Tag: Business English

Uber Suspends Services in Barcelona

B2 – Upper Intermediate

There have been some protests in Barcelona against Uber staged by taxi drivers. Cab drivers feel that their business is being dragged through the mud.

Uber has decided to suspend its services in Barcelona after new regulations were implemented. The Catalan government imposed that Uber make a 15-minute delay before picking up passengers.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47071710

Discussion Questions:
1. What do you think of Uber’s decision to suspend its services in Barcelona?
2. What’s your stand on the rivalry between ride-hailing companies and traditional taxi companies?
3. Do you think Uber should continue its operations in Barcelona and in all of Spain?
4. What are the benefits and drawbacks of the existence of businesses with the same business model as Uber?
5. What do you like and dislike about Uber’s services?

Toyota to Save Money

B1 – Intermediate

When companies go through hard financial times, they find ways to lower their expenses. In Toyota’s case, they thought of shutting down some elevators in their main office in Tokyo.

Read the full article to find out more about Toyota’s ways to cut costs.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1607/160710-elevators-1.html

Discussion Questions:
1. Why is Toyota shutting down elevators in their headquarters?
2. What are others ways they are saving money?
3. What cost-cutting measures has your company ever implemented?

How Warren Buffett Made Billions

C1 – Advanced

Warren Buffett is arguably one of the richest men on earth. He is also one of the most successful investors in all of history. In addition, he has donated a sizable $30.80 billion to charity.

His life and success story is one that many people admire.

Watch the video below and discover how it all started for him and find out the steps he took to get all the way to being one of the wealthiest and most successful man.

Discussion Questions:

1. Tell Warren Buffett’s success story.
2. What are some business principles you learned from his story?
3. What businesses would you be interested to invest in?
4. If you would become a multi-billionnaire like Buffett, will you donate to charitable causes too? Which causes would you like to donate to?
5. Although Buffett’s one of the richest men, he remains frugal in his ways. What are your thoughts on this?

Tariffs and Trade War

B1 – Intermediate

A tariff is a tax on imported goods and services from foreign countries. US plans to add tariffs on Chinese products. If this happens, China will answer by doing the same on US goods.

Read the article below and find out about trade wars.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1803/180325-trade-war-1.html

Discussion Questions:
1. What are the effects of US’s plans to put trade tariffs on Chinese goods?
2. How will this affect trade in the whole world?
3. Which countries does your country buy goods from and which countries buy goods from your country?

Working Many Hours

B1 – Intermediate

Tesla founder Elon Musk believes people should work more than the typical 35-40 hours a week in order to change the world. In fact, many CEOs of multi-billion-dollar companies work about 70 hours per week.

Read the article and be ready to talk about working very long hours.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1811/181129-working-week-1.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “workaholic” mean? “He is a workaholic but he loves working.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. What is a “founder“? “He is the founder, CEO, and lead designer of SpaceX.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  3. What is a “co-founder“? “He is the co-founder of PayPal.” Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your opinion on Mr. Musk’s idea?
  2. What might be the good and bad things about being a workaholic?
  3. Talk about your own experience working long hours.

Nike: A Billion-Dollar Brand

C1 – Advanced

Nike is the biggest sportswear brand in the world. As of 2017, the company is valued at 30 billion dollars and consistently ranks in the Fortune 500 each year.

How did this athletic brand come about? Let’s learn more about Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman, the founders of Nike, and how they established this huge multinational corporation over 50 years ago.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How did Nike begin?
  2. What do you think about Nike as a brand? What sporting equipment brands do you like?
  3. If you could set up a company of your own, what kind of company would it be?

The Pecking Order

B2 – Upper Intermediate

By definition, hierarchy is a way of organizing people, in which people or groups are ranked one above the other according to status or authority. When is hierarchy bad and when is it not?

Let’s listen to know the answer and learn how chickens’ pecking order work as well.

Discussion Questions:
1. What did you learn from the chickens’ pecking order?
2. According to the audio, what is the best hierarchy? (Do you agree?)
3. When is hierarchy bad?
4. Talk about your workplace pecking order.

A Movie on Incentives

C1 – Advanced

We are offered a lot of carrots to motivate us to be at our best in everything we do. The most popular of which is monetary incentives. The best performers get rewarded with cash. Thus, this became a pattern for most to achieve more productivity.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think money is a good motivator?
  2. How well do rewards and incentives motivate you?
  3. Do you think extrinsic motivation creates a lasting change to your commitment or values?
  4. How would you like to be motivated?
  5. What do you think are some positive and negative effects of incentives on people?

How Buffet Restaurants Make Money

C1 – Advanced

Buffet restaurants typically offer all-you-can-eat (AYCE) food for a fixed price.

The good thing about buffet themes is that the customers can immediately see all the food being served and then choose which dishes they prefer to eat. They can also control how much food they put on their plates.

This dining style is usual in events like business conventions or big parties.

Watch the video below and find out how this kind of restaurants make profits.

Discussion Questions:
1. Talk about the tricks buffet restaurants apply to make money.
2. What are your thoughts on this type of restaurants?
3. Have you ever experienced going to a buffet restaurant?
4. How do you get the most out of a buffet?
5. Talk about your favorite restaurant and its strategy on getting people in the door.

Work Friends

B2 – Upper Intermediate

We spend so much of our time working. It is quite unhealthy not to be happy where you work.

Watch as author Annie McKee tells us why it’s important to have friends at work and why getting too personal can sometimes be a problem too.

Discussion Questions:
1. What’s the importance of having a work buddy?
2. Do you think it is wise to be too personal with your colleagues?
3. Talk about your work best friend.