From New Insights into Business Workbook, page 6


6 Complete the following company profile with either the present perfect or past simple tense of
the verb in brackets.


Procter & Gamble 1 ______________________ (be) in the soap business since William Procter and James
Gamble 2 ______________________ (form) their partnership in 1837. In order to raise capital for
expansion, the partners 3 ______________________ (set up) a corporate structure in 1890, with an
appointed president at the helm of the company. It 4          ______________________ (undergo)
further restructuring in 1955, with the creation of individual operating divisions to better manage
their growing lines of products. John E. Pepper 5 ______________________ (lead) the company since
1995, when he was elected Procter & Gamble's ninth Chairman and Chief

Executive Officer. The same year, the company 6 ______________________ (move) from managing the
business under two geographic areas, US and International, to four regions — North America, Latin
America, Asia, and Europe/Middle East/Africa.

Ivory soap, which 7 ______________________ (become) a common household name, 8
______________________ (come) onto the market in 1879. With the introduction and instant success of
Tide laundry detergent in 1946, Procter & Gamble 9 ______________________ (embark) on a strategy of
rapid growth into new product lines as well as new markets around the world. The firm's commitment
to innovation in technology 10 ______________________ (help) Tide to remain their single largest
brand over the years. Perhaps the product that 11 ______________________ (have) the greatest
impact, however, is Pampers, the disposable nappy which they 12          ______________________
(launch) in 1961.

As a result of their aggressive expansion policy, Procter & Gamble sales 13 ______________________
(reach) $10 billion in 1980. Since then the company 14 ______________________ (quadruple) the
number of consumers it can serve with its brands — to about five billion people around the world.
In 1998 sales 15 ______________________ (rise) to $37.2 billion.


7 Read the following sentences describing changes and decide if the verb or noun underlined is
correct or incorrect. If it is correct, put a tick (ü) in the space provided. If it is incorrect,
write the correction.


1 Domestic sales of toothpaste have raised by 4.5 per cent over last year.

  ___________________________________________________________

2 Procter & Gamble increased its market share in the European personal care category with the
acquisition of the Blendax line of products.

  ___________________________________________________________

3 The consolidation of product development operations in Asia brought about a reduce in the
research and development staff.

  ___________________________________________________________

4 The candle part of the business saw a rapid decline after the electric light bulb was invented.

  ___________________________________________________________

5 The successful nationwide marketing campaign rose shampoo sales dramatically.

  ___________________________________________________________

6 With the introduction of refill packs for liquid laundry detergents, packaging was reduced by 85
per cent.

  ___________________________________________________________

7 Consumption of traditional cotton nappies has dropped dramatically since the introduction of the
disposable nappy.

  ___________________________________________________________

8 There was a 100 per cent raise in business in South Africa in 1994.

  ___________________________________________________________