Market Leader Elementary Business English Course Notes

Course Overview and Structure

Market Leader Elementary 3rd Edition is an extensive Business English course designed for professionals and students of business English. Developed in collaboration with the Financial Times, it provides authentic resource materials that reflect current global business trends. The curriculum consists of $12$ units covering topics essential to international business, such as Introductions, Work and Leisure, Problems, Travel, Food and Entertaining, Buying and Selling, People, Advertising, Companies, Communication, Cultures, and Jobs. It aligns with the CEFR levels $A1-A2$.

The primary goals of the course are to enhance the ability to communicate in English across a wide range of business situations, develop essential communication skills like making presentations and negotiating, and increase career prospects by building confidence in business language usage. The course includes access to a DVD-ROM featuring interviews with real business experts, an i-Glossary, and practice exercises. Specialized supplementary materials recommended for use alongside the course include the Longman Business English Dictionary and specialized series for Marketing, Human Resources, Accounting and Finance, Logistics Management, and Business Law.

Profiles of Global Business Leaders

Angela Ahrendts serves as the former American CEO of Burberry, a leading British luxury brand. Burberry operates more than $270$ stores in $80$ countries with headquarters in London. Ahrendts, originally from a small town in Indiana, is married to her high-school sweetheart, Gregg, and has three children. Her daily routine involves waking up at $4:30$ AM to answer emails. While in London, she often participates in back-to-back meetings for $10$ hours, drinking six Diet Cokes a day to maintain energy. She travels for business one week per month but prioritizes returning home for weekends. Her family stays connected to their roots by visiting Indiana several times a year.

Eugene Kaspersky is the CEO of Kaspersky Lab, a prominent Russian security software company based in Moscow with offices in $29$ countries. His primary competitor is Symantec. Kaspersky spends $50\%$ of his time in Moscow and the remaining $50\%$ traveling. He often stays away for more than three weeks at a time, attending trade shows and giving presentations. In Moscow, he maintains an informal office culture where staff often dress in shirts and jeans, though he wears suits for high-level meetings with presidents and prime ministers. To relax after a busy day, he works out with a personal trainer and takes two days off a month when possible. In winter, he enjoys skiing, and in summer, he visits mountains where satellite connections are his only link to the internet.

Steve Jobs, described as one of the greatest American innovators, was born on February $24 \, , \, 1955$. He co-founded Apple in $1976$ after dropping out of college. Key milestones in his career include the introduction of the Macintosh computer in $1984$ and his subsequent departure from Apple in $1985$ due to disagreements with the CEO, John Sculley. He then founded NeXT and purchased Pixar, which specialized in computer animation. Jobs returned to Apple in $1996$ when Apple purchased NeXT for $\$400 \, \text{million}$. He became CEO in $1997$ and led the company's turnaround with products like the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. He resigned in August $2011$ due to illness and passed away two months later at the age of $55$.

Andrea Jung celebrated $12$ years as the CEO of Avon Products in $2011$. Avon is a massive direct-selling organization with $6.2 \, \text{million}$ sales representatives and a billion customers across $120$ countries. The company sells four lipsticks and $140$ mascaras every second. Born in Toronto to Chinese immigrant parents, Jung grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from Princeton. She speaks fluent Mandarin and attributes her leadership qualities to her parents' emphasis on determination. Under her leadership, Avon's revenues grew from $\$4 \, \text{billion}$ to over $\$10 \, \text{billion}$. She currently serves on the boards of GE and Apple.

Vittorio Colao is the CEO of Vodafone and is known for carrying multiple mobile devices at all times, including a BlackBerry for business emails, an iPhone, and a Samsung $360$ for social contact and Facebook. He believes mobile technology allows companies to organize meetings and work from anywhere. He observes that mobile usage varies by culture; Southern European executives carry mobiles constantly, while Northern Europeans are more disciplined, using them only as needed. Colao is a fan of conference calling for project updates but is less enthusiastic about video calling, preferring to take notes while on the phone.

Corporate Profiles and Case Studies

Uniqlo is a global retail success story founded by Tadashi Yanai, Japan's richest man. The business started with a single store in Hiroshima in $1984$ and grew rapidly in Japan during the $1990s$, reaching over $300$ stores by $1998$. Global expansion began in the UK in $2001$, though it was initially unsuccessful as stores were too small and located in suburbs. Uniqlo closed most of these in $2003$ and changed strategy in $2005$ to open large flagship stores in major global cities. This relaunch began in New York in November $2006$. By the end of $2008$, international stores grew from $54$ to $92$. In $2009$, Uniqlo hired German designer Jil Sander to create a collection, which went on sale in $2010$, helping the company reach profits of $\yen 49.8 \, \text{billion}$.

Pret A Manger is a UK-based sandwich chain and world leader in its sector. The company specializes in freshly made sandwiches in busy city centers. At the end of each day, shops give unsold products to the homeless. Pret operates $232$ UK outlets and has expanded internationally with $23$ outlets in New York and $10$ in Hong Kong. In $2011$, they planned further expansion with the first two shops in Paris while working with Lewis PR to improve their international brand image.

Gamesa is a Spanish company and world leader in wind technology. It designs, manufactures, and installs wind turbines globally. Gamesa has sales offices in $20$ countries and $30$ manufacturing plants across Europe, the US, China, and now India and Brazil. It employs nearly $8,000$ people worldwide. In the first half of $2011$, revenues rose by $26\%$ to \text{\euro} 1,297 \, \text{million} with sales up by $29\%$. For the first time, $100\%$ of its sales were from outside Spain. Its growth strategy focuses on expanding business in India and Latin America, using Brazil as a base for Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay.

Comparative Business Cultures

In Germany, communication is direct and formal. Colleagues generally use surnames and titles (e.g., Herr or Frau Doktor) at work. They do not typically have an open-door policy and prefer working with office doors closed. Punctuality is critically important for all appointments. Agendas in meetings are strictly followed with definite start and end times.

In the United States, there is a strong belief that "time is money," leading to a desire to get down to business quickly. Relationships are direct and open, often including the sharing of personal details. Colleagues generally use first names or nicknames immediately. Agendas are usually not changed during meetings. Handshakes should be firm, and eye contact should be maintained to show interest and respect.

In China, the business culture values consensus, meaning everyone should agree on an idea. It is crucial to know the titles and status of people. Greetings involve shaking hands at both the beginning and end of the day. Chinese businesspeople rarely say "no" directly to avoid causing anyone to "lose face"; instead, they use words like "maybe" or "we'll see." Understanding body language and facial expressions is vital. Business cards should be presented with both hands, with one side printed in Chinese.

Other regional differences in teamwork show that East Asian cultures (Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, China) prefer working toward group goals over individual targets. Southern European teams (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain) often consist of individuals reporting to a strong leader. In Northern Europe (Denmark, Norway, Sweden), members like to work in teams but desire the freedom to complete tasks without too much control. Finland differs from its neighbors as Finns often prefer to work on their own.

Professional Communication and Skills

Internal communication within an organization occurs in several directions: downward (managers to staff), upward (staff to managers), and across (between staff). These channels include print (magazines, letters, notes), face-to-face (meetings, briefings), workplace (noticeboards, signs), electronic (email, voicemail, conference calls), and social media (blogs, wikis, discussion forums). Successful communicators are described as having a real passion for their subject, knowing their audience well, and making the audience feel important.

Effective advertising relies on being memorable and having a clear key message. For example, a Honda car ad using pictures of flowers in the countryside provides a modern message about the engine. Conversely, ads should avoid making promises that cannot be delivered at home, such as cleaning products that fail to remove stains as claimed. Costs for advertising can be immense; for instance, companies may pay $\$3 \, \text{million}$ for a $30$-second commercial during the American Super Bowl.

Business entertaining often involves taking clients for meals to build relationships. In India, international fast-food chains like McDonald's, KFC, and Pizza Hut have adapted to local tastes. McDonald's does not offer beef dishes to respect the Hindu population, offering mutton and chicken alternatives like the Maharaja Mac instead. About $60\%$ of people in India are vegetarian, so menus feature many more vegetarian toppings and spicy flavors. In high-stakes entertaining, choosing the right restaurant is critical, considering factors like noise levels, privacy, and the specific dietary needs of the guests.

Grammar and Linguistic Foundations

The course covers essential English grammar for business. The verb "to be" is used to describe people (e.g., "I am Brazilian," "He is a doctor"). The Present Simple describes habits, routines, and permanent states (e.g., "She works in Tokyo," "I like meeting people"). Adverbs of frequency such as "always," "usually," "often," "sometimes," and "never" typically go before the main verb but after the verb "to be."

For future plans, the Present Continuous is used for fixed arrangements (e.g., "I am meeting the legal team on Tuesday"), while "going to" expresses intentions (e.g., "We are going to start our own company"). "Will" is used for predictions, offers, and promises (e.g., "I'll get you a cup of coffee"). The Past Simple describes completed actions (e.g., "He moved to Germany in $1999$"), while the Present Perfect describes situations that began in the past and continue into the present (e.g., "I have worked for IBM for five years").

Nouns are categorized as countable (e.g., "a computer," "two computers") or uncountable (e.g., "money," "information"). "Some" is used in positive statements and when making offers (e.g., "Would you like some coffee?"). "Any" is used in most questions and negative statements (e.g., "Do you have any coins?", "We haven't got any beef today"). Comparisons are made using comparative adjectives (e.g., "faster," "more expensive") and superlative adjectives (e.g., "the fastest," "the most expensive"). Words like "much" or "a lot" emphasize large differences, while "a little" or "a bit" emphasize small ones.