Practicing a Presentation - Advanced Business English

Practicing a Presentation - Advanced Business English Mike: Anne, can I run the new presentation by you?Anne: Certainly, Id love to hear some of the new concepts. Mike: OK, here goes ... On behalf of myself and Sport Outfitters, Id like to welcome you. My names Mike Andersen. This morning, Id like to outline our new campaign concepts that have been recently developed.Anne: Excuse me, who was invited to this conference? Mike: Our sales representatives from our branch offices were asked to come. I think a number of upper-management representatives were also invited.Anne: Thats good. Our marketing approach is going to be completely revamped. Mike: And thats why we need everyone to be informed. So, Ill continue. Youll be given the background and Ill talk you through the results of some of our recent market studies.Anne: How many surveys were completed? Mike: I think about 100,000 were returned to the company. Our marketing team was very pleased with the response.Anne: OK, continue... Mike: The presentation has been divided into three parts. First, our past approach. Secondly, present changes that will be made. Thirdly, future forecasts ...Anne: That sounds good. Mike: If you have any questions, please dont hesitate to ask. At the end of this presentation, a short advertisement will be shown to give you an idea of where we are going.Anne: Good job Mike. I hope your graphics are being put together by Bob. Mike: Of course they are, you know hes the best! Multiple Choice Comprehension Questions 1. Why does Mike want to speak to Anne? to practice his presentationto get her opinion on the new campaignto show her some pictures 2. Besides sales representatives, who will be attending the conference? marketing staffsome representatives from upper managementmachine workers 3. What is going to be completely changed? the surveysthe product linethe marketing approach 4. How many surveys were completed and returned to the company? 10,000100,0001,000,000 5. Who are the graphics going to be done by? MikeBobAnne Answer Key Answers are in  bold. 1. Why does Mike want to speak to Anne? to practice his presentationto get her opinion on the new campaignto show her some pictures 2. Besides sales representatives, who will be attending the conference? marketing staffsome representatives from upper managementmachine workers 3. What is going to be completely changed? the surveysthe product linethe marketing approach 4. How many surveys were completed and returned to the company? 10,000100,0001,000,000 5. Who are the graphics going to be done by? MikeBobAnne More Business Resources Business English for ESL LearnersSample Business MeetingHow to Write a Business Report for English  Learners

Quantity Surveying Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Quantity Surveying - Essay Example Quantity Surveyor (QS) controls the construction costs by measuring accurately the work required, the application of expert knowledge of costs and prices of work, labour, materials and plant required, an understanding of the implications of design decisions at an early stage to ensure that good value is obtained for the money to be expended. (Wikipedia). To be a quantity surveyor you should have the following qualities: Private Practice surveyor is that quantity surveyor who works on a private company. The role of Quantity surveyor in a private practice is that it acts as the financial and development consultant to the construction and property development. The quantity surveyor in a private practice includes advising clients on the optimal use of funds as well as strategies to maximize human and physical resources. The traditional QS in a private practice have the following functions: A quantity surveyor in a construction company has a broader role than that of the private practice. In the construction company you need to deal with different kind of people. From the project supervisor, to the engineers and to the workers. An extended knowledge in the surrounding is important. The construction surveyor is concerned with the accurate measurement and position of points on the earth's surface, and to establishment of boundaries. They can do this by measuring the relative horizontal and vertical position of points on the ground, aided by a theodolite or similar optical instrument. QS, In a construction site is much more complicated than that of the private practice. Although there is some role in the private practice that is also being done by the QS in the construction company such as: talk to architects, engineers, builders, contractors, suppliers and project owners study architectural and engineering drawings and specifications prepare a 'Bill of Quantities', which lists the individual components required to construct the project check on changes of design to assess the effects on cost assess and recommend payment to contractors during construction prepare monthly cash-flow forecasts for clients and tax depreciation schedules undertake feasibility studies to assist in decisions about the worth of a project proceeding act as consultants to business and government. Contractors' quantity surveyor is responsible for all legal and commercial matters within the contracting organization. As shown in the graph

How does the concept of Citizenship contribute to our understanding of Essay

How does the concept of Citizenship contribute to our understanding of the experience of minority ethnic groups - Essay Example Legal British citizenship for the minorities has been changing concept recently with more regularities and demands. The citizenship requirement is not spread in an uniform way amongst the minorities; instead, the blacks seem to be having an upper hand here. "The rates of British Citizenship found across different groups contain a high degree of variance, with black Africans exhibiting the highest level of non-British citizenship in 1977," (Evans, 1999, p.105). Blacks who have migrated into Britain since the days of slavery and increased their numbers in recent decades, have become better naturalised citizens than other minorities. Complete naturalisation and acceptance of British way of life, while retaining some of their own traditional values, depends on many criteria. The main factor that should be considered here is the period of migration and the length of stay here. "These factors are the period of migration, the economic conditions of migration, the citizenship regime of the host state, and the ways in which the political cultures imported by immigrants from their original countries have combined with native political cultures," (Pennin... This means, an individual's mindset about Britain and its citizenship mainly depends upon the treatment he received from the British people after migrating here, the stereotyped models the individual has maintained in his mind and also the prejudiced or unprejudiced attitude he had developed over the years, either aided by the local population, or totally unaided. Victorians thought that the minorities were uncivilised people from far off colonies, and unfortunately they showed it in their attitude. This does not mean that there were no kind people in Victorian days. If the minorities had come into contact with well-balanced thinkers, there are instances of positive outlook where the person became happy under a helpful employer or a friend. The mass migration was from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and West Indies. The settlements were localised and some clusters emerged in London, Liverpool, Cardiff, in the early 1800s and in those days, they were all referred to as black communities. They lived a poor life, as any other immigrants of any country and tried hard to eke out a living. "A pattern of black minority ethnic settlement characterised by residential concentration, segregation and deprivation is now well-established in Britain.the day-to-day experience of most people living in Britain at that time was a white one," (Pacione, 2002, p.216). Eventually their living conditions, with their own hard work and government help, improved and along with it, improved the attitude of the British, who came to recognise the good qualities of their minorities. In any country, it is quite natural, to have wrong opinion, dislike, suspicion about the new people who look

Industry Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Industry Analysis - Essay Example Other significant competitors in this segment include Polaris, BMW, and Triumph. Honda is the world’s biggest motorcycle producer, followed by Yamaha, and Suzuki. In the U.S., Harley has the biggest market share. Heavyweight Motorcycle Producer Approximate Worldwide Market share Ranking Honda 1st Yamaha 2nd Suzuki 3rd Harley-Davidson 4th Kawasaki 5th BMW 6th Polaris 7th Triumph 8th # 3 Strengths One of the prominent strengths of Harley-Davidson is the power of its brand. Harley-Davidson attracts a strong following from its loyal customers worldwide due to its commitment to the delivery of a unique experience. The ability of Harley-Davidson to deliver unforgettable experiences is the biggest attraction to Harley-Davidson customers worldwide. The engagement offers a platform to other stakeholders to experience Harley-Davidson lifestyle, environment, people, and products. In addition, Harley-Davidson strength also emanates from its strong after sales service, which is exhibited b y its â€Å"family† concept exhibited by Harley Owners Group (HOG). Harley-Davidson’s marketing efforts such as dealer promotions, customer events, and advertising have consolidated the company’s brand. ... Harley-Davidson derives a lot of strength for its customized products that appeal to the customer’s specifications. In offering a range of customized bikes, the company is assured of aligning its products with the prevailing consumer needs and expectations. The continuity of a unique culture of letting customers share their adventure and experience of the company’s products has made Harley-Davidson an American icon. Harley-Davidson initiatives such as building of a museum in Milwaukee in 2008 have pursued to build a unique experience that reinforces bonds between the company and the company. Weaknesses Harley-Davidson faces challenges in keeping in touch with an ever growing advancement in the design of motorcycles. Although Harley-Davidson motorcycles embody an innovative design and high performance, keeping up with an ever growing innovation by the competitors are challenging as the company has constantly invested in research and development (David, 2011). In addition , some of the prominent competitors of Harley-Davidson strategic alliance between Suzuki and Kawasaki in the fields of product development, design, engineering, and manufacturing may have heightened competition. Another weakness that befalls Harley-Davidson is competition from established heavyweight motorcycle dealers such as Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, and Yamaha. The heavyweight motorcycle market is highly competitive, especially from competitors based outside the United States. Most of Harley-Davidson competitors are diversified in the automotive market and other fields. The diversification reinforces the competitors’ operations while Harley-Davidson remains exposed to aspects such as economic

Measuring the Impact of Stress on Physical Health

Measuring the Impact of Stress on Physical Health Psychologists are very interested to understand the many ways in which stress can make us unwell. Before psychologists can get to the point of very significant real-life benefits to be had from understanding this relationship, they need valid and reliable way of measuring stress first. There are two main categories of measurement that has been developed and they are self-report and physiological methods. One psychological measurement of stress is self-report scales and they include the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS). The Social Readjustment Rating Scale was developed by Thomas Holmes and Richard Rache in 1967 and is a well-known self-report method of measuring life changes that go on in an individuals life. Both Holmes and Rache studied the medical records of patients, picking out the events that occurred in the patients lives not long before they fell ill. Within the SRRS, it presents a list of 43 life changes and each one of the 43 stressful life events was given a Life Change Unit (LCU). Obviously this unit depended on how traumatic the event felt to be by a large sample of participants. The researchers calculated averages for each life event and further divided these numbers by ten. This gave the overall LCU score for each change and these changes were put into rank order from highest to lowest. It was found that if an individual has less than 150 LCU, they have a 30% chance of suffering from stress. Between 150 and 299 LCU, it equates to a 50% chance of suffering from stress, and finally over 300 LCU it means the person has an 80% chance of developing a stress related illness. The downside of this measurement of stress is that it doesnt take individual difference into consideration. The scale just assumes that each stressor affects people the same way but this is not true, for example some people may say that divorce is very stressful however for others it may even be a relief or amicable. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is the most commonly used psychological instrument for assessing the perception of stress. Items were made to assess how overloaded, uncontrollable and unpredictable respondents find their lives to be. Also within the scale, it has a number of direct queries about current levels of stress that the person experiences. The questioned asked in the (PSS) are about thoughts and feelings during the past month. In each case, people completing it are asked how often they felt a certain way. Another psychological measurement of stress is the Hassles and Uplifts Scale (HSUP). It is a self-report measure of the stress associated with everyday irritations known as hassles and of the small pleasures of daily life that are thought to partly offset the negative effects of hassles known as the uplifts. It is a more comfortable way to identify the pros and cons events that happen in each persons daily life. Also, Allen Kanner et al put forward that the combined effects of daily hassles and uplifts would be a more useful indicator of stress therefore he then developed this scale. The HSUP has three different forms: Daily Hassles Scale Daily Uplifts Scale Combined Scale The Daily Hassle Scale consists of 117 items and includes seven categories which are family, friends, work, environment, chance occurrences, health and practical considerations. Examples of hassles include disliking work colleagues, troublesome neighbours and too much responsibility. The scale measures how severe each hassle is on a three-point scale: somewhat, moderately or extremely severe. Based on the severity measure, it will reflect on the fact that the psychological meaning of each hassle to the individual is more important than how often it occurs. On the other hand, the Daily Uplifts Scale was constructed by a similar process that consisted of 135 items that were processed from the same content areas as the Hassles Scale. Examples of uplifts include relating well with friends and meeting responsibilities, liking fellow workers, and getting enough sleep. The individual identifies all of the uplifts that apply, followed by how often they have experienced them over a specific period of time. After many years of research with the Hassles and Uplifts Scale, some limitations were identified and so it was updated by Anita DeLongis et al and became the Hassle and Uplifts Questionnaire. The Skin conductance response (SCR) is a physiological measure of the degree of sweating associated with arousal of the autonomic nervous system. ANS arousal activates the bodys fight or flight response when a stressor occurs. Small increases in sweating can be detected as greater electrical conductance across the skin. To detect sweating, electrodes are attached to the index and middle fingers of one hand. A very small current that cannot be felt is applied to the electrodes in order to measure how much electricity is being conducted. Since human skin is a good conductor of electricity, the more we sweat, the more conductance there will be. There are two types of skin conductance. One is tonic conductance and this is skin conductance when we are not experiencing a stimulus. It is used as a baseline measure against which to compare phasic conductance. This type occurs when something happens like for example when someone asks you a question or we are shown a picture. The whole response can take from four to five seconds. Along with respiration, blood pressure and heart rate, the SCR makes up a polygraph, more commonly known as the lie detector test. Another physiological measurement of stress is by testing the persons blood pressure. Blood pressure is a measure of the force that exerts on the walls of blood vessels. When blood is measured by a sphygmomanometer, two numbers appear like for example 135/85mmHg. The first number, 135, represents the systolic pressure which happens when the heart pushes blood out of the arteries, whereas the second number, 85, represents the diastolic pressure, which is the pressure of the heart at rest. Salivary alpha-amylase is another physiological way of measuring stress. Alpha-amylase is an enzyme thats made under sympathetic innervations and can be collected in the individuals saliva. There is a lot of evidence suggesting that the level of salivary alpha-amylase increases with physiological stress, such as exercise.

George Eliot, Pseudonym of Marian Evans :: George Eliot Writers Authors Essays

George Eliot, Pseudonym of Marian Evans George Eliot, pseudonym of Marian Evans (1819-1880) This article appeared in The Times Literary Supplement and was reprinted in The Common Reader: First Series. Virginia Woolf also wrote on George Eliot in the Daily Herald of 9 To read George Eliot attentively is to become aware how little one knows about her. It is also to become aware of the credulity, not very creditable to one’s insight, with which, half consciously and partly maliciously, one had accepted the late Victorian version of a deluded woman who held phantom sway over subjects even more deluded than herself. At what moment and by what means her spell was broken it is difficult to ascertain. Some people attribute it to the publication of her Life. Perhaps George Meredith, with his phrase about the ‘mercurial little showman’ and the ‘errant woman’ on the daà ¯s, gave point and poison to the arrows of thousands incapable of aiming them so accurately, but delighted to let fly. She became one of the butts for youth to laugh at, the convenient symbol of a group of serious people who were all guilty of the same idolatry and could be dismissed with the same scorn. Lord Acton had said that she was greater than Dante; Herbert Spencer exempted her novels, as if they were not novels, when he banned all fiction from the London Library. She was the pride and paragon of her sex. Moreover, her private record was not more alluring than her public. Asked to describe an afternoon at the Priory, the story-teller always imitated that the memory of those serious Sunday afternoons had come to tickle his sense of humour. He had been so much alarmed by the grave lady in her low chair; he had been so anxious to say the intelligent thing. Certainly, the talk had been very serious, as a note in the fine clear hand of the great novelist bore witness. It was dated Monday morning, and she accused herself of having spoken without due forethought of Marivaux when she meant another; but not doubt, she said, her listener had already supplied the correction. Still, the memory of talking about Marivaux to George Eliot on a Sunday afternoon was not a romantic memory. It had faded with the passage of the years. It had not become picturesque. Indeed, one cannot escape the conviction that the long, heavy face with its expression of serious and sullen and almost equine power has stamped itself depressingly upon the minds of people who remember George Eliot, so that it looks out upon them from her pages.

Value Chain Analysis-Army Recruiting Company

Value Chain Analysis: Army Recruiting Company Foundation for Business intelligence Before he passed away in 1999, satirical novelist, Joseph Heller, wrote in his book Catch-22, â€Å"I had examined myself pretty thoroughly and discovered that I was unfit for military service† (Heller, 282). While in this instance, the individual was missing a leg and therefore not eligible for service, this quote has been used at times by those that have a fear or misunderstanding of the United States Armed Forces.Despite this, there is a requirement to maintain the volume of Soldiers within the United States Army and that recruiting companies develop a desire to join within the communities where they are located. Understanding the Companies valued processes allows for analysis of what operations are already being performed well and what areas can be improved to increase desire to join. As an Army Recruiting Commander it is my job to ensure that the Company I lead is producing the best product for our customers. It is described as customers because there are two entities that this company serves.The more obvious of the two is the United States Government. We receive a mission for the year, as to the Government’s goals for the quantity and quality of new enlistments to the United States Army. While it is important to this customer to receive a certain number of these enlistments at various phase lines through the year, the type of enlistment is just as vital to customer satisfaction. For best results, the enlistee should not only show educational aptitude, but also be a malleable or trainable product before they arrive to Basic Training.This customer’s requirements for success require that the company provides them an on time, quality product, in determined quantities. The other customer that this Company serves is in fact those very people that are enlisting to serve Customer Number One. Less than one half of one percent of the American population has chose n to serve in the Army during the past decade (Miles, 3). Though this number is likely to remain low, growing pressure from competing Department of Defense Agencies such as the U. S. Navy or National Guard, requires us to illustrate to the customer exactly why they should choose us as a provider.Where Customer Number One requires a high tempo turn over for their product, it is more important to this customer that service meets their specific timeline. Some customers need to begin their Army Career as soon as possible due to financial or familial responsibilities. Others have requirements to complete, such as graduating from high school or college, therefore requiring a suspended leave date. In addition to a customized timeline, it is important to understand the specific reasons why they would choose to enlist in the first place.Understanding this allows the Company to tailor the right package of benefits and job selection that meets the customers desires and replaces the need to see k opportunities with other Department of Defense Agencies. In order to meet the requirements of the Companies two customers, there are certain activities that must be accomplished. Though there are other processes that support the Company’s operations, the critical activities for mission success are marketing and research, prospecting, input management, and output management.These activities are necessary to complete services for both sets of customers and are continuously being completed. It is generally likely that many of these activities are being conducted simultaneously in order to reach final goal of a quality Soldier prepared to ship to Basic Training with a customized package of job and benefits. It is said that the first rule of sales is that people must like and trust you (Klivans, 1). Though we typically try to distance Military Recruiting from sales, this principal still applies.For many people there is a negative connotation when considering the Armed Forces as a career choice for themselves or those that they influence. Generally, this is due to lack of knowledge of what the Army or other Department of Defense Agencies is like aside from aggrandized portrayals of violence from movies, television, and news. In order to combat this ignorance, the Company has become very successful at utilizing marketing within the local area. We effectively utilize advertising and public affair in order to engage the population and inform them about the military, its benefits, and the opportunities that are available.More than 43 percent of the recruiters for the entirety of Department of Defense within the area belong to my Company. Due to this, we are able to conduct branding operations across a larger swath of area than the other services. Participation in schools and providing branded materials for on the spot dialogue or future appointments at a recruiting center allows the company to diverge potential applicants away from other services increasing com pany production.Finally, utilization of friendly influencers such as, coaches, guidance councilors, and church leaders adds to our value as they provide the message about the Army’s worth without the supposed bias. These marketing and branding activities lay the framework for mission success and market domination, but prospecting is where the literal rubber meets the road. As with the marketing, the number of recruiters in the area allows for a larger area to be covered and more school visits per day, but its knowing where and how to target potential applicants that allow for greater success.Company recruiters conduct no less than four school engagements and multiple days either calling or visiting qualified leads identified from responses to our area marketing. Each phase line, which is generally about a month, we utilize historical data to identify key â€Å"must win† zip codes. By looking back at the last two years of recruiting data, we identify these key areas whe re enlistments are more likely to come from as well as what time of the year is generally the best to prospect in these areas. The analysis of historical data also helps with understanding the approach that should be utilized when discussing a potential enlistment.We utilize this to understand when to offer the action and adventure of the Combat Services or money for college and medical degree programs. This alone plays a significant part in our success and claiming more than 40 percent of the total market share of all enlistments in our key areas. At this point we should have satisfied all of the requirements for customer number two. They are given the red-carpet treatment and provided with the specialized bonuses, job placement, and Basic training dates that meets their aptitude and preferences.They then become the input for fulfilling the obligation to Customer Number One. Though each enlistee has the customized packet and has general satisfaction from the process, it is still po ssible to have an enlistee change their mind about shipping and is taken as a loss. The acceptable standard for loss rate from the United States Army Recruiting Command is ten percent with no losses inside of 35 days (USAREC, 7). Losses that occur are generally due to pregnancy, police record, drug use, or loss of influencer support.To combat losses, Future Soldier Leaders are assigned and conduct weekly training with the enlistees. During the training these leaders provide enlistees with information and training necessary to become successful at Basic Training and in their military careers. At the end of each training the enlistees are given a safety brief to remind them of potential risks to shipping and what mistakes will cost them. This action has reduced the loss rate of the Company to approximately eight percent with significant reductions in pregnancy, drug use, and police record losses.However, loss of influencer support continues to be the primary reason for loss and genera lly result in a loss being taken well inside of the thirty day window. Losses taken before ship date due hurt the overall effectiveness rating of the Company. What also becomes a challenge is getting the enlistee to ship on time to basic training. The most important part of getting an applicant out the door is time flow management. There is an expectation that the Company can enlist a Soldier, prepare him or her for basic training, and get them out to their unit in a few weeks.Currently, the average â€Å"flash to bang,† amount of time between initial contacts during prospecting to shipping to Basic Training, is just under 50 days. Though this is above the standard timeline for stated Command policies, this timeline is faster than all other recruiting Companies in this area. Issues that extend the flash to bang timeline typically are contract renegotiations for individuals that are unsatisfied in their specialized package. Also, individuals that fail to complete school requir ements at the expected graduation time require an extension to their original ship date.In order to increase the success of the Company it is important to understand not only the areas where success is being achieved but what items can be adjusted to maximize efforts as well. For instance, though having a higher recruiter share allows for us to cover a larger area during the marketing and prospecting phases, the Marine Corps and Air Force manage to recruit a significant number of high aptitude Seniors even in our â€Å"must win† zip codes. Both services supply one specialized message and target specifically those individuals looking for careers in technology and engineering.Providing more focus on Army careers in STEM, (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) is needed to lessen efforts by other services. Also, adjustments need to be made during the input management phase in order to diminish losses inside of 30 days to include more involvement with enlistee influencers to en sure no loss of support. Finally, contract renegotiations should be kept to a minimum. Ensuring that a thorough understanding of our customers motivators and fully address in initial package and limiting renegotiations that would extend Flash to Bang timeline are needed steps.Engendering support to join the United States Army will continue to be a daunting task. In order to make certain continued satisfaction from the two customer groups requires understanding of working processes and potential areas to improve. Through utilization of higher recruiter numbers to cover larger area, developing good marketing and prospecting processes, ensuring proper training and management through Basic Training ship date and applying fixes to deficient areas, the Army Recruiting Company can continue to meet the demands from our customers.Works Cited Heller, Joseph. Catch-22. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1961. Print Kilvans, David. â€Å"The First Rule of Sales. † Ezine Articles. N. P. , 03 O ctober 2007. Web. 02 March 2013. . Miles, Donna. â€Å"Survey Shows Growing Gap Between Civilians, Military. † American Forces Press Service. Department of Defense, 28 November 2011. Web. 02 March 2013. . USAREC Regulation 601-95. (2002). Delayed Entry and Delayed Training Program. Washington DC. Department of the Army. 12 August 2002. PDF File.