Introduction to the

course
This ESP course is for students with at least an upper-intermediate level of English (Common European
Framework for Languages level B2) who need to understand and express the key concepts of business
and economics. It covers the most important areas of management, production, marketing, finance and
macroeconomics.

This course aims to:

 present you with the language and concepts of business and economics found in books, journals,
newspapers and magazines, and on websites;
 develop your comprehension of business and economics texts;
 develop your speaking skills in the fields of business and economics;
 provide you with opportunities to express business concepts both verbally and in writing, by
reformulating them in your own words while summarizing, analyzing, criticizing and discussing ideas.
Outline of the course

WEEK 1 Introduction to the course Unit 1. Management

WEEK 2 Unit 2. Work and motivation Unit 3. Company structure
WEEK 3 Unit 4. Managing across culture Unit 5. Recruitment
WEEK 4 Unit 6. The different sectors of the economy Unit 7. Production
WEEK 5 Unit 8. Logistics Unit 9. Quality
WEEK 6 MID-TERM Unit 10. Marketing
WEEK 7 Unit 11. Advertising Unit 12. Banking
WEEK 8 Unit 13. Accounting and Financial Statements Unit 14. The Business Cycle
WEEK 9 Unit 15. Corporate Social Responsibility Unit 16. Efficiency and Employment
WEEK 10 Unit 17. International Trade REVIEW
Assessment components
Assessment Description Weight
Method
Participation  Attendance and general participation in class discussions 10%
in class  Completing homework exercises and the assigned readings
N.B: Regular absences will affect grades.
Midterm Group Presentations (50%): Each group will present and lead a 30%
Test discussion about the assigned topic. Their presentation must be about
a certain aspect of the topic and provide explanations of key terms. It
can also be a case study.
Listening comprehension test (50%): 20 questions of various types
End-term Total time allowed: 75 minutes 60%
Test Part 1: Reading comprehension – 5 questions (20 points)
Part 2: Writing (80 points)
Writing 1: Gap-fills – 5 questions (20 points)
Writing 2: Short answer questions – 4 questions (20 points)
Writing 3: Essay – At least 250 words (40 points)
 UNIT 1
Management
LEAD-IN
1. Which business leaders do you admire for their managerial skills?
What are these skills?Elon Musk (CEO of SpaceX and Tesla): Musk is admired
for his visionary thinking, ability to drive innovation, and his hands-on
approach to problem-solving.
2. Do managers have a good reputation in your country? Or are they made fun of
in jokes, cartoons, and television series? If so, why do you think this is? Donal
Trump. The Simpston Family cartoon
3. Which of the famous managers below do you find the most interesting and
impressive? Elon musk. Buy Twitter and rename into X
KEY TERMS
Management: The process used to accomplish organizational goals
through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling people and other
organizational resources.

Manager: An individual who is in charge of a certain group off tasks, or

a certain area or department of a business.

Chief Executive Officer: The most senior manager responsible for the
overall performance and success of a company.
KEY TERMS
Planning: A management function that includes anticipating trends and determining the best

strategies and tactics to achieve organizational goals and objectives.

Organizing: A management function that includes designing the structure of the organization and

creating conditions and systems in which everyone and everything work together to achieve the

organization’s goals and objectives.

Leading: Creating a vision for the organization and guiding, training, coaching, and motivating others

to work effectively to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives.

Controlling: A management function that involves establishing clear standards to determine whether

or not an organization is progressing toward its goals and objectives, rewarding people for doing a

good job, and taking corrective action if they are not.

READING 1
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MANAGER AND A LEADER

1. How can a leader lose power?

A If the leader fails to motivate and inspire his/her followers
2. How are managers awarded their power and authority?
A By virtue of their position
3. Which of these statements is relevant for the relationship between subordinates and
managers?
D All of these answers are correct.
4. Individuals become leaders based on their (A) personal qualities.
5. Which of these describes the primary concern of a manager?
D Accomplishing organizational goals
 READING 2
THE ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT
A manager has responsibility for resources and decision making. The role of managers includes:
Planning
Setting (1) aims and (2) targets for the organization. E.g. to increase market share by 2%.
Organizing
Managing people and (3) resources effectively towards achieving the aims of the organization.
Making sure staff do not perform overlapping (4) tasks.
Coordinating
(5) Bringing people and departments together so that they (6) work towards (7) common aims.
Commanding
Managers are more like to (8) guide, lead and supervise people than just tell them what to do.
Controlling
Checking that the (9) original aims are being met and appraising (10) workers/ staff.
MBO – Management by objectives
Management by
Objectives (MBO) is a
strategic approach to
enhance the
performance of an
organization. It is a
process where the goals
of the organization are
defined and conveyed
by the management to
the members of the
organization with the
intention to achieve
each objective.
MBO – Management by objectives
Benefits

 Management by objectives helps employees appreciate their on-the-job roles

and responsibilities.
 The Key Result Areas (KRAs) planned are specific to each employee, depending
on their interest, educational qualification, and specialization.
 The MBO approach usually results in better teamwork and communication.
 It provides the employees with a clear understanding of what is expected of
them. The supervisors set goals for every member of the team, and every
employee is provided with a list of unique tasks.
 Every employee is assigned unique goals. Hence, each employee feels
indispensable to the organization and eventually develops a sense of loyalty to
the organization.
 Managers help ensure that subordinates’ goals are related to the objectives of
the organization.
MBO – Management by objectives
Key ideas

 Management by Objectives (MBO) is an approach adopted by managers to

control their employees by implementing a series of concrete goals that both
the employee and the organization aim to accomplish in the immediate future
and work accordingly to achieve.
 The MBO approach is implemented to ensure that the employees get a clear
understanding of their roles and responsibilities, along with expectations, so
that they can understand the relation of their activities to the overall success
of the organization.
 If the management by objectives strategy is not adequately set, decided upon,
and controlled by organizations, self-centered workers can be likely to
misinterpret results, wrongly portraying the achievement of short-term,
narrow-minded goals.
CASE STUDY 1
Naomi is a student at a sixth form college. She recently took part in a
work shadowing exercise to find out what it is like to be a manager.
Work shadowing means that a student follows a manager for a day or
more to experience the work that they do.
08:30 Attended meeting with other departmental heads and Chief
Executive to agree targets for the next two years. Departmental heads
told to plan their own strategy to meet these goals. (PLANNING)
09:15 Two staff members failed to turn up for work. Sabrina asked
other staff to cover these absences (= delegating tasks, ORGANIZING)
by working longer shifts today 10:00 Meeting with Sales Manager from
big sports manufacturer. Sabrina discussed the range of goods she may
purchase next year to meet the store’s targets. (PLANNING)
CASE STUDY 1
11:00 New member of staff did not cope well with awkward customer. When
customer had gone, Sabrina reminded the shop assistant of the correct
procedure that should be followed. Asked worker always follow company
policy in these matters. (COMMANDING)
14:30 Computer printouts of individual staff sales figures were studied. One
worker in particular has failed to meet sales targets (EVALUATE) and it was
agreed with him that further product training was necessary.
(CONTROLLING)
16:00 Email received from Sabrina’s line manager. There was a problem with
another department selling clothing including sports clothes. It was now
possible for customers to find the same goods in the store in two
departments at different prices! Sabrina needed to meet with the other
departmental manager to agree on a common policy. (COORDINATING)
CASE STUDY 2
On the basis of this information, which person would you choose for the
manager’s job? Justify your answer.
Person A is very ambitious and if Umeel wants the restaurant to expand, this
might be the person to employ. A seems to be a good communicator- very
important in a busy restaurant. A is well educated and possibly trained in
management and motivation techniques - the 25 restaurant staff will need to be
well managed.
Person B has more relevant experience and being a former chef means B might
concentrate on quality meals and motivate the staff to achieve this target.
Quality is B’s objective and this might mean Umeel could raise prices in the
restaurant.
Suggested answer: A (If Umeel wants the business to expand over the next few
years.) - as long as there are already good chefs who can take control of the
cooking side of the business.
VOCABULARY
EXERCISE 1. Match up the following words and definitions.
1. consultant D. a person who provides expert advice to a company
2. crisis E. a situation of danger or difficulty
3. innovation B. a new idea or method
4. objective (noun) F. something you plan to do or achieve
5. promotion H. when someone is raised to a higher or more important position
6. public sector G. the section of the economy under government control
7. strategy A. a plan for achieving success
8. subordinate C. a person with a less important position in an organization
 VOCABULARY
EXERCISE 2. Use the word combinations below to complete the sentences.
1. After an organization has set objectives, it has to make sure that it achieves them.
2. Managers have to find the best way to allocate all the human, physical and capital
resources available to them.
3. Some people perform tasks better on their own while others work better in
teams.
4. Managers supervise the work of their subordinates and try to develop their
abilities.
5. Managers measure the performance of their staff to see whether they are
reaching their targets.
6. Top managers have to be prepared to deal with crises if they occur and then have
to make quick decisions.
 VOCABULARY
EXERCISE 3. Complete the text using these verbs.
What is management?
You want me to explain what management is? Well, I guess I can manage that! Actually,
management as we (1) understand it today is a fairly recent idea. Most economists in the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, for example, wrote about factors of production such as
land, labor and capital, and about supply and demand, as if these were impersonal and
objective economic forces which left no room for human action. An exception was Jean-
Baptiste Say, who invented the term “entrepreneur”, the person who sees opportunities to
(2) use resources in more productive ways.
Entrepreneurs are people who are alert to so-far undiscovered profit opportunities. They
perceive opportunities to (3) commercialize new technologies and products that will serve
the market better than it is currently being served by their competitors. They are happy to (4)
risk their own or other people’s capital. They are frequently unconventional, innovative
people. But entrepreneurship isn’t the same as management, and most managers aren’t
entrepreneurs.
 VOCABULARY
EXERCISE 3. Complete the text using these verbs.
So, what’s management? Well, it’s essentially a matter of organizing people.
Managers, especially senior managers, have to set objectives for their
organization, and then (5) work out how to achieve them. This is true of the
managers of business enterprises, government departments, educational
institutions, and sports teams, although for government services, universities
and so on we usually talk about administrators and administration rather than
managers and management. Managers (6) analyze the activities of the
organization and the relations among them. They (7) divide the work into
distinct activities and then into individual jobs. They (8) select people to
manage these activities and perform the jobs. And they often need to make the
people responsible for performing individual jobs, (9) form effective teams.
 VOCABULARY
EXERCISE 3. Complete the text using these verbs.
Managers have to be good at communication and motivation. They need to (10)
communicate the organization’s objectives to the people responsible for attaining
them. They have to motivate their staff to work well, to be productive, and to (11)
contribute something to the organization. They make decisions about pay and
promotion.
Managers also have to (12) measure the performance of their staff, and to ensure that
the objectives and performance targets set for the whole organization and for
individual employees are reached. Furthermore, they have to (13) train and develop
their staff so that their performance continues to (14) improve.
Some managers obviously (15) perform these tasks better than others. Most
achievements and failures in business are the achievements or failures of individual
managers.
 LISTENING
LISTENING 1: Listen to the following conversation and complete the minutes below, in
note form
Minutes of senior management meeting - 2/4/88 - 11.30
Subject: Staff morale
Present: Don Aiken, Patricia White, Jonathan Laidlaw, William Cooper
D.A. wanted to know if the staff were happy, and if not, what could be done about it?
P.W. thought that morale was very low at present. Some people were worried that they
might be made redundant/they might lose their jobs.
J.L. pointed out another problem affecting morale - the company's labour turnover was
very high last year - 16%.
D.A. added that last year the company lost more working hours than ever before
because of absenteeism.
 LISTENING
LISTENING 1: Listen to the following conversation and complete the minutes below, in
note form
W.C. reminded us that in his department there had been two strikes by the machine-shop
workers, a lot of complaints about working conditions and a fight on the shop floor.
P.W. suggested carrying out an opinion survey to find out what the staff think about
management, with questions such as Are you satisfied with your job and working
conditions? What do you think of your superior? Do you have enough responsibility in
your work?
W.C. agreed with P.W. He said it would show that management were concerned about staff
feelings and problems - so it would be good for morale.
J.L. also liked P.W.'s idea, but stressed that the answers to the survey should be
confidential. If not, people wouldn't feel free to speak the truth, and the data wouldn't
be of any use.
D.A. noted J.L's point and said that we must bear it in mind when the survey is prepared.
 LISTENING
LISTENING 2: Listen again and fill in the gaps in these sentences from the
conversation
1. On, whole
2. mean, fact
3. getting at
4. food, thought
5. getting picture
6. come up with
7. going wrong
8. of any use
 LISTENING
LISTENING 3: Listen to the following conversation and complete the
memorandum below
To: George Holbrook
From: Vanessa McIntyre
Subject: Test marketing and launch of Krackle
Ralph Harris has just informed me that the Krackle biscuit will not be ready
for test marketing by January.
Apparently, this regrettable delay has been caused by technical problems.
Ralph says that they still haven't managed to develop a biscuit which
crackles when you bite into it.
 LISTENING
LISTENING 3: Listen to the following conversation and complete the
memorandum below
(cont.)

Ralph now estimates that his department will not have solved this problem
satisfactorily until the end of March. Naturally, this will make it impossible
for us to get it on the market by June.
In view of these unfortunate circumstances I would suggest that our best
course of action would be to postpone the launch until next September.
Could we meet to discuss this as soon as possible?
 LISTENING
LISTENING 4: Listen again and fill in the gaps in these sentences from the
conversation
1. run up against
2. tried, out
3. get, on, No Way
4. cut corners
5. fix up, with
 LISTENING
LISTENING 5: Listen to the following conversation and answer the questions
below.
1. What is Marion unhappy about?
She is unhappy about her boss, Edward's lack of organisation, which makes
him 'impossible to work for.
2. Why was last Friday such an important day?
Friday was the deadline for submitting the report for the following
Wednesday's board meeting
3. What did Marion have to do last Sunday?
Marion had to go in to work on Sunday to get the report ready on the word-
processor for Monday morning.
 LISTENING
LISTENING 5: Listen to the following conversation and answer the questions
below. (cont.)
4. According to Polly, Gerald is extremely good at planning his time. Note
down the things he does to make the most effective use of his time.
a. At the end of each day he makes a list of the things he has to do the
following day.
b. He always does the important jobs first - he never puts them off.
c. He always works on the important jobs until he's finished them.
d. He shuts himself in his office when he's working on a difficult problem and
doesn't let anyone disturb him.
e. He makes a lot of telephone calls, rather than sending memos.
UNIT REVIEW
1. What is a manager? A manager is a person in an organization who is
responsible for carrying out the four functions of management, including
planning, organizing, leading and controlling.
2. What can a manager do with the subordinates when considering their
performance, and behaviors? A manager has the authority and power to hire,
promote, discipline and fire employees based on those behaviors and
performance.
3. What is a leader? A leader is someone who shows passion and personal
investment in the success of his or her followers reaching their goals.
4. Why is it possible for anyone to become a leader? Because the basis of
leadership is on the personal qualities of the leader. People are willing to
follow the leader because of who he or she is and what the leader stands for,
not because they have to due to the authority bestowed onto him or her by
the organization.
UNIT REVIEW
5. How is a manager different from a leader? A manager holds a management position
and therefore has the authority bestowed onto him or her by the organization.
Subordinates do not have a choice but to listen to the demands and wishes of their
managers. A leader doesn’t have to hold one. A leader has no formal, tangible power
over their followers. Power is awarded to the leader on a temporary basis and is
contingent upon the leader's ability to continue to motivate and inspire followership.
6. What are the five common roles of a manager? Explain them briefly.
Planning: Setting aims and targets for the organization.
Organizing: Managing people and resources effectively towards achieving the aims of the
organization. Making sure staff do not perform overlapping tasks.
Coordinating: Bringing people and departments together so that they work towards
common aims.
Commanding: Managers are more like to guide, lead and supervise people than just tell
them what to do.
Controlling: Checking that the original aims are being met and appraising staff.