C Understanding meanings

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 573.

B Understanding details

A Understanding main points

Read the text about the merger of two companies and their corporate cultures and answer these questions.

1. Which company is bigger - Asda or Wal-Mart?

2. What are employees at Asda called?

3. Which two countries are Asda and Wal-Mart from?

4. Which of these statements best summarises the corporate cultures of Asda and Wal-Mart?

a. We must keep costs as low as possible.

b. We value the contribution of every employee to the success of the company.

c. Everyone in the company is considered equal.

5.What extra financial benefit do Wal-Mart employees have?

6. Allan Leighton mentions three things needed to get the deal “to work culturally”. What are they?

Mark these statements T (true) or F (false) according to the information in the text. Find the part of the text that gives the correct information.

1. Asda and Wal-Mart have very similar corporate cultures. T

2. Asda is the biggest supermarket group in the UK.

3. Wal-Mart is the biggest retailing group in the US.

4. Asda had financial problems in the 19805.

5. Many of Asda's employees are over 65.

6. Allan Leighton is sure the merger of Asda with Wal-Mart will succeed.

7. Wal-Mart plans to impose its corporate culture on Asda.

8. Creating a corporate culture cannot be planned in theory only.

1. Choose the best explanation of the phrase “there are few who really believe putting Asda into the Wal-Mart network will result in anything but success” (line 22)

a. most people think the combination of Asda and Wal-Mart will succeed

b. not many people think the merger will succeed

2. What does Allan Leighton mean when he says ^“it all boils down to people in the end” (line 37)

a. the number of people in the new organisation will need to be reduced

b. people are the most important element in a merger or takeover