It is a (French) company, based in (Paris)
It has factories / production centres / subsidiaries in …..
The Chairman / CEO / founder / owner is ….
It employs (200) people / It has (200) employees.
ii Products and customers
Their main activity is……..
The main products / customers are …… and ……..
iii Results and future plans
The annual turnover is ($30 million) with profits of ($2 million)
The company is successful because ……
We plan to………
F Look at these notes on Swiss watch manufacturers the Swatch Group
1 Swatch Group – group of 16 watch companies
2 Swatch – quartz mechanism – only 51 parts (most other watches more than 150)
3 The chairman and founder – Nicolas G Hayek Senior
4 New collection with more than 150 watches in four ranges twice a year
5 50 production centres – in Europe: France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany – in Asia:Thailand,
China, Malaysia
6 Most famous product – Swatch watch
7 Plans – components for telecommunications industry in future
8 The group – sell 25% of the world’s watches
9 Swatch – cheap, from $25
10 Companies in group include Omega, Tissot, Calvin Klein, Swatch, and Flik Flak – watches and
watch components
11 Headquarters – Biel, Switzerland
12 Future plans – components for entire Swiss watch industry and companies outside Switzerland
13 Annual sales – 118 000 000 watches
14 Omega – luxury watches, Tissot and Calvin Klein – middle of the range, Swatch and Flik Flak
– basic watches
G Organize the information under the appropriate headings, as in the examples
| Organization / Structure | Location / Distribution | Products | Sales | Future Plans |
| 1 Swatch Group – group of 16 watch companies | 4 New collection with more than 150 watches in four ranges twice a year |
H Put your notes into complete sentences using the following verbs: be, sell, plan, present, produce, make, manufacture, have
I Make a short presentation on the Swatch Group using this information and the language given above.
MODULE 3
WORKPLACE PROBLEMS
TEXT A
1 Study this vocabulary and definitions and think of Russian equivalents:
overwork –excessive work
to work overtime –to work after normal working hours
to work for free –to work without payment
productive –producing or able to produce large amounts or better results
discrimination –the practice of treating one person or group of people less fairly or less well than other people or groups
sex discrimination –discrimination against a person (typically a woman) on grounds of sex
job insecurity –not feeling safe and confident, because the job might to be taken away or lost at any time
waste –unwanted or unusable material, substances, or by-products (e.g. a lot of waste)
a waste of money –using or spending something carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose
environment –the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates
(e.g. to protect the environment )
to do one’s bit – make a useful contribution to an effort or cause
stressful –making you feel worried and nervous
motivation –a reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way (e.g. to lose motivation)
to get promotion –to receive a more important job or rank in the organization
opinion –a view or judgement about something
to make a decision –to choose what should be done or which is the best of various possible actions
2 Complete the sentences with the words and phrases below. Translate the sentences.
| overwork work overtime make a decision stressful jobs job insecurity productive losing their motivation sex discrimination waste of money get promotion |
1 Don't _________________ yourself on that new job.
2 My mother has to __________________ to get the job finished on time.
3 If a woman is unfairly treated just because she is a woman, she is a victim of __________________.
4 Their working system is based on the belief that employees are more _________________ when they work in a team.
5 _______________________ is a condition when an employee is not sure that his/her jobs will remain stable from day to day, week to week, or year to year.
6 Most employees are quite enthusiastic when they start a new job but after their first six months they start _____________________.
7 If I don’t _____________________ within the next two years, I'm going to change jobs.
8 I think I've got one of the most __________________ – I really need a vacation.
9 You never switch off the light when you leave the room – it’s such a ____________________.
10 There isn’t enough information in this report – it’s difficult to __________________ about the marketing strategy.
3 Four people answered the question “What is the biggest problem at your workplace?” Listen to their replies and match them with an appropriate heading.
a) Wasting energy 1 _____
b) Overwork 2 _____
c) Sex discrimination 3 _____
d) Job insecurity 4 _____
4 Listen, read and translate the text.