b oth w in -w in and w in-lose?
three m ost im p o rta n t factors.
1 Threaten to leave the company.
2 Say you'd like to be considered for promotion in the future.
3 Say you've had to give up your second job.
4 Mention you've been offered another post somewhere else.
5 State the salary is insufficient for your needs.
Listen to a perform ance appraisal between a trainee business
adviser (Sophie) and her boss (Leroy) at a business consultancy
6 Say that you're disappointed w ith previous pay rises.
7 Say that you're thinking about leaving the company.
company.
8 Say that you're not considering leaving the company.
■ Is Sophie, the trainee, for or against having PRP (Performance-
9 Say how much you love this job.
Related Pay), and why?
10 Say how challenging this job is.

Listening 2: Negotiating for more money 3 Listen to the second part o f the conversation between the
trainee and the manager. Which strategies from the above list
does Sophie, th e trainee, use?
1 Negotiations are often described as w in -w in (where both
4 Do you th in k th a t this n eg otia tion is more o f a w in -w in or
the employee and the company can have a positive result), or
w in -lo se negotiation?
w in-lose (where one side takes a risk to get w hat they want). For
example, threatening to leave the company unless your demands
are met is a w in-lose strategy. Which do you th in k is better for pay
negotiations? A w in-lose approach or a w in -w in approach?

3 4 3 REWARDING PERFORMANCE

1 Being deliberately vague can be very useful in a negotiation,
both as a way o f show ing you share understanding
(collaborative strategy), and as a bargaining technique
(com petitive strategy).
A Showing shared knowledge (collaborative strategy)
■ You know, like having to be approachable and flexible and having
to meet clients earlier in the morning or having to meet them
after the working day or having to work through lunch and all
th at kind o f thing.
■ We talked about budgets and pricing and things like that.
B Not showing your true position (competitive strategy)
■ We m ig ht be able to do it.
* It will pro ba bly cost about $40 a unit.
2 Are the fo llo w in g sentences examples o f A or B?
1 I would have to consider other options.
2 Let's review the logistical implications and all that stuff.
3 I don't know how my boss will react to that.
4 I don't know exactly but I think it's about four thousand.
5 We're thinking about Beijing, Shanghai, and places like that.
6 I could do that if other things are good.
3 Vagueness can sometimes lead to m isunderstanding, so if
someone says som ething vague you should try to clarify the
m eaning. Match these clarifications w ith the sentences above.
a So you mean she may not like it?
b So by'other things'you mean pay?
c By'all that stuff'you mean the routes and weights?
d How sure o f that are you?
e So you mean cities on or near the coast in China? How about
Hangzhou?
f So you mean there's not a very good chance o f it happening, is
that right?
4 How can you make th e fo llo w in g statem ents vaguer?
1 Your sales results are the lowest in the company.
2 I want a pay increase o f 15%.
3 If I don't get a pay rise, I will definitely leave the company within
the next month.
4 We will consider your pay situation in six months.
5 In pairs, practise saying th e sentences above and asking
clarifying questions.
6 Read th ro u g h the audio script a bo ut n eg otia ting fo r more
m oney on pages 1 5 0 - 1 , and fin d th e fo llo w in g phrases. Are
th e y are collaborative or co m p etitive in style?
1 and all that kind o f thing
2 probably more than double
3 I would be able to get a job as a business advisor
4 It's not a huge issue, but it may become one
5 allowances and everything else
6 and that kind o f thing
Output: Negotiating a pay rise
W ork in pairs.
Stage 1
Do you th in k the fo llo w in g advice fo r som ebody w ho is
n eg otia ting a pay rise is good or not?
■ Ask your friends in different types o f jo b about their salary.
■ Find o u t the salary o f people in jobs similar to yours.
■ Think abo u t your experience before you negotiate.
■ Tell your boss how m uch cash you need.
■ Tell your boss how m uch cash you deserve.
Stage 2
Student A: loo k at page 138 and read the instructions.
Student B: loo k at page 143 and read th e instructions.
3 REWARDING PERFORMANCE 3 5
 Fostering creativity

4.1 Theory: Creative thinking and creative managem ent

Learning outcom es
■ Understand principles and thinking behind creative management.
■ Learn and use word formations connected to creativity.
■ Take part in a creative problem-solving process.

Introduction

1 W hat does the image tell you a bo ut creativity?

2 W hat do th e quotes mean? Do you agree w ith them?

Creative thinking is not a talent, it is a skill

that can be learnt.
Edward de Bono, champion of'lateral thinking'

A business has to be evolving, it has to be fun

and it has to exercise your creative instincts. •) •)
Richard Branson, successful entrepreneur and founder o f Virgin

1 Match the fo llo w in g nouns connected to creative

m anagem ent w ith the correct defin itio n.

1 imagination a production o f original and unusual ideas

2 creativity b use o f a new idea

3 invention c the ability to visualise new ideas

4 interaction d putting a plan into action

5 implementation e movement o f ideas and opinions to the same point (they become similar)

6 innovation f movement of ideas and opinions away from each other (they become more different)

7 convergence g something which has never been made before

8 divergence h when tw o or more people or things communicate with each other

2 The m a jo rity o f these nouns are form ed w ith -tion. How are
adjectives generally form ed? Change the nouns in the table
above into adjectives (where possible).
3 W rite dow n the verb equivalent fo r th e nouns above.
4 Who do you th in k is more creative, an inventor or an
innovator? Why?

3 6 4 FOSTERING CREATIVITY
 Reading: M akin g sense o f creativity
P eople
Considerable energy and research has gone into trying to
Business view _____________ ______ ________________
work out the characteristics of creative individuals. Three
Dr Jane Henry is senior broad types o f individuals have been identified: creative
lecturer in Applied people, innovators and entrepreneurs. Creative people
Psychology at the Open are usually seen as people who generate ideas, innovators
as those who take an idea and develop it into something
University Business School
real (such as a product or service or business process) and
and a writer on creativity. entrepreneurs as those who take the product to market or
implement the process and make it a commercial success.
Entrepreneurs in large organisations are referred to as
intrapreneurs.
Studies o f creative people show characteristics such as
independent thinking, not being affected by peer pressure,
good verbal communication skills, imagination and a
reasonable but not outstanding level o f intelligence. Creative
people are said to be better at asking the right questions. They
also appear comfortable with risk-taking and are open to new
ideas.
1 Read th e In troduction to an extract from Creative
Management by Dr Jane Henry. Then predict w hat the rest o f P lace
the text w ill be a bout by looking at the table.
These days a good deal o f management thinking argues that
the society we live in and the organisational climate, culture
Creative people Creative processes and structure have a major impact on creative output. The
suggestion is that creative ideas flow where new ideas and
a You need creative people, e Traditional creative thinking challenges are welcomed and where people are encouraged
in n o v a to rs a n d is a b o i it to play rather than controlled and threatened. It follows then
that organisations that want to promote creativity might
need to look at creating a flatter organisational structure
b Creative people should not f Convergent thinking enables (removing levels o f hierarchy) in an attempt to reduce
he yoi i to bureaucracy and speed up the creative processes.
Process
Creative places Creative products The creative thinking process is traditionally linked to
imaginative thinking which is expansive and divergent
c Creativity happens where g In the West new product in nature (such as brainstorming and lateral thinking) as
p e o p le are n o t d e v e lo p m e n t opposed to evaluative thinking which is convergent in
character. Divergent thinking helps people to generate a
large number and variety of ideas and approach problems
d The organisational structure h In Japan new product from different angles. The emphasis here is on quantity
s h o u ld he d e v e lo p m e n t where an ‘anything goes’ attitude is encouraged. Convergent
thinking on the other hand, is needed to narrow down
the output from the divergent phase. The focus here is on
quality - making one or two selections from a huge number
o f possibilities. In practice, the creative process requires
Making sense of creativity a framework which allows for alternating phases between
divergent and convergent thinking.
Introduction
Creativity is about the quality of originality that leads to P rod u ct
new ways of seeing and new ideas. It is a thinking process Creative products may arise from a radical breakthrough or
associated with imagination, invention and innovation. a series o f small incremental steps. Management methods
However, creativity is not just about an idea that is new in the West have emphasised radical breakthroughs, while
and different: for an idea to be truly creative it must also be Japan has built much of its success on small incremental
appropriate and useful. steps. The task o f the manager is to encourage and
A number o f commentators have found it convenient to coordinate multi-disciplinary teams working on product
distinguish between creative people, creative processes, development and drive these processes along.
creative places and creative products.

„ . . . . , , . „ , 3 A fter you have read your sections o f the text, com plete the
< Work in pairs. Student A should read the sections about People
, .......................... „ ta ble w ith y o ur partner.
and Place and Student B should read about Process and Product.
When you have finished, cover the te xt and tell each other w hat
you have read.

4 FOSTERING CREATIVITY 3 7
4 Read th e statem ents below and decide in w hich section
you w ou ld expect to find th e answer: Person, Place, Process or
Product. Are the fo llo w in g statem ents tru e or false?
1 Research shows you need to be very intelligent to be creative.
2 A playful culture at work helps the creative process.
3 Convergent thinking plays no part in the creative thinking
process.
4 The product development manager's role is to create new
products.
5 Intrapreneurs are focused on making profits.
6 At all stages o f creative thinking you need to choose carefully the
ideas you put forward.
5 W ould you make a good creative manager? W hy/W hy not?
Transferable skill: Generating ideas
1 Read a b o u t th e fo llo w in g tw o creative techniques. How
useful are they? Could you use any o f them in your work,
studies o r personal life?
5Ws and 1H
Ask questions: Why ...? ,W h a t...?, Where ...?, Who ...?,When ...?,
How ...?
This is a standard brainstorming technique to explore different
angles to a core problem.
Example: / don’t have, e-nought mone-y to go on holiday.
• WHy don’t you Hove enough money to go on
Holiday?
• WViai d id you spend your money on?
• WHere do you want to go on holiday?
• Who could you a.sk -for money?
• When would be a. cheaper time to go?
• How could you save money?
Reverse th in k in g
This is a lateral thinking technique: you reframe the problem and
look at it from the opposite perspective.
Example: We don’t Have enougH money to develop this new
product.
What do we Have enougH money to develop?
2 W ork w ith a p artne r to discuss this problem : I never have
enough time. Use the 5Ws and 1H and reverse-thinking
techniques to th in k a bo ut how you w ould help a person w ith
this problem .
Example: 'WHen do you -feel tHe problem is most intense?’
(5Ws and 1H)
'WHat activities do you Have time -for?’
(Reverse thinking)
Output: Creative problem-solving
Stage 1
In small groups, brainstorm a list o f problem s th a t you
personally have in your professional lives or w ith your
studies, such as'I always feel tired','I find it nearly impossible
to m eet deadlines', etc.This is the expansive, d ivergent
phase o f th in k in g w h e re 'a n y th in g goes'. D on't ju d g e if the
problem is a 'good one' or n o t at this stage - sim ply w rite the
problem s dow n in a list w ith th e name o f the person w ho has
this problem . Focus on the q u a n tity o f ideas and keep the
atm osphere playful and fun.
Stage 2
Select one problem from the list th a t you as a gro up w ould
like to focus on. This is the convergent evaluative phase o f the
process. Ask practical questions such as:'How interesting is the
problem ?' and 'H ow useful is solving th e problem fo r the w hole
o f the group?'
Stage 3
Using the techniques you have learnt, explore th e problem
more deeply by asking the 'p roblem h olde r' questions
(divergent phase). One person in the g ro up should take notes.
Stage 4
Discuss how helpful th e techniques were in solving the
problem s. Which one do you th in k is more useful, 5Ws and 1H
or reverse thinking?
4.2 Practice: Innovation in practice

Learning o u tco m es
■ Understand how innovation works in practice.
■ Use modals to criticise past actions and explore alternative solutions.
■ Discuss and present stages o f innovative product development.

Off-the-shelf
e) Electricity passed through
technology

\\
Zero emission

a) As waves pass over yellow

sphere the water pressure returns to sea

d) Pelton turbine with

water
b) Pumps pushed up and down 20-25 metres pumped on to the land
by water acting water depth

COPYRIGHT © / NOT TO SCALE

Introduction
Profile: Carnegie Wave Energy
1 Read the profile o f Carnegie Wave Energy. W hat is the
advantage o f CETO wave energy te chn olo gy compared to its
Carnegie Wave Energy is a sm all to m edium -sized
co m p e tito r wave technologies?
Australian com pany b ased in Perth th a t invests in and
develops clean energy projects. Its m o st im p o rta n t 2 Put these energy sources in tw o groups: renewable and n on ­
project is a wave energy techn olo gy k n o w n as CETO. renewable.
Most co m p etito r wave technologies have generally been
nuclear gas solar coal w ind wave oil
located o n th e surface o f th e w ater w here th e energy
levels are very high an d w here there is a high risk o f
3 W hat are some o f the advantages and disadvantages o f the
destruction by storm y seas. W h at is different a b o u t th e
above energy sources?
CETO technology is th a t it is below th e rough w ater level,
w here th e risks o f dam age are m uch lower. 4 W ork in pairs. Look at the CETO process diagram above. How
do you th in k th e te chn olo gy m ig h t work?

4 FOSTERING CREATIVITY 3 9
 Listening 1: How CETO technology works Language focus: Past modals

1 Past m odals in English are o ften form ed like this: verb +

Business view __ ___ have + past participle. The past modals are underlined in the
sentences below.
Jeff Harding is an
entrepreneur and Non- 1 Sven could have been in Claudio's job now, but he didn't apply for
Executive Director of it.
Carnegie Wave Energy. 2 You should have told him that you planned to be late today, he
wouldn't be angry now.
3 Caterina m ight have finished the report by now. I know she was
working until late.
4 They can't have forgotten about the a ppointm ent. I emailed them
a rem inder yesterday.
5 We shouldn't have hired her - she doesn't have enough
experience to do the jo b properly.
6 Manuel must have been disappointed not to get promotion.

Match the past m odals in th e sentences above w ith th e ir use

1 Look at th e process diagram on page 39 again and try to
com plete th e labels before listening.
2 Listen to Jeff Harding describing th e advantages o f the
te chn olo gy and h ow it works. While you listen, com plete the
labels on th e diagram.
3 W hat tw o advantages from the list below does Jeff Harding
m ention at th e end o f this part o f th e interview?
a It produces electricity on land,
b It uses all new technology,
c It uses a mix o f new and old technologies,
d It's protected in the ocean.
Listening 2: How CETO was bom , developed and
commercialised
below.
a It's possible that this happened, but the speaker is not completely
sure.
b It's impossible or very unlikely that this happened,
c The speaker is sure that this is the result of something that
happened.
d A past possibility, which did not come true,
e Something that was advisable in the past, (fwo answers)
2 The fo llo w in g is a list o f reasons w hy innovations can fail.
Use m odal verbs to make sentences w hich offer advice, criticise
the problem s, or suggest d ifferen t outcomes. There are several
possibilities.
Example: The- leadership should. have been better. / Better
leadership might have led to success.
a bad leadership
b bad communication
c badly defined goals

Before listening, discuss th e first tw o questions below. d bad teamwork

1 Which o f the experiences b elow m ig h t have helped the 3 W hat mistakes have you and your colleagues made at w o rk
inventor come up w ith th e idea o f CETO? or at college over th e last tw o o r three months? How could you
a He was in a boat doing some work, have dealt w ith th e situation any better? Discuss in pairs, using

b He was lying in the bath playing with a rubber duck, past m odal verbs.

c He was swimming in the sea watching the fish. 4 Some 'crazy ideas' lead to very serious products, and some
2 What does an organisation like Carnegie need, in order to don't. In groups, e xplain how th e US patented invention shown

develop and commercialise an innovative technology such as on page 41 could or should have w orked and w h a t the inventor

CETO? Choose from the list below and mark the factors as follows: could or should have done to im prove it.

C = Com mercialisation D = D evelopm ent N = Not needed

1 clear rules and guidelines 5 culture o f openness
2 distribution skills* 6 money
3 joint venture with a large company 7 good team-working
4 recruit new people 8 accept crazy ideas
* knowing how to get the product to the customer

3 Listen to th e next p a rt o f the intervie w and answer the

questions in 1 and 2 above w ith th e answers Jeff Harding gives.

4 0 4 FOSTERING CREATIVITY

Dog Rides Com fortably in Sack on
R u n n in g B oard
Your dog w ill
ride safely in this
sack, which is
quickly attached or
removed
HEAD
W hen you take your dog along for a ride, b u t prefer not
having it inside the car, it can ride safely and com fortably in
this sack, w hich is carried on the running board. The bottom
of the sack is clam ped to the runn ing board and the top is
fastened to the lower part o f an open window, w ith hooks
covered w ith small rubber tubing to prevent m arring the car.
US Patent - Detachable dog sack
Output: Making a product into a commercial success
Some'crazy ideas'are patented into innovative, fun and
profitable products.
Work in small groups (A and B). Look at the follow ing inform ation.
Group A
Stage 1
Birth and d evelopm ent stage
Study the p ro du ct from Phonefingers.com on page 138, a small
company based in Austria. It was designed to stop you leaving
fingerprints all over your phones or com puter. Discuss how
this idea m ig h t have been born and some o f the problem s the
company m ig h t have had durin g th e d evelopm ent stages.
Group B
Stage 1
Birth and d evelopm ent stage
Study the product from Kittywigs.com on page 143, a small
company based in Canada. It was designed for people to have fun
w ith their cats. Discuss how this idea m ight have been born and
some o f the problems the company m ight have had during the
developm ent stages.
Groups A and B
Stage 2
Com mercialisation stage
Brainstorm a m arketing strategy fo r yo ur company. A t the
end o f your discussion, take notes and prepare to present the
p ro d u ct and your m arketing strategy to the o the r group. When
deciding on the m arketing strategy, you w ill need to discuss the
fo llo w in g points:
■ Who is the target market for this product?
■ How is the product best distributed (direct sales on the Internet or
high street shops)?
■ What are the best channels to promote it?
■ What message do you want to communicate in promotion and
advertising?
■ What price would you sell it for?
■ What new innovative variations o f the product could you
develop?
■ How m ight you counter objections that'nobody would buy it'?
■ Would you consider a joint venture with a larger company?
Why/Why not?
Stage 3
Present your p ro d u ct and m arketing strategy to the o the r
group.
4.3 Skills: Decision-m aking

Learning outcom es
■ Understand a decision-making process.
■ Evaluate using metaphors and idioms.
■ Make a decision about possible options.

Introduction Listening 1: Renewing a contract r&:

1 Decision-m aking is closely tie d to problem -solving, and is
often broken dow n into three stages. Put a, b and c in order so
You are g oing to listen to part o f a m eeting between directors
th a t th e y make a logical process.
from tw o IT companies. The sales d irector (Steve) and finance
a choose and implement the best option director (Fiona) are discussing the details o f a new contract w ith
b explore and find the exact problem th e ir new client (Anabel).
c discuss possible solutions
1 What types o f customer support w ould you pay extra fo r if you
2 In pairs, look at th e pictures above, discuss the situation, and
hired a company to help you w ith IT issues in your company?
arrange them to fo llo w the three stages above.
2 Listen to Steve, the sales director, o u tlin in g th e key features
3 In small groups, th in k a b o u t one problem you each have
o f the gold contract. Are the statem ents below tru e or false?
when studying English. Take a few m inutes to discuss some
1 Twenty-four seven coverage is optional.
solutions to each problem and choose th e best solution to it,
2 The client finds the problem and reports it to Steve's company,
fo llo w in g th e process above.
who then fix it.
4 D ifferent people are good or bad at d ifferen t stages o f the 3 A senior engineer looks after the client's server.
decision-m aking process. Answer the fo llo w in g questions (1
= stron gly disagree, 5 = stron gly agree), and then compare
your answers w ith a partner. Discuss w he th e r you are a good
decision-maker.

I am a person who ...

enjoys thinking about things deeply 2 3 4 5
spends a lot of time deciding what to do 2 3 4 5
finds it easy to come up with ideas 2 3 4 5
is good at offering advice 2 3 4 5
is happy about the decisions I’ve made in my life so far 2 3 4 5
enjoys looking at details and specific aspects of a problem 2 3 4 5

4 2 4 FOSTERING CREATIVITY
 Listening 2: The costs 3 Read th ro u g h th e audio scripts on pages 151-2 and fin d fo ur
more examples o f m etaphors and idioms. W hat do the idiom s
& EEk and m etaphors you have fo un d mean?
1 Why is Anabel (the client) n o t happy w ith the proposed
4 Evaluations often happen tow ards th e end o f each stage
pricing fo r separate incidents?
o f the decision-m aking process. Do these examples evaluate
2 Which tw o o f the o ptions does Fiona (the finance director) positively or negatively?
suggest? 1 Looking good ...
a buying a cheaper package 2 (the plans were) completely unreal...
b negotiating the cost 3 (the rent is) stupid ...
c using a separate automated service 4 That's absolute madness...
3 Discuss in pairs w hich stage o f the decision-m aking process 5 (That's) a good way forward ...
you th in k this m eeting is concerned w ith . Why do you th in k it is 6 It eats into the time ...
this part o f the meeting? If necessary, refer to the audio script 7 (These are) solid plans ...
8 I would really welcome that.
on page 152.
5 Managers use metaphors and idioms more than subordinates.
Language focus: Evaluative metaphors and idioms Why do you th in k this is? Why m ig ht it be a problem for a
subordinate to use a lot o f evaluative language w ith a manager?
Evaluating (ju dg ing som ething) is used at all stages o f the
decision-making process. Two very com m on types o f evaluative
language fo un d in business com m unication are m etaphors and Output: Deciding which contract suits you
idioms. W ork in pairs. Im agine th a t you are the executives o f an IT sales
company, and have to make a decision a bo ut w he th er to renew
1 Match up these definitions.
your contract w ith the com pany th a t looks after your internet
1 metaphors a Language from another situation that server (see the audio scripts on pages 151-2).
2 idioms describes what something is like, rather than
what it literally is. Stage 1
Example: They took their eye o f f the bait 1 What are the advantages o f staying w ith the same company?

and lost the contract. What are th e risks o f changing company?

b A group o f words whose meaning is different 2 Summarise the benefits and problem s w ith the g old level
from the individual words themselves. o f service. T hink about: su pp ort tim e, attractiveness o f the
Example: day In day out o p tio n to your customers, the degree o f support, the level and
understanding o f th e engineer and the flat-rate cost.
In real com m unication it is often d iffic u lt to distinguish
3 Evaluate the o ptio ns and make a decision a bo ut w he th e r to:
between idiom s and m etaphors. The im p o rta n t p o in t is th a t
they are both used to evaluate. a agree to the contract as proposed
b agree to the contract but negotiate some aspects, such as the
2 Read these fo u r examples o f idiom s and m etaphors from the cost
listening extracts and match them to th e d efinitions. Do th ey c decide to find a new company.
evaluate th e situation positively or negatively?
Stage 2
1 have most issue with a something you are very Join ano the r g ro up and discuss the o p tio n th a t you have
unhappy about agreeing to chosen.
2 sticks in the throat b a good level o f support
3 a serious cost on top c something you strongly
disagree with
4 a pair of the right hands d an extra, very big increase

D « Watch S eq u en ce 2 on the DVD to find out m o re about M a n a g in g p e o p le .

4 FOSTERING CREATIVITY 4 3
 Writing 2: D escribing a process

Learning outcom es
■ Describe a process.
■ Review passive forms.
■ Use linkers o f sequencing, structuring and providing reasons.

Introduction
Creative problem -solving
Discuss the fo llo w in g questions.
Stage 1: Explore problem
1 W hat do you th in k this diagram is about?

2 How does th e visual im pact o f th e diagram help you a) explore different angles
understand the process better? converge diverge
b) select problem
3 Diagrams o f processes are very com m on. Are the fo llo w in g
processes industrial, technical, business, natural or intellectual
processes or tw o o f these processes combined?
1 global warming
2 client software support assistance /^ » ^ \ Stage 2: Generate ideas and plans
3 steel production
4 online shopping a) consider alternative ideas
5 converting solar energy into electricity
converge diverge
6 learning Business English
b) select plan

Writing skill: Describe a creative problem-solving process

1 Read the fo llo w in g description o f th e diagram and com plete

th e gaps using th e words below. The diagram shows the
creative problem -solving process w hich is ta u g h t on MBA Stage 3: Implement plan
program m es and is w id e ly used in business.
a) plan supporting action
main splitting initial third since overall phase
converge diverge
stages followed

n il Creative problem-solving works by 1 ____________ the

thinking about a problem into a number of different
2___________
Many authorities talk in terms of three 3 ____________ stages:
an 4 ____________ exploratory phase where the problem to
work on is identified and considered from different angles; a
second 5 ____________ when alternative ways of dealing with
the problem are considered; and a 6 ____________ phase
where the detailed implementation of a chosen way forward
is worked out. Within each of these phases it is common to
encourage an imaginative phase where different acts and
possibilities are considered, 7 _____________ by an evaluative
phase where these possibilities are considered and a way 2 W hat is the fu n ctio n o f the colon (:) and semi-colons (;) in the
forward is chosen. 8 ____________ the whole process is itself description?
experimental, it needs its own 9 ____________ evaluation
3 W hat tense and voice (active o r passive) is used to describe
phase as well - in effect a fourth stage.
this process? Why?
Source: Open University MBA Programme

4 4 WRITING 2: DESCRIBING A PROCESS


1 Read the fo llo w in g sentences about processes. Are the
sentences in the active or passive or m ixed (both active and
passive)?
Example: Sentence 1 is in ttie present simple passive.
1 More than a year is needed before th a t essential part o f the
process is undertaken.
2 Staff have w orked to o hard to rush the process now.
3 The Chief Executive said: T h e w hole process has been badly
planned from the beginning.'
4 Have we started the recruitm ent process yet?
5 His shares were in the process o f being transferred into a pension
plan.
2 Identify the tenses used in each sentence above.
3 The fo llo w in g ju m b le d sentences are a bo ut business process
m anagem ent. Put them in to the correct order.
1 the initial phase o f the project /follow ed rapidly by a technology-
based approach /T h e emphasis on / was market-driven
2 better than the competition / you need to undertake / Firstly / the
needs of the cu stom er/a redefinition o f the product to satisfy
3 and difficult to follow / the real data and model / 1have not used /
since it is more complex
Output: Writing a short description of a business process
Stage 1
W ork in tw o groups. One gro up should loo k at the diagram o f
an ordering process on page 138. The o th e r g ro up should look
at the diagram a bo ut dealing w ith softw are technical support
queries on page 143.

3 Match the fo llo w in g definitions, w hich describe how the Stage 2

active and passive form s can be used, to the sentences above In groups, discuss your diagram .
(1-5).
Stage 3
a It clarifies w ho is doing the action,
W ork on y o ur own and w rite a description o f your diagram.
b It is used w hen you decide not to name someone,
c It emphasises the process rather than the agent/doer. Stage 4
Read o u t yo ur description to a partne r from the o the r group.
4 Why do you th in k th e Chief Executive in sentence 3 decided
They should tr y and draw th e diagram from your description.
not to use the active form?
When you have finished, change roles.

Language focus 2: Linkers of sequencing, structuring

and providing reasons

1 Look at the list o f words needed to com plete the te x t in

Writing skill exercise 1. These words w ill help you sequence,
structure and provide reasons in your w ritin g or when givin g a
formal talk. Categorise th e w ords in to these three groups.

Sequence Structure Provide reasons

in itia l

2 Look at the groups o f w ords below and decide w hich w ord or

phrase is n o t p a rt o f each group. Circle one w ord or phrase in
each group.
1 main core key principle principal
2 stage phase platform part section
3 since while because as considering
4 an initial an opening firstly an introductory a beginning
5 splitting breaking down dividing separating breaking up
6 followed by leading to preceded by after which comes

WRITING 2 :DESCRIBING A PROCESS 4 5

 5 O rganisational cultures

5 .1 Theory: Understanding organisations

Learning outcom es
■ Understand types o f organisational culture.
■ Learn vocabulary to describe organisational cultures.
■ Discuss what cultures suit different organisations.

Introduction 3 Do you agree w ith the result o f the questionnaire? Why/W hy

not?
1 Com plete th e fo llo w in g questionnaire a bo ut yourself by
choosing one answer (A-D) fo r each o f the questions.
Language focus: Vocabulary to talk about organisations

What organisational culture suits you? 1 Look at the table below and match the ta rg e t vocabulary to
1 I like working in places that have: the examples. All the ta rg e t w ords appear in the reading te xt
A a clear set of rules and methods to follow. w hich follows.
B flexible ways of working.
C no rules whatsoever. Target vocabulary Examples
D few rules, but these are made by the boss.
1 personality a advertising, travel, stationery, product
2 I think that key decision-making in the workplace is best taken: development
A by my line manager.
B in a group where everyone has an equal say. 2 reward systems b outgoing, quiet, amusing
C by myself. 3 dress code c relaxed, playful, serious, stressful
D by a strong leader.
4 expense d 'work hard, play hard';'winning is
3 I prefer organisations that communicate:
accounts everything';'people before profit'
A through official means of communication.
B through a direct exchange of views. 5 organisational e fixed monthly salary, payment by
C the minimum possible. structures results
D through personal relationships.
6 values f smart, casual, smart-casual, dress-
4 I dislike working in organisations that:
down Friday
A have no clear idea of what they want from you.
B place limits on your freedom to do the job. 7 norms g no smoking, flying business class only
C ask too much from you. permitted on intercontinental flights
D treat you as a number and don't recognise your
individuality. 8 atmosphere at h Purchasing, Production, R&D
work
5 Which of these words best describe you?
A loyal and trustworthy 9 rules i for dealing with customer enquiries,
B creative for emergencies
C independent
D a winner 10 procedures j hierarchical, centralised, decentralised

6 I think bosses should: 11 departments k nobody leaves work before the boss
A do their job. at the end o f the day; staff socialise
B provide me with the resources to do my job. together on Friday evenings
C be invisible.
12 budgets I corporate entertainment, travel costs,
D be respected and followed.
business lunches

2 Now tu rn to pages 138-9 to see w hich type o f organisational 2 Can you th in k o f any more examples o f these ta rg et words?
culture you are best suited to w orking in. Add to the list w ith a partner.

4 6 5 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURES
 Reading 1: What is organisational culture? Reading 2: Types of organisational culture

Business view 1 W ork in pairs. Student A w ill read a bo ut Task culture below
and Student B a b o u t Role culture on page 48. A fte r reading
your text, com plete th e notes on the diagrams.

2 Explain the diagram s to each o the r and te ll yo ur partne r

a b o u t th e culture you have read about.
Student A: Task culture

Task culture is jo b- or project-orientated. It is a team

Professor Charles Handy is a business guru, writer and academic,
specialising in organisational management.
1 Read the fo llo w in g extract from Professor Charles Handy's
book Understanding Organizations. Are these statements true
or false according to the text?
1 There is a lot o f similarity in how different organisations behave.
2 There are more differences between organisations than between
nations and societies.
3 The structures and systems o f an organisation create the
organisational culture.
4 One organisation generally has more than one organisational culture.
culture, characterized by high levels o f cooperation
and fast decision-making. Its structure can be best
illustrated as a net. This clearly shows com m unication
across departments (the horizontal lines), not ju st within
departments (the vertical lines). Some o f the strands o f
the net are thicker and stronger than others, showing
that some com m unication lines have more influence.
This influence is based more on expert pow er than on
jo b position or personal power. M uch o f the pow er and
influence lies at the intersections o f the net, at the knots.
Task culture is very adaptable and focuses on achieving
results above all else. It works best w hen given enough
resources to do the job. I f there is too m uch pressure on
time and m oney then the cooperative nature o f the task
culture starts to disappear and other cultures take its place.
Task culture

Anyone w ho has spent time w ith any variety o f

organizations w ill have been struck by the different
atmospheres, the different ways o f doing things, the
different levels o f energy, o f individual freedoms, o f
kinds o f personality. For organizations are as different
and varied as the nations and societies o f the world. They
have different cultures - sets o f values and norms and
beliefs, w hich lead to different structures and systems.
In organizations there are deep-set beliefs about the way
work should be organized, the w ay authority should
be exercised, people rewarded, people controlled. Do
work hours or dress codes matter? W hat about expense
accounts, secretaries, stock options? These are all parts o f
the culture o f an organization. Even w ithin organizations
cultures w ill differ. The R& D laboratory in the fields o f
the countryside will have a different atm osphere to the
director’s floor in the central office, creating different
departmental cultures.

2 Have you noticed w hether dress codes, attitudes, personalities

and energy levels vary from organisation to organisation?

5 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURES 4 7
Student B: Role culture

Role culture can be pictured as a G reek temple. Role Role culture

culture places its strengths in its columns. These columns
represent the different departments, e.g. the finance a) Columns represent
departm ent and the purchasing department. The w ork o f t h e _____________ of coordinate the
the colum ns and the interaction betw een the colum ns is the columns
controlled by procedures which describe in detail what
each departm ent does and w hat each person does in
their jo b by m eans o f a jo b description. This structure
is highly suited to stable environm ents or environm ents
w here the organization has a lot o f m arket power, such as
monopolies. The colum ns are coordinated at the top by a
narrow band o f senior management. An organization with a
role culture is generally believed to be very stable but poor
at im plem enting change and adapting to a fast-changing
b) Procedures c o n tro l. between
m acro-environm ent. departments

3 In pairs, identify the strengths and weaknesses of these tw o

organisational cultures by circling the correct answer, Task or Role.
Strengths
1 Flexible and focused on objectives Task /Role
2 Works well in environments that it can control Task/Role

Weaknesses
3 Inflexible and slow to change Task/Role
4 Breaks down where budgets and deadlines are tight Task/Role

4 In which organisational culture w ould you prefer to work?

Why? Is this the same type of organisation th a t the questionnaire
in the Introduction suggested you were most suited to?

O u tp ut: Deciding on an ap p ro p riate culture fo r an

organisation

In groups, loo k at the fo llo w in g factors th a t Professor Handy

identifies as influencing organisational culture. Discuss w hat
is the m ost appropriate culture or m ix o f cultures (pow er/task/
person/role) fo r one o f the fo u r organisations in the chart and
then present your fin ding s to th e class.

National Power Eco-Energy Polyglot Global-Me

Size and ind ustry Large national electricity- Medium-sized renewable Small online translation Large global NFP (Not
sector generating company energy company agency with branches in For Profit organisation)
3 countries working in disaster relief

Age 40 years 3 years 1 year (start-up) 5 years

Technology Expensive technology Highly specialist Online but low-tech Low-tech

technology

Goals and Mixed. Range of stakeholders Grow the company; aim Maximise profits Save lives and serve the
objectives (from customers and to sell company in 3 international community
shareholders to community years
and government)

Environm ent Stable but complex Complex and fast- Stable Alternating stable
changing and fast-changing
environments

4 8 5 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURES
 C ase study
5.2 Practice: Creating a successful culture

Learning o u tc o m es
a Understand th e org an isatio n and cu ltu re o f a com pany,
a Predict c o n te n t w h e n listening.

a Allocate b u d g e ts fo r d iffe re n t d e p a rtm e n ts.

Profile: Mundipharma International

Limited

Mundipharma Internation al Limited (MINT) is a fam ily-ow ned,

international pharm aceutical com pan y w ith several associate
companies, an d an n u a l turnover o f a ro u n d $4 billion. It regularly
scores very highly in surveys o f 'best places to work', an d is
credited as having an excellent w orkplace culture.

In tro d u c tio n

1 Match the pictures above to the fo llo w in g departm ents:

What are some o f the possible problem s th a t cultural
Finance Research and D evelopm ent (R&D) Production Sales differences can lead to? W hat o p p o rtu n itie s can th e y lead to?

4 Match the fo llo w in g situations w ith one o f the examples

Discuss the fo llo w in g questions in pairs.
* What do you think it is like to work in each o f these departments?
■ What do you think the atmosphere is like?
■ Which department would you most like and least like to belong
to?
Cultural differences in business relationships can arise at the
following levels:
1 National (e.g. Germany and Thailand)
2 Professional (e.g. accounting and marketing, in the same
company)
3 Institutional (e.g. IBM and Toyota)
o f cultural differences in exercise 3. Are they problem s or
opportunities?
1 The R&D (Research and Development) department in your
company keeps rejecting the sales department's requests for
changes to the product.
2 You are upset with your foreign distributor because they never
give you a straight answer.
3 Your overseas office has come up with a great solution to your
domestic marketing problem.
4 You think you can apply the same manufacturing process that
your main competitor has recently introduced.

5 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURES 4 9
 Transferable skill: Predicting context and content w hen Listening 2: Com pany dep artm en ts
listening

In our first languages, we autom atically predict language and

1 Ake W ikstrom m entions five d iffe re n t departm ents in
content. It is im p o rta n t to develop these skills when learning a
M undipharm a in the UK. In pairs, predict w hich departm ents he
foreign language. Prediction involves tw o key stages:
w ill m ention from this list:
■ making a prediction based on the context
■ listening and deciding whether your prediction was correct, partly Sales Logistics Internal co m p la in ts P roduction R&D
correct, or wrong. M a rketin g A d m in is tra tio n Sports injuries C onstruction

Even if your predictions are w rong, pre dicting still helps you
Give reasons w hy you th in k he w ill m ention these departm ents.
understand, if you are w illin g to change your m ind.
2 Listen to the recording and see if your predictions were correct.
Look at th e title s o f Listening 1, 2, 3 ,4 and 5 based on an
intervie w w ith a d irector at M undipharm a and try to predict
Listening 3: D e p a rtm e n t cultures
tw o th ing s you w ould expect to hear in each one.

Listening 1: C om pany and culture

Business view
Ake Wikstrom is the regional
director of Mundipharma
International Ltd.
0QS1
1 Ake W ikstrom compares M arketing and Production. Before
you listen, th in k a bo ut w h a t these d epartm ents do. Look at the
com m ents below and circle w hich d e p a rtm e n t - M arketing (M),
or Production (P) - you th in k th e y refer to:
'They have fun ...' M /P
'They love to work together' M/ P
'Nothing seems to stand in their way' M/ P
'They work three shifts a day and they don't travel' M/ P

2 Ake W ikstrom states w h a t he th inks is the m ost im p o rta n t

factor in the success o f a dep artm en t. Predict his answer.

3 Listen to the recording and see if your predictions were

correct.

Listening 4: Creating a successful culture

1 Ake W ikstrom talks a bo ut th e size o f M undipharm a and its 0E 1

culture. Before you listen, th in k a bo ut w h a t you already know
a bo ut the interview . For example, w h a t do you know a bout the
com pany (see Profile), th e speaker, this typ e o f interview , the
title o f this lesson, and this listening exercise? Predict answers
to th e questions b elow and give reasons fo r your predictions.
1 Has the company grown or shrunk in recent years?
2 Has the culture got better or worse since Ake Wikstrom joined the
company?
3 Does Ake Wikstrom criticise other companies?
2 A fter listening, check your answers to the q uestions above
and summarise w h a t Ake W ikstrom said a bo ut M undipharm a
in term s o f g ro w th, the ownership o f the company, its tu rn ove r
and its culture.
1 Ake W ikstrom talks a bo ut the use o f em ployee surveys in
creating a successful corporate culture. Why do you th in k
M undipharm a use such surveys?
■ to evaluate staff and check their progress
■ to find out what engages staff
2 Predict w ha t Ake W ikstrom says a bo ut ind ustry benchmarks
(measurable standards) and em ployee satisfaction surveys.
Com plete th e gaps.
1 Employee satisfaction surveys show what makes employees
_________ and willing to contribute to a n __________
2 We started at 6 or 7%__________ industry benchmarks, now we
are running 7 or 8% above.
Listen to the recording and see if you were correct.

5 0 5 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURES
 Listening 5: M anagers and th e surveys
&E1
1 What do you th in k Ake W ikstrom thinks is th e most
im portant feature o f the survey process?
2 How do you th in k the a ttitu d e o f managers has changed
towards th e surveys?
Mow listen to th e recording to see if you were correct.
Language focus: Asking questions effectively
In spoken com m unication, asking the rig h t typ e o f question
at the rig h t tim e in the rig h t way often makes th e difference
between successful and unsuccessful com m unication.
Questions in spoken com m unication have tw o basic purposes:
to get a response o f some kind, and to com m ent on w ha t
somebody has already said.
1 Look at these tw o exchanges from meetings, and decide
which question requires a response, and w hich one shows the
listener's surprise.
1 Manager: Which Saab model is it?
Salesperson: I don't know which Saab model it is.
2 Salesperson: I can't really see the point o f contacting Dominic.
Manager: Really?
2 Spoken questions have many d ifferen t functions. Below
are some o f the m ost im p o rta n t functions. In pairs, th in k o f a
question you could ask to do the fo llo w in g :
1 ask somebody to do something
Could you pick me wp a t 8 o’clock?
2 check understanding or seek agreement
3 show surprise or interest
4 show politeness
5 make a suggestion
6 criticise somebody or show dissatisfaction
3 Which questions above do you th in k are more often used
by more senior people in business? Which ones can have a
negative effect on a relationship?
4 Look at the questions below and match th em w ith the
functions in exercise 2 above.
a Can you change my email password?
b It's all right, isn't it?
c Why haven't you met your targets?
d Can I ask you to do something for me?
e A: I've got a contact there. B: Have you?
f Why don't we take one product this afternoon?
In tercu ltu ral analysis
Intercultural can describe communication between professional
cultures, not only national cultures.
1 Match the following departments in a typical company to
their main activities. The first has been done for you.
testing o f products
Sales'
Sales \ promoting the product
R&D developing/maintaining client relationships
R&D y researching the market
Marketing ^ ------ - hitting sales targets
Marketing creative thinking
2 Discuss how the different purposes may affect the priorities
o f each department, e.g. for Sales, the priority is selling as many
products as often as possible, and probably not the internal
design o f the product.
O u tp ut: W orking in a cross-departm ental team
You are part o f a cross-departm ental team, w o rk in g on
developing, m arketing and selling a new pharm aceutical
p roduct. You are discussing how to allocate the $10,000,000
b ud g e t fo r th e next financial year and there are considerable
differences o f o pinio n concerning w here funds should be
allocated.
Stage 1
W ork in small groups. One gro up is th e R&D d ep artm en t, one
group is Sales, one is M arketing, and another is from Finance
(the Chair). Look at page 139 and prepare fo r the m eeting.
1 Prepare yo ur argum ents fo r w hy your d ep artm en t needs
more money.
2 T hink a bo ut the argum ents the o the r d epartm ents are likely
to have, and how you can respond to them .
3 If you are the Chair, th in k a bo ut some questions you w a n t to
ask each d e p a rtm e n t to fin d o u t w h y th ey need money.
Stage 2
Separate into new groups, w ith one person from each
d e p a rtm e n t and one g roup leader. Have the m eeting, and try to
come to a decision th a t all mem bers agree w ith.
5 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURES 5 1
Learning o u tc o m es
■ Understand different attitudes within different company
departments.
■ Use strategic summaries to support your argument.
■ Confront and negotiate problems with colleagues from different
departments.

In tro d uctio n

1 Look at the p h o to and discuss these questions.

■ What is the problem, and how would you deal with it if you were
in this situation?
■ If you were the manager, what would you do?

2 The extracts below are all from m eetings w here a director

o f one d ep artm en t is criticising the staff o f another. Discuss
w ith a partne r w h a t th e extracts mean, and w h a t some o f the
problem s m ig h t be.
a They should think,'Hang on, the customer's my salary.'
b People should take problem ownership ...
c They've got to be very customer facing ...
d They have got to be proactive rather than reactive ...
e Good morning, this is your salary talking ...
f That's a mindset change ...
g They're very much, 'I know what's b e s t. . .'

Critical analysis

1 In many companies, the relationship between different

departments can be difficult. For example, technical staff may
not want to be involved in sales issues, and sales may think
You are g oing to listen to three separate stages o f an
that the finance department does not appreciate their efforts.
inter-d ep artm en ta l m eeting in an IT company, between the
Why do you think this is?
finance director (Laura) and th e technical d irector (Doz). The
2 What are the benefits for a company if the technical team
com pany expects the technical team to become more 'project
takes an interest in sales and the sales team takes an interest
m anagem ent focused' in dealing w ith installations, which
in the technical side?
means th ey w ill have to com m unicate more w ith th e customers.
Listen to the first part o f the m eeting.
1 According to Laura, what is the technical staff's attitude?
2 How does their attitude need to change?
3 What does Doz say about the technical team's attitude?

Listening 2: Specific issues

0QB1
Listen to the recording and answer th e questions.
1 What does Doz th in k the problem is?

2 What recom m endation does Laura make a bo ut calling

customers?

5 2 5 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURES
 Listening 3: Reaching ag reem en t O u tp u t: Im p ro vin g com m unication across dep a rtm en ts

Im agine you w o rk fo r a com pany w hich manufactures

Listen to the recording and answer the questions.
1 A c c o rd in g to Laura, w h a t typ e o f technical person is ideal?
2 What happens at th e m om ent when Doz asks his staff to call
a customer? Why do you th in k this is a problem?
Intercultural analysis
electronic books. However, com m unication between the
R&D (research and developm ent) d ep artm en t and the sales
d e p a rtm e n t is very bad. A m eeting has been called between
the senior staff o f th e tw o departm ents to see w ha t the
problem s are and how th e y can be im proved. In groups o f four,
one pair should read th e sales staff card on page 139, and the
o the r pair should read the R&D card on page 143.

Read through the audio scripts on pages 153-4 and discuss Stage 1
in small groups whether the finance director is an effective Prepare fo r th e m eeting w ith your partner and decide w hat
negotiator. Do you think she would be a successful negotiator you w ant to say. Plan how you can use strategic summaries to
in your culture? What, if anything, would you do differently? su p p o rt each o the r and your argum ents in th e discussion.

Stage 2
Have the fu ll m eeting and decide on a set o f'a c tio n p o in ts 'th a t
w ill im prove the situation.
When n egotiating, speakers o fte n 'stra te g ica lly sum m arise'the
discussion at d ifferen t points o f the conversation. This means
that they summarise the points to suit th e ir argum ent. This also
allows them to show th e y agree w ith the o the r person before
they argue the point.
Example: But a il I’m saying is th a t tine- a ttitu d e - has got to
slightly change.

1 Which o f these expressions could be used as strategic

summaries?
You're/We're/I'm saying ...
You're/We're/I'm talking a b o u t...
And then ...
My point is ...
What I mean is ...
I think, to be honest with you ...
What do you mean ...?
So this means th a t ...
1don't understand, to be h on est...

2 Find other examples in the audio scripts on pages 153-4.

How do the phrases help Laura to try and persuade Doz to
agree w ith her point?

3 You can also use strategic summaries to clarify w ha t you

mean by stating w h a t you d o n 't mean.
Example: I’m not saying that. I think they’re- fabulous with
customers. What I’m saying i6 th a t I f the customer doesn’t ring
them bade: In ten minutes’ time they’ve got to ring them again.

Clarify your position on each o f the fo llo w in g in th e same way,

using summ arising language.
1 Your colleagues are not lazy, but they could work longer hours.
2 We don't disagree with the proposal, but we need some more
time to think about it.
3 Your staff think about sales, but they could think more.
4 Your staff know something about technical issues. However, more
understanding would benefit the company.

5 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURES 5 3
Learning o u tc o m es
■ Use'rapport management'to develop good business relationships.
■ Use direct and indirect reported speech with questions.
■ Distinguish fact from opinion.

Introduction

If you have to work and particularly do

som ething significant in a country it is much
easier if som ehow you [are] connected with
the country and you like the country and you 2 How w ou ld you feel and w h a t w ould you do in the fo llo w in g

respect the people and you are curious about situations?

the culture. ■ You don't get promoted, and somebody less qualified and
experienced than you gets the job.
Carlos Ghosn, CEO and President o f Renault-Nissan
■ You are in a meeting and the foreign guests disagree with
everything you say.

Well over 10% of business can be lost ■ You don't feel your boss and/or your colleagues give you respect

because of cultural barriers. 55 at work.

■ You are unhappy about the level of cooperation in your team /
Professor Stephen Hagen, author o f Business Communication Across department.
Borders
Listening 1: W h at is ra p p o rt m anagem ent?

In order to sell a product or a service,

a company m ust establish a relationship Business view
with the consumer. It must build trust and Professor Helen Spencer-Oatey
rapport. 55 is director of Global People and
Jay Levinson, advertising expert and author o f Guerrilla Marketing author o f Culturally Speaking: Culture,
Communication and Politeness. She is
also director o f applied linguistics at
In this lesson we w ill loo k at ra p p o rt m anagem ent and
the University of Warwick.
concepts o f politeness to see h ow th e y can im prove w orking
relationships across cultures.

1 Discuss the fo llo w in g questions.

■ What are the main points o f the three quotes above?
■ Are they facts or opinions?
Listen to Professor Helen Spencer-Oatey introduce her th eo ry
■ Are you surprised by any o f the information?
o f'ra p p o rt management', and answer the fo llo w in g questions.
■ Do you agree with the opinions?
1 W hat is ra p p o rt management?

2 In w h a t situations is it im portant?

5 4 6 W O RK IN G ACROSS CULTURES
 2 The words in exercise 1 are im p orta nt words from the lesson.
Can you th in k o f any other words th a t could be added to this list?

3 Look again at the first situation in exercise 2 in the

Listen to the second part o f the intervie w w ith Professor Helen
Spencer-Oatey, and answer the fo llo w in g questions.
1 What is the meaning o f the concept of'face'?
A How you want others to see you
B H o w others actually see you
2 What can happen if someone challenges o ur self-image? Tick
the fo llow ing th a t apply.
A It's em barrassing.
B It's expected.
C It impacts negatively on rapport.
D You feel your right to be treated in a certain way has not been
respected.
3 What types o f problem s can affect rapport?
4 Read th ro ug h the fo llo w in g short extract from an article
by Professor Helen Spencer-Oatey. U nderline the nouns th a t
describe the fo llo w in g:
In tro d u ctio n on page 54 (You don't get promoted, and somebody
less qualified and experienced than you gets the job). Which of
the concepts from th e list o f w ords in exercise 1 are relevant to
this situation?
Critical analysis
Look at the audio script for Listening 2 on page 154 and find
what Professor Helen Spencer-Oatey says about multiple
identities. Discuss the following questions with a partner.
■ Do you have different identities when you are with different
people?
■ Do you think it is useful to be able to behave differently
towards other people in different situations?
■ How can this be useful for intercultural communication?
Listening 3: Email anecdote

a face
b sociality rights Listen to the th ird p art o f the intervie w w ith Professor Helen
Spencer-Oatey and answer the fo llo w in g questions.

1 Which countries were involved in the eChina project?

‘... rapport management involves two main components: the
management of face and the management o f sociality rights ...
face is associated with personal/social value, and is concerned with
people’s sense of worth, credibility, dignity, honour, reputation,
competence and so on. Sociality rights, on the other hand, are
concerned with personal/social entitlements, and reflect people’s
concerns over fairness, consideration, social inclusion/exclusion
and so on.’
5 Do the fo llo w in g relate to face or sociality rights, or both?
How m ight each situation affect your fu tu re relationship w ith
the person concerned?
1 Someone in your group cheats and gets a higher score than you.
2 Your boss gives you a compliment about your performance.
3 Your boss threatens to fire you in front of your colleagues.
4 Your boss asks you to work seven days a week for no extra pay
(but with lots o f compliments).
Language focus 1: V ocabulary related to culture
1 Match the words on the left w ith th e d efin itio ns on th e right.
2 Why was th e Chinese leader upset?
3 Which was affected, his face or his rights?
In tercu ltu ral analysis
According to Professor Helen Spencer-Oatey, the Chinese leader
o f the project expected a separate email addressed specifically
to him because of his status, whereas in Britain the leader
would be included in all emails. Discuss these questions in small
groups.
■ In your culture, which style do you think would be
appropriate?
■ What does the difference suggest about power differences
and status in the tw o university cultures?
■ Such differences may be reflected in other ways, for example
in the use o f names and titles (Professor or Helen or Professor
Spencer-Oatey). How do you address your boss or teacher?
■ How do the concepts of face and rights help explain such
issues in intercultural professional communication?

1 face a the distinct personality of an individual

2 sociality rights b the positive self-image we have
3 rapport c the access we have to social networks and
4 social inclusion services in society
5 dignity d how well you are getting on with someone
6 competence e being worthy of respect
7 identity f our ability in a given field
g what members o f society expect they are
entitled to
6 WORKING ACROSS CULTURES 5 5
 O u tp ut: D ealing w ith face and rights
I
There are several verbs th a t are com m only used when Stage 1
rep orting speech, such as thank and promise. In pairs, act o u t each o f these situations.
Scenario 1
1 Match sentences 1-8 b elow w ith the verbs a -h to show w hat
A: You are th e boss. You need y o u r e m p lo y e e to w o rk o v e rtim e
each sentence is illustrating.
again th is week.
a th a n k b e n c o u ra g e c d e n y d p ro m is e e a p o lo g is e B: You have w o rk e d late every n ig h t this w eek, and yo u w a n t to
f refuse g o ffe r h ag re e spe nd m ore tim e w ith y o u r fam ily.

1 'Yes, g o o d idea, let's d o it.'
2 'There's no w a y w e are g o in g there. The Liverpo ol site is a te rrib le
site.'
3 'I'm ever so sorry, Carla, you k n o w I d id n 't even realise.'
4 'I can he lp you.'
5 'We can m ake sure th a t th o se 64 o p e ra tin g co m p a n ie s g e t a c o p y
o f th e magazine.'
6 'Thank y o u fo r cle a n in g up th e w e b s ite - it looks m u c h better.'
7 'I've never m e n tio n e d a price to him , Robert.'
8 'You sh o u ld a p p ly fo r th e jo b , yo u k n o w yo u have all th e skills'
Scenario 2
A: You have ju s t b o u g h t a house and y o u r ch ild re n have ju s t started
at a n e w school. You like y o u r jo b very m uch.
B: You are th e boss. You need e m p lo y e e A to transfer to Shanghai
because he /she is th e best person fo r th e jo b .
Scenario 3
A: You are th e boss. You need to m ake e m p lo y e e B re d u n d a n t
because o f fa llin g sales, even th o u g h he /sh e has a g o o d record.
B: You co n sid e r yo u rs e lf th e best salesperson in th e tea m . You are
e x p e c tin g a pay rise.

2 Put the verbs from exercise 1 into the fo llo w in g categories. Scenario 4
You can use a d ictio n a ry to help you. The first one has been A: You w a n t to c o m p la in a b o u t a c lie n t because th e c lie n t is very
done as an example. rud e every tim e yo u visit th e com pany.
B: You are th e boss. E m ployee A has received a v e ry serious
Verb + to + in fin itiv e Verb + o b j. + fo r + -ing
c o m p la in t because he /sh e has missed several m e e tin g s w ith th e
thank client.

Stage 2
Report back to another pair a bo ut w h a t you said, and ask the
othe r pair a bo ut th e ir discussion. You should discuss how face
and rights were affected in the situation, and w he th er the
Verb + -ing Verb + fo r + -ing concerns and outcomes m ig h t be d ifferen t in d ifferen t cultures.

3 Use verbs a -h to re p o rt sentences 1-8 in exercise 1

above.
Exam ple: 'Yes, good idea., le t ’s do i t . ’
- > She agreed to do it .

5 6 6 WORKING ACROSS CULTURES

 C ase study
6.2 Practice: Multicultural m ergers

Learning o u tco m es
■ Use cultural differences as an advantage in
business.
■ O vercom e cultural p ro b le m s in an in te rcultu ral CEO Carlos Ghosn with
alliance. the Leaf, Renault-Nissan's
■ Identify d iffe re n t genres, and use no uns to m ake first all-electric car 4;
positive and ne ga tive ju d g e m e n ts .

r \
Profile: R enault-N issan

The R en au lt-N issan alliance was

established in 1999 a n d was th e first
industrial an d com m ercial partnership
involving French a n d Japanese
com panies. At th e start o f th e alliance,
m any co m m en tato rs th o u g h t the
partnership w o uld n o t be a success, as
b o th com panies h a d b een perform ing
badly. However, th e alliance has gone
Transferable skill: Recognising genres
from strength to strength an d is one
o f the few success stories o f th e car 1 D ifferent texts are w ritte n fo r d ifferen t purposes. W hat is the
industry over th e last few years. purpose o f an academic jo u rn a l article, and w h a t is th e purpose
1______________________________________ J o f a com pany rep ort fo r shareholders?

2 Read th ro u g h the fo llo w in g tw o s hort extracts. Which is from

Introduction
1 Read the profile above. Discuss the fo llo w in g questions
briefly in pairs.
■ Would you rather work for a domestic or foreign company? Why/
Why not?
■ Would you like to work for your whole career in your own country,
or would you like to work abroad as well?
■ Which companies in your country do a lot of international
business? Would you like to work for such a company? Why/Why
not?
■ Would you rather work for a boss o f the same nationality as
yourself? Why/Why not?
■ What qualities do you think a boss in a multicultural team needs?
2 Do you know o f any successful or unsuccessful relationships
between companies from d ifferen t countries? Many cross-
cultural mergers and alliances fail. What types o f problem
might companies from d ifferen t cultures have when th ey w ork
together?
the Nissan com pany website, and w hich is from an academic
article? W hat language helped you decide?
Extract 1
Nissan's employees, b o th m e n an d w om en, are o f m a n y
n atio n alities an d b o a s t a w ide variety o f experiences. All
m e m b e rs of th e globally active Nissan fam ily build stro n g
relatio nships o f t r u s t w ith one a n o th e r by u n d e rsta n d in g
th e v iew po ints o f an d listening to opinions fro m th e ir
c o u n te rp a rts a ro u n d th e world. The synergies created
by b ring in g th is diverse gro u p to g e th e r drive sustainable
g ro w th fo r Nissan.
Extract 2
Conflicting n a tio n a l a n d organisation al cultu res are
blam ed for th e failure of in te rn a tio n a l alliances. However,
th e R enault Nissan experience provides s tro n g evidence
t h a t w h ere th e se differences are explicitly recognised an d
accepted, a n d w h ere a p p ro p ria te processes an d s tru c tu re s
are p u t in place, n a tio n al an d o rgan isational culture obstacles
can be o v erc o m e .... In o rd e r to cre ate synergy b e tw e e n th e
tw o com panies t h a t values a n d uses difference, m a n a g e m e n t
m u s t em ploy a n in terc u ltu ra l c o m m u n ica tio n fram ew ork.

6 WORKING ACROSS CULTURES 5 7

3 A lth o u g h the tw o extracts are from very d iffe re n t texts,
th e y b oth suggest th e cultural differences d o n 't have to be
a problem . W hat steps do th e y recom m end fo r achieving
success?
C ritic a l a n a lysis
Both extracts refer to the idea of'synergy'.
s yn ergy the combined power o f a group o f things when
they are working together which is greater than the total
power achieved by each working separately
How does this idea o f synergy motivate intercultural alliances?
According to Geert Hofstede, founder of the Institute for
Research on International Cooperation/Cultural differences are
a nuisance at best and often a disaster.'
In your opinion, do you think intercultural business
communication is an opportunity for synergy, or a potential
disaster?
R eading 1: H ow can cultural differences be reconciled?
1 The fo llo w in g te x t is fro m th e Renault-Nissan rep ort
on sustainability. Read paragraph 1. W hat are th e three
approaches fo r reconciling cultural differences?
P arag rap h 1
R econciliation of cultural differences can be approached
in a number of different ways. The most common one is
to adopt one partner's culture as dominant. The other
alternative is to separate or limit the activities of the partners
so as to minimise cultural interaction and hence the likelihood
of cultural clashes. These not only limit the prospect of
cultural conflicts but also reduce the potential of the partners
learning and benefiting from each other's culture and business
experience. The most integrative approach remains to face
up to, manage cultural differences by involving partners
at all levels, and participate in cross-cultural development
programmes.
2 Before reading paragraph 2, discuss in pairs w h a t m ig h t
be th e benefits and drawbacks o f the three approaches in
paragraph 1 .
3 Discuss in pairs w hich approach you th in k Renault-Nissan
used. Read paragraph 2 to fin d o u t if your p redictions were
correct.
5 8 6 W O R K IN G ACROSS CULTURES
P arag rap h 2
M ore recent research has claimed that it is not the
initial cultural clashes that create problems, but the
different organisations having different beliefs and
values which give rise to problematic situations. . . . Strong
and efficient cultures are typically characteristic of Japanese
firms such as Nissan Motor Co. Renault culture is also seen
as very efficient, but both companies were used to different
management styles. They both needed to be aware that a
successful enterprise would only grow if they acknowledged
and respected each other's respective cultures and were
committed to cooperating and working closely together.
4 According to th e paragraphs, w h a t gives rise to problem s
and w h a t is th e solution?
Reading 2: The alliance's principles
1 The alliance betw een Nissan and Renault was based on tru st
and fairness. In pairs, decide w hich o f th e principles below
a b o u t partnership structures relate to tru s t and w hich to
fairness.
P rin c ip le s fo r p a r tn e rs h ip s tru c tu re s
1 They should be simple and understandable by both
companies.
2 They should be trans-national.
3 They should facilitate confidence and transparency.
4 They should be based on the spirit of a win-w in scenario.
No party should lose its cultural identities and/or brand.
Continuous dialogues and communication, despite
geographical distance, should be encouraged to promote a
spirit of partnership at all times.
2 Look at th e problem s below, and decide w hich o f the
alliance's principles above are being broken.
a We don't understand what this means,
b We think this favours the other side,
c We think that the other side has lied about this,
d We don't think this is relevant for our market,
e All o f the decisions are made on a local level,
f The distance between the offices is too far to have frequent
meetings.
 L a n g u a g e focus: Nouns to m ake positive and O u tp u t: M an agin g an alliance
negative ju d g em en ts ©
Two sports shoe companies from d ifferen t countries are in an
In both w ritte n and spoken business com m unication, people interna tion al alliance together. The alliance has been successful
use nouns to evaluate past, present and fu tu re relationships in th e past, b u t recently there have been differences o f view
and situations positively or negatively. Examples are: synergy/ betw een the tw o companies. W ork in groups o f fo u r and discuss
synergies, opportunity/opportunities, chance(s), conflict(s), how these differences can be reconciled.
problem(s), transparency/transparencies.
Stage 1
■j Which o f the above nouns are positive and w hich are Now divid e in to pairs. You w o rk fo r sports shoe companies in
negative? th e interna tion al alliance. Pair A w o rk fo r a com pany in South
America and Pair B w o rk fo r a com pany in Asia. Pair A should
2 Work w ith a partner. Which o f these nouns do you th in k are
look at page 139 and Pair B at page 144. Read th e inform a tion
more typical in w ritte n business and w hich are more typical in
a bo ut your n eg otia tion positions.
spoken business com m unication? Can you see any sim ilarities
between the nouns th a t are more typ ica lly w ritten? Stage 2
Prepare your argum ents and then have a m eeting w ith the
3 Match th e nouns above w ith the verbs and prepositions th a t
o the r p air to make fo u r key decisions.
go w ith them to make collocations.
Example: create synergies between Stage 3
A fter th e m eeting, loo k back at Renault-Nissan's principles.
Verbs Do you th in k the decisions you made w ou ld fit in w ith these
seize explore lack resolve e x p lo it have ge t principles? Explain your findings to another g ro up or th e rest of
give stand create seek avoid in h ib it enhance raise th e class.
solve cause

Prepositions
between of w ith to fo r in am ong

4 In pairs, th in k o f a problem relationship you have had (with

either an individual or an in stitu tio n ) and use some o f these
expressions to describe th e situation.

6 WORKING ACROSS CULTUR