情境国际商务英语.docx
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情境国际商务英语
1.Happinessatwork
1.1
1
I’malawyer.Iworkinpropertylaw-Idoallthelegalworkconnectedwithbuyingandsellingbuildingsandland.Myjobisalwaysinteresting.Iespeciallylikemeetingdifferentclients–everydayisdifferent,infact.Iwork60hoursaweekandsometimesIgetverystressed,butmostofthetimeIfeelverypositiveaboutmyjob.
2
I'mafitnessinstructor.IrunfitnessclassesatgymsandleisureclubsbutIhavesomeprivateclientstoo.Iplanexerciseprogrammesforthemandgototheirhomestohelpthemgetfit.IlikethisjobalotbecauseIcanorganizemyowntime.Andit'sveryrewardingtoseepeoplegetfitandhealthy.It’smoresatisfyingthanmyoldjob-Iusedtoworkinanoffice.Ihatedthat.
3
I'manaccountant.Ispecializeinbankruptcy-soIspendallmytimedealingwithcompaniesthathavegoneoutofbusiness.Myjobisprettyvaried.Iliketheflexibility-inmycompany,youcanstartworkwhenyouwantandleavewhenyouwant,aslongasyou'rethereduringthecorehours,fromtentothreeeveryday.That'sarealbonusforaworkingmother.It'smuchmoreflexiblethansomeofthelargeraccountancyfirms.Andit'swell-paidsoI'mverylucky,really.
4
I'macivilservant.Iworkinregionalgovernment.I'minadepartmentwithtenotherpeople.Ourjobistoattractinvestmentintothearea.Inthepastfiveyears,we'vepersuadedmorethan20overseascompaniestosetupoperationshere.ILovetheteamwork-I'matmybestworkinginateam.ThisisthemoststimulatingjobI'veeverhad,andI'mhappierinmyworkthanmostpeopleIknow.And,ofcourse,asacivilservant,myjobisverysecure.
1.2
1Myname'sFrancoise.I'm38andIliveinParis.Ihavethreechildrenundertheageoften.WhenI'mnotatwork,Ispendallmytimewiththem
2Letmesayafewwordsaboutmyself.Myname'sHarvey.I'mfromWisconsin.IwasborninMilwaukee,onLakeMichigan.NowIworkontheEastCoast,butILovegoingbacktomyhometownwheneverIcan.
3Myname'sLyn.IworkinsalesandIlovemyjob!
IworkforDigicom-it'sabigITdistributor.It'sagreatcompanytoworkfor.
4Hi,myname'sMichaelbuteverybodycallsmeMick.Mypassionisbridges.Ialwaysspendmyholidaysvisitingthem.LastyearwewenttothesouthofFrancetoseethenewbridgeatMillau.It'sabsolutelyfantastic.
5Hello,myname'sLucy.IwasbroughtupinthenorthofEngland.MyfamilymovedsouthwhenIwasateenagerandI'velivednearLondoneversince.
6Myname'sLudwig.I'minretail.Iworkforalargechainoffurniturestores.We'rebasedinFrankfurtbutItravelallovertheworldformyjob.
1.3
1I’mnotsogoodatstructuringmyday.ItaketimetosortthingsoutandsometimesIfinditdifficulttodecideonmypriorities.
2PeopletellmethatI'magoodlistener.Someofmycolleaguestalktomewhentheyhaveproblems.I'mhappytohelpifIcan.
3IgetonwellwithmycolleaguesandIreallyenjoyworking,withmyteam.Wegoouttogetheralot-foramealoradrinkafterwork.
2.Motivation
2.1
1I’macallcentremanagerinthefinancialservicesindustry.Ibelieveit'simportant,toletpeopleworkwithoutconstantsupervision-youhavetoletthemusetheirinitiative;otherwise,theyfeelthey'rebeingtreatedlikechildren.Ofcourse,thereareprocedurestofollowbutweliketogiveemployeesasmuchflexibilityaspossiblewithinthoseprocedures.
2I'masectionmanagerinaninsurancecompany.Wedothepaperworkrelatingtoinsuranceclaims.Theemployeesmustbehereby8a.m.andtheycan'tleavebefore5p.m.Iwanttoseewhatthey'redoingthewholetime.ThatwayIcanbesurethey'redoingtheworkwe'repayingthemtodo.
3I’maseniormangerinanoilcompany.Iencourageyoungermanagersinmydepartmenttousetheirinitiative.Theyrespondtothiswell-itmotivatesthemandyou'canseetheirworkimproving.It'salsoagoodwaytoidentifypotentialfuturemanagersamongthem-theoneswhoaregoingtoreachthetopoftheorganizationinthefuture.
4Iworkintheretailindustryforalargechainofdepartmentstores.I'minchargeof20salesassistants.Allthey'reinterestedinisgettingtotheweekend,anddoingaslittleaspossible.Ihavetokeepaneyeonthemthewholetime.Wedon’tallowanysortofinitiative-itjustleadstoproblemswhenpeoplestartignoringtheestablishedprocedures.
2.2
1I'veworkedintheoilindustrysinceIgraduated.Ilikethewaytheydothingsinthiscompany.We'reencouragedtouseourinitiative-tothinkforourselvesandsolveproblems.Wegetourownprojectstolookafter-IthinktheyrealizethatpeoplewithMBAsneedthatkindofindependence.Andwe'rejudgedonresults,notbytheamountoftimewespendonthejob.
2Themanager'sbreathingdownmyneckallthetime!
Hewalksaroundthedifferentdepartments,checkingtheonthesalespeople-youneverknowwhenheisgoingtoappear.Theonlythinghe’sinterestedinisreachinghissaletarget.Wecan’tdoanythingwithoutaskinghimfirst.
3Inthisorganization,likeinallinsurancecompanies,youjustfollowestablishedprocedure.Decisionsareimposedfromabove-there'snoconsultation.Anddon'teverdreamaboutworkingfromhome,notevenonedayaweek!
Thatwouldneverbeallowed-theywanttoseewhatyou'redoingthewholetime.
4I'veworkedinotherplaceswheretheymeasureyourworkveryprecisely-theydon'twantyoutospendmorethanthreeminutesoneachcall.Butherethere'smoreflexibility,andyoucanspendasmuchtimeasyouwantwitheachcustomer,withinreason,ofcourse.AsateamLeader,Igetalotofresponsibility,whichIlikeandIgetalotofsatisfactionfrommywork.Ithinkthatmotivatespeople.Andvaluedemployeesmakeforvaluedcustomers!
2.3
Michael:
Wouldyoulikecoffeeortea?
Susanne:
Coffee,please.
Michael:
It'soverhere.Justhelpyourself.Wheredoyoucomefrom,Susanne?
Susanne:
IwasborninGermany,inFreiburg,inthesouthofGermany.
Michael:
Really?
IthoughtyouwereAmerican.
Susanne:
Well,IwasbroughtupintheStates.Myfatherworkedthere.
Michael:
Oh,thatexplainstheaccent!
Wheredidyoulive?
Susanne:
Wemovedaround,butmostlywelivedontheEastCoast.
Michael:
Didyougotouniversitythere?
Susanne:
No,IstudiedinLondon.AndI'vebeeninEnglandsinceIgraduated.
Michael:
Doyoumissyourfamily?
Susanne:
Well,mysisterisinEngland,too,andmyparentscomeovertovisitsometimes.
Michael:
DoyougetbacktotheStatesmuch?
Susanne:
Onceortwiceayear.Inmyfirstjobaftergraduation,IusedtotravelalotsoIsawmyparentsmoreoften.
Michael:
Whatwereyoudoing?
Susanne:
IwasatraineebuyerforafashionhouseinLondon.
Michael:
Thatsoundsfun!
Susanne:
Itwas,butafteracoupleofyears,Idecidedthefashionbusinesswasn’tforme.
Michael:
Whywasthat?
Susanne:
Oh,Idon'tknow.Thefashionbusinessisvery…
Michael:
Iguessit'sverycompetitive?
Lotsofbeautifulpeople?
Susanne:
That'sright.It'sallaboutimage,asyouwouldexpect.
Michael:
Sohowexactlydidyouendupinthislineofbusiness?
Susanne:
Well,that'salongstory...
2.4
Forus,thefamilyisthemostimportantelementinourlives.Iusedtoworkforalocalinvestmentbankingcompany,AsianFinance.ItwasaSingaporeancompany,runbyalocalfamily-thefatherandtwosons.AtAsianFinance,familytieswereveryimportant.Manyofthepeoplewhoworkedtherewererelatedtoeachother.NowIworkforFinvest,aninternationalfinancecompany.TheheadofficeisinFranceandsomeofthemanagersarefromthere,buttherearealsosomeAmericans,oneortwootherEuropeans,andsomefromotherpartsofAsiaaswell.Sofamilydoesn'tcountformuchhere.TheAmericanstellmethatthecompanyisveryFrench,butIcan'treallytell.IhavesomefriendswhoworkforAmericanmultinationalsandtheyareverydifferent,that'strue.Finvestisquiteatraditionalcompany,maybethat'saEuropeanthing,Idon'tknow.Itcertainlyhasitsown,culture-peopledressveryformallyandthere'salotofhandshaking!
2.5
AsIwassaying,everybodydressesveryformally-that'strueforthemenandthewomen.AndInoticethattheFrenchmanagerstendtoshakehandsoreven,kisswhentheymeeteachother.It'sawellestablishedbusiness-it'sbeengoingforgenerations.Therearepicturesonthewallsofsomeofthefoundersandkeypeopleovertheyears.Inoticetheformalityinlettersandreports-theexpressionstheyusearemuchmoreformalthanI'musedtoandgenerallywhenyouwrite,evenemails,youneedtobecarefulwhatyousay.
3Incentives
3.1
A:
...SowhatexactlyaretheincentivesifIexceedmyperformancetarget?
B:
Ifyoureach110percentofyourtargetfortheyear,you'llgetaperformancebonusof€1000.Butyouwon'tgetabonusunlessyoureachthetarget.
A:
WhatwillthebenefitspackagecontainifIjointhecompany?
B:
Welllet'ssee...healthinsurance,gymmembership...Wehaveanexcellentnewgymon-sitewithalltheLatestequipment...
A:
Isee.Couldyoutellmemoreaboutthehealthinsurance?
B:
Thecompanywillpayallhospitalbills,unlessyoudosomethingthat'snotcoveredbythepolicy,suchasparticipatingindangeroussports.
A:
WhathappensifI'mill?
B:
Ifyou'reill,you'llbeabletotakesickLeave.Butunlessyouphoneyourmanager,youwon'tbeabletotakemorethanthreedaysoff.
A:
Howmuchdoesthecompanycontributetothecompanypensionscheme?
B:
Thecompanypays80percentofthecontributions,andtheemployeeisresponsiblefor20percent.Ourfinancialadvisorwilladviseyouifyouneedhelpwithfinancialpla