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Файл:Business writing for economists and managers = Деловая корреспонденция для экономистов и менеджеров. Учебно-методическое пособие
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3. I hope you have enjoyed reading about our city and we look forward to hear-
ing from you soon.
4. You can rely on our city’s total commitment to your requirements, with high-
quality accommodation and amenities guaranteed.
Ех. 4.13. Read the notes from a sales meeting with a prospect, and write
a proposal to supply a new website:
Prospect
Ms Bakshi
Company
‘Poster Passion’ — they sell posters of pop stars, rock bands, sports, etc. by mail order and via
the Internet. Customers are mostly teenagers.
Needs
Current website was designed by a friend three years ago — very static and boring. No movement, no sound. Basically just a catalogue and price list.
Sales are dropping — competitors have more interactive sites. Wants something more exciting
with music, guided tour, etc. Perhaps games to attract visitor?
Give details of how we work, references, prices, etc.
Very concerned about after-sales — explain how we support them if anything goes wrong.
Ех. 4.14. Your company, which produces electrical components, wants to break
into a new market in another country, and is looking for a distributor in that country.
The managing director has asked you to write a proposal, saying which distributor
your recommend. Using the adverts for two potential distributors below and all your
handwritten notes, write your proposal:
Burford Electrical Distributions
- established 1959;
- most major brands (stock our competitors’
products — won’t be so interested in selling
ours);
- large experienced sales force (highly paid —
will make our products expensive);
- offices all over the country;
- daily deliveries (you pay extra for these).
Choice Electrics
- established 2003;
- electrical and electronic components (reputa-
tion for high-quality, state-of-the-art components — like ours!);
- young, keen sales force;
- delivery by express courier (Internet sales +
same day delivery — free!)
Review
Ех. 4.15. Find true statements about writing proposals. Correct the false ones:
1. The style of a proposal is formal.
2. The current situation is more important than discussion of future activity
in proposals.
3. All proposals are divided into sections with section headings.
4. It is recommended to decide what sections the proposal should have,
and write a plan.
5. All proposals have the introduction and conclusion.
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Reports
Starting out
Ех. 4.16. Read the report and answer the questions:
Report on staff survey
Introduction
The aim of this report is to summarise points which have arisen from our recent staff survey
about changes in working practices.
Reasons for changes
Staff turnover presents a major cost in our company. It involves costly recruitment processes
and staff training. We hope that by introducing these changes we will increase staff retention,
motivation, and efficiency.
Opinions of staff
A large majority of our staff (three-quarters) said that they would be interested in flexible working. Several people stated that they found travelling to work at peak times stressful and timeconsuming.
A significant number of our employees (29%) thought that career breaks would be attractive. One
member of staff told me that he had always wanted to travel round the world, and that he would
like to return to his job afterwards.
A small percentage expressed interest in optional part-time working. These were generally people
with young children. Several employees asked me if we could provide on-site nursery care for
pre-school children.
Recommendations
I believe we should go ahead with these changes because staff reactions have been generally
positive and because employees can choose whether to take advantage of the changes or not.
1. Why is the report divided into sections with headings?
2. What action does the writer say should be taken?
3. Does the writer give reasons for his / her opinions?
Ех. 4.17. Read information about short reports:
Short reports are used to summarise information that has to be communicated
to people inside or outside an organisation. They are designed to provide an overview
which can be read and assimilated quickly. Many different subjects can be presented
in a short report. Although the length of a short report will vary depending on the
amount of information and commentary that it contains, most short reports will be
between one and six pages long. They should be clearly structured so that the reader
can find the relevant information quickly. Short reports may also use graphic material
and are often used as the basis of an oral presentation.
Short reports are documents that use a formal writing style. Formal language
such as the passive voice is generally used in reports. The language of the report
should be as clear as possible. It is not necessary to use long and complicated sentences or obscure vocabulary. Using simple language in short sentences will make
it easier for the reader to assimilate your message.
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A report should be well organised, with information in a logical order. There
is no set layout for the report. It will depend on the type of the report and the company style.
Ех. 4.18. Match types of short reports to their descriptions:
1. Visit report
2. Progress report
3. Departmental report
4. Research report
5. Proposal
a) gives details of a trip or visit;
b) makes suggestions for action, with facts and arguments;
c) reports on research, gives conclusions and recommendations;
d) tells other people about the progress of a project;
e) what you have done recently in your department.
Practice
Ех. 4.19. Arrange the following components of the short report in the logical order:
1. Bullet points to make points clear and easy to read.
2. Conclusion based on the facts and alternatives; it includes recommendations
for future action.
3. The introduction, which states the purpose of the report, or its terms of
reference.
4. The main part of the report organised into sections with headings; it gives
and discusses the facts and findings.
5. The title of the report.
Ех. 4.20. Read the extracts from a report and match the items below:
1. Title.
2. Introduction.
3. Body.
4. Conclusion.
a We interviewed 450 mobile phone users in schools and colleges, and at work. We asked all
the interviewees the same questions. 231 of the interviewees were male and 219 were female. Over
95% of 15–21 year olds use mobile phones. 75% of people talk to friends daily. Our report also
shows that text messaging is more popular than phone calls and 90% of users send texts daily. We
found that over 60% of users download their own ring tones. We also found that males would
prefer, more than females, to end a relationship by text rather than in person.
b To conclude, we found that mobile phones are an essential part of young people’s lives. They use
mobile phones in preference to emails, letters, and even face-to-face contact. Based on our research
we predict that the mobile phone will become even more important to young people’s communications in the future.
c The use of mobile phones by 15 to 21 year olds
d The purpose of this research was to find out how people aged 15–21 use their mobile phones.
It aimed to find out how people use them, how often they use them, and what they use them for.
It also aimed to see if young people …
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Ех. 4.21. Find comments on the format suitable for most formal reports:
1. Title.
2. Executive summary.
3. Introduction.
4. Findings.
5. Conclusion.
6. Recommendation(s).
a) It is what you think about the facts and how you interpret them.
b) It shows the points that will be looked at. The reader can see the purpose
of the report and who it is written for.
c) These are practical suggestions to deal with the situation and ideas for
making sure future activities are carried out more successfully.
d) These are the facts discovered. Headings and subheadings help to make layout and organisation clear. The writer uses short paragraphs in reports, ideally with
one idea per paragraph.
e) This is a summary of the main points and conclusion of the report. It gives
the reader an overview of the total situation.
f) This is the name of an official document produced after thorough investiga-
tion or consideration.
Ех. 4.22. Decide which headings from ex. 4.21 are suitable for each structural
part of the report. Also, arrange the product report in a logical order:
The two companies have products which will fit together.
Business Solutions plc
Product report
We should have a meeting with representatives from Lava as soon as possible to discuss a joint
venture between our companies, with the aim of putting our software onto their mobile phones.
This report will look at:
- the mobile handset company and their products;
- the advantages of Lava products;
- recommendations for action.
We have been contacted by Lava International Limited, an Indian mobile handset company, and
asked about the possibility of a co-operation agreement. We would adapt our business software
for use in their products. Tests show that their products are very good ones and popular with our
target market.
1 Lava International Limited, which started in 2009, has expanded its operations to multiple
countries across the world. The company has been at the forefront of building a strong ecosystem
of design and manufacturing of mobile handsets. The company has been building mobile handset
design capability including industrial design, mechanical design, hardware design, and software
design.
2 The company provides smartphones, laptops, and tablets that have a lot of attractive features for
the travelling business person. Their products offer 4G LTE, have a 3GB RAM or more, powered
by Android Marshmallow, have a brilliant display and a big screen, and are known for a long
battery life.
3 Market research shows that there is a lot of interest in our products being used on machines
apart from computers.
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Ех. 4.23. Study useful phrases for reports. Find one more example for each
heading:
1. Giving the objectives: h,
2. Describing activities you have carried out: b, …
3. Giving facts: c, …
4. Giving reasons: g, …
5. Referring to illustrations: a, …
6. Giving opinions or comments: f, …
7. Giving the conclusion: i, …
8. Making a recommendation: o, …
a) Figure 19 shows …
b) I have started a new project to …
c) Profits remained steady last year.
d) See figure 8.
e) The cost of materials increased by thirteen percent.
f) The new design is successful.
g) The project was behind schedule because of …
h) The purpose of the report is to …
i) The results of the survey show that …
j) The sales last month were excellent.
k) This report shows … / describes … / gives the results of …
l) We have completed work on …
m) We increased our prices because …
n) We need to reduce costs by four percent.
o) We recommend that …
p) We should …
Ех. 4.24. Read the example sentences and paragraphs. Name the structural part
of a report from ex. 4.22:
1. Giving the objectives: h, …
2. Describing activities you have carried out: b, …
3. Giving facts: c, …
4. Giving reasons: g, …
5. Referring to illustrations: a, …
Ех. 4.25. There are different types of graphs / charts. Look at these and choose
their names from the list:
a) bar chart;
b) line graph;
c) pie chart.
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Ех. 4.26. Look at this table and choose alternatives for the descriptions
of the graphs in ex. 4.25:
Verbs
Nouns
Adjectives
Adverbs
reach a peak
go up / increase
stabilise
go down / decrease
increase / growth
decrease / fall
steady
gradual
slight
considerable
steadily
gradually
slightly
considerably
1. Graph 2 shows the sales of jeans model 70A over a period of 3 years, from
2016 to 2019. The trend was positive because from 24,000 articles, sales a reached
a peak / stabilised to about 45,000. Let’s look into details: from 2016 to 2017 sales
had a steady b growth / decrease from 24,000 to 40,000. Then they went c up / down
d slightly / considerably in 2018, but the following year there was a e slight / steady
growth / fall.
2. Graph 3 shows the sales of XY Company in 2019. From January to December
sales f decreased / increased from 82,000 articles to 65,000. From January to April
they decreased g gradually / slightly. In June there was a dramatic h increase / fall
to a value of 12,000. Then they i went up / down again.
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Ех. 4.27. Look at the graphs and match them with the extracts from reports:
1. Looking at our sales profile in the UK, we can see that last year our online
sales rose steadily.
2. So far this year, sales have fallen sharply. We are hoping for an upturn
in sales around the Christmas period, but our figures for January — October are very
disappointing.
3. Despite fluctuations in the market, during the first quarter of this year, sales
remained constant.
4. Sales declined slightly during the first half of the year. However, they have
been improving since July, when we introduced our new marketing strategy across
Europe.
5. Online sales in Spain are increasing slowly. Their numbers are predicted
to grow from 8 million buyers in 2020 to 23 million in 2024.
6. In the coming five years, the number of Europeans shopping online will grow
from 100 million to 180 million.
Ех. 4.28. Which words and expressions in ex. 4.27 mean that sales:
1) are going up?
2) are going down?
3) are unchanged?
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Ех. 4.29. Which words and expressions in ex. 4.27 show:
1) the past trends?
2) the present trends?
3) the future trends?
Ех. 4.30. Which words and expressions in ex. 4.27 define timescales?
Ех. 4.31. Look at the graph and complete the description:
This a … shows b … from Sunday 9th May to c …
From Sunday to Monday, sales had
a d … increase from 25 to 28 pieces. Then from Monday to Thursday there was a e … fall (down to 19
pieces only) but from Thursday to Saturday sales f …
steadily up to 27.
Ех. 4.32. Complete the report with the suitable word in italics:
Report on Seville Sales Report
Introduction
The purpose of this report is to 1 evaluate / estimate the success of the Sales Management
Workshop and to make recommendations for how future events of this nature are organised.
The Seville Event
One hundred and twenty-three key clients from a range of European industries were invited to the
Hotel Único Madrid on 17th September at our company’s 2 expense / cost for a range of demonstra-
tions of our new software packages. Also, talks were given by a number of expert guest speakers.
During the event, the 3 delegates / representatives were given the opportunity to network and share
experiences with our software, and at the same time, we took the opportunity to obtain feedback
on our products.
Sales
The event was highly successful. The initial investment of £550,000 4 finalised / resulted in imme-
diate orders of £1.6m of software, and we have achieved a further £2.2m in sales and in the 5 latest /
past four weeks.
Feedback
Comments from clients have 6 revealed / demonstrated a need for payroll and accounting software which allows companies to calculate their tax liabilities more easily over a number of EU
countries. Several clients expressed a reluctance to invest in our CRM software, which was
thought to be more 7 adapted / suited to the US market.
Conclusions and recommendations
Guests stated that they would be 8 interested / keen for this event to be repeated in two years’ time. It was
also suggested that more informal presentations could be given by 9 single / individual clients speaking
from their own knowledge and experience. Moreover, several clients requested that the next such event be
held in a more central European venue, thereby 10 reducing / falling most clients’ journey times.
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Ех. 4.33. One of your colleagues wrote this report for the Board of Directors.
It reflects the information in the three charts above. He has asked you to check that
the English is correct. In most of the lines (but not in the section headings) there is
one extra word. Write the extra word in the column on the right. Some lines, however,
are correct; put a tick (√) where a line is correct:
Report on the performance of Forest Conference Centre
Introduction
The purpose of this report is to show off the performance of the Forest
Conference Centre in the last two years and its projected performance
of next year.
Use of conference centre
The number of days that the conference centre is used has increased by a
10% this year from 180 to 200, and so this trend is expected to continue
next year, with a projected occupancy rate of 210 days.
However, the number of delegates per conference has been falling down:
last year there was on an average 430 delegates per conference, whereas
the average was reached 400 this year. It is predicted that delegates per
conference will decrease to just 390 next year.
Financial performance
Turnover rose from just under £4m last year near to £4.5m this year.
However, this figure will probably not drop to approximately £4m next
year. Profits also went up slightly this year. They were increased by about
£200,000 from £1.5 m to £1.7 m, although this figure is forecast to fall to
about £1.25m next year.
Conclusion
While our now level of activity is rising, our financial performance is suffering due to increased in costs and falling revenue.
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Ех. 4.34. Read the analyst’s report on Boggle below. Look at the four headings
and write each heading in the correct place in the report:
a) Sector outlook;
b) Recommendations;
c) Share price performance;
d) CEO’s statement.
Company name: Briggle
Sector: Internet technology
Current share price: 380
Target price: 470
52-week high: 560
52-week low: 340
Recommendation: buy / sell / hold
1
a Over the last six months, Briggle’s share price has increased by 19%. This is due to a sharp rise
in advertising revenue and a big increase in new customers.
b The performance compares with a fall for the S&P 500 index of 17%.
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c The outlook looks positive for the whole Internet sector. d Most analysts remain bullish, with
Internet advertising taking market share from traditional press and TV commercials. e The online
sector is projected to grow by 58% over the next three years.
3
At a recent press conference, f the company announced that Briggle was facing difficult economic
conditions in the global market. However, g CEO Justin Briggle commented that the launch of new
projects, like the upgrade of Briggle phones, h will certainly lead to a rise in sales. At the same
time, Briggle has promised to cut costs and reduce investment in equipment and property. i This will
probably result in an increase in profits.
4
We believe that Briggle’s shares will outperform the S&P 500 index over the next twelve months.
We have moved Briggle from hold to buy and j we recommend buying up to a $470 target share
price. k We would advise clients to buy now on weakness.
Ех. 4.35. Look at the expressions in italics used in the report in ex. 4.34. Match
the expressions a–k in ex. 4.34 with the functions 1–6 below:
1) companies giving news and information about themselves;
2) predicting the future;
3) describing recent share price performance;
4) making comparisons;
5) describing consequences;
6) making recommendations.
Ех. 4.36. The boss has asked you to update the information on your company’s
website. Check the recent press releases from the software sector below:
Software sector news
Microswift shock!
Microswift reports big fall in profits and rise in investment costs. Share price down from $25 to $22
this morning. Fall now is 38% over 12 months compared with 20% fall for the NASDAQ.
Outlook poor for Microswift
Analysts turn negative on the computer sector as sales forecasts show only 4% growth over the next
3 years.
Chairman’s warning
Chairman warns of difficult market conditions as mobile applications begin to take market share
from traditional personal computer market. Promises to invest in new products to boost profits.
Analysts advise ‘sell’
Analysts move recommendation on Microswift from buy to sell setting a target price of $24 per
share. Analyst Ted Breeze at Goldman Sachs Group explained that the high cost of investing in new
products will result in lower profits over the next few years.
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