1.

If you were the CEO of a company whose sales are poor, would you consider
repositioning your brand? Why / why not?
TA: Hey Han, long time no see. Good to see u again.
Hân: Hi TA! It’s been a while. How do you do?
TA: Good. What are you thinking, you look so stressful.
Hân: Oh, my work is not going well these days.
TA: Is it a fashion company? What is your problem?
Hân: My company sales are poor lately. I’m thinking of repositioning my brand
from a mid-priced brand into a luxury brand.
TA: Why do you think like that?
Hân: The first thing that come up in my mind is that I’m trying to reach the
affluent group of customers.
TA: Great idea.
Hân: This group of customers usually do not care about the price of the product,
they often want to show their caste through owning limited products.
TA: New customers may be used to buying at high-end brands that they have
been with for a long time and your new brand is not known yet, so they may not
spend a lot of money to buy.
Hân: The opportunities for repositioning value brands include product line
premiumization for those who earn their customers’ trust by delivering their
value propositions, such as Lidl, which built a reputation for quality at low prices
and is now seeing growth through innovation in its Deluxe range. Besides,
increasing product prices means increasing production costs, which will have
products with higher perfection, not being mass-produced, increasing
attractiveness to buyers.
TA: Ok but have you thought about increasing the product price and creating a
new collection requires large human resources and capital?
Hân: Uhm about that, we can raise capital from investors and I think that
repositioning my brand will probably pay off.
TA: In my opinion, you shouldn’t repositioning your brand. Firstly, you can loss
your old customers? Because the old customers are used to the price, materials
and old brand image… . They may feel shock and some will not be able to
continue their loyalty to us.
Hân: We have to accept the loss of some customers, but instead we can reach
new and more potential customers.
TA: To move up, you need to either know your customers better, or develop a
culture that breeds innovation and a business model that can continuously fund
it, as consumers’ preferences don’t stand still.
Hân: Yes, we can create diffusion sub-brands that attract customers.High fashion
brands do the same, with cruise wear, street wear, accessories and perfumes.
Think about Armani: you have Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani, ... By the way,
thanks for your advices, I have to go now, bye.
TA: Goodbye, see you soon.

3. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: ‘The quickest way to
double your money is to fold it and put it back in your pocket’?
TA: Hey Han, what are you doing?
Hân: I’m reading a book, there's statement in the book that got me thinking a
lot.
TA: What is it say?
Hân: “The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back in your
pocket”
TA: This is quite an interesting quote.
Hân: Yeah, this seems to be a saying for people who are starting to save money.
TA: Why do you think so?
Hân: I think that if you keep your money in your pocket and don't waste it on
useless purchases, your money is yours to keep. However, it will not grow in your
pocket, and you must continue the habit of putting money away, first in savings.
TA: Not everyone can save as easily as you say.
Hân: The compulsion to spend unnecessarily destroys many people who try to
gain wealth. Otherwise, if you have a savings account, you may earn some
interest.
TA: Saving will take a lot of time, we can invest in something else to earn
profits faster.
Hân: Once you have your short-term goals taken care of and you have some
extra money available, you can then consider investing for the longer term.
TA: I don’t think that a good idea. Not everyone can invest and not every
investment is profitable.
Hân: The exception being a pension. Investing in a pension should be one of your
first deductions each month along with your savings. That’s because not only will
you get a substantial tax break for putting money into your retirement account,
but the tax-free growth on your money will really add up.
TA: So we have to wait until we get a pension?
Hân: That's right, but it would be worth trying, isn't it?
TA: Yeah, I have to now, see u later.
Hân: Bye.
5. Do you think that absolute free trade between countries is possible? Is it
desirable?
TA: Hi Han, how was school today?
Hân: It’s fun. My teacher gave my class a question for homework that got me
thinking a lot.
TA: What is the question?
Hân: The question is:”do u think that absolute free trade between countries is
possible.”
TA: Wow, the question so worth thinking about.
Hân: Yeah, about me, I think that the answer is yes. This is a policy that has been
accepted by many countries because it plays an important role in the
development and expansion of export and import markets.
TA: In my opinion, free trade can only apply to trade in goods, but not to trade
in services. Currently, the service trade also plays a role in the modern economy.
Hân: But in a market economy, the role of trade will be strongly promoted when
it is allowed to trade freely with all economic sectors.
TA: Free trade will help developed countries have an absolute advantage over
developing countries because developing countries don’t have or have little
absolute advantage in any product.
Hân: But I think there will still be opportunities for developing countries through
free trade even if it is small and free trade with developing countries is also a one
way.
TA: From my point of view, absolute free trade between countries is
impossible. It can harm the environment because emerging countries have few
environmental protection laws. Since many free trade opportunities involve the
exporting of natural resources like lumber or iron ore and clear-cutting of forests
often destroy local environments.
Hân: These countries can learn environmental protection laws from developed
countries.
TA: Next, it encourages theft of intellectual property. Many developing
countries often fail to take intellectual property rights seriously. Without the
protection of patent laws, companies often have their innovations and new
technologies stolen, forcing them to compete with lower-priced domestically-
made fake products.
Hân: We should respect intellectual property rights and enact laws about it.
TA: Right. Oops, my mom come to pick me up, I have to go, bye.
Hân: Bye, see u soon.
7. In what order ways could companies involve in environmental issues without
damaging their key business?
Hân: Have you read the article this morning, Tung Anh?
TA: I haven’t. What is it about?
Hân: It's about companies that are increasing environmental problems.
TA: That’s sound bad. Do you think of any way for companies involve in
environmental issues without damaging their key business?
Hân: I think they should using clean, environmentally friendly materials in their
products. For example: currently, electronic products manufactured by Sony are
lead-free in the welds to ensure the environmental friendliness of the product.
TA: Or in advertising and on the packaging can propagate the harmful effects of
environmental pollution and say that users need to protect the environment. But
don’t you think that there will be few companies applying them because it will
affect the price.
Hân: Protecting the environment is not opposite with reducing corporate profits
industry or increase the cost of products. These two fields are not always opposite
to each other, but are often supportive of each other. In developed countries,
products with environmental certification, although they may be more expensive
than similar products, are still preferred by people because they have a high sense
of protect the environment.
TA: Sounds good. Their company can also protect the environment in the most
optimal way by:
+ create shared rides for employees who are close to each other to go
home together.
+ reduce the use of paper documents.
+ let employees work from home, reduce power consumption
+ propagate environmental protection among employees, after that they
spread to other people. Create activities like: walking, pick up trash, plan trees…
Hân: It can take a long time for companies to change.
TA: You don't have to worry about it, they can change gradually.
The next thing I think about is travel. Travel is an important part of doing
business. If you want to attend conferences or meet potential clients outside your
immediate area, you have to hop a plane or take a long drive. Although there are
a few things you can do to reduce the environmental impact of traveling, it can be
more effective to switch to tech tools like video conferencing. Instead of going to
a conference to network, schedule a webinar and get your customers to join you
online, saving everyone money and reducing carbon emissions.
Hân: Video conferencing may not be as effective as face-to-face meetings
because it can cause a lot of inconvenience.
TA: You can learn to interact with your clients on video chat, since it can bring
similar face-to-face benefits as an in-person meeting.
Hân: Wonderful, well I have to go now, see u soon.
TA: Goodbye, see u later.