BUSINESS ACTIVITIES
A. Listen and complete the following paragraphs.
1. "Every six months we ________________ a report showing how the
__________________ is doing. This past week, we’ve been ___________ with our
__________________ preparing the results that will be included in our next
_______________."
2. "I’m a _______________of a team of _____________ and we’ve just finalized
the ______________ of our new portable computer. This model will be more
_______________ and more adaptable than our ____________ one. We’re
constantly looking for new ideas and ______________ with new products."
3. "Before ______________ our latest product, our ____________must decide
in which ___________ it will be the most ______________and what types of
_______________ we want to reach.”
4. "Communication is a key ___________ of my department's work. We
answer ______________ made by our ______________ and are also in contact
with the press to ______________ them of new products and changes within
the ________________."
5. "We’ve been having ________________ with the quality of certain
______________parts made in our factories. So ______________members of the
department have got ____________ to talk about ways of improving some of
our __________________ techniques."
6. "Our company is going ______________a difficult ____________ and we
have had to ____________ the number of ____________ in several departments
and to review salaries _________________ the organization."
B. Translate the following business vocabulary.
departments: ________________________
produce: ________________________
accountants: ________________________
team: ________________________
powerful: ________________________
our previous one: ________________________
looking for: ________________________
the most successful: ________________________
key aspect: ________________________
enquiries: ________________________
the press: ________________________
within: ________________________
have got together to: ________________________
ways of improving: ________________________
going through: ________________________
throughout: ________________________
THE ORGANISATIONAL CHART GAME
Insights into Business
PRESIDENT
EXECUTIVE
ASSISTANT
RESEARCH AND
MARKETING FINANCE PERSONNEL
DEVELOPMENT
PUBLIC
PRODUCTION
RELATIONS
C. Below, you will read and listen to six people talking about their work. Read
carefully and decide which of the six departments listed they are working for.
First of all, read the vocabulary.
GLOSSARY
departments: areas, sections (secciones)
produce: create, bring out (generamos, publicamos)
accountants: controllers who maintain and audit business accounts (contadores)
team: group of people working together (equipo)
powerful: having great potency (potente)
our previous one: our previous model (nuestro modelo anterior)
looking for: searching, investigating (investigando)
the most successful: the better booming areas (las más exitosas)
key aspect: essential factor (factor clave o esencial)
enquiries: questions (consultas)
the press: the papers and magazines (la prensa, los medios gráficos)
within: inside (dentro de)
have got together to: have had a meeting in order to (se han reunido para)
ways of improving: alternatives to make better (formas de mejorar)
going through: experimenting (atravesando, pasando por)
throughout: all over (en toda)
MARKETING - FINANCE - PERSONNEL (or HUMAN RESOURCES)
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT - PUBLIC RELATIONS - PRODUCTION
1. "Every six months we produce a report showing how the company is doing. This past
week, we’ve been busy with our accountants preparing the results that will be included in our
next report." _____________________________________
2. "I’m a member of a team of engineers and we’ve just finalized the design of our new
portable computer. This model will be more powerful and more adaptable than our previous
one. We’re constantly looking for new ideas and experimenting with new products."
__________________________________
3. "Before selling our latest product, our department must decide in which regions it will be
the most successful and what types of consumer we want to reach." _____________________
4. "Communication is a key aspect of my department's work. We answer enquiries made by
our customers and are also in contact with the press to inform them of new products and
changes within the company."______________________________
5. "We’ve been having problems with the quality of certain electronic parts made in our
factories. So several members of the department have got together to talk about ways of
improving some of our manufacturing techniques." ______________________________
6. "Our company is going through a difficult period and we have had to reduce the number
of employees in several departments and to review salaries throughout the organization."
_______________________________________
D. Write a short inform about your department. You can imitate one of used in this class.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
VOCABULARY EXERCISE
Underline the correct answer.
1 Money supplied by investors, banks, or owners of a business is called
capital
incurred expenses
secondary alignment
pin money
2 A free enterprise system allows businesses to
have their government choose their products
produce the goods and services they choose
buy goods at a discount
operate at a profit
3 A corporation is a business organization that is recognized by law to
pay no tax
have a life of its own
have an active social life
have at least 3 owners
4 The most common form of business organization is a
corporation
partnership
sole proprietorship
lemonade stand
5 One of the disadvantages of a sole proprietorship is
all the profits go to the owner
there are no lunch breaks
the owner has all the risks
there are few regulations to follow
6 A business owned by two or more people is called
a corporation
looking for trouble
a partnership
venture capital
7 Those who transform ideas for products or services into real-world businesses are known as
profit takers
accountants
entrepreneurs
organizers
8 A merchandising business
buys raw materials and transforms them into finished products
buys finished products and resells them
provides a service for a fee
all of the above
