business vision

BUSINESS VISION STUDENT’S BOOK© Oxford University Press www.oup.com/elt

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KICK OFF

1 Look at the picture.What does it tell you about the way technology ischanging working life?

2 How much time, on average, do you spend on the Internet a day at workand at home? Compare with a partner.

WORDS AT WORK

E-commerce

3 Read quickly through the text about Amazon. Underline three things aboutAmazon or Jeff Bezos that you didn’t know before or that interest you.Compare with a partner.

4 Read the text again and find the following information.

1 The rate at which Internet use was growing when Bezos decided to setup Amazon.

2 How probable Bezos thought it was that Amazon would succeed.3 The number of books in the first Amazon catalogue.4 Two reasons why ‘one-click shopping’ was successful.5 The location of the warehouse which serviced Amazon customers in

Asia.6 Two things, apart from the actual books, that the early customers of

Amazon could find on the website.7 The two areas Bezos invested heavily in.8 The reason why it was particularly essential Amazon to grow fast and

be on a large scale.9 Two languages, other than English, in which Amazon customers can

buy books.10 Two products, other than books, that Amazon now sells.

Palm-top computerThe Photographers Library/Candice Farmer

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borrowed

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5 Cover the text and try to complete the sentences below with the correctform of the verbs in the box, as in the example.

expand invest lose borrow diversify shipdistribute grow

1 Bezos ________ money from his parents to set up Amazon.2 The new company was very successful and ________ very rapidly, but

________ money.3 Amazon ________ books to the whole world from two ________ centres in

the United States.4 Bezos has ________ lots of money in advertising and online software

development.5 Amazon has ________ into other products as well as books, including toys

and music.6 The company has ________ into Europe and Japan.

6 Which of the following Internet services a do you use, and b does yourcompany use? Compare with a partner and discuss the advantages anddisadvantages of each.

1 booking airline tickets / theatre tickets2 job finding / recruiting personnel3 food shopping

A six country surveyrevealed that the averageage of online buyers is 38,over 50% are married, themajority are male, and mostare graduates.The top threeitems bought arecomputers, books, and CDs,and the favourite siteshopped (i.e. not justvisited) in all six countries isAmazon.Ernst and Young

pioneer (n) – a person who isthe first to develop somethingretirement (n) – period ofyour life after you stopworkingset up (v) – to begin orestablish a businessset out to – to begin to dosomething with a particularaim / goalobsession (n) – one particularidea or thing that you thinkabout all the timemantra (n) – a word / soundwhich you repeat again andagain, like a prayerto go bust (adj) – when abusiness loses all its money

Amazon– Pioneers in e-commerce

The founder and CEO of Amazon is aformer Wall Street banker,Jeff Bezos.Inthe early 90s,he noticed that use of theInternet was growing by over 2000%per month.So,he borrowed his parents’retirement savings (around $300 000,which he told them they had a 70%chance of losing) and set up a companyto sell books online.

1.1 MILLION BOOKSBezos opened the virtual doors ofAmazon.com’s online bookstore in July1995 with a catalogue of no less than1.1 million books.‘We set out to offercustomers something they simplycould not get in any other way,’he says.‘We brought much more selection thanwas possible in a physical store (ourstore would now occupy six footballfields) and presented it in a useful easy-to-search format in a store open 365days a year,24 hours a day.’

SELLING TO THE WORLD WITH ONE-CLICK SHOPPINGAmazon enjoyed great success almostfrom the start.The company had onlytwo distribution centres but theyshipped books across the whole world– the centre in Seattle serviced theWest Coast of the United States and

Asia,the one in Delaware serviced theEast Coast and Europe.The user-friendliness and efficiency of Amazon’spioneering ‘one-click shopping’technology meant that customers whotried buying books online for the firsttime often came back for more.

AN OBSESSION WITH CUSTOMERS‘Obsess about customers,notcompetitors’was Bezos’s motto in theearly days.‘Most of the customers outthere haven’t bought anything online’,he said in an interview in 1998.‘Wewant to be their first purchase if wecan.We want to have a very deeprelationship with them.’Bezos madethe Amazon website more than just aplace to buy books.He created acommunity of and for book lovers –with book reviews from readers,newsabout the latest publications,even thefirst interactive novel.(Americannovelist John Updike wrote the firstchapters,and site visitors completedthe story.)

GET BIG FASTApart from customers,Bezos’s otherobsession was growth. ‘Our majorstrategic objective has always beenGBF’,he declared.‘It’s a mantra inside

the company and it means Get Big Fast.’Amazon invested heavily in advertisingto attract new customers and indeveloping online software.Thecompany grew,but made greater losses every quarter.This didn’tseem to worry Bezos.His idea was thatthe return for the huge ‘fixed cost’investment in software wouldeventually come from Amazon’scontinuously growing customer base.

STILL EXCITEDMany of the early dotcoms went bust,and the business world began to loseconfidence in e-commerce.Amazonhowever,expanded into Europe anddiversified into music and toys.By thelast quarter of 2000 it did finally beginto make a profit.Bezos remainsoptimistic:’We have made it possiblefor anyone in the world to buy aGerman language book or a Japaneselanguage book’,he says proudly.He isstill excited by the possibilities ofselling on the Net ‘Because it’s a scalebusiness where costs are largely fixed,ifwe can have the largest scale,we canhave the best prices and the bestservice’,he explains,‘which in thephysical world would be impossible.’

4 shopping for other items (what?)5 news and information services6 chat rooms


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GRAMMAR AT WORK

Present perfect vs present simple

1 Look at the sentences 1–4 and explanations a–d below.

1 This is the first time I’ve used a I want to know when you will leave.this program. b I want to know when you arrived.

2 The first time I use a new c This software is new to me.program it never works. d I generally have problems with

3 How long have you been here? software.4 How long are you here for?

1 Match each sentence with the appropriate explanation.2 Which sentences are in the present simple tense, and which are in the

present perfect tense? 3 Complete the rule in the box below.

The ______ ______ is used to connect a present situation to a past event.The ______ ______ is used to talk about the present, including situationsthat occur again and again.

q For more on the present perfect, see the Reference section page 127.

2 Read the sentences below, and note the difference between for and since.

I’ve been with the company for six years. (focus on length of time)I’ve been a project manager since last year. (focus on when the situation began)

1 Now complete the sentences below with for or since.a He’s only been in the job _____ May 2002.b I haven’t seen him _____ a long time.c I haven’t had a holiday _____ I started work.d I worked abroad _____ several years.e The new office has been open _____ 10 March.f She hasn’t enjoyed her job as much _____ she had a baby.

2 Ask your partner how long he / she has had his / her:a house / flat b car c current job d email

Present perfect vs past simple

3 Look at these two sentences.Which is in the present perfect and which is inthe past simple?

1 Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1995.2 The company has expanded into Europe and diversified.

Complete the rule in the box below.

The ________ is used to talk about finished actions in finished periods oftime.The –––––––– is used to talk about ongoing or unfinished situations inongoing or unfinished periods of time.

One in three British menand one in ten women nowwork 50 or more hours aweek.Two-thirds of UKmanagers believe that longhours are harming theirhealth, relationships, andproductivity. Stress is thebiggest problem forEuropean companies and inJapan work-related suicideshave doubled since 1970.Personnel Today

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6 Write questions about your partner’s company. Use the correct tense(present or past simple, present perfect ) of the verbs in italics.Then askand answer the questions with your partner.

1 When (be) your company founded? 2 Who (be) the CEO? How long he / she (be) CEO? Who (be) CEO before?3 Company (expand / diversify) since it (be) founded?4 How much impact (have) Internet on how your company works?5 What (be) your main role in your company? How long you (have) that

role? What you (do) before?6 What other work experience you (have)? You for any other companies?

(work)7 Your company’s revenues (increase) last year? What product / service (be)

your biggest seller?8 How many projects you (be) involved in since joined company? What

progress (make) in your current project?

7 Prepare and present a short summary of either: a the history andmilestones of your company, or b your work experience.

4 Look at the questions and answers below.

1 Have you ever bought anything online? a No, the network was down all day.2 When did you first buy a computer? b Just a few books and CDs.3 Have you used the Web today? c In 1991, a Macintosh.4 Did you use the Web yesterday? d So far, only to download some

software.

1 Match questions 1–4 with answers a–d.2 Which tense is used for specific moments in the past?

5 Match each work situation 1–6 with an example sentence a–e.Which tenseis used – present perfect (PP), or past simple (PS)? See the example.

1 presenting the major events in the history of a company b PS2 explaining the impact of a piece of new technology on company business3 talking about the duration until now of a specific situation4 talking about your career / life experiences without specifying exact dates5 giving the results of last year’s business6 describing the progress so far in a project


da

eb

fc

I’ve been with the company for six years, andsince last year I’ve been a project manager.

The company was founded in 2001 by a group ofsoftware engineers.

In the first quarter revenues increased by nearly50 per cent.

Well, we’ve covered the first three milestones,and we’re still on schedule.

I think the Internet has completely revolutionizedthe way we interface with customers.

I’ve worked on several biotechnology projects,and have been involved in systems development.


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2.1 2 Now you are going to hear about the early history of Ferrari. Listen to TimWatson and answer the questions below.

1 When was the first Ferrari made? 5 Does the first car still exist?2 When was the company created? 6 Why did Ferrari sell his cars 3 When did Enzo Ferrari build after racing them?

his own first car? 7 Why was the first Ferrari red?4 Who did he build it under licence to? 8 When did Ferrari start making

cars in other colours?

1 How much do you know about Ferrari? Read the text and find:

1 how many cars the company produces a year.2 how long it takes to assemble a car.3 how Ferraris can be customized.4 how long you have to wait for a Ferrari driving course.5 the different types of Ferrari customer.

1 Ferrari operate in 43 countries. The US is the largest market, followed by Germany and the UK. Total annual

sales output is limited to about 3,500 cars.

2 All Ferraris are hand-made. None of the production process is automated. When each separate part of the car

is finished, it takes about three days to assemble the car itself.

3 Customers can have their Ferraris customized. Featuresthat can be customized include the seats, the dashboard,

and colour of the stitching on the upholstery (made from thehide of three cows).

4 Ferrari mechanics use a wind tunnel to improve performance. If they succeed in increasing the speed

by even half a second, they are considered to have done agood job.

5 Many features of the road cars derive from technologies developed for Formula 1 driving. In fact the road cars can

be driven on the road or on the racing circuit.

6 There is a two-year waiting list for three-day intensive Ferrari driving courses.

7 Ferrari has three very different customer types: wealthy clients who buy the cars plus expensive merchandising

(steering wheel replicas, gold watches, etc.), racing fans whobuy hats and T shirts, and children. 35% to 40% of themerchandise is aimed at this age group.

FERRARI FACTS AND FIGURES

Name: Tim WatsonPosition: International Press and PRManagerCompany: FerrariField of Business: Sports carsHead Office: Maranello, Italy

THE INTERVIEW

Ferrari

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2.2 3 You are going to hear Tim talking about his job as International Press andPR Manager for Ferrari. Listen the first time and write down two things hedoes or is responsible for in his new job, and one thing he finds particularlyinteresting.

4 Listen again and answer the questions.

1 How many people work at Ferrari? 2 What happened at Silverstone recently, and what was Tim responsible

for in this situation? 3 What two things do the journalists who come to the factory want to do?4 Why do things change quickly at Ferrari?5 How long has Tim worked for Ferrari in Italy and what was his job in

England?

Listening tip

2.3 5 The -ed ending of the simple past and past participle can be pronounced inthree different ways. Listen to the pronunciation of offered, worked, andcreated then practise saying the three sounds aloud.

//dd// offered // tt // worked // IIdd// created

2.4 6 Put the verbs below into the correct column of the table.Then listen andcheck your answers.

watched joined happened experiencedremembered stressed restricted followedlaunched studied moved developed

7 Say the verbs aloud, and write down the number of syllables.Then listenagain and check your answers.

e.g. looked – /lUkt/ = one syllable.The ‘e’ is silent.

2.5 8 Listen to these words – what happens to the vowels in bold?

1 business 2 secondary 3 different

2.6 9 Cross out the vowels in the words below that are not usually pronounced.Then listen and check your answers. Practise reading the words aloud.

1 secretary 3 Wednesday 5 comfortable 7 personal2 interesting 4 preferable 6 temperature 8 average

bk Talking point

Tim Watson talks about the speed of change at Ferrari. How quickly do / canthings change in your company? What has changed since you joined thecompany? What changes would you like to see?


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2.7 2 Two people are talking before a business meeting. Listen and answer thequestions.

1 Have the two people met before?2 What do they talk about?3 How many questions does the man ask? What questions could he ask?4 When the man answers the questions he does not give any additional

information.What additional information could he give in each case?5 What impression of each other do you think the two people have at the

end of this conversation?

2.8 3 Listen to another version of the same conversation. Is it more or lesssuccessful than the one in 2? Why?

4 ‘A successful conversation is about collaboration and taking equal responsibility.’

Discuss ways of taking ‘equal responsibility’ in a conversation.Try to findthree things you can do to make a conversation successful.Then comparewith the tips on page 23 opposite.

a I’m very sorry but I’m afraid I have to go now.b Hi, I’m Pete.c Goodbye.d It was very nice meeting you. I hope I will be

able to see you again soon.e Bye.f Jo this is Kate. Kate this is Jo.g It was great meeting you. Hope to see you

again soon.h Pleased to meet you Ms Wong.i Hi Kate. [Good to meet you.]j How are you?k Ms Smith, can I introduce you to Catherine

Wong? Ms Wong works in Marketing.l Good morning / Hello. May I introduce

myself? My name’s ...m How are you doing? / How is it going? n Sorry, but I have to go now, I’ve got a meeting

in five minutes.

BUSINESS SKILLS

Successful conversations

1 How often do you socialize as part of your job? Match the correct formal (F)and informal (I) expressions below with descriptions 1–7, as in the example.

1 introducing yourself for the first 4 replying to an time F I introduction F ____ I ____

2 asking about someone’s life / 5 expressing pleasure in health in general F ____ I ____ having met someone F ____ I ____

3 introducing people who don’t 6 finishing the know each other F ____ I ____ conversation F ____ I ____

7 saying goodbye F ____ I ____

b1


According to the EU, 47% ofWestern Europeans speakEnglish well enough to carry out a conversation,32% can speak German and28% French. 69% ofEuropean managers have agood working knowledgeof English. An estimated 1.3billion people speak Englishas a second language.Fortune


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2.9 5 Now listen to a conversation between another two colleagues who arewaiting for a meeting to begin.Tick (�) the tips that the speakers use.

6 Work with a partner. Each choose two of the topics below to talk about.Prepare by writing some questions and possible follow-up questions foreach topic.Then have a conversation lasting at least three minutes.

1 your last / next weekend 4 an interesting website2 a recent meeting 5 something you saw on TV recently 3 your last / next holiday 6 your last / next project

7 How successful was your conversation? Answer the following questions.

1 Did you both show interest in what the other was saying? How?2 Did you ask follow-up questions?3 How far did you develop the topic?4 Did you collaborate and take equal responsibility for the success of the

conversation? How?

8 Work with a different partner. Student A, look at the information in File 4 onpage 109. Student B, turn to File 12 on page 112.

TEN SUCCESSFUL CONVERSATION TIPS

When someone is talking youcan show interest anddevelop the conversation by:

�� 1 Reacting positively withphrases or exclamations, e.g.That’s interesting. Really? Exactly.Wow! Fantastic! Yeah. Uh huh.Right. I see.

�� 2 Asking a follow-upquestions, e.g. A: Where did you goon holiday this summer? B:ToBarcelona A: Oh really? Have theyfinished building the SagradaFamilia yet?

�� 3 Restating a part of what theother person has said, e.g. A: Thefood was terrible. B:Terrible? A: Yes,we went to this new restaurant and…

�� 4 Paraphrasing or agreeingwith what someone has just said,e.g. A: That meeting yesterday wastotally unproductive B:Yeah, acomplete waste of time.

When you are talking youcan avoid dominating theconversation by:

�� 5 Transferring the speaker’soriginal question back to them,e.g. And what about you? Did yougo anywhere interesting thissummer?

�� 6 Asking them if they havehad a similar experience, e.g.Have you ever been to Barcelona?

�� 7 Asking them their opinionabout the topic of conversation,e.g. So what do you think …?

You can avoid embarrassingsilences by:

�� 8 Listening carefully andoccasionally summarizing whatthey have said or making relevantcomments that will encouragethem to continue on the topic,e.g. So you went to Barcelona bytrain. That must have taken a longtime.

�� 9 Going back to somethingthe other person said earlier in theconversation, e.g. You were sayingthat you went to Barcelona. Did youmanage to visit other parts of Spaintoo?

�� 10 Beginning a new topic ofconversation, e.g. Have you heardthey’re going to raise taxes in thenext budget? Did you see that filmon the TV last night?

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