Учебник Английский язык

someone. English only has one form, 'you', but distance may be shown in other ways, for example, in whether first names or surnames are used.

3. Which word combination with ‘culture’ describes each of the following?

1.The men really dominate in this company, they don’t make life easy for women at all. All they talk about is football.

2.Among the management here we try to be fair to people from different minorities, but there are still elements of racism among the workforce.

3.Of course, the quality of the work you do after you've been at it for ten hours is not good.

4.There was a time when managers could only wear white shirts in this company -things are a bit less formal now.

5.Here the male managers talk about the market as if it was some kind of battlefield.

6.They say that if you go home at 5.30, you can’t be doing your job properly, but I’m going anyway.

4. Read this information about two very different companies and answer the questions.

The Associated Box Company (ABC) and the Superior Box Corporation (SBC) both make cardboard boxes.

At ABC there are three levels of management between the CEO and the people who actually make the boxes. At SBC, there is only one level.

Managers at ABC are very distant. They rarely leave their offices, they have their own executive restaurant and the employees hardly ever see them. Employees are never consulted in decision-making. At SBC, managers share the same canteen with employees. Managers have long meetings with employees before taking important decisions.

Managers and the CEO of SBC have an open-door policy where employees can come to see them about any complaint they might have. At ABC, employees must sort out problems with the manager immediately above them.

At ABC, employees call their managers ‘sir’. At SBC, everyone uses first names.

1 Which company:

a is more hierarchical?

b is more informal in the way people talk to each other? 2 In which company are managers:

a more approachable? b more remote?

3 In which company are employees: a more deferential?

b on more equal terms with their bosses?

5. Read the information about entertainment and hospitability, time and cross-cultural communication. Explain words in bold.

Alexandra Adler continues her seminar on cross-cultural issues. Entertaining and hospitality vary a lot in different cultures.

■In Alphaland, entertaining is important. There are long business lunches in restaurants, where deals are discussed. Professional and private life are separate, and clients are never invited home.

■In Betatania, evenings are spent drinking and singing in bars with colleagues and clients.

■In Gammaria, lunch can be important, but less so than in Alphaland. Important contacts may be invited to dinner at home. Corporate hospitality is a big

industry, with clients invited to big sports events.

In Deltatonia, restaurants are rare outside the capital. Some entertainment takes place when important clients are invited to people’s houses for dinner, or go sailing or to country houses for the weekend, etc.

Attitudes towards time can vary enormously. In Busyville, people start work at eight, and officially finish at six, though many managers stay much longer. There is a culture of presenteeism: being at work when you don’t need to be.

There is a two-hour lunch break, and a lot of business is done over restaurant lunches. (Lunch is the main meal. The working breakfast is rare.) There are no snacks between meals, just coffee, so eat properly at meal times.

As for punctuality, you can arrive up to 15 minutes ‘late’ for meetings. If invited to someone’s house (unusual in business), arrive 15-30 minutes after the time given. Don’t phone people at home about work, and don't phone them at all after 9 pm. There are a lot of public holidays (about 15) during the year. Busyville is empty in August, as many companies close completely for four weeks. Employees have five weeks’ holiday a year and they usually take four of them in August.

Here are some other areas of potential cultural misunderstanding: a distance when talking to people: what is comfortable?

b eye contact: how much of the time do people look directly at each other?

c gesture: do people make lots of facial gestures? How much do they move their arms and hands?

d greetings/goodbyes: do people shake hands every time? Are there fixed phrases to say?

e humour: is this a good way of relaxing people? Or is it out of place in some contexts?

f physical contact: how much do people touch each other?

g presents: when should you give them? When should you open them? What should you say when you receive one?

h rules of conversation and the role of silence: how long can people be silent before they

6. In which country from information in ex. 5 might you hear these things?

1 How about a trip out tomorrow afternoon? We could see some horse racing and have a glass of champagne.

2 Do come out with us this evening! I know some great bars. How’s your singing? 3 What are you doing this weekend? You could come to our summer cottage. You'll meet my family and we can take the boat out.

4 Let’s get out of the office to discuss the deal. I know a nice restaurant near here, with some very good local dishes.

7. Look at information in ex.5 again and tick (V) the things this visitor to Busyville does right, and put a cross (X) by her mistakes.

I phoned my contact in her office at 7.30 pm. (1...) I suggested a working breakfast the next morning. (2...) She wasn't keen, so I suggested lunch. (3...) We arranged to meet at her office at 12.30.I arrived at 12.45 (4...) and we went to a restaurant, where we had a very good discussion. That evening I wanted to check something, so I found her name in the phone book and phoned her at home. (5...) She was less friendly than at lunchtime. I said I would be back in Busyville in mid-August (6...). Not a good time, she said, so I suggested September. (7...)

8. Which points from information in ex.5 are referred to in this story?

Sally, a student, is working for a company abroad for work experience. The company has employees from all over the world. The head of the company, Henrik, invites Sally to a barbecue for his employees at his home, at 3 pm on Saturday.

She is the first to arrive, at exactly 3 o’clock. When the others arrive, some shake hands with each other. Some kiss on one cheek, others on both cheeks. Others arrive and say hello without kissing or shaking hands. (1...) Some bring wine or flowers, which the host does not open and puts to one side. Others bring nothing. (2...)

In conversations, some people move their arms around a lot and seem to make signs with their hands, others keep their hands by their sides. (3...) Some people do not let others finish what they are saying, and others say almost nothing; the people with them seem upset and move away when they can. (4...) Some people look directly at the person they are talking to. Others look away more. (5...) Some touch the arm of the other person whenever they are speaking to them. (6...) She notices that some people seem to be slowly moving backwards across the garden as the conversation goes on, while the person with them is moving forward. (7...)

Later, somebody makes a joke but nobody laughs. Everyone goes quiet. (8...) People start saying goodbye and leaving.

DISCUSSION

1. Many managers agree that an understanding of cultural differences is essential when doing business abroad. The following case studies illustrate what can happen if businesspeople do not take into account the culture of the countries they are dealing with.

In groups, read the following descriptions of problems managers had when doing business abroad. Choose one and discuss what you think caused the misunderstanding. Present your interpretation of the problem to see if the rest of the class agrees with it. Could these situations cause conflict or misunderstandings in your country?

1 Mr Byrd was an ex-State Department employee hired by a well-known multinational corporation to be its ‘man in Riyadh’, Saudi Arabia. This retired American diplomat went to the home of a Saudi, Mr Fouad, to try to interest him in participating in a local joint venture with his company. A middle man who knew them both had introduced them. As this was a first meeting, the men’s conversation began with small talk that made Mr Byrd a little impatient. Questions such as: ‘how are you doing?’ ‘how was your flight?’ ‘how is your family?’ and ‘how is your father?’ were common. Mr Byrd, familiar with all these obligatory formalities of greeting, answered ‘fine’. ‘Oh, my father, yes, well, he is fine, but he is getting a little deaf. I saw him a few months ago during Christmas when we took him out of the nursing home for a few days.’ From that point everything froze up. Mr Byrd’s mission was completely derailed. Mr Fouad remained gracious enough but obviously was uninterested in doing any business with Mr Byrd.

2 Jim Turner was attending a conference in Lyons. This was not his first trip to France and he was pleased the French colleagues he’d met previously remembered him. One evening they invited him along for dinner and began joking about the quality of the food. That surprised him. He thought the food was really rather good and said so, expecting the discussion to continue. But to his great discomfort, they then make some joke about ‘Americans and food’ and changed the subject. He felt somewhat excluded and didn’t know what he’d done wrong.

3 This incident was reported by a British management consultant based in Paris: ‘I had taken the American CEO of a New York based consulting company to a French consulting firm in Paris. The negotiations did not go well. He hadn’t been in the boardroom for more than 15 minutes before he asked them what their company’s annual earnings were. Without waiting for an answer to that question, he suggested they give him an estimate of their firm’s market value, as he was interested in making them an offer.’

4 A businesswoman recently asked why a high-level delegation of visiting Japanese clients had not approached the breakfast buffet table she had taken such great pains to prepare. ‘I’d gotten out the good china and silverware and even brought in Japanese green tea for them, but no one touched a thing!’

2. a) Read the portraits of managers in five different countries and decide which country each one corresponds to.

■Germany

■Poland

■Sweden

■The United Kingdom

■The USA

Managers from this country

∙consider professional and technical skills to be very important.

∙have a strong sense of authority.

∙respect the different positions in the hierarchy of their companies.

∙clearly define how jobs should be done.

∙are very loyal to their companies and expect their subordinates to obey them.

∙are often older than in other countries.

Managers from this country

∙receive a general education.

∙delegate authority.

∙take a practical approach to management.

∙have relatively formal relationships at work.

∙encourage their employees to work individually.

∙believe it is important to continue education and training at work

Managers from this country

∙consider social qualities to be as important as education.

∙encourage their employees to take an interest in their work.

∙pay close attention to the quality of working life.

∙do not use as much authority as in other countries.

∙appreciate low-level decision-making.

∙are often women

∙

Managers from this country

∙generally attend business schools.

∙communicate easily and informally at work.

∙admire the qualities of a leader

∙expect everyone to work hard. Individual performance is measured and initiative is rewarded

∙have competitive and aggressive attitudes to work.

∙often accept innovation and change

Managers from this country

∙have either gained their experience in state-owned enterprises or are competitive self-starters.

∙older managers hold technical degrees rather than business qualifications.

∙work very long hours and expect their subordinates to do so.

∙are extremely innovative, optimistic and determined.

∙are quick to invest in the development of new products, market techniques and methods of production and distribution

3.In groups, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each approach to management, and say which one you would find the most attractive. Do any of these profiles correspond to management practices in your country?

READING

1.The chief executives of two British-based companies have produced a ten-point guide on how to export successfully to Japan. Before you read the article, predict what advice they will give. Make suggestions under the headings Do and Don’t.

2.Read the first sentence only of each paragraph in the article. Were any of your guesses correct?

Liverpool to Tokyo

Ian Hamilton Fazey examines a ten-point guide to doing export business in Japan. Boodle & Dunthorne is a jewellery designer and retailer. Joloda makes equipment for loading goods on trucks. Both are based in Liverpool, UK. The chief executives are Martin Wainwright (Boodle & Dunthorne) and Wojtek Kordel (Joloda).

Be prepared for important cultural and language difficulties. This may seem obvious but some people try to get by in Japan without hiring a good interpreter who can also explain Japanese traditions and customs.

Trade on personal contact at a senior level. This is more important than trading on price. Physical presence matters. Only now, after 10 years of selling to Japan, is Joloda introducing a new salesperson. Wainwright says regular exhibitions at national trade shows in Japan are critical to building a profile in the sector you sell to.

Patience pays dividends. It may take several visits before an order comes through. Boodle & Dunthorne took about 16 months to get going and Wainwright spent Ј40,000 before getting an order. He had gone back to the UK from a trade show ready to call it a day when his sales manager, who was due to follow him the next day, got a call to see the Mitsui Corporation three days later. Boodle & Dunthorne was suddenly in.

Avoid middlemen so as to speed delivery. Joloda uses an agent in Japan but was able to give faster service by minimising the length of its distribution chain. Boodle & Dunthorne employs Rebecca Hawkins, a leading designer, and

manufactures its own jewellery, so providing a fast, direct service with original designs.

Quote in local currency. Your bank should be able to help you; if it cannot, change banks.

There are wide variations in dialect, climate and culture. You may need a different distributor in Osaka from Tokyo, for example and a different interpreter

— because your Tokyo man may well not have the right network of contacts. Emphasise your product’s country of origin. Britain, say Kordel and

Wainwright, is seen as quaint, old fashioned, but full of history. Whether you sell jewellery or engineering products, stress any hand crafting of your goods and the heritage of the city where you are based.

Develop your intuition. Wainwright and Kordel say a culture of politeness prevents the Japanese from expressing dislike and disagreement. If they visit you in the UK, Wainwright says to remember they do not usually eat big meals or too much meat. Fish restaurants are safer.

Some of Joloda’s customers from the regions are unfamiliar with western culture. Kordel advises that UK visits by them should be well-supervised from arrival to departure, with an interpreter provided at all times.

Offer gifts. ‘The Japanese enjoy giving and receiving beautifully presented gifts,’ Kordel says. ‘Status is critical, so a prestigious brand is appreciated best. However, it is not the value of the gift, but the fact it is a present from you that counts,’ says Wainwright.

From the Financial Times

3. Now read the whole article. Then, summarise the information. Use the headings below.

language middlemen country of origin				customer visits		currency
personal contact	meals	gifts	patience		dialect	climate culture

4. a) Prepare a list of dos and don'ts for business people visiting your country (or one you know well). Give business tips or more general cultural ones.

b) Present your ideas to your colleagues. Answer any questions they have.

IDIOMS

1. Choose the most appropriate word in the box to complete the idioms in the sentences below.

eye

eye

foot

water

water

fire

ice

end

1 I was thrown in at the deep ……… when my company sent me to run the German office. I was only given two days’ notice to prepare.

2 We don't see eye to ……… about relocating our factory. The Finance Director wants to move production to the Far East, but I want it to remain in Spain.

3 I got into hot ……… with my boss for wearing casual clothes to the meeting with our Milanese customers.

4 Small talk is one way to break the ……… when meeting someone for the first time.

5 I really put my ……… in it when I met our Japanese partner. Because I was nervous, I said ‘Who are you?’ rather than ‘How are you?’

6 I get on like a house on ……… with our Polish agent; we like the same things and have the same sense of humour.

7 When I visited China for the first time I was like a fish out of ……… . Everything was so different, and I couldn’t read any of the signs!

8 My first meeting with our overseas clients was a real ………-opener. I had not seen that style of negotiation before.

2. a ) Consider the context of each idiom in Exercise 1 and write down those which have:

a positive meaning

a negative meaning

b)Match the idioms in Exercise A to the correct meanings a) to h).

a)given a difficult job to do without preparation

b)quickly have a friendly relationship with someone

c)feel uncomfortable in an unfamiliar situation

d)say or do something without thinking carefully, so that you embarrass or upset someone

e)to disagree with someone

f)an experience where you learn something surprising or something you did not know before

g)make someone you have just met less nervous and more willing to talk

h)to get into trouble

3. Work in pairs or small groups. Discuss the following.

1 What tips do you have for breaking the ice at meetings with new clients? 2 Talk about a place you have visited which was a real eye-opener.

3 Describe a situation when you

a) put your foot in it.	c) got into hot water.
b) felt like a fish out of water.	d) were thrown in at the deep end.

Project work:

Online research

1. Many books about multicultural management suggest that the world can be divided into three geographical groups:

1 North America

2 Europe, Latin America, Middle East

3 Japan, China, East Asia

Try to match the groups to the descriptions below. Write the number 1–3 in the box.

Company values

Business relationships

a

Group harmony, long-term

a

Friendly and informal, but a

relationships, loyalty, company reputation.

continuing personal relationship is not

b

Trust between individuals,

so

important. Much business is done

over the phone.

compromise and personal reputation.

b

Done on a group basis, although

People work to live.

relationships based on mutual respect

c

Competition between individuals,

are

important. Often there is an older

achievement, action, risk-taking,

authority figure who rarely appears but

directness, informality, innovation. People

has ultimate power.

live to work.

c

Personal relationships are very

important. Some time is needed to build

trust before business can begin.

Preference for doing business face to

face

Meetings

Presentations

a

Objective is to gather information.

a

Complicated language may be

Communication style is often ‘monologue

used to show education. Audience expects

– pause – monologue’ rather than

formality and a logical structure, but a

dialogue. Arguments are often indirect,

touch of imagination is also appreciated.

and there are no sudden changes of

May want a more personal ‘extra’ talk

viewpoint in meetings. Decisions are made

afterwards where you tell them the ‘truth’.

by group consensus over a long time

b

Indirect, conservative language.

period.

Audience appreciates a quiet, formal

b

Objective is to make a deal or

presentation with visual aids and lots of

decision. Communication style is direct,

opportunity to ask questions and check

factual, informal and at times

understanding. They expect separate

confrontational. Decisions are based on

handouts, prepared for different people, by

facts, and are often made instantly in the

job function.

meeting.

c

Direct, simple language. Audience

c

Objective is to establish

jokes, modernity, logic, slogans,

expects

informality and a hard sell. Audience may

relationships, build understanding, clarify,

and issue instructions. Communication

ask questions or interrupt while someone is

style depends on national culture.

speaking, and will openly question

Decisions are made by key individuals,

inconsistent facts.

outside the meeting.

2. Discuss the questions in pairs or small groups.

a Did you get the same answers as other people? If you did, does it mean the differences are real?

b Does your own country match the description of its particular group? How is it different?

c How do individual countries in your geographical group differ from each other? d In which ways is globalisation making business more similar, reducing cultural differences? Which cultural differences remain strong, resisting the effects of globalisation?

e Is globalisation just a polite way of saying Americanisation?

3. Visit students’ blogs, answer the questions asked in each blog comments and fill in the table.

http://managementinlatinamerica.blogspot.com/

4. Go to www.blogger.com . Design own blog dedicated to management in any foreign country, place there information which will help visitors answer the following questions:

∙How should people be addressed?

∙When do people use first names?

∙Are personal relationships important in business?

∙How important are punctuality and deadlines?

∙Is decision-making quick and decisive, or slow and cautious?

∙Is documentation important, or is ‘my word’ good enough?

∙Is it normal to openly disagree with people in meetings?

∙If not, how should I show that I’m not happy with something?

∙Do people continue the business discussion at lunch?

∙Is it expected that you offer a gift at the end of a visit?

∙If so, what is appropriate?