Read through the texts again and decide if the following sentences are true (T) or false (F).

1. Computers play a significant role in advertising, mail-order business, public relations, retailing and merchandising, sales, market research, and pricing of goods.

2. In today’s extremely competitive business environment businesses are looking for new ways to improve profitability as well as to maintain their position in the marketplace.

3. As competition becomes more intense the formula for success simplifies.

4. New technologies will provide computer users with new leisure activities.

5. Traditional paperbacks and hardcovers are now transforming into e-books and ibooks.

Answer the questions about the texts.

1. What is the role computers play in business?

2. What IT innovations have greatly aided companies in their quests to accomplish their business goals?

3. What new means of entertainment do computer technologies offer?

4. What are advantages and disadvantages of playing video or computer games?

5. How have computer technologies redefined the way we listen to and access music?

6. Can technology hold us back from truly enjoying life? Why? Why not?

 

5. JIGSAW READING

5.1. Split into small jigsaw groups of six students each. Appoint one student of your group as the group moderator. You are to learn about the most prominent personalities in the field of ICT.

In each jigsaw group:

Student 1 is responsible for speaking about Mark Zuckerberg.

Student 2 will read about Carol Bartz.

Student 3 is assigned to cover the biographical stories of Larry Ellison and John Chambers.

Student 4 is to highlight a story about Dick Costolo.

Student 5 is to handle the working life of Eric Schmidt.

Student 6 is to investigate into the professional activities of Reed Hastings.

 

Read over your segment at least twice to become familiar with the contents of it. You do not need to memorize it. In 15-20 min render your own segment using your active vocabulary and appropriate grammar.

 

Segment 1

It’s OK to Break Things to Make Them Better

Mark Zuckerberg is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur. He is best known for co-creating the social networking site Facebook, of which he is chief executive. It was co-founded as a private company in 2004 by Zuckerberg and classmates Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin, and Chris Hughes while they were students at Harvard University. In 2010, Zuckerberg was named ‘Time’ magazine’s Person of the Year. As of 2011, his personal wealth was estimated to be $17.5 billion.

In 2010, Steven Levy, who authored the 1984 book ‘Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution’, wrote that Zuckerberg “clearly thinks of himself as a hacker.” Zuckerberg said that “it’s OK to break things” “to make them better.” Facebook instituted “hackathons” held every six to eight weeks where participants would have one night to conceive of and complete a project. The company provided music, food, and beer at the hackathons, and many Facebook staff members, including Zuckerberg, regularly attended. “The idea is that you can build something really good in a night”, Zuckerberg told Levy. “And that’s part of the personality of Facebook now. It’s definitely very core to my personality.” As of May 2012, Facebook has over 900 million active users, more than half of them using Facebook on a mobile device.

‘Vanity Fair’ magazine named Zuckerberg number 1 on its 2010 list of the Top 100 “most influential people of the Information Age”.

A venture capitalist, Arthur Patterson of Accel Partners, Accel is in an investor in Facebook, is among many who sees parallels to Mr. Jobs in Mark Zuckerberg.

Like Mr. Jobs, Mr. Zuckerberg dropped out of college, created a product that users didn’t know they wanted, and made it indispensable to their lives. He is a perfectionist, and sometimes prickly. Joel Peterson, the chairman of JetBlue Airways Corp. and a professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, calls such people “productive narcissists.”

 

Segment 2

 

Carol Bartz, the Former President and CEO of the Company Yahoo!

Carol Bartz is an American business executive, the former president and CEO of the Internet services company Yahoo!, and former chairman, president, and CEO at architectural and engineering design software company Autodesk.

She became CEO of Autodesk in 1992. According to ‘Forbes’, Bartz “transformed Autodesk from an aimless maker of PC software into a leader of computer-aided design software, targeting architects and builders. She is credited with instituting and promoting Autodesk’s ‘3F’ or “fail fast-forward” concept – the idea of moulding a company to risk failure in some missions, but to be resilient and move on quickly when failure occurs. She stepped down as CEO in 2006 and became the executive chairman of the board. Autodesk net revenue substantially increased during her tenure.

Bartz served on several boards of directors, including those of Intel, Cisco Systems, Autodesk, BEA Systems, Network Appliance, and the Foundation for the National Medals of Science.Additionally, she has been a member of the United States President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

When Bartz was hired by Yahoo in early 2009 she was paid an annual base salary of $1 million. She was eligible for an annual 400% bonus and received 5,000,000 shares in addition to an equity grant of $18 million of stock.

She was fired over the phone by Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board in October 2011.

 

Segment 3