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e)UPS has one of the most diverse workforce of any company in the nation. One third of its US workforce of 290,000 is made up of African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans and other minorities.

f)UPS developed the reusable express envelope, made of 100% recycled fibre. We also carry out research into alternative fuels, and currently UPS has the largest fleet of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles in the United States.

7.Read the extracts which describe the mission of the four companies and decide which companies they refer to.

Greenpeace BMW Apple Red Cross

1.To help people transform the way they work, learn, and communicate by providing exceptional personal computing products and customer services.

2.To promote brand values and customer service above all else.

3.To protect life and health and to ensure respect for the human being. To promote mutual understanding, friendship, and cooperation, and lasting peace amongst all people.

5. To further public understanding in world ecology and the natural environment. This includes looking at the effects of human activity on the natural environment, conducting research and making the results available to the public, and relieving sickness or suffering of people and animals as a result of changes in their natural environment.

8. Choose an organization you know well, such as your academy, or any other business and using the examples above as a guide, produce a mission / vision statement.

While defining their missions you can use the following expressions:

-invest in ….

-believe in….

-have a reputation for ….

-be committed to ….

-be well known for….

-be proud of …..

eg. The company is well-known for contributing to protecting the environment. The company has invested a lot in supporting different charity programmes. The company is committed to taking care of disabled people.

Note: When a verb follows a dependent preposition, it takes the –ing form.

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Skills: Company’s performance

Describing trends in graphs and charts

peak;

no change to remain stable; to level off; to stay at the same level;

key phrases to rise from 1 million pounds to 3 million pounds; to fall from 5 million pounds to 4 million pounds; to increase by 50 %; to drop by 10 %

Useful phrases (adjectives and adverbs)

(with nouns) a rapid / sharp / dramatic / substantial (increase) a slow / gradual / steady (decline)

a small / slight (drop)

(with verbs) to (increase) rapidly / sharply / dramatically / substantially / slowly etc.

to double / triple / quadruple

Notes on prepositions

We use ‘to fall by’ (with a verb) and ‘a fall of’ (with a noun)

For example: Exports fell by 6%.

Exports fell steadily, in November they stood at $400 million, a fall of 6 % a day.

We use ‘to rise to' (with a verb) and ‘a rise to’ (with a noun)

For example: It continued to rise in the early afternoon to 3412.

Time prepositions:

at the end of the month

at the beginning of the week between … and

until 2001 over 5 years in January

Complete the following sentences with prepositions and adverbs.

1.___ January 2006, sales stood at $900 million.

2.___ the next 12 months they rose ___ $1000 million.

3.But ___ 2008 they dropped ___ to $700 million.

4.They remained at this level ___ the end of 2010.

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5.___ 2011 ___ 2013 they increased ___ and reached a ___ of $1200 million.

6.In 2014 they continued to rise, but ___ the end ___ the year sales dropped

___ and stood at the point of $1150 million.

Practice:

Use the following expressions to describe the performance of the Enron share price 1991 – 2001.

Case Study: The world watch industry

Background

In 1948, the Swiss watch industry had 80% of world wide sales. By 1985 this had dropped to just 13%, with new entrants to the market, the Japanese, having taken over as market leader.

The Swiss had failed to recognize the shift in consumer demand towards cheaper, electronic rather than mechanical watches. By adopting new manufacturing technologies and positioning themselves in a competitive cost position, the Japanese had established themselves in the increasingly important American and Asian markets.

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The fight-back by the Swiss watch industry focused on product innovation and design, high volume sales and aggressive marketing, mostly in the USA, where Swatch’s diversification program aimed at making the company a total fashion enterprise. The Swatch, a blend of Swiss and watch, launched as a response to Japanese competition, is now a classic case study in strategic marketing.

Describe the situation with the Swiss watch industry answering the following questions.

1.What factors made the Swiss watch industry to reconsider its position on the world market?

2.What were the reasons for the Swiss’s failure on the world market?

3.What strategies were carried out by the Japanese to take the world market over?

4.What strategies were used by the Swiss watch industry in their fight-back with the Japanese?

5.What was their aim?

6.What is the Swatch?

7.Why is the Swatch a classic case study in strategic marketing now?

Management practice: A business meeting

1.Read the following statements and decide whether you agree or disagree with them. Say why. Then compare your opinions.

2.Every meeting should have an agenda (повестка собрания).

3.The agenda should be circulated in advance (заранее).

4.The chairperson is responsible for the success of a meeting.

5.In every meeting, there should be someone taking the minutes (вести протокол).

6.At the end of meetings, the participants should agree on a list of action points.

7.All meetings should be for a fixed length of time.

8.If people are going to attend meetings, they should always prepare beforehand.

9.Everyone should have a chance to speak at meetings.

Tips for effective meeting

During the meeting, the chairperson should:

Tell a speaker to keep to the topic.

Clarify the meaning.

Encourage someone to say more.

Summarize.

Ask someone to contribute.

Stop one speaker so that another person can speak.