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World business newspaper.
QNow answer these questions.
1 What changes have taken place regarding:
a) the value of Nokia? b) Nokia's position in the market?
2 Why is Nokia no longer the leader in the mobile phone market?
3 What is preventing Nokia from regaining its position in the market?
4 Why is Samsung competing successfully against Nokia?
5 Why was Nokia's first camera phone unsuitable for the Japanese market?
6 According to the writer, what advantage will South Korea have over Japanese and European companies in the future?
QThe following verbs related to competition all appear in the article.
crush match exceed regain dominate overtake rival
Which of the words in the box suggest the idea of:
1being in a strong position? (2 verbs)
2equality? (2 verbs)
3moving in front of?
4recovery?
5doing better than?
фSelect the best alternative in each example below.
1Our sales results (rivalled / exceeded) all our expectations.
2After buying their largest competitor they totally (dominated / exceeded) the market.
3Our factory (rivals / regains) many of our competitors.
4After only three years, US sales (crushed / overtook) sales in Europe.
5Following the bankruptcy of our main competitor we (overtook / regained) our position as market leader.
6They can (match / dominate) us on price but not on quality.
7We are going to (regain / crush) the competition with our new handset.
^^ Vocabulary file page 175
Q 014.1 Ian Barber is Marketing Manager with Barclaycard, the credit card business. Listen to the first part of the interview and decide whether the following statements are true or false.
1 Barclaycard launched in 1976.
2 There were no competitors for ten or twelve years.
3 Today there are almost a thousand other credit card providers.
4 In the UK, Barclaycard is more widely recognised than its competitors.
5 Barclaycard's price strategy is to always be the cheapest.
6 Keeping customers happy is important, but it doesn't affect competitiveness.
ф 014.2 Listen to the second part and answer these questions.
1Which three types of borrowing other than using a credit card does Ian Barber describe?
2Under the current Barclaycard offer, how long can you borrow money for at zero percent?
3How does the 'cashback' scheme work?
4What two benefits for the customer has competition brought?
Q 014.3 Listen to the third part and complete this summary.
Generally speaking, people borrow for one of three reasons. They borrow to
....... u. a car or holiday, something like that. They borrow
to... [41] - so they put all their debts in one place and they
have to make just one monthly payment.
Or they borrow......................................... [42], simply to spread the cost of their
monthly spending in a more manageable way.
Competition is really about providing our customers with................................. [43] and
| Listening Staying competitive |
▲ Ian Barber
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5
| Language review |
| Modals of probability |
Modals of certainty, probability, possibility
We use different modals to say that an event or situation is certain, probable or possible.
will / won't
We often use will / won't with an adverb to show how certain we are that something will or will not happen. Prices for airline tickets will certainly rise next year. They probably / definitely / certainly won't cut their prices again. We use should, ought to, be likely to when we think something will probably happen.
Our sales are likely to improve next quarter.
When we expect something will not happen, we use shouldn't, ought not to, be unlikely to.
That shouldn't be a problem.
We use may, could, may not, might not when there is only a possibility that something will or will not happen. The situation may improve in the longer term. We use must or can't to make a logical deduction. They must be tired after such a long flight.
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They can't be in financial difficulty - their profits are up. page 156
Q ) 14.4 Listen to a cycle manufacturer discussing an agreement with a new agent. Then answer these questions.
1 Which of these points did the two sides agree on during the negotiation?
a)the type of relationship they wish to have
b)who sets prices
c)payment of commission
d)who pays for advertising and promotion
2 Why does the agent want the contract to be longer than two years?
| Negotiating |
фMatch the phrases on the left with the more diplomatic phrases on the right.
1We must talk about price first.
2There's no way we can give you any credit.
3I want a discount.
4I won't lower my price.
a) Your price seems rather high.
b) Unfortunately, I can't lower my price.
c) Could you possibly give me a discount?
d) I'm afraid we can't give you any credit.
e) I think we should talk about price first.
5Can you alter the specifications? f) I wonder if you could alter the
6Your price is far too high. specifications.
0 14.5 Listen to these extracts from the negotiation. Complete the sentences below. Decide whether the speakers are being diplomatic (D) or not diplomatic (ND).
1A non-exclusive contract......................................................... for us, too.
2No, that's....................................... for us.
3We know the market conditions ......................................... than you.
4I.................. a rate of 15% on all the revenue you obtain.
| 6 We |
5Fifteen percent is too low. We........................................................... 20%.
with this.
7How much.............................................................................. ?
8We...................................... about the commission later.
9 . with a new distributor we prefer a
shorter period.
10 It........................................ at least three years.
0Role play the negotiation below between a shop owner and a chocolate manufacturer. Be diplomatic.
Shop owner Chocolate manufacturer
You want to order 50 boxes of deluxe chocolates at the quoted price.
You want a 20% discount.
You want 30 days' credit.
You want delivery in two weeks.
You get a bonus if the order is over 100 boxes.
You don't give a discount for orders of less than 100 boxes.
You want payment on delivery.
You can deliver in three weeks.
Useful language J
Diplomatically giving bad news
I'm sorry, we weren't able to agree on this. I'm afraid your price is rather high.
Using speculative language
It would probably arrive late. It could be a problem. It may be difficult to deliver. We might not be able to do that.
Using a past form to express disappointment
We were hoping for. We were expecting.
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| Beverley Watches |
| Background Beverley Watches, located in Los Angeles, California, owns a chain of stores selling jewellery ancl fashion watches. Its best-selling products are high-quality ladies' watches which are innovative and offer a variety of 'face' colours. The company is increasingly sourcing its products from Asian countries and its profit margin on such products is usually 80 percent to 100 percent. The date is October 1. The buying department wishes to purchase 5,000 ladies' watches, all of which must arrive in Los Angeles by November 15, in time for the Christmas buying season. The company believes it can definitely sell 3,000 watches but the remaining 2,000 will depend on demand - which is uncertain. Because Beverley Watches has cash-flow problems, it wishes to pay for the goods as late as possible. The target consumer is price-conscious, but will pay more if the watches have original designs. Members of the buying department are now in Asia looking for a reliable supplier with whom they can build a long-lasting relationship. They have contacted three companies who could supply the watches. |
CO <
| Read the information about each supplier. Some information is missing. Which supplier looks the most attractive at this stage? What problems, if any, could there be with each supplier? Work in groups of three buyers and three suppliers. • Buyer i: turn to page 148. • Supplier 1: turn to page 145. • Buyer 2: turn to page 143. • Supplier 2: turn to page 146. • Buyer 3: turn to page 142. • Supplier 3: turn to page 141. Read your role cards. Each buyer meets one of the suppliers. Find out the missing information concerning delivery, discount, returned goods and guarantee. Negotiate to get good terms for your company. Buyers meet together and discuss the negotiation. Decide together which supplier to use. Suppliers meet together and discuss how you feel about the negotiation. What are you happy or unhappy about? What would you do differently? Buyers: announce your decision and, diplomatically, explain why you rejected the suppliers you did. Suppliers: say how you would negotiate differently next time. |
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