The history of the company
The company of Harper & Grant Ltd. was started forty-two years ago by Ambrose Harper and Wingate Grant. Wingate Grant died many years ago, and his son Hector, who is in his fifties (aged between fifty and sixty) is the present Managing Director. Ambrose Harper is the Chairman. He is now an old man, semi-retired, but he still comes in to the office regularly to attend the board meetings and keep an eye on the business.
The company started by making steel wastepaper bins for offices. With the increase in smoking, these were considered much safer than the old type of basket made of cane or straw, because there was less likelihood of fire (but, strangely, we still continue to use the expression 'wastepaper basket, as well as 'bin'). Old Mr. Grant, the present Managing Director's father, put the business on its feet when he captured a big contract to supply government offices with steel wastepaper bins. He always said that luck, or happy coincidence, turned a business into success or failure. He was rather like Napoleon, who always asked if an officer was lucky before giving him a higher command. Mr. Grant Senior used to tell the story that, in the week before he landed his contract, a cane wastepaper basket had caught fire in a government department, the fire had spread rapidly, and destroyed a number of irreplaceable documents.
From wastepaper bins, Harper & Grant began to manufacture other items of office equipment: desks, chairs, cupboards, filing cabinets and smaller objects, such as filing trays, stapling machines and so on, until now when there are fifty-six different items listed in their catalogue. Today, nearly all the items produced by this company are made of pressed steel. The steel arrives in sheets from a steel works in South Wales. It is then cut by machinery into the required pieces; these pieces are then pressed into shape and fixed together by welding (joining two metal parts by heating so that the metals flow together), or by drilling holes in the metal and securing the two pieces with a bolt or a rivet.
The factory consists of workshops where the actual making of a desk or filing cabinet is done. These are divided into the Tool Room, Works Stores, Press Shop, Machine Shops, Assembly Shop, Paint Shop, Inspection, Packing and Despatch Departments. There is also the Warehouse where finished articles are stored pending, waiting for, sale.
The firm has a history of slow, steady growth. Hector Grant firmly believes that he knows the best way to run a business. However, his nephew Peter Wiles (son of Mr. Grant's sister), who joined the company six years ago and is Production Manager, and John Martin, appointedtwo years ago to be Sales Manager, are more adventurous.
They want to treble Harper & Grant's business over the next few years and are certain that, with modern business techniques and increased exports, they can achieve this.
Modernising a business to increase its profitability and competitiveness is a complicated affair. It requires a management team which is aware of such aids and tools of efficiency as electronic data processing, O.R. (Operational Research), D.C.F. (Discounted Cash Flow), budgetary control, corporate planning, P.E.R.T. (Project Evaluation and Review Technique), automation, etc. We shall be dealing with some of these words and expressions as the series goes along. Business management is a rapidly developing science (some call it an art), and new techniques and words, very often of American origin, are used more and more in everyday business conversation.
A small business cannot possibly afford to have on its staff experts in every modern management technique. It usually hires expert advice from outside consultants and bureaux. On the other hand, it is important that members of a firm's management are aware of the more sophisticated techniques they might call on to solve particular problems. Inevitably while this changeover from the old way to the new is taking place, there are often difficulties and conflict. But Harper & Grant Ltd., like their rivals, must get right up-to-date and enlarge their business, or they will be outpaced by a firm whose business organisation is better than their own.
VOCABULARY EXERCISES
I. Give the English equivalents to the following words and expressions:
корзина для бумаг; тростник и солома; цех; вероятность; заключить контракт (2); совпадение; незаменимый; файловый шкаф; сварка; заклепка; сборка; ожидающий; склад; склонный к риску; утроить; технология; конкурентоспособность; сложный (2); расширять бизнес; опередить
II What do these definitions stand for?
1) A large building where large quantity of raw materials or manufactured goods are stored until they are exported to other countries or distributed to shops to be sold (noun)
2) Willing to take risks and to try new methods (adjective)
3) To become three times as great in number, amount , or size (verb)
4) Made using advanced and complex methods (adjective)
5) Chance occurrence of two or more things at the same time (noun)
6) Short metal pin for fastening two pieces together, having a head at one end, the other end being hammered flat after being passed through (noun)
7) Waiting to be finally settled or decided (adjective)
III. Fill in the gaps with the words from the list:
board meetings; cane or straw; manufacturing; in his fifties; irreplaceable; produced; the best way; profitability and competitiveness; to treble; management.
1) The present Managing Director is aged between fifty and sixty, that is he is ……………………………………………………….
2) The Chairman is a person who attends ……………………… and keeps an eye on the business.
3) Steel wastepaper bins for offices are considered much safer than the old type of basket made of.............................................................
4) The fire spread rapidly and destroyed a number of ……………………… documents.
5) The factory consists of workshops where the actual …………………………………………of a desk or a filing cabinet is done.
6) Nearly all the items…………………..by the company are made of pressed steel.
7) Hector Grant believes that he knows, ……………….. to run a business.
8) Production Manager and Sales Manager want ………………………. the
company's business over the next few years.
9) Modernising a business to increase its ………………………………. is a complicated affair.
10) Business ………………… is a rapidly developing science.
IV. Explain the meaning of the following expressions:
| to put the business on its feet | to give somebody a higher command |
| to capture a big contract | changeover from the old way to the new one |
| to keep an eye on business | aids and tools of efficiency |
| to be outpaced by somebody | to hire expert advice |
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. How many years ago and who was the Company of Harper and Grant Ltd started by?
2. Who is the follower of Wingate Grant?
3. What can you say about the Chairman of the Company?
4. How did old Mr. Grant, the present Managing Director's father, put the business on its feet? Why did the company start making steel wastepaper bins for offices?
5. What items of office equipment does Harper and Grant Ltd. manufacture?
6. How are the goods manufactured?
7. Why are Production Manager and Sales Manager considered to be more adventurous and what is their aim?
8. Why does a small business usually hire experts in modern management technique from outside?
ADDITIONAL VOCABULARY
Business combinations
| leaders school interest ventures business empire community confidence |
Find combinations that mean:
1)an individual's business activities, especially those of politicians
2)a very large business organisation
3)specific money-making projects, perhaps involving an element of risk
4) an institution that awards qualifications in business studies
5) heads of important companies who speak for (5) as a whole
6) the morale of all those referred to in (5) and (6)
8) people involved in business in general
Enterprises
A business may be referred to approvingly as an enterpriseto emphasize its adventurous, risk-taking qualities, and business in general may be referred to in the same way, for example in combinations such as free enterpriseand private enterprise.
Business is also referred to as commerce.This word, and its related adjective commercial,are often used to distinguish the business sphere from other areas such as government or the arts, or to distinguish it from non-money-making activities.
Translate the following into Russian:
● Americans have an ease with individual enterprise and risk that few Europeans share.
● Government in Malaysia has promised to reduce its interference in the economy and rely on private enterprise to pace economic growth.
● Kangaroo hunting is not just a hobby but a lucrative commercial business.
Large companies are referred to as corporations,especially in the United States. Corporateis used to describe things related to a corporation, or to corporations in general, in expressions like the ones in the next exercise. Large companies operating in many countries are multinationals. Big businesscan refer to large business organisations or to any business activity that makes a lot of money. Small companies are referred to as small businessesor small firms.Unlike other languages, English does not have an everyday term for small and medium-sized companies, apart from this rather clumsy expression.
Translate the following into Russian:
● Some operations of a typical multinational are more global than others.
● In Korea, democracy has slowed some government decision-making. But it has also cut the power of big business groups and the bureaucracy, in the process creating freer markets and more opportunities for small businesses.
Corporate combinations:
| performance logo governance corporatesrategy immage collapses culture ladder |
Find combinations that refer to:
1) the perception that people have of a corporation
2) what corporate employees climb during their career
3) company results over a period of time
4) the values that people have and the ways things are done in an organisation
5) the way a company is managed at the highest level
6) plans that companies have maintaining and developing their position in the future
7) company failures
8) a symbol, usually showing the company's name
Now use these expressions to complete the extracts:
a) Corporate …………. and associated fiascos have exposed the failure of the auditing industry as a whole, not just the failure of individual audits.
b) No single subject so dominated the attention of managers, consultants and management theorists as the subject of corporate …………….
c) While Wal-Mart grew, Walton was developing the practices that were to give the firm one of America's most-admired corporate …………s.
d) Huet, remaining one step ahead on the corporate ……………………., has been transferred to New York as head of Societe Generale in America.
e) Good corporate ……………………… should be about stopping messes from happening, not just cleaning up afterwards.
f) Few investors are prepared to look beyond conventional measures for assessing corporate ............... .
g) All phone books are to have identical blue covers with the British Telecom ……………. . It is part of the corporate …………………. .
Sectors
Businesses may be classified according to which industry they are in: for example construction, oil, banking, food. Sector is sometimes used to mean industry in the same way, particularly by specialists such as financial journalists, but it is more often used to talk about different parts of the economy in combinations such as public sector and private sector, or about types of business in expressions like service sectorandmanufacturing sector.
Translate the sentences into Russian:
● Arden's customers are primarily in the packaging industry but also the electronic sector.
● One industry that has kept the manufacturing sector going for much of this year is aircraft.
● Many young workers are taking jobs in the rapidly growing service
sector — banking, computer programming, financial services.
When a private company is bought by the state and brought into the public sector, it is nationalised in a process of nationalisation. A nationalised company is state-owned. When the state returns a company to the private sector in a sell-off, it is privatised. This is privatisation. The first to be sold off in a privatisation programme are often the companies responsible for the public supply of electricity, water and gas: the utilities.
Translate the following into Russian:
● British Rail stations worth about 10 billion pounds will be sold off under Government plans to privatise the network.
● Malaysia is five years into an initial privatisation programme. To date, 22 government-owned concerns have been privatised, including a lottery, the national airline and shipping companies, regional water utilities, highway construction projects and a commercial TV station.
Read this article from "The Economist” and complete it using the words listed.
a) privatisation b) privatised c) nationalised d) re-nationalised
DISGUSTED
Most Britons see privatisation as a rip-off. The evidence says otherwise.
To say that (1)………….. is unpopular in Britain is an understatement. Every week brings fresh outrage at tales of bosses of (2)………………
firms picking up huge pay rises while over-charging customers, sacking employees and cutting the pay of those who remain. The ordinary man, who has never liked (3)………….. , wants the water and electricity industries, and maybe more, to be (4)………………. .
So what can be said in defence of (5)……..? Actually a great deal. Back in 1979, Britain's public-sector firms were in the doldrums, lacking both entrepreneurial vigour and a concern for customer service. Many were losing large sums of money. According to the treasury, the (6)………. industries were then costing each tax-payer the equivalent of 300 pounds in today's money.
Since (7)………….. — and the changes in management, financial controls and regulation associated with it — these firms have been transformed. Most (8)………. companies were more profitable in real terms in 1994 than in the year before they were sold. Most had higher sales, and a higher share price than in their first year after (9)………… . They now pay 2.5 billion pounds a year in taxes (equivalent to 100 pounds for each tax-payer).
Firms such as British Airways and British Telecom have been turned from corporate dogs into some of the world's most admired companies.
Types of business firms
When considering how types of companies differ, we should ask ourselves the following questions:
● Wheredid the money to start or expand the business come from?
● Who owns or controls the company?
● What happens to the profit?
● What legal requirements must the company satisfy?
● Does the company have limited or unlimited liability?
The commonest type-of firm in the UK is private limited company. A private limited company has limited liability, and this is indicated by the letters LTDafter its name. The shareholders elect a Board of Directors,and the directors appoint one of their number to the position of Managing Directorwho is the link between the Board and the management. Thus, the Managing Director is in charge of the day-to-day running of the company, and in large organisations he is often assisted by a General Manager. British company law requires a limited company to have a Company Secretary who is responsible for the submission of a Memorandum of Association and other documents to the Registrar of Companieswhen the company is set up, and the publication of annual accounts.
Sometimes a private limited company becomes a public limited company- which must put the letters PLCafter its name. Like private limited companies, PLCs have limited liability, must have a Memorandum of Association, publish their accounts and are subject to many legal requirements as set out in the Companies Act, 1985.
Translate the following into Russian:
● There is no one answer for all companies at all times. It's up to the board of that company to decide how to run the company and for the shareholders to shout if they don't like it.
● Registrar of companies is a person reporting to Department of Trade and Industry, who makes up the lists of joint-stock companies operating in the country. Any potential investor has a right to inspect the information kept by the Registrar in order to obtain the required information about the company.
● Every company before starting its operation has to submit its
Memorandum of Association to the Registrar of Companies. This
document defines the relation of the company to the third parties.
Classify Harper and Grant Company according to the criteria mentioned above.
Presentations
What do you think?
1) What is a "presentation"?
2) For what purposes are presentations made in business?
3) What makes a presentation effective?
Here is some vocabulary on equipment that one may need for a presentation.
To make a successful presentation one should be well equipped.
The presenter should be well seen and heard, so they can use a
podium and a microphone. As visual aids are very important in a
presentation, the presenter could choose from among a wide range of equipment. The most common is the use of a whiteboardand
felt-pensto draw diagrams and charts. Though it is also possible to
use overhead projector (OHP)with overhead transparency (OHT),
flipchartsor a slide-projector.To point something on the screen or a
whiteboard the presenter usually uses a pointer.At a presentation it
is always quite common to give handoutsto the participants.
Match the following definitions with the words given in the box above:
1) a long rod used by a lecturer to point to some parts of a map, blackboard, etc.
2) a device that throws an enlarged image of a transparency onto a surface above and behind the person using it
3) a leaflet, free sample given out to publicise something
4) a sheet giving graphical, tabular, or diagrammatical information
5) small raised platform used by a lecturer, orchestra conductor, etc.
TEXT
Read the following text and be ready to answer the questions.
PRESENTATIONS
Some hints for a successful presentation
PREPARATION
Planning: Plan your presentation carefully. Thorough preparation will make you more confident and help you to overcome your nervousness.
Objectives: Think about what you want to achieve. Are you aiming to inform, persuade, train or entertain your audience?
Audience: Whom exactly will you be addressing? How many people will be attending? What do they need to know? What do they already know? What will they expect in terms of content and approach?
Content: Brainstorm your ideas first. Then decide which are most relevant and appropriate to your audience and to your objectives and carry out any research that is necessary. Be selective! Don't try to cram too much into your presentation.
Approach: A good rule of thumb is to "tell your audience what you’re going to say, say it, and then tell the audience what you've said". Try to develop your key points in an interesting and varied way, drawing on relevant examples, figures etc. for support as appropriate. You might also like to include one or two anecdotes for additional variety and humour.
Organisation: Think about how you will organise your content. Your presentation should have a clear, coherent structure and cover the points you wish to make in a logical order. Most presentations start with a brief introduction and end with a brief conclusion. Use the introduction to welcome your audience, introduce your topic / subject, outline the structure of your talk, and provide guidelines on questions. Use the conclusion to summarise the main points of your presentation, thank the audience for their attention, and invite questions.
Visual aids: If you have a lot of complex information to explain, think about using some charts, diagrams, graphs, etc., on an overhead projector or flipchart. Visual aids can make a presentation more interesting and easier to understand, but make sure they are appropriate and clear — don't try to put too much information on each one.
Rehearsal: Allow time to practise your presentation — this will give you a chance to identify any weak points or gaps. You will also be able to check the timing, and make sure you can pronounce any figures and proper names correctly and confidently.
DELIVERY
Nerves! You will probably be nervous at the beginning of your presentation. Don't worry — most people are nervous in this situation. Try not to speak too fast during the two couple of minutes — this is the time you establish your rapport with the audience and first impressions are very important. You may find it helpful to memorise your introduction.
Audience rapport: Try to be enthusiastic — your interest in the subject matter will carry your audience along. Look around your audience as you speak — eye contact is essential for maintaining a good rapport. You will also be able to pick up signals of boredom or disinterest, in which case you can cut your presentation short.
Body language: Stand rather than sit when you are delivering your presentation and try to be aware of any repetitive hand gestures or awkward mannerisms that might irritate your audience.
Voice quality: You must be clearly audible at all times — don't let your voice drop at the end of the sentences. If you vary your intonation, your voice will be more interesting to listen to and you will be able to make your points more effectively.
Visual aids: Use your visual aids confidently, making sure you allow your audience time to absorb information from flipcharts and transparencies.
Audience reaction: Be ready to deal with any hostile questions. Polite, diplomatic answers are a good disarming tactic, but if you should find yourself "under fire", suggest that the audience keeps any further questions until the end of the presentation and continue with your next point.
LANGUAGE
Simplicity: Use short words and sentences that you are comfortable with. There is no benefit in using difficult language.
Clarity: Active verbs and concrete words are much clearer and easier to understand than passive verbs and abstract concepts. Avoid jargon unless you are sure all your audience will understand it.
Signalling: Indicate when you've completed one point or section in your presentation and are moving on to the next. Give your audience clear signals as to the direction your presentation is taking.
Answer the following questions:
1) Do you agree with all the points given in the text? What are the most important ones in your opinion?
2) What other advice do you consider relevant for preparing to a presentation, delivery, language?
3) Do you think it is important to consider your dress? How do
you think a presenter should be dressed?
4) What signs of boredom and disinterest can you notice during a
presentation? What should you do if you notice them?
Give your own explanations to the following notions:
to brainstorm; coherent structure; good rapport with the audience; hostile questions; jargon; disarming tactic; awkward mannerism
DISCUSSION
1. Speak about Harper and Grant Company, their structure and management.
2. Who is a Company Secretary and what is their responsibility?
3. Speak about privatisation: what is it and what is the difference in perception of privatisation in Britain and in Russia?
4. What is a presentation? What could you present? How could the success of a presentation be measured?
5. As a member of the human resources department of a large multinational, you visit universities / colleges making presentations to students on your company and the job opportunities it offers graduates. Choose or invent a company to represent. You may invent any information you wish.
UNIT 1
NEW MARKETS ARE VITAL
In this episode, the Managing Director, Hector Grant, has to make a decision about allowing his young Sales Manager, John Martin, to go on an expensive fact-finding tour of a country in Africa called Abraca.
First we hear John Martin discussing with Peter Wiles, the Production Manager, an article he has just read in The Times newspaper about the recent discovery of oil in Abraca. He thinks that the firm should find out whether it would be possible to export to Abraca, and in particular to the capital city, Djemsa, where a lot of new government offices are shortly to be built. He wants to go there at once and try to open up a new market. Hector Grant (or H.G. as his staff generally call him, using his initials) remembers a disastrous attempt a few months ago to export to a country in South America when the firm lost a lot of money. He is inclined to be cautious, a bit worried about the difficulties involved, and the expense. So we discover some of the points which have to be considered by a firm wishing to export.
(In Peter Wiles's office.)
JOHN MARTIN: Hello, Peter! Have you seen the article in The Times this morning about Abraca? It says here that income per capita is rising fast.
PETER WILES: I can't keep up with all these newly independent countries. Is Abraca the country that's just found a lot of oil?
JOHN: That's the one. Apparently they're going to build a lot of new offices in the capital, Djemsa, and I think it might be a good market for our furniture and office equipment.
PETER: Ah, the export market. Well, you know what H.G.'s views are on that!
JOHN: But we must export more, Peter. You really must try and help me to convince Mr. Grant that we're crazy not to look for more foreign business. Will you back me up?
PETER: Yes, of course I will; but you know what the boss thinks about exports. He thinks it's all a big waste of time and money for very little profit. Anyway, I'll do what I can.
(In Hector Grant’s office.)
SECRETARY (Elizabeth Corby): Mr. Martin to see you, Mr. Grant.
HECTOR GRANT: Oh yes, ask him to come in, please, Elizabeth.
JOHN:Good morning, H.G.
GRANT:Ah, John, I've been thinking about this scheme of yours to sell our products to Abraca.
JOHN:Oh, I'm glad.
GRANT:Yes, it's all very well to say we should export more, but is the expense worth it? Look what happened over our attempt to break into that South American market.
JOHN:That was because we had that labour trouble at the time and we weren't able to meet our delivery dates. But we can't let that one failure stop us from trying to break into a new market.
GRANT:You say Abracan imports are going to rise rapidly. Well, let's have some figures. What are the difficulties? Who are our likely competitors? What about tariffs?
JOHN:There are tariffs on certain products, but the Board of Trade assure me that our office equipment would not be liable for duty.
GRANT:What about shipping facilities? It seems there are few direct sailings, and a lot of goods have to be transshipped via Rotterdam. And then there's all this red tape involved in getting an import licence.
JOHN:Well, if I find an agent in Abraca to act for us we can get him to sort out the import licence.
GRANT:Have you considered what channels of distribution are needed within the country?
JOHN:I'll have to find out, but we might be able to sell direct to government departments and oil companies. Maybe we should have a field survey to find out exactly how the firms in Abraca prefer to buy their products.
GRANT:Field surveys are too expensive.
JOHN:Oh, Idon't agree, Mr. Grant. As you see from my preliminary desk research, Abraca is a young, rich, expanding country. I'm convinced that we can work up a big demand for our goods there.
GRANT:I'm sorry, John. On balance, I don't think it's quite the right time for this probe. I don't want the expense of sending you out there. You've got plenty to do in the home market.
JOHN:But surely we ought to go ahead now. Why wait and let somebody else get there first? We can't live on our old markets for ever!
GRANT:Let's say we have a different way of looking at things.
JOHN:I'msorry, Mr. Grant, but I do feel strongly about this. If this is really your policy, then I must think about leaving the firm.
GRANT:You're being very foolish, John.
JOHN:Perhaps I am. But as our opinions differ so much about the future of the firm, perhaps I'd better go somewhere a little more forward-looking. I'm sorry, H.G.
(In John Martin's office.)
PETER:Good morning, John. Where were you yesterday afternoon?
I tried to contact you ail over the place.
JOHN:I went out for a long drive to cool my temper a bit.
PETER:Oh? What happened?
JOHN:You know H.G. decided not to let me go to Abraca,
PETER: Oh no! I thought he'd be bound to agree. I'd have said that particular market was wide open.
JOHN:That's what I think. Anyway, I just suddenly got fed up with H.G.'s old-fashioned outlook and I resigned.
PETER:Did he accept your resignation?
JOHN:I didn't give him much chance. I was so angry I just walked out of his office.
SECRETARY:Excuse me, Mr. Martin, this letter has just come for you from Mr. Grant's office.
PETER:What is it, John?
JOHN:Good Lord! It's a reservation for a first-class return flight to Abraca!
TERMS IN THE INTRODUCTION
| 1. Managing Director | the executive director in charge of the day-to-day running of a company |
| 2. Sales Manager | executive in charge of promoting sales of the firm's goods (see unit 15) |
| 3. Production Manager | executive in charge of production of goods in the factory |
| 4. open up a new market | market: an area where goods can be sold. |
| open up a new market: develop a new market, start one up |
TERMS IN THE EPISOD
| 1. income per capita | average income, money earned, per head of the population. |
| 2. delivery dates | dates on which a firm promises to deliver goods. If the goods do not arrive on time the firm has failed to meet the delivery dates. |
| 3. tariff | an import tax charged or levied by the importing country. |
| 4. Board of Trade | a British government department which deals with trade and commerce. |
| 5. duty | a government tax levied, put, on goods entering a country (see tariff). |
| 6. trans-shipped | goods moved, transferred, from one ship to another because there is no direct sailing from the home port to the port of destination. |
| 7. red tape | unnecessary formalities. So called from the tape used by lawyers to tie up legal documents. |
| 8. import licence | permission given by a government to bring goods into a country. |
| 9. agent | one who acts for a person or business. In this case it means a resident in a foreign country who acts for, or represents, several companies abroad. He works for a commission that is a payment of a percentage on the value of goods coming into a country. |
| 7. channels of distribu tion | different ways of getting the goods to the buyers. This may be direct to government departments, to retailers or through wholesalers. |
| 11. field survey | (market research) an investigation during which information is collected in the field by means of interviews. A report is then prepared on possible demand; type of consumer, buyer; methods of selling; number of rivals; what sort of packaging is preferred, etc., In any country or area where a company wishes to begin trading. A desk survey would be done in the office by using all statistical information available. |
| 12. probe | here means a preliminary survey of a possible new market. |
VOCABULARY EXERCISES
I. Give the English equivalents to the following words and expressions:
ежедневное руководство компанией; быть ответственным за...; импортирующая страна; успокоиться; быть вынужденным; старомодные взгляды; нести потери; доход на душу населения; угнаться за...; мебель и офисное оборудование; внешний рынок; убедить кого-л. в чём-л.; выполнить условия по срокам поставки; вероятные конкуренты; подлежать обложению налогом; получить лицензию на импорт; спрос на что-л.; принять чью-л. отставку; жизненно важный
II. Give one word for each definition:
1) to remain in contact with somebody/something
2) to support one's life, subsist
3) to give up (a job)
4) a group of people employed by a company
5) income for each person
6) to be fed up with something
III. Give synonyms and synonymous expressions to the following
words and phrases:
1) to open up a new market
2) to convince
3) disaster
4) competitor
5) staff
IV. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences:
1) The Managing Director toоk a decision to send the Sales Manager abroad to find out whether it is possible to export to that country.
2) The Sales Manager was all for entering a new export market.
3) I can't tell for sure, but it seems that the boss tends to accept your resignation.
4) At the next Board Meeting I'm going to suggest we should enter a new market. I hope you will support me.
5) Before you start a new project you should think what the probable result might be.
6) Don't make any decisions now that you are so furious. You'd better take a walk, calm down and then make up your mind.
7) I think the Director will certainly agree with your idea.
V. Explain the meaning of the following expressions:
1) to back somebody up
2) to have labour trouble
3) to feel strongly about something
4) to be fed up with something
5) to give somebody a chance
VI. Complete the sentences:
1. John thinks "Harper & Grant" should find out whether it would
be possible to export to Abraca because......... ………………………….
2. The failure of "Harper & Grant" in entering South American market happened due to ……………………………………………………………………
3. The shipping difficulties of exporting to Abraca would be …………..
4. Hector Grant's arguments against John's carrying out field
survey are ........ ………………………………………………………………………..
5. John was so fed up with HG's old-fashioned outlook that he ……………………………………………………………………………………………..
6. HG changed his point of view because........... ……………………………..
VII. Translate into English:
1. Джон считает, что их фирма должна навести справки о возможности экспорта их продукции в Абраку, особенно в Джемсу, столицу этого государства, где в ближайшее время будет построено множество правительственных учреждении.
2. Грант вспоминает неудачную попытку продать свои изделия в одной южноамериканской стране, предпринятую фирмой несколько месяцев назад и принесшую им большие убытки. Он более склонен к осторожным действиям и волнуется по поводу возможных затруднений и связанных с ними расходов.
3. Нам необходимо расширять экспорт. Ты должен постараться помочь мне убедить м-ра Гранта, что это просто безумие отказываться от расширения нашего бизнеса за рубежом.
4. На южноамериканском рынке нас постигла неудача потому, что у нас были трудности с рабочей силой, и мы не сумели уложиться в сроки поставок. Но нельзя же допустить, чтобы из-за одной неудачи мы перестали бы пытаться выходить на новые рынки!
5. По здравом размышлении, я думаю, сейчас не время заниматься этими исследованиями. Я не хочу тратить деньги на твою командировку в эту страну. У нас и на собственном рынке дел достаточно.
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. What made John think about exporting to Abraca?
2. What were his arguments for his project?
3. What made HG reject John's idea?
4. What do you think made HG change his mind and agree to John's visit to Abraca?
ADDITIONAL VOCABULARY