Course 4 CHANGE I. Which of these situations would you find the most difficult to deal with?

Losing a lot of money/ moving house/ moving to another country/ losing your job/ a new boss/ new neighbours/ driving abroad/ getting married. II. Which of these business situations would worry you most? Why? 1. You read in the paper that your company will probably be merging with another company. 2. You keep your job after a merger, but you are in a less powerful position. 3. Your company has to relocate to the other side of the city. 4. You are asked to relocate to a dangerous foreign country. 5. You are promoted but are now in charge of a hostile workforce. 6. You have to work with a completely new computer system. Reading I. Which department stores have you visited in your own country or abroad? What were your impressions? What in your view should a 21st century department store look like? What should it offer its customers?

US department stores launch counter-attack As consumers demand better value and a more interesting and stimulating experience while shopping, department stores face a clear choice: adapt or die. 'My concern is that they will become retail museums/ says Britt Breemer, chairman of America's Research Group. The bottom line is that they have to admit they are in trouble and figure out some way to reinvent themselves. 'This may help to explain why four times as many households visit discount stores as department stores. Department stores face mounting competition from speciality retailers and discounters, such as Wal-Mart and Target. Their steady loss of market share may be partly because the concept was born in a different era, a time when, for families, a trip to the stores combined shopping with entertainment. What is needed, say retail experts, is a new approach. A typical example of this approach working is seen at Selfridges. This UK group has recast itself from a 'sleepy 1970-styte department store' into a retailing experience fit for the 21st century, says Wendy Liebmann, President of WSL Strategic Retail. One of the main changes is that more floor space is rented to vendors, in what is sometimes referred to as the showcase business model: vendors design their own booths and are encouraged to be creative. The Selfridges model, says Peter Williams, CEO of Selfridges, is about creating an experience that is 'new, interesting and different' where it is not just the product that is different He says the problem with US department stores is that they all look the same. Arnold Aronson, a management consultant, believes Selfridges could be a prototype for failing US department stores: 'It has brought back excitement and novelty and is really seducing customers by developing the right merchandise, in the right quantities at the right time.' Federated, which owns Macy's and Bloomingdale's, appears to be moving in the right direction. Forty-two stores are being upgraded with the latest components of its 'reinvent' strategy, including enhanced fitting rooms, convenient price check devices, comfortable lounge areas, computer kiosks and

shopping carts. The challenge department stores face is how to develop in a sector that is, essentially, not growing. But if they adapt, many industry observers believe they will survive. 'The department store is not dead, it will live on,' said Robert Tamilia, Professor of Marketing at the University of Quebec. But it will not be the same animal it was before.' Which of these groups of people are mentioned in the article? agents/ clients/ consumers/ customers/ discounters/ manufacturers/ retailers/ shoppers/ vendors/ wholesalers Which of the above mentioned are: Buyers/ sellers/ intermediaries/ offer good at reduced prices? Write the verbs from the box under the correct prefix to make words connected with change. Some of the words can be used with more than one prefix. Centralize organize train grade regulate size develop launch locate structure DownDeUpReI.

II. Complete these sentences with the correct form of the verbs from the box. 1. It is now so expensive to rent offices in the city centre that many companies are ..to the suburbs. 2. The company has recently had to down.its workforce. 3. The company has introduced new working practices and is re all part-time staff. 4. The seating plan in our office has been re.. to accommodate new staff. 5. Our product hasnt been selling well recently. The marketing team has decided to re.. the product with a more up to date image. Language review Past simple and Present perfect Which of the following expressions are used with the past simple and which with the present perfect? In 2003/ this week/ recently/ since 2003/ yesterday/ last year/ yet/ ever/ six months ago II. Complete the gaps with the correct form of the verbs: I .(receive) the years results yesterday and I am delighted to announce that our company .(have) another fantastic year. We .(start) in 1970 in a small factory in Hong Kong, and we only .(employ) 4 people. That number (grow) to around 2,000 today. In the early years we .(face) strong competition from our competitors and in 1982 we nearly .(go) bankrupt. But from that difficult period until now, we ..(hold) out and we .(not make) the mistake of becoming typecast as a label for the changeable junior market. Things (improve) considerably since we ..(move) from Shatin to China. In 2000 we (buy) the international operations of our partner company Joie de Vivre Holdings and we now do business in more than 30 countries. In recent years we ..(expand) our product range and we have carved out a sizeable niche in the same market as Benetton and Zara. I.

Last year we .(have) our fifth consecutive year of growth with 498 million in net profit and in January of this year we .(deliver) the first retail stock to be included in Hong Kongs index. A lot of change ..(take) place recently. This is because last year most of our sales .(come) from the Asian market. So, in January this year, we .(decide) to try and break into the US market. Just recently, we .(enter) into negotiations with Macys department stores. In conclusion, our company so far this year (prosper) and that is down to all your hard work. Congratulations to you all. III. Cross out the incorrect option in each list. 1. A large number of stores were upgraded last year/ in the late 1990s/ since 2003. 2. The concept of the department store was born in a different era/ over the last few years/ many years ago. 3. It has been an excellent year for the company so far/ in 2002/ till now. 4. They have yet/ already/ never reorganized their local business operations. 5. How many new products have they launched since the summer/ this year/ yet? 6. We didnt redeveloped the car park when we had the money/ for the past three years/ six months ago. Writing I. Match each sentence to the correct function from the box: Apologizing; confirming; informing; offering; requesting; suggesting 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. As agreed, our consultant will be arriving on Wednesday, April 30. Could you please send us some information about the change of ownership at Lescot? If you require any assistance with your relocation, do not hesitate to contact us. This is to let you know that plans for the retraining of our staff are under way. We are sorry for any inconvenience you may suffer as a result of this cancellation. We should relaunch our mineral water under a different name.

Reading 2 Shake-ups that leave us shaken but not stirred John recently resigned from his job with a European airline because of the way it handled heavy redundancies in the wake of September 11. 'The whole experience was a disaster,' he says. 'I was one of the last to leave and now all the original group that I started with are gone.' John, who worked in the finance department, says the redundancies were announced in an unplanned way and the workload was redistributed without any consultation, let alone assistance or incentives. 'People were already overworked, but when they were also given duties above and beyond their job specification, they began to leave in droves,' he says. 'On top of this, the change was not communicated well. We should have been consulted.' Workplace change has become a constant for most employees. Yet it often fails to achieve its stated objectives and has unforeseen consequences of the kind experienced in John's case. A new study by OPP, which specialises in applied business psychology, seeks to explain why. Poor communication is

often to blame, as are change imposed from above and an absence of obvious benefits. The study, based on a survey of 1,001 people at all levels in large UK organisations, finds that workplace change has left 58 percent feeling demotivated and less committed. Fourteen percent have left their jobs as a result and 49 percent have considered doing so. 'There are signs that organisations may have misconceptions about their employees' motives for working and the nature of their psychological contracts' says Bernard Cooke, leader of OPP's change consultancy team. 'Employees are not asking for less change. However, they are demanding more involvement and clearer explanations of the reasons for the change and the expected benefits.' Employees are largely impervious to changes in the mission statement or the brand or logo that so excite those at the top. What they care about most is the effect on their pay, benefits, working conditions and job role. The survey, carried out by MyVoice Research, finds that senior managers acknowledge the need to communicate clearly the objectives and potential benefits of workplace reorganisation. Yet, in employees' eyes, they often fail to do so. Seventy-six percent of staff say that change tends to be imposed rather than discussed, 64 percent that senior managers are the only ones consulted, and 40 percent that change is communicated either not at all or only when it has been completed. Find nouns in the article that mean: a). when someone decides to leave their job because they want to, rather than because they are told to leave. b). when people in an organization lose their jobs because the company no longer needs them and they are told to leave c). the amount of work that there is to do in a particular company or department d). when you inform people about something and ask for their opinions e). things that motivate people f). another term for job description. Over to you> The most important job of managers is to implement change Do you agree? Why/ why not?