Business : Int: Change - The Speaking Cats

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"If you want things to stay as they are , things will have to change " Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa ( Italian writer 1896 - 1957 )

A- Which of these situations would you find the most difficult to deal with?

1 Moving house 5 Driving abroad
2 Losing a pet 6 A new boss
3 Moving to another country 7 Getting married (again!)
4 Changing your job 8 New neighbours

B- What has been the most significant change in your life so far?

C- Which of these business situations would worry you most? Why?

1 You find out that your company will be merging with another company.
2 You keep your job after a merger, but you are in a less powerful position.
3 You keep your job after a merger, but you have to take a salary cut.
4 Your company has to relocate to the other side of the city.
5 You are asked to relocate to a foreign country.
6 You are promoted, but are now in charge of a hostile workforce.
7 You have to move from your own office to a large, open-plan office.
8 You have to work with a completely new computer system.
9 You have to decide who to make redundant in your new department after a merger.
10 Your company language becomes English.

Vocabulary

Describingchange

Write the verbs from the box under the correct prefix to make words connected with change_ Use a good dictionary to help you_ Some of the words can be used with more than one prefix.

assess - centralise - date - develop - grade - launch- locate - ~~organise~~ - regulate - size - structure - train

down-	de-	up-	re
			organise

B

Complete these sentences with the correct form of the verbs from the box in Exercise A_ Use a good dictionary to help you_

1 Following the merger, the office layout was reorganised to accommodate the
new staff.
2 The most successful change in our company was the decision to the company. Now there is more opportunity for promotion.
3 It is now so expensive to rent offices in the city centre that many companies are
their operations to purpose-built business parks at the city limits.
4 The company has recently its workforce. Reducing the number of
employees is the best way to stay profitable in the current economic climate.
5 To improve efficiency, the company has introduced new working p ractices. The HR department will all sales staff.
6 One of our products hasn't been selling well recently. The marketing team has decided to take it off the market and it next year with new packaging.
7 The IT department report recommended that the company the computer system as soon as possible.
8 The CEO thinks that too many decisions are made at Head Office. She wants to
the decision-making process so that branch managers are more involved at an earlier stage.
9 The company has finalised the plans to the disused car-park site. It is going to become a fitness centre for employees.
10 The logo and slogan are very old-fashioned. We need to the whole image of the product and bring it into the 21st century.
11 There is a lot of pressure on the government from consumer groups to the industry and remove controls, so customers can benefit from increased competition.
12 Following the report by the legal department and changes in the tax laws, the
management decided to the situation and delay making a decision on
the takeover.

C

In pairs, describe the changes that have happened in a workplace you know well.

Reading

Mercedes,shining star

Read the first two paragraphs q uickly and decide if the statements are true or false , according to the article.

1 The fall of the Mercedes luxury brand was not as severe as other brands.

true

false

2 In 2002, Mercedes' losses were its first for three decades.

True

False

3 In 2002, Mercedes cars were famous for their reliability.

True

False

4 Dieter Zetsche is the boss of Mercedes and Daimler.

True

False

Find words and phrases in the first five paragraphs of the article that mean the same as the following,

1 sudden and surprising

2 a period of 10 years

3 failing

4 the first company to develop new methods of doing something

5 someone that you compete wilh

6 jealously

7 a complete change from a bad situation to a good one

8 Ihe financial result of a company's business (i.e. profit or loss)

C

Match the words to form common word partnerships. (type the corresponding letters )

1 luxury a) executive
2 chief b) models
3 parent c) effect
4 fourth d) company
5 management e) brand
6 fuel-efficient f) style
7 team g) approach
8 dramatic h) quarter

D

Accord ing to the article, which of these factors helped Mercedes improve its performance?

1 Mr Zetsche's walrus moustache
2 Having BMW as a rival
3 Being hard
4 Increasing jobs
5 Giving workers security for life
6 Using Mr Zetsche's operational experience
7 Cutting jobs
8 Building cars the experts want them to build
9 Lowering product quality
10 Improving the looks of new Mercedes cars
11 Producing new models
12 Using a team approach

Imagine you are Mr Zetsche. What other actions would you have taken at Mercedes?

Listening

Helpingcompanies to change

Anne Deering is Head of Transformation Practice at international management consultants AT Kearney. listen to the first part of the interview and complete the gaps.

1 What are they 1 , how are they going to 2, and how will they know they've 3 ?
2 Make sure people are 4in the change, that they feel this is something they are doing for 5 and not something which is being done 6

B

listen to the second part. What are the two main problems that businesses face when going through change?

C- listen to the final part, where Anne talks about Nokia·Siemens Networks, and answer the questions.

1 What was the main purpose of the merger?
2 What do these numbers refer to?
a) 8,000 b) 72

Language Review : Past simple and present perfect

Past simple andpresent perfect

• We use the past simple for actions at a particular point i n the past.
In 2002, Mercedes suffered a dramatic fall.
Dieter Zetsche became Head of Mercedes in September 2005.
• We use the present perfect for actions linking the present to a point in the past.
Since 2005, Mercedes has gone from the worst·performing of the large luxury car makers to the trailblazer.

Which of the following expressions are used with the past simple and which are used with the present perfect? Which are used with both?

Complete this short business brief about Vietnam using the past simple or the present perfect forms of the verbs in brackets.

Vietnam (go) through many changes in its history and (experience) many economic changes recently. It is currently experiencing an economic boom. In 1986, the government (introduce) economic reforms or doi moi (doi meaning change and moi new). The reforms (permit) the setting up of free market enterprises and (abolish) the practice of collective farming. However, agriculture remains the most important part of the economy. Vietnam (recently/become) the second largest producer of rice in the world after Thailand. The industrial seclor (show) dramatic improvement and expansion aswell. In 1993, the World Bank (declare) 58% of the population to be living in poverty.
By 2005, this figure was less than 20%. Vietnam (also/make) great strides on the international stage in the last decade or so. It (become) a full member of ASEAN in 1995, and of the WTO in 2006. The effects of this new·found prosperity can be seen everywhere. Large, glitzy malls (appear) in major cities, while streets once filled with bicycles are now overflowing with locally produced Japanese, Korean and Chinese motorbikes and cars. Business visitors wishing to relax in a more traditional Vietnamese town should visit Hoi An. Hoi An (be) a major Asian trading port in the 17th and 18th centuries, and its picturesque architecture and relaxed lifestyle (change) little over the years.

C

Talk about recent changes that have happened in your town, company or country.

Skills : Managing meetings

Managing meetings

A- Think of two meetings you have attended that were a) successful and b) unsuccessful. What were the reasons in each case?

B- Four managers are discussing their company's policy about smoking. Listen to the meeting and answer the questions.

1 Why are some people not happy wilh the behaviour of the staff who smoke?
2 What is Eduardo's solution to the problem?
3 Why does Mitsuko object to Eduardo's proposal?
4 What proposal does William make?
5 Do the managers reach a decision about the smoking policy?

C- You are managers of a retail fashion chain called Young Scene, with stores in most major European cities, You are holding your regular management meeting. Use the CEO's notes below as an agenda for your discussions. A different person should chair each item.

Study Case

Acquiring Asia Entertainment

Background

Last March, readers of an Asia·Pacific business magazine, Investor International, were given information about an Australian company, the Decker Group.

Scott Henderson, the new Chief Executive, gave an interview to a Hong Kong TV business channel. He was asked about the recent acqu isition of Asian Entertainment. Listen and note what he says.

Problems
It is now a year later. The change of ownership and new management style at Asia Entertainment have caused many problems. The e·mail on the right illustrates some of the difficulties.

Task

A group of senior managers meets to resolve the problems.

1 Work in two groups.
Group A: new Australian managers led by Scott Henderson
Group B: senior executives from Asia Entertainment who have kept their jobs
following the merger.

Each group prepares separately for the meeting.

2 Hold the meeting as one group. The agenda is as follows:
• Background: why are staff resisting the changes?
• What mistakes is the new management making, if any?
• What practical action(s) can be taken to improve the situation?
• What can be learned from this experience? How can the company manage change more effectively in the future?

Writing
Write the action minutes for the above meeting.