Unit 5 Facing Business CrisisFamous QuoteThe successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way. Dale CarnegieDale Breckenridge Carnegie (1888-1955): An American writer and lecturer and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking and interpersonal skills. Born in poverty on a farm in Missouri, he was the author of How to Win Friends and Influence People, first published in 1936, a massive bestseller that remains popular today. He also wrote a biography of Abraham Lincoln, titled Lincoln the Unknown, and several other books.Unit Overview Business in post-modern era has found its way into all walks of life, affecting individuals lives, social economy and politics as a whole. Globalization facilitates business expansion on one hand and speeds up the economic integration and interdependence on the other. In this unit, students will get to know the global business and economic crises through real-life cases and see how these crises can be dealt with. Listening and speaking activities in this unit will inspire students to learn to face difficulties and handle their study careers to their best advantages.In this unit, you will1. get to know business and economic crises through listening, viewing and reading 2. talk about how to face crises in real life through guided activities 3. conduct a poll on “Obstacles University Students Face and Various Ways They Use to Overcome Them” with your peers 4. learn useful words and expressions 5. learn to reflect on your own learning and comment on that of your peers 6. learn to think independently, critically and creatively 推荐精选Background Information20092010 Toyota vehicle recallsThree separate but related recalls of automobiles by Toyota Motor Corporation occurred at the end of 2009 and start of 2010. Toyota initiated the recalls, the first two with the assistance of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), after several vehicles experienced unintended acceleration. The first recall, on November 2, 2009, was to correct a possible incursion of an incorrect or out-of-place front drivers side floor mat into the foot pedal well, which can cause pedal entrapment. The second recall, on January 21, 2010, was begun after some crashes were shown not to have been caused by floor mat incursion. This latter defect was identified as a possible mechanical sticking of the accelerator pedal causing unintended acceleration, referred to as Sticking Accelerator Pedal by Toyota. The original action was initiated by Toyota in their Defect Information Report, dated October 5, 2009, amended January 27, 2010. Following the floor mat and accelerator pedal recalls, Toyota also issued a separate recall for hybrid anti-lock brake software in February 2010.As of January 28, 2010, Toyota had announced recalls of approximately 5.2 million vehicles for the pedal entrapment/floor mat problem, and an additional 2.3 million vehicles for the accelerator pedal problem. Approximately 1.7 million vehicles are subject to both. The next day, Toyota widened the recall to include 1.8 million vehicles in Europe and 75,000 in China. By then, the worldwide total number of cars recalled by Toyota stood at 9 million. The number of alleged victims and reported problems sharply increased following the recall announcements, which were heavily covered by U.S. media, although the causes of individual reports were difficult to verify. Government officials, automotive experts, Toyota, and members of the general public contested the scope of the sudden acceleration issue and the veracity of victim and problem reports. The recalls further led to NHTSA and Toyota investigations, along with multiple lawsuits. Topic Preview1.Read the passage on page X and learn the useful expressions related to business crisis.2.Log on line and search for information concerning specific cases about business and economic crises.Lesson One Lead inTask 1Describing the PictureTeaching Tips推荐精选1. This task is designed to prepare students for the topic “the business crisis”. 2. Ask students to describe the picture with their peers. 3. Here are some questions for students to discuss: What does the picture imply? What do you think might be the reasons for people or businesses feeling a shortage of money? How do they usually cope with it?Describe the picture first and then discuss how people cope with money shortage.Task 2Reflecting on the ReadingTeaching Tips1. This task is designed to check students understanding of the reading material. 2. Ask students to answer the following questions. Read through the supplementary reading passage on page X, and answer the following questions.1. According to the passage, what did Toyota fail to notice as it grew to become the worlds largest automaker?Answer: Toyota failed to adjust its corporate str