情境国际商务英语.docx

情境国际商务英语.docx

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情境国际商务英语

1.Happinessatwork

1.1

1

I’malawyer.Iworkinpropertylaw-Idoallthelegalworkconnectedwithbuyingandsellingbuildingsandland.Myjobisalwaysinteresting.Iespeciallylikemeetingdifferentclients–everydayisdifferent,infact.Iwork60hoursaweekandsometimesIgetverystressed,butmostofthetimeIfeelverypositiveaboutmyjob.

2

I'mafitnessinstructor.IrunfitnessclassesatgymsandleisureclubsbutIhavesomeprivateclientstoo.Iplanexerciseprogrammesforthemandgototheirhomestohelpthemgetfit.IlikethisjobalotbecauseIcanorganizemyowntime.Andit'sveryrewardingtoseepeoplegetfitandhealthy.It’smoresatisfyingthanmyoldjob-Iusedtoworkinanoffice.Ihatedthat.

3

I'manaccountant.Ispecializeinbankruptcy-soIspendallmytimedealingwithcompaniesthathavegoneoutofbusiness.Myjobisprettyvaried.Iliketheflexibility-inmycompany,youcanstartworkwhenyouwantandleavewhenyouwant,aslongasyou'rethereduringthecorehours,fromtentothreeeveryday.That'sarealbonusforaworkingmother.It'smuchmoreflexiblethansomeofthelargeraccountancyfirms.Andit'swell-paidsoI'mverylucky,really.

4

I'macivilservant.Iworkinregionalgovernment.I'minadepartmentwithtenotherpeople.Ourjobistoattractinvestmentintothearea.Inthepastfiveyears,we'vepersuadedmorethan20overseascompaniestosetupoperationshere.ILovetheteamwork-I'matmybestworkinginateam.ThisisthemoststimulatingjobI'veeverhad,andI'mhappierinmyworkthanmostpeopleIknow.And,ofcourse,asacivilservant,myjobisverysecure.

1.2

1Myname'sFrancoise.I'm38andIliveinParis.Ihavethreechildrenundertheageoften.WhenI'mnotatwork,Ispendallmytimewiththem

2Letmesayafewwordsaboutmyself.Myname'sHarvey.I'mfromWisconsin.IwasborninMilwaukee,onLakeMichigan.NowIworkontheEastCoast,butILovegoingbacktomyhometownwheneverIcan.

3Myname'sLyn.IworkinsalesandIlovemyjob!

IworkforDigicom-it'sabigITdistributor.It'sagreatcompanytoworkfor.

4Hi,myname'sMichaelbuteverybodycallsmeMick.Mypassionisbridges.Ialwaysspendmyholidaysvisitingthem.LastyearwewenttothesouthofFrancetoseethenewbridgeatMillau.It'sabsolutelyfantastic.

5Hello,myname'sLucy.IwasbroughtupinthenorthofEngland.MyfamilymovedsouthwhenIwasateenagerandI'velivednearLondoneversince.

6Myname'sLudwig.I'minretail.Iworkforalargechainoffurniturestores.We'rebasedinFrankfurtbutItravelallovertheworldformyjob.

1.3

1I’mnotsogoodatstructuringmyday.ItaketimetosortthingsoutandsometimesIfinditdifficulttodecideonmypriorities.

2PeopletellmethatI'magoodlistener.Someofmycolleaguestalktomewhentheyhaveproblems.I'mhappytohelpifIcan.

3IgetonwellwithmycolleaguesandIreallyenjoyworking,withmyteam.Wegoouttogetheralot-foramealoradrinkafterwork.

2.Motivation

2.1

1I’macallcentremanagerinthefinancialservicesindustry.Ibelieveit'simportant,toletpeopleworkwithoutconstantsupervision-youhavetoletthemusetheirinitiative;otherwise,theyfeelthey'rebeingtreatedlikechildren.Ofcourse,thereareprocedurestofollowbutweliketogiveemployeesasmuchflexibilityaspossiblewithinthoseprocedures.

2I'masectionmanagerinaninsurancecompany.Wedothepaperworkrelatingtoinsuranceclaims.Theemployeesmustbehereby8a.m.andtheycan'tleavebefore5p.m.Iwanttoseewhatthey'redoingthewholetime.ThatwayIcanbesurethey'redoingtheworkwe'repayingthemtodo.

3I’maseniormangerinanoilcompany.Iencourageyoungermanagersinmydepartmenttousetheirinitiative.Theyrespondtothiswell-itmotivatesthemandyou'canseetheirworkimproving.It'salsoagoodwaytoidentifypotentialfuturemanagersamongthem-theoneswhoaregoingtoreachthetopoftheorganizationinthefuture.

4Iworkintheretailindustryforalargechainofdepartmentstores.I'minchargeof20salesassistants.Allthey'reinterestedinisgettingtotheweekend,anddoingaslittleaspossible.Ihavetokeepaneyeonthemthewholetime.Wedon’tallowanysortofinitiative-itjustleadstoproblemswhenpeoplestartignoringtheestablishedprocedures.

2.2

1I'veworkedintheoilindustrysinceIgraduated.Ilikethewaytheydothingsinthiscompany.We'reencouragedtouseourinitiative-tothinkforourselvesandsolveproblems.Wegetourownprojectstolookafter-IthinktheyrealizethatpeoplewithMBAsneedthatkindofindependence.Andwe'rejudgedonresults,notbytheamountoftimewespendonthejob.

2Themanager'sbreathingdownmyneckallthetime!

Hewalksaroundthedifferentdepartments,checkingtheonthesalespeople-youneverknowwhenheisgoingtoappear.Theonlythinghe’sinterestedinisreachinghissaletarget.Wecan’tdoanythingwithoutaskinghimfirst.

3Inthisorganization,likeinallinsurancecompanies,youjustfollowestablishedprocedure.Decisionsareimposedfromabove-there'snoconsultation.Anddon'teverdreamaboutworkingfromhome,notevenonedayaweek!

Thatwouldneverbeallowed-theywanttoseewhatyou'redoingthewholetime.

4I'veworkedinotherplaceswheretheymeasureyourworkveryprecisely-theydon'twantyoutospendmorethanthreeminutesoneachcall.Butherethere'smoreflexibility,andyoucanspendasmuchtimeasyouwantwitheachcustomer,withinreason,ofcourse.AsateamLeader,Igetalotofresponsibility,whichIlikeandIgetalotofsatisfactionfrommywork.Ithinkthatmotivatespeople.Andvaluedemployeesmakeforvaluedcustomers!

2.3

Michael:

Wouldyoulikecoffeeortea?

Susanne:

Coffee,please.

Michael:

It'soverhere.Justhelpyourself.Wheredoyoucomefrom,Susanne?

Susanne:

IwasborninGermany,inFreiburg,inthesouthofGermany.

Michael:

Really?

IthoughtyouwereAmerican.

Susanne:

Well,IwasbroughtupintheStates.Myfatherworkedthere.

Michael:

Oh,thatexplainstheaccent!

Wheredidyoulive?

Susanne:

Wemovedaround,butmostlywelivedontheEastCoast.

Michael:

Didyougotouniversitythere?

Susanne:

No,IstudiedinLondon.AndI'vebeeninEnglandsinceIgraduated.

Michael:

Doyoumissyourfamily?

Susanne:

Well,mysisterisinEngland,too,andmyparentscomeovertovisitsometimes.

Michael:

DoyougetbacktotheStatesmuch?

Susanne:

Onceortwiceayear.Inmyfirstjobaftergraduation,IusedtotravelalotsoIsawmyparentsmoreoften.

Michael:

Whatwereyoudoing?

Susanne:

IwasatraineebuyerforafashionhouseinLondon.

Michael:

Thatsoundsfun!

Susanne:

Itwas,butafteracoupleofyears,Idecidedthefashionbusinesswasn’tforme.

Michael:

Whywasthat?

Susanne:

Oh,Idon'tknow.Thefashionbusinessisvery…

Michael:

Iguessit'sverycompetitive?

Lotsofbeautifulpeople?

Susanne:

That'sright.It'sallaboutimage,asyouwouldexpect.

Michael:

Sohowexactlydidyouendupinthislineofbusiness?

Susanne:

Well,that'salongstory...

2.4

Forus,thefamilyisthemostimportantelementinourlives.Iusedtoworkforalocalinvestmentbankingcompany,AsianFinance.ItwasaSingaporeancompany,runbyalocalfamily-thefatherandtwosons.AtAsianFinance,familytieswereveryimportant.Manyofthepeoplewhoworkedtherewererelatedtoeachother.NowIworkforFinvest,aninternationalfinancecompany.TheheadofficeisinFranceandsomeofthemanagersarefromthere,buttherearealsosomeAmericans,oneortwootherEuropeans,andsomefromotherpartsofAsiaaswell.Sofamilydoesn'tcountformuchhere.TheAmericanstellmethatthecompanyisveryFrench,butIcan'treallytell.IhavesomefriendswhoworkforAmericanmultinationalsandtheyareverydifferent,that'strue.Finvestisquiteatraditionalcompany,maybethat'saEuropeanthing,Idon'tknow.Itcertainlyhasitsown,culture-peopledressveryformallyandthere'salotofhandshaking!

2.5

AsIwassaying,everybodydressesveryformally-that'strueforthemenandthewomen.AndInoticethattheFrenchmanagerstendtoshakehandsoreven,kisswhentheymeeteachother.It'sawellestablishedbusiness-it'sbeengoingforgenerations.Therearepicturesonthewallsofsomeofthefoundersandkeypeopleovertheyears.Inoticetheformalityinlettersandreports-theexpressionstheyusearemuchmoreformalthanI'musedtoandgenerallywhenyouwrite,evenemails,youneedtobecarefulwhatyousay.

3Incentives

3.1

A:

...SowhatexactlyaretheincentivesifIexceedmyperformancetarget?

B:

Ifyoureach110percentofyourtargetfortheyear,you'llgetaperformancebonusof€1000.Butyouwon'tgetabonusunlessyoureachthetarget.

A:

WhatwillthebenefitspackagecontainifIjointhecompany?

B:

Welllet'ssee...healthinsurance,gymmembership...Wehaveanexcellentnewgymon-sitewithalltheLatestequipment...

A:

Isee.Couldyoutellmemoreaboutthehealthinsurance?

B:

Thecompanywillpayallhospitalbills,unlessyoudosomethingthat'snotcoveredbythepolicy,suchasparticipatingindangeroussports.

A:

WhathappensifI'mill?

B:

Ifyou'reill,you'llbeabletotakesickLeave.Butunlessyouphoneyourmanager,youwon'tbeabletotakemorethanthreedaysoff.

A:

Howmuchdoesthecompanycontributetothecompanypensionscheme?

B:

Thecompanypays80percentofthecontributions,andtheemployeeisresponsiblefor20percent.Ourfinancialadvisorwilladviseyouifyouneedhelpwithfinancialpla