Business Partner B2 Extra activities

BUSINESS WORKSHOP 1 Keeping the workforce happy

Discussing the A Andy, Carolina, Sirina and Tomasz mentioned things they didn’t like or felt could
problem be improved at Schokoschatz. Match the problems 1–12 to what they said a–l.
1 No discounts for free-time activities (Andy)
2 No flexible working hours for some workers (Tomasz)
3 Little chance for a career (Tomasz)
4 Low salary (Carolina)
5 Insufficient or no performance-based pay (Sirina)
6 Problems with training programme (Carolina)
7 Strict dress code (Sirina)
8 Not enough positive cooperation between departments (Tomasz)
9 Lack of teamwork in departments (Andy)
10 Quality of meals at the company (Carolina)
11 Lack of autonomy in the job (Sirina)
12 Not enough financial help for travel (Andy)

a ‘… she felt she didn’t get support to help her develop her career and move to a better position.’
b ‘The subsidised canteen is a good perk and it’s cheap, but there are still a number of people who
say the quality of the food isn’t very good.’
c ‘But I really think we need a bonus scheme that includes everyone.’
d ‘I don’t understand why we need to dress so formally when we’re in the office and not meeting
customers.’
e ‘… although we have flexi-time for office staff, we don’t for the field sales teams or in the
production area.’
f ‘… I seem to spend a lot of my salary on my monthly train ticket. It would be good if the company
could help me out somehow with a discounted travel card …’
g ‘… they didn’t feel the courses we offer were very helpful and felt we should make sure all staff
got the training and development they needed for their jobs … and for future careers too.’
h ‘I have more of a problem with the other members in our department. Each person is just
interested in their own job and they don’t seem to want to work together, or collaborate very
much.’
i ‘… people feel that they don’t earn enough.’
j ‘… I prefer to be independent and organise my day as I think best.’
k ‘… or offer discounts for activities that we could do after work or on weekends.’
l ‘Some of the newer staff like me find that it can be difficult to work with other departments.’

The survey B Look at the survey on page 134 of the coursebook and the table in Exercise 8 again.
Decide if these sentences are true (T) or false (F). Give the percentages to support your
answers.
0 The majority of the employees are not happy with the discounts for free-time activities.
T – 59% disagree or disagree strongly that they receive useful discounts for free-time activities.
1 More than three-quarters of the employees feel they have the chance to make a career in the
company.
2 The majority are happy with the pay they receive.
3 Less than half the employees would like more autonomy.
4 Most employees like getting vouchers for restaurants.
5 Just under half of the employees would like different training courses.
6 The majority do not receive a satisfactory bonus for doing a good job.
7 More than half the employees are happy with the financial help they get for travel.
8 More than three-quarters of the employees feel that there is positive cooperation between
employees at work.
9 A minority of employees say they don’t have hours they can adapt to their needs.

Business Partner B2 © Pearson Education 2018

Business Partner B2 Extra activities

BUSINESS WORKSHOP 2 Quality service for all

Training and A Read all three reports on pages 131, 133 and 134 of the coursebook and answer
development issues the questions.
1 In which region is it especially important to have personal contact with clients?
2 Where do consultants have to deal with different types of economies?
3 What is the rule about Islamic financial products?
4 Where do customers think that people with higher positions in the company are the experts?
5 In which region does the HR director mention the importance of working with both large
corporations and smaller private clients?
6 Which area has a high satisfaction level of customers according to the HR director?
7 Where did some consultants say they needed more training on building relationships which
will last for a long time?
8 In which region was the potential for a much larger customer base mentioned?
9 What do recommendations always need to include according to one of the reports?
10 Where do consultants need training on a variety of products?
11 In which region does the HR director mention the importance of courses which stress the
personal touch of consulting?
12 What kind of training is necessary when things go wrong?

B Complete the sentences using words from the box. Two are not used.

aspect base emerging funds further generous personal potential

recommendation retention trust

1 It is necessary to ensure that employees are trained to make use of enormous

in a market.
2 People buy as an investment.
3 A(n) essential of training courses is to teach skills that people need in their
jobs.
4 It is often easier to keep your current of clients than to try and find new
customers.
5 A(n) from a customer can be very valuable in the business world.
6 A(n) economy is one which is beginning to grow.
7 Someone who spends time helping others can be considered .
8 Financial consultants have to gain the of their clients or the relationship will
not work.
9 After a basic training course, many employees are interested in development.

Business Partner B2 © Pearson Education 2018 1

Business Partner B2 Extra activities

BUSINESS WORKSHOP 2 Quality service for all

A skills map C Complete the table with the correct word forms. All but two of these also have
noun forms indicating people. Do you know what they are?

Verb Noun (thing) Adjective

1
communication communicative
create creation, creativity 2

3
empathy empathetic
know knowledge 4

manage 5
, manageability manageable, managerial
organise 6
organised, organisational
present 7
presentable
8
sales, saleability, salesmanship sellable, saleable
train 9
trainable, trained
trust trust, trustworthiness 10
, trusting,
trusted, trusty

D Match the skills (1–12) with the course titles (a–l).

1 learning about stocks, shares and funds a ‘Working with difficult situations and people’
2 active listening b ‘Building a loyal client base’
3 sales c ‘Passing on the knowledge’
4 presentation skills d ‘Getting people to follow you’
5 communication skills e ‘Really hearing what others say’
6 building trust f ‘The basics of money and the economy’
7 maintaining relationships g ‘Improving your public speaking’
8 finding new clients h ‘Making sure your clients know you are
9 training others reliable’
10 training on everyday financial matters i ‘Getting the client to sign the contract’
11 managing conflict j ‘Discovering potential customers’
12 leadership skills k ‘All about investments’
l ‘Getting your message across’

Business Partner B2 © Pearson Education 2018 2

Business Partner B2 Extra activities

BUSINESS WORKSHOP 3 Investment opportunities

Morning meeting A Choose the correct meaning for the words from the recordings.
1 asset-stripping 6 fight a losing battle
a selling a company’s assets separately a struggle to make someone understand
to make a quick profit something
b taking away redundant assets and b try to do something you won’t succeed
selling them in doing
c measuring the efficiency of a c work hard to succeed
company’s assets 7 have legs
2 dispel a continue to interest people
a go in different directions b be the market leader
b refuse to accept an idea c be very fashionable
c make something go away 8 short-lived
3 be a force for good a lasting
a be a positive influence b permanent
b have a strong impact c temporary
c give a good impression 9 due diligence
4 the last resort a being extremely careful about choices
a a safe place to go to b gathering all information on risks
b where you go if everything else fails c analysing potential advances
c the best way to solve a problem 10 foreseeable
5 go bankrupt a promising
a sell the company b satisfactory
b fail to win any orders c predictable
c not have enough money to pay debts

Gathering B Ext BW 3.01 Listen to the first report about export markets and complete the chart.
information from
graphs Export markets

6 7
%

4 5
%

2 3
%
India 1 %

C Ext BW 3.02 Listen to the second report on sales revenues and complete the notes.
1 Sales in January reached $ million. An increase of .
2 February sales poorer by $ million due to problems and
strikes.
3 March sales were on .
4 Sales in April reached $ million thanks to new product line launch.
5 Steady rise for three months reaching $ million in July.
6 August saw sales of $ million.
7 Revenues to August level in October.
8 December sales were $ million.

Business Partner B2 © Pearson Education 2018

 Business Partner B2 Extra activities

BUSINESS WORKSHOP 4 Rise of the robots

Working with robots A Read the text and decide if these sentences are true (T), false (F) or not given (NG).

Robot bosses
How would you feel if your boss was a robot? Would you follow all the orders you were given
or would you ignore what the robot says? A recent experiment indicated that, strangely enough,
most people would obey the robot boss, even though they had been told that they could refuse.
As robots become more human-like and capable, there is a growing concern amongst
businesses about the way in which employees will react and interact with ‘cobots’, robots
who become colleagues. Evidence suggests that if the human brain sees something moving
around intelligently it automatically attributes human characteristics to it and therefore reacts
to it as if it were a person. The problem is that workers may believe that these machines
know more than they do and therefore stop trusting their own judgement, which could lead to
terrible mistakes and totally demotivated staff. Therefore, people working with these robots
should challenge them if they are not happy with what they are doing. Another concern is that
staff will miss social interaction if they only work with robots and therefore will have less job
satisfaction. Consequently, the company will need to ensure that staff have enough interaction
with other human employees. The one thing about which there is a consensus is that the new
generation of workers will have to be very adaptable and able to learn new skills very quickly.

1 Research suggests that most people would ignore orders from a robot.
2 People were not allowed to refuse an order from a robot in the experiment.
3 Businesses are increasingly worried about employee reaction to ‘cobots’.
4 Soon all office staff will have robots as a colleagues.
5 It seems that our brains cannot tell the difference between robots and people.
6 Research proves that workers think robots are more intelligent than they are.
7 Workers do not trust robots to do the work properly.
8 It is important to question instructions from robots at times.
9 Job satisfaction will reduce if employees only interact with robots.
10 Everyone agrees that flexibility and the acquisition of new skills is vital.

B Choose the correct meaning for the words from the texts in Exercise 3 on page 95
of the coursebook.
1 rolled into one 4 in advance
a both in a single unit a before a particular time
b created by one person b more developed
c working side by side c very quickly
2 exchange small talk 5 engage
a give each other ideas a make an appointment
b discuss things with someone b participate
c chat about unimportant things c discuss
3 gracious 6 sous chef
a elegant a the cook who prepares sauces
b attractive b the cook directly below the head chef
c courteous c the cook who collects all the ingredients

Business Partner B2 © Pearson Education 2018

Business Partner B2 Extra activities

BUSINESS WORKSHOP 5 Changing expectations

Meetings A Choose the correct option to complete the sentences and define the words
in bold.
1 A union primarily represents the employees / employer.
2 The expression work-life balance is used to talk about working from home / having
enough free time.
3 Benefits offered by a company can be extra money or other advantages that you get as
part of your job / never include extra money.
4 Measuring performance means to compare the work someone does to the hours they
put in / to criteria which have been set.
5 A quality check would ensure that work that was completed is of a high standard / is
finished on time.
6 A survey is a set of questions that you expect certain answers for / ask people to find
out about their opinions.

Expectations B BW 5.03 Listen to the conversation between Clara and Diego again. Decide if
these sentences are true (T) or false (F).
1 Diego has spoken with staff who hold interviews with new employees.
2 Younger staff are often promoted faster than those who have been with the company a
long time.
3 Many younger workers feel their new ideas are not rewarded.
4 Clara feels that people who offer new ideas which help the business should be
financially rewarded.
5 Staff members say that they would welcome cheaper gym memberships or having a
fitness facility on site.
6 Clara will look into the possibility of offering parking for everyone.
7 There have been complaints that overtime work is not compensated fairly.
8 Younger staff members would like to be able to take more business trips.
9 Staff have said that an increase in social events would be appreciated.
10 Staff would like to see a bonus system for reaching goals.

Business Partner B2 © Pearson Education 2018

Business Partner B2 Extra activities

BUSINESS WORKSHOP 6 AFhomes, Tanzania

Trouble ahead A Read the AFhomes article on page 98 of the coursebook again. Choose the
correct meaning for the words and expressions from the article.
1 in very deep water 5 hailed as
a in a difficult situation a described as being very good
b in the public eye b welcomed as
c in an unusual position c given an award for
2 teamed up with 6 livestock
a become part of a crops
b got together with b animals
c come up with c workers
3 backfire on 7 tendered
a change the opinion of a applied for a job
b have the opposite of the intended effect on b made a formal offer for the contract
c go according to plan c requested more details
4 venture 8 coming to a halt
a a business activity with risk a slowing down
b environmental project b pausing temporarily
c conservation plan c stopping completely

B Read the AFhomes article on page 136 of the coursebook again (Student B).
Choose the correct meaning for the words and expressions from the article.
1 hit back 4 consulted
a flatly refused a asked for information
b resisted strongly b discussed
c responded angrily c presented our plan
2 hit a few bumps in the road 5 vunerable
a had some minor problems a possibly attracted to
b built some poor highways b fascinated by
c constructed uneven roads c can be easily hurt
3 teething problems 6 thrive
a unexpected challenges a work very hard
b small problems at the start of a job b survive the tough times
c unnecessary tasks that must be done first c be very successful

C Work in pairs. Discuss the meaning of the 12 ethical principles for business
executives in the box. Which of these do you think Mr Ndege is most concerned
about? Which is he least concerned about?

honesty integrity promise-keeping and trustworthiness loyalty fairness

concern for others respect for others law-abiding commitment to excellence
leadership reputation and morale accountability

D In what way could a company behave unethically with regard to:

suppliers marketing accounting
employees competitor’s secrets staff and customer data
charity donations

Where has E BW 6.01 Listen to the radio programme again and answer the questions.
AF homes gone 1 What two reasons are given for Mr Ndege’s fame?
wrong? 2 What work does HappyEd Charity do?
3 Before he moved to the Dodoma project, how did AFhomes treat Julius?
4 Why can’t Nkomo leave AFhomes?
5 How does the Land Conservation Agency feel about Mr Ndege now?

Business Partner B2 © Pearson Education 2018

Business Partner B2 Extra activities

BUSINESS WORKSHOP 7 Planning for a trade fair

Conference calls A Match the sentences halves to complete the definitions of the words in bold.
1 Making a new product available for sale for the first time a is called a voucher.
2 A business that sells directly to customers b is the sales department.
3 The department in a company which convinces c is called catering.
customers to buy products or services d is called a raffle.
4 The department which is responsible for advertising, e is called a product launch.
prices and where to sell a product
f is called a retailer.
5 The department which researches new ideas for goods
g is the marketing department.
to manufacture
h is called a retail chain.
6 A group of shops owned by one organisation
i is a product line.
7 A competition in which people get numbered tickets
and win prizes j is the product development
department.
8 A ticket that can be used instead of money
9 Providing and serving food at events
10 A group of similar goods made by the same company

Prioritising tasks B Complete the text using the words in the box.

categorising complicated cut deadlines estimate interruptions

matrix multi-tasking prioritise

There are a number of books and courses on the market which give tips on how people
can better manage their time and 1 tasks. This usually begins with a to-do
list followed by an exercise on 2 tasks into urgent and important. There is
a(n) 3 for this which helps decide on urgency and importance of tasks. This
is a good time to decide if there are tasks that can be 4 completely or given
to another person. At this point, it is also a good idea to 5 realistically how
long each task will take. You can then decide which to do first, the longer and more
6
one or the shorter and easier one. In any case, it is important that the
7
you set for yourself can be met. Don’t forget that there may be 8
so plan flexibility into your schedule and adapt when necessary. It is also important to
do one thing at a time and avoid 9 when possible. Good luck with your time
management!

Business Partner B2 © Pearson Education 2018

Business Partner B2 Extra activities

BUSINESS WORKSHOP 8 Chillhot Sauces, Malaysia

How a large A Complete the summary of the article on page 102 of the coursebook using
manufacturing the words in the box.
company changed accountability boring demotivated factories faith improved
inspiring reactive

When a new CEO joined Michelin in 2012, he decided to make major changes to the way
the 1 were run. All staff were to be given much more 2 and
managers had to have more 3 in their teams, encouraging them to make
their own decisions. The CEO believed the changes were needed in order to make the
company more flexible and 4 to customers’ needs. Employees at every
level would need to make sacrifices and their skills would have to be 5 .
However, none of the changes would work if management could not explain why the
changes were needed. By engaging working groups to try out new ways of 6
cooperation, the results were achieved and staff indicated that they thought work was
not 7 any more and they no longer felt 8 .

B Complete the sentences with the correct word from the comments on page 136
of the coursebook.
1 My manager has become a to me rather than someone just giving orders.
a mentor b guarantor c guru d psychologist
2 I think of my manager as a kind of as he helps me develop my skills.
a sponsor b supporter c guarantor d coach
3 We have to with all the problems on a day-to-day basis.
a handle b sort c cope d manage
4 The company was unable to all the staff from the other company after the
takeover.
a adopt b absorb c admit d access
5 An essential of a successful organisation, is the motivation of the
employees.
a division b portion c module d element
6 He was also about the new idea and never thought that it would succeed.
a unlikely b unsteady c sceptical d respectful
7 The employees have a large amount of to organise their work schedules.
a autonomy b automation c individuality d choice
8 The bosses in that company think it is their job to orders and not to listen
to the workers.
a deliver b issue c distribute d allocate

Business Partner B2 © Pearson Education 2018