BusinessEnglishUnitUnitThisunitfocusesonskillsneededtoeffectivelyprepareanddiscussbusinessgraphicsandtoeffectivelywritereportsandmakerecommendations.SomebasicvocabularyandinformationforBusinessEnglishUnitUnitThisunitfocusesonskillsneededtoeffectivelyprepareanddiscussbusinessgraphicsandtoeffectivelywritereportsandmakerecommendations.Somebasicvocabularyandinformationformeasuringandreportingcompanyperformanceareintroducedanddiscussedhereincluding:describingtrends,presentingvisuals,writingreportsandrecommendingactions.TopicMeasuringPerformanceandEvaluatingInthistopic,businesschartsandgraphicsareintroduced,andthenyoulookspecificallyathowtomeasurechangeandcompanyperformance.Youalsolearntoanalyzeanddescribetrends.Thisisfollowedbylearninghowtoeffectivelypresentstatisticaldatainpresentationsusingvisualaids.ListeningUsingGraphsandBytheendofthisactivity,youshouldgainedagoodunderstandingofthemostcommontypesofbusinessgraphsandcharts;learnedtochoosetheappropriategraphtorepresentsetsofdevelopedvocabularyrelatedtobusinesschartsandgraphs;improvedlisteningskillsandcomprehensioninbusinesssituationsrelatedtoorganizingdataandchoosingthebestgraphicaidforanidentifiedpurpose(objective).Task1TypesofbusinessMatchthefollowingnamestotheirrespectivechartorCompaniesneedtomeasuretheperformanceoftheirbusiness,analyzedata,andmakechangesappropriatetoachievingtheirgoals.Theyoftenevaluatetheirperformancebasedonfactsandfigurespresentedinvariouskindsofbusinesscharts2BusinessEnglishUnitandgraphs.Thesevisualaids<V>,orgraphics,makeiteasierforpeopletograspandunderstandthedataandstatistics<V>collected.Belowarethesixmostcommontypesofbusinessgraphics.Pleasematchthenametoitscorrectgraphicform.0 0010,020,00000 0 ColumnPieBusinessEnglishUnitandgraphs.Thesevisualaids<V>,orgraphics,makeiteasierforpeopletograspandunderstandthedataandstatistics<V>collected.Belowarethesixmostcommontypesofbusinessgraphics.Pleasematchthenametoitscorrectgraphicform.0 0010,020,00000 0 ColumnPieHorizontalBarLineArea3PieLineBusinessEnglishUnitVisualaidsareusedtopresentdatagraphicallyratherthaninwords.Theymakeiteasiertoorganizeand“see”largeamountsofinformationfordrawingcomparisons,evaluatingpatternsanddescribingtrends<V>.Mostgraphsusedatathatisplotted<V>BusinessEnglishUnitVisualaidsareusedtopresentdatagraphicallyratherthaninwords.Theymakeiteasiertoorganizeand“see”largeamountsofinformationfordrawingcomparisons,evaluatingpatternsanddescribingtrends<V>.Mostgraphsusedatathatisplotted<V>intwodimensions:thehorizontal<V>orx-axis<V>,andthevertical<V>ory-axis.ThefollowingarethesixmostcommontypesofbusinessAnAreaGraph:asolid,filledinlinegraphwitheachshadedarearepresentingadifferentcategory.Thenamesofcategoriesortimeperiodsrunhorizontally(x-axis)andthemeasuredvaluesrunverticallyAHorizontalBarGraph:barsrepresentcategoriesorganizedverticallyandvalueshorizontally.Itallowsmoreroomtodescribemeasuredvariables<V>.ALineGraph:usessingleormultiplelinestoconnectdataAPieChart:acirclegraphwheretheentire“pie”representsthetotaldataofasetandthesegments(“slices”)areparticularcategorieswithinthewhole.AColumnChart:barsrepresentcategoriesorganizedhorizontallyandvaluesvertically.Thehigherthebar,thegreaterthevalue.MatchingdatasetstoappropriateMatchthetypeofgraphtoitsappropriateTherearemanygraphicformatswhichcanhelppeopletoseeandunderstanddataquickly.Itisimportant,however,tounderstandwhichgraphisappropriateforthedatacollectedandfortheobjectivesyouwanttoachieve.AbasicunderstandingofthemaintypesofbusinessgraphsandthedatatheyrepresentwillhelpyoutochoosetheonebestsuitedtoclearlyandeffectivelycommunicateyourinformationandpurposetoAcommunicationsconsultantisleadingadiscussionaboutchoosinganddevelopingbusinessgraphs.Listentohistalkandthequestionsaskedbypeopleintheaudience.Thenmatchthetypeofgraphtoitsappropriateusagebywritingtheletternexttothenameofthegraph.4BusinessEnglishUnitTypeof1.AreaWhentoUseThistotrackchangesandtrendsovertopresentexactfiguresorlargeamountsBusinessEnglishUnitTypeof1.AreaWhentoUseThistotrackchangesandtrendsovertopresentexactfiguresorlargeamountsofdatainareadableformattoplaceemphasisoncomparingdifferentgroupsandvaluesataspecifictimetotrackchangesovertimeof2ormorerelatedgroupsthatmakeupawholecategorytoshowandcomparehowpartsofawholearedistributedF.toplotlargedatachangesovertimeortoillustratecomparisonsamongdifferentitems2.Pie3.HorizontalBar4.5.Line6.Column 1.AreaGraph 4.Table Pie 3.HorizontalBar 5.LineGraph 6.ColumnChartAreagraphsarealsoexcellentforemphasizingthemagnitudeofchangeovertime.Thatis,largechange.TheyalsoshowarelationshipofpartstoaPiechartscanonlyshowonedataset.Theyprovidevisualimpactwhenyouwanttoemphasizeasignificantsegmentofawhole.Horizontalbargraphscanhavesinglebarsormultiplebarswhichcanbegroupedtocomparemorethanonesetofdataatvariouspointsintime.Anotherformatstacksorsegmentseachbarsothatitisdividedintopartsthatcontributetoeachtotalbar.EachsegmentisadifferentcolorforeasyTablesshouldhaveclearandconcisetitlesaswellaslabelsatthetopofeachcolumn.Thedataintablesmayprovidethefoundationforlaterline,barorpiegraphs.Linegraphsshowrelationshipsbetweennumbers–changes,proportionsortrends.Whenproperlydesigned,theycanclearlyillustratecomplexideas.Theycanbesingle-line.Ormultiple-linegraphscanbeusedtoshowandcomparemovementandchangeofseveralgroups.Columnsaregoodforplottingdatathatspansmanyyearswithbigchangesoverthoseyears.Usethemwhenyouwantyouraudiencetobeabletoquicklyseeandcomparethedatarepresentedinyourgraph.5BusinessEnglishUnitTask3ChoosingthebestgraphBusinessEnglishUnitTask3ChoosingthebestgraphtocommunicateyourChoosethecorrectanswerfromA,B,andListentotheconsultantfromTask2describing3differentsetsofdatathatBayViewEnterprisesneedstopresent.Then,usingwhatyouhavelearned,choosethebestgraphfromA,B,orCthatshouldbeusedtoachievetheirobjectiveforeachsituation.Writetheletteronthelineprovided. (1)DataSetOne:SeasonalvariationsinsalesofPieLine (2)DataSetTwo:ContributionofindividualproductstototalannualPieAreaHorizontalBar (3)DataSetThree:Salesvolumecomparisonof4regionalColumnPie(1) (2) (3) Alinegraphwouldbethebestchoiceasitshowschangesoveraperiodoftime.Theseasonalfluctuations<V>canbeclearlyspotted.Apiechartwouldbethemostappropriateforthissituationasitindicatesthecontributionofindividualsegmentstothewholeinapercentagevalue.Thecontributionofeachproducttothetotalprofitsiseasilyseen.Acolumnchartwouldprovidethestrongestvisualimpactforthisdataset.Eachcolumnstandsaloneforeachregionanditsheightclearlyshowswhichlocationshavethehighestandlowestsalesforaoneyearperiod.6BusinessEnglishUnitKeyconcepts&BusinessEnglishUnitKeyconcepts&Key7axis(n.):fluctuation(n.):horizontal(adj.):plot(v.):tolocatedatapointsonanstatistics(nacollectionofquantitativedatatrack(v.):觀察或跟蹤……variable(n.):變量vertical(adj.):垂直的visualaid(n.):athingthatyoucanlookattohelpyouunderstand,learnandrememberinformation,suchasachartThe6mostcommontypesofbusinessgraphsandthedatatheyrepresent:ATable:anarrangementofinformationintoagridofrowsandcolumns.Itisusedtopresentexactfiguresorlargeamountsofdatainareadableformat.AnAreaGraph:asolid,filledinlinegraphwitheachshadedarearepresentingadifferentcategory.Thenamesofcategoriesortimeperiodsrunhorizontally(x-axis)andthemeasuredvaluesrunvertically(y-axis).Itisusedtotrackchangesovertimeof2ormorerelatedgroupsthatmakeupawholecategory.AHorizontalBarGraph:barsrepresentcategoriesorganizedverticallyandvalueshorizontally.Itallowsmoreroomtodescribemeasuredvariablesandisgoodtousewhenemphasisisplacedoncomparingdifferentgroupsandvaluesataspecifictime.ALineGraph:usessingleormultiplelinestoconnectdatapoints.Ittrackschangesandtrendsovertime.APieChart:acirclegraphwheretheentire“pie”representsthetotaldataofasetandthesegments(“slices”)areparticularcategorieswithinthewhole.Itshowsandcompareshowpartsofawholedatasetaredistributed.AColumnChart:barsrepresentcategoriesorganizedhorizontallyandvaluesvertically.Thehigherthebar,thegreaterthevalue.Itisgoodforplottinglargedatachangesovertimeorillustratingcomparisonsamongdifferentitems.BusinessEnglishUnitTask2:MatchingDataSetstoBusinessEnglishUnitTask2:MatchingDataSetstoAppropriateTodayI’dliketointroducethemaintypesofbusinessgraphicsthatcanbeusedtopresentyourcompanydata.Inordertochoosethebestone,youmustconsiderwhatyouwantyouraudiencetounderstandfromthegraphic.So,youneedtoidentifyyourobjective.Thenchoosethegraphicwhichisbestsuitedforthatpurpose.Let’stalkabout6ofthemostcommonbusinessgraphsandchartsandwhenyoushouldusethem.Tobegin,perhapsyouhavealargeamountofrawdataormanyexactfiguresthatyouneedtopresentinacompact,readableformat.Inthissituation,atablemaybeyourbestchoice.Tablesenableyoutoarrangeinformationintorowsandcolumns.Thefiguresareeasiertoreferencethanwhenpresentedinparagraphform.Next,let’sconsiderlinegraphs.WhenwouldyouuseParticipantIuselinegraphswhenIwanttoevaluatetrendsinourcompanyperformanceandinthemarketingeneral.That’scorrect.Linegraphsareusefulforrevealingchangesinquantityorvalueoveraperiodoftime.Eachtimeperiodonthehorizontalx-axiscreatesa“datapoint”.Whenjoined,thelinesshowthetrends.Whensmallerchangesexist,linegraphsarebettertousethanbargraphs.Anyquestionssofar?Yes.Whywouldbargraphsbemoreappropriateforpresentinglargeramountsofdata?Goodquestion.Horizontalbargraphscompareamountsbyusinghorizontalbarswherethelengthrepresentsaquantityataspecific,notcontinuous,time.Bargraphsplaceemphasisonvalues.Columnchartsaresimilartobargraphs,buttheycanshowdatachangesovertime.Theheightsofthebarsrepresentthequantityorvalue.Theyareusedwithtimechangeswhentheymakeiteasiertospotthetrendthanalinegraph.Horizontalbargraphsarepreferredwhenyouneedmoreroomtodescribethemeasuredvariableonthehorizontalaxis.Bothofthesetypesareeffectivefordisplayingcomparativedata.Theitemsaredifferent,butbelongtoarelatedcategory,suchasdifferentlocationsorproducts.Areyousayingthatbargraphscanbeusedtodemonstratediscontinuousdata?Thatmeansdatafromdifferentcategories.Exactly.Ingeneral,ifyouarepresentingdatathatisrelatedonacontinuousscale,youshouldusealinegraph.DatainlinegraphsParticipantParticipant8BusinessEnglishUnitmustbeincontinuoussequence.BargraphscanBusinessEnglishUnitmustbeincontinuoussequence.Bargraphscanrepresentdifferentsets.Now,let’smoveontopiecharts.Thesechartsarebestusedwhenyouwanttocomparevarioussegmentsorpartsofawhole.Thedatayouaremeasuringmustdepictaratioorpercentagerelationship.Piechartsdonotshowchangesovertime.Theirstrengthistoshowhowpartsofawholearedistributedorbrokendownintocategories.Thelasttypeofgraphwewilltalkaboutistheareagraph.Doyouknowwhatothertypeofgraphitiscloselyrelatedto?Yes,areagraphsareverysimilartolinegraphs.Pleaseexplainwhenwewouldusethemratherthanalinegraph.Certainly.Areagraphsaregoodtousewhenyouaretracking<V>changesintwoormorerelatedgroupsthatmakeupawholecategory.Forexample,whentrackingsalesofseveralmodelsofaproduct,anareagraphcouldbeused.Eachgroupwillbeshadedinadifferentsolidcolortohelpemphasizethequantities.ParticipantTask3:ChoosingtheBestGraphtoOk.Now,I’dliketocheckyourunderstandingoftoday’sdiscussion.SoI’mgoingtopresent3differentsetsofdataandaskyoutodecidewhichgraphwouldbethebestonetouseforeachsituation.Hereisdatasetnumberone:BayViewEnterpriseswantstoevaluateseasonalvariationsinthesalesoftheirlineofproducts.Theirobjectiveistoshowwherethemainfluctuations,orchanges,havebeenduringthecourseofthepasttwoyears.Andnowdatasetnumbertwo:BayViewEnterpriseswouldliketoexaminetheprofitabilityofeachoftheirproducts.Theywantagraphwhichshowsthecontributioneachproducthasmadetowardthetotalprofitsofthecompanyduringthepastyear.SituationSituationSituationFinally,datasetnumberthree:BayViewEnterpriseslookatthesalesvolumefortheir4branchlocationsAmerica,Europe,Asia,andSouthAmerica.Theycomparethetotalsalesofeachlocationforthepastyear.wantstoinNorthwantto9BusinessEnglishUnitBusinessEnglishUnitAcommunicationsconsultantisdiscussingtheuseofbusinesschartsandTherearemanyadvantagestoappropriatelyusingvisualaids.Theyprovideavisualimageofthedataandmessageyouarepresentingwrittenororally.Easy-to-readvisualsturnyouroperatingandfinancialdataintographiccharts,showinghowyourorganizationisperformingincriticalareas.TheChinesehaveaproverb:“Oneshowingisworthahundredsayings.”Inwesterncultures,thisexpressiontranslatesinto:“Apictureisworthathousandwords.”Mostpeoplewillrememberwhattheyseemuchlongerthanwhattheyhear.Businesschartshelpillustratedatathatishardtovisualizeandcanshowinformationwhichisnoteasilyexpressedinwords.Theyclarifyandsummarizecomplexinformation.Usingthemeffectivelyisagoodwaytosavetimeandgetyourpointacross.Listenersorreadersexpectinformationtobepresentedinaclearandeasytounderstandformat.Well-designedgraphicscanhelpmanagementfocusattentiononthekeyaspectsofcondenseddatatheywishtoemphasize.Theyaretoolswhichensurethatreadersorlistenerswillunderstandthepointmanagementdesirestomakeandthattheywillnoteparticularaspectsofthatinformation.Effectivevisualaidswillgrabattentionandhelppersuadeothers.Theymakeinformationattractive,simplifythecomplex,andemphasizeimportantpoints.Moderncomputertechnologyhasmadetheircreationanddeliveryeasierandmoreaccessiblethaneverbefore.BusinessEnglishUnitReadingTheLanguageofBytheendofthisactivity,youshouldgainedanunderstandingofhowtoBusinessEnglishUnitReadingTheLanguageofBytheendofthisactivity,youshouldgainedanunderstandingofhowtodescribechangesrepresentedonbusinesschartsandgraphs;developedvocabularyrelatedtomovementonagraph;learnedafewconceptsrelatedtotalkingaboutgraphs;and businesssituationsrelatedtoreadingandanalyzingbusinessdata.Task1TheupsanddownsofMatchtheverbsandnounstotheirrespectiveWhenwelookatandanalyze<V>chartsandgraphs,weneedtotalkaboutthechangesanddevelopmentsinthedatawearemeasuring.Todothis,weuseverbsandnounsthatdescribe3basicmovements:upward,downwardandnochange.Lookatthewordsinthebox.Writethemundertheirrespectivefunctions.Fortheverbsindicatingupwardanddownwardmovement,alsowritetheirnounformnexttotheverb.Forexample:climb/aclimb.1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. NowcompletethesentencesbelowwithoneofthefollowingwordsorreachedahitNo remainconstant, levelout/off, staythesame, BusinessEnglishUnitWhenthemovementofdataonagraphreachesitshighestpoint,wesaythatit BusinessEnglishUnitWhenthemovementofdataonagraphreachesitshighestpoint,wesaythatit Whentherehasbeennochangeforsometime,wesaythatsomething Whensomethingmovesupanddownquickly,wesaythatit risesandfalls.Whenthemovementofdataonagraphreachesitslowestpoint,wesaythatit anaaaa1.2.remain3.level4.staytheWhenthemovementofdataonagraphreachesitshighestpoint,wesaythatithasreachedapeak.Whentherehasbeennochangeforsometime,wesaythatsomethingWhensomethingmovesupanddownquickly,wesaythatitfluctuatesorrisesandfalls.Whenthemovementofdataonagraphreachesitslowestpoint,wesaythatithashitbottom.Otherwordsthatdescribeanupwardtrendare:toclimb/aclimb,togoup,toimprove/animprovement,topickup,tohitahigh.Generally,thesewordsareusedtoindicateapositiveperformanceandtrend.Otherwordsthatdescribeadownwardtrendare:togodown,toslump/aslump,totumble/atumble,tohitalow,tobottomout.Mostoftenthesewordssignifyanegativetrend.Otherwordsthatindicatelittleornomovementare:toremainsteady,toremainstable,tostayatthesamelevel,andunchanged.WhentherehasbeenanupwardordownwardmovementandthenapointisreachedNoBusinessEnglishUnitwherethereisanendtothemovement,wedescribethispointas“l(fā)evelingofforout”,or“flatteningout.”Ingeneral,“tostagnate”hasanegativemeaningsincewemaybelookingforanimprovementorincreaseandthewordindicatesthattherehasbeennochangeforsometime.Forexample:“Oursaleshavebeenstagnatingformonths.”Task2ReadinggraphChoosethebestanswerfromA,B,CandLookatthegraphbelowandreadthedescriptionofthesalesBusinessEnglishUnitwherethereisanendtothemovement,wedescribethispointas“l(fā)evelingofforout”,or“flatteningout.”Ingeneral,“tostagnate”hasanegativemeaningsincewemaybelookingforanimprovementorincreaseandthewordindicatesthattherehasbeennochangeforsometime.Forexample:“Oursaleshavebeenstagnatingformonths.”Task2ReadinggraphChoosethebestanswerfromA,B,CandLookatthegraphbelowandreadthedescriptionofthesalesfiguresthatitrepresents.Somewordsaremissinginthedescription.Whenyouhavefinishedreading,usewhatyouhavelearnedinTask1tochoosethebestwordorphrasetofillineachgap.BayViewEnterprisesSalesin0ThislinegraphshowsthemonthlysalestotalforBayViewEnterprisesduring2008.Asyoucanseefromthisgraph,sales(1) duringthefirst3monthsof2008.Thenthey(2) at40millionforthenext2months.InJunetherewas(3) of10million,butsales(4) duringthesummermonths.InAugustsales(5) of51millionandhit(6) of48millioninSeptemberattheendofthesummerseason.Ourhighest(7) fortheyearwasinOctober.Inthelast2monthsoftheyear,however,wesawasteady<V>(8) fromthat60millionhightoanoverall(9) 28million.Fromourperformanceintheprevioustwoyears,wehavelearnedthatthereisageneralupward(10) atthebeginningofthenewyearandasharp(11) trendattheendoftheyear.Salesalsotendto(12) duringthespringmonthsand(13) duringthesummermonths.Weneedtodeterminethereasonsforthesevarioustrendsanddiscusspossiblestrategiesthatwemightemploy,particularlyduringthefinalmonthsoftheyear.A.A.remainedA.aA.anB.B.B.B.hitC.C.C.anC.aD.D.D.aD.BusinessEnglishUnit A.B.reachedaB.bottomedB.B.B.B.B.BusinessEnglishUnit A.B.reachedaB.bottomedB.B.B.B.B.B.B.C.C.aC.aC.C.C.C.C.remaintheC.D.D.leveledD.D.D.D.D.D.D.flattenA.a A.A.A.A.A. A.A.riseand(1) (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) (8)(9)(10)(12) (13)(1)Pleasenotetheverbtensesusedwhenyouaredescribingchangesandtrends.Wegenerallyusethesimplepasttensetodescribecompletedevents(asinthepastyear).Whenwewanttorelatepasteventstothepresentsituation,weusethepresentperfecttense–“Wehavelearnedthatthereisageneralupwardtrend….”(2)Someoftheverbsusedtodescribemovementareregularverbsandformtheirpasttensebyadding“ed”asin“increased,fluctuated.”O(jiān)therverbsareirregularandyouneedtolearn(orreview)their3formsinordertobeabletoformthepastandpresentperfecttensescorrectly.Someirregularverbsfromthistaskincludethefollowing:rise:rose,risen;fall:fell,fallen;grow:grew,grown;andhit:hit,hit.Task3UnderstandingthedatarepresentedbyMarkthestatementstrueorBelowaretwootherbusinessgraphics,apiechartandacolumnbarchart.TheybothprovideinformationaboutaproductknownastheAlfaDeluxe.Lookatthechartsandthenreadthesentencesthatfolloweachone.Decidewhetherthestatementsaretrueorfalseaccordingtotheinformationshownonthegraphs.MarkTorFonthelinesBusinessEnglishUnitAlfaDeluxeMarketSharebyRegional (1)NorthAmericaaccountsforalmosthalfofthemarketshare<V>oftheAlfa (2)TheAlfaDeluxehasnotbeenverycompetitivein (3)TheAlfaDeluxeissellingbetterinSouthAmericathanin (4)AsiaismakingtheleastcontributiontothetotalworldwideBusinessEnglishUnitAlfaDeluxeMarketSharebyRegional (1)NorthAmericaaccountsforalmosthalfofthemarketshare<V>oftheAlfa (2)TheAlfaDeluxehasnotbeenverycompetitivein (3)TheAlfaDeluxeissellingbetterinSouthAmericathanin (4)AsiaismakingtheleastcontributiontothetotalworldwidemarketshareoftheAlfaDeluxe.SalesComparisonofAlfaDeluxewithLeadingCompetitors0 (5)SalesoftheAlfaDeluxeroseannuallyfrom2001to (6)TheTriumphwasthemarketleader<V>in2001anditssalescontinuedtoincreasethrough2004. (7)TheGoldenArrowexperienceddecliningsalesforthisfouryear (8)Afterasteadythreeyeargrowth,salesoftheAlfaDeluxeleveledoffin(1) (2) (3)(4) (5) (6)(7)(8)ThefirstpiechartisaneffectivegraphicforshowingthepercentagethedifferentregionscontributetowardthesalesoftheAlfaDeluxe.ItgivesaclearvisualimpactoftheimportanceofNorthAmericatoworldwidesalesandthechallengeofsellinginAsia.Bystudyingthecolumnchart,youcaneasilyseethesalesgrowthS.BusinessEnglishUnittheAlfaDeluxeovera4yearperiodandcompareitwiththemarkettrendsofitsleadingcompetitors.ThefollowingaresomethingsthatcouldbesaidabouteachproductaccordingtothedatashownontheTheAlfaDeluxeexperiencedBusinessEnglishUnittheAlfaDeluxeovera4yearperiodandcompareitwiththemarkettrendsofitsleadingcompetitors.ThefollowingaresomethingsthatcouldbesaidabouteachproductaccordingtothedatashownontheTheAlfaDeluxeexperiencedsteadysalesgrowthfrom2001to2003,butthensalesflattenedoutandremainedconstantduring2004.However,thegrowthwassufficientenoughfortheAlfaDeluxetoovertakeitscompetitorsin2003andgainmarketleadership.Inspiteofalevelingoffinsales,itmanagedtomaintainthatleadershipin2004.SalesoftheGoldenArrowroseforthe3yearperiodof2001to2003.In2002itwasthemarketleader,butitlostthatleadershiptotheAlfaDeluxein2003.Salesthenbegantodeclineslowlyin2004.TheTriumphwasthemarketleaderin2001,butitlostthatpositionin2002.Aftertwoyearsofgrowth,itssalesbeganadownwardtrendoverthelasttwoyearperiod.Keyconcepts&Keyanalyze(v.):marketleader:thecompanywiththegreatestsalesofagivenmarketshare:steady(adj.):Thelanguageofchange:The3basicdirectionsofchangecanbedescribedasfollows:UpwardChange:toincrease/anincrease,torise/arise,togrow/agrowth,toclimb/aclimb,toexpand/anexpansion,toimprove/animprovement,togoup,topickup,tohitahigh;DownwardChange:tofall/afall,todrop/adrop,todecrease/adecrease,todecline/adecline,totumble/atumble,toslump/aslump,togodown,tohitalow,tobottomout;NoChange:tostaythesame,tostabilize,toleveloff/out,toremainconstant,tostagnate,toflattenout,toremainsteady,toremainstable,tostayatthesamelevel,andunchanged.BusinessEnglishUnitBusinessPerformanceItisimportantforacompanyororganizationtodeterminethefactors,orindicators,thatarecriticaltoitssuccess,measurethem,andthenputintoplaceasystemforimprovingtheperformanceofthosefactors.Performancemetricsareanytypeofmeasurementusedtogaugeormeasureanorganization’sactivitiesandperformance.Revenuesandreturnoninvestment(ROI)areexamplesofactivitiesandfactorsthatneedtobemeasuredBusinessEnglishUnitBusinessPerformanceItisimportantforacompanyororganizationtodeterminethefactors,orindicators,thatarecriticaltoitssuccess,measurethem,andthenputintoplaceasystemforimprovingtheperformanceofthosefactors.Performancemetricsareanytypeofmeasurementusedtogaugeormeasureanorganization’sactivitiesandperformance.Revenuesandreturnoninvestment(ROI)areexamplesofactivitiesandfactorsthatneedtobemeasuredandevaluated.Theindicatorsareagroupofstatisticalvaluesthattakentogetherindicatethehealthoftheorganization.Itisimpossibletomeasureeveryactivityallthetime.Soitisimportanttoselectkeyareasthatfocusonthecompany’sgoalsandbusinessplan.Effectivemetricswillhighlightwhetherthecompanyisachievingitsstrategicobjectives.Theywillalsoincludefactorsthatareimportanttothecompany’sindustry.Thesemayinclude:Marketing:salesgrowth,marketshare,advertisingeffectiveness;Production:factorylocationsandcapacity,equipment,skilloflaborforce;Administration:employeeturnover,ageoffacilities;decision-makingspeed,planningTechnology:ResearchandDevelopmentfacilities,innovation,experienceofR&Dteam.Oncethemetricshavebeenestablished,itisnecessarytodetermineaprocessfortrackingandreportingallrelevantdata.Trendsthatemergefromthedatashouldbereported,conclusionsdrawn,andrecommendationsmadebasedonit.Measurementsdon’tstandalone.Thedatashouldbeusedtomakebothinternalandexternalcomparisons.Internalcomparisonswithinthecompanywouldmeasure:aresultasbetterorworsethanlastyear,performancevs.budget,storeorfactoryAvs.storeorfactoryB.Externalcomparisonsaremadebylookingatindustrystandardsandcomparingyourcompanywithyourcompetition.Companiesoftenbenchmarkthemselvesagainstothercompanies.Benchmarkinginvolvesfindingoutwhichcompanyperformsaparticulartaskbest,alsoknownasbestpractice,andusingthatstandardasatargetformeasuringyourownperformance.Alistofmetricsshouldnotjustconcentrateonfinancialmatters,likeprofitsandsalesgrowth.Thesefocusmostlyonthepast.Thelistshouldalsoincludemetricsthatindicatehowacompanyisperformingagainstitsstrategyandlookaheadtowhatacompanyisfacingandthedirectiontheyaregoing.Inaddition,thebestperformancemetricswillprovidefeedbackforidentifyingareasofthebusinessstrategythatneedrefining.Theygiveinsightintoactionstotakeandnotjustreportwhathasoccurred.AwelldevelopedlistofmetricshelpswithaSWOTanalysis.Itspotsweaknesseswhichmayneedtobeovercome.Mostimportantly,however,itaidsinidentifyingareasofstrengththatmaygiveacompanyacompetitiveadvantageandfacilitatesthedevelopmentofaplantousethesestrengths.BusinessEnglishUnitWritingDescribingBytheendofthisactivity,Busin