Macmillan Business

In Company – eLessons

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.

You can still sign up for the E-lessons here.

  • June, 2011
  • Ash Cloud Revisited Worksheet Teacher's Notes

    LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE +

    Another Icelandic volcano erupts: what lessons have been learnt by the aviation industry?

    June article of the month from the e-lesson archive: ‘Ash cloud’.

    The e-lesson 'Ash Cloud' (April 2010) posed the question: “What happens if there is another eruption?”. Now we know. On Tuesday May 21st, the Icelandic volcano Grimsvötn erupted, and once again European air traffic was affected.

    In the resulting chaos, around 500 flights were cancelled, mostly in Scotland and Germany. The images of people sleeping at airports were all too familiar. Even the President of the United States was forced to change his travel plans, flying out of the Republic of Ireland and into England early for his appointment with the Queen. Football club Barcelona flew into London earlier than scheduled for their Champions League final at Wembley.

    However, one year after the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, the aviation industry seems to have learnt a lot. This time, there was no blanket closure of European airspace, as there was last year, and with different weather conditions, there was far less disruption. Today, there is better monitoring of ash clouds, and improved assessment of the levels of risk for flying passenger planes.

    Nevertheless, disagreement still exists between airlines and the aviation authorities about when it is safe to fly. Therefore, in this age of high-tech business communication, why risk the disruption of flight cancellations and stranded employees? Surely it is more sensible for companies to reduce travel costs and organise more conference calls and virtual meetings. After all, we still cannot predict when a volcano will erupt, or when an earthquake or tornado will strike. We are, as the e-lesson stated, living in the “post volcanic-ash era” of business travel.

    Some areas you may wish to explore with your business English students are:

    • How safe do you think it is to fly through volcanic ash?
    • Has your company changed its employee travel policy in any way over the last year?
    • Do you think global companies should increase their use of video-conferencing? Why / why not?
  • May, 2011
  • Olympics Revisited - Any tickets left? Worksheet Teacher's Notes

    Level - Intermediate

    The deadline for buying Olympic tickets has passed; what happens now?

    May article of the month from the e-lesson archive: ‘Olympics 2012: value for money?’

    In 1992, I went to the Olympics in Barcelona. I bought tickets for every event I wanted to see, at reasonable prices. Now, 20 years later, I have applied online for London 2012. I have no idea which tickets I will get. I might get none, or I might get everything I applied for, plus a credit card bill which is far from ‘reasonable’! What's more, around half the tickets for the most popular events will go to corporate customers and VIP guests. What's happened to the spirit of the Olympics?

    I applied for my tickets long before the deadline (23.59pm 26th April) was extended by an hour due to an incredible last-minute surge on the website. Unlike many others, I only applied for the number of tickets I could afford; unlike them, I won't receive a huge credit card bill. Still, I do have to wait until the applications are processed and then, if my chosen events are over-subscribed, hold my breath as the ballot is drawn! It is far more complicated and expensive to get tickets for the Olympics than 20 years ago – if, indeed, I'm successful!

    Some areas you may wish to explore with your business English students are:

    • Is anyone intending to go to the Olympics? How easy or difficult has it been to get tickets?
    • Do you think it is right to reserve so many tickets for corporate clients?
    • Do you believe the Olympics have become too commercialised?
    • Can a simple, fair system be devised for selling tickets to major sporting events?

    The Olympics began as an amateur event about sport and the joy of competing. Today's Olympics are arguably more about corporate sponsorship and high-priced tickets. Let's see if I get any tickets ... or if I have to wait until Rio de Janeiro in 2016!

  • April, 2011
  • Electric Cars Revisited Worksheet Teacher's Notes

    Petrol prices continue to soar: will the electric car finally 'take off'?

    Indian car manufacturer Tata has started the production of electric cars in the UK city of Coventry. This is good news for the local economy; it may also be good news for environmentalists. The factory has a production capacity of 1,500 Vista models per year. Each electric car has a range of 120 miles, and costs over £25,000. A government subsidy could save customers £5,000 on the price; will this attract people to place orders?

    The announcement from Tata coincides with EU plans to ban all petrol and diesel cars from city centres by 2050. According to the EU, this controversial measure will reduce carbon emissions by 60%. Not surprisingly, the UK is rejecting these plans. Many people believe that individual motorists should not have to reduce mobility in order to cut pollution.

    Meanwhile, the motorist continues to suffer at the pumps. UK petrol prices have reached an all-time high. It is not surprising that the demand for plug-in electric cars is expected to rise. The cost of battery technology, which makes these cars so expensive, is expected to fall. Many car manufacturers are developing environmentally friendly cars; more and more of them are coming to believe that electric cars will become an integral part of their product range.

    Some areas you may wish to explore with your business English students are:

    • What's happening to petrol prices in their country?
    • Would they consider buying an electric car?
    • Do they think petrol and diesel cars should be banned from city centres?

    We do sometimes smile at the thought of electric cars. As oil prices spiral, and with environmental concerns growing, maybe we will see many more of them in the future.

    Pete Sharma

  • March, 2011
  • The iPad: will it change the face of journalism? Worksheet Teacher's Notes

    At the beginning of last month, Apple and Rupert Murdoch’s company News Corporation launched The Daily, the first ever newspaper created exclusively for delivery over the iPad. The cost? Just 99 cents a week! It incorporates clever graphics and video, but the question is: will it, as media mogul Murdoch claims, change the face of journalism?

    Reading a newspaper on a tablet PC can certainly offer a rich, multimedia experience. Since the iPad was launched, sales have been impressive, with just under 15 million devices sold last year. This is the fastest ‘adoption rate’ of any electronics gadget, ever – even faster than for DVD players. However, there is still a long way to go before mass market penetration is reached, perhaps in 2013.

    Potential sales for tablet PCs are so high that they might affect sales of desktop computers and laptops. Competitors have jumped on the bandwagon. The Galaxy Tab from Samsung is certainly providing some stiff competition. ‘App’ has fast become a word on everyone’s lips. There seems to be an app for just about everything!

    The iPad e-lesson posed a key question: will it succeed? We seem to have the answer! Now, the launch of The Daily has started off another round of questions.

    Some areas you may wish to explore with your business English students are:

    • Is the iPad a ‘must-have’ item or a luxury item?
    • Have you bought a tablet PC? If so, which one?
    • Will tablet PCs transform the way we consume news and other media?
    • Have you downloaded any useful business apps? If so, which ones?

    Although it is notoriously difficult to make predictions about technology, we remain fascinated by tablet PCs and the effect they can have on our lives, at home and at work.

  • January, 2011
  • COST CUTTING - REVISITED Worksheet Teacher's Notes

    The recession: how long will the cuts continue?

    February article of the month from the e-lesson warehouse: ‘Cost-cutting’.

    Once again, the recession is on everyone’s mind. Last week, the message from economists and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland was largely positive: the global economy is set for a “broad recovery” in 2011. However, cost-cutting continues everywhere, from cuts in public spending, and in businesses big and small, right down to the cuts we continue to make in our household budgets.

    Earlier in the week, the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, revealed the figures for the final quarter of 2010. Once again, the UK economy is shrinking. The bad results were a complete surprise to many economists, who called the figures “terrible”. Some blamed the snow for the poor results! Others were worried that there may now be a “double dip”, taking us back into recession, with things set to get worse before they improve. The United Kingdom, it seems, is not climbing out of recession as fast as many other countries.

    The bank itself supports continuing cuts in public spending, seeing them as a necessary part of the long, slow road to economic recovery. Households have been told to expect a period of austerity, and the phrase, “austerity measures” is commonly heard in today’s business news, for individuals, businesses and the country as a whole. With wages in real terms much the same as they were four year ago, everyone is feeling the strain.

    So, the start of 2011 is a good moment to re-visit this relevant topic. After all, the economic situation affects us all. There are many aspects of this topic to consider:

    •    How is the “squeeze on pay” affecting our lives?

    •    Will spending cuts help or harm the prospect of economic growth?

    •    As businesses continue to struggle, which cuts are really necessary?

    •    Is your country “on the way to moderate economic recovery”? How long will recovery take?

    As with so many aspects of the economy, perhaps there are more questions than answers.

    PETE SHARMA (FEB 2011)

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