Verb Tenses and Vocabulary Exercise
English for Management, for 23.5.17
Prof. Dr. Bruce Spear
Overview
Grammar – Blossom Exercise
Vocabulary - CSR
Grammar – Blossom Exercise
Our goal is to develop a meaningful, useful understanding of tenses for business
The module description begins and ends with grammar rules, but we are after effective grammar use
for business
Our theory is that once you learn how to see, hear, and smell sophisticated uses of tenses in use, and
see how they contribute to meaning, you will have a meaningful, memorable framework for learning
tenses
Without respect for use, grammar likely remains for you abstract, and besices, you’ve likely already
had 12 years of such abstractions: we agree that you are here, now, to prepare for business
The exercise below is designed to help you learn how to see tenses in business writing use and to the
end of improving understanding, clarifying thought, and aiding memory and your own effective use
The Assignment
What you will learn
In this exercise you will learn how verb tenses are a meaningful, organizing, and expressive principle
in business writing
We start with the assumption that the problem of management is to make decisions that will insure
profits in the future, that we are future-oriented, and so we organize our discussions to review
relevant elements of the past and present to plan for that future.
How to model tenses and action
Storytelling Engages, by Nancy Duarte, explains how presentations (and this holds for much
writing and discussion) may be effectively organized as stories organizing facts and that their
relationship is something we can design to move our business forward
To reinforce this argument, elsewhere she offers illustration of how facts and stories are
organized in a zig-zag pattern that moves forward against resistance: One, Two, Three
Your task is to apply this model to our chosen text, reproduced at the bottom of this section
How to apply this model to our text
Create a list you can then annotate and diagram
Adding a return after each sentence will give you a list which you can then annotate to reveal
the sequence in time or tense
Using the Outline View in MS Word, add to returns after each sentence
If you have courage and interest, you can use MS Word’s “Find and Replace” feature to find
every instance of “. “ (period, space) and replace it with “^p^p” or two paragraph marks
Annotate each sentence
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Shift-Tab the blank line before each sentence to create a sub-head, then identify the tense and
write “present,” “past,” “future” and of course “perfect” or “continuous” or whatever
combination, like this
This will produce a list of sub-heads, and by collapsing the lower level (“Show: Level #”) you
will have then a list of just the tenses
Diagram the result as we did in class
Draw three columns -- past, present, and future – place a dot
for each instance as indicated by the sub-heads, and then
draw a line from each as you go down
My ugly version, will make the point, yours will undoubtedly
be easier to read and understand
Analyze your diagram and list
What you will learn
You will learn that the past, present, and future tenses are
being used to support the argument’s underlying structure
You will learn that once you diagram them you will begin to
see such support everywhere
As you learn to mark, diagram, and see such organization, you will be able to use this
important dimension in your own writing
Once you understand this powerful organizational principle, going to the trouble of using
tenses carefully will become easier and undoubtedly more effective
Tell a story about how this underlying logic contributes to each paragraphs’ meaning
Read each paragraph for its meaning and explain how tenses support the creation (in your
mind and in the minds of others) of meaning
Now edit your story for the proper verb tenses
In the exam, I will ask you to explain the way these tenses are used to support exploration and
expression based on this analysis
First check your tense use by finding an online grammar manual and the applying it.
In your homework, include the url to this online resource
Once you are sure you got it right, explain to your screen and/or to a partner how tenses are
used in these passages to create meaning
Then, while your explanation is still fresh in your mind (you’ll forget half of it within 20 minutes,
so work fast), write up a short paragraph explaining each paragraph’s meaning as supported
by tenses
Create a screenshot of one paragraph to talk about in the exam and bring it to the exam
5 CSR Trends That Will Blossom In 2016
Every January for the past five years, I pause to reflect on the state of corporate social responsibility
(CSR). And every year, I come to the same conclusion: things are looking up. As CSR continues to
mature, year after year brings new and unique voices to the table, vibrant innovations and more
widespread, integrated adoption among our world’s most powerful companies as well as small and
mid-size enterprises. While CSR challenges remain and grow increasingly complex, 2015 proved that
companies cannot and will not shy away from addressing them. Below are some of the most
prevalent CSR trends from the past year that will shape the industry in 2016 and beyond.
ParisBusiness is (finally) galvanizing around climate change.
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According to Kathrin Winkler, chief sustainability officer at EMC, “2015 will be especially remembered
as the year when business, governments, civil society, and even the church ALL stepped up action on
climate change.” She’s right. Not long ago, corporations were seen as adversarial in the fight against
climate change. Today, they are an integral part of the solution. At COP21 in Paris, corporate players
stepped up to lead talks and deals aimed at curbing the consequences of climate change. We saw
coalitions and conversations across a range of industries, including agriculture, transportation,
technology, retail and everything in between. Many believe the success of the climate conference had
a lot to do with the increased involvement from the private sector. In 2016, the onus will be on these
companies – ranging from Coca-Cola to Proctor & Gamble to Sony – to follow through with
commitments and continue to keep up the momentum.
Social justice is no longer considered off limits for businesses.
In case there was any doubt, the Supreme Court’s historic decision on gay marriage confirmed that
mainstream brands have no reservations about taking a stance on social justice issues – especially
gay rights. From American Airlines to Macy’s to Jell-O, there was no shortage of brands voicing
support for the #LoveWins campaign. We also saw more brands, such as H&M and Clean & Clear,
include transgender models in campaigns. That said, there still remains room for brands to take a
bigger leadership role in the transgender conversation, whether it’s in the context of employee
policies or public-facing storytelling campaigns. In addition, brands are continuing to take a
leadership role in addressing growing inequality in the neighborhoods they work. For example,
Twitter launched a program, NeighborNest, that provides support for San Francisco’s central Market
Street and Tenderloin neighborhood communities, and Zendesk announced its Zendesk Neighborhood
Foundation, which provides support for nonprofits committed to neighborhood renewal in San
Francisco.
ClothesEven luxury brands are becoming more transparent.
Reflecting on CSR trends, author and consultant Alice Korngold talked about the rise of fairness. “Get
it right,” she said. “Everyone can see you.” Transparency has become an expectation of companies
today, and this year we saw more of it from the luxury sector in particular. Here’s how Diana Verde
Nieto, co-founder and CEO of Positive Luxury, explains the change: “Pivotal events, including the
passing of the Modern Slavery Act, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and COP 21 have moved
integrating sustainability into business models from a ‘good thing to do’ to a legal obligation and has
increased demand from stakeholders for transparency and action.” Millennials in particular – a group
with increasing disposable income – expect the brands they purchase from to operate sustainably,
ethically and openly. Nieto says that luxury brands are stepping up to meet this expectation, citing
the example of Kering’s decision to make their environmental profit and loss accounting statement
public for the first time in 2015.
Collaboration continues to be key.
Most companies understand that a collaborative approach across departments is necessary for CSR
success. The smartest companies also know that collaboration outside of the organization is critical.
In 2015, we saw companies including Unilever, Nike, General Motors and IKEA join together against
climate change under the We Mean Business coalition. Additionally, major brands such as Starbucks,
FedEx, JCPenney, Pizza Hut, Target, Walmart and many others are collaborating to address inequality
through the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative, a coalition of employers committed to hiring young
Americans who are out of school and not currently working. As mentioned, there was also a great
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deal of collaboration between companies happening at COP21, including Bill Gates’ Breakthrough
Energy Coalition, which brings together leaders from Amazon, Salesforce.com, LinkedIn and Facebook,
among others. Look out for more of these types of collaborations in 2016.
Vocabulary - CSR
A real world scenario to guide your study of vocabulary
You find yourself alone in an elevator with a boss you want to assign you to some higher
responsibility and he looks down on you kindly, the responsible manager on the lookout for talent,
and asks, “So, you are interested in CSR, what’s that all about?
Answer A
“Corporate Social Responsibility
Answer B
“I am learning how CSR is being used in supply chain management in very powerful ways to
enhance innovation …
So you tell me: which answer to you want to prepare for?
The conversation (B) continues
“So what are you talking about?” By this time you have reached his floor and he’s invited you
to step off the elevator with him, and you explain, “Well, I’ve been reading in Deloitte …” “You
read Deloitte?” “Yes, I read this great study of CSR and where they describe how businesses,
they report, are ‘shifting from control to co-operation,’ communicating with their suppliers
differently than before, and as address CSR process in a more cooperative way they are solving
other problems cooperatively, too …”
Your assignment
Learn how to define CSR in forward-looking business terms by looking up “current trends in CSR 2017”
and adding “deloitte” or other top consulting firms like kpmg, ey, mckinsey or top journals like HBR or
wharton, to see how they are using these terms
Write up three answers to the question
Short, about the length of an elevator ride
Medium, great for a short hallway conversation
Longer, for when you get an appointment for an interview