Exercise n. 2 page 114
Headline: “Try to learn from past financial errors”
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Exercise n. 3 page 114
1)the author says that greedy investment bankers, mortgage lenders, politicians, homebuyers and savers contributed in different way to the collapse, but she also underlines that we must stop to point the finger at each other to escape because in this way we couldn’t find a solution to solve this crisis.
2)the author does two different examples: the first is about the Great Depression of the 1930s , which had the same features of the global financial crisis of 2009 (firstly a housing boom and then a stock market crash). The second example is about the Japan in the 1990s.
3) in my opinion the author is optimistic because she explains how to prevent another crisis. First of all, according to her, everyone should stop and admit the failure; then we have to take the necessary steps to prevent another cycle of boom and collapse.
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Exercise n. 4 page 114
Exercise 4 a)
1) We stop pointing the finger at each other = stop to find a guilty
2) We shrug shoulders = we are indifferent to the next crisis
3) We shrug head = we are indifferent to the next crisis
Exercise 4 b)
a) The hearth of the problem = the main point of the problem
b) The head between clouds = when someone is physically present but absent with his head
c) Lies have short legs = truth comes out someday
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Exercise n. 5b page 115
1) I have a personal debt to extinguish.
2) May I borrow your pen?
3) The principles of maths are the basis of our knowledge.
4) The debtors are seeking money to extinguish their financial obligation.
5) Smoking is a familiar example of how our behaviour can affect our genes.
6) There are discrete energies inside an atom.
7) He will only sign the contract unless we give him a pay rise.
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Exercise n. 8 page 115
1) But for your generosity, the charity would have closed down.
2) As long as we all work together as a team we will succeed.
3) Supposing you won the lottery what would you do?
4) Provided that you increase my commission I will agree to those conditions.
5) Unless we win this contract, we’ll all lose our jobs.
6) He will only sign the contract unless we give him a pay rise.
7) In case I don’t see you again before you go, have a great holiday.
8) Whether or not he has any, the search can tell us about his outstanding debts.
9) On condition that it was repaid by 1st December they agreed to lend her the money.
10) Assuming you get a place at university how are you going to finance your studies.
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Exercise n. 9 page 117
1) I was in a hurry so I quickly pointed the problem out.
2) The Chairman wants the meeting in the morning, so I’ve set it up for ten o’clock.
3) That’s the colleague who gave up smoking last week.
4) The topic was controversial so I brought it up carefully.
5) Unfortunately, it was the secret which I had found out.
6) Golf was too expensive so I immediately gave it up.
7) She made me a good offer but I’ve turned it down.
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PARAGRAPH ABOUT MY NEGOTIATION
(Exercise 8 page 119)
I am representing the company who has recently developed a marine product and need finance to launch it and to cover the initial marketing costs. So in my negotiation I have decided to start from an initial request of 700.000 $ of loan because my real target was to obtain finance of 500.000 $; in return I offered to the other company a 20 per cent stake in my company but they were looking for a much more higher stake. My bottom line of the stake was about the 35 per cent in total if they would provide on-going management support and advice after the first year.
My strategy consists of using some negotiation sentences like for example: “sounds good to me” or “I’m afraid it’s not acceptable” and also using the conditional tenses because in this way I could keep up a good and a self-controlled discussion with the other company trying to achieve my goals. In some cases I had to reject some offers of the other company but always in a kindly way. Besides during the analysis of the main points of our agenda I proposed supports, like paying for a course on international marketing for my partner, and I pointed out the features of our device and of the company, which can be improved offering a new range of high tech products.
In conclusion I’m quite satisfied with the agreement reached with the other company; so the main points are:
· A finance of 500.000 $ and in return the other company will have a stake of 40 per cent in the business.
· They will provide on-going management support and advice after the first year.
· They will outsource the production of the device to an overseas manufacturer in China or India, in order to reduce costs and increase profits on the product.
· My company will offer a new range of high tech products.
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REFLECTION ABOUT MY PRESENTATION
Lesson 5 24/10/12
In my opinion my presentation, which I have done with my colleagues Rossana and Valerio, was pretty good because we found out some possible solutions to the economic troubles of the Kodak company. First of all the organization of the presentation was very well planned because it consisted of an introduction, the body of the presentation and a conclusion; but for me the most important point of this work was the clearness of the exposition.
Then I tried also to use signalling language to structure my information but it wasn’t easy because I didn’t know anything about the existence of these expressions; naturally something of my presentation went wrong: first of all I felt nervous speaking in front a group but the most important effort was to not move in a frenetic way my arms; besides I am not used to maintaining eye contact with the whole room during the exposition of any kind of work.
I think I could improve my performance trying to speak more often in front of a group and also thinking about the movement of my body.
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Exercise n. 7 page 99
1. Effects on the individual:
· Psychological effects (Singh , O’Donnel)
· Long term effects / unemployment in the later life (Singh, Ashcroft)
2. Effects on society /the country:
· Costs (O’Donnel, Ashcroft)
· Impedes growth (O’Donnel)
3. Conclusion:
· Effects are generally negative
· One positive = encourages training (Ashcroft quotes Rossi)
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Essay
lesson 14/11/2012
As Harry Bradford notes in his article: “one of the least visible effects of the economic crisis has been the rising rate of income inequality around the world” (10 countries with the worst income inequality, 24/5/2011), and in this essay I want to focus on the differences between pay rates; in my opinion this income inequality is fair for some reasons: the level of risk and the market.
First of all we should consider that different work require higher and lower level of responsibility, like for example managers or surgeons, who have to make fundamental decisions. Another factor is the market, which defines how much people should get paid; indeed the public philosopher correctly affirm that “ Wayne Rooney earns much more in a match than how nurses make in a year” and this is fair because “it is the aggregate choice of consumers to pay a ticket and see Rooney playing” (series 1, episode 2 BBC 2012).
It is a common belief that a person could become rich only because he is lucky. Surely luck could give you some help but it is not the only factor because you must have the abilities and the talents to do your work like Wayne Rooney.
Finally I would like to focus on the role of the market because even if someone earns too much we couldn’t change this situation; the market decides everything.
In conclusion my idea of income inequality could be explained by public philosopher’s statement about fair: “ it is a reward for the contribution that people make with skills and talents in the market’s society”(series 1, episode 2 BBC 2012).
Bibliography:
· Armstrong , A. (producer) (2012 10 April) the public philosopher (series 1 episode2) should be a banker be paid more than a nurse?
Podcast retrieved from
· Bradford, H. (2011, 24 May) 10 countries with the worst income inequality. The Huffington post retrieved 31st October 2012 from
Typical mistakes:
· Excessive use of articles;
· Do the same example in the essay (Wayne Rooney);
· Do not check the spelling;
· Think in Italian and translate.
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