V3. Complete the chart below with the information from the box.

Peugeot Benetton container ship operator American Express French Japanese Italian drug and chemical maker drinks supplier

Company	Main activity	Nationality
Cisco Systems	Internet equipment supplier	American
	Car manufacturer
Bacardi Martini		Spanish
	Travel and financial services provider	American
Bayer		German
	Clothing manufacturer
Sony	Electronic goods maker
AP M0ller-Maersk		Danish

Make sentences about the companies. For example

Cisco Systems is an American IT company which supplies Internet equipment

V4. Now talk in the same way about your own company or one you know well.

L1. Work in small groups. Agree on the three most important factors from those listed below that can make a company successful.

• focusing on how to increase market share

• having a strong company culture

• having user-friendly packaging

• having good designers who also understand production

• responding to the needs of the workforce

• starting with a simple business idea that is easy to understand

L2. 3.1 Peter Jelkeby, IKEA's UK Deputy Country Manager, talks about four factors that make IKEA a successful company. Listen and number the four factors in Exercise A in the order in which he mentions them.

L3. 3.2 Listen to the second part of the interview and complete these notes.

IKEA manages to stay ahead of the competition by:

• ..................^J the market aud the customer .................,²

• understanding how the............³ are acting

• being not only about products, but also about..................⁴ to

people's needs

W3.3 Listen to the final part and decide which of the following was the interviewer's question.

1 What new projects are you currently involved in?

2 How can you keep up your performance at such a difficult time for the economy?

3 What are the things a successful international business must do?

4 Where are you planning to expand in the next five years?

R1. The world's most respected companies

In a survey for the Financial Times, 1,000 respondents (all of them Chief Executive Officers) across 25 countries identified the companies they respect most and gave the reasons for their choices. The criteria used for ranking include, among others, innovation, shareholder value, customer service and community commitment (i.e. supporting the community by creating jobs, protecting the environment, giving money to charity, etc.).

Work in pairs. Ask each other questions to complete the tables.

Student A: Turn to page 3. Student B: Turn to page 4.

R2. Work in pairs. Student A: Read article 1. Student B: Read article 2.

As you read, make a note of the key information about your company.

Toyota	Microsoft
Produce what customer really want	Gives a lot of money to charity

Article 1

Customer service

by Rod Newing

The main factor for the success of Toyota, the number-one com­pany for customer service, is not only its customer focus, but also its products, Toyota pro­vides the products that cus­tomers most want to buy, and designs models that meet peo­ple's changing priorities. In particular, it has responded to the industry trend by providing smaller, more environmentally friendly cars, such as the Prius, a hybrid car with both petrol and electric engines.

However, Toyota's after-sales service too is very much appre­ciated. 'They do everything to make clients satisfied,' says one respondent. Toyota's reward for its world-beating customer service is not just to be the world's most prof­itable carmaker. It is on course to become the world's biggest producer. Three very different comput­er companies fill the second, third and fourth slots Dell, IBM and Microsoft. IBM and Dell are nominated for being customer-focused, while Microsoft scored more highly on products.

FINANCIAL TIMES

Article 2

Commitment to communities

by Alison Maitland

Microsoft scores most highly in the eyes of chief executives for demonstrating commitment to, and investment in, communities. Among the reasons they give are the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the company's 'respect for local community needs' and the large sums it spends on spon­sorship. 'Bill Gates' contributions to charity have dramatically changed the image of Microsoft,' says one CEO. Toyota, in second place, has 'a commitment to train local suppliers and employees,' says another respondent. Another says the autos company con­tributes to the protection of the environment. Third is Coca-Cola, which provides a lot of employment' and 'adapts to the culture of every country'. BP and McDonald's take fourth and fifth place, and GE comes sixth.

The next generation of respected companies, says one CEO, will be those that develop environmental technology and medical treatments for global 35 use and that contribute to world peace and safety.

FINANCIAL TIMES

After reading, ask your partner what he or she has learnt about Toyota and Microsoft. Add the new information to your table in Exercise B.

GRAMMAR Present simple and present continuous Complete the rules with the following phrases. future arrangements ongoing situations and actions factual informationroutine activities and habits temporary situations We use the present simple to: • give factual information ....1 Our company produces parts for the car industry. • talk about....................................2 I always check my e-mail first thing in the morning. - Some verbs are almost always used in the present simple rather than the present, continuous, for example like, want, know, need. We use the present continuous to: • describe....................................3 We're constantly improving the design of our products, • describe....................................4 She's staying in Frankfurt till the end of the month. • talk about....................................5 We're opening a new subsidiary next week.

G1. Complete these sentences with either the present simple or the present continuous form of the verbs in brackets,

1 We normally......hold......(hold) our sales conference in Spain, but this

year we..................(hold) it in Poland.

2 Although we...........,......(use) our own sates rep at the moment, we

generally..................(use) agents in japan.

3 It normally..................(take) us two years to develop a new product.

4 We don't often................., (raise) our prices more than 5%, but this

time we..................(raise) them 10%.

5 Usually our Sales Director..................(deal) with important customers.

6 We usually..................(recruit) from within the company, but this time

we..................(advertise) externally.

7 We..................(rent) offices until our new headquarters are ready.

8 The company..................(want) to achieve record sales this year.

G2. Complete this job advertisement with either the present simple or the present continuous forms of the verbs from the box.

look have offer employ be- offer prepare consider need grow

SALES MANAGER

We.... are?......1 one of the largest mobile phone retailers In Europe. We............. independent and impartial advice on mobile phones. We.............3 more than 800 stores in 10 countries, and we.............4 fast. We.............5 over 3,000 workers. Currently we.............6the next stage in our development, and we.............7 for major growth outside Europe. We.............8 for people who are reliable, confident and enthusiastic. We........... experienced people who want to work for an expanding company. We.............1C a competitive salary and private health insurance. We are willing to reward staff with attractive performance-based bonuses. — Ring 020 7946 0008 for an information pack.

Presenting your company

S1. Which of these suggestions do you agreewith?

To make an effective presentation, you should:

1 find out as much as possible about your audience.

2 introduce yourself (name, position, company).

3 start with a joke.

4 outline the structure of your talk.

5 vary the tone of your voice.

6 refer to your notes as often as possible.

7 use clear visual aids.

8 summarise your main points.

L 3.4 Listen to a presentation about Tara Fashions. Complete the chart.

Tara Fashions

Where is the head office? - Cordoba,

What does it sell? -

Who are its customers? -

Annual turnover? -

Annual net profits?-

Number of stores: in Spain? -

in other European cities?-

Strengths?-

Future plans?-

L3.4 Listen again. Which of the suggestions in Exercise A does the speaker follow?

S 2 Think about your company, or any other company you know. Study the Useful language below, and use the headings in Exercise B to help you prepare a presentation about it. Then work in pairs. Make a presentation about the company. Ask questions after your partner's presentation.

Outlining the presentation

First, H! give you some basic information. Secondly, I'll talk about our stores in other countries. Next, I'll talk about career opportunities. Last of all, I want to look at our future plans.