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‘Feminine’ cultures value the abilities to reach agreement or consensus, avoid confrontation, arrive at a compromise, concern about personal relationships and the environment. Scandinavian countries and France have very strong ‘feminine’ characteristics.

Uncertainty avoidance – (the need for structure and clear rules)

In some cultures, individuals feel threatened by unknown situations and their primary goal is to reduce risks. These cultures try to control the future and can be authoritarian. Japan, France, Italy and Austria all show a high degree of uncertainty avoidance. They are often restricted by traditions and demand more detailed information before making a decision.

The USA, the UK, and Canada see things from a different perspective and show a much lower degree of uncertainty avoidance. In these countries, people are less cautious and are more prepared to take risks.

Language focus

1.Translate the following words and word partnerships from Russian into English.

иметь намерение (быть склонным) предоставить независимость своим

2.You are given categories defining work-related values associated with national culture. Read the statements and add the countries to the appropriate categories in this table.

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1.In the UK the prevailing culture expects people to develop and display their individual personalities, whereas in China people are defined and act mostly as part of a long-term group, such as an age group or profession.

2.In New Zealand employees generally relate to one another as equals and managers delegate responsibility, unlike Malaysia, where subordinates tend to acknowledge hierarchical positions and do not expect to accept responsibility.

3.In the USA assertiveness and competitiveness are considered valuable qualities, whereas in the Netherlands warm relationships and quality of life are given priority.

4.UK workers are comfortable to take risks and change jobs frequently, whereas Japanese workers like to work in a structured situation and remain with the same company.

3. Translate the following sentences into English.

1.Профессиональные и технические навыки рассматриваются как наиболее важные в нашей компании.

2.Преданность компании и умение подчиняться её правилам – необходимые качества руководителей всех уровней.

3.Наш руководитель считает, что необходимо побуждать работников среднего и низшего уровней самим принимать решения и проявлять инициативу.

4.Индивидуальная работа каждого должна оцениваться, а инициатива награждаться.

5.Мы уверены, что каждый работник должен продолжать своё образование и обучение на рабочих местах.

6.Ценным качеством является умение принимать всё новое и передовое и подстраиваться под изменения, которые происходят в рабочей среде.

7.Многие руководители в настоящее время имеют учёные или технические степени.

8.Неформальное общение не приветствуется в нашей компании.

4.In accordance with their corporate cultures, companies can value different qualities, such as:

honesty and integrity, teamwork and collaboration, hard work and commitment, customer service, action and result, creativity and innovation.

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You are going to read three texts about multinational companies. After reading the texts, answer the following questions:

1.What is 3M’s policy towards mistakes? What is their goal regarding new products?

2.What is FedEx mission? What rewards program do they have and why?

3.What is kaizen? What do people working in this system aim at? What reductions has Toyota achieved?

4.What do you think their corporate cultures value and why?

3M company – a global manufacturer of millions of products where scientists spend 15% of their time developing their own ideas and researching things that interest them. ‘We believe it’s better to let people make mistakes than to tell them how to do their jobs and we are well-known for encouraging our employees to take initiative. The thing is you have to take risks if you are going to be innovative and creative. We have a goal that we have to make 30% of our revenues from products that were new in the past few years. So, almost 1/3 of our income comes from products that didn’t exist four years ago’.

FedEx company – the world’s largest express transportation company. 3.2 million packages are moved to 210 countries with 650 aircraft. ‘It’s our mission to have a completely satisfied customer at the end of every transaction. That’s not easy to do when we are shipping millions of packages around the world every day. We have a program that allows managers to make extra payments to our employees on the spot. If they see someone doing something extra to take care of a customer, they can give them $100 in movie tickets or meals. In a service company you are only as good as the people performing the service’.

Toyota company – a car manufacturer which has led the world in production efficiency. ‘We are committed to continuous improvement, or kaizen, as we call it in Japanese. This means we are constantly looking for ways to be more productive, more efficient, and safer. No improvement is too small for us to make and the process never stops. Sales and Manufacturing departments work together to do things faster too. Their collaboration facilitates the production and delivery process. So customers can take delivery of their new car sooner. Following kaizen principles, we’ve achieved huge reductions in both costs and lead time (время выполнения заказа).

5. Match the definitions to the words in bold below.

1.a special and easily recognized quality of someone or something___

2.a particular place or rank in an organization___

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3.someone who is of lower rank in a job, and takes orders from his/her superior___

4.a person or group with the ability, power, or right to control and command___

5.a system by which the members of an organization are grouped and arrange according to higher and lower ranks, esp. official ranks___

6.the ability to make decisions and take action without asking for the help or advice of others___

7.working together for a special purpose___

8.strength and firmness of character or principle; trustworthiness; honesty___

9.the quality of being completely open and truthful____

10.a responsibility or promise to follow certain beliefs or a certain course of action___

11.money that a business or organization receives over a period of time, especially from selling goods or services___

12.the aim of a company or organization___

13.a business deal; a piece of business___

14.a method of running a company which tries to encourage continuous improvement in its products, staff, management, etc___

15.the time it takes to prepare, make, or deliver something___

16.help; make things easier ___

6.Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the words in brackets.

1.Most employees do not have close contact with those who make ___

(decide).

2.We must give Mr. Frederic a good deal. He is one of our most ___

(value) customers.

3.Giant Steel are our biggest ___ (compete).

4.In this job you need to solve a lot of problems, so ___ (analyze) skills are a must.

5.If you go to a different country to work you shouldn’t expect everything to be the same. There will be a lot of cultural ___ (differ).

6.If you want to be promoted you have to grow ___ (profession).

7.Our ___ (commit) to company’s performance is great.

8.In this company you have to go through some ___ (bureaucracy) procedures just to get a new pencil.

9.___ (Impower) is a great motivating tool, which encourages people to work on their own.

10.We see our role as ___ (facilitate) who can get the negotiations going.