1. Complete the passage below using the appropriate words or phrases from the box.
franchisor management services fee franchise agreement
advertising fee franchisee operations manual
master franchisee franchise fee format
Franchising can be defined as a business system in which a company (or 1 ) sells an individual (or 2 ) the right to operate a business using the franchisor's established system or 3 . The franchisee is thus able to take advantage of the franchisor's brand names, reputation and experience.
As part of the contract (or 4 ) the franchisee pays an initial sum of money, known as a 5 to the franchisor and, in addition, agrees to pay a 6 in exchange for continuing advice and assistance which is usually calculated as a percentage of annual turnover. In certain cases the franchisee may also pay an 7 to contribute to the franchisor's annual advertising and marketing costs. It is important to understand that the franchisee also has to find the necessary capital to open the business.
Once the contract has been agreed, the franchisor provides an 8 which is a document containing all the information that the franchisee requires in order to manage his or her business. In some cases a franchisor may appoint a 9 to supervise all aspects of the development of the business inside a territory.
2. Answer the questions to the text “One day in my life” on page 36 of nIiB sb.
1. When does Vanessa Stein plan her schedule for the day? 2. Why does she train one of her floor managers to deal with computerized accounts? 3. What standards does she have to comply with while expanding her business? 4. How does Vanessa estimate the correctness of the decision to buy a franchise business? 5. Who pays for the training courses for the staff? 6. What is the function of mystery diners? 7. What is the purpose of a field consultant’s visits? 8. What are the routines of the administrative work? 9. Why does one have to be flexible in a small business? 10. How does Vanessa organize masses of paperwork on her table? 11. What family duties complement her business responsibilities? 12. Which books does she prefer? 13. What has hampered her sleep for a long time? 14. Which cravings from her pregnancy period does she associate with her present day business?
3. Read the text below and put questions to the underlined words and phrases. McDonalds Logo
A
proper
and authentic trademark
is a guarantee of consistency and quality. It assures the customers
that
all the products bearing a specific trademark are of the same
quality everywhere in the world.
So when McDonalds expanded its business worldwide,
it needed and employed a logo that ensured their continued value in
the restaurant business. The McDonalds logo has become a symbol of
international business expansion and h
as
been termed as ‘part
of Americanization and American cultural imperialism'
as it is closely identified with US. The famous Golden Arches in
McDonalds logo represent style,
significance and a strong corporate identity.
It was created by Jim
Schindler
in
1962
and the idea was first introduced by Dick and Mac McDonald as arch
shaped signs on the sides of their then ‘walk-up hamburger stand’.
From an angle, those arches looked like
the letter “M”
and thus, were incorporated in the McDonalds logo as a merger of the
two golden arches together.
4. Listen to the dialogue “Starting a Franchise business” and commentaries coming after it. Give English definitions to the words and expressions in bold print. Learn the dialogue by heart and dramatize it with another student in class.
Starting a Franchise Business
Magdalena: Thanks for meeting with me today. I’ve read through the materials your company sent me, but I still have some questions about opening a franchise.
Phil: That’s what I’m here for. What questions can I answer for you?
Magdalena: Well, I’m familiar with the franchise fee, but are there recurring fees not listed in these materials?
Phil: That’s a good question. In addition to the annual franchise fee and the monthly royalties, we also charge a training fee and an advertising fee. Here’s a list of these and other fees.
Magdalena: Oh, that’s very useful, thanks. I was also wondering what kinds of quality controls the franchises are subject to.
Phil: As you know, when you start a franchise, you are buying into a proven formula for success. We offer a turnkey operation and you will be trained on how to run your business, down to the smallest details. To maintain these standards, we conduct spot checks of all of our franchises from time to time and we audit the books of each franchise once a year to make sure that our standards are being met. Only in very rare occasions do franchises lose their franchise rights because they’ve failed to meet our standards.
Magdalena: What if I have problems along the way? What kind of support does the corporate office provide?
Phil: We give our franchises as much support as possible. After all, it’s in our own best interest that you succeed. We provide troubleshooting and training for your management and employees.
Magdalena: I think those are all of the questions I have right now. I really appreciate your time. If I have other questions in the future, can I contact you?
Phil: Certainly. Here’s my card. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have. Just give me a ring.
Magdalena: Thanks, I’ll do that.
(From ESL Podcast 356.)
5. Listen to the dialogue “Using an Online Email Program” and commentaries coming after it. Give English definitions to the words and expressions in bold print. Answer the questions.
Using an Online Email Program
Luigi: What do you think of this new email program?
Selma: I don’t know yet. I just started using it. The interface is pretty intuitive, but I haven’t figured out how to sort my inbox by date.
Luigi: That’s easy. Let me show you. All you have to do is hit one of these buttons and it’ll sort automatically.
Selma: Oh, I see. Let me try to compose a message. I’ll cc: myself and I’ll bcc: you to make sure it goes through. It looks like if I don’t want to send it right away, I can save the message as a draft. If I do send it, does it save a copy?
Luigi: Yes, it should. Refresh the page and it should show up in “sent mail.”
Selma: Oh, yeah, there it is. Let’s see, I can also archive messages or mark them as junk or send them straight to trash. How do I add contacts?
Luigi: You can put contacts into your address book by dragging an email address into your “contacts” folder, like this.
Selma: Okay, one more thing: I want to set up spam filters and some other filters to block unwanted emails.
Luigi: You can do that in this window, see? Whose emails are you blocking?
Selma: Yours, if you don’t stop forwarding all of those stupid jokes every day.
Luigi: And deprive you of the fun? Never!
(From ESL Podcast 532.)
Which boxes will there normally be in an email program?
How can one sort an inbox if not by date?
What do we need a draft box for?
What information can be stored in an address book?
Which addresses do people usually try to block?
What information can be forwarded for fun?
6. Find a franchise company to your liking at http://www.franchisegenius.com/ and describe it to the following plan.
Franchise company name.
Overview.
Product and services.
Training and support.
Why this and no other company.
Why are you a perfect fit for this company.