UNIT 1

IMAGES OF BUSINESS

Learning objectives

By the end of this unit you will be able to:

• discuss company structure

• analyse company results

• analyse the history of a company

• make a company presentation

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

1. Match up the verbs on the left with the nouns on the right.

1) to enjoy	a) merchandises
2) to avoid	b) business
3) to take	c) disadvantages
4) to purchase	d) vacation
5) to dissolve	e) employees
6) to cause	f) advantages
7) to attract	j) bankruptcy
8) to declare	h) taxes

2. Fill in the gaps in the following sentences with the words given above in a proper form.

1) You'd better … given by the legislation to a sole proprietor.

2) Good salaries and a good medical insurance scheme may … in your business.

3) Many companies don’t show the real figures of profit … .

4) In case of death of the owner of a sole proprietorship the business is … .

5) His inability to speak English … him … when he attends international conferences.

6) Ten companies ... last year.

7) If you are a sole proprietor, it is up to you to decide when … .

8) This company is involved in … leather … .

3. Match up the words in two columns to make collocations.

written professional retail legal tax capital secret limited

liability establishment advantages investment expenses services contract partner

4. Match the following verb and nouns.

to assume to invest to hire to exercise to raise to pool to provide to give

money impression resources capital liability employee control experience

5. Fill in the gaps in the following sentences with the words and word combinations given above in a proper form.

1) Don't … for the accident only because of car insurance claims.

2) It is the responsibility of a personnel manager … .

3) He … over several subsidiaries in Europe.

4) Amnesty International … to support prisoners of conscience.

5) Being a great specialist in his sphere, he … his … to business.

6) He … all his … for starting up a business enterprise.

7) They … of highly qualified workers.

6. Match the following verb and nouns.

1) to pay 2) to set out 3) to fulfil 4) to protect 5) to carry out 6) to own 7) to hold

a) position b) tasks c) investment d) corporation e) duties f) debts j) requirement

7. Fill in the gaps in the following sentences with the words given above in a proper form.

1) After they … their …, they realised that they didn't earn a lot.

2) The stockholders elect the Board of directors … their … .

3) … they invited an expert in economics.

4) His post implies that he must … a lot of … .

5) In the Code of Practice all employees' … .

6) The stockholders, not directors, … and determine its policy.

7) In a company hierarchy, he … one of the top … .

8. Give the equivalents for the following word combinations and phrases.

Начинающая компания; наличие капитала; отражать специфические обстоятельства; заниматься бизнесом; финансовое условие; соответствовать любому бизнесу; выбрать структуру соответствующую потребностям; затраты связанные с созданием и поддержанием бизнеса; необходимость инвестиций; сохранить контроль, передача собственности.

Transferring of ownership, to suit every business, to run business, a legal structure, investment needs, specific circumstances, freedom of choice, financial conditions, availability of capital, expenses involved in establishing and maintaining business, to pick up the structure that best meets needs, a start up, to retain control,.

9. Fill in the gaps in the following sentences with the words and word combinations given above.

1 Every individual has the right to …

2 One of the requirements for setting up a company is the right evaluation of …

3 I don't think that this type of a company …

4 Before you make a decision you should weight all … of your business

5 If you want to … over a company you’d better not take a risk

6 Your … don’t allow you to begin your business

Analysis and discussion

Over to you

1. Study the organisation chart. Which department:

a) puts the products in boxes and crates?

b) places ads in magazines?

c) pays the staff?

d) purchases supplies?

e) sells the products to customers?

f) plans how to sell new products?

g) services the machines and equipment?

h) arranges courses for the staff?

i) recruits new employees?

j) manufactures the products?

k) invoices customers?

l) looks after customers' problems and complaints?

m) dispatches the products and sends them to customers?

n) organises control systems to prevent mistakes?

o) deals with taxation, investment and cash management?

.

2. Read the text about BICC company and complete the organisation chart below. Using the chart, describe the company structure.

BICC plc is a large multinational with about forty thousand employees worldwide and a turnover of approximately four billion pounds. The group's main activities are construction and the manufacture of cables. There are five different divisions in the group. The first is Balfour Beatty. Balfour Beatty is Britain's leading construction company with a turnover of around £l,700 m. The company is famous for its work constructing motorways, buildings, and of course, the channel tunnel.

The next division is BICC Cables. It is the largest manufacturer of fibre optic cables in Europe and it now owns the Italian company, Ceat Cavi, CelCat in Portugal, part of CGC in Spain and KWO in the former East Germany. BICC Cables is expanding fast in Asia too and it has a turnover of £183 m.

BICC has wide activities. There are three overseas divisions: Australasia, North America Cables and BICC Cables Asia Pacific. Australasia's principal activities are cables, piping and wholesaling and it has a turnover of £595 m. North America Cables operates in the US and Canada and it's the market leader in medium voltage power cables. And finally, BICC Cables Asia-Pacific. Based in Singapore, this division is growing fast. It is responsible for the manufacture and marketing of the groups' cable products in the important Asia-Pacific region.

3. What do you know about Colgate-Palmolive Company?

1) First, read the statements and decidee if they are true or false.

T F

		a. The Colgate company started as a starch, soap and candle business in New York city.
		b. The Colgate company operates only in the USA.
		c. It is the environment friendly company.
		d. The company refused from making its product popular at schools.
		e. The company has close relationship with professionals.
		f. It managed to develop many successful toothpastes without great investment in research and technology.
		g. The company does practically nothing to strengthen its position.

2) Now, read this article and find out whether you were right.

William Colgate founded the Colgate Company in 1806 as a starch, soap and candle business in New York City. For the first hundred years, the company did all its business in the United States. However, in early 1900s, the company began an aggressive expansion programme that led to the establishment of Colgate operations in countries throughout Europe, Latin America and the Far East. In more recent years, it has set up operations in Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Europe and China. Colgate-Palmolive has become a truly global consumer products company, worth $8.7 bn and selling in more than 200 countries.

Colgate-Palmolive’s five main sectors of business are: Oral Care, Body Care, Household Surface Care, Fabric Care and Pet Nutrition and Health Care. In the area of Oral Care, Colgate-Palmolive is the world leader in toothpaste. As a result of the companys heavy investment in research and technology, it has developed many successful toothpastes, rinses and toothbrushes. To strengthen its presence in professional products, Colgate-Palmolive bought the Ora Pharm Company of Australia and the dental therapeutics business of Scherer Laboratories USA in 1990. For many years, the company has had a strong dental education programme in schools throughout the world and has maintained a close partnership with the international dental community. Recently, it has created a web site for dental professionals.

The company has always paid close attention to the environment. It has already made great progress in the use of recyclable bottles and packaging materials.

Describing trends

1. Look at some of the verbs and adjectives, describing changes in price, quantity (see appendix)

2. Here are some other expressions which are used to describe trends. Which parts of the following graph would you use them to talk about?

t o fluctuate to reach a peak t o level off to stand at to remain stable

3. Now match these parts to make sentences about the graph.

1) Sales reached a peak 2) Sales fluctuated 3) Sales remained 4) Sales stood at 5) Sales levelled off

a) 10, 0000 in December. b) from September to November. c) of 11, 000. d) at about 8 000 in April. e) from May to September.

4. Read the text about company's sales figures and draw the graph to describe the company performance

The graph shows the sales results for the last year. Sales remained steady at 6,000 units in January and February. In March, when the spring sales campaign began, sales increased slightly to 7,000 and then they went up by another 1,000 units in April to stand at 8 000 units. The competitors launched a rival product in May and sales fell to 5,000 units. They decreased by another thousand units in June. But due to discount to the wholesalers sales rose steadily back to 5,000 units in July and then 6,000 units in August. The dramatic rise came in the next two months. Sales increased from 10,000 units in September to 13,000 units in October because of the Christmas order. Sales went down by 6,000 units in November when the Christmas orders stopped. They stayed at 7,000 until the end of the year.

5. Explain why these things happened in the company above. Use: because of, due to, as the result of.

1. Sales increased in March…

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. Sales fell in May…

… ………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. Sales rose in June…

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

4. Sales increased in September…

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

5. Sales went down in November…

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

Role play

Participant 1. You are a newspaper reporter writing an article on Apple Computer, Inc. Ask the public relation officer for information to complete these notes.

Apple

	With $1,300, Steve Jobs and Steve Worniak found Apple Computer, Inc.
1980	_________________________________________________________
	Apple became the first personal computer company to reach $ 1 billion in annual sales.
1985	_________________________________________________________
	Notebook PowerBook series was released.
1994	_________________________________________________________
	Acquisition of NeXT brings Steve Jobs back to Apple as a special adviser.
1997	_________________________________________________________
	The all-in-one iMac is released.
2000	_________________________________________________________
	Introduction of the successful iPod music player.
2003	_________________________________________________________
	The company began experimenting with new parts from new suppliers. As a result, Apple was able to produce the iPod video, the iPod classic, the iPod touch and the iPhone.
2007	_________________________________________________________
	The Apple’s revenues surpassed the Microsoft’s.

Participant 2. You are the public relation officer of Apple Computer, Inc. A newspaper reporter is writing an article about your company. Use these notes on the company history to answer his questions.

1976	Apple was founded.
1980	Apple went public. Its offering of 4.6 million shares at $21 sold out within minutes.
1982	Apple became the first personal computer company to reach $ 1 billion in annual sales.
1985	Jobs with several other Apple executives left the company because of the in-fighting caused by the product line divisions. They established a new company NeXT.
1991	Notebook PowerBook series was released.
1994	Power Macintosh line was introduced.
1996	Acquisition of NeXT brought Steve Jobs back to Apple as a special adviser.
1997	Steve Jobs was named Chief Executive Officer.
1998	The all-in-one iMac was released.
2000	Steve Jobs became CEO again.
2001	The successful iPod music player was introduced
2003	Steve Jobs launched the Power Mac G5.
2004	The company began experimenting with new parts from new suppliers. As a result Apple was able to produce the iPod video, the iPod classic, the iPod touch and the iPhone.
2007	Apple introduced the first version of the iPhone.
2011	The Apple's revenues surpassed the Microsoft's.

Project work

1. Think of successful talks you've been to in the past. What made them so successful? Complete the following list of elements that make a good presentation using the words in the boxes.

a-e humour talk contact appearance knowledge

f-j preparation language attitude voice visuals

To be a good presenter you need...

a a well-structured …; f an enthusiastic…;

b thorough subject …; g a strong…;

с a smart and professional …; h a creative use of …;

d a good sense of …; i expressive body …;

e good eye …; j careful … .

2. With a partner, discuss the elements in 1 and number them in order of importance. Use the phrases below in your discussion.

What you need most of all is ... . Another important thing is ... . I think ... is pretty important too.

... can make a real difference. It helps if ..., but it's not essential. You don't need ..., as long as ... .

3. Add your own ideas to the list in 1.

4. Invent your own company. Use the ideas below for help your self.

1. What does your company do?

________________________________________________________________________________

2. What is it called?

________________________________________________________________________________

3. What kind of public image do you have?

________________________________________________________________________________

4. How many people do you employ?

________________________________________________________________________________

5. Where is your headquarter

________________________________________________________________________________

6. Do you have offices in other countries? If so, where?

________________________________________________________________________________

7. What is your turnover, market share and net profits? Who is your main competitor?

________________________________________________________________________________

8. Are you growing, shrinking or holding steady?

________________________________________________________________________________

9. What is your most promising product or markets?

________________________________________________________________________________

10. What problems are you having and how are you dealing with them?

________________________________________________________________________________

5. Draw a graph representing some aspects connected with the work of your company, for example

• seasonal sales trends;

• annual turnover;

• raw materials prices;

• number of employees.

Work in pairs or small groups. Take it in turns to present your graphs to one another.

• Explain what they represent.

• Give reasons for the changes.

• Answer questions.

These phrases will help you.

This graph shows ... As you can see ... Are there any questions?

This led to ... This resulted in ...

This was due to ... This resulted from ...

6. Get ready to make a short presentation about a company to the group. You can talk about your own company or one of the companies from this unit. Write notes first. Don't write sentences - just write key words and numbers. (Guess any information you don't know.)

	MY COMPANY	THE GROUP
Products/Services
Main customers
Locations (factories, branches, etc.)
Size (number of employees/turnover)
Main strengths
Current projects
Other information?