Strategy:

Strategy formulation refers to the process of choosing the most

appropriate course of action for the realization of organizational goals
and objectives and thereby achieving the organizational vision which is
done with the help of SWOT analysis.
S: Strength
What advantages does your company have?
What do you do better than anyone else?
What unique or lowest-cost resources do you have access to?
What do people in your market see as your strengths?
What factors mean that you “get the sale”?
W: Weakness
What could you improve?
What should you avoid?
What are people in your market likely to see as weaknesses?
What factors lose you sales?
O: Opportunities
Where are the good opportunities facing you?
What are the interesting trends you are aware of?
T: Threats
What obstacles do you face?
What is your competition doing that you should be worried about?
Are the required specifications for your job, products or services
changing?
Is changing technology threatening your position?
Do you have bad debt or cash-flow problems?
Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten your business?
Example: Starbucks
Strength: Weakness:
1. Strong brand image 1. High price points
2. Extensive global supply chain 2. Generalized standards for most products
3. Moderate diversification through subsidiaries 3. Imitability of products
Opportunities: Threats:
1. Expansion in developing markets 1. Competition involving low-cost coffee sellers
2. Business diversification 2. Imitation
3. Partnerships or alliances with other firms 3. Independent coffeehouse movements
Reading:
Now decide if the statements about the article are
true (T) or false (F). If false (f) rewrite the correct
statement
1. According to Rita Clifton, the product is more important than the brand.
2. Clifton says a product won’t have long-term success if it isn’t unique.
3. Kodak was successful because it looked to the future.
4. Innocent has succeeded because it hasn’t stood still.
5. David Molian says that successful businesses must understand what they
are good at.
6. Molian believes that great businesses are good at only one thing.
7. Most entrepreneurs succeed when they go beyond their core competence.
8. Richard Branson succeeded because he managed his brand well.
Listening:
Listen to a presentation by Lydia Jones, a cabin crew trainer at A–Z Airlines. Choose the best
answer, a, b or c, for each question.
1. What is the topic of Lydia’s presentation?
a) the company’s benefits package
b) on-the-job teamwork
c) the basic training offered by the airline
2. Who is she speaking to?
a) a group of new employees
b) the team responsible for training new employees
c) a group of experienced managers
3. How many key elements are there to teamwork?
a) three
b) four
c) five
4. What does Lydia say every team needs?
a) clear rules
b) well-defined roles for team members
c) a leader
5. Which skill does she say is important for a team leader?
a) to be authoritarian
b) to be ruthless when it’s necessary
c) to be decisive
6. What does she say about knowledge and skills?
a) That the new employees already have some knowledge and skills.
b) That knowledge and skill can only be developed on the job.
c) That employees become fully trained in the first year of work.
7. What does she say about rules?
a) The airline’s rules are designed to stop bad or dangerous behaviour.
b) Everyone must follow the rules or they risk being sacked.
c) Rules create an efficient working environment.
8. Which of these benefits of having clear rules does she mention?
a) Rules help reinforce the role of the team leader.
b) Following rules contributes to safety.
c) Rules help reduce serious communication problems.
9. What does she say about mistakes?
a) The job of the team is to reduce mistakes.
b) Mistakes happen.
c) It’s important for people to take responsibility for their mistakes.
10. What does Lydia say is important about relationships among team
members?
a) Open communication is essential.
b) A little friendly competition can be helpful.
c) The only practical way to do the job is to concentrate on your own work.
Grammar:
Dependent prepositions
Here is a list of common verbs and the
prepositions that follow them.
complain about insure against react against
hint at account for hope for
long for opt for pay for
strive for emerge from stem from
suffer from invest in result in
bet on insist on rely on
amount to lead to abject to
refer to relate to resort to
associate with contend with sympathies with
Some verbs may be followed by more than one
preposition, with a corresponding change in
meaning.
1. How did you learn of his sudden departure?
I hope you will learn from your mistakes.
2. The team consists of two Americans and two
Japanese.
3. For her, job satisfaction consists in having almost no
work to do.
Here is a list of common adjectives and the
prepositions that follow them.
lacking in aware of capable of
representative of contingent on intent on
reliant on conducive to essential to
parallel to prone to susceptible to
vulnerable to compatible with filled with
This is a list of common nouns and
the
prepositions
admiration for that
aptitude for follow them.
bid for
demand for need for remedy for
respect for responsibility for room for
search for substitute for threat to
access to alternative to contribution to
damage to exception to introduction to
reference to resistance to solution to
ban on comment on constraint on
curb on effect on tax on
contrast with dealings with dissatisfaction with
involvement with relationship with sympathy with
Grammar:
Assignment
 Join the halves of sentences below
1. She had a sound business specializing
2. Self-employment may be the only
alternative
3. Researchers say this results
4. Why do women still have limited
access
5. Once you understand the mind set of
your investors, you can profit
6. He can see opportunities which lie,
through lack
7. The document contained an
assessment
8. I want a return
9. We are very focused
10.They are strongly opposed
a. On my investment
b. Of the risks facing European
companies
c. Of finance, beyond his grasp
d. In lower failure rates
e. From their suggestions
f. In renovating and refurbishing
buildings
g. To starvation in poorer countries
h. To venture capital?
i. To any further investment
j. On transferring ideas from the hard
world of industrial economics to the
dot-coms
Vocabulary:
Quality Control
 Quality Control
Study the following definitions
1. brand (noun): an identifying mark or label; a trademark
2. conform (verb): to match specifications or qualities
3. defect (noun): an imperfection or flaw
4. enhance (verb): to make more attractive or valuable
5. garment (noun): an article of clothing
6. Inspect (verb): to look at closely; to examine carefully or officially
7. perceptive (adjective): able to see or understand
8. repel (verb): to keep away; to fight against
9. take back (verb): to return something; to withdraw or retract
10. throw out (verb): to dispose of
11. uniformly (adverb): in the same way; consistently
12. wrinkle (noun): a crease, ridge, or furrow, especially in skin or fabric
Vocabulary:
Assignment
Read the following passage and write the words in the blanks below.
brand enhance perceive throws out conform
garment repel uniform defects inspect
take back wrinkle

Alex is excited about his new job with Parapluie Rain Wear. As quality control manager, his job is
to make sure that his company’s goods (1) ____ to standardized quality criteria and are free from
(2) _______ . Before any (3) _______ leaves the factory, Alex must (4) ________ it. He knows that
if he (5) _______ a damaged garment before a customer sees it, he will (6) ________ his
company’s reputation and increase the demand for their products. Alex must ensure that all
products meet certain criteria: A customer who buys a raincoat that does not (7) ______ rain will
probably (8) _______ the raincoat to the store and buy another (9) ___________ . The same is
true if the seams are not sewn tightly or the color is not (10) _______ . Alex knows that, in
addition to keeping out rain, the product must be attractive to look at and to touch. It should not
(11) _______ easily, and it should last a long time. Alex knows that it is important for customers to
(12) _______ his company’s goods as quality products so that his company will profit and he can
get a raise.