Talking about
Salomon Smith Barney
The SSB Quiz
Questionnaire about SalomonSmithBarney. Discuss the following questions with your partner? Where it is appropriate use a suitable inversion in your conversations.
1. What services does SSB specialize in? Can you express this in layman’s
terms?
2. What is your area of expertise?
3. Where do you see SSB in 5 years time?
4. What do you see yourself doing in 5 years time?
5. Who are SSB’s main competitors? How do their services differ?
6. Are there any likely future mergers or acquisitions?
7. What is the history of SSB? Who is the parent company? What is the nature
of your relationship with them?
8. How many employees do SSB have worldwide? How many branches have
you got?
9. How does SSB differ from other investment banks?
10. What is the ratio of men to women? Is SSB an equal opportunities
employer?
11. What benefits or “perks” does SSB offer?
12. Is there a high turnover of employees?
Comparative Adjectives
Think of 5 more adjectives for each category that can be used to describe your company:
GOOD NEUTRAL BAD
profitable American boring
Grammar
·
Short adjectives form their comparatives by adding -er: low - lower, fast - faster.·
Short adjectives form their superlative by adding –est: low- the lowest·
Longer adjectives use more: more efficient, more expensive.·
Longer adjectives use the most: the most expensive.·
Notice the longer phrases used to compare: slightly / much more.Use appropriate words from the list above, or your own, to complete these sentences:
1. SSB is a(n) _________________ place to work.
2. The financial business is very_________________.
3. I’m glad I work for a(n) _________________ company like SSB.
4. The SSB office is the ________________ I have ever worked in.
5. Everyone at SSB is more ______________ than staff at other companies.
6. Making money is very __________________ for the company.
7. The ________________ financial firm in the world is SSB.
8. The quality of Salomon’s service is much ________________ than its
competitors.
Role-play Speaking activities
AYou are having an informal lunch with a colleague from The U.S.A. You are chatting about the working practice and your day-to-day job. He/She is very interested in how the Hong Kong office differs from those in the U.S and Europe. Talk about working hours, promotion possibilities, positives and negatives and your aspirations for the future etc.
B
You are an SSB employee on business in Hong Kong from The U.S.A. You are having lunch with a new colleague from the Hong Kong branch. You would like to know more about working practice in Hong Kong. Ask him about working hours, promotion possibilities, good and bad aspects of your day to day work.
A
A colleague of yours is considering leaving the firm and joining a rival company because he/she feels disillusioned with his/her job and prospects. You think he/she is mad!! Remind him/her of the benefits of working for the firm.
B
You have been with the firm for 3 years and think that there is little to be gained from hanging around. You have been looking at adverts in papers and talking to friends in the industry and think there are some good opportunities elsewhere: shorter hours and higher pay!
A
You are on a plane chatting with an Englishman who is very interested in Salomon’s and specifically in what your job involves. He has never worked in the banking industry before. Explain to him in “layman’s terms” about the company and the work you do.
B
You are an English tourist on a flight to Hong Kong. Introduce yourself to the person in the seat next to you and strike up a conversation. Find out what they do for a living and show interest in their work.
Reading (from www.salomonsmithbarney.com)
Vocabulary:
add the correct word to the passage!
asset very rich
underwriting to support by promising to pay for it securities a company owned by a larger company
global something a person or company owns which has value encompass varied or different
subsidiary a company that buys and sells shares affluent relating to the whole world
diverse includes
brokerage a place of higher learning
college something valuable that you offer when you borrow money Salomon Smith Barney is a ___________, full-service financial firm, which provides brokerage, investment banking and _____________management services to
corporations, governments and individuals around the world.
As a leader in the U.S._____________industry, Salomon Smith Barney's core services include sales, research and trading for individuals and institutions,____________, advisory and specialty financing for corporations and government entities, mutual fund services, futures and asset management.
As the nation's second largest retail _____________firm, Salomon Smith Barney offers clients a full range of investment products – including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, CDs, insurance and annuities – and services such as advice on retirement planning, asset allocation, portfolio management, _____________funding, estate planning, trust services (not available in all states), and other services for _____________ investors. Salomon Smith Barney is a ______________ of Citigroup. Citigroup businesses _________________ a broad range of financial services – asset management, banking and consumer finance, credit and charge cards, insurance, investments, investment banking and trading – and use _____________channels to make them available to consumer and corporate customers around the world. Among its businesses are Citibank, Commercial Credit, Primerica Financial Services, Salomon Smith Barney, Smith Barney Asset Management, and Travelers Life & Annuity.
Two-Minute Talk
You have to give a two-minute talk on SSB. Work together with