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Check this web, click here, and explore its strengths.

I AM EXPECTING YOU WRITING ASSIGNMENTS, I.E. YOUR CVs AND RESUMES.

Listen or read this newsitem on Peter Drucker broadcast by VoiceOfAmerica (VOA) News in Special English

Didn't you know about VOASE?

I know you have interesting experiences and anecdotes to tell from past job interviews. Will you please SHARE them with us?

As well as anecdotes, we are also interested in knowing the most difficult questions you have had to answer.

We need the QUESTIONS, not your answers.

We can make this an agony column, i.e., what would you recommend as a good answer to the questions proposed.

e.g. If they asked you:

"Tell me about yourself"

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?

More difficult questions:

Why do you want to change jobs?
Why do you think we should appoint/recruit/choose you?
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
What would you like to be doing five / ten years from now?
Don't you think you are a little young / old for the job?
Which is more important to you: status or money?
Which was your favourite subject at school / college, etc?
How would you rate your present boss?
What excites you about the job you are doing at present?

IF INTERESTED IN A LONGER LIST OF Qs just do it!,

ADD MORE DIFFICULT QUESTIONS OR "SUGGESTED" ANSWERS TO THE PRESENT QUESTIONS.

Writing is an important skill we can never forget in Business English. The internet offers lots of chances to improve your own writing style in English and gain competitive edge there.

The following webs are only a small representation than will help you do it better:

1. ELEASTON.COM
2. PURDUE
3. RESUME EDGE
4. Centre de linguistique appliquée, Université de Franche-Comté

Ok. Now you are ready to write your own resume.

Key vocabulary in that unit:
UNIT 1
This way you will remember it more easily.
Whenever contributing to this community glossary to Business English, indicate number before each word or group of words:
UNIT 1. Company Structure and Performance: key vocabulary:

MANAGEMENT.
Make a profit
Negotiate contracts
Set objectives
Supervise people
Allocate tasks
Analise markets
Delegate responsibilities
Develop markets
Motivate staff
Measure performance.

CUSTOMER SERVICE:
Fast service
Generous discounts
Friendly sales staff
Rapid response
competitive prices
Money back quarantee (refunds)
Long-lasting products
Clear instruccions
Free delivery
Cheap insurance
Total eficiency
Personal treatment

BUSINESS
Business plan
Business trip
Business card
Business class
Big business
Go into business
Go out of business
Get down to business
Set up a business

MARKET
Market leader
Market forces
Market research
Market price
Market value
Market share
Market segment
Market driven
Market led
Stock market
Property market
Labour market
Emerging market
Corner the market

SALES
Selling like hotcakes
Sales force (=sales staff)
Sales target
Sales figures (better: "turnover")
Price cut
Discount
A price reduction
Profit margin
Wholesaler
Retailer
Retail Outlet
Retail chains
Retail price

TO FLY
Check in
Reservation
confirmation
Rates
Direct flight
Security check
Duty.free shopping
Passport control
Arrivals hall
Departure lounge
Customs hall
Baggage carousel.

CAREER
Career goal
Career move
Motivation
Satisfaction
Discrimination
Stimulation
Recognition
Promotion
Self-esteem
Risk.

STRIKES
Take legal action
Take strike action
Avert strike action
Air a grievance
Hold talks
Reach a compromise
Settle for a raise
Hold a secret ballot
Picket the factory
Cut production
Organice a mass walk out
Hand out leaflets
Ballot member
Half production
Set out demand
turnover,
medium sized,
brand name,
leading,
Chief executive Officer,
plc,
corporation,
consortium,
chart, (bar, pie charts)
graph,
grid, ...
work FOR , ...
recruitment,
profit,
staff turnover,
stock turnover,
agenda,
CEO (Chief executive officer),
headquarters,
Purchasing Department,
Marketing Department,
Sales Department,
Production Department,
Human Resources / Personnel Department (or Departament of Personnel),
Finance Department,
R&D (Research and Development)
Department,
partner,
partnership,
hire out,
outsource,

1.2 KEY EXPRESSIONS:

to break even,
feel free to...,
turning point,
to level off,
to take over a firm/business, ...
AOB (any other business) (in Great Britain),
Matters Arising (in USA), ...

MORE SPECIAL EXPRESIONS
-State.of.the.art
-User frendly
-Ask for a meeting
-Asck for extra money
-Suggest a training course
-Knock.on effect
-Business.to.costumer
-On.line company
-Bricks.and.mortar company.

Contributors:
Ángel Arturo, Elena, Marga.

Thank you all for your work
AND WELCOME NEW ENTRIES!


Have you got any key word or expressions to add to the list?

When the list is complete, we will be able to copy and paste it on a Word table OR IN ANY TABLE BY ANY WORD PROCESSOR YOU MIGHT BE USING, order it alphabetically, OR GROUP IT ANY OTHER WAY, CRITERION. YOU'LL have a homemade "Essential Business English Words and Expressions Glossary"

2 postings:

1. Hello Paco!

I have found two web sites which include very good definitions of the term "Benchmarking".

To sum up, Benchmarking is a technique for improving one company’s results by means of a comparison with other companies of the industry.

Website 1, click here.

Website 2, click here

Best regards,

Marga

2. Nombre: LorenzoComentario: Benchmarking definition:

Benchmarking:
Continuous measurement of a process, product, or service compared to those of the toughest competitor, to those considered industry leaders, or to similar activities in the organization in order to find and implement ways to improve it.

This is one of the foundations of both total quality management and continuous quality improvement.

Internal benchmarking occurs when similar processes within the same organization are compared.

Competitive benchmarking occurs when an organization's processes are compared with best practices within the industry.

Functional benchmarking refers to benchmarking a similar function or process, such as scheduling, in another industry.

Saludos,


THANK YOU, Marga and Lorenzo for your wise and helpful definitions. Tonight we'll all go to bed having learnt something else.

_____________________________________________
do not forget we are moving into de Human Resources Dept.

Have you found anything about it on the NET?

or...

SHALL BE BEGIN FROM SCRATCH?

the next 17 we'll be getting started within a new department: we are working in Personnel, Human Resources... When will they finally call it Human Capital?

Today in El Pais -p.55- you can find the obituary of Peter Drucker - a management guru- who saw a business as a set of human beings. He didn`t consider staff a line in the liabilites column but an asset: staff was the human capital of a business.

Peter Drucker died on November 11th 2005.

The point is that AS we are discussing vocabulary, meanings and situations dealing with:

recruitment, tasks, skills, qualifications, background, appointments, post, profiles, cover letters, CV and resumés, job interviews, performance evaluation, assessment or appraisal, staff motivation, etc.

I thought it might be GOOD and interesting that WE ALL explored or mozillaed or netscaped all these terms, concepts, words in the Internet.

You know the way, don't you?

Google did it!

All of us will REMAIN EXPECTANT of immediate contributions.
I'll publish them all here.

The URL or (Internet ADDRESS) I am recommending today will take you to a newsletter published every weekend -and sent to you by email if you suscribe to it- by the BBC.

THE WEB IS NOT SPECIFICALLY DEVOTED TO BUSINESS ENGLISH. BUT ITS CULTURAL RELEVANCE MAKES IT REALLY USEFUL.

BBC Learning English "Weekender" contains a number of audio newsitems with some cultural relevance.

The audio file is accompanied by a vocabulary list and a proposed quiz to help you learn the lexical items presented. Together with all this you will find the transcripts of the small programs in pdf files

CLICK ON THESE WORDS IF YOU WANT TO SEE AND EXPERIENCE IT.

SHOULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT TO SEE, CKECK, WORK ON, READ AGAIN ANYTHING PUBLISHED BEFORE, THEN GO TO
Archivos
Noviembre 2005
Octubre 2005
Julio 2005
FIND THIS SECTION AT THE BOTTOM LEFT HAND CORNER OF THIS SCREEN.

Do you want to listen and read about some outstanding management gurus? Then...
CLICK ON THESE WORDS and The Net will take you to the right place.

Have a good trip!

Sure, you believe that our elders have a say in the world to come. I do and -believe me- they know what life is about...

I have come across this web by the BBC which advetises itself as " The Handy Guide to the Gurus of Management"

Would you turn down any knowledge coming from a guru? You need a good reason if you do.

If you haven't, then listen and or read their teachings: click here

Sure you will like the visit,