Business Spotlight Win at work! How to be a better negotiator (Vorschau)

BusinessSpotlight
BusinessSpotlight
Englisch für den Beruf
September–Oktober l Ausgabe 5/2013
Easy English
Key tips for
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Win at work!
How to be a better negotiator
Careers
Study abroad
and get ahead
Head-to-Head
English as the
EU language?
Management
The importance
of car design
Emotions
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■ EDITORIAL
Successful design
Design plays an important
role in many areas of business. It is
also a key topic in this issue of
Business Spotlight. In our Tech -
nology feature (p. 78), we look at
how spider silk is now being used
to design medical technologies. On
Ian McMaster, editor-in-chief
a different note, our Head-to-
Head section (p. 14) asks how the EU should design its
language policy. Specifically: should English be the EU’s official
language? Two experts debate the topic. And in our Business
Skills article (p. 30), Bob Dignen looks at the psychological
factors that you need to consider to design an effective negotiating
strategy.
Design also plays a vital role in the car industry.
However, as Vicki Sussens reports in our Management feature
(p. 72), many experts believe that manufacturers have lost their
way and are “simply producing too many cars that are ugly,
look largely the same — and are not what people want”. The
key to success, as in other sectors, is to make sure that you have
a clear and distinctive brand. Carmakers that fail to do so have
only themselves to blame for their troubles.
Sprachen lernen –
Menschen treffen
Sprachkurse in allen Weltsprachen
beruflich und privat
Gruppen- und Einzeltraining
und Inhouse-Training
The beauty
of design:
Porsche’s
356B Coupé
If you were designing the perfect career, it would
almost certainly include a period of time spent studying abroad.
In the first part of our two-part Careers series (p. 64), we look at
the many possiblities that are open to today’s students.
Porsche AG
KERN AG
IKL Business Language Training & Co. KG
Leipziger Straße 51, 60487 Frankfurt / Main
kern.frankfurt@kerntraining.com
☎ (0 69) 7 56 07 39-0
www.kerntraining.com
Ian McMaster, editor-in-chief
Contact: i.mcmaster@spotlight-verlag.de
5/2013
Aachen · Augsburg · Berlin · Bielefeld · Bochum · Bonn
Braunschweig · Bremen · Darmstadt · Dortmund · Dresden
Duisburg · Düsseldorf · Essen · Frankfurt / Main · Freiburg
Friedrichshafen · Hamburg · Hannover · Heilbronn · Ingolstadt
Kaiserslautern · Karlsruhe · Kassel · Kiel · Köln · Leipzig
Mainz · Mannheim · Mönchen gladbach · München · Münster
Nürnberg · Offenbach · Saarbrücken · Schweinfurt · Stuttgart
Ulm · Weil a. Rh. · Wiesbaden · Wuppertal · Würzburg

■ CONTENTS 5/2013
16 Mark Carney
30 Making deals
WEF
iStockphoto
WORKING WORLD
6 Names and News
The latest from the world of business
all levels
LANGUAGE TEST
38 Information Technology
Vocabulary for the digital world
all levels
GLOBAL BUSINESS
10 Deforestation
How big business is destroying Sumatra’s forests
➤14 Head-to-Head
Should English be the EU’s official language?
16 Profile
Mark Carney, the new Bank of England head
21 Behind the Headlines
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
22 Money and Banking
How culture influences our financial values
27 Looking Back
Carol Scheunemann on guns in America
28 Travel Tips
Wine-tasting in California, unusual places to stay
English on the Move Between terminals
BUSINESS SKILLS
➤30 Psychology at Work
How to become a better negotiator
Survival Guide to cut out and keep
36 Toolbox
Staying polite
37 Say It in Style
Syllable stress in long words
advanced
advanced
advanced
advanced
medium
medium US
medium
easy
medium
medium
medium
medium
LANGUAGE SECTION
44 Vocabulary Physiotherapy
45 Grammar at Work Comparing options
➤46 Easy English Presenting a project update
48 Wise Words Deborah Capras on politics and lies
50 Short Story A murder of crows
52 Translation False friends and more
53 Language Cards Pull out and practise
➤55 SKILL UP! Emotional times
56 English for… Document management
58 Legal English Telephoning with clients
59 Economics and Finance Quantitative easing
60 Teacher Talk Interview with Stephanie Ashford
62 Products What’s new?
63 Key Words Vocabulary from this issue
CAREERS
➤64 Studying Abroad
Why this is such a valuable experience
68 Tips and Trends
Zero-hours contracts, managers with deep voices
70 Leisure Time
Art exhibitions, books, photography and DVDs
easy
medium
easy
medium
medium
medium
medium
medium
advanced
medium
medium
medium
medium
medium
Multimedia learning with Business Spotlight
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38 Test your IT English
72 Car design
Digital Vision
PR
MANAGEMENT
➤72 The Car Industry
Are too many ugly cars being produced?
76 What Happened Next
The theory of shareholder value
77 Executive Eye
Adrian Furnham on staff appraisals
TECHNOLOGY
78 Spider Silk
Medical uses for a miracle material
82 Trends
“Smart” clothing, flying electric bicycles
83 Language Focus
Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”
PEOPLE
86 My Working Life
Madina Baibolova, estate agent in Kazakhstan
REGULAR SECTIONS
3 Editorial
42 SprachenShop
71 Classified Ads
84 Feedback / Impressum
85 Preview
advanced
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easy
➤ Cover topics
55 Words for
feelings
GUIDE
LANGUAGE IN BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
Articles in the magazine use the style, spelling, punctuation and
pronunciation of British English unless otherwise marked.
US American style, spelling, punctuation and pronunciation
are used in these articles.
easy Approximately at CEF level A2
medium Approximately at CEF levels B1–B2
advanced Approximately at CEF levels C1–C2
All articles are marked with their level of language difficulty.
CEF stands for the Council of Europe’s “Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages”.
ifml.: informal word or phrase; vulg.: vulgar word or phrase;
sl.: slang word or phrase; non-stand.: non-standard word or phrase;
UK: chiefly UK usage; US: chiefly North American usage
Cover photograph: Goodshoot
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and listen to a murder story.
This symbol indicates that related texts and
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www.business-spotlight.de 5

■ WORKING WORLD NAMES AND NEWS
London success story:
top lawyer Camilla Baldwin
BRITAIN
Expensive tears
medium
hey all cry in here,” says divorce lawyer
“TCamilla Baldwin. The 47-year-old heads
her own exclusive practice in the posh London
district of Mayfair, with clients who include
politicians, hedge-fund managers and aristocrats.
Baldwin, who charges £450 an hour for her
services, set up her practice in 2005 at home,
so that she could both work and meet the needs
of her two small children. Now her firm employs
14 other people, all but one of them female.
“It’s not intentionally women-only,” she
told the Financial Times. “Men don’t really
want to do family law.”
Baldwin says she enjoys her work because
she feels she can help people. Her meeting
room is designed to look elegant but comfortable.
“It’s important it doesn’t look like a
boardroom,” she explains. “Men don’t want to
discuss the failure of their marriage in a boardroom.”
Despite her commitment to family law, Baldwin
says dealing with other people’s marital
problems can be stressful. “It’s like a conveyor
belt of upset people. Sometimes I get to the end
of the day and I’ve got battle fatigue.”
And then there are the tears. How does Baldwin
stop people from crying? “I tell them how
expensive I am.”
Listen to this text on Business Spotlight Audio
Kriegsmüdigkeit, Frontkoller
Sitzungszimmer des Vorstands
Engagement, Einsatz
Fließband
Scheidungsanwalt/-anwältin
als Fachanwalt/-anwältin für
Familienrecht praktizieren
Ehe-
nobel, vornehm
Praxis; hier: Kanzlei
kräftig, stramm
unglücklich; aufgebracht
battle fatigue [(bÄt&l fE)ti:g]
boardroom [(bO:dru:m]
commitment [kE(mItmEnt]
conveyor belt [kEn(veIE belt]
divorce lawyer [dI(vO:s )lO:jE]
family law: do ~ [)fÄmli (lO:]
marital [(mÄrIt&l]
posh [pQS]
practice [(prÄktIs]
strapping [(strÄpIN] ifml.
upset [)Vp(set]
The White House
“I’m not the strapping young
Muslim socialist I used to be”
US President Barack Obama, 52, making a joke at the 2013
White House Correspondents’ Dinner
6 www.business-spotlight.de

Overworked and underpaid?
American reporters
Digital Vision
Best and worst jobs in the U.S.
TOP FIVE
1. Actuary
2. Biomedical engineer
3. Software engineer
4. Audiologist
5. Financial planner
WORST FIVE
196. Oil-rig worker
197. Actor
198. Enlisted military personnel
199. Lumberjack
200. Newspaper reporter
Sources: CareerCast.com; Poynter.org
U.S.
And the loser is...
advanced US
What’s the worst job in the U.S. in 2013? Hint: it’s not
trash collector. The worst job in the U.S., according
to CareerCast.com, is newspaper reporter.
CareerCast, which has been collecting job-market statistics
for 25 years, lists 200 jobs in descending order,
from best to worst. Its data come from the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
and trade associations.
“There are reasons why newspaper reporter is at the
bottom,” says CareerCast’s publisher, Tony Lee. “Some of
them are reasons that really haven’t changed in 25 years
and some of them are new phenomena,” Lee told
Poynter.org. Among the old reasons are relatively low pay,
high stress, and unpredictable working hours. New phenomena
include increased work responsibilities — reporters
are often also required to produce blogs or videos
and to be active on social-networking sites — and general
uncertainty about the future of the print industry.
78% 50%
Percentage of Britons
who believe it is the
government’s job to help
poor children get ahead.
Percentage of Americans
who believe it is the
government’s job to help
poor children get ahead.
Sprachkurse
im Ausland
Sources: The Guardian; YouGov-Cambridge think tank (www.yougov.polis.cam.ac.uk)
actuary [(ÄktSueri*]
biomedical engineer
[)baIoU)medIk&l endZI(nI&r*]
descending [di(sendIN]
enlisted military personnel
[In)lIstId (mIlEteri p§:sE)nel*]
get ahead [)get E(hed]
lumberjack [(lVmb&rdZÄk*]
oil rig [(OI&l rIg]
publisher [(pVblIS&r*]
think tank [(TINk tÄNk]
trade association
[(treId EsoUsi)eIS&n*]
trash collector
[(trÄS kE)lekt&r*] US
unpredictable [)Vnpri(dIktEb&l]
5/2013
Aktuar(in), Versicherungsmathematiker(in)
Ingenieur(in) für Biomedizintechnik
absteigend
Militärangehörige; (einfache)
Soldaten/Soldatinnen
vorwärtskommen, Erfolg haben
Holzfäller(in)
Bohrinsel
Herausgeber(in)
Expertenkommission
Wirtschafts-, Fachverband
Müllmann/-frau
unvorhersehbar
* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation that differs from standard
UK pronunciation.
Karrierefaktor Fremdsprachen
Sprachreisen mit beruflichem
Mehrwert!
EF Education First bringt Sprachkurse im Ausland und
Networking am 11. Oktober in der eintägigen Konferenz
„Careers Beyond Borders“ in Chicago zusammen.
Sprachinteressierte aus aller Welt sind dazu eingeladen,
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beyondborders

■ WORKING WORLD NAMES AND NEWS
CANADA
On the rocks
easy
How do you like your whisky? Fans of Mad Men seem
to prefer Canadian — Canadian Club, that is. Canadian
Club is rye whisky. It’s the favourite drink of Don
Draper, the protagonist in the popular TV show about
the 1960s advertising industry.
Draper’s love of Canadian Club has increased sales
for the drink. So has another TV series, Boardwalk Empire,
set during the Prohibition years of the 1920s. “It
has made a huge impact on the brand,” says company
representative Tish Harcus. She told The Globe and
Mail that Canadian Club even provided a case of
1960s-style bottles to the production company. “When
you’re watching Mad Men, all the bottles you see are
straight from Walkerville, Ontario.” Such product
placement (see Business Spotlight 2/2006) is valuable,
amc
Mad about it:
Don Draper drinks
Canadian Club
according to Cheryl Hudson, brand manager for Canadian
Club. In recent years, the drink was seen as something
for old men. But thanks to the TV shows,
younger people and women are drinking more Canadian
Club. “[In] these historical periods — we were the
brand that was there,” Hudson says.
brand [brÄnd]
brand manager
[(brÄnd )mÄnIdZE]
case [keIs]
civil service examination
[)sIv&l (s§:vIs IgzÄmI)neIS&n]
coroner [(kQrEnE]
impact: make an ~ on sth.
[(ImpÄkt]
product placement
[)prQdVkt (pleIsmEnt]
pulse [pVls]
rye whisky [)raI (wIski]
sales [seI&lz]
set [set]
surgery [(s§:dZEri]
take (an examination)
[teIk]
that is [)DÄt (Iz]
Alamy
Marke
Produktmanager(in),
Markenbetreuer(in)
Kiste
Einstellungstest für
den Öffentlichen
Dienst
Gerichtsmediziner(in)
sich auf etw. auswirken
Produktplatzierung;
Schleichwerbung
Puls
Roggenwhisky
Absatz
hier: spielen
Chirurgie; chirurgische
Behandlung
(eine Prüfung) ablegen
das heißt
What they said…
“I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit
and look at it for hours”
Jerome K. Jerome (1859–1927), British writer (Three Men in a Boat)
“The taxpayer: that’s someone who works
for the federal government but doesn’t
have to take the civil service examination”
Ronald Reagan (1911–2004), former US president
“The easiest job in the world has to be
coroner. Surgery on dead people. What’s
the worst thing that could happen? If
everything went wrong, maybe you’d get
a pulse”
Denise Miller, 50, US actress
“Do not wait for leaders. Do it
alone, person to person”
Mother Teresa (1910–97), missionary and winner of the
Nobel Peace Prize
5/2013

➡
➡
RWANDA
End of the road
medium
Aurelie Mukankwiro could soon be out of a job. She is one of Rwanda’s “typewriter
typists” — women who sit beside busy streets and type letters, CVs and
business proposals for people who do not have computers or printers.
Mukankwiro, a 37-year-old mother of three, works together with two other women
at a bus station in Kigali, the Rwandan capital. “I like meeting people every day
and getting to learn a little bit about their lives,” she told The Guardian.
Like her two colleagues, Mukankwiro trained at a church typing school and
worked in local government offices. They lost their jobs when computers were introduced
and they were unable to use them. Redundancy prompted the three typists
to set up their own business at the bus station, where they charge between 200
and 300 Rwandan francs (€0.24 to €0.36) per page.
Now their business is threatened, as a computer company offering internet and
printing services has just opened nearby. Typist Marie Gorette Nimukuze, 35, admits
that increased access to computers is taking away business. “More and more
people are learning how to use computers so, in the future, they won’t need us anymore.”
Another threat comes from the police. “When the police come, we have to
run,” Mukankwiro says. “It’s government policy — they want people to rent houses
instead of being on the street. But it’s hard for us to be able to afford to do that
with what we’re earning.”
www You’ll find more stories online: www.business-spotlight.de/news
0
The number of days of
paid holiday guaranteed
workers in the United
States. In the EU,
workers are legally
entitled to at least 20
days of paid holiday per
year. Canada and
Japan guarantee
workers at least ten days
of paid leave a year.
Sources: The Globe and Mail; Center for Economic and
Policy Research (www.cepr.net)
The number of Americans working from
home at least one day a week rose from 9.2
million (7 per cent) in 1997 to 13.4 million
(9.4 per cent) in 2010.
Sources: The Wall Street Journal; U.S. Census Bureau
(www.census.gov)
WIRTSCHAFT | TECHNIK | SPRACHEN
The number of British people paying into
pension schemes has fallen from 12.2 million
in 1967 to 8.2 million in 2011.
Sources: The Daily Telegraph; Office for National
Statistics (www.statistics.gov.uk)
access [(Äkses]
Zugang
CV (curriculum vitae) [)si: (vi:] Lebenslauf
legally entitled: be ~ to sth. gesetzlichen
[)li:g&li In(taIt&ld]
Anspruch auf etw.
haben
out of a job: be ~
seinen Job los sein
[)aUt Ev E (dZQb]
pension scheme Alterssicherungs -
[(penS&n ski:m]
system
prompt sb. to do sth.
jmdn. veranlassen,
[)prQmpt tE (du:]
etw. zu tun
redundancy [ri(dVndEnsi]
Arbeitslosigkeit
research [ri(s§:tS]
Forschung
Rwanda [ru(ÄndE]
Ruanda
typewriter typist
Schreibmaschinen-
[(taIpraItE )taIpIst]
schreiber(in)
Jetzt
4 Wochen
kostenlos
testen!
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5/2013
Gratis Infos anfordern: 0800 22 55 888 • www.akad.de

AFP/Getty Images
Death in the
forest
Während Umweltschützer vor einer Katastrophe warnen, fällt
auf Sumatra und Borneo mehr und mehr Regenwald dem
weltweiten Bedarf an Biokraftstoff, Pflanzenölen, Papier und
dem Abbau von Bodenschätzen zum Opfer. Gibt es noch eine
Rettung? JOHN VIDAL geht dieser Frage nach. advanced
Path of destruction:
industrialization in Borneo

DEFORESTATION GLOBAL BUSINESS ■
Our small plane had been flying low over Sumatra
for three hours, but all we had seen was an
industrial landscape of palm and acacia trees
stretching 50 kilometres in every direction. Blue
smoke from newly cleared land drifted eastward
over giant plantations. Long drainage canals dissected
the land. The only sign of life was excavators loading trees
on to barges to take to pulp mills.
The end is in sight for the great forests of Sumatra and
Borneo, as well as the animals and people who depend on
them. Thirty years ago, the world’s third- and sixth-largest
islands were full of tigers, elephants, rhinos, orang-utan
and exotic birds and plants, but they have been destroyed
in a single generation by global agribusiness and the pulp
and paper industries.
with toilet paper,
biofuels and vegetable oil to make everyday foods such
as margarine, cream cheese and chocolate, but worried scientists
and environmental groups warn that one of the 21st
century’s greatest ecological disasters is rapidly unfolding.
Official figures show more than half of Indonesia’s rainforest,
the third-largest swathe in the world, has been felled
in a few years; permission has been given to convert up to
70 per cent of what remains into palm or acacia plantations.
In May, the Indonesian government renewed a moratorium
on the felling of rainforest, but nearly a million
hectares are still being cut each year. The last pristine areas,
in provinces such as Aceh and Papua, are now prime
targets for giant logging, palm and mining companies.
The toll on wild animals across an area nearly the size
of Europe is huge, say scientists, who warn that many of
Indonesia’s species could be extinct in the wild within 20
to 30 years. Orang-utan numbers are falling rapidly, only
250 to 400 tigers remain and fewer than 100 rhinos are
left in the forests, according to the International Union for
Man-made plantations:
taming the rainforest
AFP/Getty Images
Conservation of Nature. Millions of hectares are nominally
protected, but the forest is fragmented. National parks are
surrounded by plantations; illegal loggers work with
impunity and corruption is widespread in government.
“This is the fastest, most comprehensive transformation of
an entire landscape that has ever taken place anywhere in
the world, including the Amazon. If it continues at this rate,
all that will be left in 20 years is a few fragmented areas of
natural forest surrounded by huge man-made plantations.
There will be increased floods, fires and droughts but no
animals,” said Yuyun Indradi, a political forest campaigner
with Greenpeace in Jakarta.
deforestation
has been accompanied by rising violence. Last year,
more than 600 major land conflicts were recorded in the
palm plantations. Many turned violent as communities that
had lost their traditional forest fought multinational companies
and security forces. More than 5,000 instances of
human-rights abuse were recorded, with 22 deaths and
hundreds of injuries.
4
Sumatra’s forests and wildlife have been destroyed
in a generation by global industries
acacia tree [E(keISE tri:]
Akazie
barge [bA:dZ]
Lastkahn
biofuel [(baIEUfju:El]
Biokraftstoff
cleared [klIEd]
gerodet
comprehensive [)kQmprI(hensIv]
umfassend, durchgreifend
conservation of nature
Naturschutz
[kQnsE)veIS&n Ev (neItSE]
cream cheese [)kri:m (tSi:z]
Frischkäse
deforestation [di:)fQrI(steIS&n]
Abholzung
dissect sth. [daI(sekt]
etw. zerschneiden
drainage canal [(dreInIdZ kE)nÄl]
Entwässerungskanal
drought [draUt]
Dürre
excavator [(ekskEveItE]
Bagger
extinct [Ik(stINkt]
ausgestorben
fell sth. [fel]
etw. fällen
human-rights abuse [)hju:mEn (raIts E)bju:s] Menschenrechtsverletzung
impunity: with ~ [Im(pju:nEti]
logger [(lQgE]
logging company [(lQgIN )kVmpEni]
mining company
[(maInIN )kVmpEni]
plantation [plA:n(teIS&n]
prime target [)praIm (tA:gIt]
pristine [(prIsti:n]
pulp mill [(pVlp mIl]
species [(spi:Si:z]
swathe [sweID]
toll [tEUl]
unfold [Vn(fEUld]
watchdog group
[(wQtSdQg gru:p]
straffrei, ungestraft
Holzfäller(in)
Holzunternehmen
Bergbau-, Minengesellschaft
Plantage
vorrangiges Ziel
unberührt
Zellstofffabrik
Art(en)
Landstrich; hier auch: Gebiet
Tribut
(sich) entfalten; hier: im
Gange sein
Organisation, die etw.
kritisch überwacht
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 11

■ GLOBAL BUSINESS DEFORESTATION
Devastation: fisherman
walking through a peat forest
“The legacy of deforestation has been conflict, increased
poverty, migration to the cities and the erosion of habitat
for animals. As the forests come down, social conflicts are
exploding everywhere,” said Abednego Tarigan, director
of Walhi, Indonesia’s largest environmental group.
could
come quickly. Aceh, which was badly hit by the tsunami
in 2004, will lose more than half its trees if a new government
plan to change land use is pushed through. A single
Canadian mining company is seeking to exploit 1.77 million
hectares for mining, logging and palm plantations.
Large areas of central Sumatra and Kalimantan are being
felled as coal, copper and gold mining companies move
in. Millions of hectares of forest in West Papua are expected
to be converted into palm plantations.
“Papuans, some of the poorest citizens in Indonesia, are
being utterly exploited in legally questionable oil-palm land
deals that provide huge financial opportunities for international
investors at the expense of the people and forests
of West Papua,” said Jago Wadley, a forest campaigner
with the Environmental Investigation Agency.
Despite a promise from the government to extend a
moratorium on deforestation for two years, Indonesia is
still cutting down its forests faster than any other country.
Loopholes in the law mean that the moratorium cov-
ers only new licences and
primary forests, and excludes
key land areas containing
peat as well as
existing concessions that
are tiger and elephant habitats.
“No one seems able
to stop the destruction,”
said Greenpeace International’s
forest spokesman,
Phil Aikman.
The conflicts often arise
when companies are grant -
ed logging or plantation
permission that overlaps with community-managed traditional
forests and protected areas such as national parks.
Nine villages have been in conflict with the giant paper
company APRIL (Asia Pacific Resources International
Limited), which has permission to convert, with others,
450,000 hectares of deep peat forests on the Kampar
Peninsula in central Sumatra. Because the area contains as
much as 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, it has global
importance in the fight against climate change.
“We would die for this [forest] if necessary. This is a matter
of life and death. The forest is our life. We depend on
it when we want to build our houses or boats. We protect
it. The permits were handed out illegally, but now we have
no option but to work for the companies or hire ourselves
out for pitiful wages,” said one village leader who was
afraid to give his name.
AFP/Getty Images
officials of illegally
taking their land. APRIL, which strongly denies involvement
in corruption, announced plans to work with
London-based Fauna and Flora International to restore
20,000 hectares of degraded forest land.
Eighty kilometres away, near the town of Rengit, villagers
watched in horror last year when their community
forest was burned down — they believe this was done by
people in the pay of a large palm-oil company. “Life is ter-
at the expense of
auf Kosten von
[)Ät Di Ik(spens Qv]
based: …-~ [beIst]
mit Sitz in…
billion [(bIljEn]
Milliarde(n)
carbon dioxide [)kA:bEn daI(QksaId] Kohlendioxid (CO 2 )
come down [)kVm (daUn]
hier: dem Kahlschlag zum
Opfer fallen
copper [(kQpE]
Kupfer
degraded [di(greIdId]
degradiert, ökosystemisch
schlecht
deny sth. [di(naI]
etw. abstreiten
exploit sth. [Ik(splOIt]
etw. erschließen
grant sth. [grA:nt]
legacy [(legEsi]
limited [(lImItId]
loophole [(lu:phEUl]
overlap with sth.
[)EUvE(lÄp wID]
peat [pi:t]
pitiful [(pItIf&l]
poverty [(pQvEti]
primary forest [(praImEri )fQrIst]
restore sth. [ri(stO:]
utterly [(VtEli]
etw. gewähren, erteilen
Vermächtnis
etwa: GmbH
Schlupfloch
sich mit etw. überschneiden
Torf
erbärmlich
Armut
Primär-, Urwald
etw. wiederherstellen
völlig
12 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

In danger: the
Sumatran tiger
and orang-utan
are losing their
territory and
could soon
become extinct
Despite a moratorium, Indonesia is still cutting down
its forests faster than any other country
Stockbyte
Photodisc
rible now. We are ruined. We used to get resin, wood,
timber and fuel from the forest. Now we have no option
but to work for the palm-oil company. The company beat
us. The fire was deliberate. This forest was everything for
us. We used it as our supermarket, building store, chemist’s
shop and fuel supplier for generations of people. Now we
must put plastic on our roofs,” said one man from the village
of Bayesjaya, who also asked not to be named.
adopt sth. [E(dQpt]
chemist’s shop [(kemIsts SQp] UK
deliberate [di(lIbErEt]
denuding [di(nju:dIN]
embarrassed: be ~
[Im(bÄrEst]
fuel [(fju:El]
impacted: be ~ by sth.
[Im(pÄktId]
migrant labour [)maIgrEnt (leIbE]
pending... [(pendIN]
pollution [pE(lu:S&n]
postpone sth. [pEUst(pEUn]
rampant [(rÄmpEnt]
reforestation [ri:)fQrI(steIS&n]
resin [(rezIn]
slash and burn [)slÄS En (b§:n]
sustainability [sE)steInE(bIlEti]
timber [(tImbE]
etw. einführen
Apotheke
absichtlich (herbeigeführt)
Kahlschlag
in Verlegenheit gebracht
werden
Brennstoff
von etw. betroffen sein
Wanderarbeiter(innen)
solange ... besteht
Umweltverschmutzung
etw. aufschieben
ungezügelt
Wiederaufforstung
Harz
Brandrodung
Nachhaltigkeit
(Bau-)Holz
Kuala
Cenaku in the province of Riau, has spent ten years fighting
oil-plantation companies that were awarded a giant
concession. “Maybe 35,000 people have been impacted by
their plantations. Everyone is very upset. People have died
in protests. I have not accepted defeat yet. These conflicts
are going on everywhere. Before the companies came we
had a lot of natural resources, like honey, rattan, fish,
shrimps and wood,” Ali said.
“We had all we wanted. That all went when the companies
came. Everything that we depended on went. Deforestation
has led to pollution and health problems. We are
all poorer now. I blame the companies and the government,
but most of all the government,” he continued.
Greenpeace and other groups accuse the giant pulp and
palm companies of destroying tens of thousands of hectares
of rainforest a year, but the companies claim that they are
the forest defenders and without them, the ecological destruction
would be worse. “There has been a rampant escalation
of the denuding of the landscape but it is mostly
by migrant labour and palm-oil growers. Poverty and illegal
logging, along with migrant labour, have caused the deforestation,”
said APRIL’s spokesman, David Goodwin.
“What APRIL does is not deforestation,” Goodwin adds.
“In establishing acacia plantations in already disturbed forest
areas, it is contributing strongly to reforestation. Last
year, APRIL planted more than 100 million trees. Deforestation
happens because of highly organized illegal logging,
slash-and-burn practices by migrant labour,
unregulated timber operations. There has been an explosion
of palm-oil concessions.”
The company would not say how much rainforest it and
its suppliers fell each year but internal papers seen by The
Observer show that it planned to deforest 60,000 hectares
of rainforest in 2012 but postponed this pending the moratorium.
It admits that it has a concession of 20,000
hectares of forest that it has permission to fell and that it
takes up to one third of its timber from “mixed tropical
hardwood” for its giant pulp and paper mill in Riau.
The pressure is
now on other large palm-oil and paper companies after
Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), one of the world’s largest such
companies, was persuaded this year by international and
local Indonesian groups to end all rainforest deforestation
and to rely solely on its plantations for its wood. The company,
which admits to having felled thousands of hectares
of Sumatran forest in the past 20 years, had been embarrassed
and financially hurt when other global firms, including
Adidas, Kraft, Mattel, Nestlé, Carrefour and Unilever,
dropped APP products that had been made out of wood
from rainforests.
“We thought that if we adopted national laws to protect
the forest that this would be enough. But it clearly was not.
We realized something was not right and that we needed a
much higher standard. So now we will stop the deforestation,
whatever the cost. We are now convinced that the
long-term benefits will be greater,” said Aida Greenbury,
APP’s sustainability director. “Yes. We got it wrong. We
could not have done worse.”
■BS
© Guardian News & Media 2013
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 13

■ GLOBAL BUSINESS HEAD-TO-HEAD
English as the EU language?
Englisch als einheitliche Amtssprache der EU? Das sieht zumindest das Wunschbild vor, das Bundespräsident
Joachim Gauck von Europa hat. VICKI SUSSENS hat dazu einen Skeptiker und einen Befürworter gehört. advanced
NO!
“It could intensify
the linguistic
hegemony of
English”
ROBERT PHILLIPSON
Joachim Gauck’s promotion of English as a unifying
language for the EU is irresponsible. The German
president uses the words “lingua franca” and “common
language” without defining them. He ignores the
complexities of managing linguistic diversity nationally
and internationally. Demanding that English become the
official EU language could intensify the linguistic hegemony
of English and condemn all other languages to secondclass
status.
“There is no more emotional topic in the EU than the
language issue,” as Wilhelm Schönfelder, then Head of
Mission for Germany at the EU, told the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Language policy has always been politically sensitive
in the EU.
There are many lingua francas in use in Europe. The
original lingua franca was a hybrid form of communication
based largely on Italian, with elements of French,
Greek, Arabic, etc. It evolved as the language of trade in
the eastern Mediterranean during the Renaissance. It was
not a complete language serving all state functions.
Gauck assumes that English is universally relevant “in all
situations and at all ages”. This ignores the fact that English
proficiency varies widely in different EU countries. It
is nonsense to write that English or French will help you
in places like Portugal or Hungary, where 95 per cent of
the population know no English.
The Treaty of Rome (1957) promoted the national
language system to the supranational level. Because EU
law must be made known in the main language of each
member state, the EU now has 24 official languages. The
languages spoken or written by staff in EU institutions will
depend on the context. To communicate internally with
member states or with the public, they may need to use one
language, a few, many or all the languages.
Although Gauck was probably not referring to this level
of EU functioning, one wonders whether he is aware
that market forces have led to English gradually replacing
French as primus inter pares when it comes to drafting
policy documents in the Commission. This is a significant
development, because it means that EU texts are now
mainly developed in English, meaning English ideas get
translated into other languages. This move towards
monolingualism and monoculturalism threatens the status,
cultural universes and cosmologies of other languages that
have evolved over centuries.
The VolkswagenStiftung has recently published an excellent
book on the possible threat English poses to German:
Deutsch in der Wissenschaft: Ein politischer und wissenschaftlicher
Diskurs. It shows that researchers are usually
creative in their own native language, even if they have
good foreign-language skills. “Getting by” in a foreign language
is not what is needed in complex EU negotiations,
in high-level business transactions or in intellectually demanding
activities in higher education and research.
It is a myth that a single language in a country or, in
Gauck’s proposal, a region, guarantees peace and harmony.
Europe’s strong tradition of imposing monolingualism
has failed to get rid of minority languages.
ROBERT PHILLIPSON is a professor at Copenhagen Business
School and author of books on language policy, linguistic imperialism,
language rights and multilingual education.
assume sth. [E(sju:m]
von etw. ausgehen
business school
betriebswirtschaftliche Hoch-
[(bIznEs sku:l]
schule
diversity [daI(v§:sEti]
Vielfalt
draft sth. [drA:ft]
etw. abfassen
evolve (sth.) [i(vQlv]
sich entwickeln; etw. entwickeln
get by [)get (baI]
klarkommen
impose sth. [Im(pEUzIN]
etw. auferlegen, aufdrängen
lingua franca [)lINgwE (frÄNkE] Lingua Franca, Verkehrssprache
monolingualism [)mQnEU(lINgwElIzEm] Einsprachigkeit
negotiation [nI)gEUSi(eIS&n]
Verhandlung
pose a threat [)pEʊz E (θret]
eine Bedrohung darstellen
proficiency [prE(fIS&nsi]
Kenntnisse
research [ri(s§:tS]
Forschung
researcher [ri(s§:tSE]
Forscher(in)
second-class status: condemn sth. to ~ etw. zur Zweitklassigkeit
[)sekEnd )klA:s (steItEs]
verdammen
sensitive [(sensEtIv]
heikel, sensibel
Treaty of Rome [)tri:ti Ev (rEUm] Römische Verträge
14 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

©European Union 2013
Gauck’s vision: everyone
speaking one language
YES!
“English has
become a
language spoken
by millions in
the EU”
JOHN WHITEHEAD
Let’s not fool ourselves: we know the historical reasons
why English has become such a widely spoken
language. Firstly, as a result of the British Empire,
which came to an end some 50 years ago, but
which leaves a powerful legacy. Secondly, the global dominance
of the US since then. No wonder English seems to
have a whiff of imperialism for some.
However, German president Joachim Gauck is right to
believe that Europe has nothing to fear from English becoming
the main language of communication. A large part
of its success is that English is constantly evolving through
contact with other languages. It is partly German anyway:
words such as “zeitgeist” or “ubercool” have long been absorbed
into the language.
English is not a British neocolonial tool to gain power,
but a language that belongs to the world as much as to us
in the UK. It opens doors and creates prosperity for people
across the globe. It does not seek to elbow out mother
tongues, but to coexist and continue to evolve alongside
other languages. Herr Gauck would be pleased to know
that we have Germany to thank for the words “dollars”,
“glitz” and “wanderlust” — three things that bring the UK
a great deal.
The British Council encourages the use of English, but
not at all costs. Above the drive to promote a single language
comes respect for the global diversity of cultures and
their languages. In our recent “Language Rich Europe” report,
we recommend using the particular position of English
in Europe to support multi- and plurilingualism.
The right of children to a high-quality education in a language
they understand is also fundamental. But more is not
always better. English, like many useful things such as medicines
and sharp objects, can have its side effects. Imagine
you are an Italian economics professor at a prestigious
university in Italy, and suddenly, you are told that you have
to deliver your lectures in English. Imagine you are a fiveyear-old
child on your first day at school and you do not
understand what the teacher says because she is speaking
in what, for you, is a new language called English — it will
take you a long time to learn anything.
No one is forcing anyone to speak English, but there’s
no denying the fact that it has become a language spoken
by millions of people in EU countries. More than that, it
has become a shared cultural asset, which everyone in
Europe can make use of and contribute to. I sometimes feel
that speaking English is rather like slipping on a new coat:
some may come to feel completely comfortable wearing it,
while others won’t.
■BS
JOHN WHITEHEAD is the director of the British Council in
Germany. He has worked for the British Council for more than 20
years, including in Latin America, North Africa and East Asia.
plus Find reading-comprehension exercises in Business Spotlight plus
at all costs [Ät )O:l (kQsts]
contribute to sth. [kEn(trIbju:t tu]
cultural asset [)kVltS&rEl (Äset]
elbow sth. out [)elbEU (aUt]
glitz [glIts]
lecture: deliver a ~ [(lektSE]
legacy [(legEsi]
multi- and plurilingualism
[)mVlti En )plUEri(lINgwElIzEm]
prestigious [pre(stIdZEs]
prosperity [prQ(sperEti]
side effect [(saId E)fekt]
slip sth. on [)slIp (Qn]
there’s no denying that...
[DeEz )nEU di(naIIN DÄt]
whiff [wIf]
um jeden Preis
zu etw. beitragen
Kulturgut
etw. gewaltsam verdrängen
Glanz
eine Vorlesung halten
Vermächtnis
Viel- und Mehrsprachigkeit
renommiert
Wohlstand
Nebenwirkung
etw. überstreifen
es kann nicht bestritten
werden, dass...
Hauch, Spur
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 15

Canadian export:
Mark Carney
takes charge at the
Bank of England
Rocking
Getty Images
Zum ersten Mal seit Gründung der Bank of England vor über 300 Jahren steht ein Nichtbrite an ihrer Spitze.
MARGARET DAVIS berichtet von der beeindruckenden Laufbahn und den neuen Aufgaben des kanadischen
Bankenchefs, den die Presse gerne mit einem Rockstar oder Größen aus der Fußballwelt vergleicht. advanced
The last time a Canadian got so much attention,
he was playing a guitar in the International
Space Station. But although Mark Carney has
been described as a “rock star banker”, he’s no
Chris Hadfield, the astronaut who won millions
of hearts with his recordings from space. Still, as the
youngest man and first non-Brit to head the Bank of
England, the 48-year-old Carney brings a combination of
energy, charm and experience to his new role as the bank’s
governor.
And as if “rock star” wasn’t enough, British newspapers
brought out the football metaphors. The Guardian headed
one story with “Mark Carney: a Sven for Threadneedle
Street?” — a reference to Sven-Göran Eriksson, who
replaced Kevin Keegan as manager of the England national
football team in 1999–2000. (The Bank of England is
known as the “Old Lady of Threadneedle Street” because
of its location in that street in the City of London.) British
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has even described
Carney as “the central banking equivalent of Sir
Alex Ferguson or Pep Guardiola”.
Carney was born on 16 March 1965 in the tiny town of
Fort Smith, Northwest Territories; his family moved to Edmonton,
Alberta, when he was six. His father was a highschool
principal and later a professor of education at the
University of Alberta, while his mother is a former teacher.
After high school, Carney studied at Harvard University,
Chancellor of the Exchequer
[)tSA:nsElEr Ev Di Iks(tSekE] UK
City of London [)sIti Ev (lVndEn] UK
governor [(gVv&nE]
principal [(prInsEp&l]
Finanzminister(in)
Londoner Finanzdistrikt
hier: Präsident(in)
Rektor(in)
16 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

PROFILE GLOBAL BUSINESS ■
where he got a BA in economics — and played backup
goalie for the university’s ice-hockey team. He went on to
do a master’s and a doctoral degree in economics, both at
Oxford University. It was here that he met his British-born
wife, Diana Fox, in 1991; the couple
has four daughters.
Margaret Meyer, Carney’s doctoral
supervisor at Oxford, was impressed
by the young Canadian’s intellect.
“What really distinguished
Mark Carney from other students
was his intellectual versatility and
the rapidity with which he was able to get up to speed with
new approaches and new techniques,” Meyer told The
Guardian. “He has a very agile mind.”
Carney spent 13 years with investment bank Goldman
Sachs in London, Tokyo, New York and Toronto, before
becoming deputy governor of the Bank of Canada in August
2003. In November 2004, he left the bank and became
senior associate deputy minister of finance at the
Canadian Department of Finance. In February 2008, Carney
was appointed governor of the Bank of Canada. Three
years later, he was on the shortlist for the top position at
the International Monetary Fund, the job won by former
French finance minister Christine Lagarde (see Profile in
Business Spotlight 3/2011). Later that year, Carney’s fellow
central bankers chose him as chairman of the Financial Stability
Board (FSB), a three-year term.
cy and financial stability. Although Canada went into recession
in 2009, it did not last as long nor have such a
strong impact as in the other G7 countries — and only
Germany has had a stronger recovery. Unlike in the US,
The banking world’s rock star? Pep
Guardiola? Or George Clooney in a suit?
Britain and the eurozone, there were no bank failures or
taxpayer bailouts in Canada after the global banking crisis
of 2008–09. At least some of the credit lies with Bank
of Canada governor Carney, who made radical cuts to
interest rates and kept them low for another year after the
economy was showing signs of recovery. It was a policy
that the chairman of the US Federal Reserve Bank, Ben
Bernanke, copied two years later.
Carney is moving to a very different situation at
the 319-year-old Bank of England. The British banking system
is much larger and more complex than Canada’s, as
is the British economy. The new governor is clearly aware
of the potential problems. In a speech he gave in Washington,
DC, this spring, Carney described Britain as having a
“crisis” economy. He also warned against inflated expectations
of his own role. “Some people may be expecting
central banks to do too much,” he said. “If we want to talk
about ultimate sources of growth, sustainable fiscal policy
is a necessary condition. Sustainable growth comes from
the private sector, not from the IMF, Bank of Canada or
anyone else.”
Meanwhile, the British press is unlikely to be handing
out awards to Carney any time soon. He has been described
as an “interloper” and his salary (which includes
a £10,000 monthly housing allowance) has been widely
criticized. Indeed, Carney’s pay package of £874,000
(about €1 million) is three times that of his predecessor, Sir
4
agile mind: have an ~ [)ÄdZaI&l (maInd] geistig flexibel sein
appoint sb. sth. [E(pOInt]
jmdn. zu etw. ernennen
BA [)bi: (eI]
Bachelor of Arts
backup goalie [)bÄkVp (gEUli] ifml. Ersatztorhüter(in)
bailout [(beIlaUt]
Rettungsaktion,
-maßnahme(n)
chat show [(tSÄt SEU] UK
Talkshow
Department of Finance
Finanzministerium
[di)pA:tmEnt Ev (faInÄns]
deputy [(depjUti]
stellvertretend
distinguish sb. [dI(stINgwIS]
jmdn. unterscheiden
doctoral degree: do a ~
promovieren
[)dQktErEl di(gri:]
doctoral supervisor
Betreuer(in) einer Doktor-
[)dQktErEl (su:pEvaIzE] UK
arbeit
fellow... [(felEU]
...-Kollege/-Kollegin
get up to speed with sth.
sich mit etw. vertraut
[get )Vp tE (spi:d wID] ifml.
machen
* This symbol marks standard N. Am. pronunciation that differs from standard UK pronunciation.
In demand as a speaker and chat-show guest in
Canada, Carney is known for his ability to explain complex
financial concepts in words that ordinary people can
understand, as well as for his self-deprecating sense of humour.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that he looks a bit like
George Clooney. Informed that he had been chosen “most
trusted Canadian” by Reader’s Digest magazine, he commented,
“It’s hard to say that without laughing, isn’t it?”
A banker as a nation’s most-trusted citizen? What might
seem like a bad joke in Britain or the US can be understood
in the context of Canada’s record of solid monetary polihousing
allowance [(haUzIN E)laUEns] Wohngeld, Mietzuschuss
hurt [h§:t]
schaden
impact [(ImpÄkt]
Auswirkung(en)
inflated [In(fleItId]
überzogen
interest rate [(IntrEst reIt]
Zinssatz
interloper [(IntElEUpE]
Eindringling
predecessor [(pri:dIsesE]
Vorgänger(in)
recovery [ri(kVvEri]
(Konjunktur-)Erholung
self-deprecating [)self (deprEkeItIN] selbstironisch
senior associate deputy minister ranghohes Ministeriums-
[)si:nj&r E)soUSiEt )depjEti (mInIst&r*] mitglied, dem später oft
Can.
die Leitung übertragen wird
some of the credit lies with...
ein Teil des Verdienstes
[(sVm Ev DE )kredIt )laIz wID] gebührt ...
sustainable [sE(steInEb&l]
zukunftsfähig; auch: nachhaltig
term [t§:m]
Amtszeit
versatility [)v§:sE(tIlEti]
Vielseitigkeit
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 17

■ GLOBAL BUSINESS PROFILE
Long tradition:
the Bank of England
Rotherwick, the wife of a hereditary peer. Fox Carney,
who prefers to do her food shopping on her bicycle, is anything
but the glamorous trophy wife one might expect at
a wealthy banker’s side. A development economist, she was
the vice president of research for Canada 2020, a progressive
think tank, before moving to London. She also has her
own website, where she tests eco-products.
Mervyn King, and considerably higher than his earnings at
the Bank of Canada, which were somewhere between
$Can 432,000 and $Can 508,000 (€319,000 to
€375,000).
The new governor’s wife has also felt the bite of the
British media. Diana Fox Carney comes from a wealthy
British farming family; her older sister is Lady Tania
assistant professor
[E)sIstEnt prE(fesE]
colourfully: put sth. ~ [(kVlEf&li]
drain sth. [dreIn]
eco-warrior [(i:kEU )wQriE]
feel the bite of sb./sth.
[)fi:&l DE (baIt Qv]
figure sth. out [)fIgEr (aUt] ifml.
hereditary peer
[hE)redEt&ri (pIE]
persuasive: be ~ with sb.
[pE(sweIsIv]
rotten [(rQt&n]
run: have a great ~ [rVn]
Carney’s wife has been
called an “eco-warrior who
thinks banks are rotten”
swamp [swQmp]
tabloids: the ~ [(tÄblOIdz]
think tank [(TINk tÄNk]
unapologetic: be ~ about sth.
[)VnE)pQlE(dZetIk]
vice president of research
[vaIs )prezIdEnt Ev ri(s§:tS] N. Am.
Assistenzprofessor(in);
Hochschulassistent(in)
etw. anschaulich ausdrücken
etw. trockenlegen
Umweltaktivist(in)
die Bissgkeit von
jmdm./etw. zu spüren
bekommen
etw. herausfinden
Mitglied des erblichen
Adels
jmdm. gegenüber überzeugend
auftreten
verfault; hier: niederträchtig,
verdorben
etwa: eine Reihe von großartigen
Erfolgen haben
Sumpf
die Boulevardpresse
Denkfabrik
zu etw. stehen
Bereichsleiter(in)
Forschung
Adrian Pingstone
The Daily Telegraph was not impressed. A Telegraph
story about Fox Carney was headlined “New Bank of
England Governor Mark Carney’s wife: an eco-warrior
who says banks are rotten”. Fox Carney is unapologetic
about her views and says most people realize that she and
her husband do not always agree on policy questions. “We
have separate opinions, and I think people accept that,”
she told the CBC. “It’s my career and though we are married,
we are not entirely one.”
Although the Bank of England is far more influential, in
one area, Carney will have less power than he had
as governor of the Bank of Canada, where he
could set interest rates without being required to
consult colleagues. At the Bank of England, Carney’s
is just one vote on a monetary policy committee.
“In the UK, Carney will have one vote and
will need to be persuasive with his colleagues,”
says Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at the Canadian
Imperial Bank of Commerce. “That’s a new
task for him. He has to lead a majority on a policy committee
to vote with him, which his predecessor Mervyn
King was not always able to do,” Shenfeld told The Toronto
Star.
Ian Lee, an assistant professor at the Sprott School of
Business in Ottawa, puts it more colourfully. “He’s had
such a great run in Canada and deservedly so, but I just
think he’s going to be up to his neck in alligators and trying
to figure out how to drain the swamp,” Lee comments.
“If a year or two years from now things aren’t progressing
or becoming significantly better, it will be very easy for
the tabloids to blame Mark Carney.”
■BS
For more information
WEBSITES
■ Mark Carney interviewed by CBC News early in 2013:
www.cbc.ca/player/News/World/ID/2382346411/
■ Mark Carney is a popular guest on Canadian television. Here
he appears on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, a CBC
chat show, in 2011: www.cbc.ca/strombo/mobile-video/markcarney-1.html
■ Diana Fox Carney’s website, Eco Products that Work:
http://ecoproductsthatwork.com
MARGARET DAVIS is a Canadian journalist. She is the
editor of the Careers and Global Business sections of
Business Spotlight. Contact her at: m.davis@spotlightverlag.de
18 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

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BUSINESS PRESS GLOBAL BUSINESS ■
Behind the headlines
Headlines in the English-language media are often difficult to understand because they use jargon and
wordplay, and leave out words. Here, we look at the meaning of recent business headlines.
advanced
Financial Times
The Guardian
Exxon toast: This is a play on words. “Exxon” is short for
the Exxon Mobil Corporation, a US multinational oil and
gas company. “Exxon” also sounds like “eggs on”, and
“eggs on toast” is a popular breakfast. The slang phrase
“you’re toast” means “you are in trouble”. This refers to
Exxon’s bad first-quarter results. The breakfast symbolism
can be taken further. The idiom “to eat somebody for
breakfast” can mean “to defeat somebody thoroughly”.
Here, Exxon’s rival, Chevron had better quarter results.
In simple English: Exxon Mobil Corporation is in trouble.
The Economist
From Trafalgar to Taksim: From Trafalgar Square in London,
where miners protested in April against policies introduced
by Margaret Thatcher, to Taksim Square in Istanbul,
the scene of public demonstrations against Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s growing authoritarianism.
the politics of the square: This refers to political demonstrations,
which typically begin in public squares.
puts the wind up power: The UK idiom “to put the wind
up someone”, here, people in power, means to alarm them.
In simple English: From Trafalgar Square to Taksim
Square, public demonstrations are alarming governments.
The Wall Street Journal
Shrink wrapping: This is a play on words. “Shrink” is an
informal term for “psychotherapist”. The story is about
the American Psychiatric Association’s latest Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which
psychologists say turns normal forms of behaviour into
disorders. “Shrink-wrap” creates an air-tight wrapping.
An “air-tight” theory has no arguments against it. If one
“wraps something up”, one completes it. By comparing
the list to a shrink-wrapped parcel, the headline shows
scepticism.
In simple English: Psychiatrists have completed something.
argument [(A:gjumEnt]
corporation [)kO:pE(reIS&n]
impose sth. on sb./sth. [Im(pEUz Qn]
manual [(mÄnjuEl]
mental disorder [)ment&l dIs(O:dE]
miner [(maInE]
put the wind up sb.
[)pUt DE (wInd Vp] UK ifml.
quarter [(kwO:tE]
shrink-wrap (sth.)
[(SrINk rÄp]
tariff [(tÄrIf]
thoroughly [(TVrEli]
wrapping [(rÄpIN]
wrap sth. up [)rÄp (Vp]
Streit
Unternehmen; etwa: AG
jmdn./etw. mit etw. belegen
Handbuch; hier: Diagnosekatalog
psychische Störung
Berg-, Grubenarbeiter(in)
jmdm. Angst machen
Quartal
Schrumpffolie;
etw. einschweißen
Zoll(gebühr)
gründlich, gänzlich
Verpackung
etw. unter Dach und Fach bringen
EU: Here, the European Commission (EC).
readies: If you “ready” something, you prepare to make it
happen.
solar tariffs: These refer to the anti-dumping tariffs the EU
wants to impose on Chinese solar-panel equipment. Antidumping
tariffs are typically imposed on imported products
that are being sold below cost, thereby threatening
local industries.
in China fight: This tells us that there is a fight going on
related to China, but doesn’t give details. The headline
could be read to mean that the EU’s action caused the fight.
In fact, however, this is just one development in an ongoing
argument with China about trade.
In simple English: The EC is preparing anti-dumping tariffs
in an (ongoing) disagreement with China.
www Are you confused by the language in the press? Keep your
English up to date at www.business-spotlight.de/news
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 21

Stockbyte
Money, money,
money
Die Einstellung der Menschen zu Geld, Vermögen und allem, was damit zusammenhängt,
ist von Kultur zu Kultur unterschiedlich. Auch das persönliche Sicherheitsbedürfnis eines
jeden Einzelnen spielt dabei eine entscheidende Rolle, wie ROBERT GIBSON darlegt. medium
Cash or charge?
The answer varies from
culture to culture

MONEY AND BANKING INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION ■
With increasing globalization, you might expect
that attitudes to money and financial
services are becoming more standardized
across the world. In fact, a person’s cultural
background still has a striking effect on
how they use money and on how banking works. Basic
attitudes about uncertainty and taking risks, as well as
religious beliefs and the level of corruption perceived in a
society, all influence our relationship to money. Before we
look more closely at these cultural differences, take a moment
to think about your personal attitudes.
What do you do with your money?
1. In which situations do you use the following means of
payment?
a) cash
b) debit or credit card
c) cheque
d) bank transfer
e) PayPal
f) money transfer via mobile phone
2. How much of your money have you put in the following?
a) current account
b) savings account
c) government bonds
d) shares
e) property
f) gold
g) antiques and works of art
How you answer these questions is obviously a matter
of personal preference, but there are also tendencies
within cultures. In Britain and the US, credit cards are
widely used in restaurants and even for paying small
amounts in shops. Their acceptance is more limited in
Germany, where it is, for instance, best to check whether
a taxi driver will accept your credit card before getting into
his cab.
While cheques are still a popular means of payment for
goods and services in Britain, bank transfers are the norm
in Germany. ATMs are now prevalent in Germany but
were slow to take off when introduced.
In Ghana, Susu collectors provided microfinancing long
before the term was dreamed of. Men with coats of many
pockets collected and looked after people’s money. Today,
in many parts of Africa and India, mobile-phone technology
has revolutionized the way that people are able to
transfer money. Breadwinners working in towns traditionally
had to use inefficient postal services to send money to
their families in rural areas. Now, they can transfer the
money via mobile phone instantly and reliably.
What you do with your savings is also influenced by
your attitude to risk. This varies according to your personal
preferences and to the general attitudes prevalent in the
society in which you live. If you are in an environment
where uncertainty avoidance (see “Key concepts”, p. 24) is
high, you are more likely to avoid risky investments. On
the other hand, if uncertainty avoidance is low, you may
prefer high-risk investments with potential for higher
yields. The economic context in which you operate will
also be important. If there is high inflation and interest
rates are low, you may prefer to invest in property, gold or
works of art.
Digital payment
The consumer research group Eye Square (see “For more
information”, p. 26) has investigated the factors that influence
the acceptance of digital payment systems across
the globe. They have identified three main factors: culture,
institutions and technology.
Cultural factors include people’s attitudes to trust and
the level of corruption in a society. To use the system, people
need access to the relevant financial institutions. Tech-
4
Despite globalization, cultural
background affects ideas
about money and banking
access [(Äkses]
antique [Än(ti:k]
ATM (automated teller machine)
[)eI ti: (em]
attitude [(ÄtItju:d]
bank transfer [(bÄNk )trÄnsf§:]
breadwinner [(bred)wInE]
consumer research
[kEn(sju:mE ri)s§:tS]
current account
[)kVrEnt E(kaUnt] UK
debit card [(debIt kA:d]
dream of sth. [(dri:m Qv]
Zugang
Antiquität
Geldautomat
Einstellung
Überweisung
Ernährer(in), Hauptverdiener(in)
Verbraucherforschung
Girokonto
Lastschrift-, Bankkarte (Karte für
bargeldlosen Zahlungsverkehr)
hier: auch nur an etw. denken
environment [In(vaI&rEnmEnt]
government bond [)gVv&nmEnt (bQnd]
interest rate [(IntrEst reIt]
investigate sth. [In(vestIgeIt]
perceive sth [)pE(si:v]
property [(prQpEti]
reliably [ri(laIEbli]
rural [(rUErEl]
share [SeE]
take off [)teIk (Qf]
transfer (money) [)trÄns(f§:]
uncertainty avoidance
[Vn(s§:t&nti E)vOId&ns]
yield [ji:&ld]
Umfeld
Staatsanleihe
Zinssatz
etw. untersuchen
etw. wahrnehmen
Immobilie(n)
zuverlässig, sicher
ländlich
Aktie
hier: sich durchsetzen
(Geld) überweisen
Unsicherheitsvermeidung
Rendite
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 23

■ INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION MONEY AND BANKING
Key concepts
Uncertainty avoidance
Geert Hofstede, an intercultural expert from the Netherlands,
defines uncertainty avoidance as “the extent to which members
of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations”.
In his research, he found that Britain and the US had
relatively low levels of uncertainty avoidance, and Switzerland,
Germany and Austria higher uncertainty avoidance. Here are
some of the features of cultures with low and high uncertainty
avoidance, as described by Hofstede and his colleagues:
Low uncertainty avoidance
■ Uncertainty is a normal feature of life, and each day is accepted
as it comes
■ Fast acceptance of new products and technology
■ Risky investments
■ Few laws, most of a general character, or unwritten rules
High uncertainty avoidance
■ Uncertainty is a continuous threat that must be fought
■ Hesitancy towards new products and technology, such as innovative
payment methods
■ Conservative investments
■ Many precise laws or unwritten rules
Cultures with high uncertainty avoidance seek security. Maybe
this is why people in Switzerland and Germany tend to have
more insurance policies than people in the UK. The recent financial
crisis has shown how the reluctance of Germans to
speculate in volatile investments, such as hedge funds, saved
the country from some of the disastrous effects experienced in
the US and Britain. The German experiences of hyperinflation
in the 1920s and currency reform after the Second World War
may well have influenced the national psyche, making people
cautious about what they do with their money.
nological factors include the degree of internet and mobilephone
usage and the costs and availability of digital payment
systems.
According to the research, Germans tend to use cash in
restaurants and pay for online services by invoice or Pay-
Pal. Germany is a high uncertainty-avoidance culture, with
a relatively low level of trust in the financial sector and in
technology. Cash is readily available because of the large
number of branches of banks and ATMs.
Americans, with lower uncertainty avoidance, tend to
have greater trust in and acceptance of new technology and
the financial sector. They may well use credit cards even for
small purchases, like a cup of coffee. Payments using online
apps are also popular.
Russia is characterized by high levels of corruption and
high uncertainty avoidance. Especially after the financial
crises of recent years, there is little confidence in banks.
Many people keep considerable amounts of cash at home.
ambiguous [Äm(bIgjuEs]
branch [brA:ntS]
currency reform [(kVrEnsi ri)fO:m]
feature [(fi:tSE]
hesitancy [(hezItEnsi]
insurance policy [In(SUErEns )pQlEsi]
invoice [(InvOIs]
purchase [(p§:tSEs]
readily available [)redIli E(veIlEb&l]
reluctance [ri(lVktEns]
research [ri(s§:tS]
uncertainty avoidance
[Vn(s§:t&nti E)vOId&ns]
volatile [(vQlEtaI&l]
African transaction: mobile banking is
popular where banks are rare
unklar
Filiale
Währungsreform
Merkmal
Zögern; hier: zögerliche
Akzeptanz
Versicherungspolice
Rechnung
(Ein-)Kauf
leicht erhältlich
Zurückhaltung, Abneigung
Forschung(sarbeit)
Unsicherheitsvermeidung
volatil, schwankungsanfällig
Getty Images
24 www.business-spotlight.de

Put that on my card:
charging a small purchase
iStockphoto (2)
Talking openly about money is a taboo in some
cultures but acceptable in others
Cash is used widely for payment, and even if goods are
ordered on the internet, they may be paid for in cash in a
personal meeting.
Kenya is an example of an African country where there
are few bank branches and ATMs per capita. For this
reason, banking by mobile phone using M-Pesa is very
popular. (“M” stands for “mobile” and pesa is Swahili
for “money”.) This system allows users with a national
ID card or passport to deposit, withdraw or transfer funds
using a mobile device.
deposit (money) [di(pQzIt]
gambling [(gÄmblIN]
ID card [)aI (di: kA:d]
instalment [In(stO:lmEnt]
intermediary [)IntE(mi:diEri]
loan [lEUn]
mobile device [(mEUbaI&l di)vaIs] UK
mortgage [(mO:gIdZ]
safe-keeping [)seIf (ki:pIN]
Swahili [swE(hi:li]
topic [(tQpIk]
withdraw (money) [wID(drO:]
(Geld) einzahlen
Glücksspiel
Ausweis
Raten, Teilzahlung
Vermittlungsinstanz
Kredit, Darlehen
Mobilgerät
Hypothek
Verwahrung
Suaheli
Thema
(Geld) abheben
Religion and money
Religion can also influence attitudes to money. For example,
Islamic Sharia law prohibits the acceptance or payment
of interest on loans. Islamic banking is based on the
principle of risk-sharing and safe-keeping. Interest is not
charged but clients share losses and profits with the bank.
The bank acts as an intermediary.
If, for instance, someone needs a mortgage to buy a
house, the bank may buy the property and then resell it to
the buyer, who pays the bank in instalments. Transactions
must be ethically acceptable and not involve alcohol, pork
or gambling.
Talking about money
All cultures have topics that are taboo for conversation
with business partners and reserved for family members or
friends. For instance, in many business situations, it may
be best to avoid talking about politics or private matters.
What are taboo topics for you? How would you react if
someone asked you how much you earn?
4
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 25

■ INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION MONEY AND BANKING
Islamic banking:
a matter of religion
In France, many people
consider it poor taste to
talk about financial topics
like your salary, how much
tax you pay or the cost of
your holiday. Some commentators
say that this has
origins in French history,
with money being a topic
for the common people and
bourgeoisie but not for
nobles. In the US, on the
other hand, many people
find it acceptable to talk
about money. This attitude
may be explained by the
fact that wealth is often
seen as a sign of hard
work, a positive value according
to the Protestant
work ethic.
There are also considerable
differences in how
acceptable it is to display
one’s wealth. In some
cultures, modesty is a positive
value, while in others,
it is seen as good to show
what you have. This is a
tendency in Russia and
China, both high powerdistance
cultures (see Business Spotlight 2/2013), in which
status symbols are often important.
Meanwhile, is it appropriate to give money as a present?
This is often a controversial topic, as doing so can be seen
as impersonal and unimaginative. Many people prefer to
give a gift voucher instead. In China, however, parents and
close friends give children money in a red envelope to
celebrate Chinese New Year.
■BS
Getty Images
For more information
BOOKS
■ Banking Cultures of the World, edited by Leo Schuster (Fritz
Knapp Verlag)
■ Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, Geert Hofstede
et al. (McGraw-Hill)
■ An Introduction to Global Financial Markets, Stephen
Valdez, Philip Molyneux (Palgrave Macmillan)
WEBSITES
■ Eye Square is a consumer and media research company:
www.eye-square.com
■ Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) produced by Transpa r-
ency International: www.transparency.org/cpi2012/results
appropriate [E(prEUpriEt]
bourgeoisie [)bUEZwA:(zi:]
common people [(kQmEn )pi:p&l]
Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)
[kE(rVpS&n pE)sepS&nz )Indeks]
edit sth. [(edIt]
gift voucher [(gIft )vaUtSE]
high power distance [)haI (paUE )dIstEns]
modesty [(mQdEsti]
noble [(nEUb&l]
research [ri(s§:tS]
senior consultant [)si:niE kEn(sVltEnt]
angebracht
Bourgeoisie, Bürgertum
niederes Volk
Korruptionswahrnehmungsindex
etw. herausgeben
Geschenkgutschein
mit hoher Machtdistanz
Bescheidenheit
Adlige(r)
Forschung
leitende(r) Berater(in)
Listen to Robert Gibson on Business Spotlight Audio
plus You’ll find a related quiz in Business Spotlight plus
www Read Robert Gibson’s blog at www.business-spotlight.de/blogs
ROBERT GIBSON is a senior consultant for intercultural
business competence at Siemens AG in Munich
(www.siemens.com) and the author of Intercultural
Business Communication (Cornelsen). Contact:
gibson.rob@siemens.com
26 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

LOOKING BACK INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION ■
“Supporters of firearms say that President Obama may
turn out to be the best gun salesman in history”
CAROL SCHEUNEMANN ON FIREARMS IN THE UNITED STATES
medium US
Gun-control policy
has backfired
In dieser Kolumne schreiben unsere Mitarbeiter über ihre Heimat.
CAROL SCHEUNEMANN kommt aus Arizona, wo privater Waffenbesitz locker
gehandhabt wird und strengere Gesetze oft das Gegenteil bewirken.
During a school trip to the desert, a
gun may have saved my friend Patty’s
life. We’d stopped for a picnic lunch
when we heard her screaming from
behind a bush. The sheriff pushed
past the group, unholstering his pistol
as he ran. Then he blasted to bits a
coiled rattlesnake near Patty’s feet.
I’m from Arizona. Thanks to the
state’s Wild West history perhaps,
Arizona’s firearms regulations are
very relaxed. There’s no registration,
you don’t need a license, and it’s OK
to carry a concealed weapon.
Arizonans aren’t alone in their love
of guns. The National Shooting Sports
Federation, a U.S. trade organization
of the firearms industry, called
2012 “a year of historic growth.”
Gunmaker Smith & Wesson saw a 43
percent rise in gun sales. California’s
Sacramento Bee newspaper counted
twice as many gun shops as McDonald’s
restaurants in the region.
President Barack Obama has been
trying to push through a far-reaching
action plan to reduce gun violence,
but in April, the U.S. Senate shot
down a proposal to extend background
checks and make it illegal to
sell assault weapons. Supporters of
firearms say that Obama may turn
out to be the best gun salesman in
history. His gun-control policy has
backfired.
Why? Yes, there’s the “gun lobby,”
with its huge political influence, and
campaign financing from groups such
as the National Rifle Association. But
in truth, Americans are buying up
firearms like crazy to jump the gun on
any laws that might make it harder to
get weapons.
amendment [E(mendmEnt] US
Zusatzartikel zur Verfassung
assault weapon [E(sO:lt )wepEn]
Sturmgewehr
backfire [(bÄk)faI&r*]
sich ins Gegenteil verkehren
background check [(bÄkgraUnd tSek]
Zuverlässigkeitsüberprüfung
blast sth. to bits [)blÄst tE (bIts*]
etw. (durch Schüsse) zerfetzen
coiled [kOI&ld]
zusammengerollt
concealed [kEn(si:&ld]
verborgen, verdeckt
constitution [)kA:nstE(tu:S&n*]
Verfassung
federation [)fedE(reIS&n]
Verband
firearm [(faI&rA:rm*]
Schusswaffe
jump the gun on sth. [)dZVmp DE (gVn A:n*] ifml. einer Sache zuvorkommen
rattlesnake [(rÄt&lsneIk]
Klapperschlange
rifle [(raIf&l]
Gewehr
shoot sth. down [)Su:t (daUn]
etw. abschießen; hier: ablehnen
unholster sth. [Vn(hoUlst&r*]
etw. aus dem Halfter nehmen
* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation that differs from standard UK pronunciation.
Gun supporters like to refer to the
US Constitution’s Second Amendment,
which gives Americans the right to
bear arms. Half of the country’s citizens
believe that protecting the right to
own guns is more important than controlling
who has them.
Criminals, so the argument goes,
don’t buy firearms in a shop. Never
mind that children as young as four
kill friends, relatives, or themselves —
as happened this spring in Arizona,
Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, and
Tennessee — with loaded guns that
had been poorly hidden.
iStockphoto
In good hands?
Shoot first,
ask questions later
Last December, in Newtown, Connecticut,
a young man took his mother’s
rifle, shot her dead, then killed 20
schoolchildren and six adults. In response,
gun supporters said teachers
needed guns. Teachers? Seriously?
Guns are the tools of the police and
military. But two-thirds of U.S. gun
owners say they have weapons so
they can take self-defense into their
own hands. To me, that thought is as
worrying as a coiled rattlesnake. ■BS
CAROL SCHEUNEMANN studied politics
and languages at the University of Arizona.
She now lives in Munich. Contact:
c.scheunemann@spotlight-verlag.de
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 27

n INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION TRAVEL TIPS
Where to go and what to do
Sie planen eine Geschäfts- oder Urlaubsreise? SARAH GOUGH empfiehlt Ihnen Orte und Ereignisse, die
Sie nicht verpassen sollten, und gibt Ihnen noch weitere interessante Informationen. medium
What’s on?
n It’s wine harvest season in the northern
hemisphere. Why not head to California’s
wine regions? Go to wine tastings
and take winery tours while travelling
through some of the state’s most
beautiful landscapes. The US is the
world’s fourth-largest wine producer,
after Spain, France and Italy, with California
producing about 90 per cent.
Wine means big business here: 330,000
jobs, $22 billion (€18 billion) retail
value in the US and $1.43 billion in export
revenue (figures for 2012). The
state has 4,600 grape growers (who
harvested 4.02 million tons of grapes in
2012) and 3,800 wineries. One of the most famous
events of the season is the Sonoma County Harvest
Fair (4–6 October), a three-day festival of wine
semi nars and tasting. Watch the movie Sideways
before you go. www.discovercaliforniawines.com
Hard work: harvest
season in California
n Travel on to New Mexico and visit the Albuquerque International
Balloon Fiesta (5–13 October), one of the largest
such festivals in the world. Visual highlights are the mass
ascensions, during which all participants (usually around
500) take off in two waves. www.balloonfiesta.com
California Wine Institute
Unusual: stay in
a caravan
Places to stay
In the country
Stay in a traditional thatched
cottage, a caravan or even a
stranded boat. Under the
Thatch offers unusual and
beautiful holiday homes,
mostly in the UK and Ireland.
Owned and run by an architectural historian, the company
buys and restores traditional and unusual
housing, placing great value on sustainability. Any
profits are reinvested in new housing and conservation
projects. www.underthethatch.co.uk
In town
Citadines Apart’hotel offers fully serviced rental apartments
in many European, Middle Eastern and Asian
cities. A good alternative to a hotel if you are staying
longer than a couple of nights. www.citadines.com
DID YOU KNOW?
Danes are the most honest hotel guests, Colombians
the most dishonest. These are some of the results of
a survey done for booking service Hotels.com on what
people “borrow” from hotels. Favourites are linen and
towels, followed by books and magazines. The Chinese
apparently like to steal furnishings, such as lamps.
ascension [E(senS&n]
billion [(bIljEn]
conservation [)kQnsE(veIS&n]
furnishings [(f§:nISINz]
grape grower [(greIp )grEUE]
harvest (sth.) [(hA:vIst]
housing [(haUzIN]
linen [(lInIn]
restore sth. [ri(stO:]
retail value [(ri:teI&l )vÄlju:]
revenue [(revEnju:]
survey [(s§:veI]
sustainability [sE)steInE(bIlEti]
thatch [TÄtS]
thatched cottage [)TÄtSt (kQtIdZ]
winery [(waInEri]
Aufstieg
Milliarde(n)
Erhaltung; hier: Denkmalschutz
Einrichtungsgegenstände
Weinbauer/-bäuerin
Ernte; etw. ernten
Behausung(en)
Leinen; hier: Bettwäsche
etw. restaurieren
Verkaufswert im Einzelhandel
Einnahmen
Umfrage, Studie
Nachhaltigkeit
Stroh; Strohdach
strohgedecktes Haus auf dem Land
Weingut, Weinkellerei
28 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

Guides
These books are “as much travelogues as travel
guides”, says Hilary Bradt, co-founder of Bradt
Travel Guides. The company values its authors’ personal
views and interests. The choice of destina -
tions is large, including
Africa, South America, Asia,
Australia and the British Isles.
Watch out for the fun Eccentric
series (Eccentric London,
for example). Bradt also organizes
group tours to exotic
places, such as Madagascar.
www.bradtguides.com
Siebensachen
hier: Flugtafel
Angestellte(r)
Mitgründer(in)
Luxus-
Abflugbereich
Preisnachlass
Augenzeuge/-zeugin
sich festhalten
Ebene
Gepäckwagen, Kofferkuli
Reisebericht, -beschreibung
belongings [bi(lQNINz]
board [bO:d]
clerk [klA:k]
co-founder [(kEU )faUndE]
deluxe [dE(lVks]
departures [di(pA:tSEz]
discount [(dIskaUnt]
eyewitness [(aI)wItnEs]
hold tightly [)hEUld (taItli]
level [(lev&l]
luggage trolley [(lVgIdZ )trQli] UK
travelogue [(trÄvElQg]
DK produces well-written and
informative travel guides to
most destinations in the world.
Enjoy the many maps, as well as
beautiful photos and illustrations.
The guides include all the classic travel tips as well as clearly
presented background information. Books in the Eyewitness
series are the most detailed, while the Eyewitness Top
10 are more compact. The Back Roads series is very good
for driving holidays. www.dk.co.uk
App
HotelTonight: This app lists lastminute
hotel offers in towns and
cities around the world. Hotels
give the company their unsold
rooms with discounts of up to 70
per cent. The app is free, easy to
use and has clear room categories: basic, solid, deluxe
and charming. Most rooms are in the US and Canada,
but the number of offers in the rest of the world is growing.
www.hoteltonight.com
English on the Move
Between terminals
An einem unbekannten Flughafen ist der Wechsel zwischen
Terminals oft gar nicht einfach. KEN TAYLOR begleitet Sie.
easy
iStockphoto
The information desk
Information-desk clerk: Good morning. How may I help you?
Claudia: I’m not quite sure where to go. I’m booked on a flight
to New York and I can’t see it up on the board.
Clerk: May I see your ticket, madam? Hmmm. Yes. Your flight
is from Terminal 3 at 11.40. This is Terminal 2.
Claudia: Oh, right. It’s lucky I left plenty of time to get there!
What’s the best way of getting to Terminal 3 from here?
Clerk: You can catch bus 7 outside Departures or you can get
the transit train on the next level.
Claudia: I’ve got this luggage trolley. Which would be best?
Clerk: I’d take the transit. It stops right at Departures in
Terminal 3. Just take the lift over there beside the coffee
shop and that will take you up to the transit train.
Claudia: Thanks. You’ve been very helpful.
The transit train
Claudia: Excuse me. Is this the transit to Terminal 3?
Airport employee: Yes, madam. Let me help you with that trolley.
It looks rather heavy.
Claudia: Thanks. Does it take long?
Airport employee: Just a few minutes. Are you in a hurry?
Claudia: No, no. I just haven’t been on this before.
Recorded message: Doors closing. Please hold tightly. This
transit is for Terminals 3 and 4.
Airport employee: Where are you flying to?
Claudia: I’m visiting my son in New York. Most of this luggage
is for him! He’s studying there for a year.
Airport employee: That sounds like fun.
Recorded message: The transit is approaching the stop for
Terminal 3. Please hold tightly — and make sure that you
have all your belongings with you when you leave the transit.
Doors opening.
Airport employee: Let me take the trolley off for you. There
you are. Have a good flight.
Claudia: Thanks for your help.
nBS
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 29

All in the
mind
Einem Ergebnis, das von allen Beteiligten akzeptiert wird, gehen
oft harte, langwierige Verhandlungen voraus. BOB DIGNEN befasst
sich mit unterschiedlichen Eigenschaften von Verhandlungsführern
und deren Einfluss auf den Verhandlungsprozess.
medium
Hemera

PSYCHOLOGY AT WORK BUSINESS SKILLS n
Negotiations are at the heart of our daily working
lives. From informal conversations to
agreeing on where to go for lunch to multimillion-dollar
business deals, we negotiate in
order to collaborate successfully and reach organizational
goals. Successful negotiators need strategic,
technical, intercultural and interpersonal skills. In this article,
we focus on seven key psychological success factors,
examining the attributes that drive communication strategies
and the language choices that deliver the best results.
You’ll be asked to reflect on your own psychology and rate
yourself on some key characteristics.
Before you read further, think about how you would answer
the following questions:
n What factors make negotiations difficult?
n What psychological attributes do effective negotiators
possess?
n Which aspects of your psychology make you a good
(and bad) negotiator?
As you read on, compare your answers to these questions
with the points that are made in the article.
1. Why is negotiating so difficult?
A negotiation, which involves people trying to find a
mutually acceptable solution to their different interests, is
a process with clear phases:
n A preparation phase, with a focus on determining one’s
own needs and interests.
n A meeting, in which we should carefully observe our
counterparts, first building the relationship and then
Aufnahme
(Ver-)Handeln
Schwierigkeit
zusammenarbeiten
Zusammenarbeit
Engagement; hier: Bereitschaft
Konkurrenz
einer Sache zugrunde liegen
Gesprächspartner(in)
Gegenvorschlag
sich auf etw. einlassen
etw. beurteilen
Rückzugs-
Ziel
für beide Seiten
(um etw.) verhandeln, (etw.)
aushandeln
Verhandlung
Verhandlungsführer(in)
jmds. Profil erstellen
Psyche
assimilation [E)sImE(leIS&n]
bargaining [(bA:gInIN]
challenge [(tSÄlIndZ]
collaborate [kE(lÄbEreIt]
collaboration [kE)lÄbE(reIS&n]
commitment [kE(mItmEnt]
competition [)kQmpE(tIS&n]
core: be at the ~ of sth. [kO:]
counterpart [(kaUntEpA:t]
counterproposal [(kaUntEprE)pEUz&l]
engage with sth. [In(geIdZ wID]
evaluate sth. [i(vÄljueIt]
fallback [(fO:lbÄk]
goal [gEUl]
mutually [(mju:tSuEli]
negotiate (sth.) [nI(gEUSieIt]
negotiation [nI)gEUSi(eIS&n]
negotiator [nI(gEUSieItE]
profile sb. [(prEUfaI&l]
psychological make-up
[saIkE)lQdZIk&l (meIk Vp]
psychology [saI(kQlEdZi]
rate sb. [reIt]
root [ru:t]
sense of self [)sens Ev (self]
sustainable [sE(steInEb&l]
hier: Mentalität
jmdn. bewerten
hier: Ursache
Gefühl von der eigenen Identität
tragfähig
spending time listening in order to properly understand
their position.
n In the next phase, we can present our own interests and
wants, and enter into an exploratory process of proposal
and counterproposal.
n A final phase of bargaining brings both parties to a negotiated
agreement.
“Start out with an ideal
and end up with a deal”
Karl Albrecht, American executive management
consultant
All this sounds simple, but we know that negotiating is
far from easy. One level of complexity comes from the fact
that negotiations often involve the assimilation and transfer
of a great deal of technical information, and the coordination
of often very different business interests. But on
another level, the complexity of negotiation involves psychology.
Any discussions with another human being bring into
play our sense of self: will others accept and respect us for
what we are? Negotiations also test our willingness to
engage with other people’s sense of self: do we have the curiosity
and commitment to really try to understand them?
To add to the complexity, these fundamental challenges
take place in a context characterized by both collaboration
and competition.
2. Psychological profile of a successful
negotiator
Donald O. Clifton, the father of strengths-based psychology
and the creator of the Clifton StrengthsFinder ® , produced
a list of 34 positive attributes with which we can
profile negotiators. From this list, I have identified seven
key attributes that I believe are at the core of the psychological
make-up of people who are able to negotiate successfully
in a range of professional contexts and with a
wide variety of counterparts.
a) Being analytical. People with this attribute show great attention
to detail, to objectivity and to logic. They want to
get to the root of problems, and to take the best course of
action. This is extremely useful at the planning stage of a
negotiation, when thinking about one’s own interests, one’s
ideal and fallback positions, as well as those of one’s counterparts.
Analytical excellence also enables individuals to
evaluate the proposals and argumentation of others, to remain
objective during discussions that have the potential
for conflict and to secure an agreement that is both realistic
and sustainable. Useful analytical behaviours (with
4
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 31

n BUSINESS SKILLS PSYCHOLOGY AT WORK
You become like a
poker player watching
the other players
examples of the language that you can
use) include:
n Stating the objective truth: The situation
we face is simply that…
n Focusing on facts: Do you have the
figures for… ?
n Discovering hidden logic: If this is so,
does it mean that… ?
Be forceful: you can
inspire respect
for your positions
tockbyte
Rate yourself: How analytical are you?
(low) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (high)
Ask yourself: What risks might this attribute and its associated
communication style pose for a negotiation? Note
down your answers and compare them with the comments
on page 35.
b) Being structured. Analytical excellence without a propensity
to be structured and organized can lead to endless detail,
a chaos of facts that frustrates and confuses everyone
concerned. Psychologist Clifton characterizes this structured
attribute, which he calls “arranger”, like this: “You
are a conductor. When faced with a complex situation involving
many factors, you enjoy managing all of the variables,
aligning and realigning them until you are sure you
have arranged them in the most productive configuration
possible.”
Organized thinking can help to generate a clear and focused
use of language, which provides a solid and logical
platform for negotiation. This is particularly important
when working in a foreign language and when there are
different expectations regarding the negotiating process.
Useful behaviours include:
n Working to a clear agenda: First, I would suggest that we…
n Creating a road map for the discussion: OK, I think we can
now move on to…
n Finding connections between parts: Should we look at these
two things together?
Rate yourself: How structured are you?
(low) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (high)
Ask yourself: What risks might this attribute and its associated
communication style pose for a negotiation? Note
down your answers and compare them with the comments
on page 35.
c) Being driven. Negotiators who are determined to produce
excellent results are more likely to invest the energy required
to reach them. They don’t give up easily. They have
huge reserves of energy and are resilient. A natural competitive
edge spurs them on. Clifton says of this attribute:
“It brings you the energy you need to work long hours
without burning out.” Useful behaviours include:
n Setting the bar high: I want to find the best solution for
both parties.
n Overcoming difficulties: We’re making progress with…
n Not giving up: Can we go through this just one more time?
Rate yourself: How driven are you?
(low) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (high)
Ask yourself: What risks might this attribute and its associated
communication style pose for a negotiation? Note
down your answers and compare them with the comments
on page 35.
d) Being empathetic. Negotiators are unlikely to arrive at the
best deal unless they properly understand their counterparts:
how they see the world, how flexible they can be on
key points, what needs they have for respect or recognition
agenda [E(dZendE]
align sth. [E(laIn]
burn out [)b§:n (aUt]
competitive edge [kEm)petEtIv (edZ]
conductor [kEn(dVktE]
driven [(drIv&n]
empathetic [)empE(TetIk]
pose a risk [)pEUz E (rIsk]
propensity [prEU(pensEti]
realign sth. [)ri:E(laIn]
resilient [ri(zIliEnt]
road map [(rEUd mÄp]
set the bar high [)set DE )bA: (haI]
spur sb. on [)sp§:r (Qn]
work long hours [)w§:k lQN (aUEz]
Tagesordnung, Punkteplan
etw. ausrichten, justieren
sich völlig verausgaben
hier: Führungsrolle
Dirigent(in)
engagiert, ehrgeizig
einfühlsam, empathisch
ein Risiko darstellen
Neigung, Hang
etw. neu ausrichten
belastbar
(Fahr-)Plan, Wegweiser
die Messlatte hoch anlegen
jmdn. antreiben
lange arbeiten
32 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

and so on. Understanding others demands close observation and a high
level of concentration. You need to listen closely to the other person’s
words and to the tone with which they are said. You need to watch for
facial expressions that show feelings. You become like a poker player trying
to discover which cards are held by the other player. Your intention is
to understand and create a relationship. Useful behaviours include:
n Clarifying what others say: When you say “difficult”, what do you mean?
n Checking on feelings: How would you feel if we… ?
n Signalling appreciation: I can understand that…
Rate yourself: How empathetic are you?
(low) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (high)
Ask yourself: What risks might this attribute and its associated communication
style pose for a negotiation? Note down your answers and compare
them with the comments on page 35.
e) Being curious. Curious people tend never to be satisfied, never convinced
that they know everything that they need to know. There is always an
angle that needs to be explored in case it can unlock some extra advantages.
Curiosity is a form of restlessness, a deep belief that other people
always have something to offer you. In the context of a negotiation, this
attribute means that questions are asked and different dimensions of the
negotiation are fully explored. Useful behaviours include:
n Asking open questions: What do you think is the best method?
n Testing assumptions: Why do you believe that… ?
n Exploring options: So is there a possibility for us to… ?
Rate yourself: How curious are you?
(low) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (high)
Ask yourself: What risks might this attribute and its associated communication
style pose for a negotiation? Note down your answers and compare
them with the comments on page 35.
A creative-writing class was
asked to write a short essay
containing the following elements:
religion, royalty, sex
and mystery. The prize-winning
essay read: “‘My God!’ said
the queen. ‘I’m pregnant.’”
A creative-writing class was
asked to write a short essay
containing the following elements:
religion, royalty, sex
and mystery. The prize-winning
essay read: “‘My God!’ said
the queen. ‘I’m pregnant.’”
A creative-writing class was
asked to write a short essay
containing the following elements:
religion, royalty, sex
and mystery. The prize-winning
essay read: “‘My God!’ said
the queen. ‘I’m pregnant.’”
ENGLISCH LERNEN IST EIN WITZ?
Ja, mit diesem Spiel, in dem die Spieler Witze,
Reime, Zungenbrecher und lustige Zitate zum
Besten geben. Und da Spielen ja eine ernste
Angelegenheit ist, versuchen alle sich das
Lachen zu verkneifen, denn das gibt Extrapunkte.
Für 3 – 8 Spieler ab 12 Jahren. Mit 400 Witzen,
Zungenbrechern und Reimen, 252 Kärtchen
mit 504 Vokabeln und 1 Spielanleitung mit
ausführlichem Vokabelteil.
In Zusammenarbeit mit:
4
f) Being flexible. I recently met a “relationship manager” who works for a
global insurer in London. When I asked him how he dealt with his clients
when negotiating, he said he was a “chameleon”, changing his hue in order
to engage and manage clients in the most professional way. Flexibility
was a necessary part of his psychology. Clifton expresses flexibility as
a willingness to adapt to the needs of the moment, even if it pulls you away
from your plans: “Flexible people don’t resent sudden requests or unforeseen
detours. You expect them. They are inevitable. Indeed, on some levangle
[(ÄNg&l]
appreciation [E)pri:Si(eIS&n]
assumption [E(sVmpS&n]
chameleon [kE(mi:liEn]
clarify sth. [(klÄrEfaI]
detour [(di:tUE]
engage sb. [In(geIdZ]
hue [hju:]
inevitable [In(evItEb&l]
insurer [In(SUErE]
open question
[)EUpEn (kwestSEn]
resent sth. [ri(zent]
restlessness [(restlEsnEs]
Blickwinkel, Gesichtspunkt
Verständnis; Wertschätzung
Annahme, Vermutung
[wg. Aussprache]
etw. klarstellen
Umweg
jmdn. einbinden
Farbe, Farbton
unvermeidlich
Versicherungsgesellschaft
offene Frage (die nicht mit „ja“ oder „nein“ zu
beantworten ist)
etw. übelnehmen
Ruhelosigkeit
JETZT BESTELLEN!
www.sprachenshop.de/spiele
oder im Buch- und Spielwarenhandel
3 19,95 (UVP)
5/2013
Mehr Informationen auf
www.grubbemedia.de

n BUSINESS SKILLS PSYCHOLOGY AT WORK
Ingram Publishing
fulness can also inspire your negotiating counterparts to
accept your position. Useful forceful behaviours include:
n Expressing certainty: I’m sure/certain that…
n Highlighting a personal perspective: My view on this is...
n Rejecting alternatives firmly: It is simply not an option to…
Rate yourself: How forceful are you?
(low) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (high)
Be curious: ask
questions and look
for new angles
el you actually look forward to them.” Flexibility is essential
during a negotiation. We need to use analytical and organizational
excellence to prepare, but we also need the
courage to abandon our script to take any opportunity.
Useful behaviours:
n Signalling openness: I’m happy to look at this in a very different
way.
n Inviting alternatives: Do you see another way to do this?
n Changing the process: Let’s stop here and just go to the factory
to see things for ourselves!
Rate yourself: How flexible are you?
(low) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (high)
Ask yourself: What risks might this attribute and its communication
style pose for a negotiation? Note down your
answers and compare them with the comments on page 35.
g) Being forceful. A German consultant once told me: “You
will never get anyone to believe what you say unless you
are confident about it yourself.” Clifton describes this important
psychological attribute like this: “You have confidence
not only in your abilities but in your judgement.
When you look at the world, you know that your perspective
is unique. And because no one sees exactly what you
see, you know that no one can make your decisions for
you. This lends you an aura of certainty.”
Negotiators must be open, flexible and curious. But they
need to balance this with forcefulness, a sense of inner
conviction that keeps the focus on key objectives. Force-
abandon one’s script
von seinen Vorgaben
[E)bÄndEn wVnz (skrIpt]
abweichen
blend (sth.) [blend]
Mischung; etw. mischen
confident: be ~ about sth. [(kQnfIdEnt] sich über etw. sicher sein
consultant [kEn(sVltEnt]
Berater(in)
derive from sth. [di(raIv frQm] von etw. entstammen
detached [di(tÄtSt]
distanziert
highlight sth. [(haIlaIt]
etw. hervorheben
invite sth. [In(vaIt]
um etw. ersuchen
look forward to sth. [)lUk (fO:wEd tu] etw. mit Freude entgegensehen
objective [Eb(dZektIv]
Ziel(setzung)
reject sth. [ri(dZekt]
etw. ablehnen
striking [(straIkIN]
auffallend
unique [ju(ni:k]
einzigartig
Ask yourself: What risks might this attribute and its communication
style pose for a negotiation? Note down your
answers and compare them with the comments on page 35.
3. A blended psychology for success
What is most striking about these psychological attributes
is that they demand of negotiators a most challenging
blend. There are big differences between these three
groups: analytical and structured; empathetic, curious and
flexible; and driven and forceful. Such groups of attributes
typically derive from very different senses of self: one
is more detached, one more person-oriented and the other
more dominant and power-seeking. Getting the optimum
balance of these attributes is exceptionally difficult.
Perhaps this is why we continue to find negotiating successfully
so challenging.
nBS
For more information
ARTICLE
n “A Question of Emotion”, Bob Dignen, Business Spotlight
5/2009
BOOKS
n The Psychology of Negotiations in the 21st Century Workplace:
New Challenges and New Solutions, Barry M. Goldman,
Debra L. Shapiro (eds.) (Routledge)
n The Social Psychology of Bargaining and Negotiation,
Jeffrey Z. Rubin, Bert R. Brown (Academic Press)
WEBSITES
n Introduction to the Clifton StrengthsFinder ® list of personal
attributes: www.strengthsquest.com/content/143324/
themes-full-description.aspx
n The psychology of negotiation: www.champtrainer.com/
documents/the_psychology_of_negotiation.pdf
n The fine art of negotiation: www.psychologytoday.com/
articles/200701/the-art-negotiation
Do exercises on this topic on Business Spotlight Audio
www Watch our Business with Bob series of videos for more tips on
how to improve your communication skills: www.businessspotlight.de/videos/bob
BOB DIGNEN is a director of York Associates
(www.york-associates.co.uk), which specializes in language,
communication and intercultural training. He
is the author of many business English books, including
Effective International Business Communication
(Collins). Contact: bob.dignen@york-associates.co.uk
34 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

SURVIVAL GUIDE BUSINESS SKILLS n
Negotiating styles
Here are more language suggestions for negotiations. Remember, you should use only the
lan guage that you feel comfortable with in your work situations.
medium
1. Being analytical
Stating the objective truth
n The reality of the situation is that…
Focusing on facts
n Here are some figures which show that…
Discovering hidden logic
n What do these figures really tell us?
Be careful not to come across as too detailed or confrontational
in your focus on facts. Explain why facts are important
to you and give positive feedback when others provide data:
n This is excellent. Thank you for the figures.
2. Being structured
Working to a clear agenda
n So, following our agenda, let’s begin with…
Creating a road map for the discussion
n What would be useful to discuss next?
Finding connections between parts
n Are these two areas related?
Be careful not to seem inflexible with your focus on structure.
You can ask questions that negotiate the agenda, or say clearly
why you think it is important to have a clear structure:
n I think discussing it in this way will allow us to…
3. Being driven
Setting the bar high
n I think we can achieve a lot today…
Overcoming difficulties
n I’m sure we can solve this if we…
Not giving up
n We may need a little more time on this, so…
achieve sth. [E(tSi:v]
agenda [E(dZendE]
appreciation [E)pri:Si(eIS&n]
assertive [Eˈsɜːtɪv]
assumption [E(sVmpS&n]
clarify sth. [(klÄrEfaI]
driven [(drIv&n]
empathetic [)empE(TetIk]
highlight sth. [(haIlaIt]
invite sth. [In(vaIt]
negotiate (sth.)
[nI(gEUSieIt]
open question
[)EUpEn (kwestSEn]
pushy [(pUSi]
reject sth. [ri(dZekt]
road map [(rEUd mÄp]
set the bar high [)set DE )bA: (haI]
etw. erreichen
Tagesordnung, Punkteplan
Verständnis; Wertschätzung
bestimmend
Annahme, Vermutung
etw. klarstellen
engagiert, ehrgeizig
einfühlsam, empathisch
etw. hervorheben
um etw. ersuchen
(um etw.) verhandeln, (etw.)
aushandeln
offene Frage (die nicht mit
„ja“ oder „nein“ zu beantworten
ist)
aufdringlich; hier: dominant
etw. ablehnen
(Fahr-)Plan, Wegweiser
die Messlatte hoch anlegen
Be careful not to appear pushy with your driven focus. Using
some less direct terms, such as “perhaps”, “maybe”, “may”,
“might” or “could”, will make you seem less dogmatic.
4. Being empathetic
Clarifying what others say
n Are you saying that… ?
Checking on feelings
n So, do you feel that… ?
Signalling appreciation
n That sounds good to me.
Be careful not to come across as too soft with your strong
focus on feelings. Try to include some forceful communication
strategies (see below) alongside more empathetic ones.
5. Being curious
Asking open questions
n Which are… ? / How is… ?
Testing assumptions
n Can we be sure that… ?
Exploring options
n Couldn’t we… ?
Be careful not to appear too tactical and aggressive with your
frequent use of questions.
6. Being flexible
Signalling openness
n Maybe we can look at this differently.
Inviting alternatives
n Shall we rethink this for a moment?
Be careful not to seem too open so that people don’t see you
as unstructured. You can give a reason why you think it is
important to be flexible — and, at times, show willingness to
stay with the plan:
n Why don’t we continue as planned and then look at this
again after lunch?
7. Being forceful
Expressing certainty
n There is no doubt that…
Highlighting a personal perspective
n My own view on this is that…
Rejecting alternatives firmly
n That is impossible because…
Be careful not to come across as too assertive. Combine forceful
communication strategies with some of the more flexible
and curious ones above.
nBS
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 35

■ BUSINESS SKILLS TOOLBOX
Staying polite
In dieser Rubrik nutzt KEN TAYLOR Erfahrungen, die er in vielen Organisationen und
in verschiedenen Ländern sammeln konnte, und beantwortet häufig gestellte
Fragen zur Kommunikation im internationalen Geschäftsleben.
medium
Image Source
1. How can I say no to people in speech or in writing
without offending them?
The best way is to avoid using the word “no”. Instead,
use the phrase “I’m afraid” to start your refusal and
follow it up with a reason for that refusal. Look at the
following examples:
■ Can you come to the meeting on Thursday?
■ I’m afraid not. I’m away on a business trip then.
■ Will the new system be up and running as planned?
■ I’m afraid it’s taking a little longer than we originally
thought.
With the phrase “I’m afraid”, you can soften the effect
of a negative answer. The implication is that the
“no” is not meant personally and that, in other circumstances,
it would have been a “yes”.
To soften the “no” even further, you might add an
alternative solution to the problem:
■ Can you come to the meeting on Thursday?
■ I’m afraid not. I’m away on a business trip then. Shall
I see if someone else from my team can come instead?
Sometimes, you actually want to emphasize your negative
response. Then, all you need to do is say no, but
add the phrase “I’m afraid not” to make the response
more polite:
■ Will the new system be up and running as planned?
■ No, I’m afraid not. It’s taking a little longer than we
originally thought.
2. How can I use email to instruct someone politely?
You can do this by correctly positioning the word
“please” in your instruction. Let’s look at three examples
and see the difference in meaning between them:
■ Could you send the report by Friday, please?
When you put “please” at the end of the sentence, this
is a polite request — not an instruction or an order.
■ Please, could you send the report by Friday?
“Please” at the start of a sentence is generally seen as
an order. But, when speaking, your tone of voice can
make it into a request.
■ Could you please send the report by Friday?
This is the clearest way of showing that the sentence
is a polite instruction or order. In an email, I would use
this sentence construction.
3. How can I signal disagreement in a meeting?
There are certain words and phrases that you can use
to signal disagreement politely. Putting one of these
phrases at the start of a sentence acts like a flashing red
light, warning the listeners that disagreement will follow.
Some of the most common words and phrases
used in this way are “actually”, “to be honest”, “in
fact” and “as a matter of fact”. Here are some examples
of how they are used:
appoint sb. sth. [E(pOInt]
consultancy [kEn(sVltEnsi]
emphasize sth. [(emfEsaIz]
flash [flÄS]
follow sth. up with sth.
[)fQlEU (Vp wID]
frankly speaking [)frÄNkli (spi:kIN]
head of finance [)hed Ev (faInÄns]
implication [)ImplI(keIS&n]
in other circumstances
[In )VDE (s§:kEmstÄnsIz]
offend sb. [E(fend]
order book [(O:dE bUk]
phrase [freIz]
put it bluntly: to ~ [)pUt It (blVntli]
refusal [ri(fju:z&l]
up and running: be ~
[)Vp En (rVnIN]
jmdn. zu etw. ernennen
Beratungsfirma
etw. unterstreichen
blinken
etw. auf etw. folgen lassen
offen gesagt
Finanzchef(in)
Implikation, Folgerung
unter anderen Gegebenheiten
jmdn. verletzen, vor den
Kopf stoßen
Auftragsbuch
Ausdruck, Wendung
um es ganz offen zu sagen
Ablehnung
in Betrieb sein
■ I propose we invest in the equipment immediately.
■ To be honest, I think we should wait until our order
books are fuller.
■ Are we agreed that Mark be appointed head of finance?
■ Actually, I think that Sarah would be the better choice.
If you want to signal strong disagreement, you could
use one of the following phrases: “frankly speaking”
or “to put it bluntly”.
■BS
KEN TAYLOR is the director of Taylor Consultancy
Ltd, an international communication consultancy in
London, and the author of 50 Ways to Improve Your
Telephoning and Teleconferencing Skills (Summertown).
Contact: KTaylor868@aol.com
36 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

Say it correctly: some tips for
pronouncing long words
SAY IT IN STYLE BUSINESS SKILLS ■
Syllable stress in
long words
Bei vielsilbigen Wörtern ist es nicht immer ganz einfach zu
wissen, welche Silbe am stärksten betont wird. Zum Glück
gibt es Regeln, wie ANNA HOCHSIEDER erklärt. medium
Comstock
With long words, it is often difficult to know where to
place the stress. Read the following paragraph aloud,
paying particular attention to the words in bold:
■ James went into politics at the age of 20. He’s a real
political animal. He says that being a politician is a
tough job, but it’s the only career he has ever considered.
Which syllable carries the main stress in each of the three
words in bold? If you pronounced the words correctly, you
may have noticed that the syllable with the main stress is
a different one in each case:
■ politics [(pQlEtIks] – political [pE(lItIk&l] – politician
[)pQlE(tIS&n]
Such stress shift is quite common in multisyllabic words of
Greek or Latin origin. Here are some more examples of
words from the same word family with shifting syllable
stress:
■ national – nationality – nationalization
■ photograph – photographer – photographic
■ diplomat – diplomacy – diplomatic
Note that the vowel sound can also change when the syllable
stress shifts:
■ photograph [(fEUtEgrA:f] – photographer [fE(tQgrEfE] –
photographic [)fEUtE(grÄfIk]
Here are some more examples with particularly noticeable
changes in vowel sounds:
■ major [(meIdZE] – majority [mE(dZQrEti]
■ mobile [(mEUbaI&l] – mobility [mEU(bIlEti]
How do you know which syllable in a long word carries
the main stress? Here are four useful rules to remember:
1. Words that end in -ion, -ian or -ic have the main stress
on the syllable before the last one:
■ education, technician, specific
2. Words ending in -ical have the same stressed syllable as
words ending in -ic:
■ economic – economical
■ historic – historical
3. Multisyllabic words that end in -y have the main stress
two syllables before the last one:
■ possibility, reality, sociology, economy, photography
4. Words for the people who work in a particular field often
have the same stress pattern as the related word ending
in -y:
■ biology – biologist
■ geography – geographer
If you remember these rules, you should be able to read the
following sentences aloud without any problems:
■ Philosophical thinking is critical thinking — and nobody
will deny the importance of being able to think
critically. Philosophy is the oldest academic subject
and is taught at most universities. Nevertheless,
career opportunities for philosophers are limited. ■BS
Practise your pronunciation on Business Spotlight Audio
www Learn more phrases at www.business-spotlight.de/skills
academic subject
[ÄkE)demIk (sVbdZekt]
animal: political ~
[(ÄnIm&l] ifml.
deny sth. [di(naI]
in bold [In (bEUld]
pattern [(pÄt&n]
pronounce [prE(naUns]
shift [SIft]
stress (sth.) [stres]
syllable [(sIlEb&l]
vowel [(vaUEl]
Studienfach
Person, die ein starkes Interesse
an politischen Themen hat
etw. leugnen
fettgedruckt
Muster
etw. aussprechen
Verschiebung; sich verschieben
Betonung; etw. betonen
Silbe
Vokal
ANNA HOCHSIEDER is a Munich-based teacher of
English as a Second Language who writes on language
issues in Spotlight and Business Spotlight.
Contact: a.hochsieder@googlemail.com
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 37

Human and machine:
specialists keep
the systems going
Get with the
Ein Arbeitsplatz ohne Computer? Heute fast undenkbar! Aber können Sie auch bei den
englischen Fachbegriffen für Hardware und Software mithalten? Mit den Übungen von
CAROL SCHEUNEMANN und HILDEGARD RUDOLPH testen Sie Ihr Wissen.
all levels
Digital Vision

iStockphoto
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LANGUAGE TEST n
THE SITUATION:
Deepak Vajpayee is a software
developer from New
Delhi, India. He’s been hired
to work for BerlinerShop, a
webshop for souvenirs from
Berlin. Because Deepak
doesn’t speak much German,
he and his colleagues communicate
in English. We’ll
accompany him on his first
day at work.
1.
Starting with hardware (10 points)
Deepak goes through some computer basics in English with the receptionist,
Ruth Bach. Choose words from the box to complete the sentences.
cord n drive n hardware n keyboard n keys n monitor n mouse
n ports n printer n touchpad
The a) ________ of a computer includes parts that you can touch, such as the
display, or b) ________. You enter letters by pressing the c) ________ on the
d) ________. To open a drop-down menu, use the e) ________ or, on a laptop,
the f) ________. Connect external devices, such as a scanner or g) ________,
by using the h) ________. Software programs are installed on the computer’s
i) hard ________. And electricity gets to the computer through a j) ________.
easy
2. Dealing with documents (12 points)
easy
Ruth needs help using the word-processing program. Choose the correct verbs to complete the sentences.
Ruth:
Deepak:
Ruth:
Deepak:
Ruth:
Deepak, could you help me to a) create / format a new file?
Yes, of course. First b) open / edit your list of documents in the toolbar. Then c) switch / click on “file”
and d) roll down / scroll down to “new”. e) Write / Delete the name of the file in this box, then press
the f) enter / erase key. This will g) save / store the file.
OK. How can I h) cut and paste / save and quit text?
First, i) merge / mark the section you want to j) hide / remove, hold the CTRL and X keys and move
the cursor to the place where the text should go. k) Insert / Download the text with CTRL and V.
Oops! That was the wrong section! Can I l) shortcut / undo it?
3. Working on websites (12 points)
medium
Deepak is talking about the company website during a meeting with the marketing team. Unscramble the
words to complete the text.
Deepak: Our tests show the site works with every a) ________ (werrobs) and that people find us with any
b) search ________ (gineen). We have to inform website users that we put c) ________ (oskicoe) on their
computers, but then we can measure the activity, or d) ________ (fatcirf), such as the number of e) ________
(sitvis) — people coming to the site — and the f) ________ (apeg) views. We empty the g) ________ (chaec),
that is, the memory, every hour, so the site h) ________ (oslad) quickly. We use i) open- ________ (userco)
software and free HTML j) ________ (deco), so our costs are low. Users can k) ________ (sopt) images or
videos, and we can l) ________ (tresma) these to transfer quickly. Any questions so far?
4
4
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 39

n LANGUAGE TEST INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
4. Using software (9 points)
medium
Deepak is talking to Ralf Herzog, a marketing assistant. Combine one word from each box to create terms
for the services and applications they are referring to.
Ingram Publishing
document
online
programming
social
user
voice
web
wireless
word
banking
connection
experience
language
management
media
processing
recognition
research
a) ________ ________ Ralf: “I’ll transfer the money for the new software.”
b) ________ ________ Deepak: “You might want to move your financial records
to a cloud service.”
c) ________ ________ Ralf: “Before we do anything else, I have to make
changes to this text file.”
d) ________ ________ Ralf: “I just talk — the software understands me.”
e) ________ ________ Deepak: “Do we have a hotspot in the office?”
f) ________ ________ Ralf: “Yes. Oh, look! We have 1,000 followers.”
g) ________ ________ Deepak: “I think it’s important to look systematically
for information on our rivals as well.”
h) ________ ________ Ralf: “By the way, I find our site a bit difficult to
navigate.”
i) ________ ________ Deepak: “Well, I can make it more interactive with
JavaScript.”
5. Going mobile (9 points)
medium
BerlinerShop is working on bringing its services to customers on the go. Deepak is reading a report on this
trend. Fill in the missing vowels to complete the terms in bold.
A study by TechBest Consultancy has shown that the use of a) sm_rtph_n_s such as the iPhone and Samsung
Galaxy, as well as of the slightly larger b) t_bl_ts, is expected to grow at a rate of 75 per cent by 2016. In fact,
c) m_b_l_ _cc_ss — internet on the go — is encouraging business development by allowing companies to reach
their customers anywhere. The flat, interactive surface of a d) t_ _ch scr_ _n encourages immediate reactions,
and firms can present their logos as background images, or as e) w_llp_p_r. Creating f) _pps has also become
more efficient, as these can be viewed across g) m_lt_pl_ d_v_c_s, in other words, on different pieces of electronic
equipment. Various operating systems, or h) pl_tf_rms, on the market allow companies to save data on
web-based i) cl_ _d s_rv_c_s, too. This helps to reduce the necessary IT investment.
40 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

6. Avoiding trouble (8 points)
advanced
Hacking and viruses can cause big problems, but Deepak makes sure the computers are protected. For each
description, choose the correct term.
THREATS
a) Using copies of popular websites to illegally gather user
data.
1. troubleshooting 2. pharming
b) Destructive code hidden in a seemingly harmless program.
1. Trojan horse 2. scam
c) A program that sends user data to a third party without
permission.
1. security breach 2. spyware
d) Recording the letters and numbers written by users.
1. keylogging 2. credentials
PROTECTION
e) A security copy of texts or information.
1. backup 2. patch
f) A type of filter that analyses incoming and
outgoing traffic.
1. firewall 2. glitch
g) Translation of messages into a secret code.
1. geek 2. encryption
h) A program that protects systems against
harmful code.
1. antivirus software 2. authentication
ANSWERS
Get with the program(me) US ifml. =
tun, was zu tun ist; program = Software
1. Starting with hardware
a) hardware
b) monitor = Bildschirm
c) keys = Tasten
d) keyboard = Tastatur
e) mouse
f) touchpad = Tastfeld
g) printer = Drucker
h) ports = Anschlüsse
i) drive (hard drive = Festplatte)
j) cord = (Strom-)Kabel
2. Dealing with documents
a) create = einrichten
b) open
c) click
d) scroll down
e) Write
f) enter (enter key = Eingabetaste)
g) save = sichern, speichern
h) cut and paste = ausschneiden und
einfügen
i) mark
j) remove
k) Insert = einfügen
l) undo = rückgängig machen
3. Working on websites
a) browser
b) engine (search engine = Suchmaschine)
c) cookies
d) traffic = Datenaufkommen
e) visits = Seitenaufrufe
f) page (page view = Seitenabruf)
g) cache = Zwischenspeicher
h) loads (load = laden)
i) source (open-source software = Software
mit offenem Quellcode)
j) code
k) post = online stellen
l) stream sth. = etw. in Echtzeit
wiedergeben
4. Using software
a) online banking
b) document management
c) word processing = Textverarbeitung
d) voice recognition = Spracherkennung
e) wireless connection = Funkverbindung,
Wi-Fi/WLAN
f) social media
g) web research = Inernetrecherche
h) user experience (UX) = Nutzungserlebnis
i) programming language
5. Going mobile
a) smartphones
b) tablets
c) mobile access = mobiler Zugang
d) touch screen
e) wallpaper = Hintergrundbild
f) apps
g) multiple devices = verschiedene
Geräte
h) platforms = Betriebssysteme
i) cloud services = webbasierte Dienstleistungen
6. Avoiding trouble
a–2 pharming = Pharming (lenkt den
Benutzer auf gefälschte Websites)
b–2 Trojan horse = Trojaner (Programm,
das im Hintergrund eine illegale
Aktivität ausführt)
c–2 spyware = Spyware (Software, die
Daten des Benutzers an Dritte
weiterleitet)
d–1 keylogging = Protokollieren von
Eingaben des Benutzers
e–1 backup = Datensicherung
f–1 firewall = Firewall (Schutzprogramm)
g–2 encryption = Verschlüsselung
h–1 antivirus software = Antivirensoftware
How did you do?
51–60 points Excellent! You speak “geek”, and
you are fluent in IT terms and trends.
41–50 Very good! You understand tech talk and
you can use most IT expressions.
31–40 Good! You can converse on IT subjects with
basic vocabulary.
30 points or fewer Nice try! To learn more IT terminology,
see the box “For more information”.
For more information
VOCABULARY GUIDE
n Skill Up! no. 4 (Business Spotlight 5/2010)
ARTICLES
Technology: Language Focus
n “Identity Management”, Business Spotlight 4/2012,
pp. 70–71
n “Smartphones”, Business Spotlight 3/2011, pp. 70–71
n “Websites”, Business Spotlight 4/2008, pp. 78–79
Do an exercise on this topic on Business Spotlight Audio
Learn more phrases at www.business-spotlight.de/skills
www
CAROL SCHEUNEMANN is a writer and editor at
Business Spotlight. She is also responsible for
Business Spotlight Audio.
Contact: c.scheunemann@spotlight-verlag.de
HILDEGARD RUDOLPH is a certified translator and
a freelance editor, teacher and book author.
Contact: bs.lektorat@spotlight-verlag.de
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 41

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■ LANGUAGE VOCABULARY
easy
Physiotherapy
In dieser Rubrik präsentieren wir nützliche Begriffe aus der
Arbeits welt. Von CAROL SCHEUNEMANN
1
2
19
20
3
5
17
18
4
6
16
13
8
7
14
12
10
9
15
11
Ken Raut
1. physiotherapy [)fIziEU(TerEpi], Physiotherapie,
physical therapy (PT)
Krankengymnastik
[)fIzIk&l (TerEpi] US
2. sling table Schlingentisch
3. wall bars Sprossenwand
4. physiotherapist [)fIziEU(TerEpIst], Physiotherapeut(in),
physical therapist US
Krankengymnast(in)
5. exercises [(eksEsaIzIz] Übungen
6. treat sb. jmdn. behandeln
7. stretch sth. etw. dehnen
8. joint [dZOInt] Gelenk
9. knee roll [(ni: rEUl] Knierolle
10. therapy bench [(TerEpi bentS] Behandlungsbank
11. height-adjustable höhenverstellbar
[(haIt E)dZVstEb&l],
adjustable in height
12. gym mat [(dZIm mÄt] Gymnastikmatte
13. stability ball [stE(bIlEti bO:l], Gymnastik-, Pezziexercise
ball
ball
14. Thera-Band® [(TerE bÄnd], Thera-, Fitness-,
exercise band, tubing [(tju:bIN] Streckband
15. weight, dumb-bell [(dVm bel] Hantel
16. electrical stimulation Reizstrom
17. therapy modality Modalität, Art (der
[(TerEpi mEU)dÄlEti]
Therapie)
18. ultrasound [(VltrEsaUnd], Ultraschall(gerät)
ultrasonic device
[VltrE)sQnIk di(vaIs]
19. spine [spaIn] Wirbelsäule
20. disc Bandscheibe
Exercise: Health in motion
Complete the sentences with words from the list.
Claire suffers from pain in her lower back and
hips. Her orthopaedic doctor recommended
a) __________, and she now goes to a(n) b) __________
once a week. First, she lies down on a(n)
c) __________, which is d) __________, so it can be
raised or lowered. Various types of treatment, or
e) __________, are possible. The therapist uses
f) __________ therapy, which sends an electric current
through the affected body part. Claire learns a variety
of g) __________ she can do, so that her h) __________
becomes more flexible. For these, she lies down on
a(n) i) __________ on the floor. To j) __________ the
muscles in her back, Claire hangs from k) __________
or is fixed to a(n) l) __________ table. To strengthen
the muscles in her arms, she uses m) __________.
Answers on page 62
plus For exercises on this topic, see Business Spotlight plus
44 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

medium
GRAMMAR AT WORK LANGUAGE ■
Comparing options
Im Arbeitsleben werden tagtäglich verschiedene Möglichkeiten diskutiert und miteinander
verglichen. ANNA HOCHSIEDER erläutert die dazu benötigte Grammatik.
Jennifer, head of human resources at a large bank, and Paul,
head of the public relations department, are talking about
three applicants for the position of PR assistant.
Comparing candidates
Jennifer: Carmen is younger and slightly less experienced
than the other two candidates, but
she has by far the best language skills. Her
Spanish is perfect, and her French is also
much better than Jonah’s or Helen’s.
Paul: True, but her English is not as good as a native
speaker’s. And she’s never worked in
banking. Jonah is the most experienced of
the three in that respect. Then again, he’s
not quite as confident as the other two. Carmen,
on the other hand, is extremely selfassured,
isn’t she?
Jennifer:
Paul:
Jennifer:
Exercise
Yes, she certainly is. Helen came across as
the friendliest, I thought, whereas Jonah
didn’t really say much. He’s a lot shyer than
the two women.
Hmm… He seems very conscientious,
though — much more so than Helen. I got
the impression that she’s a bit disorganized.
Oh, she was just nervous. But Carmen definitely
seems far more organized. And her
whole appearance was impeccable. She was
certainly the best-dressed candidate!
Complete the sentences with the prompts in the brackets
and any other necessary words.
a) Helen is not _________________________________
___________ Carmen. (organized)
b) Carmen is ____________________________________
the other two candidates. (well-dressed)
c) Jonah is _____________________________________
either Carmen or Helen. (experienced)
d) But he seems to be __________________________
___________ of the three. (confident)
Answers on page 62
Explanations
1. To compare options, we typically use the comparative
and superlative forms of adjectives. Most one-syllable
and some two-syllable adjectives add -er and -est. Remember
these spelling changes:
■ With one-syllable adjectives ending in a vowel and a
consonant, you double the consonant: hot – hotter –
the hottest.
■ With adjectives ending in -e, you add only -r and -st:
nice – nicer – the nicest.
■ With two-syllable adjectives ending in -y, this
becomes -ier or -iest: easy – easier – the easiest.
2. With longer adjectives, we use more and the most:
organized – more organized – the most organized.
3. A few adjectives are irregular, for example: good –
better – the best and bad – worse – the worst.
4. When compound adjectives consist of an adverb and an
adjective, the first part of the compound is changed:
well-dressed – better-dressed – the best-dressed.
5. You can also make comparisons with less and the least:
she’s less experienced – he’s the least confident.
6. Use than with things that are different and as with
things that are equal: better than, as good as.
7. Comparisons can be modified by using much, a lot,
far, slightly or a bit, and superlatives formed by adding
by far: much better than, far more organized, slightly
less experienced, by far the best.
8. Negative comparisons can be modified with quite as
or nearly as: not quite as confident as, not nearly as
experienced as.
9. The word so in the expression much more so allows
Paul to avoid repeating an adjective: “Jonah seems very
conscientious, though — much more so than Helen.”
10. Contrasting conjunctions such as whereas, but and
though are often used when comparing different options.
Other possible expressions include True, but…,
Then again,… and on the other hand.
Do an exercise on this topic on Business Spotlight Audio
plus Find related exercises in Business Spotlight plus
www More exercises at www.business-spotlight.de/grammar
ANNA HOCHSIEDER is a Munich-based teacher of
English as a Second Language who writes on language
issues in Spotlight and Business Spotlight.
Contact: a.hochsieder@googlemail.com
■BS
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 45

n LANGUAGE EASY ENGLISH
Updating your
project team:
be as clear as
possible
iStockphoto
Presenting a
project update
Bei internationalen Projekten hängt vieles davon ab, wie gut die Einzelnen zusammenarbeiten und
wie genau ein jeder über den Fortschritt der anderen informiert wurde. MIKE HOGAN zeigt, mit welchen
Wendungen wichtige Informationen weitergegeben werden können.
Working on international projects is now an important
part of many people’s working lives. To be successful,
you need not only to do your job well but also to communicate
effectively within your team. A key skill is giving
updates to other project members and the team leader about
the progress you are making.
We often think of business presentations as being large,
long and formal events. But a simple informal update is also
a form of presentation and it needs to be done clearly, efficiently
and professionally.
1. Giving a project update
Read the dialogue below and think about the answers to these
questions:
n What are the issues that Manfred is having now?
n Which question had he prepared for?
n What had he not anticipated and how did he deal with it?
Samantha: Manfred, could you tell us about what’s happening
on your side of the project?
Manfred: Sure. Well, as I said in the last meeting, we’ve had
some difficulties with the new product-ordering system.
Since then, there’s been an increase in the number of false
orders and this has been causing problems for the dispatch
module. This graph here shows the relationship between
the true orders and the orders logged by the system. Anyway,
the next thing I’d like to tell you about is…
Jon: Wait a minute. Didn’t you say in the last meeting that
you’d already fixed the problems with the productordering
system?
Manfred: Ah, I thought you might ask that. Yes, we’ve already
fixed the problems we were having last month, but since
we linked the order system to the dispatch module, some
new issues have arisen. We’re working on a solution at the
moment and think that we’ll have it fixed in a week or two.
As you can see on this graph, the number of false orders has
started to fall again. So, in summary, we’ve had some new
issues, but we hope to solve them before our next meeting.
Gitta: OK, thanks. But does that mean I can’t start on my part
of phase two until you get the problems solved?
Manfred: Oh, I’m not sure about that, Gitta. I’ll send a message
to our tech guys asking them about how this will
affect you. I’ll get back to you when I have an answer.
affect sb./sth. [E(fekt]
anticipate sth. [Än(tIsIpeIt]
dispatch module [dI(spÄtS )mQdju:l]
fix sth. [fIks]
graph [grA:f]
issue [(ISu:]
link sth. to sth. [(lINk tu]
log sth. [lQg]
summary: in ~ [(sVmEri]
tech guy [(tek gaI] ifml.
update: give sb. an ~
[(VpdeIt]
sich auf jmdn./etw. auswirken
etw. vorhersehen, erwarten
Versandmodul
etw. beheben
grafische Darstellung,
Diagramm
hier: Problem
etw. mit etw. verknüpfen
etw. registrieren
zusammengefasst
Typ von der Technik
jmdn. auf den aktuellen
Stand bringen
46 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

easy
Is that OK? Now, does anyone have any other questions before
I move on to my next point?
Samantha: OK. Thanks very much for the update, Manfred.
Keep us posted on that. What else did you want to say?
Here are the answers to the three questions:
n Manfred has had problems with the product-ordering
system since it was linked to the dispatch module.
n Manfred was prepared when Jon said that he thought the
problems had already been fixed before the last meeting.
He was able to tell Jon about new issues that had arisen.
n Manfred wasn’t ready for Gitta’s question about how the
new issues would affect her part of the project. He said he
would have an answer for her later.
2. Preparing to give an update
If you are going to use slides in your update, you might want
to email them to the team before the meeting so that they can
form their opinions and prepare some questions. Make sure
the information is clearly structured, as it is new for others.
And collect information to answer possible questions. Make
a list of useful phrases.
PROJECT UPDATE
Preparation
n Send slides to others before the meeting.
n Is the update clearly structured?
n Prepare answers to possible questions.
Language
n I’d like to give you an update on…
n As you can see on this slide/graph/chart,…
3. Useful presentation phrases
a) Starting
n I’d like to update you on recent developments.
n I’d like to spend a few minutes bringing you up to date on
what’s happened since our last meeting.
n As I said two weeks ago,…
b) Moving to the next point
n The next thing I’d like to tell you
about is…
n Now let’s move on to…
n The next point is about…
c) Talking about numbers/trends often used instead.
n As you can see on this slide/
graph/chart,…
n Please have a look at the data on this chart.
n Notice the difference between the two sections A and B in
this diagram.
n This graph here shows the relationship between…
d) Summarizing
n So, we’ve looked at…
n To summarize, I think we need to…
n So, in summary, we’ve had some new issues.
e) Ending
n So, that’s the current situation.
n That brings us to the end of my presentation/update.
f) Dealing with questions
n Are there any questions?
n Does anyone have any questions?
TIP: “Problem” sounds
negative to many people.
That is why the
words “issue”, “diffi-
culty” or “challenge” are
GRAMMAR: the present perfect
When giving updates, you can use the present perfect to say what you have or have not already done. This allows you
to focus on the connection between the past activity and the present. Look at these examples from Manfred:
n …we’ve had some difficulties with the new productordering
system.
n There’s been an increase in the number of false orders
and this has been causing problems for the dispatch
module.
n Yes, we’ve already fixed the problems we were having
last month, but since we linked the order system to the
dispatch module, some new issues have arisen.
n As you can see on this graph, the number of false orders
has started to fall again.
nBS
challenge [(tSÄlIndZ]
chart [tSA:t]
issue [(ISu:]
keep sb. posted on sth.
[)ki:p (pEUstId Qn]
phrase [freIz]
present perfect [)prez&nt (p§:fIkt]
slide [slaId]
summarize sth. [(sVmEraIz]
Herausforderung;
Schwierigkeit
Tabelle, Schaubild
Angelegenheit; Problem
jmdn. über etw. auf dem
Laufenden halten
Formulierung
Perfekt, vollendete Gegenwart
Folie
etw. zusammenfassen
plus You can practise the language of project updates in our
exercise booklet, Business Spotlight plus
MIKE HOGAN is a communication-skills trainer and
head of training and development at the LTC Language
Training Center (www.ltc-online.de). His publications
include Business English for Beginners A1
and A2 (Cornelsen). Contact: m.hogan@ltc-online.de
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 47

■ LANGUAGE WISE WORDS
“We will all accept a white lie or a half-truth to make life
easier — but nobody likes a barefaced lie”
DEBORAH CAPRAS ON LANGUAGE IN THE NEWS
Read my lips:
no new taxes
Politics,
promises and lies
Hat nicht jeder von uns schon einmal gelogen? Und wie viele
Wahlversprechen entpuppen sich nach der Wahl als reine Lüge?
DEBORAH CAPRAS beschäftigt sich mit der sprachlichen Seite von
Lügen, Missverständnissen und Halbwahrheiten.
Corbis
do you know if politicians are lying? — Their lips
are moving.” It’s an old joke, but, as with most
“How
jokes, it does have an element of truth. Of course,
politicians won’t admit that they told a lie. Instead, they “misspoke”
or “misremembered”. They’ll say that their words were
“misinterpreted” or that they were “misquoted” — but never
that they “misled” or “misinformed” the voters, even when
they’ve misbehaved.
George H. W. Bush must have forgotten about the joke
when he told voters to “read my lips”, and then slowly
promised that there would be “no new taxes”. That was back
in 1988, when he was on the campaign trail for the US presidency.
Many voters may have thought that he was lying at
the time, but he still won the presidency — and then broke
his promise two years later. He wasn’t voted in a second time.
We all lie
But everybody lies, don’t they? Children, lovers and employees
— they all lie. Colleagues might lie to protect themselves
(“Oh, I only just saw your email now”), to make themselves
look more hardworking than they really are (“I stayed up all
night working on the report...”) or to avoid a conflict (“Your
idea sounds interesting”). We will all accept a white lie or a
half-truth to make life easier — but nobody likes a barefaced
lie. “We’re against lying — and we’re covertly for it,” explains
Pamela Meyer, a certified fraud examiner and author of the
book Liespotting.
With elections coming up in Germany, don’t you want to
know which politicians might keep their promises — and
detect the deceptions? Popular TV shows such as The Mentalist
or Lie to Me have taught us that a raised eyebrow, a
slight sneer or a lack of eye contact can betray a liar. Is it
really that simple? In her book, Meyer writes that accomplished
liars actually look you straight in the eye. So which
one is it? The politician looked away? He could be lying. He’s
looking at you? He could be lying. Check again. If his lips are
moving, he’s probably lying through his teeth.
But seriously, you don’t want to vote for a liar, do you? So
watch out for the politicians who smile too much. According
to psychologist Dr Paul Eckman, liars often give the game
away by showing delight when they think they have duped
accomplished [E(kVmplISt]
barefaced [)beE(feIst]
betray sb. [bi(treI]
campaign trail: be on the ~
[kÄm(peIn )treI&l]
covertly [(kVvEtli]
deception [di(sepS&n]
detect sth. [di(tekt]
dupe sb. [dju:p]
element of truth: an ~
[)elImEnt Ev (tru:T]
fraud [frO:d]
give the game away
[)gIv DE )geIm E(weI]
liespotting [(laIspQtIN] non-stand.
lie through one’s teeth
[)laI Tru: wVnz (ti:T] ifml.
misquote sb. [)mIs(kwEUt]
sneer [snIE]
white lie [)waIt (laI]
versiert
schamlos, dreist
jmdn. verraten
sich im Wahlkampf
befinden
heimlich, im Verborgenen
Täuschung, Schwindel
etw. erkennen
jmdn. überlisten, hereinlegen
ein Körnchen Wahrheit
Betrug
alles verraten; hier: sich zu
erkennen geben
etwa: wie man Lügen erkennt
lügen, dass sich die Balken
biegen
jmdn. falsch zitieren
höhnisches Grinsen
Notlüge
48 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

medium
someone. It’s what he calls “duping delight”. It’s a microscopic
grin at the wrong moment. It’s something a liar can’t
control. If a politician smiles just after he says he didn’t know
that he couldn’t employ his wife, son or mother, now you
know: he could be lying.
Not the whole truth?
If you can’t catch the liars through their facial expressions,
use technology. When Hillary Clinton wanted to become the
Democratic presidential candidate, she explained that she
had to run from snipers when her plane landed in Bosnia in
1996. When a video of her trip was found, she admitted she
had “misspoken” about the event. The video showed her receiving
flowers from a little girl, her daughter, Chelsea, beside
her. No snipers in sight. Why did she lie? Maybe she felt
her version of events made her look stronger. Maybe lying runs
in the family. From that moment on, Barack Obama was regarded
as more honest and trustworthy — and won the vote.
Voters are not stupid. They know that politicians are, at
best, “economical with the truth”. But why do politicians
lie? It’s simple: voters can’t deal with the truth. Well, not the
whole truth, anyway. They voted for Bush in 1988 because
he told them what they wanted to hear. It’s the same at every
election in every country. Voters hear the promises, suspect
many of them are lies — and then choose the lesser of the
two or three evils. And if they claim otherwise, they’re lying.
A CLOSER LOOK
To be “economical with the truth” means to be “deceitful”.
It became popular after the politician Sir Robert Armstrong
used it in 1986. At the time, the UK government was trying
to ban Spycatcher (a book by Peter Wright about his experiences
in the British secret service) in Australia. At the
trial, Armstrong had to admit that the UK government had
not told the whole truth, but he wouldn’t say “lie”. Instead,
he said the government had been “economical with the
truth”. Today, you can order the book online, even in the UK.
damned [dÄmd] ifml.
verdammt
deceitful [di(si:tf&l]
betrügerisch
deceive (sb.) [di(si:v]
(jmdn.) betrügen, täuschen
economical with the truth: be ~ es mit der Wahrheit nicht so
[i:kE)nQmIk&l )wID DE (tru:T] genau nehmen
exaggerate sth. [Ig(zÄdZEreIt] etw. übertreiben
merchant [(m§:tSEnt]
Kaufmann/-frau
MP (Member of Parliament) [)em (pi:] Abgeordnete(r)
PM (Prime Minister) [)pi: (em] Premierminister(in)
run in the family [)rVn In DE (fÄmli] in der Familie liegen
secret service [)si:krEt (s§:vIs] Geheimdienst
sniper [(snaIpE]
Heckenschütze/-schützin
spycatcher
Aufklärer(in) in der Spionage-
[(spaIkÄtSE] non-stand.
abwehr
(spy
Spion(in))
suspect [sE(spekt]
den Verdacht hegen
tangled [(tÄNg&ld]
verworren
trial [(traIEl]
Gerichtsverfahren
weave a web [)wi:v E (web]
ein Netz spinnen
USEFUL EXPRESSIONS
Here’s a list of popular expressions used to talk about lying,
or that contain the word “lie”. You might hear them
when people discuss politics.
A tangled web
A short form of the lines: “O what a tangled web we
weave, / When first we practise to deceive!” (Marmion,
Sir Walter Scott, 1808). It is used to say that if you tell
one lie, you will have to tell more lies to hide the first
one. The lies become harder and harder to remember:
■ Such a tangled web. I don’t know what to say any more.
Bend/Stretch the truth
If you say something that isn’t a complete lie, nor completely
true, we say that you bend, or stretch, the truth:
■ It was stretching the truth to say that sales are great.
I tell a lie.
This expression is often used to show that we have said
something wrong and want to correct it:
■ It was Thursday — no, I tell a lie — it was Friday.
Lies, damned lies and statistics
A short form of “There are three kinds of lies: lies,
damned lies and statistics”. Mark Twain wrote that
British PM Disraeli said it, but it’s not clear that he did:
■ Lies, damned lies and statistics. I don’t trust his data.
Terminological inexactitude
First used by Sir Winston Churchill in 1906 to describe
something that had been exaggerated, the term now
means “a lie”. In the UK Houses of Parliament, MPs are
not allowed to use “unparliamentary language”, which includes
calling another MP a liar. This is why they try to
create new expressions to mean “lie”:
■ I think that was a terminological inexactitude.
Truth will out.
We use this expression to show that we think someone
is lying — but that, in the end, we will discover the truth.
It’s from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice:
■ Politicians will never learn that truth will out. ■BS
For more on this topic, see Business Spotlight Audio
plus For related exercises, see Business Spotlight plus
DEBORAH CAPRAS is the deputy editor of Business Spotlight.
She has lived in a number of European countries, including
Greece. You can read her blog, Wise Words, and do her online
language exercises at www.business-spotlight.de/blogs
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 49

■ LANGUAGE SHORT STORY
A murder of
crows
Stockbyte
Krähen wird eine hohe Intelligenz und
eine große Lernfähigkeit zugeschrieben,
was sie zu wertvollen Forschungsobjekten
macht. Doch wehe, wenn man den Bogen
überspannt. Von JAMES SCHOFIELD
Murderous crow:
loyal, intelligent and
dangerous
Detective Inspector Harris pressed the start button on
the digital voice recorder. “DI Harris, 10.45 a.m., the
19th of October 2013, interview with Dr Gayle
Jamieson regarding suspicious death of Professor Kenneth
Lang, case number 42/891/E.”
Harris paused. “Suspicious” was somewhat of an understatement.
When he had arrived at the Fairoaks Research
Laboratories, Lang’s body was lying on the ground in front of
the building, his face dark with blood, the eyes and tongue
ripped out. This had not been an accident.
Harris looked across the table at Dr Jamieson. She was
wearing an oversized shirt, arms close to her chest, as if hoping
they would provide protection. Her hands were tightly
holding a cup of coffee. Her face was pale, with dark rings
under her eyes. Harris noticed a bruise on her left cheek. How
had she got that?
“Dr Jamieson, can you tell me what you know about the
death of Professor Lang?”
She put down her coffee and placed her hands on the table,
but continued moving her fingers nervously as she spoke.
“I need to start at the beginning if you’re going to understand
this. Otherwise, I don’t think you’ll believe me,” she
said.
“Well, take your time.”
“I joined Fairoaks about three years ago,” she began. “I’d
just finished my dissertation on animal behaviour when I was
introduced to Professor Lang. He asked if I wanted to continue
my work and research the intelligence of crows. He
wanted to see if I could teach them things.”
“Crows?” asked Harris.
“Yes, you shouldn’t be surprised. Crows are about as intelligent
as chimpanzees. And they have several advantages over
chimps: they’re very mobile, they can eat almost anything and
they like living near us. As our population has exploded, so
has theirs.”
“Rats, too,” added Harris.
“Yes, another intelligent animal. Anyway, the lab had a contract
with the Ministry of Defence to see if crows could car-
ry out certain tasks for the military. Detection of landmines,
aerial reconnaissance with tiny cameras, things like that.
They’d be a lot cheaper and more useful than drones.”
“What was Professor Lang’s role at the lab?”
“He is... was in charge of all the research that goes on here.
There are three other teams working on different projects for
various clients. And he’s good at getting contracts. He persuaded
the ministry to finance this research. He developed
the tests that I carried out, then analysed my data and looked
for patterns in the birds’ behaviour that could be useful.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“Oh, yes,” she smiled for the first time. “Well, one day, I
got a new young crow that had been found with a broken
wing. I looked after him at home until he could stay at the
lab, and I called him Jacko. It was unprofessional of me, I
know. You should never get too close to your research animals.
But with Jacko, it was impossible not to.”
“Why?”
“Jacko is different. Just as we have our Mozarts or our Einsteins,
Jacko is much more intelligent than the other birds.
He could solve problems faster than we could create them.
And what was so extraordinary was that he could teach the
other crows what he had learned.”
“That must have been useful.”
“Very. We could train them much faster. Then, about three
months ago, Professor Lang asked me to teach the birds
something new…” She stopped suddenly and looked around
aerial reconnaissance [)eEriEl ri(kQnIsEns]
bruise [bru:z]
crow [krEU]
detection [di(tekS&n]
drone [drEUn]
interview with sb. [(IntEvju: wID]
lab [lÄb] ifml.
pattern [(pÄt&n]
research sth. [ri(s§:tS]
research laboratory [ri(s§:tS lE)bQrEtEri]
rip sth. out [)rIp (aUt]
suspicious [sE(spISEs]
Luftaufklärung
blauer Fleck
Krähe
Aufspüren
Drohne
Befragung von jmdm.
Labor
Muster
etw. untersuchen
Forschungslabor
etw. herausreißen
verdächtig
50 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

medium
“Jacko could solve
problems faster than we
could create them”
the interview room. “Sorry, could somebody give me a cigarette?
Is that allowed in here?” Harris pulled out a packet and
pushed it across the table to Dr Jamieson. She took one and
Harris held up the flame of his lighter. The tip of the cigarette
shook and it was a moment before it lit properly.
“I haven’t smoked for quite a while. But now seems a good
time.”
“You said Professor Lang wanted the crows to do something
new?” Harris reminded her.
She nodded. “Yes. He wanted me to train them to carry
small rucksacks on their backs. Crows are pretty strong and
they can carry up to about 250 grams quite easily. With
Jacko’s help, it worked.”
“What were they supposed to carry?”
“Medicines, small bits of equipment, things that could be
useful on a battlefield. That’s what Lang said. Yesterday
morning, he took five birds, including Jacko, to Aldershot,
where the ministry has a test area. He said he was going to
demonstrate to the clients what the crows could do. I was just
getting ready to go home when he returned, and I got a call
from one of my assistants saying I should come to the lab immediately.
He said that Professor Lang had brought back only
four birds and that they and the remaining birds were in a terrible
state.
“I went straight over and found them all screaming in their
cages. My first feeling was relief when I saw Jacko was there,
but he just hissed at me in rage.”
Dr Jamieson took another cigarette and lit it from the end
of her first one.
“I knew something awful must have happened. The security
guard told me that Professor Lang was still in his office,
so I went up and demanded an explanation. ‘The demonstration
was a success,’ he said. ‘Your research budget is going
to be doubled. You should be happy.’ Then he showed me the
video he had made…” A thin line of tears made its way over
the ugly bruise on her cheek.
“It was terrible. The poor animal flew out of its cage, across
a field and landed on the target that was marked with a laser
pointer, just as we had taught it…”
battlefield [(bÄt&lfi:&ld]
berserk: go ~ [bE(z§:k]
briefcase [(bri:fkeIs]
collective noun [kE)lektIv (naUn]
flock [flQk]
gurgling [(g§:g&lIN]
hiss [hIs]
lighter [(laItE]
novel [(nQv&l]
target [(tA:gIt]
whooshing [wUSIN]
Schlachtfeld
durchdrehen
Aktentasche
Sammelbegriff
(Vogel-)Schar
gurgelnd
zischen
Feuerzeug
Roman
Ziel
zischend, rauschend
Her tears fell faster and she used the sleeve of her shirt to
wipe them away. “…and then it exploded. There was nothing
left of the target except dust and feathers. You could hear the
customers applauding and laughing in the background. It was
sick… sick.
“I ran out of his office and went back to the laboratory. I
knew what I had to do. The birds had calmed down in the
meantime. I went to Jacko and tried to explain what had happened.
He put his head to one side and seemed to be listening
to every word. I swear he understood. I unlocked all the
cages, then went and opened all the windows. One by one,
the crows flew away, Jacko last of all.”
“What happened next?”
“I went out to the car park where Professor Lang was about
to get into his car. I told him what I had done — and he went
berserk. We started shouting at each other and then he hit
me hard…” She put her hand to her cheek. “It knocked me
down, and he stood over me, threatening to hit me with his
briefcase. I screamed and put my arm over my face.
“Then I heard Jacko’s call, followed by a loud whooshing
noise. When I looked up again, Lang was running back towards
the building because the lab crows were flying at him
from every side.
“At some point, he lost his balance and fell — and they
were on him immediately, tearing strips of flesh from his face.
After a while, the screams stopped, and he just made a
terrible gurgling noise. I got to him about the same time as
the security guards, but it was too late. Up above, the birds
circled for a while, watching us. There was a final call, it was
Jacko again, and they flew off. I’ve no idea where.”
“So, you’re saying Professor Lang was killed by a flock of
crows? Is that right?” Harris asked.
“Yes, inspector,” she said. “But when talking about a group
of crows, instead of the word ‘flock’, you can call it a ‘murder’.
Professor Lang was killed by a murder of crows. Isn’t
that ironic?”
■BS
Language point
A murder of crows. English uses various
collective nouns for describing groups of
animals. Common ones include “flock” for
birds (Schar) and “swarm” for insects
(Schwarm). Many terms exist only for specific
types of animals or birds, for example,
a “gaggle of geese” (Gänseschar), and
are therefore not widely used.
You can listen to this story on Business Spotlight Audio
JAMES SCHOFIELD is currently working on a novel.
If you’d like to follow his creative progress and read
more of his stories in English, see his blog at
http://jrtschofield.blogspot.de
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 51

n LANGUAGE TRANSLATION
medium
False friends
You mean… You should say… Don’t say… As this means…
Grad degree(s) grade (Güte-)Klasse;
Es ist erst 10 Uhr morgens It’s only 10 a.m. and (Schul-)Jahrgang;
und schon über 30 Grad. already over 30 degrees. US Schulnote
Stoff fabric stuff Kram, Zeug
Haben Sie einen Bezug aus Did you choose a cover made
Stoff oder Leder ausgesucht? of fabric or leather?
Pump credit pumps UK Tanz-, Ballett-
Sie hat es auf Pump gekauft. She bought it on credit. schuhe; Pumps
You can find more false friends on Business Spotlight Audio
Don’t confuse... currant and current
n A currant (Korinthe) is a very small, dried, seedless type
of grape (kernlose Traube). Currants are often used in
cakes. (By the way, a Korinthenkacker is called a “nitpicker”
in English.)
n A redcurrant (rote Johannisbeere) is a small, edible (essbar)
red berry, and the bush on which it grows. There
are also blackcurrants (schwarze Johannisbeeren).
n The adjective current describes something that is happening
now. We talk about the current issue of a magazine
(aktuelle Ausgabe), current affairs (Zeitgeschehen)
and current events (Tagesereignisse). You can open a
current (US checking) account (Girokonto), from which
you can withdraw money at any time.
n The noun current (Strom) refers to the flow of water,
electricity or air.
Tricky translations by MIKE SEYMOUR
How do you say “approve/approval” in German?
To “approve” something is to accept and agree to it officially,
particularly a plan, a proposal or costs: “All expenses
above €500 have to be approved.” It is best translated as
genehmigen: Alle Ausgaben über €500 müssen genehmigt
werden. A credit-card application that is “pre-approved”
is im Voraus genehmigt. A member of staff who is an
“approved signatory” is a Zeichnungsberechtige(r).
The corresponding noun is “approval” (Genehmigung).
If your offer “meets with approval”, it is accepted (Zustim -
mung finden): “We hope this meets with your approval.”
— Wir hoffen, dies findet ihre Zustimmung. Approval can
also be translated as Einverständnis: “You won’t get my
approval!” — Mein Einverständnis bekommen Sie nicht!
“Approve” also means to “believe that someone or
something is good or appropriate”: “The boss does not approve
of us wearing jeans.” Here, it is best translated as
gutheißen, gut finden, dulden or billigen: Der Chef findet
es nicht gut, wenn wir Jeans tragen.
How do you say Haushalt/Haushalts- in English?
Firstly, Haushalt refers to a place of residence and the
people living there together, seen as a unit: Über 80
Prozent der deutschen Haushalte verfügen über mindestens
ein Auto. It is best translated as household: “Over
80 per cent of German households have at least one car.”
You can also translate it as household in compound words
such as Haushaltsgerät: household appliance.
Secondly, Haushalt describes the money available to a
country, governmental body or organization — and also a
plan of how this money is to be spent: Die EU soll ihren
Haushalt um 5 Prozent kürzen. It is best translated as
budget here: “The EU should cut its budget by 5 per cent.”
When Haushalt has the meaning “work done in the
home”, translate it as housekeeping, housework, chores
or around the house: Mein Sohn hilft nie im Haushalt. —
“My son never helps with the housework.” Haushaltsgeld
is best translated as housekeeping money. Housekeeping
allowance is generally used when a husband gives money
to his wife (who doesn’t work) to do the housekeeping.
Exercise 1 Translate the following sentences.
a) Were your travel expenses approved?
Exercise 2 Translate the following sentences.
a) Der Haushalt wird erst nach den Wahlen gekürzt.
b) I don’t approve of staff smoking at the entrance.
b) Nicht jeder Haushalt verfügt über ein Auto.
Answers on page 62
52 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

y DEBORAH CAPRAS
CARDS LANGUAGE ■
Grammar
Grammar
Put the words in blue in the correct order.
“Did you ask Julie getting was she how
to the conference?”
Which is correct?
“Even though / Even if he doesn’t speak
French, Tom got the job in Paris.”
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Translation
Translation
Translate this sentence into English.
Mein Gegenstück in London ist Japaner.
Translate this sentence into German.
“His surgery doesn’t open until 9 a.m.”
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www.business-spotlight.de
Word choice
Word choice
Which word is correct?
“Could you keep me in the curve/loop?”
Which word is correct?
“We’re behind the curve/loop here.”
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Business talk
Business talk
What does the speaker mean?
“We should ring-fence €50,000 for this.”
What does the speaker mean?
“That’s one of his pet peeves.”
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■ LANGUAGE CARDS
“Even though he doesn’t speak
French, Tom got the job in Paris.”
Even though means “despite the fact that”.
Even if means “whether or not”, so it would not
make sense in this sentence.
even though = obwohl; even if = selbst wenn
“Did you ask Julie how she was getting to the
conference?”
When you report a “how” question, there is no
inversion of subject and verb. The word order for
the direct question is: “How are you getting to
the conference?”
BS 5/2013 BS 5/2013
Seine Praxis macht erst um 9 Uhr auf.
In the UK, the office of a doctor or a dentist is
called a surgery. In American English, this is
called a (doctor’s) office.
“My counterpart / opposite number in London is
Japanese.”
A person who has a similar position to yours
in another office or company is your
counterpart or opposite number.
BS 5/2013
BS 5/2013
“We’re behind the curve here.”
Someone who is behind the curve is not up to
date with the latest trends or developments. The
opposite is “ahead of the curve”.
be behind the curve = hinterherhinken
be ahead of the curve = der Zeit voraus sein
“Could you keep me in the loop?”
Someone who is in the loop has all the latest
information about something. The speaker is
asking to be kept informed.
keep sb. in the loop = jmdn. auf dem Laufenden
halten
BS 5/2013 BS 5/2013
A pet peeve is something that you like to
complain about on a regular basis.
(persönliches) Lieblingsärgernis
BS 5/2013
When you ring-fence a sum of money, you make
sure that it is used for only one thing and not for
anything else. The speaker is saying that they
could allocate €50,000 for a particular purpose.
The expression is used in the UK. In the US,
people would say “earmark”.
etw. zweckgebunden vorsehen
BS 5/2013

SKILL UP!
Improve your
BUSINESS VOCABULARY
with our essential guide
RECENT TOPICS:
n Human resources, no. 12 (1/2012)
n Your office, no. 13 (2/2012)
n The language of marketing, no. 14 (3/2012)
n Popular sports, no. 15 (4/2012)
n International conferences, no. 16 (5/2012)
n Talking about time, no. 17 (6/2012)
n The environment, no. 18 (1/2013)
n The world of fashion, no. 19 (2/2013)
n Talking about production, no. 20 (3/2013)
n Your holidays, no. 21 (4/2013)
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For a full list of all Skill Up! topics covered to date,
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5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 55

■ LANGUAGE ENGLISH FOR...
Document management
Viele Informationen, die wir früher auf Papier
vor uns hatten, erhalten wir heute digital. Bei
kaum veränderten Arbeitsabläufen gilt nun
aber der Sicherung der Daten besondere
Aufmerksamkeit, wie EVAN FRENDO erklärt.
Paper or digital:
we need ways
to keep information
Documents are at the heart of any business. We use them
to collect and distribute information, to share ideas and
to record important decisions. Traditionally, “documents” referred
to information printed on paper, but now many written
materials are produced in digital form. However, the principles
involved in managing documents remain the same.
Most companies receive a steady flow of documents from
suppliers and customers. They therefore need ways to create
and amend documents; to track documents through their various
versions; to allow printing and reproduction; and to develop
systems to file and archive them before, finally, disposing
of them when they are no longer required.
Let’s look at the steps taken to handle a paper invoice.
First, it is received by post, checked against a purchase order
(to make sure the product was in fact ordered), checked
against a delivery note (to see whether the product was actually
received) and authorized for payment. The details are
transferred to the books and the payment made and documented.
Then the papers are filed or archived according to a
specific system: for example, alphabetically, numerically,
Exercise: Handling the paperwork
Answer the questions based on the text.
a) How are paper documents converted into digital
data?
1. They are scanned. 2. They are compared.
b) What do you do when you “retrieve” a document?
1. You lose it. 2. You find it.
c) What happens to a document when it is no longer
needed?
1. It is disposed of. 2. It is tracked.
Answers on page 62
chronologically, geographically or by subject.
Such processes are time-consuming and the
pieces of paper could be filed in the wrong
place or lost.
Today, many paper documents are scanned
to create electronic versions. Document management
systems (DMS) use computers, and
software makes it relatively simple to manage, track and share
digital documents. Options include storing documents in the
cloud: in other words, with a web-based service. This allows
access from anywhere and provides greater capacity than is
found on local computers. Of course, digital material must
also be organized so that users can easily retrieve information.
We are all familiar with the frustration of looking for a
particular email — which can take as long as searching for
a letter buried under a pile of paper.
Although security and control are two major concerns about
storing documents in the cloud, we can use various methods
to check a person’s identity and make sure that only authorized
users can access the documents. Typically, users are allowed
to do different things. Some have read-only access,
while others can make changes to or even delete documents.
Many users are concerned about disposal of documents as
well. Paper can be shredded or burned, which is a huge job
if there are thousands of documents to deal with. But electronic
versions, whether in the cloud or on company computers,
present other problems. One thing is certain: it is not easy
to guarantee that digital “copies” have been truly deleted or
destroyed.
Fuse
access [(Äkses]
amend sth. [E(mend]
delete sth. [di(li:t]
delivery note [di(lIvEri nEUt]
dispose of sth. [dI(spEUz Qv]
file sth. [faI&l]
invoice [(InvOIs]
purchase order
[(p§:tSEs )O:dE]
retrieve (information) [ri(tri:v]
shred sth. [Sred]
steady [(stedi]
store sth. [stO:]
track sth. [trÄk]
Zugang
etw. ändern
etw. löschen
Lieferschein
etw. entsorgen; hier: vernichten;
ablegen
etw. ablegen, archivieren
Rechnung
Bestellung
(Informationen) abrufen
etw. schreddern
ständig, regelmäßig
etw. aufbewahren;
speichern
etw. (nach)verfolgen
56 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

medium
Paperwork
confidential [)kQnfI(denS&l]
vertraulich
delivery note [di(lIvEri nEUt] Lieferschein
form [fO:m]
Formular
invoice [(InvOIs]
Rechnung
packing list [(pÄkIN lIst]
Packliste
purchase order [(p§:tSEs )O:dE] Bestellung
serial number
laufende Nummer, Serien-
[(sIEriEl )nVmbE]
nummer
Workflow
allow/prevent access
den Zugang
[E)laU/pri)vent (Äkses]
erlauben/verwehren
book a document in/out
ein Dokument einbuchen/
[)bUk E (dQkjumEnt In/aUt]
ausbuchen
fill sth. in/out [)fIl (In/(aUt]
etw. ausfüllen
merge (several documents)
(mehrere Dokumente)
[m§:dZ]
zusammenführen
process (sth.) [(prEUses]
(Arbeits-)Vorgang; etw.
bearbeiten
publish sth. [(pVblIS]
etw. veröffentlichen
retrieve (data) [ri(tri:v]
(Daten) abrufen
sign sth. [saIn]
etw. unterschreiben
store sth. [stO:]
etw. aufbewahren;
speichern
trace sth. [treIs]
etw. zurückverfolgen
track sth. [trÄk]
etw. (nach)verfolgen
update sth. [Vp(deIt]
etw. aktualisieren
Versions and corrections
amend sth. [E(mend]
etw. ändern
correct sth. [kE(rekt]
etw. korrigieren
draft sth. [drA:ft]
einen Entwurf von etw.
schreiben
edit sth. [(edIt]
etw. redigieren, überarbeiten
go over sth. [)gEU (EUvE]
etw. durchgehen
review sth. [ri(vju:]
etw. überprüfen
revise sth. [ri(vaIz]
etw. korrigieren, abändern
tweak sth.
etw. optimieren, einer Sache
[twi:k] ifml.
den letzten Schliff geben
Idioms
■ on paper: in theory: “His idea looked good on paper.”
■ paperchase: a system of excessive bureaucracy
■ paper trail US: documents that give proof of one’s actions
■ paperwork: tasks involving the handling of documents
■ White Paper UK: a report giving an organization’s position
Processes
automation [)O:tE(meIS&n]
circulation [)s§:kju(leIS&n]
collaboration
[kE)lÄbE(reIS&n]
delivery [di(lIvEri]
distribution [)dIstrI(bju:S&n]
sharing [(SeErIN]
Retrieval
cross reference [)krQs (ref&rEns]
index [(Indeks]
keyword [(ki:w§:d]
query [(kwIEri]
search [s§:tS]
tag [tÄg]
Removal
delete/erase sth. [di(li:t/I(reIz]
dispose of sth. [dI(spEUz Qv]
shred sth. [Sred]
wipe (a hard disk) [waIp]
Storage
archive [(A:kaIv]
backup [(bÄkVp]
file [faI&l]
folder [(fEUldE]
library [(laIbrEri]
records [(rekO:dz]
Automatisierung
Verbreitung
Zusammenarbeit,
Gemeinschaftsproduktion
Zustellung, Auslieferung
Verbreitung, Verteilung
gemeinsame Benutzung
Querverweis
Inhaltsverzeichnis; Register
Stichwort
An-, Abfrage
Suche
Tag, Kürzel
etw. löschen
etw. entsorgen; vernichten
etw. schreddern
(eine Festplatte) löschen
Archiv
(Daten-)Sicherung, Backup
Datei
Ordner
Bibliothek
Unterlagen; Datensätze
Document elements
artwork [(A:tw§:k]
body [(bQdi]
credits [(kredIts]
font [fQnt]
footer [(fUtE]
guidelines [(gaIdlaInz]
header [(hedE]
house style [(haUs staI&l]
logo [(lEUgEU]
page number [(peIdZ )nVmbE]
paragraph [(pÄrEgrA:f]
section [(sekS&n]
signature [(sIgnEtSE]
template [(templeIt]
title [(taIt&l]
Illustration(en)
Hauptteil
Quellennachweise
Schrift(art)
Fußzeile
Richtlinien
Kopfzeile
firmeninterne Richtlinien
für die Erstellung eines
Dokuments
Logo
Seitenzahl
Absatz
Abschnitt
Unterschrift
(Dokument-)Vorlage
Titel, Überschrift
For more information
BOOK
■ Implementing Electronic Document and Record Management
Systems, Azad Adam (Auerbach Publications)
ORGANIZATION
■ Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM):
www.aiim.org
plus Find more exercises on this topic in Business Spotlight plus
www More job vocabulary at www.business-spotlight.de/vocabulary
EVAN FRENDO worked as a mechanical engineer for
11 years. He has been a trainer and an author since
1993, specializing in English for Specific Purposes,
and his recent books include English for Construction
(Pearson Longman). Contact: evan.frendo@e4b.de
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 57

■ LANGUAGE LEGAL ENGLISH
Digital Vision
medium
Telephoning with clients
Der Informationsaustausch zwischen Anwalt und Mandant erfolgt
oft telefonisch. MATT FIRTH zeigt, was dabei von beiden Seiten zu
beachten ist.
Stay focused: clients will
expect your advice to be clear
The ability to communicate well is the key to being a good
lawyer. Delivering any message on the telephone should
be done clearly, efficiently and politely. Lawyers and clients
can each do their part to make sure calls are effective.
Lawyers
It is important to speak with confidence, so avoid long
pauses or other signs of uncertainty. Your clients will expect
you to give clear advice. They need to feel that your counsel
is authoritative and that you are in control of the situation.
If you cannot answer a question immediately, tell the client
when you will call back with the desired information.
act on sb.’s behalf
[)Äkt Qn )sVmbEdiz bi(hA:f]
authoritative [O:(TQrItEtIv]
bill [bIl]
block [blQk]
client [(klaIEnt]
counsel [(kaUns&l]
deferred [di(f§:d]
dispute [dI(spju:t]
fee [fi:]
file suit [)faI&l (su:t]
lawyer [(lO:jE]
letter of demand [)letEr Ev di(mA:nd]
policy [(pQlEsi]
power of attorney [)paUEr Ev E(t§:ni]
return a call [ri)t§:n E (kO:l]
support staff
[sE(pO:t stA:f]
jmdn. vertreten
maßgeblich, verlässlich
sein Honorar berechnen
hier: Abschnitt, Einheit
Mandant(in)
Rat, Beratung
zurückgestellt
(Rechts-)Streit
Honorar
Klage erheben
Anwalt/Anwältin
Mahnschreiben
hier: Grundsätze, Regeln
Prozessvollmacht
zurückrufen
Assistenten/Assistentinnen,
Fachangestellte
Exercise: All about calls
Choose the words that best complete the text.
Lawyers should give clients details of their a) billing /
representing policy at the first meeting, including details
of charges for telephone b) uncertainty / enquiries. Calls
to do with c) authoritative / administrative matters are
mostly dealt with by support staff. Lawyers do not always
take calls personally, but any d) delayed / deferred calls
should be returned within 24 hours. Clients pay high
e) fees / blocks and expect to be treated professionally.
Answers on page 62
You may be interrupted by another call, so have a policy
on which calls have priority. Let support staff handle calls to
do with administrative matters. Give clients details of your
telephone policy at the first meeting, including when calls
will be returned. If you need to return a deferred call personally,
do so within 24 hours. To keep calls focused, call clients
shortly before lunch or towards the end of the business day.
Clients
In English-speaking countries, lawyers usually bill by the
hour in 30-minute blocks. There may be specific fees for
short calls. If you go beyond a certain time, for example, ten
minutes, you could pay for a half-hour. Ask for your lawyer’s
billing policy at your first meeting. Keep your calls focused.
Returning a call
Lawyer: Hello, Mr Tennant. Sorry to have missed your
call. How can I help?
Client: Hello, Ms Bryant. I was wondering what the
status is on the payment dispute with my customer.
Lawyer: Well, our Polish partner received the power of
attorney this morning. This means he can act on
your behalf if we have to file suit in Łódź.
Client: Excellent. So should I call him?
Lawyer: Yes. I’ve told him he’ll be hearing from you
soon. Do you have his number?
Client: Yes, Ms Everitt gave me his contact details
when we spoke last week.
Lawyer: Good. One more thing. I’d advise having the
letter of demand translated into Polish before you
contact him.
Client: Right — could you find someone to handle that?
Lawyer: Yes, no problem. Was there anything else?
Client: No, I think that’s everything.
Lawyer: Well then, we should have the letter to you tomorrow.
Mr Adamicz will be representing you from
here on. But do call if you have any further questions
for me.
Client: OK. Great, and thanks for all your help. Bye.
Lawyer: All the best. Bye.
■BS
MATT FIRTH teaches legal English at the University
of St Gallen, Switzerland. He is also secretary of
the European Legal English Teachers’ Association
(EULETA). Contact: matthew.firth@unisg.ch
58 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

advanced
ECONOMICS AND FINANCE LANGUAGE ■
Quantitative easing
Die Lockerung des Geldmarkts ist ein staatliches Instrument zur
Rezessionsbekämpfung. IAN MCMASTER erklärt, wie sie funktioniert.
The macroeconomic policies followed by governments and
central banks can be divided into two main types: fiscal
policy (changes in taxes and/or government spending) and
monetary policy (changes in interest rates and/or the money
supply).
Many governments have been unwilling or unable to use
fiscal policy in a way that would boost demand in recent
years. Instead, they have tried — or been forced — to reduce
their budget deficits by increasing taxes and/or reducing
spending. This is often not a very smart policy, particularly
if the deficits were originally caused by a recession.
As a result, monetary policy has had to play the leading
role in helping economies to recover. Interest rates have
been reduced towards zero — to encourage firms to invest
and to stimulate the housing market by making it cheaper
for consumers to borrow.
But very low interest rates alone have not worked. Central
banks, such as the US Federal Reserve (“the Fed”), have
therefore taken more unorthodox measures, including making
significant increases in the money supply. This is now
known as “quantitative easing” (QE), a new name for what
used to be called “printing money”.
In practice, central banks don’t actually print extra bank -
notes. Instead, they typically buy government bonds (and
other bonds) from banks, and credit the accounts of the
banks. The central banks hope this extra money will be used
“This is really just a new
name for printing money”
to boost bank lending to firms and consumers. They also
hope that by pushing up bond prices and improving business
confidence, QE will lead to greater demand for goods and
services.
The Fed introduced quantitative easing at the end of
2008, and a second round (QE2) followed at the end of
2010. A third round (QE3) started in September 2012, with
the Fed buying about $85 billion of bonds each month.
One potential danger of quantitative easing is that it leads
to higher inflation, which is why the European Central Bank
has been reluctant to follow this policy. So far, however, the
pessimists have been wrong: inflation has stayed very low.
Central banks have to decide when and how quickly to
withdraw such a monetary stimulus. In other words, they
need an “exit strategy”. In June, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke
suggested that the Fed would gradually reduce the number
Money, money, money: will it help to increase demand?
of bonds it buys this year, a process that has been given the
name “tapering”. If all goes well and unemployment in the
US falls to around 7 per cent, the Fed will stop its QE3 programme
completely in 2014.
The key question is whether the Fed can withdraw its stimulus
in a way that produces a soft landing. If not, the world
economy could be thrown into another recession and financial
crisis.
■BS
Finance
Quantitative easing (QE)
[)kwQntItEtIv (i:zIN]
billion [(bIljEn]
boost sth. [bu:st]
credit an account [)kredIt En E(kaUnt]
exit strategy [(eksIt )strÄtEdZi]
government bonds
[)gVvənmEnt (bQndz]
health care [(helT keE]
housing market [(haUzIN )mA:kIt]
interest rate [(IntrEst reIt]
monetary policy [)mVnItEri (pQlEsi]
money supply [(mVni sE)plaI]
rally [(rÄli]
reluctant: be ~ to do sth. [ri(lVktEnt]
share [SeE]
staples [(steIp&lz]
stimulus [(stImjUlEs]
tapering [(teIpErIN]
utilities [ju(tIlEtiz]
yield [ji:&ld]
What is a “SHUT” rally?
With ultra-low yields on safe government bonds, investors
put lots of money into shares in the first half of
2013. Much of this went into “safe” companies from
four basic sectors: staples, health care, utilities and
telecoms. This led to the name “SHUT” rally.
quantitative/monetäre
Lockerung
Milliarde(n)
etw. ankurbeln
ein Konto entlasten
Ausstiegsstrategie; hier: zur
Liquiditätsverringerung
Staatsanleihen
Gesundheitswesen
Immobilienmarkt
Zinssatz
Geldpolitik
Geldmenge
Aufschwung
zögern, etw. zu tun
Aktie
Grundnahrungsmittel; hier:
Nahrungsmittelbranche
Anreiz, Impuls(e)
spitz zulaufend; hier:
Reduzierung der
Anleiheaufkäufe
Versorgungswirtschaft
Rendite
IAN MCMASTER is editor-in-chief of Business Spotlight.
You can also read his weekly blog on topics relating
to global business at www.business-spotlight.de/blogs
Contact: i.mcmaster@spotlight-verlag.de
iStockphoto
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 59

■ LANGUAGE TEACHER TALK
Towards a healthier balance
Englisch als Verkehrssprache in Lehre und Forschung kommt immer größere Bedeutung
zu. Welchen Einfluss hat das auf die Methoden im Business-Englisch-Unterricht?
DEBORAH CAPRAS sprach darüber mit Stephanie Ashford, die an einer deutschen Hochschule
die Sprachabteilung leitet.
Who is
Stephanie Ashford?
Stephanie Ashford runs the
language department at the
Duale Hochschule Baden-
Württemberg. Her recent publications
include Business Proficiency (Klett), a
coursebook for students in higher education, and
a business simulation called StartUp Enterprise
(ELT Blueprints). She holds a Master’s in Teaching
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and is
currently doing a doctorate in higher education
management. Her research interests include internationalization
and language policy.
Website: www.executive-english.biz
Contact: stephanie_ashford@mac.com
Current teaching position
I teach business English, lecture in international marketing
and run the language department at a German university that
provides work-study degree courses in business and the social
sciences.
Home
I’m from England but now live in a village in the south of
Germany.
Why and when did you choose to go into business English
teaching?
After university, I worked for a local magazine and taught En -
glish in language schools in Brighton and in Oxford — while
deciding what to do next. When the magazine went bust, I began
teaching business English. Then opportunity knocked and
I was offered a job in Germany. I’m still here, many years later.
Languages spoken
As well as English, I’m fluent in German and can hold everyday
conversations in Italian and French. I went to school in
Namibia for two years and passed an exam in Afrikaans, even
though I couldn’t string a sentence together.
How will teaching business English change in the next five
years?
The growing use of English in teaching and research at universities
in Europe is already changing the way we teach business
English. “One-size-fits-all” business English courses will
give way to more specialized language courses in areas such
as accountancy and estate management, and business communication
skills will be taught separately from languages.
More use will be made of online learning platforms, with less
time spent in the classroom. Demand for English for Academic
Purposes (EAP) will continue to rise. Some business
English teachers will start providing language support to
academic administrators and lecturers. Some may become
lecturers themselves.
What do you offer that makes your classes special?
Many of my classes involve teaching the same group of
students over several semesters, so I need to have a good
working relationship with them. In such courses, especially
those with exams, I find that students value consistency over
“special” performances.
Vorträge halten
Dozent(in)
Universal-
die Gelegenheit ergab sich
(gute) Kenntnisse
Forschung
keinen ganzen Satz bilden
können
academic administrator
[ÄkE)demIk Ed(mInIstreItE]
accountancy [E(kaUntEnsi]
bust: go ~ [bVst]
consistency [kEn(sIstEnsi]
coursebook [(kO:sbUk] UK
do a doctorate [)du: E (dQktErEt]
English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
[)INglIS fE spE)sIfIk (p§:pEsIz]
estate management
[I)steIt (mÄnIdZmEnt] UK
fluent: be ~ in (a language)
[(flu:Ent]
higher education [)haIEr edju(keIS&n]
language department
[(lÄNgwIdZ di)pA:tmEnt]
lecture [(lektSE]
lecturer [(lektSErE]
one-size-fits-all [)wVn )saIz )fIts (O:l]
opportunity knocked [QpE)tju:nEti (nQkt]
proficiency [prE(fIS&nsi]
research [ri(s§:tS]
string a sentence together:
not be able to ~
[)strIN E (sentEns tE)geDE]
work-study degree course
[)w§:k )stVdi di(gri: kO:s]
Mitarbeiter(in) in der
Universitätsverwaltung
Rechnungswesen
Pleite gehen
Beständigkeit
Lehrbuch
promovieren
Englisch als Fachsprache
Immobilienverwaltung
(eine Sprache) fließend
sprechen
Hochschulausbildung
Sprachabteilung
duales Studium
60 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

medium
iStockphoto
“Language learning is a
project — with objectives
and milestones”
The academic world:
develop study
and writing skills
What can learners do on their own to improve their language
skills?
They could start by thinking strategically, treating language
learning as a project with objectives, milestones and resources,
during which progress needs to be checked regularly.
Less strategic learners can follow their intuition. A fun, free
and effective method is to learn your favourite songs. Ideally,
the songs will be in good English.
What non-language skills do you focus on and why?
Since I teach undergraduates, I’m conscious of my role in
helping them to develop study skills. However, academic writing
always involves looking at language.
How important is grammar?
It’s essential for learners to develop an understanding of the
structure of a language. I teach grammar on a “need-to-know”
basis, using different methods flexibly.
What does English as a lingua franca mean to you?
Some researchers claim that, as a result of increased contact
among non-native speakers, there is a new variety of En glish
that is very different to other types of English. It’s an interesting
idea, but there isn’t enough proof of it to persuade me to
teach differently.
Is task-based learning the answer?
Under certain conditions. The task should reflect situations
in which learners are likely to need English. They shouldn’t
be thrown into a task before being taught the necessary vocabulary
first. Finally, language feedback is essential.
Has any new kind of technology or tool made a difference to
how you teach?
To practise telephoning, I use a line simulator. Dialogues can
be recorded, which allows me to focus on the finer language
points.
academic [)ÄkE(demIk]
bottom [(bQtEm] UK
graveyard [(greIvjA:d]
line simulator [(laIn )sImjuleItE]
lingua franca
[)lINgwE (frÄNkE]
objective [Eb(dZektIv]
PhD thesis [)pi: eItS (di: )Ti:sIs]
quote [kwEUt]
tap dance [(tÄp dA:ns]
task-based [(tA:sk beIst]
undergraduate
[)VndE(grÄdZuEt]
work-life-bank balance
[)w§:k )laIf (bÄNk )bÄlEns]
A non-ELT must-read
Anything by Bill Bryson, a highly entertaining
writer on travel, science and the English
language.
An ELT must-read
Michael Swan’s Practical English Usage
from Oxford University Press.
Ambitions and dreams
To finish my doctorate with a healthy work-life-bank balance.
Favourite quote
My current favourite is: “The average PhD thesis is nothing
but the transference of bones from one graveyard to another.”
(J. Frank Dobie)
Who inspires you?
David Crystal, for his encyclopedic knowledge of the English
language and his ability to give inspiring talks without notes.
One of your little-known moments of success
Choreographing a Bollywood-style tap dance.
What language mistakes have made you laugh out loud?
An Italian relative of mine once gave a formal speech in En -
glish that began: “I would like to thank you from the heart of
my bottom.”
■BS
wissenschaftlich
Hintern
Friedhof
Telefonsimulator
Lingua Franca,
Verkehrssprache
Ziel(setzung)
Dissertation
Zitat
Stepptanz
auf Aufgaben basierend
Student(in) vor dem ersten
akademischen Grad
(ausgewogenes) Verhältnis
zwischen Arbeit, Privatleben
und Einkommen
www More for teachers at www.business-spotlight.de/teachers-zone
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 61

■ LANGUAGE PRODUCTS
medium
What’s new?
Sie wollen noch tiefer ins Englische eintauchen? Wir
haben uns für Sie nach neuen Produkten umgesehen.
E-workbook (DVD-ROM)
Global Business Class eWorkbook
The general English coursebooks
of the Global series now include
an e-workbook on business En -
glish that provides videos, worksheets
and exercises. The e-workbooks
are available at the CEF
pre-intermediate, intermediate, upper intermediate
and advanced levels. Lindsay Clandfield et al. (Macmillan/Hueber),
€32.49 each
Book with MP3 CD
Key Words for Chemical Engineering
This book is part of a series that also includes
Key Words for Automotive Engineering,
Key Words for Electrical Engineering
and Key Words for Mechanical Engineering.
The terms are presented in authentic
engineering contexts and explained in definitions and example
sentences. Collins COBUILD series (HarperCollins),
£9.99 each
CEF (Common European Framework
of Reference for Languages)
[)si: i: (ef]
chemical engineering
[)kemIk&l )endZI(nIErIN]
cold call [(kEUld kO:l]
mechanical engineering
[mI)kÄnIk&l )endZI(nIErIN]
phrase [freIz]
salespeople [(seI&lz)pi:p&l]
sales referral
[(seI&lz ri)f§:rEl]
succession [sEk(seS&n]
GER (Gemeinsamer
Europäischer Referenzrahmen
für Sprachen)
chemische Verfahrenstechnik
Kaltakquise
Maschinenbau
Ausdruck, Formulierung
Verkaufspersonal
(Weiter-)Empfehlung als
Verkäufer(in)
Nachfolge
Books
The Dragon Network
The majority of Chinese companies today
— both in China itself and abroad
— are family businesses. The authors
look at the structure, family relationships
and traditional values supporting
and influencing modern management
practices in family firms. Other
subjects include leadership styles, succession planning, the
role of the wife in the family business, and the development
and future of family enterprises in the globalized business
world. A. B. Susanto, Patricia Susanto (Wiley), €32.40
Perfect Phrases for Sales Referrals
Salespeople frequently make cold calls
to get new clients. But referrals from
other clients and non-clients can often
be more successful. This book focuses
on the phrases you need to generate the
referrals that will bring you customers.
Referral strategies are developed in various
situations: in person, on the phone,
via email or on social-media platforms. Jeb Brooks, Marty
Scirratt (McGraw-Hill), £17.89*
Moral Leadership: A Transformative
Model for Tomorrow’s Leaders
There is no doubt that the success and
failure of companies, governments and
organizations depends to a great extent
on their leaders. The aim of this book is
to show that leadership is more than
implementing tough strategies — it also
has to do with morals and ethics. The book examines
various aspects of leadership, as well as the skills tomorrow’s
leaders should have. Cam Caldwell (Business Expert Press/
McGraw-Hill), €23.99
■BS
*This product is available at www.sprachenshop.de
SOLUTIONS
Vocabulary (p. 44):
a) physiotherapy
b) physiotherapist
c) therapy bench
d) height-adjustable
e) modalities
f) electrical stimulation
g) exercises
h) spine
i) gym mat
j) stretch
k) wall bars
l) sling
m) weights, dumb-bells
Grammar at Work
(p. 45):
a) as organized as
b) better-dressed than
c) more experienced than
d) the least confident
Translation (p. 52):
1. a) Wurden Ihre Reisekosten
genehmigt?
b) Ich finde es nicht gut,
wenn Mitarbeiter am Eingang
rauchen.
2. a) The budget won’t be/get
cut until after the election.
b) Not every household has/
owns a car.
English for...
document management
(pp. 56–57):
a–1; b–2; c–1
Legal English (p. 58):
a) billing
b) enquiries
c) administrative
d) deferred
e) fees
62 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

Use this list to practise key words from the current Business Spotlight magazine.
KEY WORDS LANGUAGE n
Nouns and noun phrases
ATM (automated teller a bank machine, often outside a bank, that you can use to get Geldautomat
machine)
cash from your account
ID card an official card, such as a driving licence, with your name, date of Ausweis
birth, photograph, etc. on it that you can use to prove who you are
mechanical engineering the science/profession that deals with the design, construction Maschinenbau
and use of machines
pension scheme a system to save money during your working life that will be paid Alterssicherungs system
out in regular sums after you have retired
refusal the act of saying that you will not do or accept something Ablehnung
surgery medical treatment that involves a doctor cutting into a person’s Chirurgie; chirurgische
body
Behandlung
yield the amount of money earned, typically on an investment Rendite
Verbs
achieve sth. to succeed in doing something you wanted to do, especially after etw. erreichen
a lot of hard work
appoint sb. sth. to give a job or role to somebody jmdn. zu etw. ernennen
clarify sth. to make something easier to understand by giving a more detailed etw. klarstellen
or a simpler explanation
collaborate to work together with someone to create something zusammenarbeiten
deny sth. to say that something is not true etw. abstreiten
draft sth. to write a document such as a report or proposal that may have etw. abfassen
changes made to it before it is finished
perform to work in a way that meets a certain standard Leistungen erbringen
store sth. to keep something in electronic form for future use etw. speichern
suspect to believe that something is true, especially something that is bad den Verdacht hegen
take off to become popular or successful sich durchsetzen
Adjectives and adverbs
assertive having or showing a confident and forceful personality bestimmend
deliberate not by chance; planned absichtlich (herbeigeführt)
fast-paced happening or changing very quickly and often including a lot of temporeich
different things at the same time
inventive very good at thinking of new things or new ideas, very creative einfallsreich
mutually by, to or for each of two or more people gegenseitig; für beide Seiten
upcoming happening in the (near) future bevorstehend
Idioms and expressions
at all costs regardless of the cost of what it takes to do something um jeden Preis
beat the competition to be better than everyone else who is offering similar products or besser sein als die Konkurservices
renz
be economical with the not to say everything that you know in order to hide the truth es mit der Wahrheit nicht so
truth
genau nehmen
go bust to run out of money, to go bankrupt Pleite gehen
keep sb. posted on sth. to make sure that somebody is informed about the latest develop- jmdn. über etw. auf dem
ments or news, often in an area that interests them
Laufenden halten
www Subscribers to Business Spotlight can download the following lists at www.business-spotlight.de/words
n a PDF of this Key Words list with an MP3 audio file of the words, definitions and example sentences
n a PDF of the complete vocabulary list (English–German) for each magazine
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 63

Broaden your
Studieren oder Arbeiten im Ausland: das wird immer
mehr zum Normalfall. Im ersten Teil unserer zweiteiligen
Serie geht VICKI SUSSENS der Frage nach, warum es Studierende
in andere Länder zieht und welche Erfahrungen
sie dabei machen.
medium
Carlos B., an MBA graduate from Barcelona, has
been looking for work for two years. He did
have one job, with an online start-up, but it
closed down soon after he had joined. A friend
who studied musicology is now working as a
waiter in Berlin, and Carlos is thinking of joining him.
“You go to university, prepare yourself well for a career and
then the only jobs you are offered are unskilled,” he says.
Carlos is one of an estimated 23.5 per cent of jobless
young people in Europe, according to Eurostat figures for
April 2013. The recession has hit youth twice as hard as
any other group in the EU, causing a wave of euro-crisis
“refugees” moving to stronger EU countries to find work.
Graduates like Carlos are among them.
But it is not just euro-crisis countries where the job market
for graduates is difficult. The UK and US both report
that firms will be employing fewer new graduates this year.
In the UK, the number of former students with non-graduate
jobs is now back to the level of the 1990s recession.
The German market looks good by comparison. A recent
study by the Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung
shows that only 2.5 per cent of university graduates are
without jobs, compared to 3.6 per cent in 2006.
to join the global
workforce, finding employment not only in Germany but
also elsewhere, do so in economically uncertain times.
They also have to deal with the problem of “qualification
inflation”. With Europeans more educated than ever be-
MBA (Master of Business Administration) Absolvent(in) eines MBAgraduate
[em bi: )eI (grÄdZuEt]
Studiengangs
musicology [)mju:zI(kQlEdZi]
Musikwissenschaft
non-graduate job
Tätigkeit, für die kein
[)nQn )grÄdZuEt (dZQb]
akademischer Abschluss
erforderlich ist
refugee [)refju(dZi:]
Flüchtling
unskilled job [)VnskIld (dZQb]
ungelernte Tätigkeit
workforce [(w§:kfO:s]
Arbeitnehmerschaft
Fuse

STUDYING ABROAD CAREERS ■
fore, it is no longer enough to have just a degree on your
CV. You often also need a postgraduate degree, overseas
study experiences and internships. What does this mean for
current students wanting to study abroad? Should they join
the qualifications race? Absolutely.
Intercultural competence and language skills are the top
skills that firms look for in applicants. Indeed, global employers
whose workforce does not have these skills say
they can lose clients, according to “Culture at Work”, a report
published this year by the British Council, the market
research firm Ipsos and the management consultants Booz
Allen Hamilton.
Livia Freudl, head of corporate programmes in Siemens’s
corporate HR department in Munich, says her firm looks
for more than just proof of international experience on a
CV. “Only if you really reflect on your international experience
and find ways to integrate it into your life, can you
mature and bring that experience constructively into the
workplace,” she says.
In other words, the process of broadening your horizons
by studying abroad is as good for your potential employers
as it is for you. So don’t just study abroad to get a job;
do so to enrich yourself personally.
now, I’ll
cross that bridge when I come to it,” says Martin L. from
Frankfurt am Main, who is one year into a Bachelor of
Civil Engineering degree in Uppsala, Sweden. At present,
he is enjoying being a student, which he sees as a one-off
chance to be part of a community of kindred spirits who
are full of curiosity, a sense of fun and the desire to change
the world.
At the same time, he is testing his skills in all directions:
working on his ability to become an active
part of a new culture, mastering a
foreign language (he is studying in
Swedish) and doing a degree that he
chose carefully to meet his particular
learning needs.
Another good reason to study abroad is because there is
so much support to do so. With the economy demanding
global workers, countries wanting an innovative workforce
and universities competing to attract foreign students, a lot
has been done in the past 20 years to standardize courses,
ease the transfer of credits and finance student mobility.
Universities all over the world have formed partnerships
to facilitate student exchanges, either for one or two semesters,
a full year or an entire degree. Many universities offer
courses not only in their own national language but also
in English.
might think.
Johanna W., who is doing her Civil Engineering Master’s
at Bochum University, received an email from her university
announcing a scholarship for a summer research internship
in 2012 at Princeton University’s Keller Center.
“I applied, never thinking I would get it,” she says. But she
did. It paid for all her costs except the flight.
In Europe, the most popular way of studying abroad is
on an Erasmus programme, which was recently improved
as part of the EU’s “Europe 2020” drive to create growth
and jobs. EU Education Commissioner Androulla Vassi -
liou says that the new “Erasmus for All”, which starts in
2014, is a response to unemployment and job changes in
the workplace.
By 2020, it is estimated that over a third of all jobs
will require a high level of skills, flexibility and the ability
to innovate. One of the goals of Europe 2020 is to help
people develop their potential. It wants to raise the share
of young people with a higher education from 31 per cent
to 40 per cent by 2020. A budget of €19 billion, about a
70 per cent increase in the current funding, will allow 4
Don’t just study abroad to get a job;
do so to enrich yourself personally
Bewerber(in)
sich bewerben
Milliarde(n)
ich lasse die Dinge auf
mich zukommen
Bauingenieurwesen
konkurrieren
Unternehmens-
Anrechnungspunkte,
Note
Lebenslauf
akademischer Grad/
Abschluss
hier: Strategie, Programm
etw. lockern
Bildungskommissar(in)
etw. ermöglichen,
erleichtern
applicant [(ÄplIkEnt]
apply [E(plaI]
billion [(bIljEn]
bridge: I’ll cross that ~ when
I come to it [brIdZ]
civil engineering [)sIv&l endZI(nIErIN]
compete [kEm(pi:t]
corporate [(kO:pErEt]
credit [(kredIt]
CV (curriculum vitae) [)si: (vi:]
degree [di(gri:]
drive [draIv]
ease sth. [i:z]
education commissioner
[edju(keIS&n kE)mIS&nE]
facilitate sth.
[fE(sIlEteIt]
funding [(fVndIN]
goal [gEUl]
higher education [)haIEr edju(keIS&n]
HR (human resources) department
[)eItS (A: di)pA:tmEnt]
internship [(Int§:nSIp]
kindred spirit [)kIndrEd (spIrIt]
management consultant
[)mÄnIdZmEnt kEn(sVltEnt]
master sth. [(mA:stE]
mature [mE(tSUE]
one-off [)wVn (Qf] UK ifml.
postgraduate degree
[pEUst)grÄdZuEt di(gri:]
research (sth.) [ri(s§:tS]
scholarship [(skQlESIp]
Finanzierung, finanzielle
Unterstützung
Ziel
Hochschulbildung
Personalabteilung
Praktikum
Gleichgesinnte(r)
Unternehmensberater(in)
etw. meistern
reifen; sich weiterentwickeln
einmalig
Abschluss in einem weiterführenden
Studium
Forschung; etw. recherchieren
Stipendium
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 65

■ CAREERS STUDYING ABROAD
Erasmus to send three million university and vocational
students to study or train abroad.
Unlike other programmes, Erasmus exchanges are regarded
as an integral part of an existing course of study
and are given formal academic recognition. Erasmus students
can now choose from universities all over the world
and not just in European countries. So if you want to study
abroad, the world is your oyster, as the students we spoke
to found out.
“Because you meet people
from so many cultures, it
broadens your world view”
Florian C., a 25-year-old Bachelor of
Business Administration student
in Regensburg, did an Erasmus
semester at Masaryk University in
Brno, the second-largest university
in the Czech Republic.
him develop
as a person. “You learn to be independent. You live with
other students and have to organize trips. And because you
meet people from so many cultures, it broadens your world
view and breaks down cultural stereotypes,” he says.
The semester also gave him a new learning experience.
The classes of 30 were tiny compared to the hundreds in
classes in Regensburg. “There was a much more personal
relationship between the professors and students and
among the students themselves,” he says.
The courses, in English, were partly the same as those in
Regensburg, but a few were completely different. For example,
he did a course on the transformation of the financial
system, which he found very topical.
Erasmus students are famousfor their parties,which Flor -
ian sees as a good thing, as long as one also studies. “They
are an important way to learn about people,” he says.
“I wanted to dive into a
totally different world”
Leonie W., a 25-year-old
from Munich, is doing her
Magisterarbeit (the old German
master’s) after having
done a degree in empirical
cultural science with a focus
on European ethnology. She
did an Erasmus semester in
ethnology at the University of
Nanterre in Paris.
hers that
don’t lead to a specific career are advised to study abroad
to help them focus their interests. However, she chose to
do so “to dive into a totally different world and experience
a new rhythm of life”. She had spent all her life in Munich
and wanted to get out of her comfort zone.
Leonie found it difficult studying in French but, luckily,
she did not have to write exams. However, she improved
her spoken French through her daily routine, such as going
to the baker’s and bank. She now knows that she
would like to work in France.
“When choosing a
course, you have to
do a lot of research”
Martin L. (23), from
Frankfurt am Main, is
currently doing his second
year of a Bachelor of
Civil Engineering at the
Uppsala University in
Sweden, which he organized
himself.
break sth. down [)breIk (daUn]
etw. abbauen; hier: überwinden
business administration
Betriebswirtschaft(slehre}
[)bIznEs EdmInI(streIS&n]
comfort zone: get out of one’s ~ aus dem gewohnten Umfeld
[(kVmfEt zEUn]
ausbrechen
Czech Republic [)tSek ri(pVblIk] Tschechische Republik
dive into sth. [)daIv (Intu]
in etw. eintauchen
expertise [)eksp§:(ti:z]
Fachwissen
rhythm [(rIDEm]
[wg. Aussprache]
the world is your oyster
die Welt liegt dir zu Füßen
[DE )w§:ld Iz jO:r (OIstE]
timber construction [(tImbE kEn)strVkS&n] Holzbau(weise)
topical [(tQpIk&l]
zeitgemäß, aktuell
university of applied sciences
Fachhochschule
[ju:nI)v§:sEti Ev E)plaId (saIEnsIz]
vocational student
Berufsschüler(in)
[vEU(keIS&nEl )stju:d&nt]
in Engineering,
focusing on timber construction at the University of
Applied Sciences in Salzburg, Austria, but decided he wanted
to extend his expertise by also doing a Bachelor of Civil
Engineering.
He chose Sweden because he wanted to learn in a foreign
language, and had already spent three years studying
Swedish in Salzburg. After discovering that most Swedish
universities offer more or less the same degree, he chose to
study in Uppsala because the university city has a long tradition
of student life.
“You have to do a lot of research to find the right
course,” he says. His experience with his first degree
66 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

helped him know what to look for. “A
degree may have the same title in different
universities, but how it is taught
can vary hugely,” he says. He recommends
researching what subjects will be taught and the
content of each of those subjects. “I would even advise
looking at some of the recommended books,” he adds.
Martin arranged his course of study with the university’s
international student department. “They made it very
easy for me to settle in,” he says. The university had a twoweek
introduction programme for international students.
But Martin also wanted to integrate into the local culture,
so language was essential. He had learned Swedish for
three years in his first degree, so decided not to do one of
the university’s courses. Instead, he spoke as much Swedish
as he could with locals, listened to them talking to each
other, and generally irritated them by asking for language
explanations. With good Swedish skills, he soon became
part of various interesting social circles.
“If you want to test if the area you
are studying is right for you,
you need to get as much handson
experience as possible”
Leonora J., from Munich, is currently
studying for a Bachelor of Arts, majoring
in development studies and the politics
of South Asia at the University of
Heidelberg. Earlier this year, she did a
semester at the School of Oriental and
African Studies (SOAS) at the University
of London, which she organized on
her own.
Study what interests you, but never
forget you have to find work one day
as part of her degree, she did an internship with Oxfam in
Calcutta. Each experience has helped her narrow down her
interests. Her experience in Calcutta, for example, made
her realize that she did not want to work in emergency aid,
which she found stressful. “If you want to test if the area
you are studying is right for you, you need to get as much
hands-on experience as possible. Often, one has an idea
about something that is very different in practice.”
Leonora organized her studies in London directly with
the SOAS international office, because her institute at the
University of Heidelberg is not part of the Erasmus programme.
The London fees were high, so she successfully
applied for a PROMOS (Programm zur Steigerung der
Mobilität von deutschen Studierenden) grant of €500 a
month from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
(DAAD), which provides scholarships for both German
and foreign exchange students. She also received an overseas
BAföG grant. “You can get this even if you aren’t
eligible to get BAföG to study in Germany,” she explains.
Leonora says she made the mistake of not giving herself
enough time. She arrived just before the course started and
spent the first few weeks in a youth hostel. “You need at
least six weeks to settle in,” she says.
Leonora believes it’s important to study what interests
you, but never to forget that you have to find work one day.
Testing your studies in practical ways to see how they can
turn into a job is therefore essential. In London, for example,
she met someone from the DAAD who gave her a new
idea for a career — doing cultural exchange work. ■BS
For more information
a lot of international
experience. She did a school term in Canterbury
in the UK. Then, after her Abitur, she spent half a
year travelling through India with a friend. And last year,
eligible [(elIdZEb&l]
berechtigt
emergency aid [i)m§:dZEnsi (eId] Katastrophenhilfe
fees [fi:z]
hier: Studiengebühren
foundation [faUn(deIS&n]
Stiftung
funding [(fVndIN]
Finanzierung, finanzielle
Unterstützung
grant [grA:nt]
Zuschuss; hier auch:
Stipendium
hands-on [)hÄndz (Qn]
praktisch
irritate sb. [(IrIteIt]
jmdm. auf die Nerven gehen
loan [lEUn]
Darlehen, Kredit
major in sth. [(meIdZ&r In*] US etw. im Hauptfach studieren
narrow sth. down [)nÄrEU (daUn] etw. eingrenzen
scholarship [(skQlESIp]
Stipendium
school term: do a ~ in...
ein Schulhalbjahr in
[(sku:l t§:m]
... verbringen
settle in [)set&l (In]
sich eingewöhnen
youth hostel [(ju:T )hQst&l]
Jugendherberge
*This symbol marks standard US pronunciation that differs from standard UK pronunciation.
5/2013
ERASMUS FOR ALL
■ http://ec.europa.eu/education/erasmus-for-all
EU WEBSITE ON STUDYING ABROAD
■ Learning Opportunities Throughout the European Space:
http://ec.europa. eu/ploteus/home_en.htm
CHOOSING A STUDY PROGRAMME
■ www.internationalstudent.com/study-centers
■ www.studis-online.de
■ www.studienwahl.de
FUNDING
■ DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst):
www.daad.de
■ Scholarships and student loans for international students:
www.iefa.org
■ Scholarships from universities and private foundations in
Germany www.stiftungen.org
www More career trends at www.business-spotlight.de/careers
VICKI SUSSENS is a South African journalist and
an editor at Business Spotlight, with a special
focus on man agement and social issues. Contact:
v.sussens@spotlight-verlag.de
www.business-spotlight.de 67

■ CAREERS TIPS AND TRENDS
All in a day’s work
medium
Wie verhalten Sie sich neuen Aufgaben gegenüber? Machen Sie Notizen lieber auf dem iPad oder
im Notizbuch? Hat eine Arbeit auf Abruf Vor- oder Nachteile? MARGARET DAVIS gibt Antworten.
New responsibilities
The deep end
Your boss wants you to accept more responsibility without giving you
much time to prepare for it. What do you do if you’ve been thrown in
at the deep end? “The first thing is, don’t panic,” says career coach Jenny
Ungless. “The fact of the matter is that you’ve been promoted because
someone thinks you’re capable,” Ungless told the Financial Times.
Don’t get lost in details, advises executive coach Geraldine Gallacher.
“You can get distracted by the newness of everything and forget to
breathe, so it is vital to create space by looking above and beyond your
immediate situation and reminding yourself of your goals.”
Find out what your boss’s priorities are, suggests Ungless. “For the first
couple of weeks you have permission to ask stupid questions, so gather
information and get as clear a picture as possible.”
Drowning in work? Set priorities
Low tech
Little black book
Jim Domanski has a BlackBerry and an iPad, but
the Canadian sales consultant says the tool that
keeps him most efficient is a paper notebook.
“There is nothing more impressive than walking
into a meeting with your boss or a client and
taking notes,” Domanski told The Globe and
Mail. “It shows you’re paying attention.” The advantage
of a notebook is having everything in one
place, he adds. “Instead of having sheets here and
there, notebooks here and there, smartphone
notes here and there, your black book is the one
place for everything,” he writes on his Telesales
Master blog (www.telesalesmaster.com).
iStockphoto (2)
Stockbyte
Trend
On call
The number of British workers with zero-hours contracts is growing.
Nearly 25 per cent of employers with more than 100 employees
are using such contracts, which require workers to be on
call but which do not provide them with regular hours. The concept
is controversial because an employee’s working hours can
change at short notice,
making it difficult for
workers to make plans.
Employers, among
them Abercrombie &
Fitch, say the contracts
allow them to be more
flexible. Critics argue
that the system prevents
workers from receiving
normal benefits.
Source: The Guardian
No time to relax:
zero-hours contracts
at the deep end: be thrown in ~
[)Ät DE (di:p end]
benefit [(benIfIt]
executive coach
[Ig(zekjUtIv kEUtS]
get distracted [)get dI(strÄktId]
goal [gEUl]
hours [(aUEz]
ins kalte Wasser geworfen
werden
Zusatzleistung
Trainer(in) für
Führungskräfte
sich ablenken lassen
Ziel(setzung)
Arbeitszeit(en)
on call: be ~ [)Qn (kO:l]
promote sb. [prE(mEUt]
sales consultant [(seI&lz kEn)sVltEnt]
sheet [Si:t]
short notice: at ~ [)SO:t (nEUtIs]
vital [(vaIt&l]
zero-hours contract
[)zIErEU )aUEz (kQntrÄkt]
auf Abruf bereitstehen
jmdn. befördern
Verkaufsberater(in)
Blatt
kurzfristig
sehr wichtig
Null-Stunden-Vertrag
68 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

Life-long
learning:
the best
way to get
ahead
On the job: not as
much fun as expected
HOW TO...
Learn a new skill
The experts agree that, if you want to get ahead in your career,
you need to learn new skills. Here are some points to
think about.
■ Is your goal realistic? “There are certain limits to what you
can learn,” says management professor Joseph Weintraub.
“For example, you may want to be a brain surgeon, but not
have the hand-eye coordination required.”
■ Will your company value your new skills? If they are not
needed in your current field, or within your organization,
you will probably not get financial support from your company.
Are you willing to pay for your own training and to
take courses on your own time?
■ How do you learn? Before starting a training programme,
think about what kind of learner you are. Do you learn best
by listening to teachers or do you need to read texts or look
at pictures? Or perhaps you learn best by doing.
■ Be patient. Learning a new skill takes time. “It usually
takes six months or more to develop a new skill,” Weintraub
says. And don’t expect your boss or colleagues to notice
right away. “People around you will only notice 10 per cent
of every 100 per cent change you make.”
Dilbert
Source: Harvard Business Review
Do a listening exercise on these texts on Business Spotlight Audio
Statistically speaking
Not what I had in mind
The way a job is described in an interview
is often not how it is in real life. According
to a US study, 65 per cent of men and
56 per cent of women say their jobs have
not met their expectations. The factors employees
said were most unlike their expectations
were employee morale (40 per cent) and
job responsibilities (39 per cent).
Sources: Glassdoor.com; Harris Interactive (www.harrisinteractive.com)
Deep down
Managers with deep voices are more likely to lead
large companies and to earn high salaries. They also
stay in their jobs longer than bosses with higher voices,
according to a Duke University study. It found that a decrease
in voice pitch of 22.1 hertz meant that bosses
earned $187,000 more a year and stayed in their jobs
151 days longer. “Our results advance a relatively new
area of research known as biological economics by documenting
that a trait known to indicate success in biological
competition is also associated with success in the
competition for top corporate employment,” says Professor
Bill Mayhew.
advance sth. [Ed(vA:ns]
etw. voranbringen
assignment [E(saInmEnt]
Auftrag, Aufgabe
brain surgeon [(breIn )s§:dZEn]
Hirnchirurg(in)
competition [)kQmpE(tIS&n]
Konkurrenzkampf
corporate [(kO:pErEt]
Unternehmensindicate
sth. [(IndIkeIt]
etw. signalisieren
interview [(IntEvju:]
Vorstellungsgespräch
telecommute [)telikE(mju:t]
Telearbeit machen
trait [treIt]
Wesensmerkmal
voice pitch [(vOIs pItS]
Stimmlage
www.dilbert.com dilbertcartoonist@gmail.com
© 5/6/2013 Scott Adams, Inc. Dist. by Universal Uclick
Blend Images
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 69

■ CAREERS LEISURE TIME
Away from your desk
medium
Verbannen Sie die englische Sprache und die englischsprachige Welt nicht an Ihren Arbeitsplatz!
Mit Büchern, Kunst und anderen Genüssen räumen Sie ihnen auch in Ihrer Freizeit einen Platz ein.
MARGARET DAVIS gibt Empfehlungen.
Disturbing:
Jackson’s
Laundry Room
Exhibition
Richard Jackson, 74, is one of the most radical of
American contemporary artists. His inventive paintings
and sculptures make use of everything from old
cars to machines that throw paint at walls and canvases.
The first retrospective of Jackson’s work will
be shown at Munich’s Villa Stuck from 25 July to 13
October. “Ain’t Painting a Pain” (Ist die Malerei nicht
eine Qual) features installations produced between
1969 and 2012. www.villastuck.de
Book
If you can get past the fact that
Alan Rusbridger owns a Steinway
and has Alfred Brendel over for
dinner, you will probably enjoy Play
It Again: An Amateur Against the
Impossible (Jonathan Cape). Rusbridger,
editor-in-chief of The Guardian,
writes about learning to play
Chopin’s Ballade No. 1 in G Minor,
one of the most difficult of piano pieces. At the same
time, The Guardian is running the Wikileaks story and
its reporters are following the Japanese tsunami, the
Arab Spring and phone hacking. This is a thoughtful,
behind-the-scenes memoir about journalism, politics —
and the healing power of music.
© Richard Jackson
Photography
Painted by Picasso,
friend of surrealist
painters and
poets, the beautiful
and talented American
Lee Miller
(1907–77) led an
exciting life. A former fashion model, Miller became
a war photographer. Later, while working for
Vogue magazine, she photographed famous figures,
including Dylan Thomas and Margot Fonteyn. A
new selection from her archives is now available
online at www.leemiller.co.uk The farm in East
Sussex where she lived with her second husband,
artist Roland Penrose, and their son, is open to the
public. On display at Farley Farm House are works
by Miller, Penrose and their friends, among them,
Picasso and Max Ernst. www.farleyfarmhouse.co.uk
DVDs
©Lee Miller Archives 2013
Retro is in. What Mad Men was to the 1960s advertising
industry, The Hour is to 1950s television.
This fast-paced BBC series about a TV news show
features some of Britain’s top young actors,
including Romola Garai and Ben Whishaw.
Written by Abi Morgan (The Iron Lady), The
Hour combines the freshness of early television
news with Cold War politics and the
influence of government on the work of the
BBC. Series one and two are currently
available as a boxed set.
canvas [(kÄnvEs]
contemporary [kEn(temp&rEri]
editor-in-chief [)edItEr In (tSi:f]
exhibition [)eksI(bIS&n]
fast-paced [)fA:st (peIst]
feature sth. [(fi:tSE]
get past sth. [)get (pA:st]
G minor [)dZi: (maInE]
inventive [In(ventIv]
on display [)Qn dI(spleI]
Leinwand
zeitgenössisch
Chefredakteur(in)
Ausstellung
temporeich
etw. zeigen
etw. überwinden;
hier: akzeptieren
g-Moll
einfallsreich
ausgestellt, zu sehen
Muse and
artist:
Lee Miller
70 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

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Rubrikanzeigen / Classified ads
Einem Teil dieser Ausgabe sind Beilagen
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Next advertising
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for the 06/13 issue

Interfoto
Designs
success
on
An der äußeren Form ließ sich einst schon von weitem jede Automarke erkennen. Im Zuge der
Globalisierung verschwanden die markanten Unterschiede. Heute setzen Autohersteller wieder
auf das Design, um sich von der Konkurrenz abzuheben, wie VICKI SUSSENS berichtet. advanced
Cars define eras: the
1960 Corvette Stingray

THE CAR INDUSTRY MANAGEMENT ■
Abeautiful car has a Renaissance sense
of proportion, said legendary car designer
Walter de Silva when the Golf
VII was introduced last year. In a
clear reference to less beautiful models
on the road, the VW Group’s head of design
said he does not aim for “baroque”. De Silva told
the online magazine Automotive News Europe
that minimalist styling is the look of the future
and that “flamboyant overdesign” in cars was
over. But is it?
Over the past 20 years, car design has indeed
gone baroque as carmakers fight to make ever
more models stand out in overcrowded markets.
There’s not much Renaissance in today’s fat wheels, big
bums and squashed-looking roofs. Even nostalgic models
are making comebacks in 21st-century overdesign. As one
reader of Forbes’s online “Ugliest cars of 2012” list commented
about the new Mini Countryman: “It is like a Mini
Hatch on steroids.”
Global car sales in Europe, Japan and the US fell dramatically
after the financial crisis hit in 2008, with Europe
reaching a 20-year low this year. In the US, they fell from
16.6 million in 2006 to 14.3 million in 2012. The US is
showing some signs of recovery, mainly because of improved
management strategies in the Detroit big three:
Ford, General Motors (GM) and Chrysler. Growth in Europe,
however, is not expected to recover until 2019, say
analysts AlixPartners.
Falling sales have mostly been blamed on the recession,
as well as on four major trends: older Europeans
moving away from cars, cars becoming too expensive for
under-35-year-olds, cars lasting longer and cities becoming
increasingly car-unfriendly. But how many of the industry’s
problems are self-made? Aren’t carmakers simply producing
too many cars that are ugly, look largely the same —
and are not what people want? As Toyota’s head, Akio
Toyoda, said in October 2009, after his firm closed down
a factory because of falling sales, particularly among
young Japanese: “They say that young people are moving
away from cars. But surely it is us, the automakers, who
have abandoned our passion for cars.”
Figures show that even during crises, some cars sell well.
While record numbers of cars were sold globally in 2007,
On steroids: the not very
mini Mini Countryman
for example, Ford, GM and Chrysler were in deep trouble.
Now, the American big three are showing a strong recovery
while others struggle. And in Europe, despite falling
sales, the German giants VW, Daimler and BMW continue
to outperform other European carmakers.
Their secret? Branding, say car experts. “All the
marketing in the world cannot stop people finding particular
models ugly or boring,” says Ana Nicholls, an analyst
at the Economist Intelligence Unit. “Car design is essential
to increase market share.”
In the good old days, drivers and their cars were like people
and their dogs. A Volvo driver was different from a
Jaguar driver. While each generation of Volvo or Jaguar
may have looked different, they remained recognizable. Perhaps
it was the shape of the grille, or the curve of a bumper.
A Volvo could never have been mistaken for a Jaguar.
Cars were emotional, exciting and stylish, and they defined
whole epochs. The Cinquecento was as much a part
of the flavour of Italy as the Citroën DS was of France.
Cars that managed to create a special magic enjoyed a cult
4
“They say that young people are
moving away from cars. But surely
it is us, the automakers, who have
abandoned our passion for cars”
Akio Toyoda, head of Toyota
designs: have ~ on sth. [di(zaInz]
abandon sth. [E(bÄndEn]
baroque [bE(rQk]
branding [(brÄndIN]
bum [bVm] UK ifml.
bumper [(bVmpE]
design (sth.) [di(zaIn]
flamboyant [flÄm(bOIEnt]
flavour [(fleIvE]
es auf etw. abgesehen haben
etw. aufgeben, begraben
Barock-Stil; hier: Stil mit überladenen
Formelementen
Markenaufbau, -bildung
Hinterteil; hier: Heck
Stoßstange
Konstruktion, Konstruktionskunst;
etw. konstruieren
extravagant
Aroma; hier: Lebensgefühl
grille [grIl]
hatch(back) [(hÄtS(bÄk)]
head of design [)hed Ev di(zaIn]
outperform sb. [)aUtpE(fO:m]
recovery [ri(kVvEri]
Renaissance
[ri(neIs&ns]
sales [(seI&lz]
squashed [skwQSt]
stand out [)stÄnd (aUt]
steroids: be on ~ [(stIErOIdz]
Kühlergrill
Wagen mit Heckklappe
Leiter(in) der Konstruktionsabteilung
erfolgreicher sein als jmd. anderes
(Konjunktur-)Erholung
Renaissance-Stil; hier: Stil mit
klarer, einfacher Formensprache
Absatz
plattgedrückt
sich abheben, herausragen
regelmäßig Steroide nehmen
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 73

Easy to identify:
the new Golf VII
Legendary: 1968
Jaguar E-Type
following. It didn’t matter that
on long trips, one had to stop to
repair an oil leak in a VW bus or
cool an overheated engine in a Mini. It was simply cool in
the 1970s to drive those cars. But that was when national
brands still controlled national markets and there were typically
three or four carmakers in each segment, making it
easy to build strong brands. Then, in the 1980s, mergermania
and globalization hit the car industry. Now, a few
giant carmakers, owning a range of brands with no shared
histories or reputations, produce an ever-broader number
of models for global markets. That hasn’t been good for
brand development.
In fact, if you took the badges off most cars today, it
would be a challenge to name the model. Even classes of
cars are blurring as sedans “cross over” to become more
like SUVs, and once iconic car badges now appear on lesser
models. Porsche, for example, once exclusively a sports
car, now also comes as a monstrous, two-tonne Cayenne.
Other legendary brands have died as new owners
failed to give them the design attention they needed. One
is the Alfa Romeo, which was bought by Fiat 28 years ago.
The “dream car” was once a leader in motor technology,
wrote Der Spiegel recently. Porsche management drove
Alfas long before they created their own sports models,
and Enzo Ferrari worked at Alfa before he started his own
company. Now, Alfa Romeo is a “cult brand in a coma”,
says Der Spiegel.
Ironically, carmakers’ response to growing competition
has made it harder to build strong brands. During the globalization
of the 1990s, German premium manufacturers
started to increase the choice of products within strongly
“All the marketing in the world cannot stop people
finding particular models ugly or boring”
Ana Nicholls, car analyst, Economist Intelligence Unit
branded series. So, for example, the BMW 3 Series sedan
began to be produced also as a cabriolet, a station wagon
and a hatchback. This strategy was good for popular models,
and the 3 Series has been on Car and Driver magazine’s
“Ten Best” list 22 times since 1992. The idea was increasingly
copied by carmakers, producing high volumes of
cars. “Now the name of the game is increasing consumer
choice,” says Christoph Stuermer, head of automobileindustry
research at global business analyst IHS.
However, extending ranges only works if branding
is strong, and this is becoming a difficult balancing act.
“Consistent branding will become ever more important as
car choice increases and cars become better every year,”
says Stuermer.
Over the past ten years, the market has polarized, with
buyers favouring either SUVs or smaller, fuel-efficient
cars. Luxury models and cheap cars have also done better
than mid-priced ones. The more successful carmakers, such
as Volkswagen, have expanded their ranges or undertaken
acquisitions to spread their risks. “But it’s much less
efficient to have to produce lots of different models, especially
if you produce them in several locations,” says
Nicholls. “And if you have too many brands, it’s hard to
market them all effectively.”
Companies have tried to solve the problem either by cutting
their range of cars, as GM did, by developing common
platforms and components they can use across models, like
Ford and VW did, or by combining resources, such as
Renault-Nissan. “However, in a volatile market, the need
badge [bÄdZ]
blur [bl§:]
brand (sth.) [brÄnd]
Erkennungszeichen, Emblem
sich verwischen
Marke; etw. als Marke kennzeichnen
Bauteil
konsequent
sparsam im Kraftstoffverbrauch
Kult-
etw. vermarkten
Fusionswelle
component [kEm(pEUnEnt]
consistent [kEn(sIstEnt]
fuel-efficient [(fju:El E)fIS&nt]
iconic [aI(kQnIk]
market sth. [(mA:kIt]
merger-mania [)m§:dZE (meIniE]
name of the game: the ~ is… die Devise heißt ...
[)neIm Ev DE (geIm] ifml.
oil leak [(OI&l li:k]
range [reIndZ]
research [ri(s§:tS]
resources [ri(zO:sIz]
sedan [sI(dÄn] US
station wagon [(steIS&n )wÄgEn] US
SUV (sport utility vehicle)
[)es ju: (vi:]
undertake an acquisition
[VndE)teIk En ÄkwI(zIS&n]
volatile [(vQlEtaI&l]
volume [(vQlju:m]
Ölleck
Palette
Forschung
Betriebsmittel
Limousine
Kombi
SUV (Sport- und Nutzfahrzeug)
eine Übernahme tätigen
volatil, unbeständig
hier: Umsatzvolumen
74 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

Credit
THE CAR INDUSTRY MANAGEMENT ■
Award winning:
the Cadillac ATS
Iconic: Porsche’s
1961 356 coupé
to minimize costs often conflicts with the need to be flexible
enough to respond to consumer tastes,” she says. Yet
it is dangerous for carmakers to be out of sync with buyers’
sense of aesthetics. “When sales contract, as they did
in Europe, this puts carmakers in a difficult position.”
Currently, the most successful carmakers are those that
are putting design first. The VW Golf has been the Volkswagen
Group’s top-selling model for 40 years, and the
world’s second-most-sold car ever. Almost 30 million
Golfs have been sold over the past 40 years, and the Golf
VII was voted Car of the Year 2013 by a panel of 55 European
car journalists.
Talking about the new Golf before its launch in Volkswagen’s
Das Auto. Magazin, de Silva said all he wanted
people who first saw it to say was: “That’s a Golf.” Then
he would answer, “But of course it is!” The design team
has changed some elements to modernize it, giving it a
“cockpit experience”, more comfort inside and a sporty
crease down the side. But it remains true to the spirit of the
first Golf, brought out in 1974 and designed by another
legend in car design, Giorgetto Giugiaro.
Today’s buying decisions are primarily influenced
by design, says de Silva. And with cars moving closer and
closer together conceptually, design is essential to make a
model stand out. “However, a culture must develop
around a brand, and that’s only possible through a sense
of continuity and long years of attention to detail.”
Good car design is also helping Detroit automakers lift
themselves out of the ashes. Indeed, US carmakers are providing
the best range of cars in a generation, says
aesthetics [i:s(TetIks]
[wg. Aussprache]
blind spot [(blaInd spQt]
toter Winkel
budget [(bVdZIt]
hier: im unteren Preissegment
contract [kEn(trÄkt]
schrumpfen
corporation [)kO:pE(reIS&n]
etwa: AG
crease [kri:s]
Falte; hier: Kante
file for bankruptcy [)faI&l fE (bÄNkrVptsi] Insolvenz anmelden
launch [lO:ntS]
Markteinführung
panel [(pÄn&l]
Gremium
quarter [(kwO:tE]
Quartal
run over: be ~ [)rVn (EUvE]
überfahren werden
spitting cat [)spItIN (kÄt]
fauchende Katze
sync: be out of ~ with sth.
nicht länger mit etw. auf
[sINk]
einer Linie sein
unprecedented [Vn(presIdentId] beispiellos
Bloomberg. In the first quarter of 2013, Ford sales rose by
20 per cent, and GM and Chrysler each by 11 per cent.
Four years ago, after GM filed for bankruptcy, its top
designer, Ed Welburn, told his 300-member team: “When
we come out on the other end of this very dark period, the
world is going to be looking to see what General Motors
is capable of doing. And they’re going to be looking at design.”
The team was frustrated and angry about events and
began to do some of its best work, Welburn recently told
AutoNews.com.
One result is the Cadillac ATS Sedan, which was
voted the 2013 North American Car of the Year by a panel
of 49 North American journalists. Unlike the flamboyant
early Cadillacs, it has an almost European simplicity.
Another carmaker that has used design to turn itself
around is the Kia Motors Corporation. Kia has enjoyed
unprecedented growth after Peter Schreyer changed the
firm’s image from being a budget carmaker to an innovator.
Schreyer, who was made president of Kia this year,
helped Audi reposition itself as a premium brand in the
1990s and has been responsible for redesigning Kia’s entire
product line since moving there from Volkswagen in 2006.
But even the best carmakers have work to do. As cars become
bigger and windows smaller, blind spots grow. According
to Kids and Cars, a US website promoting child
safety in traffic, blind spots are an increasing danger. It estimates
that in the US, about 50 children are run over a
week (often by parents or family), with two being killed.
Some carmakers now offer cameras to improve visibility,
but what was wrong with smaller cars and bigger windows?
Also, according to Nicholls, some carmakers have admitted
they’ve done far too little to make cars attractive to
women. Recently, a friend showed me her new VW
Touareg. “It looks like a spitting cat,” she said uncertainly.
And indeed, cars today either look like beasts about to
attack or like military vehicles. If car design reflects the era
we live in, what does this say about us? We’re a long way
from minimalism, Signor de Silva!
■BS
VICKI SUSSENS is a South African journalist and
an editor at Business Spotlight, with a special
focus on man agement, business and social issues.
Contact: v.sussens@spotlight-verlag.de
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 75

■ MANAGEMENT WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
The rise of shareholder value
Einst fühlten sich Aktiengesellschaften auch ihren Mitarbeitern und der
Gesellschaft verpflichtet. Heute jedoch dreht sich alles um Aktionäre und
den Marktwert ihrer Aktien, wie VICKI SUSSENS ausführt.
advanced
Zoonar
The background
Big bucks: the
shareholder-value
theory has been
taken to extremes
Fifty years ago, business schools taught students that the
purpose of a public corporation was to serve not just shareholders,
but also employees, customers and society. That
changed in the 1970s, with the rise of free-market thinking
at the Chicago School of Economics. It emphasized that
the only purpose of a corporation was to maximize shareholder
value, that is, make money for its shareholders. The
belief was that firms naturally serve employees, custo mers
and societies if they concentrate on what they do best:
making money. In the 1970s, Western economies were going
through the worst recession since the Great Depression.
There was high unemployment, high inflation and a bear
stock market. In the US, Japanese firms began to take over
the car and consumer electronics markets. Business schools
looked at the influence of executives on low share prices.
The problem
In 1976, two economists from the Simon School of Business
at the University of Rochester, William Meckling and
Michael Jensen, wrote an article in the Journal of Financial
Economics identifying a conflict of interests between
managers and shareholders. Called “Theory of the Firm:
Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs and Ownership Structure”,
it said that shareholders take all the profits while
executives do all the hard work, so it can be expected that
executives will act in their own self-interest. The share -
holder-value model developed out of this idea.
The solution
“Agency theorists”, as they came to be called, believed that
executives needed to be controlled by market forces. The
solution was to “align” their interests with those of shareholders
by including stock options in their compensation.
If they performed well, they would be rewarded by increased
income.
What happened next
The last four decades have seen executive pay increasingly
linked to share prices. Equity-based compensation for Fortune
500 executives rose to 60 per cent of their total compensation
by 2012. The shareholder-value model, as a part
of the free-market model, now dominates global business.
This has seen a deregulation of financial markets and tax
laws. Institutional investors such as pension funds and life
insurance companies became important corporate investors
in the 1970s, when restrictions on the amount of corporate
equity they could hold were removed. Financial firms
turned from supporting long-term corporate investment activities
(mainly through bond issues) to trading in corporate
and government securities. Also, executives came under increasing
pressure to issue dividends on a regular basis, both
to attract shareholders and as a measure of their own performance.
To create “value” for shareholders, companies
started focusing on short-term strategies, such as cutting
costs, which are bad for long-term health. According to Deloitte’s
2011 Shift Index, which studied 20,000 US firms
from 1965 to 2011, retrenching staff, cutting R&D costs
or stripping firms are now seen as justifiable means to temporarily
raise returns on assets. With executives’ pay linked
to share prices, they now earn up to 1,000 times more than
the average worker, with a big incentive to manipulate share
prices. Former General Electric (GE) head Jack Welch has
called the model the worst idea in the world because it led
to a focus on share price instead of shareholder value.
align sth. with sth. [E(laIn wID] etw. mit etw. in Einklang bringen
bear stock market [)beE (stQk )mA:kIt] Bärenmarkt, Baisse
bond issue [(bQnd )ISu:]
Emission von Anleihen
business school [(bIznEs sku:l] betriebswirtschaftliche Fakultät
compensation [)kQmpEn(seIS&n] Vergütung
corporate equity [)kO:pErEt (ekwEti] Unternehmenskapital
corporate investor
Person/Gesellschaft, die in
[)kO:pErEt In(vestE]
Unternehmen investiert
emphasize sth. [(emfEsaIz]
etw. betonen
equity-based [(ekwEti beIst]
auf (Aktien-)Kapital basierend
executive [Ig(zekjUtIv]
Führungskraft
incentive [In(sentIv]
Anreiz
issue sth. [(ISu:]
etw. ausgeben; hier: ausschütten
public corporation [)pVblIk )kO:pE(reIS&n] Aktiengesellschaft
R&D (Research & Development) F&E (Forschung & Entwick-
[)A:r En (di:]
lung)
retrench staff [ri)trentS (stA:f] Personal abbauen
return on assets [ri(t§:n Qn (Äsets] Gesamtkapitalrentabilität
shareholder [(SeEhEUldE]
Aktionär(in)
share price [(SeE praIs]
Aktienkurs
stock option [(stQk )QpS&n]
Aktienoption, -bezugsrecht
strip a firm [)strIp E (f§:m]
ein Unternehmen zerschlagen
■BS
76 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

EXECUTIVE EYE MANAGEMENT ■
“Ask any 100 employees if they find appraisal systems
useful, and you’d be lucky if half a dozen say yes”
ADRIAN FURNHAM ON THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MANAGEMENT
medium
Why staff appraisals
mostly fail
Staff appraisals — who could possibly
like them? They are supposed to
provide information so that good decisions
can be made about an employee’s
working conditions and their
position in the company. They are
also meant to give employees feedback
so they know what they’re doing
well and where they need to improve.
And they are intended to be a
form of coaching and a way of moni -
toring employees’ development.
However, ask any 100 employees if
they find appraisal processes useful,
and you’d be lucky if half a dozen
say yes. In fact, appraisal systems
give human resources a bad name.
But why? Surely, it must be possible
to make better decisions with better
data. Also, if people are given clear
feedback, then they should be able to
perform better. And it can’t be a bad
idea to help people find and develop
their strengths. All true, but in fact,
appraisal systems work against these
aims — for obvious reasons. The following
have been named many times:
■ Managers are seldom trained in
how to use the systems. They don’t
know how to set objectives or specify
success criteria. They’re unable to
conduct a meaningful session that offers
a real dialogue without hidden
agendas and that provides a differentiating
scoring.
■ Staff development plays little role in
a manager’s own appraisal. If they are
not rewarded for developing staff,
managers may not be enthusiastic
about doing so. They may not even
believe in the benefits of coaching,
training or mentoring.
■ Staff are often passive observers and
not active participants in the process.
They may believe appraisals are
something done to them rather than
for them. Yet, for appraisals to work,
employees must have a role in setting
their own objectives and monitoring
their performance.
■ Appraisals are often full of accusations,
excuses and denial. Instead of
looking forward, they evaluate past
performance. The appraiser acts as a
judge instead of a counsellor.
■ Perhaps the effort — and all the
paperwork — places an unreasonable
burden on managers. It may not seem
to be a good investment of their time.
All for nothing? Feedback
data are often not used
■ Appraisal data are stored but rarely
used. Yet if this information is not
used for decision-making, why conduct
an appraisal at all?
■ Managers are often punished for
not doing good appraisals, but never
rewarded for doing them well.
iStockphoto
appraiser [E(preIzE]
bad name: give sb./sth. a ~ [)bÄd (neIm]
burden [(b§:d&n]
conduct sth. [kEn(dVkt]
counsellor [(kaUns&lE]
denial [di(naIEl]
dozen [(dVz&n]
evaluate sth. [i(vÄljueIt]
hidden agenda [)hId&n E(dZendE]
human resources (HR) [)hju:mEn ri(zO:sIz]
monitor sth. [(mQnItE]
objective [Eb(dZektIv]
paperwork [(peIpEw§:k]
perform [pE(fO:m]
performance [pE(fO:mEns]
scoring [(skO:rIN]
session [(seS&n]
staff appraisal [(stA:f E)preIz&l]
store sth. [stO:]
Beurteilende(r)
jmdn./etw. in Verruf bringen
Belastung
etw. durchführen
Ratgeber(in)
Verleugnung
Dutzend
etw. bewerten, beurteilen
Hintergedanke, versteckte Absicht
Personalwesen
etw. überwachen
Ziel(vorgabe)
Papierkram, Schreibarbeit
Leistungen erbringen
Leistung(en)
(Punkt-)Bewertung; hier: Beurteilung
Sitzung
Mitarbeitergespräch
etw. speichern
A key question is whether conducting
appraisals should be a central
part of a manager’s job. It may need
to be. Appraisals are an increasing legal
necessity. Without them, it has become
problematic, if not impossible,
to fire employees who are incompetent
or lazy.
■BS
ADRIAN FURNHAM is a psychology professor
at University College, London, a
management expert and the author of
more than 60 books. His latest is The Engaging
Manager: The Joy of Management
and Being Managed (Palgrave Macmillan).
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 77

Photos.com
A web of
discovery
Was ist fester als Stahl und unempfindlich gegen Hitze und Luftfeuchtigkeit? Spinnenseide!
TIM ADAMS zeigt die Bedeutung auf, die dieses Biomaterial vor allem für den Fortschritt in der
Medizin mit sich bringt, und berichtet vom Stand der Forschung auf diesem Gebiet. advanced

SPIDER SILK TECHNOLOGY ■
On the roof of Professor Fritz Vollrath’s lab in
the zoology department at Oxford University is
a greenhouse in which he keeps his favourite
golden orb web spiders. The air carries the
sound of flies and the smell of rotting fruit.
Look up and you’ll see lots of the fully grown African
spiders, nearly eight centimetres across, sitting on their
complex, elegant webs hung among rows of plants. Look
closer and you’ll also see thousands of tiny spiderlings
crawling about on leaves beneath.
It seems a good place to ask Vollrath exactly how he first
got interested in spiders and their webs. He laughs and
turns the question around. “The strange thing to me,” he
says, “was always the question of why scientists were not
more interested in them. I mean, here is a creature which,
according to its size, can build from its own body a structure
on the scale of a football pitch overnight, every night,
and can catch the equivalent of an aeroplane in it. Why
would you not want to study how it did that?”
There were more practical reasons, too. Vollrath was a
postgraduate student of neurophysiology when he started
looking at webs and spider silks as a field of study. “To do
any small thing in neurophysiology, you had to read an awful
lot of scientific literature. With spiders, I realized there
was hardly any literature at all.”
His fascination with spider silk began when he was at
university in Munich in 1972 and the lightweight, hightensile
roof of the Olympic Stadium, created by Frei Otto
to imitate the look of a spiderweb, introduced a new, ima -
ginative trend in architecture. Vollrath, who speculated
that spider silk might produce a similar revolutionary shift
in the young field of biomaterials, was snared.
In the years since, he has probably spent more time
studying how spiders spin their beautiful silk structures
than any man alive. He has fed spiders miniature drops of
drugs such as amphetamines and caffeine, and measured the
dramatic effect this has on their web building. He has tested
ways of training spiders with a tuning fork and discovered
how to make them “write” in their
webs — the Vollrath Christmas card of
1988 showed a picture of a web in which
he had “taught” a spider to write the
number “88” by manipulating the orien-
Professor Fritz Vollrath
has spent four decades
studying the
astonishing properties
of spider silk.
Now, his pioneering
work at Oxford University
on one of the
world’s strongest
materials promises to deliver huge medical benefits in
everything from knee replacements to nerve repair to
heart transplants. He draws Tim Adams into his intriguing
web of discovery.
tation of the web as the spider worked. Mostly, though,
Vollrath has defined a pioneering area of study into the
properties of spider silks that promises to revolutionize various
polymer industries, and also could have huge potential
medical benefits for humans in everything from knee replacements
to nerve repair to heart transplants.
“No one was much interested in spiders when I
started,” he says. “Now an awful lot of people are.” Vollrath’s
silk group at Oxford has been going for about 15
years. Quite early on, it perfected a method to reel silk directly
from the spider. He shows me a video clip of how
this process works. In the film, an orb spider is tied down
and encouraged to produce silk that is wound on a reel.
The spider can sometimes keep this up for eight hours.
Vollrath’s group can reel at different temperatures and under
carefully controlled conditions. In this way, they can
look at the molecular properties of the silk as it is produced.
“What you find is that there is a huge correlation
between the reeling conditions and the material properties,”
Vollrath says, “and that gets very interesting because
that is what polymer people know about.”
Spider silks are just about the toughest material on the
planet. Stronger by mass than steel and more robust and
“To me, the question was why scientists
were not more interested in spiders”
across [E(krQs]
caffeine [(kÄfi:n]
football pitch [(fUtbO:l pItS] UK
golden orb web spider
[)gEUldEn )O:b (web spaIdE]
greenhouse [(gri:nhaUs]
high-tensile [)haI (tensaI&l]
imaginative [I(mÄdZInEtIv]
lab [lÄb] ifml.
postgraduate student
[)pEUst(grÄdjuEt )stju:d&nt]
im Durchmesser
Koffein
Fußballfeld
Goldene Radnetzspinne
Treibhaus
hochfest, mit hoher Zugfestigkeit
ideenreich
Labor
Doktorand(in)
property [(prQpEti]
reel (sth.) [ri:&l]
rotting [(rQtIN]
scale: on the ~ of sth.
[skeI&l]
shift [SIft]
snared [sneEd]
spiderling [(spaIdElIN]
spider silk [(spaIdE sIlk]
tuning fork
[(tju:nIN fO:k]
Eigenschaft
Spule; etw. (auf)spulen
verfaulend, angefault
im Ausmaß von etw.,
so groß wie etw.
Veränderung
gefangen, gefesselt
Jungspinne
Spinnenseide
Stimmgabel
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 79

■ TECHNOLOGY SPIDER SILK
iStockphoto
“It is about a thousand times
more energy-efficient to produce
a silk fibre than a plastic one”
flexible than Kevlar, they respond to the ambient conditions
and are made to adapt and keep their tensile strength as the
surrounding humidity and temperature change. As it works,
the spider can change the concentration of the structural
components, by running fast or slow, for example, so it can
produce, by turns, almost crystalline, very stable silk or
quite broad, very flexible silk, for different parts of the web.
It was when Vollrath started examining the nanostructure
of the material, however, that things got really interesting.
“What we found by studying the silk as it is
made,” he says, “was that at a molecular level it has something
in it, a little peptide, a recurrent little motif like a
melody in a tune. This is what helps to give the silk its entirely
orderly structure.” He says the same motif is also in
the filaments that hold our own cells together — three
amino acids that give the cells what you might call an identifying
“tune”. And when the cells of our body come into
Umgebungs-
Aminosäure
biologisch abbaubar; hier:
selbstauflösend
Knorpel
gerinnen
hier: Anwendung finden
etw. auflösen
Faser
Faser
schlichte Lebenserfahrung
Luftfeuchtigkeit
Gelenk
Markenname für Aramidfasern
Meniskusimplantat
mikrobiozid (tödlich für
Mikroorganismen)
Leitmotiv
wiederkehrend, sich wiederholend
Seidenraupe
Nebeneffekt, -entwicklung
Nahtmaterial
Reiß-, Zugfestigkeit
Gewebe
Titan
ambient [(ÄmbiEnt]
amino acid [E)mi:nEU (ÄsId]
biodegradable
[)baIEUdi(greIdEb&l]
cartilage [(kA:tElIdZ]
coagulate [kEU(ÄgjuleIt]
come in [)kVm (In]
dissolve sth. [dI(zQlv]
fibre [(faIbE]
filament [(fIlEmEnt]
homespun wisdom [)hEUmspVn (wIsdEm]
humidity [hju(mIdEti]
joint [dZOInt]
Kevlar [(kevlA:]
meniscal implant [mE)nIsk&l (ImplA:nt]
microbicidal
[)maIkrEUbi(saId&l]
motif [mEU(ti:f]
recurrent [ri(kVrEnt]
silkworm [(sIlkw§:m]
spin-off [(spIn Qf]
suture material [(su:tSE mE)tIEriEl]
tensile strength [)tensaI&l (streNT]
tissue [(tISu:]
titanium [taI(teIniEm]
Many uses: spiderwebs have
long been known to heal cuts
contact with this motif in the spider silks, it appears that
they can recognize it. They respond by attaching to it and
growing along it, Vollrath explains.
This little harmonic discovery may one day offer a range
of benefits. One spin-off, for example, is that Vollrath’s
team has partnered with Oxford Biomaterials (OBM) to
look at ways to use technologies based on silk from spiders
and silkworms. Most of these applications are medical.
“Silk from silkworms is probably the most ancient suture
material,” Vollrath says. “It is thin and strong and
biodegradable in the body. In all cultures, there is evidence
of people using spiderwebs to heal wounds.” He explains
that farmers everywhere have put spiderwebs on cuts. The
fibres help blood coagulate and many webs have microbicidal
properties that kill bacteria. “This is all homespun
wisdom. The question is, can we make better use of it?”
For this purpose, OBM has a range of projects that Vollrath
is helping to direct. “We have, for example, a project
looking at using silk to make heart muscle,” he says. “We
discovered if you use a type of silk in this way and put heart
cells on it, they feel at home and grow and start beating.
The silk is soft. So we made a little heart muscle that can
beat. And the silk is biodegradable.
“The whole field of regenerative medicine could be
huge. Say you have a problem with your knee. The solution
now is to put a new titanium knee joint in place.
That’s it. The cells will not repair anything. But to help the
body repair itself, you need to put something in that will
give the cells the right environment to grow. That is where
silks come in.”
Vollrath explains that, when spider silk is dissolved and
allowed to re-form, it can take on properties that will
match the original tissue, for example, bone or cartilage.
This then encourages the human tissue to rebuild itself.
In cooperation with OBM, Vollrath’s team has another
project that makes meniscal implants. The silk is dissolved
80 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

Perfektion lässt sich
leicht üben.
in lithium bromide, and the resulting material is incredibly strong and
integrates much better potentially with the human body than any plastic.
The meniscal products are currently in animal trials, Vollrath says,
and, if the test results are favourable, could be in humans in a year or
two. The teams are also working on meshes and bone-like structures and
are investigating ways in which silks can be used as a carrier for medicines
in the body, releasing the medicine over weeks or months or years.
The desired goal of Vollrath’s research, and of experiments by other
groups around the world, is to use silks for repairing nerves. “You can
make very long fibres and potentially nerve cells will grow along these
filaments,” Vollrath says, explaining that this new growth can already
bridge narrow spaces in a nerve, but not wider ones. “The ultimate aim
is to repair the spinal cord in this way.”
Reaching that aim is some way off, though Vollrath is confident that
it is possible. And there are still big difficulties when working with spider
silk. One is the impossibility of farming it on any significant scale.
Unlike silkworms, whose cocoons can be grown and collected, spiders
are territorial and cannibalistic, so they “cannot be kept like cows in a
field”.
The effort is almost always worth it, not least because of the
energy saved in the silk-making process. “Most comparable polymers
require a great deal of heat before they will flow,” Vollrath says. “Silk
flows at ambient temperature and with very little force. We have proved
that it is about a thousand times more energy-efficient to produce a silk
fibre than a plastic one.”
Vollrath calls spider silk “the building block of life” in the sense that
it is protein folding in action. “What happens when a spider makes its
web is, in effect, that a live molecule, which is very unstable, becomes
stabilized in death.” This denaturation process, he explains, is a change
in the protein’s structure caused by an external factor.
In this respect, a spider’s silk behaves in a way that reminds neurologists
of how amyloid structures are formed in the brain — a possible
cause of many neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease
and Alzheimer’s, an idea that connects Vollrath’s interest in spiders with
his studies in neurophysiology. “If we can work out how spiders and
silkworms control how this process happens,” he says, “then we may
be well on the way to understanding why it happens in humans and
finding potential ways of stopping it.”
One of Vollrath’s team colleagues is also studying the tonal qualities
of spider silk, “which the spider can understand down in the nanorange”.
It is this “music” that allows the spider to know what is happening
on its web in the smallest detail, and that is why the structure
and molecules of the fibre are so pure, Vollrath suggests. He pauses.
“We are learning more and more all the time,” he says, with his characteristic
enthusiasm, “about a substance that has developed over many
millions of years.”
■BS
building block [(bIldIN blQk]
cocoon [kE(ku:n]
denaturation [)di:nÄtSE(reIS&n]
mesh [meS]
protein folding [(prEUti:n )fEUldIN]
release sth. [ri(li:s]
spinal cord [)spaIn&l (kO:d]
ultimate [(VltImEt]
Baustein
Kokon
Denaturierung
Gewebe
Proteinfaltung
etw. abgeben, freisetzen
Rückenmark
endgültig
© Guardian News & Media 2013
Business Spotlight plus ist die ideale
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es gleich aus!
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www.business-spotlight.de/plusheft
5/2013

■ TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
Ideas and inventions
Gibt es Neuigkeiten? CAROL SCHEUNEMANN präsentiert technische
Innovationen und neue wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse. medium
Lost your way? Clothes
may soon direct you
Just touch me
Wearable computers in watches or glasses may
soon be commonplace (see Business Spotlight
1/2013). However, looking at a display is distracting
and potentially risky. Sounds or voice messages
may not be desired in some situations. The next
generation of “smart” clothing and accessories
might make use of haptics, the science of touch, to
deliver information. Your clothes could provide
iStockphoto (2)
tactile signals, in other words, they would shake,
vibrate or pulse to direct your activity.
Tactile signals could help drivers to navigate. A
series of miniature motors, or actuators, built into
a piece of clothing would produce low pulses,
much as a mobile phone vibrates, in a specific sequence
to inform the driver to stop, or turn left.
Lynette Jones, a scientist at MIT’s department of
mechanical engineering, tests and develops wearable
tactile displays. She says that the skin is a
largely untested medium for communication. The
skin’s sensory receptors are spread over nearly two
square metres, says Jones, “unlike the eye, where
it’s all concentrated in an extremely small area”.
Jones’s tests show that hands receive signals better
than the back or the arms, and that people often
cannot identify individual signals when these
are too fast or the actuators too close together.
Ocean treasures: scientists
are searching in the seas
DID YOU KNOW?
COMING UP
PharmaSea
A four-year EU project
that involves collecting samples from the hottest, deepest
and coldest places in the oceans. The aim is to develop
new substances from marine organisms.
Source: www.pharma-sea.eu
228 per cent
The increase in spending on green technologies in the
Middle East and Africa since 2011. Globally, spending
is down 12 per cent.
Not a bird, nor a plane:
now bikes can fly
Source: “Renewables 2013 Global Status Report”, www.ren21.net
5
The number of minutes
a flying electric bicycle
was able to remain in
the air.
Source: www.technodat.cz
Eating yogurt may influence your thinking. In one
test, women ate yogurt containing probiotic bacteria
for four weeks. Afterwards, their brain scans showed
greater connectivity to areas responsible for cognitive
skills. In women who ate no yogurt, the connectivity
was higher to regions related to emotions.
accessory [Ek(sesEri]
commonplace [(kQmEnpleIs]
department [di(pA:tmEnt]
distracting: be ~ [dI(strÄktIN]
haptics [(hÄptIks]
mechanical engineering
[mI)kÄnIk&l )endZI(nIErIN]
pulse [pVls]
renewables [ri(nju:Eb&lz]
sample [(sA:mp&l]
scan [skÄn]
sensory receptor [)sensEri ri(septE]
smart [smA:t]
tactile [(tÄktaI&l]
Source: Dr Kirstin Tillisch, School of Medicine, UCLA
Accessoire
alltäglich
Fachbereich, Fakultät
ablenken
Haptik (Lehre vom Tastsinn)
Maschinenbau
pulsieren; Impuls
erneuerbare Energien
Probe
Computertomografie
Sinnesrezeptor
schlau
taktil, fühlbar
82 www.business-spotlight.de
5/2013

A fracking well: extracts
natural gas from shale rock
LANGUAGE FOCUS TECHNOLOGY ■
Hydraulic
fracturing
Vocabulary
additive [(ÄdEtIv]
(chemischer) Zusatzstoff
aquifer [(ÄkwIfE]
Aquifer, Grundwasser
führende Schicht
bedrock [(bedrQk]
Fels-, Grundgestein
borehole [(bO:hEUl]
Bohrloch
capture sth. [(kÄptSE]
etw. auffangen, sammeln
carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) [)kA:bEn daI(QksaId] Kohlendioxid (CO 2 )
casing [(keIsIN]
Verrohrung; Ummantelung
(chemical) agent [()kemIk&l) (eIdZEnt] Wirkstoff
conventional/unconventional gas konventionelles Gas, Erdgas /
[kEn)venS&nEl/VnkEn)venS&nEl (gÄs] unkonventionelles Gas,
Schiefergas
drilling pad [(drIlIN pÄd]
Bohrplatz
drilling rig [(drIlIN rIg]
Bohrinsel, -turm
drill string [(drIl strIN]
Bohrstrang
earthquake [(§:TkweIk]
Erdbeben
engineering [)endZI(nIErIN]
Ingenieurwissenschaften
extraction [Ik(strÄkS&n]
Gewinnung, Förderung
flowback [(flEUbÄk]
Abwasser
fossil fuel [)fQs&l (fju:El]
fossiler Brennstoff
fracturing fluid
FRAC-Flüssigkeit; Fracking-
[(frÄktSErIN )flu:Id]
wasser
gas well [(gÄs wel]
Erdgasbohrloch
hydrocarbon [)haIdrEU(kA:bEn]
Kohlenwasserstoff
injection [In(dZekS&n]
Injektion
layer [(leIE]
Schicht
leakage [(li:kIdZ]
Ausströmen; Leck, undichte
Stelle
liquefied natural gas (LNG)
Flüssigerdgas
[)lIkwIfaId )nÄtS&rEl (gÄs]
mercury [(m§:kju&ri]
Quecksilber
methane [(mi:TeIn]
Methan
natural gas [)nÄtS&rEl (gÄs]
Erdgas
permeability [)p§:miE(bIlEti]
Durchlässigkeit
petroleum [pE(trEUliEm]
Erdöl
porosity [pO:(rQsEti]
Porosität, Durchlässigkeit
proppant [(prQpEnt]
Stützmittel
replacement fuel [ri(pleIsmEnt )fju:El] Ersatzbrennstoff
reserve [ri(z§:v]
Vorkommen; Vorrat, Reserve
reservoir [(rezEvwA:]
Speicher
rock formation [(rQk fO:)meIS&n]
Gesteinsformation
shale gas [)SeI&l (gÄs]
Schiefergas
shale rock [)SeI&l (rQk]
Schiefergestein
store sth. [stO:]
etw. speichern
transition fuel [trÄn(zIS&n )fju:El] Übergangsbrennstoff
wastewater [(weIstwO:tE]
Abwasser
wellbore [(welbO:]
Bohrloch
For more information
iStockphoto
Bei der Erdgasförderung gewinnt das Fracking
an Bedeutung. LEWIS LANSFORD erklärt Ihnen
das Verfahren und seine Folgen. advanced
Since 1821, when a gas well was dug in New York, the
US has supplied its own natural gas. About ten years
ago, production was slowing and plans were made to build
sea terminals for importing liquefied natural gas (LNG).
But LNG ports may soon export, not import, natural gas.
What has changed? In a word, fracking.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves pumping liquid
under high pressure deep underground into layers of
shale rock that contain gas or oil. A wellbore is drilled
down vertically, then extended horizontally into the shale.
Fracturing fluid — a mixture of water, sand and chemicals
— is pumped into the wellbore, creating cracks or widening
existing ones. Gas is set free and flows up the wellbore,
where it’s captured and stored.
However, hydraulic fracturing remains highly controversial.
Critics believe fracking contaminates groundwater
and are deeply concerned because the exact mix of chemicals
in the fracturing fluid is kept secret. Each well uses
millions of litres of water, about half of which remains in
the ground. Fracking may also cause earthquakes.
Supporters say that burning natural gas produces less
carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) than burning oil or coal — and that
current industry regulations exist to reduce known risks
and damage to the environment.
■BS
Exercise: Drilling down
Choose the correct terms to complete the sentences.
a) Natural gas is transported by sea from __________.
1. gas fields 2. drilling pads 3. LNG ports
b) A hole drilled in rock to extract shale gas is a __________.
1. mine 2. wellbore 3. crack
c) Firms won’t say which chemicals they use in __________.
1. fracturing fluid 2. groundwater 3. shale gas
BOOK
■ Shale Gas: The Promise and the Peril, Vikram Rao (RTI
Press)
WEBSITE
■ The US Environmental Protection Agency: www2.epa.gov/
hydraulicfracturing/process-hydraulic-fracturing
Answers: a–3; b–2; c–1
5/2013
LEWIS LANSFORD develops materials for teaching
English for Specific Purposes. His books include
Engineering 1 with Peter Astley and Oil and Gas 1
with D’Arcy Vallance (both Oxford University Press).
Contact: www.lewislansford.com
www.business-spotlight.de 83

■ FEEDBACK READERS’ LETTERS
Looking for laughs
Readers’ let ters should be sent to:
The editor-in-chief, Business Spotlight, Fraun -
ho ferstr. 22, 82152 Pla negg, Deutsch land;
by email to i.mcmaster@spot light-ver lag.de;
or by fax to +49 (0)89/85681-210. Please
include your postal address, email address
and phone number. We reserve the right to
edit readers’ comments for clar ity or length.
What has happened to your regular section The Last Laugh?
I have not seen it since early 2013. Are there plans to offer
something like it again? Do other readers also miss it?
Might there be a comeback for The Last Laugh?
Josef Nagel, via email
Thank you for your feedback. In February of this year, when we did the latest
relaunch of Business Spotlight, we moved some of the elements of The Last
Laugh into other sections. For example, the Dilbert cartoon is now in the new
section Tips and Trends and funny sayings are in Names and News.
The Editor
Mehr für den Beruf
Ich lese Business Spotlight, seit es auf dem Markt ist, und freue
mich über die Themen, die in Skill Up! abgebildet werden.
Hierfür wünsche ich mir jedoch mehr Berufsbezogenheit —
z.B. internationale Messen oder Branchenthemen wie Maschinenbau,
Chemie, Bauwesen, Textilindustrie, Gerichtswesen,
Dienstleistungen im Spektrum der Volkswirtschaft/Makroökonomie.
Betriebswirtschaftliche Themen wie Vertrieb, Produktion,
Buchhaltung werden ja in der Ausbildung vermittelt.
Heidrun Mallok, Dresden
Thank you for your comments. With Skill Up!, we have tried to cover topics that
will be of interest to most of our readers rather than concentrating on par -
ticular industries, but your suggestions are certainly interesting.
The Editor
Wrong lane on the motorway?
Ithink there are some mistakes on the Vocabulary page, “The
Motorway”, in issue 2/2013. You write that number 6 is the
left lane, but it is the right lane; the blue car is in the left lane.
Also, the green bus is driving on the wrong side, because there
is no car for it to pass. And what about the solid lines in the
illustration? The orange and red cars are not allowed to drive
over the solid lines.
Anke Meier, via email
Thank you for your feedback. Number 6 is correctly marked and named for a
UK motorway. This is called the “overtaking lane” or the “right-hand lane” in
UK English. The terms “left lane” or “fast lane” are used in the US, where people
drive on the other side. You are right that the bus is, perhaps unnecessarily,
in the overtaking lane. You are also correct that the exit and entrance
slip roads should each have a “broken white line” (UK ) or “dotted line” (US).
The Editor
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84 www.business-spotlight.de

6/2013 PREVIEW ■
In the next issue:
Test: more than small talk
The ability to communicate on a wide range of subjects
is one of the keys to business success. This means
being able to discuss more than the weather, your
business trips or your hobbies. Test your ability to talk
about your company, your country and current affairs.
Digital Vision
Culture: Switzerland
Its central geographical position in Europe, along with
neutrality and political stability, have helped Switzerland
become one of the world’s wealthiest countries. In our
next Intercultural Communication article, we provide
you with tips on doing business with the Swiss.
iStockphoto
SKILL UP!
Improve your
BUSINESS
VOCABULARY
with our
essential guide
Careers: working abroad
The globalized economy requires more and more people to have
experience working in different countries and cultures. In the
second part of our special Careers series, we provide practical
advice to help you get the most out of your time abroad.
iStockphoto
In the next issue...
In the next issue...
PROPERTY
PICTURE THIS: renovation work
FALSE FRIENDS: caution, provision
WORD BANK: types of property
BusinessSpotlight 6/2013 is on sale from 16 October 2013
5/2013
www.business-spotlight.de 85

■ PEOPLE MY WORKING LIFE
A pioneer in
her business:
Madina
Baibolova
Madina Baibolova
Estate agent
Die Weltausstellung findet 2017 in der kasachischen Hauptstadt
Astana statt. Das wird sich auch auf den dortigen Immobilienmarkt
auswirken, wie VICKI SUSSENS von der Maklerin erfuhr. easy
I love to meet interesting people
from all over the world. I enjoy it when clients thank
us for our work and recommend us to friends. I also like
to beat the competition.
Saying
goodbye to our expat clients when they leave Kazakhstan.
A gentleman from Italy asked us to
find an apartment for him and two babies. We discovered
the “babies” were two puppies!
My husband, Daniyal, and I have an
estate agency, Best Realty, in Astana, Kazakhstan. I work
mostly with staff — training, motivating and organizing
them. I also do marketing and advertising, as well as looking
for new clients.
Thirty-one.
Astana, one of the youngest capital cities in the
world. It was made the capital of Kazakhstan in 1997, and
in the past 15 years, has been turned from a small town
with few buildings into a modern city. I was born in
Kazakh stan, but have also lived in the USA and Bulgaria.
We have a daughter, Amina (9), and two sons,
Assan (6) and Alikhan (2).
The amount we earn depends on the commissions
our clients pay. But mostly, it’s a well-paid job.
You have to understand
the market as well as the laws to do with renting and
selling. But above all, you need people skills. And you
should always have your mobile phone switched on!
I agree 100 per cent with [the US
property magnate] Donald Trump, who said: “It’s tangible,
it’s solid, it’s beautiful. It’s artistic, from my standpoint,
and I just love real estate.” I love it, too!
We help expats find homes and support them
during the time they rent. They are usually diplomats or
managers. We also sell real estate to the many people from
other parts of Kazakhstan moving to Astana.
It varies, growing
rapidly in the big cities but not moving in other regions.
The biggest effect on the market now is the upcoming
Expo 2017. A lot of people will come here in the near future,
so property owners don’t want to miss their chance.
For 71 years, when we
were part of the Soviet Union, people couldn’t buy or sell
property; they just exchanged it. When Kazakhstan became
independent in 1991, the real-estate market was
formed and grew quickly. In the first years, you could buy
a small studio flat in an old Soviet-style building for
$3,000–$5,000. Now, the same apartment costs around
$60,000. The market itself is still unorganized. We don’t
have laws regulating real estate and there are few registered
agencies. We have a lot of work to do to reach the realestate
standards of the USA or Europe.
Being a good wife and mother,
although I do have to work late sometimes. ■BS
artistic [A:(tIstIk]
künstlerisch
beat the competition
besser sein als die Konkurrenz
[)bi:t DE )kQmpE(tIS&n]
commission [kE(mIS&n]
Provision
estate agency [I(steIt )eIdZEnsi] UK Immobilienbüro
expat(riate) [)eks(pÄt(riEt)] dauernd im Ausland lebende Person
Kazakhstan [)kÄzÄk(stA:n] Kasachstan
people skills [(pi:p&l skIlz] soziale Kompetenz
property [(prQpEti]
Immobilie(n)
puppy [(pVpi]
Hundewelpe
real estate [(ri:&l I)steIt*] US Immobilien
realty [(ri:Elti*] US
Immobilien(besitz)
registered [(redZIstEd]
zugelassen; hier: mit Maklerlizenz
tangible [(tÄndZEb&l]
greifbar; hier: handfest
turn sth. (from sth.) into sth. eine Sache (von etw.) in
[(t§:n (frQm) )Intu]
etw. umwandeln
upcoming [(Vp)kVmIN]
bevorstehend
* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation that differs from standard UK pronunciation.
86 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2013

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BusinessSpotlight
SKILL UP!
VOKABELTRAINING LEICHT GEMACHT
AUSGABE 22
Emotional
times
also:
Heart-to-heart | From upbeat to upset

CONTENTS
EMOTIONAL MOMENTS
If you feel strongly about something, you often work better and more efficiently.
The opposite can also be true. This Skill Up! presents the vocabulary
you will need to talk about your emotions at work.
The scene in Picture This! (pp. 4–5) illustrates an emotional meeting —
and the best and worst emotional reactions you might experience there. The
vocabulary we list on these pages might make you think about your own
behaviour. Ask yourself: “How do I make others feel?” Your own feelings will
often depend on the kind of work you have to do. In Word Bank
(pp. 6–7), we look at typical work situations and the emotions you may feel
in those situations. In False Friends (pp. 8–9), you’ll discover that you’re
probably not as irritated or sensible as you might think.
What’s your gut feeling about emotions? Turn to Essential Idioms
(pp. 12–13) to find out how to use common idiomatic expressions at work.
You’ll find more informal expressions in Small Talk (pp. 16–17), where you
can also read our tips on how to deal with emotions in the workplace.
Finally, in Close Relations (pp. 14–15), we show you that there’s room for
the warm-hearted as well as the cold-hearted in business. What would you
like to be?
Deborah Capras, deputy editor
bs.deputyeditor@spotlight-verlag.de
SKILL UP!
How many words do you try to learn each
day? Each month? Every day for a month,
make a note of the words you have really
learned. Are you surprised by the number?
ANNA HOCHSIEDER is the main author of
this issue of Skill Up! She teaches English
as a Second Language and writes on language
issues in Spotlight and Business Spotlight.
Contact: a.hochsieder@googlemail.com
SKILL UP! online
On our website, you’ll find selected
vocabulary from this guide in our
Word of the Day section. To listen to
the words, definitions and example
sentences — and to download the
MP3 file of each word — go to
www.business-spotlight.de/skill-up
2 SKILL UP!
ISSUE 22

How do you feel about your
work? Really satisfied!
iStockphoto
CHECKLIST: WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Below, you will find the contents of this issue of Skill Up! and a checklist of what you should
be able to do with confidence after studying this guide. Ask yourself what you can really do.
If you can’t say yes to every statement, go back and spend more time on learning the relevant
vocabulary. Don’t forget to read our Skill Up! tips and do the online exercises!
Contents Page(s) Checklist
Picture This!
An emotional 4–5 I can talk about how people react to emotional situations
meeting
— and about behaviour that can cause such reactions.
Word Bank
How are you feeling? 6–7 I can talk about positive and negative feelings at work.
False Friends
Irritated or 8–9 I can identify the false friends presented here — and
confused?
use the correct translations.
In Focus
Emotional 10–11 I know which nouns, adverbs and adjectives are best
collocations
used together to talk about emotions.
Essential Idioms
Your gut feeling? 12–13 I can correctly use idiomatic expressions to describe my
feelings.
Close Relations
Heart-to-heart 14–15 I can correctly use the “heart” family.
Small Talk
Close to tears 16–17 I can describe my emotions in an informal way and talk
about strategies to deal with emotions in the workplace.
Your Profile
Your emotions 18 I feel more confident using the vocabulary in this guide.
Preview 19
Not yet A little Yes!
n n n
n n n
n n n
n n n
n n n
n n n
n n n
n n n
ISSUE 22 SKILL UP! 3

PICTURE THIS!
1
Bernhard Förth
2 3
4
6
5
Try pulling
yourself together
AN EMOTIONAL MEETING
How people react to emotional situations depends on their personality, on the situation
— and on the people around them. Here, we present an overview of common feelings.
1. emotions are die Emotionen
running high
kochen hoch
2. senior manager leitende(r) Mitarbeiter(in)
der
Geschäftsführung
be fuming [(fju:mIN] wütend sein
begrudge sb. sth. jmdm. etw. miss-
[bi(grVdZ]
gönnen
feel undermined sich bloßgestellt
fühlen
go ballistic [bE(lIstIk] durchdrehen, die
ifml.
Wände hochgehen
hot-tempered
hitzig, cholerisch
lash out
Dampf ablassen
3. CEO (chief executive Vorstandsvorofficer)
sitzende(r)
4 SKILL UP!
congratulate sb. jmdm. gratulieren
[kEn(grÄtSuleIt]
insensitive
unsensibel, gefühl-
[In(sensEtIv]
los
promote sb.
jmdn. befördern
tactless
taktlos
4. senior executive leitende(r) Mitar-
[)si:niEr Ig(zekjUtIv] beiter(in) auf der
oberen Führungs -
ebene
be promoted
befördert werden
“Emotions were running high in the
meeting. Someone actually threw a cup of
coffee at the CEO!”

e tongue-tied sprachlos sein
feel appreciated sich geschätzt/
anerkannt fühlen
feel honoured
sich geehrt fühlen
5. assistant Assistent(in)
feel envious [(enviEs] neidisch sein
green with envy grün vor Neid
pull oneself together sich zusammenreißen
remain composed ruhig/gelassen
[kEm(pEUzd]
bleiben
6. junior executive Nachwuchs-
[)dZu:niE Ig(zekjUtIv ] führungskraft
feel cheated
sich (um etw.) betro-
(out of sth.) [(tSi:tId] gen fühlen
feel humiliated sich gedemütigt
[hju(mIlieItId]
fühlen
feel shattered UK ifml. sich am Boden zerstört
fühlen
lose one’s composure die Beherrschung
[kEm(pEUZE]
verlieren
miss out on a promotion bei einer Beförderung
übergangen
werden
slam the door
die Tür zuknallen
How do you act? Can you be...?
argumentative [)A:gju(mentEtIv] streitsüchtig
assertive [E(s§:tIv]
energisch, bestimmt
complacent [kEm(pleIs&nt]
selbstgefällig,
selbstzufrieden
confrontational [)kQnfrVn(teIS&nEl] streitsüchtig
cut-throat [(kVt TrEUt]
rücksichtslos
dismissive [dIs(mIsIv]
abweisend
ruthless [(ru:TlEs]
rücksichts-, skrupellos
sentimental [)sentI(ment&l] sentimental, gefühlvoll
smug [smVg]
süffisant, blasiert
snippy [(snIpi] US ifml.
schroff, barsch
supportive [sE(pO:tIv]
unterstützend
Could your actions or words hurt a colleague’s...?
confidence/self-confidence Selbstvertrauen,
Selbstbewusstsein
feelings
Gefühle
pride
Stolz
self-esteem
Selbstachtung
Talking about your feelings
express one’s feelings seinen Gefühlen Ausdruck
verleihen
give vent to one’s feelings seinen Gefühlen freien Lauf
lassen, sich Luft machen
hide one’s feelings
seine Gefühle verbergen
hurt sb.’s feelings
jmds. Gefühle verletzen
keep one’s feelings to oneself seine Gefühle für sich behalten
show one’s feelings
seine Gefühle zeigen
spare sb.’s feelings
jmds. Gefühle schonen
suppress one’s feelings seine Gefühle unterdrücken
“At the end of the
day you have to keep
emotions away”
Lakshmi Mittal, 63, chairman and CEO
of ArcelorMittal
Would you show...?
affection
compassion
concern
dislike
favouritism
[(feIvrE)tIzEm]
grief [gri:f]
irritation
pity
support
Zuneigung
Mitgefühl, Mitleid
Besorgnis
Abneigung
Vetternwirtschaft,
Begünstigung
Kummer, Leid
Gereiztheit, Verärgerung
Mitleid
Solidarität, Sympathie
SKILL UP!
Have you noticed the effect that
you have on other people? The
way you act can make others feel
good or bad. Could you change
your behaviour to make them feel
more positive about themselves
— or about you? Make a note in
English of how people react to
you. Do you need to change the
way you interact with others?
ISSUE 22 SKILL UP! 5

WORD BANK
I feel so upbeat
today!
HOW ARE YOU FEELING?
Here, we present vocabulary you can use to describe your feelings in
typical work situations.
Before giving a presentation —
on a good day:
calm
ruhig
composed [kEm(pEUzd] ruhig, gelassen
composure [kEm(pEUZE] Ruhe, Gelassenheit
confident
zuversichtlich
confidence
Zuversicht
laid-back [leId (bÄk] ifml. entspannt
level-headed [)lev&l (hedId] besonnen
relaxed
entspannt
self-confident
selbstbewusst
self-confidence
Selbstbewusstsein
unconcerned
unbesorgt
undaunted [Vn(dO:ntId] unverdrossen
unflappable [Vn(flÄpEb&l] unerschütterlich,
souverän
unperturbed [)VnpE(t§:bd] gelassen, unbeirrt
upbeat
optimistisch
Before giving a presentation —
on a bad day:
anxious [(ÄNkSEs]
ängstlich, besorgt,
unruhig
anxiety [ÄN(zaIEti] Angst, Besorgnis,
Unruhe
apprehensive [)ÄprI(hensIv] besorgt, ängstlich
apprehension
Besorgnis, Befürch-
[)ÄprI(henS&n]
tung, Vorahnung
flustered [(flVstEd]
aufgeregt, nervös
insecure
unsicher
insecurity
Unsicherheit
nervous
aufgeregt, ängstlich
nervousness
Aufgeregtheit, Nervosität
worried
besorgt, ängstlich,
unruhig
worry
Sorge, Besorgnis;
sich Sorgen machen
Blend Images
When you’ve made a minor or silly mistake:
annoyed with oneself: sich über sich selbst ärgern
be ~
annoyance
Ärger
ashamed: be/ feel ~ sich schämen
shame
Scham, Schande
embarrassed: be/feel ~ sich genieren, in Verlegenheit
gebracht
embarrassment Verlegenheit, Peinlichkeit
When you’ve lost your job:
desolate [(desElEt]
devastated
[(devEsteItId]
distraught [dI(strO:t]
inadequate
[In(ÄdIkwEt]
miserable
[(mIzErEb&l]
weepy
tief unglücklich
am Boden zerstört
verzweifelt
unzulänglich
elend
den Tränen nahe
6 SKILL UP! ISSUE 22

SKILL UP!
Some German verbs or verb phrases referring
to feelings are expressed in the
form of adjectives in English. For example:
Angst haben = be anxious
sich ärgern = be angry/upset
sich freuen = be pleased
sich genieren = be embarrassed
sich schämen = be ashamed
If a someone does something that makes
you look weak, bad or foolish:
compromised: feel ~ sich kompromittiert fühlen
undermined: feel ~ sich bloßgestellt fühlen
If you feel you’ve been treated unfairly:
furious
wütend, zornig
in a rage: be ~ [reIdZ] vor Wut toben
insulted [In(sVltId]
beleidigt, gekränkt
livid [(lIvId]
wütend
offended
beleidigt, verletzt
seething with anger [(si:DIN] schäumend vor Wut
If you have too much work:
burned out
ausgebrannt
overwhelmed [)EUvE(welmd] überfordert
overworked
überarbeitet
stressed
gestresst
If you feel you’ve been working in the same place
for too long:
bored
gelangweilt
fed up: be ~ with sth. etw. überhaben, satt haben
sick and tired: be ~ of sth. die Nase voll von etw. haben
When you didn’t get the promotion you wanted:
disappointed (about/at/by sth.)
disappointment
dismayed [dIs(meId]
frustrated (at/with sth.)
frustration
upset
enttäuscht
Enttäuschung
entsetzt, bestürzt
frustriert (über etw.)
Frust, Enttäuschung
traurig, verärgert, aus
der Fassung gebracht
When you’re really looking forward to doing
something new:
eager [(i:gE]
eifrig, erwartungsvoll
eagerness [(i:gEnEs]
Eifer, Einsatzfreude
enthusiastic [In)Tju:zi(ÄstIk] begeistert
enthusiasm [In(Tju:zi)ÄzEm] Begeisterung
excited: be ~ about sth. sich auf etw. freuen
excitement
Aufregung, Vorfreude
keen UK
voller Begeisterung
be keen to do sth. UK etw. unbedingt/gern
tun wollen
When you get the job or promotion
you wanted:
delighted
hocherfreut
delight
Freude, Entzücken
grateful
dankbar
gratitude Dankbarkeit
proud
stolz
pride
Stolz
relieved
erleichtert
relief
Erleichterung
satisfied
zufrieden
satisfaction Zufriedenheit
In a situation that you’ve been in many
times before:
blasé [(blA:zeI] gleichgültig
indifferent
gleichgültig, desinteressiert
jaded [(dZeIdId] abgespannt; übersättigt,
abgestumpft
nonchalant [(nQnSElEnt] lässig, locker
ISSUE 22
Guess how he
feels right now
iStockphoto

FALSE FRIENDS
IRRITATED OR CONFUSED?
There are many words in German and English that sound similar but have very different
meanings. They are “false friends”. Learn the correct translations of these terms.
sensitive
sensible
iStockphoto (2)
What’s sensibel in English?
sensibel = sensitive
“She’s highly sensitive and takes criticism very
personally.”
It’s not sensible!
sensible = vernünftig
“She may be young, but she’s sensible. She
would never do anything crazy.”
confuse sb.
What’s irritieren in English?
jmdn. irritieren = confuse sb.
“You’re confusing me. Which one of
these did you say we should get?”
It’s not irritate!
irritate sb. = jmdn. verärgern,
nerven
“I’m sorry, but the tone of your
questions is really starting to irritate
me.”
irritate sb.
Top Photo Group
Image Source
8 SKILL UP!

anxious
angry
iStockphoto (2)
What’s ängstlich in English?
ängstlich = anxious, scared, worried
“I’m too scared to jump! Let’s go back.”
It’s not angry!
angry = wütend
“She was so angry she punched him in the face
— in the middle of the meeting.”
emotional
What’s pathetisch in English?
pathetisch = emotional, impassioned
“He made such an impassioned speech
that he made us all cry.”
It’s not pathetic!
pathetic = erbärmlich, armselig
“I expected a lot more money for my
work, but he offered me a pathetic
sum.”
M SKILL UP! Audio
You can do a related exercise
on Business Spotlight Audio.
pathetic
iStockphoto
Creatas
YOUR PROFILE
Write down example sentences that are useful to you. This makes it easier to remember false
friends and other tricky expressions.
ISSUE 22

IN FOCUS
He’s painfully shy,
not deeply ashamed
EMOTIONAL
COLLOCATIONS
A collocation is a pair or group of
words that are often used together.
Here, we present common collocations
around the topic of emotions.
“emotional” + noun
baggage
emotional
experience
impact
intelligence
outburst
response
state
ties
well-being
wreck
“emotionally” + adjective
emotionally
attached
insecure
manipulative
“emotive” + noun
emotive
campaign
issue
tone
Getting emotional
seelischer Ballast
emotionales Erlebnis
psychische Folgen
emotionale Intelligenz
Gefühlsausbruch
emotionale Reaktion
Gemütszustand
gefühlsmäßige Bindungen
seelisches Wohlbefinden
seelisches Wrack
gefühlsmäßig gebunden
psychisch labil
gefühlsmäßig manipulierend
gefühlsgeladene Kampagne
emotionales Thema
gefühlsbetonter Klang/Ton
verb + “emotional”
become
adverb + “emotional”
deeply
extremely
highly
emotional werden
feel emotional emotional empfinden
get
emotional werden
zutiefst emotional
emotional äußerst emotional
stark emotional
Emotional
stress can turn
employees into
emotional wrecks.
Photodisc
ISSUE 22

So very emotional!
Instead of “very”, we typically use other intensifiers with
certain adjectives.
absolutely
bitterly
blissfully
amazed
furious
mortified
disappointed
resentful
unaware
happy
höchst überrascht
furchtbar wütend
zutiefst beschämt
bitter enttäuscht
sehr verärgert
unwissend
überglücklich
SKILL UP!
It is important to learn collocations,
not just individual words. This will
help you to speak more naturally
and to improve your writing style.
When reading English texts, underline
or highlight useful collocations.
When you come across new words,
write them down as phrases or in
sentences that show you how the
words are used together.
concerned
tief besorgt
depressed
zutiefst niedergeschlagen
deeply
distressed
hurt
zutiefst bekümmert
zutiefst verletzt
moved
tief bewegt
ashamed
zutiefst beschämt
shocked
höchst schockiert
desperately
sad
tieftraurig
painfully
self-conscious
sensitive
stark gehemmt
extrem sensibel
shy
extrem schüchtern
perfectly
utterly
happy
appalled
dejected
vollkommen glücklich
zutiefst erschüttert
zutiefst bedrückt
Emotional: utterly,
deeply, painfully
devoted
treu ergeben, hingebungsvoll
Emotional moments
l The first day in a new job can be a highly emotional experience.
l I was an emotional wreck when my company went bankrupt.
l The emotional impact of losing a job should not be forgotten.
l Emotional intelligence is just as important as technical skills.
iStockphoto
SKILL UP! 11

ESSENTIAL IDIOMS
YOUR GUT FEELING?
We often use informal expressions, including idioms and idiomatic phrases, to talk about
our feelings. Learn some common ones in these dialogues.
SKILL UP!
Read the two versions of each mini-dialogue. Then
cover up the idiomatic version and read the simpler
one again. Can you remember how to say the same
things idiomatically?
How is he?
Walking on air!
First, the idiomatic way
Chris: So, Megan, will the guys accept our conditions?
Megan: My gut feeling is that they will. Frank’s been walking
on air since his last meeting with them.
Chris: Well, that’s a load off my mind.
Now, more simply
Chris: So, Megan, will the guys accept our conditions?
Megan: My instinct tells me they will. Frank’s been extremely
happy since his last meeting with them.
Chris: Well, that’s a relief.
Photodisc
Check the translations
gut feeling Bauchgefühl
walking on air: selig sein
be ~
that’s a load off da bin ich ermy
mind leichtert
First, the idiomatic way
Chris: Megan’s been made team leader.
Frank: Megan? She must be over the moon.
Chris: Well, I hear she’s got mixed feelings.
Frank: With all that extra pay, she should be
thrilled to bits! I know I would be.
Chris: Hey, no hard feelings, Frank!
Now, more simply
Chris: Megan’s been made team leader.
Frank: Megan? She must be very happy!
Chris: Well, I hear she’s not sure what to think.
Frank: With all that extra pay, she should be extremely
pleased! I know I would be.
Chris: Hey, don’t feel resentful, Frank!
iStockphoto
Check the translations
over the moon: be ~ UK
mixed feelings: have got ~
thrilled to bits: be ~
no hard feelings
überglücklich sein
gemischte Gefühle haben
vor Freude völlig aus dem Häuschen sein
nichts für ungut
She looks thrilled
to bits
ISSUE 22

Ron Chapple Studios
Check the translations
have had it up to here es bis oben hin
satthaben
blow a fuse
vor Wut platzen
go down well with sb. bei jmdn.gut
ankommen
get sb.’s back up jmdm. auf die
Nerven gehen
hit a raw nerve einen wunden
Punkt treffen
Careful: he’s about
to blow a fuse
First, the idiomatic way
Frank: I’ve had it up to here with the boss. He blew
a fuse this morning when I suggested that
Megan might not be the right choice.
Chris: You did? Oh, I bet that didn’t go down well
with him.
Frank: It didn’t. But the way he reacts to suggestions
really gets my back up!
Chris: Maybe you hit a raw nerve.
Now, more simply
Frank: I’m so annoyed with the boss. He got so angry
this morning when I suggested that Megan
might not be the right choice.
Chris: You did? Oh, I bet he didn’t like that.
Frank: He didn’t. But the way he reacts to suggestions
really annoys me!
Chris: Maybe you upset him because he’s sensitive
about this.
First, the idiomatic way
Megan: What’s wrong with Frank? He looks down
in the dumps.
Chris: Oh, the boss did not take kindly to
something he said.
Megan: Oh, dear. It’s never a good idea to rub
him up the wrong way.
Chris: Actually, he criticized the decision to
send you to Abu Dhabi.
Megan: Imagine that! He’ll just have to grin and
bear it, won’t he?
Why is he down
in the dumps?
Ingram Publishing
Now, more simply
Megan: What’s wrong with Frank? He looks very
unhappy.
Chris: Oh, the boss was annoyed with something
he said.
Megan: Oh, dear. It’s never a good idea to say
things that annoy him.
Chris: Actually, he criticized the decision to
send you to Abu Dhabi.
Megan: Imagine that! Well, he’ll just have to accept
it without complaining, won’t he?
Check the translations
down in the dumps: deprimiert
look ~
aussehen
not take kindly to sth. etw. gar nicht
gerne hören/sehen
rub sb. up the bei jmdm. anecken
wrong way UK
grin and bear it gute Miene zum
bösen Spiel
machen
SKILL UP! Audio
You can do related exercises
on Business Spotlight Audio.
ISSUE 22 SKILL UP! 13
M

CLOSE RELATIONS
HEART-TO-HEART
The word “heart” is used in different forms and in combination with many different
words. Take a closer look at this important word family.
+ break heartbreak
+ ing
heartbreaking
Lifesize
+ broken heartbroken
+ ed hearted
cold- +
cold-hearted
+ ly
cold-heartedly
heart
kind- +
kind-hearted
+ ness
+ ly
cold-heartedness
kind-heartedly
+ ness
kind-heartedness
+ en hearten
+ ed
heartened
dis +
dishearten
+ ed
disheartened
+ felt heartfelt
+ ily heartily
+ ing
disheartening
+ less heartless
+ y hearty
The family
cold-hearted
kaltherzig
cold-heartedly kaltherzig
cold-heartedness Kaltherzigkeit
dishearten sb. jmdn. entmutigen
disheartened entmutigt, mutlos
disheartening entmutigend
heartbreak
großer Kummer
heartbreaking
heartbroken
hearten sb.
heartened: feel ~
heartfelt
heartily
heartless
hearty
kind-hearted
kind-heartedly
kind-heartedness
herzzerreißend
untröstlich, todunglücklich
jmdn. ermutigen, aufmuntern
sich ermutigt fühlen
aufrichtig, tief empfunden
herzlich; von Herzen
herzlos
herzlich, herzhaft
gutherzig, gütig
gutherzig
Gutherzigkeit, Güte
14 SKILL UP! ISSUE 22

Common “hearted” compounds
“Hearted” is always used in combination
with other adjectives, never on its own.
downhearted
faint-hearted
half-hearted
half-heartedly
hard-hearted
heavy-hearted
heavy-heartedly
warm-hearted
wholehearted
wholeheartedly
USE THE FAMILY
niedergeschlagen
zaghaft; feige
halbherzig, lustlos
halbherzig, lustlos
hartherzig
mit schwerem Herzen
schweren Herzens
warmherzig
völlig, uneingeschränkt
voll und ganz
l He gave a heart-rending account of the
project in Africa. But it was heartwarming
to learn what he had achieved.
l There’ll be no bonuses this year, so the
mood is understandably downhearted.
l Our hosts were waiting for us at the airport
and gave us a hearty welcome.
l She agreed half-heartedly to handle the
problem, but I knew she didn’t want to.
l Don’t be disheartened just because you
didn’t get the job.
l Our heartfelt thanks go to John and
Mary for organizing this fantastic event.
l Sandy was late again today. Maybe it’s
time we had a heart-to-heart.
Some “heart” compounds you might use at
work
heart-rending
herzergreifend
heart-to-heart
heart-warming
sweetheart deal ifml.
vertrauliches Gespräch; offenes
Gespräch
herzerwärmend, -erfreuend
Kungelei
SKILL UP!
We’ve listed common expressions that you might want
to use in business situations, but there are many more
that contain “heart”. Look up the word “heart” in a good
dictionary and write down any that you might want to use
yourself that we haven’t listed here.
IN ACTION: THE HEART
‡ If you set your heart on doing something, you want
it very much:
“Simon has his heart set on becoming a doctor.”
‡ If you put your heart into something, you make a
lot of effort to do it well:
“Pauline really puts her heart into her work.”
‡ We often use sweetheart deal to criticize an agreement,
especially when we want to suggest that there
is something corrupt about the deal:
“The minister was criticized for making sweetheart
deals with major firms.”
‡ If someone or something causes you a lot of
heartache, you have a lot of problems:
“This new system is causing us a lot of heartache.”
‡ Cold-hearted, hearty and warm-hearted describe
nouns, while cold-heartedly, heartily and wholeheartedly
modify verbs:
“I wholeheartedly agree. Tom is so cold-hearted.”
The heart of emotional expressions
cause sb. a lot of heartache [(hA:teIk] jmdm. viel Kummer bereiten
have a change of heart
seine Meinung ändern
have one’s heart set on doing sth. / etw. von ganzem Herzen tun wollen
set one’s heart on sth.
let one’s heart rule one’s head das Herz über den Kopf bestimmen lassen
my heart sank
mir wurde schwer ums Herz, mein Mut sank
put one’s heart (and soul) into sth. mit viel Herzblut / mit Leib und Seele bei etw. sein
take sth. to heart
sich etw. zu Herzen nehmen
iStockphoto

SMALL TALK
CLOSE TO TEARS
We don’t just talk about work with our colleagues. Sometimes, we also talk about our
feelings — especially if we’re fortunate enough to have colleagues who are also friends.
Situation:
Alice and Kate work in different departments of a
large company. They meet on the bus on their way
home from work one day.
Alice:
Kate:
Alice:
Kate:
Alice:
Kate:
Alice:
Kate:
Alice:
Kate, are you OK? You look a bit down in the
mouth.
Do I? To be honest, it’s all getting to be a bit too
much for me. You know, my mum is sick and my
son has problems at school... And on top of all
that, I’ve got tons of work. I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed.
You poor thing!
In the meeting today, my boss told me off for some
silly little mistake I’d made, and I nearly burst into
tears. I had to make a dash for the loo before anyone
noticed. It was so embarrassing!
Have you tried talking to him?
It wouldn’t help. He’s always said that we
shouldn’t let our personal problems affect our performance
at work.
Still, it might be a good idea to remind him that
you have a life outside the company. He may be
more understanding than you think.
No, he’s as hard as nails. He’s the kind of man who
believes that women turn on the waterworks just
to get sympathy. He thinks it’s a virtue to keep
your feelings bottled up.
People like that usually end up with ulcers. Kate,
if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, just call me.
affect sth.
as hard as nails
burst into tears
down in the mouth ifml.
embarrassing
it’s all getting to be a
bit too much for me
keep one’s feelings
bottled up
sich auf etw.
auswirken, etw.
beeinträchtigen
knallhart
in Tränen ausbrechen
niedergeschlagen
peinlich
langsam wird mir
alles ein wenig zu
viel
seine Gefühle nicht
zeigen
loo [lu:] UK ifml. Klo
make a dash for schnell (zu einem
(a place) Ort) laufen
on top of all that außerdem, zu alledem
overwhelmed
performance
shoulder to cry on: a ~
sympathy
tell sb. off ifml.
tons of work
turn on the waterworks
ifml.
ulcer [(VlsE]
understanding
virtue [(v§:tSu:]
You poor thing!
überfordert
Leistung
jmd., bei dem man
sich ausweinen kann
Mitleid, Mitgefühl
jmdn. rüffeln
Unmengen an Arbeit
losheulen
Magengeschwür
verständnisvoll
Tugend
Du Arme/Armer!
We all need a
shoulder to cry on

Should I blow up or
break down?
Fuse (2)
M SKILL UP! Audio
You can do related exercises
on Business Spotlight Audio.
argument
blow up
break down
confrontational: be ~
[)kQnfrVn(teIS&nEl]
Feel like swearing?
In most professions, it’s unacceptable
to swear or use vulgar words at work.
If you hear native speakers using the
ones listed here, you can be certain
that they are not happy. Careful: in the
UK, “pissed” means “I’ve drunk far too
much alcohol”.
Auseinandersetzung
explodieren
zusammenbrechen
auf Konfrontation
gehen
excuse oneself
sich entschuldigen
feel overcome by emotion sich von Gefühlen
überwältigt fühlen
overpower sb.
sensitively [(sensEtIvli]
jmdn. überwältigen
einfühlsam
What can you do if you get (too)
emotional?
Never allowing yourself to show your emotions can be
harmful to your health. Studies have shown, for example,
that men who bottle up their feelings are at higher
risk of having a heart attack. But what can you do if
you feel overcome by emotion?
l Excuse yourself quickly (you can always say you’re
not feeling well) and disappear to the toilet. Breathe
deeply, count to a hundred and splash some cold
water in your face.
l If you feel like blowing up rather than breaking
down, close your eyes and count to ten. This short
pause gives you the chance to reformulate what you
were going to say. Also, the other person will see that
you are not letting your negative feelings overpower
you and will respect you the more for it.
l Teach yourself a few relaxation techniques (see
Business Spotlight 2/2013).
l Crying in a business meeting or when talking to
customers should be avoided; however, getting emotional
in front of close colleagues need not always be
a problem. It might even strengthen your relationship
with your co-workers and bring about any necessary
change.
l In any argument, avoid being confrontational, and
don’t generalize. Talk about your own feelings, rather
than about the other person’s behaviour.
l For more tips on strategies for dealing sensitively
with the feelings of others, see Bob Dignen’s article
“A question of emotion” (Business Spotlight 5/2009).
I’m so pissed off! (US pissed) vulg. sl.
I couldn’t give a shit! vulg. sl.
Ich bin total genervt!
Das ist mir scheißegal!
ISSUE 22
SKILL UP! 17

YOUR PROFILE
YOUR EMOTIONS
Personalize this guide by adding your own example sentences — which should reflect
words and expressions you need in order to talk about your circumstances.
EMOTIONAL MATTERS
What’s the most emotional meeting you have been to at work? How did you feel at the time?
Do you or your colleagues get emotional when doing certain tasks at work? Which tasks make you feel
negative? Which ones make you feel more positive? Write down a short description using vocabulary from
at least two sections of this guide.
Use the idiomatic expressions in Essential Idioms (pp. 12–13) to describe the emotions of some of your
colleagues.
SMALL TALK: A SHOULDER TO CRY ON
How would you react to someone who is describing an emotional experience to you? Create a short dialogue
using expressions from our Small Talk section (pp. 16–17).
18 SKILL UP! ISSUE 22

In the next issue
PREVIEW
iStockphoto (2)
IMPRESSUM
HERAUSGEBER UND VERLAGSLEITER:
Dr. Wolfgang Stock
CHEFREDAKTEUR: Dr. Ian McMaster
STELLVERTRETENDE CHEFREDAKTEURIN:
Deborah Capras
GESCHÄFTSFÜHRENDE REDAKTEURIN (CvD):
Maja Sirola
AUTOREN: Deborah Capras, Anna Hochsieder
REDAKTION: Margaret Davis, Hildegard Rudolph,
Michele Tilgner
BILDREDAKTION: Sarah Gough (Leitung),
Thorsten Mansch
GESTALTUNG: loop grafikdesign München
REDAKTIONSASSISTENZ: Michelle Carstens
PRODUKTIONSLEITUNG: Ingrid Sturm
VERTRIEBSLEITUNG: Monika Wohlgemuth
MARKETINGLEITUNG: Holger Hofmann
ANZEIGENLEITUNG: Axel Zettler
VERLAG und REDAKTION:
Spotlight Verlag GmbH
Postanschrift: Postfach 1565, 82144 Planegg
Hausanschrift:
Fraunhoferstraße 22, 82152 Planegg
Telefon: +49 (0)89 8 56 81-0;
Fax +49 (0)89 8 56 81-105
Internet: www.business-spotlight.de
LITHO: HWM GmbH, 82152 Planegg
DRUCK: Druckwerk SÜD GmbH,
88339 Bad Waldsee
© 5/2013 Spotlight Verlag, auch für alle
genannten Autoren, Fotografen und Mitarbeiter.
PROPERTY
The mantra “location, location, location” is so
important in the property market. In our next
Skill Up!, you’ll find the words you will need to
talk about offices, buildings and your home.
PICTURE THIS: renovation work
FALSE FRIENDS: caution, provision
WORD BANK: property types
also:
SMALL TALK
To rent or buy?
Cover photograph: Hemera
ISSUE 22
What are the best
options?

Sprachen lernen für alle!
NEU!
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UNVERBINDLICH
Die neue Basismitgliedschaft:
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✔ 90 interaktive Übungen
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www.dalango.de
Einfach Lernen mit Spaß!

BusinessSpotlight
Sights n Business n Language
YOUR TRAVEL GUIDE

... was heißt
„ich war noch
niemals
in New York“
auf Englisch?
Wissen Sie's?
Englischkurse für Anfänger und
Fortgeschrittene.
Informationen unter 0800.465 464 82
oder www.inlingua.de
Sprachen sind inlingua.

CITY OF DREAMS
iStockphoto
New York is one of the most
photographed, filmed, written
about, and discussed cities
NYC: a view to success
in the world. Frank Sinatra also
famously sang about it, claiming that, “if I can make it there, I’ll make
it anywhere.” Whether or not this is true, there is no denying the
enduring fascination of “The Big Apple” for entrepreneurship of all
kinds. In this business travel guide, we focus on six key industries and
the places that are most closely associated with them. We also provide
lots of practical tips to help make your next visit to New York more
enjoyable. We hope that you find our guide both entertaining and
informative and we look forward to your feedback.
Impressum
HERAUSGEBER UND VERLAGSLEITER: Dr. Wolfgang Stock
CHEFREDAKTEUR: Dr. Ian McMaster
STELLVERTR. CHEFREDAKTEURIN: Deborah Capras
GESCHÄFTSFÜHRENDE REDAKTEURIN: Maja Sirola (CvD)
REDAKTION: Margaret Davis, Anna Hochsieder,
Hildegard Rudolph, Michele Tilgner
AUTOREN: Deborah Capras, Margaret Davis, Sarah Gough,
Ian McMaster, Maja Sirola, Claudine Weber-Hof
BILDREDAKTION: Sarah Gough, Thorsten Mansch
GESTALTUNG: loopgrafikdesign München
VERTRIEBSLEITUNG: Monika Wohlgemuth
MARKETINGLEITUNG: Holger Hofmann
ANZEIGENLEITUNG: Axel Zettler
PRODUKTIONSLEITUNG: Ingrid Sturm
VERLAG UND REDAKTION: Spotlight Verlag GmbH
Postanschrift: Postfach 1565, 82144 Planegg
Hausanschrift: Fraunhoferstraße 22,
82152 Planegg, Telefon: (0049) 89 856 81-0
Internet: www.business-spotlight.de
LITHO: HWM GmbH, 82152 Planegg
DRUCK: teNeues, 47906 Kempen
© 5/2013 Spotlight Verlag, auch für alle genann ten Autoren,
Fotografen und Mitarbeiter.
Cover photograph: iStockphoto
CONTENTS
Contact: business@spotlight-verlag.de
Transportation: Grand Central 4
Real Estate: Brooklyn Bridge 6
Finance: Wall Street 8
Retail: Fifth Avenue 10
Leisure: Central Park 12
Media: Broadway 14
Note: This booklet uses the style,
spelling, and pronunciation of American
English.
BusinessSpotlight 3

TRANSPORTATION: GRAND CENTRAL
Franz Marc Frei
It’s a masterpiece,
not a station
You’ve arrived in New York. Now, how do you get around? You don’t
need a ticket to go through Grand Central. It’s a destination in itself.
Don’t make the mistake of calling
Grand Central a station — it’s a
terminal, and a Beaux-Arts masterpiece.
Officially opened in 1913,
Grand Central is celebrating its centenary
this year. It offers upscale
restaurants, cocktail lounges, specialist
shops, and a ceiling that
shows the Mediterranean sky at
night in mirror image. There’s a
“wow” factor in every corner. With a
celebrity history, it was built by the
Vanderbilts — one of the richest
families in the U.S. — and saved
from demolition by former first lady
Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Alfred
Hitchcock filmed a key scene here
for North by Northwest with Cary
Grant in 1959. But it also moves
with the times. There’s a Grand
Central app, with real-time travel
updates, shopping tips, and an event
guide, as well as an informative website:
www.grandcentralterminal.com
New Yorkers would immediately
know where to go if you said, “Let’s
meet under the clock”: to the famous
Grand Central Terminal Clock,
valued at between $10 and $20
million.
4 Business Spotlight

SURVIVAL GUIDE
Subway: Fast, reliable and safe. A seven-day
unlimited ticket costs $30 and can be used
on buses, too. www.mta.info/metrocard
Yellow cab: Fares are calculated at $2.50
plus $0.40 for each one-fifth of a mile (about
a third of a kilometer) traveled.
Limo: Why not book a limo and arrive in style?
A cab from JFK costs $50, but a limo could
cost three times that. http://nyclimousine.com
Staten Island Ferry: The free way to see the
Statue of Liberty. www.siferry.com
Roosevelt Island Tram: Cable car with a great
view of Manhattan. Featured in Spider-Man. www.rioc.com
Helicopter: For the ultimate experience — and view —
there’s no topping a helicopter ride. www.heliny.com
iStockphoto
Best views on a small
budget: by cable car
DON’T MISS! The Grand Central Oyster
Bar & Restaurant, possibly Manhattan’s
most memorable spot for a
romantic aphrodisiac. But be careful
what you say when you’re there. The
strange acoustics mean that even a
whisper in your lover’s ear will be
heard by diners at the other side of
the room. Choose from up to 30 varieties
of oysters. Don’t forget to tip
at least 15 to 20 percent — wherever
you dine. The waiters need the
extra money, and you look bad if you
don’t tip properly.
NUMBERS
Every day, more than five times as many people pass through
Grand Central (750,000) as through JFK International Airport — and
have a more enjoyable experience. Over 10,000 come in just for lunch.
cable car
celebrity [sE(lebrEti]
demolition [)demE(lIS&n]
memorable [(memErEb&l]
tip
upscale US
Gondelbahn
berühmte Persönlichkeit
Abriss
unvergesslich
Trinkgeld geben
der gehobenen Preisklasse
Business Spotlight 5

REAL ESTATE: BROOKLYN BRIDGE
On the East River: a bridge with a view
Manhattan is famous for its skyline and its expensive real estate. You
can get an excellent view of both from the Brooklyn Bridge.
When it opened in 1883, the
Brooklyn Bridge was “the new
eighth wonder of the world.” Its use
of steel to span the East River was a
key technological breakthrough, and
it was once the longest suspension
bridge in the world. And yet Germanborn
engineer John A. Roebling had
designed the bridge to solve a mundane
problem: a cold winter had
halted the boat service from Brooklyn
to Manhattan. Large numbers of
people couldn’t get to work.
The bridge took 16 years to build.
When it was finished, the governor of
New York, the U.S. president and a
host of other luminaries arrived in
the city to celebrate the event. But
not everyone liked it. Author Henry
James, for example, called it a “mechanical
monster.”
Today, the Brooklyn Bridge is a
world-famous symbol of New York.
Walk or bike across it and enjoy a
fine view of Lower Manhattan, where
skyscrapers shoot up into the clouds.
Why build so tall? It’s simple: supply
and demand. The island of Manhattan
is small and everyone wants a
piece of it. The famous Chrysler
6 Business Spotlight

YOUR CASTLE?
Buying a suite at
the historic hotel
The Plaza costs at
least $1.5 million
for 50 square meters.
The address,
Nice place, if you can afford it
Fifth Avenue at Central Park South, couldn’t be more
exclusive. Great Gatsby author F. Scott Fitzgerald
and his wife Zelda partied at the hotel in the 1920s.
To take a tour with historian Francis Morrone, call
The Plaza Boutique at (001) 212 546-5454.
iStockphoto
Building (1930) and the Empire
State Building (1931) went up for
this reason. Both towers were the result
of speculative real-estate projects
planned in the Roaring Twenties.
Close to the Brooklyn Bridge is a
much newer skyscraper, 8 Spruce
Street. You can rent a one-bedroom
place for $5,000 a month. It’s a “designer”
building by architect Frank
Gehry — and the views can’t be beat.
LANGUAGE POINT
■ “Location, location, location”
This expression means that location
is all-important for understanding
property values.
During the real-estate crisis of
2007–12, however, even New
York properties lost in value.
But don’t celebrate too soon:
real estate in the best parts of
Manhattan still commands up to
$24,000 per square meter.
command (a price)
host [hoUst]
luminary [(lumEneri]
property
real estate [)ri:&l I(steIt] US
span sth.
supply and demand
suspension bridge
(einen Preis) fordern
Menge
berühmte Persönlichkeit
Immobilien(besitz)
Immobilien
etw. überbrücken, -spannen
Angebot und Nachfrage
Hängebrücke
Business Spotlight 7

FINANCE: WALL STREET
Financial
center:
Wall Street
The U.S. is still the world’s leading financial and economic power. And
that power can be summed up in just two words: Wall Street.
Alamy/Mauritius
Wall Street is a relatively ordinarylooking
street that runs across
the southeastern half of Lower Manhattan.
But its significance could
hardly be greater for the U.S. and
world economies. This is the heart of
the American financial district and
financial system, even if many companies
have moved out of the area
— to the World Trade Center area, to
Midtown or out of Manhattan altogether
to New Jersey.
Trading has taken place in this
area for more than 300 years — of
goods, shares, bonds, and, originally,
slaves. The heart of Wall Street is
the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE), at 11 Wall Street. Also
known as the “Big Board,” this is
the largest stock market in the world,
as measured by market capitalization.
Hundreds of billions of dollars
are traded here each day. The second-largest
exchange is also in the
Wall Street area: the NASDAQ. This
originally stood for “National Association
of Securities Dealers Automated
Quotations,” and was the
world’s first electronic stock market
when it opened in 1971.
8 Business Spotlight

LANGUAGE POINT
Wall Street and
Main Street
These terms contrast
two aspects of the U.S.
economy: Wall Street is
used to refer to big
business and finance
(“corporate America”).
Main Street refers to
the country’s smaller,
often family-run firms.
DON’T MISS! Take a guided tour of
the area with Wall Street insiders
who worked there and can be seen in
the film Wall Street: Money Never
Sleeps (see “Read and watch”).
www.thewallstreetexperience.com
READ AND WATCH
n The Great Crash: John
Kenneth Galbraith’s account
of the Wall Street
Crash of October 1929.
n In 1987, there was another
crash — and Oliver
Stone’s film Wall Street,
with Michael Douglas as
the unscrupulous dealer
Gordon Gekko; 2010 saw
the sequel, Wall Street:
Money Never Sleeps.
n 1987 also saw the publication
of The Bonfire of the Vanities,
Tom Wolfe’s novel about ambition
and greed in 1980s New
York. One of the main characters
is a Wall Street bond dealer.
DID YOU KNOW?
Wall Street was the scene of a deadly bomb attack in 1920 at a time
of anti-capitalist unrest following World War I. The attack killed 38
people and seriously injured 143. The perpetrators were never found
but were thought to be Italian anarchists.
corporate [kO:rpErEt]
greed
market capitalization
perpetrator [(p§:pEtreIt&r]
quotation
security [sI(kjUrEti]
stock exchange
unrest
Unternehmens-; hier: der (Groß-)Konzerne
Gier
Markt-, Börsenkapitalisierung
Täter(in)
Notierung
Wertpapier
Aktienbörse
Unruhe(n)
Business Spotlight 9

RETAIL: FIFTH AVENUE
Saks appeal:
Saks Fifth Avenue
New York has always been a fashion and shopping mecca, and Fifth
Avenue is the showplace for the most exclusive names.
Franz Marc Frei
Fifth Avenue stretches over 11
miles from Washington Square in
the south to Harlem River in the
north. But the section in Midtown
Manhattan, between 49th and 60th
Streets, is particularly famous for its
designer shops.
In the early 20th century, Fifth
Avenue developed into an exclusive
shopping area with grand department
stores such as Bergdorf Goodman
and Saks Fifth Avenue, whose
Christmas windows still attract great
crowds today. A visit to Tiffany & Co.
is a must for film lovers. As you stroll
along, you’ll be reminded of Audrey
Hepburn in the 1961 romantic comedy
Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Nearby, on 59th Street, go to elegant
Bloomingdale’s, also known as
“Bloomies.” On Herald Square, near
the Empire State Building, you’ll
find Macy’s, which claims to be the
“largest department store in the
world.” There are ten floors with a
staggering range of products. At
Easter, the whole ground floor is
covered in flower arrangements, celebrating
the arrival of spring.
http://social.macys.com/flowershow
10 Business Spotlight

DRINK AND SHOP
The latest trend is to shop and
drink, or shop and have a spa treatment.
The Dressing Room Boutique
and Bar (75 Orchard Street)
is a two-floor clothing emporium
where you can shop for local designers
and then enjoy a beer or
cocktail at the oak bar. Open until 2 a.m. on weekends. Or go
to Martier (1014 Second Ave.), a boutique and café that also
offers spa treatments, manicures, and pedicures.
Pampered shopper:
fashion and wellness
Luxury retail and advertising go
hand in hand. Parallel to Fifth Avenue
runs Madison Avenue, where
the advertising industry established
itself in the 1920s. Some big names,
like Young & Rubicam, are still on
Madison Avenue. Others have moved
elsewhere, but the name Madison
Avenue is still synonymous with the
industry. Watch the TV drama Mad
Men for an insight into the advertising
business in the 1960s. The
Devil Wears Prada, which was filmed
in and around Fifth Avenue, looks at
the fashion and media industry.
DON’T MISS! For fashion bargains, try
Century 21, brimming with goods,
all at 65 percent off. New stocks arrive
daily. The largest branch is near
Ground Zero. www.c21stores.com
FASHION IN NUMBERS
■ 900 fashion companies
■ 200,000 people attend
the 500 events during the
New York Fashion Weeks in
February and September.
■ $15 billion annual sales
Tiffany & Co.
bargain [(bA:rgIn]
brim with sth.
department store
retail [(ri:teI&l]
spa [spA:]
staggering [(stÄg&rIN]
stock
stroll along
Tiffany sparkles
Schnäppchen
mit etw. vollgestopft sein
Kaufhaus
Einzelhandel
Kurort; hier: Wellness
atemberaubend
Lagerbestand; hier: Lieferung
bummeln, flanieren
Business Spotlight 11

LEISURE: CENTRAL PARK
Central Park:
oasis in the city
Central Park is a favorite place to relax for Manhattan residents. We
tour the popular park and the world-class museums that surround it.
iStockphoto
Central Park, Manhattan’s playground,
has lakes and a reservoir,
a bird sanctuary and a zoo, street
performers and musicians, play
and picnic areas, an ice-skating rink
and baseball fields, and 58 miles of
paths for the many cyclists, walkers,
and joggers. Popular summer cultural
events include Shakespeare in
the Park and the SummerStage arts
festival.
DON’T MISS! Strawberry Fields, the
memorial to John Lennon, opposite
the Dakota Building, where he lived
and died.
12 Business Spotlight
TIP: The park has an enormous number
of rules, so read up on them before
you go to avoid nasty surprises.
www.centralpark.com/guide/faq.html
NUMBERS
Size: 843 acres (341 hectares);
2.5 by 0.5 miles; fifth-largest
park in NYC
Annual operating budget: $46
million, 85 percent of which
comes from donations given to
the Central Park Conservancy
Average number of visitors per
year: 40 million

MUSEUMS
A number of the city’s best museums
are on Central Park. You’ll find
the American Natural History Museum
on the west side, and many
more along Fifth Avenue, on the socalled
Museum Mile. Among the
museums there are the Frick Collection,
the Guggenheim, the Whitney
Museum of American Art, the Metro -
politan Museum of Art, the Cooper-
Hewitt, National Design Museum,
the Jewish Museum, the Museo del
Barrio, and the Neue Galerie.
Enjoying art at the
Metropolitan Museum
Sumanch@wikipedia
TIP: The Museum Mile Festival. In
June, Fifth Avenue is closed to traffic
and hosts a street party with an
average of 50,000 visitors. Admission
to the participating museums is
free. http://museummilefestival.org
FUNDRAISING AND PHILANTHROPY
In the U.S., institutions don’t expect much funding from the
state. Instead, they raise money themselves. Fundraising is a
huge business: dinners, concerts, galas, or auctions — anything
goes. The Metropolitan Museum of Art combines culture and philanthropy.
It is the biggest art museum in the U.S., with more
than two million works in its permanent collection. But it is also
number 87 on Forbes’s 2012 list of the 100 largest U.S. charities.
In 2011, it had total revenues of $470 million and spent
$9 million on fundraising and $300 million on charitable ser -
vices. www.metmuseum.org
charity [(tSÄrEti]
donation
funding
host sth. [hoUst]
leisure [(li:Z&r]
operating budget
reservoir [(rez&rvwA:r]
sanctuary [(sÄNktSueri]
Wohltätigkeitsorganisation
Spende
Finanzierung
etw. beherbergen
Freizeit
Betriebsbudget
Stausee
Reservat
Business Spotlight 13

MEDIA: BROADWAY
Theater: give my regards
to Broadway
New York is “the media capital of the world.” Enjoy a Broadway
musical, get tickets to a TV show, or watch a film being made.
Mauritius
The Big Apple is the center of mass
media, journalism, and book publishing
in the U.S. Three of the top
four American recording companies
are based here, as are seven of the
eight top global advertising firms.
NYC is also home to the secondlargest
film and television industry in
the U.S. According to the Mayor’s
Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting,
direct spending by the film
sector in 2011 was $7.1 billion, up
$2 billion since 2002, and the sector
employs 130,000 people, an increase
of 30,000 jobs since 2002.
BROADWAY TICKETS
The big shows are often sold out long
in advance. So why not try your luck
like a real New Yorker? Go to the thea -
ter when the box office opens and
put your name in the “lottery rush.”
A limited number of tickets are sold
at low prices on the day of the performance.
Print your name on a card
and two hours before curtain, the
names are drawn. If yours isn’t
picked, go to the TKTS booth on
Times Square and see which discounted
tickets are on sale for that
day. Cash only, please.
14 Business Spotlight

AT THE MOVIES
From Woody Allen’s intellectual
hypochondriacs to a rumpled Gérard
Depardieu in Green Card, filmmakers,
actors, and moviegoers have
long been fascinated by New York.
While walking around the city, you
can often see films being made on
location. The Mayor’s Office of Film,
Theatre and Broadcasting (www.nyc.
gov/film) publishes updated lists of
films and TV shows with New York
locations. If you want to see where
some of your favorite films were
made, check out http://onthesetof
newyork.com/top100 nycfilms.html
ON TV
Visit the NBC studios at the Rockefeller
Center, 30 Rockefeller Plaza,
one of the largest U.S. television
companies (www.nbcstudiotour.com).
On the ground floor, join the crowds
who gather every morning to watch
the Today show live through the large
windows. You can get tickets to other
shows, like Saturday Night Live
or Late Show with David Letterman
at www.nycgo.com/articles/tv-showtapings
For convenient, moderately
priced accommodations, stay at the
Radio City Apartments near Times
Square: www.radiocityapts.com
SUCCESS ON STAGE AND SCREEN
The award-winning musical How to Succeed in Business
without Really Trying (Wie man Erfolg hat, ohne
sich besonders anzustrengen) had its Broadway premiere
in 1961 and was filmed in 1967. Written by
Willie Gilbert, Abe Burrows, and Jack Weinstock, it
tells the story of a young window washer who becomes
chairman of the board of the World Wide Wicket
Company. In 2011, Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe sang
and danced his way through the title role of J. Pierrepont Finch
on Broadway. The 1967 film version is available on DVD.
before curtain [bi)fO:r (k§:t&n]
booth
chairman of the board
picked: be ~
rumpled [(rVmp&ld]
vor Beginn der Vorstellung
(Karten-)Schalter
Vorstandsvorsitzende(r)
gezogen werden
zerzaust, zerknittert
Business Spotlight 15

Gut für
den Kopf!
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verstehen – und nebenbei die Sprache
lernen. Jeden Monat neu.
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