DILEMMA AND DECISION UNIT 15

Talking about Zephgen Wind Power.

1. This project claims to use wind power as a energy source.


2. The main features of the project are using improved technology and saved money.


3. Both public and private sectors can be benefit with this project as a good oportunity of investment.


4. The prize would be use to improve the project and also to find out new uses as well as research.

I think this project is an execellent alternative to invest because you not only are going to get monetary benefits but also you have the opprtunity to help environmet.

EXERCISE UNIT 15

They should have researched the technology more thoroughly
They shouldn’t have spent money developing their own systems
They may have known the system was going to be too expensive
They could have stopped the project before it was too late
They could have designed lighter handsets
They should have charged less for calls
They may have conducted a more successful marketing campaign
They shouldn´t have wasted so much time and energy
They may have miscalculated the size of the potential market

EXERCISES UNIT 15

• READING:

He is the only member of his family to work for the company. (FALSE)

The company has always been owned by the Alessi family. ( TRUE )

He wants his firm to design only hosehold objects. (FALSE)

He designed the famous Bird Kettle. (FALSE)

All his designers are company employees. (FALSE)

He doesn´t mind talking about products that have failed. (TRUE)

He supervises the planning of new products. ( TRUE)

More than half of his new products fail (FALSE)

• Put the following words and phases into five groups of synonyms.

Adapt, alter, change, modify.

Failures, disaster, fiasco, flop.

Devise, dream up, think up, invent, come up with.

Boundary, frontier, brink, edge.

Achievement, accomplisment, advance, success.

• The process of developing new products can be divided into different phases. Put the different phases in the correct order.

1. Imagining


2. development


3. business analysis


4. manifacturing


5. launch

VOCABULARY OF UNIT 15

giant-gigante

godfather-padrino

revel-tertulia

failures-fracasos

reins-rienda

flops-fracasos

alter-cambio

devise-invento

boundary-limite

brink-limite

edge-borde

ventures-empresas

funds-fondos

outline-entorno

untapped-sin explotar

affshore- a cierta distancia de la costa

SUMMARY OF UNIT 15

Unit 15 entitled " innovation" has as main purpose that we realised how much important is to innovate or make original things in order to success in the modern world, also is important to mention that technology is a crucial factor to achieve that we want.

Innovating is a great alternative to success because if you create a good product or service totally new in the market you are going to get a lot of benefits, mainly because you are not going to have competitors.

For that reason nowadays, ventures are focus their attention on creative people who can improve their existent products or people able to create new products that become a profitable business and at the same time ventures can point out in satisfying consumer´s needs.

In grammar, unit 15 show us the importance of past modals ( past modals are formed with: modal verb+have+past participle). Past modals have different uses:

• Talk about alternative possibilitiesin the past.



• Give advice after events have happened.



• Talk about likelihood in the past.

passives

Today we made an exercise about passives, it was really difficult maybe because the structure is a little complicated, in fact it seem easy but in my case when I tried to solve it, I can´t i had to analyse carefully each sentence in order to change the form. I read some information about passives and I think it helped me to understand better the topic, now I know passives can be used in different situations for instance:

When the agent is unknown or unimportant

• The stock as delivered to us this morning.

Systems and processes

• The figures are being finalised at the moment.

Formal reports and notices.

• The issue was raised by the company´s auditors.

Reporting unconfirmed information

• The CEO is said to be in favor of smart tags.

Tuesday´s class

Well on Tuesday, we continued with the main topic of the unit and we made some exercises in which we learned vocabulary and also we made a listening.

Firstly we made an exercise in which we had to classify some new vocabulary into two different categories ( inventory control and smart tag technology), then we solved another exercise in which we had to match the words in order to build some word partnerships, later we had to use the word partership we had formed previously in some sentences, to be honest this exercise was diffiult and very confused but we learnt new vocary such as:

• after sales-benefits


• error-prone task


• loading bay


• conveyor belt


• broadcast

After we finished those exercises we made a listening in which a woman talked about the advantages smart tags will offer retailers and manufactures; this lestening was very clear and understandable.

READING " THE BEST THING SINCE BARCODE"

well, this article is very interesting because it is about the changes in the technology that will allow replacing barcodes! It means that will be a kind of special micro chips or better known as smart tags that will contain information related to products, but in addition those smart tags will be able to prevent theft and the costs will be reduced; furthermore it is believed that the sales are going to increase, which is a very interesting point and a very important innovation for brands.

In fact, Gillete is piloting this project which pretends to be a wonderful innovation, because it invloves not only product information, reduce check outs, reduce theft but also, increase sales and tracking products, so as you can see those smart tags will change the way products are moving nowadays.

Unfortunately there is a problem that is facing this project and it is that consumers might reject smart tags becasuse they seem too invasive of their privacy, neverthless people in charge in this project is working on a privacy policy in order to avoid the disagree of consumers.

LOGISTICS

This week we started with a new topic "logistics", firstly we read the article entitled "The best thing since barcode" and it was very interesting because itwas about the new technology that is going to be applied in order to have better results in transporting products and a considerable reduction of theft.

There was a lot of new vocabulary on the text but it wasn´t difficult to understand due to the context.

After we read the article ,we answered the exercise on page 120 in which we had to choose the best option in a serie on questions related to the text, it was not difficult but a little confused.

unit 14 LOGISTICS

Well on Friday we started unit 14 that is about logisctics, and we were talking about how the barcode has changed the way in commerce and also the diferent uses of the barcode.

On the other hand we read the introduction on page 119 and we learnt new vocabulary, we also analysed the picture on the same page and we started doing an exercise on page 120 in which we had to talk with a classmate about 3 interesting questions about logistics.

I think this unit is going to be very interesting because it is related to our major and we will have previous knowledge about the topic.

STEP BY STEP

Today we played a game in which we had to put our right foot together with a classmate and we had to practice the reported speech, then our teacher said "step by step" and we had to change with another classmate and the person who was remaining alone recivied a punishment, it was funny and a good way to learn an practice, specially a topic like reported speech.

Reported speech

Under the main topic we are cheking in this unit ( communication) , today we were talking about a topic that is a little difficult for us " Indirect Speech" (also referred to as 'reported speech') that we know refers to a sentence reporting what someone has said.

There are some rules about reported speech that we checked in the book they are easy to understad but the problem in my case is that when I try to use it I get confused, but I think the solution is practice.

We made a listening about reported speech ans it was really difficult because we had to turn the senteces we listed in reported speech form.

READING " COPING WITH INFOGLUT"

This reading on page 113 is very interesting, it is about the importance of communication in companies, we know that is necessary communication in an organization in order to works effectively, the most important forms of communication in a company are e-mails, faxes, cell phones, etc, and of course technology is an important role inside the flow of communication in a company.

On the other hand the reading talks about the problems that the companies are facing lately due to information overload, this brings to managers several problems becase they have a lot of information to process and they don´t have enough time to solve that kind of situations.

I´m sure that communication in a company is very important, but as a manager or director of an organization is important to determinate priorities and solve the real problems.

Tips on witting effective e-mails ( Responding to Bill)

Bill

You know we have had a lot of job to do this days but don´t worrie here is the information you need:

Next meeting with the sales reps is going to be on Friday at 8.00 am. We hope you will be there giving us your opininion and some ideas in order to improve the efficiency in the company.

On the other hand my new assistant Miriam Anderson has surprised me with her efficiency and skills to solve the problems he are facing in our area so I'm so happy withe her job.

Finally I can recommend you some bonus for my team I think they have been doing a good job lately so they deserve a bonus for the productivity that they have reached.

I hope see you soon. Have a nice weekend.
John

April 1st

In this class we made a review about conditionals, I think conditionals sometimes are confused, but if you analyse carefully each sentece an it´s context is going to be easier to understand it, not only is important to undestarstand it, but also know how to use it.

31st March 2008

well in this class we started checking unit 13 which is about communication, first we were talking about the different ways to communicate such as cell phones, text messages, e-mail, fax etc.

Then we made an exercise on page 112 in which we had to read some extracts sent to a Human Resources manager and we had to identify which type of business correspondence they came from, it was very interesting because we had to analyse carefully each extract in order to find the best ansewer.

And finally we made the listening on page 115 about how to use e-mail effectively.

Friday´s class!!

Last Friday we had our " surprise speaking exam" . Well first of all we had to read the dilemma & Decision in the book entitled " Selling up or selling out?", that was about Hershey's company and a problem that was facing related to sell or not to sell the company, we had to read and write some notes in order to discuss with some of our classmates and finally we presented our speaking exam to our teacher, it was not complicated because the topic was easy to understand.

2 ClAsEs AfTeR hOlYdAyS

We came back from holidays and we were talking about that; some of our classmates were talking about their experiences in holidays and how amazing is the city without traffic jam, we also were checking modal verbs of obligation ( have to, ought to, needn't, musn´t, shouldn´t, need to, must, and don´t have to ; and we learnt how to classify the modal verbs:

• obligation , necessity or prohibition


• lack of obligation or prohibition


• advice or recommendatio

Finally on Tuesday we were practicing the BEC exam at the lab, we were using a computer programme about the BEC exam and we started with the reading part but we didn´t finish because we didn´t have enough time but I suppose we are going to practice it several times in the following classes.

2 CLASSES BEFORE HOLIDAYS

Well, before holy week we were analyzing the text in unit 12 that is about how different organizations try to persuade people in order to be more conscious about the big problems that is facing the world, such as poverty, corruption, violence, racism etcetera. And precisely one of the most common facts in order to persuade people is to use celebrities and famous people as "spokesmen". In my personal opinion that kind of strategies are important in our society becase we can avoid a lot of problems.







On the other hand we were doing some exercises in the book, first we learnt some differences about trade and lobbies; it was a confused exercise because there was alot of new vocabulary, then we read "the new networked lobbies" an article that is about how internet and technology has become very important in order to help organizations to create a consious in sociaty.

UNIT 12 "LOBBIES" FINDING A VOICE

Today we were talking about the exam and we started the unit 12 that is about lobbies.
We learnt some new vocabulary, we also were talking about how some organizations make come activities in order to help poor people and third world contries, I think this topic is interesting, because as we know Mexico is considered as a third world country.

My opinion about the exam.

Well, I think that the exam was very confused, there was some things (specially vocabulary) that we didn´t check in the book and in my opinion the exercises about conditionals were difficult, in the book the examples were clear and easy to solve but in the exam were more complicated, also in the last part in the green exam, the instructions weren´t so clear, so to conclude I can say that the exam was difficult!!!

GOING, GOING, GONE?

Going, going gone? is an interesting article about e-commerce, we know that currently e-comerce is having a big summit due to young people is interested in practical services that allow them to obtain and satisfy their needs faster and easily. The article talked about a company named "ebay" that could say is the auction industry.

"ebay" has a constant contact with their clients in order to know their opinions and offer them a better service day by day.

On the other hand the article said that the employees in "ebay" are focused to improve the quality and the cunsumer service , so we can see that nowadays work in teams and focusing in the clients could make the difference between a good company and a bad company.

22.02.2008

On friday we were reading an article which tittle was Going,going,gone? it was an interesting article, then we solved some exercises about the article in the book and we had to take the time in order to check how long it took us to read it and answer it.

Dilemma & Decision. Unit 10

Task 1

• Should the "paparazzi" photograph celebrities without permission?
  

Well I think that if paparazzi had permission to photograph the famous ones they alredy would not be "paparazzi" because we know that the main characteristic of a papparazo is to catch the image of celebreties in compromising situations, for that reason the paparazzi always are going to try to photograph famous people without permission.

• Should celebrities be able to trademark their own faces?
  

In my personal opinion, it would be ridiculous that celebrities could trademark their own faces due to their work implies being in touch with their fans by magazines, T.V programmes etc.

• Should celebrities be protected from intrusion at private events?
  

Well in this case I thin famous people should be protected from intrusion at private events because before being a celebrity they are common persons and they have the rigth to decide if they want to announce their events or not.

• Do unauthorised photographs cause celebrities distress?
  

In my opinion it depens on the celebrety because there are famous people that always try to show a good image with their fans and an unauthorised photograph should affect their carrers and cause them distress, nevertheless there are celebrities that seek to be photographed in order to obtain more success, so an unauthorised photograph instead of cause them distress they obtain publicity.

• Did Hello! have a right to publish the images taken in secret?
  

Of couse not, I think it was like an strategy because Hello! had realized that Ok! had the exclusive of the wedding, so Ok! magazine decided to take the risk and pubished the photographs in order to obtain sales.

Task 2

I think the couple is exaggerating in what they ask in money because they are celebrities and their lifes are published day by day, neverthless what i believe pertinet is that the rival magazine ( Hello!) pays for the disappointing sales of Ok! it could be approximately $2m

Write it up ( short report)

Catherine´s wedding

Some time ago was announced the wedding between Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas, the golden couple sold their wedding to an important magazine ( OK!), the problem was that the rival magazine Hello! published some pothographs about the wedding.

This brought a series of problems and sues that took place from the photos published by Hello! and it show us that the competition in a marketplace could be very uncomfortable bacause in this case Hello! had to pay a huge quantity of money for demanding dammages , obviously Hello! prefered to take the risk instead of lose sales, but as you can see it was a bad decision.

Finally I think hat is better to innovate, and show new and interesting things to the target instead of copy or burgle the ideas from the others.

Talking about "Markets".

Today in the English class we started the unit 11 which treats about markets, we were sharing information about the different industries and sectors of the market.

We learned new vocabulary relating to this topic and we learned the way of named the main types of market; such as commodities market, property market, stock market,consumer goods and labour market.

Units 9 and 10

Well, first of all I would like to say that this new way to present our "pel" is a better option because it´s faster, easier and we have the oportunity to check our classmate´s writtings which can help us to improve our reading and writting skills.

Last weeks we were talking about Human Resourses and the process that is follow in order to recruit personnel, we learnt some vocabulary about that topic, also we analysed the kind of CV´s we can find in different countries such as United States, Uk, Canada and Mexico.

On the other hand we were discussing the dilemma about a luxury hotel called "Bellagio" related with the main topic (Human Resources).

In unit 10 we were talking about a serious problem which is facing worldwide (counterfeiting), we listened some conversations about this topic and we did some exercises that help us to increase our english vocabulary.