Market Leader Intermediate 3rd edition SB

AUDIO SCRIPTS
El Mmm ... we'll have to think about that. OK, thank you. How ahout
you? Arc you interested as well?
T1 Yes, I like the product as well, but I also think it'll need a lot of
marketing to get established, and you may have to change the
packaging. So ... I'll offer you the full amount, 5200,000, for a stake
of45%.
El OK, so we seem to have two offers on the table. Could I ask each of
you, what business expertise you could bring to our business? How
much help could you give us, apart from money?
T1 Well, I have a company which sells household products to the retail
trade, and it's very successful. You would be able to usc our sales
force to build up sales and develop the brand. And I would be very
hands-on in developing your product.
T2 In my easc, I have a very good track record investing in start-up
businesses like yours. Basically, I invest in people, and I've been
impressed with your presentation. I think we could work well together.
El Thanks to both of you. Could we have a break and consider your offer?
n&2 By all means/certainly. Take your time ..
WORKING ACROSS CULTURES 2:
INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS
COl TRACK 43
The culture we come from or live in influences what we sec, do, believe
and say. It affects our expectations and behaviour, and we need to be very
a\vatC of it. TIle Simple fuet is tllat whats nonnal or appropriate for us
may seem very strange or even rude to someone from a different culture.
l'Ulook at three of the key areas of culture which may affect
communication in international meetings, causing confusion and
frustration. Firstly, time: not aU cultures or people are ruled by the
dock. TIlere are some cultures, it's true, where the feeling is indeed
that 'time is mane)': They will often have strict approaches to this
aspect of meetings, such as starting and finishing times and the
duration of discussion. Other cultures, however, have a completely
different approach and see the starting time as a guide only and the
finishing time as not fixed. Other stages may be surprisingly flexible,
and you may find that there is little attempt to stick to the agenda.
Secondly, the idea of hierarchy in a culture, and therefore in meetings,
can be very Significant. By this, we mean the relative levels of
importance and seniority which people have in a company. Someone
from a very hierarchical culture is likely to feel very uncomfortable
saying what they think or criticising the ideas of others, especially if the
person being criticised holds a higher position. TIley arc also unlikely
to openly disagree or report a problem in front of a boss or manager.
Criticising the ideas of a superior could be seen as a loss offace for
both people involved.
Another key area to think about is the objective of the meeting. In
many cultures, there's an attitude that meetings should have very
clear purposes and 'get down to business' pretty quickJy ... using a
structured, pre-planned agenda is important. in such cnses, there's very
little in the way of small talk - maybe just a couple of comments abollt
the weather, fo otball, etc. However, other cultures sec meetings as the
place for relationship building and developing trusl, so the meeting
may be a lengthy discussion, and actual decisions may often be made
outside the meeting. Again, the idea that the purpose of a meeting is to
make a decision may be alien to some cultures. It's important to bear
this in mind, as it can be quite a surprise if you're not used to it.
Finally, some advice on successful international meetings. Clarifying is
key in any international meeting. Different cultural assumptions mean
that sometimes spoken languagel body language, including gesturesl and
written symbols can be misunderstood. Constant checking and feedback
is crucial. At the end of a meetingl its vital to summarise the main areas
of agreement and disagreement and ensure that everyones happy with
them to avoid confusion and frustration later.
Overall, any international meeting requires planning, organisation
and thinking about ifit's to succeed. We must consider how cultural
differences may affect mutual understanding and we should try to
predict any areas open to misunderstanding before they happen.
UNIT 7 CULTURES
COl TRACK 44 (I = INTERVIEWER, IT = JEFF TOMS)
I Can you give us some examples of culture shock that people have
experienced?
IT There arc many, many examples of culture shock, andl er, many of
those really come about because people haven't prepared themselves
well enough. So examples of that might be timing, where in some
cultures the concept and perception of timekeeping is very differentl
and I guess the obvious one that people always use is the example
oflhe MJddle East. TIle Middle Eastern dock really revolves around
two things really - the prayer times and of course, because they were
desert travellers, about the movements of the sun and the moonl er,
during periods of the day.
Um, other examples is where, abrain around time, where) perhaps
from a Latin culture's perspective, um, it's about building
relationships before you actually get down to, to business. Now very
often Westernl and particularly American, bUSinesspeople find that
very frustrating. For Americans, time is mone)" and so they'll be
very keen to actually ... er, the salesman will be very keen to get out
his sales literature and start exalting the virtues of the product he's
trying to sell yOll, er, they'll try to get on with the agenda as quickJy
as possible, whereas) particularly in Latin cultures and also in people
like Chinese cultures, relationship building is very important. They'll
want to entertain you for sure, and very often invite you back to
their home, and all this before they actually want to sit down and
do business with you because, in the Latin culture, they arc making
judgements about you as an individual, as to, as to whether you're the
kind of person that they want to do business with.
COl TRACK 45 (I = INTERVIEWER, JT = JEFF TOMS)
I
Arc some people better suited fo r international business than others?
JT Absolutely - er, what companies still tend to do is select people for
international business and business aSSignments, er, purely based
on their skill set. So if you're the best civil engineer or you're the
greatest IT cOllsultant in the bUSiness, it is often thought that this
fu lly equips you to be the best person to conduct that business
internationally. Clearly those skills arc very important, but they have
to be underpinned by, I think, a number of personal traits that make
you a more effective international businessperson.
Some of those traits - um, adaptability: )'ou have got to be prepared
to adapt the \vay that you do business or adapt your expectations
or your needs, to meet the needs of the culture ofthc people that
you're doing business with - so) adaptability; flexibility is obviously
"ery important. Er, you've got to be prepared to actually change the
parameters with which )'ou were intending to do business.
COlT RACK 46 OT = JEFf TOMS)
JT Very important - and you'll know from this course in
communication - um, you've got to be a good listener. Er, you've got
to pay more attention than you would when speaking to somebody
in your own culture to make sure that you have understood quite
clearly what is being said. And one of the things that we always say
to people is that, to be very sure that you've actually heard what you
think you·ve heard. There arc some steps )'OU can take. It 's always
a very good idea to get the individual, if you're not clear, to repeat
what they've said. It may seem tedious to you, but actually it's very
important to make sure that you haven't made mistakes.
I think also one of the key features orthe successful international
bUSinessperson is to be non-judgemental. For instance, if you're
coming from an Asian culture, er, to try and do business with, er, a
Western culture, er, for certain the way that people do things will
be fundamentally different - er, the hierarchy, the structure, the
decision-making process, the seniority and the influence of the
people you're doing business with - will be fundamentally different.
Er, you may not agree, you may not approve of the way that business
is done in another culture; but the way that people do business in
that culture is as a result of many, many years of, of development and
so YOll have to be accepting, er, thai it may be not to your liking and it
may be different, but it is not wrong.
COlTRACK 47
1 Small talk is one way to break the ice when meeting someone for the
first time.
2 I was thrown in at the deep end when my company sent me to run the
Gennan office. I was only given two days' notice to get everything ready.
3 We don't see eye to eye with our US parent company about
punctuality. We have very different ideas about what being 'on time'
means. It's a question of culture.
4 I got into hot water with my boss for wearing casual clothes to the
meeting with the potential Japanese customers.
5 I really put my foot in it when I met our Spanish partner. Because I
was nervousl l said '\Vho arc you?' rather than 'How are you?:
6 I get on like a house on fire with our Polish agent; we like the same
things and have the same sense of humour.
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