E. They regularly word on Saturdays, don't often take more than week's vacation, and count sick days as holiday.

1. The Italians

3. The Germans

2. The British

4. The Japanese

F. The base of the economy is the thousands of small and medium sized private firs in the north. Their owners prefer independence, and it is more profitable to keep things in the family, pay workers in cash, and employ people who are officially self-employed, in order to make bigger profits and avoid strikes.

1. The French

3. The Italians

2. The Spanish

4. The Japanese

 

Do you agree with the above given analysis? Why/Why not? How dangerous is it to stereotype people in this way? Now compare your opinions with those in the article given below.

 

Read and translate the text.

 

Boardroom Culture Clash

 

An Unpredictable Affair

Try to put pressure on a Japanese in a negotiation and you will be met with stony silence. Hold an informal fact-finding meeting with a German and you can expect a battery of searching questions. Disagree with the French on even a minor point and they will take great pleasure in engaging in spirited verbal combat. Doing business across culture can be an unpredictable affair.

Cultural Awareness

Most of us prefer to do business with people we like, and it should come as no surprise that the people we like tend to be like us. So whilst we may dispute the accuracy of cultural stereotypes, it is generally agreed that good business relationships are built on cultural awareness. Across national frontiers 'nice guys' do more business than nasty ones. But what constitutes nice-guy behaviour in a boardroom in Miami is not necessarily what they expect in Madrid.

The US Perspective

For instance, most Americans will insist on the hard sell. It's not enough that you want to buy their products, you must let them sell them to you. They have to report back to superiors who will be as interested in how the deal was struck as the result. Systems and procedures matter to Americans.

The Spaniards Trust You

The Spanish, on the other hand, are unimpressed by the most meticulously prepared meeting and pay much more attention to people. In this they are more like the Arabs or the Japanese. In the Middle and Far East business is built on trust over a long period of time. Spaniards may come to a decision about whether they trust you a little sooner.

Animated Italians

Italians too tend to feel that the main purpose of meetings is to assess the mood of those present and reinforce team-spirit. There may well be a lot of animated discussion at a meeting in Italy, but the majority of decisions will be made elsewhere and in secret.

Scandinavians Want Results

Strangely enough, Scandinavians are rather like Americans. They value efficiency, novelty, systems and technology. They are firmly profit-oriented. They want results yesterday.

Succeed With the Germans

Don't be surprised if the Germans start a meeting with all the difficult questions. They want to be convinced you are as efficient and quality-conscious as they are. They will be cautious about giving you too much business until you have proved yourself. They will demand prompt delivery and expect you to keep your competitive edge in the most price-sensitive market in Europe. Succeed and you will enjoy a long-term business relationship.

Adversarial Meetings

The French will give you their business much more readily. But they will withdraw it just as fast if you fail to come up with the goods. Meetings in France tend to be adversarial. Heated discussion is all part of the game. Germans will be shocked to hear you question their carefully prepared arguments. The Spanish will offer no opinion unless sure of themselves, for fear of losing face. But French executives prefer to meet disagreement head on, and the British tendency to diffuse tension with humour doesn't go down too well.

Prisoners of Our Culture

Ask yourself whether meetings are opportunities to network or get results. Is it more important to stick to the agenda or generate new ideas? Is the main aim of a meeting to transmit or pool information?

It all depends on where in the world you hold your meeting and whether you belong to an individualistic business culture like the French, Germans and Americans or to a collective one like the British, Japanese and Greeks. Indeed, who knows to what extent our views are our own and to what extent culturally conditioned? For in business, as in life, «all human beings are captives of their culture».

5. Find English equivalents in the text:

(1) оказывать давление на кого-либо; (2) проводить встре­чу с кем-либо; (3) оспаривать точность культурных стереотипов; (4) деловые отношения; (5) заключать сделку; (6) тщательно под­готовленная встреча; (7) строить дело на доверии; (8) приходить к решению; 9) укреплять командный дух; (10) оживленная дис­куссия; (11) выгодно отличаться от конкурентов; (12) встречать разногласия во всеоружии; (13) снимать напряжение юмором, (14) заложники своей культуры.

 

6. Match the words and phrases on the left with their definitions on the right and translate them:

1) quality-conscious	a) to produce smth. esp. when pessured or challenged
2) adversarial meeting	b) thinking that quality of goods is very important
3) to come up with the goods	c) in a direct and determined way
4) to lose face	d) to be accepted or not accepted by smb.
5) head-on	e) interact with others in order to exchange information and develop useful contacts
6) to go down well/ badly with smb. to share it	f) to put it all together in order
7) to network	g) to stop having one's credibility
8) to pool information	h) involving or characterized by conflict or opposition

 

7. Comprehension check:

a) Which of the following points support the opinions expressed in the article?

1. In meetings the French tend to be more aggressive than the Germans.

2. The Arabs have nothing in common with the Japanese.

3. The French generally don't appreciate the British sense of humour.

4. The Spanish are rarely hesitant in cross-cultural meetings.

5. The Americans and Scandinavians value a methodical approach.

6. The Germans want quality at any price.

7. The British tend to be more individualistic in business than the Germans.

8. In business the Italians are more or less like the Spanish.

b) What are your own views on each of these points?

Well, personally, I think... Well, if you ask me... Well, I reckon...

c) Look back at the last three paragraphs in the article. Find the expressions which mean:

1. to compare favourably with your competitors

2. to do as you promised

3. to react strongly to differences of opinion

 

Vocabulary work

a) The following business verbs are listed in the order in which they appeared in the article. Use these verbs to make up word combinations with nouns from the text, translate them and learn ten most useful by heart.

BUSINESS VERBS NOUNS

1. hold a meeting

2. disagree on

3. build

4. report back to

5. strike

6. come to

7. reinforce

8. withdraw

9. question

10. offer

11. diffuse

12. get

13. generate

14. transmit

15. pool

 

b) Complete the sentences below using words from the following list. Referring back to the article will help yon with some of them.

market price client cost

profit quality technology

 

1. We're a firmly..........oriented company, so the bottom-line for us is not how big our market share is but how much money we're going to make.

2. Even at low prices inferior products won't sell in such a.......... conscious market.

3. The market's far too..........sensitive to stand an increase in service charges.

4. We're constantly forced to respond both to changing customer needs and to what our main competitors are doing in a.......... driven business such as this.

5. The customer always comes first. We're a very.......... centred company.

6. In a..........led business, such as ours, it's vital to plough profits back into R.&.D.

7. If the price of materials goes up any more, production will no longer be..........effective.

c) Read the passage and fill in the blanks with the words in the table:

agenda, agree, decisions, follow, opinion, participants, prepared, roposal, spontaneous, views, waste

 

There are many different sorts of business meeting, and how the participants behave varies from country to country.In France meetings are generally used for briefing and coordination rather than discussing (1)... and making decisions. They follow a detailed (2)... and comments are well thought out rather than (3).... The same is true at formal meetings in Germany, where you should be well (4)... if you wish to express an opinion.

In the UK, on the other hand, (5)... often arrive at meeting unprepared, and papers distributed before the meetings will not be read.. This does not prevent anyone from expressing his opinion or putting forward a (6).... Everyone is expected to contribute their (7)....

In Italy meetings seem to be the most informal in Europe. They don't usually (8)... an agenda and people often come and go as they please. In fact, sometimes Italian meetings are more like a social gathering, used to reinforce a sense of togetherness.

It's very different in Spain, where meetings do little to create a team spirit. The Spanish prefer to be independant and make (9)... on their own. Meetings are often a (10)... of time because it is impossible to get everyone to (11)....

d) Use the words from the box in the sentences below:

average, considered, summarize, persuade, profit, reviewing, significant, long-term

There was a (1)... rise in the prices of raw material last month. It's not last and it's not slow. It's just (2).... But the contract is a bit out of date so we are (3)... it. It won't show a (4)... for a year or two. It's a (5)... investment. We spent hours negotiating the new terms but we couldn't (6)... the other side to change their mind. They (7)... the new terms at their meeting but decided against them. In conclusion let's just the main points.

 

POINT OF GRAMMAR

a) In a delicate negotiation yon do not always say exactly what yon think! Yon need to be able to express yourself diplomatically, to make your point firmly but politely.

Match what you think with what you say:

 

 

WHAT YOU THINK	WHAT YOU SAY
1. We are unhappy with this offer.	a. Unfortunately, we would be unable to accept that.
2. We are dissatisfied.	b. With respect, that's not quite correct.
3. We can't accept it.	c. I'm sure we don't need to remind you of your contractual obligations.
4. You said there would be a discount.	d. We're rather surprised you expect us to cover the costs.
5. Don't forget your obligations.	e. We would find this somewhat difficult to agree to.
6. We want a guarantee.	f. We were rather hoping to finalize the deal today.
7. We won't agree to this.	g. I'm sorry but we're not very happy with this offer.
8. We're shocked you expect us to cover the costs.	h. Actually, we were hoping for a slightly more substantial rebate/ discount.
9. That's wrong.	i. I'm afraid you don't seem to understand
10. We want a bigger rebate.	j. We understood there would be a discount.
11. We must finalize the deal today.	k. We would need some sort of guarantee.
12. You obviously don't understand.	1. We're not completely satisfied.
13. We can't negotiate the price.	m. We will if we have to (but if you insist...).
14. We don't want to pay that.	n. Something in the conditions has to change.
15. We can't agree that as it stands.	o. We can negotiate everything else.

b) Find in the above right colomn (What Yon Say) words-softeners which help to make your language less direct and more diplomatic.

1. What is the purpose of expressions like unfortunately and I'm afraid?

2. What is the difference between unhappy and not very happy dissatisfied and not completely satisfied? Notice the pattern. How would you change these:

bad unprofitable unpopular false

3. What is the effect of using would in sentences a, e, and k? What is the difference between that's a problem, and that would be a problem? Notice we use we would be unable to instead of we can't....

4. How do words like quite, rather, slightly, and somewhat change the effect of what you say? Do you know any other words like these?

5. What is the difference between You said and We understood in 4-j?

6. What is the effect of using seem in sentence 12-i? Write another sentence using seem in a similar way.

 

REMEMBER

 

1. Unfortunately and I'm afraid warn the other person that bad news is coming.

2. Not very / completely / entirely + a positive adjective sounds friendlier than lots of negative adjectives. Examples: not very good, not very profitable, not very popular, not entirely true.

3. It would be a problem in fact means the same as That's a problem, but it sounds less direct. Using would suggests that the problem might be solved: 77га/ would be a problem... unless we can find a solution.

4. Quite, rather, slightly and somewhat are softeners which make bad news sound better.

5. You said there would be a discount makes it sound as if you

lied! We understood there would be a discount means it may just be a misunderstanding.

6. You don't seem to understand is strong language but less offensive than You don't understand. It allows the possibility that you might understand.

c) Now change the following rather direct remarks into ones which are more diplomatic. The words in brackets will help yon.

1. You said the goods were on their way. (understood)

2. We're unhappy about it. (sorry but / not very)

3. That's a bad idea, (might / not very)

4. This is most inconvenient, (afraid / might / not very)

5. We can't accept your offer, (unfortunately / unable)

6. We want a bigger discount, (hoping / slightly)

7. Your products are very expensive, (seem / rather)

8. We must reach agreement today, (actually / rather hoping)

9. It'll be unmarketable.(unfortunately / would / not very)

10. There will be a delay, (afraid / might / slight)

11. You must give us more time, (actually / appreciate / a little more)

12. You don't understand how important this is. (respect / don't seem / quite how)

13. Don't forget the terms of the contract! (sure / don't need / remind)

14. We're getting nowhere! (afraid / don't seem / very far)

d) Conditional Sentences

 

There are three main types of conditional. These are usually described as the

first, second and third conditionals.

 

The First Conditional

 

FORM

 

if + present simple	future
If you drop it, If you come at ten, If you phone me,	it'll break. we'll be ready. I'll pick you up at the park.
or future	if + present simple
It'll break We'll be ready I'll pick you up later	if you drop it. if you come at ten. if you phone me.

USE

 

• The first conditional refers to the future. It is used when there is a possibility

that the if-event might happen.

If it rains, we'll go to the cinema. (= It might rain: it might not)

If the sun shines, we'll go to the beach. [ = The sun might shine: it might not)

Note: going to is sometimes used in the first conditional to describe a future plan:

If it rains, we're going to visit my mother.