new insights into business ocr small (New Insights Into Business. Graham Tullis, Tonya Trappe (2000)), страница 9

To date, over50,000 p eo p le have p a ss e d through its h ead q u arters atFarnham Castle in Surrey. T here are two b ro ad tracks toour training programme,' explains Jeff Toms, MarketingDirector. 'One covers bu siness needs, th e o th er sociale ti q u e tt e *.* For example, bu siness travellers n eed to knowhow decision-m aking works.'3 _______________________ In China, it may b e necessary tohave gov ern m en t involved in any decisions taken. And inIndia, p e o p le are s o m e ti m e s late for a s c h e d u le dap pointm ent.4 ______________________ While we are familiar with th eshort firm h and shak e in this part of th e world, in theMiddle East th e h and is held in a loose grip for a longertime. In Islamic cultures, showing th e soles of your feet isa sign of disrespect and crossing your legs is seen asoffensive.5 _______________________ Jeff Toms tells th e story of aBritish em ployee asked to p o st a letter by her Indonesianemployer. 'She knew th e letter was to o late for th e sixo'clock post, so she decided to hold it until th e eighto'clock one.

Her b o ss saw th e letter on her desk andsacked her for n o t posting it immediately. In Westerncultures, we believe in em pow ering* p e o p le an drewarding th e m for using initiative, b u t o th er cultureso p erate on the basis of obeying direct orders.’6 ________________________ 'For th em , th e m o s t se n io rperson at th e m eeting will say very little, and th e persondoing m o s t of th e talking is not very important.' Dohertyhas s p en t 12 of his 16 years with th e IDA working abroadin th e USA, Germany, S outh-East Asia and Japan.7 _______________________'With a population of 125 millionco n d en sed into a narrow strip of land, private sp ace forth e lap an e se is virtually non-existent.

You can't worrya b o u t your persona] sp ace in a packed train when peopleare standing on your feet.'Tiptoeing through the minefield8 DoShow an in terest in, and at least an elem entaryknowledge of th e country you are visiting;• Learn a few words of th e language - it will be seen asa complim ent;• Be sensitive to countries who have bigger an d betterknown neighbours, an d try not to confuse C anadianswith Americans, New Zealanders with Australians,Belgians with French;• Familiarise yourself with th e basics of bu sin ess andsocial etiquette. As a starting point, learning how togreet p eo p le is very im portant.•Don't• Assum e you w on't m eet any com m unication problem sb ecau se you speak English.

You may think you arepaying s o m eb o d y a co m plim ent by telling th e m theirbusin ess is going a bomb*, Americans will infer youthink it is failing.• Appear to o reserved. As Americans are generally moreexuberant* th a n their E uropean colleagues, they mayeq u ate reserve with lack of enthusiasm .The Irish Independent*to empower: to give s.b. m ore control*to go a bomb (CB): to be successful*etiquette: polite behaviour46*to bomb (US): to go badly*exuberant: happy, cheerful, full of energyInternational Business StylesRead the text opposite about The Centre for International Briefing, whichruns training courses for business people travelling to other countries, andcomplete the paragraphs using the sentences below.a 'In a country like Japan, the notion of personal space which we value so muchsimply has no meaning,' he says,b In Asian cultures most of it takes place behind the scenes.c The difference between understanding a culture and ignoring its conventions canbe the measure of success or failure abroad.d The Centre for International Briefing has spent 40 years preparing the warytraveller for such pitfalls.e John Doherty, International Marketing Director with the Irish IndustrialDevelopment Authority, explains how you can easily talk yourself into trouble ata business meeting in Japan:f Greetings, gestures and terms of address are all potential hazards abroad.In pairs, discuss these questions.a What social etiquette is important for business travellers to your country?b In your experience, what can be difficult about dealing with British orAmericans?Vocabulary112345678910Match the words from the text with their corresponding definitions.abroad (para 1 ) ----a something done in a society because of traditiona minefield (para 1) \b able to understand others' feelings4- c in or to a foreign countrya pitfall (para 2)a custom (para 2)d something that expresses admirationetiquette (para 2)e to show or representscheduled (para 3)f rude or insultingto be a sign of (para 4)g a situation with hidden dangersoffensive (para 4)h formal rules for polite behaviour in societya compliment (para 8)i a likely problemsensitive (para 8)i arranged for a certain time47u n it five2Complete the passage using words from Vocabulary 1 in the correct form.Gift giving in the international business contextIn Great Britain and the United States corporate gift giving is not a very popular1 cusLoro : people can spend their entire working lives without ever receiving acorporate gift.

However, gift giving is sometimes an integral part of thenegotiation process when doing business2_________ . It is important to learnabout the 3__________of gift giving before sending or taking a gift to aninternational client or business partner, or you may find that your gesture appears4__________. For example, in China a desk clock 5__________bad luck or death.It is also interesting to note that the receiver never opens a gift in front of thegiver as that would signify that the content was more important than the act ofgiving.

Waiting for the person to open your gift would showthat you were not 6__________to Chinese culture. In France,don't give something with your company logo, as they finditems like this impersonal and in bad taste. Giving knives inItaly, Russia or Argentina could lead to problems inestablishing a deal as this signifies cutting off the relationship!Giving flowers is another possible 7__________ . In England,Australia and Canada, some people see white lilies as asymbol of death while in Germany, yellow and whitechrysanthemums could be seen this way.Vocabularydevelopment:prefixesIn the text on page 46, the word non-existent (para 7) consists of the prefix nonand the main word existent. The prefix gives the word the opposite meaning.1 Match the prefixes with the groups of adjectives.dis-il-im-in-ir-un-possibleprobableprecisebhonestsimilarorganisedcpopulareconomicalmanageabledlegiblelegallogicalecompleteexpensiveefficientfregularrelevantresponsibleai m___In which of the six lists do the adjectives have something in common?2 Add prefixes to the following adjectives.b respectfulcliterateffrequentg lawfulh proportionateresistiblejliberalк mature1 helpful3 Add one more adjective to each group above.polited rationalunlikelyInternational Business StylesLanguage FocusThe imperativeThe imperative has the same form as the infinitive without to.

It is used:• to give orders or instructions, for example on packaging, labels or documents.F ill in the form in block capitals.E m p ty the contents into boiling water.• to give strong advice.A v o id showing the soles of your feet in the Middle East.If you want to be emphatic you can use do or always.D o le a r n a few words of the language.A lw a y s f a m i l ia r i s e yourself with the basics.The negative is formed by using don't or never.D o n 't a p p e a r too reseived.N e ver c ro s s your legs in the Middle East.►► For more information on the imperative, turn to page 166.PracticeComplete the sentences below using the expressions in the box in the correctimperative form, positive or negative.studyexpect (x 2)increaseinvestassumebewarebe flexiblejudgeleave1Leave, attitudes like 'my way is the only way' behind.2 _________, be curious and fascinated instead.3 _________some time in preparing yourself for encounters with other businessand cultural styles.4 _________your understanding of the countries and cultures you are visiting byattending cross-cultural seminars.5 _________the general protocol and etiquette of the country or countries youare visiting.6 _________delays, frequent changes in plans and cancellations.7 _________ to have easy accessto your e-mail while on theroad.

In some cases it may beimpossible to log on to yourinternet server remotely.when negotiating prices,that market or sales techniques that work in your country, work in89others.10of drinking too much alcohol over a business lunch; you might needto make important decisions.49unit fiveAdjectives ofnationalityLook at these examples from the text on page 46.C o u n try :In C h ina, it may be necessary to have government involved, (para 3)N a tio n a lity : Jeff Toms tells the story of a B ritish employee. (para 5)I n h a b ita n t: When talking about the inhabitants of a country we generally use theadjective of nationality.Private space for the Japanese is virtually non-existent.

(para 7)►► For more information on adjectives of nationality, turn to page 166.PracticeMatch the words from the three columns below to make sentences. Transformthe names of the countries into adjectives.Example: IBM is an American computer company.usHteatsobi5МККСВШЕКSSfUUMSKffewm*1123456789101112131415HolaFerrariEvianMateus RoseIBM ----AGFA ^ 4PhilipsCarlsbergIKEABBC 1OlympicPravdaAker ASIstanbulNokiaDenmarkNorwayFranceHollandSpainFinland-----U S A ----- 'BritainTurkeyPortugalRussiaGermanyGreeceItalySwedenfurniture retailernewspapercomputer companybeerelectronics companyindustrial companymineral waterseaportairlinecar manufacturerphotographic companywinemobile phone companyweekly magazinetelevision channelSkills FocusWritingA memoA memorandum (or memo) is a very common form of business communicationwhich is exchanged between members of the same organisation.