ARTISTIC VIEW OF TORONTO - CANADA

If you are one of my students or if you were one day, I´m sure you have heard me say something good about Canada, mainly about Toronto.

If you want to have a great view of Toronto, take a look at this video and you´ll see why I love this place!!!!

http://vimeo.com/30788720

1º GESTÃO COMERCIAL - ENGLISH I - ACTIVITIES

WELCOME, FOLKS! THESE ACTIVITIES MAY HELP YOU TO DEVELOP YOUR SKILLS IN ENGLISH. FEEL FREE TO GIVE YOUR OPINION ABOUT THE TOPICS YOU FIND. TALK TO YOUR FRIENDS AND HAVE FUN!

WHO WANTS TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR?

READ THE TEXT BELLOW AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW:

A YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR

Jayson Meyer was sixteen when he and his younger  brother Matthew started their technology company. Jayson lives in Daytona Beach, Florida, in the USA. He looks like any typical university student, but Jayson doesn´t need to. He is already a successful businessman. Jayson is co-founder and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Meyer Technologies, Inc.

At night school, Jayson spent a lot of time working on computers for the school and local businesses. He didn´t have time for school work, but he could fix almost any computer problem. So, when he was fifteen, Jayson left school and went into business full time. With this brother, he set up a shop at the local weekend market.

The business was successful and quickly went from making $4,000 in the first year to $100,000 per year. Soon, Meyer Technologies, Inc. expanded and was making over $500,000. The company builds special computers and creates software programs for its clients. Many small businesses in Florida can´t afford in-house coumputer support. They rely on service companies like Meyer Technologies to maintain their computers, and the company has plenty of customers. In 2000, the sales grew to over $ 1 million. No bad for a business whose CEO was not old enough to vote!

Currently, Jayson is helping to grow another company called WorkSmart MD, which makes special software for doctors´offices. Jayson now employs a number of technical staff and most of them are older than their boss. Jayson himself works 80 to 100 hours a week and often sleeps at the office. He doesn´t have a lot of free time to do the things that most young people do, but he doesn´t mind. He says, "I´d rather be building an international business. I think about my business most of the time - it´s in my blood".

ACTIVITY 1: Answer the questions:

a. What is an entrepreneur? 

b. Do you know any famous entrepreneurs in the world?

c. Give examples of famous Brazilian entrepreneurs.

ACTIVITY 2: What´s the difference between an entrepreneur and a CEO (chief executive officer)?

ACTIVITY 3: If you had a chance to be an entrepreneur, what would you do? What kind of job would you like to have? What kind of company would you like to own or manage?

ACTIVITY 4: In your opinion, what´s the greatest entrepreneur in the world? If you could interview this person, what questions would you ask?

2º GESTÃO COMERCIAL - ENGLISH II - ACTIVITIES

MOTIVATION AT WORK

This subject is very important, once you are working or if you are looking for a job at the moment. It isn´t so easy to feel happy and motivated at work all the time, that ´s why sometimes we have to think about different ways to keep always focused and excited about our job. In this activity, you´ll find some exercises and texts discussing about the topic above. Read everything to gather information for further discussions with you friends. Feel free to  share your point of view over here. Join us!

1. What´s really important to you when you choose a job: earning a lot of money? Working for a big company to have status? Helping other people? Working on something you love, even if you don´t earn much money?

2. Read about the quotes from two people talking about their jobs. 

MARIE, ACCOUNTANT:  I work in the finance department of a large company. There are a lot of benefits. for example, if the company makes a profit, all the employees get a bonus. There´s also a profit share, but that´s only for managers. I have a company car and I also travel abroad quite a lot - always business class and on expenses, of course. We also get a pension and private health insurance. The company pays for its staff to go on training courses to develop their professional skills. And we get free membership of the local gym. There are also rewards: it´s hard work, but I get a lot of satisfaction from it. People recognize it if you do a good job, so there are good prospects for promotion.

TOM, PHYSIOTHERAPIST: I work for the health service. There are a lot of rewards: the main one is the job satisfaction. I get a real sense of achievement when someone says "thank you". You know you´re doing a worthwhile job. If you work hard, there are opportunities for promotion. I like the responsability of making a difference to people´s lives. There are some benefits. We don´t get bonuses or anything like that, but there´s a very good pension. The health service pays for us go to on training courses, and people with children get help with paying for childcare. If I visited patients at home, I get a travel allowance, but it´s not very much.

In your opinion, who´s motivated by helping other people? And who´s motivated by earning a lot of money? Why do you think that?

3. Read the list of benefits and rewards that usually get people motivated to work. Choose some of them and explain why they are so important for you.

• pension
• training
• profit share
• expenses
• company car
• business class travel
• private health insurance
• bonus
• travel allowance
• subsidized childcare
• job satisfaction
• promotion
• responsability
• gym membership
• doing something worthwhile

4. Now let´s talk about Brazil. In your opinion, what´s the best company to work at the moment? What kind of benefits and rewards this company often give the employees to motivate them? Would you like to work there?