Faculty of Foreign Languages, FON University Final Exam in Business English 4 June 2013 Reading

Name________________________ Date _________________________

Read the profiles of four people who all gave up jobs in finance to set up their own businesses. A Martino Pavlou Martino Pavlou used to work for an investment bank in the City of London but always thought about owning his own business. He drew up and scrapped a number of business models before finally going ahead with his plans to found Cupcake House, a chain of cake and ice cream stores. I took a two-year sabbatical as a back-up, he says, but at the end of that time the business had really taken off. He admits that he found it difficult at first to rid himself of the bankers mentality, with its penchant for making complicated projections. That kind of thing was eating into the time I needed to actually run the business, he says, As an entrepreneur, you just have to take a more broad brush approach and go along with the opportunities that present themselves. B Paul Warren Paul Warren spent over 20 years as a bank manager, enjoying a large salary and job security. But as time went on, he came to feel that the focus of the bank was increasingly on sales and he was continually put in the position of promoting financial products that he himself would not have invested in. Finally, after wrestling with his conscience for another year or so, he left to start his own consultancy business. He freely admits that the going was tough at first. After six months, still very little was coming in but he knew that failure was not an option and another two months later, landed his first big contract. From this slender beginning, his consultancy is now a business which operates in over ten different countries. And the secret of his success? You just have to keep plugging away, he says. C Raheem Gupta Raheem Gupta grew up in one of Indias coffee growing districts. He spent the first years of his working life as a stockbroker but then moved into coffee trading. At the time, this was controlled by the state-run Coffee Board but pressure was building for the government to open it to the private sector and, after this change, Raheem went on to become a major coffee supplier. Soon after that, he opened his first cyber caf in Bangalore, a venture which required some hard lobbying over a long period of time to cut through the red tape. Now Coffee Buddy has over 30 cyber cafs in South India. Raheem, however, is keeping a close eye on the situation as there are signs that a number of coffee giants such as Starbucks may be gearing up to enter the country. This could be a battle that dwarfs any local wrangles over planning permission. D Nuala Kelly Nuala Kelly had long thought about working in the world of art dealing, but, attracted by the prospect of a high salary, she decided to join a New York investment company instead. When the financial crisis started to bite, she was drawn again to her first idea and started to work on building

up contacts in the art world. By the time she came to leave the investment company, they had largely weathered the storm and had several lucrative deals in the pipeline, but she still felt that art dealing was the right choice, despite the volatility of the market. Anticipating changes in taste is always a big challenge, she says. But theres always the possibility of making a massive profit if the market is right and the pleasure in what youre dealing makes it all worthwhile. For questions 18, decide which person each statement refers to. Write A, B, C, or D. You may use any letter more than once. Example: Which person considered a number of different businesses before making their decision? A Which person 1 feels that there were ethical issues with their previous job? 2 had their plans held up by local bureaucracy? 3 left their previous job at a time when prospects were looking good? 4 benefited from the ending of a monopoly? 5 has had to adopt a more flexible approach to planning? 6 feels that the biggest challenge to the business may be yet to come? 7 left open the possibility of returning to their previous job? 8 believes that perseverance has paid off in the end?

Grammar For questions 113, complete the text by writing one word in each gap. CHINESE CAR HIRE The number of Chinese who own a driving licence has (0) been growing rapidly over the past decade, but the auto market in China is significantly different (1) ______________that in the USA or Europe. Relatively few Chinese own a car and indeed, if car ownership (2)________________ to approach US penetration levels, there would be close to one billion cars on the roads. This would result (3) _________________ horrendous traffic problems and an environmental disaster. The way to avoid (4) _________________ down this route seems to be to develop the car rental industry. (5)________________ car rentals are a declining business in the US, in China the sector is expanding rapidly. (6)_________________ is largely because of the way in (7)______________ car ownership is restricted. The licence plate auction operated in major cities like Shanghai (8)___________________ that only a fixed number of bidders can obtain a car. Another difference between the Chinese and the US market is (9)____________________ in China most rentals come with a driver, because being driven is seen (10) __________________ a status symbol. (11)____________________ its importance in promoting a sustainable lifestyle, the Chinese car rental industry is not without problems. It is very fragmented, with the top ten companies

accounting (12)__________________ just eleven per cent of the market share and there are no restrictions on its growth. This (13)______________________ prompted the Ministry of Transport to look into ways of introducing a national regulatory framework for the industry. For questions 1421, rewrite the sentences starting with the words given. Example: We need to set up a proper bookkeeping system. What we need to do is set up a proper bookkeeping system . 14 Im really concerned about your emphasis on short term profits. Its __________________________________________________________________________ 15 We really should not give up on the project now. The last thing ______________________________________________________________________ 16 They have finally managed to complete the prototype. They have finally succeeded ___________________________________________________________ 17 Its not possible that they chose him to be team leader. He cant ___________________________________________________________________________ 18 We would have placed an order if they had offered a better discount. Had ______________________________________________________________________________ 19 If data security is ever breached, we must let clients know at once. In the event ________________________________________________________________________ 20 Even if the offer looks attractive, we should not accept it. However __________________________________________________________________________ 21 Even if the risk is small, it is not worth taking. No matter _________________________________________________________________________

Vocabulary For questions 16, complete the sentences with a phrasal verb using a verb from box A and a word from box B. There is one word in box B you will not need. A slack catch go mull churn draw get

B on over up about off across down out

Example: We need to be clear about what message we are trying to get across to our clients. 1 I never thought that product would _______________, so I was surprised by how well it sold. 2 People naturally tend to ______________ on a Friday afternoon because theyre thinking about the weekend. 3 They said they needed a few days to _______________ the proposal but I think theyll accept it in the end. 4 I think this book will give you a few ideas on how to________________ setting up your business. 5 Could I ask you to ________________an agenda for the meeting and send me a copy the day before? 6 They seem happy to______________ products for the mass market without realising that more and more customers are looking for quality.

For questions 715, complete the sentences by changing the word in capitals to a suitable form to fill the gap. Example: The fall in property sales is just one of many signs of consumer retrenchment . RETRENCH 7 This calculation shows the average number of days it takes for a company to receive payment from its ________________. DEBT 8 The balance sheet needs to summarise the value of the company in terms of its assets and _______________. LIABLE 9 Careful planning for the___________________ of raw materials can substantially reduce operating costs. PROCURE 10 We must ensure that no person gains __________________ access to our database. AUTHORISE 11 Supermarkets can often __________________ the prices charged by small retailers by as much as ten per cent. CUT 12 As the suppliers have a virtual monopoly on this market, we have very little________________ in negotiations. LEVER 13 The acquisition enabled the company to _________________ their customer base considerably. BROAD 14 The company is facing a major_____________________, which will bring sweeping changes to management processes. HEAVE 15 It is vital to manage your business ___________ growth as can put a huge strain on your cashflow and resources. TRADE

Writing Your company is considering setting up a joint venture. You recently met with a member of the management team from a potential partner to discuss the idea. Now your own manager has asked you to write a report to evaluate the possibility. Complete the report below by writing the three missing sections. Write 120150 words. Aim The aim of this report is to evaluate the possibility of setting up a joint venture with Wonder Patisserie with a view to increasing sales and expanding the number of outlets for our frozen desserts. Potential advantages Terms and conditions Recommendations