Topics for discussion:

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Steps to follow:

1.Student A. Present your view point on the topic. You can either agree or disagree with the topic.

2.Student B. Interrupt (politely) and ask a question. Or agree and add a new argument. Or correct something which you think is wrong.

3.Student C. Interrupt (politely) and put an alternative viewpoint.

4.Student D. Interrupt (politely) and ask a question. Or agree and add a new argument. Or correct something which you think is wrong.

Role play A meeting

Work in groups of four. Study the background and instructions below. Each student should take one of the roles. Study your role and decide what you will say at the meeting. Hold a meeting to discuss the problem. Finance director is the chairperson.

Background

You work for a large company which specializes in manufacturing and supplying high technology medical equipment to hospitals and patients in a number of cities in your region.

Last year, the sales department’s budget for travel (for example, for sales personnel to visit hospitals, health authorities) was $2m. The finance department has asked whether it would be possible to save money on this, and an initial meeting has been called to discuss the problem.

In this meeting you will have to exchange ideas and opinions, but you needn’t reach a firm decision.

A.Finance Director

You think:

-Significant savings could be made by using email and video conferencing to talk with customers, especially for routine visits by sales staff to existing customers.

-You would like sales staff to use economy class and low-cost airlines where possible. This could reduce travelling costs by up to 50%.

-When visiting different cities, you would prefer sales staff to go for one day only instead of staying in a hotel overnight.

-

B.Sales Director

You think:

-Face-to-face meetings are essential, both to meet potential new customers and to show existing customers new products and innovations.

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-It is difficult to get high-quality sales staff who know the very specialized products which you sell, and it is important to treat them well, for example, by allowing them to fly business class.

-Your staff try, as far as possible, to make several visits to different customers when they are in a different city, and this may involve a stay of several days.

C.Marketing Director

You think:

-New technology (video conferencing, etc.) could replace some visits by sales staff – there are many routine visits which do not result in increased sales.

-It should be possible to reach agreements with certain airlines and hotels to arrange discounts for sales staff who use them.

-Sales staff should state the objectives of each visit before they make them, so that managers can decide whether the visit is worth the cost.

D.Senior Sales Manager

You think:

Your clients (doctors, hospital managers, etc) are very busy people, and unless you actually visit them, they don’t have time to look at your products.

You spend a lot of time travelling – at least 150 days a year – and it’s important to do it in comfort. You work in a very competitive sector where you know sales people from other companies visit your clients regularly.

The products you sell are highly technical and very expensive. Sales staff have to make high quality presentations and answer detailed technical questions, so face-to-face meetings are essential.

Unit 9 Decision making and SWOT analysis

Read the text about a SWOT analysis and decide if the sentences below are true or false.

Before entering the marketplace it is essential to carry out a SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis is an assessment of an organization’s internal and external environment. In other words, SWOT analysis identifies the strengths and weaknesses of a product, service or company, and the opportunities and threats which the company faces.

Internal environment means all controllable elements inside an organization that influence how well the organization operates. Under internal strengths and weaknesses we should understand the firm’s human and intellectual capital. What skills do the employees have? What kind of training have they had? Are they loyal to the firm? Do they feel a sense of ownership? Has the firm been able to attract top researchers and good decision makers?

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Intrernal strengths may also lie in the firm’s technologies. What is the firm able to do well that other firms would find difficult to duplicate? What patents does the firm hold?

A firm’s physical facilities such as buildings, land, furniture, equipment, can be an important strength or weakness as well as financial stability, relationships with suppliers, the firm’s corporate reputation.

The external environment consists of those uncontrollable elements outside of the organization that may affect it either positively or negatively. The external environment includes everything from customers to suppliers to competitors to government regulation to the economy.

A SWOT analysis is often used as a tool in strategic planning. It can also facilitate the understanding of a company’s position on the market and decision-making for all sorts of situations. Many academics and consultants believe a SWOT analysis works best when it is a part of an overall strategy. This strategy may be as simple as: objective-SWOT-evaluation-action.

If an organization undertakes strategic planning it will at some point assess its own strengths and weaknesses. Effectively combining its strengths and weaknesses with the opportunities and threats in the organization’s external environment, the firm can determine its current position on the market.

The SWOT analysis may look simple but it takes time, significant resources, team efforts to be both effective and meaningful. It cannot be done effectively by only one person. A SWOT analysis generates information that is helpful in matching an organization’s goals, programs and capacities to the social environment in which it operates.

It is important to note that the strengths and weaknesses are skills or assets which the company has (or doesn’t have) compared to its competitors. Opportunities and threats are external factors which are not created by the organization; they emerge as a result of the future gaps in the market.

SWOT analysis helps a company to make use of strengths and capitalize on them, deal with weaknesses and minimize them, anticipate threats that may affect the organization negatively in the future, and spot business opportunities and exploit them fully.

1.A SWOT analysis can help companies decide what they should do.

2.The SWOT analysis is about the situation the organization is in at the moment.

3.A SWOT analysis should be conducted by an individual person.

4.Strengths and weaknesses come from outside the organization.

5.Opportunities and threats come from inside the organization.

Language focus

1.Look through the article and find words and word partnerships corresponding to the words and word partnerships given below.

специалисты по исследованию рынка высшей категории;

2. Match the definitions to the words.

13)to use something to one’s advantage

14)to do or begin something, especially something difficult

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3.Complete the sentences using words from below. Translate the sentences into Russian.

1.If a company decides to ____ a strategic planning, it needs to carry out a SWOT analysis first.

2.It’s very difficult for our competitors to ___ our goods because of their high quality and original design.

3.We have to be very careful while ___ the data we collect from customers. Their judgement about our products can influence the choice of goods to be produced.

4.It is necessary to follow the market trends in order to ___ future major changes.

5.Doing a SWOT analysis ___ the understanding of a firm’s position on the market.

6.It’s very important for a company to ___ opportunities in time and be able to ____ on them.

7.This factory has a productive ___ of 200 cars a week.

8.Our hotel offers an up-to-date training ___ to its business clients.

9.He is now the proud owner of a new car and experiencing a great sense of

___ he has never felt before.

10.There are lots of different marketing ___ to attract new customers to a company’s goods.

4.The following comments are from a SWOT analysis of Caffe’ Italia, a

UK coffee retail outlet. Arrange them as factors in the SWOT diagram below. Pay attention to the words in bold. Translate into Russian.

1.Caffe’ Italia is a UK coffee brand built upon a reputation for fine product and services.

2.Some of the company’s personnel still lack essential skills.

3.Caffe’ Italia is opening new locations and branches to exploit market development and expand its range.

4.Another type of beverage or leisure activity may replace coffee in the future.

5.The company is over-dependent on the retailing of coffee, and should consider diversifying.

6.This global retailer is a respected employer that values its workforce.

7.Caffe’ Italia is exposed to (not protected from) rises in the cost of coffee.

8.Co-branding with other manufacturers of food and drink and brand franchising to manufacturers of other goods and services have potential.

9.The organization has strong ethical values and an ethical mission statement.

10.Caffe’ Italia should consider extending its market presence into Asia.

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11.The success of Caffe’ Italia has led to the market entry of many copycat brands that now pose a potential threat.

5.Translate the following sentences into English.

1.Наша компания является всемирным розничным торговцем кофе.

2.Репутация компании строится на отличном продукте и высококачественном обслуживании.

3.Компания уважает и ценит своих работников.

4.Компания постоянно создаёт новые филиалы с целью освоения рынка и расширяет ассортимент продуктов.

5.К сожалению, сотрудникам компании часто не хватает профессиональных навыков.

6.Прибыль компания слишком зависит от розничной продажи кофе. Руководству компанией следует рассмотреть возможность стратегии диверсификации, т.е. расширения ассортимента.

7.Сотрудничество двух марок для создания новой марки достаточно перспективно. Кроме того, право предоставляемое другим компаниям торговать марочным товаром Caffe’ Italia, облегчит вступление Caffe’ Italia на Азиатский рынок.

8.Расширить своё присутствие на Азиатском рынке одна из стратегических задач компании.

9.Потенциальной угрозой для Caffe’ Italia является появление на рынке марок-подражателей.

10.Рост стоимости кофе также представляет собой угрозу для компании.

6.Put the stages of the SWOT analysis in the correct order. Then read the text to check.

1.Decide which points will help the organization reach its strategic goals.

2.Collect the information.

3.Make the report available.

4.Record the information.

5.Write a report.

6.Decide how the information is to be collected and who is going to collect it.

7.Identify appropriate sources of information.