Reading_for_the_Real_World_1_2nd_Ed

U N I T 11 Cross-Cultural Viewpoints 2

Bribery or Business as Usual?

Pre-Reading Questions

Think about the following questions.

1.What are some cultural differences that you know about between countries?

2.What happens when people don’t understand each other’s cultural differences?

3.Are there any cultural differences in business?

Vocabulary Preview

Match each word or phrase with the correct definition.

1.	crack down	a. a slippery material made from oil
2.	grease	b. to endure; to put up with
3.	harassment	c. to enforce a law or rule more strongly
4.	sensitive	d. to add in order to make bigger or better
5.	supplement	e. aware; careful of
6.	tolerate	f. an action meant to bother, disturb, or annoy

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Track 43

Bribery or Business as Usual?

Cross-cultural researchers and trainers often advise those traveling through or working in another culture to be sensitive to cultural differences. Implied in this sensitivity is the suggestion to accept

behaviors of the new culture even if they seem strange or wrong. In cross-cultural 5 contact, right and wrong may be understood differently by the two cultures.

According to this view of relativism, ethical behavior may appear very different from one culture to another. Take, for example, the behavior of bribery. In most countries, businesses which resort to bribing government officials in order to receive special favors or special treatment are understood to be acting

10unethically. However, this behavior may be tolerated or even expected in some cultures. As reported by a German magazine, one of the ministers in the Thai government office of land management was quoted as saying, “Bribes are part of traditional Thai culture.” This minister went on to explain that his employees were instructed to accept any money offered to them, as long as they did not ask

15for it. The bribes were considered a supplement to the extremely low pay of this office’s employees.

Bribes may be required in a variety of business situations. They are most

commonly paid just before a contract is finalized. Bribes may also be paid to suppliers to ensure prompt delivery, or they may be given to distributors to

20guarantee delivery of high quality products. When such bribes are meant to speed up a business transaction or make a deal go smoothly, it may be referred to as a “grease payment.” Additionally, bribes may be used to buy “protection” for a business, either against some harmful act or against government harassment.

25	In an effort to crack down on the payment of bribes to foreign governments,
	the United States passed a law in the 1970s called the Foreign Corrupt Practices
	6 relativism --- a philosophy which states that good and bad
	are relative to culture and groups

6ethical --- related to right and wrong; moral

7bribery --- giving or taking money for influence

8resort to --- to do as a last choice

11 minister --- a high level government official

26 corrupt --- dishonest

44combating --- fighting

45transaction --- an agreement

48induce --- to influence to do

50rendered --- done; given

Act (FCPA). This law was created after official investigations revealed how much money US companies were paying in bribes to governments and

30officials in other countries. The investigation showed that more than 400 companies doing business internationally had paid over $300 million in bribes.

These bribes were hurting the image of the companies within the United States. Therefore, the American government proposed the FCPA to restore integrity to

35	American business and confidence among American consumers.
	According to the FCPA law, any US business caught paying bribes to any
	official or agent of another country’s government could be punished by fines or
	possible imprisonment. The fines could be up to twice the amount of the bribe,
	and imprisonment could be up to five years. But this law actually put US

40businesses at a disadvantage in the global market. Companies from other countries were still paying bribes to do business. Therefore, the US government worked with its major trading partners to establish an international treaty to crack down on such unethical business practices as bribery. In 1997, thirty-four

	countries signed an agreement called the Convention on Combating Bribery of
45	Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.
		However, there is nothing that clearly distinguishes the difference between
		bribes and gifts in either the FCPA or the international Convention. But if a gift,
		and especially a gift of money, is given with the intent to induce some favorable
		action, then it is probably a bribe. On the other hand, a gift is not considered a
50		bribe when given after the deal is closed or service has been rendered.
		Reading Time	_______ minutes _______ seconds	576 words

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Reading Comprehension

AMark each statement as either true (T) or false (F) according to the reading.

1.____ Bribery is bad in all cultures.

2.____ US companies paid bribes to businesses in other countries.

3.____ The US passed a law against Americans paying bribes to officials in other countries.

4.____ Giving a gift is always bribery.

BChoose the best answer.

1.What is the main idea of this reading concerning bribery?

a.Bribery is not common in Thailand.

b.Bribery is wrong everywhere.

c.Few countries will fight bribery in the future.

d.Some countries disagree that bribery is wrong.

2.What is NOT a bribe?

a.Some money given to prevent a harmful act

b.An expensive bottle of wine given before the contract is signed

c.Some gift given after the deal has been completed

d.An expensive necklace given to guarantee products of high quality

3.Which statement would the writer probably agree with?

a.People should only follow one style of business.

b.People should try to find a compromise between cultural differences.

c.People should not do business internationally without help from a consultant.

d.International business is difficult the first time.

CFor the next two questions, look for the answers in the passage and write them on the lines provided.

1.Why was the FCPA created?

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

2.When do people give “grease payments”?

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

Summary

Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Select THREE answer choices to complete the summary.

First Sentence: International business practices are a sensitive issue due to cultural differences between countries.

1.Even though some countries view bribery as illegal, others tolerate it or even view it as a supplement to their wages, to ensure quick payment and to prevent harassment.

2.Grease payments are bribes that can speed up the completion of a deal and even ensure the delivery of high quality goods.

3.Recently the US government cracked down on the American businesses that were taking part in bribery, but it put American companies at a disadvantage.

4.The US government worked with its international trading partners and established a business treaty to combat bribery.

5.An investigation showed that more than 400 American companies doing business internationally had paid over $300 million in bribes.

Vocabulary Extension

Here are six words that are related to the topic but are not in the reading. Fill in each blank with the best word from the list. Use each word only once.

wholesale

retail

merchandise

contract

kickback

incentive

1.I buy directly from the company, so I get things at a cheaper __________ price.

2.My boss gave me a(n) __________ of $1,000. I feel motivated to work harder now.

3.Occasionally I buy running shoes from a Nike store. Then I must pay full

__________ price.

4.He received a(n) __________ of $50,000 from the boss of the ABC company because he agreed to buy ABC products.

5.“What kind of __________ do you sell in your store?” “Mainly clothing, but we also sell some accessories, too.”

6.He signed a(n) __________ stating that he would deliver all the goods by next month.

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Supplemental Reading

5

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Promoting Business Ethics

Track 44

Asurprising number of employees in large companies report feeling pressure to “do the wrong thing.” One out of eight workers reported that their co-workers or managers somehow pressured them to do

something against the company’s ethical standards. Such internal corruption has led several large companies into difficulty and even complete failure.

When a large corporation fails due to corruption, a clear message is sent to the public. That message is “unethical behavior will get you in trouble.” It appears more students are getting this message as enrollment in Business Ethics courses is rising. Interestingly, however, very few MBA programs in North America require

students to take any Business Ethics courses. For this reason, the international organization called Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) is actively working to train young businesspeople to make ethical business decisions.

SIFE works through teams of university students who volunteer their time to work in training courses and to develop projects. These teams can be found on more than 1,500 campuses in thirty-seven countries around the world. The organization is supported by faculty advisors on these campuses, and many international corporations take part in events organized by SIFE.

Each year, the teams from each university write an annual report of their activities and give a presentation in a competition where the best team is awarded the SIFE World Cup.

Discussion

Discuss the following questions.

1.What kinds of business cultures are there in your country? Do you think they are positive or negative practices?

2.Do you think that it is possible to be too tolerant or accommodating of another culture? Why or why not?

U N I T 12 Business & Economics 1

Adventure Tours for Charity

Pre-Reading Questions

Think about the following questions.

1.What is the most exotic place you have visited?

2.Would you call your visit to that place an “adventure”? Why or why not?

3.What are some famous charities that you know of? Who do these charities help?

Vocabulary Preview

Match each word or phrase with the correct definition.

1.	adventure	a. collecting
2.	donation	b. an organized vacation or holiday
3.	minimum	c. to do together or participate
4.	raising	d. an exciting or strange trip
5.	take part in	e. a gift given to a cause or charity
6.	tour	f. the least level or amount

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Adventure Tours for Charity Track 45

	n almost any magazine or newspaper in England, you can find
	advertisements for adventure tours to exotic places. These exciting tours can
	Ibe bicycling, hiking, or even motorcycle trips across deserts, over mountains,
	and around live volcanoes! Many of these tours are for charity, which makes them
5	more interesting to some people.
	One advertisement offers people a “Bike
	Ride to Hell and Back,” a 400-kilometer bicycle
	tour across the lava fields of Iceland. The
	advertisement says that the tour is like a ride

10across the face of the moon. The organization that sets up this tour is advertising for people who can give time and effort to raising money for a good cause. For their hard work, these people will also be able to take the holiday of a

15 lifetime.

The first thing that people have to do is sign up for the tour. The number of people who can go on each tour is limited, and many tours fill up fast. Those who sign up then have to pay a deposit in order to hold their space on the tour. People cannot get their deposit back later if they change their mind, so they had

20better be sure they really want to go. The deposit is usually between £150-250 (US $200-375).

Next, each person must raise a minimum amount of money for the charity. This money could be anywhere between £1,500-2,500 (US$2,000-3,500). In order to raise this much money, some people send letters to friends and relatives

25asking for help. Other people have big parties where all of the guests must pay to come to the party. One farmer even divided up his field into one meter squares

2	exotic --- unusual
8	lava --- rock, either hot and fluid or solidified, which comes from a volcano
12	raise --- to collect
18	deposit --- money paid to reserve a place
26	divide up --- to separate

30	cow patty --- a pile of cow dung
38	overall --- general; including everything
40	typically --- commonly; usually
43	not for everybody --- not suitable or appealing for all people
46	Namib Desert --- a very dry area in Southwest Africa

to raise money. People could buy one square of the field for £1 each. Then the farmer let his cow walk across the field. Whoever

bought the square where the cow dropped its first

30“cow patty” won a prize. Surprisingly, the majority of people who go on the adventure tours end up collecting more than the minimum money that the charity asks for.

Some people see a problem with this system

35of raising money for charities. They think that it is wrong for part of the money that people collect to be used to pay for someone’s holiday. However,

charities try to keep the overall cost of the tours low so that at least 60 or 70 percent of the money which is raised goes to the charity. One charity said, “We

40expect to make an average profit of £50,000 per trip.” This charity typically runs between ten to fifteen tours each year.

Do people really want to spend their holiday doing something like bicycling for 400 kilometers when they could be resting on a beach? These tours are not for everybody. But the people who sign up for them all agree that it is a great

45	experience.
		After hiking across the Namib Desert, a young construction worker from
	London cried as he hugged all of the other people who had been on the tour with
	him. Everyone cried. Most of them never thought that they could take part in an
	adventure like that. They had not only finished a difficult hike, but they had
50	done it for someone else, for the charity.
		Reading Time	_______ minutes _______ seconds	554 words

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Reading Comprehension

AMark each statement as either true (T) or false (F) according to the reading.

1.____ The adventure tours appeal to everyone.

2.____ Less than half of the money that people raise for the charity is used to pay for expenses on the trip.

3.____ The farmer described in the reading sold his cow to raise money for the charity.

4.____ The charities set no limit on the number of people who can go on each tour, so some tours get very crowded.

BChoose the best answer.

1.What is the main idea of the reading?

a.Comparing tours arranged by two charities

b.Describing a dangerous tour set up by a charity

c.Explaining how charities raise money through tours

d.Giving information about interesting places to visit

2.What makes the tours described in the reading interesting for people?

a.They are exciting.

b.They are a great experience.

c.They raise money for charities.

d.All of the above

3.What would probably NOT be an adventure tour for charity?

a.Climbing Mt. Everest

b.Staying on a beach in Thailand

c.Crossing the Sahara desert

d.Sailing across the Pacific Ocean

CFor the next two questions, look for the answers in the passage and write them on the lines provided.

1.Why should a person be careful when they pay a deposit for a charity adventure tour?

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

2.Why do some people disagree with this method of raising money for charities?

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________