TOPIC 1: BRANDS

1.     Think of some brands that interest you. What images

and qualities does each brand have?

Apple: good quality products (hardware, software) , fancy

look, famous, give the best user experiences. Apple is one
of world largest technology companies 

Examples of companies with successful brand images and

good qualities Apple Apple is number one on Forbes “The
World’s Most Valuable Brands” list and has created a
strong brand image .Nike’s brand is focused on the
concept of innovation for serious athletes to help you
perform at your best every single time.Colgate Colgate is
that brand name which is popular in nearly every
household worldwide. The brand has managed to create
its image which de nes belief and trust.

2.     Why do people buy brands? Are you loyal to any

brands?

People buy brand name products for a variety of reasons.

From having good experiences with the brand in the past,
to wanting to portray a certain image or just because
somebody tells them that that brand is good.

I am not loyal to any brands actually. Basically, I want

value for money - I won't pay in ated prices for a name, a
fancy logo and packaging. I want a good quality and
affordable product with good service.  However I do buy

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brands like Adidas or Nike when the quality and design

are great and the product is reliable.

3.     Why do you think some people dislike brands?

There are a lot of people who don’t like brands. Because

they don't want to give free advertising to companies.
They hate all the advertising hype around brands. And
they don't want others to think they are trying to impress
others with lots of logos. Another common reason is
people like having unique items. If you buy a dress from a
famous brand, you'll see six people with the same dress
that month. If it is “in”, everyone is doing/wearing it, so
it’s automatically boring.

4.     What are the advantages and disadvantages for

companies of product endorsements?(Quảng bá thương
hiệu bằng người nổi tiếng hay còn gọi là người nổi tiếng
làm đại sứ nhãn hàng)

Celebrity endorsement comes with multiple advantages to

the company or brand. 1. Product endorsement helps
companies that use them to stand out from those who
don’t. It also can make consumers remember your
advertisement easier. 2 Seeing a celebrity attach their
name to a product also reassures consumers of the
quality of the product. 

Product endorsement also comes with disadvantages. 1. If

a celebrity is too big, their popularity might instantly
overshadow the brand. If the ad focuses too much on the
celebrity, it can cut out brand recognition in the minds of

 consumers. 2. Companies or brands may also get caught

in the cross re when their endorsing person gets involved
in a scandal. 

5.     How can companies create brand loyalty?

6.      Can you give any examples of successful or

unsuccessful brand stretching?

7.      Think of a cheap or expensive idea for a product

launch.

8.     What other market segments can you identify (e.g.

young singles)?

Teenager, young adults, young girl or boy, well- nancial

people, young couples, family with no kids, families with
kid

Consider a company that markets health and beauty

products to both men and women. These products, such
as razors or skin care, are typically more expensive for
women than they are for men. The product packaging also
differs—products targeted to women having pinks and
oral accents that align with gender stereotypes. On the
other hand, the company's male-targeted products are
characterized by more rugged blacks and greys. 

9.     What action can companies take if they start to lose

market share?

There are three key strategies that companies often use

to regain market share once it has been lost: pricing
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 changes, promotional changes, and product changes. All

three strategies have unique bene ts and all are risky for
different reasons.

https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/033115/
what-strategies-do-companies-use-regain-market-share-
they-have-
lost.asp#:~:text=There%20are%20three%20key%20strat
egies,are%20risky%20for%20different%20reasons.

10. What are the functions of a brand?

Identi cation:

guarantee

11. Do you buy luxury brands? Why/ Why not?

TOPIC 2: ORGANISATIONS

1.     What department would you like to work in? Why?

Describe the jobs of the department you like.

I would like to work in the nance department. Because

I’m studying about that. Another reason is It’s a dynamic
industry and There are varied career paths and options. 
Through studying nance or a nance-related degree, you
will have the freedom to choose from a variety of career
paths, whether it's Retail Banking, Investment, Financial
Services, Law, and more.

https://www.europelanguagejobs.com/blog/top-reasons-
why-consider-career-in- nance
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 If you work in nance you could be involved in investing

money, managing it, protecting it or many other
possibilities, working with individual customers,
corporate clients, investors, shareholders and colleagues.
Finance can roughly be divided into accountancy,
investment management, banking, insurance and the
actuarial profession, but within each of these sectors
there is a wide range of work for school leavers and
graduates. Opportunities to work in nance exist
throughout VN and around the world. I think working in
nance is a good option. 

2.     Describe the organization you are working/ studying

in.

I’m currently studying at the University of Economics Ho

Chi Minh city. The university of economics HCM city (it
can be called UEH) was established in 1976. It is one of
VN’s top universities. My university is furnished with all
the educational facilities such as big spacious classrooms,
smart library with abundant books. And yes, a free Wi-Fi
facility is also provided in UEH. UEH’s teaching staff all
have been trained from high reputation institutes all over
the world. They are also nice and amiable. One thing to be
proud of is Up to now, UEH is one of 14 key universities of
Vietnam. With excellent achievements during more than
45 years of establishment and development, UEH has
been awarded many honour medals. I liked my university
with all my heart.

TOPIC 3: MONEY
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 1.     How much money can make you feel happy?

Well, it’s certainly dif cult to be truly happy if you live in

poverty. If you’re always hungry or cold or living in
unsafe surroundings or always owe somebody money,
happiness can be dif cult to have. So, below a certain
income level, poor people are in fact less happy and less
satis ed with their lives than most of us.

But above the poverty level, things get complicated. A

well-known research from 2010 has shown that people
tend to feel happier the more money they make, up to a
point of about $75,000 a year. (nearly 2 billion VND)

However, it is said that income is just one factor that

in uences an individual’s happiness — not the most
important one.

Indeed there are many factors besides money that

contribute to a person’s happiness: social relationships
and connection or love, family, friends. Money does make
people happy in many ways. It is not the nal solution to
life’s problems.

2.     What is the economic situation in Vietnam at the

moment?

3.     Which parts of the economy are doing well or badly?

Which types of business are making pro ts or losses?

4.     What is your forecast?

5.     What sort of businesses are a good investment?

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 6.     Can you think of any businesses which have gone

bankrupt recently?

L’Occitane

Date: January 2021

Category/Product(s): Beauty

The American division of L’Occitane International SA, a

French maker of beauty products, has led for bankruptcy due
to $15 million in unpaid rent and “burdensome” lease
obligations where sales have fallen due to the pandemic.
L'Occitane has stores in more than 90 countries all over the
world. 

7.     Tell an inspiring story of a person who can/ could

overcome dif culties to be successful in life?

I am sure most of you saw harry potter in your childhood,

and probably some of you were fans of Harry potter:
Harry Potter, an excellent concept story written by J. K.
Rowling. Real success comes after a string of failures.
That’s exactly happened with J.k. Rowling. She was a
single mother and used to be jobless. In an interview with
the London-based Daily Mail, she said. “I remember
nights when there was literally no money.” when sharing
about her struggle in the past. But it is not the end of her
inspirational story. In 1995 Rowling nished the book but
she had no money to publish the book independently, so
she approached around 12 major publications, but all
rejected the Harry Potter script. But she didn’t give up
and kept approaching other publications and nally a

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 small publication accepted to publish 1 thousand copies of
Harry Potter. And now The Harry Potter series is far and
away the highest-selling series of novels ever. the Harry
Potter books turned her into the world’s highest-paid
author, a billionaire in fact. 

TOPIC 4: INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

1.     What are the advantages and disadvantages of the

international market?

2.     How has the development of international markets

affected you as a consumer and your country?

3.     What is free trade? What are the advantages and

disadvantages of free trade?

Free trade is the idea that things should be able to be

traded between countries with as few restrictions or
limitations as possible. Pretty much nowhere in the world
has 100% free trade; every country has a complex set of
taxes on foreign goods (called tariffs), limits on how many
goods can be brought in (called quotas) and outright
restrictions on importing certain things. 

There are a lot of advantages that free trade offers. 1. It

creates better goods. When free trade occurs, then each
market receives more access to higher-quality goods at
lower prices. 2. It Increased ef ciency of a country. The
good thing about free trade  is that it encourages
competition, which consequently increases a country’s
ef ciency, in order to be on par with its competitors.
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Products and services then become of better quality at a

lower cost.

Despite all the bene ts of free trade, there are also some
disadvantages, including. 1. Too obvious: Less tax
revenue. Many smaller countries struggle to replace
revenue lost from import tariffs and fees. 2. Obstacles to
the Development of Home Industries: If foreign goods are
imported freely, the domestic industries of the developing
countries would not be able to develop rapidly due to the
superior strength of foreign industries.

In short I think that it is hard to tell if it is good or bad. It

depends on the situation the country has.

4.     Why don’t some countries practice free trade?

5.     How can governments protect their economies from

free trade

6.     Are you in favor of free trade? Why/ Why not?

I am in favor of free trade. Because I can afford goods with

better quality but at cheaper prices. I can save more
money due to free trade. Moreover, Free trade drives
competitiveness. Free trade does require businesses and
workers to adapt to the shifting demands of the
worldwide marketplace. 

7.     Should certain industries in Vietnam be protected? If

so, which ones?

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8.     What do you know about China-US trade war? What

do you think will happen to the trade situation between
China and the US?

9.     What do you think makes a really good negotiator?

Do you prefer high-con ict win-lose negotiations or
cooperative win-win negotiations?

There are many  behaviours that make a good negotiator.

And, er,

when I say good negotiator: its the word 'appropriate' -

appropriate in

being able to change - and so the overriding thing is to be

versatile, to

be adaptable, to be able to change your behaviour

according to those

circumstances. And the behaviours that are appropriate

are everything

from being able to manage con ict, being able to, er,
manage the pressure, right the way through to being able
to plan effectively, to be logical, Quick thinking, con dent,
Make things sound good. to negotiate

Win-win results are the most stable outcomes of

negotiations; since both sides are happy with the result,
they have little reason to back out at a later time. Both
sides have a chance to negotiate with each other again,

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 laying the foundation for a bene cial working
relationship.

TOPIC 5: ETHICS

1.     What is the purpose of a business in your opinion? Is

it just to make money?

Some people believe that a company's goal is to make

pro t and just focus on how to raise this. I do not
completely agree with this idea.

On the one hand, I agree that the company pays attention

to making pro t. Because, the business is built on capital
and operates based on pro t or capital rotation. 

On the other hand, it is increasingly evident that the focus

on pro tability has led to the neglect of two other
dimensions: the environment and the fabric of society.
These neglected factors must be carefully considered
because they affect humans and the planet. 

The successful company is no longer one that just makes

money. True sustainability will only be assured if there is
a proper investment return in the three dimensions of
business: nancial, social and environmental.

2.     What do you understand about the term 'an ethical

business'?

3.     Tell me about some illegal activities. In your opinion,

which one is the most serious?
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 Some common examples of unethical or illegal activity

include: Con icts of interest, Working while under the
in uence of illicit controlled substances or alcohol,
Discrimination based on age, ancestry, citizenship status,
color, disability, gender… 

I think the most serious is discrimination. People have the

right to equal treatment and opportunities, without
discrimination. When people are treated unfairly and
discriminated against because of who they are, this can
have a serious effect on their mental health, their self-
esteem, and their future.

4.     Is there ever a time when it is OK to lie on a résumé?

Will you tell lies on your résumé?

Whether you’ve oversold your Adobe Photoshop skills or

changed some dates, lying on your resume is not a good
idea.

Some people tell very small lies and get away with it, but
it’s simply not worth the risk. The most likely scenario is
you’ll be found out pretty quickly and excluded from the
list of candidates. Plus, if you tell more than one lie, you
might even struggle to keep track of them all yourself.

If a recruiter or employer does believe your lie, you could

nd yourself in the awkward position of having to prove
it. If you’ve fabricated skills, quali cations, and vital
experience, that makes for a particularly awkward rst
day on the job.
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5.     In what ways can businesses involve their employees

in environmental issues?

6.     Tell a story about any of these ideas:

·       A signi cant news event you remember well

·       An ethical problem you know about

·       A memorable event in your life (good or bad)

·       An unusual or memorable experience while you were

travelling abroad

·       Your rst or last day in a job or organisation

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