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Segment 3 30.38–33.02

1.Which of Virgin’s core competencies does Garry Hamel talk about?

2.What are the three tests of a core competence?

What other areas could Virgin’s and Disney’s core competencies be transferred to?

Talking points

B.33.02 – 33.22

What is brand?

What are the benefits of a strong brand? What is a core competence?

Word for word_______________________________________________________

Match the following clips and complete the interviews.

1. 27.43 –28.43

Dick Brown: We’ve been a company that in the past has 1__________ its size and capabilities because Cable & Wireless has had an 2__________ that matched the local brand name in many markets, not the Cable & Wireless 3________ ________, so we were the most global telecommunications company in the world and the best kept secret. Now thirty-seven different names that comprise the family of companies of Cable & Wireless are all changing their names to Cable & Wireless, so we’re popping up on the screen. The brand is just 4__________. It’s a name. How you behave, what is your character and 5___________, that’s what’s behind the brand, and so service levels, expectations for all our seventy plus thousand employees around the world, we’re doing more and more of this as we give a consistently high 6_________

________ _________ for customers no matter you’re in Singapore or Vanuatu or

Latvia or Jamaica.

2. 29.21 –29.59

Will Whitehorn: Virgin doesn’t think about the business as an individual business, it doesn’t think about a 1_________. If you’re Mars, you have a Mars bar. Virgin is very different to that. We’re a company that has developed a brand that has grown historically into really something that people believe in a 2_______ _______ ______

attached to it. They think of quality and value for money. They think of innovation, fun, 3________, competitiveness. They think about Virgin doing things differently in other words. What I think we can often bring is a slightly more detached view of the business and a bit of 4_________ _________.

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3. 31.16 –32.07

Garry Hamel: How has Virgin managed to go from record stores into the airline business into colas into insurance products? I would argue Virgin has been leveraging a 1__________ really around their understanding of young people, next generation, how you take 2 ‘__________’ businesses and make them ‘unstodgy’. That’s a competence at Virgin. Identifying what your core competencies are is an essentially creative task. There are three 3__________ _________ of whether you’re talking about a core competence or not. The first test is, does it create 4_______ _______? Is it something that is very important in the customer experience? The second test is, is it something that’s difficult to 5_________? Is it something that competitors would have a hard time duplicating? The third test is, is it something that could provide a gateway to new 6__________? Can we imagine ways of exploiting this or other markets? If it meets those three tests, it’s probably a 7________ _________.

Business forum_______________________________________________________

Discuss these questions.

1.How many brand names can you think of in 30 seconds? What do you associate with each brand name?

2.Can you remember what the logos for Cable & Wireless look like?

What about the logos for other companies you have heard about in this video? What are your favourite company logos?

Why are logos important in building brands?

3.Think of a company you know. What are its core competencies? What other businesses areas could they be transferred to?

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KEY VOCABULARY EXERSISES

Unit I. Recruitment

Complete the passage below using the appropriate word or phrases from the box.

When a company need to 1_____________or employ new people, or may decide to advertise the job or 2___________ in the appointments section of a newspaper. People who are interested can then 3__________ the by sending in a 4_________ or 5__________ and a 6___________ containing details of their education and experience. In some cases a company may prefer to do this initial selection after asking candidates to complete a standard 7__________. the company’s human resource department will then select the applicants that is considers the most suitable and prepare 8________ of candidates or 9__________, who are invited to attend an 10__________ . Another way for a company to 11___________ is by using the services of a 12_________ (US=search firm) who will provide them with a list of suitable candidates.

Unit II. Job satisfaction

Find the English equivalents to the words in brackets.

1.Some companies (не довольствуются только тем, чтобы вознаградить сотрудников за работу) with a mere (чеком на получение зарплаты).

2.Instead, they (имеют намерение) on making their lives easier and try (снять груз с плеч своих сотрудников).

3.They provide them with (оплачиваемой домработницей, бесплатными услугами врачей, массажистов, консультациями у специалистов, детские сады на предприятиях) and other (льготами и привилегиями).

4.Some companies also try (заполнить их часы досуга) and offer (бассейны, фитнес-центры, садовые участки) and even (устраивают) company holidays and (быстро перебрасывают сотрудников) to luxury island locations.

5.They also (устанавливают нормы, которым надо следовать) in their private life and give (денежную премию) if (сотрудники ведут здоровый образ жизни).

6.Such (работодатели) think that they can (предъявлять права) for their employees’ lives and (устранить острую проблему) of (соотношения работы и личной жизни).

7.Offering all these (щедрости), they forget to (гарантировать) that people do not work too hard and have more free time.

8.However, an employer that (активно берется за решение проблемы) long-hours culture would do much than all these (льготы) can do.

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Unit III. Setting up a business

Match the types of companies with their definitions.

Unit IV. Management.

Complete the passage below using the appropriate word or phrases from the box.

The amount of responsibility of any individual in a company depends on the position that he or she occupies in its 1__________. Managers, for example, are responsible for leading the people directly under them, who are called 2_________. To do this successfully, they must use their 3_____________, which is the right to take decisions and give orders that will allow their subordinates to reach certain objectives. Managers often 4__________ authority. This means that employees, at lower levels of the company hierarchy can participate in decision-making. The characteristics of management often vary according to 5__________, which can determine how managers are trained

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Unit V. Company Structure.

Complete the passage below using the appropriate word or phrases from the box.

At the top of the company hierarchy is the 1__________, headed by the 2_________

(or president). The board is responsible for making policy decisions and for determining the company’s strategy. It will usually appoint a 3_________ )or chief executive officer) who has overall responsibility for the running of the business. 4__________ or line managers head the various departments or functions within the company.

Unit VI. Retailing

Complete the passage below using the appropriate word or phrases from the box.

1_________ is the term that is used to describe the business of selling products directly to the general public or to individual consumers. Most companies in this sector sell from 2__________ or stores of varying sized which are referred to as 3_________. In the UK, the retail industry is dominated by large and powerful 4_________, which are organized nationally and sell a standardized selection of products. These 5___________ often specialize in a particular type of consumer product: electrical equipment, food, clothing, etc. their outlets tend to be concentrated in 6__________ or malls (US) where customers have access to large variety of stores in the same location. Increasingly, large retailers are operating from out of town locations with parking facilities known as either 7__________ or hypermarkets depending on whether they occupy a surface of more or less than 3,000 square metres.

8__________ such as Harrods in London, are large shops which sell a wide variety of products usually from a city centre location. As the name suggests, they are organized in departments, each with its own manager.