Business letters and presenting information

I. Write down some words and expressions from the film.

1. To have the edge on/over – to be slightly better than someone or something, because you have an advantage that they do not have; e.g. Marcia has the edge over the other students, having spent a year in England.

2. Down side – a weak point, disadvantage.

3. To bring forward – to change an arrangement in the future so that something happens sooner; e.g. The meeting’s been brought forward from Friday to Thursday.

4. Feasible – a plan, idea, or method that is feasible is possible and is likely to work; e.g. Your plan is not economically feasible.

5. Speaker – the part of a radio or record player where the sound comes out, or a microphone.

6. To do sums – to make calculations.

7. Production run – the quantity of products manufactured by a business, its output.

8. To crack something – to succeed in some way; e.g. They won’t crack the American market – we are a few steps ahead of them there.

9. To exploit – to use something fully and effectively in order to gain an advantage or profit; e.g. We’ve got to exploit the advantage of our geographical position.

10. To ring off – to finish a telephone conversation.

11. Rival – a person, group, or organization that you compete with in sport, business, a fight etc; e.g. Sheena left her job and went to work for a rival company.

12. To mount a campaign/attack/exhibition etc – to plan, organize, and begin an event or a course of action; e.g. Scott mounted an expedition to the South Pole.

II. Translate the new vocabulary into Russian.

III. Watch the film for the 1^st time.

IV. Give a proper Russian interpretation of the following sentences and phrases from the film.

1. To outline a strategy – определить стратегию.

2. Right now they have the edge. – Сейчас перевес на их стороне.

3. Let’s look at our down side. – Рассмотрим наши слабые стороны.

4. They have a larger market share. – Они занимают больший сегмент рынка.

5. We cannot let them succeed. – Мы не можем допустить их успеха.

6. There are 2 immediate things we can do. – Есть 2 вещи, которые нам нужно сделать прямо сейчас.

7. To bring forward the launch date – приблизить дату выпуска.

8. Overseas marketing strategy – стратегия маркетинга за рубежом.

9. They won’t crack the American market. – Им не потянуть американский рынок. / Американский рынок им не светит.

10. I want you to exploit that advantage. – Я хочу, чтобы вы воспользовались этим преимуществом.

11. I’ll ring off now. – Я заканчиваю. / Я вешаю трубку.

12. Let all of the sales force know. – Поставьте в известность всех, кто занимается сбытом.

13. We need to give them some of the background to this. – Необходимо дать им небольшое разъяснение по этому вопросу.

14. The increased advertising budget – увеличение расходов на рекламу.

15. Edward, you’ve been very quiet. – Что-то Эдвард все молчит. / Эдвард, не хочешь высказаться?

16. Because of the market profile of your catalogue – учитывая рыночную ориентацию вашего каталога.

17. I look forward to receiving your thoughts on this matter. – C нетерпением буду ждать ваши соображения по этому вопросу.

V. Watch the film for the 2^nd time.

VI. Answer some questions on the film.

1. What was the purpose of the meeting of Bibury Systems’ executives?

2. Why did Don Bradley characterize the situation as critical?

3. What 4 basic advantages did J.K. Toys have over Bibury Systems? (a larger market share, a cheaper product, an earlier launch date, and a larger advertising budget)

4. How could J.K. Toys’ marketing strategy affect Bibury Systems?

5. What 2 things for immediate execution did Ms. McKenna suggest? (increasing advertising budget and bringing forward the launch date)

6. Did Derek Jones feel pessimistic or optimistic about the suggestion?

7. What kind of information did Clive Harris get from Peter Day?

8. What was the J.K. Toys’ production run figure? (300,000 units)

9. What figure could be rather difficult for Bibury Systems to cope with? (450,000 units)

10. How did Clive Harris estimate the chances of Bibury Systems in their competition with J.K. Toys on the American market?

11. What steps was Ms. McKenna supposed to take pretty fast in the circumstances?

12. It was needful to inform the company’s sales force about the change in Bibury Systems’ marketing policy, wasn’t it? So what precisely was it necessary to let them know? (3 items: the launch date, the price cut, and the increased advertising budget)

13. What product proved to be an absolute priority for the company?

14. What did Jenny Ross have to do as soon as possible?

15. What problem was raised by Edward Green in connection with the new marketing plans?

16. Did Clive Harris consider the problem to be so hopeless? What did he assume doing to solve it?

17. Mr. Harris focused 3 points that made Mr. Smith reject Big Boss. Let’s sort them out. What was wrong with Big Boss’ unit cost? (30% higher than the rival product) What fault did Mr. Smith find with the launch date of Bibury Systems’ product? (3 weeks later than the one of competitors) What benefit could J.K. Toys’ advertising campaign have as compared with the one of Bibury Systems? (extensive and expensive, and matching the issuing date of the catalogue)

18. Having said that, the Managing Director commented on the above three points in order to make Mr. Smith reconsider his refusal. What did he dictate regarding the new launch date of Big Boss? (15 January, i.e. a week earlier than Dealer Dan’s one) What kind of offer did Mr. Harris make to the publisher in exchange for exclusivity? (extra 2.5% commission on sales through the catalogue) What discount was Bibury Systems going to give Mr. Smith’s customers on the recommended retail price? (15 %)

19. Was a reply to the letter expected or not? Why do you think so? How did the letter end? Will you reproduce it please? (“I look forward to receiving your thoughts on this matter.”

20. The complimentary close is “Yours sincerely”. What is its principal difference from “Yours faithfully”? (How is a wording that you choose linked with a salutation at the beginning of the letter?)

VII. Will you please reproduce in writing the text of Mr. Harris’ letter to Mr. Smith? Before you start writing, watch the appropriate fragment of the film again and take some notes.

VIII. Your homework is as follows. You are Mr. Smith. Write a brief reply to the letter of Mr. Harris. You are free to accept or deny his offer, at your option. Just do not overlook to justify your choice.