Business Partner (B2) /
Iwonna Dubicka, Marjorie Rosenberg, Bob Dignen, Mike Hogan and Lizzie Wright.
- Harlow : Pearson Education Ltd. ; Financial Times Publishing, 2018.
- 160 p. : col. ill.. ; 30 cm.
- Business Partner .
La couv. porte en plus : "With digital resources access code inside"
Includes a Glossary.
"Discover the innovative world of Business Partner, a new eight-level business English course for learners and professionals who want to communicate effectively in English in the workplace. Partnering with the Financial Times means that this course also offers a wealth of international business information on a wide variety of topics. Personalize your learning experience with a structured modular approach that gives the flexibility to focus on specific needs and learning outcomes. Study real-life business stories provided through authentic videos that draw you in and keep you motivated. Learn about key business topics such as Corporate culture, Training and development, Finance and Time management. Immerse yourself in the integrated video-based Communication skills training programme to develop awareness of communication issues, including building relationships, managing bad news, managing challenging feedback and dealing with matters of urgency. Get practical training in functional business skills such as self-presentation, facilitating a discussion and dealing with difficulties in negotiations. Work on realistic case studies in the Business workshops. Evaluate your progress step by step against the Global Scale of English Learning Objectives for Professional English. Prepare for business English exams such as BEC, BULATS, LCCI and PTE Professional." (Book Cover) CONTENTS Unit 1 CORPORATE CULTURE 1.1 Workplace culture -- Video: A culture of equal pay -- Vocabulary: Elements of corporate culture -- Pronunciation: Stress in compound nouns -- Project: Company policy 1.2 Employee retention -- Reading: Work-life balance schemes -- Grammar: Future Continuous and Future Perfect Simple -- Pronunciation: Auxiliary verbs -- Speaking: How do you see yourself in the future? 1.3 Communication skills: Building relationships -- Video: Building relationships -- Functional language: Building trust -- Task: Choosing a candidate 1.4 Business skills: Presenting yourself -- Listening: Presenting yourself to a new project team -- Functional language: Self-presentation -- Task: Presenting yourself to international colleagues 1.5 Writing: A company news blog -- Model text: A company news blog -- Functional language: Structuring a company news blog -- Grammar: Phrases with be -- Task: Write a blog Business workshop 1: Keeping the workforce happy -- Listening: Employee suggestions for improvements -- Reading: Analysing a survey -- Task: Brainstorm ways to improve staff retention -- Writing: A proposal confirming your ideas Unit 2 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 2.1 Learning on the job -- Video: Type of traning -- Pronunciation: Stressing key words in sentences -- Vocabulary: Training and development -- Project: Induction to a new job 2.2 Human resources strategies -- Listening: Strategy for training and development across a whole country -- Grammar: Modals in passive voice -- Speaking: agreeing action points -- Writing: A memo outlining action points 2.3 Communication skills -- Video: Team communication -- Functional language: Exchanging ideas -- Task: Organizing a team-building event 2.4 Business skills: Facilitating a meeting -- Listening: Possible changes to learning management -- Pronunciation: Linking between words -- Functional language: Facilitating a discussion -- Task: Facilitating a discussion to come to an agreement 2.5 Writing: A training request -- Model text: Email with a request for training -- Functional language: Requests and reasons -- Grammar: Linking words for reason and purpose -- Task: Write an email requesting a course 2.6 Business workshop 2: Quality service for all -- Listening: Regional HR Directors discussing training issues -- Reading: Analysis of Regional Directors' reports -- Task: Create and present an online course Unit 3 FINANCE 3.1 Recessions and depressions -- Video: Past crashes and crises -- Vocabulary: Finance and economic crises -- Project: Research the history of a bank or financial institution 3.2 Catching up with rivals -- Reading: Adidas raises targets -- Grammar: Expressing certainty and probability, Position of adverbs and adverbial phrases -- Speaking: Discussing future changes 3.3 Communication skills: Managing bad news -- Video: Managing bad news -- Functional language: Responding to bad news -- Pronunciation: the letter 't' -- Task: Balancing positives with negatives when giving bad news 3.4 Business skills: Telephoning to clarify -- Listening: A phone conversation to check details -- Pronunciation: Strong and weak forms of that -- Functional language: Asking for clarification and paraphrasing -- Task: Making a call to clarify information in a financial document
3.5 Writing: Annual report summary -- Model text: Summary of an annual report -- Functional language: Useful phrases for annual report summaries -- Grammar: Articles - a/an, the, no article -- Task: Write an annual report summary for shareholders Business Workshop 3: Investment opportunities -- Listening: Mangers' meeting and a guide to VC investment -- Speaking: Describing and analysing graphs -- Task: Presenting a company that is worth investing in -- Writing: A report explaining your investment decision Unit 4 DIGITAL BUSINESS 4.1 Digital disruptors -- Video: A disruptive marketing start-up -- Vocabulary: Digital business and technology -- Pronunciation: Stress in word building -- Project: Disruptive technology 4.2 Talking technology -- Listening: Product presentations at a trade show -- Grammar: Zero, first, and second conditionals; Linkers -- Speaking: Trade show demonstration of an app -- Writing: Instructions for the app 4.3 Communication skills: Handling difficult communicators -- Video: Handling difficult communicators -- Functional language: Keeping a meeting on track -- Task: Managing a difficult meeting successfully 4.4 Business skills: Negotiating strategies -- Listening: Positional and principled negociation -- Pronunciation: Stress in phrases -- Functional language: Reaching agreement in a negotiation -- Task: Negotiating an agreement at work 4.5 Writing: Short business proposal -- Model text: Short business proposal -- Functional language: Useful phrases for business proposals -- Grammar: Noun phrases to replace verb phrases -- Task: Write a short proposal Business Workshop 4: Rise of the robots -- Reading: Robots in the workplace -- Listening: Incidents with robots at an exhibition -- Task: Analyse feedback statistics and discuss future improvements -- Writing: A report analysing feedback and giving recommendations Unit 5 PERFORMANCES 5.1 Performance and rewards -- Video: The cyber manager -- Vocabulary: Rewarding performance -- Project: Moving up in the company
5.2 A culture of rewards -- Reading: How to develop a rewarding culture -- Grammar: Linking words and consessive clauses -- Pronunciation: Intonation and linking words -- Speaking: Consessions and compromises in your own life 5.3 Communication skills: Managing challenging feedback -- Video: Managing challenging feedback -- Functional language: Responding to challenging feedback -- Pronunciation: Intonation when handling challenging feedback 5.4 Business skills: Reviewing projects -- Listening: A project review meeting -- Functional language: Leading and participating in review meetings -- Task: A performance development workshop 5.5 Writing: Performance review summary -- Model text: Performance review summary -- Functional language: Positive comments and constructive criticism -- Grammar: Phrasal verbs -- Task: Write a performance review summary Business Workshop 5: Challenging expectations -- Listening: A meeting to find new ways of rewarding performance -- Task: Negotiating for change in rewards/benefits -- Speaking: How the negotiations went Unit 6 ETHICS 6.1 Ethical choices -- Video: Ethics in the fashion industry -- Vocabulary: Business ethics -- Project: Survey - How ethical are your clothes?
6.2 The triple bottom line -- Listening: The tripple bottom line -- Grammar: Third conditional -- Pronunciation: Constractions and weak forms in third conditionals -- Speaking: Discuss an organisation's ethical performance 6.3 Communication skills: Transparency in business -- Video: Transparency in business -- Functional language: Voicing and responding to concerns -- Task: Voicing and responding to concerns with a colleague 6.4 Business skills: Sales and selling -- Listening: A local networking event -- Functional language: Selling a product of service -- Task: Promoting a product or service 6.5 Writing: Company newsletter -- Model text: Company newsletter -- Functional language: Recent news, current news and future plans -- Grammar: Linking words for causes and results -- Pronunciation: Chunking, pausing and stress when reading aloud -- Task: Write a newsletter
Business workshop 6: AFhomes, Tanzania -- Reading: Articles on the ethics of AFhomes -- Listening: A radio investigate programme -- Task: An action plan to maintain ethical reputation Unit 7 TIME MANAGEMENT 7.1 Managing time -- Video: Time management -- Vocabulary: Managing time -- Project: The working from home debate 7.2 Smart work -- Reading: Cutting overtime in Japan -- Grammar: Adverbials and time expressions -- Pronunciation: Stress in adverbials and time expressions -- Speaking: Are you good at managing time? 7.3 Communication skills: Dealing with urgency -- Video: Dealing with matters of urgency -- Functional language: Discussing priorities -- Task: Following up on emails 7.4 Business skills: Difficult negotiations -- Listening: A difficult meeting -- Functional language: Dealing with difficulties in negotiations -- Pronunciation: Intonation when negotiating -- Task: Dealing with difficult people at work 7.5 Writing: An email giving reasons -- Model text: An email giving reasons -- Functional language: Problems, reasons, and required action -- Grammar: Prepositions of time -- Task: Write an email giving reasons Business workshop 7: Planning for a trade fair -- Listening: Details of an upcoming trade fair -- Task: Create a plan to exhibit at a trade fair -- Writing: A summary of successful participation in a trade fair
Unit 8 CHANGE 8.1 Change at Brompton Bikes -- Video: Brompton Bikes -- Vocabulary: Change management -- Project: Adaptability quiz 8.2 Managing change -- Listening: Difficult decisions and changes -- Grammar: Reported speech and reporting verbs -- Pronunciation: /s/, /z/, /sh/, /tsh/, /dz/ -- Speaking and writing: telling and reporting a story 8.3 Communication skills: Coaching and mentoring -- Listening: Discussing future options -- Functional language: Coaching and mentoring -- Task: the GROW model 8.4 Business skills: Brainstorming -- Listening: A brainstorming meeting -- Pronunciation: Voice range -- Functional language: Leading a brainstorming session -- Task: Brainstorming in small groups 8.5 Writing: Press release -- Model text: A press release -- Functional language: Useful phrases for a press release -- Grammar: Passive voice with repeating verbs -- Task: Write a press release Business worksjop: Chillhot Sauces, Malaysia -- Reading: A change at Michelin -- Reading and listening: Rumours about a company --- Task: Putting a stop to rumours