Unit3 Unit 3 Companies. To enable Ss to talk about companies To familiarize Ss with vocabulary related to companies To develop Ss listening and reading

UnitUnit 33

Companies

公司公司

To enable Ss to talk about “companies” To familiarize Ss with vocabulary

related to “companies” To develop Ss’ listening and reading

skills To improve Ss’ presentation techniques To enhance Ss business writing

techniques by writing a memo

TeachingTeaching & Learning Objectives& Learning ObjectivesTeachingTeaching & Learning Objectives& Learning Objectives

OverviewOverviewOverviewOverview

Vocabulary: Describing companiesVocabulary: Describing companies

Starting UpStarting Up

Case study: Valentino chocolateCase study: Valentino chocolate

Listening: Reasons for successListening: Reasons for success

Reading: Company websiteReading: Company website

Skills: Presenting your companySkills: Presenting your company

Companies are involved in many activities, for example, buying, selling, marketing and production, in a range of different industries, such as information technology, telecommunications, film and car manufacture. Many well-known companies are multinationals, these are companies which operate in a number of countries.

Multinationals often have a complicated structure. There is usually a parent or holding company. This company owns other companies or parts of other companies. These other companies are called subsidiaries.

IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction

A. Which of the these companies would you like to work for? Why?

1 a family owned company 2 a multinational company 3 your own company (be self-employed)B. Which business sectors would you like to work in? ◆ Telecommunications/Media Transport◆ ◆ Vehicle manufacturing Engineering◆ ◆ IT /Electronics Retailing◆ ◆ Food and drink Construction◆ ◆ Pharmaceutical Tourism◆ ◆ Banking and finance Other◆

StartingStarting upupStartingStarting upup

Describing companiesDescribing companiesA. Complete the sentences with

words and phrases from the box.

share price workforce

profit turnover subsidiary

market share head office

VocabularyVocabularyVocabularyVocabulary

1. The amount of money a company receives from sales in a particular period is called its ____________ .

2. The money a company makes after taking away its cost is its ___________ .

3. A company which is more than 50% owned by a parent company is called ___________.

4. The employees in a particular country or business are called the _____________ .

5. The percentage of sales a company has in a particular market is its _____________ .

6. The main building or location of a large organisation is its _______________ .

7. The cost of a company’s shares is its ____________ .

turnover

profit

subsidiary

workforce

market share

head officeshare price


Describing companiesDescribing companies


Describing companiesDescribing companiesB. Complete the extract from a compa

ny report with appropriate words or

phrases from the box in Exercise A.

Financial Performance

I am pleased to say the company has continued its excellent performance. We are changing, growing and doing well at a difficult time for the industry. __________ was €57.2 million, an increase of 15% on last year, and __________ rose by 5% to €6.4 million.

We are a highly competitive business. We have increased our ______________ to 20%. Consequently our ____________ has risen and is now at an all-time high of €9.6.

Turnoverprofit

market shareshare price

Financial Performance

Increased production and strong demand have had a positive effect on our cash flow, so we are able to finance a number of new projects. We have successfully moved to our new ___________ in central London. We are now planning to start full production at the recently opened Spanish __________ in October.

Finally, thanks once again to our loyal and dedicated ___________. Our employees will always be our most valuable asset.

head office

subsidiary

workforce

Describing companiesDescribing companiesC. Complete the chart with the information

from the box. Then make sentences about the companies.

Peugeot Benetton container ship operator

American Express French Japanese Italian

drug and chemical maker drinks supplier


Companies Cisco Systems 思科系统：财富 500 强公司之

一，总部所在地美国 , 主要经营网络设备。专门生产路由器 (routers) 等网络硬件的美国思科公司 (Cisco Systems) 是网络经济最热门领域中最成功的公司，营业额连年增长 5 成以上。

Peugeot 标致：财富 500 强公司之一，总部所在地法国 , 主要经营汽车。

American Express 美国运通：财富 500 强公司之一，总部所在地美国 , 主要经营多种金融。

Companies BAYER 拜耳：财富 500 强公司之一，总部所在

地德国 , 主要经营化学。拜耳公司（ BAYER ）是世界知名的跨国公司，其成立于 1863 年的德国勒沃库森市，业务领域涉及医药保健、作物科学、材料科技以及化工等。并且发明了享誉世界的阿司匹林（ Aspirin ）、尼膜地平（ Nimotop ）等药物，为人类的健康做出了卓越的贡献。

贝纳通公司 (Benetton Group) 是一家意大利上市公司，拥有的品牌有 United Colors of Benetton, Sisley, Playlife, Killer Loop 。

Describing companiesDescribing companiesCompany Main activity Nationality

Cisco Systems Internet equipment supplier American

Car manufacturer

Bacardi Martini Spanish

Travel and financial

services providerAmerican

Bayer German

Clothing manufacturer

Sony Electronic goods maker

Maersk Danish

Peugeot French

Drinks supplier

American Express

Drug and chemical maker

Benetton Italian

Japanese

Container ship operator


Cisco Systems, Inc.

It is a multinational corporation with more than 66,000 employees and annual revenue of US$39 billion as of 2008. Headquartered in San Jose, California, it designs and sells networking and communications technology and services under five brands, namely Cisco, Linksys, WebEx, IronPort, and Scientific Atlanta.

Peugeot Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peuge

ot Citroën. It is the second largest automaker in Europe, behind Volkswagen. Peugeot's roots go back to pepper, salt and coffee mill manufacturing in 1842 and later bicycle manufacturing at the end of the 19th century. Its world headquarters are in Paris, Avenue de la Grande Armée, close to Porte Maillot and the Concorde Lafayette Hotel but the Peugeot company and family is originally from Sochaux, France. Peugeot retains a large manufacturing plant in Sochaux which is also home to the Peugeot Museum. The company also sponsors the Sochaux football club, founded in 1928 by a member of the Peugeot family: the club' s arms contain a lion logo similar to Peugeot‘s.

Bacardi Martini

Bacardi-Martini, Ltd. engages in bottling and distributing alcohol beverages. It also distributes liquors. The company is headquartered in Southampton, the United Kingdom. Bacardi-Martini, Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of Bacardi International Limited.

American Express American Express, sometimes known as “AmEx” or “Amex”,

is a diversified global financial services company, headquartered in New York City. American Express makes money even if you do leave home without it. The company is one of the world's largest travel agencies, but it is equally as well known for its charge cards and revolving credit cards. And yes, the company still issues traveler's checks and publishes such magazines as Food & Wine and Travel & Leisure through its American Express Publishing unit. Its travel agency operations have more than 2,200 locations worldwide and its Travelers Cheque Group is the world’s largest issuer of traveler's checks (it also issues gift cards). But the company's charge and credit cards are its bread and butter; American Express has issued more than 86 million cards worldwide.

Bayer AG

Bayer AG is a German chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen, Germany in 1863. Today it is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is well-known for its original brand of aspirin. Bayer is currently the third largest pharmaceutical company in the world.

Benetton Benetton Group S.p.A. is a global clothing brand, b

ased in Treviso, Italy. The name comes from the Benetton family who founded the company in 1965. Benetton Group is listed in Milan and the Frankfurt. If Benetton had a theme song, it could be “We Are the World.” Italy‘s largest clothing maker, The Benetton Group pushes a global attitude in its ads while dressing customers in about 120 countries through some 5,500 franchised Benetton stores, department stores, and megastores. Benetton’s clothing -- primarily casual knitwear and sportswear for men, women, and children -- bears labels such as United Colors of Benetton (about 75% of sales) and Sisley.

Sony

Sony Corporation is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest media conglomerates with revenue of US$88.7 billion (as of 2008). Sony is one of the leading manufacturers of electronics, video, communications, video game consoles and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Its name is derived from Sonus, the Greek goddess of sound.

Maersk ( 马士基航运公司 ) The A. P. Moller-Maersk Group is an international busin

ess conglomerate more commonly known simply as Maersk. Maersk has activities in a variety of business sectors, primarily transportation (container shipping fleet) and energy (offshore oil exploration and transportation). It is the largest container ship operator and supply vessel operator in the world. Maersk is based in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has subsidiaries and offices in more than 130 countries worldwide. The group has around 110,000 employees. It stood as number 131 on the Fortune Global 500 list for 2008. Up from 138 in 2007. Maersk is the second largest company in Scandinavia by revenue.

Reasons for successA. Bruno Tagliaferri is UK Sales Manager at Trium

ph, the British motorcycle manufacturer. Listen to the first part of the interview. What three reasons does he give for triumph’s success?

1. Triumph has a very strong brand name.2. It has invested in and developed new models.3. It has given the bike a very up-to-date look: it has focused on styling and on the quality of the product.

ListeningListeningListeningListening

Reasons for success

B. Complete this extract from the first part of the interview.

We’ve focused on _____1 and also on the _____2 of our product. It’s taken a bit of time to build up _____3, but we’ve done well in the first nine years, and we are now a _____4 alternative ______5.


Reasons for successB. Complete this extract from the first

part of the interview.

We’ve focused on styling1 and also on the quality2 of our product. It’s taken a bit of time to build up sales3, but we’ve done well in the first nine years, and we are now a serious4 alternative manufacturer5.


Reasons for success

C. Listen to the second part of the interview. Which of the following statements are true?

1. T 2. T 3. F 4. F 5. F 6. T 7. F


Reasons for success

D. Discuss these questions.

1. Which brands of motorcycle are most

popular in your country?

2. What kinds of people buy motorcycles?

3. Should your government encourage

people to use motorcycles in large cities?


What clothing companies do you like? Why do you like them?

What are the most successful clothing companies in your country?

ReadingReadingReadingReading

C. Read this text about Zodiac, a highly successful clothing company, and complete the chart. The information is from its company website.

Brands Zodiac, Gemini, CapriconRevenues More than $8 billion

Headquarters Seattle

Number of employees

More than 100,000

Main aim Long-term, quality growth


D. Find the answers to the questions (p25).

1 a. 1998 b. 1989 c. 1984 d. 1978 e. 1999

2 a. Seattle b. Japan c. Seattle d. Paris e. Toronto


Presenting your company

A. Which of these suggestions do you agree with? To make an effective presentation, you should: 1. find out as much as possible about your audience. 2. introduce yourself (name, position, company) 3. start with a joke. 4. outline the structure of your talk. 5. vary the tone of your voice. 6. refer to your notes as often as possible. 7. use clear visual aids 8. summarize your main points. tone: stress, volume (loudness) and intonation (rise and fall of the voice)

SkillsSkillsSkillsSkills

B. Listen and complete the chart.Tara Fashions

Where is the head office? Cordoba, Spain

What does it sell? Clothes

Who are its customers?Fashion-conscious men and women aged 20—35

Annual turnover? € 260 million

Annual net profits? € 16 million

Number of stores:

in Spain?

in other European cities?

1514 (5 new stores next year)

StrengthsCan bring out new designs very quicklyDesigns sold at right price

Future plans? New store in New York next year


Tara Fashions Good morning, everyone. Thanks for coming to my presentation. My

name’s Marta Rodriguez. I’m Personnel Director of Tara Fashions. I’m going to talk to you today about our company. First, I’ll give you some basic information about Tara Fashions. Then I’ll talk about our overseas stores. After that I’ll outline the strengths of the company. Next I’ll talk about career opportunities with Tara. And finally I’ll mention our future plans. I’ll be pleased to answer any questions at the end of my talk.

Let me start with some basic facts about Tara. The company started in 1978. We are a family-owned business and our head office is in Cordoba, Spain. We sell clothes for men and women, and our customers are mainly fashion-conscious people aged 20 to 35. We have 15 stores in Spain. All of the stores are very profitable. Right, those are the basic facts.

Tara Fashions Let me add a few figures. We have an annual turnover of

about E260 million. Our net profits last year were approximately E16 million. We have a workforce of just over 2,000 employees. So those are the numbers.

Now about our overseas stores. We have 4 large stores in France and another 10 in other European countries. We are planning to open 5 new stores next year.

What are our strengths? We keep up with fashion trends. If we spot a trend, we can bring out a new design in 15 days. And we get it to the stores very quickly. We deliver to stores twice a week. And we sell our designs at the right price.

Tara Fashions OK, now what about career opportunities? It’s quite

simple. If you are ambitious and fashion-conscious, we have opportunities in all areas of our business. We will welcome you with open arms.

Finally, a few words about our new project. We are planning to open a new store in New York next year - on Fifth Avenue. This will give us a foothold in the US market. We’re very excited about this new development. Well, thanks very much for listening to my talk. Are there any questions?

C. Listen again. Tick the phrases that you hear in the Useful language box.

Outlining the presentation First, I’ll give you some basic information. √ Secondly, I’ll talk about our stores in other countries. Next, I’ll talk about career opportunities. √ Last of all, I want to look at our future plans.Introducing new information Here’s some basic information. Let me add a few figures. √ Let’s have a look at some statistics. What are our strengths? √Ending the presentation To conclude, I want to tell you about our future plans. Finally, a few words about our new project. √ Thanks very much for listening to my talk. √ Thanks for coming to my presentation.


Presenting your companyPresenting your company

Make a presentation about a

company you invent. Use the

headings in Exercise B to help

you prepare a presentation for it.

Try to use Useful language as

much as possible.


Valentino chocolates

Read Background, Expansion and The future of Valentino, and complete the table below.

Case StudyCase StudyCase StudyCase Study

Valentino chocolates

Company Valentino

Products

Based in

Began by

Employees

Shops

Sales problems

Production Problems

Personnel problems

Profits as a percentage of sales in the last 3 years

Future aims

Growth depends on


Case Study: Valentino chocolates

Company Valentino

ProductsFine chocolates (80% of production), mainly packaged chocolates and Classic Bars

Based in Turin, Italy

Began by Selling raw chocolate to other manufacturers

Employees 300

Shops 75

Sales problemsFalling demand for best-selling products; price-cutting; new products are unsuccessful.

Production Problems Machines often break down

Personnel problems Sales staff becoming demotivated.

Profits as a percentage of sales in the last 3 years Falling (from 14.2% to 7.07%)

Future aims To be an international company

Growth depends on Finding new products and new markets

Valentino chocolates “Valentino can continue to grow, but only it develops

new products and finds new markets.” Study Chart 3: Investment options. Work in pairs and prepare a

presentation of your investment plan, with reasons for your choices.

When you deliver your presentation, you may use the following expressions:

One option is (to extend the factory). This would (cost 500,000 euros) and it would (increase the capacity by 30%).

Valentino could (buy new machinery). This would (cost 200,000 euros) but it would (end the delays caused by the old machines breaking down).


Writing As a director of Valentino

Chocolates, write a memo to your CEO outlining your investment plan. Give reasons for your choices.

HomeworkHomeworkHomeworkHomework

Documents

Unit3 Unit 3 Companies. To enable Ss to talk about companies To familiarize Ss with vocabulary related to companies To develop Ss listening and reading