JOBS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

They say we live in a global village today. They speak about global needs and global ways to meet them. They often talk global responsibility and they often lay it at global doors these days. People interact globally every single day, every single hour, every single minute: right now as I am typing these lines on my laptop seated nicely comfortably in my red chair facing the white wall in my living room in Romania I could as well be chatting with my friends in Wyoming or laughing my head off as I am receiving one by one some funny photos shot late last night at my cousins wedding party in France which unfortunately I missed. As the internet explosively develops, we are all becoming more aware that indeed they are right - we are after all the global villagers. But do global villagers speak all a global language? Yes, SirThey doThey all speak English. English plays a crucially central part in the global village and it has become the global language we all make extensive or global use of whenever we need to communicate with other people worldwide. In order to become one of the global us, one has to speak English. Many of us speak English today - for most of us English is not the first language. Actually we learn English as a second language to talk to other people who themselves learn it as a foreign or second language. But are we, global villagers, learning English as the British or the American speak it? It is definitely not whether we can learn to speak English as the British do or as the American do or not, but whether we need to learn it as they speak it in their countries that is the burning question Isnt it more appropriate to learn global English, I wonderJust imagine a businessperson from Romania who is working in a joint venture with a businessperson from Denmark - burning question here : what difference does it make if they speak British English or American English? Idiomatic usage is fortunately not an issue in this situation. Luckily enough I am not aiming at a global learning audience here my job as an English teacher in an English non-speaking community in Romania is in fact a constant endeavour not to burn the candle at both ends. Hence heavy responsibility lies with me: on the one hand, I teach students English as a second language to use it in situations such as above in which they are / will be part of an English non-speaking business community whose needs of communication are enabled by use of English. On the other hand, some of the students could become part of an English speaking business culture and therefore I should be able to translate their local into global needs. Tough job, terrible responsibilities What about you or the others? I am a teacher. I am Romanian. My job as a teacher is to teach English. Im in education.

1. Make up sentences about your job as above:

I am a/an I come from My job as a/an is to Im in LANGUAGE NOTE We use a + job title phrase beginning with a consonant. We use an + job title phrase beginning with a vowel. We also use in + type of work . 2. Ask your partners questions about themselves: What do you do? What are you responsible for? What do you deal in? Where do you come from? II 1. Each of the following lines contains a spelling mistake. Find it and provide the right solution. a. Englishman English Englend Englishwoman b. Franse French Frenchman Frenchwoman c. German Germenia Germanic German d. Hungarian Hungarie Hungarian Hungarian e. Italian Italie Italian Italianate f. Spain Spannish Spaniard Spanish g. Holand Dutch Dutchman Netherlands h. British Great Britaine Brit Britannic i. Denmark Danish Daine Danish j. Sweden Sweed Swedish - Sweden

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 LANGUAGE NOTE All countries, nationalities (e.g. Romanian and not * romanian) and languages begin with a capital letter. When referring to an individual or several people from a particular country we use a and the: e.g. He is an German sales manager. // The Germans are famous for their punctuality.

2.

LOreal is a French company. The headquarters are in France.

What about these companies? Write two similar sentences about each of these companies. IBM Procter & Gamble Ericsson Nestle Perrier Saab Phillips Franke Olivetti Nokia Honda Siemens Zanussi Whirlpool Rolls-Royce

3. What countries belong to the EC? Provide examples of companies from these countries.

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FACT BOX Naming and greeting represent important aspects of the business practice. In English, when giving or writing your name it is advisable to put the first name before the surname, even if it is not what you normally do. When talking to or writing to someone whom you do not know well it is always wise to use the surname: e.g. I agree with Mr Kurt and not * I agree with Mr Petru. It all depends on people and circumstances to start using first names. In the USA it is common to use the first name relatively quickly. Sir or Madam are used in everyday speech if people wish to put themselves in a position of inferiority: e.g. Would you like something to drink, Sir? Ms pronounced /mz/ - is often preferred when the marital status of a woman should not be revealed. When meeting someone for the first time it is customary to say How do you do? The reply will always be How do you do? People also say Pleased to meet you. If someone asks How are you?- he/she wants to know about your health and mood. Among the common replies we include the following: Fine, thanks. // Very well. // OK.// So so. //Awful. In formal situations the reply should be always positive even though we feel terrible. Greetings usually depend on the time of day and social context: among relatively formal greetings we mention the following: Up to 12: Good morning. From 12 to 6 pm: Good afternoon. From 6 pm to about 10 pm: Good evening. And finally: Goodbye. It was very pleasant meeting you. In the small hours or when leaving someone in the evening: Good night.

Informal greetings include the following: Hi! // Hello // Morning and See you.// So long.// All the best.// Take care.// Bye.

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III What do these people do? What is their heavy responsibility? Use the correct verb forms. Choose the best word from the box below.

translate serve take work type judge control audit buy sell receive write

A magistrate cases in the lowest courts. A managing director the companys business operations. A stockbroker stocks for clients. _

_____ ______ ___

An interpreter from one language to another. ___ A waiter customers orders. A sales representative products to distributors or customers. _ A receptionist clients in an office. A shop assistant customers in a shop. ___ An auditor accounts. ___ A secretary letters. ____ A desk clerk in a hotel or in a shop.
A journalist articles for newspapers. __

___ ______ ____ ___ _______ __ __ _ ____

Hint: The smiling faces vertically hide two words that describe the meeting at which you are asked questions in order to find out if you are suitable for a certain position you have applied for in a company.

LANGUAGE NOTE We use the present simple tense to talk about general or permanent activities. We use the ending s in the third person singular.

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IV Congratulations! If you are reading this, it means that you have successfully guessed all the verb forms above and the two words hidden by the smiling faces and now you are getting ready for that important meeting. Here are some tips on such questions and answers. When you walk in the room it is important to make a first good impression on the interviewer since it could have a great influence on the rest of your meeting. It is important that you introduce yourself, shake hands, and are friendly. 1. Practice introducing yourself. How do you do? My names Hello. Let me introduce myself. Im Hello. Allow me to introduce myself Then the interviewer moves on to the breaking the ice general questions. 2. Dont be surprised and reply to the following using the PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE: How are you today? What do you think of the weather? LANGUAGE NOTE We use the present simple to refer to present activities which are true in the present period of time and which, for all we know, may continue indefinitely. In other words, this is the situation as it stands at present. Talking about your qualifications and experience is the most important part of any job interview. What do they mean by qualifications? Qualifications include your education from High School on to any special training you may have done in the past. Remember that your education took place in the past. You need to use the PAST SIMPLE TENSE.

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3. Complete the following: I attended from to I graduated with a degree in Talk also about the following: Refer here to any training courses that you attended such as computer courses, accounting courses. ( Use the PAST SIMPLE TENSE) Make sure you mention your English studies. Assure your employer that you are continuing to improve your English skills by any courses that you are attending, or by saying that you are studying a certain number of hours a week to improve your skills. (Use the PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE)

4. If you are currently a student, use the PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE: I am currently studying at I am also improving my English skills by studying LANGUAGE NOTE We use the present continuous tense to talk about temporary activities in the present. We do not use the present continuous with the following verbs: Verbs of the senses : feel, hear, see, smell and also notice, observe Verbs of feelings and emotions : admire ( in the sense of respect), appreciate, care for, desire, detest, dislike, fear, hate, like, live, mind, value, want, wish Verbs of mental activity : agree, assume, believe, expect, feel sure / certain, forget, know, mean, perceive, realise, recognise, remember, understand Verbs of possession : belong, owe, own, possess What do they mean by experience? Experience refers to any work you have done that is directly or indirectly related to the job you are applying for and is the most important topic of any job interview. It is essential to explain what experience you have in detail. This is not the time to be modest. Be confident, and talk freely about your accomplishments in past employment.

When you talk about your past employers use PAST TENSE to make it clear that you are no longer working for that company.

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 LANGUAGE NOTE We use the past tense to indicate an activity which occurred at a specific time in the past and it is now finished. 5. Fill the gaps by using the past tense forms of the verbs in the brackets: a. I as a receptionist at the Hilton while I was living in Bucharest. (work) b. When he in Brussels two years ago he a job as a waiter in an Irish pub. (live, have) c. As a desk clerk at the Jacksons she customers. (serve) d. When I as a stockbroker back in 1999 I and shares. (work, buy, sell) e. As a marketing director at the Bensons he recommendations about future market strategies. (make) f. When she in charge of the overseas sales as an overseas sales manager from 1997 to 2000 she contracts with overseas agents and distributors. (be, negotiate) When you talk about your current employment be careful to use the PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE TENSE to refer to tasks you have accomplished in the past and the PRESENT PREFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE to talk about the tasks that you are still performing at your current job. LANGUAGE NOTE We use the present perfect simple to indicate an activity at some non-specific time in the past with an impact or result in the present or future, e.g. past employment leads to experience gained which has a positive impact in the present. We use the present perfect continuous when we are interested in an activity that started in the past and continues to the present, e.g. past task fulfilment continues to the present. 6. Talk about your current employment as in the example below. Refer to tasks you have accomplished (a) and tasks you are still performing (b). Example: (a) Procter & Gamble have employed me for the last three years as a sales person. (PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE TENSE) or I have worked as a sales person for Procter & Gamble for the last three years. (PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE TENSE) and (b) I have been creating customer contacts for three months. (PRESENT PREFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE)

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7. Choose the best word to complete the sentences: a. When the interviewer / you / your employer walk in the room it is important to make a first good impression on the interviewer. b. It is important that you introduce yourself, break / shake / take hands, and are friendly. c. The interviewer moves on to the breaking / melting / making the ice general questions. d. Qualifications include your studies / education / courses from High School on to any special training you may have done in the past. e. Experience refers to any work you have done that is directly or indirectly related to the job you are demanding / applying for / offering. 8. Complete the following sentences by using the PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE and CONTINUOUS of the verbs in the brackets: a. He as a project coordinator for Volkswagen for five years. He a joint venture project with Nissan for the last six months. (work, coordinate) b. I with Franke for three years since I graduated. As an area sales manager I all kinds of people lately and I could tell you this is exactly what I like doing. (be, meet) c. They the company since they got married in 1999 and they together in the Personnel Department. They the monthly training courses for the last two years. (join, work, supervise) d. She a good job ever since she was taken on in the Research and Development Department seven years ago. It was mainly due to her teams work that our company so much. She a completely new environmentally-free product development system for the last two weeks. (do, accomplish, introduce) The job skills you have acquired in the past with past employers may not match the skills you need to get the position you are now applying for. What do they mean by job skills? Skills are the activities that you do well, in other words things you are good at. Everyone has many skills. It is often difficult to recognize the skills that you have. Job skills are abilities you need for a specific position. For example, a secretary needs to know how to type and take messages, a shop assistant needs to know how to serve customers. Speaking English well, however, is a skill you can use in almost any job. Employers want to select employees who could show how past skills relate to the present potential job. Here is a table with the most useful adjectives you will need to describe your skills successfully:

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active competent confident creative dependable decisive determined diplomatic discreet efficient energetic enterprising enthusiastic experienced fair honest innovative loyal motivated objective outgoing polite positive qualified reliable results-driven self-confident self-disciplined successful task-oriented teamoriented 9. Use some of these adjectives to talk about yourself. You only have a few minutes to sell yourself and show how good you really are. 10. Choose the best word to complete the sentences: a. Kinds / Skills / Jobs are activities that you do well. b. Everyone has / is / have many skills. c. It is often difficult to practice / recognize / understands the skills that you have. d. Job skills are abilities / activities / working you need for a specific position. e. Writing / Speaking / Using English well is a skill you can use in almost any job. f. Employers want to select people / employees / workers who could show how past skills relate to the present potential job. V Choose the best word to complete the definitions of the following job titles: a. A CEO (Chief Executive Officer) is the person with a trendy barba di quatro giorni / with ultimate control over the company / who ultimately owns the company. b. The board of directors is the group of people who make the decisions on company policy and direction / who make the coffee and decide the menus / who sell shares of the company. c. A managing director is the person responsible for legal / illegal / social aspects of the company such as signing cheques and contracts. d. A general manager is the person in charge of general management of the campaign / company / community. e. An office manager is the person responsible for the day-to-day / up-to-date / out-ofdate management of an office or department. f. A departmental manager responds for the general management of staff and production in a particular division / department / district. g. A finance manager is the person who takes care of political / financial / economical planning, budgets, expenditure, profit and loss. h. A customer service officer is the person who communicates with foreigners / customers / customs. i. A secretary is the person who makes coffee / telephone calls / a point and writes letters / diaries / lessons as well as sends you best regards / emails and faxes / all of us to hell.

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VI A job description is a written description of the exact responsibilities of a job. Have you got any idea what a tour manager does, what his responsibilities or job skills are ? Here is your chance to find out. Read the text and then find the right questions to the following answers : a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. A tour manager is responsible for accompanying and organizing a tour. Only for organizing the tour. According to the plan. By coach. Between two or three days to over a month. At the start of the journey. From early morning to late evening. An introduction course.

The tour manager works for the tour operator and is responsible for accompanying and organizing a tour from the beginning to the end. In Romania, however, it is customary for the tour manager to be responsible only for organizing the tour. The tour manager makes sure that all the travel arrangements for a group of tourists run according to the plan and that the accommodation is of satisfactory standard. Most tour managers work with tourists travelling by coach on tours that can last from between two or three days to over a month. The tour manager usually joins the party of tourists at the start of their journey, welcomes them, and answers any enquires about the journey. The tour manager often works from early morning to late evening and is on call 24 hours a day. His work includes weekends and is often seasonal. The tour operator usually provides an introduction course for the tour manager to familiarise him with the company, main destinations used by the operator, company policies and procedures. The tour manager must keep his knowledge of routes and destinations updated on a regular basis. For a successful tour manager job skills should include: ability to get on well with a wide variety of people, outgoing, self-confident, polite and tolerant character, excellent communication skills, interest in geography and historical sites, good working knowledge of one or more foreign languages, good organisational skills, smart and tidy appearance. VII 1. Read the profile of Bill Gates and identify the paragraphs that match the headings in the table below. Name Nationalit y Date of birth Place of birth Family Education Work experience Company Job title Job responsibilities Job skills Job description Hobbies Interests Books you read/wrote

have

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Bill Gates has created the worlds largest company which dominates the global computer industry MICROSOFT. He is the worlds richest man and has been known as the greatest charitable giver in history. He has become famous for his aggressive business tactics and confrontational style of management. He was born on 28 October 1955 and he grew up together with his two sisters in Seattle. His father is an attorney in Seattle and his late mother was a schoolteacher. He began computing at 13 at the citys Lakeside school. When he was 17 he sold his first programme a timetabling system for the school for $ 4,200. It was at Lakeside school where he met Paul Allen and they wrote the first computer language programme for a personal computer later at Harvard. The two friends established Microsoft in 1975; they called it Microsoft because it provided microcomputer software. In 1976 Gates dropped out of Harvard, once it became clear that the possibilities for Microsoft were bright. 4 years later they signed an agreement to provide the operating system that became known as MS-DOS for IBMs new personal computer. Microsoft was then allowed to licence the operating system to other manufacturers which raised the companys turnover to $ 61m in 1986. In the early 1990s sales and profits increased dramatically; however it seems that Gates misjudged the possibilities and growth of the internet at that time. Gates got married to Melinda on New Years Day 1994. He met Melinda in 1987 at a Microsoft press event in Manhattan. She was working for the company and later became one of the executives in charge of interactive content. Together they have three children: Jennifer Katherine, born in 1996, Rory John, born in 1999, and Phoebe Adele, born in 2002. Gates wrote The Road Ahead and Business @ the Speed of Thought which have both hit the best seller hits. He and his wife have been giving increasing amounts of money to charity. Other interests listed on his official website are reading and playing golf and bridge.

2. Imagine you were Bill Gates. Write your personal profile as Bill Gates. You may rely on the text above or your own knowledge of the famous business man to write five to seven high impact statements that describe your personal strengths as it follows: Experienced and innovative with confrontational style of management. aggressive business tactics and

3. Write your own personal profile. Be confident and positive when you make up the key statements. Orientate the descriptions to the type of job you are looking for.

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OPINION BOX

The auditor is a watchdog and not a bloodhound. Lord Justice Topes Good bankers, like good tea, can only be appreciated when they are in hot water. Jaffar Hussein, Governor, Malaysian Central Bank A banker: the person who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shinning and wants it back the minute it rains. Mark Twain I detest life-insurance agents: they always argue that I shall some day die, which is not so. Stephen B. Leacock Behind every successful man lurks a truly amazed ex-mother-in law. John Chrusciel The graduate with a Science degree asks, Why does it work? The graduate with an Engineering degree asks, How does it work? The graduate with an Accounting degree asks, How much will it cost? The graduate with a Liberal Arts asks, Do you want fries with that?

VIII

1. Use the words or phrases in bold letters to make up sentences of your own. The Rule of the 3 Rs in Climbing Down the Career Ladder

One way to climb down the career ladder is to Retire. You could work for the same organization until you reach retirement. The age at which people retire represents, in fact, the end of their working life. Of course, in case of severe illness, you can retire early. Companies frequently urge older staff to take early retirement. You should be so lucky to retire on full pay. Before being well above the age of retirement you must have worked your way up the career ladder, getting promotion to more senior jobs, with heavier responsibilities. Your objective: not to be demoted or moved to a less senior job. Another way to leave the company is to Resign or to hand in your notice. You could offer / tender / send in / give in your resignation. And, finally, the safest way to leave the company is to be made Redundant. This happens even if you havent done anything wrong. You could also be laid off, for instance you are laid off because of the lack of new orders. But if you do something wrong, you are dismissed or terminated, which actually means, between you and me, you get fired or sacked.

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OPINION BOX

What are the retirement conditions in your country? Has the company you work for / you are interested in working for been restructured? What usually happens with the employees in such situations? What is the specific time you usually refer to when you hand in your notice in Romania?

IX If you got the experience, qualifications and the job skills they needed, well, it would mean that you are already working for the company you applied for. Congratulations, again! Before you signed on the dotted line, I am sure you must have considered the health and safety issues for employees at the workplace thoroughly enough. 1. What do you think the health and safety issues refer to? 2. Choose from the list below the health and safety issues that may contribute to a bad working environment. Temperature Rain Thunder Passive smoking Passive voice Kissing Repetitive strain injury (RSI) Repetitive brain damage (RBD) Dangerous machinery Dangerous mind Loud music Hazardous substances Cheap perfume Fire hazards Heating and air-conditioning First aid First date Fire precautions Common preconceptions

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OPINION BOX What are the major health and safety issues at your workplace in the company you work for or you are interested in working for?

VOCABULARY NOTE

In order to concentrate on main business activities, many companies today outsource the jobs previously done by in-house personnel: outside companies clean the offices, transport goods, collect money from the customers or provide the security staff. They usually use freelancers who are independent people that may work for different companies.

OPINION BOX Do Romanian companies outsource many jobs which were previously done by in-house staff? Are freelancers commonplace in Romania?

VOCABULARY NOTE

We use the term bully to describe someone who uses his/her position of power to hurt or threaten especially verbally. A manager who bullies an employee is a bully. We also use the term sexual harassment to describe a situation in which an employee behaves sexually towards another in a way that they find unwelcome and unacceptable. It means that he/she is harassing the other one.

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IX a.

Identify a bullying or harassing behaviour in the situations below. A 24-year-old assistant manager claims that the 82-year-old senior manager calls her to his office at least five times a day, 9 to 5 every day and every time she gets there, he is always without his shirt. b. His colleagues reported that he often shouted at him, criticized him in front of them, threw his papers in the bin, and asked him to write them again. c. When she entered the restaurant, she noticed that there was no female client or waiter. She waited foe half an hour and nobody came to take her order. She went straight to the bar and the man behind it wouldnt ask any of her questions. Eventually, she left. OPINION BOX

Are you familiar with the concept of glass ceiling? Provide your own definition. Do women complain of sex discrimination in Romanian companies? Are there more female than male students in business schools worldwide / in Romania? Do you think the glass ceiling is cracking and more and more women are taking their rightful place in top management? Do cultural change, flexible schedules or training for leadership play any role? Do companies encourage the mobility of the talent so that women, as well as men, can perform at their best in Romania?

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BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

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We, the global villagers, love our multifunctional PCs We are all getting so attached to our slimmer and glossier telephones these daysbut arent we all missing anything herelike, for instance, as they would say, our minds? The bathtub was invented in 1850 and the telephone in 1875. In other words, if you had been living in 1850, you could have sat in the bathtub for 25 years without having to answer the phone.- Bill de Witt, 1972 But who really invented the telephone? Wasnt it a good chap named Bell, Alexander Graham I guess? Well, let me tell you that it wasnt The real inventor was Philipp Reis, a German science teacher, who began working on what we call telephone today in 1860. His device was only marginal while Bells phone really worked. Actually Reis died two years before Bell received his patent. Anyway, Reiss phones were demonstrated all over Europe. One was demonstrated in Scotland while Bell was back there visiting his father. We dont know if Bell saw it however we find it hard to believe that he was completely unaware of Reiss work. It was after all Bells brilliance to produce such a robust and viable device and to sell it to a sceptical public. More than seven decades later the basic concept of cellular phones began when researchers looked at car phones and realised that by using small cells (range of service area) with frequency re-use they could increase the traffic capacity of mobile phones substantially. We call them cellular because the system uses many base stations to divide a service area into multiple cells. Cellular calls are transferred from base station to base station as a user travels from cell to cell. New languages have been born of parents of modern technology: telephone and e-mail languages. Both come with a set of rules and guidelines that we ought to follow if we choose to play the game but then again do we, the global villagers, have any other option? Im afraid we dontThe ball is in our court now so lets start rolling! I In the telephone conversation below underline the most common phrases and idioms that you only use over the phone. Operator : James : Operator : Sandra : James : Sandra : James : Sandra : James : Sandra : Hello, Robertson and Brothers. How can I help you ? This is James Madison. Can I have extension 2314 ? Certainly, hold on a minute, Ill put you through Jim Robertsons office, Sandra speaking. James Madison speaking, is Jim in ? Im afraid hes out at the moment. Can I take a message ? Yes, thank you. Could you ask him to call me at 311 566-2339. I need to talk to him about our last order, its urgent. Could I read that back to you ? Yes, certainly. Go ahead. The name is James Madison, thats J-A-M-E-S M-A-D-I-S-O-N and the phone number you could be reached at as soon as possible is 311 5672339. Is that right?

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James:You got the name right but the number is 311 566-2339. Have you got that? Sandra: Got that. Thank you, Mr Madison. Ill make sure Jim gets this ASAP. James:Thank you, bye. Sandra: Bye. As you have noticed above, the language we use on the phone is rather informal and there are some significant differences to every day English. II In the table below revise the key language and phrases used in telephone English. Introducing yourself This is James. James speaking. Asking who is on the telephone Excuse me, who is this?

Can I ask who is calling, please? Asking for someone Connecting someone Can I have extension 2314? Ill put you through. Could I speak to ? (formal and Ill connect you. informal, always safe to use) Can you hold the line? Can I speak to ? (more informal) Can you hold on a minute? May I speak to ? (more formal) Is Jim in? (informal idiom) Is Jim in the office? (formal idiom) How to reply when someone is not Taking a message available Im afraid is not available at the Could I take a message (formal and moment. informal, always safe to use) The line is busy/ The line is Can I take a message? (more engaged(when the extension one informal) requested is being used) May I take a message? (More Mr Robertson isnt in Mr formal) Robertson is out at the moment Could/Can/May I tell him/her who is calling? Would you like to leave a message? Just a minute. Hold on.

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1. Match the telephone phrases in the left-hand column with their equivalents in the righthand column.

1. Could I have extension 455? 2. The line is busy. 3. Im afraid Mr Smith isnt in. 4. This is James Black. 5. Ill put you through. 6. Could I have your name? 7. Is this the code for Romania? 8. Hold on. 9. Could I speak to Louis Renoir, please? 10. Anything else?

a. James Black speaking. b. Ill connect you. c. Is this the country number for Romania? d. Is that all? e. Is Louis Renoir in the office? f. Could you put me through to the office number 455? g. Can you wait? h. The line is engaged. i. Im afraid Mr Smith is out at the moment. j. Can I ask whos calling, please?

2. Here are some answers you may receive on the phone. What are the questions? a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. Ill put you through. Hold on. Ill get her. Im afraid shes on the other line. No, there is one more thing. Yes, fire away. Hold on. Ill get a pencil. Yes, thats M-E-L-I-N-D-A C-H-A-T-H-A-M. No, its all right then. Ill call back later. Im fine, thanks. Yes, thats the lot.

III

Connecting the Call

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1. The following lines in a telephone conversation have been mixed up. Put them in the right order. John: Morning, Id like to speak to Mrs Brown, please. Operator: Just a minute, please Mrs Brown, theres a Mr Smith on the line hes phoning about their order Operator: May I have your name, please? Operator: John & Johnson, plc. Good morning! John: Its John Smith and Im phoning about last weeks order. 2. Choose the most appropriate reply to the following. Only one reply is possible. 1. Good morning. Can I help you? a. Yes, Id like to speak to someone from your marketing department, please. b. No, I must have dialled the wrong number. c. Hang up and Ill call you back. 2. Is that Robertson and Brothers? a. Ill let them know you called. b. Im afraid this is urgent. c. Im afraid you seem to have the wrong number. 3. Could I speak to Mrs Brown, please? a. No, please hang up. b. Yes, Ill put you though. b. Yes, Ill put you through. 4. Im afraid she isnt in the office right now. a. Could you get her to call me back as soon as she gets in? b. Yes, Ill put you through. c. Im afraid you seem to have the wrong number. 5. Would you like me to put you through to her secretary? a. No, I prefer to hang on, its very important. b. No, please hang up. c. Ill put you through. 6. Ill get back to you first thing on Monday. a. Thanks for your help, then. Have a nice day. b. No, I prefer to hang on, its very important. c. Let me know if there is anything I can do. IV Getting Down to the Business Telephone Talk

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Put the words in the right order to make up true questions and then answer them. What / are / from / company / you ? Where / you / are / located ? department / would / like / Which / you / me / put / through /to / you ? do / I / you / for / can / What ? to / do / you / speak / Who / like / to ? English / you / speak / do ? down / a / you / Can / slow / bit ? read / to / you / Could / back / that / me ? I / have / name / Could / your / please ? we / time / Could / meet / fix / a / to ? Would / telling / what / it / about / me / mind / you / is ? again / run / that / over / Could / we ? V Making and Changing Arrangements

1. Complete the phone conversation between a sales manager and a local representative. Use the most common making arrangement phrases from the list below. Can / Shall we fix / arrange an appointment / meeting? Would it be useful to meet up soon? How about ? What about ? Would be suitable? Would suit you? Shall we say ? Ill (just) get / check my diary. Thats fine. I cant / wont be able to make Ive got to (+ infinitive) / a (+noun) Bart Babel. Hello. This is Petru Kurt. We have met at the Global Manufacture 30

Sales Manager: Local Rep:

Fair in Brussels last week, havent we? Sales Manager: Local Rep: Yes, we have. How are you? Fine thanks. Im going to be in Budapest from Wednesday to Friday next week. ______________ to discuss how our sales representatives in Eastern Europe might work together? _______________ . ____________ Wednesday and Thursday as ______________ be in Istanbul for three days next week. __________ Friday morning __________ ? ___________ brunch? Sounds good. Shall I meet you at your office? Ive got the address. Yes. Why dont we come round here at about 11am? Ask for me at reception and Ill come down. Yes, __________. See you on Friday at 11am, then. Look forward to seeing you, then. Bye. Goodbye.

Sales Manager:

Local Rep: Sales Manager: Local Rep: Sales Manager: Local Rep: Sales Manager:

2. Choose the most appropriate way of changing arrangements over the phone. a. Tuesday is impossible.// I cant make it Tuesday.// It is not possible for me to meet you on Tuesday. b. Something has occurred to prevent our meeting.// Something has kept me from meeting you.// Something has come up. c. How about 3pm?// Lets meet at 3pm.// Is 3pm OK? d. Is it possible for you to meet in the morning?// Can we make the morning instead?// Isnt it better to meet in the morning? e. Im afraid Ill have to change our arrangement for Friday, 13 th. Can we put it off until Monday, 16th? // Lets change it for Monday, 16th.// Why dont we meet on Monday, 16th? f. Im deeply sorry about Friday.// I cannot on Friday.// Im afraid Friday wont be possible after all.

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g. Im afraid well have to put back the meeting. Im completely snowed under at the moment.// The meeting is going to be rained off.// Im completely thundered against what the meeting is concerned. h. Lets forget about it.// Can we leave it open for the time being?// Shall we decide not to fix a day? i. Well be back in touch soon.// Well be back on track soon.// Ill turn my back on you soon. VI Native speakers, especially business people, tend to speak very quickly on the phone. Consider the following practical tips to get native speakers to slow down. Choose the most appropriate. There is only one possible correct answer. 1. When the business person you are talking to on the phone speaks too quickly and you dont understand anything you should a. wait and then ask the person to repeat what he/she has said before. b. immediately ask the person to speak slowly. c. silently repeat word by word what the person is telling you. When taking note of a name or important information a. avoid repeating each piece of information. b. ask the person to sing each word to you. c. repeat each information as the person speaks. Do not say you have understood if a. you have not. b. you should not. c. you will not. If the person does not slow down a. begin speaking your own language. b. start singing. c. hang up on him/her.

2.

3.

4.

Hint: Make sure you use this last tip with colleagues and not with the boss!

VII

Leaving Messages

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1. Sometimes there may be no one to answer the telephone and you will need to leave a message. Choose the most appropriate message in each situation. There may be more than one possible correct answer. Introduction a. Hello, this is David Cross. b. I am David. c. Hello, David Cross speaking. State the time of day and your reason for calling a. Its ten in the morning. Im phoning to find out if b. Its ten kilometres from London. Im learning that c. Its ten am. Im calling to let you know that Make a request a. May I suggest to b. Could you call me back? c. Would you mind ? Leave your telephone number a. My number is b. Give me a lift to c. You can reach me at Finish a. Thanks a lot, bye. b. Ill talk to you later, bye. c. Kind regards, bye. 2. Read the following message left on the answering machine.

Telephone (Ring Ring Ring) Hello, this is Jack Sanders. Im afraid Im not in at the moment. Please leave a message after the beep (beep)

David Hello Jack, this is David Cross from J&B. Its four pm and Im calling to see if you could still meet me for the game of golf this Friday afternoon. Could you call me back? You can reach me at 455 6789 until 10 pm. Ill talk to you later, bye.

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Leave your own messages and make sure you have stated the most important information: your name, the time, the reason for calling, the telephone number. Refer to the following: a. You need to cancel the appointment for next Monday. b. You need to postpone lunch plans tomorrow. c. You need to confirm your visit this weekend.

VIII Telephoning has indeed changed the way people communicate with each other. It is therefore essential to speak the same language whenever we use the phone. It has become a commonplace to write in the same language when we e-mail our business partners. E-mail has radically changed the way we communicate in the business world. Rapid, clear and cheap communication among employees and customers has increased productivity and access to information. E-mail comes also with a variety of rules and guidelines that should be followed by business people who want to communicate effectively. 1. Complete these tips for effective e-mail communication by filling in the missing words. Use the correct forms of the words in the table below. There may be more than one possible answer. Can should(nt ) cant must(nt ) (dont) have to be able to

You spell-check your e-mail, use correct grammar and be brief. You make sure your e-mail messages contain your contact and company information as well as any branded message or by-line you currently use. You include an attachment to an e-mail if the recipient knows and trusts you and expects to receive attachments from you. You send your reply immediately unless you take the time to reflect on the response. You check for and modify confusing language before sending the reply. E-mail messages are indeed instant communications but you respond before reviewing the message. You install an anti-virus software programme on your PC and subscribe to regular updates of new viruses. 34

 E-mail communication be as dynamic as face-to-face or phone communication. You control the way your e-mail gets distributed or forwarded. What you read/write is what you get so you use e-mail to communicate sensitive or potentially embarrassing subjects. You type your e-mail in capital letters. This is considered shouting and e-mail recipients see it as offensive. If you want to emphasize something, you use asterisks, which be the moral equivalent of italics in paper documents. In business e-mails you use abbreviations such as BTW (by the way) or LOL (laugh out loud) and emoticons such as the smiley : ). The recipient be unfamiliar with the meanings and in business e-mail these are not generally appropriate. You save your important messages to a special folder to keep a record: E-mails are legal documents.

LANGUAGE NOTE We use can and be able to to talk about ability, possibility, permission. We use must to talk about obligation imposed by the speaker himself. Compare with have to which expresses external obligation. We mostly use must in written orders or instructions. We use should to express the speakers obligation or duty. It is more a matter of conscience or good sense. The difference between should / ought to and must / have to is that with must and have to we normally have the impression that the obligation will be fulfilled. We use should / ought to in formal notices, information sheet, to express advice. We use dont / doesnt have to to express no obligation. The form is more common in American English.

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IX

E-mail Etiquette Quiz How efficient are you at e-mailing? Can you impress your business partners with your e-mail technique? Find out by doing this quiz.

1.

The login name, return address or username might determine the maturity and formality level of the sender. If you identify as

a. webking@yahoo.com b. Bob_Benson@yahoo.com c. John_Doe@yahoo.com

your correspondent will take you seriously and reply accordingly.

2.

When you send e-mail, particularly to someone who doesnt know you, it would be good if you would immediately answer these questions:

a. When were you born? b. How did you learn of your correspondent? c. What is the turnover of your company? d. Who are you? e. Why should your correspondent pay attention to you?

3.

Many e-mail programmes allow you to set up a default signature to be

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included at the end of every outgoing message. People often use these signatures to provide their name and alternate ways of reaching them. Here is an example of an outgoing message: Hi - when did you want to go to lunch?

a. Bob Benson 21 Walton Street Oxford, UK Accounting Major Oxford University +44 1865 270000 voice +44 1865 270001 fax Ben_Benson@yahoo.co.uk

b. Bob Benson 34 male, single Oxford, UK Europe Ben_Benson@yahoo.co.uk

c. Ben Benson Oxford, UK +44 1865 270000 Ben_Benson@yahoo.co.uk

4.

If you refer to a previous e-mail message, you should explicitly quote the original message to provide context.

The sign

a. b. c. d.

> < / :

is the most conventional sign to indicate a quote from another e-mail message.

5.

If you want to give something mild emphasis you should enclose it in a. commas b. brackets c. asterisks

6.

Consider the following e-mail message: 37

Should I attend the AGM next week? The recipient wanted to give strong emphasis to his reply. Choose the most appropriate answer. a. YES. I THINK YOU SHOULD. YOU KNOW I CANNOT BE THERE- I AM NOT COMPLETELY RECOVERED FROM THE HUNTING ACCIDENT. b. YES. I think you should. You know I cannot be there I am not completely recovered from the hunting accident. c. Yes : -( I think you should. You know I cannot be there I am not completely recovered from the hunting accident ; ->

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COMPANY POLICY

My Fellow Global Villagers, 39

An Insight into the Our Global Village Travel Company Achievements We have come a long way so far from our humble origins in 1990 since we started to operate as a small travel agency dealing with ticketing. Audacious planning, investment and product innovation have propelled our growth. Our company today employs 50 personnel and generates an annual turnover of 10 million EUR. We have been ranked as one of the top ten travel agencies worldwide this year. We are going to achieve even higher figures of sales and profit in the next five years. We did succeed in the past but that does not guarantee future prosperity. We are striving for the highest professional standards to the customers as they are essentially part of our business. We still believe that the best never come to rest as our slogan sounded when we first broke into the market more than a decade ago. What changed our perspective completely was the concept of e-travel. E-travel online booking solutions helped us take the complexity out of arranging travel. E-travel solutions were global solutions that applied locally: we were able to use them in any language we could so that the needs of our global travellers were fully satisfied. If we had not made the decision of implementing the system back then, we would not have accomplished so much. What we did in fact was to focus on the basics by minimizing difficulties at the same time offering a global range of possibilities. E-travel solutions have been powering our website for almost five years. E-travel implementation also meant access to professional services from site set-up to e-marketing consulting, which helped us customize the online travel experience. In the years to come we expect that travel industry will be globally affected by different kinds of change. Many of our competitors will improve their strategies and competition will become tougher and tougher. We should not be slow in adapting to global changes in order to achieve successful results. We have built our success on sound values such as team-work, commitment to our customers and determination to constantly improve. We have also focussed on quality innovation and superior customer service. More than ten years ago we paved the way for a totally different approach to company employees: before investing in anything else we invested in our staff. We enlisted our personnel to various training courses and we have been having the best helping hands to work with. Since 2000 we have been providing extensive training for staff to achieve proficiency in product knowledge enterprising and skill acquisition to handle customers. As our new slogan campaign says, You did the best. We do the rest!

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