Tag: Business

The Job Nobody Wants

B1 – Intermediate

A small town in New Zealand is offering a good amount of money to any doctor who would like to serve its residents.  The search has been going on for quite some time but has been unsuccessful.

Read the article below to know more about the job.

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1602/160226-doctors.html

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do you think it is so difficult to find someone for the job mentioned in the article?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in rural areas?
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in the city?

Public Loo Converted into Cafe

C1 – Advanced

Would you feel comfortable eating at an old toilet? Some business owners in London got really creative with their space.

Watch the video below and see the transformation of this old Victorian toilet.

Discussion Questions:

1. What can you say about the transformation of the old public toilet?
2. Would you consider dining in this cafe?
3. Describe some of the peculiar cafes or restaurants that you have visited or seen in the past.

How Misbehaving Made One Man a Multimillionaire

C1 – Advanced

Jack Cator was your normal teenage school boy; defying and challenging the rules. But what he got out of that persistent attitude was quite extraordinary.

Read the article below to know more about Jack and his business and its humble beginnings.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32702501

Discussion Questions:

1. In your own words, explain how Jack was able to come up with his business.
2. What do you know about VPNs? Is this something you use?
3. Have you experienced doing business remotely with people you’ve never met before? Describe that experience.

Italian City Bans Foreign Food

B1 – Intermediate

In this age of globalization,  an Italian city is doing everything to keep their food tradition.

Some groups do not approve of this even if Italy’s Agriculture Minister supports the foreign food ban.

http://www.english-online.at/culture/italy-foreign-food-ban/italian-city-bans-foreign-food.htm

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think about banning foreign food in a city?
  2. Is this possible in the city where you live in? Why or why not?
  3. Do you like foreign food? Why or why not?
  4. Are there many foreign restaurants in your city? Which one is your favourite and why?
  5. How can cities and regions preserve their food traditions?

Things Not to Say in Sales or Business

B2 – Upper Intermediate

In sales or in business it can be easy or challenging to close a deal.  It is also important for a person in sales to be reminded that he represents not only himself but also the company.

Read the article below for tips on how to better communicate with customers.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/never-say-these-7-things-in-sales/244982

Discussion Questions:

1. As a consumer, which ones do you look out for when doing business with someone?
2. Have you experienced bad customer service? How did you handle it?
3. What are some of the companies that you trust because of how they treat you as client?

Doomsday Kit on Sale

inside doomsday yellow

C1 – Advanced

The prophecy of the Mayan Calendar became such a hype when it predicted the end of the world in 2012. Thus, a Siberian company cashed in on the panic and came up with a survival kit.

Read this article from 2012 and express your thoughts about it.

Doomsday kits go on sale in Siberia as ‘end of the world’ looms…

Discuss:

1. How did you react when you heard about the Mayan Prophecy of the world ending on the 21st of December 2012?
2. Should people preoccupy themselves with predicting when the world will end?
3. If you knew the exact date the world would end, would it change the way you live? If so, in what ways? If not, why?
4. If you had to prepare your own Doomsday kit, what would be in it?

 

Unguarded Talk: Threat to Companies

C1 – Advanced

While most big companies focus on possible ways their top secret information may be breached and how they could prevent it from happening, they are overlooking one threat to information security.

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140910-loose-lips-and-corporate-secrets

Discussion Questions:

  1. If you were in the writer’s shoes, what would you do or think at that moment?
  2. What are your thoughts on the loose lips risk? Should companies consider loose lips a serious matter? Explain.
  3. Share your thoughts on this statement: “Discretion is the wiser part of valour.“.
  4. Talk about other risks your company/industry face on a regular basis.
  5. What are ways for companies to ensure information security?
  6. Tell a related story about information breach that you know of.