unit

2 Companies

looking after employees

Before you read
What’s the best way to keep a company’s employees happy and
motivated?

Reading
Read this article from the Financial Times by Stefan Stern and answer
the questions.

level of difficulty

The real value of managing information and people

By Stefan Stern
TEXT BANK

SAS has been a pioneer in the
business of “analytics”. This
involves not just gathering
information, but also processing
5 it and getting the value from it. Its
chief executive, Jim Goodnight,
says: “When the economic
downturn started I told everyone
there would be no job losses, that
10 we might have lower profits but
that was fine with me,” he says.
“I didn’t care because I prefer
keeping everybody’s jobs. I think
everybody actually worked harder
15 to save money, to cut expenses, to
try to bring in more revenue, and
we actually ended up growing last
year by 2.2 per cent. I always say
if you treat people like they make
20 a difference they will make a
difference.”
SAS has just been named by
Fortune magazine as the best
company to work for in the US.
25 The on-site perks and benefits at
SAS headquarters are remark-
able. Medical care, childcare,
sports centres, massage, food,
hairdressers and a 35-hour week:
30 these all form part of the employee
package.
There is a downside. SAS
does not pay the highest wages
in its sector. But it is a successful
35 business with low staff turnover.
Most employees seem happy
with the deal, which is designed
to make working life easier. It is
these software programmers who
40 in turn keep SAS’s clients happy.

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 TEXT BANK •• uNiT 2

1 Look through the whole article. Which 6 Choose the alternative with the closest
organisation is it about? meaning to the expression in italic.
a) There is a downside. (line 32)
2 Complete these statements with words from i) disadvantage
paragraph 1, as they are used in the article. ii) disagreement
iii) disappointment
a) A is a person or organisation
that does something that has not been done b) SAS does not pay the highest wages … (line 33)
before. (7 letters) i) earning
ii) salaries
b) If you collect information, you
iii) payments
it. (6 letters)
c) … in its sector. (line 34)
c) If you information, you try to
i) segment
make it easier to use, understand, etc. (7 letters)
ii) industry
d) An economic is a time when iii) area
business activity goes down. (8 letters)
d) But it is a successful business with low staff
e) You say that something turnover. (line 35)
happened when you want to talk about what i) few employees who leave
really happened, not what might have happened. ii) low sales per employee
(8 letters) iii) few employees who sell
f) is another word for ‘costs’. e) Most employees seem happy with the deal, …
(8 letters) (line 37)
g) is money from sales. (7 letters) i) location and salary
h) If you people in a particular ii) healthcare and sports centres
way, you manage them in that way. (5 letters) iii) pay and benefits

Over to you 1

TEXT BANK
3 Read paragraph 1 and choose the best
summary. Think about your own organisation or one you would
like to work for. What perks and benefits would you
SAS got through the economic downturn …
most like to have?
a) but profits increased and some employees lost
their jobs.
Over to you 2
b) but it made a loss; however, everyone kept their
jobs. SAS is based on a ‘campus’ outside Raleigh, Virginia.
(A campus is a kind of park, often on the edge of a city,
c) and the company even grew during that time.
where a company has its offices.) Would you prefer to
work on a campus like this, or in a city centre office?
4 Now answer these questions about Give your reasons.
paragraph 1.
a) What does SAS do?
b) During the downturn, why didn’t Jim Goodnight
worry about having lower profits?
c) How did his employees manage to get the
company to grow?
d) What is his ‘philosophy’ in relation to employees?

5 Read paragraph 2. Imagine that SAS

employees make the comments below.
Which perk or benefit is each employee
referring to?
a) ‘I like being able to leave work at 5.30!’
b) ‘If I get ill, I can always go and see the company
doctor.’
c) ‘I can leave my kids in the crèche and pick them
up when I leave work.’
d) ‘It’s great to be able to play tennis at lunchtimes.’
e) ‘I can always get my hair cut without going into
town.’
f) ‘The hamburgers are delicious.’

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 unit
2 Companies
italian companies
Before you read
What products do you think of when you think of Italian companies?
Reading
Read this article from the Financial Times by Rachel Sanderson and
answer the questions.
Value of being ‘Made in Italy’
By Rachel Sanderson
TEXT BANK
In Palazzo Strozzi, a Renaissance
palace overlooking Florence’s
Arno River, Ferruccio Ferragamo,
owner of luxury shoe brand
5 Salvatore Ferragamo, is
explaining why his shoes are
“Made in Italy”. Mr Ferragamo’s
father, Salvatore, put handmade
shoes on the feet of Marilyn
10 Monroe and Sophia Loren,
Lauren Bacall and Judy Garland.
But many people might think that
his son is living in different times,
with rising Chinese and Indian
15 manufacturing companies putting
Italian companies out of business.
A decade ago, many
economists, in Italy and outside,
were convinced that the small
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20 and medium-sized businesses
that make up a large part of
the country’s economy were in
decline. The Italians could not
compete with rival manufacturing
25 countries in Asia. Their
productivity was too low and too
costly. But the country’s exports
are estimated to have grown 12.5
per cent this year, with forecasts
30 of 8 per cent for next year’s
growth.
The surge has been caused by
the attraction of “Made in Italy”
goods to the middle classes of
35 rapidly growing economies,
including Brazil and China. And
whether it is sending furniture to
Russia, textiles to Egypt, rubber
© Pearson Education Limited 2012 photocopiable
level of difficulty
and plastic products to Turkey
40 or winemaking equipment to
Chile, emerging markets are
proving increasingly important
for Italy’s entrepreneurs.
The place where a product is
45 made is very important for
Chinese consumers. By some
estimates, China is now the
world’s biggest luxury market.
This has allowed the industry to
50 raise prices by 10 per cent in the
past 12 months. As Mr Ferragamo
says, “We cannot make enough to
keep up with the demand from the
Chinese. They want their shoes
55 not just made in Italy, but often
made in Florence.”
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 TEXT BANK •• uNiT 2

1 Look through the first paragraph to find the 3 Read paragraphs 3 and 4 and decide if these
names of: statements about expressions are true or
a) a luxury Italian shoe company. false.
b) its current owner. a) A surge (line 32) is an increase.
c) the name of his father. b) If something has an attraction (line 33), people
d) the names of four actresses who have worn its like it.
shoes. c) Emerging markets (line 41) have existed as
markets for a long time.
2 Choose the alternative with the closest d) Entrepreneurs (line 43) are people who start
meaning to the expression in italic. new businesses and have new ideas for existing
businesses.
a) A decade (line 17) ago, …
e) Demand (line 53) for something is the amount of
i) five years
it that is available to buy.
ii) ten years
iii) twenty years
4 List all the products mentioned in
b) … many economists, in Italy and outside, were
convinced (line 19) that the small and medium- paragraph 3.
sized businesses …
i) unsure 5 Choose the best summary of the whole
ii) secure article.
iii) sure
Italian manufacturing companies …
c) … that make up a large part of the country’s
economy were in decline. (lines 22–23) a) have been successful because they have higher
i) getting smaller and less important productivity than Chinese or Indian companies.
ii) getting bigger b) were expected to do badly, but have been
iii) staying the same successful because of demand from emerging

TEXT BANK
d) The Italians could not compete with rival (line 24) markets.
manufacturing countries in Asia. c) do well because customers in emerging markets
i) similar want their shoes made in Florence.
ii) competing
iii) helpful Over to you 1
e) Their productivity (line 26) was too low and too Why is the place where luxury goods are made so
costly. important?
i) sales
ii) profits
iii) output per person Over to you 2
f) But the country’s exports are estimated (line 28) Describe areas in your country that specialise in making
to have grown 12.5 per cent this year, … particular goods. How are they doing now in relation to
i) known the past?
ii) calculated
iii) guessed
g) … with forecasts (line 29) of 8 per cent for next
year’s growth.
i) predictions
ii) promises
iii) plans

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