Wordlist
.pdf
in company Upper intermediate
Unit 9
headword |
pronunciation |
translation/notes |
example sentence |
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networking (n) |
\"netw‰…kIN\ |
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networking skills |
\"netw‰…kIN ÆskIlz\ |
Good networking skills are essential in business. |
off-putting (adj) |
\"ÅfpøtIN\ |
A limp handshake can be very off-putting. |
(opposite = appealing) |
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preliminaries (n pl) |
\prI"lIm´n´rIz\ |
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cut the preliminaries |
\Ækøt D´ |
Cutting the preliminaries and getting straight to the point can be too abrupt |
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prI"lIm´n´rIz\ |
when you’re dealing with a first-time client. |
relationship-building (n) |
\rIÆleIS´nSIp"bIldIN\ |
Networking and relationship-building are vital to businesses. |
talk shop |
\ÆtO…k "SÅp\ |
‘Talking shop’ with colleagues means talking about work and not relaxing and |
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talking about other things. |
This file has been downloaded from www.businessenglishonline.net |
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It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2004.
in company Upper intermediate
Unit 10
headword |
pronunciation |
translation/notes |
example sentence |
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absence (n) |
\"œbs´ns\ |
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in the absence of … |
\ÆIn Di… "œbs´ns ´v\ |
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In the absence of proof of contamination, Coca-Cola could have appealed to have |
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the ban lifted. |
agreement (n) |
\´"gri…m´nt\ |
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(opposite = disagreement) |
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be in agreement |
\bi… ÆIn ´"gri…m´nt\ |
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I take it we’re all in agreement that the first priority is the safety of our personnel. |
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anti-globalisation (n) |
\ÆœntIÆgl´Ub´laI"zeIS´n\ |
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anti-globalisation protest |
\ÆœntIÆgl´Ub´laIÆzeIS´n |
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Many large companies have been faced with anti-globalisation protests in recent |
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"pr´Utest\ |
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years. |
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back up (phr v) |
\Æbœk "øp\ |
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Always remember to back your work up at the end of the day. |
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backlog (n) |
\"bœklÅg\ |
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backlog of orders |
\ÆbœklÅg ´v "O…d´z\ |
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With the current backlog of orders a strike’s the last thing we need! |
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boycott (n) |
\"bOIÆkÅt\ |
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The firm was worried that rumours of contamination could lead to a widespread |
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consumer boycott. |
compensatory damages (n pl) |
\kÅmpenÆseIt´rI |
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McDonald’s was ordered to pay the woman $200,000 in compensatory damages. |
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"dœmIdZ´z\ |
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cool-headed (adj) |
\Æku…l"hed´d\ |
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Rafferty, the new CEO of the company, has a reputation as a cool-headed decision |
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maker. |
course of action (n) |
\ÆkO…s ´v "œkS´n\ |
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I’d like your input before committing us to a definite course of action. |
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crisis (n) |
\"kraIsIs\ |
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a crisis unfolds |
\´ ÆkraIsIs øn"f´Uldz\ |
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A crisis unfolded when a customer spilt coffee on herself and suffered severe |
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burns. |
crisis management (n) |
\ÆkraIsIs "mœnIdZm´nt\ |
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Crisis management consultants help companies to deal with difficult situations. |
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This file has been downloaded from www.businessenglishonline.net |
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It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. |
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© Macmillan Publishers Limited 2004. |
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in company Upper intermediate
Unit 10
headword |
pronunciation |
translation/notes |
example sentence |
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financial/image etc crisis (n) |
\f´ÆnœnS´l\ÆImIdZ |
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Buyers cancelled their orders after reading the report – for Mercedes this was a |
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"kraIsIs\ |
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financial as well as an image crisis. |
decision maker (n) |
\dI"sIZ´n ÆmeIk´\ |
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Are you a cool-headed decision maker or do you panic when you’re under |
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pressure? |
delegate (v) |
\"del´geIt\ |
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delegate tasks/jobs/ |
\Ædel´geIt |
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It’s important to learn to delegate tasks when you’re a manager. |
duties etc |
"tA…sks\"dZÅbz\"dju…tIz\ |
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delivery (n) |
\dI"lIv´rI\ |
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take delivery (of) |
\teIk "dIlIv´rI “´v‘\ |
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The company was hit hard when hundreds of buyers, waiting to take delivery, |
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cancelled their orders. |
disaster (n) |
\dI"zA…st´\ |
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disaster strikes |
\dIÆzA…st´ "straIks\ |
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Disaster struck after the publication of an critical report in a Swedish auto |
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magazine. |
downsize (n) |
\"daUnsaIz\ |
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There’s a rumour that the company is going to be downsized and people are |
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worried about the threat of redundancy. |
environmental disaster (n) |
\InÆvAIr´Æmentl |
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The oil spillage from a tanker off the coast of Spain was an environmental disaster |
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dI"zA…st´\ |
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of major proportions. |
fraud (n) |
\frO…d\ |
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accusations of fraud |
\Æœkj´ÆzeIS´nz ´v |
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The US corporation, Enron, faced accusations of fraud after irregularities in their |
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"frO…d\ |
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accounting methods were discovered. |
industrial dispute (n) |
\InÆdøstrI´l "dIspju…t\ |
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An industrial dispute between senior management and union leaders is |
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threatening to disrupt production. |
input (n) |
\"InpUt\ |
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I’d appreciate the input of all team members before coming to any decision. |
insider trading (n) |
\ÆInsaId´ "treIdIN\ |
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One of the most famous cases of insider trading was that of Nick Leeson, which |
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caused the collapse of Barings Bank. |
This file has been downloaded from www.businessenglishonline.net |
2 |
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It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2004.
in company Upper intermediate
Unit 10
headword |
pronunciation |
translation/notes |
example sentence |
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launch (n) |
\lO…ntS\ |
lawsuit (n) |
\"lO…su…t\ |
liable (adj) |
\"laI´b´l\ |
market (n) |
\"mA…k´t\ |
monopolies commission (n) |
\m´"nÅp´lIz |
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k´ÆmIS´n\ |
objection (n) |
\´b"dZekS´n\ |
objection to |
\´b"dZekS´n Ætu…\ |
option (n) |
\"ÅpS´n\ |
keep your options open |
\Æki…p j´r "ÅpS´nz |
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Æ´Up´n\ |
out-of-court settlement (n) |
\ÆaUt´vÆkO…t |
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"setlm´nt\ |
overlook (v) |
\Æ´Uv´"lUk\ |
product recall (n) |
\"prÅdøkt Æri…kO…l\ |
production plant (n) |
\pr´"døkS´n ÆplA…nt\ |
This file has been downloaded from www.businessenglishonline.net
It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2004.
Disaster struck just before the December launch of the new ‘A class’ model.
The company was faced with an expensive lawsuit when customer Stella Liebeck decided to sue for damages.
At the trial the jury found McDonald’s liable and ordered them to pay over $2.7 million in damages.
The markets directly involved in the crisis were France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
The monopolies commission is an organisation aimed at preventing companies having total control of a market.
What’s the nature of your objection to the proposal?
It’s more sensible to keep our options open at this stage.
Both parties in the McDonald’s dispute eventually made an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed sum.
Can we really afford to overlook the fact that we’ll be putting the local factory workers out of a job?
I think we should authorise a total product recall while we conduct further tests.
We need to think carefully before closing down our biggest production plant.
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in company Upper intermediate
Unit 10
headword |
pronunciation |
translation/notes |
example sentence |
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pros and cons (n pl) |
\Æpr´Uz ´n "kÅnz\ |
weigh up (all) the pros |
\weI øpÆ “O…l‘ D´ |
and the cons |
Æpr´Uz ´n "kÅnz\ |
punitive damages (n pl) |
\Æpju…n´tIv |
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"dœmIdZ´z\ |
put our/their/your heads |
\pUt ÆaU´\ÆDe´\ÆjO… |
together |
"hedz t´ÆgeD´\ |
redundancy (n) |
\rI"dønd´nsI\ |
mass redundancies (n pl) |
\Æmœs rI"dønd´nsIz\ |
rush into sth (phr v) |
\røS "Int´ ÆsømTIN\ |
safeguard (v) |
\"seIfgA…d\ |
strike (n) |
\straIk\ |
sue (v) |
\su…\ |
time is short |
\ÆtaIm Iz "SO…t\ |
an undisclosed sum (n) |
\´n ÆøndIsÆkl´Uzd |
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"søm\ |
We need to weigh up all the pros and the cons before we reach a final decision.
McDonald’s had to pay $2.7 million in punitive damages because of their ‘unacceptably dismissive attitude’.
Let’s put our heads together and see what ideas we can come up with.
Mass redundancies were announced by the firm yesterday following a 43% drop in profits.
We mustn’t rush into anything – this issue requires long and careful consideration.
Our first priority is to safeguard the well-being of our personnel.
‘The union might consider taking industrial action.’ ‘A strike?’ ‘It’s a possibility.’
When McDonald’s refused to pay the woman’s medical bills, she went to an attorney and sued the company.
Time is short – the deadline for completion of the project is in just three weeks.
The parties eventually made an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed sum.
This file has been downloaded from www.businessenglishonline.net |
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It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2004.
in company Upper intermediate
Unit 11
headword |
pronunciation |
translation/notes |
example sentence |
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adbuster (n) |
\"œdbøst´\ |
advertising budget (n) |
\"œdv´taIzIN ÆbødZ´t\ |
anti-corporate activism (n) |
\ÆœntIÆkO…p´r´t |
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"œktIvIz´m\ |
anti-corporation movement |
\ÆœntIkO…p´ÆreIS´n |
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"mu…vm´nt\ |
billboard (n) (especially AmE) |
\"bIlbO…d\ |
(BrE = hoarding) |
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brand (n) |
\brœnd\ |
brand-aware (adj) |
\Æbrœnd´"we´\ |
brand awareness (n) |
\Æbrœnd ´"we´n´s\ |
brand loyalty (n) |
\Æbrœnd "lOI´ltI\ |
well-known/major brand |
\Æweln´Un\ÆmeIdZ´ |
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"brœnd\ |
celebrity endorsement (adj) |
\s´Ælebr´tI |
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In"dO…sm´nt\ |
consumption (n) |
\k´n"sømpS´n\ |
cool hunter (n) |
\"ku…l Æhønt´\ |
This file has been downloaded from www.businessenglishonline.net
It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2004.
‘Adbusters’ are people who try to stop big companies advertising their products.
Multinationals such as Nike and Vodaphone spend a fortune on advertising – their advertising budgets are huge.
Anti-corporate activism refers to the attempts made to reduce the power and influence of large corporations.
Klein’s book, No Logo, represents the voice of the anti-corporation movement.
Billboards advertising products made by multinationals can be seen in most major cities.
Most people today are more brand-aware than at any time in the past.
There seem to be no limits to what the world’s biggest companies will do to raise brand awareness.
‘Brand loyalty’ is a marketing term describing the tendency that customers have to stick to the names they trust.
How many well-known brands are you wearing or carrying right now?
Celebrity endorsement, e.g. Britney Spears advertising Pepsi or Michael Jordan advertising Nike, is a well-known form of advertising.
Consumption in the USA is roughly 30 times greater than in India.
‘Cool hunters’ report back to big companies on the latest trends among young people.
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in company Upper intermediate
Unit 11
headword |
pronunciation |
translation/notes |
example sentence |
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corporate sponsorship (n) |
\ÆkO…p´r´t |
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Seeing the Vodaphone brand name on the side of Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari is |
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"spÅns´SIp\ |
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an example of corporate sponsorship. |
direct mail (n) (= junk mail) |
\daIÆrekt "meIl\ |
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Most people throw direct mail or ‘junk mail’ straight in the garbage. |
downmarket (adj) |
\ÆdaUn"mA…k´t\ |
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Products that are downmarket are cheap or of low quality. |
(opposite = upmarket) |
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endorse (v) |
\In"dO…s\ |
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Michael Jordan was paid more for endorsing the trainers than the entire |
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30,000-strong workforce was for making them! |
expose (v) |
\"ekÆsp´Uz\ |
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be exposed to |
\bi… ekÆsp´Uz tu…\ |
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The average American is exposed to 274 advertisements a day! |
free-trade zone (n) |
\Æfri…treId "z´Un\ |
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A lot of the products we buy are produced under terrible conditions in free-trade |
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zones in poorer countries. |
global integration (n) |
\Ægl´Ub´l |
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Do you agree that poor countries are victims of global integration? |
(= globalisation) |
ÆInt´"greIS´n\ |
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globalisation (n) |
\Ægl´Ub´laI"zeIS´n\ |
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In her book No Logo Klein claims that globalisation has hit poor countries badly. |
job security (n) |
\"dZÅb sIÆkjU´r´tI\ |
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There’s no job security – it’s ‘no work, no pay’ when orders don’t come in. |
junk mail (n) (= direct mail) |
\"dZøNk ÆmeIl\ |
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There’s been a marked increase in the amount of junk mail coming through our |
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doors in recent years. |
logo (n) |
\"l´Ug´U\ |
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Logos or company symbols have almost become an international language. |
market (n) |
\"mA…k´t\ |
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marketplace (n) |
\"mA…k´tÆpleIs\ |
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In a highly competitive marketplace thinking up distinctive names for new |
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products is a specialist business. |
market segmentation (n) |
\ÆmA…k´t |
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‘Market segmentation’ is the process of dividing up the market into sectors. |
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Æsegm´n"teIS´n\ |
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This file has been downloaded from www.businessenglishonline.net |
2 |
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It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2004.
in company Upper intermediate
Unit 11
headword |
pronunciation |
translation/notes |
example sentence |
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target market (n) |
\"tA…gIt ÆmA…k´t\ |
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It’s essential to define your target market when you’re marketing a product. |
upmarket (adj) |
\"øpmA…k´t\ |
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Products that are upmarket are expensive or of good quality. |
(opposite = downmarket) |
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multinational (n) |
\ÆmøltI"nœS´n´l\ |
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Multinationals such as Nike, Microsoft and Starbucks try to be the chief |
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communicators of all that is good in our culture. |
overbranded (adj) |
\Æ´Uv´"brœnd´d\ |
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Klein has become a campaigner against a world that she sees as being |
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‘overbranded’. |
overcapacity (n) |
\Æ´Uv´k´"pœs´tI\ |
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‘Overcapacity’ – in which you produce more of something than you can sell – is the |
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norm in most businesses. |
overtime (n) |
\"´Uv´taIm\ |
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In many of the factories used by the multinationals there is forced overtime but no |
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job security. |
PDA (n) |
\Æpi…di…"eI\ |
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A PDA is a small palmtop computer used for storing names and addresses and for |
(= personal digital |
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writing reports. |
assistant) |
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price sensitivity (n) |
\"praIs sens´ÆtIv´tI\ |
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‘Price sensitivity’ is an expression describing the tendency of some customers to |
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buy the cheapest products available. |
product (n) |
\"prÅdøkt\ |
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product development (n) |
\"prÅdøkt |
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A company such as Disney must spend billions on product development annually. |
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dIÆvel´pÆm´nt\ |
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product launch (n) |
\"prÅdøkt ÆlO…ntS\ |
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The number of grocery product launches increased from 2,700 in 1981 to 20,000 in |
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1996. |
product placement (n) |
\"prÅdøkt |
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Product placement is the use of a company’s product in a film or TV show as a way |
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ÆpleIsm´nt\ |
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of advertising it. |
This file has been downloaded from www.businessenglishonline.net |
3 |
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It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2004.
in company Upper intermediate
Unit 11
headword |
pronunciation |
translation/notes |
example sentence |
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product positioning (n) |
\"prÅdøkt p´ÆzIS´nIN\ |
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The process of deciding whether your product is upor downmarket is called |
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product positioning. |
promotion (n) |
\pr´"m´US´n\ |
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promotion of |
\pr´"m´US´n ´v\ |
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Our advertising budget dictates how much we can spend on promotion of our |
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products. |
spam (n) |
\spœm\ |
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‘Spam’ is a term describing unwanted email that is sent to large numbers of |
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people using the Internet. |
strategic alliance (n) |
\str´Æti…dZIk ´"laI´ns\ |
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A strategic alliance is formed when two or more rival companies work together in |
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order to achieve something. |
target (v) |
\"tA…g´t\ |
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Video games companies tend to target young males with their action-packed |
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titles. |
workforce (n) |
\"w‰…kfO…s\ |
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Many of the multinationals exploit their workforces, denying them job security |
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but forcing them to do overtime when necessary. |
This file has been downloaded from www.businessenglishonline.net |
4 |
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It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2004.
in company Upper intermediate
Unit 12
headword |
pronunciation |
translation/notes |
example sentence |
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chief executive (n) |
\ÆtSi…f Ig"zekj´tIv\ |
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According to Owens, someone who sends messages with lots of spelling and |
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grammar mistakes probably has the makings of a chief executive! |
computer (n) |
\k´m"pju…t´\ |
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computer hardware (n) |
\k´m"pju…t´ |
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ÆhA…dwe´\ |
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computer industry (n) |
\k´m"pju…t´ ÆIndøstrI\ |
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computer rage (n) |
\k´m"pju…t´ ÆreIdZ\ |
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copy sb in (on) (phr v) |
\ÆkÅpI sømb´dI "In |
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“Ån‘\ |
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corporate ladder (n) |
\ÆkO…p´r´t "lœd´\ |
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the top of the corporate |
\D´ ÆtÅp ´v D´ |
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ladder |
ÆkO…p´r´t "lœd´\ |
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cost (n) |
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cost breakdown (n) |
\"kÅst ÆbreIkdaUn\ |
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costing (n) |
\"kÅstIN\ |
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earnings (n) |
\"‰…nINz\ |
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lost earnings (n pl) |
\ÆlÅst "‰…nINz\ |
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fall (by) (v) |
\"fO…l |
Æ“baI‘\ |
(opposite = increase (by)) |
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fire off (phr v) |
\ÆfaI´ |
"Åf\ |
This file has been downloaded from www.businessenglishonline.net
It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2004.
Computer hardware is equipment such as the monitor, mouse and keyboard that you need to run computer programmes.
One big company in the computer industry is considering banning e-mails in the afternoon in order to save time.
A survey by MORI revealed that 75% of computer users suffer from ‘computer rage’ and actually damage their hardware.
The person to contact is called Margrethe Rasmussen and remember to copy me in on any correspondence.
Mark Howarth reached the top of the corporate ladder in October 2002 when he was appointed managing director of the firm.
I require a complete cost breakdown for the project as quickly as possible.
Please give me an estimate of the costing for the project.
Outbursts of computer rage can cost companies up to £25,000 in lost earnings and damaged hardware!
Cerner stock fell by 28% after emails which the CEO had sent to his staff found their way onto the Yahoo! website!
‘Firing off’ an e-mail means writing it and sending it as quickly as possible.
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