Un- in- dis- im-
1. formal 4. polite 7. friendly 10. respectful
2. satisfied 5. practical 8. efficient 11. patient
3. honest 6. considerate 9. important 12. appropriate
VIII. Use words from exercise V to complete the definitions:
Example: Someone who is bad –mannered is impolite.
Someone who …
1. … doesn’t tell the truth is ________.
2. … wants to do things in a hurry and finish quickly is _______.
3. … doesn’t like other people and doesn’t want to talk is _______.
4. … works slowly and doesn’t do their job well is ________.
5. … doesn’t think about other people’s needs or wishes is ________.
6. … isn’t happy with the way things happened is ________.
IX. Read the information about business etiquette in such cities as Sydney, London and New York:
Sydney
In Sydney we are very easy-going and relaxed about rules. But we work hard. We start work pretty early in the morning. Breakfast meetings are common, starting at 8a.m. And we like to start meetings on time – so it’s important not to be late! We’re generally very informal. Men often wear a jacket and tie during office hours. But we prefer informal clothes when the weather’s hot. For lunch, we usually go out for a sandwich. What do we talk about? Well – it isn’t difficult to talk to Australians – we’re very friendly people. But it helps a lot if you can talk about sport.
London
Most people that I know don’t like to start work early. We hate breakfast meetings! People are always in a hurry – so being on time for meetings is important. People think the British are very formal. But things are changing. I think we’re quite informal nowadays. Some men still wear formal business suits – but a lot of people come to work in casual clothes. Lunch is often a quick sandwich and a coffee. After work, we like to go to the pub with colleagues. At the pub you can talk about anything you like!
New York
In New York life is fast and dynamic. Some people say that we’re rude. I don’t mean to be rude – I just don’t have much time for being polite! Work starts early in the morning – breakfast meetings start at 7 am – don’t be late! Most people dress in suits for business – it’s important to look smart. A lot of people eat at their desk at lunchtime. But if we go to a restaurant, we talk business right through lunch. We don’t talk about the food. People are very competitive and work always comes first!
X. Complete the table:
| Sydney | London | New York | |
| Breakfast meetings | common – 8am | ||
| Punctuality | important | ||
| Dress | |||
| Lunch | |||
| What do people talk about outside work? | business |
XI. Answer the following questions:
1. In which city do people like to be informal?
2. Where are people very competitive?
3. In which city are things changing?
4. Are business people in your country easy-going or more formal? What do they usually wear to work?
5. Do most business people in your country have a long lunch at a restaurant or do they eat a quick sandwich?
XII. Choose the most appropriate words in italics:
1. Can I / I want to see the photos?
2. Do you want that I / Can I help you with your bags?
3. Could I / Let me borrow your magazine to read?
4. Could you / Would you like to sit down?
5. Would I / Could I have some more milk, please?
6. You could / Could you open the door for me, please?
7. Can you / Please give me your phone number?
XIII. Match the polite phrases 1-6 with the replies a-f:
| 1. Can I introduce my colleague? This is Jane Duncan. 2. I’m really sorry about my mistake. 3. Thanks very much for your help. 4. Would you like to join us for lunch? 5. Is it OK to smoke in here? 6. Thanks for a very nice lunch. | a. No problem. You’re welcome. b. That would be very nice. Thank you! c. That’s all right. Don’t worry about it. d. I’m glad you enjoyed it. e. Pleased to meet you. f. I’m sorry. It isn’t allowed. |
XIV. Work in small groups. Take turns to role-play the following situations:
1. A business partner from the UK comes to visit you in your office. Introduce your colleagues.
2. Invite your visitor to a local football match this evening.
3. You are the visitor. You want to know if you can smoke in the office.
4. Your colleague helped you to prepare the conference room for a meeting. Say thank you.
5. You spill coffee on a document that your colleague is reading. Apologise.
6. You are a visitor from abroad. Your business partner takes you to the airport to catch your flight home. Say thank you.
A Company Visit
I. Read and memorize the following words and word-combinations:
to collapse – терпіти невдачу, ослабіти
equality – рівність
pump – насос
to fail – виходити з ладу. ламатися
to employ – наймати на роботу
employee – працюючий по найму, службовець
revenue – прибуток
peer pressure – тиск з боку членів свого кола
completely – повністю
to reorganize – реорганізовувати
flexible – гнучкий
II. Read and translate the following text:
At 21, Ricardo Semler became the boss of his father’s business in Brazil, Semco, which sold parts for ships. Knowing his son was still young, Semler senior told him, “Better make your mistakes while I’m still alive”.
Semler junior worked like a madman, from 7.30 a.m. until midnight every day. One afternoon, while touring a factory in New York, he collapsed. The doctor who treated him said, “There’s nothing wrong with you. But if you continue like this, you’ll find a new home in our hospital. “Semler got the message. He changed the way he worked. In fact, he changed the way his employees worked too.
He let his workers take more responsibility so that they would be the ones worrying when things went wrong. He allowed them to set their own salaries, and he cut all the jobs he thought were unnecessary, like receptionists and secretaries. This saved money and brought more equality to the company. “Everyone at Semco, even top managers, meets guests in reception, does the photocopying, sends faxes, types letters and dials the phone.”
He completely reorganized the office: instead of walls, they have plants at Semco, so bosses can’t shut themselves away from everyone else. And the workers are free to decorate their workplace as they want. As for uniforms, some people wear suits and others wear T-shirts.
Semler says, “We have a sales manager named Rubin Agater who sits there reading the newspaper hour after hour. He doesn’t even pretend to be busy. But when a Semco pump on the other side of the world fails and millions of gallons of oil are about to spill into the sea, Rubin springs into action. He knows everything there is to know about our pumps and how to fix them. That’s when he earns his salary. No one cares if he doesn’t look busy the rest of the time.”
Semco has flexible working hours; the employees decide when they need to arrive at work. The employees also evaluate their bosses twice a year. Also Semco lets its workers use the company’s machines for their own projects, and makes them take holidays for at least thirty days a year.
It sounds perfect, but does it work? The answer is in the numbers: in the last six years, Semco’s revenues have gone from $35 million to $212 million. The company has grown from eight hundred employees to 3,000. Why?
Semler says it’s because of ‘peer pressure’. Peer pressure makes everyone work hard for everyone else. If someone isn’t doing his job well, the other workers will not allow the situation to continue. In other words, Ricardo Semler treats his workers like adults and expects them to act like adults. And they do.
III. Answer the questions to the text:
1. What do employees at Semco do that they probably wouldn’t do in other companies?
2. How does Semco and its staff look different from other companies?
3. Who is Rubin Agater and why is he important at Semco?
4. How does Semco show that it trusts its workers?
5. Do Semco’s methods work? How do we know?
6. What is ‘peer pressure’ and why is it important at Semco?
IV. Which workers normally do these things? Write answers and then compare with a partner:
Wear uniforms; meet guests in reception; decide start/finish times/working hours; set salaries; type letters.
V. Discuss the following questions:
1. Are there many unemployed people in your country?
2. Would you like to be self-employed? What are the advantages/disadvantages?
3. How experienced are you?
4. Would you like to work flexitime?
5. What are the biggest challenges in your job/studies?
VI. Practise the following dialogues. Pay attention to the phrases in bold type:
1.
- Hi, Mary. It’s Bob here. I’m in the town centre outside the bus station. Could you tell me how to get to your office from here?
- Sure. Follow the signs for Frankfurt. After about two kilometers, you’ll see a garage on your right. Carry on for another 200 metres and then turn left. Our office is on the left-hand side, just before a railway bridge. When you arrive, park in one of the visitors’ spaces just outside the main building.
- Thanks, Mary. See you soon.
2.
- Hi, Kate.
- Hello, John. Is everything all right?
- Not really. I’m lost. I’m calling from a service station on the E7 just south of a place called Melton. I don’t have a map with me so could you direct me to the factory.
- Sure. Take the first left after the service station and follow the road to Porlock. Pass the shopping centre on your right and then take the first left. Carry on for three kilometers and you’ll see the factory.
- Thanks.
3.
- Good morning. Can I help you?
- Yes, I have an appointment with Hans Ekberg. Could you tell him I’m here? I’ve left my car in a reserved space.
- That’s ok. I’ll take the car registration number. Could you write your name here please and wear this? Do you know the building?
- I’m afraid I don’t.
- Ok. Go up these stairs and take the lift to the third floor. Mr Ekberg’s office is the fifth on the right, along the corridor.
- Thanks.
4.
- Hello, Sam. Good to see you again.
- And you?
- Sam, I’d like you to meet Lera Berman, our Marketing Manager.
- Hello, Sam. Pleased to meet you. Did you have a good journey?
- Yes, very good. The directions were very clear.
VII. Rearrange the conversations:
1. -Yes, it is, and it’s growing all the time.
- We employ just over 5000 people worldwide. There are around 400 employees in this factory.
- Is business going well?
- We’re in the label business. We produce all kinds of labels – price labels, bottle labels, even postage stamps. We have factories in France, Germany, Malaysia, China and the UK.
- How many people work for the company?
2. - So, tell me more about your mailing business.
- What kind of company are you?
- Sure. We provide a complete packaging and mailing service for our customers. Now we have branches all over the south of the country and we have plans to open new branches in the north.
- We’re a private limited company. We’re not listed on the Stock Exchange …. yet.
3. - We moved here five years ago. Before that, we were in a very small office building in the centre of town.
- So, how long have you been on this site?
- And when was the company set up?
- That’s very impressive.
- Ten years ago – by Simon Donna who is still the Managing Director. He started the company with just two employees.
4. - No, I don’t. Has she been here long?
- Pleased to meet you Olivier. How are things in Paris?
- Let me show you round the office. Our sales representatives work in this open plan area. The room in the corner is Brit Gamlin’s office. She’s the Senior Sales Manager here. Do you know her?
- Hello, Brit. I’d like you to meet Olivier Blaireau from the Paris office.
- No, she joined the company two months ago. Come with me, I’ll introduce you to her.
VIII. Complete the sentences with a preposition:
1. You need to take the lift ……. the third floor.
2. Take the third turning ……… the left.
3. Park ……… one of the visitors’ spaces.
4. We are …….. far the largest manufacturer.
5. One ……. three of our plants is making a loss.
6. There is no profit ……. it.
7. Tell me about your sales …….. region.
8. We are very competitive ……. terms of price.
9. Are you listed ……… the Stock Exchange?
10. What kind of business are you ……..?
IX. Complete the sentences using the words in the box below. Use each word once only:
reputation demand corridor profit site
partnership registration map lift
1. Could you give me directions? I don’t have a ……..
2. Do you need my car …………. number?
3. How long have you had offices on this …………?
4. You can use the stairs, but it’s quicker to take the …………..
5. My office is along the ………… on the right.
6. After two years of making losses, we are now making a ………..
7. There is a growing …………. for our products in the Middle East.
8. My brother and I went into ………. three years ago.
9. We have an excellent ……… for quality.
X. Choose an appropriate response:
1. Did you have a good journey? a. No, it’s a partnership.
2. Is it a limited company? b. Just over five years ago.
3. When was the company set up? c. Yes, that’s right.
4. Have you been on this site long? d. Thanks, I can manage.
5. I hear you’re in the transport business? e. Yes, very good, thanks.
6. What kind of company is it? f. Yes, we met last year.
7. Can I help you? g. It’s a small family
business.
8. Do you know Gunilla? h. Yes, for twenty years.
XI. Write down a question for the following answers:
1. What kind of ……………………………………….?
We’re in the shipping business.
2. How many …………………………………………?
We employ just over 200 people.
3. Are …………………………………………………?
No, we’re not a partnership – we’re a limited company.
4. How long ………………………………………….?
We have been on this site for three years.
5. Do …………………………………………………?
Yes, I do. The working atmosphere is very good now.
6. Where ……………………………………………..?
In terms of region, the biggest market is North America.
7. Who ……………………………………………….?
I suppose our biggest competitors are companies in Thailand and Indonesia.
8. Can you tell me ………………………………..…..?
Follow the road to Trieste and you’ll see the factory on the right.
XII. Rewrite the following in another way. Refer to the dialogues:
1. I have an appointment with Jan Pickero. I’m here to see Jan Pickero
2. I’ve parked in a reserved space. …………………………………
3. Could you tell me the way to the main office? …………………………………
4. I’d like you to meet our marketing manager. …………………………………
5. How was the journey? …………… ……………………
6. When was the company established? …………… ……………………
7. We are one of the largest manufacturers in the region. …………..………………
8. We have an excellent name in the market. …………………………………
Doing Business Meetings
I. Read the article below on meetings. Which of these statements would the writer agree with?
| yes | no | |
| - Meetings accelerate the decision-making process. | ||
| - Meetings produce a synergy effect and generate good ideas. | ||
| - Committee meetings cannot be avoided. | ||
| - Dominant individuals may prevent other people from putting forward good ideas. | ||
| - Better decisions are made by people working by themselves. |
It is generally agreed that successful meetings make successful companies. However, many professionals complain that meetings are often unproductive and too long. Discussions are regularly dominated by participants with large egos and hours of talking ends without any clear results. According to recent research, managers spend the equivalent of one day a week in internal meetings. Yet meetings are often accused of being inefficient because they discourage original ideas and postpone decision-making. A committee meeting has been described as a group of the unwilling, chosen from the unfit, to do the unnecessary.
So why are there so many meetings? Meetings are said to be a good way to pool resources. Participants may stimulate each other through group discussion - what is known as the synergy effect. According to this view, meetings are an efficient, democratic way to communicate and enable people to make better decisions.
But these arguments are not convincing. Firstly, most meetings are held not to make decisions but to avoid individual responsibility. If a wrong or costly decision is made, fault is spread over all committee members and no one takes the blame.
The second problem is that when making decisions in groups, the presence of some group members with strong personalities can mean that their ideas (right or wrong) are frequently accepted without question.
The third drawback is that when tasks require imagination, groups, rather than individuals working alone produce poorer decisions. If an organization has to make a decision about its declining market share you would expect that a group meeting would solve such a problem better than an individual. However, most research shows that in problem-solving and creative tasks, people perform better on their own.
If a meeting is to be productive, it should have 1a clear and stated purpose that all the participants know and understand. You should appoint a 2chairperson who manages and controls the meeting You must write an 3agenda, or list of items to be discussed and send it 4to all the people concerned. They should 5prepare for the meeting and come to it with ideas to contribute.
You have to attach6 a time limit to each point, otherwise there is a risk that some of the items will not be dealt with at all.
You ought to 7limit the meeting to 90 minutes. If not, you have to 8schedule breaks into the agenda. You don't need to 9invite all the important staff members to every meeting. But you should send other senior staff members 10the minutes, or summary of what was discussed. The minutes should include 11a clear summary of the important points -you don't have to 12 include everything that was said at the meeting. However, you need to include 13actions decided upon at the meeting. Lastly, the minutes should 14be sent within twenty-four hours. It is essential to keep the 15meeting's results and future actions clear in everyone's mind.
