Нескучная Европа 6 страница

2. Get ready for an interview. Present your cover letter and resume/ CV to your potential employer, go to the interview and get accepted for the position you want!

GROUP TALK

• Do you want to be a manager or just an ordinary employee? Why?

• Do you want to have your own business? Why?

• Is it easy to run your own company? Why?

• Is it interesting? Why?

TEXT 1

Vocabulary

travel agency — туристское агентство salmon — лосось

mascot — талисман, вещь, приносящая счастье

internal newsletter — информационный бюллетень для сотрудников

banner — транспарант

name tag — бирка с названием, именной жетон, медальон с фами­лией pin — булавка sticker — наклейка
stationery — канцелярские принадлежности mug — кружка stuffed — копченый

to buck the tide — плыть против течения inspirer — вдохновитель

CEO = Chief Executive Officer — генеральный директор

maverick — индивидуалист

enterprise — предприятие

steamship — пароход

relative — родственник

annual — годовой

sales — продажи

to exceed — превышать

associate — сотрудник

to trace — проследить

tactical move — тактический шаг

back office — вспомогательный офис

independent — независимый

contemporary — современный

to deliver — доставлять

ever — всегда

obvious — очевидный

unless — если не(т)

repeatedly —■ постоянно, часто повторяется rude — грубый

slave-driving boss — строгий надсмотрщик, эксплуататор, суровый

начальник supervisor — начальник, контролер to defy — игнорировать conventional — обычный, традиционный stereotype — стереотип to support — поддерживать ambience — обстановка, среда, атмосфера hiring practices — практика приема на работу to take into account — принимать во внимание personality — личность to substitute — заменять, защищать to compensate — платить, расплачиваться average — средний

vacation and travel benefit package — соц. пакет (оплачиваемый от­пуск и транспортные расходы)

turnover — текучесть рабочей силы

to be attributed to — относиться к...

extensive — обширный, всесторонний, громадный

branch — филиал

cyclical — циклический

especially — особенно

Persian Gulf — Персидский залив

recession — упадок

layoff — временное увольнение

instead of — вместо

to resort — прибегать (к чему-то)

freeze — замораживание

scores — множество

voluntary — добровольный

to submit — представлять на рассмотрение, предлагать

cost — стоимость, расходы

to save — экономить

to reassure — заверять, убеждать

course — курс

competition — конкуренция, конкуренты to reduce — уменьшать, сокращать

staff — штат служащих или сотрудников, личный состав, кадры payroll — платежная зарплатная ведомость, выплата зарплаты

Read and translate the text.

ROSENBLUTH INTERNATIONAL

Rosenbluth is the fourth largest travel agency in the USA. Employ­ees: 3, 000.

Rosenbluth International is the only company in America that uses a salmon as its mascot. Salmons appear on the internal newsletter, ban­ners, name tags, pins, stickers, stationery, and mugs. Rosenbluth even sends a stuffed salmon doll to clients. Why the salmon? Because the salm­on likes to buck the tide.

Inspirer of the salmon motif and chief tide bucker is CEO Hal Rosen­bluth. He likes to do things differently. And Hal Rosenbluth's maverick style has paid off.

The company started in 1892 when Hal Rosenbluth's great-grandfa­ther Marcus started the enterprise in an ethnic Philadelphia neighbor­hood to book steamship tickets for his neighbors to bring their Europe­an relatives to the United States. Now its annual sales exceed $1.5 billion

and more than 5, 000 associates work at 582 sites in 396 cities. But it's not surprising if you've never heard of Rosenbluth, since 95 percent of its business comes from some 1, 500 corporate clients, including Du Pont, Merck, Chevron, Kodak, and General Electric.

Some of Rosenbluth's business success can be traced to technology— they've long been a leader in computer automation of travel reservations. And they've made what others consider brilliant tactical moves—like being the first firm to develop its own back office (accounting and client reporting system) that is independent of the reservations system main­tained by airlines.

If this were the typical contemporary business story, we'd now hear that Rosenbluth delivers " excellent" service because he puts the customer first. But that's not the Rosenbluth story. Ever the salmon, Hal Rosen­bluth wrote a book called The Customer Comes Second.

The obvious question is: Who comes first? The company's associates come first. " We don't believe that the customer can come first unless our people come first. If our people don't come first, then they're not free to focus on our clients; they're worrying about other kinds of things", says Rosenbluth. So clients who are repeatedly rude to associates may find themselves asked to find another travel agency.

As could be expected, there are no slave-driving bosses here. Super­visors (called leaders) defy conventional stereotypes. " I never feel like I manage anybody, " said Terri Hater, a senior manager, " 'Manage' sounds like you're controlling the actions. Sometimes I feel like a leader and sometimes like a supporter of people and then — ideas."

Rosenbluth's ambience comes partly from unusual hiring practices. Rosenbluth does take personality into account in choosing a new em­ployee. " It's not technical skills we're looking for, it's nice people. We can train people to do anything technical, but we can't make them nice." According to Rosenbluth: " Our Company is made up of friends. We didn't hire friends, we just became that way."

This company doesn't substitute fun and games for low pay, howev­er. Rosenbluth associates are compensated well—typically making 20 per­cent above the travel industry average. Working at Rosenbluth's also of­fers one of the best vacation and travel benefit packages in the land. That is why the turnover rate at Rosenbluth is 12 percent. The industry aver­ages between 30 and 50 percent.

Rosenbluth's low turnover can also be attributed to the opportuni­ties opened up by rapid growth and extensive training programs. Rosen­bluth operates 10 training centers throughout the country in addition to mobile training teams who conduct seminars at branch locations.

The travel business is traditionally cyclical, and the early 1990s were especially unforgiving. The combination of the Persian Gulf War and the ongoing U.S. recession resulted in huge layoffs throughout the travel in­dustry. But not at Rosenbluth. Instead of resorting to layoffs, they insti­tuted a wage freeze in early 1991. It lasted seven months for non-mana­gerial employees and nine months for managers. Scores of associates helped the company out by taking voluntary time off without pay and submitting over 400 cost-saving ideas through " Operation Brainstorm." To reassure employees that they would not resort to layoffs, Hal Rosen­bluth sent every associate a memo in January 1991. It said: " The obvi­ous and simple thing to do would be to follow the course that our com­petition has chosen and reduce staff, since 50 percent of all costs are in payroll. But let's face it — that's not the action a salmon would take! "

TEXT WORK

1. Pronounce correctly and transcribe. Consult the dictionary if necessary.

Internal, stationery, inspirer, steamship, annual sales exceed, associ­ates, neighborhood, supervisor, defy, stereotypes, ambience, hiring prac­tices, account, packages, turnover, throughout, cyclical, especially, Per­sian Gulf War, recession, scores, voluntary, without, idea, through, reas­sure, course, Rosenbluth.

2. Compare and mind the difference:

3. Answer the questions.

1. How big is Rosenbluth travel agency?

2. What is the company's mascot?

3. Where do they use the salmon?

4. Why is salmon used by the company as its mascot?

5. When did the company start? How?

6. What are the company's annual sales now?

7. What can business success of the company be traced to?

8. What is the company's philosophy concerning customers?

9. What kind of bosses are in the company?

10. What are the hiring practices in the company?

11. How well are the associates compensated in Rosenbluth's?

12. What is the turnover rate at Rosenbluth's?

13. What is the turnover rate in the industry?

14. Why is Rosenbluth's turnover rate so low?

15. What happened to the travel business in early 1990s? Why?

16. What did the managers, employees and the CEO do during that time?

4. Give Russian equivalents to the following words and word combinations. Find and translate sentences with them in the text.

Travel agency, salmon, mascot, internal newsletter, banners, name tags, pins, stickers, stationery, mugs, chief tide bucker, CEO, maverick style, great-grandfather, ethnic Philadelphia neighborhood, billion, as­sociates, 95 percent of its business, business success, traced to technolo­gy, travel reservations, back office, accounting and client reporting sys­tem, maintained by airlines, delivers excellent service, ever the salmon, The Customer Comes Second, unless, to focus on our clients, repeated­ly rude, slave-driving bosses, supervisors, a supporter of people, ambi­ence, take personality into account, technical skills, nice people, we didn't hire friends, the best vacation and travel benefit packages, turn­over rate, industry averages, operates 10 training centers, in addition to mobile training teams, especially unforgiving, ongoing recession, huge layoffs, non-managerial employees, cost-saving ideas, obvious thing to do, let's face it, that's not the action a salmon would take.

5. Give English equivalents to the following words and word combinations.

Единственная компания в Америке; сотрудник (3); фигурка копченого лосося; лосось любит плыть против течения; вдохнови­тель; делать по-другому; было оплачено; компания была основана; бронировать билеты на пароход; соседи; родственники; ежегодный объем продаж превышает...; это неудивительно; корпоративные кли­енты; компьютерная автоматизация; что другие считают...; отлич­ные тактические шаги; первая фирма, которая разработала...; не­зависимый; система бронирования билетов; типичная современная история бизнеса; очевидный вопрос; беспокоятся о другом; найти другое турагентство; как можно было ожидать; руководители; иг­норировать привычные стереотипы; я чувствую себя лидером; не­обычная практика приема на работу; новый сотрудник; наша ком­пания состоит из друзей; мы не заменяем низкую зарплату весе­лой работой; сотрудникам платят хорошо; на 20 % больше, чем в среднем по отрасли; относящийся к...; быстрый рост; обширные обучающие программы; проводить семинары; в филиалах; турис­тский бизнес традиционно цикличный; война в Персидском зали­ве; не прибегая к увольнениям; длиться несколько месяцев; мно­жество сотрудников; брать отпуск без содержания; поддерживать сотрудников; конкуренция; сокращать штат сотрудников; 50 % всех расходов составляет выплата заработной платы.

7. Match the synonyms in the find them in the text.

agency

CEO

book

associates

back up

client

columns. Translate the pairs and

director general

continuous

manager

support

atmosphere

company

supervisor customer

rapid modern

pay personnel

ongoing reserve

staff wage

ambience fast

contemporary employees

9. Form antonyms using negative prefixes ил-, inil-_f im-, irdis mis-. Consult the dictionary if necessary.

Dependent, usual, managerial, forgiving, typical, expected,

10. Make a summary of the text.

11. Choose the right word from the list below. Mind the forms of the words. Translate the story.

LEISURE REVIEW - UK

The value of the out-of-home UK leisure___________________________ has

steadily increased over the past few years and signs are encouraging for __________________ growth. The industry has benefited from a be­nign economic___________, favourable demographics, growth

of short breaks and tourism, an increased______________________________ in

health, relaxation and wellbeing, an improved product offer (funded by both public and sector) and more targeted mar­keting.

The industry faces various threats and_____________________________

however, as it continues to expand. These include rising _______________ __ associated with a changing regulatory frame­work and staff recruitment/training, increasing competition for the lei­sure pound and__ from in-home leisure activities.

The number of admissions at_____________________________ fell by 1 % be­tween 1999 and 2004, while bowling has been on an increase during the

same time period but is now also showing a_______________________________ ________________________________

in growth.

Climate, cost, industry, competition, slowdown, interest, future, private, nightclub_f challenge.

12. Give missing derivatives (nouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives) from these words and translate them.

13. Fill in the blanks with prepositions from the last below where necessary. Translate the article.

INTERNATIONAL TOURISM FORECASTS

... 2001, according... the World Tourism Organization (WTO), in­ternational tourist arrivals worldwide fell... 0.5 %... 2001, attributed... large part... an 11 % slump... the final four months... the year after the terrorist attacks... the US... 11 September. Prospects... the travel in­dustry have been portrayed as bleak ever since, but the publication... this report comes... a time... genuine recovery... the board. However it is to be hoped that this is not another false dawn, as represented... the result... 2002 when the 700 million arrivals mark was surpassed... the first time thanks... a 2.7 % growth worldwide.... 2002, all regions, the Americas excepted, posted year-...-year increases, but recovery was brought... a halt... 2003 when a combination... SARS, conflict... Iraq and economic depression produced a decline... 1.2 %.

The slumps... 2001 and 2003 were not simply involuntary responses... terrorism and conflict. The desire to travel is such that if this was the case, then security fears would merely divert travel flows elsewhere... unaffected destinations. The fact that an actual decline occurred serves to emphasise the role... economics, and specifically recession,... this shortfall. A 'cooling period'... growth... the major outbound markets... Germany, Japan and the US had already been detected... the first eight months... 2001. The result was that worldwide, a growth rate... 4.3 %... terms... tourist arrivals generated... the first eight months... 2000 had already retracted... 3 %... 2001. Besides economics, a number... other factors had inhibited.... growth... the pre-September period that year. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict deterred Western travel... the Middle East, the outbreak... foot and mouth disease did likewise... the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands and the strength... the US dollar contrib­uted... a shortfall... international arrivals... the US.

To, on, of, in, by, at, for, from, across, during.

14. Agree or disagree with the following statements. Give your rea-

sons.

For agreement use: I quite agree with you. That's quite right. I think you are right. I should think so.

For disagreement use: I don't actually agree. That's wrong.

I wouldn't say it is, I'd like to say yes, but

1. Rosenbluth International is the largest travel agency in the USA.

2. Rosenbluth deals only with corporate clients.

3. Rosenbluth International is the only company in America that uses a salmon as its mascot.

4. The company was started in 1892 by Hal Rosenbluth's grandfa­ther.

5. Rosenbluth's CEO likes doing things differently.

6. Rosenbluth's business success can be traced to technology.

7. Rosenbluth delivers " excellent" service because he puts the cus­tomer first.

8. Supervisors and managers in the company are called leaders.

9. Rosenbluth doesn't believe that the customer can come first un­less people come first.

10. Rosenbluth has unusual hiring practices.

11. Rosenbluth never takes personality into account in choosing a new employee.

12. The turnover rate at Rosenbluth is high.

13. The industry average turnover rate is between 30 and 50 percent.

14. Rosenbluth operates many training centers throughout the country

15. Discuss:

1. The travel business is traditionally cyclical.

2. The Customer Comes Second is a good business philosophy.

3. Technology is the key to business success.

4. There are different types of managers.

5. We can train people to do anything technical, but we can't make them nice.

6. When hiring a new employee personality matters.

7. Extensive training programs help companies to keep the turnover rate low.

8. During recession the best thing to do is to reduce staff.

9. Rosenbluth is a good company to work for.

16. Speak about... corporate philosophy of Rosenbluth Interna­tional and your opinion about it.

17. Explain what " Customer Comes Second" policy is.

18. Divide into two groups. One group is for " Customer Comes First" philosophy. The other group is for " Customer Comes Second" philosophy. Discuss pros and cons of both principles.

19. Translate into English.

КТО И ЗАЧЕМ ОТКРЫВАЕТ ТУРФИРМЫ?

Невысокий «входной» порог для создания турагентства позво­ляет без особого экономического риска пробовать силы в турис­тическом бизнесе. Наиболее популярные вложения в создание тур­фирмы (турагентства) колеблются в пределах $10 тыс. Ротация новообразованных фирм очень велика, в течение года — пример­но 30 %, т.е. треть исчезает с рынка, не дожив даже до следующего сезона.

Как ни странно, основное число учредителей турфирм — мо­лодые, амбициозные женщины, имеющие опыт работы в туристи­ческом бизнесе в качестве менеджеров и/или по той или иной при­чине «отделившиеся» от какой-либо туристической фирмы. Давняя легенда о муже, купившем своей жене турфирму на день рождения, свое уже отжила. Хотя единичные случаи приобретения фирм в качестве подарка бывают, но хлопоты по его содержанию сильно перевешивают радость от получения. В большинстве случаев тур­агентство открывается в расчете на определенный круг клиентов, сложившийся ранее на основе личных или деловых контактов. Учредители начинающего турагентства изначально рассчитывают свою прибыль, исходя из предполагаемого числа клиентов, не при­нимая во внимание отсутствие узнаваемой торговой марки, необ­ходимость раскрутки офиса, активной рекламы. Подавляющее ко­личество турфирм открывается без значительных вложений, оперируя денежными средствами, достаточными лишь для арен­ды и оборудования однокомнатного офиса и минимальной рекла­мы. Степень «выживаемости» таких фирм крайне низкая.

Подавляющее число лицензий, оформляемых лицензирующи­ми органами, выдается новым фирмам, реально собирающимся работать на туристическом рынке. Соответственно, растет и кон­курентная среда, что, впрочем, абсолютно не смущает аутсайдеров.

Для настоящего момента характерна размытость границ в ра­боте турагентов и туроператоров. При создании турфирм на одно­го туроператора приходится три турагента, и различие между ними подчас лишь в лицензии. На практике туроператорская и тураген- тская деятельность смешиваются, туроператор продает туры пря­мым клиентам и перепродает туры других туроператоров, а тур- агент самостоятельно формирует турпакеты или дополняет готовые туры новыми услугами. Такое «смешение жанров» вносит сумяти­цу в отношения с партнерами и с налоговыми органами.

Если оценивать направления деятельности новых турфирм, то первое место занимает продажа туров по России и ближнему за­рубежью, второе, с большим отрывом, — выездной туризм, тре­тье — въездной туризм, четвертое — образовательные, лечебные и прочие туры. Интерес к продаже туров по России наиболее выра­жен в регионах, в особенности имеющих собственные туристичес­кие ресурсы. Отдельно можно выделить категорию турфирм, не имеющих конкретного направления продаж и ориентированных на продажу любых туров по запросу клиента.

Очень часто новоиспеченные турфирмы слабо ориентируются на туристическом рынке и в обилии предложений туроператоров, нередко выбирают поставщика по случайным признакам или ру­ководствуясь поверхностной информацией.

Создание многочисленных туристических предприятий в Рос­сии отражает общую тенденцию активного развития малого биз­неса. Туристический рынок растет пропорционально спросу потре­бителей на услуги и росту платежеспособности населения. Тревожит лишь тот факт, что формирование профессиональных кадров не успевает за ростом числа турфирм, а это может пагубно сказаться на качестве туристических услуг и в целом на доверии потребителей к туристической отрасли.

20. Write an essay on the topic " Travel Business in Russia".

TEXT 2

Vocabulary

to surround — окружать heart — сердце

committed — преданный, приверженный

to own — владеть

lifestyle — стиль жизни

to succeed — добиваться успеха

to suggest — предлагать

to attract — привлекать

establishment — учреждение, организация

to draw —- привлекать, притягивать

experienced — опытный

mature — зрелый

floor manager — менеджер зала

general manager — главный менеджер

to require — требовать

to pursue — добиваться, преследовать, выполнять, совершать, зани­маться чем-то to exist — существовать

advancement — продвижение вперед, развитие, достижение, успех

franchise (AmE) — привилегия

stable — стабильный

income — доход

to advise — советовать

to demand — требовать

expertise — экспертиза, контроль за чем-либо partnership — партнерство

fairly — довольно, в некоторой степени, должным образом

to invest — вкладывать деньги

bottom — низ

education — образование

however — однако

upside — положительная сторона, верхняя часть challenge — вызов, сложная задача, проблема chance — шанс

to acquire — получать, приобретать, овладевать

array — масса, множество, совокупность, набор, комплект

exciting — волнующий, захватывающий

to grow — расти

adult — взрослый (человек)

coworker — сотрудник

customer — клиент, покупатель

pressure — давление

budget — бюджет

to staff — укомплектовывать штат сотрудников, набирать кадры

daily — возражать, быть против чего-то

to mind — возражать

to fit — подходить, соответствовать

vision — видение, представление

to work hard — работать усердно

to reach goals — добиваться целей

to offer — предлагать

accounting — бухгалтерское дело

publishing — издательское дело

marketing — исследование рынка

last but not least — последний по списку, но не по значимости Read and translate the text.

IS RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT ON YOUR CAREER MENU?

Whenever Jerry Vtestrom interviews a potential management candi­date, he talks about all the negatives surrounding the position before going into greater detail about the positives.

" I need to know their heart is in it, that they are truly committed, " says Westrom, who owns an Ember's Restaurant in Cambridge, Minne­sota. " If they seem skeptical about anything, I don't know if they will make it."

What Are the Negatives?

" Being a restaurant manager is a lifestyle, not a job, " says Westrom. " If managers are going to succeed, they will put in 50 to 80 hours per week with high stress levels at times. But once you get everything going, it can be a fun career with very good pay."