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Unit1

Keywords

In modern business, company employees often have business contacts in different countries. When we meet someone for the first time, we greet the person. We introduce ourselves by saying our first name and surname. Sometimes we give the person a business card with details about our job title and company

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Working in a foreign country

Today, more and more people travel in their job. Carlos Ghosn is a Rrazilian businessman and he travels lo different countries for his work. He is the head of the French car company Ren"ult, and he spends 40 per cent of hi' time in Paris. He is also the head of Nissan, and he spends 35 per cent of his time in Asia, in Tokyo. He spends 25 per cent of his time in other countries, such as the USA

Some employees travel to different countries to work on projects. They arc in a country until Cl project ends and then they return home. For example, many IT engineers live in India but work on project n the UK and the USA Other people live. In a country but go to work every day a different country. In Europe, workers regularly commute between Brussels, London and Paris. Plane ticket are not expensive and travel between the cities is easy with a European passport.

But is the increase in business travel a good thing? It is interesting for employees to meet different nationalities. It is also good for business to have contacts in different countries around the world. But there are also problems. Some employees spend a lot of time away from their home country and it is not easy tor governments to decide exactly wh.-e workers should pay tax.

Unit2

Keynotes

A team is a group of people in, for example, business or sport, or at a college or work, who work together and have a similar aim. A team leader usually organizes the team members and listens to their opinions. It is difficult for teamwork to be effective without good communicate.

Read Teams with bright ideas

Setter ways of working together

Teams are important in modern business. Many companies want all their employees to be good at teamwork and they want the CEO, directors and managers to be good at organizing teamwork.

In traditional teams, people usually work for the same company. Sometimes team members are from the same department and sometimes from different departments. Today, colleagues often work on international projects, and modern technology helps members of the team to communicate. People use the internet and video (hội nghị) to talk to each other when they are in different countries.

Teams are not always formal. Employees often meet with people from other departments at work, for example over coffee. These groups are not organized teams, but they are important. They network and talk about work, and they help to communicate information between departments.

Some companies have teams that meet in unusual places. Companies build room for teamwork so that these special teams can meet outside their normal office. The rooms look different from normal offices, for example painted in bright colours. Some managers think this helps teams ro be creative. It is also important to have regular (thường xuyên, thường lệ, có quy tắc) contact with other departments in the main company - such as design, marketing. production and finance. This sometimes helps the team to decide if an idea is good or bad.

Unit3

Keynotes

Many companies specialize in one sector such as manufacturing (the company make products), retail (the company sells products to the public) or service industries (for example, finance, consultants, training). When we talk about a company, we often include information about what it does, the location of the headquarters and the number of employees.

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Luxottica makes sunglasses. It is an Italian company and 85% of its factories are in Italy. But less than 5% of Luxottica's sales are in its home country. Most of Luxottica's shops are in the USA. The company produces glasses for Chanel,Prada, Bulgari and other companies selling luxury goods. It also owns Ray-Ban sunglasses, and about 15% of the group's sales are from Ray-Ban.

Luxottica's main competitor is Safilo, another Italian glasses manufacturer (hãng sản xuất). The big difference between Luxottica and Safilo is that Safilo has 50 shops and Luxottica has nearly 5,500 shops.

Luxottica started as a manufacturing company. Today, they make more money from retail (bán lẻ) than from manufacturing. They specialize in glasses that cost £50 or more. This market is ten times more profitable than the market in cheap glasses.

The company has two big challenges in the future. The first challenge is China. At the moment, Luxottica has 250 shops there. But the company wants to double the number of shops to 500. The second challenge is the next chairperson. The companv 's founder is 70-year-old Mr Del Vecchio. At the moment, he is the chairperson and he owns 70% of the company. It is a family company, but Mr Del Vecchio's four children don't work for Luxonica. A new chairperson could make changes - that turn Luxottica from a family company into a multinational (công ty đa quốc gia)

Unit 4

Keynotes

We can use the word office to describe the building that a company is in or an individual (cá thể, riêng biệt) room where employees work. Many workers share an office or have a desk in an open-plan office. Moder technology now makes it easier for people to have a home office, so our work life and home life are closer than ever before.

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I 'm writing this article at my desk. It isn't a tidy desk - there are lots of things on it (books, brochures (sách nhỏ quảng cáo), files, notepads (giấy nhớ) and newspapers). There are six pens and some documents next to the keyboard and there's a printer under my chair. It isn't a problem, and there are a lot of desks like mine in The Economist's offices.

But in many companies it's very important to have a tidy office. Some companies say that workers can't leave documents or paper on their desk at the end of the day, Employees put all the documents into filing cabinets or drawers. Experts (chuyên gia) say that a person who works at an untidy desk is not organized and spends about one-and-a-half hours a day looking for things. An organized worker always has a tidy workspace.

But is that true? Research shows that there are two types of worker. The first type is the 'filer' (người sắp xếp). They receive a document and immediately file (sắp xếp) it. The second type is the 'piler' ( người có chồng tài liệu trên bàn), They have piles of paper on their desk. Who do you think can find things quickly? The answer may surprise you.

Workers who file everything have a tidy desk, but they file too much. There are two main problems with this. First, the files and filing cabinets (tủ ngăn kéo) take a lot of space in the office. And second, there are so many files that it takes time to remember where a particular (cá nhân) document is.

Now let's look at 'pilers', They often have an untidy desk, but they aren't always disorganised. Some experts say that a busy desk helps 'pilers' to think about current projects and makes it easy to find documents.

So next time you tidy your desk, stop and think. Perhaps an untidy desk makes it easier to find things!

Unit 5

Keynotes

Some companies organize 'corporate (tập thể) events to celebrate special occasions at work. Many companies also organize events to entertain clients (khách hàng). They give the guests at these events free drinks, food and entertainment.

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The annual office picnic is popular social event for many companies in the USA. Employees go to local parks with food and their families each summer. At the moment, company picnics aren't regular event in Britain. But some British businesses think they could be a good opportunity for employees to socialise, in an informal way.

Abel & Cole is a British catering (cung cấp lương thực) company. The company has a big office picnic every year. Gary Congress organizes Abel & Cole's annual picnic. 'Christmas parties great but they are quite formal; with a picnic it's much more relaxed,' he says. Employees like picnics because they can arrive and leave when they want to. They relax, eat and play games with family and colleagues.

But arc picnics more of a problem to organize than other events? Many people don't like insects, noisy children or had weather - and these call all happen on a picnic. Food is probably (hầu như chắc chắn) the main health and safety concern (lo lắng) because hot weather makes it difficult to keep food cool and edible. Some types of food, such as fish, meat and cheese, are dangerous if they arc in the sun too long.

A catering company call deliver food to a picnic. This is useful for companies with a large staff because it helps the food stay fresh. Managers can enjoy the picnic without worrying that half the workers may be ill the next day. Cary Congress recommends picnics as a staff social event. 'We put photos from the summer picnic all over the office and it brings back great memories.

Unit 6

Keynotes

Different countries have different currencies and the exchange rate usually changes everyday. This can change the cost of living and the price we pay for goods. Price is also important when we choose a supplier (công ty cung cấp). Sometimes it is possible to negotiate (dàn xếp) a discount (khoản chiết khấu) on a large orders.

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Today, many rich and famous people give money to charity (quỹ từ thiện). Technology billionaire Bill Gates recently gave $31 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Other technology leaders also give away money. Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, and Jeff Skoll, eBay's first CEO, want to use their billions to help 'make the world a better place'.

Why do charities receive so much money? One reason is that there are more rich people than in the past. The world now has 691 billionaires, compared with 423 in 1996. Rich people in many different countries give millions of euros, riyals, yen and other currencies to charity.

What can the world of charity learn from the world of business? Michael Porter, a management guru (bậc thầy quản lý) at the Harvard Business School, believes that the rich need to think about how their charitable foundations spend money. In the USA, it is traditional for the rich to give money to hospitals, libraries and universities. These are very important, but some people think that this does not always help the very poor.

People with a lot of money often have useful social connections. They usually know- how to market ideas and how to interest the media in a subject. So, some people think that the rich can give more than money. They can also use their time, social connections and skills to help find solutions to some of the world's problems, such as poverty (nghèo nàn) and the environment.

Unit 7

Keynotes

Sometimes we work on a project with other people and sometimes we work individually. Projects can be big or small, but it is always important to know the aim. Important projects usually have a projects manager responsible for the budget and schedule. Many projects have a deadline, a fixed date when they need to finish.

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George Stephenson built a railway from Liverpool to Manchester in the1820s. It was 45 per cent over budget and there were a lot of delays. Today, it is still difficult to manage big projects. The construction of Wembley Stadium, the home of English soccer, was £75Om ($1.4 billion) over budget and the project finished late.

Smaller projects can also have problems. Research shows that IT projects often have problems with budgets and deadlines. In 2004, the cost of IT projects was usually 56 per cent more than the budget, and most projects took 84 per cent more time than planned.

Some projects fail because the work takes longer than planned. Sometimes the cost of labour or materials is more than the agreed budget. But good project management can increase a company's profits. A big German company decided to improve its project management, and the result was that it added one billion euros per year to its profits.

Project management isn't a new science. It has an international association (sự kết hợp), the Project Management Institute PMI), based in Pennsylvania, USA. The PMI sets professional exams that thousands of people take every year. It has 150.000 members in 150 countries. All of the members are specialists in managing projects.

So, it is possible for big projects to succeed. The Saudi-Aramco Haradh gas pipeline is one example. The $2 billion project finished six months early and 27 per cent under budget. The project manager and the client were both very happy.

Unit 8

Keynotes

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, inventions and new technology changed the world. Many of these things, for example, electricity, cars and computers, made life easier. But they are also created new problems, for example, we produce and use four times more energy today than we did 50 years ago, and now we need to look for solutions. In the twenty-first century, we need to find new types of power.

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Dr lrvine-Halliday is a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Calgary in Canada. Dr Irvine-Halliday went on a walking trip tu Nepal in 1997 and he saw that people in the villages used lanterns, to light their homes. The lanterns (đèn lồng) were smelly and dangerous and the light wasn't very bright. Dr Irvine-Halliday wanted to help solve the problem. So, he started the Light Up The World Foundation. It is a charity that gives LED lights to thousands of people around the world.

About 1.6 billion people worldwide don't have electricity. They use oil in their lamps. But it is an expensive fuel. It is also inefficient (không có hiệu quả) and causes indoor and outdoor air pollution.

LED lights are an ideal solution to the problem. They only need a little power and this means that people can use them in areas where there is no electricity. They can run on AA batteries, or solar power. LEDs can give up to 100 times more light than lanterns, and they last a long time. When people began to use LED lights, it changed their lives. They increased productivity and it gave them more time to study. It also reduced health problems and accidental fires.

Now, it is important to make LEDs less expensive. For example, families in rural Kenya spend about $7 a month on oil for lighting. A solar-powered LED lamp last longer, but many people cannot afford (có đủ khả năng) the $25 to $50 that the lamps cost to buy. When charities and other organisations find a solution to the price problem, the future could be bright.

Unit 9

Keynotes

Each product has its own special features, the things that make it useful or different from other products on the market. A product description contains details about these features, and about what the product does and what it is for. It also gives information about the size, weight and shape of the product.

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Two things are often true about toy production. First, toys are usually made cheaply in low-cost economies. And secondly, toy manufacturers generally need a large population of children to sell their products to. Japan is big, expensive and rich. It also has a low population of children. So, do toys sell badly in the Japanese market?The surprising answer is no. In fact, Japan has a successful toy industry. One reason that the market is a success is that Japan uses modern technology and the toys are well designed. Another reason is that many manufacturers now market toys to adults as well as children.

Toy makers happily design more and more new toys for adults. Some of the toys are very expensive. There is a walking robot toy that is popular with middle-aged men. It has a 100-page instruction manual and costs ¥ 126,000 ($1,105) And there is a talking boy doll that is popular with women over 40. Not all the toys use modern technology. Some manufacturers now produce simple toys and games that are also popular. One example is a baseball game with small plastic players.

Why are toys so popular with adults? One reason is that modern employees work hard. They want to come home and forget the office. These toys help people to relax and play. Some of the products now sell well in other countries, too. The top-selling toys in the USA and Europe are often Japanese. Toys for adults could soon be in a toyshop near you.

Unit 10

Keynotes

In the past, companies tried to be more competitive by offering a better price, service or product. In today's market it is also important to find ways to be different from the competition. To help them to do this, companies often carry out market research to find out what customers think. Then they use the information to help them to increase their market share.

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Ratan Tata trained to be an architect. Then he worked for the family firm, the Tata Group - one of the biggest companies in India. It has companies in many different sectors, including the car industry and the steel industry. The company's latest project is producing a car that costs under $3,000.

Mr.Tata does not drink or smoke and he does not like publicity. He became chairperson in 1991. At that time, Tata was a difficult organization to manage. There were more than 300 different companies in the group and some were old-fashioned. Today, there are only 96 companies and the group is more modern.

In the past, it was difficult for Tata to trade outside India because of competition from other countries. Now it exports internationally. The Tata Group is also buying companies in different countries. At the moment, one of the companies in the group, Tata Steel, is trying to buy Corus, a European steel company. But it has a competitor: CSN, a Brazilian company, also wants to buy Corus.

Ratan Tata is making changes to the company. Many of these changes help make the group more competitive. But he isn't changing all the group's traditions. For example, the Tata Group still tries to help its workers- the children of Tata's steelworkers first started to have free education in 1917. Two third of the Tata Group is owned by charitable foundations, and today they are still helping people in India. Investors sometimes ask: 'Is Tata doing the right thing? Is charity good for business?' But Mr. Tata thinks it is possible to help people and be competitive at the same time.

Unit 11

Keynotes

People decide to move aboard for many reasons. When choosing a location, it is necessary to consider things like cost of living, healthcare quality of life. Global business means that many people have the opportunity to experience new cultures and climates while developing their career. Some people emigrate because they want to live and work in another country for the rest of their lives.

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More and more Britons are living in other countries. A recent report said that almost 200,000 Britons left the country last year with no plans to return. A British person emigrates every three minutes, and 5.5m British people now live aboard.

Many younger people leave - a lot of students go abroad to study, Older people are usually retired and want a warmer climate to live in. Two thirds of the people that emigrate are workers. Some are managers and others do manual or administrative jobs. Australia is the favorite country for English people to emigrate to. Spain and the USA are also popular.

Why do people leave? Many want to find a better job. A quarter of people say that they want to leave Britain because the cost of living is high. Homeowners with expensive houses can buy a bigger place abroad; young people want to move because houses in other countries are cheaper than in Britain. Research suggests that the quality of life in Britain is worse than in some other countries. But most people leave for positive reasons: many think that living in another country is more interesting - they leave because they want to have a happier life.

It is becoming more difficult for British people to emigrate to countries outside the European Union. Most countries want professional or skilled workers, for example, builders, engineers and doctors. But other skills are also popular in some countries - Australia, for example, needs hairdressers.

Unit 12

Keynotes

In the past, workers often stayed with one company for their whole career until they retired. Now employees regularly change companies, perhaps because they want promotion and a higher salary. When we apply for a job, things like pay, working conditions and pension can be important. Many modern employees also want jobs that give them enough free time to spend with their family and friends.

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Manpower has been a successful employment agency for about 60 years. It has supplied temporary employees to companies since 1948. That's when the first office opened in Milwaukee, in the USA. Two lawyer started the company when they were unable to find temporary help with a project. Today, it is a global company with offices all around the world.

Employment agencies supply companies with different types of workers. These include professional and administrative workers in offices, and manual workers in factories and on building sites. Temporary workers (also called 'temps') now make up between one and three per cent of the total workforce in most countries. Multinational companies have employed temps for a long time. Now smaller companies also use temporary workers.

Have careers changed very much since the 1990s? A decade ago, people expected to work for the same company until they retired. Today, nobody expects a job for life any more. People move from job to job, working in different companies or in different departments. Training is important because it improves workers' skills. This can help employees to find better jobs or get a promotion.

In some jobs there aren't enough skilled workers. Some companies want retired people with skills to return to work. Japan, Australia and Italy have started to employ older workers. Companies need organisations like Manpower to arrange training for older employees, for example to use computers or to work with a younger boss.