1.

WORK & BUSINESS

VOCABULARY

1. Warmup :

-Find as many words and expressions as possible based on the following verbs :

>employ
>work
>manage

-Think of a business person you admire ? A business person you dislike ?

Explain your choices to the class

2. Circle the words which are directly connected with money & underline the words which refer to
people. Leave the rest blank

Pay – headquarters- salary– income – employee- subsidiary – CEO –wages – product – customer –
warehouse – business - accountant

3. Match the words on the leA with the words on the right

-set up -clients
-in charge -a company
-deal -with complaints
-earn -overFme
-do -of a small department
-advise -money

4. Rewrite the sentences on the leA starEng with the words given. Keep a similar meaning

-What do you do ? > What’s your ………………………………….. ?

-I’m a markeFng assistant.
-I’m employed by the government
-I earn £34,000 a year from my two jobs
-I’m responsible for the recepFon area
-I advise clients.
>I work …………………………………………..
>I work ………………………………………….
>My ………………………………………………
>I’m in ………………………………………….
>I give …………………………………………..
 5. Complete the text. Put one word in each gap

6. Choose the best word to complete the sentences

-Her law firm has many clients / customers.

-When did they set up / take up the company ?
-The shop assistant was serving a client / customer.
-Marcel used to work here, but he’s currently/actually working abroad.
-Are they planning to take up / taker over the company ?

7. Fill in the blanks :

Achieved – expanded – branch – business – run – aim

SPEAKING

8. Answer these quesEons in pairs

-What are normal working hours for most office jobs in France ?
-Is there a minimum wage in France ? Do you know how much it is ?
-Do you think that a lot of SMEs are going to go bankrupt because of the Covid 19 pandemic ?

VIDEOS

9. What is a company ?

-When and why did the concept of companies appear?

-What role does the owner of a business play? What about when there are several owners?

-Find a synonym for “set up a company”

-What expression is used to refer to the money a state raises through fiscal policies?

10. Understanding a company’s corporate structure

-In publicly traded companies, what role do shareholders play?

-What is the role of the Board of Directors?

PRESS ARTICLE

11. Read the press arEcle on the next page

 These companies gave their CEOs millions, before
bankruptcy
Companies that are struggling to pay creditors and suppliers are still finding ways
to pay millions in bonuses to their bosses.
The New York Times, June 23, 2020

The coronavirus recession is pushing many companies into bankruptcy, a painful process that has
led to layoffs, wiped out some investors and hurt the economy. But the chief executives of some of
these businesses are doing just fine.

Companies that are struggling to pay creditors and suppliers are managing to find millions of dollars
to pay bonuses to their bosses. The payments, which are made just before a bankruptcy filing, appear
to be legal and have been made by several companies.

J.C. Penney, which is closing 154 stores, paid its chief executive, Jill Soltau, $4.5 million. The chief
executive of Whiting Petroleum, which sought bankruptcy protection in April, received $6.4 million,
and Chesapeake Energy is paying bonuses ahead of an expected bankruptcy filing. Executives at
Hertz also got payments before the rental-car giant sought bankruptcy protection.

Companies have said the payments are meant to help them retain qualified executives through the
recession and bankruptcy.

But critics counter that the money would be better spent on rank-and-file employees. “It makes me
angry because they are not taking care of the people who are actually making the money,” said Liz
Marin, who worked at Toys “R” Us when it filed for bankruptcy and is now an organizer in training
at United for Respect, a nonprofit organization that seeks to help retail workers. Toys “R” Us paid
bonuses to executives before its bankruptcy.

Hold on, why are these C.E.O.s still employed?

Chief executives who lead companies into bankruptcy are at risk of losing their jobs. Geisha Williams
left Pacific Gas & Electric, the giant California utility, in January 2019, just before the company filed
for bankruptcy protection, for example.

But other corporate boards, which hire the chief executive and set compensation for senior officers,
seem to be showing more grace toward the boss. In many cases, the executives could do little to
prevent the crushing falloff in business that occurred when the pandemic and lockdowns stopped
people going into stores, eating out and taking trips. The drop in the oil price this year was unusually
large, walloping many energy companies, though some, like Chesapeake, were already burdened
with large debts.

Can’t a bankruptcy judge prevent companies from handing out big

bonuses?

Certain outlays that a company makes just before bankruptcy — for instance, payments to suppliers
— are at risk of being clawed back. But the bonus payments typically don’t fall into that category,
legal scholars say.
Typically, a company in bankruptcy court has to get a judge’s approval before doing just about
anything of importance, especially spending millions of dollars. If a chief executive got a new
compensation package during bankruptcy, a judge would have to decide whether the compensation
was justified after hearing from creditors, shareholders and other groups. But this can be a drawn-
out and expensive process — a big reason companies pay bonuses before bankruptcy.

- Sum up the main idea in only one or two sentences.

- Translate into French starFng from « Chief execuFves…” to “… with large debts.”