In the discussion:
Ø accept some interruptions but make sure you get all;
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Ø your arguments across;
Ø defend your arguments;
Ø be polite but firm;
Ø repeat if necessary.
File card 1B. Your position is to defend the freedom of private car owner-ship. You think:
Ø quality of life depends on freedom of choice;
Ø people want personal space cars make this possible;
Ø people want to leave and arrive when they want;
Ø public transport is massively expensive, through taxation;
Ø the car industry employs many thousands of people.
In the discussion:
Ø oppose simplistic arguments for the expansion of public;
Ø transport;
Ø interrupt when you think your colleague says something;
Ø simplistic or wrong;
Ø present the arguments above;
Ø be polite, but firm.
Practice 5. Freestyle has developed a new tennis racket called Worldbeater. It is light but gives players increased power and control. It will be launched in the USA. The Marketing Department holds a meeting to discuss a strategy. Read your role card. Then hold a meeting. At the end, the chairperson should summarise your decisions.
| Role card A. | Chairperson | You will lead the meeting. Ask for participants opinions, encourage discussion and help them reach their agreement. You must decide the following points concerning the marketing of Worldbeater: 1. Its selling price. 3. Special offers for first purchase 2. Its target consumer. 4. Advertising/promotion |
| Role card B | Participant | You have the following opinions concerning Worldbeater. Selling price: $250 approximately Target consumer: Professional players and serious club players Special offer for first purchase: 30 free tennis balls Advertising/promotion: Specialist magazines such as Professional Tennis |
| Role card C. | Participant | You have the following opinions concerning Worldbeater. Selling price: $150 Target consumer: All tennis players, all age groups Special offer for first purchase: Free tennis at a local club Advertising/promotion: Advertisements in national/local newspapers and television commercials. |
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| Role card D | Participant | You have the following opinions concerning Worldbeater. Selling price: $180 Target consumer: All tennis players, all age groups Special offer for first purchase: A free T-shirt with the Freestyle logo on it Advertising/promotion: Advetising in clubs, at tennis courts and in their press. |
| Role card E. | Participant | You have the following opinions concerning Worldbeater Selling price: $200 Target consumer: People with money and fashion-conscious tennis players Special offer for first purchase: A 20% discount off any Freestyle product Adverting/promotion: Endorsement contracts with famous players or film stars |
Practice 6. You work in the professional section of a large bank. Discuss how to deal with the problems below. Use expressions from Useful Language to help you.
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1. Staff often arrive at work late and leave early.
2. Abuse of the telephone and e-mail systems. Staff often use them for personal matters rather than for company business
3. High staff turnover of front-desk cashiers in all the banks branches.
Useful Language
| Making suggestions: | We could offer staff a wider choice of food. Why dont we change the menus? How about offering healthier meals? What about having a no-smoking policy? I think we should send out a questionnaire. |
| Giving opinions: | I think we should ask the staff. I feel that we have to consider the cost. Im sure/convinced/positive that people would like it. |
| Agreeing: | Yes, thats right. I think I agree with you. Exactly. Good/Excellent idea. |
| Disagreeing: | Yes, but what about the cost? Im not sure I agree. I really dont agree. (strong disagreement). |
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Practice 7. The head of your department is leaving the company in a months time. Your department plans to hold a farewell party. Discuss these questions with other members of the department.
1. When and where will the party be? At work, in a restaurant or at another location?
2. How much should each member of staff contribute towards the cost of the party?
3. What sort of gift should you get? Who will present it?
4. Will there be a speech? If so, who will make it? Should it be serious or humorous? How long will it be?
5. What kind of entertainment will you have at the party?
6. What else do you need to plan?
Useful Language.
| Interrupting: | Could I say something? Could I just comment on that? Hold on a minute. Sorry to interrupt but |
| Clarifying: | How do you mean exactly? What exactly do you mean by ? Are you saying ? So what youre saying is that |
Practice 8. Prepare a short talk for the other members of your group. Be prepared to answer any questions when they interrupt.
Student A. Prepare a short talk on an organization that you would like to work for. Make some notes. Think about what the organization do, why you would like to work for them and what you imagine working there would be like.
When you are ready give your talk to the other members of your group. Be prepared to answer any questions that might they might have.
When the others give their talks try to ask a question and interrupt once or twice.
Student B. Prepare a short talk on a company that is successful all over the world. Make some notes. Think about what the company does, why you think they are successful and who their main rivals are.
When you are ready give your talk to the other members of the group. Be prepared to answer any questions that they might have.
When the others give their talks try to ask them a question and interrupt once or twice.
Student C. Prepare a short talk on the kind of company you would like to set up. Make notes. Think about what your company would specialize in, why you want to set up this kind of company and what you would do to make sure it is successful.
When you are ready give your talk to the other members of the group.
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Be prepared to answer any questions that they might have.
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When the others give their talks try to ask a question and interrupt once or twice.
Practice 9. You are managers in a mobile company, Speakeasy Ltd., based in San Diego, California. The company wishes to send two executives to set up a branch office overseas. However, the location chosen is politically very unstable and there has been some terrorist activity in the area recently. Hold a meeting to decide:
a) whether to send the two executives to the area;
b) if so, how to reduce the risks to which they will be exposed.
Manager A. You are not in favour of sending the executives to the area. You think the risk is too great. They could be kidnapped, or war could break out at any moment. Both executives are your personal friends and you fear greatly for their safety. If they did go, the company would have to hire an armoured car for them, at great cost. Try to persuade your colleagues to give up the idea of sending them.
Manager B. You are very keen to send the executives because b a sales office there would be highly profitable there is a huge demand for mobile phones in the area. You dont think the risk is very great. The government controls the area firmly. There have been a few terrorist incidents, but thats to be expected. The executives can get advice before they go on what precautions to take (for example: deciding where to live, changing routes when they return home, locking their car doors, being alert at all times).
Manager C. You cant decide whether the executives should go or not. On the one hand, the area has great sales potential and the company would be the first mobile phone operator to set up as office there. Also, at the moment, there is no terrorist activity. On the other hand, there is a real risk because in other areas of the country, executives have died as a result of terrorist activity or war. If they did go, you think they should have a special bodyguard at all times. This would, of course, be very costly.
Useful Language.
| Asking for opinions: | Does anybody have any strong feelings about ? |
| Giving opinions: | Well, unfortunately, I think well probably have to... |
| Agreeing: | I think Id agree with you there |
| Disagreeing | Well hold on |
| Adding a condition: | I agree providing we can We can do that if |
| Making suggestions: | What about if we ? |
| Emphasising: | I keep going about this, but |
| Summarising: | So, weve agreed that |
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Practice 10. Choose a topic and follow the framework below. Each person should give their viewpoint and speak for about one minute.
Topics:
1. We should boycott tourism to countries which have oppressive regimes.
2. We should ban TV advertising which is aimed specifically at children.
3. If we want to reduce traffic, we should make people pay to drive in the city centre.
4. It isnt right to claim against a food company because its products are fattening.
5. It is better to buy local products that products imported from other countries.
Framework.
Role A: Present your viewpoint on the topic (you can agree or disagree with the topic).
Role B: Interrupt A (politely) and ask a question or agree and add a new argument or correct something which you thin
Role C: Interrupt B (politely) and put an alternative viewpoint.
Role D: Interrupt C (politely) and ask a question or agree and add a new argument or correct something which you think is wrong.
Practice 11. For each situation below, appoint a different person as leader. Hold a mini meeting and try to reach a decision.
1. You work in an international team which meets once a month. It means travelling between Sweden, Singapore and the USA. Discuss whether it would be better to use video conferencing for meetings.
2. Your team works very well together, but you are not so good at communicating with other people in the company. You need to be better at keeping others informed of what you are doing. You also need to be more aware of what other teams are doing. Hold a meeting to discuss how you can improve the flow of information.
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3. You all work for Noll Edge Ltd, a small consulting company. Long-serving Staff have a great deal of expertise and experience. New staff joining Noll Edge have excellent qualifications but dont know the business or its customers. How can you encourage the experienced staff to share their knowledge with the newcomers?
Practice 12. You are managers of a retail fashion chain called Space, which has clothes stores in most major European cities. You are holding your regular management meeting. Use the Managing Directors notes below as an agenda for your discussion.
A different person should chair each item.
| 1. Dress code: | Following complains from customers, we need to discuss a dress code for all employees, and guidelines on personal appearance. |
| 2. Policy for smokers: | Non-smoking staff complain that staff who smoke take frequent cigarette breaks outside the store. Should smokers work extra time to make up for the time lost? |
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| 3. Customer service: | Should sales staff meet informally after work once a month to consider how to improve customer service? (Attendance will help their chances of promotion) |
| 4. Commission payments: | At present, commission is based on quarterly sales at each store and is divided equally between all staff. Now, our Sales Director wants each person to receive commission according to their individual sales. |
| 5. End-of-year bonus: | Staff receive sales vouchers as an end-of-year bonus. The vouchers give discounts on a range of goods at major department stores. Some management are proposing to issue no sales vouchers this year. Instead, staff will be invited to an end-of-year party. |
| 6. Staff turnover. | Because staff tend to be young, employee turnover is high. As a result, training costs have increased dramatically. What can be done to keep staff longer? |
Useful Language.
| Starting: | OK, lets get down to business. Right, can we start please? |
| Asking for reactions: | How do you feel about? What do you think? |
| Dealing with interruptions: | Could you let her finish please? Could you just hang on a moment please? |
| Keeping to the point: | Im not sure thats relevant. Perhaps we could get back to the point. Lets leave that aside for the moment. |
| Speeding up: | I think we should move on now. Can we come back to that? |
| Slowing down: | Hold on, we need to look at this in more detail. I think we should discuss this a bit more. |
| Summarising: | OK, lets go over what weve agreed. Right, to sum up then |
Practice 13. Questions for discussion:
1. What sort of meetings do you go in your organization? Are they useful?
2. What do you think are the most important skills for someone chairing a meeting?
3. How freely can people express their feelings in your organization?
Are people at all levels encouraged to say what they think?
Are new employees asked for their opinions?
4. What are you like in meetings?
Do you often disagree with other people?
Or do you prefer to avoid arguments?
5. Are compromises always possible? In your organization, are decisions based on compromise and consensus or they imposed by the management?
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SKILLS CHECKLIST
Preparation for meetings
| Chair: | 1. Decide objectives 2. What type of meeting (formal or informal, short o long, regular or a one-off, internal/external, information-giving/discussion/decision-making)? 3. Prepare an agenda. 4. Decide time/place/participants/who must attend and who can be notified of decision. 5. Study subjects for discussion. 6. Anticipate different opinions. 7. Speak to participants. |
| Secretary: | 1. Obtain agenda and list of the participants/ 2. Inform participants and check: a) rooms, equipment, paper, materials: b) refreshments, meals, accommodation, travel. |
| Participants: | 1. Study subjects on agenda, work out preliminary opinions, 2. If necessary, find out team or department views. 3. Prepare own contribution, ideas, visual support, etc. |
The role of the Chair:
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1. Start and end on time.
2. Introduce objectives, agenda.
3. Introduce speakers.
4. Define time limits for contributions.
5. Control discussion, hear all views.
6. Summarise discussion at key points.
7. Ensure the key decisions are written down by the secretary.
8. Ensure that conclusions and decisions are clear and understood.
9. Define actions to be taken and individual responsibilities.
Types of meetings:
1. decision-making meeting;
2. information-giving meeting;
3. spontaneous/emergency meeting;
4. routine meeting;
5. internal meeting;
6. customer/client/supplier first meeting or for establishing relationship.
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Structure of decision-making meetings:
1. study/discuss/analyse the situation;
2. define the problem;
3. set an objective;
4. state imperatives and desirables;
5. generate alternatives;
6. establish evaluation criteria;
7. evaluate alternatives;
8. choose among alternatives.
The objective of decision-making meetings:
to get a consensus in a time- and cost-effective manner.
Decision-making meetings should end with DECISIONS.
After the meeting:
1. A memorandum should be sent to all participants summarising the decisions taken and the action required.
2. The memorandum should be sent to any interested individuals who were unable to attend.
3. The Chair should seek feedback on the meetings to try to improve future meetings.
M O D U L E 5. NEGOTIATIONS.
Unit 12. Know what you want.
Types of negotiation.
Negotiation strategies.
Preparing for a negotiation: negotiating scenario and negotiating styles.
Making an opening statement.
Unit 13. Getting what you want.
Key principles of negotiating.
Probing, proposals and counter-proposals, trade-offs.
Bidding, bargaining and making concessions.
Types of negotiator.
Unit 14. Not getting what you dont want.
Dealing with difficulties confrontations.
Confrontational negotiating tactics.
Conflicts.
Negotiating with powerful people.
Negotiation and Diplomacy.
Reaching agreement.
Ending the negotiation.
UNIT 12. KNOW WHAT YOU WANT.
Part 1. TYPES OF NEGOTIATION.
Exercise 1. What do you understand by the term negotiation?
Work out a short definition. (key ideas: two or more parties, specified goals, discussion, compromise, agreement)
| A fairly all-inclusive definition, which I may suggest, is |
NEGOTIATE (v) to try to reach an agreement by discussing something in a formal way, especially in a business or political situation to negotiate something with somebody.
NEGOTIATION (n) formal discussion in which people or groups try to reach an agreement, especially in a business or political situation.
If people negotiate (with each other), they talk in order to reach an agreement,
which is to their mutual advantage (good for them both).
For example:
1. customer-supplier negotiations;
2. wage negotiations;
3. merger or takeover negotiations;
4. trade negotiations.
Negotiations also take place to settle disputes (decide arguments) such as:
a) contract disputes;
b) labour disputes;
c) trade disputes.
Word combinations with negotiations
| Intense Intensive | negotiations | are very difficult and tiring, with a lot being discussed. |
| Delicate Tense | are very diffucult and could easily fail. | |
| Eleventh-hour Last- minute | take place the last possible moment of the time available. | |
| Protracted | take a very long time. |
Someone who takes part in negotiations is a negotiator, and someone who is a
good at getting what they what is a tough negotiator.
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Another word for negotiate is bargain. This is also used to talk specifically about discussing and agreeing the price of something. Another name for negotiator is bargainer.
Another word for negotiation is bargaining used especially in phrases like:
a) collective bargaining;
b) pay bargaining;
c) wage bargaining (discussion between groups of employees and their employers about pay and conditions).
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Bargaining is often used in these combinations:
| bargaining | ploy tactic | a particular technique used by a negotiator. |
| chip tool | an issue that a negotiator uses in order to gain an advantage. | |
| point | a particular issue that negotiator discusses | |
| power | the degree to which one side is strong enough to obtain what it wants. | |
| process | the way that negotiations develop. |
THE STRUCTURE OF A NEGOTIATION.
Exercise 2. Read the following conversation between two friends to find out:
a) the first suggestion;
b) the counter-suggestion;
c) the agreement.
| Jack: | What shall we do on Saturday? |
| Jill: | Er lets go and see a film. |
| Jack: | We could do that or what if you know its Marys birthday? Why dont we go out with her and Thomas go for a meal or something? |
| Jill: | Thats a good idea- where shall we go? |
Exercise 3. Here is a representation of the typical structure of a negotiation. Compare this with the conversation you have just read.
| (1) Suggestion | |
| (2) Counter suggestion | |
| (3) Agreement | |
| (4) Confirmation |
Exercise 4. Complete the questionnaire from a business magazine about negotiating.
Mark the sentences with T (true), F (false) or D (it depends):
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QUESTIONNAIRE
| THE SENTENCES | T (true), F (false) or D (it depends): | |
| 1. | There is always a winner and a loser in a negotiation. | |
| 2. | You have to give something to get something. | |
| 3. | You need an agenda. | |
| 4. | Making small talk is necessary. | |
| 5. | You need to prepare as much as possible. | |
| 6. | You can promise anything. | |
| 7. | Negotiations are the same all over the world. | |
| 8. | Its a good idea to sum up agreements regularly. |
Exercise 4. Read the following three negotiations and answer the questions:
a) Where are the people and what is being negotiated?
b) Which negotiation is win-win, which is lose-lose and which is win-lose?
Negotiation 1.
| Husband: | What about Majorca this summer? We should start planning or everything will be booked. |
| Wife: | Oh, not another beach holiday? You want to go to Majorca although you know I hate lying and doing nothing. Id like to suggest something active like trekking in the Alps. |
| Husband: | Walking up and down mountains. You cant be serious! |
| Wife: | You dont know anything about it! Come and have a look at the brochure. Theres a lot of sun too in the Alps. |
| Husband: | I dont want to know anything about it. I need two weeks to relax, eat too much and do nothing. Theres no way Ill walk around mountains, in spite of the sun. |
| Wife: | Ill go to Majorca for a week provided we go to the Alps for a week. |
| Husband: | No way! |
| Wife: | We do what you want every year. Cant you compromise this time? |
| Husband: | I can meet you half way. Lets find an island with a mountain on it. That way you can wander around on it and I can lie on the beach. Can you go along with that? |
| Wife: | Thats out of the question! Either we do something together or I dont want to go. Thats my bottom line. |
| Husband: | Thats makes two of us. That means that neither of us is going on holiday this year. Great! |
Negotiation 2.
| Man: | Thank you for showing me round. Its a beautiful house. |
| Seller: | Yes, I know. I dont want to sell it, but my husband has got a job in New York so we have to move. |
| Man: | So, how much are you asking for it? |
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| Seller: | Id like $600,000. |
| Man: | Frankly, I think thats a lot for this house. Is that your best offer? |
| Seller: | I think its a fair price. Remember there is a very big garden and a new garage. |
| Man: | True, but look at the windows. You need to replace all of them. And the floor downstairs doesnt look good. I would only pay that price on condition that you do all the repairs. |
| Seller: | You have a point there. I should repair the windows. However, I dont have time to do all of the work. If I understand you correctly. You will take the house If I lower the price because of renovations? |
| Man: | Exactly. Look, you want a quick sale, and I really like the house. If you go down to $550,000 Ill take it and youll have your money at the end of the week. |
| Seller: | Done! Lets draw up the contract. |
Negotiation 3.
| Modelling agent: | If you want Tania to model your winter collection, it will cost $10,000 an hour. |
| Shop owner: | Thats far higher than I expected. We only need her for two hours. |
| Modelling agent: | Fine. Thatll cost $20,000 for the evening. Its at your new shop in the centre of town, isnt it? Nice location. |
| Shop owner: | Look, the model Inbooked cant make it. Our new shop opens on Friday and I really need a model but we talk about the price again? |
| Modelling agent: | No, I dont want to discuss this. You know Tania is almost a top model. $10,000 is the pie if you want a famous face. I cant go any lower than that. Take it or leave it. |
| Shop owner: | I have no choice. But cant we take a long term view? If Friday is a success then Ill book Tania for the spring and summer collection. Surely you can give me a discount for three firm bookings? |
| Modelling agent: | Afraid not. As I said, Yania is in demand at the moment. |
| Shop owner: | Look, Ill pay the 20,000 as long as she stays for extra hour and chats to my regular customers. |
| Modelling agent: | So what youre saying is you want some more than two hours work. No deal! You can have Tania for two hours and not a second longer. If you want extras, you have to pay for them. |
| Shop owner: | I think thats very unreasonable, but, OK, its deal. $20,000 for two hours, but, I wont do business with you again. |
