BUSINESS ENGLISH 2

In an open market any number of sellers or competitors can offer goods for sale. An efficient producer, who keeps costs low, can set a low price for goods that other companies find it difficult to compete with. All companies try to gain the biggest market share

possible, and compete aggressively with their main competitors to do this. Companies with the biggest market share for a product, the market leaders, may compete with their rivals on quality, image, brand loyalty or price. Major companies compete across borders in the global market place to try to enter new markets in countries where they do not have a presence.

2. Discuss the following. Who are the main competitors in the market in the following sectors?

Sportswear, fashion, cars, telecommunications, computers, soft drinks.

3.Speaking. The global market is very competitive. What can companies do to persuade customers to buy their product instead of another similar one? You can use the following prompts.

To increase sales, to enter new markets, to maintain customer loyalty, to sponsor sport events, to update the product (service), to attract new customers, to send your employees on training courses.

4.Reading. Before you read the article make predictions. Match the sentence openings 1-4, with the endings a-d. Then scan the text and see if you are correct.

Mind some new words.

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Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi

Coca-Cola has operated outside the U.S. since 1897. It has become the world’s best-known trademark. More than any other product – even Levi’s or McDonald’s Big Mac – it is an American emblem. According to Harvard Business School study, it is the second best-known word in the world – after OK.

Today Coca-Cola outsells Pepsi around 3 to 1 outside the U.S. The domestic race is closer, with a 41%-32% ratio in Coca-Cola’s favor. While Pepsi’s parent company makes most of its profit from its snack-food and restaurant

operations, Coca-Cola gains 80% of its operating profit from its overseas beverage business. Last year’s take in the international softdrinks race was $2.5 billion for Coke, vs. $112 million for Pepsi.

Coca-Cola can thank government for its success abroad. During World War II, the U.S. military built more than 60 Coke bottling plants outside the U.S. to supply the American troops.

Pepsi got its international marketing break in 1959 when then chairman Donald Kendall handed Soviet President Nikita Krushchev a bottle as cameras clicked: that gave the company an entrée into Eastern

Europe. In 1972 Leonid Brezhnev gave Pepsi exclusive franchise in the Soviet Union.

Since the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Coca-Cola has moved swiftly to overcome Pepsi’s edge in Eastern Europe. Coke claims the lead in Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Czech Republic. Pepsi is fighting especially hard in Russia and in the former Soviet Union Republics where it claims to retain the lead. Coke, however, now outsells Pepsi by more than 13 to 1 in Eastern Germany.

Pepsi reports its market share in Mexico has jumped from 28% to 33% during the past two years. With its $750 million investment Pepsi has doubled its plant capacity.

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The Coke-Pepsi battle is still continuing. Both companies are going to make their products more available. They are also going to lower prices. That means more consumers buying more soft drinks. The average American consumes 720L of soft drinks a year – more soft drinks in fact than water. Non-Americans have a long way to go before they reach that level – and that would translate into booming business for the two giants.

4.1 Read the article again and answer the questions.

1.The article contains a lot of dates and figures. What do these dates refer to?

1897, 1959, 1972, 1989

2.What do these figures refer to?

3:1, 41%-32%, 60, 28%-33%, 80%, $2.5 billion, $112 million, 720, $750 million, 13:1.

3.Is Pepsi or Coca-Cola more dominant in your home market? Can you think of reasons why?

4.What tactics do they use to increase sales?

5.What other very competitive markets are there in Russia? (e.g. fast food, chocolates and sweets, footwear) Who are the main competitors?

5 (11). Listening. Listen to Keith Jackson talking about competition in a global market. Note the definitions of three strategies for becoming a market leader.

Mind the new words.

1.Cost focus____________________________________________.

2.Differentiation ________________________________________.

3.Innovation __________________________________________.

5.1 (12). Listening. Keith talks about the strategies of different companies selling soft drinks. Listen and complete the table.

5.2 (13). Listening. Keith talks about problems for companies who compete in the global market place. Make notes about

McDonald’s under the following headings.

1.Quality ______________________________________________.

2.Local culture and customer expectations____________________.

3.Marketing ___________________________________________.

4.The product __________________________________________.

6.Speaking. Get ready with the monologue about two competitors in any sphere of business you like.

7.Reading. Read the text and explain the words in bold.

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Credit

Credit is the provision of resources (such as granting a loan) by one party to another party where that second party does not reimburse the first party immediately, thereby generating a debt. Those resources (or material(s) of equal value) are repaid at a later date. It is a form of deferred payment. The first party is called a creditor, also known as a lender, while the second party is called a debtor, also known as a borrower.

Credit need not necessarily be based on formal monetary systems. The credit concept can be applied in barter economies based on the direct exchange of goods and services,

The word credit is used in commercial trade in the term "trade credit" to refer to the approval for delayed payments for purchased goods. Credit is sometimes not granted to a person who has financial instability or difficulty. Companies frequently offer credit to their customers as part of the terms of a purchase agreement. Organizations that offer credit to their customers frequently employ a credit manager.

Common forms of consumer credit include credit cards, store cards, motor (auto) finance, personal loans (installment loans), retail loans (retail installment loans) and mortgages.

The cost of credit is the additional amount, over and above the amount borrowed, that the borrower has to pay. It includes interest, arrangement fees and any other charges. Some costs are mandatory, required by the lender as an integral part of the credit agreement. Other costs, such as those for credit insurance, may be optional. The borrower chooses whether or not they are included as part of the agreement.

Credit history or credit report is, in many countries, a record of an individual's or company's past borrowing and repaying, including information about late payments and bankruptcy. The term "credit reputation" can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score.

Vocabulary

to reimburse – возмещать, компенсировать, оплачивать, рамбурсировать

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consumer credit – потребительский кредит

store card – (амер.) рекламная карточка с описанием товара personal loan – ссуда частному лицу

retail loan – ссуда розничной торговле mandatory – обязательный

optional - необязательный

credit insurance – кредитное страхование, страхование кредитных операций

8. Give Russian equivalents: to grant a loan

to generate a debt trade credit purchase agreement motor (auto) finance arrangement fee

9. Choose words from the list to fill in the gaps, then use them to make sentences:

arrangement, optional, monetary, purchase, delayed

1._____ agreement

2._____ fees

3._____ payments

4._____ systems

5._____ costs

10. Fill in the gaps with the words and expressions from the text:

1. Provided resources are _____ at a later date.

2. Barter economies are based on _____ of goods and services. 3. Credit is frequently offered as a part of the terms of ______ . 4. A credit manager is employed by _____.

5. The term _____ is synonymous to credit history or to credit score.

11. Answer the questions:

1.What is credit?

2.How are the parties called?

3.What can credit be based on?

4.What does the term “trade credit ” refer to?

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5.In what cases credit is not granted?

6.What are common forms of consumer credit?

7.What is the cost of credit? What does it include?

8.What is credit history?

12. Use words/phrases from the list to help you retell the text: provision of resources, a creditor, a lender, financial instability, a purchase agreement, consumer credit, cost of credit, credit history

Unit 6

Applying for the job

1. Translate the following words using the dictionary if necessary. Then fill in the gaps in the text below.

to apply for, to short-list, skills, application form, to fill out, cover letter (US) (GB covering letter), to follow, to proofread, candidates, blank.

When you (1)__________ the job, you are usually asked to leave the

(2)________________ as well as your resume (GB curriculum vitae or CV) and a (3)_______________. Companies like to have standardized forms containing information about (4)___________. This makes comparison simpler and also makes it easier for a company to

(5)__________ candidates for the interview. It is very important that you write down all your abilities and (6)________ in the spaces provided.

Remember, this is employer’s first impression of you so it is very important that you (7)___________ the form accurately. Read the form very carefully and answer each question honestly. Show the employers that you are able to (8) __________ instructions. Do not leave any sections (9)_________. It is necessary to (10)__________ your application before you turn it in.

2. Speaking. What information is it necessary to include in a resume?

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3.Read the following statements about preparing a resume. Do you agree or disagree with them? Discuss your opinions in the group.

When preparing a resume, you should….

1.always give your age and marital status.

2.provide a current address and phone number.

3.always use your friends as references.

4.list all your employers, experience.

5.always include copies of personal references.

6.use a reliable, non-gimmicky e-mail address.

4. Read the steps for preparing a resume and number them in the best order. The first one has been done for you.

Include a brief outline of your hobbies and interests.

Provide the names of three references who can be contacted by a prospective employer.

1Include your name, and current address, e-mail address, and telephone(s) number.

Outline your educational history starting with your most recent studies.

Include other training and courses that you have taken.

List your work experience starting with your most recent employment.

5 (14). Listening. Listen to a Human Resources (HR) manager talking about what to include in a resume. What should and shouldn’t be included into it.

Mind some new words.

5.1 Listen again, fill in the gaps and practice.

Your resume is a very important document. Remember that

_________ receive a lot of ____________, so you have to make all your documents as ___________ and as ____________ as possible.

The layout of your resume should be in a simple ______, 11 or 12 points in Times New Roman or Arial script. Your contact details should be ________ and e-mail address serious and not too much of an

____________.

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