Exercise 4
Listen to the introduction once again. Answer the following questions and be ready to give a story line. Use the word combinations in brackets.
1.What are the present business activities of Ambrose Harper and Hector Grant?
(to start the company; to be in one’s fifties; to be semi-retired; to attend the board meetings; to keep an eye on the business)
2.How did Mr. Grant Senior manage to put the business on its feet?
(to start by making steel wastepaper bins for offices; a basket made of cane or straw; likelihood of fire; to capture a big contract; to supply government offices)
3.Why is it possible to draw a parallel between Wingate Grant and Napoleon?
(happy coincidence; to turn something into success or failure; to give somebody a higher command; to land a contract, to catch fire; to destroy a number of irreplaceable documents)
4.What are the different ideas of the ways to run business among the officials in Harper & Grant Ltd.?
(slow but steady growth; to know the best way to run a business; to join the company; to be appointed Sales Manager; to be adventurous; to treble business; to achieve something with modern business techniques; to increase exports)
5.What are the aids and tools of making business efficient?
(to modernise a business; to increase profitability and competitiveness; to be a complicated affair; to be aware of aids and tools of efficiency; electronic data processing; Operational Research; Discounted Cash Flow; budgetary control; corporate planning; Project Evaluation and Review Technique)
6.What are the peculiarities of running a small business?
(to have experts on the staff; to hire expert advice from outside consultants and
bureaux; to be aware of sophisticated techniques; to solve particular problems; to get right up-to-date; to enlarge business; to be outpaced by somebody)
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Exercise 5
Match the terms on the left with an appropriate explanation on the right. Fill in the grid below.
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board meeting |
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drawers or cupboards for storing |
records (letters, |
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memos, etc.), usually filed in alphabetical order |
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the method of analysing and recording business |
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catalogue |
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information by means of computer |
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a meeting of the Board of Directors, group of |
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chairman |
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organisers in control of a business |
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executive in charge of promoting sales of the firm’s |
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Electronic Data |
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Processing (E.D.P.) |
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goods |
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the top executive of a company, concerned with policy |
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filing cabinets |
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and long-range aspects. He presides at or chairs board |
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meetings; hence his name. |
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the executive director in charge of the day-to-day |
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rival |
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running of a company |
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a group of persons working together |
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Sales Manager |
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executive in charge of production of goods |
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staff |
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a person who competes with another for a prize, a |
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Managing Director |
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reward, success, etc. |
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a list of goods for sale, often illustrated |
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Production Manager |
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Exercise 6
Be ready to give a story line of the company. Use the word combinations mentioned above. Cover the following points:
1.The founders of the company.
2.The beginning of the company.
3.The products of Harper & Grant Ltd.
4.The plans of the management team.
5.Modernising a business.
6.A small business and its problems.
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