Since 2003 we’ve been sending great resources to support the In Company series straight to your inbox. On the ball, expertly written by Pete Sharma, always relevant and infinitely practical… these are resources that have helped thousands of teachers prepare their classes.
Here we have put them into an easy-to-search archive with the most recent on show first. You can filter by topic, level, month or year or simply browse over 200 e-lessons.
Thanks to all those who filled out our In Company E-lesson survey. We had a great response and it’s great to hear what you think.
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The UK government has recently (and anonymously) investigated the tax returns of a number of wealthy individuals. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the UK finance minister, is apparently 'shocked' that is many of them pay little or no tax. Just how do they do it?
It’s all about the difference between ‘tax avoidance’ and ‘tax evasion’. The first is legal, the second isn't. There are a number of ways to avoid or reduce paying income tax. You can:
The reason tax avoidance has suddenly become such a ‘hot topic’ is the idea that some rich people give money to charity simply to avoid paying tax. Charities are now scared that branding donors as ‘tax- dodgers’ is unfair to their benefactors. Mind you, it has been observed that there are some so-called charitable organisations that do “very little charity work”.
In the world of tax avoidance, where reputable accountants devote their lives to discovering tax loopholes and creating offshore accounts, it strikes me that the division between tax avoidance and tax evasion is maybe too simplistic. There is a grey area in the middle. Should wealthy individuals really be allowed to pay little or no tax?
Questions you may wish to ask your students:
1) Do you know any charities which do ‘very little charitable work’?
2) What do you think about the various schemes for avoiding paying tax? Can you add any more?
3) Is the tax system in your country fair?
Some websites of interest are:
The new iPad: is the tablet changing the face of business?
March 2012. It's here: the new iPad, the first product launch from Apple since the death of Steve Jobs. It’s the higher screen resolution that most tech reviewers are gushing over. This has been described as: “simply stunning”.
The other changes (faster connectivity; better camera) are more ‘evolutionary’ – improving an existing product – than revolutionary. Of course, criticism of the device continues (cost; the lack of ports), but one thing is sure: sales will continue to rise. Not just iPad sales, but sales of other tablet devices.
Not bad for a product which did not exist two years ago. Is it now a must-have accessory? Noticing is the number of business people clutching their iPads has got me thinking about how tablets are changing the way we do business.
Many business users may be just relaxing and watching movies on their tablet, but some will be reading the FT online; using it for note-taking in meetings; finalising that presentation or spread-sheet, or downloading one of the vast and growing number of business apps. You can now track flights; photograph a document and fax (yes, fax) it; record a business call (with the other person’s permission, of course); snap business cards and store them; even join a business video chat with WebEx.
So, is all this work (supposedly!) going on using tablets leading to an increase in productivity?
Not everyone is happy. Many IT managers dislike employees using personal devices at work. Integrating them into a corporate network may be risky. Neither do they like too many users logging onto the wi-fi at the same time.
Some companies are actually buying tablets to replace PCs, which strikes me as a bit premature. Will there come a day when the pc and the laptop disappear? Love them or not, the tablet has certainly made a splash in the business world. I’m actually off to a conference next week. Of course, I’ve just downloaded the free conference app…..
Questions you can ask your students:
Will you buy a new iPad? Why / why not?
What are the pros and cons of tablets?
Will tablets replace laptops?
Can tablets improve productivity?
Which is your favourite business app?
Here are a couple of interesting sites:
Top 25 apps for business
http://www.cio.com/slideshow/detail/33317/Top-25-iPhone---iPad-Apps-for-Business
The best iPad business apps
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372150,00.asp
Download the above article in pdf version on the icon above.
Bankers' bonuses
As austerity measures impact on the lives of people all around the industrialised world, a simple question is once again being asked: “Should bankers get big bonuses?” This leads to several more complicated questions: what is each employee worth in terms of salary? Should bonuses be a part of your salary, or should they only be given to reward success? Should anyone receive high payouts when many others are suffering hardship? And how does one financially reward the board of director, the CEO and other senior management?
The current row over bankers’ bonuses has erupted around one man, Stephen Hester, the chief of RBS - the Royal Bank of Scotland. Everyone remembers how the banks were rescued, how the government stepped in to prevent the banks from failing. Today 82% of RBS is owned by the taxpayers. At the end of 2008, RBS reported the largest annual loss in UK corporate history: over £24 billion. Stephen Hester was brought in to turn around the bank's fortunes.
Hester has, by most accounts, done well. This year he was awarded a 'share-only' bonus, worth nearly £1m. What happened next was a huge public outcry. How can such an award be justified? This month, in an extraordinary move, Stephen Hester said he would waive his right to these shares, due largely to public pressure.
Since then, the chief executive of Network Rail has turned down his bonus of over £340,000. In his case, the company failed to meet some of its performance targets.
The argument on pay is now sharply polarised. One side believes simply that rewards for City executives are too high and need to be reduced, especially in a time of austerity.
The other side say that this view is fundamentally 'anti-business'. Bonuses and pay are essential to ensure the work attracts the most skilled people and so leads to broader prosperity. In other words, success should be rewarded.
So, the controversy about bankers pay and bonuses goes on, raising many issues. Questions to ask your students include:
Was Stephen Hester right to turn down his bonus?
Do bonuses exist for some jobs in their own country? Are they fair? Should bonuses always be linked to success?
Whose salaries (banker, doctor, politician, CEO) are too high?
Here are two interesting links:
Public 'want top pay reined in' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16778264
'We expect restraint' on executive pay http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16694862
You can download a pdf of this post through the link icon above.
Does money make us happy?
It is called 'Blue Monday'. The third Monday of the year is supposed to be the most miserable day of the year, partly due to the weather (in the UK, anyway!) and the fact that our personal debt is usually high just after Christmas.
On Blue Monday 2012, the IEA (Institute of Economic Affairs), a 'think-tank', released a report on so-called 'happiness economics' or 'well-being'. This report is critical of the UK government's attempt at trying to find out what makes us happy. The answer, it seems, is: money! In other words, richer people are happier with their lives.
Can this be true? The UK government is actually spending £2 million in trying to find out what makes people happy. A pilot project by the ONU (Office for National Statistics) drew up a list of indicators, including health, education, income and work. People in the UK were asked to evaluate their 'happiness' or 'life satisfaction' on a scale of 1-10. The average is 7.4. That makes us a pretty happy nation!
The idea of measuring happiness originated in the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. They questioned the idea that you can measure a countries' success using one economic indicator - GNP (Gross National Product). The concept of GNH or 'gross national happiness' was born.
There are many surveys out there. Forbes has measured happiness in different countries, based on a number of factors such as the economy, entrepreneurship, education, health, safety and personal freedom. Norway comes out as the happiest nation on earth, according to this survey.
One survey by the Wall Street Journal and the iOpener Institute across 80 countries looked at happiness in the workplace. It found that the Dutch were happiest at work and the Italians most miserable. There are certainly benefits to measuring happiness at work. It could lead to staff retention, and better productivity. However, 'happiness' itself is a pretty subjective concept!
Do your students believe it is possible to measure happiness? Does money 'make us happy'? What do they think about the findings of the 'happiness surveys' mentioned in this blog post? How would they evaluate their own happiness at work?
Here are some interesting links:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15535717
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mef45ejmi/the-worlds-happiest-and-saddest-countries-2/
You can download a printable version of this post above.
Level - Upper Intermediate
Users of Prezi pass the five million mark: is this business tool changing the way we deliver presentations?
Last month, the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies announced its list of 'Top 100 Tools for Learning, 2011'. What made me take notice was that fact that Prezi had risen to number 7. PowerPoint, on the other hand, had slipped down the chart, to number 19.
What exactly is a Prezi? It's a tool that allows you to deliver a presentation in a 'non-linear’ way. You can zoom in on any piece of information at random, be it a picture or piece of text. I first saw a presenter use Prezi last year, and I was very impressed.
With PowerPoint, we tend to think in a linear way, one slide after another. With Prezi, the presenter can focus on things as they come up. This means they can respond to the audience, and give a more interactive presentation.
I've lost count of the number of PowerPoint slides I have seen that are packed full of text, details, dimensions and statistics. I know that the audience will be suffering from 'death by PowerPoint'!
As the number of Prezi users worldwide soars past the five million mark, it seems like the idea of 'zooming' presentations is becoming much more popular. The original e-lesson ‘The best presentations ever …?’discusses the idea of breaking the rules, just like Prezi is breaking traditional linear rules of presentation.
However, we are still just talking about presentation tools. Great presenters still need confidence and, above all, charisma. They also aim to be impactful and memorable. Ah well – it looks like I'm going to have to try out Prezi myself!
Some questions you may wish to discuss with your students are:
Level
Elementary / Pre-intermediate
Salaries Revisited
FTSE directors’ earnings rise by nearly 50%
Once again, directors’ pay is back in the news. A new report from a research company, the IDS (Incomes Data Services), has revealed that last year the earnings of UK directors of the top 100 FTSE companies rose by nearly 50%. The average increase in CEO salaries was 43%. What’s more, directors’ bonuses have reportedly risen by 23%, making the average bonus a staggering £900,000!
This research has generated a flurry of activity in the blogosphere. On the whole, most contributors are furious. The huge salary rises are described as ‘outrageous’ and ‘obscene’. ‘Boardroom greed’ and ‘fat cats’ are terms which occur in several posts. Many feel that directors’ bonuses are simply not linked to successful performance in the marketplace. It is not surprising that this research has triggered a wave of anger. For most ordinary workers in the United Kingdom, there is no real salary rise this year. The average pay increase is around 3.2% (2.6% in the private sector), with inflation at around 5.2%.
However, not all the posts condemn the increase in directors’ salaries. Some writers point out that, in the private sector, directors set their own salaries. That’s capitalism. What is more, CEO salaries should be high - these people take the business risks and this is rightly reflected in their pay.
The original e-lesson, ‘Salaries’, mentioned the ‘pay divide’. This latest research suggests that this gap is widening. The lesson also posed the question: ‘Are bonuses fair?’. Today, such bonuses are just a standard part of many remuneration packages. What seems to be clear is that the salaries for those at the very top are now even further removed from the everyday economic realities of the rest of us.
Some questions you may wish to discuss with your students are:
LEVEL: UPPER INTERMEDIATE
IMF warns of threat to global banking system
The e-lesson ‘Banking Crisis’ went out exactly three years ago, in September 2008. It described how share prices plummeted after the collapse of the US bank Lehman Brothers. Following a summer where we have witnessed similar volatility in the financial markets, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the ‘global financial system is more vulnerable now than at any time since the 2008 financial crisis’. Once again, it seems the world is facing economic meltdown. Why?
According to the IMF’s latest ‘stability report’, banks are facing bigger risks. Debt is the main cause of concern and all eyes at the moment are on the Eurozone. The biggest fear is that countries with huge debts are simply unable to repay them. Do banks have enough money to bail out a country which defaults on its debt? No, say investors: banks do not have enough cash in reserve. In some circles, there is even talk of whether the Euro itself will survive.
We all rely on stability in the economy. In the United Kingdom, an independent commission has suggested that one part of a bank’s operations should be ‘ring fenced’, so that the investment part of the bank could ‘safely be allowed to fail’ without this causing the high street part of the bank to collapse. Critics say this will just make investors gamble even more with our money! This is a good time to have this discussion, since last month Switzerland’s giant UBS suffered a £1.5 billion loss due to a single rogue trading incident. The CEO has just resigned.
Gloomy days indeed for the economy, gloomy for the individual investor, as well as for the start-up company struggling to get a loan. It seems the same concerns of three years ago, fears of a global financial meltdown, still very much exist today.
Some areas you may wish to explore with your business English students are:
Level - Pre-intermediate and above
E-books with soundtracks hit the UK: will this latest multimedia development kill the joy of reading?
The original e-lesson e-book world came out in November 2009. One of the blog entries in the lesson reads: ‘The Kindle is too expensive to be anything more than a niche product for business travellers!’ Well, a lot has happened since then. For one thing, in February this year, e-books became the single bestselling 'category' in American publishing for the first time, overtaking the sale of paperbacks. Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos has said that books for the Kindle are now outselling print books.
At the end of last month, the first 'enhanced e-book' from a company called Booktrack was launched in the UK. This latest development seems logical enough: reading is enhanced by a synchronized soundtrack. As you read, you hear mood music, or sound effects like rain, thunderclaps or breaking glass, and (of course), screams.
Studies made by Booktrack indicate that the addition of sound can help readers to retain information better. Readers become immersed in the experience. The software recognises the speed of the reader, and (cleverly) paces the soundtrack with the text. Impressive.
Nevertheless, this latest development in the world of publishing is controversial. Many believe the writer is responsible for creating mood, just as they are responsible for creating images which live in the readers mind. Reading is not cinema.
This first generation of enhanced e-books is designed to work on tablet computers, such as the iPad, with a version for Android to follow.
I'm one of those people who will always love books. I also have a tablet pc and an e-book reader. In terms of the market, the sales of e-books will continue to rise, and I suppose they'll co-exist alongside printed books, at least for the foreseeable future.
As for e-books with soundtracks, I think I'll just go back to my paperback copy of One Day before (maybe) going to see it the cinema.....
Areas you may wish to explore with your business English students are:
Level - Intermediate +
As Facebook launches its new business site, Google rolls out its own social networking site: Google Plus The e-lesson on Facebook (May 2008) stated that the world's biggest social networking site had over 70 million users. Today, that figure is a staggering 750 million. For many, social networking is an important part of their life. What about social networking in the business world?
Last week, I was invited to join Google Plus. As I am already on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, I was sceptical about joining yet another social networking site. I investigated, and was quite impressed, especially with 'Circles' (a way of putting people into different mini-networks and sharing information just with them) and 'Hangouts' (the video conference facility).
The test site, launched at the end of June, has attracted 20 million users, including many entrepreneurs. Google has admitted to having underestimated the strength of interest shown by companies, and plans to provide a full business service soon.
It's an interesting moment, then, for Facebook to launch its new business site, Facebook for Business. This site provides guidance on how businesses can benefit from Facebook, including placing adverts (of course!).
So, can social networks help businesses? There are certainly some functions that can be exploited. Social networking sites could enable companies to post targeted adverts, based on user profiles. The 'Like' button (or equivalent) could be great for 'word of mouth' advertising. Indeed, some international companies are collaborating on projects using such sites.
However, social networking also has its critics. Over half of the companies in the UK have banned employees from using Facebook at work, and a recent scientific report claims Facebook and Twitter are encouraging a new generation of people with shorter attention spans and poorer face-to-face communication skills.
Oh dear; now I'm not sure whether to join Google Plus or not!
Areas you may wish to explore with your business English students are:
LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE +
Branson calls for US firms to be more generous with their holiday policies
July article of the month from the e-lesson archive: ‘Holistic Holidays’.
It's summer! As the weather gets warmer, we all start thinking about booking that all-important annual holiday. But how long we get to lie in the sun depends on how generous our holiday allowance is.
Last month, when straight-talking Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson gave the opening speech at the Society for Human Resource Management Conference in Las Vegas, he criticized US companies for giving their employees a mere two weeks annual leave. Unsurprisingly, he received a huge round of applause from the appreciative audience.
Two weeks! Two weeks does not seem long enough to 're-energise'. What's more, a lot of workers in the States either do not take their full annual leave, or – can you imagine it? – continue to work remotely whilst on holiday! Blackberrys on the beach…
Branson went on to say that if it proved too difficult for companies to give longer holidays, they should offer staff the chance to take unpaid leave. He was especially critical of the way that employers in the States are not very flexible in looking at the alternatives to full-time work which are becoming more common in Europe, such as job-sharing or going part time.
Not that I'm personally heading off for the beach. Last year, I would have laughed at the idea of going on any kind of 'holistic' holiday. Now, having recently taken up yoga, I'd actually love to go on a retreat. In fact, I'm about to book a yoga holiday somewhere in the Himalayas. And you can be sure I won't be taking my computer with me.
Some areas you may wish to explore with your business English students are:
