Деловой иностранный язык

open-minded. Some people may derive their opinions from the tabloid press that often depicts the world in black and white terms.

In order to create good business relations, you should allow conversations to develop organically, following the lead of the person you are talking you, asking permission if you’d like to talk about potentially sensitive subjects and not being overly negative or sarcastic.

As a general observation, people tend to be more open and friendly outside of London and in the North in particular; in fact, there is still a north-south divide in terms of cultural openness in the UK. Some exceptions exist, for example Scottish Highlanders or Welsh farmers will hardly say a word until you get to know each other. Discussions tend to be emotionless and may become tense, with the parties politely excusing themselves and withdrawing.

Another difficulty in verbal communication may come from the British penchant for understatement. This sometimes shows itself in seeming self-deprecation and presents a challenge in understanding how things, people and situations are really perceived by the British.

For example, what might be described as ‘a bit expensive’ may well really mean ‘very expensive’ and ‘a little problem’ might actually constitute ‘a huge stumbling block’ for a British counterpart.

Business Relationship

In the UK, an agreement will not normally be final and complete until a written contract has been formally signed and witnessed. Thus, it is crucial to ensure that all the terms and conditions are included in a formal contractual document. In many cases, depending on the size or value of the business, a contract will be subject to review and approval by a solicitor or other expert in British contract law. This is simply a matter of procedural correctness and “due diligence”, which should not be taken personally nor does it cast doubt on the seriousness of the proposal. In fact, having a full written contract that has been professionally reviewed and approved demonstrates both the sincerity of the signatories and their intent to establish a significant and often long-term agreement.

Generally, there is a strict separation of business and social matters and therefore you do not necessarily need to make extensive efforts to establish familiarity outside of the business relationship. On the other hand, it is essential to create an atmosphere of trust, reliability and fairness, as those are values the British appreciate.

Following established protocol is critical to building and maintaining business relationships in the UK. Verbal communications are usually confirmed in writing where exact details are set out. Business communications can be difficult to read since the British do not like to offend their business partners and sources of disagreements are not always obvious to detect. British businesspeople often operate an open-door policy. People tend to work with their office door open although counterparts are expected to knock and wait to be invited before entering.

In British business, hierarchies are becoming flatter with business units having delegated autonomy, which increases overlapping and means loosely defined responsibilities and fewer distinctions between roles and departments. British management style has a reputation for taking calculated risks and this mentality is at the heart of the innovation drive in many British organisations. Professional rank and status in the UK is generally based on an individual’s achievement and expertise in a given field. Academic titles and backgrounds are not as important in business.

Expect a great deal of written communication, both to confirm and to maintain a record of discussions and decisions. Even if you have a friendly or casual relationship with colleagues, you should remember that on-the-job correspondence means that an e-mail is a business letter, in which professionalism should not be forgotten. However, this varies and some individuals might not have a greeting in the email and sign themselves with a single letter – abbreviating their first name. This is increasingly widespread with the adoption of smartphones and tablet devices.

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In The UK, it is generally not customary to state your full name including first and last name when you answer the phone. In accordance with corporate identity trends, the customary way to answer a phone at a British company is to state the name of the company and a greeting.

Making Contact

For the British manager, a handshake is the usual form of greeting on introduction. However, if you are working with someone on a project and meeting over several days, it is possible that you will not be offered a handshake each time – but would simply be greeted verbally. In the same way, after a business meeting if you are going to meet again the next day you might not be offered a handshake.

When introduced to someone new you would be expected to shake their hand and say

“Nice to meet you” or the more formal “How do you do?” These phrases would normally be responded to in a similar fashion: “Nice to meet you too” or “Fine thank you, how are you?” The handshake should be firm, but take into account the hand of the person you are greeting and match the strength of their handshake. A kiss is not an acceptable greeting in a typical business situation.

The normal greetings in the United Kingdom are “Good morning/afternoon/evening.” These are usually followed by another common greeting “How are you?” Do not be tempted to give a full account of the state of your health, as this is simply a courtesy greeting and not usually an actual question.

Increasingly, with the influence of North American popular culture, self-disclosure and the sharing of private and personal information is considered to be a form of bonding. The death of the Princess of Wales in 1997 marked an unprecedented moment in British culture, where people felt compelled to share their outpouring of grief in public. The London 2012 Olympic Games also went a long way towards changing foreign perceptions of British culture and demonstrating the warmth and welcoming nature of the British public.

Unnecessarily long eye contact is also considered an invasion of privacy and can be interpreted as anything from being rude to being a sign of aggression and should therefore be avoided.

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Начальный уровень владения иностранным языком

_______________________________________________________________

Active Vocabulary Focus

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2. Product pricing.

location место расположения

extra services дополнительные услуги installation services услуги по установке

to charge prices устанавливать, назначать цены price emphasis продажа товара за счет низкой цены

price de-emphasis попытка продажи товара не за счет низкой цены, а за счет других факторов

loss-leader item товар, продаваемый по очень низкой цене, служащей для привлечения покупателей

off-even pricing цена, не доходящая до круглой цифры и стимулирующая желание покупателя купить

favorable psychological effect благоприятный психологический эффект to start with especially low

prices начинать с особо низких цен new brand новая марка (товара)

high quality expensive item высококачественный дорогой продукт

One can…

Products can be…

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Sales Vocabulary Practice

1. Fill in the correct word.

1.He made a lot of money by buying houses at … prices and reselling them.

2.Lower interest rates did nothing to increase … for loans to buy houses.

3.Britain has had higher long-term interest rates than most of its major ….

4.Baskin-Robbins has signed a … with a group of dairy farmers, to supply the milk necessary for the factory.

5.He has been offered a management … in Cairo.

6.Penny has increased its sales … with direct mail.

7.The customer confirmed … of a shipment

8.He used the product after receiving a … in the mail.

9.Microsoft is the world’s largest … of PC software.

10.Heilig-Meyers Co., a home furnishings …, said that December sales rose 18% to $75.1 million.

2. Choose the right synonym

1.There has been a drop in sales. = Sales have _________________. decreased

downed increased

2. Sales have increased for three years _________________. = Sales have increased for three years in a row. even

straight forward

3.You have to market these particular attributes. = You have to market these particular

_________________. qualifiers qualifications qualities

4.We shouldn't use the same old strategies. = We should __________________ using the same

5.Thanks to smart planning, we have __________________ another crisis. = Thanks to smart planning, we have thwarted another crisis.

put forth unveiled averted

6.We shouldn't rule that out as an option. = We should still _________________ that an option. reject

consider contain

7.The figures are down from January. = The _________________ are down from January. numbers

numerals mathematics

8.Our company has seen 10 years of uninterrupted growth. = Our company has seen 10 years of

9.We should market this product as being durable and dependable. = We should market this product as being _________________ and dependable.

study sturdy studious

10.We need to develop a new strategy. = We need a new _________________.

appraisal approval approach

1.Read this short presentation and complete it using some words and phrases given in the box:

a)comes in a wide range, b) am going, c) advantage, d) like to ask a question, e) to launch this product, f) feature, g) ideal

Today we are proud to present our new product which is sure to be useful for every business person. It is a multi-lingual electronic interpreter. We are planning __1__ into the market soon. Let me speak about it. First, I __2__ to tell you about its special features. The electronic interpreter is fluent in seven languages (English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch and Swedish). A very useful __3__ is its working knowledge of over 30,000 words in each language. It is __4__ for business people as it includes an automatic spelling correction so you can input foreign words phonetically, a 30-entry name/address databank, full function calculator, metric and currency converters and word games. Batteries are also supplied.

Thus, we offer you all the features you normally expect. As a result it is sure to become popular with our customers. Besides, the electronic interpreter looks stylish and fashionable because it __5__ of colours. Another __6__ is its very small size therefore you can keep it in your bag. We think you will find $49.95 an amazing price and you will be keen to order your electronic interpreter right away. Would anyone __7__?

3. Make up word partnerships.

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Task 4. Read the Delfos sales leaflet. Find expressions which mean the following:

1.There are some good offers.

2.The buyer pays only a small amount of money at the beginning.

3.The buyer pays some money every four weeks for a year.

4.There is no cost for transporting the goods to the buyer.

5.It doesn't cost extra to pay over 12 months.

DELFOS COMPUTERS Ø GREAT DEALS ON ALL COMPUTERS, PHOTOCOPIERS AND DATA PROJECTORS Ø 3-YEAR GUARANTEE Ø LOW DEPOSIT Ø PAY €100 NOW FOLLOWED BY 12 MONTHLY PAYMENTS Ø INTEREST-FREE CREDIT Ø FREE

DELIVERY

Task 5. What is important for you when you buy a product like a computer or a TV? Put these items in order of importance (1-6).

Task 6.Read these sentences. Does a buyer or a seller say them?

Task 7. Use the words given below to complete the Dart leaflet below.

DART CAR HIRE 1. Save up to 50% on selected models 2. Three days for the ….. of two 3. ….. insurance and unlimited mileage 4. Extra 10% ……. until the end of July 5. For a limited ….. only As a Gold Club member ... Ø you get free hire days or airline miles as your reward Ø you can use our express service, available at all international airports in the country Ø you don't wait for a piece of paper when you return the car - we e-mail Ø you a detailed receipt

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Task 8. Decide whether these sentences about the Dart leaflet are true or false. Rewrite the false statements to make them true.

1. The customer can get some deals for half price.2. There is an extra cost for insurance.

3. The price is cheaper if the customer is quick.4. The offer is for the whole year.

5. Gold Club members have a choice of reward.

Gold Club members get their receipt by express post.

Task 9.Choose the best response for each one

base collection

attended went atoned

13. A trade show isn't worth your time and effort if it doesn't produce good ____________________. leads

loads experiences

14. One of the main reasons we're attending the trade show is to connect with ____________________. potential partners

potential partnerships potent partners

15.Setting up a professional looking booth and presentation will help up to raise our

____________________. Opinion

look profile

10.Translate into English.

Спрос на его мебель быстро вырос, и он решил специализироваться на продаже мебели.

Они начали разрабатывать свою собственную линию одежды в 1989 году.

В прошлом ноябре я побывал у наших основных заказчиков из крупных универмагов в Италии.

В понедельник я подготовил презентацию для персонала по продажам и представил им весь ассортимент нашего нового товара.

Мы хотели бы разместить заказ на 100 компьютеров в вашей компании.

В октябре мы, наконец-то, достигли цели продаж на этот год.

На данный момент товара нет в наличии на складе.

В прошлом году мы увеличили продажи на 20 % и запустили несколько новых товаров.

Покупая товар, покупатели, конечно же, хотят сравнить цены и узнать, какую скидку продавец может им предложить.

Иногда покупатели спрашивают, можно ли оплатить товар частями.

GRAMMAR

Past Simple

But if the final consonant is in an unstressed syllable, we do not double it (e.g. develop - developed; market -* marketed).

Irregular verbs

Many frequently used verbs are irregular.

buy-bought cost-cost know-knew make-made meet-met put-put send-sent write-wrote

Uses

We use the past simple to talk about a:

•completed single action in the past.

He met her at the sales conference.

We gave them a lot of money.

•past state that is now finished.

We had an agent in Asia at that time.

•repeated action in the past.

We went to the beach every day.

I always wrote to him in English.

Past time references

We use the past simple with expressions that refer to a definite moment or period in the

past.

He first set up in business in 1999.

The 1960s were relatively prosperous.

We signed the contract on 3rd April 2003.

Other expressions

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