• Remember that business correspondence is typically direct and factual; e-mail messages may be even more so.
• Remember to apply the 'KISS principle' (Keep It Short and Simple).
Useful language J
• We would like to offer our sincere apologies for...
• Please accept our apologies for...
• The delay / mistake / damage was due to circumstances beyond our control.
• We cannot understand how such a delay / mistake could have occurred.
• Please accept our reassurances that...
• We can guarantee that...
• We can promise that...
• Let me personally assure you that...
From: iroda.vilaq@dunanet.hu To: pharmaco@mail.matav.hu Subject: Order No RS/050A
Teambuilding
Vocabulary
Q Make the following adjectives negative by adding the correct prefix. Mind your spelling!
1 ..101 polite 6 ...... experienced
2 ....... relevant 7 ....... responsible
3 considerate
4 mature
5 legible
8 decisive
9 practical
10 ........ efficient
Which two adjectives cannot be used to describe someone's character? 0 In each line, cross out the word which does nor begin with a prefix.
1 2 3 4 5 6
a) discontinue a) miserable a) billboard a) reconnect a) predict a) irrational
b) disincentive b) mismanagement b) bimonthly b) renowned b) premium b) irreversible
c) distinguished
c) misinform
c) bilingual
c) realign
c) prepaid
c) irritable
Vocabulary +
0 Complete the sentences with the appropriate words remaining in exercise B.
1 Experts . .ðã&&Ø............. that there will be a marked shift from financial and
technological capital to human capital.
2 Executives who fail to meet the aspirations of their employees can be accused of..................................
3 The new measures restrict employees' autonomy and will undoubtedly act as a.................................
4 The move towards the creation of a shared vision is..................................... and lies
at the heart of a people-centred strategy.
5 There will be some drastic changes in the way our company is organised.
For example, we're going to................................. all our marketing and sales
activities.
6 Our project manager wants us to submit a detailed......................................
progress report. I don't really understand why we have to write reports so frequently.
ô Correct any sentences in which the phrases in italics are in the wrong order.
hard and fast
1 At the moment we have no fast and hard information about the reorganisation of Human Resources.
2 All negotiations typically involve a certain amount of take and give.
3 Many people believe that wining and dining helps strengthen a team.
4 It was still a bit go and touch whether they would push ahead with the plan.
5 The pros and cons of a thorough reorganisation have been discussed at length.
6 By and large, news of the reorganisation of the department was welcomed by the staff.
Language review
Modal perfect
1 Our next People Skills seminar will be held in Martonfa, far from the .butffe.&nd .wMk. of Budapest city centre.
2 The participants will enjoy the................................... of the countryside after a
hectic week.
3 This new economic theory proposes that the laws of..................................... are
obsolete.
4 Some of the best teams are built after a painful process of..........................................
5 More and more people invest their savings in.......................................
6 The fact that he introduced so many................................... upon his appointment
did not make him very popular with staff.
Q Choose the best way to complete the exchanges below.
1 A: The people in Accounts often say they can't work well together.
B: Well, we had a one-week seminar on team building last May. Maybe they
a) had to attend it.
b) must have attended it. (^should have attended it.
2 A: Pity Ron and Ken were always trying to settle their own personal
disagreements.
Â: I agree. I don't think the trainer
a) may
b) should r have spent so much time on such private matters.
c) must
3 A: By the end of the seminar some people were still too shy to talk. Â: I noticed that, too. The trainer
a) must have encouraged
b) had to encourage r everyone to express themselves.
c) might have encouraged J
4 A: I particularly like the fact that we immediately had a clear sense of
direction.
B: Yeah. But I thought the overall objective
a) could
b) must r have been clearer.
c) will
5 A: One thing I wasn't too pleased about is how the trainer handled
the argument about overtime.
B: Mm. How do you think she
a) should have dealt
b) had to deal Ó with that?
c) must have dealt
8 Team building
Linking ideas
0 Match these sentence halves.
1 If possible, do not delay, take action
2 Once the aims of the session are clear to everyone,
3 We'll have finished all the tasks
4 It seems plain common sense to try to solve a conflict only
5 Tim will plan the next seminar tomorrow
6 It's a good idea to find out who each individual member is
a) after you have identified its real cause.
b) as soon as you sense a conflict.
c) before you meet them all as a team.
d) by the time the first team settles its disagreements.
e) do encourage frank and open discussion.
f) while you write the report.
ô Complete the sentences with the correct items from the box.
causal relations time relations purpose past present future
1 We use the six linkers in italics in exercise A to express.............................
2 Note that after those linkers, we use a.......................... tense to refer to the
Summarising 0
Read Jeff Bagley's e-mail to the Sales Manager, Ron Fox, about a senior member of the sales team.
From: Jeff Bagley To: Ron Fox
Subject: Confidential - Problems with sales staff
What's all this fuss about Alan Carter? Every second day I hear someone complain about him for one reason or another. What's going on in the sales team? Could you investigate?
Find out what's wrong with him. See if you can put him back on track.
Keep me posted.
8 Team building J
0 Summarise the notes Ron took during his interviews with his staff to complete section 1 of the e-mail below.
bales team comments:
- 'Why is he always late for meetings? We'd never get away with it!'
- 'Just because he has more experience, he thinks our ideas and suggestions are worth nothing.'
- 7 Know my name sounds foreign, but that's no reason to tell me to"go back to where I come from". I'm so depressed I want to leave.'
- ' I'm finding it difficult to work with someone who's so arrogant'
- 'A nice chap deep inside. Too direct, though, borne of us find him rude, even.'
- 'For him sales is a man's world and that sums it up.'
- 'If I missed half of each meeting like he does, I'd have time to make as many calls as he does'
- 'He had the cheek to ask me why I wasn't at home looking after the kids.'
- 'We does not propose or suggest - he dictates.'
From: Ron Fox
To: Jeff Bagley
Subject: Complaints about Alan Carter
I had not realised that the problems with Alan had gone that far.
At your request, I have looked into the matter. First, I talked to his colleagues within the team, and then I had a long chat with him. Finally, on the basis of the information gathered, I drew some conclusions.
1 What the team members had to say
The. comments made by. sales staff, revolve around three.areas;.
2 What Alan had to say
When I talked to Alan, he admitted he was 'probably not the most tactful person on earth', especially with female colleagues, but insisted his attitude was mistaken for rudeness.
As regards his lack of punctuality, he explained he made more calls every day than anyone else, and that increasing sales, not attending meetings, was his priority.
Finally, he complained about what he called the 'aggressiveness and competitiveness' of the younger sales staff, and said he found it difficult to make himself heard in meetings.
3 Conclusions and recommendations
On the one hand, some of the complaints about Alan seem justified. In particular, he was reprimanded for his racist and sexist remarks and jokes. I have no doubt, however, that he is an asset to the department and extremely committed to the company.
On the other hand, it is clear that there are problems within the team as a whole and that they need to learn to work together more effectively.
I would like to recommend that part of our budget be put aside for the whole sales team to attend the kind of team building seminar admin staff attended last year.
Raising finance
Vocabulary
Q Complete the sentences with the best word from the box.
1 Their company has .ÀÚØð... of £70 million and liabilities of £40 million.
2 Repayment of the loan will be in ten........................ at three-month intervals.
3 Their bank warned that unless they repaid the.......................... they could face
legal action.
4 Unless the situation improves dramatically, our company will be forced to file for........................
5 We are a group of financial advisers specialising in mergers and............................
6 Surprisingly, BLT Inc. is selling off its 30%........................ in Kommerz Bank.
7 The company has been put into....................... , and the chances that it will
keep going are very slim.
8 Customers not paying bills on time caused a major.......................... problem.
9 You can raise finance against debts due from customers via...........................
discounting.
10 We offered the...................... a 10% share in the profits and a seat on the
board of directors.
11 The EU often awards development....................... to its poorer members.
12..................... capital is a general term for money that is lent to someone when
they start a business.
0 Complete the text with the best word from page 37.
Microcredit
The term 'microcredit' is used to describe the extension of small loans to entrepreneurs too poorto qualify for traditional bank loans. It is often associated with the work of Professor Muhammad Yunus, who has 2[9#?&Ã$&.} many innovative programmes for the rural poor, several of which have been............ 2 by the Bangladeshi government.
Although definitions of microcredit......... ç fr0m country to country, there are a number of common
essential characteristics. First of all, loans are very small in size, and the target users are always
very small entrepreneurs and low-........ * households. Secondly, funds are used for income
............ 5, enterprise development or community use. Finally, most...... 6 and conditions for
microcredit loans are......... f, easy to understand and suited to the local conditions of the
community.
Microcredit has proved an effective and popular measure in the ongoing struggle against poverty,
enabling those without.......... 8 to lending institutions to borrow at bank......... 9 and start small
businesses.
a)
invented
b)
pioneered
c)
opened
d)
made
a)
adopted
b)
taken
held
d)
changed
a)
differ
b)
move
c)
adapt
d)
rotate
a)
rate
b)
fund
money
d)
income
a)
rise
b)
increase
generation
d)
production
a)
rules
b)
contracts
c)
terms
d)
laws
a)
flexible
b)
positive
c)
fixed
d)
favourable
a)
opening
b)
access
c)
way
d)
step
a)
premiums
b)
duties
c)
fees
d)
rates
Language review
Q Complete the two texts with the prepositions given in the boxes.
Prepositions
NEWSDIGEST
K
ersta said yesterday it had entered ... JPfP....1 exclusive talks with Lindcom for the sale of Deltelfone. Kersta acquired Deltelfone earlier in
January and said then that it would dispose........................ 2
the business.
Analysts say a flotation of 49.9 per cent of the
business, which was scheduled.................... 3 April if an
agreement could not be reached....................... 4 a trade
sale, would probably have valued Deltelfone at 7 - lObn euros.
Kersta refused to comment...................... 5 the size of the
bid.
The takeover of Deltelfone by Lindcom would certainly create potential...................... 6 rationalisation.
O
ne of the largest car makers is considering permanent reductions..................... 7 list prices.
The proposal follows a spate of discounting by smaller rivals and the introduction of the government
order aimed................... 8 opening up the new car
market.
Executives are studying how such a price initiative
would impact................... 9 its fleet customers, who
benefit.................. 10 discounts based on recommended
retail prices.
Any cut.................. 11 list prices would almost certainly
force copycat action by other companies. Carmakers have until December to comply ............... 12 the government order on car pricing.
for for mte of on on
at from in in on with
0 Indicate where the missing prepositions belong.
1 The markets are suspicious^) the system's lack of transparency a) of and banks have lost some of their influence ^corporations. b) over
2 There is fierce competition in the growing market high-speed c) for Internet access.
3 Some executives involved the deal argue that the competition d) in authorities are intimidated by the complexity the issue. e) of
4 They all agreed that weak management was largely to blame f) for the downfall the company. g) of
5 As the company had thrived rising property prices, so it suffered h) on when they began to fall.
6 Public protests the cost of energy, as well as worries about i) about the impact business and inflation, are forcing governments to j) on think hard about what their response should be.
Q Insert the missing preposition in each sentence.
1 Although the traditional approach had its strengths, it became an excuse jjor avoiding the structural reforms the country needed.
2 The engineering company KNG first hinted a share buyback last month.
3 Such buybacks are rarely implemented, although many companies have sought permission them.
4 The CEO said the company would concentrate medium-sized acquisitions.
5 KNG's international division accounts just 23% of sales.
6 The company needs to increase production to generate the cash flow required expensive development programmes.
Writing
Emphasising
Q Match these sentence halves.
1 Rarely do banks agree
2 Not once did he tell them he
3 Never before have so many people
4 Under no circumstances should we
5 On no account should you
6 At no time in the company's history did it end up
a) had requested a massive loan.
b) becoming very dependent on lenders.
c) take out a loan if you know you can't afford the repayments.
d) asked for a loan for cosmetic surgery.
e) to arrange loans over the telephone.
f) extend their credit.
0 Cross out the two incorrect explanations.
A special word order is used in the six sentences in exercise A in order to a) express time relations b) add emphasis c) sound more informal
Editing Q Read this short text about European tax havens.
• In most of the lines a-15 there is one extra word which does not fit. Some lines, however, are correct.
• If a line is correct, put a tick (✓) in the space provided.
• If there is an extra word in the line, write that word in the space.
"^Bmi^a^id^theTf^^ 1 ..}/._____
begun writing to their clients for making them aware of a little-publicised European ) 2 .for.....
Union savings directive, expected to come into force in July. i 3 ............
Under the directive, financial institutions and in EU member states will be required \ 4 .........................................
to hand over to the relevant tax authority an information about savings income / 5 .........................
received by EU individuals not resident in the country where the account is held, ë 6 ......................
The information will be handed to the tax authority where the account of holder is s 7 ........................
resident even so that it can be compared with what has been declared on their \ 8 ..........
domestic tax returns. i 9 ...........
Payments affected include interest on bonds, savings of certificates, term deposits, ( 10 ...................................
current accounts and savings accounts. Other types of income, including company È ...........................................
dividends, pensions and rents are not considered to be the savings income. ( 12 ...................
The Inland Revenue says the directive ■ which may only applies to individuals and \ 13 ...................................
not companies and most trusts will have any little impact on those who /14 .....................................................
legitimately declare their savings income received outside the UK. / 15 ...................
FINANCIAL TIMES )
Requesting ô Complete this fax requesting payment of an overdue invoice with the correct payment form of a verb from the box.
arrange assume have make regret remind
Adria Wines, 10 Trg Nikole Tesle, 81 000 Podgorica, Montenegro