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London Chamber of Commerce and Industry International Qualifications
www.lcciiq.com
English for Business Level 3
Past Papers 2011
Stiftung Warentest : „Ein Zertifikat in Wirtschaftsenglisch von der Londoner
Handelskammer macht sich gut im Job“
www.lcciiq.com [email protected]
3041/2/11 Page 1 of 7 ASE 3041 2 11 1
Series 2 Examination 2011
INSTRUCTIONS FOR CANDIDATES Answer all 4 questions.
All questions carry equal marks.
All answers should be correctly numbered, but do not need to be in numerical order.
Adequate and appropriate communication is more important than a particular number of words.
Check your work carefully.
You may use an English or bilingual dictionary.
ENGLISH FOR BUSINESS Level 3 Friday 8 April Subject Code: 3041 Time allowed: 3 hours
3041/2/11 Page 2 of 7
QUESTION 1 Situation You are employed in the Customer Services section of a retail company, Marketplace Books, which is in your area. The company sells a range of foreign language textbooks and has been very successful in marketing student textbooks. This morning, your manager, Ms Usha Patel, hands you the following letter from a customer.
28 Woodside Gardens 6
th April 2011
Hever Village Chepstow CH4 3TP Dear Sir or Madam Order No FR767780 - French Textbooks Recently I ordered 10 copies of French Language, Level 2, textbook (ISBN78567345-2-01) published by Lachette. When placing the order I was told I should receive the books within four to five days. That was nearly two weeks ago and I am still waiting. I need these books for students who are enrolled on a French Conversation class. The delay in delivery has caused much inconvenience both to the students and to me. I await your comments. Yours faithfully Delphine Cohen
Mrs Delphine Cohen
Ms Patel says to you: “Would you write to this person please? I was sorry to receive her letter, especially as Mrs Cohen is a long-standing customer of ours. She‟s a teacher at an adult education centre and has been buying books from us for many years. Also, I know that the Language School in Edinburgh ordered copies of the same book last week. I‟d better check if they received them. “I have contacted the Despatch Section who confirm that the books were packaged and collected by the carrier company who are usually very reliable. Do make it clear in your letter that the vast majority of our orders are usually delivered well within the expected delivery time; however, occasionally a package may be delayed. Our carriers have proven over time to offer a very efficient and reliable service. The anticipated delivery date is now within the next seven days. “Make the usual apologies and do stress that this is not a common occurrence but when it does happen we take full responsibility should any item become lost or damaged and we are happy to replace these items at our own cost. I don‟t want to lose her custom, so suggest to her that on her next order we will offer a discount of 10%.” Task Write a letter to Mrs Cohen as requested. You can assume that the company‟s headed notepaper is used but you should include all other components of a business letter.
(Total 25 marks)
3041/2/11 Page 3 of 7
QUESTION 2
Situation
You work in the Human Resources office of Catchcall, which is a large industrial call centre in your area. Recent statistics have shown that over the last year labour turnover in the company has risen from 5% to 15%. You know from previous experience that this rate is far higher than at similar call centres. You are very concerned to understand the reasons why staff are leaving the company. Senior management have asked that a survey be carried out into this and a report made. Your manager, Ms Anna Klewer, has asked you to investigate further, and produce a report for the Operations Committee on this problem of increasing staff turnover. Your report should include recommendations on what the company should do. The notes of your research are as follows:
From: Interview with Human Resources Office of a similar-sized company to Catchcall “We had similar problems here. Remember staff do sometimes leave for unavoidable reasons, such as ill health, retirement. It‟s called involuntary turnover. Voluntary turnover is where staff leave for reasons such as for more pay, better prospects or job dissatisfaction. This is often a key indicator of discontent amongst staff and a warning of a poorly-led organisation by management. Here we set up a consultative committee of staff and management to try to identify what was wrong. “We found one of the solutions was to offer staff flexi-time working. This proved to be very popular with both male and female staff as it enabled them to be more flexible and able to cope with the demands of work and their domestic responsibilities. We also improved the working conditions at work and provided a rest-room with tea/coffee-making facilities. “Perhaps one of the most important, however, was the introduction of an “attendance” bonus. Staff liked the opportunity of boosting their income this way and it proved most successful. We also looked at the jobs themselves and organised a system of job rotation, whereby staff could switch jobs with other staff and gain experience of working in different positions within the organisation. We also ran courses for staff on job enlargement, so that their particular skills and expertise could be developed.”
From: Interviews with staff at Catchcall who had given notice of their intention to leave “I‟m leaving because my job is so boring! I do the same things day after day. The pay‟s poor and there‟s no incentive to stay. When I joined the company I thought I would have the chance to learn new skills but the only training I had was very limited and confined to my current job.” “I‟m leaving because I have three young children and it is difficult getting them to school in the mornings and picking them up in the afternoon. I asked about working flexi-time, but was told it was not company policy. The working conditions are not good here. We have nowhere to put our coats or personal belongings, and have to have coffee breaks at our desks.” “I‟m leaving because the atmosphere is not friendly. There is no area where staff can meet and talk. Also there are no facilities for lunch here and nowhere to store personal items securely.” “I‟m leaving because I‟m getting married and my husband and I will be moving out of the area. This place wasn‟t too bad – a bit disorganised perhaps - but the work wasn‟t difficult. I know the younger workers are more demanding and want to have more opportunities to develop themselves”.
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
3041/2/11 Page 4 of 7
QUESTION 2 CONTINUED
From: Interviews with existing staff at Catchcall “I‟ve only been here a short time, but I have noticed that the staff turnover is quite high. I was given some training in my first week during the Induction Programme, but no further training has been organised.” “Unfortunately my manager is leaving and as yet we don‟t know if or when he will be replaced. I hope the management do appoint someone soon, as morale amongst staff is quite low. If things don‟t improve I think I will probably try to find another post in a company which is more dynamic and where there are more job opportunities”.
From: Staff comments (given anonymously) “This place is a mess! No one is interested in working hard and there is little or no interaction with other staff. I hardly ever see my manager - and rumour has it that he‟s leaving!! There is no leadership at all. The working conditions are not very good and the toilets are disgraceful!” “Staff can be rather unfriendly and not very helpful. I found it difficult here when I first joined the company but as I‟ve got to know the staff better, I realise now that they are working under a lot of pressure. The management only seems to be interested in making a profit. Working relationships with management and staff are not good. There is little consultation on both sides.”
Task Write the report for Ms Klewer as requested.
(Total 25 marks)
3041/2/11 Page 5 of 7
QUESTION 3 Situation You work for the Personnel Director of a large company in your area. You recently read an article written by the Head of Management Studies at a local university. The article was quite controversial in its point of view. Your manager is interested to know more and the outline of the article is below:
Anyone who has worked in an office will know that mistakes can be made. While most people accept that slip-ups are unavoidable, no one likes to be responsible for them. The good news is that mistakes, even big ones, don‟t have to leave a permanent mark on your career. In fact, most contribute to organisational and personal learning; they are an essential part of experimentation and a pre-requisite for innovation. So don‟t worry: if you‟ve made a mistake at work (who hasn‟t?) you can recover gracefully and use the experience to learn and grow. It was found that most people tend to overreact to their errors. As a result they may be tempted to hide their mistakes. It is much better to accept mistakes, learn from them, and move on. It is better to look forward and base decisions on the future not the past. First and foremost, it„s critical to be transparent, candid and own up to the error. Don‟t try to blame others. Even if it was a group mistake, acknowledge your role in it. In cases where someone was hurt, issue an apology. However, don‟t apologise too much or be defensive. The key is to be action-oriented and focus on the future. How will your mistake be remedied? What will you do differently going forward? Once you have admitted your blunder, it may be appropriate to reframe it. Reframing is not making an excuse but a genuine effort to help people see the mistake in a different light. It‟s important to understand what was external and internal: what was in your control and what was not. Explaining in a non-defensive way what led to the mistake can help people better understand why it happened and how to avoid it in the future. A strong support network can help you. Ask current or former colleagues or people outside the organisation for their perspective on the mistake and what they believe you can do to recover. They are likely to have some useful advice about how to frame the error and restore your reputation. The best kind of mistake is where the costs are low but the learning is high. If the error was a result of a poor decision, explain to your boss and other interested parties how you will avoid making the same or a similar mistake in the future. You have to respond quickly before people make judgements about your competence or expertise. By demonstrating that you‟ve changed as a result of your mistake, you reassure your superiors and colleagues that you can be trusted with equally important tasks or decisions in the future. It can be hard to rebuild confidence after slipping up. The key is not to let your errors make you afraid of experimentation. Once the mistake is behind you, focus on the future. Remember that mistakes are not signs of weakness or ineptitude; recovering from them demonstrates resilience and perseverance. Many employers seeking staff will look for people who made mistakes and came out ahead. Mistakes vary in degree and type, and some can be harder to recover from than others. Group mistakes are often easier to get over because there is a diffusion of responsibility. Mistakes that involve breaking someone‟s trust can have lasting consequences and contrition is vital. If your mistake caused someone to lose trust in you, approach the person and offer a sincere apology. Ask what you can do to restore their trust. But be patient – forgiveness may take a long time.
You will now be required to explain to your Manager what you have learned from the article. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
3041/2/11 Page 6 of 7
QUESTION 3 CONTINUED Task Answer the following questions in your own words, as far as possible, to show that you have understood what you have read in the article. (a) What are the main reasons given to suggest that mistakes can have positive consequences?
(2 marks) (b) What advice is given to anyone who has made a mistake?
(3 marks) (c) How does being “action-oriented” help an individual?
(2 marks) (d) What does “reframing” mean? How could this be helpful?
(4 marks) (e) Explain how a support network can provide guidance and why they can be useful.
(4 marks) (f) What do you understand by “The best kind of mistake is where the costs are low but the learning high”?
(4 marks) (g) What is meant by “resilience” and why does the writer suggest that this could be attractive to would-be employers?
(3 marks) (h) Why is it suggested that group mistakes are easier to handle than individual ones?
(3 marks)
(Total 25 marks)
3041/2/11 Page 7 of 7 © Education Development International plc 2011
QUESTION 4 Situation You work in the Human Resources Department of a large company in your area. All new staff attend the company‟s Induction Course and one of the topics that is to be discussed is how to use email effectively. You have asked existing staff in your organisation for guidance and advice. They have responded as below:
Comments from Sales staff “I‟m glad some guidance is being given to new staff. We‟re using email much more for both internal and external written communications. This is often considered to be much less formal than writing letters, however emails should be as well-written as any important letter. The main difference between writing a letter and an email is that the email is instant and non-retrievable. It is essential therefore you should think very carefully what it is you want to say before you click „send‟!” “First thing – check if you need to address the person informally or formally. Do you know the recipient? If „yes‟, how well? Also use the „subject‟ line to let the recipient know what your message is about. Use paragraphs when there‟s a change of topic or subject so that the reader is aware that a new point is being introduced.” “Use the appropriate house style; most companies have a prescribed font and style. You‟ll get more help with this from our Training Section; you can check when their training courses are running.” “When composing text be careful with punctuation because a missing comma or no full-stop could cause confusion. Also do remember short sentences and shorter line-lengths make for easier reading on-screen, so avoid complex sentence structures.” “Unlike a formal letter you don‟t have to sign off „Yours faithfully‟ or „Yours sincerely‟. However in some cases it may be appropriate to end with an informal closing – for example, „Kind regards‟, „Many thanks‟, or more impersonally „Yours‟. By the way, proof-reading is as important here as with many other documents, so is use of the spell-checker.” Comments from Training staff “Staff should be aware that computer viruses can arrive by email, so they should make sure that their anti-virus software is up-to-date and, more important, that they know how to use it properly.” “If you‟re sending an attachment, make sure you clearly identify and describe it in the text. If it is in a different format, it is a good idea beforehand to check that the recipient‟s computer is able to receive these in readable form. Remember people could get very frustrated if they are unable to access the attachment.” “It is possible with emails to set up an auto signature as a default, which appears at the foot of each message you send. This includes your name, title, as well as company details, such as address, telephone number, fax and web address. This can be useful and save time.”
Task Write a memo to be sent to all new staff.
(Total 25 marks)
3041/3/11 Page 1 of 8 ASE 3041 3 11 1
Series 3 Examination 2011
Instructions for candidates
Answer all 4 questions.
All questions carry equal marks.
All answers should be correctly numbered, but do not need to be in numerical order.
Adequate and appropriate communication is more important than a particular number of words.
Check your work carefully.
You may use an English or bilingual dictionary.
QUESTION
NO
EXAMINER USE ONLY
1
2
3
4
TOTAL
ENGLISH FOR BUSINESS Level 3 Friday 3 June Subject Code: 3041 Time allowed: 3 hours
3041/3/11 Page 2 of 8
QUESTION 1 Situation
You are employed as an administrator in the Human Resources section of DSJ Services, a large company based in the city of Norville. Your department organises many training sessions for your staff. These are often held in various hotels in the area as the company has no suitable facilities on its own premises. Three weeks ago, a training session, “Total Quality Management for Middle Managers” was held at the Station Hotel in Norville and the Manager of the hotel has sent the following letter to your manager, Ms Ivana Krivankova.
STATION HOTEL Central Boulevard, Norville NV7 6PT
2 June 2011 Ms Ivana Krivankova Human Resources Manager DSJ Services Park Street Norville NV2 9FJ Dear Ms Krivankova DSJ Training Session on 16 May 2011 As you will know, your company has used our hotel as a venue for your training sessions. These have always been successful but I must make a number of observations about the event held on 16 May 2011. First, I am sorry to report that the bill for the event has not yet been paid by your company. We allow a discount for your company on the understanding that the bill is paid within seven days but we have yet to receive the remittance. I was disappointed that there did appear to be various problems with your staff on the day of the event. In addition to reporting the non-payment of the bill, I will also mention these other problems. The most serious issue is that one of your staff, a tall young man, was reported as acting in an inappropriate manner. During the lunch break, he was reported as being aggressive to one of our serving staff and he used abusive language. There was also an issue at lunchtime when a member of your staff complained about the lack of a special diabetic menu. Our records indicated that your company had ordered some vegetarian food, which we provided, but there was no record of any food suitable for diabetics being requested. I believe our Catering Manager spoke to you at the time about this. Today, a company for whom we also hosted an event on 16 May 2011 made a return visit and mentioned that it appeared that some of your staff parked their cars in the hotel’s bus parking area when they visited us on 16 May 2011. Consequently, this company’s bus was unable to pick up its passengers at the designated space. We hope that these issues can be resolved before we accept a further booking from you. Yours sincerely Paulo Moura (Mr) (Hotel Manager)
3041/3/11 Page 3 of 8
QUESTION 1 CONTINUED Ms Krivankova says this to you. “Oh dear! I don’t like receiving letters like this. We have used this hotel a lot in the past and as Paulo suggests, they always give us a good deal. I’d like you to look into the points he makes, but be very tactful in what you say. I’d like to use the Station Hotel again in the future. “Please check with the Finance Department if the bill has been paid. This is nothing to do with our department, but maybe you can find out if there’s been a problem. Now, funnily enough, we must plead “not guilty” to this accusation about a young man and his bad behaviour. I remember that this course was very unusual in that all our staff were women! So it must have been someone from a different company. Oh yes, I do remember speaking to their Catering Manager and he was quite right. One of our staff forgot to mention to us that she needed a special diabetic diet so we didn’t order one. I apologised to her at the time. As to this car park allegation, well, please have a word with a couple of people who were there and see if you can clarify the problem.” You speak to some of the staff who attended this training event but none can remember any issue over parking in a bus space. They did point out that the hotel is not well-endowed with parking spaces. The Finance Manager did apologise. He accepted that because of staff absence, there were delays in the payment of some bills and invoices. Payment has now been made and he has made the assurance that this will not happen again. Task Write the letter as instructed by Ms Krivankova. You can assume that the company’s headed paper will be used.
(Total 25 marks)
3041/3/11 Page 4 of 8
QUESTION 2 Situation You are employed as an administrator in the offices of HIRA Financial Services, a company that provides investment services for clients in many areas. The company employs 20 Financial Advisors; each holds all the details of their clients’ financial circumstances on their computers. Recently the Company Manager, Mr Carlos Botello, has become concerned about the security of the information held on each client as there have been some well publicised instances of confidential client data being accessed illegitimately by computer “hackers” in other companies. He said this to you. “I’m getting a bit worried. We believe that our computer systems are pretty secure, but could there be a weakness in the passwords that our staff use to access the information? The other day, I asked one of our advisors to get some information for me, and I noticed that his password was “123456”. We’ve gone to the trouble to allow everyone to have a password of six characters but this number must be easy to guess. But the worst thing was that he changed it when I mentioned this – to “HELLO!” Dear me! “I’d like you to have a chat with Ahmed Ali from Ali Security – they’ve helped us a lot in the past. He can tell us what the implications are in choosing the right password. You can also do a survey of staff to check how many are using appropriate passwords. Ahmed can probably make suggestions on how to create a good password. “When you have done your research, please produce a report that can go to the Staff Liaison Committee where we discuss these matters. Produce the report any way you wish, but it would be good to start off with a summary of the passwords staff currently use and then end with recommendations for better practice. Give any other relevant information.” Your notes of the conversation you have with Ahmed Ali are as follows:
Passwords must be taken seriously – criminals can “hack” into your system – maybe from a distance – if your password can be guessed – must use one that can’t be guessed – must not tell anyone else – shouldn’t write it down (unless you hide it well) – most important, don’t forget it! Obvious ones – like 123456, ABCDEF, QWERTY, 111111, etc – easy to type in – but easily guessed – any dictionary words – criminals have sophisticated tools to guess these – many staff use personal details – eg wife or husband’s name – date of birth (eg 070872) – again easily worked out if someone investigates staff. Good passwords: Choose totally random selection of digits – use upper and lower case letters – numbers – even characters like $, %, & - very secure – difficult to remember. Needn’t go so far as this – can choose password that is easy to remember – choose a personal sentence eg “My favourite colour is dark blue” – then use initial letters – but do them backwards, ie bdicfM – maybe use a number eg “Father born 1946” (Fb1946) Most important – change password regularly – easy to do.
3041/3/11 Page 5 of 8
QUESTION 2 CONTINUED
As you suspected, most staff went for a password that was easy to remember. Half chose passwords derived from patterns on keyboards, eg “QWERTY” a single letter/number repeated (eg one member of staff chose 777777, as 7 was his “lucky number”). Others chose personal information, such as a name – sometimes their own or that of a relative. One password was “SECURE”! Only four staff chose a random selection of characters, and all four said they wrote them down in order to remember them. Only three advisors changed the passwords regularly. Task Produce the report as requested using any appropriate format.
(Total 25 marks)
3041/3/11 Page 6 of 8
QUESTION 3
Situation
You are employed in the Administration Section of a large company, Foxcroft Systems. The Company Manager, knows that you take an interest in language and communications and says this to you: “I’ve heard a lot about some new ideas concerning “body language”. I know you are knowledgeable about this sort of thing so I’d like you to look into this. Interpreting body language and using it appropriately are both important for our staff so it would be helpful to know of the latest ideas.” You find a useful website, which is given below. You should read this before you answer the questions that follow.
Everybody’s Language
It is widely known that in any face to face interactions, “body language” is a significant factor in the communication that takes place. This concerns the non-spoken parts of the communication and includes facial expression, gestures and posture. Some of this language can be controlled but much of it is involuntary. Therefore, there are valuable skills to be gained for those in business; it is important that you are able to send a correct message with your own body language but it is also vital that you should be able to interpret other people’s language. If you have not gained either of these skills then the communication taking place might not be fully effective. These two skills are closely linked. If you are able to recognise and control your own body language, you will develop a good understanding of how to interpret the language of others. It is important that one large issue is mentioned at the outset. The vocabulary of gestures differs from country to country, or more particularly from culture to culture. For example, in many cultures the nodding of the head indicates affirmation or agreement, and the shaking of the head from side to side means “no” or disagreement. However, these actions do have the opposite meanings in some places. Therefore in the business world, it is just as important that organisations should ensure that their staff have an understanding of the local language and the culture. As far as your own body language is concerned, the most important fact to remember is that it can draw attention to contradictions. For example, if your spoken language is meant to be assertive, even aggressive, then aspects of your body language, such as involuntary movements of your feet can demonstrate that you are highly anxious or nervous. As long as your communication is open and honest such contradictions will not appear, but you must practice the art of deception! If you realise that your body language and spoken language can be contradictory, then this will assist you in recognising this contradiction in others. Some aspects of this topic are huge areas of psychological study. For example, there is a close link between the way a person looks at someone else “straight in the eye” and how comfortable the speaker is with what he is saying. There is also a widespread belief that “feet are more honest than hands.” Those who have learned a great deal about body language are able to keep the upper half of their bodies under control, particularly the hands. But, particularly when they are seated, their feet are more difficult to control, as indicated earlier. Successful communication plays a major role in the business world. It is easy to overlook the part that body language plays in this.
3041/3/11 Page 7 of 8
Task Answer the following questions, in your own words as far as possible, to demonstrate your understanding of the points raised. (a) What is meant by the term “body language”? (3 marks) (b) What are the two main reasons why it is important for someone who is involved in business communication to have a knowledge of body language? (2 marks) (c) What is meant by “involuntary” body language and how does this differ from “voluntary” body language? (2 marks) (d) Why is it important to understand that there is a cultural dimension to the use of body language? What example of such an issue is given in the text? (5 marks) (e) What is meant by the phrase “(body language) can draw attention to contradictions”? Give an example of how this can happen. (4 marks) (f) What is the link between the feelings of the speaker and the way in which he/she uses eye contact? (3 marks) (g) Why is it suggested that “feet are more honest than hands” when
body language is observed? (3 marks) (h) From your own experience of using or seeing others’ body language, give examples of the use of body language and what it means or indicates. (3 marks)
(Total 25 marks)
3041/3/11 Page 8 of 8 © Education Development International plc
QUESTION 4
Situation You are employed as an administrator for a large company involved in Marketing and Public Relations, PR Strategies. The company specialises in carrying out market research for a range of companies to assist them to devise new products or sales strategies. The Company Manager, Mr Maher Mujahed, says this to you: “I don’t know if you’ve heard about this new market research called “ethnography”. I must say, I thought it sounded a little odd when I first heard about it as it involves sending our researchers out to live with families. I think the word “ethnography” comes from a type of anthropology, but I might be wrong there. It certainly means actually living with a family, sometimes for a few days but sometimes for several weeks, so the researcher can make an in-depth study of lifestyles and purchasing habits of the members of the family. Now I’m very tempted to introduce this system here, so I’d like you to draft a memo to explain to our staff what “ethnography” means, and please try to sell the idea to them. We will be looking for volunteers from our staff soon, so please do a good job and make it sound attractive. “I’m sure some of our staff will think this is not a good idea. Between ourselves, I think I know already what John Steiner is going to say. John does his job very well, but he doesn’t like new ideas, does he? “Well, you can say that really this idea expands on a couple of programmes we have already run. We did ask families to keep detailed diaries of everything they did over a period of time, and you will recall we piloted fitting video cameras into homes so we can actually observe what people do. The problem is that these two methods are simply not interactive. If the researcher is there on hand, he or she can ask questions and clarify any issues. “As far as the practicalities go, we’d have to be very selective in choosing appropriate families and researchers. Please make it very clear that any researchers involved would be volunteers, and we’ll make sure they are all fully trained. I can hear some of our staff asking some questions, already, such as “Do we have to stay overnight?” That’s the question that always seems to be asked first! The simple answer is “maybe”. There could be occasions when the researcher might have to do a 24 hour shift, although to be honest, I think this will be rare. This will depend on what we are researching, as will so many things. For example, I’ve heard that sometimes we tell the families what we are researching, but on other occasions we won’t. If they know what we are researching, they might behave differently. “In fact, I’ve got in mind the documentary programmes in which television researchers went into people’s homes – what were they called? Wasn’t it something like a “fly on the wall” documentary? They worked well when the researchers just blended into the background and the families acted normally as if they weren’t there. “Sorry, I’ve rambled on a little. Are you clear what I’m asking you to do? Please send a circular memo to all staff explaining what “ethnography” means and why we are thinking of introducing it. Actually, I should have said at the beginning that some of the world’s biggest companies have used this technique – I have heard that Microsoft found it very valuable. You’d better also stress that not only will our researchers be volunteers, but we’ll make sure they are well paid for their work. This is not a cheap method of research, but the results have proved to be really valuable. “Thanks a lot for your help. Good luck! Of course, if staff have any concerns about this, I’d be happy to speak to anyone – even Mr Steiner!” Task Write a memo as requested.
(Total 25 marks)
3041/4/11 Page 1 of 9 ASE 3041 4 11 1
Series 4 Examination 2011
INSTRUCTIONS FOR CANDIDATES
Answer all 4 questions.
All questions carry equal marks.
All answers should be correctly numbered, but do not need to be in numerical order.
Adequate and appropriate communication is more important than a particular number of words.
Check your work carefully.
You may use an English or bilingual dictionary.
ENGLISH FOR BUSINESS Level 3 Wednesday 9 November Subject Code: 3041 Time allowed: 3 hours
3041/4/11 Page 2 of 9
QUESTION 1 Situation You are employed as an administrator of a charitable organisation, Children’s Research (CR), that supports medical research on children’s diseases, in the small town of Midville. You have just witnessed a conversation between Ms Yvonne Samber, the Chairperson of the Management Committee of CR and Mr Michael Morcos, who is the Chief Fundraiser for the charity. Mr Morcos spoke to you earlier and you have already agreed to produce a letter to local businesses, if this is agreed. The conversation was as follows: Ms Samber: Well, Michael, I believe you’ve got a good idea for raising money for the charity. It would be very helpful if we could raise some funds at the moment. Mr Morcos: Yes, it’s an idea I’ve seen work well elsewhere. We should publish a small booklet regularly and sell advertising space in it. Ms Samber: Hmm. I’m not sure. Do we have to write a lot of material? Mr Morcos: That’s the beauty of the plan. We really don’t have to write very much – perhaps a page or two about what we are doing, but the whole publication is full of adverts. Ms Samber: So you think people would buy this magazine, do you? Mr Morcos: No, that’s another great advantage. You can get a good quality magazine printed for quite a low cost now – including colour and pictures. We raise our funds by selling the advertising space; the magazine is then delivered free to households in the area. My brother is a printer and he would give us a good deal on the printing costs, and it’s not expensive to get a distribution service to push them through all the letterboxes in the town. Ms Samber: I see. This sounds like a good plan. How often do you think we should publish it? Mr Morcos: Well, I’d say we should do it monthly, at least at first. We could reduce the number of editions later, but if it’s monthly, we could have special editions for different seasons, you know, a summer special and the like. Ms Samber: So how do you propose we contact the businesses? Mr Morcos: Initially, we write to them. We can easily get a list of all businesses in the town from the Town Council, and I would suggest that we tell them about this and ask for their support. There are about 80,000 households in the town, so the advertising will reach a vast range of people. Ms Samber: If we write the letter we can certainly point out that everyone wins. The business gains more customers whilst supporting a very good cause. I’m sure businesses would be happy to support us and our work in promoting research into children’s diseases. Mr Morcos: Oh yes, the letter should make both of these great selling points. We should also point out that we could use all kinds of advertisements of differing sizes, you know, full page, half a page or just a small box. My brother’s company can help them design the advert, so they’ll look pretty good. Ms Samber: Right. But do we have to tell them how much this will cost them when we write to the businesses? Mr Morcos: Oh no! We get them interested and ask them to contact us by any method – phone, letter, email –whatever. Knowing the price from the start might put them off. We can use phrases like “reasonable cost”.
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Ms Samber: This sounds very promising. I’m happy to agree to this initial letter being sent out, in my name I think, and I’ll report this to the Management Committee. Mr Morcos: Thank you, Yvonne, my colleague will see to it straight away. After the meeting Mr Morcos asks you to write a circular letter to be sent to each business in Midville. He asks if you can produce a letter which is “personalised” for each business. Task Write the letter for Ms Samber’s signature, as requested. You can assume the organisation’s headed notepaper is used.
(Total 25 marks)
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QUESTION 2 Situation You are employed in the Human Resources Department of a company, Veggie Products, that produces and sells packaged and canned vegetables, in the town of Midton. The company employs a large number of temporary staff; it uses vegetables grown locally and so during the peak harvest period large quantities of fresh vegetables are taken into the factory and stored for later processing and packaging. In recent years, the company has faced difficulty in recruiting a sufficient number of suitable staff. Veggie Products normally tries to recruit 50 temporary staff, but last year recruited less than a half of this number. You have been asked to investigate this issue and produce a report for the next meeting of the company’s Operations Committee. The focus of your investigation should be: the recruitment trends over the last ten years the wages paid to temporary staff compared to that paid by other local companies how the posts were advertised Your report should also include recommendations on how recruitment could be improved in the future. Your research produces the following information;
Numbers of temporary staff recruited at the busy time each year
2001 50
2002 48
2003 49
2004 40
2005 38
2006 37
2007 31
2008 30
2009 28
2010 23
Hourly wage-rate paid to staff at Veggie Products and other large employers in the area. (NB wage at Veggie Products = 100)
Maxi Motor Company 140
PSJ Products 117
Midton Council 108
Wiseline Railway 104
Midton Hospital 104
Veggie Products 100
Best Buy Burgers 96
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Veggie Products Advertising Policy All temporary vacancies are advertised in the local newspaper which is sold only in Midton. It has been suggested that the advertising should be more widespread as some potential workers might wish to travel into Midton from other local towns. You felt it might be useful to visit a local employment agency to speak to people seeking work, to ask them why they do not wish to apply to Veggie Products for temporary work. Typical responses were as follows: “I don’t live in Midton. I didn’t know anything about Veggie Products until I joined this agency. They don’t advertise enough.” “I’ve got a young family. I can only take a job with an organisation that has a nursery or a crèche to look after the children. Veggie Products hasn’t got these facilities.” “I must admit, I’m looking for a better paid job than those on offer at Veggie Products. The wages are poor.” “I don’t want to do unskilled work in a factory. I’m looking for a job to suit my qualifications – I’ve done a computer course. Most people now have good qualifications.” Task Write the report on the issues of temporary staff recruitment for the Operations Committee making suitable recommendations. (25 marks)
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QUESTION 3 Situation You are employed by a large company that is considering moving its operation to another part of the country for various reasons. The company has been in the same location for many years since it was founded and, as yet, has not identified the new location. It is not your job to decide where the new location should be or if, or when, the move should take place, but you have been asked to look at some of the issues that would arise should such a move take place. You found the following article in a business journal. It will assist your understanding of the problems of relocation. After you have read the article, answer the questions that follow. Relocation – Relocation – Relocation Anyone who has moved to a different home will be aware that moving house is considered to compare with bereavement, marital separation and unemployment as a major cause of stress. However, for an individual and even more so for a business, relocating need not be stressful, providing an intelligent and systematic relocation plan is put into place well before any move happens. Organisations that have done this say that a successful move can improve efficiency, enhance staff morale and, more importantly, boost profits. If you are considering relocation, you are recommended to follow an Eight Point Plan. Point 1: Define your objectives You must be clear as to why you are relocating. There are many reasons for doing so, such as:
you need to leave your current premises as your lease has expired your current premises are too small you might wish to be nearer to your market or suppliers you might wish to find less expensive premises you might move to take advantage of particular local skills you might wish to take advantage of grants or incentives that are available in an area
There could be more than one reason for a relocation but it is important that this is clear to you. Point 2: Define your requirements When your reasons for moving are clear to you, you can list the requirements of the new location. These could be larger premises, cheaper premises, premises with particular transport links, availability of staff skills – anything that you need. You can divide these into essential and desirable requirements as you prioritise. Point 3: Make someone responsible for managing the move This need not be a full time role, but you do require a point of contact for all people involved in the move; this will involve the staff affected by the move and all the external agencies assisting with it. If this person can be the budget holder, that is also helpful. It is very clear that this person must be competent and everyone involved must have confidence in him or her. Point 4: Start a search It is not surprising that the search for new premises cannot begin until Points 1 to 3 have been implemented. The search can now be fully focussed on the organisation’s specific requirements and coordinated by the person identified as responsible. Point 5: Maintain staff involvement It is inevitable that staff who will move with the organisation and also those who will not, will be anxious and in need of reassurance. The only way to do this is to involve them in all stages of the relocation and advise them of all progress. Any gaps in information received by them will quickly be filled with rumours, half-truths and outright falsehoods.
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Point 6: Arrange a schedule leading up to the move Once suitable premises have been found, the move itself must be planned carefully. A schedule must be published and key dates placed in the diaries of all involved. Critical path analysis, which indicates when key parts of the process come together, can be very valuable (e.g. the packing of any equipment or materials to be transferred to the new premises must be done before any removal lorries or vans arrive at the old premises). Point 7: Inform all partners and outside agencies Anyone with whom your organisation works, including customers, suppliers, relevant government departments etc must be told when the move is taking place and when the new postal address, telephone number and email address should be used. You should not overlook those who contact you infrequently. You can arrange for a redelivery of any items sent to the old address but your partners would wish to be informed of how to contact you in future. Point 8: Implement a follow-up When you have relocated, you should not forget to evaluate how successful the move has been, thank all involved for their efforts and celebrate the positive aspects of the move rather than dwell on the negative aspects. Task Using this information, answer the following questions in your own words as far as possible, to show your understanding of the points raised. (a) What can prevent a company’s move from being highly stressful for those involved? (3 marks) (b) Why do you think the writer should suggest that a good plan can “more importantly boost profits” at the end of a list of advantages? (3 marks) (c) Why should it be important that you are clear about knowing the reasons for making a relocation? (2 marks) (d) What would you say is the difference between “essential” and “desirable” requirements at the new location and why do you think it is important to differentiate between these? (4 marks) (e) The writer suggests that it is important to appoint one person to be in charge of managing the move. What do you think could be the worst consequences of not appointing one person to do this work? (3 marks) (f) Why is it not possible to proceed with Point 4, “Start a search”, until Parts 1, 2 and 3 have been completed? (4 marks) (g) It is said you need to inform your staff and also your partners (suppliers, customers etc) about the move, but the reasons for doing this are different in each case. What are the reasons why you should inform staff and partners? (4 marks) (h) One of the reasons why you should “follow up” a move is to check how successful it has been. What other two reasons for a follow- up are given? (2 marks)
(Total 25 marks)
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QUESTION 4 Situation You are employed as an administrator in the Sales Department of MDJ, a large manufacturing company. The department’s manager is Mrs Paulina Kontek. There are six other members of staff in the department who work as sales representatives; they spend most of their time outside the office visiting customers. MDJ is now about to be taken over by a larger company, Exview Products, which will bring changes to staff working conditions and practices. Mrs Kontek has spoken to you and the staff about this and said this to you: “I know that our staff are most anxious about the takeover. Exview Products seems to have many more rules and regulations – we have always been a very relaxed company! I’ve spoken to John Kinsella, their Human Resources Manager, and he’s happy to come and talk to the staff. He would need as many staff as possible to attend. “I’ve asked all staff to contact you to tell you their concerns. I’d like you to summarise these issues and put them into a sort of agenda for the meeting. It’s not a proper agenda as we won’t have the formalities such as apologies for absence, minutes of the last meeting etc. I just want a summary list of the concerns and what they are about. At this time, please don’t identify who raised the concern. “John Kinsella can meet the staff next Monday 22 November 2011 at either 9.00 am or 4.00 pm. I’ve asked the staff to say which time is best for them and we’ll arrange the meeting in the Committee Room at the most popular time. “There’s just one more thing. Mr Kinsella has said that he can’t discuss any aspect of finance – salaries or commission – so please don’t put this on the agenda if it is raised. “When you have produced the list of items to be discussed please send it to me in a memo, just to confirm that everyone has spoken to you and what time has been agreed. Please also produce a notice of the meeting which you can circulate to everyone to confirm the time of the meeting. Don’t put the list of items to be discussed in the notice as I’ll issue it on the day but reassure everyone that all items they raised will be discussed. “You’d better do this as quickly as possible, please. Oh yes, mention in the notice that we won’t be discussing any financial matters as Exview Products have told us that they can’t discuss this.” Your file of responses from the six members of the sales staff is as follows:
Memo To: A Candidate From: Charles Liang Date: 15 November 2011 There’s a lot we need to discuss. I’ve heard that there will be a dress code – we don’t like uniforms. We all look smart so I hope there’s no official dress code required. I’ve heard also that we are not going to get a new car every year. We really need one, as we all cover thousands of kilometres every year. The later meeting is best for me.
Phone message from Ms Karen Rossi Happy with most new regulations – would like to clarify if there’ll be a new car each year – heard that each member of staff will not have own desk in office – “hot desking” introduced – don’t like that idea – but most new regulations seem fair – prefer 9 am meeting.
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Message on answerphone “Hello, it’s Martin van Bosch here. You want me to say what worries me about the takeover. Well, I’ve heard that sales staff will receive a greater proportion of our income as a straight salary. I think our current commission system is much better. I’m not sure about this uniform or dress code system either. We’ve never been told what to wear before. That’s all ….oh, sorry, I can attend either the 9 am or 4 pm meeting – I don’t mind.”
From: Graham Scott [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 13.36 15 November 2011 To: A Candidate Cc: Subject: RE: Meeting with John Kinsella For me, a 9.00 am meeting is better. I’m not happy about a lot of things, such as the proposed reduction of commission payments, for a start. I’ve also heard that our holiday entitlement could be reduced. Is this true? We all work hard and we need our holidays. To be fair, I like the idea of a dress code. I think this will improve our appearance.
This meeting – 9 o’clock would be better for me. Can we discuss what is going to
happen to the MDJ Sports and Social Club? I hope it can continue. I don’t think
Exview have one.
Marion Mbweko
You speak to the sixth member of staff, Brian Hanson, who tells you that he is happy to attend the meeting at either time suggested, but he has no particular concerns as he is retiring in two months’ time. Task (a) Write a memo with the list of items to be discussed as requested. (20 marks) (b) Produce a notice to be circulated to each member of staff. (5 marks)
(Total 25 marks)
