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Biesenbach-Lucas 8

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FEP Theme: Innovative Business Strategies – Text Activities

Complete the reading packet in the order in which it is presented. You will read two texts as you complete the activities.

ACTIVITIES FOR TEXT #1

Write an APA Reference citation for the text:

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Pre-Reading Task A: Background

Every business/company strives to make a profit. This becomes more difficult in times of an economic recession when people have less money to spend.

What do you think consumers do more of or less of when they have less money to purchase goods and services?

______________________________________________________

What do you think companies need to do in times when consumers do not want to – or cannot afford – to spend as much money as they used to on various items or services?

______________________________________________________

What do you think the following types of companies might do?

· A department store: ___________________________________________________

· An electronics store: ___________________________________________________

· An upscale restaurant: ___________________________________________________

· A bookstore: ___________________________________________________

The title of the first reading, from Business Week, is “Innovative Ways to Grow During the Downturn”. Scan the text for names of companies about which the texts reports; then, write what kind of product/s or service/s each company sells; and finally, predict what innovative ways these companies might use:

Company	Product/s & Service/s	Innovative ways

Now, scan the text for subheadings and sub-subheadings; then, make a prediction about what these subheadings might mean.

____________________________ ( ________________________________

Reading, Comprehension, and Critical Thinking

Read the first part of the text “Innovative Ways to Grow During the Downturn” from Business Week (up to “$200 million in revenue this year” = end of p.1/top of p.2) and complete the questions below.

What are some trends among consumers when the economic situation worsens?

__________________________________________________________________

What is the impact of these trends on businesses?

__________________________________________________________________

How are specific companies taking these consumer trends in an economic downturn into consideration?

	What is the company’s innovative move?	To which consumer trend from above does the move react?
Walmart
Proctor & Gamble
Hulu.com

Now read the second part of the text “Innovative Ways to Grow During the Downturn” and complete the questions below .

Well-timed innovations: What 3 strategies should companies consider, according to the text (= check the sub-subheadings)? Explain each in your own words!

The 3 strategies	Your explanation

Extend your thinking: How might an “upscale” coffee bar like Starbucks take these aspects into account?

The 3 strategies	How might Starbucks react?

Now think about another company/business that you know: How might this company react to an economic crisis?

_________________________________ [company name]

The 3 strategies	How might this company react?

Describing Graphs

One aspect that companies need to monitor continuously – not only during economic hard times – is market performance; that is, what the sales numbers are and with that, the income obtained from sales of a certain product or service. Market performance needs to stay at a certain level for a company to remain profitable.

Read the texts that accompany each graph (examples 1,2,3) below.

Pay attention to the structure/organization of the descriptions and the verb forms that are used.

Figure 1: Sales of Microwave Ovens – 2004-present

(in thousands)

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

20042005200620072008present

Figure 1 shows sales of microwave ovens between 2004 and 2009. From 2004 to 2005, sales increased slightly from 20,000 to 25,000 units. Over the course of the next year, sales rose steeply to 45,000 units and then remained stable in 2007. Between 2007 and 2008, sales decreased dramatically to 15,000 units. Since 2008, sales have gradually increased to 21,000 units. The implication is that the current marketing campaign is working.

Figure 2: image4.emf

Sales of Video Games – 1995-present

(in thousands) Figure 2 shows sales of video games

between 1995 and the present time.

From 1995 to 1998, sales increased

slightly from 20,000 games to 27,000

games. Between 1998 and 2001, sales

remained stable. Between 2001 and

2009, sales fluctuated between 24,000

and 40,000 video games. Since 2009,

sales have decreased until the present

time. This might indicate that people

are finding other means of e entertainment.

Figure 3: Sales of Corn Flakes – 1900-present

image5.emf

Figure 3 shows the change in sales of

breakfast cereals (corn flakes) as a

percentage of other breakfast meals between 1900 and the present time. Between 1900 and 1930, corn flakes sales went down from 53% to 35% of breakfast foods. Sales went up slightly to 45% in 1940. Since World War II, sales have remained stable at about 40%. It can be seen that breakfast cereals remain a staple in the breakfast food industry.

Practice

A. Select the best verb form for describing the information from the graphs.

image6.emf

200020042005present

(1) Production increased / has increased from 2000 to 2004.

It then fell / has fallen sharply, but since 2005 it

stabilized / has stabilized.

image7.emf

1990199520002005present

(2) Sales of designer jeans were / have been stable

in the early 1990s. Since then, sales increased /

have increased steadily.

B. Write an appropriate sentence to describe the graph – use past tense and present perfect correctly.

Sales of News Magazines at School Bookstore

It is Friday evening.

image8.emf

MonTuesWedThurFri

Describe the graph information from

Tuesday to Wednesday.

____________________________

Now describe the information from

Thursday through Friday (=today).

____________________________

__________________________________

image9.emf

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

19992002200520072008present

SUV production in the U.S.

Describe SUV sales between 1999 and 2006.

_____________________________________

Describe sales between 2006 and 2007.

_____________________________________

Describe sales between 2007 and today.

_____________________________________

image10.emf

100

199520002005present

regular coffeefair trade coffee

specialty coffee

Coffee Sales at Gourmet Coffee Shop

Describe sales of regular coffee.

__________________________________

Describe sales of fair trade coffee.

__________________________________

Describe sales of specialty coffee drinks.

__________________________________

E. Now, research the market performance of a specific company, create a line graph, and describe the trends.

Company: ____________________________________

Product/s: ____________________________________

Market performance: [paste graph here] – give the graph a number and title

Your description of the graph – pay attention to structure and verb forms:

_________________________________________________________

Vocabulary: Complete the parts of speech grid:

Noun	Verb	Adjective	Adverb	Synonym of the bolded word
		innovative
	to exploit
	to explore
	to invest
instability
		strategic

Paraphrases of Sentences from the Text:

Write paraphrases of the sentences below. Try to use a different sentence structure by using different parts of speech of the words in the sentences.

1. “Companies should invest the time and money to unearth unmet customer needs.”

__________________________________________________________________________

2. “Innovation needs to be a strategic priority if corporations hope to do more than merely survive.”

__________________________________________________________________________

FEP Reading Evaluation – Text #1 Summer 2014

Name: ________________________ Date: ____________________________

4 = excellent 3 = good 2 = satisfactory 1 = weak 0 = unsatisfactory

Text 1:

___ Responses indicate comprehension of text content.

___ Responses to questions are complete and thorough.

___ Responses show critical thinking about the issues from the readings.

___ Responses accurately address the questions.

___ Responses are correct in those cases where there are correct/incorrect answers.

___ Responses to graph activities show understanding of graph description structure and

language use.

___ Vocabulary parts are completed accurately.

___ Paraphrases show attempts at changing original sentence structure and result in

meaningful paraphrases.

___ Responses are free of grammar errors.

___ Responses are free of spelling and mechanics errors.

___ Forbidden words are avoided.

_______ / 40 points

ACTIVITIES FOR TEXT #2

Write an APA Reference citation for the text:

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Pre-Reading Task A:

Now turn to the second reading, which presents a particular innovation to boost a company’s image, attract customers, and thus increase profits. What particular aspect does this text discuss?

____________________________________________________________________

How can company logos become “warmer” and “fuzzier”? What do you think this means?

Warmer: _____________________________________________________________

Fuzzier: ______________________________________________________________

How can company logos become “refreshed”? What do you think this means?

____________________________________________________________________

Looking over the images that you see on the page, what can you predict are some of the aspects in which company logos are apparently changing? After you read the text, write in the right column any corrections to your predictions:

*Predict: How are company logos changing?*	*Corrections after reading:*

What do the following colors mean to you? After you read the text, write in the right column what the text says about the meaning of these colors:

*Colors*	*Meaning to you?*	*Meaning according to the text?*
navy/dark blue
Light blue
yellow
red
purple
orange
green

Compare the before/after logos of various companies. Use sentences from the short descriptions next to the logos. Follow the examples that are already in the grid.

After that, explain what the common trends in the changes are.

	*Before*	*After*	*Trends in Change*
Walmart	all capital letters	lower case, light blue letters with an added “spark”	Lower case Soft color Friendly image
Kraft
Cheer
Stop & Shop
Sysco
Quick Chek
Blackwater

Reading Comprehension and Critical Thinking:

After you read “Warmer, Fuzzier: The Refreshed Logo”, answer the questions below:

How is a logo important for a company/business? Why?

____________________________________________________________________

Why have some companies begun to change their logos?

____________________________________________________________________

What are the characteristics of these new logos?

____________________________________________________________________

Find a company (other than the ones mentioned in the article!!) that has changed its logo recently. Show the before and after below:

Old logo	New logo

What message did the old logo send?

____________________________________________________________________

Describe the change:

____________________________________________________________________

What message does the new logo send?

____________________________________________________________________

Then, identify what the advantage of this new logo is.

____________________________________________________________________

Designing and Recommending a New Logo

Select one company (other than the ones mentioned in the article!!) and recommend how this company might change its logo. Some possible companies include IBM, Hewlitt Packard, United Airlines, Sony, UPS, or others. Show the before and after below by drawing/creating a new image:

Company Name: ______________________
Old logo	New logo

What message does the current logo send?

____________________________________________________________________

Describe the possible change:

____________________________________________________________________

What message would the new logo send?

____________________________________________________________________

Then, identify what the advantage of this new logo would be.

____________________________________________________________________

More Critical Thinking and Application

Some company’s logos do not display the company’s name, as the examples below show. Do you know which companies have those logos below?

Company: __________________ Company: ____________________

How/why/when is it possible for a company to delete its name from its logo?

____________________________________________________________________

Do you know other companies whose logos do not show the company name? Paste their logos below:

Company: __________________ Company: ____________________

Discuss: Have you noticed any logo changes for businesses in your country? Are these the same changes that Text #2 describes? (**Do NOT merely write yes or no!!)

____________________________________________________________________

Thinking back about the title of the article and your predictions about it before you read the text, what would you say now: How can company logos become “warmer” and “fuzzier”? What do these words imply?

Warmer: _____________________________________________________________

Fuzzier: ______________________________________________________________

How can company logos become “refreshed”? What does this word imply?

____________________________________________________________________

Vocabulary:

In the text, which are some words/expressions that would not be appropriate in academic/formal writing? Propose a more formal way of expressing the same idea:

__in mid-swan dive__________________ ( ________________________________

________________________________ ( ________________________________

Paraphrases of Sentences from the Text:

Write a paraphrase of the sentence below. Try to use a different sentence structure by using different parts of speech of the words in the sentences.

1. “The world economy is in mid-swan dive. Wallets are in lockdown.”

__________________________________________________________________________

2. “A logo is to a company what a face is to a person.”

__________________________________________________________________________

FEP Reading Evaluation – Text #2 Summer 2014

Name: ________________________ Date: ____________________________

4 = excellent 3 = good 2 = satisfactory 1 = weak 0 = unsatisfactory

Text 2:

___ Responses indicate comprehension of text content.

___ Responses to questions are complete and thorough.

___ Responses show critical thinking about the issues from the readings.

___ Responses accurately address the questions.

___ Responses are correct in those cases where there are correct/incorrect answers.

___ Appropriate company logos are discussed and appropriate changes are suggested,

incorporating ideas from the reading.

___ Vocabulary parts are completed accurately.

___ Paraphrases show attempts at changing original sentence structure and result in

meaningful paraphrases.

___ Responses are free of grammar errors.

___ Responses are free of spelling and mechanics errors.

___ Forbidden words are avoided.

_______ / 40 points

� EMBED MSGraph.Chart.8 \s ��

20042005200620072008present

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

19992002200520072008present

100

199520002005present

regular coffeefair trade coffee

specialty coffee

200020042005present

1990199520002005present

MonTuesWedThurFri

reading packet

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