Mod a. 2012-13-Dispensa Inglese

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UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI FIRENZE

FACOLTA DI ECONOMIA

DISPENSA

CORSO DI LINGUA INGLESEEA/EC/SECI ex DM/509/EGST

Mod. A - a.a. 2012/2013

Dr. a C. Sa! o" #A-L$ Dr. a I. C%&ra'( #M-)$

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*OR+ING ,OURSI. Peter Brandon, a senior manager for Plexico Ltd in Sheffield, used to work a minimum of 70 hours a week. Hetravelled regularl !etween the "# and "S$ and !egan to feel he had !ecome almost a stranger to his wife andhis two oung sons. %ealising that he was &utting himself under too much stress, he decided to tr to change hisworking hours.II. 'hese da s, he still goes to work ver earl !ut he also leaves earl . He now sees his children !efore the goto !ed and then does a!out an hour(s work ! com&uter from home in the evening, kee&ing in touch with$merican colleagues. He also manages to avoid some of his work travels ! using video conferences to discussim&ortant 1. . He admits to feeling much ha&&ier, and !elieves he has esta!lished a !alance

!etween work and home life. 'he ke to Peter Brandon(s changing his hours was &ersuading his em&lo er thathe and other staff were more &roductive when the worked the hours that suited them. 'his is easier said thandone, of course. )t can !e difficult to &ersuade organisations that a change of this t &e is in their interest, too.*an of them distrust their em&lo ees( a!ilit to organise their own lives and are slow to realise the !enefits ofletting em&lo ees work more flexi!le hours.III. $ recent 2. of five thousand senior managers found that nearl half of them alwa s workedmore than their contract hours, while man worked evenings and weekends. $ ma+orit thought that this notonl had a negative effect on their famil relationshi&s and their health, !ut also reduced their &roductivit . 'hisadds to the increasing evidence that long hours are not necessaril useful hours. )t seems that it is +o! satisfactionthat is the deciding factor when it comes to em&lo ee &roductivit .I . However, the good news is that more 3. are now starting to realise that the are onl going toget higher . from their staff if those staff are ha&& and want to !e at work. Peter Brandon(snew working hours are +ust one exam&le of the attem&t to alter cor&orate culture. His com&an have !rought inchanges &artl for com&etitive reasons. 'he research and develo&ment &art of the !usiness em&lo s highltrained scientists, who are ex&ensive to re&lace. 'o kee& them ha&& , fixed working hours have !een reducedand trust time( has !een introduced in which the com&an trusts em&lo ees to do what is re-uired, in whatevertime it takes. 'he em&lo ees seem to !e ver ha&& with the new arrangements and, as a result, &roductivitrates have graduall !ut consistentl increased and staff turnover rates have fallen dramaticall . $ccording toPeter Brandon, man com&anies would !enefit from a similar scheme, and ever one, from directors toem&lo ees( families, would have something to gain.

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4e A" 6er S4ee :1. A . issues ; . items C . o!+ects D . -uestions2. A . &rogramme ; . &lan C . surve D . relation3. A . em&lo ees ; . chiefs C . em&lo ers D . su&&liers

. A . gain ; . out&ut C . la!our D . income

Read&" o!8re4e" &o"C4oo e 4e orre o8 &o" o ea 4 < e &o" ( &" er &" 4e orre 8o"d&" e er o" 4e A" 6er S4ee :

1. 'he main &oint of the article is

$. working hours should !e reducedB. video/conferencing is a wa to reduce work travels.

. &roductivit is directl linked to flexi!le working hours.

. em&lo ees should work more from home.

2. $ccording to &aragra&h )), com&anies$. are reluctant to acce&t that changes would also !e to their own advantage.B. distrust their em&lo ees( intentions.

. saw the advantages immediatel .

. were easil convinced to acce&t the &ro&osed changes.

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3. $ccording to &aragra&h ))),$. most managers work overtime.B. all managers also work on weekends.

. onl some managers work overtime.

. a!out 40 &ercent work overtime.

5. $ccording to &aragra&h )6, trust time( means that$. em&lo ees are ha&& how em&lo ers organise work for them.B. staff are not trusted ! their em&lo er.

. it is the right time for em&lo ers to trust their em&lo ees.

. em&lo ees are allowed more flexi!le working hours.

4. $ccording to &aragra&h )6, staff turnover rates have decreased !ecause$. staff are more satisfied with their +o!s.B. &roductivit has increased.

. com&anies have reduced working hours.

. em&lo ees earn more.

. )n &aragra&h )6, the sentence 89man com&anies would !enefit from a similar scheme..: indicates$. a certaint .B. a &ro!a!ilit .

. an exem&lification.

. a cause.

L& e"&" o!8re4e" &o" (You will hear an interview with the Managing Director of a restaurant chain.)1. ;hat is the restaurant(s turnoverlivia sa a!out her studies at universit livia and her !rother sold their soft drinks com&an !ecause$. it was uninteresting.B. the were offered +o!s overseas.

. the wanted to have a long vacation.

5. ;hat does >livia sa a!out her working relationshi& with her !rotherL$AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA $'$AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

C)%*$AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

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L& e"&" o!8re4e" &o"

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MEETINGS

I. >ne as&ect of !usiness life which man managers are unha&& with is the need to attend meetings. %esearchindicates that managers will s&end !etween a third and a half of their working lives in meetings. $lthough mostmanagers would agree that it is hard to think of an alternative to meetings, as a wa to examine information andmake collective decisions, their fre-uenc can cause &ro!lems even for the !est organised senior managers.II. *eetings work !est when the take &lace onl if the are necessar and not a routine. >ne exam&le of this isthe discussion of &ersonal or career matters !etween mem!ers of staff and &ersonnel managers, or of1. increases. $nother is during the earl stages of a &ro+ect when the team managing it need to learnto understand and trust one another.III. >nce it has !een decided that a meeting is necessar , decisions need to !e taken a!out who will attend it anda!out the location and length of the meeting. Peo&le should !e invited to attend it onl if the are directlinvolved in the matters under discussion and the agenda should !e distri!uted well in advance. $n agenda is vital

!ecause it works as a road ma& to kee& discussion focused and within the time limit fixed. 'his is also theres&onsi!ilit of the &erson 2. the meeting, who should encourage those who sa little to s&eakand sto& those who have much to sa from talking too much.I . $t the end of a well organised meeting, &eo&le will feel that the meeting has !een a success and will !e

&leased the were invited. 'he will know not onl what decisions were made !ut also the reasons for thesedecisions. "nfortunatel , at the end of a !adl organised meeting those &resent will feel the have wasted theirtime and that nothing has actuall !een achieved.

. *uch has !een said a!out wa s of kee&ing meetings short. Cor exam&le, Dames 'eal, chief 3. of alarge manufacturing com&an , !elieves that meetings should alwa s !e short, to the &oint and infre-uent. )usuall organise meetings for onl thirt minutes and the aim at reaching s&ecific o!+ectives, such as &lanning amarketing . = choosing new staff or dealing with &ro!lems in the section. ) draw u& the agenda andcirculate it in advance, so that those attending can !e ex&ected to !e &re&ared and a!le to ask and answer-uestions(. Studies show that managers are !est em&lo ed when the do tasks connected to their +o!s and do notattend endless meetings. enerall , in !usiness time is mone and s&ending it in meetings that do not achievean thing can !e ver costl for the manager and the com&an . 'herefore, 'eal claims that senior managersshould follow the exam&le of law ers and &ut a cost on each hour of their time. 'his would hel& them to decideif s&ending man hours in a meeting is reall the !est wa to invest their time(.


4e a" 6er 4ee .1. $. &a ment B. salar . earning . mone2. $. delegating B. attending . chairing . &ost&oning3. $. executive B. head . em&lo er . director 5. $. strateg B. &olitics . scheme . skill

Read&" o!8re4e" &o"C4oo e 4e orre o8 &o" o ea 4 < e &o" ( &" er &" 4e orre 8o"d&" e er &" 4e oxe .

1. 'he main &oint of the article is$E the im&ortance of meetings for managers.BE managers s&end too much of their time in meetings.

E managers need to kee& meetings short.E meetings are a waste of time and cost too much.

2. $ccording to the writer, in &aragra&h )), a meeting is valua!le if $E it discusses onl &ersonal &ro!lems.BE it takes &lace to im&rove colleagues( working relations and needs.

E it encourages staff to &resent new &ro+ects.E the &artici&ants anal se and criticise each other(s work.

3. )n &aragra&h )))=it is true a!out !usiness meetings that

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*eetings$E onl those involved in what will !e discussed should !e invited.BE onl those who s&eak ver much should !e invited.

E all staff mem!ers should !e invited.E the chair&erson should encourage long discussions.

. )n &aragra&h )6, it is true that those leaving a meeting will !e &leased$E !ecause the were the onl ones to achieve all their o!+ectives.BE !ecause ever thing scheduled was achieved.

E even if the misunderstood what had !een decided.E !ecause the understood the reasons for the decisions taken.

5. )n &aragra&h 6, it is true that managers$E should take law ers as an exam&le and attend as man meetings as &ossi!le.BE are encouraged to invest mone when attending meetings.

E should value their time !etter and avoid endless meetings.E would do !etter to !e friendl with law ers.

>. )n &aragra&h 6, the sentence 89senior managers should follow the exam&le of law ers9: indicates$E a suggestion.BE an o!ligation.

E a certaint .E an offer.

L& e"&" o!8re4e" &o" (an interview with Dr. Carter about his new book on how to give presentations)

1. r. arter(s !ook 'he art of giving &resentations$. will !e sold next ear.B. was &u!lished last ear.

. has !een &u!lished recentl .

2. ;ho was not ha&& with the &resentations. )n &aragra&hV , is it true that oke has a com&etitive advantage !ecause$E it has esta!lished emotional feelings with its customers thanks to its !rand name.BE it sells its &roducts onl in su&ermarket.,

E it alwa s sells at an extremel low &rice.E it has esta!lished emotional feelings with its customers thanks to its efficient customer service.

L& e"&" Co!8re4e" &o" # A ra io interview with !ichar "oo , the foun er of #ookstore, a co$pan% that sells books onthe internet)

1. ;hen did %ichard work for an investment com&an ne leader(s &ro!lems have certainl !een solved alread ! someone else. 'here is an organisation called #)'@ which ena!les those res&onsi!le for small !usinesses to meet. )ts mem!ers, all of whom are chief executives, are carefull selected and then +oin a small grou& ofother chief executives. 'he come from a range of !usiness . and each offers a different cor&orate histor . @achgrou& is led ! a moderator(, an inde&endentl selected !usinessman or woman who has !een s&eciall trained to head thegrou&. @ach mem!er takes it in turn to organise a meeting at his or her !usiness &remises and, most im&ortant of all, grou&discussions are ke&t strictl confidential. 'his encourages a free sharing of &ro!lems and increases the &ossi!ilit ofsolutions !eing discovered.


4e A" 6er S4ee :1. $. increase B. worth . growth . intake2. $. em&lo er B. team . graduate . recruit3. A. consultants B. ex&erts . recruiters . em&lo ers5. $. shares B. sections . sectors . series

Read&" o!8re4e" &o"C4oo e 4e orre o8 &o" o ea 4 < e &o" ( &" er &" 4e orre 8o"d&" e er &" 4e oxe o" 4e A" 6er S4ee :1. ;hat does the writer sa a!out entre&reneurs in &aragra&h ). 'he s&eaker recommends the final com&an !ecauseA$ it can &roduce goods within the re-uired deadlines.;$ it has agreed to reduce its &rices for large orders.C$ its &roducts &assed an ins&ection test.

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;RITIS, COMPANIES CROSS T,E ATLANTICI. ?ext month a large grou& of British !usiness &eo&le are going to $merica on a venture which ma generate ex&ortearnings for their com&anies( shareholders in ears to come. $ long list of s&onsors will su&&ort the initiative, which willinvolve a @3 million media cam&aign and two weeks of events and exhi!itions. 'he ultimate goal is to &ersuade more$mericans that British com&anies have something to interest them.II. ;hile there have !een &lent of 1. initiatives in the &ast, the difference this time is that considera!lethinking and &lanning has taken &lace in tr ing to understand what exactl $mericans look for in British &roducts. )nsteadof exclusivel &romoting the ma+or com&anies, this time there is more em&hasis on su&&orting the smaller, more luxurious

!usinesses.III. *an remem!er that $merica has re&resented the end of !usiness for man large and a&&arentl successful com&anies.Cor arringtons, a retail grou& much res&ected ! @uro&ean customers and investors, $merica turned out to !e acommercial disaster in s&ite of their initial o&timism. Poll Brown, another British !rand that was highl &rofita!le for

ears, also found that con-uering $merica, in commercial and retailing terms, was not as eas as it had imagined. ;hen it &ositioned itself in the "S as a 2.AAAAAAAAAA !rand, selling shirts &riced I50 in the "# for I124 in the States, the strategseemed to work. But once its management decided it should con-uer the middle market, this success ra&idl vanished. )twas a disastrous mistake and the high cost of the failed $merican ex&ansion &lans &la ed a large role in its decliningfortunes in the mid/nineties.I . Sarah Scott, managing 3. of Sm thson, the u&market stationer, has had to think long and hard a!out what isnecessar to succeed in $merica and she takes it ver seriousl indeed. *an British firms are -uite arrogant a!out the"S,( she sa s. 'he think that we are so much more so&histicated than the $mericans. 'he o!viousl have not noticed%al&h Lauren, an $merican who has !een much more skilled at making use of an idealised @nglish st le than an @nglishcom&an . $lso, man com&anies do not waste time stud ing the market &ro&erl and think that !ecause something issuccessful in the "#, it will automaticall !e successful over there. Jou have to look at what ou can !ring them that thehave not alread got. )n general, $merican com&anies are !rilliant at the low, middle market and &eo&le who have tried tocom&ete at this level have found it ver difficult.(

. 'his time the changes in the taste of . might !e in Britain(s favour. 'he enthusiasm for massive, centralised retailchains has decreased. Peo&le want things with some sort of individualit M the are tired of the !anal, middle/of/the/roadtaste so t &ical of $merica. 'he are now looking for the small, the &recious, the real thing(, and this is &recisel whatman of the British com&anies &artici&ating in this initiative are !est at doing.

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4ee .1. A. !arter ;. trade C. exchange D. !u ing2. A. mass ;. niche C. similar D. common3. A. director ;. chief C. executive D. em&lo er

. A. owners ;. &roducers C. leaders D. consumers

Read&" o!8re4e" &o"C4oo e 4e orre o8 &o" o ea 4 < e &o" ( &" er &" 4e orre 8o"d&" e er o" 4e a" 6er 4ee .1. 'he main idea of the text is thatA$ $mericans are still enthusiastic of centralised retail chains.;$ middle market British com&anies have met the $merican taste over the ears.C$ small British com&anies might now meet the $merican taste.D$ British com&anies have alwa s !een com&etitive at the low market.

2. )n &aragra&h ), the main reason wh British !usiness &eo&le are going to $merica is toA$ encourage $merican consumers to !u their &roducts.;$ anal se how $merican com&anies attract media coverage.C$ look for financial su&&ort from $merican investors and !anks.D$ investigate how British and $merican com&anies could form &artnershi&s.

3. $ccording to &aragra&h )), it is true that the &ro&osed venture will !e different from &revious ones !ecauseA$ fewer British !usiness leaders will !e travelling to $merica.;$ less well/known com&anies will !e !etter re&resented.C$ onl the larger com&anies have decided to &artici&ate.D$ it will involve little research into how British com&anies market themselves.

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. )n &aragra&h ))), arringtons( initial o&timism$E caused commercial disaster.BE &revented commercial disaster.

E seemed to &romise success.E guaranteed success.

5. )n &aragra&h )6, the sentence 9!ecause something is successful in the "#, it will automaticall !e successful overthere( indicatesA$ a &rediction;$ an o!ligationC$ an offer D$ a &ossi!ilit

>. )n &aragra&h 6, the writer suggests that success in $merica de&ends u&onA$ ado&ting a more $merican a&&roach to marketing;$ &ersuading the mid/range consumer that retail chains are still the !estC$ co& ing the strategies of $merican com&aniesD$ !uilding a re&utation as a su&&lier of uni-ue goods

L& e"&" o!8re4e" &o" (You will hear &ophie 'arlan an +a$es *inot iscussing proble$s at the ottingha$ Centre)1. $ccording to So&hie the ?ottingham entre is having &ro!lemsA$ for unknown reasons;$ for staff reasonsC$ for reasons she thinks will not continue for long

2. Dames sa s that in the @uro&ean division similar &ro!lems were ended !A$ selling some centres;$ launching an advertising cam&aignC$ investing in extra staff

3. So&hie sa s that the ?ottingham entre has lost nearl a million &oundsA$ in these six months;$ in the last monthsC$ in the last ear

. Dames suggests that a solution could !e toA$ reduce o&ening hours;$ em&lo more staff on lower wagesC$ cut &romotional offers

5. So&hie sa s that the Board wants to sell the ?ottingham entre !ecauseA$ the shareholders have taken the decision;$ a huge &rofit would !e madeC$ ca&ital is needed to cover the losses

>. So&hie agrees to &ro&ose to the Board thatA$ the entre should !e closed;$ more mone should !e investedC$ the entre should !e allowed to make savings.

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L& e"&" o!8re4e" &o"(%ou will hear the chair$an of a business institute $aking a speech about new business awar s)

1. ;hat did the Business 'oda )nnovations $wards( &ro+ect want to rewardffice.

$ccom&an customers in store note down comments a!out their .AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

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"22OListg. 7

L& e" a"d o!8 e e 4e "o e 6& 4 o"e or 6o 6ord .

@s&resso customer relations

ustomer en-uiries customer relations team and 1.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

?ew &roduct information sent in weekl 2.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

'echnical su&&ort availa!le from 3.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Cinding new customers is the +o! of 5.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA managers.

ustomer satisfaction dissatisfied customers do not renew 4.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

'ele&hone and email used to encourage .AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA and to collect ideas for7.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

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