short story - Business Spotlight

short storyTHE TIPA short story by James SchofieldSomething to think about…:Franz Marc FreiAre you honest?Of course you are!But how honest are your business partners?And if they don’t cheat you, is it any of your business?First published in Business Spotlight 5/20111 Business Spotlight www.business-spotlight.de

short copy storyfileTHE TIPPRE-READING SUMMARYVocabularyabout: be ~ to do sth. [E(baUt]assemble sth. [E(semb&l]bad: feel ~ about sth. [bÄd]bald [bO:ld]big [bIg]billionaire [)bIljE(neE]business angel [)bIznEs (eIndZ&l]investiertcash register [(kÄS )redZIstE]chew sth. [tSu:]clear the table [)klIE DE (teIb&l]collect sth. [kE(lekt]come on! [)kVm (Qn]contract [(kQntrÄkt]cooperative workshop [kEU)QpErEtIv (w§:kSQp]fountain pen [(faUntIn pen]hesitate [(hezIteIt]like: what are you ~? [laIk]spectacles [(spektEk&lz]stake [steIk]start-up company [(stA:t Vp )kVmpEni]supplier [sE(plaIE]tape [teIp]Thames [temz]you’re my kind of man [jO: )maI )kaInd Ev (mÄn]gerade etw. tun wollenetw. zusammensetzenetw. bedauern; hier: sich wg. etw. nichtwohlfühlenkahlhier: lukrativMilliardär(in)Geldgeber, der in junge UnternehmenKasseetw. kauenden Tisch abräumenhier: etw. holen, nehmenkomm schon!, kommen Sie schon!Vertraggenossenschaftlicher BetriebFüllerzögernwie sind Sie so?BrilleBeteiligungneugegründetes UnternehmenLieferant(in)KlebebandThemseso ein Typ wie Sie gefällt mirLanguage point & A Closer LookLanguage pointLet me get lunch is what you say when youoffer to pay the bill for another person. Youcan also say: “Let me get this”, “I’ll get it”,“This is on me” or “It’s my treat”. Don’t usethe word “invite” (einladen), as this is onlyused for asking someone to come to a partyor other event (“We invited 150 guests to ourcompany anniversary” = Wir haben 150 Gästezu unserem Firmenjubiläum eingeladen).A CLOSER LOOKtip (Trinkgeld): In the UK, you arenot always expected to leave a tip,but it is common. The customergenerally leaves a small amount,about ten per cent of the sum, onthe table. Some restaurants now adda “service charge” of 12–15 percent to the bill.Reading activities1. Read the story and complete the information in the story matrix (p5). Compare your version witha partner.2. Listen to the recording (or your teacher reading The Tip aloud) and read the story at the sametime.3. Read the story silently. Time yourself. It should take about one minute for you to read 200 words.4. Re-tell The Tip to a partner using only the story matrixwww.business-spotlight.de/teachers/ Business Spotlight 2www.business-spotlight.de Business Spotlight 2

short storyTHE TIPSTORY MATRIXTheme:Where:Keycharacters:Mainaction:Key events:Results:1.2.3.End result:Keyphrases /Vocabulary:THE TIPPOST-READING DISCUSSION1. “It isn’t possible to do business in some countries without giving bribes. It is unreasonable for western companiesto be expected to operate there according to the same legal standards as in their own country.”What do you think?2. In business you sometimes have to cooperate with people you do not completely trust. This could be when signinga contract for a multi-million € deal, or just taking your car to the garage for its service check.Have you ever felt uncomfortable about the honesty of your business partner? Why? What was the end result?3. Case study: You find out that a good friend of yours at work has charged your company for the cost of anexpensive restaurant meal, using a receipt he found on the street when you were on a business trip together. Onthat evening you both ate in McDonalds. Your boss now asks you if you really did both eat in the expensive restaurantas your friend claims.What do you say?www.business-spotlight.de Business Spotlight 4