A. Match the numbers with the correct description.

( ) trough ( ) erratic movements ( ) a gradual rise ( ) to level off ( ) a dramatic fall ( ) fluctuations ( ) to reach a peak ( ) a sharp recovery | ( ) a gradual fall ( ) a plateau ( ) to take a plunge ( ) a steady increase ( ) to leap upwards ( ) a decline ( ) to slump |

B. Create your own business jargon.

Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | strategic | cost-based | core competency | interactive | logistical | alliance | responsive | discretionary | re-engineering | reciprocal | empowering | values | customer-oriented | visionary | benchmark | functional | partnering | paradigm |

C. What do these jargon mean?
1. For many firms, the idea of going global is a major effort to push the envelope.

2. The acid test for many firms is whether they can compete globally.

3. Management had a globasm thinking about the prospects of increased sales to international customers.

4. The lion's share of a can of worms created by a turkey trot would mean little in vegetarian cultures!

5. In the U.S.,face time and glad handing has some face value when trying to get one's foot in the door.

6. In the last decade, yuppies have been replaced by DINKS and now DINS.

7. To veg out based on revenue from your cash cow would probably confuse people from many Asian countries.

8. Playing devil's advocate is not a good way to CYA, if the boss's pet rock is global expansion.

D. Summary Read and select the 10 most important points for a summary about how one can fall in love with their job. List them in order in point form. (20 marks)
The word “love” is not a word many of us associate with work, as work is about function, purpose and necessity, while love is a blissful emotion associated with immense happiness.
Like the personal relationships we have in our lives, our relationship with our job can often present the same challenges and play the same role in influencing our day-to-day happiness.
If you were asked to rate “love” and “work” on life’s happiness barometer, it would be rare to find them on the same scale, but think about the 168 hours there are in a week and how many of those you spend working. So learning to love your day job is vital to achieving a happy balance both at and away from the office.
You need to treat work more like a relationship in an effort to see its positive benefits.
Like love, work is a two-way street — if you don’t feel satisfied about what you’re getting out of your role, then you should give more to your day-to-day activities.
Sometimes, you only get out what you put in. Thinking of ways to improve your basic daily tasks can give you more satisfaction and provide more value to those around you. In the same way, contributing more to your team or getting involved in social activities at work might hold the key to a healthier two-way relationship.
Like a relationship, employees should be in regular communication with their team and management, not just to know what’s happening on particular projects but also to form good habits so that when issues or challenges arise, they can be addressed, discussed and dealt with in a timely, mature manner. If something is annoying you or you want to give positive feedback, it’s a whole lot easier with open lines of communication. Trust and empathy go a long way in building positive, long-term connections with people to help carry you through good times and bad.
Make time to laugh with people whom you work with — the physical and emotional benefits of laughter are overwhelming. Laughter reduces stress, relaxes your body and boosts your immune system, not to mention the effect it has on positivity and productivity levels in the workplace. Laughter can shatter tension, lift the spirit of a group and break the ice in difficult situations.
Not taking “time out” from work often leads to stress and finding yourself bogged down in the little things. For many employees, a short break can really improve motivation levels and help them to remember what it is they love and miss about their work — whether it is a sense of achievement, purpose or the people around us. Taking time out to rebalance and re-energise also gives you a fresh, clear and healthy perspective of who you are, what you want to do and what you want to achieve.
Generally, small things that may have been annoying you will soon dissipate after a well-earned break and it can result in a new-found love for your job. A great way to feel inspired about work again is through learning and developing new skills. A new area of interest or the motivation to boost your position by adding another notch to your skills belt is a great way to breathe new life into your attitude and energy in the workplace.
Knowing you have a new stream of learning can really help you reignite the passion you once had for what you do. It can also make your day-to-day job easier, saving you time and boosting your productivity.
Look back on your achievements, celebrate positive milestones and map out new goals, as this can be refreshing and energising for you, rather than feeling like you are treading the same path, hoping that something interesting will happen. Think about how you would like your daily work to look, and start to create something that is meaningful and enjoyable every day. Work may not always be smooth sailing and, like a relationship, it may require a little extra effort at times, but with challenges come growth, satisfaction and a healthy relationship that can be deeply rewarding. _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________
REPORT WRITING
A report is an account given or opinion formally expressed after investigation or consideration. Therefore a report should be formal and is required to give an account of the matter covered or to state an opinion on it; sometimes both are needed. In many cases, conclusions have to be drawn by the writer/author of the report and, often, recommendations given.
There are some fundamental rules to be followed when writing a report.
1. The report should have a title.
2. It must be properly addressed to one person or to an organisation.
3. A statement of the Terms of Reference must be given.
4. The conclusions of the writer/author must be given.
5. Frequently, the recommendations of the compiler are asked.
6. The report must be signed and dated.

PARTS OF THE REPORT
Terms of Reference
The writer/author must know the briefing of what is his area of authority in investigation. He must not exceed his limit. In other words, it is the parameter(s)of the investigator. It should include information pertaining to: who, what, when , where, why.
Procedure
Keep this as short as possible. This is where you indicate where and how you obtained your information. It can include questionnaires, surveys, interviews, observations, records, research from book and the internet. This is the ‘How’ portion.
Findings
The Findings is an extension of the procedure. From all the methods used in gathering the data, this is where you present the data you have found.
Conclusion
The conclusions of the investigator are normally asked for and this should be the subject of a separate section under a suitable heading. Opinions are called for.
Recommendations
This is where the recommendations of the writer are asked for. This can be in the form of ideas or solutions. It has to be forward-looking.
Sample Question and Answer
You are employed by an organization, which makes umbrellas. Sales in the North of England have declined recently and you have been asked to investigate this and provide suggestions to improve sales. Report on the Decline of Sales of Umbrellas.Terms of ReferenceA report on the decline in the sales of umbrellas in the North of England, with recommendations for their improvement; requested by Mr John Sazon, Managing Director of Raincoat International on the 30th June 2013, and submitted by Mr John.ProcedureCurrent sales details were compared with the last financial year. Our product was compared with similar products sold by ABC and XYZ companies. Weather reports from the North England were studied.Three representatives from the Northern Division of the company were interviewed.FindingsSales have declined by 12% in Manchester, 17% in Birmingham and 9% in Lancashire.We make two designs of ladies’ umbrellas, one long handled and one collapsible type. They retail at $5.99 and $6.20 respectively. ABC Limited makes only collapsible umbrellas, which retail at $4.50 and XYZ Limited makes a long handleddesign which sells at $4.95 and a collapsible design which sells at $3.90. The quality of all umbrellas tested was good.The general weather trends have varied little in the last decade.All three representatives interviewed reported an increased difficulty in persuading shops to sell our umbrellas because of their relatively high prices. They also reported a difficulty in getting supplies of the collapsible, which they say are more popular than the long handled design. They complained that they are attempting to cover a wide area, and suggest that they need more salesmen. ConclusionOur umbrellas are more expensive than others of comparable quality.Supplies of collapsible umbrellas are unreliable.The representatives in the Northern Division feel unable to do their work properly because they need more staff.RecommendationsThe price of our product should be reduced, if possible, to make it more competitive with those of rival companies.Production of collapsible umbrellas, which are now more popular, should be increased, and supplied more reliably. The system of delivery for supplies to the North of England should be reviewed. More staff should be recruited in the Northern Division. A further report may be necessary to ascertain the proper level of staff for the Division.M. John07 July 2013 |
Exercise 1: Group yourselves. Choose a report question. Discuss and write up a report. REPORT WRITING 1You are the Human Resource Executive for Oranges, a large food manufacturing company with about 500 employees. As part of the employee welfare improvement scheme, your management has decided to review the company’s staff benefits. Currently, staff benefits include only medical and hospitalization insurance.Your task:Your Human Resource Director, Ms Katy Tan, has asked you to research and give her a report on what additional benefits could be introduced. You are to recommend four benefits that you consider would be most welcomed by all members of staff.You have done some informal surveys with staff from various departments and made a finding on the most common benefits suggested: * Social and recreational facilities * Child MC benefits (for mothers) * Staff discount purchasesAs this is a proposed report, you may make up the other details.Your name : Ms Shelby TeoYour designation : Human Resource Executive | REPORT WRITING 2You are a member of THE TOY MUSEUM, a large amateur group that displays toys spanning a century from the 1900s to the millennium. Your group used to enjoy strong support from local people but during the last 2 years, the attendance figures for your last five months have been:500 (ideal attendance) 200 170 95 47 24It has been suggested that there could be several reasons why attendance figures are declining: the themes of the exhibitions may not appeal to popular taste; the quality of the displays may have fallen; publicity of the exhibitions was insufficient; entrance fees may be too high; general loss of public interest.Your taskMr Peter Goli, has asked you to look into the problem carefully. Prepare a report with your recommendations for action. You may invent other minor details as required. | REPORT WRITING 3You are the Assistant Manager of a restaurant and pub. The restaurant is situated in the heart of the city. The capacity of the restaurant has increased recently and your restaurant is under-staffed as a result. However, you have difficulties finding people to work in your restaurant and pub, in spite of having already advertised in the newspapers for a few weeks.Your taskYou have spoken with a few potential candidates for positions at your restaurant and these were some of the responses you have collected: 1. Low wages and minimal staff benefits 2. High cost for staff to have meals in the city area 3. Insufficient leave benefitsYour task:Your manager has asked you to prepare a report as to why the staffing shortage has not been resolved and also to recommend alternative ways of attracting applicants to work at your restaurant.Write a report outlining the reasons for this situation and make necessary recommendations. You may make up other details as required.Your name : Mr Ronald TehYour designation : Assistant Manager | REPORT WRITING 4As the Assistant Manager of a local independent petroleum kiosk, you have been asked by your Manager to evaluate and prepare a report on whether the kiosk should discontinue its two-star program. This program requires customers to collect two stars for a discount on petroleum as well as a free car wash, compared to just a discount on petroleum for one star. This program has been very successful in the past with local residents, however, a few petroleum kiosks have recently opened in the same area that you serve and they have been advertising and promoting themselves aggressively with better deals and discounts.Your task:Your Manager has asked that you evaluate the situation and prepare a report on what strategies your kiosk could adopt and implement to maintain and improve sales and services.Your appraisal of the situation has produced the following findings: * Customers tend to go to petroleum kiosks which have a convenient store in its premises * Newer kiosks tend to attract large numbers of customers initially * Aggressive discounting schemes are only temporary * Crowded kiosks may be off-putting to potential customers * Customers prefer a further discount on petroleum rather than a free car wash * Customers prefer a discount in a potential convenient store rather than a free car washYou may make up other details and recommendations in the report for your Manager.Your name : Mr Vince DieselYour designation : Assistant Manager | REPORT WRITING 5You are the Business Administration Manager of a health and wellness spa. Your Administration Director has recently received complaints of poor service in the spa. Currently, the spa is undergoing renovations to improve its facilities and capacity. Your spa has a staff strength of 15 while it has a clientele of 200.Your task:Your Administration Director, Ms Jeannie Yippee, has asked you to conduct a survey and make the necessary recommendations. You are required to interview spa staff as well as the spa’s clientele.You have noted the following after a brief inspection and evaluation of the situation: * Renovation of the spa premises has disturbed the peace and tranquility of the spa * Insufficient spa staff * Insufficient equipment to cater to the large clientele * Difficulties in making spa appointments due to the large clientele and limited equipment and staffYou may make up other details as required in the presentation of your report.Your name : Ms Maria FrancoisYour designation : Business Administration Manager | REPORT WRITING 6You are the Assistant Manager of a gym in the heart of the city. Your business has been growing steadily over the past 6 years, however, the last 4 months have been unprofitable for you. In comparison, the 2 new gyms that have recently opened in the same area have been doing relatively well.Your task:Your Manager, Mr Arnell Schwarz, has asked you to prepare a report on the measures that can be taken to improve business. You are to outline some of the reasons for poor business and to recommend three ways to draw and retain customers to the gym.You may make up the details as required in your report.Your name : Mr John van DommeYour designation : Assistant Manager |