Business english writing - Masterclass International School 2020

People money

Pre-reading activity 1

Before reading the article below, answer the following questions:

What does money mean to you?

Does money make the world go around?

What does the expression “Money doesn’t grow on trees” mean?

Can money buy happiness?

Do you think this saying is true? “Money is the root of all evil”

People with a lot of money are often called rich, but there are a lot of other ways to mean the same thing, though with slight differences:

billionaire

A billionaire is someone who possesses assets worth at least a billion pounds or dollars. The word is derived from billion and follows the pattern of millionaire.

Similar words

✵man of wealth

✵man of means

✵capitalist

✵tycoon

✵magnate

✵rich man

✵moneyed man

✵plutocrat

✵Nabob /ˈneɪbɒb/

✵Midas /ˈmʌɪdəs/

✵man of millions

✵financier

✵fat cat

✵big cheese

✵wealthy man

✵parvenu

✵nouveau riche

✵Croesus /ˈkriːsəs

Some of the words on the list may have a derogatory sense, others are informal. Can you find them? Do some of the expressions also exist in your language? If you need help work with a dictionary

Pre-reading activity 2 (Speaking)

Read the information below about Forbes, a very well-known American magazine. Then, answer the questions and move on to pre-reading activity 2:

Forbes is an American business magazine owned by Forbes, Inc. It is published every two weeks and it shows articles on finance, business, investing, and marketing topics. It also deals with related themes such as technology, communications, lifestyles and so on. Headquarters are in New York City. Its major competitors as national business magazines are Fortune and Bloomberg Businessweek. The magazine is famous for its lists, such as those related to the

1) richest Americans (the Forbes 400)

2) highest-paid stars under 30

3) list of billionaires.

The motto of Forbes magazine is "The Capitalist Tool".

Questions:

1.What is Forbes?

2.What is the magazine about?

3.Where is it headquartered?

4.Who are its main competitors?

5.Why is the magazine so well-known?

6.What does Forbes’ motto mean?

Pre-reading activity 3 (Writing/Speaking)

Look up the number of billionaires in the world (2013) available at Wikipedia.org. It provides the names of countries with the highest number of billionaires and some related data. This kind of list is drawn up annually by the Forbes Magazine and it leaves out heads of states whose prosperity is tied to their position.

Figures are given for the number of billionaires in specific countries, with share of world total, the number of billionaires per ten million people and the category (here, you are supposed to fill in the right nationality adjective):

World wide top 10 (2013)

Questions:

Are you surprised at the results?

Did you expect to find other countries on the list?

Do you think the share of the world total will soon increase in some of the countries on the list?

Are the BRIC countries on the list?

Italy is not on the list. Give your reasons for it.

Reading activity

The article below is divided into two parts. First read part 1 and answer the questions. Then do the same with part 2. After that read the whole article again, note down the main information and try to summarise the whole article:

Italian Fitness Founder

How an Exercise Machine Turned into an International Wellness Empire

Part 1

Nerio Alessandri was only 22 years old when he designed his first exercise machine in his parents’ garage. Soon, a local gym in his hometown of Cesena, Italy, bought some of his equipment, and a larger gym in the area commissioned 30 machines. “I took the order even though I had no team and no company premises apart from my parents’ garage,” Alessandri says. “This was the time I decided to dedicate myself full time to the Technogym project and to start up a proper company.”

That was 1983, and today, Technogym has 13 international branches, equipping more than 35,000 wellness centers and 20,000 private homes all over the world. The company furnishes machines for European soccer teams, Ferrari Formula One drivers and was the official supplier for multiple Olympic Games, including the 2008 Games in Beijing. Alessandri has won several international design awards, and he was the Ernst & Young Italian Entrepreneur of the Year in 2003. Oh, and he’s a knight. In fact, he’s the youngest person to receive the Cavaliere del Lavoro (Italian industry knighthood) in history.

All of this is the result of his pioneering attitude toward fitness. During the aerobics-crazy ’80s and ’90s, Alessandri took a different approach, creating a culture of wellness that expanded the notion of health to include diet and a positive mental approach. Alessandri calls it “psycho-physical wellness.”

Today, he encourages other business owners to think of wellness as an investment in more productive and motivated staff: “At Technogym, we strongly believe that employees’ health and happiness represent both a corporate social responsibility and an economic asset for the company. That’s why we provide a comprehensive corporate wellness scheme for our staff including a complete gym and a personalized wellness program for each employee with a training program and medical and nutritional counseling.” And Alessandri walks his talk. “I never miss my three times per week early morning workout,” he says. Although he does admit to indulging in a huge meal with family and friends now and then, as well as enjoying “a few glasses of red wine from my own vineyards.” Now that’s good living.

Post-reading activity 1 (Comprehension)

Answer the following questions:

1.Where did Nerio Alessandri use to work and design his machines at the beginning of his career?

2.Who are Technogyn’s major customers?

3.When was he awarded the Ernst & Young prize? Why?

4.What is meant by “psycho-physical wellness”?

5.How does he regard staff’s wellness?

6.How often does he work out per week?

Big Business in a Small Town

How Cesena, Italy, Became the Heart of the Wellness Valley

Part 2

Despite rapid growth and an international supply chain, Nerio Alessandri’s fitness company Technogym is still headquartered in his small hometown of Cesena, Italy. Why not move the base of operations to a larger, more metropolitan location?

“I have very strong ties with my region,” Alessandri says, “and I strongly believe that Technogym and the wellness lifestyle were not born there by chance. Romagna, our region, is well-known in Italy and in Europe for its balance between quality of life, economic wealth, good public services and people’s hospitality.”

In 2003, Alessandri launched the Wellness Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on research, health education and cultural initiatives, with a special emphasis on the local area. The “Wellness Valley, Romagna Benessere” project aims to establish the region as a leader in quality of life.

“Many local stakeholders followed us in this initiative by creating a lot of wellness-based best practices,” Alessandri says. Businesses, government institutions, universities and the tourism industry have joined him in his quest to create an oasis in the fertile Italian valley where his company was born. Wellness holidays on the coast, health courses at universities, free checkups for citizens and citywide walking initiatives are just a few of the ways Alessandri’s concept of whole-life health has spread through the region.

So it makes sense to keep his company in Cesena, a place that has eagerly adopted the company’s concept of wellness. Last year, Romagna was ranked first in a happiness survey by Il Sole 24 Ore, an Italian financial newspaper.

Answer the following questions:

1.Why is Technogym still headquartered in Cesena?

2.What is the Wellness Foundation?

3.How has Alessandri spread the concept of whole-life spread?

4.So, does it still make sense to keep the company in Cesena?

Post-reading activity 2 (Writing)

Based on what you have read, try to complete the chart below. It is about Alessandri’s main events, activities and business ideas throughout his life:

Grammar revision

LINKING WORDS

They are words and short phrases which link sentences, paragraphs and sections and so are cohesive devices. They perform different functions such as giving examples, adding information, summarising, sequencing ideas, contrasting and so on.

Giving examples

For example

For instance

Namely

Adding information

And

In addition

As well as

Also

Too

Furthermore

Moreover

Apart from

In addition to

Besides

Ideas are often linked by and. Also is used to add an extra idea or to give more emphasis.

If you start a sentence you can use In addition or In addition to this…

As well as is both used at the beginning or the middle of a sentence.

Too and as well are synonyms of also.

Apart from and besides are often used to mean as well as, or in addition to.

Moreover and furthermore provide extra information to what you are saying.

Summarising

In short

In brief

In summary

To summarise

To conclude

In conclusion

We generally use these words at the start of the sentence to give a summary of what we have said or written.

Sequencing ideas

The former, … the latter

Firstly, secondly, finally

The first point is

Lastly

The following

The former and the latter are used when you refer to one of two points.

Firstly, … secondly, … finally (or lastly) are used to list ideas.

The following can be used to start a list.

Giving a reason

Due to / due to the fact that

Owing to / owing to the fact that

Because

Because of

Since

As

Due to and owing to are followed by a noun or you must follow the words with the fact that.

Because / because of

Because of is followed by a noun.

Because can be used at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence.

Since / as

Since and as mean because.

Giving a result

Therefore

So

Consequently

This means that

As a result

Therefore, so, consequently, as a result are all used similarly. So is more informal.

Contrasting ideas

But

However

Although / even though

Despite / despite the fact that

In spite of / in spite of the fact that

Nevertheless

Nonetheless

While

Whereas

Unlike

In theory… in practice…

But is more informal than however.

Although, despite and in spite of bring in an idea of contrast.

Despite and in spite of are used in the same way as due to and owing to. They are followed by a noun. If you want to follow them with a noun and a verb, you must use the fact that.

Nevertheless and nonetheless mean in spite of that or anyway.

While, whereas and unlike show how two things are different from each other.

In theory… in practice… show an unexpected result.

Grammar exercises

1. Choose the correct linking word

1.In addition/in theory/because of to providing information on their firm's products, these workers help prospective and current buyers with technical problems.

2.Almost 50 percent of home foreclosures are owing to/due to/due to the fact that unemployment or loss of income.

3.Owing to the fact/owing to/because of that the weather was cold, we stayed home.

4.Tom and Dick were both heroes but only the firstly/the former/the following is remembered today.

5.As described in section 2, the former are the originally reported unemployment rate as well as/also/too the turnover rate.

6.Taking parental leave does not affect other employment rights you have. In addition/Since/Apart from the loss of pay and pension contributions, your position remains as if no parental leave had been taken

7.The company undertakes to respect privacy of the information given and not to resell such information to third parties. Nevertheless/In spite of/Despite, the company cannot guarantee secrecy of correspondences on the internet network,

8.In short/unlike/since, the CEO agreed to settle Company B's debt by issuing new, unregistered shares of stock worth as much as five times, or more, than the debt that Company B actually owed.

9.The first point is/because of/lastly, the Firm advises all customers that as the cause, effect and length of a significant business disruption cannot be determined with certainty, the customer should plan in advance his/her actions.

10.As a result/even though/whereas, politicians like any other individual or corporation, are very concerned about their brand.