CHAPTER 12

READING - WRITING

In this section, you are expected to comprehend the

text about business innovation by answering questions
which are related to the topic and use the vocabulary
to write a short paragraph.
Picture 1: business-innovation-creativity-ideas-
innovative-creative-solutions-concept-word-
cloud-58091641

BEFORE READING

Read a blogpost about being innovative in business to practise and improve your
reading skills.
Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and do the exercises.
Reading - Preparation
Match the words with the definitions.
profits feedback to be aware of a demand to target
to review R&D innovative

1. using new ideas or ways of doing things

2. to look at something again to change it if necessary
3. research and development, the part of a business that develops or improves its
products
4. money that is made by a business after all the costs are paid
5. a need for something to be sold or provided
6. to direct a product at a particular person or group
7. to know that something exists
8. information about people’s opinions of something that can be used to improve it

Let’s Read.
Read innovation in business to practise and improve your reading skills, and then do
the exercises.

Survival English for Daily, Academic, and Professional Purposes 199

 CHAPTER 12
READING - WRITING

INNOVATION IN BUSINESS TEXT 1

What does it mean to be innovative in business?

In order for a business to survive in today’s world, it is important that we regularly
review what we are doing and how we are doing it. By considering new ideas and
new ways of doing things, and trying to innovate, we can improve on our products/
services, increase sales, reduce costs and make our processes more effective and
efficient. Innovation is key to increasing profits.
There are several ways a company can be innovative with their products and
services. Today we will look at four of them.
1. Using the latest technology to improve your product/service
When we think of innovation, we often think of new technologies. While they
might be impressive, we should not use new technologies just because they are
available. It is important to consider how the technology can improve our product/
service and make a difference to our customer. Companies that produce cars,
toiletries, household appliances, etc. often have a large R&D department to work
on making their products better.
2. Responding to customer demands by changing what is on offer
By listening to customer feedback, we can get their opinions on how we are doing
and find out about what it is that they want. We also need to be aware of changes
in customer demands and keep up with the times. When fast-food restaurant
McDonald’s realised that the market wanted healthier choices, they introduced
fruit and salads, while removing the ‘super-size’ option from their menus.
3. Offering a new product/service to reach new customers
Your business might be doing well, but there is no growth or development and
there is a risk that your competitors might take away some of your customers.
Innovation sometimes means developing a new product that targets a different
market. Although video games were often played by boys, in 2006, video games
giant Nintendo introduced the game console Nintendo Wii, successfully targeting
girls and older customers with games like Cooking Mama and Brain Training.
4. Changing the way you provide a service
By looking at the changes to the customer’s lifestyle and needs, we sometimes
realise that there might be better ways to serve them. Customers who do not have
a lot of time might prefer to have their food or their shopping delivered to their
homes, or they might like to do their banking online rather than in an actual bank.
Not all innovation will bring success to our businesses, but it can give us the
opportunity to grow and learn more about what we do and what our customers
might want.
Taken from Learning English British Council

200 Survival English for Daily, Academic, and Professional Purposes

 CHAPTER 12
READING - WRITING

Vocabulary
household appliances (N) : peralatan rumah tangga
R&D department (N) : Departemen Penelitian dan
Pengembangan
keep up with the times (N) : mengikuti perkembangan
zaman

Exercise 1
Fill the gaps with the correct word.

convenient demands aware better recent

innovative customers development

Wee need to introduce (1) ______ ideas and ways of doing things so that we can improve
and grow. One way of doing this is to look at the most (2) ______ technologies and see
how they can make our products or services (3) ______. Some companies have research
and (4) ______ department that specialises in this. Another way is to be (5) ______ of
changes in what our customers want and make sure we offer products or services that
meet their (6) ______. A third way of introducing innovation is to develop new products
that can help you target new (7) ______. You can also change the way your service is
offered to make it more (8) ______ for your customers.

Exercise 2
Are the sentences true or false (1–6).
1. We innovate because we want to increase the amount of money our businesses
make. (............)
2. Being innovative is all about using the newest technologies in your business.
(............)
3. Customers often don’t know what they want. (............)
4. McDonald’s have not changed their menu since they started. (............)
5. If you always target the same customers, you might lose them to your competitors.
(............)
6. Nintendo understood that only boys will play computer games. (............)

BUSINESS PHONE CALLS (COMMUNICATION) TEXT 2

Even with today’s overall focus on technology, business phone calls, or phone
calls intended to discuss deals, agreements, and any other information of professional
significance are important and often-utilized, as they allow experts from a number of
different companies and organizations to completely understand one another. Like

Survival English for Daily, Academic, and Professional Purposes 201

 CHAPTER 12
READING - WRITING

many other aspects of business, phone calls feature quite a few variables and elements
that should be considered by those involved. Failing to consider these variables and
elements can inhibit a business phone call’s effect and negatively impact business
relationships.
First and foremost, a caller dials and starts a business phone call, while a receiver
answers a business phone call.
Starting a business phone call might appear to be as easy as dialling a phone
number, but there’s a bit more to the process than that. The caller should assure that
the call is taking place at an appropriate time for the receiver, that there is well-defined
subject matter to discuss, and that this subject matter is outlined. Well-defined subject
matter could be anything from a potential deal to agreement specifics, and even an
inquiry as to how a client is feeling and what he or she needs.
Outlines of important discussion points, or reminders of topics that should be
talked about during conversations, help make business phone calls as meaningful
and useful as possible. With that said, business phone calls can begin with some light-
hearted small talk, or non-official talk that’s intended to offer a break from official
conversation, to build trust and emphasize a relationship, before proceeding into
matters of professional concern.
Receiving a business phone call is similarly straightforward. If one is unable to
talk at a given moment, the generally accepted practice is to answer a call and request
that the caller phone back at a later time (or that he or she receive a return call at a
later time). Other than that, one simply answers, remains courteous and attentive,
and allows the caller to guide the conversation. It’s recommended that one take notes
during business phone calls.
Exchanging information, or providing contact details, pertinent figures or statistics,
or other requested data is a common business phone call practice that can be started
by the caller or the receiver. To exchange information, one simply asks the individual
on the other end of the phone if he or she believes it would be mutually beneficial (or
helpful for all parties involved) to swap specified information. If an agreement is made,
the received information should be taken note of.
If something that a caller says isn’t completely understood or isn’t clear, one can
politely ask him or her to repeat what was said. This request can be as simple as “Can
you please repeat that?” or “Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”
Ending a business phone call, or the process of hanging up and bringing a
conversation to a close, is usually automatic, and occurs when both callers feel that the
dialogue’s purposes have been fulfilled. If a business phone call has to be ended early
(because something unforeseen has come up), the caller should ask if the dialogue can
continue at a later time.
Taken from www.linguahouse.com

202 Survival English for Daily, Academic, and Professional Purposes

 CHAPTER 12
READING - WRITING

Exercise 3
Answer these multiple-choice questions according to the text 2.

1. What is a business phone call?

(A). A phone call between two friends
(B). A phone call about no particular subject
(C). A phone call intended to discuss deals, agreements, and any other information
of professional significance
(D). None of the above
2. Whose job is it to outline a business phone call’s conversation topic?
(A). The receiver
(B). The company
(C). The caller
(D). Both the company and the receiver
3. What is the purpose of small talk?
(A). To help business experts make deals
(B). To offer the caller and receiver a brief break and improve their relationship
(C). To waste company time and resources
(D). To see who can talk at a lower volume
4. What type of information should be exchanged?
(A). Information that’s unrelated to work
(B). Information that’s agreed upon at the start of a conversation
(C). Any information
(D). Mutually beneficial information
5. How should one ask a caller to repeat something?
(A). Politely and respectfully, to aid the conversation and the relationship
(B). Rudely, to punish him or her for not being clear
(C). One shouldn’t ask a caller to repeat something
(D). Quickly, to save time

BUSINESS EMAIL WRITING (COMMUNICATION) TEXT 3

Besides playing a major role in most individuals’ personal lives, technology plays a
major role in most businesspersons’ professional lives, as it’s convenient, reliable, and
efficient. From text messaging to emailing and scanning files to Skyping, high-tech
practices are common in companies.

Survival English for Daily, Academic, and Professional Purposes 203

 CHAPTER 12
READING - WRITING

To benefit as much as possible from these practices, businesspersons must craft

and send professional business emails, or emails that serve an official, company-related
purpose and are appropriately written. Professional business emails are appreciated
by co-workers, customers, and potential clients alike.
Professional general emails are carefully worded and concise messages about any
company subject. For example, one can send a professional general email to a co-
worker in regards to supply information, to a customer in regards to purchase needs,
and so on and so forth. It’s important that professional general emails be attentively
worded and as brief as possible, to help receivers digest the enclosed information and
requests.
Professional response emails are courteous and useful messages sent to a person
or organization that sent an initial message. For example, a business manager who’s
asked about his company’s outlook in an email would send a professional response
email to address the sender’s questions and concerns. This type of email should
provide answers and data that’re useful to the recipients, based upon what he or she
stated initially.
Perhaps the most considerable difficulty in sending professional business emails
is remaining calm and official. For example, it might be tempting to send an angry
email in response to a customer complaint, but doing so would negatively impact one’s
company, reputation, and performance. Instead, one should form an email response
that is collected, helpful, and useful. The short-term benefits of sending professional
business emails are enhanced productivity, optimal cooperation, and a minimal
amount of wasted resources. In the long-term, however, someone who consistently
sends professional business emails will likely develop a professional reputation.
Taken from www.linguahouse.com

Exercise 4
Answer these multiple-choice questions according to the text 3.
1. What are professional business emails?
(A). Fun emails exchanged between friends
(B). Text messages sent during work
(C). Emails that serve an official, company-related purpose and are appropriately
written
(D). Emails sent in response to other emails
2. What are professional general emails?
(A). Unimportant emails sent by a company’s president
(B). Emails send to a company’s stockholders
(C). Carefully worded and concise messages about any company subject
(D). None of the above

204 Survival English for Daily, Academic, and Professional Purposes

 CHAPTER 12
READING - WRITING

3. What are professional response emails?

(A). Emails sent to ask a question
(B). Emails sent for an official, company-related purpose
(C). Courteous and useful messages sent to a person or organization that sent an
initial message
(D). 2 and 3
4. How should professional response emails be composed?
(A). Calmly and professionally
(B). Angrily
(C). Without consideration for the recipient’s concerns
(D). As unprofessionally as possible
5. What are the benefits of sending professional business emails?
(A). Improved relationships
(B). Effective communication
(C). Saved money
(D). All of the above

Exercise 5
Reread all the texts above to study how each writer develops their opinions and facts.
Identify the opinions and facts. Write a paragraph that consists of between 6 and eight
sentences.

LISTENING - SPEAKING

https://activitiestpc.wordpress.com/2018/06/11/listening-and-speaking-skill/
In this section, you are expected to comprehend spoken texts
about a b u s i n e s s i n t e r v i e w by answering questions which is
related to the topic correctly as well as to use the vocabularies to
have spoken activity about the subject matter. In addition, the
development of listening strategy (focusing on the last line,
avoiding the similar words, and answering with synonym) is also
required to be mastered well by the students, especially to do an English proficiency
test.

Before Listening

Listen to the business interview to practise and improve your listening skills.
Before listening
Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.

Survival English for Daily, Academic, and Professional Purposes 205