Exercise 1. We use market to describe any area when we can sell products or services. All the words in the box can be used with the word market. Decide if they go before or after market.

a) Asian market                                                                                                 e) domestic market

b) market leader                                                                                                 f) luxury market

c) market research                                                                                     g) market budget

d) market share                                                                                     h) market place

Exercise 2. Read the newspaper article complete it with the words from the vocabulary list.

Bellway manufactures computers in the factory outside Dublin.

Production manager: Ireland is a great place for 1) production.We’ve invested in the most modern computer factory in the world. Our 2) company order by phone or by the internet. So we don’t have 3) stock of finished computers sitting in 4) warehouse waiting for buyers. 48 hours after receiving an order, we send the goods to the customer. We don’t use distributors – we 5) sell our products directly to customers. Delivery in the most of Europe is the day after leaves the factory.

Human resources director: Bellway is a very good company to work for. Our 6) employees like living in Ireland. Our factory and our offices are in beautiful country outside Dublin. It’s a great place to live!

Marketing manager: This distribution system is also great for 7) marketing. It means that the prices that we 8) create are lower than those of our 9) competitors. And we offer big 10) discounts at times of year when business is usually slow. We can change our product 11) range very fast, and tell our customers it through 12) another. We don’t only sell goods – we also sell 13) service. For example, if the customer pays more, the 14) discount driver can prepare the customer’s computer and check that it works OK.

Accounts manager: And the system is great for the 15) account. We can check sales as they happen. Most individual customers pay by credit card, the credit card company pays us immediately, so we don’t have to wait for 16) paying after sending the invoice. (Companies can wait 30 days before they pay, but no longer!) And the costs of doing business here are very low. Bellway is the most popular computer company in the world. We’ve never made a loss!

 

Exercise 3. Match the company departments to the things they do.

 

1. sales B a) pay employees, find and interview new employees, etc.

2. accounts E b) sell the company’s products

3. human resources A c) make the company’s products

4. production C d) make plans for the company’s future

5. planning D e) deal with money coming into and going out of the company

 

 

Exercise 4. Complete the text with the right form of the verbs in Past Simple

Coco Chanel

COCO CHANEL, fashion designer, 1) DIES on January 10^th in her Paris apartment. Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel 2 REVOLUTIONISED the fashion industry with her innovative designs and elegant simplicity. Her themes INCLUDED simple suits and dresses, trousers for women, and costume jewellery, but she is probably most famous for her perfumes.

She 4 WAS BORN in the small city of Saumur, France. Her mother 5WORKED in a poorhouse and 6 DIED when Gabrielle 7 WAS only six. She was abandoned by her father and brought up by her relatives.

In 1910, she 8 SAT UP a shop in Paris selling ladies’ hats. By the 1920s, she had expanded her business to include clothing. At that time she 9 INTRDUCED a perfume, Chanel No.5, which 10 BECAME one of the company’s most profitable products. Another instant success 11 WAS the Chanel suit, which was launched in 1923. The ‘little dress’, which could be worn during the day and evening, was also made popular by Coco.

Although she 12 SPENT most of her life in Paris she 13 MOVED) to Switzerland in her later years. She was still working in 1971 when she 14 DIED) at the age of 87.

 

Exercise 5. Read the newspaper article and put the verbs in brackets in the correct form in Present Perfect.

Supersport moves into the US market

Supersport is the big European chain of sport stores. Now it 1HAS ARRIVED in United States. Asrtrid Schmidt of Supersport Europe 2 HAS MOVED to New York to manage its American activities. She says, ‘We 3HAVE STUDIED the United States market. We 4 HAVE BEEN only in the US for a year. We 5 HAVE INVESTED a lot of money — $400 million – but we’re sure we 6 HAVE MADE the right decision. We 7 HAVE BUILT nine stores in New England and one in California. We plan to open stores in other areas of the US too.

Exercise 6. List some of your favourite brands. Then answer the questions. Use the following words and phrases to help you.

My favourite brends are PUMA and NIKE.

1. Why do people buy brands? People buy brends because they are of high quality.

2. Are they international or national brands? They are international brends.

3. What image and qualities does each one have? Each has a good image and a good quality.

4. Why do you think people dislike brands? Some people dislike brends because they are expensive.

5. How loyal are you to the brands you have chosen? I am quite loyal to the brands I have chosen.

 

Exercise 7. Complete the sentences with right equivalents.

 

1. Truly great brends are more than just labels for products.

2. People are always very loyal to successful brands.

3. If you buy a branded product it’s a guarantee that the quality is fairly good and the product is good.

4. Asian consumers think that European brend goods are of high quality.

5. Patrizio Bertelli believes that luxury expensive goods should always be made in Europe.

 

Exercise 8. Match these words to their meanings.

 

B 1. loyalty D a) the name given to a product by the company that makes it

R image C b) using an existing name on another type of product

A stretching B c) the ideas and beliefs people have about a brand

N awareness E d) the tendency to always buy a particular brand

D name A e) how familiar people are with a brand

 

P 6. launch I f) the set of products made by a company

R 7. lifestyle J g) the use of well-known person to advertise products

O 8. range F h) when products are used in films or TV programmes

D 9. placement H i) the introduction of a product to the market

C 10. Endorsement G j) the length of time people continue to buy a product

T

 

 

Exercise 9. Complete the sentences with right word: stretching, loyalty, awareness, endorsement, lifecycle,

 

1. The creation of Virgin Cola, Virgin Air, Virgin Rail and Virgin Bride is an example of brand stretching

2. Consumers who always buy Levi’s when they need a new pair of jeans are showing brand loyalty

3. Not enough people recognise our logo, we need to spend a lot more on raising brand awareness

4. David Beckham advertising Vodafone is an example of product endorsement

5. A product lifecycle consist of introduction, growth, maturity and decline.

6. The use of BMW cars and Nokia phones in James Bond films are examples of product placement.

1. stretching

2. loyalty

3. awareness

4. endorsement

5. lifecycle

6. placement.

 

Exercise 10. Complete the dialogue in the form of interview.

 

a) — What are brands and why do we need them?

b) — And what’s the secret of a really successful brand?

c) — Do you like the advertising hype around brands?

d) — Can you give an example of how you’ve helped a company with it’s branding?

e) — Do you buy brands?

f) Are you sure that you always buy the genuine product?

g) Can you give an example of a successful brand?

 

1 Do you buy brands?

 

— Yes. I do. I am basically pro brans. If you buy a branded product it’s a guarantee that the quality is fairly good and the product is reliable. Let’s face it, most people buy brands because they want to impress other people. They want to show that they have style and good taste.

2 Do you like the advertising hype around brands?

— No. I don’t want to give free advertising to companies. I hate all the advertising hype around brands. And I don’t want other people to think I’m trying to impress them with a lot of logos. And I also get fed up seeing the same things wherever you go. If you buy a suit from a famous brand you’ll see five people with the same suit that month. It’s so boring.

3 Are you sure that you always buy the genuine product?

— Another thing – am I buying the genuine product or an illegal copy? Basically I want value for money. I don’t pay inflated prices for a name, a fancy logo and packaging. However, I do buy brands for kids – especially sports goods and trainers – it’s always Nike, Adidas or Reebok.

4 What are brands and why do we need them?

— Well, brand are all about trust. So in a world of endless choice, a brand can give you something to fix on – it’s a kind of beacon in the darkness. So you know that Coca-Cola will taste exactly the same wherever you are in the world! And I think one thing about brands is they add a lot of colour and enjoyment and fun, as well as giving you the power to choose things.

5 And what’s the secret of a really successful brand?

— Really successful brands are ones that tap into an emotion and that way they can inspire fierce loyalty. So they’re much more than just a product or service – they’re the attitude, and that’s carried through in everything you see about the brand.

6 Can you give an example of how you’ve helped a company with it’s branding?

— So, Apple is a good example. It stands for a kind of anti-authoritarianism. It’s against big corporations, though it is a big corporation itself, and Apple started out when computers were big and scary and quite off-putting. Apple invented the Mac and you turned it on and you got a smiley face, it was really easy to use and that’s something that Apple has carried till today, where people are in love with i-Pod and the i-Mac and the i-Phone.

7 Can you give an example of a successful brand?

— Yes, the classical example we have is Orange, the mobile phone service. When everyone else was talking about technology, Orange talked about lifestyle and communication. It was originally going to be called Microtel and we worked with the parent company to get them away from all of that and create something entirely different. Something that was about optimism. ‘The future is bright, the future’s orange’ is the line that everyone remembers and it created a new world of communication – people became quite passionate about using Orange and it was highly successful financially.

Exercise 11. Look at these parts of a business meeting, and write them in the correct order in the first column of the chart.

 

A.Discussing items

B.Finishing the meeting

C.Beginning the meeting

D.Introductions

D, C, A, B

 

Parts of the meeting	Purposes and functions of different parts of a meeting	Useful phrases
1. D.Introductions	1. n. Thanking participants for attending. b. Welcoming and introducing participants. h. Giving apologies for someone who is absent.	6) I’m afraid Miss Jackson can’t be with us today… . 7) It’s a pleasure to welcome… . / I’d like to introduce… . 8) Let’s get started… . / Let’s start… .
2. C.Beginning the meeting	2. c. Agreeing on the ground rules of for the meeting. d. Allocating roles (secretary, participants). f. Stating the principal objectives of the meeting. i. Introducing the agenda. o. Opening the meeting.	14) We’re here today to… . / Our aim is to… . / I’ve called this meeting in order to… . 3) Have you all received the copy of the agenda? / I suggest we take item one first. 11) So, the first item of the agenda is … . / Pete, would you like to start?
3. A.Discussing items	3. a. Moving to the next item. e. Introducing the first item on the agenda. g. Closing an item. j. Giving control to the next participant.	2) Right, it looks as though we’ve coved the main item. 4) I suggest we go round the table first. / We’ll hear a short report on each point, followed by a discussion. 5) I’d like to hand over to Jill, who is going to lead this item. / Over to you Jill. 9) Let’s move on to the next item. / The next item of the agenda is…10) Shall we live that item? / If nobody has anything else to add… .  .
4. B.Finishing the meeting	4. l. Finishing up k. Summarising m. Closing the meeting	1) Before we close… . /To sum up … ./ In brief… . 12) Thank you all for attending. / Thanks for your participation. 13) The meeting is closed.

 

Exercise 12. Fill in the second column of the chart with the corresponding purposes and functions in the right order.

 

Exercise 13. Match the Purposes and Functions with the Useful phrases

 

Exercise 14 Complete this Chairperson’s report about the history of a company. Use the verbs in either Past Simple or Present Perfect.

We 1 HAD (to have) another excellent year. I would like to thank everyone for their hard work which 2 HELPED (to help) in bringing this success. As you know, we 3STARTED (to start) in 2002 as a small operation producing electrical components for the car industry. At that time we 4 HAVE EMPLOYED (to employ) just 25 people; that number 5 HAS GROWN (to grow) to the present 1,200. Our turnover was just $50,000, whereas today it 6 HAS GROWN (to grow) to $35 million. In those early years conditions were not particularly comfortable. I 7 WORKED (to work) in a tiny office with no heating, and, of course, in those days we 8 HAD (to have) no computers, which make life easier today. We were based in a run-down inner city area.

Things 9 HAVE CHANGED (to change) considerably since we 10 MOVED to our current greenfield site. The early years were particularly difficult. We 11 FACED (to face) strong competition from more powerful and on several occasions we were close to going out of business. The turning point came in 2009 when we 12 WON (to win) a small government contract to produce electrical components for aircraft. We 13)_________ (to take on) more staff and 14 INVESTED (to invest) a considerable amount of money in Research and Development and 15 WENT (to go) from strength to strength ever since.

In recent years we 16 HAVE EXPANDED (to expand) our product range and 17 HAVE STRENGTHENED (to strengthen) position in the export market. These changes 18 RESULTED (to result) in the strength of our current position. The recent deregulation of the markets within The European Union 19 ENABLED (to enable) us to increase our exports to Europe and we are now in a position to expand our European operations still further. As far as business with the rest of the world is concerned, in the early years exports to the Far East, for example, 20 REPRESENTED (to represent) less than 1% of our output, Whereas now they represent nearly 15% of our total production.

 

Exercise 15. Read the article about meetings, and match the tips (a-f) with the statements below. Give your reasons.

 

People should:

1. feel comfortable in a meeting.c

2. keep to the agenda of the meeting.a

3. try to memorise what has been said in the meeting.e

4. be attentive and observant during the meeting.f

5. come to a meeting on time.d

6. start with the most important item.b

7. try to cover all the items of the agenda quickly.g

 

  If you feel frustrated by the time wasted in meetings, here are a few tips on how to do them well.

a) Remember the day today: At the start of the meeting outline the purpose of the session. Have an agenda and stick to it. If people deviate from it, we make that ‘err’ noise loudly like in that scene from The Day Today when the management trainer was training the office worker to stop saying ‘err’. Leave general chats till the end of the meeting – finding out about whether the Matrix Revolution was any good shouldn’t really be first the point on the agenda of your sales meeting.

b) Start big: Begin with the most important thing, rather than with the easy bits, to avoid rushing the big decision at the end. If other things that are irrelevant to the meeting, arrange another time to go through them, rather than have the meeting hijacked.

c) Sit down: It’s to be hoped that the people in the post office talks had sofas to sit on. The standing thing is great in some instances, but there’s nothing like feeling comfortably before getting down to business.

d) Play musical chairs: At some firms, there is always one less chair than meeting attendees. The last person to arrive knows that he or she will have to stand. This makes a real difference in terms of people getting there on time. And the last person in has to do the minutes.

e) Forbid minutes: If you can’t remember what you’ve agreed to do, you don’t deserve the responsibility of action. Develop a culture where everyone takes responsibility, and encourage people to develop their memory skills.

f) Listen: Does anyone do this in meetings? Listening is good. You might learn something – and not necessarily the thing you’re actually hearing. What’s behind what you’re hearing is often far more interesting.

g) Finish early: This is the winner. Announce that the meeting is from 3.00-4.00, but then draw it to the close at 3.45, saying: ‘I think we’ve covered everything, thank you very much.’ This is so much better than: ‘I’m afraid we’ve run out of time. Better carry over the points we didn’t get to until next time.’ Everyone will go away thinking: ‘We’ll never, ever catch up with ourselves,’ and the next meeting will start with a ‘We’ve got a lot to get through today,’ which makes everyone feel that success is impossible.

Far better to start with: ‘Well, we seem to be so efficient that no doubt we’ll speed through this lot.’

 

Exercise 16. Read the text about an analysis for the company. What does SWOT stand for? Complete the heading in the table.

 

A SWOT analysis is one of decision-making tools and useful if you want to know what your company does well or does badly. It also helps you to identify your competition. At the moment, I’m carrying out a SWOT analysis on my company. SWOT stands for: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. I have to ask myself questions about the company. For example, for strengths, it’s: ‘What does the company do well?’ For weaknesses, it’s: ‘What does the company do badly? For opportunities, I think: ‘Can my organisation increase sales or find new markets?’ And for threats, I ask: ‘Does another company offer better products or services?

 

Swot analysis
1. STRENGTHS good at design wide product range	2. WEAKNESSES machines in the production department are old delivery is slow	3. OPPORTUNITIES sell our products on the internet try American and Asian markets	4. THREATS three new companies sell similar products other companies charge less for their products

 

Exercise 17. Match the heading in the table with the questions.

a) OPPORTUNITIES Can my organisation increase sales or find new markets?

b) WEAKNESSES What does the company do badly?

c) THREATS Does another company offer better products or services?

d) STRENGTHS What does the company do well?

 

Exercise 18. Look at the extracts a-h and match them with the numbers of the columns 1-4.

a) machines in the production department are old

b) sell our products on the internet

c) good at design

d) three new companies sell similar products

e) try American and Asian markets

f) other companies charge less for their products

g) wide product range

h) delivery is slow

 

Exercise 19. Read the newspaper article and put the verbs in brackets in the correct form in Passive Voice.

Writing the minutes of meetings

‘The minutes’ IS GIVEN the name (to give) to the written summary of the points discussed at a meeting, and any decisions which 2 WERE MADE (to make). After they 3) ARE WRITTEN (to write), minutes 4 ARE CIRCULATED (to circulate) to all the people who attended the meeting. It is absolutely vital that minutes 5 ARE TAKEN (to take) at each important meeting, so that nobody gets confused about what 6 HAS BEEN SAID (to say), and the participants can be reminded of what 7 HAS BEEN DECIDED (to decide).

1. is the name given

2. were made

3. are written

4. are circulated

5. are taken

6. has been said

7. has been decided

 

Exercise 20. Complete these sentences using the prepositions and verbs in the box.

 

When verbs follow prepositions, they are always in the -ing form.

 

Preposotions: at before from in of of   Verbs: build discuss disrupt make spread work

 

1. Employees were asked to help define a new way…….. ……… together.

2. Differences in corporate culture may play a significant role …….. ………. post-merger performance.

3. Companies do not spend enough time on these issues……… …….. acquisitions.

4. The Dutch are particularly good……. …….. bridges.

5. Management at Air Liquide Deutschland wanted to prevent the ‘emotional viruses’ …… …….

6. The list of emotional viruses was used as a way …….. ……… concerns and anxieties at workshops.

 

1. of working

2. in disrupting

3. before making

4. at building

5. from spreading

6. of discussing

 

Exercise. 21. Match the definitions to the words and phrases.

1. the person in charge of the meeting B a) action points

2. the people at the meeting I b) chairperson

3. to go to a meeting D c) propose

4. a list of topics to be discussed L d) attend

5. one topic on the list F e) to send your apologies

6. to make a suggestion formally C f) item

7. to support a formal suggestion G g) vote

8. the last topic of the list J h) any other business (AOB)

9. a method of making a decision H i) participants

10. an official record of what was said and/or decided K j) second

11. to say that you cannot go to the meeting E                                    k) minutes

12. what needs to be done after the meeting, and by whom A l) agenda

 

Exercise 22. Match the beginnings of the sentences below with their endings.

 

Setting the Agenda.

1. I would like to start by… h) thanking you all for coming today.

2. The main purpose of this meeting is to… a) analyse market tends.

3. The first thing we need to do is… c) to review this year’s sales.

4. With regard to sales, will also look… d) at the performance of individual sales personnel.

5. Then we should… f) set our sales targets for the rest of this year.

6. After looking at market trends… e) perhaps we could turn to financial matters.

7. The financial report will be followed… g) by a review management procedures.

8. Finally, after looking at management procedures, I look forward to… b) hearing your views on the future developments of the company.

 

 

Exercise 23. Look at the extracts from different pieces of correspondence. Match them with the types below.

 

report letter e-mail note minutes

 

1) note

Conclusion Although there are cost benefits of using Achieve, it is clear that Team Spirit is a much more professional organization and therefore the best option to help improve staff morale. Recommendations It is recommended that Team Spirit are contacted as soon as possible and informed of our requirements. If it is possible the staff teambuilding weekend should be arranged for March/April

 

2) letter

Jane, Mr Forster called. I’ll get back to him tomorrow about the final details of his visit next month, but can you find out what stuff he needs for his presentation? Also he wants some help with booking a hotel. Let me know as soon as possible. Thanks. Dan.

 

 

3) report

Dear Mr McLennan, Further to your letter of 15 March, unfortunately I will be unable to attend the meeting on Friday, due to a previous engagement. However, I would be very grateful if you could send me a copy of the minutes. Your sincerely, Elena D’Angelo

 

4) e-mail

Hi Carol, Great news: got the contract! Let me know if you want to work with us on this one. I’ll be in touch in the next couple of days to firm up on our needs. Best wishes, Nils.

 

5) minutes

Agenda item	Discussion	Action
Marketing plan	The budget for this was approved. Martin Schwarz will prepare for next meeting.	MS to prepare detailed buget by Feb 21st.