Unit 9 Companies Track 17 Tell us about your favourite company. My favourite company is a private healthcare insurance company. I really like the leaders.
They're decent people who really look after the people that work for the company. And they care about their customers and want to meet their customers'needs. They also care about the environment.
What I particularly like is that all the people that work for the company work for the company because they believe they're helping people when they most need it. Unit 9. Companies. Track 18. Which company would you like to work for and why? I don't know the name of the company I want to work for, but the company I want to work for has a big purpose. It wants to change things for people in the world for the better.
So a company perhaps that will produce green energy, or affordable housing for the poorest people in the world, or ways of feeding people who can't currently be fed. What do the best companies have in common? I think the one thing they have in common is strong leadership.
These are leaders who really want to look after the people that work for the company. They want those people to work at their best. They care about their customers and they understand the customers'needs and they focus the company's resources on meeting those needs.
They also look after the environment and the sustainability of the world around them. And they're ethical and legal. Which company will do well in the future?
I don't know which company is going to do well in the future. But Rolls-Royce is famous for the quality of its leadership. Apple is famous for its innovation and creativity.
And Google invests a lot of time in inventing new products for its customers. Fairtrade is renowned for looking after people in the world. And the UK company Body Shop is renowned for being environmentally friendly.
I think the company that does well in the future will bring those elements together. Unit 9. Companies. Track 20. Good afternoon everyone.
My name is Robert Ford. I'd like to talk about our new marketing strategy. There are three parts to my presentation. Firstly, the background to the strategy.
Secondly, how we want to change our current operations. Finally, the details of the costs and the effect of the change on staff. By the end of my presentation... you will understand clearly our future plans. If you don't mind, let's leave questions to the end.
Good morning, everyone. My name's Nikki Hunter. I'm a director of a medium-sized coffee chain, Fiesta Time. I'm going to talk about our company and its plans for the future.
My presentation... is in three sections firstly I'll say a few words about our company secondly I'll describe my duties and finally I'll talk about our plans for the future Fiesta Times has head office is in Chicago and our flagship store is in New York. We own more than 200 stores across the country.
Our outlets sell coffee, coffee drinks, and pastries. Most of our coffee beans come from Brazil. We have 3,000 employees and our turnover is approximately 50 million US dollars. Our profit is about 12.2 million. Our main competitors are Starbucks, Dunkin'Donuts, and of course, McDonald's.
I'm responsible for new business. My job is to help the company grow and to hire and supervise managers for our new outlets. We're expanding fast. Next year, we plan to open at least 10 new stores on the West Coast.
We'll start by opening a store in San Francisco, and after that... we'll expand Working Across Cultures 3, Track 22 I heard there were some problems with the sales trip. What happened? I tried to arrange a business meeting with our clients in Toulouse in the first week of August, but most people were on holiday.
Also, the headquarters are in Paris, so I didn't see a senior manager. When did you make the appointment? Two days in advance. That wasn't a good idea. So, how did the meeting go?
Well, we had lunch first. Quite a long lunch, actually. And the person I met, Pierre Dubois, was very friendly. In fact, he didn't seem to want to talk about business.
You know me, I like to get down to business straight away, so as not to waste time. Anyway, at the end of the meeting, he asked me a bit about myself. I told him I didn't go to university.
But I was proud of being a successful businessman. After that, he was very quiet. Working Across Cultures 3, Track 23, Speaker 1 My business trip to St. Petersburg was a complete disaster. I only arranged two meetings in advance, and one of those was cancelled at short notice.
Unfortunately, I went in the first week of May when there were some public holidays. Anyway, my advice to anyone going to Russia is make appointments as far in advance as possible. Confirm your meetings as soon as you arrive in Russia and avoid meetings in the first week of May. Track 24 Speaker 2 I had a very successful trip to Kazan.
Before the trip, I did a lot of preparation and research. I planned a lot of time for socializing and getting to know people before any business was discussed. I printed out all my documentation in both English and Russian. I gave a detailed presentation on our products and was able to answer all the technical questions they asked me. Track 25. Speaker 3. I think my business trip to Moscow was OK.
I spent a lot of time trying to build up relationships. Because in Russia, relationships are very important. However, I wasted a lot of time trying to get decisions from junior managers.
Next time, I'll go straight to senior managers. One other thing is that Russians sometimes like to think in silence before they answer a question. Next time, I'll allow them enough time to answer.
Working Across Cultures 3, Track 26 I'm going to begin by telling you about my first business trip to Bogota, 15 years ago. The client I met was very generous. And he invited me to his home for a meal. I didn't want to be rude, so I arrived on time. I brought some gifts for his wife and daughter and wrapped them carefully.
They didn't open their presents, so I asked them to. I also asked if they liked the presents. They said they did.
When dinner was served, I toasted my new friend and his family. The conversation was about culture, soccer, history, and literature, and seemed to go well. At the end of the evening, he offered me some coffee.
Unfortunately, I don't like coffee, so I said no.