Unit 4: Exercise 1

Match the words and phrases with the definitions.

Apply bankruptcy deal launch loan profit start-up target market

1. an amount of money that is borrowed and has to be paid back with interest:
_______________
2. a situation in which a company or a person has no money to continue in business:
_______________
3. an event to celebrate or introduce something new: _______________
4. money that is earned in business after paying the costs of producing and selling goods
and services: _______________
5. an agreement or an arrangement, especially in business: _______________
6. a particular group of consumers which a product or service is aimed at:
_______________
7. a small business that has just been set up: _______________
8. to request something, especially in writing or by sending a form: _______________

Unit 4: Exercise 2
Match the words to form collocations.

a product forecast for bankruptcy research a deal call

for a loan satisfaction

1. launch
2.apply
3. finalise
4.file
5. market
6. conference
7. customer
8. sales

Unit 4: Exercise 3
Complete the sentences. Use the words and phrases in the box.
 Apply file finalise forecast launched market research profit

satisfaction

1. The company _____________ a new product at the beginning of the year.

2. Business has improved this quarter and we have made a ____________ for the first
time in two years.

3. The sales team is pleased to report that customer ________________ levels are at an
all-time high.

4. After a long period of difficult negotiations, the sales team managed to

_______________ the deal with our suppliers.

5. We have a serious cash-flow problem at the moment and will need to

______________ for a loan.

6. The company had a lot of debt and no hope of repaying it, so it had to
________________ for bankruptcy.

7. We undertook a lot of ________________ to make sure that there would be enough

demand for our new product.
8. The executives issued a revised sales _________________ for the next quarter.

Unit 4: Exercise 4
Match the sentences in the box with the sentences with similar meanings.

For them, time management is crucial. She often invests in business start-ups.

Their target market is the Middle East. They carefully manage their budgets.

They constantly seek to expand their company.

They understand the importance of customer satisfaction.

1. They analyse how long it takes to complete each task.

______________________________________________________________

2. They conduct surveys to find out clients’ reactions to their products and services.

______________________________________________________________

3. They want to avoid having financial problems.

______________________________________________________________
 4. They ensure that their advertising is suitable for Arab cultures.

______________________________________________________________

5. They are always looking out for new business opportunities.

______________________________________________________________

6. The investor makes big profits from small new companies.

______________________________________________________________

Unit 4: Exercise 5
Read the information. Then choose the correct modal verb forms to complete
the sentences.

We use have to and must to talk about actions that are necessary. There is a small difference
in meaning between have to and must. Consider the following situations:

I have to take two tablets a day for seven weeks.

I must go to the gym more often to get fit.

We use have to to talk about an obligation that comes from someone else (e.g. a doctor). We
use must to talk about a personal obligation. We also use must to talk about written rules and
instructions. For example, in the IELTS test, you will see the following instruction:

You must present the same identity document that you used when you registered for the test.

We use need to to talk about something that is important for you to do. It is commonly used
for something that is important at that particular time.

I need to go shopping today as we don’t have any food in the house.

As well as don't need to, there is a second possible negative form of need: needn’t. It is used
to describe something that isn’t necessary. It has same meaning as don’t need to and don’t
have to. For example:

You needn’t wear a suit to work.

You don’t have to wear a suit to work.

We use should to give advice or a recommendation:

You should speak to your boss about the problems with your workload.

Note that the past form of should is should have + past participle. We use the past form of
should to talk about regrets.

The company shouldn’t have invested so much money in the new building.
 1. Our company got into such financial difficulty that we had to/have to/would have to
file for bankruptcy last year.

2. You had to/have to/would have to apply for a loan this week, otherwise you won’t be
able to pay your bills at the end of the month.

3. We urgently needed to/ needn’t have/ would have to launch a new product to remain
competitive.

4. The factory must have/ shouldn’t have/ would have to make a profit to avoid closure.

5. He had to/must/ needed to be very well prepared, otherwise he’ll never close the deal.

6. The company has got to/must/ should have set a higher production target if it really
wanted to win the contract.

7. We don’t have to/ needn’t have/ would have to increase production, because the sales
forecast indicates a big drop in demand.

8. We needed to/ needn’t have/ should have published a new mail-order catalogue
because all of our customers now access information about our products online.

Unit 4: Exercise 6
Read the consultant’s report to a company. Complete the board of directors’
action points with the correct modal verbs in the correct tenses.

Consultant’s report

Necessary action points (for urgent attention)

1 Change the logo from a rectangle to a square.
2 Don’t use red in the branding.

Recommendations
1 Modify the company website.
2 Don’t continue with the current marketing strategy.

Regrets
1 Failure to export to China.
2 Too much time and money spent on redesigning the warehouse.

1. We ________________ change the logo from a rectangle to a square.

2. We ________________ use red in the branding.

 3. We ________________ modify the company website.

4. We ________________ continue with the current marketing strategy.

5. We ________________ exported to China. It was a missed opportunity.

6. We ________________ spent time and money on redesigning the warehouse. It was

unnecessary.

Unit 4: Exercise 7
Correct the underlined mistake in each sentence.

1. Yesterday, I have to draw up a shortlist of applicants for the job of sales manager.

2. I had to go on a business trip to Sweden next week.

3. He didn’t have to wear a tie at work anymore because they’ve changed the dress code.

4. I didn’t need have gone to the progress meeting this morning. It wasn’t relevant to
me.

5. I will have to get an MBA if I wanted to get the managing director job.

6. You had to complete the report by two o’clock today if you want to meet the deadline.

Unit 4: Exercise 8
Rewrite the sentences using modal verbs. The first one has been done for you.

1. It is recommended that start-ups look for a variety of investors.

Start-ups should look for a variety of investors.

2. It is vital that companies submit their tax returns before the April deadline.

____________________________________________________________________

3. It is not necessary for consultants to analyse the market trends in South America.

____________________________________________________________________

4. It is recommended that companies check their sales forecasts on a monthly basis.

 ____________________________________________________________________

5. Companies are strongly advised not to upgrade their systems until the bugs have been
fixed.

____________________________________________________________________

6. Employees are not allowed to access their work emails from their personal computers.

____________________________________________________________________

7. It was not necessary for the company to use an external consultant.

____________________________________________________________________

Unit 4: Exercise 9
Look at the words and phrases in the box which could be used in a business
presentation. Then put them in the correct categories.

Alternatively first of all looking at it from another perspective that said

in other words secondly the first item on the agenda is what this means is

on the other hand to begin with to put it another way moving onto

following on from this

at the start of a presentation introducing additional points

giving opposing, opposite or wider views explaining and clarifying points

Unit 4: Exercise 10
Read the opening remarks made by a company chairman at a board meeting.
Complete the sentences with the words and phrases in the box.

Bankruptcy developing don’t have to had to have to in other words

Launched needn’t have sales forecast that said to begin with

Good morning, colleagues. _______________ , I’m sure that I ________________ stress the
importance of our meeting this morning. As you know, the company _________________
file for ______________last month. I am, of course, aware that several of you opposed this
action feeling that we __________________ acted so swiftly. _______________ , I feel I
________________ point out that the __________________ for this coming year is way
below expectation, which reduced our options. So, where do we go from here? There is the
possibility that our main competitors may be interested in taking over some of our business.
Some of them have formally expressed in writing that they are interested in
_________________ the product we __________________ in November. My door is always
open; __________________ , please feel free to come and speak to me about this issue at any
time.