Online Coolhunting

There are a wide variety of methods for conducting market research online. Popular examples are online surveys where upon completion, the participant will usually receive a prize or monetary compensation. Other times coolhunters will enter chatrooms and webgroups posing as an individual within the target demographic and gather information.

There are several consumer-oriented websites dedicated to coolhunting or trend spotting that are operated by trend consulting firms. These include Trendwatching.com, Wikitrend.org and Coolhunting.com

Ex.1 Look at the words in italic in each of the following sentences and choose the correct one.

1. We’re setting all the prices for next year except/accept the new range which won’t be ready for another three months.

2. Can you remember /remind him to bring the comparative costs.

3. After the confusion over the bank transaction, they have agreed to waive /wave charges.

4. These two companies have been in collision/ collusion with each other on the price fixing issue.

5. We should use an alternative/ alternate pricing structure to the one we use now.

6. We’ve had an officious/ official letter to tell us about the changes in export regulations.

7. When deciding on new prices you mustn’t lose sight/ site of market behaviour.

8. Once they have agreed on the figures we can precede/ proceed with the costing.

9. Please insure/ ensure that only the most recent figures are included in the calculations.

10. When we are setting standards we allow 10% for deficient/ defective goods.

11. There must be a mistake in the calculations somewhere. These figures are just not credible/ creditable.

12. The cash budget must take seasonal/seasonable variations into consideration.

13. The consultant is being prosecuted /persecuted for tax evasion.

14. The management have now decided what measurement/ measures to take to increase productivity.

Ex.2 . War Idioms. There are a lot of expressions used in business which are borrowed from the army and from war. Here are some examples:

• We've gained ground in the Japanese market. We now have a 20% market share, up from just 7% last year.

• I don't think we should withdraw the product because we have such a poor share of the market. Let's not give up without a fight. Let's try some other marketing strategies.

• Our sales team is doing badly against the competition. We may need to reinforce the team with some new recruits.

• In China, we've decided to join forces with a local company and set up a joint venture.

• After our last radio campaign, we were bombarded with calls to our customer lines.

• The boss is very angry. It would be a good idea to keep your head down for a few days.

• I've set my sights on being the next sales manager.

• There isn't much money and Accounts and Marketing are having a big battle over the advertising budget.

• He's always irritating the boss by being late for meetings. He's his own worst enemy.

• Our target this year is to increase sales by 10%.

• We need to capture more of the youth market.

• They were a casualty of the last recession.

• The workers are very unhappy and so are the customers.

• Taking over that company would be a real minefield.

Ex.3. Choose the proper variant.

1.Look, Nick, could you … me ten dollars for a couple of days?

1) lend 2) borrow

3) owe 4) give

2.We don’t exchange goods unless you have the …

1) bill 2) cheque

3) check 4) receipt

3. Market … gives you information about what people want, need and buy.

1) share 2) target

3) research 4) figures

4. I am going to the bank to … the money for the rent.

1) withdraw 2) remove

3) get out 4) take off

5.The % of a market that company has is called…

1) market share 2) market part

3) market interest 4) market value

.The manager told David to make an… for the job.

1) invitation 2) allocation

3) obsession 4) application

7. Unfortunately the old painting I found turned out to be …

1) priceless 2) valueless

3) worthless 4) costly

8.The act of getting control of a company by buying more than a half of its shares is called …

1) quotation 2) takeover

3) venture 4) turnover

9. Paper showing products sold and the money to pay is called…

1) invoice 2) receipt

3) account 4) payment

10.When you lose your job because the job is no longer needed you are

1) retired 2) fired

3) redundant 4) promoted

Ex. 4. Discuss the following question.

What are the advantages and disadvantages for a private individual of borrowing money from the following

1. a bank?

2. a friend or colleague?

3. a member of your family?

4. a loan shark?

5. a credit card company?

6. another source?

Unit 3.

Text. Translate, fill in the gaps.

buy grow increase launch persuade sell

The takeover process is often described in terms of one animal hunting another: a company or individual seeking to take over another company may be referred to as a predator, and the target company as a prey. Predators are also referred to as raiders or corporate raiders. A company that wants to (7)…………. or diversify can (8)………… a raid – in other words, simply (9)……….. a large quantity of another company’s shares on the stock exchange. A “dawn raid” consists of buying shares through several brokers early in the morning, before the market has time to notice the rising price, and before speculators join in. This will immediately (10)………… the share price, and may (11) …………. a significant number of other shareholders to (12)………… for the raider to take control of the company.

board friendly hostile poison pill white knight

A company wishing to resist, ward off or fend off being taken over has a number of options. It may devise plans that give existing shareholders special rights, or it may make itself less attractive to bidders by selling off a valuable part of the company. Actions like these are poison pills. Or it may persuade a friendly partner, a white knight, to take a stake in the company, thus preventing a complete takeover by a hostile bidder. Bidders may agree to withdraw their bid if paid enough money for the shares they hold in the target company. This is greenmail. If a raid is not, or would not be, successful, a predator can make a takeover bid. A (13)……….. takeover has the consent of the directors of the company whose shares are being acquired; a (14)………. takeover bid is one undertaken against the wishes of the (15)………… of directors who think that the bidder is undervaluing the shares. Defenses against a hostile takeover include the (16)………… a defensive action taken to repel a raider, such as changing the share voting structure or the board of directors, or spending all the company’s cash reserves. If measures such as these do not work, a company can at least attempt to find a (17)………… - another buyer whom they prefer.

Ex.1. Discuss the expressions below.

Hit the ground. If someone hits the ground (running), they are ready to start work immediately on a new activity.

He intends to hit the ground (running) when he starts his new job."

Keep your nose to the grindstone. A person who keeps their nose to the grindstone is someone who concentrates on working hard at his job. I'm sure that if you just keep your nose to the grindstone, you'll get the results you want.

An eager beaver. The term eager beaver refers to a person who is hardworking and enthusiastic, sometimes considered overzealous.

The new accountant works all the time - first to arrive and last to leave -a real eager beaver!

Have all your eggs in one basket. If you have all your eggs in one basket, you depend on one plan or one source of income.

If you invest your savings in one bank, you'll have all your eggs in one basket.

Use elbow grease. If you use elbow grease, you need energy and strength to do physical work such as cleaning or polishing.

It took a considerable amount of elbow grease to renovate the old house.

In the doldrums. To say that a person, a business or the economy in general is in the doldrums means that the situation is gloomy and that nothing new is happening.

Despite the recent measures, the economy remains in the doldrums.

Have an ace up your sleeve. If you have an ace up your sleeve, it means that you have something in reserve with which you can gain an advantage.

Hold all the aces. A person who holds all the aces is in a very strong position because they have more advantages than anyone else.

Given the high unemployment figures in some countries, employers hold all the aces.

Back to the salt mines Saying that you have to go back to the salt mines is a humorous way of talking about returning to work, usually with some reluctance.

We get two days off at Christmas and then it's back to the salt mines!

Ex.2. Match the two halves.

1.Benchmark a. a partner who invests in a business but

doesn’t take an active part in managing it

2. Background b. to give special permission not to pay taxes

3.Conman c. to accept the risk of any loss under insurance

contract

4.Downmarket d. expensive, of premium quality

5.Fake e. finance assets promised by a borrower to a lender

6.Hoarding f. to officially make someone pay taxes

7.Integrity g. all the things that a person has done in the past

8.Inventory h. compete

9.Loophole i. usage of knowledge of the situation that is not

available to other people in order to buy shares

10.Slush fund j. someone who buys shares in order to sell them

quickly and make profit

11.Sleeping partner k. good performance in a particular activity

that can be used as a standard

12.Track record l. complete honesty

13.insider trading m. a small mistake in a law that makes it

possible to do something illegal

14.collateral n. a copy of an original product

15.stag o. an amount of money collected for illegal

purposes

16. exempt p. education, qualification and past jobs

17.underwriter q. someone who tries to get money from people

by tricking

18. emulate r. a supply of goods kept for sale

19.high-end s. the people who buy cheap goods and services

20. levy t. a large sign used for advertising

Ex.3. Find the correct definition.

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Overdraft , security, expire, beneficiary, defaulter, indemnify, valid,

reimburse, sue, stipulate, cover

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a debit balance on a bank customer’s current account

to pay back money spent by a person on one’s behalf

a person who fails to pay a debt

a document of value given as cover for a loan

to come to the end

state as a condition

to compensate a person or free him from liability

to ensure against risks

having force

to take legal action for non-payment

the person who receives payment by a draft

Ex.4. Identify the conditional in each example (1-5) and choose an option (a-e) to explain why a conditional is being used.

1. Expressing complaint or criticism about a past action or event.

2.Describing a hypothetical situation in the past.

3.Emphasising that something is unlikely to happen.

4.Desires or regret.

5. Warning.

a.Were we to need more time to complete the study, would that be a problem?

b.If we hadn't employed an outside consultant, we could never have got the project off the ground.

c. Had they given us enough time and resources, we could have done the work in-house.

d.You're going to burn yourself out if you keep working so hard.

e.If we had more time, we could fine-tune this proposal.

Unit 4.

Text. Translate, fill in the gaps.