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English for Business ASE3041 Level 3 Wednesday 5 June 2013 Time allowed: 3 hours

Information 

There are 4 questions in this examination.

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Total marks available: 100

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All questions carry equal marks.

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There is credit for correct spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Instructions 

Do not open this paper until you are told to do so by the supervisor.

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Answer all questions.

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Write your answers in blue or black ink/ballpoint.

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Please ensure your answers are written clearly.

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All answers must be correctly numbered but need not be in numerical order.

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You need to communicate appropriately and well.

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When you finish, check your work carefully and cross out any preparatory work.

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You may use an English or bilingual dictionary.

ASE3041/3/13A

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© Education Development International plc 2013

Question 1 Situation You are employed in the Human Resources Department at Maxi Movers. The company specialises in transporting heavy equipment and other loads that cannot be transported easily using normal vehicles. All drivers employed by the organisation must have a licence to drive special heavy goods vehicles as well as a normal driving licence. This morning your Manager, Ms Vera Perera, gives you the following letter she has received. 117 Acorn Road Bilton BL9 4ZS 3 June 2013 Dear Mrs Perera I note that you are advertising for heavy goods vehicle drivers and I would like to apply for one of these posts. Your records will indicate that I was previously employed by Maxi Movers as a heavy goods vehicle driver from 1994 to 2010. During this time my record was exemplary and I was always told I was one of the most valuable and skilled drivers. Unfortunately, I was convicted of an offence when I was driving my own car and I was banned from driving for six months. This meant that I was not able to continue with my job with you. I know I acted very foolishly and I deeply regret my actions. However, I served my ban and I have now been working as a lorry driver for another company for over a year. I have committed no other driving offence and I have learned my lesson; I can assure you that I will never commit any further offences. I really miss the experience of driving your heavy goods vehicles and I would be happy to undergo any re-training as required. I look forward to receiving a positive response from you. Yours sincerely Ivan Taplow Mr Ivan Taplow

Mrs Perera says to you: “As you know, we haven’t had a very good response to our advertisement for heavy goods vehicle drivers, so it would be good if we could re-employ Ivan. Please write to him for me. However, have a word with the leader of the section where Ivan worked, and also check on the regulations about employing drivers who have been banned previously. I’m fairly sure he will need to undertake a government training scheme and retake a test. If the manager is prepared to recommend him, and Ivan is happy to take the test again, then he can contact me to make the necessary arrangement to start again. You’d better make it clear to him that we always re-employ staff on a six-month probationary period. We will review the situation after six months before we offer him a permanent contract.” Ivan’s former section leader made the following comments: “Ivan was one of our best drivers. I was really sorry when he had to leave us. He was banned from driving because he was caught speeding more than once in his own car. I think he’s learned his lesson now. Yes, it would be great if he could come back.”

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Question 1 continued You check the regulations about re-employing heavy goods vehicle licence holders. The relevant section is as follows: Re-employment of heavy goods vehicle licence holders who have previously been banned from driving Any person from whom a licence was withdrawn because of an offence whilst driving a heavy goods vehicle cannot be re-employed until a period of five years has elapsed after any ban. Any person who lost a special licence because of an offence undertaken whilst driving a personal vehicle cannot be reemployed until a period of one year has elapsed after any ban. Any person who is re-employed having been banned from driving previously must be successful in a government driving test having undertaken special training.

Task Write a letter to Mr Ivan Taplow as instructed. You can assume that the company’s headed notepaper is used but you should include all other components of a business letter. (Total 25 marks)

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© Education Development International plc 2013

Question 2 Situation You are employed in the office of a branch of Val-u-Sell, a large chain of supermarkets. Your store sells a wide range of products, including food, electrical goods and clothing. Val-u-Sell is very proud of its customer services. In particular, it provides far more than the statutory provision relating to the return of goods, refunds and guarantees. However, it is becoming clear that many customers do not fully understand their rights and entitlements when purchasing goods. The Store Manager, Mr George Andras, has asked you to research this issue and has given you the following instructions: “It would be very helpful if you could conduct some interviews with customers and find out what they know about our services. Our 100 Day Guarantee is advertised on television, for example, but a lot of customers do not realise that this applies only to clothes. We’ve had customers trying to exchange fresh food up to 100 days after they had bought it! Please produce your report for me so I can take it to Head Office. Don’t make any recommendations – it’s up to Head Office to decide what should be done – but some clear ideas on public perceptions could be very useful.” You decided to investigate customer ideas on food products, electrical goods, entertainment products (such as DVDs, computer games, Blu-ray discs etc) and clothing. You interviewed a range of customers as they left the store, to get typical views, gather statistics and make notes on your findings. The notes of your results are as follows. Most customers know that Val-u-Sell goes further than its legal obligations but there is some confusion. For example, 94% of customers had heard of the “100 Day Quality Guarantee” but only half of these knew that it allowed you to return clothing within 100 days if you’re not satisfied with it. Brand – majority (92%) know of legal rights – i.e. can return food if it is not appropriate quality. – only 14% know of brand guarantee – that you can return “own brand” foods within 14 days, if you don’t like it, for a full refund. Electrical Products – very few (16%) know of the 28 day “I changed my mind” deal where you can exchange an item (in original condition) if you just change your mind. Most customers know that faulty items can be exchanged or a refund given (92%). Entertainment Products Many younger customers know about “I’ve changed my mind” (67% of all customers). Fashion and Clothing – biggest area of confusion. 94% of customers had heard of “100 Day Quality Guarantee” but 47% did not realise this only applied to clothing. Some (14%) had heard of own brand guarantee – most of these (10%) did not realise it only applied to food and not clothing. General Points – vast majority of customers knew what “proof of purchase” meant and knew this was needed before any refund or exchange could be given (88%). NB. PUT THIS EARLY IN REPORT!! Typical comment “We know Val-u-Sell has a good reputation for looking after its customers, and we know the customer help desk will always give us good advice when we don’t know the full details of the services.” Make this point early also. Other customer comments “The ‘100 Day Quality Guarantee’ is not well advertised. It is not clear that this does not apply to food.” “The ‘I’ve changed my mind’ policy is great. We often get the same item many times as a present, so the exchange deal is very useful. Most young people know about this.” “I don’t know why anyone is bothered with the returns policy. I never return anything unless there is something wrong with it.” NB. The receipts for electrical goods and entertainment goods mention the one year guarantee in case the goods are faulty. 66% of customers were fully aware of this.

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Question 2 continued Task Write the report for Mr Andras as requested. (Total 25 marks)

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© Education Development International plc 2013

Question 3 Situation You are employed in the Human Resources Department of a large organisation. The organisation has faced many difficult times recently due to internal changes, government legislation and economic factors. Some members of staff claimed to have suffered from “stress-related illnesses.” You have been asked to investigate what is meant by “stress” and how it can be managed. You attended a conference and heard a speech by a leading industrial psychologist, Professor Constantine Milton, on this topic. The text of his speech appears below. When you have read the speech, answer the questions that follow to demonstrate your understanding of the points raised. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I usually start presentations such as this one by trying to describe what I mean by ‘stress’. However, I am reminded of the story of the small child at school who was asked to describe an elephant. The child replied, ‘I can’t describe one, but I’d know what it was if I saw one.’ (laughter). The same applies to ‘stress’. We have all seen the symptoms in others or ourselves so we know how it feels, but to describe it is not easy. One can probably say that stress is brought about by pressure which is usually induced by huge demands to achieve being made on someone. This can’t be the full story, however. Life with no demands made on us – no challenges or anything to achieve – would be very dull. Many of us develop hobbies or interests to add some pressure to our lives. These hobbies can make us feel better, not worse. So it is valid to say that it is not stress itself which brings about problems but an excess of stress. This could be brought about at work by a timetable of work that is difficult or impossible to achieve, by the level or significance of the decisions to be made, by the less-than-perfect relationships with other people or by the level of change in our working or personal environment. You might have noticed that most of these are factors beyond your control. In fact, the feeling of helplessness can exaggerate the stress that you feel you are experiencing. I do not underestimate the effects of stress. It can bring about tiredness, forgetfulness, irritability and a feeling of exhaustion. There can be more serious ailments such as high blood pressure, migraine attacks, even skin complaints and rashes. Unfortunately, people feeling stressed can exacerbate any physical condition by indulging in harmful habits, such as over-eating, smoking, or excessive drinking of alcohol. It is ironic that at a time when you should be embracing a more healthy lifestyle, you deliberately make it worse. Identifying the cause of stress is somewhat easier than identifying strategies for coping with stress or even eliminating it. However, the first stage of any coping strategy must be to recognise that there is an issue. Once a problem has been identified, there can then be an analysis of what is causing the stress and how it can be remedied. If you analyse a stressful situation in which you find yourself, you will probably reach one of these conclusions: 1. 2. or 3.

There is something you can do about your problems. There is nothing you can do to change your circumstances. Whilst you can’t change your circumstances you can make them less stressful.

We must accept that some circumstances that induce the stress you feel cannot be changed – a bereavement comes into this category. However, we should not be trapped into a feeling of complete misery and helplessness. Simply discussing your situation with a sympathetic colleague or friend can improve your feelings of isolation and despair. It is possible that your sympathetic listener can offer positive suggestions on how to improve your situation. It is always desirable that your analysis could assist in identifying what you might be able to do to relieve your stress. This could involve an improvement in your working practices, particularly those involving the time-tabling of your work schedule. You might realise that you could delegate more of your duties or you might discover that you can improve your relationship with that colleague, with whom you never thought you would have a good relationship, if you have a frank and open discussion.

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© Education Development International plc 2013

Question 3 continued There is also a useful diversionary strategy. Devoting time to a hobby or interest can distract you from your problems. Some psychologists are great believers in taking out your anger, sometimes referred to as ‘angst’ on something harmless. If you scream, shout or even swear loudly in the privacy of your home this can reduce the stress in your system. There is another good piece of advice I can give you – relax! Relaxing doesn’t always come naturally to many people but it can be learned. Using soothing music, gently exercising the body or making use of pleasant fragrances can make us more relaxed, which means we suffer less from the symptoms of stress. Finally, please practise what you preach. You are not the only person who has ever suffered from stress. You should always be alert to any of your colleagues who are suffering from stress and offer support. A supportive working environment is the best anti-stress strategy.” Task Using this information, answer the following questions, in your own words as far as possible, to show your understanding of the points raised. (a)

What was the main purpose of Professor Milton starting his speech with a story about a school child, and what was the relevance of this to the lecture on stress? (4 marks)

(b)

How is stress brought about in someone? (3 marks)

(c)

Why do some people add some voluntary, stressful activities to their lives? (4 marks)

(d)

What are the four main factors that can bring about an excess of stress, according to Professor Milton? (4 marks)

(e)

What is described as “ironic” about some of the actions those feeling stressed can take? (3 marks)

(f)

How can discussing your problems with a sympathetic colleague help to improve your disposition when you are feeling stressed? (2 marks)

(g)

Give three types of action that Professor Milton suggests can help you to relieve your stress following an analysis of your situation. (3 marks)

(h)

What does Professor Milton mean when he says you should “practise what you preach”? (2 marks) (Total 25 marks)

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© Education Development International plc 2013

Question 4 Situation You work in the Administration Department of a large organisation, Electrozine. The organisation has expanded rapidly over the last year and many new administrative staff have been employed. The Manager of the Department, Mr Adrian Park, recently said this to you: “I’d be very grateful if you could help me with a very sensitive matter. I know you have worked for us for several years now, but you are the youngest member of our experienced staff. As you know, we’ve recruited a lot of young people over the last few months. In general, I’m very pleased with their progress; apart from that dreadful young person that we had to get rid of after two days, our other new staff are very promising. They work hard and show real promise. But, oh dear, some of them are not very good at managing their time. Now I know that you are skilled at this, so I’d like you to send everyone a memo stressing the importance of efficient time management and how they can improve their own practice. Please don’t give the impression that we’re really unhappy about their performance, but please suggest in a tactful way how they can improve their timekeeping.” You decide to talk to the staff and also observe them over a period of time. You also look at some notes you made on this topic when you were studying the issue. The results of your research are as follows. Notes: Observations of staff over a day I saw the following examples of “time-wasting”: - someone looking for something in an untidy workstation - a junior member of staff making several journeys to the photocopy room in a short space of time - two colleagues “chatting” about social issues - a colleague apparently “day-dreaming” i.e. not concentrating on their work - someone putting off work by repeating tasks – sharpening pencils, cleaning telephone, adjusting seat

Notes on making efficient use of time Managing time is a skill – has to be practised – takes time to master the skill fully. Many things can help:     

drawing up a “to do” list – planning and prioritising work avoiding distractions – do not allow yourself to spend time in “idle chatter” (but don’t be too abrupt or discourteous) maintain a tidy workstation – keep things you need regularly close to hand – store/file items you do not need regularly take breaks from time to time – avoid being over-tired - you work better when you are fresh maintain efficient methods of working – group jobs that need to be done elsewhere – save journey time.

Comments from colleagues “I now realise that spending time organising files and keeping a tidy workstation saves a lot of time in the long run.” “My colleagues are really interesting people. I must say I spend a lot of time talking to them.” “I always used to put off the jobs I didn’t like doing. I think it is better to do these first, when you are fresh.” “I think I’ve a lot to learn about timekeeping. I know nothing about systems or methods of saving time.” “I suspect it’s all about having self-discipline. I hope this comes with experience.” Task Write the memo to go to all the younger staff in the Administrative Department, as requested. (Total 25 marks) ASE3041/3/13A

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© Education Development International plc 2013