Mobil Profi Business E-12 -...

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Mobil Profi Business_E-12.qxd 25.08.2006 9:45 Uhr Seite 1

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Sie besitzen bereits gute Englischkenntnisse, die Sie weiter festigen undausbauen wollen.PONS mobil Sprachtraining für Profis Englisch enthält 14 authentische Interviewsmit Menschen aus Großbritannien, Irland, Kanada und den USA. Nach jedemInterview folgen Übungen, die Ihnen helfen

• gesprochenes Englisch noch besser verstehen zu lernen• die Grammatik schwerpunktmäßig zu wiederholen • Ihren Wortschatz auszubauen und• Ihre Aussprache und Betonung zu verbessern.

Wie Sie mit PONS mobil lernen

� Hören Sie sich die Interviews auf den CDs immer wieder an – zu Hause, imZug, im Auto … Wichtig ist dabei, dass Sie die Texte nicht im Buchmitlesen. So trainieren Sie Ihr Hörverständnis auf optimale Weise. Es istganz normal, wenn Sie nicht gleich jedes Wort beim ersten Anhörenverstehen. Haben Sie ein wenig Geduld: Nur wenn Sie nach mehrmaligemHören noch Schwierigkeiten haben, sollten Sie die Texte nachlesen. (Die miteinem * versehenen Wörter und Wendungen werden in deralphabetischen Wortliste im Anhang des Buches übersetzt.)

� Machen Sie aktiv mit: Sprechen Sie, wenn die Übungen Sie dazu einladen.

� Lernen Sie lieber nur in kurzen Einheiten, dafür aber oft und konzentriert.

Sie finden mithilfe der Angaben in den grau unterlegten Feldern (z. B. )schnell die richtige CD und die betreffende Tracknummer.

Viel Spaß und Erfolg!

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Willkommen bei PONS mobil!


CD 1 Seite

1 Arts AdministrationThe difference between working on your own or for others 6

2 BankingWhy a British banker loves living and working in New York City 12

3 Bookkeeping and AccountingKeeping track of money in a busy American restaurant 16

4 Management ConsultingTeaching people in international companies to understand 21different cultures

5 InsuranceWhy Americans insure everything 26

6 Import / ExportHow to succeed in selling Italian wines to Americans 31

7 Public RelationsWhy the field of public relations attracts so many women and 36how it works

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INHALT


CD 2 Seite

8 AdvertisingBroadway is a business and the show goes on – if the advertising is good 40

9 Freelance ConsultingThe challenges of working from a home office 45

10 ArchitectureUnderstanding the essence of what the client really wants 49

11 In-company TrainingWhy has in-company training changed over the past years 55

12 Career Counsellor and Management Training Advising people on all levels in their professional lives 59

13 Intercultural ExperiencesHow integrating abroad can be quite difficult 65

14 Colleges and BusinessWhy a college is also a type of business 70

Business abbreviations 74

Alphabetical word list 79

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We’re going to take you to a few countries around the world to listen topeople talking about their professional lives. They won’t always be easy tounderstand immediately, but after you’ve listened to the interviews a few timesand have done the exercises, you will find your comprehension, as well as yourability to understand different English accents, greatly improved. That’s the point– perfecting your knowledge of Englisch as well as learning more about businesspractices around the globe. So let’s begin.

1 ARTS ADMINISTRATION

Hannah Horowitz

Hannah Horowitz, a Londoner, is currently an arts administrator for theBritish Council. In this position she organises concerts and exhibitions throughoutGreat Britain. Before joining the Council, she ran* her own concert agency,Horowitz Management.

Michelle went to her office in central London and asked her to explain how shefirst got into this field.

INTERVIEW

Well, I set up* a concert agency business. And that meant that I had a numberof artists that I represented* and acted* as an agent for. To act as an agent forartists, as with other businesses, means that you work on a commission* basis.And my job was to try and sell them to promoting* bodies around the country.You work so far ahead, and the commission is so comparatively small, that onehas to carry the overheads* for a period of up to two years before the event*takes place because you don’t get paid until the actual* performance*.

What are the qualities you need to be successful in business?

An understanding of the cash flow system*, which I left rather to the sidethinking that I would find time in the month to do it. But I think what one reallyneeds is to have a very, very careful eye on the details and to know practicallyevery day where you stand financially, and what your outgoings* and potential*income can be.I believe that’s the problem that most small businesses face. Is there any way toovercome this problem, being one person running* your own business?

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I’m not sure. First of all, you’re working 25 hours a day, and you have to doeverything. I think you just have to keep on doing it and know that you’ve gotsomething which is marketable*. I think you’ve got to have an enormous amo-unt of faith* in what you’re selling. You must have done a considerable amountof research* before, to have as good an idea of whether you’re filling a marketgap* as anyone with large resources* at their disposal* to do that. And you justhave to plug* on. And I think perhaps also a friendly bank manager who’s notgoing to pull the plug* just at the point when you know that other people areslow payers. I think that one of the problems that small businesses face is thatthe big people and the suppliers* think that they can just crush* them under-foot by not paying.

But as somebody who now is working in a structure*, what is the differencebetween working in a structure and working on your own?

For me, the difference is that basically I’m using the same talents that I usedwhen I had Horowitz Management, I’m selling in the same way, in a sense to thesame people, but I’m getting paid for it. I still have to look for projects, I stillhave to try and encourage the same promoters* that I used when I wasHorowitz Management. But the strange thing is, and maybe this is a particularlyEnglish trait* that because I’m not asking for commission, they listen to memuch more readily*.

The idea of a businessman, or businesswoman, as somebody whose job it is tomake money – is that considered, in Great Britain, something that’s dirty, that’snot done?

It’s changing, but I think fundamentally the fact that you are trying to be succes-sful – the British don’t like people who are visibly* energetic and successful, theytry to pull them down a peg* or two. So that if you are an energetic, elbow-pus-hing*, businessperson, trying to make money out of what you’re selling, theymight reluctantly* buy it, but they don’t see it as a challenge*.

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DOWN TO BUSINESS

Vocabulary Comprehension

Listen to what Hannah said and answer the questions:

”To act as an agent for artists, as with other businesses, means that youwork on a commission basis.“On a commission basis. Does this mean:• to be paid as a technical partner?• to receive a percentage of the payment or sale?

On a commission basis means to receive a percentage of the payment orsale.For example:Most real-estate* agents work on a commission basis.

”One has to carry the overheads for a period of up to two years.“Overheads. Does this mean:• the regular and essential business expenses?• the extra expenses?

Overheads are regular and essential business expenses.For example:Controlling the overheads is important for the good management of a company.

”What your outgoings and potential income can be.“Outgoings. Does this mean:• specific costs of your business trips?• expenses?

Outgoings means expenses.For example:Our outgoings have been too high lately, we should be more careful.

”To have as good an idea of whether you’re filling a market gap…“To fill a market gap. Does this mean:• to meet a commerical need?• to take business risks?

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To fill a gap means to meet a commercial need.For example:The fax machine filled a gap in modern business communications.

”As anyone with large resources at their disposal to do that…“At their disposal. Does this mean:• available for them to use?• waiting for them to get rid* of?

At their disposal means available for them to use.For example:Large shipping companies need to have lots of containers at their disposal.

”The suppliers think that they can just crush them underfoot by not pay-ing.“The suppliers. Does this mean:• the people who sell them what they need?• the people who need what they sell?

The suppliers means the people who sell them what they need.For example:If you do not deliver the goods when we need them, we will look for other sup-pliers.

”They try to pull them down a peg or two.“To pull someone down a peg or two. Does this mean:• to increase a person’s confidence?• to reduce a person’s confidence?

To pull someone down a peg means to reduce a person’s confidence.For example:He sounds too sure of himself. You can be sure his boss will try and pull himdown a peg or two.

”If you are an energetic, elbow-pushing business person.“Elbow-pushing. Does this mean:• aggressive, fighting for one’s place?• physically violent?

Elbow-pushing means aggressive, fighting for one’s place.For example:Europeans are surprised by New Yorkers’ elbow-pushing ways in business.

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GRAMMAR

The -ing form of verbs. Listen to Hannah:

”I’m using the same talents…“”I’m selling in the same way…“”I’m not asking for commission…“”The fact that you are trying to be successful…“

The present continuous is used to describe an action that is happening whileyou are speaking or will happen in the near future.Make sentences in the present continuous using the expressions we give you:For example:at the moment / to look for new ideasAt the moment I’m looking for new ideas.

Now you do it:these days / to do a lot of business in EuropeThese days I’m doing a lot of business in Europe.

right now / business prospects / to look goodRight now business prospects are looking good.

you / to see / the boss / tomorrow?Are you seeing the boss tomorrow?

currently / to try to understand the marketI am currently trying to understand the market.

we / to launch / a joint ventureWe’re launching a joint venture.

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PRONUNCIATION

Listen to Hannah:

”an energetic elbow-pushing business person“

Practise the pronunciation of these words ending in -ic.(And be careful where you put the stress.)

enerGEticsympaTHEticapoloGEticsimPLIsticenthusiAstic

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2 BANKING

John Delf

John Delf is an executive vice president* of Barclays Bank in New York City.Although he has lived in New York for over 15 years, he hasn’t lost anything ofhis impeccable* English accent.

And now, over to John Delf. Michelle went into the very dignified* offices ofBarclays Bank in Manhattan and asked John to explain the Barclays system.

INTERVIEW

Well, Barclays Bank is a global, international organisation, headquartered* inLondon, and very familiar to people who visit England because we have some-where between two and three thousand branches* spread* throughout theUnited Kingdom. In America, we have several operations*. My operation here is the private bank,which provides specialised services for the affluent*, those people who ownbusinesses and who run large companies that don’t have the time to take careof their banking requirements themselves, but who need specialised attention.

Why would an American go to Barclays instead of an American bank to investhis money?

Well, the relationship between a banker and a customer is a very personal relati-onship. It’s predicated* on people’s ability to provide a service and to understandtheir needs.Now, why would they come to Barclays as opposed* to another bank? Well,there are only a few large banks that can handle the needs of people who havenational interests* in the United States. In the United States you have approxi-mately 13,000 banks spread across the country and it is still not possible to runbranch offices across some state lines*.Therefore, regional and local banks have a comfort level* with their particulargeographical areas, but the more affluent customers may have interests on theWest Coast, in the South, in the Midwest, and also in the New York area, andsometimes, of course overseas, as well.

Does being a British bank give you certain advantages in the United States or doyou have more disadvantages?

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Ah, leading question. I think being an international bank gives us advantages.I’m not sure that the fact of being British is important. Many of our customersare involved* with global* business themselves and therefore, you know, they’reidentifying with a bank that’s also involved with global business.

What are the qualities that Barclay[s] or any bank would look for in hiring on ayoung person as a management trainee*, for example?

Well, today we do have management programmes, and we’re looking for peoplethat are academically well-qualified, we’re looking for people who are self-moti-vated, we’re looking for people who have a desire to learn and, above all, a levelof common sense*. Because at the end of the day* we want managers who canmake decisions, who can assess* business opportunities and can develop, ifdevelop is the right word, an entrepreneurial* spirit. Because the whole world ischanging, and there’s got to be people who can adapt to that change and helpthe bank profit from it.

Well that leads me to my last question about change. What’s it like for anEnglishman to work in an American business situation? Is it stimulating, is it fru-strating, is it challenging*? And do you still feel yourself more British thanAmerican when you’re doing business?

Well, I love it. When I first came to New York I didn’t enjoy living here. But itgrew* on me and now I frankly* prefer living here to living elsewhere. From theemployment side, from working here, I find it a much more challenging andexciting place to work. I found working in London frustrating. I found that theopportunities were not there. But it may be that I’ve been part of a growingorganisation over here and that automatically provides more opportunities.

How would you describe Americans and their business sense*?

Americans are very entrepreneurial.

What does that mean?

It means that they’re never short* of ideas of how to start new businesses, toexploit* new opportunities, and their thought horizons* are much wider becau-se it’s always been a land of opportunity and I suppose people have inherited*this freedom of thought and opportunity.

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DOWN TO BUSINESS


Listen to some of the phrases John used and answer the questions.

”Well, Barclays Bank is a global, international organisation, headquarte-red in London.“Headquartered. Does this mean:• where its main office is?• where most people work?

Headquartered means where its main office is.For example:It is very difficult to enter the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

”My operation here is the private bank, which provides specialised servi-ces for the affluent.“The affluent. Does this mean:• people with a lot of influence?• people with a lot of money?

The affluent are people with a lot of money.For example:The affluent make a lot of money from their investments.

”It’s predicated on people’s ability to provide a service…“To be predicated on. Does this mean:• to be based on?• to consist of?

To be predicated on means to be based on.For example:Fair trade is predicated on all parties agreeing to the same restrictions.

”Well, there are only a few large banks that can handle the needs ofpeople who have national interests in the United States.“To handle. Does this mean:• to experiment with?• to take care of?

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To handle means to take care of.For example:Some days I can’t handle all my work. I need an assistant.

”We’re looking for people that are academically well-qualified.“Well-qualified. Does this mean:• having the right training?• having the right connections?

Well-qualified means having the right training.For example:Her curriculum vitae* shows that she is well-qualified for the position.

”We want managers who can make decisions, who can assess businessopportunities.“To assess. Does this mean:• to look for?• to evaluate?

To assess means to evaluate.For example:I asked my stockbroker to assess the value of my current* investments.

Vocabulary Development

”Americans are very entrepreneurial.“

An entrepreneur is entrepreneurial, possessing entrepreneurial skills.Now you create adjectives from the following:A secretary has ____________ skills.secretarialA manager has ____________ skills.managerialAn editor has __________ skills.editorial

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3 BOOKKEEPING AND ACCOUNTING

Mickey Stukenbrook

Mickey Stukenbrook is the bookkeeper* of Mickey Mantle’s, a restaurant inNew York City. As their bookkeeper, or accountant*, she is responsible for following and recording* all the financial transactions that go on in the restau-rant. Mickey comes from an Italian family and grew up in Long Island. She is avery dynamic person and speaks just the way she acts and thinks.

And now, over to Mickey Stukenbrook. Michelle found her in a basement office,behind the kitchen.

INTERVIEW

So, Mickey Stukenbrook, you’re the bookkeeper of Mickey Mantle’s, this verysuccessful restaurant here in the centre of New York. Can you describe your jobfor me?

In addition to keeping track* of the daily cash register* functions of therestaurant, it also involves standard accounting*, accounts receivable*, accountspayable*, payroll*, and so on and so forth*. It’s a complete set of books.

How did you get the job? What’s your educational background to become abookkeeper for a restaurant?

Actually, no educational background. I was taught accounting on the job*, by acontroller of a Florida company who requested that I work with her, and shegroomed* me to replace* her.

What are the qualities that you need to be an accountant?

You need to be very detail-oriented, you need to have a high concentration level,and you need to really pay attention to detail.

Can you describe what your hours are, and what essentially you do during theday?

My hours are from nine to, let’s say, seven. Well, the first thing that I do in themorning is to reconcile* yesterday’s cash. That is to count the cash in the cashregisters, take out the bank* that they started with, and then replenish* it with

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small bills* so that they will have change in the morning to, you know, begin thedaily business. Then reconcile all the charge cards* against the computer print-out tapes which tell us what was sold, in American Express and Visa and so onand so forth.What makes restaurant accounting different than accounting anywhere else isthe pace* at which you work, which is very fast, and the conditions* underwhich you work, which are not plush*, and often very noisy. The number oftransactions are tremendous*, and they happen very, very fast. So you’ve got toalmost be like an octopus*.

Well what is it that you like about the job?

The pace! The pace. I am a fast, energetic person and I would probably be verybored in a big accounting firm. I wouldn’t like that.

What’s the worst part of the job?

The worst part of the job is trying to get things to balance because you’re fed*information by unprofessionals. You’re fed information by waiters and waitresseswho are working at a computer, and they just really want to get in and get outand get their tips*, and you know – under-rings*, over-rings*, American Expressshould be Visa, Visa should be Master Card and so on and so forth.

For a young person who likes figures* and wants to go into accounting, whatkind of qualities do you think you need to be successful at this job?

If it’s not in the restaurant business, you have to be quiet, soft-spoken*, detail-oriented and just be able to sit at a desk all day and plug* away – you know, atnumbers and adding machines. And you should get a pair of glasses very earlyon in your career.

DOWN TO BUSINESS


Listen to some of the phrases Mickey used and answer the questions.

”In addition to keeping track of the daily cash register functions of therestaurant …“A cash register. Does this mean:• a machine which gives money?• a machine used to enter* sales?

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A cash register is a machine used to enter sales.For example:You should never leave a cash register open in a busy store.

”I was taught accounting on the job.“On the job. Does this mean:• while waiting for a job?• while working at the job?

On the job means while working at the job.For example:Often the best way to learn is on the job and not in school.

”What makes restaurant accounting different than accounting anywhereelse is the pace at which you work.“The pace. Does this mean:• the activity?• the speed?

The pace means the speed.For example:I can’t believe the pace at which she types letters.

”The number of transactions are tremendous, and they happen very, veryfast.“Transactions. Does this mean:• communications by telephone or fax?• exchanges of money or sales?

Transactions are exchanges of money or sales.For example:Most people enjoy business transactions which are concluded* very quickly.

”The worst part of the job is trying to get things to balance.“To get things to balance. Does this mean here:• to get things weighed and measured?• to make sure the money spent is equal to the money received?

To get things to balance means to make sure the money spent is equal tothe money received.For example:I just can’t get my budget to balance. I always spend more than I make.

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”They just really want to get in and get out and get their tips.“Tips. Does this mean:• extra salary benefits?• extra money customers leave for the waiter or waitress?

Tips means extra money customers leave for the waiter or waitress.For example:Most waiters depend on tips to augment* their low salaries.

PRONUNCIATION

Bookkeepers deal with figures throughout their professional life.

Repeat these figures:twenty-three / six hundred and forty-two / sixteen thousand / sixtythousand / six hundred and sixteen / eight million

Now repeat these currencies:pounds / dollars / yen

Repeat these sums:two hundred thousand pounds / seventeen dollars / two pounds fifty /one hundred and thirty thousand yen

GRAMMAR AND PATTERNS

”What makes restaurant accounting different than accountinganywhere else is the pace at which you work.“

Use the same pattern to express the ideas below.

For example:It’s nice to work here because the atmosphere is relaxed.

What makes working here nice is the relaxed atmosphere.

Now you do it.Business studies are interesting because of their practical aspect.

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What makes business studies interesting is their practical aspect.

Selling is difficult because of stiff* competition.

What makes selling difficult is the stiff competition.

Businessmen look for partners because they need to develop.

What makes businessmen look for partners is their need to develop.

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4 MANAGEMENT CONSULTING

Irene Rodgers

Irene Rodgers is the associate director* of InterCultural ManagementAssociates (ICM), located in Paris, France. She grew up in New York City and waseducated there. However, she has lived in France for over 20 years, and spends alot of time communicating with people from different countries. That is why shespeaks clearly and emphatically*.

And now, over to Irene Rodgers. Michelle went to the ICM offices, and askedIrene to explain why cultural differences are important to international business.

INTERVIEW

When we travel around the world, we go from, from North America to NorthernEurope to Africa to Asia to Latin America, we quickly notice that what we’rebeing served in our plates, and the way the food looks, tastes, how we eat it, isvery different from one country to another, one part of the world to another.And when we travel around and we look at cities, we’re also very much awareof the fact that we’re in different cultural areas*.And the question is, is there any reason why international businesses shouldhave escaped* the impact* of cultural differences? ICM says certainly not. Andin the work that we’ve done with international organisations we’ve seenrepeatedly that cultural differences have an impact. They have a crucial* impacton internal communications, that is everything that has to do with howrelationships are organised within a company.And companies today that are international are faced* with crises* all the timebecause they’re in different markets, they’re in countries with different politicalsystems. And what we’ve found is that, not surprisingly, it’s hard enough tocommunicate within a monocultural environment: as soon as you cross culturalboundaries*, it becomes extremely complicated.And ICM ran* a study with the 150 top companies from France in the”Expansion*“ listing*. 87 of them replied, and when they commented aboutmulticultural management teams, they said yes, there are advantages that haveto do with being more able to visualize* a global strategy, being more creativeand complementary*. And there are also disadvantages in terms of decision-making, it takes longer. There are disadvantages in terms of understanding oneanother and sharing a common vision* of where we want to go.

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So your job is to work with managers from different countries who work for thesame multinational organisation?

Yes. We will work with that multicultural management team, taking a look atthe strategic objectives*, and clarifying* and verifying* that everyone is reallyunderstanding the objectives in the same way, in the same language, eventhough the language may be French or English or German, or, or Japanese, thatwords are meaning the same thing.

Are these goals attained* and the success acknowledged by helping peoplerecognise each other’s cultural differences?

I’m thinking of one client that we had, it’s a company in the office furnituresector, subsidiaries* in Europe running from Scandinavian countries down toSouthern European countries, Italy and Spain, through France, UK and Germany.And this company was looking for a European market positioning* statement.That is, a statement that they could use in their advertising, on the variousmarkets, in Scandinavia as well as in Italy.We got together the group of managers – of top people – from the varioussubsidiaries, and started looking at what the key values* related to the companyand that could work on their markets were. And we found some very interestingthings. For example, the Scandinavians, the British, the Dutch said, “Ergonomic*,that sells on our markets.“ The Italians and the Spaniards said, ”Ergonomic?Give us design!“ I mean, they couldn’t have cared less* about ergonomic. Thenwe looked at a term like international, because everyone talks about beinginternational, and the British said, ”We don’t like international because to us itmeans American.“ The French thought international was great. The Swiss said,”There’s no point selling international in Switzerland because Swiss is better.“And so they dropped* this notion* of international, but they settled* onEuropean.Cultural differences appear all the time when it comes to management. Thetrouble with cultural differences is that they don’t lead to disagreements –disagreements we all recognise*, we all can pinpoint* them and talk about them– they lead to misunderstandings.

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DOWN TO BUSINESS


Listen to some of the phrases Irene used and answer the questions.

”And when we travel around and we look at cities, we’re also very muchaware of the fact that we’re in different cultural areas.“To be aware. Does this mean:• to have a strong reaction?• to recognise?

To be aware means to recognise.For example:Are you aware of the price of gasoline in different countries in the world?

”There are advantages that have to do with being more able to visualizea global strategy.“A global strategy. Does this mean:• a rounded strategy?• a strategy concerning the whole world?

A global strategy means a strategy concerning the whole world.For example:Rich nations should establish a global strategy to end the world’s food crises.

”…subsidiaries in Europe running from Scandinavian countries down toSouthern European countries.“Subsidiaries. Does this mean:• companies operating under the control of others?• minor* companies?

Subsidiaries are companies operating under the control of others.For example:Large U.S. firms have subsidiaries all over the world.

”...and started looking at what the key values related to the companyand that could work on their markets were.“The key value. Does this mean:• the most important value?• the newest value?

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The key value means the most important value.For example:The key value for Yuppies in the ‘80s was money.

”And so they dropped this notion of international, but they settled onEuropean.“A notion. Does this mean:• a written paper?• an idea?

A notion means an idea.For example: I have some notions about making budgets, but I need to learn more.

”Disagreements we all recognize, we all can pinpoint them and talkabout them.“To pinpoint. Does this mean:• to solve?• to locate or identify?

To pinpoint means to locate or identify.For example:If you can pinpoint the problem, we can deal with it.

PRONUNCIATION

Repeat the places exactly as they were said in the interview.

North America / Northern Europe / Africa / Asia / Latin America / France/ Southern European countries / Italy / Spain / U.K. / Germany /Scandinavia / Switzerland

Selective Comprehension

Which is correct?

Two people have concluded their business after much discussion. Have they:• made an agreement?• reached an agreement?

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They reached an agreement.To reach an agreement means to agree after a period of time and discussion.

Which is correct?The directors of a new company can’t decide between two names. They finally:• settle on one?• set down one?They settle on one.To settle on something means to finally decide on it.

Which is correct?Some statistics on consumer fitness need to be collected. A marketing companyis asked to:• run a study?• study a run?

They are asked to run a study.To run a study means to carry out research.

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5 INSURANCE

Howard Kaye

Howard Kaye is an insurance broker*. As president of Walter KayeAssociates, in New York City, he sells insurance policies* to clients* in differentprofessional areas. Howard grew up in the suburbs* of New York City andspeaks very quickly, and, like many Americans, not always very clearly.

And now, over to Howard Kaye. Michelle interviewed him in his office in mid-town Manhattan and asked him to describe his company.

INTERVIEW

Walter Kaye Associates is a privately-held* insurance brokerage. Among theprivately-held firms – there are public and private firms – among the privately-held, we’re the second-largest privately-held firm in the country today. Amongthe public and private we’re the fifteenth largest company. We have 350 people.We have offices in New York, California, Chicago, Connecticut and Rhode Island.We’re the only firm that’s ever reached our size by internal growth without anacquisition*. We’re an interesting firm – very aggressive firm.

Can you describe all the aspects of this company?

We’re an insurance brokerage firm. What that means is that we are themiddlemen* between insurance companies and the consumer. Someone willpick up a phone and call us up to study their corporate* insurance.We, as insurance brokers, will go meet with them, we will find out exactly whatthey do, we will study their insurance needs, we will pick up all their policies, wewill then write up specifications* and go to an insurance company. And, throughthe insurance company – negotiate*, to try to get their insurance at a betterprice for better coverage*. We then go back and we write a report on apples forapples, and apples for pears, then go to the potential customer and we try tosell them insurance on that.

What is apples for apples and apples for pears?

What that means is we sell people on a two-fold basis*. One is the price they’repaying now, and what price we can do it for, for the same coverage. We alsothen put on an addendum* of what they’re paying now and what werecommend their coverage should go to and how much more that will cost.

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Insurance is a very big business in the United States. Why?

Because everyone needs insurance. Because people buy insurance to protecttheir, their assets*. And it’s a necessity. I don’t know what, what it is in Europe.There’s one reason why it’s larger here than in Europe, one major reason. We’rea very liability-conscious* country. When somebody slips* and falls, whensomebody has a problem, they sue*, OK, and that’s not what happens inEurope. Europe usually doesn’t have liability claims*.

But explain to me - because you hear about people going to cocktail parties andfalling down and suing the person who’s invited them to the party. Why areAmericans so ready to sue somebody for an accident that happens to them?

Why do I really think it happens? I think it’s – we’re a litigious* society whereeverybody sues everyone. We’re just a very litigious-conscious society. Whenyou’re in Europe, when you’re in Paris and if you fell in a restaurant, the firstthing you would not think about doing is suing the restaurant. Here, right away*somebody contacts a lawyer* and they sue.

I’ve read a report recently where a woman was suing an alcohol companybecause her baby was born with a birth defect. Can a company insure itselfagainst those kinds of claims?

Well, maybe the most famous cases in this country were the asbestos* cases –where the asbestos was put into many many properties*, many buildings, and20 years later, it came out that there were cancer(s)* that came out of theasbestos. And the insurance companies ended up paying millions and millions ofdollars. Today, you cannot insure somebody for an asbestos exposure*. But backthen the answer was that they covered it and they had a liability* on it.

What kind of qualities does somebody need to sell insurance? What kind ofqualities do you look for when you hire somebody into this business?

I think the number one ability, when it comes to selling insurance, or going intothe industry, you have to basically like people and be interested in what peopledo for a living. And, you know, just enjoy being with people. Because this is atremendous contact business where you have a lot of communication, you meetlots of different people. Probably the most interesting part of this business is theexposure to many, many different types of businesses and many different typesof people.

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DOWN TO BUSINESS


Listen to some of the phrases Howard used and answer the questions.

”We’re the only firm that’s ever reached our size by internal growthwithout an acquisition.“Acquisition. Does this mean:• something you have bought?• something you have found?

Acquisition means something you have bought.For example:The Japanese are making many acquisitions in the U.S. media industry.

”What that means is we sell people on a two-fold basis.“Two-fold. Does this mean:• offering two possibilities?• costing twice as much?

Two-fold means offering two possibilities.For example:The value of this strategy is two-fold: it’s quick and it’s inexpensive.

”We’re a very liability-conscious country.“”We’re just a very litigious-conscious society.“Liability-conscious; litigious-conscious. Does this mean:• people are always thinking about lawyers?• people are aware of their legal rights?

Liability-conscious / litigious-conscious means people are aware of their legalrights. For example:Americans are so litigious-conscious that lawyers make a fortune.

”Here, right away somebody contacts a lawyer and they sue.“To sue. Does this mean:• to start a legal case against someone to get money?• to organise a plan of action?

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To sue means to start a legal case against someone to get money.For example:After the accident, she sued the taxi company for $5,000 for her injuries.

”And the insurance companies ended up paying millions and millions ofdollars.“To end up. Does this mean:• to finally do something?• to be forced to do something?

To end up means to finally do something.For example:After days and days of arguing, they ended up accepting our offer.

”You have to basically like people and be interested in what people dofor a living.“What people do for a living. Does this mean:• the way people live?• the way people earn money?

What people do for a living means the way people earn money.For example:What I do for a living and what I enjoy doing are two separate things.

PRONUNCIATION / STRESS

Listen to Howard:

”We are an interesting firm. Very aggressive firm.“”We’re a very liability-conscious country…“The word ”very“ is used here as an adverb that qualifies an adjective.The phrases below use both adverbs and adjectives. Repeat them stressing theadverb to give more weight to your idea.

a very competitive productan extremely delicate mattera totally commercial strategya relatively uninteresting result

Now listen to Howard naming the locations of his company’s branches:

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”We have offices in New York, California, Chicago, Connecticut andRhode Island.“The names of some U.S. states are relatively difficult to pronounce.Repeat:Arkansas / Connecticut / Illinois / Iowa / Massachussetts

And now for some cities:Phoenix / Des Moines / Chicago / Los Angeles

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6 IMPORT/EXPORT

Peter Matt

Peter Matt is an American wine importer. As president of Winebow, Inc.,New York, he has learned that for his business it is very useful to speak differentlanguages. Peter comes from Connecticut, which accounts for what he calls the”tanginess*“ of his accent.

And now, over to Peter Matt. Michelle asked him to explain how he got into thebusiness of importing wines.

INTERVIEW

My particular business is ten years old, and it was started by three men. Thepurpose of the company, as we envisioned* it, was to import Italian wines anddistribute* them throughout the United States. But we thought that, as a way ofgetting started in doing this, we would also wholesale*, that is to say sell thewines to retail stores and restaurants and hotels, in what we call our localmarket. And we defined that as the two states of New York and New Jersey. So we started out, basically working out of my partner’s house. And we set upour office there, and he and I went out and we sold them, we peddled* them,door-to-door so to speak. And we thought that once this business got bigenough we’d be able to establish* some brands and distribute them across thecountry, which was our initial purpose*. We soon found out that we would walk into a store, for example, and say, ”Mr.Customer, we’ve got some great Italian wines for you,“ and the customer wouldsay, ”Well I don’t need any Italian wines. You have any California wines? Howabout some French wines?“ ”Well no, we don’t have any of those.“And the next time we got together, the three partners, we said, ”Well gee*, ifwe had some California wines or some French wines this would be anopportunity* that we wouldn’t have to pass up when a customer made thatkind of remark.“ So, we expanded the product line*. We found California wines, and we foundsome French wines, and before we knew it we were up to our ears in the day-to-day details of running a wholesale company*.

What are the difficulties in importing wine into the United States?

Well, I think the most relevant difficulties have to do with the fact that allalcoholic beverages are regulated by federal* and state laws. You can’t trade in

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alcoholic beverages the way you can trade in pants* or shoes or evenautomobiles. But as a kind of relic* of our Prohibition, we have all kinds ofregulations* pertaining* to the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverage*.The Federal Government says, generally speaking, that if you import a wine youhave to provide a certificate of origin*, which is a form of guarantee that thiswine is a genuine* product from that country. You have to show the FederalGovernment a label* in which certain information, required information, isprovided to the consumer. And you have to pay a Federal excise* tax, what wecall a duty*. That’s really all the Federal Government requires of us. At the statelevel, we have to go through a variety of other hoops*, depending on whichstate we’re in.

And it’s those hoops that keep your business very active?

That’s one of the things. We try not to spend too much time on regulationbecause we have the same problems that all other business people have, havingto do with marketing and sales and administration and data processing. Thoseare the real problems of the business.

For a young person who wants to set up an import business, what are thequalities you think you need to be successful?

I think it’s very helpful to speak a foreign language. Very often the relationshipsbetween people are important in getting a business going, and I think it’s beenhelpful for us to be able to have a person-to-person exchange with our potentialsuppliers, and they get some kind of feeling for who we are, and likewise wecan get a feeling for who they are, in their own terms. You also need, I think, some feeling for trends in currency*. You don’t want tobuy when your currency is weak with respect to the one where your supplierdoes his figures. And vice-versa, you want to take advantage of opportunitieswhen your currency is strong.Other than that, I think that importing is like everything else. You have to have asense for your market. I mean, there’s no point trying to sell people things thatthey don’t want and you have to have a mind* for controls; nobody can run abusiness if you don’t know what’s in the bank and where it’s going.

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DOWN TO BUSINESS


Listen to some of the phrases Peter used and answer the questions.

”The purpose of the company, as we envisioned it, was to import Italianwines and distribute them throughout the United States.“To distribute. Does this mean:• to supply to shops or businesses?• to open for business?

To distribute means to supply to shops or businesses.For example:If I could distribute Coca-Cola in China I‘d be rich.

”We would also wholesale, that is to say sell the wines to retail storesand restaurants and hotels.“A retail store. Does this mean:• a store which sells to the public?• a store which sells to professionals?

A retail store is a store which sells to the public.For example:In the US, many retail stores are open on Sundays.

”This would be an opportunity that we wouldn’t have to pass up…“To pass up an opportunity. Does this mean:• to give someone an opportunity?• to miss an opportunity?

To pass up an opportunity means to miss an opportunity.For example:I would never pass up an opportunity to hear Luciano Pavarotti in concert.

”Which is a form of guarantee that this wine is a genuine product fromthat country.“Genuine. Does this mean:• authentic?• natural?

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Genuine means authentic.For example:It’s sometimes difficult to tell a genuine piece of jewellery from a good copy.

”…and likewise we can get a feeling for who they are.“Likewise. Does this mean:• in the same way?• in a friendly way?

Likewise means in the same way.For example:They refused to pay and we did likewise.


Listen to the following list of words and decide which one doesn’tbelong.

Tax – duty – chequeCheque. Cheque means money written on paper.Tax and duty are money paid to the government on products.

Retail – customers – wholesaleCustomers. Customers are people who buy things.Retail and wholesale are two ways products are sold.

GRAMMAR: PREPOSITIONS

in / to / on

Peter used lots of expressions followed by prepositions. Listen:

”We have all kinds of regulations pertaining to the sale…“”You can’t trade in alcoholic beverages…“”We try not to spend too much time on regulation.“

Now listen to the following sentences and add the correct preposition: in, to oron.

Our government imposes taxes ___ alcohol and tobacco.

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On. A tax on something.Repeat: A tax on petrol.

Your comment on state tax doesn’t pertain ___ our discussion.To. Pertain to something.Repeat: This doesn’t pertain to me.

Those wines are provided ___ American distributors.To. Provide to someone.Repeat: The service was provided to them free of charge.

Canon doesn’t only trade ___ camera equipment.In. Trade in.Repeat: I hate people who trade in arms.

35


7 PUBLIC RELATIONS

Victoria Fuller

Victoria Fuller speaks a most proper English. Her accent helps her in herfield of public relations* where she must communicate daily with a large numberof people.Vivienne went to her lovely offices in the Chelsea district of London and askedher to describe the new company she recently created herself.

INTERVIEW

Well, my company is called ZFL Public Relations, and the initials are taken fromthe three original partners in the company. The Z is actually* no longer with us.And the F is my surname, Fuller, and the L is my partner’s surname, Robert Lyle. Iam currently* the managing director, and Robert’s main role in the business isthat of marketing director. And we decided from day one that it’s absolutely essential* in any small businessto have at least one person that is out there* constantly looking for newbusiness, out there selling the company, so that we have a steady stream* ofproposals* going out, we’re constantly pitching* for new business. I think it’svery easy for small companies to win* a couple of big accounts, and then just tosit back on their laurels* and think, you know, we’ll be OK for the next sixmonths.

Could you tell me something about the route you took to get into this field ofwork?

Well, I didn’t get into public relations through the conventional way of studyingit at university, and then taking a job with an agency, which is the usual way ofgetting started. I was at a loss* of something to do, and I had to look at whatmy qualities were, and as corny* as it sounds, I do enjoy working with people,and dealing with people, and therefore I was looking for a people business. Andeverybody said to me, ”How about public relations?“ And my immediatereaction was, well, what is public relations? And I think it’s a question that a lotof people ask, and my personal feeling is that people actually in the PR businessdon’t often understand exactly what is public relations.

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So what is public relations?

Well, I think the simplest way of describing what PR is in relation to the work wedo for our clients, is presenting a client in the best possible light* to its public.That is basically what most of our work consists of.

Public relations, this magic term, has it always existed, or as we’ve become moremedia-oriented in general has it increased in importance?

Yes, I think public relations has always existed, but it’s only really come* into itsown in perhaps the last 20 years. And without a doubt it was the Americansthat first picked* up the necessity* of having public relations in a company andrealising the importance of a company projecting its image* to the outsideworld.

It seems to me a lot of women are working in public relations. Is it somethingwhere men and women are equally represented? Or is it more a woman’s job?

No, I think it’s definitely an industry that’s attracted a lot of women. And cruel*people might say because you don’t need specific qualifications to get into theindustry that it’s attracted a lot of women. But ultimately* I think because it is apeople business. And I think women, on the whole*, are a lot better withdealing with people.

So what kind of qualities do you need? You said you chose it because you likedealing with people. Is that enough? What else do you need?

No, I think you need to have a very organised mind. I don’t think that there’sanything particularly ingenious* about PR work. At the end of the day, it’s beingincredibly* organised, and it’s having the ability to sell.

Is there anything you’ve discovered that you really don’t like about publicrelations? An unanticipated* aspect?

Yes, I think a lot of people have this image of PR being an incredibly glamorous*business. And at the end of the day, it is, most of the time, bottom line*, hardwork. And the majority of our work is actually conducted* by selling over thetelephone. And in many ways, it’s a glamorised* form of tele-sales*.

37


DOWN TO BUSINESS


Listen to some of the phrases Victoria used and answer the questions.

”We have a steady stream of proposals going out.“A proposal. Does this mean:• an invitation?• a suggested plan?

A proposal is a suggested plan.For example:There are many proposals for helping Third World countries.

”I think it’s very easy for small companies to win a couple of big accountsand then just to sit back on their laurels…“To win a couple of big accounts. Does this mean:• to get some important clients?• to receive money that is due?

To win a couple of big accounts means to get some important clients.For example:She knew her company would make money after she won a couple of bigaccounts.

”I think public relations has always existed, but it’s only really come intoits own in perhaps the last 20 years.“To come into one’s own. Does this mean:• to make profits?• to become fully developed?

To come into one’s own means to become fully developed.For example:It didn’t take the fax machine a long time to come into its own.

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GRAMMAR

Listen to Victoria.

”How about public relations?“

In English you use ”how about“ to make a suggestion, and it is followed by averb in the -ing form.

For example, you’re thinking of redecorating the office / to buy new lamps andchairs:How about buying some new lamps and chairs?

Now, you make some suggestions using ”how about“.You need more modern equipment / to lease a new computer and a faxmachine:How about leasing a new computer and a fax machine?

You need to have a meeting / to organise:How about organising a meeting?

Your foreign clients are visiting / to take them to lunch:How about taking them to lunch?

PRONUNCIATION

Listen to what Victoria said.

”That is basically what most of our work consists of.“

Consists.It’s quite difficult to pronounce word endings made of s + a consonant + sRepeat the following:

Tasks. My secretary does all those tasks very well. Rests. The solution now rests in their hands.Tests. How many tests do your products go through? Insists. I wonder why he insists so much. Risks. Yes, and they say there are risks.

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8 ADVERTISING

Mike Mones

Mike Mones is vice president of Serino, Coyne Inc. in New York City.This advertising* agency is located in the theatre district and Mike is respon-sible for advertising and promoting* many Broadway theatre productions. Anative New Yorker, he speaks with a definite New York accent.

And now, over to Mike Mones. Michelle spoke to him in his office onBroadway and asked him to describe his job.

INTERVIEW

I am what is referred to in the advertising business as the account* executive. Iam the liaison* person between the producer, who of course controls the pro-duction, and the ad* agency. There are other people involved, such as a press*agent for the show. There’s also a manager of the show. Between myself, thepress agent, the general manager and the producer*, we have discussions onhow to proceed* to promote and advertise a show. I’m the person who has tocommunicate with copywriters*, artists, production people who execute* thejobs. It’s my responsibility to get it done.

I imagine one of the constraints* of your job, then, is the budget. Do you have apromotional* budget? Who, who decides on this budget? And then how do youdecide how that money is spent?

Hopefully, the producer is very foresighted* so that he has allowed enoughmoney for advertising. And then depending upon the nature* of the show, whatthe budget is, we then attack it on the level* of: where are we going to get themost out of our dollars to bring in the most people to see the show. We take that budget and break* it up into different portions … some of itnewspapers, maybe television if we can afford it, if the budget is healthy*, pos-sibly some outdoor, such as posters* that could go into our subways*. If wehave enough money we might even buy a spectacular* sign* on Broadway itself.And that’s mainly because of tourists who come to Broadway, and really don’tknow where to go. Unfortunately, the signs are getting less and less, because asyou may have noticed, there are so many new buildings going up on Broadway,and as these buildings go up, the signs are coming down.

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Advertising is a very glamorous kind of profession, and I’m sure a lot of peoplewant to get into the advertising world. What are the qualities that you look forin a person who wants to join your firm?

Hopefully, the person has an advertising background. Probably that’s less impor-tant than a feel for the theatre, and a love for the theatre and really being inter-ested in it. We have a very special, close relationship with theatre people and it’svery unique unto itself. It’s a very day-to-day kind of business. I mean, you haveto realise that shows come, and could be gone in one week’s time after theopening, if it’s not critically received*. So there’s a quick turnover*. There’s not that longevity* where you can plan two years ahead, the way a bigfood company can do. We don’t have the luxury of planning magazine adsmonths ahead of time*, which makes it kind of – very difficult, very hard,because I’ll be changing an ad sometimes for tomorrow’s paper, at 4:00/5:00 inthe afternoon, race over to the ‘New York Times’ with it to get it there by 6:30,and you can actually pick up the paper at 10:30 at night with the ad that Ibrought over at 6:30 at night, and see the corrected ad in there. So it’s very hec-tic. Most of the time it’s very hard work.

You’ve been in advertising for almost all of your professional life. What is thequality you think you have that’s made you so good at this field?

Well, that’s a difficult question. I think probably the most important thing is, Igenuinely care*. I love the theatre. I think if you don’t love what you’re doing,sure, you can do a good job, but it just goes to a certain point. You’ll take easy-way-outs*. I won’t take easy-way-outs. I could say to a client, at 4:00/5:00 in theafternoon, ”It’s too late to make that name change in an ad tomorrow. We’ll doit for the following day.“ I won’t do that. I will bend* over backwards and makethat change because it’s important to the producer, it’s important to the show.And I guess the end result is, it really works for the ad agency too, because thelonger a show runs, the more successful it is, the more advertising will be done,the more income we’ll get from it too. So it really works both ways.

41


DOWN TO BUSINESS


Listen to some of the phrases Mike used and answer the questions.

”...maybe television if we can afford it, if the budget is healthy.“A healthy budget. Does this mean:• a budget with enough money?• a budget without enough money?

A healthy budget means a budget with enough money.For example:If you have a healthy advertising budget you can really promote your product.

”Hopefully, the person has an advertising background.“The person has an advertising background. Does this mean:• the person comes from a family of advertisers?• the person has already worked in advertising?

The person has an advertising background means the person has alreadyworked in advertising, has experience in advertising.For example:You have to have a background in computers to get a job at IBM.

”So there’s a quick turnover.“A quick turnover. Does this mean:• the other side?• a lot of change?

A quick turnover means a lot of change.For example:Fast food restaurants have a very quick turnover of clients.

”I think probably the most important thing is, I genuinely care.“To genuinely care. Does this mean:• to have a real interest?• to think about something because you have to?

To genuinely care means to have a real interest.For example:I genuinely care about the problem of refugees* in the world.

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”You’ll take easy-way-outs. I won’t take easy-way-outs.“The easy-way-out. Does this mean:• the nearest exit?• the fastest, but not necessarily the best, solution?

The easy-way-out means the fastest but not necessarily the best solution.For example:There is no easy-way-out of the problem of inflation.

”I will bend over backwards and make that change.“To bend over backwards. Does this mean:• to move around?• to make every possible effort?

To bend over backwards means to make every possible effort.For example:Most bank managers will bend over backwards to help their rich clients.

Intonation

The word hopefully expresses one’s hopes that something will happen.

Listen to Mike:”Hopefully, the producer is very foresighted so that he has allowedenough money for advertising.“

On the contrary, unfortunately expresses regret or disappointment.

Listen to Mike:”Unfortunately, the signs are getting less and less.“

Both ”hopefully“ and ”unfortunately“ must be stressed when you want to con-vey* your feelings.

Change the following sentences using ”hopefully“ and the key words suggest-ed. Watch your intonation!For example:They didn’t do a very good job / next time:Hopefully, they’ll do a better job next time.Now you do it.

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The agreement was not reached today / tomorrow:Hopefully, the agreement will be reached tomorrow.The deal was not satisfactory / the next deal:Hopefully, the next deal will be satisfactory.

Now use ”unfortunately”.For example:I wish I could afford that car / can’t right now:Unfortunately, I can’t afford that car right now.Now you do it.

We hoped he would explain his position / he didn’t:Unfortunately, he didn’t explain his position.

We expected good returns / didn’t get them:Unfortunately, we didn’t get good returns.

The word “won’t” stresses someone’s decision not to do something.

Listen to Mike:”I won’t do that.“

Now repeat these sentences stressing your determination:

They think they can make us sell. We won’t!She won’t do overtime, even if you pay her.Well, then, if she won’t, I won’t either!

44


9 FREELANCE CONSULTING

Greg Arena

Greg Arena, a Canadian, has traveled and worked around the world. He iscurrently working as a freelance* consultant for Fleet Logistics, a Belgian fleetcompany, that provides services around companys’ fleets*. The company is head-quartered in Belgium, but Greg is based in Germany. Angelique went to his home office* to find out about some of the services FleetLogistics provide and what it’s like working for an international company.

INTERVIEW

We also provide other services which have as part of you know operating a car,if you have a car, there are maintenance invoices*, there are invoices for some-thing that’s happened with the insurance company, there may be a tire change*,tire storage*, etc, etc. These are all the things you have to pay for when youhave your own car, they have to be provided as well by the leasing company*that doesn’t do it themselves, they’re also aggregating the services* and thenproviding one invoice to their customer.So we check those invoices against benchmarks* that we have, we check themfor mathematical accuracy*, etc. etc. We typically take out cost there again,because mistakes are made and lo and behold*, they are often in favor of thecompany sending the invoice. In this example it’s the leasing company and so wemake sure that, you know, those things are reduced. So it’s a service all aroundthe operation* of a fleet, without physically* handling the cars because theleasing companies continue to do that. They and their suppliers.

And the way I understood it you work, you work in Brussels or your company islocated in Brussels.

The company, this client, is located in Brussels.

OK, so this involves a lot of traveling, probably.

It involves a fair bit of traveling. I work in my home office, which I like doing.Working too much in a home office isn’t great either, because one of the chal-lenges, or the difficult things, I find, is after I’ve been working at home, at mydesk for a few days, I just need some people around, physically, that I can talkto. Of course they’re always available by telephone, but we do a lot by web-con-

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ferencing* or telephone-conferencing*. And depending on the project, and theneed and the discussions, and the topics going on, there is a need to meet otherpeople. And Fleet Logistics has their head offices in Brussels, they have officesacross Europe, so depending on the project, I will go to the office that, well,where the work needs to be done.

Do different subsidiaries of your company handle things in a different mannerdepending on the country? Do you notice cultural differences?

Well, yes, there are definitely cultural differences, although you know FleetLogistics - the company’s been around for a while, but they were fairly recentlyreorganized, with a lot of, a lot of changes in the staffing* so that I think thedifferences that I observe have less to do with cultural differences than just withthe fact that - you know - things are very new and people are still in adjust-ment* phases and in that sense they are very international. I mean most of theoffices have people from other parts of Europe or other parts of the world out-side of Europe, you know working there. So the company is, for a company thatsize, it has a very international flavor.

OK, what are some of the joys of your job?

Well, I enjoy the strategic parts. I mean, I’ve always enjoyed working in an envi-ronment where you’re, well where there’s change going on. And when there’schange going on, one, it’s just exciting, it gets the adrenalin going, there’s a lotof drive* in the people around you, the objectives are clear, you know you needto move forward, and so that’s very motivating and that’s one of the motivatingthings about working with Fleet Logistics at the moment.

DOWN TO BUSINESS


Listen to what Greg said and answer the questions.

”We also provide other services which have as part of you know operat-ing a car, if you have a car, there are maintenance invoices.“Maintenance invoices. Are these:• instructions for use of a car?• bills for services to keep something in a good condition?

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Maintenance invoices are all the bills you receive for services that keep anobject (here a car) in good working order.

“They’re also aggregating the services* and then providing one invoiceto their customer.”Aggregating, to aggregate. Does this mean:• to combine?• to distribute?To aggregate means to combine.

“So we check those invoices* against benchmarks* that we have.”Benchmarks. Does this mean:• lists of objects?• points of reference?In this context, benchmarks are points of reference.

“We typically take out cost there again, because mistakes are made andlo and behold they are often in favor of the company sending theinvoice.”In favor of. Does this mean the mistakes are:• positive for the company sending the invoice?• negative for the company sending the invoice?In favor of means positive for the company sending the invoice.

“There’s a lot of drive* in the people around you.”Drive. Does this here mean:• exercise?• energy?Drive here means energy.

PRONUNCIATION

Listen to the following expressions and note where the stress falls andwhich parts of the word are spoken. Then repeat.

web-conferencingNow say: web-CONferencing

tele-conferencingNow say: Tele-CONferencing

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maintenance invoicesNow say: MAINtenance invoices

head officesNow say: HEAD OFfices

cultural differencesNow say: CULtural DIFferences

48


10 ARCHITECTURE

Maki Kuwayama

Maki Kuwayama grew up in New York City where she studied architecture.She spent most of her professional life in England and in Germany where sheworked in various offices. She and her husband have opened their own office inthe South of Germany.

Listen to Angelique ask her about cultural differences.

INTERVIEW

So, what’s your educational background? How did you become an architect?

I went to a university and did a normal Bachelor of Arts*. I’ve a Bachelor ofArts in philosophy which was completely useless. There’s nothing you canreally do professionally with that. So I entered a master’s program forarchitecture, which is standard in America that you do completely. Used tobe when I was studying, that you do something completely liberal arts* forfour years and then you go and specialize into architecture. Now it’schanging a little bit. There are more people who do a Bachelor ofArchitecture and then go for a Master’s degree of architecture.

And then after you received your degree in the US, you worked there for a year,but very quickly you left the US.

Yeah. Then I went to the UK and practiced there, because it’s a different typeof practice in the UK. In America, depending on the type of university yougo to, you’re streamlined* into someone who does working drawings, whichare the details of how to build a building, or you become a designer and youdesign the building which is kind of, two separate routes that you take. Thedesigner does the main design, gives it to the architect who does theworking drawings* and they figure out how to build it and then it goes backand forth. It’s a dialogue back and forth. In the UK you do everything, exceptpricing*. British architects are not allowed to price their buildings. They needa quantity surveyor* for that.

So, that would be the differences already.

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Exactly. There’s almost immediately from the three countries a big difference.So, in the UK I had design and working drawing experience, sitesupervision*, which also designers don’t do in America, which Britisharchitects do. And when we came to, when I came to Germany, I had tolearn how to do pricing, which I wasn’t allowed to do, legally you are notallowed to do it in the UK.

So what are some of the joys and what are some of the tribulations* of yourjob?

It’s really exciting to see something that was on paper being built, especiallyif it’s built the way you want it to be built. That’s really interesting, that’squite a lot of fun. It also can be a lot of fun to deal with the clients.Sometimes the client will come in and they won’t know exactly what theywant, they’ll just come in and say: ”Well, we kind of want this or we kind ofwant that.” And in the end you spend a lot of time trying to get at theessence of what it is, they want. They have an image, they grew up withsomething, they loved it as a child and that thing stays with them and theywant it again. And sometimes, they’re not practical things, sometimes it’scompletely unrealistic.

Like what?

One housewife wanted a little slot in her kitchen wall for the food! She wantedto be able to open her kitchen, like a little window where she can open and slotthe food out and close it so that her kitchen would be more private. Little thingslike that. And in, in her image, we found out afterwards as she, we kept askingwhy do you want this little slot? Cause it was kind of not very nice in the… onthe dining side to have this little slot. And on the kitchen side you really couldn’tuse the space properly in front of the slot. In her childhood, her best friend orsomething had this little slot and it was something she, as a child, loved, thisslot. And that’s why she wanted this slot. It was almost impossible to talk herout of this slot. Though for all practical purposes it didn’t really make that muchsense. There’s a lot of psychological things, personal things behind a lot of thedecisions why some people want certain things in their kitchen or are againstthings. It’s a lot of prejudices. Sometimes that’s interesting and sometimes it’s apain in the neck.

What would you recommend someone studying architecture?

I actually would recommend they have a very strong background in humanities*.

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Humanities? Why’s that?

Because you have to deal with so many different people. The first importantstage is to understand what your client wants. They come from different back-grounds and they have different interests. You have to be able to communicatewith them and to get their ideas out. Architecture, a lot of people think architec-ture is an art but basically it’s a service profession. You’re trying to get informa-tion from someone and you’re providing the service of making that informationa reality. And in order to do that, you have to be able to understand wherethey’re coming from. There are cultural things that you need to know aboutthem, just information about them. And the broader the background, the betterchances you have of figuring* them out*. The wider your horizon is, the easier itis to understand why you’re being asked to do something and the easier it is toactually solve the problem.

DOWN TO BUSINESS


Listen to some of the expressions Maki used and answer the questions.

“… a lot of people think architecture is an art but basically it’s a serviceprofession.”Service profession. Is this:• a profession which has many servants?• a profession which focuses on serving people?A service profession focuses on serving people.

“…the wider your horizon is, the easier it is to understand why you’rebeing asked to do something and the easier it is to actually solve theproblem.”Wide horizon. Does this mean:• to have a lot of superfluous knowledge?• to have a broad knowledge of the world?A wide horizon is to have a broad knowledge of the world.

“Depending on the type of university you go to, you’re streamlined* intosomeone who does working drawings, which are the details how tobuild a building, or you become a designer.“Streamlined. In this context does it mean:

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• you are going fishing?• you are rationalized into a group? Streamlined here means that you are rationalized into a group.In a different context streamline can mean to make more efficient. For example: The human resources department first examines perspective employees, stream-lining the hiring process.

“…when I came to Germany, I had to learn how to do pricing.”To do pricing. What does this mean?• to determine the costs?• to buy a lot of material driving up the costs of a house?To do pricing means to determine the costs.

“Then I went to the UK and practiced there because it’s a different typeof practice in the UK. “Practiced. What does this mean in this context?• to repeat a certain skill many times until you are perfect at it?• to carry out a certain profession?To practice means to carry out a certain profession.For example: The young doctor practiced in London for a few years before mov-ing into the surburbs.


“It also can be a lot of fun to deal with the clients.”Here “to deal with” means to work with.

Here are some other examples.

To look intoThe boss thinks we should look into the different aspects of this offer.Here ”to look into“ means to examine.The boss thinks we should examine the different aspects of this offer.

To look upCould your secretary look up this client’s name in our files?Here ”to look up“ means to search for.Could your secretary search for this client’s name in our files?

To look overThese items have just arrived. Can you look them over?

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Here ”to look over“ means to check.Can you check the condition of these newly-arrived items?

Now you transform the following sentences with the correct ”look” expression.

We should take some time to examine this matter more closely.To look into.We should take some time to look into this matter more closely.

Could you check this item in the contract?To look up.Could you look up this item in the contract?

He checked the parcels with great attention.To look over.He looked over the parcels with great attention.

GRAMMAR

It’s really exciting to see something that’s, was on paper beingbuilt, especially if it’s built the way you want it to be built.

Make sentences using this pattern with the verb being.For example:We are spending a lot of money on this project.A lot of money…A lot of money is being spent on this project.

Now you do it:

We are launching a new foreign policy.A new foreign policy…A new foreign policy is being launched.

We are carefully studying their offer.Their offer…Their offer is being carefully studied.

We are opening a new branch in Sydney.A new branch…A new branch is being opened in Sydney.

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Make or Do

Which one should you use? Listen.“Though, uh… for all practical purposes it didn’t really make that muchsense.”

Complete these sentences with ”make“ or ”do“.We _________ a lot of business with them.Do.We do a lot of business with them.To do business.

My secretary _________ that appointment yesterday.Made.My secretary made that appointment yesterday.To make an appointment.

We can’t afford to _________ mistakes.Make.We can’t afford to make mistakes.To make mistakes.

Do you think he can _________ the job?Do.Do you think he can do the job?To do a job.

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11 IN-COMPANY TRAINING

Kevin O’Connor

Meet Kevin O’Connor, an Irishman, who is an educational manager for alarge international company based in the South of Germany.

Debby met up with him to find out about how in-company training has changedin the last few years and what the main issues are at the moment.

INTERVIEW

Well, basically I think the main issue at the moment is: managers want to getmore for their budgets. That’s topic number one. We’ve been delivering goodquality products, training products, for the last ten to fifteen years, basically ourcustomers don’t complain*, all our feedback sheets are excellent and so on, butmanagers have suffered severe budget cuts in the last couple of years and basi-cally in order to train the same amount of people, as they would have donethree or four years ago they need, well, twice as much money to do it becauseof the cost of training. So what they want to do is, is cut the training cost byfifty per cent, what they have to pay for training of course in the internal bud-geting*, you know. And of course in our company we have a system of cross-charging which means customers pay for their courses internal, internally. Andthen we pay, we pay the trainers and so on all the external costs and what theypay has to reflect our costs of course, yeah? Which means that our costs haveincreased* over the last few years and management budgets have decreased*and that means that they want to get more training for their money.

So in terms of the offering, what kinds of courses is it you organise?

Well, in our training department we organise all different kinds of soft skill*courses and language courses. Let’s, well, take a look at language courses first:we offer, well, all levels of training from A1 to C1 on the Common EuropeanFramework scale. That would be from beginner to advanced in the older system,and that means we’ve got basically six levels and we do between sixty andeighty hours of training depending on the kind of training per level.

OK. And what role does technology play in all of that, sort of especially when itcomes to training and there’s so many different formats of training.

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Well, that’s true actually. But the most important thing I suppose - that mostpeople don’t realise is when they attend training courses - but one of the mostimportant things is an educational management system, which deals with all thecontents of those courses that are being run, all the participants: where they’refrom, who they are, how much they pay, what levels they have reached in thevarious courses, if they’re allowed to attend courses, if there’s a prerequisite* forattending the course and if the prerequisite has been completed in some sense,as well as of course whole billing procedures for courses.

So for someone who, let’s say maybe has done a bit of training, or I don’t know,wants to be sort of on the management, organising side of things, what wouldyou recommend*? What kind of skills would they have? Does it make sense topursue a career in this field at all? Or what…

Aa…, that’s a very good question. Well, you know, in our trainer pool here wehave, you know, about fifty freelance trainers and they’re all in my opinion verygood trainers, very good professional trainers but not everyone would make agood training manager. You know, you need different skills. Every trainingmanager should have at some time in his or her career been actually in a class-room or a seminar room and should have done some training themselves, toknow what it’s like in the field. The skills of being a training manager is, well, Ithink you need to have some kind of vision where you want training to go,what kind of training, what kind of standards you require and what kind oftrainers you want to have in your training pool, because not all trainers are thesame. People are different. Every trainer has his or her strength and weaknessand you need a pool of trainers that cover all your training needs because there’sno standard kind of training. And you need a pool* because not every trainercan do everything equally well. The training manager’s job is to find the rightmatch, to match the trainer to the groups’ or to the individuals’ needs.

So you need a lot of soft skills.

You need a lot of soft skills.

Also probably quite a lot of sort of a number crunching* and needs analysis*and stuff like that.

Of course, sure, that’s right. Of course. One of my main jobs is advising man-agers outside what kind of training they should have to meet their needs, youknow. First of all you have to find out what their needs are. Of course, afterdoing it for a while you get a pretty good idea what their needs are, you know,from the various levels and functions in the company. But still a good course

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needs preparation and the trainer has to be informed what the requirements arefor that course. What level the course is, what special contents… of course,number crunching, of course, this is the other thing which most trainers are notreally suited to, because as you know, people who like standing in classroomsand teaching are not great as far as accounting is concerned.

No, not really.

And that is one of the major parts of my job is to prepare all the figures. Ofcourse, we have our EMS – our educational management system – but we haveto digest* the figures, present them to our bosses and so on, how many partici-pants have we trained and how much money have we spent and so on, andhow many hours of training, and the cost per hour and all those kind of man-agement statistics that are needed in any modern company, of course.

DOWN TO BUSINESS

Vocabulary comprehension

Listen to Kevin. “Managers have suffered severe budget cuts in the last couple of years.”Severe. What does this mean?• slight?• serious?Severe means serious. Severe budget cuts means that the budget is significantlylower now than it was previously.

“If there’s a prerequisite for attending the course and if the prerequisitehas been completed in some sense...”A prerequisite. Does this mean• a condition?• an option?A prerequisite is a condition. Here it is something that has to be done before aperson is allowed to attend a course.

“One of my main jobs is advising managers outside what kind of trainingthey should have to meet their needs, you know.”Advising. What does it mean here?• recommending?• telling?Advising here means recommending.

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“Of course, we have our EMS- our educational management system- butwe have to digest the figures, present them to our bosses and so on…”Digest. Does it mean• collect?• understand?Digest means understand. We have to analyse and understand the figures.

Vocabulary Development – Abbreviations

Kevin O’Connor talks about the EMS he uses. EMS stands for EducationalManagement System.

What do the following business abbreviations stand for?

Inc.Incorporated

B2BBusiness to Business

CICorporate Identity

CEOChief Executive Officer

R&DResearch and Development

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12 CAREER COUNSELLOR AND MANAGEMENT COACH

Ulrike Otto

Ulrike Otto, a Canadian, is currently a career counsellor and a manage-ment coach in the Munich area. She advises people in a variety of difficult situa-tions. Listen to her describe her profession and what her joys and tribulationsare.

INTERVIEW

Can you describe your job for me?

OK. Well, I’m, I have two titles: one is a career counsellor and the other is man-agement coaching. And my specialty is management coaching, which is aboutworking with managers in a job context and most of the focus, or actually reallyall of it, is on communication, really. And when we’re talking about manage-ment coaching, there are various situations. Either I’m working with people whoare technically very strong at what they’re doing so they have a lot of technicalbackground, but often have trouble getting along with people, motivatingpeople, creating trust. That kind of thing. Or in a management coaching* situa-tion I can also be helping, grooming* somebody for the next level. So it’s, it’s notabout teaching skills. It’s about refining skills. And it’s also about creating moreself-awareness in terms of who am I as a manager and how would I like to man-age and what are the goals of my unit or my company. I also work with alllevels. I work with all levels of management, so from junior to middle, to senior,to owners of an organisation.

And you have private as well as corporate* clients, right?

Yes both. Corporate and private. So that’s the management coaching side. Andthen I also do career counselling* which again is broken in two areas or, well,actually a few more. Career counselling is more focused on what do I want toachieve in my working life, what skills do I want to develop and also how can Ido that. So sometimes I have individuals that come to me who are unhappy intheir job or who actually say: Well, I have everything, but it’s still not enough. OrI have people who have lost their job and who have to make a transition* andthen I support them in that.

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What would you recommend somebody who’s trying to find their path?

Well, I do think that the focus on you know, what are things that I do that comeeasy to me. I would say ease* before fun, because things that come easy to me,again, are probably skills that are an extension of who I am. And often the prob-lem is that we don’t value* often that what we do well, because of some otherbackground messages that we’ve received. You know, you should be, you shouldbe a doctor, you know, not a writer and that kind of stuff. You know so that’s,so again, my thing would be to reflect* on what are things that I do that comeeasy to me and then to obviously look deeper and say OK, what skills exactly arebeing expressed there and then of course the next thing is to focus on what,what interests me. I mean the nice thing about the whole work paradigm*today is that, you know, there is a trade-off*. In the past we made an agree-ment with a company. We said, look I will give you my all and will have a con-tract for life and you take care of me until the bitter end. But organisations can-not give that kind of security anymore because they don’t know whether they’regonna be here in five, ten, fifteen years. So that means that people have to takemore self-responsibility* for their career and they have to make sure that theystay marketable*. And the nice thing about that though is that it also meansthat change in terms of your career will be easier.

What does it mean to make yourself, to keep yourself marketable? How wouldyou, how would you recommend someone to stay marketable?

Well, I think, you know it’s got two things. I mean. Now what I’m gonna saysounds like you should focus on the outside in terms of, you know, what, whatis needed out in the business world, or you know, what kind of skills, but ofcourse at the same time you must also stay very much in touch with who youare. I would never tell somebody; you know I had a client once who came to meand said ‘well I really should learn how to give presentations’. And then I saidOK, well, what is it that you hope to experience by learning how to do that?And he said: ‘Well I should just know how.’ And then I, you know, we exploredthat. And that was a ‘should’ that went so against the grain* of who he is as aperson that, that I would not recommend to do that. So, you know, at the sametime when I say: Be aware of what skills are needed, you must always checkback and say ‘Well OK, how does that fit with who I am?’ So it’s about being…,skills-awareness is what I’m saying when I say marketable. In the past we used tosay ‘OK, well, what industries?’ Yes, I think that reflecting on what industries aredeveloping is certainly one aspect but should not be the only one. It should beskills-focused. So also when you’re looking for a job you should, people shouldlook closer at what skills will they be using, what skills will they be developing.

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DOWN TO BUSINESS


Listen to some of the expressions Uli used and answer the questions:

“Well, I’m, I have two titles. One is a career counsellor and the other ismanagement coaching. And my specialty is management coaching…”What does counsellor mean?A counsellor is:• someone who is trained to listen to people and gives them advice?• a judge? A counsellor is trained to listen to people and give them advice about theirproblems.It is not a judge; however, the term may also be used in the context of law.Here, counsellor is another word for lawyer.

What is another word for counsel?• advice• regulation• warning

Another word for counsel is advice. He seeks advice or counsel from his senior colleagues.

When Uli speaks about counselling she makes a distinction betweenteaching and refining skills:“So it’s, it’s not about teaching skills. It’s about refining skills.”What does refining skills mean?Refining skills is about:• developing and improving skills that you already have?• getting used to new skills?• giving up a habit?Refining a skill means developing and improving a skill that you already have.

“And then I also do career counselling, which again is broken in twoareas or, well, actually a few more. Career counselling is more focused onwhat do I want to …”How does Uli’s sentence go on? • achieve in my working life.• do after my working life.• do in order to create trust.

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Career counselling is focused on what do I want to achieve in my workinglife.

“So sometimes I have individuals that come to me who are unhappy intheir job or who actually say: ‘Well, I have everything but I… it’s still notenough’. Or I have people who have lost their job and who have to…make a transition and then I support them in that.”Uli supports people who have to make a transition. What does transition mean:• to break a law or moral rule?• a process of change from one form or type to another?• to enter someone’s land or enter their building without permission?Transition means to be in a process of change.

“Well, I do think that the focus on, you know, what are things that I dothat come easy to me. I would say ease* before fun, because things thatcome easy to me, again, are probably skills that are an extension of whoI am.”What does ease mean in ease before fun?• to make something move slowly or carefully into a particular position?• when you experience no effort, difficulty or pain with a task?• to try to make someone leave a job or powerful position?• standing with your feet apart and your hands behind your back while you smile?Ease is used as a noun here and means experiencing no effort, difficulty orpain with a task. She managed the project with ease.

“I mean the nice thing about the whole work paradigm* today is that,you know, there is a trade-off*.”What does trade-off mean in this context: • something that is not worth what you pay for it?• a situation in which you accept something bad in order to have somethinggood?

The trade-off refers to the bargain you make with your company, itrefers to the give and take between the employee and the customer.For some employees, lack of free-time is an acceptable trade-off for a highsalary.


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Text comprehension

Listen to some of the statements Uli made and answer the questions:

“And my specialty is management coaching which is about working withmanagers in a job context and most of the focus or actually really all ofit is on communication, really. And when we’re talking about manage-ment coaching, there are various situations.”What is management coaching basically about?Is it about: • focus?• communication?• the job context?Management coaching is basically about communication.

“Either I’m working with people who are technically very strong at whatthey’re doing so they have a lot of technical background and… but oftenhave trouble getting along with people, motivating people, creatingtrust. That kind of thing. ”What are some of the main difficulties for managers who seek counsel? • their lack of technical background?• getting along with people?• motivation?• creativity? They often have trouble getting along with people, motivating people, orcreating trust.

GRAMMAR

Listen to Uli: “Either I’m working with people who are technically very strong at whatthey’re doing so they have a lot of technical background and… but oftenhave trouble getting along with people, motivating people, creatingtrust. That kind of thing. Or in a management coaching situation I canalso be helping, grooming somebody for the next level.”

Either ... or expresses the different possibilities one can choose from.For example:I can work for either a British company or an American one.

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Now you use either / or to make sentences:

We can meet / Tuesday / Thursday:We can meet either on Tuesday or Thursday.

We can visit / the workshops / the offices:We can visit either the workshops or the offices.

You can reach the assistant / the office / home:You can reach the assistant either at the office or at home.


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13 INTERCULTURAL EXPERIENCES

Greg Sibley

Greg Sibley has studied, travelled and worked as an English teacher all overthe world. He is currently working as an editor for Cambridge University Press.

Debby met up with him to find out what it’s like to live in very differentcountries and how to best prepare for moving abroad.

INTERVIEW

What’s the hardest of getting used to living in a new country? What’s the mostdifficult bit?

Ahh, I think integrating with local people because you don’t have their culturesand custom. So you can make kind of superficial* friends but really to makestrong relationships is very difficult.

When sort of.. what.. what country was that easiest in?

I think Australia it’s easier because so many people in Australia have gonethrough the same situation, because there are so many new, you know, recentimmigrants* in Australia.

And they come over and find their way. Yeah. And what was hardest? And whatwas the most difficult one to get into?

Asia without a doubt and I certainly didn’t really integrate much into the culturethere at all apart from shopping in the local market and also, strangely enough,we had a very good relationship with our landlord* and landlady* and we wentout a couple of times with them. We’re still in contact with them.

And workwise: how was that, because you worked in most of the countries,too? How was that for you?

That was okay, because you’re working in language schools, so you’re workinglargely with people from your own culture or from similar cultures. Of coursethere is locally employed staff* as well, but in some ways that is one way intogetting to know the local culture a little bit.

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OK, and how did the students differ? Sort of across countries? Can you say that?Is there anything …

Well, I can say that in Japan that students respect the teacher much moreand that the teacher still hold quite a bit of authority, so that.. so that wascertainly specific to Japan I think. What else can I say? Well, in Portugalthere is a kind of, sounds a little bit clichéd, there was kind of a bit of Latinmentality, kind of boisterous* and noisy, which was good, usually good.

OK. And going or living in these different countries, in terms of getting therepreparing all the legwork* and stuff…

Ideally, you should do preparation, but generally I don’t. So, no, generally Idon’t. Because usually maybe I did do a little bit for when I went to Japan, Ilived in Japan for four and a half years. But when I went to Malaysia or toAustralia or to Portugal, they were kind of last minute decisions, so therewasn’t time to really do much preparation.

So there’s a job ad, you apply for* it, you get the job, you sort out* the visa ordo the schools do that for you?

It depends who you work for. With the, I worked for the British Council inMalaysia and Portugal and they sorted out the work…

… the paperwork? Yeah. Did you ever get any language classes yourself?

Uh, yeah in Portugal I did, actually.

And how was that? Because as a language teacher yourself, learning a lan-guage, do you find that hard or annoying or…?

I found it absolutely fascinating, actually, to see how a teacher teaches languageand being on the other side of the desk, as it were. And the teacher I had wasvery, very dedicated, did, you know, a lot of work above the call and duty*, puta lot into classes but taught in a completely non-communicative way which wascompletely alien to me and to English language teaching in general. So I don’tthink her mode of teaching was perhaps the best way to learn the language buther effort* and dedication was astounding*. So she certainly had more effortand dedication than I did.

OK, OK, and did you learn Portuguese?

A little, some, some, a little bit, yeah.


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OK. And if you had to tell someone, say I was gonna go to Japan or Malaysia,how would you tell me to prepare?

I would say definitely read as much as possible about the country, about theculture, but maybe read about what you’re interested in. So if you’re interested in,you know, if you have a hobby such as music, you know, find out about Japanesemusic and try and get involved in, in music when you’re over there. Or if you’re,you know, if you’re involved in art or something like that, try and find out a littlebit about that and try and get involved in something like that.

And then it makes it easier to meet people?

Yeah. But it also gives you an interest as well. So you’re not just, you know, youfinish your work and wondering what to do like a lot of language teachers. Theyjust end up* down the bar.

But a lot of them actually teach people how to prepare for, let’s say, working inEngland. They don’t know how to cope with* the culture that they’re in?

I think that’s very true. Yeah. I think it’s very true. I mean I’ll give you an example… I mean learning how to live in the culture is so important. I was once teachinga Korean guy in London before I went out to Japan and he was in a bank andhe was quite high up in the bank and I was going out to give him these one-to-one intensive English courses and he’d lived in England for a couple of years,and so it seemed a bit strange he was suddenly having English courses. And Icame prepared with all this business English and on the first, … after the firstlesson I asked him, you know, what kind of business English he needed andwhat he wanted to do and after about twenty minutes he said: Well, to be hon-est what I want to know is things like how I, you know, how I go about buying astamp. And he had never been to a post office in two years. And after that we,we just had… he had a ten lessons I think it was, yeah. We just did little roleplays like that, just that and did no business English whatsoever.

So it’s the absolute basics ‘cause people know their field that they work in?

Absolutely. There’s nothing I could teach him about his, you know, about Englishin the field that he was working in, but outside of that his English was awful.

So really we should be rewriting all the business English books for everydaysituations.

I think, well, I think there’s a case for that. You shouldn’t maybe focus so much onbusiness English but on everyday situations or incorporate* those into the books.


DOWN TO BUSINESS


Listen to these sentences Greg used and answer the questions.

“You can make kind of superficial friends but really to make strong rela-tionships is very difficult.”Superficial. Does this mean:• shallow?• deep?It means shallow. Superficial friendships are not deep or close friendships.

“There was kind of a bit of Latin mentality, kind of boisterous and noisy.” Boisterous. Does this mean:• rude?• energetic?Boisterous means energetic.

“The teacher I had was very, very dedicated.”Dedicated. Does this mean: • annoyed?• committed?Dedicated means committed.

“You shouldn’t maybe focus so much on business English but on every-day situations or incorporate those into the course.”Incorporate. Does this mean:• include?• practise?Incorporate means include.For example: I tried to incorporate more role plays.

“The teacher did, you know, a lot of work above the call and duty.“Above her call and duty. Does this mean:• less than was expected?• more than was expected?Above her call and duty means that the teacher did more than was expect-ed.

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GRAMMAR - COMPARISONS

Greg makes a few comparisons. Complete the sentences with the correctcomparative form.

easy: It’s to make friends in Australia than in Japan.easier. It’s easier to make friends in Australia than in Japan.

bureaucratic: Malaysia is than some Europeancountries. more bureaucratic: Malaysia is more bureaucratic than some European coun-tries.

good: It wasn’t the way of learning a language.best: It wasn’t the best way of learning a language.

PRONUNCIATION

Greg mentions several countries and continents he’s lived and worked in.Practise saying the country and the language or nationality.

Malaysia - MalaysianJapan - JapaneseAustralia - AustralianPortugal - PortugueseAsia - AsianKorea - KoreanEurope - European

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14 COLLEGES AND BUSINESS

Kristina Arena

Kristina Arena is currently a professor of social work at a communitycollege in Ontario, Canada. She has spent the past year developing a programfor child and youth workers at her college. Prior to working at the college,Kristina was a senior administrator in a maximum security prison in Canada.

Angelique met up with her during her holiday in Germany. Listen to how Kristinacompares a college to a regular business.

INTERVIEW

So you could almost say a college is like a type of business?

Yeah, for sure it’s a type of business. You have to attract* your clients, which isthe students, you have to do that through your marketing, which is using allkinds of different methodologies* to do that. You have to satisfy the customer,again your students. Our students evaluate every one of our professors everysemester and we have a two-year probation* period for new professors. And thestudents play a very large part in determining whether or not a professor willhave a job and pass their probation and it’s based on whether or not thestudents are getting their learning needs met. It’s a business in the sense of, youknow, we have a huge budget to operate with, but you have to operate thebudget. You can’t be running a deficit*. So you have to know how to manage,you know, millions of dollars, some of which comes from the government, someof which is endowment* money and some of it which comes from the studenttuition*. And we have to, you know, market our programs in such a way that onthe one hand there’s a high teacher-student ratio* but you have to be cost effi-cient to be able to do that as well.

I always think that’s a shame when programs get cut just because they’re notself-sufficient.

What happens is you have programs like the ones that I’m involved in, whichbasically carry other programs that we deem* to still have value but that wemight not have the number of students to make it, you know, put it in a positivecash flow* position. So for example one of the programs we run is, we run aspecial social work training program for students dedicated to working with an

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older population, so-called, the social work gerontology* program. That programis not self-sufficient* in terms of financing. So our other social work programwhich has 700 students in it helps support a program that we feel still reallyimportant but is a real area of sub-specialty, that a lot of students aren’t yetready to go into at the point that they’re going to college. But we’re commit-ted* to keeping that program.

What are your hours like in the day?

Oh, you know. I have, we have up to eighteen hours of teaching, that’s sixclasses. Because I was so involved in terms of the development of a new pro-gram my teaching hours were capped at* twelve because we had an entire pro-gram to design in a year. And it’s not, you can’t measure it like a job. I mean I goto the college to teach my classes, I’m always available. I’m always learning, butI’m in the, you know, we have the fortunate position because of computer tech-nology I can do a lot of my preparation from my home office, which I do. Andso I don’t have any regular hours. Basically I have a job to do and when the jobis done I can put it aside for the next week.

Yeah, I’m sure, do you turn your computer off at six and say: ‘So it’s over?

Never. Never. I mean that depends on what I have due for the next day. Youknow, if I haven’t finished marking assignments and I’ve promised to give themback to the students, the reality is, I’m up for as long as it takes me to markthem. So, you know… it’s not, it’s very different. And for some people, theydon’t like working that way. They wanna be able to clock in* and clock out andknow their free time is their free time. I love the flexibility of not having to be inan office from nine to five. So for me it works really, really well.

That’s great.

DOWN TO BUSINESS


Listen to some the expressions Kristina used and answer the questions.

“So you have to know how to manage, you know, millions of dollars,some of which comes from the government, some of which is endow-ment* money and some of it which comes from the student tuition*.“Endowment money. Is this money:

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• from the government?• from donors*?• from the student tuition?Endowment money is from donors.Harvard University is one of the best-endowed universities in the world.

“And we have to, you know, market our programs in such a way that onthe one hand there’s a high teacher-student ratio* but you have to becost efficient to be able to do that as well.”What helps the marketing of the college program?• a high teacher-student ratio?• good cost-efficiency?A high teacher-student ratio helps to market the college program. Nevertheless, the courses need to be cost-efficient to be scheduled at all.

“… what happens is you have programs like the ones that I’m involvedin, which basically carry other programs that we deem* to still havevalue but that we might not have the number of students to make it…you know, put it in a positive cash flow* position.”What does deem mean:• to judge or consider something in a particular way?• something that is certain to fail?Deem means to judge or consider something in a particular way.Something that is certain to fail or to die is doomed.

“And for some people, they don’t like working that way. They wanna beable to clock in and clock out and know their free time is their free time.I love the flexibility of not having to be in an office from nine to five.”Which of the following terms have the same meaning: • clock in • clock out• clock off

Clock out and clock off have the same meaning.“Nine-to-fivers” clock in at nine o’clock and clock off at five o’clock when theystop work.

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Text comprehension

Listen to some of the statements Kristina made and answer the questions:

Why would you say a college is like a type of business? “For sure it’s a type of business. You have to attract* your clients whichis the students, you have to do that through your marketing, which isusing all different kinds of methodologies* to do that. You have to satis-fy the customer.”As in any other business you have to attract your clients and you have to satisfy the customer.

Where does the money a university has to manage come from? “So you have to know how to manage, you know, millions of dollars,some of which comes from the government, some of which is endow-ment* money and some of it which comes from the student tuition*.“Some of the money comes from the government, some is endowment money and some comes from the student tuition.

When does Kristina estimate a program financially self-sufficient? “…what happens is you have programs like the ones that I’m involvedin, which basically carry other programs that we deem to still have valuebut that we might not have the number of students to make it… youknow, put it in a positive cash flow* position. So for example one of theprograms we run is,…”The program is financially self-sufficient when the number of students puts it in a positive cash flow* position.

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BUSINESS ABBREVIATIONS

AGM annual general meeting JahreshauptversammlungA.O.B. any other business Sonstigesa.s.a.p. as soon as possible baldmöglichstCEO chief executive officer (US) Geschäftsführer/inCo. company UnternehmenCorp. corporation KapitalgesellschaftCPA certified public accountant US: Wirtschaftsprüfer/inCPI consumer price index Index der VerbraucherpreiseCTT capital transfer tax Erbschafts- und Schenkungssteuerc.v. curriculum vitae Lebenslaufdept department AbteilungE.E.C. European Economic Community Europäische WirtschaftsgemeinschaftE.F.T.A. European Free Trade Association Europäische Freihandelsvereinigunge.&o.e. errors and ommissions excepted Irrtum vorbehaltenF.I.F.O. first in first out Fifo-MethodeG.A.T.T. General Agreement on Allgemeines Zoll- und Handels-

Tariffs and Trade abkommenGDP gross domestic product BruttoinlandsproduktGNI gross national income BruttovolkseinkommenGNP gross national product BruttosozialproduktIMF International Monetary Fund Internationaler WährungsfondsInc. incorporated (US) AktiengesellschaftIOU I owe you SchuldscheinL.I.F.O. last in first out Lifo-MethodeLDC less developed country EntwicklungslandLtd. limited US: Personengesellschaft; GB: GmbHMD Managing Director (GB) Vorstandsvorsitzende/rNNI net national income NettovolkseinkommenNNP net national product NettosozialproduktNB note Mitteilung, Notiz, Vermerko.n.o. or near offer VerhandlungsbasisP & L profit and loss Gewinn- und Verlustrechnungp.d. per diem (day) pro Tagplc public limited company (GB) AGp.o.s. point of sale Verkaufspunkt, Kassep.t.o. please turn over bitte wendenPA personal assistant; public Chefsekretär/in; Buchsachver-

accountant (US) ständige/rR&D research and development Forschung und Entwicklung

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RPI Retail Price Index Index der EinzelhandelspreiseR.R.R. required rate of return angestrebte Mindestverzinsungtemp temporary worker/employee Leasingkraft, AushilfskraftTUC Trade Union Congress (GB) GewerkschaftsbundVAT value added tax MehrwertsteuerVP vice president (US) Vice-Präsidentw/o without ohnex excluding ausgenommen

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FORMS OF ORGANISATIONS

associate company Beteiligungsgesellschaftcooperative (society) Genossenschaftcorporation US: allgem. Unternehmen; Kapitalgesellschaft,

Körperschaft, Gesellschaft; z. B. KG, AGincorporated company US: amtlich eingetragene Kapitalgesellschaft (AG)joint-stock company GB: Kapitalgesellschaft (im Gegensatz zur

Personengesellschaft), z. B. AG, KGaA, GmbHUS: Gesellschaft mit unbeschränkter Haftung

joint venture Gelegenheitsgesellschaftlimited company (Ltd.) Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, z. B.:• private limited company GB: Gesellschaft, deren Anteile nicht öffentlich

gehandelt werden, entspricht etwa der GmbH• public limited company GB: Gesellschaft, deren Anteile öffentlich gehandelt

werden, entspricht der AGpartnership Personengesellschaft (im Gegensatz zur

Kapitalgesellschaft), z. B.:• general partnership US: etwa wie OHG• limited partnership etwa wie KG

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PEOPLE IN BUSINESS

Großbritannien

Hier heißen Abteilungsleiter/innen üblicherweise manager oder Head of ….Beispiele:

Finance managerMarketing managerHead of financeHead of sales

Manager mit Geschäftsführerstatus werden Director genannt, z. B.:

Marketing directorFinance director

Der/die Hauptgeschäftsführer/in heißt Managing Director.

USA

Hier wird unterschieden zwischen verschiedenen Geschäftsleitungsfunktionen.Beispiele:

Geschäftsführer/in: Chief Executive Officer (CEO).Finanzleiter/in: Chief Financial Officer (CFO).Rechtsabteilungsleiter/in: Chief Legal Officer (CLO).

Firmeninterne OrganisationDas Organigramm auf der folgenden Seite zeigt einige typischeFunktionsbereiche.Das Wort department wird im beruflichen Alltag übrigens häufig nicht ausge-sprochen. Deshalb steht es in eckigen Klammern.


Controlling

Finan

cial con

trol

Man

agem

ent acco

un

ts

BuchhaltungA

ccou

nts

Bo

okkeep

ing

Marktforschung

Market research

Sonderveranstaltungen/VerkaufsförderungSp

ecial pro

mo

tion

s

Werbung

Ad

vertising

Außendienst

Sales reps

(represen

tatives)

Kundenbetreuung

Cu

stom

er service

BestellungenO

rder p

rocessin

g

Kundendienst

After-sales service

Personal-beschaffungR

ecruitm

ent

Aus- und

Weiterbildung

Person

nel d

eve-lo

pm

ent/Train

ing

Gehalts- und

PensionsabrechnungPayro

ll and

pen

sion

s

EinkaufPu

rchasin

gM

ontageA

ssemb

ly

LagerhalleW

areho

use

Forschung und Entwicklung

R&

D (research

and

d

evelop

men

t

VersandD

espatch

MaterialbeschaffungO

ffice sup

plies

TelefonzentraleSw

itchb

oard

Kantine

Can

teen

FuhrparkTran

spo

rt fleet

SanitätsstelleFirst aid

roo

m

Geschäftsleitung

Man

agem

ent

Öffentlichkeitsarbeit

PR (p

ub

lic relation

s)

EDV

/Informationstechnik

IT (info

rmatio

n tech

no

log

y) [d

epartm

ent]

RechtsabteilungLeg

al dep

artmen

t

Rechnungswesen

Finan

ce dep

artmen

t

Marketingabteilung

Marketin

g d

epartm

ent

VertriebSales [d

epartm

ent]

PersonalabteilungPerso

nn

el dep

artmen

t, Hu

man

resou

rces [dep

artmen

t]

Produktion, Herstellung

Prod

uctio

n

Verwaltung/A

llgemeine D

iensteA

dm

in./A

dm

inistratio

n [d

epartm

ent]

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ALPHABETICAL WORD LIST

Die folgenden Übersetzungen beziehen sich nur auf die Texte von PONS mobilBusiness English. Die Wörter haben z.T. noch andere Bedeutungen, die Sie z.B.im PONS Wörterbuch für die berufliche Praxis Englisch finden können. Die Zahlin Klammern hinter der deutschen Übersetzung gibt die Nummer des Interviewsan, in dem das Wort / die Wendung auftaucht.

sth = something US = amerikanischsb = somebody UK = britisch

A

account executive Werbemanager/in, Kundenbetreuer/in (8)accountant Buchhalter/in, Wirtschaftsprüfer/in,

Steuerberater/in (3)accuracy Genauigkeit (9)acquisition Erwerb hier: ~ einer anderen Firma (5)across state lines von einem US-Bundesstaat zum anderen (2)act as an agent for sb für jdn als Vertreter handeln (1)actual eigentlich (1)actually eigentlich, genau genommen (7)ad hier: Werbe- (Kurzwort für advertising) (8)addendum Zusatz (5)adjustment Umstellung, Anpassung (9)advertising agency Werbeagentur (8)aggregate (an)sammeln, anhäufen (9)affluent wohlhabend (2)ahead of time im Voraus (8)apply for sich bewerben (13)as opposed to hier: anstatt (2)asbestos Asbest (5)assess business Geschäftsmöglichkeiten einschätzen (2)opportunities

assets Aktiva, Vermögenswerte (5)associate director Co-Direktor/in (4)astounding erstaunlich (13)at a loss nicht wissen (7)at sb‘s disposal zur Verfügung (1)at the end of the day hier: letztendlich (2)attack sth hier: eine Sache angehen (8)

79


attain a goal ein Ziel erreichen (4)attract auf sich aufmerksam machen, anziehen (14)augment ergänzen, vergrößern (3)

B

Bachelor of Arts (BA) Hochschulabschluss in Geisteswissenschaften (10)the bank hier: Anfangsbestand in der Kasse (3)benchmark Maßstab, Richtgröße (9)be commited hier: entschlossen sein (14)be faced with sth mit etw konfrontiert sein (4)be headquartered in mit Hauptsitz in (2)be involved with sich beschäftigen mit (2)be predicated on sth auf etw gründen (2)be short of sth Mangel an etw haben (2)be soft-spoken mit leiser Stimme sprechen (3)bend over backwards alles Mögliche tun (8)beverage Getränk (6)bill (US) Banknote (3)boisterous wild, laut, turbulent (13)bookkeeper Buchhalter/in (3)bottom line hier: unterm Strich (7)branches Zweigstellen (2)break up aufgliedern (8)budgeting Etatplanung (11)business sense Geschäftssinn (2)

C

call and duty Ruf der Pflicht (13)cancer Krebs (5)cap at kürzen (14)career counsellor Berufsberater (12)cash flow Cashflow, Kassenzufluss (14)cash flow system Bruttoertragsziffern (1)cash register Kasse (3)certificate of origin Ursprungszeugnis (6)be challenging eine Herausforderung sein (2)charge card Kreditkarte (US) (3)clarify klarstellen (4)

80


client Kunde/Kundin (5)clock in/out stechen (die Arbeitszeit registrieren) (14)come into one‘s own sich eine Identität verschaffen (7)command hier: Beherrschung (11)common sense gesunder Menschenverstand (2)common vision gemeinsame Vorstellung (4)competitive konkurrenzfähig, wettbewerbsfähig (5)complain sich beschweren (11)complementary ergänzend (4)conclude a transaction ein Geschäft abschließen (3)conduct work eine Arbeit ausführen (7)constraint Beschränkung (8)convey one‘s feelings seine Gefühle vermitteln (8)cope with zurechtkommen (13)copywriter Werbetexter/in (8)corny kitschig (7)corporate insurance Firmenversicherung (5)counselling Beratung, Betreuung (12)coverage (US) Versicherungsschutz/-deckung (5)crisis Krise (4)critically received gute Kritiken bekommen (8)crucial entscheidend (4)cruel boshaft (7)crush sb / sth underfoot hier: verdrängen (1)cultural areas Kulturbereiche (4)cultural boundaries kulturelle Grenzen (4)currency Währung (6)current laufend (2)currently im Moment (7)curriculum vitae Lebenslauf (2)

D

decrease sinken, fallen (11)deem annehmen, dass (14)deficit Defizit, Verlust (14)digest hier: verarbeiten, bearbeiten (11)dignified fein (2)distribute hier: vertreiben (6)donor Spender (14)drive Energie, Elan (9)

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drop fallen lassen (4)duty Zoll, Steuer (6)

E

earthquake Erdbeben (10)ease Leichtigkeit, Unbefangenheit (12)effort Mühe, Anstrengung (13) elbow-pushing aggressiv (1)emphatically mit Nachdruck (4)endowment Stiftung (14)end up enden, landen (13)entrepreneurial spirit Unternehmergeist (2)envision sich vorstellen (6)ergonomic leistungssteigernd, ergonomisch (4)escape hier: sich entziehen (4)establish a brand eine Marke bekannt machen (6)event hier: Veranstaltung (1)excise tax Verbrauchssteuer (6)execute a job eine Aufgabe ausführen (8)executive vice president stellvertretende/r Geschäftsführer/in (2)Expansion führende französische Wirtschaftszeitschrift (4)exploit new neue Möglichkeiten ausschöpfen (2)opportunities

exposure hier: Kontakt mit (5)

F

be faced with sth mit etw konfrontiert sein (4)faith Glauben, Vertrauen (1)federal and state laws Bundes- und Landesgesetze (6)feed sb information jdn informieren (3)figure Zahl (3)figure out herausfinden (10)fill a market gap eine Marktlücke füllen (1)fleet Fuhrpark, Wagenpark (9)foresighted vorausschauend (8)frankly offen / ehrlich gesagt (2)freelance selbstständig (9)freelance consultant selbstständiger Berater (9)

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G

genuine echt (6)genuinely care sich wirklich interessieren (8)gerontology Altersforschung (14)get rid of sb / sth jdn / etw loswerden (1)glamorised glorifiziert (7)glamorous glanzvoll (7)global business weltweiter Handel (2)go against the grain gegen den Strich gehen (14)go through hoops hier: sich durch die Bürokratie kämpfen (6)grain hier: Persönlichkeit, Natur (14)groom hier: einlernen (3)grow on sb jdm ans Herz wachsen (2)

H

have a comfort level hier: geschickt, bequem sein (2)have a liability on sth die Haftung für etw übernehmen (5)have a mind for sth zu etw veranlagt sein (6)have the plug on hier: Budget einhalten (1)be headquartered in mit Hauptsitz in (2)healthy budget gesundes / ausreichendes Budget (8)hoop Reifen (6)home office Heimarbeitsplatz (9)humanities Geisteswissenschaften (10)

I, J

immigrant Einwanderer (13)impact Auswirkung (4)impeccable perfekt, tadellos (2)in the best possible light so positiv wie möglich (7)incorporate einfügen, einbeziehen (13)increase ansteigen (11)incredibly unglaublich (7)ingenious genial (7)inherit erben (2)initial purpose ursprüngliches Ziel (6)insurance broker Versicherungsmakler/in (5)

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insurance policy Versicherungspolice (5)invoice Rechnung (9)be involved with sich beschäftigen mit (2)

K, L

keep track of etw im Auge behalten (3)key value wichtigster Wert (4)label Etikett (6)landlady, landlord Vermieter/in (13)lawyer Anwalt/Anwältin (5)leasing company Leasing-Unternehmen, Leasing-Gesellschaft (9)legwork Kleinarbeit, Erledigungen (13)liability claim Anspruch auf Schadensersatz (5)liability-conscious haftungsorientiert (5)liaison person Verbindungsperson (8)liberal arts freie Künste (10)listing Auflistung (4)litigious society prozesssüchtige Gesellschaft (5)lo and behold siehe da (9)longevity Langlebigkeit (8)

M

maintenance invoices Wartungsrechnungen (9)management trainee Management-Nachwuchskraft (2)market positioning Aussage zur Stellung auf dem Markt (4)statement

marketable absatz-, marktfähig (1)methodology hier: Methoden (14)middlemen Vermittler (5)minor company kleinere Firma (4)

N

national interest bundesweites Interesse (2)the nature of the show die Art der Aufführung (8)necessity Notwendigkeit (7)negotiate verhandeln (5)

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notion Idee (4)number crunching Zahlenverarbeitung (11)

O

objective Ziel (4)octopus Tintenfisch (3)on a commission basis auf Provisionsbasis (1)on the job durch praktische Erfahrung (3)on the level of hinsichtlich (8)on the whole im Großen und Ganzen (7)operation Geschäftstätigkeit (2)operation hier: das Betreiben (9)outgoings Ausgaben (1)over-ring Eintippen einer zu hohen Summe in die Kasse (3)

P, Q

pace Geschwindigkeit (3)pants (US) Hose (6)paradigm Paradigma, Muster (12)pass up an opportunity eine Chance verpassen (6)payroll Gehaltsliste (3)peddle an der Haustür verkaufen (6)performance hier: Vorstellung (1)pertain to sth etw betreffen (6)physically wirklich, real (9)pick up hier: sehen (7)pinpoint genau feststellen (4)pitch for sth hier: auf der Jagd nach (7)pliability Biegsamkeit, Geschmeidigkeit (10)plug away at sth sich mit etw abmühen (3)plush nobel (3)pool Team (11)poster Werbeplakat (8)potential customer potienzielle/r Kunde/Kundin (5)potential income geschätzte Einkünfte (1)be predicated on sth auf etwas gründen (2)press agent Pressereferent/in (8)pricing Kalkulation (10)

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privately-held insurance privates Versicherungsmaklergeschäft (5)brokerage

probation period Probezeit (14)proceed vorgehen (8)producer Produzent/in (8)product line Produktpalette (6)project an image ein Image verbreiten (7)promote fördern (8)promoter Veranstalter (1)promoting body Veranstalter (1)promotional budget Werbeetat (8)property hier: Gebäude (5)proposal Angebot (7)provide zur Verfügung stellen (9)public relations PR, Öffentlichkeitsarbeit (7)pull sb down a peg jdm einen Dämpfer geben (1)or two

pull the plug den Geldhahn zudrehen (1)quantity surveyor Bau-/ Sachverständiger (10)

R

rather hier: irgendwie (1)ratio Verhältnis (14)readily gerne (1)real-estate agent Immobilienmakler/in (1)recognize (US), -ise (UK) wiedererkennen (4)recommend empfehlen, raten (11)reconcile the cash die Kasse abrechnen (3)record a transaction einen Geschäftsvorgang erfassen (3)reflect überlegen, nachdenken (12), widerspiegeln (11)refugee Flüchtling (8)regulation Bestimmung (6)relic Überbleibsel (6)reluctantly ungern (1)replace ersetzen (3)represent sb / sth jdn / etw vertreten (1)research Forschung (1)resources Geld, Kapital (1)right away sofort (5)run leiten, führen, managen (1)

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run a study eine Untersuchung durchführen (4)run one’s own business selbstständig sein (1)

S

self-responsibility Eigenverantwortung (12)self-sufficient selbstversorgend, unabhängig (14)set up a business eine Firma gründen (1)settle on hier: sich einigen auf (4)several einige (2)be short of sth Mangel an etw haben (2)site supervision (Bau-)Aufsicht (10)sign hier: Reklameschild (8)sit back on one‘s laurels sich auf seinen Lorbeeren ausruhen (7)slip ausrutschen (5)so on and so forth und so weiter und so fort (3)soft skills Sozialkompetenz (11)soft-spoken mit leiser Stimme (3)sort out regeln, klären (13)spectacular auffallend, spektakulär (8)be spread verteilt sein (2)staff Mitarbeiter (Plural) (13)staffing Personalpolitik, Stellenbesetzung (9)standard accounting Standardbuchführung (3)a steady stream of ein ständiger Fluss (7)stiff competition starke Konkurrenz (3)streamline rationalisieren (10)student tuition Studengebühren (14)subsidiary Tochtergesellschaft (4)suburb Vorort (5)subway (US) U-Bahn (8)sue verklagen (5)superficial oberflächlich (13)supplier Lieferant (1)

T

take easy-way-outs sich etwas einfach machen (8)tanginess hier: Einschlag (6)telephone-conferencing Telefonkonferenz (9)

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tele-sale Telefonverkauf (7)they couldn‘t have es war ihnen völlig egal (4)cared less

thought horizon geistiger Horizont (2)tip Trinkgeld (3)to carry overheads Fix-, Gemeinkosten decken (US: overhead) (1)to replenish auffüllen (3)trade-off Abmachung (12)trait Charakterzug, Neigung (1)transition Übergang, Wechsel (12)tremendous enorm (5)tribulation Leiden (10)turnover hier: Wechsel (8)two-fold basis auf zwei Grundlagen (5)tyre change (UK), Reifenwechsel (9)tire (US)

tyre storage Reifenlager (9)

U

ultimately letztendlich (7)unanticipated unerwartet (7)under-ring Eintippen einer zu niedrigen Summe in die Kasse (3)

V, W

value schätzen (12)verify überprüfen (4)visibly offensichtlich (1)visualize (US), -ise (UK) sich vorstellen (4)web-conferencing Internetkonferenz(schaltung) (9)well, gee Mensch! (6)wholesale im Großhandel verkaufen (6)wholesale company Großhandelsfirma (6)win an account einen Kunden gewinnen (7)work in a structure in einer Firmenstruktur arbeiten (1)working drawing Entwurfszeichnung (10)write up specifications Spezifikationen aufstellen (5)

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