1. Complete the sentences by putting the verbs into the correct form (Past Simple/Past Continuous/ Past Perfect Simple/ Past Perfect Continuous). The first sentence has been done for you.

1. When I sent (send) a letter of complaint, they already had agreed (agree) to refund my money but I didn’t know (know) about that.

2. While project managers __ (discuss) sales targets, the secretary __ (type) a minute.

3. When Mark __ (reach) his partners' office, he __ (realize) that he __ (leave) his papers at home.

4. John __ (think) of signing the contract for a long time before he finally__ (make) the decision.

5. The manager__ (be) sure they __ (not receive) the invoice before, but he __ (check) once again.

6. When Michel __ (pass) ACCA, he __ (work) for this company for 5 years.

7. They __ (want) to register a patent on a new product, but __ (find out) that one Chinese company already __ (do) it for a very similar invention.

8. When our company __ (go) public, we __ (launch) sportswear for over two years.

9. Sue __ (listen to) the voicemail, when somebody __ (enter) the office.

10. As the Internet connection __ (be) very slow, the secretary __ (decide) to fax the documents that she __ (prepare) an hour ago.

2. Complete the sentences in your own way with Past Simple/Past Continuous/ Past Perfect Simple/ Past Perfect Continuous.

1. Several customers complained about our service …

2. The negotiations with the new consultant agency broke down because …

3. At first the meeting went well but after some time we realized that…

4. While I was working at a new product development scheme…

5. The manager suddenly realized that…

3. Underline the correct verb form. The first sentence has been done for you.

Last year I 1. got/was getting a nasty surprise when I 2. gave/was giving my presentation at a conference in London. I 3. had/ had had my business trip to the UK, which I 4. was looking forward to/had been looking to for months. I 5. had been preparing/ had prepared for the conference for a year: first, I 6. sent/had sent an abstract, second, in two month I 7. got/was getting an e-mail that 8. approved/had approved of my article and thirdly, I 9. prepared/had prepared a catchy presentation. And finally the day of presentation 10. came/had come. And while I 11. looked for/was looking for the USB stick with my presentation on it in London, I suddenly remembered I 12. left/had left it at home in Moscow.

Case Study

Read the case and discuss the following questions in groups. Come up with a solution to the problem:

1. What managerial mistakes did Komisarjevsky make?

2. Why do you think he made them?

3. If you were a manager, what would you do and in what order?

4. How should a business plan be written from your point of view?

Include Managers in Strategic Planning9

In the late 1980s, Chris Komisarjevsky became head of a public relation firm's European operation. He oversaw underperforming offices in 14 countries and sought a turnaround.

Soon after starting the job, he needed to assemble a strategic plan for the coming year and present it to his bosses in the firm's New York City headquarters. After working diligently to complete the plan, he submitted it on time.

There was just one problem: It was not a realistic plan to reverse the region's poor performance.

"My plan was accepted, but it was overly optimistic and not as demanding in cutting costs," recalled Komisarjevsky, author of the forthcoming book, "The Power of Reputation." "I didn't understand the relationship that needed to exist between me and my local managers. I didn't create a spirit of trust and shared commitment."

Komisarjevsky, who later moved to Burson-Marsteller and became its worldwide chief executive, realized too late that he made a series of judgment errors in drafting his first strategic plan as a CEO. For starters, he did not leave enough time to address concerns and solicit input from his local managers, who were scattered across 14 cities.

"As the new guy on the block, I was somewhat naive," he said. "I should've got more early involvement and commitment from my managers whose goal is to deliver the numbers in their markets."

He also regrets how he constructed the plan. Instead of visiting the offices and observing each country's operation in depth, Komisarjevsky took a long-distance approach. He asked each of his 14 managers to submit numbers to him and proceeded to draft the plan from his desk.

Looking back, he says he should have hit the road and allotted more time to meeting face-to-face with each of his managers about projections for the coming year. By collaborating more closely, he could have increased his understanding of each of their markets and performed a more accurate financial analysis.

Komisarjevsky applied what he learned when preparing his strategic plan the following year. Rather than wait until a few months before the plan was due, he instituted an ongoing review of each of his 14 offices.

He visited the offices throughout the year and invited the regional financial officer and human resources officer to participate. This solidified his bond with his far-flung team.

"Managers in field offices tend to circle the wagons to protect their own people," he said. "But if you build a relationship of trust and respect with them, they're more apt to make tough decisions for the larger good and put the company's interests first."

Translation

Translate the sentences focusing on the underlined terms.

Benchmarking

1. During the last decade of the 20^th century, benchmarking became an important approach for accessing organizational performance.

2. Benchmarking is a methodology suitable for evaluating virtually any aspect of organizational performance in public or private organizations. 

3. The benchmarking methodology can assist firms in developing and controlling strategic, tactical and operational plans that define the appropriate role of B2B in the enterprise.

4. Realistically, success is a relative thing; therefore, an organization should probably tailor its benchmarking effort to its own broad improvement goal, whether it be lofty or more modest.

5. Best practice benchmarking and external benchmarking require firms to isolate common metrics as used in functions and use those metrics to compare themselves to other firms established as the best. 

Stakeholder

1. Corporations will adapt faster, tolerate greater diversity in business environments, and create better futures for themselves and their stakeholders.

2. There should be some interaction of internal and external stakeholders in the organization from the board of directors down to line management in an evolved or sophisticated strategy process.

3. The modern perception of strategic thinking encourages the participation of internal and external stakeholders in business planning.

4. External consultants in particular and at times other external stakeholders may also have an input to firm strategy from time to time.

5. Given the more uncertain environmental context that has been observed since the mid-1980s and the need for organisations to be more flexible and adaptable to the demands of customers and markets, the role of internal and external stakeholders in the strategy process has evolved.

Writing