Scarica dispensa esame orale business english unicatt e più Dispense in PDF di Lingua Inglese solo su Docsity! UNIT 1 AGGETTIVI: value for money (convenienza) timeless reliable durable sexy fun Fashionable cool classic upmarket sophisticated stylish inexpensive Well-made VOCABULARY o BRAND LOYALTY The tendency to always buy a particular brand NAME The title given to a product by the company that makes it AWARENESS How familiar people are with a brand (or its logo and slogan) IMAGE The ideas and beliefs people have about a brand STRETCHING Using an existing name on another type of product of a different product category. The new product is called spin-off o PRODUCT LAUNCH The introduction of a product to the market RANGE The set of products made by a company LIFECYCLE The length of time people continue to buy a product PLACEMENT When products are used in films or tv programmes ENDORSEMENT (appoggio, sostegno) The use of a well-known person to advertise products o MARKET LEADER The best-selling product or brand in a market CHALLENGER The second best-selling product or brand in a market SHARE The percentage of sales a company has SEGMENT Customers of similar age, income level or social group RESEARCH Information about what consumers want or need CHIEF EXECUTIVE: is the most senior corporate, executive or administrative officer in charge of managing an organization SHAREHOLDER: individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation SHARE: unit of capital owned by a shareholder ARTICLE – RESTLESS PURSUER OF LUXURY’S FUTURE Sydney Toledano is Dior’s chief executive and one of the longest-serving one in the luxury industry. He must balance: o The demands of shareholders o The value of a historic label (etichetta) o The need of exclusivity and for expansion He routinely communicates with: o Arnault, the main shareholder of Dior and demanding boss o Dior’s clothes designer (Galliano) o Dior’s jewellery designer (De Castellane) Best advice: o When times are bad, get out of the office. When things are good, spend time on the organization o Look for newness, look for what is happening next o Forget the calculator o Understand people from different countries and what they want Toledano travels almost every week to one of Dior’s 224 stores around the world. In the 1980’s he worked in China at the French leather-goods house Lancel and there he realized China would one day be prime territory for luxury. Factory owners worked very hard but they would bring you to restaurants, they wanted to enjoy life. Toledano thought one day they were going to have money and they were going to spend it. Mr Arnault Wanted to take a small couture house he had bought out of bankruptcy and build it into the biggest luxury group in the world (LVMH) Dior: o Can double in 5 years o Growth coming from middle east, china and Europe Dior needs: o To develop its network o To perfect its supply chain The next wave of luxury buyers: o Middle east o Russia o Hong Kong o South Korea A brand should anticipate its customers’ needs and invest early in markets that may not show real growth for up to 6 years. It’s also very important to keep the made in America tag because people want to know where products are created. Products made in America, likewise in Europe induce people believe the good quality and endurance of them. Instead a production in China or India could be seen as less valuable in terms of quality of materials and manufacture. It’s not convenient sell all the products in higher price range because a 72% of people think these luggage and accessories are too expensive. Hudson should divide its production into 2 ranges: the higher range for businesspeople and rich buyers and a lower one of core products and more. Hiring a top designer, Hudson could sell more innovative and exciting products under a new and exclusive label in order to distinguish it from the other range. At the same time Hudson could develop a wider product range, more common for people and of every day using. These products should be sought at lower and competitive prices. At the end, the e-commerce is the best way to increase sales. So, people can buy core products and also the exclusive ones. Through e-commerce Hudson can apply special discounts in particular days of the year or for new customers, in order to let people, buy also the exclusive label’s products. The strategy of brand stretching could be insidious. It would end up in failure in both products: luggage and watches, if the management and marketing teams aren’t able to coordinate the sales. Besides, deciding to concentrate on watches manufacture could lower more and more the sales on the core range If I had to choose 2 of the strategies above, I would go for strategies 2 and 4 basically. Strategy 2 because of product endorsement and placement but also to remark the made in America tag and the good quality associated to it. It is important to maintain a high status for the brand and its key products. On the other end, it is possible to develop a wide range of products of everyday use and sell them at lower prices to catch the great portion of customers in the market. UNIT 2 – TRAVEL o VOCABULARY cabin Jet cancellations luggage checks Queues food room seats trolley PEAK TRAVEL Happens at times when the largest number of people are travelling CHECK IN When you go to desk at a hotel/airport to say you have arrived FREQUENT FLYER POINTS Are awarded by airlines to reward customers loyalty UPGRADE A change to a better seat or level of service LOUNGE A room in a hotel/airport where people can sit and relax BOARDING PASS A card you must show in order to get on a plane GROUND STAFF All the people who work at the airport, but not the pilots or cabin crew o BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH ENGLISH AMERICAN underground subway City centre downtown Carry-on baggage Hand luggage single One way return Round trip motorway freeway Public toilet restroom elevator lift Coach class Economy class timetable schedule Car park Parking lot queue line bill check Reservation Booking Ground floor First floor ARTICLE – COUNTING THE WAYS TO BRIDGE THE GULF Edmond Moutran is chairman and chief executive of Memac Ogivily & Mather, a multinational advertising and communication company. He spends 60% of his working week in the air: o 200 days in Beirut o 40 days in Dubai o 40 days in Bahrein o 25 in the UK o One week in each of Cairo, Jordan, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuwait, Tunis and Algeria o South Africa once a year o Barcelona once or twice a year for conferences o Paris four times a year His choice of airlines is dictated by convenience, but his preference is for Middle East Airlines: - new aircraft - equipment - well-trained, fresh and energetic staff. o His second choice: Gulf Air o Third: Emirates o Fourth: British Airways o Fifth: Air France He travels with his wife, who worked with him until recently. She likes first class. He uses also business class. He travels in economy class in an emergency. He uses airline lounges. He likes the good chairs, newspaper and television. Airlines that spend millions on décor and have uncomfortable chairs really need to look at themselves. MEA: o Gets him a car to the airport o Open a special counter for him as an individual o Staff takes his boarding pass, check him in and walk him through to the lounge o Saves him about one hour of standing in line You can’t get this special treatment on other airlines What annoys him most about flying? o The attitude of the crew and staff sometimes. If they’re tired of their jobs, they should give it up. o He also dislikes the casual attitude of ground staff. Employees should be trained to cope with customers who have problems Why he hates travelling to the US: o Ground staff o No one has time to answer a question o Lack of openness shown by airlines when there are problems and delays UNIT 3 – CHANGE VOCABULARY ASSESS = valutare/stimare REASSESS = rivalutare/ riesaminare ORGANISE REORGANISE CENTRALISE DECENTRALISE DATE = datare UPDATE DEVELOP REDEVELOP = riconvertire /recuperare GRADE UPGRADE - DOWNGRADE LAUNCH RELAUNCH LOCATE RELOCATE REGULATE DEREGULATE SIZE = classificare DOWNSIZE = ridurre personale/ tagliare UPSIZE = aumentare di misura o capacità STRUCTURE DESTRUCTURE TRAIN = preparare/ formare DETRAIN = scendere dal treno/togliere dal treno RETRAIN = riqualificare / aggiornarsi ARTICLE – MERCEDES STAR TWINKLES ONCE MORE In 2002, Mercedes suffered as dramatic fall as any luxury brand could, as it reported its first losses for nearly 2 decades and saw its quality slip so far that newspaper were full of stories of cars that kept on breaking down. Dieter Zetsche in 2005 became Head of Mercedes and chief executive of its parent company. Mercedes changed a lot in 3 years going from the worst-performing of the large luxury car makers to the trailblazer. Executives at its bigger-selling rival BMW look enviously at its return on sales especially compared with BMW’s Much of that turnaround is due to Mr Zetsche. He was not the first automotive executive to take on 2 jobs, but he has been one of the most successful with it, using his operational experience at Mercedes to help him at Daimler. Combining roles is essential for his management style. He is also keen to stress that Mercedes has a team approach. Mr Zetsche was hard from the outset cutting 14.500 jobs between production and administrative staff. That broke the pattern of Mercedes providing a job for life to workers, but it had a dramatic effect on the bottom line. Mr Zetsche says: “productivity gains don’t get you anything if you don’t reduce personnel”. Mercedes’ recent success is also linked to a big improvement in its product quality and the launch of some well-praised models, headed by the new C-class saloon. Mercedes is building cars that people want to buy again and, for once, they even look better than BMW’s. The debate on reducing carbon-dioxide emissions could hit Mercedes hard. But the company for now is choosing to highlight the launch of 20 fuel-efficient models this year. All of this has put a spring back in the step of a company that also acts as a mirror on German society. CASE STUDY 3 – ACQUIRING ASIA ENTERTAINMENT Decker company is a diversified media group with interest in broadcasting and internet services which recently merged with a Hong Kong-based media company, Asia Entertainment. Decker company decided to acquire the Asian group: o To expand its presence in a dynamic new market, China o To use Asia Entertainment for further expansion into Asian markets as Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam o Asia Entertainment has a growing online presence through its successful DVD viewing service Comment: Asia Entertainment seems to be good fit with the Decker Group. However there may be problems when a different style of management, the Australian way of doing things is introduced into the Asian company. The new Chairman and chief executive will be Scott Henderson, graduated from Harvard. He has a reputation for being a strong leader who isn’t afraid to take difficult decisions. He is also a fluent speaker of Mandarin in Chinese. PROBLEMS: the change of ownership and new management in Asia entertainment have caused many problems. Staff are very unhappy about the changes. REAPPLYING FOR POSITIONS The management has asked all the employees to re-apply for their jobs. Staff feel very uneasy and insecure. People don’t want to compete against each other for jobs REDUNDANCIES (licenziamenti) Redundancies are expected. Employees in HR and sales feel particularly threatened and they’re looking for new jobs, which is affecting productivity. COMPENSATION Staff are already being made redundant. However the compensation package is poor. They’re also receiving no help to find new jobs ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS The management has insisted that all staff must improve their English, but no financial help has been offered towards the cost of English courses MANAGEMENT STYLE Typical comments made by the staff: o They’re trying to do things too fast, there’s a new computer system we don’t understand and they’re ordering lots of Australian films for our rental service that we don’t know o They want an informal atmosphere, but we don’t want to use first names bc they’re not used to it o The food in the staff restaurant is awful and we have to eat a lot of food they’re not used to. There are too many dairy products and not enough fresh vegetables and fish o Most of the management jobs have been given to Australians. There aren’t many Chinese in senior position They don’t know what is the strategy. Quite a few of them don’t know who our boss is or what our duties are o They feel we’re losing their Chinese identity. Their bosses don’t understand them, their customs are so different. Their new managers are only interested in results After the merger, the Chinese staff is trying to resist the changes even if they’re very unhappy about them. The merger caused a big change in terms of management, culture and even job positions. Nevertheless quite of them are still working for Asia Entertainment because they don’t want to lose their precarious and also poor job. If they wanted to seek for something else, they wouldn’t be helped by the company and the chances to find a new job would be limited. However HR and sales staff was under pressure due the redundancies, so most of them were looking for other jobs. Unfortunately the new management made a lot of mistakes, first of all do not respect the Chinese culture. The food in the staff restaurant is more Australian than Chinese, so like the general atmosphere among the offices. Chinese staff would like an informal environment but not using first names because it’s not in their culture compared to Occidentals. It’s a whole new situation where Asia entertainment feels like they have lost their identity, for example the Chinese staff is forced to improve their English. English is extremely important in business context and in this case could help a lot to coordinate the activities between the old Chinese company and the Australian one, but it’s necessary give the staff English courses financed by the new group itself. Even the customs are different and so the Chinese staff is aren’t fully able to meet their requests because basically they don’t know what they want and how. That’s what happens when there’s a merger of 2 companies extremely different geographically and culturally speaking. At the same time the Australian way of doing is considered too much oppressive and insensitive. Most of the managerial position in the new company are hold by Australians instead being divided between the 2 old companies, while it’s asked to reapply for the other job positions. It’s not what happen normally because there should be jobs either for Australians either for Chinese people Besides Decker company wants to adopt its computer system in the new company while Asia Entertainment staff doesn’t have idea of what It is and how it works. The management staff should look for improvements in the whole organization. Establishing rules and procedures that meet everyone’s uses and give specific roles and duties. It’s not easy mix different cultures and ways of doing business. It is also important to create teamwork and a peaceful atmosphere. So the new group can arrange some meetings for the staff at the end of day, something like little parties in order to let the new mixed staff know better and discover different uses and food. Everyone should feel comfortable in the workplace and it’s company’s duty helping out. Another great thing could be arranging not only an English course but also a Chinese one, in order to understand better this new culture but also to use it in business contexts. Although the main purpose of the merger for Decker company is expanding its market in Asia, however the Chinese group shouldn’t be seen just a means to reach it, but a source of wealth in terms of staff, ideas, projects, culture, ways of doing business. In the future when it comes about merger, foreign staff shouldn’t be exploited but it is important to combine different sources. CASE STUDY 4 – INSTEP’S RELOCATION A US-based shoe manufacturer must decide whether to relocate the head office of its European subsidiary Instep, from Paris to a small industrial town 120 km away. Background: 3 years ago, Instep moved its factory to a small industrial town in northern France. The plant is modern with new equipment. A large warehouse and distribution centre were built near the factory. Instep is now considering moving staff from the Paris office to a purpose-built, 6-storey building in the same town. Beauchamp has a population of 25000, with a high proportion of young people. The relocation, if it goes ahead, will create employment opportunities for local inhabitants. The vice president of the parent company has come to Paris to discuss the proposed relocation with 2 senior managers from the Paris subsidiary and an independent relocation consultant. Message from the vice president to all staff: A decision concerning the proposed relocation to Beauchamp will be made in the near future. The relocation offers our company significant benefits: o The reduction in costs will boost our profits o The town council in Beauchamp has offered us tax incentives to relocate to their town o The relocation will result in improved working conditions and better communication. MY OPINION Relocation has its advantages and disadvantages, like everything. The advantages are what the vice president wrote to the staff, like: reduction in costs because the company shouldn’t pay anymore rent in Paris for its offices, tax incentives granted by Beauchamp town council and improved working conditions and better communication. Besides it could create employment opportunities for local inhabitants. Concentrate the whole manufacturer such as service centre, distribution centre and main headquarters in a single place could really help the management to coordinate production, marketing and sales. One of the disadvantage could be the restricted space available for the entire supply chain because the town is small and there are other industries too in the same area. Another disadvantage is the final amount to realize the relocation and move the entire headquarter like furniture, documents, computers, file cabinets and more. Besides there’s the problem concerning the staff living in Paris because they should move definitely to a new town and change lifestyle. It could plausibly happen that someone decides to resign and new managers should be hired among local inhabitants. In my opinion, relocation would be the right choice. Moving to a single location is surely great for coordination in case of compelling communication between different centers because you don’t have to wait hours before receiving a reply, but you can go in person at the center explaining the concerning matter. Relocation is more convenient rather than paying rent or taxes in different places. Furthermore taxes and other costs are much expensive in Paris than small towns. Bigger are the offices and structures you need, more you have to pay for them. So, approximately, the amount the manufacture should pay for headquarters in Paris is the same for the entire complex in Beauchamp. The board of directors should strongly consider this option and surely the benefits and the cons. UNIT 5 – ADVERTISING VOCABULARY: ADVERTISING MEDIA METHODS OF ADV VERBS TO DO W/ ADV Banner ads Advertorials = pubblicità Redazionale communicate Billboards/hoardings = cartelloni pubblicitari commercials Endorse = approvare, sostenere, appoggiare Leaflets/flyers cinema place Pop-ups exhibitions run posters Free samples = assaggi gratuity sponsor internet target Outdoor advertising Point of sale = punto vendita press Product placement radio sponsorship television Viral advertising Clever Inspiring Powerful Informative Interesting Eye-catching Strange Sexy Shocking Original funny Controversial PUBLICITY STUNT Something done to get people’s attention DESIGN FEATURES An important, interesting or typical part of something HONDA SLOGAN A short phrase that is easy to remember POSTER CAMPAIGN A series of actions intended to get a particular result PRESS COVERAGE Newspaper and magazines ARTICLE In a new definition of publicity stunt, Channel 4 and Honda have tuned to a team of skydivers to tackle the problem of viewers turning out of traditional advertising. On a night, the broadcaster was due to devote an entire 3 minute 20 sec break in the middle of Come Dime With Me, its dinner party program, to a live skydiving jump in which 19 stuntmen spelt out the carmaker’s brand. à it was the first live advertisement in modern times à the campaign was the latest attempt by advertisers and broadcasters to find alternatives to the 30-sec Spot The development of digital video recorders (sky+ and Tivo) allow to skip ads. So advertising agencies and channels’ sales teams have been forced to collaborate on more innovative attempts to keep the viewer’s attention. Channel 4 campaign was called “innovating the break” and that concept was made to break the boundaries of TV advertising. The campaign follows initiatives such as LG’s “scarlet” campaign: The television manufacturer ran ads appearing to trail a glamorous new TV show which turned out to be a promotion for the design features of tis hot new series of screens. The live advertisement, designed to demonstrate the power of television ads, was backed up by a complex multimedia and public relation campaign. The campaign’s developers spent more than a month pushing the Honda slogan of “difficult is worth doing” before that night’s slot. A poster campaign, a series of TV teaser advertisement and a website have been backed up by digital advertising and press coverage. All are building up to a traditional 30-sec advertising campaign, starting on June 1. The 30 sec ad is alive and well. For Honda, however, the elements surrounding the core 30-sec campaign are designed to generate the intangible buzz of word-of-mouth advertising. That skydive would almost certainly go on YouTube. Commercially that was a fantastic result, as it means that Honda’s marketing investment became more efficient because consumers were doing their marketing for them. UNIT 6 – MONEY VOCABULARY EQUITY STAKE Money risked when a business owns part of another company RECESSION A period of time when business activity decreases because the economy is doing badly SHARES Equal parts into which the capital or ownership of a company is divided DEBT Money owed by one person or organization to another person or organization STOCK MARKET A place where company shares are bought and sold FORECAST A description of what is likely to happen in the future PROFIT MARGIN The difference between the price of a product or service and the cost of producing it INVESTMENT Money which people or organizations put into a business to make a profit BANKRUPTCY When a person or organization is unable to pay their debts DIVIDEND A part of a company’s profits paid to the owners of shares PRE-TAX PROFITS The money a business makes before payment to the government ANNUAL TURNOVER The amount of money which a business obtains in a year from customers by selling goods or services TRADING The area of a financial market where a particular company does business TRADERS People who deal in shares and bounds EARNINGS The profits that a company makes in a particular period of time FINANCIAL ANALYST Someone who carefully examines the financial state of a company RESEARCH ANALYSIS The careful examinations of the performance of companies and stocks EQUITIES The capital that a company has from shares rather than from loans DERIVATIVES Things such as options or futures based on underlying assets such as shares, bonds and currencies BUSINESS SECTOR the part of the economy made up by companies BEAR MARKET A financial market in which prices are falling VOLATILITY Sudden and quick change decline Level off Gain fall fluctuate rise increase decrease rocket halve improve jump double Peak plummet recover triple drop 1984 = nineteen eighty-four 3.15£ = three pounds fifteen 2012 = two thousands and twelve or twenty twelve 7.80$ = seven dollars eighty 16.5 = sixteen point five ¼ = a quarter 17.38% = seventeen point three eight per cent ½ = a half 0.185 = nought zero point one eight five 2/3 = two thirds 3560 = three thousands five hundred sixty ARTICLE – KIERAN PRIOR: GOLDMAN SACHS’S WHIZZ-KID WHEELER DEALER Kieran Prior and John Yeatts are two bright and ambitious twentysomethings from very different worlds. They became friends working on the noisy, frenetic trading desk at Goldman Sachs’s London offices. Prior, 23, just a year older than Yeatts, enjoyed giving practical advice, teasing the American about his Saturday-night dates. Yeatts returned the favour. When traders ordered lunch delivered to their desks, Yeatts cut up Prior’s food and fed him one small bite at a time. Prior was born with a rare condition that affects his movement and impairs his speech. He can’t get out of his wheelchair unaided and has never been able to walk. Despite these physical limitations, Prior is thriving on Goldman’s trading desk, the most demanding and competitive testing ground in finance, winning the admiration of colleagues while gaining experience, confidence and responsibility. It’s not easy managing investments of any size for the high-powered trading machine that supplies much of the earnings of Wall Street’s most profitable firm. Prior is able to do so with such physical limitations. Gary Williams, who hired Prior, has enormous respect for his determination. He is an exceptionally smart, perceptive guy who has purposefully risen to and overcome so many challenges The noise of trading floor make trading more difficult for someone in Kieran’s position but the challenge actually appeals to him. Intellectually, Prior has few limits. Since joining Goldman as a financial analyst in the equity division, Prior’s IQ score of 238 puts him in the top 1% of the world’s population has risen from performing basic research analysis and trading euro stoxx futures to running a 50 million dollars group pf European equities and derivatives. Prior joined Goldman 4 days after he graduated. Early on, he caught the attention of John Thornton, Goldman’s then president, as Thornton was walking across the trading floor and stopped for a brief chat. Kieran’s sheer, raw talent is impressive and when you add to that the determination he shows getting through the day in a place like Goldman Sachs, which is so demanding, it is just breathtaking. Prior is free to invest in almost any business sector, but recently narrowed his focus to just 20 companies because of the extreme volatility in the markets. Prior joined Goldman in a bear market, and these markets are the most difficult he has ever seen, so he’s just using this period of volatility to learn as much as he can. UNIT 7 – CULTURES VOCABULARY Climate Social customs and traditions architecture Ceremonies and festivals religion language geography institutions Historical events Cuisine Behavior and attitudes arts Shaking hands bowing Being informal or formal humor Eye contact Socializing with contacts Small talk before meetings Accepting interruptions Giving presents Being direct Break the ice Make someone you have met less nervous and more willing to talk Thrown in at the deep end Given a difficult job to do without preparation Don’t see eye to eye Disagree with someone Got into hot water Get into trouble Put my foot in it Sayor do Get on like a house on fire Quickly have a friendly relationship with someone Like a fish out of water Feel uncomfortable in an unfamiliar situation Real eye-opener An experience where you learn something surprising or something you didn’t know before o GREETINGS • You must greet the oldest person first • You don’t have to be serious all the time. The Chinese have a great sense of humor. You should be ready to laugh at yourself sometimes • You mustn’t move to a first-name basis until advised to. You should address the person by an honorific title and their surname o BUSINESS CARDS • You should exchange cards after the initial introduction • You should hold the card in both hands when offering it • You mustn’t write on someone’s card unless asked to o GIFT-GIVING • You shouldn’t give flowers, as many Chinese associate these with funerals • You mustn’t give four of anything, as four is an unlucky number ARTICLE – WOMEN AT WORK When Nguyen Thu Hang was a child, her mother was a housewife in a small village whose women residents had no say in decision making, either at home or in the community. Now a mother herself, Hang not only shares her husband’s burden of earning money for the family and bringing up children, but also a career and social ambitions. Women have a good education and careers of their own in Hanoi and they’re more respected in the family and society. They have become much more self-confident and are discovering their worth and fulfilling their potential. They decide important issues in their life, such as work and education for their children Hang carries a sleek laptop, get out of an elegant Mercedes and enters a building where she works as the general director of Viet Hoang Trade and Investment Company, which specializes in constructions and real estate. Many other Vietnamese women also pursue careers these days and have stormed the corporate boardroom to affirm their increansingly important roles. Women account: - 52% workforce in the service sector - 50% agricultural and fisheries sector - 37% industry and constructions Almost a quarter of all companies are run by women, many of whom are also the driving forced in the family. The greater role of women is attributed to the effective policies of promoting them. The state and the parties are interested in women’s advancement. The National Legislature has approved Law the on Gender Equality and the Anti-Domestic Violence Law. The government has national programmes for vocational training and preventing trafficking of women and children. Women’s own effort to acquire knowledge and education have been a major factor in their advancement. They make over the 40,2% of all university graduates, including 9,8% of PhDs and 30,5% of master’s degree recipients. But women still face a number of difficulties, including poverty, underemployment, domestic violence, prostitution and gender inequality. CASE STUDY 8 – FAST FITNESS A chain of health clubs need to find a new manager in Brasil Fast fitness owns and operates a chain of health and leisure clubs in the US. 2 years ago the company decided to enter the South American market. It began by opening 6 clubs in Brasil The clubs appeal to people aged 20-40 All the clubs have a gymnasium, an aerobic studio, a swimming pool, sun decks, a café, bar and clubroom. 4 clubs are located in areas where large numbers of Japanese, Spanish, Chinese and Italian people live. The performance of the clubs has been disappointing and none of them has reached their turnover and profit targets. Many members haven’t renewed their membership and the clubs haven’t attracted enough new members. Fast fitness recently advertised for a general manager to boost sales at the clubs and increase profits • Salary negotiable and excellent benefits package • Leading, coordinating and motivating staff • Increasing the revenues and profits of the clubs in Brasil • Exploiting new business opportunities • Liaising with and motivating the team of managers and staff • Contributing to marketing plans and strategies • Dynamic, enthusiastic and flexible person • Strong interest in fitness and health • A good track record in previous jobs • Ability to work with people from different cultural backgrounds • Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills • Flair of new ideas and organizational skills CANDIDATES: • MARTINA GOMEZ (34, Brazilian, Divorced with 2 children) EDUCATION: finished secondary school + 2 years training at a school of dance and theater EXPERIENCE: several years as professional dancer in theaters and on TV Instructor in a small fitness center OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT: - introduced fitness programs in the center for people suffering from Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis (she received an award for this) SKILLS: qualified in first aid, fluent Spanish and Portuguese PERSONALITY: warm, friendly, dynamic APPEARANCE: hippy look COMMENTS: She hope to build new schemes and initiatives to help people in the community to achieve a healthier lifestyle. She believes her main asset is her creativity INTERESTS: pop music, running a weekly aerobic class • SILVIA COMINELLI (38, American and married without children) EDUCATION: trained as a dietician (Berkeley university) + master in Sports Psychology EXPERIENCE: worked for several years as adviser to the national football team Currently sport organizer in a women’s college OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT: helping the national football team to win the World Cup SKILLS: fluent English, Portuguese and Spanish PERSONALITY: ambitious, assertive, outspoken, nothing will stop her from achieving her goals APPEARANCE: casual clothes COMMENTS: She loves to motivate people to exercise. She believes Fast Fitness must spend a lot of money on multimedia advertising to improve profits and offer big discounts to new members. She is taking an evening course in Business studies to upgrade her academic qualifications INTERESTS: hiking and photography • SEAN WILDER (52, American, married to Brazilian and 4 children) EDUCATION: B.sc. Physics (Yale UN) and M.A. Sports Management (UN of Southern California) EXPERIENCE: Taught English and Spanish at high schools for 10 years Ran sports programs for the school Currently teaches English in a private language school in Brasil OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT: Achieving happiness by marring the right person SKILLS: fluent English, Portuguese and Spanish PERSONALITY/APPEARANCE: very good looking, relaxed, self-confident. Dressed very casually. COMMENTS: He believes that his greatest quality is to be calm under pressure. The secret of being a good manager is to delegate tasks and not get too friendly with staff. He doesn’t have many ideas for improving the clubs’ profits. He thinks fast fitness is spending too much on advertising and instead it should focus on existing members and persuade them to sign up new members. INTERESTS: jogging, cinema, his wife and family • PAULO GONCALVES (36, Brazilian and single) EDUCATION: left school at 16 + 3 years training at RADA (royal academy of dramatic arts) in London EXPERIENCE: 2 trips around the world in his early twenties Taught English in Japan for 2 years Played a variety of roles in Brazilian movies, then specialized in action movies Has spent last 2 years in Florida working as a gym instructor OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT: Playing a role in a successful Hong Kong movie with Jackie Chan SKILLS: black tie in karate, extensive knowledge of martial arts, fluent Portuguese, Spanish and English PERSONALITY: very fit and muscular. Dressed formally in Armani suit. APPEARANCE: Strong personality, confident, articulate COMMENTS: Some interesting ideas for improving fast fitness. He thinks many people will join the clubs when they know he is the manager. He wants to use his name and photograph in all publicity for the clubs INTERESTS: politics, cooking, socializing