Text 4. Company profile

General Motors, the world’s largest vehicle manufacturer, designs, builds and markets cars and trucks worldwide. In 2001, General Motors earned $1.5 billion on sales of $177.3 billion, excluding special items. It employs about 362.000 people globally.

General Motors has been the world’s automotive sales leader since 1931. In 2001, General Motors set industry sales records in the United States – its largest market – for total trucks and for sport vehicles.

General Motors also operates one of the world’s largest and most successful financial services companies, GMAC, which offers automotive, mortgage and business financing and insurance services to customers worldwide.

Today General Motors has manufacturing operations in more than 30 countries. General Motors’s major markets are North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.

General Motors cars and trucks are sold under the following brands: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac, Hummer, Saab, Opel.

General Motors’s OnStar is the industry leader in vehicle communications and information services. It provides more than 2 million subscribers with a variety of services, including personalized assistance, emergency aid, and hand-free, voice-activated access to Internet-based information, including news, sports, weather, e-mail and stock quotes. OnStar is available on many General Motors cars and trucks, as well as select vehicles built by Lexus and Subaru.

As part of its global groth strategy, the General Motors Group includes major alliances with Fiat Auto Spa, Suzuki Motor Corp. General Motors also has strong technology collaborations with Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., and vehicle ventures with Toyota and Renault.

1. What goods does General Motors produce and market?

2. How many people does the company employ?

3. What does General Motors’s OnStar specialize in?

4. What are the major General Motors’s markets?

Text 5.

One of my biggest wishes was to start a business on my own. I was tired of my occupation and wanted to change jobs, so a friend and I decided to open a restaurant. We made all kinds of plans but did not know how complicated everything was going to be!

First, we had to negotiate with several banks to get a loan. The bank executive at National Bank decided that he could not give us any money no matter how much we argued that we could pay it back. We finally got enough money, however, and then had to find a small building to buy or rent.

After we got the loans and the building, we hired a company to modernize the inside of building. We describer how we wanted the restaurant to look, and after all we signed the contract. The men began the difficult job of putting in new walls, floors and windows. Before the men finished, however, the executives of the company wanted to increase the cost. My friend told him that we had already negotiated a contract. They could not argue. Their men completed the job as planned in the beginning.

After they finished the building, we had to buy furniture, plates, and other restaurant items. To save money, we brought our tables and chairs from the manufacturer instead of from a store. We also had to hire a staff of experienced waiters and waitresses and several expert cooks. Because we offered good salaries, it was not difficult to find the kind of staff we wanted.

Before we opened the restaurant, we carefully described to the staff how the restaurant was going to work. Each member of the staff was going to have certain responsibilities. I would be the executive responsible for business, that is, taking care of bank accounts, paying bills and salaries, etc. My friend would manage the preparation of food and the staff.

When the restaurant finally opened, business was slow, and a lack of money put stress on both my friend and me. We put some advertisements in the newspapers and on the radio. These helped to increase our business, and now everything is fine; in fact, our restaurant has become one of the most popular in the city. My friend and I see this restaurant as our biggest accomplishment.

1. Why did John want to start a business?

2. What kind of business did they want to start?

3. What was their first step in starting a business?

4. What were their main responsibilities in the restaurant?

5. What helped them to become successful?

Text 6. Teleworking.

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