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Professional English archive
Here's where you will find all our previous articles.  Come here to check your topic vocabulary, have another look at articles you've read or listened to before or catch up on the ones you've missed.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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Adoption
In Western Europe and North America today the falling birth rates and increased age of couples wanting children has led to an increase in the number of overseas adoptions.  But what problems do these couples - and the children - face? Read about the subject and listen to differing opinions from people involved in adoptions.

The Airbus
Airbus began as a French-German consortium but now is a global company with subsidiaries in China, Japan and North America.
Read about the latest in the Airbus stable, the A380  and listen to part of a talk about its characteristics.

Alcohol abuse
The pub is a truly British institution, a place where people socialise and unwind by having a drink or two after a hard week at work. But there can also exist a dark side to drinking in order to be sociable or unwind - drinking so much alcohol that your health is at risk. Read about the effect that alcohol has on your body and listen to radio interview discussing the problem of "binge drinking".

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The BRIC countries
Read a report on the economic outlook of the 4 countries and listen to a group of company directors speak about the potential benefits and risks of investing in those countries.

Business books
If you go into any bookshop, you will find lots of books about business. How much do these books actually help people to succeed in their professional careers? A few books have undoubtedly been highly influential but many books seem to invent ideas or jargon which have little practical use.

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Car industry
The car industry is one of the world’s biggest industries. Read about how the modern-day industry developed and has changed over recent years and listen to an expert talking about one unusual small car manufacturer.

Change Management : The learning organisation
How can businesses succeed in a rapidly-changing environment? One answer being proposed is that they become "learning organisations" and embrace change. Find out how they operate and listen to a line manager speaking to his line managee.

Climate change
Climate change, global warming, the greenhouse effect ... these days nobody denies that there is something strange and worrying happening to the atmosphere.

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Effective websites
Read some advice about how to design your own website and listen to a discussion between an expert on search engine optimisation and her client about how to improve a website.

Entrepreneurs
In recent years we have seen many British born entrepreneurs.  Find out more about one.

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Fairtrade
What is fair trade, who is involved, what is it for, what things are included and many more questions.  Read about fair trade and the answers to these and other questions and listen to people talking about their own shopping habits.

The Fashion Industry
Read about the business ethics of fashion and listen to an interview with a male supermodel.

The Federal Reserve
Read about its origins and how it has evolved, and listen to a banker talk about its current chairman, Mr. Bernanke.

Flexibility
This article is about flexibility in the workplace. Often we hear the buzz word "work-life balance" and a solution to ensuring that an employee has a good balance can be found in the adoption of flexible working practices. The reading text gives an overview of what is meant by "flexible working practices" while the audio features a radio show presenter answering questions about introducing flexible working practices into a company.

Focus on the e-economy
Read a case study about Amazon.com, the company that began as an online bookseller and listen to a lecture about the characteristics of successful e-businesses.

Football management
Read the article about what makes a good football manager and listen to an interview with an ex-footballer now training to be a manager.

The Future of Europe
In 2005 the French and the Dutch voted ‘No’ to the adoption of the European Constitution. Read about why voters rejected the constitution and what will happen to it now. Then listen to two young undergraduates talking about what the European Union means to them.

Future fuel sources
With fossil fuel reserves running out, the search is now on for alternative sources of energy. Read an overview of renewable energy sources, and listen to an energy expert give advice to householders.

The future of G8
Who will the future G8 members be and why?  Will Brazil be one of them?

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G8 meetings
The G8 leaders meet to discuss international political and economic issues but questions are asked about the role of the group in the world today.

Gaming
There was a time when work was work and play was play - but increasingly the line between work and play is becoming blurred, as games enter into the work situation for different reasons.  Listen to people talking about the role of games in their work  and read about how businesses include games in their way of working .

The Gas industry
At a time when we are constantly reminded of the importance of saving energy, why is so much natural gas being wasted?  Read about the practice of gas flaring and listen to a news report on the future of gas.

Globalisation
Globalisation has been a hot topic over the past few years , cutting across traditional boundaries and raising strong feelings around the world.  Read some of the arguments in favour and against globalisation and listen to a studio discussion of the subject.

Going global
Going global - expanding your business to other countries:  good or bad?  Read about some of the barriers to success and listen to people explaining their experiences.

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Industrial design
Industrial design is something which affects all of our lives. Find out more about this subject by reading an article giving an introduction to the theory of industrial design, then listening to an industrial designer talking about his work.

Influential business people
This article introduces three of the top 100 business people of all time included on Forbes list.

Innovation - Fomenting Innovation
In a rapidly changing world marked by fierce global competition, companies need to embrace innovation in order to survive. But investing in innovation can be costly and CEOs are often afraid of taking any risk that might threaten their profit margins. So how can companies create the conditions for innovation to take place whilst maintaining their productivity? The article examines this crucial issue facing companies today.

Investing in youth
In developing countries over 40% of the population is under 15. It is important for a wide range of human rights, gender and economic reasons that governments and aid agencies invest as much as possible in this generation. Find out more...

IT update
Voice recognition technology is being used more and more in a wide variety of applications, learn about one new application here.

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Joining the EU
Read about the development of the European Union (EU) and listen to two people from Turkey discussing the advantages and disadvantages of membership.
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Knowledge Management
What does it have to do with you?  Maybe more than you think as all aspects of our lives are increasingly affected - if not governed - by our place in the 'information society'.
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Leadership
Read about the skills a good leader possesses and listen to a group of managers give their opinions on what makes a good leader.

Lebanon
Read an article about the Lebanon and listen to some young Lebanese people discuss their country and their future hopes and aspirations.

Logistics
Find out about exactly what logistics is and how it works.  Read about the origins and what logistics involves nowadays and listen to people talking about their jobs in a logistics company.

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Marketing
Read the description of a Marketing module taken from a university prospectus and listen to a lecturer give an introductory talk on this field of study.

Monopolies
Monopoly, when an individual or enterprise has such control over a particular product or service to be able to decide the terms on which others may use it. Read about some aspects of monopolies and listen to a legal adviser talking about anti-trust cases.

Music business
The music industry has seen many far-reaching changes in quite a short time. Listen to a discussion about recent changes and read about a model of sales coming into use.

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New communications
Blogs, podcasts, mobcasts - all these communications are developing at the speed of light.  Find out their implications in the business world and listen to an interview with a podcaster.
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Oil giants
For many years now the decisions made by the major oil-producing countries of the world have had far-reaching effects on the whole world economy and the search for more fossil fuels still goes on.  Read about some more recent discoveries by the big producers and listen to a news report on the future of energy supplies

Oil prices
Oil prices have a wide-reaching effect on many areas of our lives.  Read about the evolution of oil prices and consider possible future scenarios.  Listen to people discussing the present situation.

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People management
Managing people is something all of us to to some extent in our professional lives. What are the best ways to do it? Read about the ideas and principles of people management and listen to an interview with an HR (Human Resources) specialist talking about people management.

Pricing Strategies
How do you decide what the 'right' price is?  There are many different kinds of pricing strategies and you can read about the main ones in use today and find out about some lesser-known ones.  Listen to an interview where the subject is budget airlines, very much in the news in many parts of the world.

Property markets
Buying your first property can be a daunting experience. Here is a magazine article offering advice to first time buyers who are thinking of investing in the property market.

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The Rise of the Amateur
Nowadays the word amateur is often used disparagingly but its original meaning was more positive.  Read about how being an amateur is again something worth aspiring to and listen to a successful amateur talk about how he succeeded.

Risk Management
Risk management is an activity that managers have always had to carry out.  What strategies can managers use to help ensure the success of their decisions?  Read about changing attitudes and listen to a Business School lecturer speaking about risk management.

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Social mobility
Social mobility can refer to the possibility of an individual to change their social status and move up the "social ladder". Read and article which explores the reality behind the American dream and listen to a report on the situation in India.

Starting an e-business
What exactly is involved in setting up an e-business, how do you go about it, what costs are there, how long does it take, what risks are involved?  Find some answers to these questions.

The Steel Industry
The steel industry is one of the most important industries in the world, and it is changing rapidly. Read an article about steel and how it is produced, then listen to an interview with a man talking about his personal experience of changes in the UK steel industry.

Strategic innovation
What do we mean by 'strategic innovation' and who uses it?  Read this article about strategic innovation in the food preparation field and listen to an interview with the innovation manager for a kitchen gadgets company.

Successful Businesswomen
Women are starting to make a place for themselves in the world of business in many countries.
Read an article about 3 top businesswomen and listen to a female filmmaker talk about the successful women she interviewed for her latest film.

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Tips for better marketing
Twelve ways to improve your marketing and sell more.

Total Quality Management
TQM goes through periodic ups and downs in popularity.  Currently it is 'up' and is being implemented all over the world in fields other than business and marketing, such as medicine. Find out more.

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Understanding competitors
The basis of a successful marketing plan is understanding the competitors, what they offer and how they differ from us and what we offer. See the processes on a flowchart and listen to two people discussing it.

US - forever number 1?
People around the world are beginning to ask for how long the U.S. will be able to retain its position as the world’s number one economic power.

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Web 2.0
Web 2.0 is a phenomenon which is changing the way we use the internet for pleasure – and for work.  Read an article about the history of Web 2.0 and listen to an interview with a man who has set up an interesting Web 2.0 site.

Web telephony
Read an article which gives background information about VOIP and listen to a telecommunications expert who talks about the impact Skype has had in the field of telecommunications.

World Trade Organisation
What is the World Trade Organisation and how does it work, who belongs to it and what are the benefits? Find the answers in this extract from a pamphlet about the WTO.

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