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OXFORD BUSINESS ENGLISH SKILLS
JEREMY COMFORT "
with YORK ASSOCIATES ~
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Oxford Umversity PressGreat cra-eeooe Street, Oxford 0)(2 6DP
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ISBN 0 19 45 7065 7C Oxford Univers ity Press
First published 1997EIghth Impression 2004
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Language focus Time expressions and tenses
Past time
sometimeagolastyearin tl,('pastback ill 1978
Recent time
overtile lastfew yearsrecentlysince 1992
Present time
currentlyat tile momi"'1tnowat present
The past simple
Th e past simple is used to indicate fini shed t ime:Sizejoined the company in 1994.
Regular verbs form the past simple byadding -ed to the verb stem.The -ed end ing can be pronounced in th ree different ways:It / announced /Id/ started Id! ordered
Irregu lar vcrbs form the past simp le in a number ofways. It sometimeshelps to gro up them by so und:buy - bOllght oucb - caught te,/Ch - taught
Th e present perfect
The present perfect is used when the t ime is unfinished or not sta ted .lt is formed with ' law/has+ the past pa rt iciple:He }lIlS resigned.Theyhaveretired.
Th e au xiliary have/hasw usually co n tracted in spoken English:'He's just started:'They'veulready left .'
The present simpleThe present simple is used to report on current status:It currently stands at 180.Heisretired 'IOW.
Don't forget to pronou nce the -s in the thi rd person:It stands.Helives.
2 Com plete th ese sent ences. Use th e time exp ression to hel p yo u choose thecorrect tense of th e ver b: past simple, presen t perfect , or p resen t sim ple.Check yo ur answe rs in the key on page 58.
a Some t ime ago, we (sell) the company.
b Recently, we (invest) a lot in new equipment.
c The current head co un t (stand) at 2S0.
d Since last year, we (increase) o ur PR budget.
e In 1985, he ( retire) fro m th e com pany.
W HAT IS TH E PO IN T? \}
Language knowledge
J t
GEOff MAXWElL
•Hello awl welcome to StandardElectronics. I'm GeojJMaxweil, theFactory Afanl lger if! chargeoft},epiantyou'llbe seeing foliay. '
Outline/Main partsJ've di, ·idt,dmy presentation into[ourptlrfs/seetio1lS.
They are . . .TIresubjectcan be looked at WIder tilefol/owing
hmdings: . .
We ca" bmll.; this drea dOM' it/to the fol/owitlgfie/ds:Firstly/first of111/ ...Secotltlly/t1Jell/",'xt _..Thinlly/alld then wecome to ...Finally/lastly/lastofall ."
QuestionsFd be g/tld to allSwer any questions at tile end ofmy talk.If )'01/ '1IH'£' tllly questions. pft'tlse feel fn'e to interrupt.Pleaseinterrupt tilt' if then's sometlli"g w1lich needsclarifying. Otherwise. there'Ilbe ti mefilr discussion attheend.
t,likpresentationpaper (academic )specch ( lIsllully tcl pllblicall/ t iel/Cl.')
subject ofmyfocustopk
Title/SuhjectI'll like to ttllk (to YOIl ) today about .. .I'mgoil/g to present the recent ...
explain ollrposition 011 ...briefyou 0 11 ..•
inform)'/lllll/mllt . ..
describe ...
Greet ing, name, posi tionGood morning. My IIlI mc's (•.. ). I'm the Flew Finance
Manager.Ladiesand gentlemen, It'sa ll honour to have rile
opportunity to mlclresssuch d distinguished audience.Good morning. Let me start bysayiflgjllsr a few words
about ",YOl\l/l background. l started Ollt in ...\fe/come toStandardElectronics. I knowl've mersomeof yOIl, bill justfor thebm cfit of thosc 1haven't, my1IlTme's ( .. . ).
Language focus Introducing yourself and your tal k
LengthI shall only take (.. .J minutes afyour time.Tplan tobebriefThis sho/lld 01l1y I,l st (... J minutes.
Purpose/ObjectiveWeare here today to decide .,.
Ilgret' .. .learn about ...
Reference to the aud ienceI call SCt' "WIly of }'OII arc . ..I know YOII"'e all travelled a IOllg "'ay.rOil at/look as "lOlIgll you'l't·/reani this before.
The purposeof this talk is to updatey OIl 011
PlltYOII ill the pictureabout . ..
gi\'e yOIl thebaccgroundto ...
This talk isdesigned fo Iact as 11 sprillgl"'llrdfordiscussion.starf fht' /lIlll rolling.
14 US IT T W O
a You are going to hear twelve extracts from the int roduction s to twopresentations-one internal, one external. As you listen , decide whichpresentation each extract comes from and complete the table. The first on ehas been done for you. Check your answers in the key on page 59.
Presentation
Internal: to colleagues ,11 abudget meetin g
Externa l: to delegates at aprofessiona l conference
Extract
"
2 Complete thi s presentation in trod uction with word s from the list. Checkyou r ans wers in the key on page 59.
talk abo ut look at po ints ofviewquestions brief finallyhear act as go along
Good afternoon and than k you for ma king the effor t to be here with us
today. My na me's Ruche! Rawlins and I'm responsible for public affairs.
What I'd like to do today is a our recent co rporate
campaign. This b talk will hopefully ,, _
a springboard for d iscussion. I'm going to d the
corporate campa ign from three e : firstly, the custome rs;
secondly, the finan cial insti tutio ns; and f , the
sha reholders. If you have any g . jusr in terr upt me as I
h , Your point of view may well be d ifferent, and we'd like
to I from you .
MA KI!'G A ST A RT IS
Language knowledge
r
GFOFF MAXW ELL
'Ami that bringsme to thefinal partofthis short introduction,
The items on the left are extracts fro m Geoff"s presen tation. Mat ch eacho ne with a sentence o n the right which mean s the same. The first o ne hasbeen done for you. Check your answers in the key on page 59.
a OK, let's start with th e•• In passing. let me tell r ou abo ut ab Anyway.I'U leave the history press repor t.
there. 2 So,we come to the last part of my
c So, let's turn now to a brief introduction.overview ofour main markets. 3 To start with the h istory then .
cl By the way, you may have seenthe story in the news.
e Anyway, let me get back to wha t Iwas saying about new markets.
f And that brings me to the finalpart of th is short introd uction.
g So,before Igo on, are there anyquestions?
4 That covers the history.
5 To come back to the point I wasmaking.
6 Let's stop here and see if there areany questions.
7 So, we can go on to a surveyofou r principal markets.
20 U S I T TtlRf f
m 2 You are going to hear sixextracts from another presentation about cuttingcosts. The speaker uses a variety of words and phr ases to link the points heis making. As )'ou listen, identify the linked ideas. The first one has beendone for you. Check your answers in the keyon page S9.
a cutt ingCost s~ I raise salesin major outletsb healthy margins 2 no change in salesc not the only ones 3 losing moneyd point -of-sale competition .. competitor has dosed plante launch new packet size 5 over-hasty reactionsf initiatives have failed 6 aggressived iscounting
• LoS1(U1fl!l~MWIN"3.,0r.M.
Language focus Linking ideas
Sequenci ng/Orderingfirstly secondly.. . thirdly ...then next finallyllastly.iet's start with .let's move/go on to...now wecometo .
that brings us to .let's leave that...that covers...let's get back to...
Giving reasons/ca usesthereforesoasa resultthat's why
Cont rastingbuthowever
Comparing
similarlyin thesameway
Contradicti nginfactactually
Summarizing
tosum upin briefin short
Concludingin conclusiontoconclude
High lightinginparticularespecially
Digressi ng
by thewayin passing
Giving exam plesforcxamplefor instancesuch as
Generalizingusuallygenerallyas a rule
3 Link the ideas in these sentences by add ing an app ropriate word or phrase.Com pare your answers with the key on page 60.
a That was a good meeting. (By theway... )Did I tell you about the ma tch last night?
b Our competitors are becoming stronger.One of them, Falcon, has a joint venture with a Japan ese firm .
c I've divided th is into two parts.Th e issue of profit-sharing.The question ofshare option schemes.
d This rear we have lost ma rket share.We expec t to rem ain No. 1 in the market.
e There are some vital factors to conside r.The risk of a take-over bid .
f Falcon has reduced its costs by relocating.\Ve must consider cu tti ng the cost of our prem ises.
g We've had a difficu lt year.We've still made a healthy profit.
h We expected to lose money in th e Far East.Th is was our most profitable market.
The yen dropped against th e dollar.\Ve made considerable profits on the exchange ra te.
There have been some failures on occasions.\Ve have been very successful.
LINKING THE PARTS 21
Language knowledge
DN. lIN U EN [Version I]'Nex t slide. In the American part ofthe surveyit was[ound that... '
UR L1l'1o' OES (Version 2)'Ho'eam sec in this /lext slidt' theresultsfrom thvAmerican part of thesun'er.'
l ook at the differences between writt en and spoken lan guage. Th en read theext racts from Dr Lind en's presenta tions, a-clbelow, and deci de which arewritten language and which are ....po ken language. Find examples in eachextract to suppo rt yo ur an swers. Check yo ur an swers in the key on pageel .
Written language
long sentencescomplex vocabularycomplex argument sim person al style
Spoken language
sho rter sentencessimpler vocabularysimpler argumentspersonal style
a You can see here, 35% of the group uf managers classified as participativereached senior mana gement posit ion s. On the o ther hand. 74% of the moreindivid ualist ic ma nagers achieved senior man agem ent status.
b An individualistic style appears to be closely associated with rapid careerpath progression. whereas a group or participat ive style, despit e its evidentattractiveness 10 all members ofstaff. is correlated with a relati vely slowcareer progression .
c Although lip service is paid 10 th e concept o f participative management .their real perceptions of lead ership qualit ies com pletely contradict thisview. 11 can be further seen that such surveys .. .
d So, we find there is a massive contradiction . Good managers arc supposed tobe participative-. to ma ke sure th ey consult und discuss. Good leaders aresupposed to be strong individuals - able to make dec ision s on their own.
m 2 You arc go ing to hear a point from ano ther presentation. delivered in threediffe rent styles. As )'ou listen . complete the tabl e. Check yo ur an swers in thekeyon page et .
26 U N IT FO UIt
read or spo ken?
distan t or human?
spon taneous or prepared!
personal or impersonal?
a b c
Language focus Personal and impersonal styles
Active and passive forms
The passive is formed with the verb to be + the past participle. It is less personal than the active.
Tense
present simple
present continuous
present perfect
past simple
future
Active
I think
we arc discussing
the boss has said
John called a meeting
I will refer to this later
Pass ive
it is thought
it is being discussed"----
it has been said
a meeting was called
this will be referred to later
Personal pronounsActive verbs use more personal pronouns:I think. ..Weareworkingon.. .
Be careful not to overuse 1. We is a good alternativefor talking about companies:Wewill launch theproductill June.
Reference to th e audience
As I'm su re you know.. .We have al/ experienced. . .You may remember. . .AsI'm surewe'd allagree...
EverydaylanguageUsing slang and everyday expressions can make anim pact on the audience an d add d rama:H.'here's the caring side ofemploymentgone? I'll tellyouwhere. It'shiding behind a damned set oftargetsandobjectives- that's where it is.r
You need to know your audience very well to use thiskind of language.
3 Make these sentences more personal by us ing the active not the passive.Check your an swers in the keyon page 61.
a The issue of restructuring was discussed.w, _
b Money is being directed into the wrong accounts.
The Finance Manager _
c The agreement will be signed later this month.
Both companies _
cl It has been found to be rather unreliable.
e It is reported that shares are due to rise.The press _
THE RIGH T KIND OF LANGUAGE 27
H U S IT FI V E
3 Make these sentences transitive. The first one has been done for you.Check your answers in the key on page 62.
a Our salaries have remained constant for fiverea rs.
The company salaries et the same level.
b The temperature in the building has fallen.
The caretaker the temp erature in the building.
c Interest rates have risen over the last two weeks.
Banks their interest rates.
d Product ion has stayed the same for some time.
The company product ion at the same level.
e The average age has decreased in the company.
Recruiting policy the average age.
4 Weoften use noun phrases instead ofverbs to describe trends. Forexample:
Prices haverisen considerably.There has been a considerable rise in prices.
Change the following sentences to include a noun phrase. Compare youranswers with the key on page 63.
a The market has expanded slightly.b Prices are going to fall drama tically.c Ou r export salescollapsed suddenly.d Sales are increasing steadily.e Salaries havedropped grad ually.f Profits will certainly risesignificantly.
'Ourexport salescollapsed sl/ddenly.'
Presentation practice1 Design and present some effect ive visuals on the information below.
Nike Inco rpora ted
Foundation: 1972
Em ployee s: 45 ( 1972); 6,500 ( 199 2)
Sales: $3.2 million ( 1972) ; $3.4 billion ( 1992)
Share price: $5.50 (1980) ; $fi5.00 a share ( 1992 )
199 1: profit increase ~ 15% , sales increase - 13°/(1
Total world-wide revenuefoo twea r: $2.62 b illion (77(¥o)
apparel: $628 millio n ( 18%)other: $ 162 million (5%)
2 Design and present visual s to communicate the following messages.
a An employer 's desire to introduce TQM (Total Q uality Management ).b A decisio n to ban smo king throughout the build ing.c An an no uncement ofa competition for the most successful sales person.
\' ISl]A L A I DS ) ;
Language knowledge
JOAN~A BROOKES
'So, before wemoveon todiscussthese matters, let me just summarizethe main issues. Firstly . .. secondly. ..t!lirdly... So, I suggest we take thingsin thatorder.. . Beforewestart, arethere allY questions you'd liketo ask?'
EEl You are going to hear the fina l part offour different p resentations. As youlisten , decide whic h presen tation each extract comes from, and comple teth e table. Check your an swers in the key on page 65.
Language focus Endings
Presen tation
The Sales Presentation(by a salesman to a group of prospective customers)
The Welcome Presen tation(to a group ofvisitors to a plant )
The New Idea Presen tation(to a group of m anagers)
Th e Mot ivation Presentation(by a Perso nnel Director to a gro up of new employees )
Extract
Signalling the endThat brings me to theendof my presentation.Thatcompletes my presentation.Before I stop/finisll. letmejustsay. ..Tuat covers all1 wantedtosay today.
SummarizingLetmejust run overthekey pointsagain.I'll briefly summarize themain issues.To swn up.. .Briefly·· .
Concluding
Asyou can see. thereare some verygoodreasofls.. .111 conclusion . ..I'd like to leave yOll with thefollowing thought/idea.
42 UNIT SEVE:-<
Recom mending50, 1wouldsuggest that we...I'dliketopropose. .. (m ore formal)In my opinion, theorlly wayforward is.. .
Closing
Thankyouforyourattention.Thank youfor listening.I hope you willhavegained an insight into. ..
Inviting questionsI'dbegladto try and answer any questions.So. let's throw it open to questions.AllY questions?
Language focus Asking and answering questions
Polite questions and answers
Direct quest ionsDo you have any plans fora flewproduction plant?Where do you plan to locate it?
Could/Can you tell me...I'm interested to know. .
I'd like to know.
AI'>:SWERS
Go ahead/Please do/Certainty.That'sagood question.That's interesting.
A negative stateme nt question is loo king for theanswer'no':H.,e haven't won the contract, have we?No, it doesn't look
like it.I wasn't a success? Not much ofone.We aren't going to make it on time, arewe?I'm afraid not.
lf thc answer contradicts the statement, the wordactually isoften used:The plant'sgoing to close, isn't it?Well, actually, I've j ust
heard the company isemploying more staff.
Clarifying a quest ionIf I understand you correctly, you aresayitlg/asking...I didn't quite catch tha t.Could you go over that again?I'm not sure what you 'regetting at.
if/whether. . .what/where/elc. . .about. . .
ifI askyoutelling me
Q UESTIONS
Do you mindWould
Statement questions and answersQU ESTION S
All the space was booked for an October launch .. ?(question in tonat ion)It worries me that we don't have allY replacements in the
pipeline. {)ncsn'r it w()fry you lOO?
AN SWER S
A positive statement questio n is looking for theansweryes':It'sgoingto be late, isn't it?I'm afraidso.YlHI'vegot problems with the assembly?Yes,a few.The suppliershave done their job. /s that right? Yes, asfar
as I know.
Avoid ing giving an answerPerhapswe could deal with that later.Can we talk about that on another occasion?I'm afraid that 's not my field.I don't have thefigures with me.I'm sureMr (... ) could answer that question.That '5 interesting, but I'd prefer not to answer that today.
Checking the quest ioner is sat isfiedDoes that answer your question?Is that clear?May wego on?
EiiI 2 You are going to hear six questions. Listen and choose the best response toeach question. Check your answers in the key on page 65.
a1 No, ofcourse not.2 Please do.3 No, that's a prohlem.
b1 Well, actually, it's confident ial.2 Yes, I do.3 Certainly.
c1 You could say so.2 That's right.3 I'd prefer not to.
cl1 I need a break.2 I don't need a break.3 That's a good idea.
eI No, they aren't.2 You're wrong.3 Actua lly, some are at headquar ters .
fI Any moment.2 That' s a d ifficult question.3 That's interesting.
QUESTIO N TIME 4 7
Communication skills
Answer Key
Unit 1 What is the point?Overall
Awareness o f youraudience (Who are they?Wh at are their needs orinterests? What do they expect fro m you?)Clea r objectives (10 inform, persuade, welcome, ctc.)
System
Planning - have a dear st ruc ture an d a sense of tim ingOrganization - have clear connect ions between the differen t parts or ideasInformation - ma ke sure what you say is interesting and relevant to your
audienceImpact - make sure you have a strong int roduct ion and conclusio n
DeliveryClear, simple, and fluentUse of natural spoken languageUse of pauses for emphasis
Body languageUse ofstrong, clear gestures for em phasisGood eye contact with the audiencePositive, confident, and relaxed ma nnerNo distracting gest ures
Visual aidsClear and simple rnesssagesEfficient, professional use ofequipment
3 OverallShe doesn't seem aware of the needs or interests ofher audie nce .Her objectives are not dear.
SystemShe is obviously not prepared.Her presentation is unstructured an d confusing.The information is not organized logically, or linked clearly.She does not give much useful in for ma tion.She has not thought about timing.There is no strong introduction or conclusion.
DeliveryShe hesitates a lot.She reads from a paper (badly).She refers to herself negatively.She uses specialist language.
ANSWER KEY [peges e-c] 57
Hod}' language
Her gestures are not linked to he r speech.She does not m aintain eye contact with her audience .She does not ap pear con fident.She has so me di stract ing gestu res.
v isual aidsShe has a screen bu t does not use it.
Language knowledge a back in 1982 (fin ished)b since that date {uu finished}c some time ago (finished )d over th e last few years (u nfin ished)e no w (presen t)f over the same per iod (u nfin ished )g last year (finished)h ten years ago (fin ished )
in 1985 (fin ished )since then (u nfinished )
2 a soldb have investedc standsd haveincreasede ret ired
3 a back in th e cigluicsb at th e momentc since Jan uaryd last m onthe over the last few yea rs
5 l'd've liked to speak for lon ger o n this subject, but I'm afraid I haven't goteno ugh t ime. However, l'dtlike to say a few words abo ut future prospect s.This year, we've had some major problems; next year, we'll face even moresevere ones. This is certain, as th e market's beco m ing even moreco mpet it ive.
• , would like can be used here for emphasis.
58 A NSWf.R K E Y [pages Scro ]
Unit 2 Making a startCommunication skills 4 Geoffonly includ es a reference to the aud ience.
5 Geoffi nd udes all the items in th e checklist.
Language knowledge Internal presen tation : a, d . f. g. i, IExternal presentat io n: b, c, c, h. j , k
2 a talk abo utb bri efc act ascl lookate points ofview
f fina llyg questionsh go along
hear
3 a 2 e I
b 3 f 3c 2 g 3d 3 h 3
4 a I'm delighted f sect ionsb I take care g don't hesitatec My purpose is h a chanced go th rough in more depthe divide
Unit 3 Linking the partsCommunication ski lls 4 It is not at all clear what Geoff is talking abo ut and th ere seems to be no
o rganiza t ion beh ind his talk.
5 Point 1: Histor yPoint 2: Main m arkets (and Mauton news sto ry)Point 3: People
Language knowledge a 3 e 5b 4 f 2c 7 g 6d 1
2 a 3 d 1b 6 e 2c 4 f 5
ASSWER KEY [pages 13-20 ) 59
Communication skills
60 A N SW f.II. KfY [pages 21-5 1
3 (other answers are possible)a That was a good meeting. By the way, did I tell yo u about the match
last n ight?
b Our compet itors are becomi ng stro nger. For example/In particular, oneof them, Falcon, has a join t ven ture with a Japanese firm.
c I've divid ed this into two parts: firstly, the issue of profit -sharing;secondly. the question ofshare option schemes.
cl This year we have lost market share. However, we expect to remain No . 1in the market.
e There arc some vital factors to co ns ider. for example/in particular. thefisk ofa take-over bid.
f Falcon has reduced its cos ts byrelocat ing. Sim ilarly. we must considercutt ing the cost ofour premises.
g We've had a difficult year, but we've still ma de a healthy pro fit.
h We expected to lose money in th e Far East. In fact/Actually, this was ourmost profitable market.
The yen dropped against th e dollar. As a result, we made cons id erableprofits on the exchange rate.
J There have been so me failures on occasions. However, as a rule, we ha vebeen very successfu l.
Unit 4 The right kind of languageAdvantagesofreading It presentation• There is little hesitatio n• It m ay be easie r la follow the topic because there are fewer dist ractions• Th e speaker feels more co nfident
Disadvantages ofrending a presentation• No eye con tact with the audience• Written Eng lish is more complex and often difficult to understand• Th e ton e is mo re impersonal• T he delivery is less spo ntaneous• Th e p hras ing is less na tural, so it 's di fficult to listen to• The reader often speaks too qu ickly
3 VasimJ 1
Eye contact - no eye contact with th e audienceLanguage - complex (writte n), lo ng sen tences, few pauses, impersonalMa nner -. closed, unin terested
Vers ;"" 2Eye co ntact - good eye co ntact with aud ien ceLanguage - simpler lan guage. shorte r sen tences, more pauses, morepersonalManner - open , interested
Language knowledge Spoken language: a, clWritten lan guage: b, c
2 a read; d istant; p repared; impersonalb spoken; distant; prepared; impersonalc spoken; human; spontaneous; personal
3 a we d iscussed the issue of restructuring.b The Fina nce Ma nager is directing money into th e wrong accoun ts.c Both compa nies will sign the agreement later th is mon th .cl I have found it rat her unreliable.e The press reports th at shares are d ue 10 rise.
4 a A reduct ion in working hours is favoured.h He was forced to resign.c The money has been transferred via the bank.cl An aut um n sales campaign is being planned.e The new Research Depart ment will be reorgan ized bySusa n.
5 1 cl2 f3 g45 h
6 c7 a89 e
10 b
Presentation practice (other versions are possi ble )I'd like to talk today about the costs and benefits o f introduc ing jobsharing. What I aim to do is to provide the necessary inform ation for us tomake a dec ision within the next two months. I have d ivided my talk int othe following parts: firstly, we'll look at th e financial im plications; th en ,we'll turn to working practices; and finally, we'll look at socia l effects.
So. let's start with the financial im plications. We have ca rr ied out a detailedstudy of personnel and associated costs. And we have seen that, from apayroll point ofview. 10% of staff choos ing to job share will m ean noactual increase in direct salary cos ts. However, we need to be aware thatthere will be additional costs in administer ing salaries.
ANSWER KEY [pages 26-9 ] 6 1
Communication skills
4 a There has been a slight expans ion in th e market.b There is go ing to be a dramat ic fat! in prices.c There was a sudden co llapse in expor t sales.cl There is a steady increase in sales.e There has been a gradual drop in salaries.f There will certainly be a significan t r ise in p rofits.
Unit 6 Body languageEyecontactMain tain good eye co ntac t with d ifferent people in the audience.Don't just look at o ne perso n.
Facial expressionUse facial exp ressions (e.g . smi les) to em phasize yo ur feelings.
HandsUse you r hands to emphasize wha t )'OU say.It is safer to keep hands out of pockets - in some cult u res this showsdisrespect .Hold a pen or pointer if yo u fed more co mfortablc -. hut don't pla y wit h it.
MovementDon't stand co m pletely still c- a little movem ent between table an d board , orbetween notes and au d ience , is more in teresti ng .Don 't move aro u nd too mu ch , o r th e audience may watch you instead oflistening to yo u!
PostureTry to keep yo ur po sture upright bu t relaxed .Look st raight ahead , not down at th e floo r or up at th e ceiling.
4 Version 1Gen eral appearance:Stance and posture:Ha nds - position:Hands - gestures:Eye contact:Facial exp ress ion:Movemen t:
Version 2
Ge ne ral appearance:Stance and postur e:Hands - posit ion :Hands - gestu res:Eye co ntact:Facial exp ressio n:Movement:
scruffyhun chedin pocketsno helpfu l gestu resnonedepressedstatic- several nervous gestu res
smartupr ightvisible an d act iveclear, helpfu l gestu resa lotco ncerned, enthusiast icdynam ic
ANSWE R K EY [pages ja-z] 63
5 a These cost cursare going 10 caux considerable pain.b We need to draw up a plan of actjon. 1have pu t some ideas o n the boa rd.c ~are~ of the measures we could consider. There are broad ly
three approaches.d Eirst, we could accept the gill and~ staff drastically. Secondly, we
could fight an d hope to achiew Mlmeredu ction in the level of the cuts.O r thirdly, and~ is what 1support, we coul d pu t forward an alte rna t iveproposal. Now. thi s wou ld ...
Language knowledge Emphasize: c. d. c. hMinimize: a, b, f g
2 (ot her answers are possible)a This has been an extremely/a very good year.b We have had a fairly difficult tim e/q uite a difficult t ime.c We have seen an abso lutely/a totally disas trous decline in our profits.d It was quite/fairly easy to achieve our objectives.e The ann o un cement was completely/ tot ally unexpected.f I've got some very/extremely bad news.
3 (other an swers arc possible )a We tend to sec thin gs differentl y. Maybe your experience is a little bit
limited.
b To som e extent , you' re righ t. But perhaps we might co nsider thelong-term view.
c There's just a little bit of tim e. Perhaps we might d iscuss this q uestion now.
Presentation practice
Communication skills
64 AN SWER KF.Y [pages jz-ao]
(other versions are possib le)The trouble \...-ith business today is that nobody has any time at all.Com panies have drastically redu ced their workforccs so that far fewerpeople have to do the same amo unt of wo rk. To some extent, th is mean sthat managers don't see what is happening around them . They need theirtim e to just work through their regular tasks, and they have absolutely notime to take on new initiatives.
Time for reflection is very important . Decisions taken now not onl y affecttoda y's business, they can also have a significan t influence o n business inthe long term. It seems that st rategy is too often the conce rn of jus t seniormana gem ent . when it need s to be the conce rn ofeverybody in the com pany.
Unit 7 Finishing offTti e firwl part oflilt' presentation sho uld inclu de:• a clear signal that )'OU are about to end• a brief, clear summary ofwhat yo u have said• a conclusion or recommendation (if appropriat e)• an invi tation for questions, to make comments, or star t a discussion.
4 \ 't'rsion IAsignal to end
Version 2Asignal to endA summaryA reco m me ndatio nAn invitation for qu estions
5 Signal to end:Su mmary:Recommendat ion :Invitation fo r q ues tio ns:
So, before we move on to discuss ".3 personnelTo follow the same order in discussion.Before westar t, are there any questions you'dlike to ask?
Language knowledge
Communication skills
Language knowledge
a The Mot ivation Presentat ionb The New Idea Presentationc The Welcome Presentat ioncl The Sales Present at ion
2 d. b.c.c;a
3 a n d 3b 5 c 4c I f 2
Unit 8 Question timeHatltiling questionsWelcome the questionListen ca refully tu the quest ion - don't interruptTake tim e to th ink befo re yo u answe rCheck you have understood the qu estion - reph rase o r clari fy if necessar yReply positively - be brief and clearAccept cr iticism positivelyAfter your answer, check that the qu estioner is satisfied
a any real future?b not such great salesc are n't }'ou worried?cl new products in other arease when will it be read}'?f ask Ton)'g will it be ready for launch date?h yes
2 " 2h Ic 2
cl 3e 3f I
ANSWER KF. y [pages 40-71 6S
Language knowledge
66 A N SW F.R KEY {pages 48- 531
3 •A: Excuse me, could I interrupt?B: Of course.A: I'd like to ask )'O U about next year 's promotion cam paign.B: Sure. what exactly would you like to know?A; Well, could yo u tell me at this stage ,...hethcr you have fixed a budget?8: We've got a meeting next week to decide. l'Illet you know straight
away. if that's OK.A: Sure, that'l l be line.
bA: May Iask a qu...'slion?B: Go ahead.A: w ould yo u mind tellin g us when you're going to retire?H: Not at all. I'm plan nin g to stop work just after Christmas.A: Oh good! We'd like to invite y O Ll to our Ch ristmas party, Can yo u
come?H: when is it?A: It's 011 the 24th fro m seven onwards.8: That sounds fine. I'll look fo rward to it.
cA: Are there any ques t ions!B: Yes, I wo nder ifyou have considered any other options!A: I'm not sure wha t you're getting at .B: Well, you know, other possibilities such as relocating to a chea per
area.A: I see what you mean . Yes,ofcourse we've looked at all the options
an d we think th is is the bes t one.K: But sur ely relocation would be better for the stamA: I'm afraid th at's all we have time for now. Perhaps you 'd like to talk
abo ut that later.
Unit 9 Putting it all togethera The first thin g 10 be said about these product s is that they' re I'cry
divers e. \Vdl, let 's lake o ur premium expo rt lager, Hohenbrau. Now thi sproduct has always been positioned at the-top end of the market. It has ahigh price an d it's on ly availabl e th rou gh selected retai l outlets.Altogeth er. it's IllIiteexclus ive.
0 " tile OIlier hand, our Rut tcr 's hitter has an CtItirdy d ifferen lpersonality. It's br ewed in a t radit ional way. We put a lot of ma lt in to it,which gives it a rich golden colour. As far as I know, it's always been sold
at a medium price and is available through most supe rm arkets.
So, as you can see. th ese are two verj-differem products. One anup-market Ccrrnan-r ype Pilsener, the other a w ry English bitter. Onepoint for discussion . then , is whe the r we should ma inta in suchdiffe rent products in o ur range.
Let's 11101'1:' on to marketing, and I onl y wan I to ra ise one issue.
b The third elem ent is the people / .. . and primarily here, I mea n thebrewery workers IUlIlthe managemen t. / One of the th ings that shockedme when I first jo ined \Vestwood was th is ... / organization chart. It's likesomething from the last century. / Do you rea!izethere are ten layersbetween the shopfloor workers and the Managing Director?I ln myview,this makes the company slow and unresponsive. / I hwwthere aremany good things about wcstwood, I but our image is much the same asit was in, say, the times of Queen viaoria-. a very traditional,paternalistic employer. I Well, the very least we need to do is discusswhether th is image is appropriate for the late 20th century, / let alonethe2l st.
A:-/S\v ER KEY [pagc sj ] 67
Language knowledge
Language knowledge
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Unit 1 What is the point?PETER BLAKE
As yOll all know, the brewery was bought back in 1982 an d, as I'm sureyou're all aware, thcre've been some major changes since th at date. I'd liketo focus on some of th ese changes and the effect they've had on th e way thebrewery works.
Some time ago, the new owners an nounced a new strategy fo r grow th. Thisstra tegy had some specific ta rgets - bo th tu rnover and p rofits had toincrease a lot. These objectives have led to some very majo r cha nges,especially in the areas of production and marketing.
On the prod uc t ion front, we sta rted by red ucing the workforce by 5<Y;J, butin fact , over the last few years it ha s droppe d further, so that it now stands atjust 180, nearly 20% less than ten years ago. Over the same per iod, we haveinvested heavily in new plant an d equ ipmen t. As an indicatio n, last year wespent nea rly E1 million on new vats. I'd also like to ment ion the recen tappointment of Geoff Stone, our new Prod uction Manager. He has a wealthof experie nce in the hrewing ind ustry and J think we've already seen thesort of influence he can have on the product ion side of the bu siness.
1also ment io ned ma rketing. It may su rprise you to know that ten years agowesrwood had no marketing department . There was Gordon Peters, theCommercial Director - he's reti red now - hut otherw ise th ere was no realmar ket ing orientation. In 1985, we recruited Pam ela Taylor as Ma rketingManager an d since th en she has built h er depart ment in to a ma jor force inthe co m pa ny. It's currently act ive in several areas - notably on the P R fro nt,especially in the local commun ity, and also in sales promotions with anu mber of rece nt cam paigns in loc al pubs to promote ou r beers.Right , I' ll sto p there. That should help yo u to un derstan d some of therecen t changes at the b rewery befo re we go on to talk ahout. ..
Unit 2 Making a starta My name's Cordon Macrcaughton. I'm the new Finance Manager and I
hope you won't give me too hard a time!
b Ladie s and gentlemen. It's an h onour to have the oppo rtunity ofaddress !ng suc h a dis t inguished audience.
c The subject ofmy pap er today is a critical analysis of the effects ofa lowcarbohydrate diet on ...
d I'd like to tel l you today about the im plicat ions ofour recent survey in topo tent ial cost savings.
e Myaim is to update you on recent research findings and to draw sometentative conclusions.
f This talk should serve as the springboard for a discussion of the benefitsand drawbacks of these savings.
g I plan to take on ly ten minutes of your t 'le this morning.
h During the next half-hour, you will hear about a wide range of research.
I've divided up my presentation int o three pa rts; firstly, we'll look at thelevelofsavings which we need to make; secondly, I'll run through theoptions open to us; an d, finally, I'll be presenting my recommendedcourse ofaction.
The subject can be looked at under two headings: firstly, the defin ition ofthis kind ofdiet; and second ly...
k Wc have ten minutes allotted for questions following the presentat ion.
I Feel free to interrupt me at any time.
Inte rnal presentation: a, d, f, g, i, IExternal presentation: b, c, e, h, j, k
Unit 3 Linking the partsLanguage knowledge 2 a There are some very good reasons for cutting costs. In particular, the fact
that we are actually losing money at the moment.
b Now, as a rule, we operate on healthy ma rgins of around 20-25%, butrecently we've been forced into aggressive discounting.
c Now, I'm not saying we're the only ones who are suffering. For example,our ma in competitor, Triton's, has already closed down one of its plants .
d Let's consider the recent poin t-of-sale competition. The main aim here, bythe way, was to raise sales in ou r major outlets.
e The marketing department launched a new packet size a few months ago.However, sales have hard ly taken offat all.
f Both these initiatives have failed. So, in brief, we have been over-hasty inour reactions to the harsher economic climate.
Unit 4 The right kind of languageLanguage knowledge 2 a The research indica tes a failure to recognize the importance of
psycholog ical factors on the pa rt ofmany ofour members. It is highlysignificant that most managers failed to identify this as a critical clementin both the making an d implementation ofdecisions.
b It may come as a shock to you to realize that many managers fail torecognize the psychological factor as important. In my view, it is highlysignificant that we, as a profession, have no t really understood howimportant this factor is in ho th short-term and long-term success.
c Th e prob lem is we've forgo tten tha t ou r employees are human. We treatthem like machines. We give them targets and expect them to get on withit. Where's the caring side of employment gone? I'll tell you where . It'shiding behind a damned set of targets and objectives - that's where it is!
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Language knowledge
70 'fAPES C IUPT
Unit 5 Visual aidsf RA~CESCA HO C C A
I th o ught it would be useful to look at so me figures for a moment. Let'ssta rt with turnover. As you can see on th is graph, I've plotted two lines. Thesolid one represents the group's turnover, an d the bro ken one the salesgenerated byour subsid iary in Germany. T he figures have been convertedinto dollars and are shown on this axis in thousands.
O K, let' s look at the group's turnover first ofall. Five years ago, it stood at$1.1 million. It rose steadily over the following five years and now stands atS1.45 m illion. Now, we have done some forecas ts for the next five years andwe anticipate a flauening out at around s1.5 million as pr ice compet itionbecomes more and more fierce.
Fortunately, the figures for our German subsidiary are even better. westarted this subsidiary nearly ten years ago. In the early years, growth wasgradual and we reached sales of$400,UOU five years ago . This rep resentedjust under 30% of the group's turnover. Over the last five years, theGerman market has continued to grow steadily and our turnover is nowaround 5600,000. Unlike our group forecasts, we anticipate some furthersignificant growth and have projected sales of$750,000 in another fiveyears, represent !ng 50%) of the group's to tal turnover. So, as you can see, theGerman operation is vita l to our future.
Unit 6 Body languagea I think we have to get this into perspective. It's just a minor problem. It's
nothing serious.
b I'd like to make a suggestion . Perhaps we cou ld consider moving ourproduction northwards.
c I'm afraid we can't get away from it. Our pitifully low quality levels arethreatening the future of this company.
cl I've got to say that l've never heard such a ridiculous argument. There isno way we can consider taking this sort ofaction.
c There's one more point I'd like to make. It's absolutely essential we makemoney on this product.
f We've got a litt le bit ofa problem here. Perhaps it's not central to ourbusiness, but I tend to think we should ta lk about it briefly.
g ln a way, I would say th is is quite important . On the other hand, I rea lizewe've got quite a full agenda today.
h Before we go any fur ther, let me say this has been an extraordinary year,and we've seen some truly remarkable achievements.
Language knowledge
Language knowledge
Unit 7 Finishing offa Well, thank you for listening. That brings me to the end of this
presentation. Before I leave you to get on with your work, I'd just liketosay how glad we are to have you with us, and I wish you a very successfuland happy time here at Sinton's. Thank you.
b So, before I stop, let me just run over the key benefits. Firstly, flexibility:it'll work anywhere. we've triallcd it extensively and the results arcexcellent. Secondly, price: as you've seen, it's going to be highlycompetitive. And lastly, innovation: this is really a breakthrough in thefield. Now, I'm sure you've got lots ofquestions, so fire aW<ly.
c So, ladies and gentlemen, that completes my brief introduction. Seville'sis a fascinating company, and hopefully you'll get to know us better as yougo around the plant. So let me hand you over to Caroline, who 's going tobe showing you around.
d That brings me to the end ofmy presentation. I realize that many of youalready knew something about our company. Hopefully, I've filled insome of the gaps. As you can see, we've got an impressive displayofourproducts here. \Vhy don't you come and get some hands-on experience?
Unit 8 Question timeSAMAKTHA O'NElLL
So that brings me to the end of my presentation. I'd be glad. to answer anyquestions.
QUESTIONER 1
I was interested to hear what you had to say about our medium-rangeproduct. Do you think it has any real future?
SAI'>IANTIIA O'NETLL
Certainly I do. However, we can't expect the same level ofsales as we'vegenerated over the last ten years. wouldn't you agree?
QL'ESTTONER I
rsuppose so, It worries me that we don't have any replacements in thepipeline. Doesn't it worry you too?
SAMANTHA O 'NEILL
well, that's difficult to say. It's true we haven't come up with a replacementfor the 843. On the other hand, as I pointed. out, we have new products inthe pipeline in other areas.
QUESTIONER 2
On that subject, I'd like to ask you about the CII product. Can you tell ushow much longer before it's ready for production?
SA.\1ANTHA O'1\EIL1.
That's not really my field. Tony should be able to give you an idea about that.
QUESTIO:-lFR 2
Right, I'll talk to him after the meeting.
QL:ESnONER 3Sarnantha, could I ask you about the production delays on our new AISproduct?
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SA M A N T U A O ' NEIL L
Please go ahead .
QU ES TIO :>: IO K 3Well, as you know, we've p ut together a fairly large-scale advertisi ngcampaign. Allthe space was booked for an October lau nch ...?
SAMA:-ITHA O ':-OIOILI .
Don't worry. we'll be ready fur th e launch dale. There an: one or twotechnical problem s, h UI they won't delay us much longer.
QUES TIONER 3
That's good 10 hear.
2 a May I ask you a q ues tio n!b Do yo u mind telling m e where yo u go t those figun.' s?c I suppose you're in town for ,I week. Is th at right?d Don't yOll think we need to take a break?c All the job losses arc in the plant, aren't the y?f Cou ld I ask you when you're going to leave?
Unit 9 Putting it all togetherLanguage knowledge JO A :-O S A B RO OKE S
a The first th ing to be said about th ese p rod ucts is tha t they're very diverse.Well, let's take our premium export lager, Hoh enbrau . Now this producthas always been positioned ar the top end of the rnarket.It has a high priceand it's only available through selected retail outlets. Altogether, it's quiteexclus ive.
O n th e othe r hand, ou r Rutter 's bitter has an entirely diffe rent personality.It's brewed in a traditional way. We put a lot ofmalt into it wh ich gives it ar ich go lde n colou r. As far as I know, it's always been sold at a medium priceand is available through most supermarkets.
So, as you can sec, th ese ar e Iwo very different products. One an up-marketGerm an-type Pilscncr, the other a very English bitt er. One point fordiscussion then, is whe ther we should mainta in such different products inour ra nge.
Let 's move on to marketin g, and I only want to raise on e issue.
b Th e th ird clement is th e peo ple ... and pr imarily here, I mean th e brewer ywor kers and th e mana gement. One of th e things tha t shocked me when Ifirst jo ined westwood was this ._. organi zation cha r t. It's like somethingfrom th e last centu ry - do you realize there are ten layers between thesho p-floor wor kers and the Managin g Director! In my view, this m akes thecompany slow and unresponsive. I know there are many good thin gs abo ut\ \ 'C'Stwood, but our image is much the same as it was in, say, the t imes ofQueen Victoria - a very tr adi tional, patern alist ic employer.
Well, th e very least we need to do is discuss whethe r th is image isappro priate for th e late 20t h cen tury, let alone the zlsr.
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Unit 1 What is the point?JOANNA BROOKES
l'm sorry I'm a bit late ... um ... I'm not exactly sure how 10 start this ... urn... I suppose I should start by telling you something about the brewer y ... It'sold ofcourse, very old, and ... urn ... And it was founded in 17, 1778, yes, Ithink that's right. So it's a very old brewery and ... urn ... we use traditionalprod uction methods and the products themselves are very, very old ... urn... as you can see, and we have an im perial stout which is very, agai n vcryt radit ional, and it's described as dark, immense, rich with a depth ofburntfruit iness, this beer is anidea l nightcap. Imperial stout is 50% stronger thanany of th e other beers in the export premium range ... the re ... urn ... Oh, wealso do a lager, we also make a lager which is Euro pean, a European typebeer and, well, sales have increased a lot over the last year.
Of course, we were a fami ly firm well, in fact, we still are a fam ily firm. Asyou know the presen t owner is Ben wcstwood ... urn ... There was a takeover bid ... urn ... I'm not exactly sure when, but it was resisted, and ... urn ...we con tinue to ru n as a family firm and this is im portant for the corporateimage. well, in fact this is why we're here to day to discuss the corporateimage and decide if we, well, it needs to change. We also have horses ... youmay have seen them del ivering the beer to th e local pubs? Yes?
Yes, yes ... urn ... production has actually dropped a little over the last fewyears, although profits have actually held up and that's someth ing we needto discuss ... I mean can we actually continue as a sma ll, independentbrewery?
Anyway, that's about it. So ... um ... tha t is the ma in question today. So Idon't know whet her that helps at all, but it's all I can think of really, so I, I'llleave ... I'll leave ... I think that 's that, so I'll leave it there, OK?
Unit 2 Making a startGEO FF MAXWELL
Right , the tour. I've got some overheads here to give you a picture of ... Ohwell, never mind, we'll manage with out. Anyway, I' ll tell you somethi ngabout th e plant we'll be hav ing a look around. [ don't know how much youknow about us. Perha ps some of you have been here befo re?
Anyway, I'll start by telling you a bit about the plant so that later you can ...urn ... ask ques tions ... and it shou ld help to unders tan d the process. So,here we are in the main bui lding ...
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GEOF F MA XWEL L
Hello and welcome to Sta ndard Electronics. I'm GeoffMaxwell, the FactoryManager in charge of th e plant you'll be seeing today. I know some of youhave come a lo ng way today so we aim to ma ke you r tour bo th interest ingand worthwhile. Before we start the lour, I'd like to give you a briefpresentation about the company - th is will help to put th e production sideof the business into context.
My talk will last about 15 m inutes an d I'll be using the flip chart. Nowth ere's qui te a lot to cover, so I'd be gra teful ifyou'd ho ld any quest io ns untilthe end of my talk.
As you call see, I've divided up my presentat ion into th ree main parts.Firstly, we' ll fu n briefly through the h isto ry of the com pa ny. Secon dly, I'lltell you something about our ma in markets - this is im portan t inunderstand ing th e prod uction process. And finally, I'll come to th e people ou r most imp orta nt asset.
OK? Let's start with th e history. Sta ndard started out as a private limitedcom pany when it was first established in 1935 ...
Unit 3 Linking the parts(i EOFF MAXWE L L
In any case, I' ll ... um ... I' ll tell you something about the plant so that lateryou can ... ask questions ... and it should help to understand the process ...so, here we are in the main building. Not much ofa building. Anyway, we'vebeen based here for more than fifty years, one ofthe country's best -lovedengineering firms. Anyway, it started back in 1943 when there was a nee dfo r high quality connections. You know, the sor t Britain's famous for.
What we use is a process called pre-pr iodine electrostat ic coating. In thisprocess we apply ...
G EOF F MAXWELL
... im portant in unde rstanding the p rod uction process. And fina lly, I'll cometo the peopl e - our mos t important asset. OK, let's start with the h istory.Now don't worry! I'm not going to give you a histo ry lesson. just a few keydates. Stan dard started o ut as a pri vate lim ited ...
.. went public. So we've had a pretty eventful 60 years or so. Anyway,I'll leave the history there. If you're interested, you'll find more aboutStandard in this pretty brochure. You should find one of them amongst allth e other bits of paper our PR people love to give out. So, let's turn now to abrief overv iew ofour main markets. If you look at this chart, you' ll see ourslice of th e pie, which in the European ...
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Bythe way, you may have seen the story in the news today about our maincompetitor, Manton. It seems they're going to bring out a new productwhich could seriously infringe the copyright ...
So, we'll have to wait and sec how the market reacts. Anyway,let me getback to what I was saying about new markets for Standard. I think wc haveto say that ...
Nobody really knows what the next century will bring. What's for sure isyOll need people who can adapt quickly. And that brings me to the finalpart of this short introduction to Standard, and that is to talk about ourpeople. As1said, they arc our most important asset. Our total world-wideheadcount ...
We've even sponsored a group to sail around Britain. So, before I go on, arethere any questions about our personnel policy?
Unit 4 The right kind of languageDR Ll'!':DES
The significance of these figures incorporating data from multicenrrestudies cannot be underestimated. Next slide. In the American part of thesurvey it was found that success in business can be correlated directly withleadership styles.
An individualistic style appears to be closely associated with rapid careerpath progression, whereas a group or participative style, despite its evidentattractiveness to all members of staff, is correlated with a relatively slowcareer progression. Next slide. This is further illustrated in my next slidewhich shows the results of another survey into senior managementattitudes.
Although lip service is paid to the concept ofparticipativc management,their real perceptions of leadership qualities completely contradict thisview. It can he further seen that such surveys ...
DR UI'DE'"
We can't really afford to ignore these results. The survey was one of themost extensive of its kind and covers a wide range of corporations ... \Vecan see in this next slide the results from the American part of the survey.This survey was based on interviews carried out with senior managers in200 corporations. Youcan see here ... 35%) of the group of managersclassified as participativc reached senior management positions. On theother hand, 74% of the more individualistic managers achieved seniormanagement status. So, I think the conclusion is self-evident. If you wantto reach the top of American companies, you have a much better chance ifyou adopt a fairly autocratic, top-down approach.
What is important here is not to dismiss the last ten years. Ten rears inwhich the value ofparticipative management has been preached ... No,what we must do is to better understand the motivation ofseniormanagement.
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If we look at thi s next slide. we can sec the results from an other survey intosen ior management att itudes. Th is shows how managers firstly evaluatethe quali ties o f a good manager ... and seco ndly, how th ey evalua te theq ualities o f a good leader. What is q uite dear is that managers are supposedto be sens itive, adapta ble, and cooperative while leaders need to bedecisive, dynam ic, and single-mi nded.
So, we find there is a massive cont radic tio n. Goud mana gers are supposed10 be participative -. to make sure they consult and disc uss. Good lead ers art'supposed to be st ro ng indi viduals - able to make decisions on their own.
Unit 5 Visual aids/OASr.;A HROOKES
So, we need to think about the products. Our premium export lager isdescr ibed as a German-b rand,..d Pilscncr with an above average alcoholcontent ... urn ... it's positioned at the top end of the marke t and is onlyavailable through selected merchants and retailers.
Anywa y, I'm sure you're all familiar with that prod uct ... urn ... Our highm alt bottled b itter. Rutter 's. is described as a t radit ional west Cou ntrybitter with a very dark colour and thick consistency ... urn ... It has a h ighprice for a bottled bitter ... um ... and is available through all majorsupermarke t cha ins and offl icences.
As yo u can see, production in 1984 was aro und the 245.000 bottles andth en during th e next five years men..ascd steadily ... fi ve years ago th eannual outpUI reached 480,000 bottles there. as yo u can sec ... and as yo ucan see the figures stayed at that sort offigure until last year when th eyd ipped to 460,000 there, as you can sec.
JO AN S A BRO OK E S
A very im portant . perhaps Ihe most im portan t , clement in our co rpo rateident ity, is our pro duct ran ge. Th e first thing to ht' said about this productrange is that it's wry diverse. w ell, let's take our p rem ium export lager,Hohcnbrau. Now this product has always been pos itioned at the top end ofth e market . lt has a very high pri ce, and is on ly availabl e through specialistretail outlets. Altogcther, it's q uite exclusive.
On th e other hand , o ur Ruu cr's bit ter has ,111 ent ircly different pcrso nality.It's b rewed in a traditional way. Wt' I'll! a lo t of malt in it which gives it a richgo lden co lour. And, as far as I know, it's at a medi um price and soldthrough most supe rma rkets.
So. as you can see, th ese are two very different products. One an up-marketGerrnan-type Pilsencr, the other a very English bitter.Our problem is we' re110 lo nge r su re about what sort of brewer y we are ... Anyway, let's leave theproducts for a mom en t, and tu rn to o ur recent reco rd o n th e product ionside.
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To make sure we're all in the picture, I've prepa red a graph wh ich illustratesour production record over the last twelve years. As you can sec, we're onlygoing to be look ing at bottled beer product ion. Now, twelve years ago, wehad an annual output of 245,000 bo tt les - as you can see. Over the next sixto seven years, prod uct ion grew stead ily and reached 480,000 way back in1990. Those were the easy years. It seemed all we had to do was to turn up atwork, produce the beer, and the beer would sell itself.
The last five years have been quite different. Produc tion flattened out toaround 4HO,OOO for four years, and then , more worryingly, dropped to460,000 last year. So, this is the background to our mee ting today. we canno longer sit back and let the well-establis hed na me ofwesrwood do thework for us ...
Unit 6 Body languageD R Ur-;DEK
These cost cuts are going to cause considerable pa in. we need to draw up aplan ofaction. I have put some ideas on the board ... These are some of themeasures we could consider. There are broadly three approaches. First, wecou ld accept the cuts and reduce staff dras tically ... Secondly, we could fightand hope to achieve some reduction in the level of the cuts. Or th ird ly, an dthis is what I support, we could put forward an alternative proposal. Now,th is would mean we have to organize ...
[Ht llN D E N
These cost cuts arc going to cause considerable pain. Wc need to draw up aplan of action. I have put some ideas on the board ... These arc some of themeasures we cou ld cons ider. There are broadly th ree approaches. First, wecou ld accept the cuts and reduce staff d rastically. Secondly, we could fightand hope to achieve some reduction in the level of the cuts. Or th ird ly, andthis is what I support, we could put forward an alternative proposal. Now,this would mean ...
Unit 7 Finishing offrOANNA RROOKF: S
Yes, yes ... urn ... production has actually dropped a littl e over the last fewyears, although profits have actua lly held up ... urn ... an d that's somethingwe need to discuss ... I mean, can we actually con tinue as a smallindependent brewery?
Anyway, that's about it, so ... um ... that is the main question today ... urn ...so ... I don't know whet her that helps at all, but it's ali i can think of realty,so I, I'll leave ... I'Illeave ... 1th ink that's that ... so ... l'lllcave it there, OK?
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10,.\:'>1"-,\ BIH)OKES
SO, before we move o n to discuss these matters, let me just su m marize themain issues as I see them. First ly,on the product side. there's the question ofdiversity ofproduct range. Secondly.on the marketing front, we need toreview our d istribut ion network. And thirdly. on the personnel side, weneed to look at the sort of employe r we are, and want to become. So. 1suggest \\'C look at things in that order: product. dis tr ibu tio n, an d people.Hopefully th is will help LIS to agree o n a clear way forwa rd. Right . be fo re westart, are there any questions you'd like to ask?
Unit 8 Question timeQU EST IOS I' R I
You seem to have com plete ly igno red the q uestion ofmale dominat ion oftop management post s. Do n't you thi nk yOU T results arc almost ent irely d ueto the fact that there are practically no women in senior positions inAmerican companies!
OR L1:-OD EN
I did not address the q uestion ofgender becau se it was not my purpo se toaddress it, No doub t it wo uld be in teresti ng to discuss it on an otheroccasion.
Q UES TI O NE R 2
Dr Linden! If YOLl don't mind me aski ng, co uld you tell us ho w theresponde nts assessed difficult co ncep ts suc h as indiv id ua lism?
IlR UN PEN
Well it is not important, but if you wan t to kn ow, just a mo ment, ... yes, as Ithought ... we used the Belb in persona lity tes t to position respondents.
QUrcSTIO:-JER JDr Linden. could I ask you how th e sun'eys were set up? Ynu know, d id rbcyuse a cont rol group?
P R Ll XD F.:-J
! believe they used a con tro ! gro up. Th ese weren' t my su rveys, yo u know, Ican' t tell you the details.
QU EST IO N E R 1
You seem to have completely igno red the question of male domination ofto p management posts. Don 't yo u th ink you r results a rc almost ent irely du eto the fact that there are practica lly no women in sen ior posit ions inAmerican compan ies?
UR L1NIHN
I thin k that's a very interesting point. I'm afraid I d idn't have time toadd ress the question of gender itse lf, because I was mainly co nce nt rat ing onthe question of management sty le. However , I feel sure th at th is aspectwo uld be worth d iscuss ing at len gth o n anothe r occasion .
QU EST I O :-.l E R 2
Dr Linden! If you don't mind me asking . cou ld rou tell us how therespondents assessed difficult concepts such as indi vidualism?
IlR (.I SD E S
Of course. I suppose you're referring to the second survey I mentioned?Well. I'll just check. if! mar ... yes ... as I thought. we used the Rclbinpersonalit y test in ord er to position responden ts. I think that you' ll findthat th is is a fairly standard psychologi cal test with such managementsurveys. Arc there any more quest ions you would like to ask about the trial?
QU E S T I O N E R 3Dr Lindcn , could I ask you how the surveys were set up ? Youknow, didthey use a control group?
I) R lIS U E:"l
I think I see what you mean. You're interested in the procedu re followed forthe surveys?
Q Ul'S TlONF.R JThat' s right.
HR I.ISDEN
I'm afraid that's really outside my field, I mysclfwas not involved incarrying out the surveys. However, I can give you the references afterwards,if the y would be helpful.
QUFS Tl O N E R 3Th an k you.
Unit 9 Putting it all togetherJOASNA BKOOKF.S
Good morni ng. Some ofyou may know me better than others, so let mejust briefly introduce myself. My name's loanna Broo kcs. and I'm in chargeof Pub lic Relation s for westwood Brewery, As you may kno w, this is arelatively new post, and its creation reflects the Board's concern over ourposition and image in the market . So, one of my first tasks is to define ad ear company identity for wcstwood. one that wilt carry us forward intothe next century, For th is reason , I ha veasked you all to join me here tod aytu hear your views on a way forward for Westwood. Some of you have beenwith the brewery for many years, othe rs no t at all, so before we start I'd liketo ou tline three main aspec ts which I sec contr ibuting sign ificantly to thebrewery's ident ity.
The first aspect is the products, the second ou r ma rkets and distribution inpart icular, and the thi rd key clement isour people. So, let's just spend thenext few minutes reviewing these three elements ... and please, in terruptme if you have any questions or points you'd like to raise as we go along.So, the products. Arguably.the most important element in our cor porateidentity is our product range. The first thing to be said abo ut theseproducts is that they're very diverse, Well, let's take our prem ium exportlager, Hohcnbrau. Now this produ ct has always been positioned at the topend of the market. It has a high price and it 's onl y available throughselected retail outlets. Altogether, it's quite exclusive.
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On th e othe r han d. ou r Rutter 's b itter has an en tirely d ifferent personality.It's b rewed in a t raditional way. We put a lot o f malt into it which gives it arich golden colour. As far as) know. it's always been sold at a medium priceand is available through most supermarkets.
So, as you can see. these arc two very d ifferent prod ucts. One an up-marketGerma n- type Pilsener. tbc o ther a very Engl ish bitt er, On e poin t fo rdisc uss ion then. is whet her we should maint ain such different products inou r range.
Let 's mo ve on to m arketing. and I onl y want to raise one issue. It'sconnected with th e products really. It seems to me it's going to be ver yd ifficult strengtheni ng westwocd 's identit y in the market when some ofo ur beers are o nly available th ro ugh specialist ou tlets.
QUF.STlONEK I
Excuse me, if you do n't mind me saying. J th ink you'll find there are verygood reasons fur restricting the channels for some ofour beers.
10AK"'-A
Tha t's interesting you should say so and I look forwa rd to hea ring moreabout th at in o ur d iscussion s. Perhaps .....e ca n leave it that there arcpro bably \'Cry good prod uct reason s why. but th at these may conflict withth e promotio n of the tota l com pany image, Would you agree?
QU ES TI O :-< ER I
Th at 's certa inly tr ue.
IOA~"'A
So. that covers two of the elemen ts which I th ink we need to disc uss. Th eth ird clement is the people ... and primarily here. l mean the breweryworkers and the management. One of the things that sho ...ked me whe n Ifirst joined Westwood was this ... organization chart. Ifs like somethingfrom the last (CnIUr)' - do you realize there are ten layer -, bet wee n th e shopfloor workers and the Man aging Directo r! In my view, th is ma kes th ecom pany slow and unresponsive. I know there arc man )'goo d things aboutWestwood, hu t o ur image is much th e same as it was in. say. the tim es o fQueen Victoria - " very trad itional . pat ernalistic employer.
well. the ver y least we need to do is discuss wheth er thi s image isappropriate for the late 20th cent ur y, let alone th e 2 Ist. So, before we moveon to discuss these matters.J et r nc just su m marize th e main issues as I seethem. Firstly. on the product side. there's the qu est io n ofdiversity o fprod uct range. Secondly.o n the marketing fro n t. we need to review ourdist r ibut ion network. And thi rd ly,on the personnel side. we need to loo kat the sor t ofemployer we are and want to become.
50, I suggest we loo k at things in that order: prod uct , dist r ibut io n. andpeople. Hopefully this will help us to ag ree on a clear way forward. Right,before we start. are there any questions you'd like to ask?
