UNIT 11 LESSON A ACHIEVING PERFECTION

Before you read the passage, talk about these questions.

1. In what ways can you compare the success of different companies?
 The success of different companies can be compared by comparing how
much profit they make, or what share they have of particular markets.
Particular aspects of a business may be compared by benchmarking: that is
by making comparisons with particular processes across companies within a
particular industry or even across different industries.
2. How would you improve the efficiency of a business that exists today?
 To improve the management strategy of a business that exists today it is
necessary to identify where things are not being done as well as they could
be. Making comparisons with other businesses is one way to do this, as is
asking existing staff members or employing consultants to find out what
could be done better. In this way better ways of doing things can be identified
READING
Listen and read the article from a business magazine. Then, read the summary of the
dialogue. Fill in the blanks with the correct words and phrases from the word bank. What
did you learn from the text?
According to the article, the key to a good management strategy is to use every
available tool. Benchmarks should measure owners’ businesses, their competitors and
even other industries. The methods followed in other industries may benefit other
industries as well. For optimal results, owners should study all available best practice
VOCABULARY
Match he words (1-6) with the definitions (A-F).
1 __ functional benchmark A the comparison of practices among companies in the
same industry
2 __ best practice C a highly successful management strategy
3 __ internal benchmark B the comparison of similar practices within one company
4 __ detractor F a person who is critical of something
5 __ competitive benchmark D the comparison of similar practices across industries
6 __ six sigma E a method that consistently shows the best results
Write a word that is similar in meaning to the underlined part.
1 Develop a new strategy for coordinating staff and resources. management strategy
2 Conduct a study of the ways business is carried out. methods
 3 A system of investigating successful activities improves workflow. bench marketing
4 TechCo is reviewing its management activities that determine quality. Quality
management
LISTENING
Listen to a conversation between a business owner and a manager. Mark the
following statements as True (T) or false (F).
1 _F_ The company’s production methods are less expensive than competitors’ methods.
2 _T_ The man wants to apply best practices from one department to another department.
3 _T_ Internal benchmarks show that the marketing department is the most efficient
department.
UNIT 11 LESSON B
SALES
1 Before you read the passage, talk about these questions.
1. What must a salesperson do to ensure a sale?
To ensure a sale a salesperson must identify appropriate customers for the
product he or she is selling. Once they have done this they must use a mixture of
information (possibly including demonstrations of the product where
appropriate) and their powers of persuasion to convince an existing or potential
client to buy the product.
2. What difficulties might a salesperson encounter when dealing with a client?
Salesperson encounter negativity and resistance from some potential clients.
They may also have to deal with customers who are not very good at making
decisions.
READING
2. Listen and read this flyer advertising a set of seminars for salesperson. Then, read the
paraphrase of the article. Fill in the blanks with the correct words from the word bank.
What will people learn during the seminar? Tell the class.
Lucrative Solutions offers tailor-made courses to salespeople the aim of of the seminars is to
help salespeople be more professional and bring in more business. The course covers all
elements of the sales process, such as analyzing territory, handling resistance and approaching
customers.
VOCABULARY
3 Read the sentence and choose the correct word.
1.The sales team delivered a successful (approach / pitch)
 2. Tom’s sales approach is not very (effective / existing).
3. (Capitalize / Analyze) on this new contact to sell more products
4 The idea to lower prices met a lot of (influence / resistance).
5. Salespeople use many skills to (influence / demonstrate) people.
6. Many salespeople must (generate / approach) appointments.
4 Read the sentence pairs. Choose where the words best fit in the blanks.
1. attentive / consultative
Be more attentive when you listen to people. Build a consultative relationship
with clients.
2. deal with / demonstrate
Demonstrate your skills before an audience. It’s hard to deal with difficult
people
3. key contact / appointment
Mr. Robert’s appointment is in half an hour. John is our key contact at that
company
LISTENING
5 Listen to a conversation between a company manager and a sales supervisor. Mark
the following as true (T) or false (F).
1 _T__ The woman agrees to send the team to the seminar
2 _T__ The sales team has lost several important accounts.
3 _F__ The man wants to hire new salespeople.
UNIT 11 LESSON C
PREPOSITIONS
Exercise 11.1 Add at, on, or in to the blanks.
1. The great San Francisco earthquake occurred on April 18, 1906.
2. The pressure on the bottom of the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean is 16,380 pounds
per square inch.
3. The planets in the solar system lie for the most part on a plane.
4. Some researchers claim to be in the verge of discovering the cause of some forms of
cancer.
 5. The depth of the oceans is 2.5 miles in the average.
6. Large-scale cooling towers are usually constructed in the site.
7. The reading at a barometer indicates atmospheric pressure.
8. Hydrogen boils at a temperature of -252.87 C.
9. A human embryo is considered to be full term at forty weeks.
10. Hibernation in the Northern Hemisphere usually ends in March.
Exercise 11.2 Read the text and add at, with, or in to the blanks.
Bolted Connections: Bolts are used (1)on structural steel construction as a temporary
means of connecting members, for anchoring a structure to masonry, for taking tensile
forces beyond the capacity of rivets, and for permanent connections of some lower
stressed members (2)on isolated locations. Frequently a bolt may be installed (3)at a
location where it is impossible to drive a rivet or where it is impossible to place sufficient
rivets to carry the shear. The tensile value of a bolt is determined by the cross-sectional
area (4) in the root of the threads. Because of the stress concentrations caused by the
shape of the threads, somewhat lower unit stresses are sometimes permitted (5)in to root
of threads that are used for tension in members of uniform section. When bolts are used
for fitting up structural members (6)at preparation for riveting, it is usual to use them in
combination with drift pins. The drift pins more nearly fill the holes and ensure proper
alignment, while the bolts hold the connecting parts securely together. Approximately,
half of the holes filled would contain drift pins. It is generally considered that, when
bolts are used in a connection in combination (7)with rivets, the bolts will not take shear.
This is because the bolts usually have a loose fit. Turned bolts (8) in to close fit are
frequently specified for steel assemblies where shearing forces must be resisted. Holes
for turned bolts are reamed to the correct size.
Exercise 11.3 Fill the missing prepositions.
1. All proposed royalty rates are subject in negotiations.
2. Developing good writing skills is important in students who want to study abroad.
3. Mr. Gibson will be on charge of supporting sales promotions for the sales department.
4.The plans for expanding operations in Asian markets will be discussed in the next
meeting.
5. The keynote speaker arrived at the conference hall just in the opening ceremony.
6. Restricted areas can be entered only at authorized personnel.
7. It’s just a problem on keeping track of expenses.
Exercise 11.4 Choose the correct answer.
1. Why does Japan invest, on / in / at average, twice as much capital per worker per year
than the United States?
2. There were hundreds of taxis on / at / in the airport, all touting for business custom.
3. I watched him in disbelief for my master was usually keen to observe the finest
etiquette on / in / at table.
4. They saw a young woman come out of the house to hang clothes in / on / at a line.
5. You must not look only at / on / in the surface of things.
6. We don’t usually accept late applications, but at / on / in this case we will make an
exception.
7. There is a lot of stuff on / in / at this page—news headlines, ads, and financial data.
8. We send a copy of catalogue as you request in / on / at the letter of January 20th.
9. Our attempts at / on / in negotiation finally met with some success.
10. The company had been at / in / on discussion with companies in Austria, Italy and
Greece.