market_leader_3e_-_intermediate_-_course_book (851943), страница 41
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TIle Simple fuet is tllat whats nonnal or appropriate for usjudgements about you as an individual, as to, as to whether you're thekind ofperson that they want to do business with.COl TRACK 45 (I INTERVIEWER, JT JEFF TOMS)I Arc some people better suited for international business than others?JT Absolutely - er, what companies still tend to do is select people for=international business and business aSSignments, er, purely basedmay seem very strange or even rude to someone from a different culture.on their skill set. So ifyou're the best civil engineer or you're thel'U look at three of the key areas of culture which may affectgreatest IT cOllsultant in the bUSiness, it is often thought that thiscommunication in international meetings, causing confusion andfully equips you to be the best person to conduct that businessfrustration. Firstly, time: not aU cultures or people are ruled by theinternationally.
Clearly those skills arc very important, but they havedock. TIlere are some cultures, it's true, where the feeling is indeedto be underpinned by, I think, a number of personal traits that makethat 'time is mane)': They will often have strict approaches to thisyou a more effective international businessperson.aspect ofmeetings, such as starting and finishing times and theSome of those traits - um, adaptability: )'ou have got to be preparedduration ofdiscussion.
Other cultures, however, have a completelyto adapt the \vay that you do business or adapt your expectationsdifferent approach and see the starting time as a guide only and theor your needs, to meet the needs of the culture ofthc people thatfinishing time as not fixed. Other stages may be surprisingly flexible,you're doing business with - so) adaptability; flexibility is obviouslyand you may find that there is little attempt to stick to the agenda."ery important. Er, you've got to be prepared to actually change theSecondly, the idea of hierarchy in a culture, and therefore in meetings,can be very Significant. By this, we mean the relative levels ofimportance and seniority which people have in a company. Someonefrom a very hierarchical culture is likely to feel very uncomfortableparameters with which )'ou were intending to do business.COlT RACK 46 OT JEFf TOMS)JT Very important - and you'll know from this course in=communication - um, you've got to be a good listener.
Er, you've gotsaying what they think or criticising the ideas of others, especially if theperson being criticised holds a higher position. TIley arc also unlikelyto pay more attention than you would when speaking to somebodyto openly disagree or report a problem in front of a boss or manager.in your own culture to make sure that you have understood quiteCriticising the ideas of a superior could be seen as a loss offace forclearly what is being said.
And one of the things that we always sayboth people involved.to people is that, to be very sure that you've actually heard what youAnother key area to think about is the objective ofthe meeting. Inthink you·ve heard. There arc some steps )'OU can take. It's alwaysmany cultures, there's an attitude that meetings should have verya very good idea to get the individual, if you're not clear, to repeatclear purposes and 'get down to business' pretty quickJy ... using awhat they've said. It may seem tedious to you, but actually it's verystructured, pre-planned agenda is important. in such cnses, there's veryimportant to make sure that you haven't made mistakes.little in the way ofsmall talk - maybe just a couple of comments abolltI think also one of the key features orthe successful internationalthe weather, football, etc.
However, other cultures sec meetings as thebUSinessperson is to be non-judgemental. For instance, if you'replace for relationship building and developing trusl, so the meetingcoming from an Asian culture, er, to try and do business with, er, amay be a lengthy discussion, and actual decisions may often be madeWestern culture, er, for certain the way that people do things willoutside the meeting.
Again, the idea that the purpose of a meeting is tobe fundamentally different - er, the hierarchy, the structure, themake a decision may be alien to some cultures. It's important to beardecision-making process, the seniority and the influence of thethis in mind, as it can be quite a surprise ifyou're not used to it.people you're doing business with - will be fundamentally different.Finally, some advice on successful international meetings. Clarifying isEr, you may not agree, you may not approve of the way that businesskey in any international meeting.
Different cultural assumptions meanis done in another culture; but the way that people do business inthat sometimes spoken languagel body language, including gesturesl andthat culture is as a result of many, many years of, of development andwritten symbols can be misunderstood. Constant checking and feedbackso YOll have to be accepting, er, thai it may be not to your liking and itis crucial. At the end ofa meetingl its vital to summarise the main areasmay be different, but it is not wrong.of agreement and disagreement and ensure that everyones happy withthem to avoid confusion and frustration later.Overall, any international meeting requires planning, organisationand thinking about ifit's to succeed. We must consider how culturaldifferences may affect mutual understanding and we should try topredict any areas open to misunderstanding before they happen.U N IT 7 CULTURESCOl TRACK 44 (I = INTERVIEWER, IT = JEFF TOMS)I Can you give us some examples of culture shock that people haveIT=experienced?There arc many, many examples of culture shock, andl er, many ofthose really come about because people haven't prepared themselveswell enough.
So examples of that might be timing, where in some158COl TRACK 471 Small talk is one way to break the ice when meeting someone for thefirst time.23I was thrown in at the deep end when my company sent me to run theGennan office. I was only given two days' notice to get everything ready.We don't see eye to eye with our US parent company aboutpunctuality. We have very different ideas about what being 'on time'means. It's a question of culture.4I got into hot water with my boss for wearing casual clothes to themeeting with the potential Japanese customers.5I really put my foot in it when I met our Spanish partner.
Because Iwas nervousl l said '\Vho arc you?' rather than 'How are you?:6I get on like a house on fire with our Polish agent; we like the samethings and have the same sense of humour.AUDIO SCRIPTS78When I visited China for the first time, I was like a fish out of water.Everything was so different, and I couldn't read any of the signs.My first meeting with our overseas clients was a real eye·opener.
Ihadn't seen that style of negotiation before.RCDl TRACK 48A So where did you go on holiday, then?B Italy.A Did you have a good time?B Yes. It was 0K.A And which part of Italy did you go to?B Sicily.A I've been to Sicily - Taormina. I really enjoyed it. What did you thinkEBABABREofit?Nothing special.Oh, right. So . . . How's it going at work?We're busy.That's really good, isn't it?I don't know about that.CD2TRACK11I'm sorry. I didn't quite catch your name.2 I'm really sorry - I'd love to, but I'm afraid I'm going to the theatre onVlednesday night.3 Not for me, thanks. I'm not keen on seafood.4 [ 'm sorry, but [ really do have to be going. [t was really nice talking to you.S Welcome to our headquarters.
It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm JamesCbyton.6 Katrina, can I introduce you to Greg? Greg's over from the States.Greg, this is Katrina Siedler, my boss.7 Please, let me get this.8 Here's to our future success.9 I'm very sorry to hear about what happened.10 I'm sorry I'm late, the tranlc from the airport was terrible.CD2 TRACK 2A Is this your first visit to the region?BABABABABABABABABABNo, I come here quite a lot, but usually to Hong Kong.Oh really! 'What do you do?I'm an Account Director for a marketing company.How long have you been there?Nearly five years now.Have you been to Tok."}'o before?No, this is my first trip.Business or pleasure?Business, I'm afraid.How long have you been here?Six days.And how long arc you staying?Until tomorrow evening.Where arc you staying?At the Metropolitan Hotel.What's the food like?It's very good, but eating at the Metropolitan can be quite expensive.So, what do you think ofTok."}'o?I reall), like it.
There's so Illuch to see and do.(02 TRACK 3 (R ROSANA, E ENRIQUE)R So, Enrique, what can you tell me about Germany?=ERERE=Well, I don't think there'll be any language problem for yOll, MostGerman businesspeople arc pretty fluent in English, and they'll uscEnglish with YOll, as you don't know any German. 111ey'rc prettyformal in business, so don't be surprised at how they address eachother. They tend to usc family names, not first names, when they talkto each other.I sec. What about when you first meet German managers? How doyou greet them?Well, generally they shake hands.OK.
How about topics of conversation, say, if '·m asked out fordinner or whatever? What arc good topics of conversation in France?Oh, that's easy. French people love talking about food - they're veryproud of their cuisine, so yOll can't go wrong if you introduce thattopic into the conversation. The French arc like the Spanish andPortuguese, the)" 11 go all for hours talking about local dishes.RER111at's good to hear. I love talking about food, too. But I like food abit too much, so I'm always worrying about my weight.
What aboutsafe topics ofconversation in Russia? You've spent quite a lot oftimethere, haven't you?Yeah, Russians like food, too, so it's a good topic, But you could tryasking Russians you meet abollt the state of the economy. That'll getthem gOing, Most Russians love talking about the economy and theproblems they're haVing. It's a really good subject. And Russian menlike to talk about ice hockey - it's a very popular sport there. By theway, plenty of Russians speak English well, so you won't have anyproblems understanding them. But you may have difliculty readingthe name of streets, because they're all in Cyrillic script. It can bevery confusing for visitors.Oh, th:mks.
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