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 EDITORIAL

Think, think, think!

Whether we choose to or not, we spend most of our
waking lives thinking. And yet, our thinking patterns
are often not sufficiently conscious or critical.

Thinking time:
how smart is
your approach?

B
ack in the mid-1980s, US rock star
Bruce Springsteen sang in his song
“No Surrender” that “we learned more
from a three-minute record, baby, than
we ever learned in school”. In an in-
terview around the same time, he also
argued that the problem with school
is “not that people aren’t taught to think, but
that they’re not taught to think hard enough”.
A similar assumption underlies our latest
Foto: Gert Krautbauer; Illustration: FrankRamspott/iStock.com
work, but the benefits are substantial. As Bob
writes, “a conscious and disciplined approach
to thinking can help you to take better
decisions, perform better and inspire better
performance in those around you”.
Another area in which a little more thought
wouldn’t hurt is that of written business
communication, the subject of our latest
language test (pp. 28–32). See how well you
can adapt your business writing to different

Business Skills article by Bob Dignen, on contexts. And finally, a word of warning: think
the topic of critical thinking (pp. 34–41). carefully about what things you shouldn’t
The increasingly complex challenges of the be doing on your work computer (pp. 70–71).
modern workplace demand that we develop
smarter ways of thinking (and of thinking
about thinking!). This may sound like hard

IAN MCMASTER,
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
i.mcmaster@
spotlight-verlag.de

EDITORIAL 6/2020 Business Spotlight 3 

 CONTENTS Business Skills
Critical thinking:
6/2020

The Big Picture
6 New Zealand  M
Dental work on a leopard seal
Working World
8 Names & News  E  M  A   
The latest from the world
of business
Intercultural Communication
14 Canada  A  Technology
An experiment in
multiculturalism
Debate
26 Head-to-Head  A  Careers & Management
Are online language courses
as effective as face-to-face
courses?
Language Test
28 Writing Skills  E  M  A 
How good is your written
communication?
34
an essential skill
Cover story
Business Skills
34 Critical Thinking  A   
How deeper thinking can
improve your decision-m aking
42 Personal Trainer  M 
Ken Taylor on the language in
international meetings
60 Dinosaurs  A
A single bone tells a story about a
little-known dinosaur
64 Agriculture  A
How Irish farms are going
back to nature
68 How to...  M 
Recognize and avoid a job scam
69 Executive Eye  M 
Adrian Furnham on spirituality
in the workplace

Work & Relax

70 In the Zone  A   
What not to do on your work
computer
Language section
72 Away from Your Desk  M
44 V
 ocabulary Tips for your off-duty hours
An excavation site  E
And Finally...
Easy English
46  76 One Question  M
Supporting a colleague  E    Who am I?

Translation
48  Regular sections
Tricky translations  M 3 Editorial
Talking Finance
50  63 Classified Ads
Value added tax  A  74 Feedback / Jargon Buster
75 Preview / Impressum

28
Language Cards
51 
To pull out and practise

54 Short Story
Angela’s trumpet  M 

English for…
56 
Fairtrade  M

English on the Move

58  Language Test
Managing technical problems Can you write
in a videoconference  M    well for every
occasion?
Key Words
59 
Vocabulary from this issue 

4  Business Spotlight 6/2020 CONTENTS

 54
Learning with
Business Spotlight

Business Spotlight Plus

Short Story Practise the language used in the
Poisonous flowers, magazine with our exercise
a box of chocolates booklet. Learn the language you
and a deadly plan need to support a colleague.

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Our audio product offers more
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Business Spotlight
in the Classroom
To order this six-page supple-
ment for teachers and trainers,
send an email to: schulmedien@
spotlight-verlag.de

SKILL UP!
Our vocabulary booklet pro-
vides a wide range of terms and
expressions. In this issue, learn
the language of trends.

14
Fotos: Russ Heinl/Shutterstock.com; skflowerphotos, LARYSA MARCHENKO, invincible_bulldog, Frank Ramspott/iStock.com

For more articles, audio and exercises:

Intercultural Communication www.business-spotlight.de
Why Canada’s diversity www.facebook.com/businessspotlight
is the key to its success

Language in Business Spotlight

➻ Articles use the style, spelling, punctuation and pronuncia-
tion of British English unless otherwise marked.
➻ Articles that use American style, spelling, punctuation and
pronunciation are marked with “US”.

Approximately Approximately Approximately

at CEF level A2 at CEF levels B1–B2 at CEF levels C1–C2
CEF: European Framework of Reference for Languages

ifml.: informal word or phrase

vulg.: vulgar word or phrase; sl.: slang word or phrase
non-stand.: non-standard word or phrase
UK: chiefly British usage; US: chiefly North American usage

➽
READERS’ SERVICE
Email  abo@spotlight-verlag.de 
Internet  www.spotlight-verlag.de
Telephone  +49 (0)89/12 14 07 10
Fax  +49 (0)89/12 14 07 11

CONTENTS 6/2020 Business Spotlight 5 

6 
Foto: Sam Fraser-Baxter/NIWA

Business Spotlight 6/2020

 It’s not always pretty:
Dr Krista Hupman
removes a painful tooth

THE BIG PICTURE

NEW ZEALAND

Snap-happy
MEDIUM

Dr Krista Hupman, a marine mammal biologist,

is shown here doing some much-needed dental
work on Moana the leopard seal. It’s just one of the
many tasks scientists at New Zealand’s National
Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
(NIWA) perform as part of their mission to under-
stand and protect the country’s natural resources.
The natural environment that the NIWA
workers experience each day has inspired many
of them to become amateur photographers. The
NIWA Staff Photography Competition encour­
ages them to share some of their best images,
shown on their website (Niwa.co.nz). Divided into
categories such as “our people” and “our work”, the
2019 competition attracted more than 400 entries.
Sam Fraser-Baxter, communications and
marketing adviser at NIWA, took this photo of
Dr Hupman and Moana. Although it did not win
the competition, the photo captured a striking
moment. For Dr Hupman, however, it was just
another day at work.

Snap-happy entry [(entri] 

[)snÄp (hÄpi] ifml.  ,  hier: Einsendung
, Fotografierwütig
leopard seal
amateur [(ÄmEtE]  [)lepEd (si:&l] 
,  [wg. Aussprache] ,  Leopardenrobbe, Seeleopard

capture sth. [(kÄptSE]  marine mammal

,  etw. einfangen [mE)ri:n (mÄm&l] 
, Meeressäugetier
competition
[)kQmpE(tIS&n]  research [ri(s§:tS] 
, Wettbewerb , Forschung

dental [(dent&l]  striking [(straIkIN] 

,  Zahn-, zahnärztlich , eindrucksvoll

6/2020 Business Spotlight 7 

 WORKING WORLD
NAMES & NEWS

Redefining the
term: What does
“racism” really
mean?

UNITED STATES  

Putting it right
detractor [di(trÄkt&r*] 
,  Kritiker(in), Gegner(in)

editorial manager
ADVANCED US AUDIO PLUS [edI)tO:riEl (mÄnIdZ&r*] 
, Redaktionsleiter(in)

message sb. [(mesIdZ] 

An e-mail from a 22-year-old black woman, Ken-
nedy Mitchum, has prompted the American
dictionary Merriam-Webster to update its defi-
nition of the term “racism”. In her e-mail, sent in
May, Mitchum wrote that racism is “prejudice
combined with social and institutional power.
It is a system of advantage based on skin color.”
The dictionary’s current entry does not mention
systemic oppression.
Mitchum told BBC News that someone had
challenged one of her social media posts on ra­
cism by copying and pasting Merriam-Webster’s
explanation of the word into their message.
,  jmdm. eine Nachricht senden
“Some troll was messaging me trying to say, ‘You
oppression [E(preS&n] 
don’t understand what racism truly is.’” , Unterdrückung
Mitchum’s e-mail got a response the follow- paste sth. [peIst] 
ing day. Merriam-Webster said the “issue need- ,  etw. einfügen
ed to be addressed sooner rather than later” prejudice [(predZEdEs*] 
and agreed to change the definition. Merriam- , Vorurteil(e)
Webster’s editorial manager, Peter Sokolowski, prompt sb./sth. to do sth.
said that experts in black studies would be con- [(prA:mpt tE du:*] 
,  jmdn./etw. veranlassen, etw. zu tun
sulted and that the entry “could be expanded ...
to include the term systemic, and it will certainly troll [troUl*] 
,  Troll, Provokateur(in) in Online-
have one or two example sentences, at least.” The medien
new definition should give people like Mitchum * This symbol marks standard
somewhere to send their detractors. US pronunciation.

8  Business Spotlight 6/2020 WORKING WORLD

 🐻 with us
GLOBAL

Please MEDIUM AUDIO

If you have been waiting anxiously for
the cooking pot emoji to appear on your
smartphone, you will have to wait a little
bit longer. The coronavirus pandemic has
forced the Unicode Consortium to push
back the release date of next year’s new
emojis six months, from March to Sep-
tember 2021. The California-based organ-
ization sets the standards for the world’s
character coding system.
The delay is a setback for smartphone
developers, who use new emojis to per-
suade users to install software updates. It
may also be a disappointment for mem-
bers of marginalized communities, many
of whom find validation in representative
emojis.
But there is hope. Programmers can
create what look like new emojis by com-
bining existing ones. These are called So much emotion: are there too few emojis?
sequences.
“People might not be interested in
the technical difference between an
Please (bear) with us marginalized
emoji like (police officer) and an emoji [)pli:z (beE wID )Vs]  [(mA:dZInElaIzd] 
sequence like (man + fire engine = ,  Bitte haben Sie Geduld ,  marginalisiert, Rand-
mit uns
firefighter), as they both look like nor- release date 
mal emojis,” Emojipedia’s chief emoji anxiously [(ÄNkSEsli]  [ri(li:s deIt] 
, gespannt ,  Erscheinungsdatum
officer Jeremy Burge told The Guardian.
based: …-~[beIst]  roll sth. out [)rEUl (aUt] 
But se­quences will make it possible for
,  mit Sitz in … ,  etw. einführen
a number of new emojis to be rolled out
chief emoji officer setback [(setbÄk]  
before the Consortium’s official 2021 re- [)tSi:f i(mEUdZi )QfIsE]  , Rückschlag
lease date, giving people something to , Emoji-Chef(in)
validation
play with until the brand-new emojis emoji [i(mEUdZi]  [)vÄlI(deIS&n] 
come out. ,  Emoji, Bildschriftzeichen , Bestätigung

PROFILE

A rising star
There is EASY
Fotos: picture-alliance/Reuters/ Elijah Nouvelage; SOPA Images Limited/Alamy Stock Photos; Geraint Lewis/ddp; nicomenijes/iStock.com

nothing more
boring for an
intelligent
Were you one of the two billion people who
watched Prince Harry and Meghan Mar-

woman than kle’s 2018 wedding? If so, you will recognize

Sheku Kanneh-Mason as the captivating

to spend young cello player. The Brit’s appearance at

the wedding, and his win at the BBC Young

endless Musician of the Year competition in 2016,

has made him a star.

amounts of His success has inspired more young peo-

ple of colour to start playing the cello. “It’s
time with difficult to see yourself doing something
if you don’t see someone looking like you
small children Sheku Kanneh-Mason: a young cellist with
everything to smile about
doing it,” Kanneh-Mason told The New York
Times. Most orchestras have very few mem-
billion [(bIljEn]  conductor bers of colour, and even fewer of them are
, Milliarde(n) [kEn(dVktE]  soloists.
, Dirigent(in)
captivating After watching him perform, the conduc-
[(kÄptIveItIN]  orchestra tor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra,
, fesselnd, [(O:kIstrE] 
mitreißend , Orchester
Marin Alsop, is certain that 21-year-old
novelist Kanneh-Mason has a bright future: “He’s a
British novelist competition phenom
Doris Lessing [(nQvElIst]  [)kQmpE(tIS&n]  [fI(nQm] US ifml.  phenom, I think. Right time, right personali-
(1919–2013) , Romanautor(in) , Wettbewerb , Phänomen ty, right everything.”

WORKING WORLD 6/2020 Business Spotlight 9 

 Good ideas
Die beiden Ideen, die wir hier vorstellen, haben eins gemeinsam:
Sie sollen unser Leben verbessern oder zumindest leichter machen.

MEDIUM

Full marks to… Full marks to…

Full marks to… [)fUl (mA:ks tu]  Full marks to… [)fUl (mA:ks tu] 
…the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, ,  Die Bestnote …GrandPad, ,  Die Bestnote
erhält … erhält …
for storing the Cherokee Nation’s seeds. for helping seniors connect with their loved
candy roaster caregiver
Built in permafrost on a Norwegian is- ones.
squash [(keEgIvE] US 
land, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is the [)kÄndi )rEUstE Many seniors suffer from physical, cog- ,  Pflege-, Betreu-
world’s most protected seed vault. Seeds and (skwQS]  nitive and mental health issues that make ungsperson
, bananenförmiger
other plant material are collected and stored Speisekürbis
using technology difficult. The GrandPad CEO (chief
there to preserve the genetic diversity of the tablet was developed to “bridge the techno- executive officer)
crop [krQp]  [)si: i: (EU] 
world’s crops and other plants. The Norwe- , Kulturpflanze logical divide with seniors” and to help them , Geschäfts-
gian government, the Global Crop Diversity connect with loved ones and caregivers. The führer(in)
non-profit
Trust — an international non-profit organi- [)nQn (prQfIt]  tablet is marketed as having been developed co-founder
zation — and the Nordic Genetic Resource , gemeinnützig “by seniors, for seniors” and can be used by [(kEU )faUndE] 
, Mitgründer(in)
Center (NordGen) in Sweden work together seed vault people with impairments such as hearing
to manage the project. [(si:d vO:lt]  loss, dry skin and problems with their eye- divide [dI(vaId] 
,  Saatgutbank , Kluft
In February 2020, the Cherokee Nation, a sight. It has a set of standard apps for video
senior director empower sb.
Native-American tribe, was invited to con- and voice calls, photos, email, music, games,
[)si:niE dE(rektE]  [Im(paUE] 
tribute seeds from crop varieties it has grown , leitende(r) news, weather and the internet. Family ,  jmdn. stärken
since before Europeans arrived on the Amer- Direktor(in) members have a companion app that can heart rate
ican continents. Inclusion in the Svalbard store sth. [stO:]  upload photos and change the GrandPad’s [(hA:t reIt] 
Global Seed Vault ensures that these cultur- ,  etw. (ein)lagern settings. , Herzfrequenz

ally significant plants will be available for fu- turkey gizzard bean One of GrandPad’s apps is called Daily impairment
[(t§:ki )gIzEd bi:n]  [Im(peEmEnt] 
ture generations. Connect, which sends a senior’s health data
Fotos: ddp; duncan1890, ymgerman ninian/iStock.com

,  Bohnensorte   , Beeinträchtigung
Among the seeds that will be stored are (turkey  to a caregiver. It connects with a wearable
setting [(setIN] 
Cherokee white eagle corn, Cherokee turkey ,  Truthahn; device that can track sleep and steps and , Einstellung
gizzard 
gizzard black and brown beans and Cherokee , Kaumagen)
record blood pressure, pulse, body tempera-
candy roaster squash. “As long as Cherokee ture, heart rate and respiration. On a podcast
white eagle corn
plants exist, we exist,” Pat Gwin, senior direc- [)waIt )i:g&l (kO:n] called Health Innovation Matters, GrandPad
tor of the Cherokee Nation’s Environmental US  ,  ertragreiche, co-founder and CEO of GrandPad, Scott
Resources office in Oklahoma, told The Guar­ robuste Maissorte  Lien, said that the company’s mission is to
(eagle   , Adler;
dian. “We consider our plants to be as geneti- corn US  , Mais) empower seniors by connecting them with
cally Cherokee as we are.” caregivers and loved ones.
www.croptrust.org www.grandpad.net

10  Business Spotlight 6/2020 WORKING WORLD

 COMPARISON

WORD
WATCHER
micro-credentials
“Micro-credentials” are small bits of education necessary to fill
holes in a person’s skill set. Many people earn certificates from on-
line courses offered by traditional universities or online learning
A person who Microsoft’s
platforms such as Coursera, edX or Udacity. Because they are easily
reads 230 words terms of service,
accessible and affordable, such credentials are becoming increas-
per minute at 15,260 words,
ingly popular: “Technology has changed so much since I graduated
that I had to get a few micro-credentials to qualify for the job.”
would need would take the
1 hour, same person
occupational regret 14 minutes and 1 hour,
People who feel as if they have chosen the wrong career have what 26 seconds 6 minutes and
is called “occupational regret”. In 2019, research in the Journal of to read all 20 seconds
Managerial Psychology confirmed that occupational regret can cause 17,121 words of to read.
emotional problems, but that it is less common among people Shakespeare’s No wonder most
whose career choice was strongly influenced by friends, family Macbeth. of us just click
and teachers: “Despite experiencing occupational regret, he feels “accept”.
as if it’s too late for him to go back to school and retrain.”

accessible earn a certificate graduate

[Ek(seseb&l]  [)§:n E sE(tIfIkEt]  [(grÄdZueIt] 
, zugänglich; hier: leicht ,  ein Zertifikat / ,  seinen Abschluss machen
zu erhalten ein Zeugnis erhalten
research [ri(s§:tS] 
credential [krE(denS&l]  ,  Forschung, Unter-
, Qualifikation suchung(en)

Sources: Microsoft
(www.microsoft.com/en-us/
servicesagreement);
Omnicalculator
(www.omnicalculator.com/
terms of service everyday-life/words-per-
[)t§:mz Ev (s§:vIs]  minute#words-per-minute-
, Nutzungsbedingungen reading)

You only learn who

has been swimming naked
when the tide goes out
US investor
Warren Buffett, 90

tide: when the ~ goes out [taId] 

,  wenn die Ebbe kommt 
(tide  , Gezeiten)

WORKING WORLD 6/2020 Business Spotlight 11 

 Up and down MEDIUM

Between 18 March and 17 June, Facebook

co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg
saw his wealth increase 58.6 per cent — from
$54.7 billion (€52 billion) to $86.6 billion (€77
billion). This is the same period that saw tens
of millions of people around the world losing their jobs.
Source: Institute for Policy Studies (https://ips-dc.org/us-billionaire-wealth-
584-billion-20-percent-pandemic)

billion CEO (chief executive co-founder

[(bIljEn]  officer) [kEU (faUndE] 
, Milliarde(n) [)si: i: (EU]  , Mitgründer(in)
, Firmenchef(in)

In September 2001, it cost $95,263,072

A cause for
complaint: too (€84,837,705) to sequence the human ge-
little to do nome. The cost has plummeted since then,
thanks to advances in technology. In Febru-
ary, Nebula Genomics, a DNA testing com-
FRANCE pany in San Francisco, began offering full

Burnout is bad?
genetic sequencing for $299 (€266). At the Advances in Ge-
nome Biology and Technology (AGBT) general meeting in
February, the Chinese gene-sequencing company BGI said

Try boreout!
MEDIUM
they can do it for $100. They have not yet proved their claim.
Source: National Human Genome Research Institute (www.genome.gov/
about-genomics/fact-sheets/DNA-Sequencing-Costs-Data);
Nebula Genomics (https://nebula.org); MIT Technology Review
(www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/26/905658/china-bgi-100-dollar-
genome)
Many people complain about burnout. But what about
claim: prove one’s ~ plummet sequence sth.
“boreout”? In June, a French luxury perfume company was [kleIm]  [(plVmIt]  [(si:kwEns] 
ordered to pay one of its former employees, Frédéric Desnard, ,  seine Behauptung ,  (stark) fallen ,  etw. sequenzieren;
€40,000 for the boreout he suffered while working there. The beweisen hier auch: entschlüsseln

court agreed that Interparfums’s treatment of its employee was

“moral harassment”.
Hired for a managerial position, Desnard said that he was

70
soon “deprived of his original duties”. “No one cared if I arrived The number of
at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. I had to buy some supplies — a few sheets of pints of beer British
paper — and then my day was over,” Desnard told Agence France- pub owners had
Presse. to destroy due to
While some people might think that having fewer responsi- the coronavirus
bilities at work is a good thing, Desnard said he felt “destroyed” lockdown. This was
and “dealt with serious depression”. “I was ashamed of being enough to fill nearly
paid for doing nothing,” he explained, saying that the stress had 16 Olympic-sized
caused him to have an epileptic fit while driving. swimming pools.
Many employers understand the dangers of employee burn-
out. The outcome of this court case means that they may now
have to think about how to avoid employee boreout, too.

boreout
[(bO:raUt] ifml. 
,  emotional belastende
Unterforderung im Job 
(bore sb. 
deprive sb. of sth.
[di(praIv Qv] 
,  jmdm. etw. entziehen

fit [fIt] , Anfall
hire sb. [(haIE] 
,  jmdn. einstellen

outcome
[(aUtkVm] 
MILLION due to [(dju: tu] 
, Ergebnis , wegen
,  jmdn. langweilen; harassment
boring  ,  langweilig) [(hÄrEsmEnt]  supplies [sE(plaIz]  pint [paInt] UK 
, Belästigung; ,  hier: Büromaterial Source: British Beer & Pub Association ,  Pint, halber Liter, Halbe
hier: Mobbing (https://beerandpub.com) (0,568 l)

12  Business Spotlight 6/2020 WORKING WORLD

 THE RIVALS
Seit eh und je konkurrieren Jamie Oliver
und Gordon Ramsay – und das nicht nur in
der Küche. Und wer hat die Oberhand?
DEBORAH CAPRAS vergleicht
die beiden Starköche.
MEDIUM

JAMIE OLIVER GORDON RAMSAY

BORN James Trevor Oliver on BORN Gordon James Ramsay on
27 May 1975 in Essex, England 8 November 1966 in Renfrew­
shire, Scotland

£240 MILLION £177 MILLION

FAMILY Married since 2000 to
Juliette (Jools). Five children. FAMILY Married since 1996 to
They live in Essex. (€266 million) (€196 million) Cayetana (Tana). Five children.
Estimated net worth Estimated net worth They have homes in Los Angeles,
PERSONAL STYLE Cheeky, friendly London and Cornwall.
and easy-going. He can, however,

0 7
seem arrogant in his campaigns PERSONAL STYLE Foul-mouthed,
for healthier food options. a bit of a bully and a fitness freak.
Michelin stars Michelin stars currently held Michelin-starred chef who
CAREER BREAKS Trained as a chef (he’s had 16 in total) speaks excellent French.
in the UK, France and Italy.
Offered his first TV cookery CAREER BREAKS Trained with
show and cookbook deal, called Michelin-starred chefs in the UK
The Naked Chef, in 1999.
26
Number of cookbooks written
30
Number of cookbooks written
and France. His own TV show,
Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, start-
RESTAURANTS All but three of his ed in 2004.
25 restaurants closed in 2019,
at an estimated loss of £80 RESTAURANTS Since 1998, Ramsay
million (€89.1 million) and more
than 1,000 jobs. The future of his
8.2 MILLION
Instagram followers
9.2 MILLION
Instagram followers
has opened over 50 restaurants
around the world. Before the
restaurant business is unclear. Covid-19 crisis, 35 of them were
(@jamieoliver) (@gordongram)
still in operation.
MONEYMAKERS Cookbooks,
TV cooking shows, YouTube MONEYMAKERS Reality TV shows
channel (Jamie Oliver) with five
SIGNATURE DISH SIGNATURE DISH around competitive cooking and
Fotos: jeremy sutton-hibbert, Chris Bull/Alamy Stock Photo; azatvaleev/iStock.com

million fans, partnerships with Steak sarnie travel, cookbooks, online classes,
Beef Wellington
UK supermarkets, live cooking mobile game “Dash”, YouTube
shows on Instagram channel (Gordon Ramsay) with
14.5 million fans, live cooking
LATEST PROJECTS Providing fast
food for Shell petrol stations in
FAVOURITE FAVOURITE shows on Instagram

the UK. Plus: a new TV show of

simple recipes, Keep Cooking and
EXPRESSION
“lovely jubbly”
EXPRESSION
“fuck” (in all its forms)
LATEST PROJECTS Starring in an ad-
venture/road-trip/cooking show,
Carry On Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted

bully [(bUli] , Tyrann(in)
career break [kE(rIE breIk] 
,  berufliche Chance
cheeky [(tSi:ki] UK  ,  Chef ohne Gnade
,  vorlaut, frech
chef [Sef] , Koch/Köchin
competitive [kEm(petEtIv]  fuck [fVk]  vulg.  Ramsay’s Kitchen recipe [(resEpi]  star [stA:] 
, Wettbewerbs- ,  Scheiße Nightmares , (Koch-)Rezept ,  eine Hauptrolle spielen
[)rÄmziz (kItSEn
easy-going [)i:zi (gEUIN]  lovely jubbly sarnie [(sA:ni] UK ifml.  uncharted
)naItmeEz] 
,  locker, entspannt [)lVvli (dZVbli] UK ifml.  , Sandwich [Vn(tSA:tId] 
 
,  fantastisch, supertoll ,  unkartiert; unerforscht
foul-mouthed (nightmare  , Alptraum) signature dish
[)faUl (maUDd]  net worth [)net (w§:T]  [)sIgnEtSE (dIS]  
,  unflätig, vulgär , (Rein-)Vermögen , Spezialität

WORKING WORLD 6/2020 Business Spotlight 13 

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
CANADA

THE GREAT
EXPERIMENT
 Max Baumann/iStock.com

Spectacular Canadian
Fotos: XX

landscape: an aerial view

over Vancouver harbour

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION 6/2020 Business Spotlight 15 

 Die Geschichte Kanadas ist von seinen indigenen Völkern geprägt.
Mit seinem klaren Bekenntnis zur multikulturellen Gesellschaft könnte es für
europäische Staaten eine Orientierungsmarke für Migration und Integration sein.
PAUL WHEATLEY berichtet über das Land und seine derzeitige Lage.
ADVANCED  PLUS

I
“
think Canada is the great experiment,” says Johanne
Mednick Myles. “You can see it in how we welcome immi-
grants and in our multicultural policies.” Mednick Myles,
co-author with Tuula Lindholm of the book Navigating the

INJUSTICES
Intercultural Classroom, designs English as a Second Lan-
guage (ESL) courses for immigrants. Like many Canadi-
ans, she sees diversity as a key strength, saying that “peo-
ple here have the right to live in a culturally appropriate

RESULTING FROM
way, according to their culture”.
Canada’s policy of multiculturalism is closely connect-
ed to the country’s history. It is a history of an indigenous

COLONIALISM
(sometimes called Aboriginal) population, colonial rule,
exploitation and the attempt in the 1960s and 1970s to
create a structure to help a culturally and ethnically di-
verse country function better.
Back in 1867, British dominance over the country had been
formally recognized, when French-speaking Quebec became
part of the new country of Canada via the British North Ameri- HAD FAILED TO
PROVIDE A
ca Act. This united New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and “Canada”
(the provinces of Ontario and Quebec) to form a self-governing
Canada within the British Empire.

FUNCTIONING
A century later, the contradictions and injustices resulting
from colonialism had failed to provide a functioning society that
adequately took into account the country’s cultural diversity.
The dominance of the English-speaking population was a major

SOCIETY
problem. So was the related issue of francophone nationalism,
most obviously in French-speaking Quebec. At the same time,
increasing levels of immigration added to the sense that the re-
ality of cultural diversity was not matched by official policy.
The government of Pierre Trudeau, father of today’s prime
minister, Justin Trudeau, implemented policies that have shaped
the country ever since. In 1969, Trudeau created a federal min-
istry of multiculturalism, and the Official Languages Act gave aboriginal contradiction indigenous
the French language equal status with English. The result was [)ÄbE(rIdZ&nEl]  [)kQntrE(dIkS&n]  [In(dIZEnEs]  
, eingeboren; , Widerspruch , indigen
not only greater protection of French culture, but citizens would Ureinwohner(in)
also have better job prospects — in the civil service, for example critique [krI(ti:k]  melting pot
adopt sth. ,  [wg. Aussprache] [(meltIN pQt] 
— if they could speak both English and French. This, however, [E(dQpt]  , Schmelztiegel
exploitation
was not enough for the country as a whole. ,  etw. übernehmen
[)eksplOI(teIS&n]  prospect
appropriate , Ausbeutung [(prQspekt] 
No official culture [E(prEUpriEt] 
francophone
, Aussicht; hier auch:
, angemessen Chance
John Murray Gibbon’s 1938 book Canadian Mosaic: The Making of a [(frÄNkEUfEUn] 
Northern Nation had provided an early critique of the US concept civil service ,  frankofon, franzö- take sth. into account
[)sIv&l (s§:vIs]  sischsprachig; hier: der [)teIk )Intu E(kaUnt] 
of assimilation, the so-called melting pot. An alternative was of- ,  öffentlicher Dienst französischsprachigen ,  etw. Rechnung tragen
ficially adopted in 1971 and the 1988 Canadian Multiculturism Bevölkerung

16  Business Spotlight 6/2020 INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

 INTERVIEW
“The North is
undergoing
extremely rapid
climate change”
KIRSTEN REID is a PhD researcher at
Memorial University in St. John’s, New-
foundland and Labrador, and an expert in
biodiversity and climate change.
Which area of Canada is the focus of
your research?
The traditional territory of the Vuntut
Gwitchin First Nation, the Tr’ondëk
Hwëch’in First Nation and the Inuvial-
uit. This is in the western Canadian sub-
arctic, a general term for the Yukon and
the Northwest Territories. In terms of
landscape, it is very diverse: in the south-
ern part, near Whitehorse, you have large
productive forests, large white spruce
trees and a lot of understory vegetation. It
transitions to areas of tundra vegetation,
where there are no trees, and grasslands
and shrub dominate. There are regions
that are very waterlogged, where trees
don’t grow well.
What is the focus of your research?
Globally, the number of species in an area
decreases as you move from the equator
to the poles. That’s a foundational theory
of biogeography called the “latitudinal
gradient of diversity”. Recent work shows
that species in the North possibly don’t
subscribe to this. The question we’re ask-
ing is why species diversity is changing
— and if it is not changing with latitude,
what is it changing with?
What does your research show?
The North is undergoing extremely rapid
climate change. In the Yukon, the annu-
al average temperature has increased by
2 °C over the past 50 years. This increase
is twice the rate of that in southern Can-
ada and the entire globe. Winters are
Foto: privat
Fotos: XX
warming more than other seasons: 4 °C
over the past 50 years. Annual warming
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Focused on
forests:
Kirsten Reid
pipeline. Could Canada
be doing better on cli-
mate issues?
is projected to be an additional 2 to 2.5 °C The oil and gas industry is a big part of
in the Yukon over the next 50 years. Also, the economy, especially in Alberta. There
annual precipitation has increased by needs to be a middle way, away from the
about six per cent over the past 50 years, oil and gas industry and towards green
with summers seeing the largest increase and renewable energy sources. Declar-
in precipitation. And precipitation is proj­ ing a climate emergency one day and a
ected to increase ten to 20 per cent over new pipeline the next day is not how you
the next 50 years. move forward to a greener future.
What is the impact of this climate
change? annual [(ÄnjuEl]  resin [(rezIn] 
, jährlich , Harz
Lots of the North has permafrost, which
means the ground is at or below 0 °C black spruce seal sth. [si:&l] 
[)blÄk (spru:s]  ,  etw. abdichten,
for more than two years. As the air tem- , Schwarzfichte versiegeln
perature continues to warm, we start to
cone [kEUn]  seed [si:d] 
see this permafrost thaw out at a very , Zapfen , Samen(korn)
high rate. When you have very large por- disperse sth. [dI(sp§:s]  shrub [SrVb] 
tions of the earth underlain with frozen ,  etw. verteilen ,  hier: Buschland
ground, which then thaws, the ground First Nation slump [slVmp] 
above naturally slumps. We see hillsides [)f§:st (neIS&n] Can.  , absinken
,  eine Gruppe der First
slump away, we see erosion at the water’s spruce tree
Nations
edge. We are also seeing more frequent [(spru:s tri:] 
foundational theory , Fichte
fires, and fires burning at greater inten- [faUn)deISEn&l (TIEri] 
sity. And we’re seeing fires burning in subscribe to sth.: not ~
, Grundlagentheorie
[sEb(skraIb tu] 
places that don’t typically burn. Much of gradient [(greIdiEnt]  ,  hier: etw. nicht stützen
the forest vegetation in North America ,  Gradient, Gefälle
thaw out [)TO: (aUt] 
is adapted to wildfires. Black spruce, for latitudinal ,  ab-, auftauen
example, has cones that are sealed by a [)lÄtI(tju:dIn&l] 
transition to sth.
,  den Breitengrad
waxy resin. When a fire comes through, [trÄn(zIS&n tu] 
betreffend
it basically melts off the seal and the cone ,  in etw. übergehen
melt sth. off
opens, dispersing its seeds. Without [)melt (Qf] 
understory
[(VndE)stO:ri] 
the fire, it rarely reproduces — so, these ,  etw. abschmelzen lassen
,  Unterwuchs, Unterholz
trees need fire. But if the fires are com- pace [peIs] , Tempo
waterlogged
ing through at this crazy climate-change PhD [)pi: eItS (di:]  [(wO:tElQgd] 
pace, then the system is unlikely to be ,  Dr. phil.; hier: im Rahmen , wassergesättigt
able to recover. einer Doktorandenstelle
water’s edge: at the ~
precipitation [)wO:tEz (edZ] 
[pri)sIpI(teIS&n]  ,  im Uferbereich
Canada was one of the first countries to
, Niederschlag/
declare a climate emergency — in June waxy [(wÄksi] 
Niederschläge
, wachsartig
2019. The following day, Prime Minis- project sth. [prE(dZekt] 
ter Trudeau announced a major new oil ,  etw. prognostizieren
6/2020 Business Spotlight 17 
 Canada’s indigenous
peoples: sharing
their traditions
Act publicly acknowledged that Canada was a
richly diverse tapestry, home to people of var-
ious cultures and backgrounds. Or, as Trudeau
said: “Although there are two official languages,
there is no official culture.”
Five decades later, Canada is a changed coun-
try. “Two of my kids went to French immersion
schools, so all their schooling was in French,”
says Mednick Myles, a native speaker of Eng-
lish. And although it is far from perfect, the sta-
tus of the indigenous population has become
much more secure. The 2016 census counted
1.67 million “Aboriginal” people in Canada, 4.9
per cent of the total population. This group is
made up mainly of First Nations, Métis and
Inuit, and more than 70 Aboriginal languag-
es are spoken. There are many self-governing
agreements with different indigenous groups.
And, nowadays, says Mednick Myles, everyone
expects that “before a conference presentation
or theatre performance, for example, there is al-
ways an introduction saying: ‘We are situated on
indigenous land’”.
Opinion surveys regularly show that the pub-
lic supports Canada’s policy of multiculturalism.
“In our early research in the 1970s, we found that
18  Business Spotlight 6/2020
about two-thirds of people approved of the vari- acknowledge sth. [Ek(nQlIdZ] 
ous acts of legislation to create and maintain di- ,  etw. anerkennen, bestätigen
versity,” explains John Berry, emeritus professor backlash [(bÄklÄS] 
of psychology at Queen’s University, Kingston, , Rückschlag; hier: gegen-
Ontario (see full interview on pp. 20–21). “That läufiger Trend
percentage support is now up at around 80 per counterpart [(kaUntEpA:t] 
,  Gegenstück, Pendant
cent and there has been no backlash.”
Although its multiculturalism policy appears educational attainment
[)edju)keIS&nEl E(teInmEnt] 
to be successful, Canada is not free from racism, , Bildungsstand
neither towards immigrants nor towards its Ab-
emeritus [i(merItEs] 
original population. As the 2019 “Indigenous , emeritiert
Economic Progress Report” notes, there is an First Nations
Aboriginal “overrepresentation in low-paying [)f§:st (neIS&nz] Can. 
Fotos: ChristiLaLiberte/iStock.com ; Diego Grandi/Shutterstock.com
jobs, higher unemployment rates and lower ed- ,  First Nations (Bezeichnung
aller indigenen Völker Kanadas,
ucational attainment than their non-indigenous ausgenommen Métis und Inuit)
counterparts”.
immersion school
The country as a whole has been spared pop- [I(m§:S&n sku:l] 
ulists such as Donald Trump in the US, Jair ,  Immersionsschule (Schule mit
Ausrichtung auf eine Fremd-
Bolsonaro in Brazil, Viktor Orbán in Hungary, sprache und deren Kultur)
Andrzej Duda in Poland — or even Boris John-
opinion survey
son in the UK. Says Berry: “When I’m in Europe, [E(pInjEn )s§:veI] 
I tell people that in our Canadian federal elec- , Meinungsumfrage
tions, there is virtually no voice questioning the tapestry [(tÄpIstri] 
importance and success of immigration, or the , Wandteppich; hier: Mischung
success or importance of multiculturalism. It’s virtually [(v§:tSuEli] 
just not an issue.” , praktisch
Continued on p. 22
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Toronto: its
architecture is
as diverse as
its residents

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION 6/2020 Business Spotlight 19 

 INTERVIEW

“Greater contact between people of different cultures will

lead in the long run to greater mutual acceptance”

JOHN BERRY is emeritus professor of psychology How did Canadian ally [(ÄlaI] 
at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. He is an multiculturalism de- , Verbündete(r)

expert on cross-cultural psychology, and is one of velop? assumption

the world’s leading researchers on immigration and From the very begin- [E(sVmpS&n] , Annahme;
hier auch: Prämisse
multiculturalism. ning, Canada was cul-
boundary [(baUndEri] 
turally diverse. The , Grenze
What are the key ideas behind multiculturalism indigenous communi-
consistent: be ~ with sth.
in Canada? ties of Canada were as [kEn(sIstEnt] 
The policy of multiculturalism was developed in diverse as Europeans ,  mit etw. im Einklang sein
Canada in 1971. Other countries later developed historically, with diffe­ Crown [kraUn] 
policies of multiculturalism, but they have become rent languages, cultures, ,  hier: die Regierung

distorted, particularly in Europe and the US. regions, boundaries, distort sth. [dI(stO:t] 
There are three assumptions in Canadian multi- conflict and warfare ,  etw. verzerren
Professor John Berry: expert
culturalism policy. The first assumption is the multi- on culture and identity between peoples. And emeritus [i(merItEs] 
, emeritiert
culturalism hypothesis. This says that when people from the very beginning
feel secure and confident in their own identity, they of European settlement, Canada had to confront this engaged: be ~ in sth.
[In(geIdZd] ,  sich aktiv
will accept the identities and behaviours of people essential diversity. Europeans were already in con- in etw. einbringen
different to themselves. You can invert that assump- flict in Europe, and in Canada, they exploited indige-
equitable [(ekwItEb&l] 
tion and say that when people feel threatened in nous peoples by forming coalitions. They engaged in ,  gerecht, gleichberechtigt
their right to speak, believe and act in a way that is warfare with allies from within different indigenous exploit sb. [Ik(splOIt] 
consistent with their original culture, they become populations. So, Canada was diverse in both its indig- ,  jmdn. ausnutzen,
hostile to people who are different from themselves. enous population and in the settler population. It ausbeuten
And this can be said of the dominant majority pop- got to a point, however, where the dominant society, heritage [(herItIdZ] 
, Erbe; hier: Abstam-
ulation as well as immigrant and ethnic cultural which we call “Anglo-Celtic” (English, Irish, Scottish
mungs-
groups. The multiculturalism hypothesis says that and Welsh), dominated almost every aspect of life in
hostile [(hQstaI&l] 
confidence of your place in society is a psychologi- Canada. Even in areas that were largely of different , feindselig
cal precondition for intergroup acceptance and in- ethnic and linguistic backgrounds — particularly
hypothesis
tergroup harmony. Quebec, which was of French origin. By the 1960s, [haI(pQTEsIs] 
The second principle is the integration hypoth- it was obvious that you couldn’t run a country like ,  [wg. Aussprache]
esis. People who are engaged in both their heritage this. We had an official enquiry into how to deal with indigenous
culture and in the culture of the larger society will the French–English issue, but it became clear that it [In(dIdZEnEs] 
, indigen
have higher levels of psychological well-being. But if wasn’t just French and English that needed sorting
you have to either assimilate or separate, then your out — it was all the other communities, too. invert sth. [In(v§:t] 
,  etw. umkehren
psychological well-being goes down. According to
long run: in the ~
this second principle, if you feel free to have many What was the result?
[(lQN rVn] 
identities, you are much healthier psychologically One was the Official Languages Act, which gave ,  auf lange Sicht
than if you are forced to choose one identity or the French and English equal status in public life in mother tongue
other. Canada. Today, you get better pay and have better [)mVDE (tVN] 
The third principle has to do with equitable partic- chances of working in the public sector if you are , Muttersprache

ipation, and this is better known as the contact hy- able to speak both languages. As a result, many peo- mutual [(mju:tSuEl] 
, gegenseitig
pothesis. It says that greater contact between people ple with English as their mother tongue send their
of different cultures will lead in the long run to great- kids to French-language schools. This established prejudiced
[(predZudIst] 
er mutual acceptance. And it works both ways: if you equal status and rights to participate in society for ,  mit Vorurteilen behaftet
have contact, it leads to greater mutual acceptance, these two major language groups. At the same time,
sort sth. out [)sO:t (aUt] 
and mutual acceptance leads to more contact. This is it was necessary to take into account the other cul- ,  etw. klären
illustrated by the fact that the most prejudiced popu- tural communities — this led to the multiculturalism take sth. into account
lations are those in which there are the least number policy of 1971. We had commissions dealing with in- [)teIk )Intu E(kaUnt] 
of people who are culturally different. digenous population–Crown relations: between the ,  etw. Rechnung tragen

20  Business Spotlight 6/2020 INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

 Free to have many
identities: the key to
multiculturalism

acquisition
[)ÄkwI(zIS&n] 
, Erwerb

apparently
[E(pÄrEntli] 
,  allem Anschein nach

assertion [E(s§:S&n] 
, Behauptung

chief public health officer

[)tSi:f )pVblIk (helT
)QfIsE] Can. 
, Gesundheitsminister(in)

deputy [(depjUti] 
, stellvertretend

enhance sth. [In(hA:ns] 

,  etw. steigern, verstärken

entrenched [In(trentSt] 
, verankert

First Nations
[)f§:st (neIS&nz] Can. 
federal state and First Nations. The result is that we public figures, if you look at successful companies, it ,  First Nations (Bezeich-
have self-governing nations within Canada. doesn’t seem to have impeded the most ambitious nung aller indigenen Völker
and most talented people of colour in Canada. For Kanadas, ausgenommen
Métis und Inuit)
Have these developments helped to protect Cana- example, our chief public health officer, Dr Theresa
da from populism? Tam, our deputy chief public health officer, Dr How- fringe party
[(frIndZ )pA:ti] 
Yes and no. One of my old friends, Michael Adams, ard Njoo, and our minister of families, children and , Randpartei
has written a book called Could It Happen Here?: Canada social development, Ahmed Hussein. If you look at grab land
in the Age of Trump and Brexit. His judgement is that it some of the names prominent in business, the arts [)grÄb (lÄnd] ifml. 
is unlikely. We have a fringe party called the National and in sports, you find people who have broken ,  sich (widerrechtlich)
Land aneignen
Party and they got no seats in the last general elec- through the racism barrier very successfully. But for
tion. We have occasional conservative politicians most people in their daily lives, people of colour still housing [(haUzIN] 
, Wohnungswesen
saying things that are contrary to what I call the have to deal with latent and overt racism in Canada,
impede sb. [Im(pi:d] 
“multicultural vision”, but they are basically laughed as in any other society. ,  jmdn. behindern
at. These values are now well entrenched. We are
in good faith
not inoculated, but we are prepared to be resistant What is the psychological impact of successful [In )gUd (feIT] 
to these anti-immigrant, anti-cultural, anti-cosmo- multiculturalism? ,  in gutem Glauben
politan, anti-multilateral assertions. The basic point, People are supported in being who they have been inoculated
however, is that you can’t have public policy without culturally, and who they want to be culturally. They [In(QkjuleItId] 
, geimpft; hier: indok-
public support. You can lead people in a particular are also supported in the society that they, or their triniert
direction, but without public support, you are not parents or grandparents, settled in. And when such
outcome [(aUtkVm] 
going to get successful public policy programmes. people are doubly engaged in these social-cultural ,  Ergebnis, Erfolg
networks, they have better psychological, cultural
overt [EU(v§:t] , offen
How does Canadian policy need to improve? and intercultural outcomes. They are healthier and
prominent [(prQmInEnt] 
The relationships with indigenous populations are happier. They have a sense of belonging and parti­ ,  bekannt, führend
strained and always have been strained. They are cipation. They take up citizenship without under-
rectify sth. [(rektIfaI] 
currently the subject of important negotiations and mining their heritage, their identities. And recent ,  etw. verbessern
attempts to rectify them. We are colonizers; we are research in Germany has shown that acquiring and strained [streInd] 
settlers. We have grabbed land and resources, even maintaining an identity promotes the acquisition , belastet
though the Crown signed treaties saying that we of citizenship. In return, taking out citizenship take up citizenship
wouldn’t. The Canadian government and the British enhances the sense of belonging to larger German [)teIk Vp (sItIzEnSIp] 
Fotos: privat; madsci/iStock.com

, Staatsbürger(in)
made treaties that were signed apparently in good society. It’s a two-way relationship. But if you don’t
werden
faith, but these were disregarded to a large extent. have the opportunity for equitable participation —
treaty [(tri:ti] , Vertrag
The second issue is that immigration from non- such as citizenship, voting and participating in po-
European societies started in large numbers 50 years litical movements — then you will remain outside. undermine sth.
[)VndE(maIn] 
ago. Racism is a constant problem, in policing, hous- And that is what has happened to a lot of cultural ,  etw. untergraben,
ing and work. But I would say that if you look at our communities in Europe and elsewhere in the world. beeinträchtigen

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION 6/2020 Business Spotlight 21 

 Canada: the world’s
GOOD TO KNOW second-largest

⋅⋅
country and the
longest coastline
Canada is a member of the Commonwealth, with Queen

⋅⋅
Elizabeth II as the head of state.
In terms of population, Canada’s capital, Ottawa, is
only the country’s fourth-largest city, behind Toronto,

⋅⋅
Montreal and Vancouver.
Around 1.67 million people in Canada identify as

⋅⋅
“Aboriginal”.
Canada officially has three groups of indigenous peoples:
First Nations, Métis and Inuit. They all have distinct

⋅⋅ ⋅⋅
histories, languages, cultures and beliefs.
Canada has around 630 First Nations communities, made At 8,890 kilometres, Canada’s border with the US is the

⋅⋅ ⋅⋅
up of 50 official Nations, speaking around 70 languages. longest border between two countries in the world.
Indigenous people are the fastest-growing population in Mount Logan in southwestern Yukon is Canada’s highest

⋅⋅
the country; they are also the youngest, with 44 per cent mountain, at 5,959 metres.

⋅⋅
under the age of 25 in 2016. Canada is home to the world’s most freshwater, with
With the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, Canada its 891,163 square kilometres ahead of the US’s 664,709
is a member of the so-called Five Eyes, an English- square kilometres.

⋅⋅
speaking group of nations that shares intelligence.
Measuring 9,985,000 square kilometres, Canada is aboriginal First Nations indigenous
the second-largest country in the world after Russia. [)ÄbE(rIdZ&nEl]  [)f§:st (neIS&nz] Can.  [In(dIdZEnEs] 
, eingeboren; ,  First Nations , indigen
Its coastline measures 243,042 kilometres (including Ureinwohner(in) (Bezeichnung aller

⋅⋅
offshore islands), the longest in the world. intelligence
indigenen Völker Kanadas,
distinct [In(telIdZEns] 
Baffin Island, in Nunavut, is the world’s fifth-biggest ausgenommen Métis und
[dI(stINkt]  , Geheimdienst-
Inuit)
island, at 507,451 square kilometres. , charakteristisch informationen

19th-century
Newfoundland:
fishing village
11th Norsemen arrive in Newfoundland and set
century up the first European settlement.
1497 Italian explorer Giovanni Caboto (“John
Cabot”) lands at Newfoundland or Nova
Scotia.
Fotos: Dan Barnes, duncan1890/iStock.com; Media Guru/Shutterstock.com
TIMELINE
Quebec to form a self-governing Canada
within the British Empire.
1870–73 Manitoba (1870), British Columbia (1871)
and Prince Edward Island (1873) join
Canada.
1905 Alberta and Saskatchewan become Cana-
dian provinces.
1914–18 Canada fights alongside Britain in the
First World War. More than 234,000
Canadians are killed or wounded.
1931 Canada and other British dominions are
given complete autonomy.
1939–45 Canada fights alongside Britain in the
Second World War. More than 45,000
Canadians are killed.
1945 Canada joins the UN.
1949 Canada joins NATO.
1950–53 516 Canadians are killed in the Korean
steroids, casting a shadow over top-class
sprinters that remains today.
1995 Quebec again rejects independence from
Canada, this time, by only 50.58 per cent.
1999 On 1 April, the Northwest Territories
divides into two territories to allow for
the creation of Nunavut (“our land”), the
homeland of Canada’s Inuit.
2008 Prime Minister Stephen Harper apolo-
gizes for the “Indian residential school
system”, which between 1876 and 1996
removed at least 150,000 indigenous
Canadians from their families in order to
prevent influence from their own culture.
2010 Vancouver hosts the Winter Olympics.
2015 Pierre Trudeau’s son Justin is elected
prime minister.
2019 Quebec regional government intro­duces

1534 Jacques Cartier claims the Gulf of Saint
Lawrence for France.
1583 Newfoundland is England’s first overseas
colony.
1627 France sets up the Company of One
Hundred Associates to rule and govern
its North American colonies.
1670 England sets up the Hudson’s Bay Com-
pany, which has regional trading rights.
1756 The start of the Seven Years War between
New France and British colonies.
1763 France loses many colonies to Britain in
the Treaty of Paris.
1774 The French language and Catholicism are
officially recognized in the Quebec Act.
1800s Huge numbers of immigrants arrive from
England, Ireland and Scotland.
1867 The British North America Act unites
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and
War. law banning headscarves at work for
groups such as teachers, judges and po-
1968 Pierre Trudeau is elected prime minister.
lice officers — against the wishes of the
1969 The Official Languages Act gives French Canadian government.
the same status as English.
2019 Justin Trudeau is re-elected as prime min-
1970 In the “October Crisis”, members of the ister.
separatist FLQ (Quebec Liberation Front)
2020 In April, a gunman kills 22 people in Nova
kidnap British diplomat James Cross and
Scotia, the worst mass shooting in Cana-
Quebec deputy premier Pierre Laporte.
da’s history.
They released Cross, but killed Laporte.
1971 Led by Pierre Trudeau, Canada imple-
deputy [(depjUti]  residential school
ments a policy of multiculturism. , stellvertretend [rezI)denS&l (sku:l] 
1976 Montreal hosts the Olympics. , Internat
1980 In a referendum, Quebec rejects inde- dominion [dE(mInjEn] 
pendence from Canada by 59.56 per cent , Herrschaftsgebiet Treaty of Paris
to 40.44 per cent. [)tri:ti Ev (pÄrIs] 
headscarf [(hedskA:f] 
1988 Ben Johnson wins the 100 metres gold ,  Frieden von Paris 
, Kopftuch
medal at the Seoul Olympics, beating US (treaty  , Vertrag)
superstar Carl Lewis. Two days later, he host sth. [hEUst] 
loses the medal after testing positive for ,  etw. ausrichten

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION 6/2020 Business Spotlight 23 

 chamber of industry
Extraction: good for and commerce
the economy, bad for [)tSeImbEr Ev
the environment )IndEstri En (kQm§:s] 
,  Industrie- und Handels-
kammer
display [dI(spleI] 
, Zurschaustellung

extraction
[Ik(strÄkS&n] 
, Förderung; hier: Roh-
stoffgewinnung
face sth. [feIs] 
,  mit etw. konfrontiert
werden
GDP (gross domestic
product)
[)dZi: di: (pi:] 
,  BIP (Bruttoinlands-
produkt)
NAFTA (North American
Free Trade Agreement)
[(nÄftE] 
,  Nordamerikanisches
Freihandelsabkommen
scrap sth. [skrÄp] 
,  etw. fallenlassen;
hier: aufkündigen
shrink [SrINk] 
, schrumpfen

steady [(stedi] 
,  stetig, stabil

successor
[sEk(sesE] 
, Nachfolger(in);
hier: Folgevertrag
tariff [(tÄrIf] 
, Zoll

Trudeau’s contradictions coronavirus pandemic, shrinking by around 2.1 per

Although multiculturalism is widely accepted, Can-
ada faces challenges in other areas, including how
to diversify from an economy still too focused on
extraction industries. The country has the third-
largest oil reserves in the world, and oil and gas ac-
count for more than ten per cent of its GDP, directly
employing more 282,000 people in 2018, and creat-
ing, indirectly, 550,500 jobs. In an almost comical dis-
play of cognitive dissonance in June 2019, the day af-
ter Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared a climate
emergency, he announced a major new oil pipeline.
Like many other countries, Canada’s economy
initially suffered badly following the world finan-
cial crisis of 2007–8, although its more regulated
financial system was not as badly hit as that of the
US. A decade after the financial crash, the country’s
economic progress has been steady rather than spec-
tacular. Canada’s economy was also hit hard by the
cent in the first three months of 2020.
In 2018, Canada joined the US and Mexico in
signing a new agreement, a successor to the origi-
nal NAFTA deal of 1994 (scrapped by US President
Trump). Canada also signed a trade deal (CETA)
with the EU in 2016, which immediately removed
98 per cent of EU tariffs on Canadian goods. The EU
is Canada’s second-largest trading partner, and the
aim of the trade deal is easier market access for goods
and services, greater transparency and investment
protection.
The EU represents just ten per cent of Canada’s
trade in goods, however. Almost 75 per cent of Can-
ada’s exports went to the US in 2019 and 63.9 per
cent of its imports came from the US. Yvonne Denz,
vice president of the Canadian-German Chamber of
Industry and Commerce in Toronto, recognizes the
limits of CETA, but is optimistic about its potential.

22  Business Spotlight 6/2020 INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

 “CANADA IS
PUNCHING ABOVE
ITS WEIGHT”
“The EU deal was a great signal,” she says. She points
to Canada’s strengths, its production of “pulses,
wheat, durum and its mineral resources”, and high-
lights areas such as artificial intelligence, in which
“Canada is punching above its weight, with two sig-
nificant hubs, Montreal and Toronto”.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, despite his popu-
larity in Europe, has not been immune from criticism
at home. He was only narrowly re-elected as prime
minister in October 2019, and was criticized in May
2020 for announcing a reported Can$ 14 billion
arms deal with Saudi Arabia. A year earlier, Trudeau
had strongly criticized the Gulf state’s human rights
record.
Despite such contortions, Canada appears to be
in a much more advantageous position than many
Prime Minister Justin
other developed nations. Challenges remain, not Trudeau: trusted more
least relating to environmental issues (see interview, abroad than at home
p. 17), the need to increase equality and improve life
chances for minority groups. But to date, arguably
helped by its official policy of multiculturalism, the
“great experiment” that is Canada has been spared
FAST FACTS:

CANADA
the social, cultural and ethnic tensions seen in many
other countries — most clearly at present in the US.

arguably [(A:gjuEbli]  punch above one’s weight Capital: Ottawa GDP annual growth: 1.9% (2018)
, wohl [)pVntS E)bVv wVnz
(weIt] ifml.  Other main cities: Toronto, Unemployment: 5.7% (2019)
contortion [kEn(tO:S&n]  ,  hier: eine möglichst Montreal, Vancouver
, Verzerrung
führende Rolle anstreben Inflation: 1.95% (2019)
durum [(djUErEm]  tension [(tenS&n]  Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II
,  Durum, Hartweizen annual [(ÄnjuEl]  purchasing power
, Spannung
Head of government: Prime ,  jährlich parity
hub [hVb]
, Zentrum Minister Justin Trudeau, since est. (estimate)
[)p§:tSEsIN )paUE
(pÄrEti] 
2015
Fotos: Art Babych/Shutterstock.com; privat; blackred/iStock.com

[(estImEt] 
pulse [(pVls]  , Kaufkraftparität
� PLUS , Schätzung
, Hülsenfrucht
Population: 37.7 million trillion
GDP (gross domestic
Test your knowl- (2020 est.) product)
[(trIljEn] 
edge of Canada , Billion(en)
[)dZi: di: (pi:] , BIP
in our exercise Official languages: English and (Bruttoinlandsprodukt)
booklet Business French
Spotlight Plus. To
order, go to www. Currency: Canadian dollar Sources:
aboshop.spotlight-
verlag.de (US$ 1 = Can$ 1.54) CIA: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/
the-world-factbook/geos/ca.html
GDP: US$ 1.774 trillion, making it Statista: https://www.statista.com/
PAUL WHEATLEY statistics/271247/inflation-rate-in-canada
the world’s 17th-biggest economy, l https://www.statista.com/statistics/578362/
is a British-born writer specializing in culture,
travel, business and history. using purchasing power parity unemployment-rate-canada
Contact: pwspotlight@runbox.com (2017 est.) The World Bank: https://bit.ly/2ZuNZHP

24  Business Spotlight 6/2020 INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

FÜR FRAUEN, DIE
IHREN WEG GEHEN

Jetzt zwei Ausgaben gratis sichern unter:

www.emotion.de/spotlight
oder 040 - 55 55 3810 (Best.-Nr.: 1920345)
 Online learning:
flexible, but at a cost?

DEBATE
HEAD-TO-HEAD

Are online language

courses as effective as
face-to-face courses?
Wegen der Coronapandemie fand Fremdsprachenunterricht lange nur online
statt. Und manch einer fragt sich, ob hoch entwickelte E-Learning-Angebote es
an Effektivität nicht durchaus mit Präsenzunterricht aufnehmen können?
JULIAN EARWAKER gibt Argumente dafür und dagegen wieder.
ADVANCED AUDIO

26  Business Spotlight 6/2020 DEBATE

 YES NO
“Online allows you, the learner, to have “The richness of non-verbal
the ultimate flexibility and access” communication is greatly reduced”
Jerry Huang James Chamberlain

Online language courses can Language learning is different

be more effective than face-
to-face courses. In terms of
JERRY HUANG is SVP of direct costs, online is much
product development and
more convenient: it’s available
innovation at Rosetta
Stone (www.rosettastone. any time, anywhere, on any de-
com/learn-language) vice. It allows you, the learner,
to have the ultimate flexibility
and access. You can work around the commitments in your life.
You learn at your pace, the right pace. It’s no longer a one-size-
fits-all approach. Online fits with the opportunity cost of your
time and effort — and that’s the number-one cost of learning a
language. Self-discipline can be difficult in language learning,
but today’s online courses enable you to build a personalized
plan, allowing you to set targets and be realistic about your time
commitments. You set your own goals.
With face-to-face learning, there is a hard cost of being locked
into a geographical location. If you’re a corporation, with 20 loca-
tions around the world, it’s really expensive to have an instructor
at each of those places and to bring together your employees at a
specific time. With online learning, global clients can be served
using an app and platform, with assessment tools and proficien-
cy tests to show progress and to encourage and engage employ-
ees. This enables companies to expand their language-learning
programme globally.
For intermediate and advanced learners, there is an oppor-
tunity to contextualize language learning. People can learn a
language in the context of their work, whether it’s Spanish for
healthcare or English for aeroplane mechanics, whether it’s the
service industry, hospitality, finance or retail.
Traditional language learning means using a book here, some
flashcards there, a class on Saturday, YouTube videos. There has
been a recent rise in online language tutoring alongside estab-
lished e-learning-only products. All of these approaches can be
brought together using a single online platform and adaptive
blended learning, with online human tutoring as part of our
product. One of our recent livestreamed Spanish classes had
500 learners from around the world. I was in Seattle, talking to a
tutor in Spain, with learners from Moscow, Beijing and Jakarta.
Online courses are definitely not here to eliminate the human
aspect, because that’s why we learn a language, to be able to in-
teract with other humans.
from other kinds of learning
because it is closely linked to
JAMES CHAMBERLAIN is deputy the learner’s identity and self-
director of the Language
expression. Humanistic teach-
Centre at the Bonn-Rhein-
Sieg University of Applied
ing methods take these as the
Sciences (www.spz.h-brs.de) starting point of language learn-
ing, to an extent that those in the
profession claim that the linguistic skills that students get out
of a course are only the most superficial part of what that course
has meant to them.
The desire and need to communicate meaningful content is
the driving force behind truly communicative language teach-
ing, which has reappeared in recent years through such move-
ments as Dogme, in which the interaction between the learners
becomes the content of the course. What these approaches have
in common is the emphasis they place on the immediacy and
intensity of meaningful communication.
After teaching “unplugged” (that is, without published ma-
terials or electronic devices) for the past ten years, I am now
completely plugged in again, teaching online via Zoom, Webex,
learning platforms and wikis. It is my experience that class-
room-style language teaching, when dependent on the use
of digital tools, demands a more formalized structure of the
teacher and more restrained behaviour of the learners to enable
turn-taking and mutual understanding. The richness of non-
verbal communication — eye contact, gestures, facial expres-
sions — is greatly reduced. These elements of communication
also play a major role in developing the positive group dynamics
necessary to make language learning enjoyable and effective.
Teaching online also favours visual and auditory learning
styles. In addition, online teachers and learners must be aware of
data protection and digital rights. Users need to be informed of
the privacy issues inherent in online interaction. More disturb-
ingly, current research is now investigating the negative effects
of digital media on academic skills such as note-taking and read-
ing comprehension, as well as on cognitive capacity in general.
I measure the quality of language learning with standards
such as learner-centeredness, engagement of the whole person,
and the depth and sustainability of what is learned. Only face-
to-face teaching gives me the quality of interaction with my
learners that makes my teaching truly effective.

blended learning immediacy one-size-fits-all privacy restrained SVP (senior vice

[)blendId (l§:nIN]  [I(mi:diEsi]  [)wVn saIz fIts (O:l] ifml.  [(prIvEsi]  [ri(streInd]  president)
,  integriertes Lernen , Unmittelbarkeit , Universal- , Privatsphäre; , zurückhaltend [)es vi: (pi:] 
Datenschutz ,  etwa: leitende(r)
Fotos: zoff-photo/iStock.com; privat

engage sb. inherent: be ~ in sth. opportunity cost retail

Direktor(in)
[In(geIdZ]  [In(herEnt]  [)QpE(tju:nEti )kQst]  proficiency test [(ri:teI&l] 
,  jmdn. einbinden ,  mit etw. einhergehen , Opportunitäts-, [prE(fIS&nsi test]  , Einzelhandel turn-taking
Alternativkosten , Leistungstest [(t§:n )teIkIN] 
emphasis [(emfEsIs]  mutual sustainability
, abwechselnde
,  Betonung, Gewicht [(mju:tSuEl]  pace [peIs]  reading comprehension [sE)steInE(bIlEti] 
Redebeiträge
, gegenseitig , Tempo [(ri:dIN kQmprI)henS&n]  , Nachhaltigkeit,
hospitality
, Leseverständnis Dauerhaftigkeit tutoring [(tju:tErIN] 
[)hQspI(tÄlEti] 
, Lernbetreuung
, Gastgewerbe

DEBATE 6/2020 Business Spotlight 27 

 LANGUAGE TEST
WRITING SKILLS

Get it right!
Schriftliche Kommunikation kann je nach Situation, Inhalt und Empfänger sehr
unterschiedlich sein: kurz oder ausführlich, gehoben oder ungezwungen. Höflich
und klar formuliert sollte sie immer sein. DEBORAH CAPRAS hat für Sie Übungen
zusammengestellt, mit denen Sie Ihre Schreibfertigkeit testen können.
EASY MEDIUM ADVANCED AUDIO

Writing for the

reader: a key skill

THE SITUATION
Maria Baker has just joined Zips, a company that
makes small eco-friendly bags, as a marketing ex-
ecutive. She knows that she will need to impress
DEBORAH CAPRAS
is a freelance author, trainer her new colleagues, especially with her writing
and corporate communications skills. Written communication will be a perma-
specialist. She’s the author of nent record of her competence. Maria wants to
Small Talk, published by Col-
lins. Contact: deborahcapras@ get it right.
wise-words.com

28  Business Spotlight 6/2020 LANGUAGE TEST

 ➻
READER, REASON, REACTION!
Most companies have a number of preferred communication tools
that employees have to use, but sometimes, it’s just a free-for-all.
Choose your tool based on your reader, your reason for writing
and the reaction you hope to get. Adapt your tone, style and
content to your own and your reader’s expectations.
2. The right word (6 points)
Maria often has to arrange meetings with
clients and colleagues, but she doesn’t want
to use the same language every time. The
words in bold are not where they should be.
Put them where they belong.

A. Please let us know your suit

1. The right tone (7 points) next week.

Maria will need to write both formal and B. Can you let me know if you are convenient
informal messages. It’s important to get the on Monday?
tone right from the beginning. Match the
C. What availability
formal phrases (A–G) to the informal ones
you best?
(1–7) with a similar meaning.
D. Would the morning about
A. I’d be grateful if you could provide me with an you better?
update.
B. It has come to our attention… E. Monday would be suit .
C. Please find the report attached…
F. How available
D. We would appreciate your response...
Monday at 5 p.m.?
E. Should you require any assistance…
F. We look forward to meeting you.
G. Yours sincerely

1. Please be sure to reply…

2. Cheers!
3. I’ve noticed…
4. If I can help you in any way…
5. See you soon!
6. Could you bring me up to speed?
7. Here’s the document…

A– ; B– ; C– ; D– ; E– ; F– ; G–

Choose carefully:
focus on the
reaction
Illustrationen: jossdim/iStock.com; Foto: privat

LANGUAGE TEST 6/2020 Business Spotlight 29 

 ➻
GUIDE THE READER
Help the reader to understand
your message by connecting
the ideas with linking words.
In longer messages, you can
include signalling words, such as
“firstly”, “secondly” and “finally”,
to organize your ideas. These
expressions will help guide the
reader through your thoughts.
A good guide: focus
on the reader
3. The right verb (8 points)
As Maria gets to know her colleagues better,
she notices how everyone on her team uses a
more informal style for internal communica-
tion. In the following short messages, we see
how she makes her language more informal.
Rearrange the letters to create the missing
verbs.
(A)  (hacaettd), the two files
for the meeting next week.
(B)  (teno) the two important
changes marked in red.
(C) (jyeon) the read!
(D) (ussdon) good!
(E) (katl) to you later.
(F)  (ciartppeea) the
feedback. Many thanks!
(G) (epek) me posted!
(H) (atsy) safe!
30  Business Spotlight 6/2020
4. The right link (8 points)
In the first drafts of her messages, Maria
often writes short sentences. Add the linking
words below to connect her original ideas.
although | despite | however | if | instead | result |
therefore | unless
A. This is an interesting idea.
It’s not one I would recommend.
This is an interesting idea. ,
it’s not one I would recommend.
B. This sector has seen a rapid decline.
We should look into other options.
This sector has seen a rapid decline.
, we should look into
other options.
C. You might not find a new buyer.
We won’t hit this month’s target.
 you can find a new buyer,
we won’t hit this month’s target.
D. We have sold fewer items this month.
The monthly bonus will be lower.
We have sold fewer items this month.
As a(n) , the monthly
bonus will be lower.
E. We shouldn’t reduce the prices. We should
consider increasing them.
We shouldn’t reduce the prices.
 , we should consider
increasing them.
F. The market is still very difficult.
We remain confident.
 the market is still very
difficult, we remain confident.
G. There is hype around their designs. I don’t
expect them to sell better than ours.
 the hype around their
designs, I don’t expect them to sell better
than ours.
H. Do you need any further information?
Please contact me.
Please contact me you
need any further information.
LANGUAGE TEST
 ➻
MAKE IT CLEAR
Whatever the reason for your message, make sure it is clear. Is it to inform,
to request an action or simply to build rapport? You can make your life
easier by using standard phrases that match the function of your message,
such as “Thank you for your query” or “I’d be grateful if you could…”.
Remember, it takes less time to write one clear message than it does to 6. The right message (4 points)
follow up on a confusing one trying to explain what you meant to say in the
first. Does that make sense? Maria writes carefully, based on the reader
and the reaction she wants. Choose the cor-
rect option for each situation.

A. Maria wants the reader to reply by a

certain date:
1. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
2. Could you send me the details by 4 July?

B. Maria needs some data from a colleague:

1. Just a quick email to check on the data.
2. I’m writing to inquire about the data.

C. Maria offers a solution to a problem. She

hopes that the client will agree to it:
5. The right form (10 points)
1. I trust this meets with your approval.
2. I really hope you’re satisfied.
Maria often uses structures with two or
more verbs. Use the correct form of the verbs
D. A client complains that a product did not
in brackets (in the order given where there
arrive on the day they expected it to. The
are two) to complete her email below.
customer made a mistake about the dates,
but Maria doesn’t want to say that directly:
1. We regret any inconvenience we may
have caused.
Dear Remi
2. We apologize for any misunderstanding.

Thank you for your query.

We (A) (regret, inform) you
that the Red #67 is no longer in stock. I’m afraid
we (B) (stop, manufacture)
Red #67 at the end of last year.

As the model Red #75 is very similar, would you

(C) (consider, order) this
model instead? We expect this model
(D) (sell out) very quickly.
If you don’t want (E) (risk,
lose out), we would like to advise you
(F) (place) an order as soon as
possible.
Good message: a
satisfied client
If you could (G) (notify) us of
Illustrationen: invincible_bulldog, jossdim/iStock.com

your decision by Friday, 4 September, we would

be able to let you (H) (have)
the Red #75 at a discount of five per cent. We can
also have them (I) (deliver) to
you by Wednesday, 9 September.

We (J) (hope, hear) from you

soon.

LANGUAGE TEST 6/2020 Business Spotlight 31 

 ANZEIGE

Schulpaten: Fremdsprachen verbinden die Welt

N EU :
Die Spotlight-
Lesepatenschaft

Sprache baut Brücken Sprachkompetenz fördern

Brücken verbinden und schaffen Verständnis für andere
Menschen und Kulturen. Damit eröffnet uns Sprache
einen Weg für andere Ansichten und Meinungen. Und
sie lässt uns zusammenwachsen und gemeinsam
Lösungen schaffen für einen weltweiten Klimaschutz.
Denn nur gemeinsam lässt sich diese Herausforderung
bewältigen. Berthold R. Metzger, Gründer und
Vorstandsvorsitzender PW AG Wirtschafts-
prüfungsgesellschaft
Als internationales Unternehmen ist uns bewusst, wie
wichtig Fremdsprachen im Berufsleben sind und wie
viele Möglichkeiten Sprachkenntnisse mit sich bringen.
Verschiedene Sprachen zu lernen fördert die persön-
liche Entwicklung, schafft Selbstbewusstsein und kann
im Laufe des Lebens viele Türen öffnen. Wir möchten
junge Menschen auf diesem Wege dabei unterstützen.
Uns bei PwC ist es wichtig, dass wir uns für die Gesell-
schaft einsetzen und uns sozial engagieren. Thorsten
Dzulko, PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH WPG

Unsere Paten:
Fremdsprachen lernen steigert die Allgemeinbildung und
macht Jugendliche fit für Ausbildung und Beruf. Werden
auch Sie ein Teil des 100ProLesenNetzwerks, und unter-
stützen Sie als Lesepate die Lese- und Lernkompetenz von
Schüler*innen in Schulen. Unsere Schulpatenschaften:
Durch die Übernahme einer Lesepatenschaft liefern wir die
mit Ihnen vereinbarte Anzahl an Sprachmagazinen für ein
Jahr in eine teilnehmende Schule, abgestimmt auf deren
Wünsche. Wie können Sie Schulpate werden? Sie tun
Gutes, und wir kommunizieren es. Wir veröffentlichen Ihr
Engagement für die Dauer Ihrer Patenschaft in unseren
Printausgaben und auf der Online-Präsenz von
100prolesen.de Alle Informationen erhalten Sie
unter 0221-650 80 869 oder per E-Mail an
lesepaten@100prolesen.de. Einen Überblick aller
Schulpaten erhalten Sie unter www.100prolesen.de.
Die Schulpatenschaft ist eine gemeinsame Initiative des Spotlight Verlags
und des 100ProLesenNetzwerks.

Blick über den Tellerrand Schulabgänger qualifizieren

Als Wohnungsbaugenossenschaften engagieren wir
uns seit jeher für Menschen. Unsere Unternehmens-
form ist demokratisch. Lesen und der Zugang zu
Büchern und Zeitungen/Medien sowie die Chance,
andere Sprachen zu erlernen, sind heute wichtiger denn
je: Bildung ist der zentrale Schlüssel zu einem selbst-
bestimmten Leben. Deshalb sind wir gern Lesepate und
unterstützen junge Menschen beim Lesen und Lernen
in ihrer Schule. Dirk Enzesberger,
Wohnungsbaugenossenschaften Berlin
Für uns als Hospitality-Unternehmen sind Mitarbeiter
wichtig, die auf Menschen zugehen sowie Verantwor-
tung übernehmen können und unseren Gästen in
unseren Hotels und Resorts auf Augenhöhe begegnen.
Fremdsprachen zu beherrschen ist eine gute Voraus-
setzung, um in der Hotellerie zu arbeiten. Deshalb
möchten wir euch dabei unterstützen und ermuntern,
eine oder gar mehrere Fremdsprachen zu erlernen.
Fremdsprachen sind für euch und eure Zukunft sehr
wichtig – ergreift diese Chance! Michael Ludwig,
DSR Hotel Holding
 ➻
PROTECT YOUR IMAGE
Sloppy messages that are packed with typos and grammatical
errors might make people think you are also sloppy at the rest
of your work. Even when your messages are more informal,
make sure they are easy to understand. Correct punctuation
and spelling are often the key to a clear message. Fortunately,
spellcheck functions will usually pick up the worst mistakes, but
you have to pay attention to them!
ANSWERS
Get it right!
1. The right tone
7. The right short form (7 points) A–6; B–3; C–7; D–1; E–4; F–5; G–2
2. The right word
Maria has built up a friendly relationship A. availability
with her international team. They often use B. available
C.  suits (suit sb. = jmdm.
text messages to stay in touch. Write out in
(zeitlich) passen)
full the abbreviations in bold. D. suit
E.  convenient = (zeitlich)
A. I’ll send it ASAP. passend, günstig
F. about
B. FYI, I’ll be early!
3. The right verb
C. BTW, John will be there. A. Attached = anbei
D. THX for the update! B. Note
C. Enjoy
E. TLDR!!! D. Sounds
E. Talk
F. WFH tomorrow. See you Monday. F. Appreciate = schätzen,
begrüßen
G. Keep (keep sb. posted
G. ETA about 11 CET = jmdn. auf dem Laufenden
halten)
H. Stay
Everyday messages:
fast and informal 4. The right link
A.  However = doch, jedoch,
allerdings
B. Therefore = daher, deshalb
C. Unless = sofern nicht
D.  result (as a result = infolge-
dessen, aufgrund dessen)
E.  Instead = stattdessen,
vielmehr
F. Although = obwohl,
wenngleich
G. Despite = trotz
H. if = wenn, falls
5. The right form
A. regret to inform
B. stopped manufacturing
C. consider ordering
D. to sell out
E. to risk losing out
F. to place
G. notify
H. have
I. delivered
J. hope to hear
6. The right message
A–2 (It’s always best to be specific
about deadlines when you can.);
B–1 (This option is more friendly.);
C–1 (This is the more polite and
formal option. Option 2 could be
misunderstood as rude.); D–2
(Option 1 would suggest that
Maria got the dates wrong.)
7. The right short form
A. as soon as possible
B. For your information
C. By the way = übrigens
D.  Thanks
E.  Too long, didn’t read (it)
F. Working from home
G.  Estimated time of arrival;
Central European Time

➻
FOR MORE INFORMATION
•O
 ur Skill Up! booklets offer vocabulary from key areas of everyday business life.
The second bundle is now available (see page 53).

HOW DID
YOU DO?
40–50 30–39 18–29 Up to 17
Note: So that you can Excellent! Well done! Good Could do better
compare your language Congratulations. You even You probably communicate You are able to use some You may not need to write
Illustration: jossdim/iStock.com

knowledge across different
areas of business English,
all Business Spotlight tests
have a maximum possible
score of 50 points.
got the trickiest questions well in writing, but there is
right! room for improvement. Read
the emails in English from
your colleagues and clients
carefully and make a note of
any phrases you could use
in your own messages.
language correctly, but
you may make mistakes
that could lead to
misunderstandings. Take
the test again tomorrow.
in English at the moment,
but it’s a good skill to have.
Try doing the exercises
again, and make a note of
the language you would
like to be able to use in
your own messages.

32  Business Spotlight 6/2020 LANGUAGE TEST


Time to think harder!
Die Denkfähigkeit, die den Menschen von allen anderen Lebewesen abhebt, entwickelt sich
auch im Geschäftsalltag zunehmend zu einer Kernkompetenz. BOB DIGNEN setzt sich in seinem
Beitrag mit kritischem Denken auseinander und zeigt, wie sich dadurch das Arbeitsumfeld
verbessern, Entscheidungen beeinflussen und die Leistung steigern lassen.
D
arwin’s theory of evolution, now
more than 150 years old, teach-
es us important truths about the
need for adaptation and flexibili-
ty in the face of a changing reali-
ty. And, as human beings, one of
our most important evolution-
ary advantages has been the ca-
pacity for complex thinking.
Putting these two thoughts together,
it’s easy to come to the thesis that suc-
cessful leaders should focus on evolving
smarter ways of thinking to deal with an
increasingly challenging business envi-
ronment. Indeed, the World Economic
Forum has consistently placed critical
thinking skills high on its list of essential
skills for the future world of work.
This article explores the nature of crit-
ical thinking. We look at how a conscious
and disciplined approach to thinking can
help you to take better decisions, perform
better and inspire better performance in
those around you.
1. Thinking about thinking
If you think about it, the process of think-
ing is a strange and intangible phenome-
non. It’s almost a reflex, like breathing. It
occurs whether we want it to or not. At
times, it’s frighteningly automatic. For
example, when we arrive at a destina-
tion in a car without any real awareness
of actually haven driven there. And how
many times do you say to yourself, “I wish
I could stop thinking about…”? Despite
our best efforts to prevent them, thoughts
can appear and reappear with maddening
persistence. On the other hand, think-
ing with concentration and focus can
34  Business Spotlight 6/2020
BUSINESS SKILLS
CRITICAL THINKING
ADVANCED  AUDIO  PLUS
generate moments of creativity and in- bias [(baIEs] 
sight that are semi-magical. , Voreingenommenheit
The concept of critical thinking is mo- consistently
tivated by a desire to control and sharpen [kEn(sIstEntli] 
,  durchweg, immer wieder
our thinking. It has a long history and, as
with any term, a variety of interpretations. engage with sth.
[In(geIdZ wID] 
Stretching back as far as the Greeks and ,  sich mit etw. befassen
the Socratic tradition of enquiry, critical
essence [(es&ns] 
thinking represents an effort to engage , Wesen(skern)
more positively and precisely with real- expertise
ity — and to pursue a level of controlled [)eksp§:(ti:z] 
and conscious logical analysis that ena- , Sachkompetenz
bles sound conclusions and, ultimately, insight [(InsaIt] 
, Erkenntnis
better decision-making. Critical thinking
is a practice that involves not only analyt- intangible
[In(tÄndZEb&l] 
ical excellence but also emotional intui- ,  nicht greifbar,
tion, with the awareness that irrational schwer erfassbar
beliefs, fears and biases can be as signifi- occur [E(k§:] 
cant as data and logic in influencing our , stattfinden
thoughts. persistence
Many professionals believe that they [pE(sIstEns] 
,  Beharrlichkeit
already possess critical-thinking skills
pursue sth. [pE(sju:] 
simply because they are skilled at han-
,  etw. verfolgen
dling complex data in intelligent ways.
sound [saUnd] 
Professional training and expertise don’t , solide
remove the need for further developing
one’s capacity for critical thinking, how-
ever. If anything, they increase it. Par- A CONSCIOUS
ticularly in a dynamic, cross-border and
cross-disciplinary world, one person’s APPROACH TO
truths may not be another’s. So, while con-
fidence in your expertise may lead you to THINKING CAN
one answer, my expertise may produce a
HELP YOU TO
Illustration: FrankRamspott/iStock.com
very different conclusion. And then the
problems start.
At a more fundamental level, critical TAKE BETTER
thinking is an effort to engage with our
human essence. Throughout our entire
lives, we bring our own very powerful
DECISIONS
mental models to what we experience.
BUSINESS SKILLS
Disciplined
thinking: a
critical skill

6/2020 Business Spotlight 35 

 This injects seemingly neutral facts and
events so powerfully with personal mean-
ings that we are regularly led to confuse
objective and subjective realities.
So, for example, as the first snow falls
in winter, you may experience joy and
nostalgia at the thought of a wonderful
family Christmas. I, on the other hand,
may experience anxiety at the thought of
travel disruption and lost business. As re-
cession looms, you may respond with op-
timism and a desire to invest due to your
entrepreneurial flair. I may reflect with
pessimism on the need to control costs.
Improving one’s ability to manage and
step away from one’s own mental model
is a never-ending process.
2. Jumping to conclusions
In everyday professional (and personal)
life, this challenge is evident in the way
that we jump so quickly to conclusions
about others on the basis of very limit-
ed data. This is a cognitive risk that was
examined in the “Ladder of Inference”
model, developed by American Chris
Argyris, a former professor at Harvard
Business School, and later popularized
by American systems scientist Peter M.
Senge in his book The Fifth Discipline.
Argyris made clear the ways in which a
reasonable and accurate assessment of
other people and their behaviours de-
pends on our ability to observe situations
accurately, to interpret fairly the data se-
lected and observed, and to exercise the
self-control needed to arrive at emotion-
ally neutral conclusions.
The following example makes this
clearer. If I enter a meeting room at 8.58,
and see you arrive at 9.20 (my observable
selected data), I can easily interpret this
data as meaning that you are late. I may
conclude with some irritation — because
I worked so hard to arrive on time — that
your professionalism and reliability are
highly questionable. And this might seem
like a fair first assumption, based on the
data I have at my disposal.
But had I arrived earlier, for example,
at 8.45, I would have seen what really
happened. You had got to the meeting
early at 8.50 and had explained to the
chairperson that you urgently needed to
help a colleague who needed transport to
the hospital for a sick child. I would then
have seen you leave the meeting room
at 8.55 and then get back by 9.20, having
36  Business Spotlight 6/2020
managed the emergency in an extraordi-
narily short time. All this extra data would WE OFTEN JUMP
have stopped me from making inaccurate
assumptions about what had happened TO CONCLUSIONS
and would have led to an entirely differ-
ent conclusion about my colleague. ABOUT OTHERS ON
This simple example illustrates the fact
that, in a complex business environment, THE BASIS OF VERY
where there may be many more “un-
known unknowns” than we can imagine, LIMITED DATA
we need the commitment and tools to
slow down our thinking, process more
data in a more reasoned way, challenge
some of our spontaneous interpreta- anxiety [ÄN(zaIEti]  jump to a conclusion
, Besorgnis [)dZVmp tu E kEn(klu:Z&n] 
tions and values with which we judge sit-
,  vorschnell einen Schluss
uations or colleagues, and come to more assessment [E(sesmEnt] 
ziehen
, Beurteilung
rounded conclusions. This is the promise KPI (key performance
of critical thinking. assumption [E(sVmpS&n] 
indicator) [)keI pi: (aI] 
, Annahme
, Leistungskennzahl
breeding ground
3. Developing your critical thinking [(bri:dIN graUnd] 
ladder of inference
[)lÄdEr Ev (Inf&rEns] 
In this section, we provide some tips for , Nährboden
,  Leiter der Schluss-
you and your organization that will help commitment folgerungen
you to develop your critical-thinking [kE(mItmEnt] 
loom [lu:m] 
,  hier: Bereitschaft
skills and improve your decision-taking. ,  sich abzeichnen
core [kO:] 
nostalgia [nQ(stÄldZE] 
, Kern; hier: zentral
a) Create a critical-thinking culture. ,  [wg. Aussprache]
Organizational cultures that punish disposal: have sth. at
outcome [(aUtkVm] 
one’s ~ [dI(spEUz&l] 
failure and reward only success, as op- , Ergebnis
,  etw. zur Verfügung
posed to creative efforts, are poor breed- haben public arena: put sth. into
ing grounds for alternative and critical the ~ [)pVblIk E(ri:nE] 
disruption [dIs(rVpS&n] 
,  hier: etw. in eine
thinking processes. Leaders who posi- ,  Störung, Unterbrechung
öffentliche Diskussion
tion themselves as experts, who focus too dumb [dVm]  einbringen
strongly on KPI-driven management pro- , dumm
surface sth. [(s§:fIs] 
cesses and who prioritize the known and entrepreneurial ,  hier: etw. erkennbar
[)QntrEprE(n§:riEl]  machen
the achievable, may be undermining their
, unternehmerisch
team’s ability to perform open and critical thrive [TraIv] 
(denkend)
,  gedeihen, erfolgreich
analysis of their environment. On the oth- flair [fleE]  sein
er hand, critical thinking can thrive when , Talent
undermine sth.
“dumb” ideas are welcomed, when people inject sth. with sth. [)VndE(maIn] 
are explicitly encouraged to “waste” valu- [In(dZekt wID]  ,  etw. untergraben,
,  hier: einer Sache beeinträchtigen
able time on unlikely outcomes and when
etw. verleihen
discussions are designed to challenge core visible [(vIzEb&l] 
irritation [)IrI(teIS&n]  , sichtbar
mantras. , Verärgerung
b) Surface your assumptions. Identify-
ing false and dangerous assumptions is
A critical thinker should be…
the first target of critical thinking. When
you ask people how to deal with assump- ⋅⋅⋅⋅ curious
⋅⋅⋅⋅
sceptical
tions, they often believe that the solution humble
⋅⋅⋅⋅
is to avoid them. Assumptions are ever- open-minded
present, however. Our brain necessarily able to admit to being wrong
⋅⋅⋅⋅
courageous in taking initiatives
works by methods of categorization and willing to face challenges
⋅⋅⋅⋅
classification. So, a smarter solution is aware of their personal biases
to put your assumptions into the pub- able to take criticism well
lic arena, to surface them, making them willing to disagree openly
visible and available for examination. In bias [(baIEs]  humble [(hVmb&l] 
meetings, for example, this means say- , Voreingenommenheit , bescheiden
ing things such as “I’m assuming that…”
BUSINESS SKILLS
 CASE STUDY:
A CRITICAL SALES PITCH From: jhansen@urto.com
To: igottard@hgm.de
Ina Gottard and Paul Jameson work for HGM,
a creative agency in Berlin that specializes in Dear Ina
creating marketing campaigns for national and
international brands in fashion retail. They are Many thanks for your time last week and for
planning a first meeting with URTO, a Düsseldorf the presentation. Unfortunately, we feel your
subsidiary of an American parent company in approach is not aligned to our needs and we
New York that Ina and Paul already work with. have decided to work with another agency.
Read the conversation they have while pre-
paring for the meeting with URTO, and the sub- Very best regards
sequent email from the Düsseldorf client. Then Joanna
answer the questions below.

⋅⋅
Paul: So, Ina, what do you think? How should we Questions
approach the client in Düsseldorf? What assumptions did Ina make when develop-

⋅⋅
Ina: My idea would be to leverage our rela- ing her strategy for the meeting?
tionship with New York. After all, if we’re What do you think of Paul’s behaviour during

⋅⋅
good enough for the parent company, we the discussion?
should be good enough for the subsidiary, How could Paul have helped Ina to apply more

⋅⋅
don’t you think? critical thinking to her approach?
Paul: Hmm, you think? Why do you think Ina’s pitch was unsuccessful?
Ina: Absolutely. And I know quite a few senior
people in the US, so we have excellent ref- You will find our feedback on page 41.
erences. And with most strategies aligned
these days, it makes sense to have the aligned [E(laInd]  leverage sth. sales pitch [(seI&lz pItS]  subsidiary
same creative agency. ,  aufeinander abgestimmt [(li:vErIdZ]  , Verkaufsgespräch, [sEb(sIdiEri] 
Paul: OK. ,  etw. als wirksames -präsentation , Tochterunternehmen;
assumption: make an ~
Ina: What I’ll do is put together a pitch with a Instrument einsetzen Niederlassung
[E(sVmpS&n]  senior exec
few examples of our work for New York, ,  eine Vermutung parent company [)si:niEr Ig(zek] ifml.  testimonial
and some testimonials from the senior anstellen [(peErEnt )kVmpEni]  ,  obere Führungskraft [)testI(mEUniEl] 
execs there. That should do the trick. , Muttergesellschaft , Referenz
Paul: You’re sure this is the right approach? do the trick subsequent
Ina: What can go wrong? [)du: DE (trIk]  ifml. retail [(ri:teI&l]  [(sVbsIkwEnt] 
,  Erfolg haben , Einzelhandel , nachfolgend

or “How safe is it to assume that…?” Surfacing and creates challenges in professional life. It can lead to adopt [E(dQpt] 
exploring assumptions like this can quickly take us errors if past expertise fails to match a new and emer- ,  etw. an-, übernehmen
along a journey of discovery of diverse experiences, gent reality. In other words, “what got you here may argue sth. [(A:gju:] 
levels of expertise, beliefs, values and systems of log- not get you there”. High levels of confidence can ,  etw. diskutieren

ic. It can be useful to define the terms that we com- also lead to conflict when experts with equally valid body of knowledge
monly use at work, too. For example, we might ask: versions argue and defend their views rather than [)bQdi Ev (nQlIdZ] 
, Wissensspektrum
“Do we really understand the same thing by the term enquire and collaborate. Tolerance of uncertainty,
clarify sth. [(klÄrEfaI] 
‘quality’?” or “So, what exactly is a ‘project’ for you?” humility regarding the limits of one’s knowledge,
,  etw. (ab)klären
It is also helpful to focus on and surface under- and an openness to new impulses and ideas are all
dismiss sth. [dIs(mIs] 
lying interests. This is particularly relevant during essential qualities for critical thinking. ,  etw. ablehnen
moments of innovation, because holding on to tradi-
embrace sth. [Im(breIs] 
tional solutions can sometimes obscure a customer’s d) Develop data competence. A lack of data can eas- ,  etw. akzeptieren; auch:
real needs. This has been highlighted recently with ily undermine effective critical thinking. When we sich etw. zu eigen machen
the rise of virtual training in response to the global have limited data, we struggle to take the best deci- emergent
pandemic. Historically, virtual training has been dis- sions. There are a number of potential solutions: [i(m§:dZEnt] 
, entstehend
missed by face-to-face trainers as an inferior learning ➻ Define in advance how much data is necessary
process (see also pp. 26–27). But the recent Covid-19 to take an informed decision. enrich sth. [In(rItS] 
,  etw. anreichern;
crisis has revealed that the core interest of learners ➻ Enrich your current data with new data from hier: unterfüttern
is not, in fact, to travel to a training room but to learn unfamiliar sources.
Illustration: FrankRamspott/iStock.com

humility [hju(mIlEti] 
useful information. If this can be achieved within a ➻ Widen your intellectual base so that you can , Bescheidenheit
virtual delivery mode, then this mode can quickly draw insights from different bodies of knowledge. obscure sth.
become adopted. ➻ Ask multiple questions to uncover unseen [Eb(skjUE] 
,  etw. verdecken
information.
c) Embrace uncertainty. Being confident that one ➻ Rank data according to its quality and impor- reveal sth. [ri(vi:&l] 
,  etw. (auf)zeigen
is in possession of the truth, the right answer or the tance in order to clarify its influence on any
correct analysis is admirable in many ways. But it also decision.

BUSINESS SKILLS 6/2020 Business Spotlight 37 

 Having the necessary data is not simply
about quantity but also about quality.
And effective data collection requires
careful time management to ensure that
sufficient information can be obtained
and assessed properly. A retrospective
analysis of the effectiveness of your data
collection is also essential.
e) Interrogate reality. A number of com-
munication philosophies embrace the
notion of “deep questioning” to arrive at
fundamental truths. The common insight
is that we need to ask more good ques-
tions to overcome the selection filters
that we use to choose our data, as we of-
ten select the wrong data at the start. Ask-
ing questions — particularly clarification
questions — can unpick the cognitive bi-
ases that corrupt this data with personal
meanings. Interrogation of reality also
means examining the connections and as-
sociations between different data. Sound
causal connections, logical deduction,
solid inference and reliable interpretation
all follow from such examinations. Impor-
tantly, this is a process that we need to em-
ploy not just with others’ arguments but
also with our own. We should welcome it
when our thoughts and plans are put un-
der the spotlight by others. Leadership
expert Tom Peters correctly asserted that
if we are not regularly looking for people
to disagree with what we believe, we are
dangerous human beings. There is a lot of
truth in this comment.
f) Manage emotions. Early definitions of
critical thinking focused on the need for
pure logic in our reasoning. More recent
definitions accept the fact that aspects
of our thinking may be irrational, poten-
tially even self-destructive, and driven by
powerful emotions whose unconscious
source is invisible to us. If we accept the
premise that human cognition is prone
to illogicality, then we need to be more
mindful of the emotions present in our-
selves and others. Our logical opinions
may, in fact, be serving unconscious
emotional impulses that do not provide
the best neutral analysis. Self-disclosure
is a starting point for addressing emo-
tional issues. Using phrases such as “My
feeling about this is…” or “I feel a little un-
sure, because…” can help you to be mind-
ful of your “emotional temperature” and
encourage others to share theirs. Asking
38  Business Spotlight 6/2020
questions about emotions — such as
“How comfortable do people feel about A CURIOUS
this?” — can create an inclusive atmos-
phere for people to share their feelings. REALITY IS
The extent to which people do share their
feelings will depend on the level of trust THAT IT MAY
in the group.
NOT EVEN BE
g) Accept that facts aren’t everything.
Sometimes, the more we know, the less POSSIBLE
certain we become. It is important to rec-
ognize that critical thinking may make TO TAKE
decision-making more challenging as
we become far more aware of the limits “CORRECT”
of our knowledge. Paradoxically, we may
even come to understand that alternative, DECISIONS
opposing solutions may be equally via-
ble. Indeed, all too often, our appetite for
risk, rather than the data itself, becomes
the driver of our thinking and decision-
making. Problem-solving may then ac-
tually be a strategic and not an empirical
process. Recognition of this phenomenon
can improve the character of our discus-
sions about complex problems. We can
avoid disputes about whose data is cor-
rect or more significant, and refocus at-
tention on the underlying strategic issues,
such as attitudes to risk.
h) Adopt a fast and a slow approach. agile [(ÄdZaI&l]  mindful: be ~ of sth.
, flexibel [(maIndf&l] 
A curious reality to face is that it may not
,  auf etw. achten, etw.
even be possible to take “correct” deci- appetite (for)
berücksichtigen
[(ÄpItaIt] 
sions. After all, new data is always wait- ,  hier: Bereitschaft, mitigate sth.
ing to emerge, and current data is always Neigung (zu) [(mItIgeIt] 
waiting to become redundant. In other ,  etw. mindern,
assert sth. [E(s§:t] 
minimieren
words, the future determines the right- ,  etw. behaupten,
ness or wrongness of our thinking and de- geltend machen notion [(nEUS&n] 
,  Vorstellung, Idee
cisions, not the data we have at hand. This clarity [(klÄrEti] 
, Klarheit premise [(premIs] 
reality has several consequences. First, it , Prämisse
can be argued that smart critical thinking consistency
[kEn(sIstEnsi]  prone: be ~ to sth.
needs to become quick, iterative and agile, ,  Beständigkeit, Kohärenz [prEUn] 
that “minimum viable” decisions need to ,  für etw. anfällig sein
corrupt sth. with sth.
be taken and checked against an emerging [kE(rVpt wID]  redundant: become ~
reality. New decisions can then be taken ,  etw. durch etw. [ri(dVndEnt] 
verzerren ,  gegenstandslos werden
as we get more data and realize that our
original decision was not optimal. Careful deduction self-disclosure
[di(dVkS&n]  [)self dIs(klEUZE] 
and slow thinking and decision-making, , Schlussfolgerung , Selbstauskunft; hier:
in contrast, can mitigate risks and help us ehrliche Selbstbefragung
emerge [i(m§:dZ] 
to avoid disaster in certain contexts. ,  entstehen, sich ergeben spotlight: put sth. under
This twin impulse of fast and slow ac- the ~ [(spQtlaIt] 
Illustration: FrankRamspott/iStock.com
interrogate sth.
,  etw. in den Fokus rücken
tivity, based on our best estimate of the [In(terEgeIt] 
data available and all the risks and oppor- ,  etw. abfragen; twin [twIn] 
hier: hinterfragen ,  hier: doppelt
tunities involved, is a core dilemma of
invisible [In(vIzEb&l]  unpick sth. [)Vn(pIk] 
modern leadership. It is also often misun-
, unsichtbar ,  etw. auseinander-
derstood by people below senior leader- nehmen; hier: analysieren
iterative [(ItErEtIv] 
ship levels, who expect higher degrees of ,  iterativ, sich wieder- viable [(vaIEb&l] 
clarity and consistency than is sometimes holend ,  umsetzbar, tragfähig
BUSINESS SKILLS
 Complex task:
integrating facts
and emotions
Illustration:

BUSINESS SKILLS 6/2020 Business Spotlight 39 

 Language reference
CASE STUDY: FEEDBACK (see p. 37) Here are some examples of the language you can use to develop critical think-
The following comments are provided as food ing skills in your teams and organizations.

⋅⋅
for thought. Different interpretations are, of
course, possible. Create a critical-thinking Does somebody have an alterna-

⋅⋅⋅⋅ ⋅⋅
culture
What assumptions did Ina make when devel- Let’s challenge ourselves today to…
oping her strategy for the meeting?
Ina assumed that it would be seen as positive We need to avoid rejecting ideas
tive way of looking at this?
Who would like to challenge our
ideas here?

⋅⋅
by the subsidiary for her agency to be work- too quickly because…

⋅⋅
ing with their headquarters in New York. She Can we ask as many questions as Manage emotions
assumed that international companies liked

⋅⋅
to work in an aligned way, and that references possible so that we can… If I can just express my own feel-

⋅⋅⋅⋅
from senior leaders at the headquarters would Remember, there are no dumb ings about this.
carry weight in the subsidiary. questions here and no dumb sug- My feeling about this is…

⋅⋅ ⋅⋅
gestions. I’m unsure about this because…
What do you think of Paul’s behaviour during
the discussion? Please feel free to ask anything you Forget the facts for a moment. What

⋅⋅ ⋅⋅
Paul offered very little substantial challenge would like. are everyone’s feelings about this?
to Ina’s way of thinking. Ina was not forced to It’s important that we challenge How comfortable do people feel
surface her assumptions, and her logic was not

⋅⋅
our core mantras. about… ?
tested in any way with alternative ideas. In the
end, Paul contributed to the wrong decision How far are emotions getting in the

⋅⋅⋅⋅
being made. Surface your assumptions way here?
I’m assuming that…
How could Paul have helped Ina to apply

⋅⋅
more critical thinking to her approach? How safe is it to assume that… ? Accept that facts aren’t

⋅⋅
Paul could have asked “why”-questions to help What should our working assump- everything

⋅⋅
himself understand the logic of Ina’s thinking, tions be here? Given what we know, both options
as a basis for asking questions that tested this

⋅⋅⋅⋅
Do we really understand the same could be right.
logic. For example, he could have asked, “Why

⋅⋅
do you think the subsidiary will be impressed thing by the term… ? However, I would prefer to…
by the references from headquarters?” He could So, what exactly is a … for you? I know that thinking like this has

⋅⋅
also have used questions to explore the oppo- risks. However, I believe we should…
site assumption. For example: “How might work-

⋅⋅
ing with headquarters be something negative Embrace uncertainty It may seem counter-intuitive, but

⋅⋅
for the Düsseldorf company?” Can we just go over this one more would there be benefits if we… ?

⋅⋅
time? How much risk are we willing to
Why do you think Ina’s pitch was unsuccess- What else should we be consider- accept here?
ful?

⋅⋅⋅⋅
In international organizations, subsidiaries often ing?

⋅⋅
have a challenging relationship with their parent Are we being too confident here? Adopt a fast and slow approach
company, which may be seen as being out of What are the potential “unknown Based on the evidence so far, let’s
touch with local markets and driving top-down

⋅⋅ ⋅⋅
decisions that damage local operations. In this unknowns” here? agree to…
case, the Düsseldorf company wanted to retain What are we potentially missing Let’s review our decision when we

⋅⋅
as much independence and “invisibility” from here? get more information.
the parent as possible, and so chose a different, We may need to adapt our decision
local agency.

⋅⋅ ⋅⋅
Develop data competence a number of times.
What do we need to know in order Given the lack of certainty, I think

⋅⋅ ⋅⋅
aligned [E(laInd]  parent company
to make a fully informed decision? we should postpone a decision.
,  aufeinander abgestimmt [(peErEnt )kVmpEni]  Who else could have useful in- We are not in a position to decide

⋅⋅
, Muttergesellschaft sights into this issue? until we know more about…
assumption: make an ~
[E(sVmpS&n]  pitch [pItS]  What other sources of data are
,  eine Vermutung , Verkaufsgespräch,

⋅⋅
there? adopt sth. [E(dQpt]  insight [(InsaIt] 
anstellen -präsentation ,  etw. an-, übernehmen , Einblick
Which data is most important
carry weight [)kÄri (weIt]  retain sth. [ri(teIn] 

,  Gewicht haben,
von Bedeutung sein
food for thought
⋅⋅
here? core [kO:]  interrogate sth.
,  etw. behalten , Kern; hier: zentral [In(terEgeIt] 
How reliable is the data we have? ,  etw. abfragen;
subsidiary counter-intuitive
[sEb(sIdiEri]  hier: hinterfragen
[)kaUntEr In(tju:EtIv] 

⋅⋅
[)fu:d fE (TO:t]  , Tochterunternehmen; Interrogate reality , widersinnig postpone sth.
, Denkanstoß/-anstöße Niederlassung How safely can we make this inter- dumb [dVm]  ,  dumm
[pEUst(pEUn] 
invisibility [In)vIzE(bIlEti]  surface sth. [(s§:fIs]  ,  etw. verschieben
pretation based on the data availa-
, Unsichtbarkeit ,  hier: etw. erkennbar embrace sth. [Im(breIs] 

⋅⋅⋅⋅
ble? review sth. [ri(vju:] 
machen ,  etw. akzeptieren; auch:
out of touch: be ~ with sth. ,  etw. überprüfen
How sure can we be that… ? sich zu eigen machen
[)aUt Ev (tVtS]  top-down surface sth. [(s§:fIs] 
,  hier: keine/wenig [)tQp (daUn]  So, if this is correct, can we say given [(gIv&n] 
,  hier: etw. erkennbar
Ahnung von etw. haben , hierarchisch that…? , angesichts
machen

BUSINESS SKILLS 6/2020 Business Spotlight 41 

 Challenge:
opening up
to the ideas
of others

possible. It is therefore essential to have

effective communication between man-
agement layers about the logic and con-
straints of thinking and decision process-
thinking from time to time. We need to
develop a sixth sense that tells us in spe-
constraint
[kEn(streInt]  TO EXERCISE
CRITICAL
, Beschränkung
cific moments that something is wrong
with our reasoning, that we need to slow enduring

THINKING
[In(djUErIN] 
es. This will help to ensure the necessary down and that the irritating counterargu- , anhaltend
levels of engagement and commitment. ment to our firm opinions or proposals
engagement

4. Exercising critical thinking

may just be right.
But saying that we need to develop a
[In(geIdZmEnt] 
, Einsatz(bereitschaft) EFFECTIVELY,
One of the enduring difficulties about
critical thinking is that we don’t know
sixth sense in specific situations means
that to exercise critical thinking effective-
irritating
[(IrIteItIN]  WE NEED
TO RELY ON
, ärgerlich
what we don’t know. It requires signifi- ly, we need to rely on our intuition. Now,
layer [(leIE] 
cant self-discipline and focus to remain that’s not very logical, is it?
, Ebene
open to the notion that our ideas are lim-
ited, that we need to spend more time col-
reasoning
[(ri:z&nIN] 
INTUITION
Illustration: FrankRamspott/iStock.com; Foto: privat

lecting data and checking our logic, and ,  Argumentation, Logik

that we may be wrong and others might withstand sth.
AUDIO + PLUS
be right. It requires enormous patience [wID(stÄnd] 
,  etw. standhalten
and tolerance to withstand the constant You can try our
challenging of your ideas by others, par- exercises on this
topic on Business
ticularly when it is based on argumenta- Spotlight Audio
tion that you think you know to be inac- BOB DIGNEN as well as in our
is a director of York Associates exercise booklet,
curate. (www.york-associates.co.uk) and author
Business Spotlight
Plus. To order, go
If we can’t do this all the time, perhaps of many business English books. Con- to www.aboshop.
a more realistic goal is to exercise critical tact: bob.dignen@york-associates.co.uk spotlight-verlag.de

40  Business Spotlight 6/2020 BUSINESS SKILLS

 BUSINESS SKILLS
PERSONAL TRAINER

The language in
international meetings
Geschäftssprache in Sitzungen mit internationalen Teilnehmern ist meistens Englisch.
Aber wie lassen sich Besprechungen reibungslos und effizient durchführen, wenn die Sprachkenntnisse
der Beteiligten unterschiedlich oder gar unzureichend sind? KEN TAYLOR sprach darüber
mit Sylvia Böhm von der BurdaForward GmbH.
MEDIUM AUDIO

Sylvia Böhm: I’d like to ask your ad­ can be quite expensive. If you are working
vice on how to manage an international in just two languages — German and Eng­
SYLVIA BÖHM KEN TAYLOR
is senior user is a communica- meeting at which the majority of the lish, for example — the interpreter could
experience tion consultant, participants speak German, and a small work directly with the speaker. But then
manager at the personal coach minority speak English but not German. you have to plan for the process to take
Burda­Forward and author of
If we switch to English entirely, many twice as long.
GmbH headquar- 50 Ways to
ters in Munich. Improve Your of the speakers of German don’t get in­
She has worked Business English volved because they don’t feel confident Böhm: Are there ways around this prob­
for more than (Lulu Publish- expressing themselves. lem other than using interpreters? In our
ten years on ing). Contact:
strategic and KTaylor868@aol.
Ken Taylor: This is a tricky situation that organization, we mainly work with speak­
innovative com many meeting organizers are facing these ers of German and speakers of English.
projects. Focus- days. My first piece of advice is to define, A large majority of the participants are
ing on meeting
as clearly as possible, the aim or aims of speakers of German.
human needs,
her job is to the meeting. Then decide who you need Taylor: Most people’s passive knowledge
design enjoyable to invite. Once you have a carefully select­ of a language is better than their active
and easy-to-use ed participant list, you can see whether skills. You could try having the inputs
products.
Burda­Forward
you have to cater for different language in English and then the discussions in
GmbH, part of requirements. German.
Hubert Burda
Media, includes
Böhm: Could I ask participants to assess
brands such as
FOCUS Online, their language skills in the target lan­ assess sth. [E(ses]  input [(InpUt] 
Chip and Fi- guages in advance — on a scale of one to ,  etw. beurteilen, , Beitrag
einschätzen
nanzen100. It five, for example? interpreter
has around 700 brief sb. [bri:f]  [In(t§:prItE] 
Taylor: You certainly could. The more you
employees in six ,  jmdn. instruieren, , Dolmetscher(in)
cities. know about your participants in advance, einweisen
scale [skeI&l] 
the better. Getting an idea of people’s lin­ cater for sth. , Skala
guistic competence can help you make [(keItE fO:] 
brand [brÄnd]  senior [(si:niE]  simultaneous
some decisions. ,  für etw. sorgen;
, Marke , leitend translation
hier: etw. gerecht werden
[sIm&l)teIniEs
headquarters
face sth. [feIs] 
Fotos: privat; Gert Krautbauer

trÄns(leIS&n] 
[)hed(kwO:tEz]  Böhm: In important international meet­
,  mit etw. konfrontiert , Simultanübersetzung
, Firmensitz ings, we sometimes use interpreters. werden
target language
Taylor: If you can have simultaneous in advance [(tA:gIt )lÄNgwIdZ] 
translation, that’s great, but it requires a [)In Ed(vA:ns]  , Zielsprache
lot of preparation — setting up the tech­ ,  im Voraus
tricky [(trIki] 
nology, briefing the translators — and it , schwierig

42  Business Spotlight 6/2020 BUSINESS SKILLS

Böhm: That might mean that a few peo­ to the discussion but simply be there to
ple couldn’t take part in the discussions. help out when misunderstandings oc­
Taylor: If that is the case, why not divide cur. The company says it’s also a positive
the participants into small groups for the learning experience for these new staff
discussions? These groups could be lan­ members.
guage based.
Böhm: That might work. What about
Böhm: That’s possible. But sometimes, getting external communication consul­
one might want groups based on their tants to help as communication problem-
professional competences. solvers?
Taylor: Then let the groups Taylor: That’s also a
decide which language to use. “Most of us good idea. The exter­
Most of us feel more comfort­
able speaking in a second lan­
feel more nal consultants could
set up a process and
guage in a small group than in
a plenary session.
comfortable would have the au­
thority to step in when
speaking things are not going
Böhm: It’s a question of trust.
It’s more difficult if we don’t
in a second smoothly.
Taylor: Practice makes perfect. Why not
practise your presentation in front of
your fellow organizers? They will be able
to tell you whether something is not clear
or poorly explained.
Böhm: It’s true that the more you prac­
tise, the more confident you become. I
try to keep improving my English. My
company provides weekly classes, which
really helps. I also read newsletters in my
professional field to increase my profes­
sional vocabulary. And, of course, I often
read Business Spotlight.
Taylor: All of those are good ways to im­
prove your English. And I suppose you
can practise your presentations with your
English teacher, too.

know each other or if a native language Böhm: I think more Böhm: I can and I do.
speaker is present, and the
others are speaking in a sec­ in a small and more of our meet­
ings will be held in
Taylor: Excellent!

ond language.
Taylor: I agree. Sometimes,
group than English as we become
increasingly interna­
it’s good to assign a facilitator in a plenary tional in our outlook.
to each small group discus­
sion. This facilitator should session” Taylor: That seems to
be the way the busi­
be comfortable in both lan­ ness world is moving. ➻
guages and act as a commu­ I’m occasionally asked What’s your challenge?
nication problem-solver. to help plan and run
Would you like to have
international meetings. I always suggest a conversation with Ken
Böhm: Is it a good idea to suggest that that the meetings start with a discussion Taylor about your current
work challenges? If so,
each person decides whether to use Eng­ about the meeting process — the organ­ send an email with your
lish or German for their inputs to the dis­ izers explain their ideas about the process name, company and
cussion? and listen to suggestions on how it could the subject you would like
to discuss to
Taylor: If everyone in the group has a rea­ be improved. business.trainer@
spotlight-verlag.de AUDIO
sonable passive knowledge of both lan­
guages, that could certainly work. When Böhm: It makes organizing and taking In each issue, we will Listen to more tips
from Ken Taylor on
I was working in Sweden, that’s how I part in an international meeting quite choose one reader who
Business Spotlight
will talk to Ken, and the
was able to participate in meetings until demanding — and tiring! dialogue will be published
Audio. To order, go
to www.aboshop.
my language skills became good enough Taylor: It does. There is one more thing in Business Spotlight. spotlight-verlag.de
to contribute entirely in Swedish. you can do to prepare for an internation­
al meeting to be held in English: do the
Böhm: Do you have any other sugges­ preparation work in English! That way,
annual [(ÄnjuEl]  occur [E(k§:] 
tions? you will be able to see where there are
, jährlich , auftreten
Taylor: One German company I work gaps in the vocabulary you need during
assign sb. to sth. outlook
with does the following in their annual the meeting itself. You then have the [E(saIn tu]  [(aUtlUk] 
sales conference, which is held in Eng­ chance to fill those gaps. ,  jmdm. etw. zuweisen , (Zukunfts-)Perspektive
lish. They invite a new member of staff facilitator [fE(sIlEteItE]  plenary session
with excellent English to each of the small Böhm: That’s a good idea. One other prob­ , Moderator(in) [(pli:nEri )seS&n] 
, Plenarsitzung
group workshops. This person’s only role lem I have is more personal: I sometimes fellow [(felEU] , Mit-
is to be a communication problem-solver. have to make meeting presentations in step in [)step (In] 
gap [gÄp] 
, eingreifen
They are not expected to contribute much English. ,  Lücke, Defizit

BUSINESS SKILLS 6/2020 Business Spotlight 43 

 u

v X
V

U
y
x at

ak
al

am

bl

aq an
ar
ap
bk
bt as
ao

LANGUAGE
VOCABULARY
5. spatula 11. site notebook 17. grave [greIv]
[(spÄtjUlE]  [(saIt )nEUtbUk]  ,  Grab, Grabstätte

An excavation site
,  Spatel, Spachtel , Grabungstagebuch
18. burial gift/object
6. trowel [(traUEl]  12. finds box [(beriEl )gIft/)QbdZekt] 
,  Kelle, Truffel, Traufel [(faIndz bQks]  , Grabbeigabe
Auf diesen Seiten präsentieren wir , Fundkiste
7. mattock [(mÄtEk]  19. skull/cranial bone
nützliche Begriffe aus der Arbeitswelt. , Hacke 13. shaker screen [(skVl/(kreIniEl bEUn] 
[(SeIkE skri:n]  , Schädelknochen
Von HILDEGARD RUDOLPH  EASY 8. excavation assistant
,  Rüttel-, Schwingsieb
[)ekskE(veIS&n E)sIstEnt]  20. skeleton
, Grabungsassistent(in) 14. clay shard [(skelItEn] 
[)kleI (SA:d]  , Skelett
1. excavation tent 3. plumb bob 9. artefact [(A:tIfÄkt] 
, Tonscherbe
[)ekskE(veIS&n tent]  [(plVm bQb]  ,  Artefakt, Objekt 21. brush [brVS] 
, Grabungszelt , Senklot 15. spirit level ,  Pinsel; Bürste
10. excavation director
[(spIrIt )lev&l] 
Illustration: Mike Ellis

2. (field of) ruins 4. folding ruler [)ekskE(veIS&n dE)rektE]  22. archaeologist

, Wasserwaage
[()fi:&ld Ev) (ru:Inz]  [(fEUldIN )ru:lE]  , Grabungsleiter(in) [)A:ki(QlEdZIst] 
, Ruinenfeld , Zollstock 16. shovel [(SVv&l]  , Archäologe/Archäologin
, Schaufel

44  Business Spotlight 6/2020 LANGUAGE

 Exercise 2: A sensational find
Other useful vocabulary
Nouns clothing item date sth. [deIt]  Unscramble the words in bold, which are all
[(klEUDIN )aItEm]  ,  etw. datieren
find [faInd]  , Kleidungsstück listed on pages 44–45.
, Fund dig [dIg]
coin [kOIn] , Münze , graben
fossil [(fQs&l] 
jewellery [(dZu:Elri]  excavate sth. When construction of the new residential
, Fossil
, Schmuck [(ekskEveIt]  area started two months ago, the
foundation wall ,  etw. ausgraben
[faUn(deIS&n wO:l]  pottery [(pQtEri]  (A) riseman of a prehistoric
, Grundmauer ,  Töpfer-, Tonware(n) expose sth. [Ik(spEUz] 
,  etw. freilegen (B) pocoliners were
(human) burial spear [spIE] , Speer
[()hju:mEn) (beriEl]  map sth. [mÄp]  found. Now, the area looks like a field of
tool [tu:l] 
,  (menschliches) Begräbnis ,  etw. kartieren (C) usnir . (D) alogistarcheos
, Werkzeug
mummy [(mVmi] shovel sth. [(SVv&l]  are working with
utensil [ju(tens&l] 
, Mumie ,  etw. (weg)schaufeln
, Gebrauchsgegenstand (E) solvesh and (F) wrestol
necropolis [ne(krQpElIs]  survey sth. [sE(veI] 
,  Nekropole, Totenstadt ,  etw. vermessen , (G) shubers
Materials
(radio)carbon dating and (H) lastupas . In one
bone [bEUn] , Knochen
[()reIdiEU))kA:bEn (deItIN]  Adjectives (I) vager , they found a(n)
, Radiokarbonmethode, bronze [brQnz] , Bronze
ancient [(eInSEnt]  (J) elwl-vedresper -
C-14-Datierung
ceramic [sE(rÄmIk]  ,  altertümlich; antik
remains [ri(meInz]  , Keramik (K) kosenlet , together with
archaeological
, Überreste
charcoal [(tSA:kEUl]  [)A:kiE(lQdZIk&l]  (L) uribal stifg , such as
settlement [(set&lmEnt]  , Holzkohle , archäologisch
(M) tenusils and (N) deabs .
, Siedlung
china [(tSaInE] , Porzellan dilapidated
Later, Eric, the (O) vexanatioc
temple complex [dI(lÄpIdeItId] 
clay [kleI] ,  Ton, Lehm , verfallen director, and his team will date these
[(temp&l )kQmpleks] 
, Tempelanlage copper [(kQpE] , Kupfer historic [hI(stQrIk]  (P) ratesfact using
jade [dZeId] , Jade , historisch
(Q) drabionarco gnadit
Artefacts leather [(leDE] , Leder medieval [)medi(i:v&l] 
, mittelalterlich
.
axe [Äks] 
shell [Sel] , Muschel Everyone hopes that the construction work
, Axt prehistoric
bead [bi:d] [)pri:hI(stQrIk]  will soon be continued.
, Perle Verbs , prähistorisch

ceremonial vessel analyse sth. [(ÄnElaIz]  well-preserved

[serE)mEUniEl (ves&l]  ,  etw. untersuchen, [)wel pri(z§:vd] 
,  zeremonielles Gefäß analysieren ,  gut erhalten

Exercise 1: What is it?

Choose the correct options without looking at the vocabulary

lists on these two pages.

Answers
A. Trowel, shovels, brushes and spatulas are dating
archaeologists use at an excavation site. Q. radiocarbon
1. tools 2. artefacts P. artefacts
B. In prehistoric times, high-ranking persons were buried
O. excavation
N. beads
with valuable . M. utensils
1. burial gifts 2. fossils
L. burial gifts
K. skeleton
J. well-preserved
I. grave
H. spatulas
Dates in archaeology G. brushes
F. trowels
CE is short for Common Era, which begins with year The standard terms in the Western world are AD E. shovels
1 in the Gregorian calendar (which was introduced (Anno Domini) and BC (before Christ). Though
D. Archaeologists
C. ruins
in 1582 and is still used today). Year 1 supposedly many still use this dating system, in recent decades, B. necropolis
corresponds with the birth of Christ. BCE stands for there has been a trend away from it, due to its religious
A. remains
Exercise 2
Before (the) Common Era, which indicates any time connotation, to the more neutral CE and BCE. One
before year 1. writes 2020 CE or AD 2020.
A–1; B–1
Exercise 1

LANGUAGE 6/2020 Business Spotlight 45 

 LANGUAGE
EASY ENGLISH

Supporting Ed: Well, yes, it is. I’ve got two new projects on
top of all of my regular workload. I don’t feel
builders: the ~
[(bIldEz]  

a colleague
,  die Baufirma
that the boss notices or values my hard work
— and it’s getting me down. I’m feeling under by then [)baI (Den] 
,  bis dahin, in der
pressure and demotivated at the same time. Zwischenzeit
Geht es einem Kollegen offensichtlich nicht gut, Ron: That doesn’t sound good, Ed.
catch up [)kÄtS (Vp] 
sollte man versuchen, ihn zu unterstützen. Ed: No, it’s not. I’m also under pressure at home, ,  sich austauschen
as the baby is a handful, and the house exten- catch up on sth.
Wie das auf Englisch geschehen kann, lesen
sion isn’t finished yet. [)kÄtS (Vp Qn] 
Sie in diesem Dialog. Ron: You do have a lot going on. How can I help? ,  etw. nachholen

EASY  AUDIO  PLUS Ed: I’m not sure, Ron. It’s all becoming too much. extension
[Ik(stenS&n] 
Ron: It sounds like it can’t continue like this. What
, Anbau
can you change at home? Which of these
face sth. [feIs] 
things can you influence? ,  mit etw. konfrontiert
Ed: Good question. I can’t really influence the werden
speed of the builders, but they should be fin- get sb. down
ished in about two weeks. It’ll definitely get [)get (daUn] 
,  jmdn. runterziehen,
easier then.
jmdn. deprimieren
Ron: OK, and what support can you get from your
MIKE HOGAN get on [)get (Qn] 
is a co-author of Business English
family? , zurechtkommen
for Beginners A1 + A2 and Basis for Ed: I could ask my parents to visit for a few weeks
handful: be a ~
Business B1 + B2 (Cornelsen). once the builders are gone. They could help [(hÄndfUl]  ifml.
Contact: hoganmike@gmail.com
with the baby so that my wife and I can catch ,  anstrengend sein

F
up on sleep. lately [(leItli] 
or many people, the world of work is very dif- Ron: There you go. So, things should be a bit better ,  in letzter Zeit

ferent from the way it was just six months in around two weeks, right? overloaded
ago. Some people are doing well in this new Ed: Yes. Thanks, Ron. I guess things aren’t quite [)EUvE(lEUdId] 
, überlastet
situation. Others are not doing so well, and so bad.
postpone sth.
they might not ask you for support — or even Ron: And what about work? Is the main problem [pEUst(pEUn] 
be open with you about the problems they are that you have too much work for one person ,  etw. verschieben
facing. If you think someone is having difficulties, it’s to do? Or is it more about the recognition you retreat from sth.
important to offer them both empathy and support. feel you’re not getting from the boss? [ri(tri:t frQm] 
,  sich von etw. zurück-
You might not be able to solve their problems, but Ed: It’s a bit of both.
ziehen
being there for them, listening and asking questions Ron: OK, who can help you with the projects? And
there you go
can be a big help. are there other tasks that you could either [)DeE jE (gEU] 
delegate or postpone? ,  na also, na geht doch
Ed: I do have two other reports to do for next
Question month. But I could wait a few weeks before
tough [tVf] 
, schwierig
As you read the dialogue, can you identify all the pos- starting the reports and focus on the new workload
itive things that Ron does to support Ed? proj­ects now. [(w§:klEUd] 
, Arbeitspensum
Ron: That sounds like a good idea. And how can
you make it easier for the boss to see all the
Dialogue good work you’re doing?
Ron: Hi, Ed. You don’t seem yourself lately. How are Ed: I guess I could send her a weekly overview of
things? my work and the progress I’ve been making.
Ed: OK, I suppose. Ron: That would be good. And then you’re more AUDIO + PLUS
Ron: I’ve noticed that you’ve retreated a bit from likely to get that recognition for all your hard
You can try our
our online team communication. And that work. exercises on this
you’re less prepared than usual for our team Ed: Thanks, Ron. It’s been really useful talking to topic on Business
Spotlight Audio
meetings. Are you OK? you. I feel much better now. as well as in our
Ed: To be honest, I’m feeling quite overloaded and Ron: That’s good to hear! How about we catch up exercise booklet,
Business Spotlight
also demotivated. in two weeks to see how you’re getting on? Plus. To order, go
Ron: I’m sorry to hear that, Ed. I know you’ve been Ed: That would be great. Things should have im- to www.aboshop.
spotlight-verlag.de
going through a lot lately. It must be tough. proved both at home and at work by then.

46  Business Spotlight 6/2020 LANGUAGE

 Useful phrases for
supporting a colleague

⋅⋅⋅⋅
A. Starting the conversation
How are things?

⋅⋅⋅⋅
Are you OK?
You don’t seem yourself.

⋅⋅
I’ve noticed that you…
Would you like to talk about it?

⋅⋅⋅⋅
B. Showing empathy
I’m sorry to hear that.

⋅⋅
It must be tough.
I can imagine this is difficult/

⋅⋅⋅⋅
frustrating for you.
That doesn’t sound good.
It sounds like it can’t continue
like this.

⋅⋅⋅⋅
C. Offering/exploring support
How can I help (you)?
Good connection: Is there anything I can do to

⋅⋅⋅⋅
how can you help
your colleagues?
support you?
What help do you need?

⋅⋅⋅⋅
What support can you get?
Who can help you with this?
Have you spoken to… about this?
Answer Grammar
“Could” for possibility, and
⋅⋅
Ron does the following things to support D. Guiding towards solutions

⋅⋅ “should” for probability

his colleague Ed: Which of these things can you

⋅⋅⋅⋅
He doesn’t ignore signs of change in influence?
Ed’s behaviour. Instead, he mentions What have you already tried?
these changes to Ed and asks whether When speaking about future options and What things haven’t you tried

⋅⋅ ⋅⋅⋅⋅
he is OK. possibilities, we can use “could”. Look at yet?
He shows empathy with Ed and these examples from the dialogue: What could you do first?

⋅⋅⋅⋅ ⋅⋅⋅⋅
doesn’t judge him. Are there any tasks you could

⋅⋅
He offers Ed his personal help. I could ask my parents to visit… delegate or postpone?

⋅⋅
He asks questions to help Ed to find They could help with the baby… Is there anything else you can

⋅⋅
his own solutions to his problems. And are there other tasks that you do?

⋅⋅
He commits to having a follow-up could either delegate or postpone?

⋅⋅⋅⋅
discussion with Ed. I could wait a few weeks before E. Offering follow-up support

⋅⋅
starting the reports… Let me know how it goes.
I could send her a weekly overview of Give me a call on Friday and let

⋅⋅
KEY TIPS! my work… me know how things are.
Don’t ignore the issue if you feel a
colleague needs support. Be proactive and I’ll give you a call about this in a

⋅⋅
speak to them. When talking about things that we think few days.
•
Listen and show empathy, but don’t judge.
are likely to happen, we can use “should”. How about we catch up (again)
• Look at these examples from the dialogue: later in the week?

⋅⋅
Offer support with your time, knowledge or
connections.
• [The builders] should be finished in
Illustration: iStockphoto/iStock.com

⋅⋅
Don’t feel as if you have to find a solution about two weeks.
yourself. Don’t say things such as “In your
position, I’d…” or “If I were you,…”. So, things should be a bit better in

⋅⋅
• around two weeks, right? commit to sth. issue [(ISu:] 
Ask questions to guide the other person [kE(mIt tu]  , Problem
towards finding a solution that works for
Things should have improved both at
,  sich zu etw. verpflichten
them. home and at work by then. proactive: be ~
• follow-up [prEU(ÄktIv] 
Offer follow-up conversations and support. [(fQlEU Vp]  ,  die Initiative ergreifen
,  Folge-, Anschluss-

LANGUAGE 6/2020 Business Spotlight 47 

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 LANGUAGE
TRANSLATION Tricky translations
Hier finden Sie englische Wörter, How do you say “due” in How do you say Bewegung
die man leicht verwechselt, und German? in English?
englische und deutsche Wörter, If a bus or train is “due”, it is ex­ In the context of activism and
pected to arrive at a particular protest, a Bewegung is a group
deren Übersetzung schwierig ist.
time. If a task is “due”, it must of like-minded people trying

⋅⋅
MEDIUM be completed by a fixed date: to bring about change. It is

⋅⋅
“The train is due in 15 translated as movement:
minutes.” — Der Zug soll in Was die Welt jetzt braucht, ist

Don’t confuse... ⋅⋅
MIKE SEYMOUR 15 Minuten hier sein. eine neue Friedensbewegung.
is an author,
“When is the report due?” — “What the world needs
trainer and
translator based — Wann muss der Bericht fertig now is a new peace move­
fond, fund in Leeds, sein? ment.”
If you are fond of someone, then you like England. Contact:
www.mikeseymour.

⋅⋅
them (jmdn. gern haben): com
If a payment is “due”, it has to When we are talking about
“I’m really fond of my niece.” — Ich be paid by a certain date (fällig) sport activities, Bewegung is

⋅⋅
habe meine Nichte wirklich gern. — or it is “overdue” (überfällig): generally translated as exer-

⋅⋅
“My rent is due today.” — cise:
If you are fond of doing something, you Meine Miete ist heute fällig. Mein Arzt sagt, ich brauche

⋅⋅
enjoy doing it (etw. gern tun): mehr Bewegung. — “My doc­
“I’m fond of browsing in antiquarian If a result is “due to some­ tor says I need to get more
bookshops.” — Ich stöbere gern in Anti- thing”, it is caused by it (auf- exercise.”
quariaten. grund/wegen etw. or auf etw. zu-

⋅⋅
rückzuführen sein): In physics, we translate Bewe-
If you fund a person, organization or proj­ “All performances were gung as motion or movement,

⋅⋅
ect, you provide financial support (jmdn./ Answers cancelled due to Covid-19.” or we can use the verb move:

⋅⋅
etw. finanzieren): — Alle Aufführungen wurden Die Dampflokomotive setzte
always on the go.
Therefore, she’s
“Her research is funded by a pharma­ movements. wegen Covid-19 abgesagt. sich langsam in Bewegung. —
ceutical company.” — Ihre Forschung “The steam train slowly
different political
of many
wird von einem Pharmaunternehmen B. She’s a member Something “due to a person” is started to move.”

⋅⋅
finanziert. fällig. owed to them (jmdm. zustehen):
“She doesn’t get the praise If we describe a person as
nächste Woche
meine Miete ist
Used as a noun, a fund is a sum of money verloren, aber due to her.” — Sie erhält nicht being ständig in Bewegung, we
that is to be used for a particular purpose das Lob, das ihr zusteht. mean they are very active.
Krise meine Stelle

⋅⋅
der jüngsten
(Fonds, Gelder): 2. A. Ich habe wegen Here, we use the phrase al-

⋅⋅
“Two per cent of their profits goes to a C. fond, funds You can do something “in due ways be on the go:
charity fund.” — Zwei Prozent ihres Ge- B. fund course” (zu gegebener Zeit), Sie kann sich nicht entspannen.
winns gehen an einen Wohltätigkeitsfonds. 1. A. fond “with all due respect” (bei allem Sie muss ständig in Bewegung
gebührenden Respekt.) or “with sein. — “She simply can’t
due diligence” (mit gebührender relax. She always has to be
Sorgfalt). on the go.”

1. Make your choice 2. How would you say that?

Complete these sentences with the correct form of Translate the following sentences.
“fond” or “fund”.
A. I lost my job due to the recent crisis, but my rent is
A. I’ll just have something plain. I am not due next week.
of eating spicy food.
B. The for a new minibus now has more
than £25,000 in it, so we’ll soon be able to replace our Sie ist Mitglied in vielen verschiedenen politischen Bewegungen.
B. 
old one. Deshalb ist sie ständig in Bewegung.
C. He’s really of his god-daughter. That’s
why he her vintage clothing business.

48  Business Spotlight 6/2020 LANGUAGE

 LANGUAGE
TALKING FINANCE

To be or not to be better off.

VAT is the question
Damit der Verbraucher mehr konsumiert und die deutsche Wirtschaft
dadurch angekurbelt wird, wurde die Mehrwertsteuer gesenkt. Doch
wer profitiert tatsächlich davon? IAN MCMASTER erklärt es Ihnen.
ADVANCED AUDIO

W
ho pays the value added tax
(VAT) that is charged on
products and services? And
who hands this VAT over to
the government? If your an­
swers are “consumers” and
“retailers”, respectively, you
are half right.
VAT is a sales tax, levied at a percen­
tage rate and often with a lower rate for
essential everyday products, such as food.
VAT is levied at each stage of the produc­
tion process, including at the point of
sale to the final consumer (or business).
Any­one who charges VAT has to remit
to the government the VAT they receive
minus the VAT paid on their business-
related expenses.
So, although retailers do hand over VAT
to the government, they don’t hand over
the full amount charged when the prod­
uct or service is sold to the consumer.
And who actually pays the VAT? It’s
very tempting to say “consumers”, as
IAN MCMASTER
to increase the price — to be competitive — and instead to bear
is editor-in-chief the tax burden. VAT would still be charged, but the final price
of Business would be the same (€20) as if there were no VAT. The key point
Spotlight.
to remember is that, just because you are charged a tax, doesn’t
mean you bear the burden of it.
Contact: The same applies in reverse to Germany’s VAT cut. The higher
i.mcmaster@ rate has been reduced from 19 to 16 per cent for six months and
spotlight-verlag.de
the lower rate from 7 to 5 per cent. In some cases, these cuts have
been passed on in full. At the other extreme, some firms have left
their prices unchanged and used the lower VAT to improve their
financial situation and/or protect jobs. In other cases, the benefit
of the VAT cut has been shared.
Whatever the scenario, consumers or producers (or both)
have more money available than before. It is estimated that the
government will forgo some €20 billion in VAT receipts. As with
any tax cut, this is a potential boost to the economy. The precise
impact, however, will depend on the extent to which consumers
and producers spend this extra money or save it. By making the
VAT cut temporary, the government hopes to encourage con­
sumers to bring forward large purchases and give the economy
an extra boost. Whether this works out as the government wish­
es — and whether the VAT cut is extended — remains to be seen.
Fotos: iStockphoto, Strannik9211/iStock.com; Gert Krautbauer

affected: be ~ by sth. incidence of the tax retailer

they hand over the full price, including
[E(fektId]  [(InsIdEns Ev DE )tÄks]  [(ri:teI&lE] 
the VAT listed on the bill. But we need to ,  von etw. betroffen sein ,  Steuerinzidenz, Auftei- , Einzelhändler(in)
consider here what economists call the boost [bu:st] 
lung der Steuerlast
tax burden
“incidence” of the tax and see whose in­ ,  Ankurbelung, Schub in reverse [(tÄks )b§:d&n] 
AUDIO
come is really affected by its imposition. [)In ri(v§:s]  , Steuerlast
bring sth. forward
You can hear Ian , umgekehrt
Imagine that a product costs €20 and [)brIN (fO:wEd]  tempting: it’s ~ to do sth.
McMaster talking ,  etw. vorverlegen, levy (a tax) [(levi]  [(temptIN] 
there is no VAT. What happens if the about VAT and vorziehen ,  (eine Steuer) erheben ,  man ist versucht,
government then decides to introduce other news topics on etw. zu tun
Business Spotlight forgo sth. [fO:(gEU]  receipts
VAT at a rate of 10 per cent? If the VAT Audio. To order, go ,  auf etw. verzichten [ri(si:ts]  value added tax (VAT)
is passed on in full, the new price will be to www.aboshop. ,  hier: Einnahmen [)vÄlju: (ÄdId tÄks] 
spotlight-verlag.de imposition
€22, and the customer bears the full tax , Mehrwertsteuer
[)ImpE(zIS&n]  remit sth. [ri(mIt]  
(MwSt.)
burden. But the retailer might decide not , Erhebung ,  etw. überweisen

50  Business Spotlight 6/2020 LANGUAGE

LANGUAGE by Hildegard Rudolph
CARDS

Grammar Business Spotlight 6/20 Grammar Business Spotlight 6/20

Which verb tense is correct? Which verb tense is correct?

“If you can’t come to the meeting “I’m sorry I can’t come to the
with the new supplier, don’t meeting. I see / I’m seeing
worry. I let / I’ll let you know another client at 4 p.m.”
about the outcome.”

Translation Business Spotlight 6/20 Translation Business Spotlight 6/20

Translate this sentence into English. Translate these sentences into German.

Die Kehrseite der Medaille ist unsere “Thanks very much.”

Abhängigkeit von Investoren. — “Don’t mention it.”

Word choice Business Spotlight 6/20 Word choice Business Spotlight 6/20

Which of the two words in bold is correct? Which of the two words in bold is correct?

“As a result of the higher minimum This measure will decline/

wage for textile workers, the com- decrease their sales volume.
pany had to raise/rise its prices
for their new autumn collection.”

Business talk Business Spotlight 6/20 Business talk Business Spotlight 6/20

What does the speaker mean? What does the speaker mean?

“She had to do an internship first “These aren’t the exact figures,

to prove her digital literacy.” as they are only based on
David’s back-of-the-envelope
calculation.”
LANGUAGE
CARDS

Grammar Business Spotlight 6/20 Grammar Business Spotlight 6/20

“…I’m seeing another client at 4 p.m.” “…I’ll let you know about the outcome.”

The statement refers to an arrangement that has been In this sentence, the speaker promises spontaneously
made. The correct tense of the verb is therefore the what they will do later. The “will-future” — usually in its
present progressive. contracted form — is used in such situations.

Translation Business Spotlight 6/20 Translation Business Spotlight 6/20

Vielen Dank. “The other side of the coin is our dependence on

– Nichts zu danken. / Gern geschehen. / Keine Ursache. investors.”

“Don’t mention it” is a polite response to “thank you”. This phrase points out that something has two opposite
aspects. You could also say “the flip side of the coin”.

Word choice Business Spotlight 6/20 Word choice Business Spotlight 6/20

“This measure will decrease their sales volume.” “…the company had to raise its prices…”

Both decrease and decline can be used transitively (with Raise is a transitive verb (used with an object); rise is
an object) or intransitively (without an object), but only an intransitive verb (used without an object). In this
decrease is correct in this context. If decline is used sentence, we have an object (“the prices”). So, raise is
transitively, it means “refuse”. correct.

decrease (sth.) = sinken; etw. senken raise (the prices) = (die Preise) erhöhen
decline (sth.) = sinken; etw. ablehnen (the prices) rise = (die Preise) steigen

Business talk Business Spotlight 6/20 Business talk Business Spotlight 6/20

A back-of-the-envelope calculation is a quick Digital literacy refers to a person’s skills and ability
calculation, often using approximate figures. The image to research and evaluate information and to create,
is that of a calculation done informally on a piece of for example, texts, images and audio using digital
paper — such as the back of an envelope. technology.

back-of-the-envelope calculation = Überschlagsrechnung digital literacy = digitale Kompetenz

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 LANGUAGE
SHORT STORY

Angela’s trumpet JAMES SCHOFIELD

is a writer,
business coach and
Ihr berufliches Leben lang hat sie sich für podcaster. You
die Gleichstellung von Mann und Frau can listen to his
podcast Behind the
in Führungspositionen eingesetzt. Wird Bottom Line at
sie ihr Ziel nun kurz vor ihrem Tod noch https://anchor.fm/
james-schofield8
erreichen? Von JAMES SCHOFIELD
MEDIUM AUDIO

angel’s trumpet
[(eIndZ&lz )trVmpIt] 
, Engelstrompete

annual report
[)ÄnjuEl ri(pO:t] 

H
, Jahresbericht

ello, Rudi, this is Angela. I need you to come above. She was sitting by a bush with long, white, board of directors
[)bO:d Ev dE(rektEz] 
to my apartment now — it’s important. The trumpet-shaped flowers hanging from its branches. ,  Vorstand
door’s unlocked; just come through to the “Here we are,” she said. “Take a chair. You must be
CEO (chief executive
conservatory.” hot!” officer) [)si: i: (EU] 
Rudolph Helm, head of corporate security He sat down and took off his jacket and tie. It was , Geschäftsführer(in),
Vorstandsvorsitzende(r)
at Planck Pharmaceuticals in Basel, listened to a pleasant spot.
the voicemail again. Dr Angela Wharton had recent- “I know those flowers,” he said. “You brought conservatory
[kEn(s§:vEtri] UK 
ly retired as head of research from the company or, them to the office sometimes.” , Wintergarten
better said, she’d been retired. She and the new CEO “Angel’s trumpets, they’re called. Lovely smell.”
corporate security
had not seen eye to eye, so she wasn’t even a compa- “Angel’s, not Angela’s, then? Where are they from?” [)kO:pErEt sI(kjUErEti]  
ny employee any more. “South America, originally.” There was a silence. , Unternehmenssicherheit

Angela was a dangerous person to cross. When “It’s good to see you, Angela. How are you? I cross sb. [krQs] 
she’d left the company, Rudi expected a public re- heard…” ,  jmdn. verärgern

taliation of some kind, but there was nothing. Then
he had heard that she needed chemotherapy, which
explained her silence. It might be wise to find out
“About the chemo?” She shook her head. “It didn’t delicious [di(lISEs] 
, köstlich
work. They say I have three to six months. But I’ve
accepted that; it’s not why I called you. We need to head of research
[)hed Ev ri(s§:tS] 
Fotos: LARYSA MARCHENKO, skflowerphotos/iStock.com; privat

what she wanted. She was a clever woman. talk, Rudi. But first … something to drink? The juice , Forschungsleiter(in)
As promised, the door was open. He walked I make is good.”
pharmaceutical
through the apartment to where he could see the She walked out of the room and came back carry- [)fA:mE(su:tIk&l] 
conservatory. The windows were a mass of green ing two bottles, each with a green smoothie inside. , Arzneimittel

leaves. As he entered the room, it was like stepping She handed one to him. He poured himself a glass retaliation
into a warm, perfumed jungle. and drank; it was delicious. [ri)tÄli(eIS&n] 
, Vergeltung
“Angela?” he called. “Where are “I’m listening,” he said.
ANGELA WAS you?” “Look at this.” see eye to eye
[si: )aI tu (aI] 

A DANGEROUS “Follow the path,” she replied.

It led him around a corner, and
She put a copy of the company’s annual report on
the table. It pictured a horizontal line of middle-aged
,  einer Meinung sein

PERSON
he found Angela in a small area
where the branches had been cut
TO CROSS back to let in light from the glass
voicemail [(vOIsmeI&l] 
men in white shirts and dark suits walking towards , Mailbox
the viewer. It was Planck’s board of directors, with
their new CEO.
work [w§:k] 
,  hier: anschlagen

54  Business Spotlight 6/2020 LANGUAGE

 LANGUAGE
ENGLISH FOR…

Fairtrade
Produkte aus fairem Handel kosten zwar etwas mehr, advocate sth. [(ÄdvEkeIt] 
,  für etw. eintreten
garantieren ihren Produzenten aber menschenwürdige
annual turnover
Arbeitsbedingungen und einen existenzsichernden Lohn. [)ÄnjuEl (t§:nEUvE] 
Wichtige englische Begriffe dazu finden Sie hier. , Jahresumsatz

MEDIUM arrow [(ÄrEU] 

, Pfeil

billion [(bIljEn] 
, Milliarde(n)

brand [brÄnd] 
, Marke

F
cereal [(sIEriEl] 
, Getreide; hier: Müsli
airtrade is an international movement that 80 per cent of those people said they have a more pos-
dignified [(dIgnIfaId] 
strives for more fairness in world trade. Its pri- itive view of brands that carry it. , würdevoll
mary aim is to improve the working and living What people might not know is that there are two
exploitation
conditions of the people right at the beginning Fairtrade marks: one with and one without an arrow. [)eksplOI(teIS&n] 
of the supply chain. The mark without an arrow is used when a product , Ausbeutung;
hier: übermäßiger Abbau
It offers disadvantaged producers — par- consists wholly of a single ingredient — such as ba-
ticularly those in developing countries — a chance nanas, coffee or roses — that is Fairtrade certified. ingredient [In(gri:diEnt] 
,  Bestandteil, Inhaltsstoff
to lead a dignified life and to invest in their future. It The Fairtrade mark with an arrow is used on products
intermediary trade
does this by ensuring that they are paid fair prices for with multiple ingredients, such as cereal mixes.
[IntE)mi:diEri (treId] 
good products and by building long-lasting business So, the next time you buy coffee, tea, sugar and , Zwischenhandel
partnerships. juice for your work kitchen area or snacks for the make a living
The Fairtrade movement began more than 40 mid-morning meeting, why not check whether [)meIk E (lIvIN] 
years ago as a protest against the northern industrial the products carry a Fairtrade mark? Buying such ,  ein Auskommen erzielen

countries’ domination of world trade. It advocates products is the easiest way to support fair trade and market access
[(mA:kIt )Äkses] 
the rights of poor workers and small farmers and al- help provide a living wage for the people who have
, Marktzugang
lows market access to disadvantaged producers, re- worked hard to bring you those items.
middleman/-woman
moving the need for unfair intermediary trade and [(mId&lmÄn/)wUmEn] 
profit-greedy middlemen. , Zwischenhändler/
Fairtrade promotes sustainable development. It Exercise: Know the goals M -händlerin
supports educational and political campaigns that profit-greedy
[(prQfIt )gri:di] 
work towards making world trade laws more just. It Here, we highlight eight out of the United
, profitgierig
speaks out against the use of child labour, promotes Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals
revenue [(revEnju:] 
equality for women and seeks to protect natural re- (SDGs) that are closely linked to Fairtrade. , Einnahmen
sources from exploitation. Fill in the gaps with the words below.
strive for sth. [(straIv fO:] 
Fairtrade-certified products may not be the cheap- ,  etw. anstreben
est goods available in our supermarkets because action | education | equality | goals | growth |
supply chain
they are sold to end consumers at prices that allow institutions | poverty | production [sE(plaI tSeIn] 
the producers to make a living — even if the world , Lieferkette

market price for their products falls. A. SDG 1: No volunteer [)vQlEn(tIE] 

In Germany, there are many places where you can B. SDG 4: Quality , ehrenamtliche(r)
Mitarbeiter(in)
buy articles that carry the Fairtrade label, for exam- C. SDG 5: Gender
ple in any of about 800 Weltladen shops. These shops, D. SDG 8: Decent work and economic
which are run by volunteers, have an annual turnover
Answers
of over €78 million. Their most popular items are cof- E. SDG 12: Responsible consumption and H. goals
fee and chocolate. The total revenue from Fairtrade G. institutions
products in Germany is now around €2.04 billion. F. SDG 13: Climate F. action

Over the past few years, the Fairtrade mark has be- G. SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong
E. production
D. growth
come the most widely recognized ethical label in the C. equality
world. According to a 2015 GlobeScan study carried H. SDG 17: Partnerships for the
B. education
A. poverty
out in 15 countries, more than 50 per cent of people Know the goals
said they were familiar with the Fairtrade mark, and
Exercise:

56  Business Spotlight 6/2020 LANGUAGE

 “Well, the photographer is trying too hard to make
them look dynamic,” said Rudi. “But that’s not the “SHORRY,” “Well, in large amounts, scopol-
amine kills people,” Angela said.
achieve sth. [E(tSi:v] 
,  etw. erreichen

problem, I guess.” He looked again, and then he un-

derstood. “Ah,” he said. “No women…”
HE SAID, AND “I have lots in my smoothie here,
and this morning, I sent your
amazingly [E(meIzINli] 
, erstaunlicherweise

“Exactly.” STOPPED. HIS CEO a lovely box of chocolates bland: the ~ [blÄnd] 
,  etwa: Langweiler(innen)
For 30 years, she told him, she’d worked to push
gender equality. The former CEO had started giving TONGUE FELT flavoured with angel’s trumpet…”
Rudi fainted.
(Anspielung auf das Gleich-
nis vom Blindensturz „The
women senior positions.
“Women need positions with responsibility ear-
STRANGE ***
The journalist who slapped him
blind leading the blind“)
botany [(bQtEni] 
,  Botanik, Pflanzenkunde
ly in their careers. I built a pipeline of talented and awake reacted quickly when Rudi told him what
diverse people — not only women — to fill senior was happening. Angela was already dead, but within build a pipeline of sth.
[)bIld E (paIplaIn Qv] 
jobs. But then that CEO died…” A car accident on minutes, the police were on their way to the Planck ,  hier: für Nachschub von
the way to church and her mentor was gone — along offices, with journalists and camera crews close be- etw. sorgen
with Angela’s pipeline. hind. diverse [daI(v§:s] 
“All my stars left when they saw what the new Rudi watched on television from a hospital bed. , unterschiedlich

CEO was like. He has no talent himself and doesn’t Amazingly, the police found the chocolates before fill sth. [fIl] 
like talent around him. It’s the bland leading the anybody had eaten them. ,  hier: etw. besetzen

bland. And it’s not just Planck. Only 29 per cent of The story dominated the news. Rudi was inter- gasp [gA:sp] , keuchen
European companies have women in senior man- viewed, Angela’s motives were examined and dis- gender equality
agement. Somebody has to do something…” cussed, and the topic of gender equality was every- [(dZendEr i)kwQlEti]  
,  Gleichstellung von
Rudi reached for his drink again but, to his sur- where. None of this was good publicity for Planck Frauen und Männern
prise, knocked it over. Pharmaceuticals, and the CEO’s career was over.
knock sth. over
“Shorry,” he said, and stopped. His tongue felt After he left hospital, Rudi took the journalist to [)nQk (EUvE] 
strange. lunch. ,  etw. umwerfen

Angela smiled. “Let’s change the subject for a min- “There’s something I don’t understand,” Rudy property [(prQpEti] 
ute. I have a botany lesson for you…” said. “What were you doing at Angela’s apartment?” , Eigenschaft

The angel’s trumpet plant that surrounded them “She had called and said she had a big story for me.” scopolamine
[skEU(pQlEmi:n] 
had interesting properties, she told him. Planck had “Strange,” said Rudi. “Why would she have done
,  Scopolamin (Alkaloid
profited from some of them, in particular, by creating that? Your finding me is the only reason the man she der Nachtschatten-
a drug called scopolamine, made from the seeds. In hated is still alive.” gewächse)
small doses, it was used to treat heart disease. The journalist ordered another glass of wine. “I’ll seed [si:d] 
“In middle-sized doses, however, it’s not so nice. tell you something even stranger: the police analysed , Samen(korn)

Then the patient can’t move. That is what you just those chocolates but didn’t find any angel’s trumpet senior [(si:niE] 
, leitend
had in your smoothie.” poison in them. So, what was she trying to achieve?”
Rudi tried to stand but couldn’t. Rudi ate silently for a while, thinking, until grad- slap sb. awake
[)slÄp E(weIk] 
“Wh… why?” he gasped. ually he understood. She’d used them all to achieve ,  jmdn. wach klopfen
“I’m dying, so I have to do something meaningful exactly what she wanted. Angela had trumpeted her
topic [(tQpIk] 
about gender equality now. And you’re my messen- message around the world. , Thema
ger — because I’ll be dead.” “Let’s drink,” he said, raising his glass, “to clever trumpet sth. [(trVmpIt] 
“Wh... what?” women.” ,  etw. hinausposaunen;
hier: verbreiten

Exercise: Reading comprehension

Answers

How well did you understand our short story? Here are some questions you might want to answer. possible.)
(Other answers are
management.
A. Why did Angela not complain when she was forced out of the company? women in senior

companies to have
C. Enact laws requiring
B. What do you think Angela’s main aim is in the story? equality.

the topic of gender
B. To raise awareness of
C. Only 29 per cent of European companies have women in senior management.
of chemotherapy.
A. S he was in the middle
What could be done to increase this percentage?
comprehension
Exercise: Reading

LANGUAGE 6/2020 Business Spotlight 55 

 KAREN RICHARDSON
is an ELT ma-
terials author
and business
English train-
er. She writes
lesson plans for
Macmillan’s www.
onestopenglish.com
and for Business
Spotlight.

➻
FOR MORE
Ethical: fair treatment INFORMATION
for hard work
WEBSITES
The EFTA (European
Fair Trade Associa­

Useful vocabulary subsistence farmer

[sEb(sIstEns )fA:mE] 
,  für den Eigenbedarf
foster sb./sth. [(fQstE] 
,  jmdn./etw. fördern
just [dZVst] 
, gerecht
tion) is an association
of nine European
importers in eight
improve sth. [Im(pru:v]  reasonable
Expand your vocabulary with produzierende(r) Bauer/
,  etw. verbessern [(ri:z&nEb&l] 
countries (Austria,
Bäuerin Belgium, France,
these terms relating to Fairtrade. invest sth. in sth.
, vernünftig,
Germany, Italy, Spain,
supply chain angemessen Switzerland and the
[In(vest In] 
[sE(plaI tSeIn]  United Kingdom):
,  etw. in etw. investieren recognizable
, Lieferkette
[(rekEgnaIzEb&l]  www.european-
label [(leIb&l]  label sth. [(leIb&l]  fair-trade-association.
NOUNS AND NOUN surcharge , (wieder-)erkennbar
, Kennzeichnung ,  etw. kennzeichnen org/efta/index.php
PHRASES [(s§:tSA:dZ] 
social [(sEUS&l] 
labour law [(leIbE lO:]  ,  Aufpreis, Preisaufschlag protect sb./ sth.
certification , sozial Fairtrade Interna­
, Arbeitsrecht [prE(tekt] 
[)s§:tIfI(keIS&n]  sustainable develop- tional: a simple info­
,  jmdn./etw. schützen sustainable graphic about the
, Zertifizierung livelihood [(laIvlihUd]  ment goal (SDG)
[sE(steInEb&l]  Fairtrade system:
,  Lebens-, Existenz- [sE)steInEb&l recognize sth.
child labour , nachhaltig www.fairtrade.net/
grundlage di(velEpmEnt gEUl]  [(rekEgnaIz] 
[)tSaI&ld (leIbE]  about/fairtrade-system
, Nachhaltigkeitsziel ,  etw. anerkennen traceable [(treIsEb&l] 
,  Kinderarbeit living wage
, rückverfolgbar
[)lIvIN (weIdZ]  trade relationship strive for sth. Fairtrade-ready solu­
cooperative
, existenzsichernder [(treId ri)leIS&nSIp]  [(straIv fO:]  transparent tions for companies of
[kEU(QpErEtIv] 
Lohn , Handelsbeziehung ,  etw. anstreben [trÄns(pÄrEnt]  all sizes:
, Genossenschaft
, transparent www.fairtrade.net/act/
mark [mA:k]  workers’ rights support sb./sth.
developing country fairtrade-for-businesses
, Siegel [)w§:kEz (raIts]  [sE(pO:t] 
[di)velEpIN (kVntri] 
, Arbeitnehmerrechte ,  jmdn./etw. unter- FAIRTRADE PRODUCTS FLOCERT is the main
, Entwicklungsland market access
stützen independent certifier
[(mA:kIt )Äkses]  working conditions basket [(bA:skIt] 
fair trade of Fairtrade:
, Marktzugang [(w§:kIN kEn)dIS&nz]  trust sb./sth. [trVst]  ,  Korb
[)feE (treId]  www.flocert.net
, Arbeitsbedingungen ,  jmdm./etw. vertrauen
, fairer/gerechter middleman/-woman cane sugar
world trade The GEPA is Europe’s
Handel [(mId&lmÄn/)wUmEn]  [(keIn )SUgE] 
largest alternative
, Zwischenhändler/ [)w§:ld (treId]  ADJECTIVES , Rohrzucker
human rights trading organization:
-händlerin , Welthandel
[)hju:mEn (raIts]  decent [(di:s&nt]  cocoa [(kEUkEU]  www.gepa.de/en/
, Menschenrechte NGO (non-governmen- , angemessen; , Kakao welcome.html
tal organization) VERBS menschenwürdig
infringement cotton [(kQt&n]  SDG: United Nations
[)en dZi: (EU] 
of human rights advocate sth. dignified [(dIgnIfaId]  , Baumwolle sustainable develop­
, NRO (Nichtregie-
[In)frIndZmEnt Ev [(ÄdvEkeIt]  , würdevoll ment goals: https://
rungsorganisation) cut flower [)kVt (flaUE] 
)hju:mEn (raIts]  ,  für etw. eintreten sustainabledevelopment.
, Menschenrechts- plantation ecological , Schnittblume
un.org/sdgs
certify sth. [(s§:tIfaI]  [)i:kE(lQdZIk&l] 
verletzung [plA:n(teIS&n]  handmade paper
,  etw. zertifizieren , ökologisch The World Fair Trade
, Plantage [hÄnd)meId (peIpE] 
ingredient Organization is a
dominate sth. equal [(i:kwEl]  , handgeschöpftes
[In(gri:diEnt]  poverty line global community of
[(dQmIneIt]  , gleich Papier
Fotos: zlikovec/Shutterstock.com; privat

, Bestandteil, [(pQvEti laIn]  social enterprises that

,  etw. dominieren
Inhaltsstoff , Armutsgrenze ethical [(eTIk&l]  spice [spaIs]  practise fair trade:
eliminate sth. , ethisch , Gewürz https://wfto.com
intermediary quality standard
[i(lImIneIt] 
[)IntE(mi:diEri]  [(kwQlEti )stÄndEd]  fair [feE]  textiles [(tekstaI&lz] 
, Zwischenhändler(in) , Qualitätsstandard
,  etw. beseitigen
, gerecht , Textilien
➻
exploit sb./sth. You can practise your
intermediary trade raw material handmade woven goods
[Ik(splOIt]  vocabulary at
[)IntE)mi:diEri (treId]  [)rO: mE(tIEriEl]  [)hÄnd(meId]  [)wEUv&n (gUdz] 
,  jmdn. ausbeuten; www.business-spotlight.
, Zwischenhandel , Rohstoff , handgefertigt , Webwaren
etw. (aus)nutzen de/vocabulary

LANGUAGE 6/2020 Business Spotlight 57 

 LANGUAGE
ENGLISH ON THE MOVE

Managing technical problems KEN TAYLOR

is a communication

in a videoconference
consultant and
author of 50 Ways
to Improve Your
Business English
Bei einer Videokonferenz läuft technisch nicht immer alles reibungslos. Wie Sie sich (Lulu Publishing).
sprachlich gegen häufige Probleme wappnen, erfahren Sie in diesen Dialogen. Contact:
KTaylor868@aol.com
MEDIUM  AUDIO  PLUS

Nobody can
Ian: I don’t have one of those. Is there anything attendee [E)ten(di:] 
else I can do? , Teilnehmer(in)
hear you!
Unmute yourself Lena: 
If you are using a laptop, you could move it backup [(bÄkVp] 
, Absicherung
closer to the wireless access point or router. If
you are at home, you could ask others to free bomb sb./sth. [bQm] 
,  hier: jmdm./etw. (uner-
up some bandwidth by limiting their internet wünscht) beitreten
use during the conference.
contingency plan
[kEn(tIndZEnsi plÄn] 
What else can go wrong? ,  Notfall-, Alternativplan

Lena: I t’s always good to have a contingency plan in department

case you have a problem. Have another lap­ [di(pA:tmEnt] 
, Abteilung
top around if you can. And you can always use
do a roll call
your smartphone as a backup.
[)du: E (rEUl kO:l] 
Talking to an experienced colleague Ian: Any other ideas? ,  die Teilnehmer(innen)
Ian: Lena, I’ve been asked to run a weekly video­ Lena: Check your network connection and equip­ einzeln aufrufen
conference with the management team, and ment with an experienced colleague before facilitator [fE(sIlEteItE] 
I’m not sure I’ll be able to manage the tech­ the videoconference. , Moderator(in)

nology. You’re an experienced conference Ian:  I was thinking that I should get myself ready frozen [frEUz&n] 
, eingefroren
facilitator. Can you give me some advice? well before the meeting is scheduled to take
Lena: 
Sure. Let’s go through some of the ways you place. It might take me a while to get set up. glitch [glItS] ifml. 
,  Störung, Panne
can prevent some of the common glitches. Lena: That’s a good idea.
Ian: That would be great. I’m sorry if I ask too Ian:  I also thought I’d get a good set of headphones inappropriate
[)InE(prEUpriEt] 
many obvious questions — I’m a bit of a tech­ with a built-in microphone. , unpassend
nophobe. in-company
Lena: 
No problem. My first piece of advice is to stay Preventing “bombing” [)In (kVmpEni] 
calm and not to panic. Often, what seems to Lena: We should talk about meeting security, too. , firmenintern

be a major technical problem is simply a mi­ You don’t want unauthorized people to lagging [(lÄgIN] 
, zurückbleibend;
nor hiccup. “bomb” your conference.
hier: verzögert
Ian: Tell me more, please.
minor hiccup
Some basic tips Lena: Conference calls are sometimes interrupted [)maInE (hIkVp] 
Lena: 
For important conferences, I ask a techni­ by uninvited individuals who take control of ,  geringfügiges Problem 
cal assistant to help me. But for regular in- the call and share inappropriate material. (hiccup  , Schluckauf)
company video meetings, I have our techni­ Ian: Wow! How can I prevent that? schedule sth. [(Sedju:l] 
,  etw. anberaumen
cal department’s number close by. Lena: Don’t share the meeting link on any social
Ian: What are the most common problems you’ve media. Use closed communication channels set up: get ~ [)set (Vp] 
,  hier: sich einrichten
had to deal with? such as specific email addresses or our secure
technophobe
Lena: 
Loss of audio is fairly common. Sometimes, collaboration platform.
[(teknEUfEUb] 
Fotos: Khosrork/iStock.com; Gert Krautbauer

people forget to unmute themselves before Ian:  Don’t some services have a kind of waiting- , Technikfeind(in)
they say something, so you have to remind room function? unmute sb./sth.
them. And a bad internet connection can Lena: That’s right. You can do a roll call to ensure [)Vn(mju:t] 
cause lagging audio, frozen screens and lost that only legitimate attendees can join. And ,  jmdn./etw. laut schalten

connections. turn off any functions that you don’t need, well before [(wel bi)fO:] 
,  lange vor
Ian: What do I do then? like screen-sharing or virtual whiteboards.
Lena: 
Connecting your computer to your router Ian: Why is that? wireless acccess point
[)waIElEs (Äkses pOInt] 
with an Ethernet cable should ensure a good Lena: Hackers have fewer ways to get into the call. ,  drahtloser Zugangs-
signal. Ian: I didn’t know that. I’ll be careful. punkt

58  Business Spotlight 6/2020 LANGUAGE

LANGUAGE
KEY WORDS Listen and learn!
You can download an MP3 file of this
Key Words list from our website:

Vocabulary trainer www.business-spotlight.de/downloads

➳
A PDF of these key words, as well as a
Use our Key Words list to learn vocabulary from the complete vocabulary list (English–
current Business Spotlight. The definitions will help you German) for each magazine, is availa-
ble at www.business-spotlight.de/words
understand the words — and build your vocabulary.

NOUNS AND NOUN PHRASES

by-product something that is produced or happens as a result of something else Nebenprodukt
fad something that is very popular for a short period of time Modeerscheinung, kurzlebiger Trend
feedlot a place where cattle are fed in such a way as to become fat rapidly Mastbetrieb
intermediary trade a trading system in which goods are sold via middlemen or -women Zwischenhandel
new hire US a new colleague or employee neu eingestellte(r) Mitarbeiter(in)
plenary session a session at a conference that is attended by all participants Plenarsitzung
proficiency test a test that checks how skilled someone is in something, such as a language Leistungstest
vocation a type of work that you feel is particularly suited to you Berufung

VERBS
bomb sb./sth. to join someone or something without having been invited to do so jmdm./etw. (unerwünscht) beitreten
choke sth. to reduce or limit something, such as speed or bandwidth etw. drosseln
cross sb. to make someone angry jmdn. verärgern
scam sb. out of sth. to obtain something from someone by fraud sich bei jmdm. durch Betrug etw. erschleichen
screw sth. up ifml. to spoil something or do it badly etw. vermasseln
step in to intervene eingreifen
trick sb. into sth. to dishonestly cause someone to do something jmdn. (in betrügerischer Absicht) zu
etw. verleiten
unmute sb./sth. to click a button or symbol so that someone or something can be heard again jmdn./etw. laut schalten

ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

derogatory not showing respect abfällig
farcical ridiculous, absurd grotesk, absurd
indigenous (of people and groups) native indigen
perennial (of plants) living for several years mehrjährig
prolific producing a great number or amount of something produktiv; erfolgreich
restrained calm and controlled zurückhaltend
strained tense, under pressure belastet
unsolicited not asked for and often not wanted unverlangt

IDIOMS AND EXPRESSIONS

be a handful ifml.
be mindful of something
do something for a living
go back to square one ifml.
keep a level head
steer clear of sth.
to be exhausting or difficukt to deal with anstrengend sein
to be aware of something and pay attention to it auf etw. achten, etw. berücksichtigen
to do something as a profession or job etw. beruflich machen
to start again from the very beginninng wieder von vorn beginnen
to remain calm, even in stressful situations einen kühlen Kopf bewahren
to avoid something sich vor etw. hüten

LANGUAGE 6/2020 Business Spotlight 59 

TECHNOLOGY
DINOSAURS

A small bone
with a huge story
 Der sensationelle Fund eines Rückenwirbels macht es
nun möglich, die Geschichte des Elaphrosaurus,
einer seltenen Dinosauriergattung mit langem Hals,
fortzuschreiben. JOHN PICKRELL berichtet.
ADVANCED

A
dinosaur relative of Tyranno- carnivorous
saurus rex and Velociraptor has [kA:(nIvErEs] 
, fleischfressend
been unearthed in the Aus-
tralian state of Victoria. It has Cretaceous : the ~
[krI(teISEs] 
an unusually long neck and ,  kreidezeitlich; Kreidezeit
may have transitioned from
dig site [(dIg saIt]  
predator to plant eater as it , Ausgrabungsstätte
reached adulthood.
elaphrosaur
The elaphrosaur was a [i(lÄfrEsO:] 
member of the theropod , Elaphrosaurus

family of dinosaurs, which omnivore [(QmnIvO:] 

included all of the predatory species. It , Allesfresser

stood about the height of a small emu, palaeontologist

[)pÄliQn(tQlEdZIst] 
measuring two metres from its head to
, Paläontologe/
the end of its long tail. It had short arms, Paläontologin
each ending in four fingers. predator [(predEtE] 
,  Prädator, Räuber;
A puzzle with only one piece hier: Raubsaurier

Stephen Poropat, a palaeontologist at theropod family

[(TerEpQd fÄmli] 
Swinburne University of Technology in
,  Gruppe der Theropoden
Melbourne, was the lead researcher be-
trade sth. [treId] 
hind the find. He says elaphrosaurs were ,  hier: etw. eintauschen
“really rare”, with just three named spe-
unearth sth. [)Vn(§:T] 
cies, from Tanzania, China and Argenti- ,  etw. ausgraben
na. “This is the first record of the group in vertebra [(v§:tIbrE]
Australia and only the second Cretaceous (pl. vertibrae
record worldwide.” [(v§:tIbreI]) 
, (Rücken-)Wirbel
“These are some of the most puzzling
theropod dinosaurs, as they are known
from such few fossils,” says Steve Bru-
satte, a palaeontologist at the University
of Edinburgh, who was not involved in
the research. “They seem to have been
lightly built, fast-running,
long-necked theropods which
traded the carnivorous diet of “These are
their ancestors and become some of
omnivores.”
Introduced in the journal
the most
Gondwana Research, the fossil puzzling
— which consists of a single theropod
vertebra — was discovered in
dinosaurs”
Illustration: Ruairidh Duncan

2015 at a dig site called Eric the

Red West near Cape Otway,
Defining feature: about three hours’ drive south-west of
the very long
Fotos: XX

neck of the Melbourne. The digs here are led by the

elaphrosaur Melbourne Museum. Rather than the

TECHNOLOGY 6/2020 Business Spotlight 61 


typical desert environments where fossils
are often found, fossils from digs here are
extracted from immense hard grey slabs
of rock along the coastline, which are fre-
quently flooded with seawater. “One of
the unusual things about this site is that
the first hour or two on a dig here is spent
shovelling wet sand,” says Swinburne
University PhD student Adele Pentland,
a co-author of the study.
Found by volunteer participant Jes-
sica Parker in the dig site, the unusual
five-centimetre-long vertebra ended up
in the collection of the Melbourne Mu-
seum. Based on the shape of the delicate
bone, it was first thought to have been
from a flying pterosaur, rather than a dino-
saur. It was only several years later, when
Pentland came to study the bone as part
of her research on Australian
pterosaurs, that the research-
ers realized it was something “Elaphrosaur
else entirely.
“I’d heard about this beau-
neck
Scientists’ only
clue: a single
elaphrosaur
vertebra
Jurassic-era Chinese relative Limusaurus is
known from a whole series of fossil skel-
etons from babies up to full adults. These
show it had the sharp teeth of a predator
as a baby, which it lost upon maturity,
perhaps transitioning to a diet of mostly
plants.
“Among elaphrosaurs, skulls are only
known for Limusaurus, and they show
that the juveniles had teeth, whereas the
adults had beaks,” Poropat says. “Presum-
ably, this indicates a dietary shift, but from
what to what is unclear. I’d speculate that
it was primarily herbivorous [as an adult]
ball [bO:l]  monkey puzzle
but might have been an opportunistic , Gelenkkopf, [(mVNki )pVz&l] 
predator of small animals.” konvexer Gelenkteil , Andentanne
The new find is “a great example of beak [bi:k]  opportunistic
how one fossil bone can tell a huge sto- , Schnabel [)QpEtju:(nIstIk] 
,  hier: Gelegenheits-
ry,” says Steve Brusatte. “This discovery clue [klu:] 
greatly expands the range of , Anhaltspunkt; hier: Spur PhD student
[)pi: eItS (di: )stju:dEnt] 
these animals. … They were conifer [(kQnIfE] 
, Doktorand(in)
probably a widespread, and
,  Nadelbaum, Konifere
pterosaur
cycad [(saIkÄd] 
perhaps even global, group
of dinosaurs, which we
, Palmfarn
[(terEsO:] 
,  Pterosaurus, -saurier

tiful-looking pterosaur ver- vertebrae haven’t yet appreciated be- delicate [(delIkEt] 
scanty [(skÄnti] 
,  zart, fragil
tebra in the collection. It said are so cause of the scanty clues
distinctive
, spärlich

pterosaur on the label and

had been identified [as such]
weird” they left behind.” The new
find also shows that these di-
[dI(stINktIv] 
slab of rock
[)slÄb Ev (rQk] 
, markant
,  Fels-, Gesteinsplatte
by the person who had pre- nosaurs ranged even farther excavation
shovel sth. [(SVv&l] 
pared it,” she says. But pterosaur neck than previously thought — even into [)ekskE(veIS&n] 
,  etw. schaufeln
, Ausgrabung
vertebrae are very distinctive, Pentland southern polar environments.
skeleton [(skelItEn] 
says. They all have a ball at the head end Because Australia was much further fern [f§:n] 
, Skelett
, Farn
and a socket at the tail end. But this bone south 110 million years ago, these Vic- skull [skVl] 
had sockets, or concave surfaces, at both torian dinosaurs would have been living herbivorous
, Schädel
[h§:(bIvErEs] 
ends, meaning it could not have belonged within the Antarctic Circle. And although , pflanzenfressend socket [(sQkIt] 
to a pterosaur. the world was much warmer during the horsetail [(hO:steI&l] 
, Gelenkpfanne,
konkaver Gelenkteil
Cretaceous, the dinosaurs would still , Schachtelhalm
The story behind the bone have had to tolerate months of darkness square one: go back to ~
Jurassic: the ~
[)skweE (wVn]  ifml.
“So, we went back to square one and during winter and temperatures that peri- [dZu&(rÄsIk] 
,  wieder von vorn
, Jura
started going through textbooks, trying odically fell below freezing. Nevertheless, beginnen
to work out what kind of vertebra it was,” other fossils show there was a great diver- juvenile
turtle [(t§:t&l] 
[(dZu:vEnaI&l] 
Poropat says. After establishing that the sity of life there. Forests of conifers sim- , Jugendliche(r);
, Wasserschildkröte

bone was from a theropod, they eventu- ilar to monkey puzzles and ginkgo trees hier: Jungsaurier understory
ally discovered an African dinosaur from had understories carpeted with cycads, maturity
[(VndE)stO:ri] 
,  Unterschicht, -gehölz
the Jurassic called Elaphrosaurus, which ferns and horsetails. Animals included a [mE(tZUErEti] 
has neck vertebrae “about four times variety of dinosaurs, as well as turtles, fish , Erwachsensein weird [wIEd]  ifml.
, sonderbar
as long as they are tall, which is unusual and marine reptiles.
Foto: s. Poropat/Museums Victoria

for theropods”. Poropat adds that “the
beauty of this neck vertebra is that it was
particularly informative, just because
elaphrosaur neck vertebrae are so weird
compared to other dinosaurs”.
Although the Australian elaphrosaur
is known from just a single bone, its
Further expeditions to the Eric the Red
West site have been postponed twice this
year — first by the bushfire crisis and then
Covid-19. But Poropat says many fossils
JOHN PICKRELL
awaited excavation, and there was a “high is an award-winning science journal-
chance” there were more elaphrosaur ist, editor and author.
bones to be found. © Guardian News & Media 2020

62  Business Spotlight 6/2020 TECHNOLOGY

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 CAREERS & MANAGEMENT
AGRICULTURE

Back to
nature

64  Business Spotlight 6/2020 CAREERS & MANAGEMENT

 Michael Davoren:
driving his cattle Wer am meisten produziert,
in the Burren
erhält die höchsten Subventionen.
Nicht immer! Die EU belohnt Bauern im
irischen Burren für ihre umweltverträgliche
Landwirtschaft. Könnte das die gefährdete
Natur in ganz Irland retten?
ELLA MCSWEENEY berichtet.
ADVANCED

M
ichael Davoren shudders when
he thinks of the 1990s. He’d been
in charge of his 80-hectare farm
in the Burren, a region in County
Clare, Ireland, since the 1970s, and
the place was in his blood. The Da-
vorens had worked these hills for
400 years. But growth in intensive
farming supported by European
subsidies meant that most farmers
in this part of Ireland were having
to decide between getting big or
getting out. Hundreds were choosing to get out.
Davoren followed the advice to concentrate on
the beef markets. “The more animals I kept, the more
money I got,” he says. “I put more cattle out, bought
fertilizer, made silage. Slurry run-off was killing fish.
But if I kept fewer animals, I’d be penalized ten per
cent of my subsidy.”
The austere appearance of the Burren landscape
belies its rich diversity. The thick rocks were laid
down 300 million years ago, when warm tropical
seas covered the area and the bodies of billions of
marine creatures fell to the sea floor to form the Bur-
ren limestone. These limestone cracks are usually full
of life. In late spring, the grey rocks are transformed
“The more
animals
I kept, austere [O:(stIE] 
, streng; hier: karg
penalized: be ~ ... [(pi:nElaIzd] 
,  mit einer Strafe von ...
the more belie sth. [bi(laI] 
sanktioniert werden

money I got” ,  über etw. hinwegtäuschen run-off [(rVn Qf] 

, Abfluss
cattle [(kÄt&l] 
, Rinder shudder [(SVdE] 
, (er)schaudern
fertilizer [(f§:tElaIzE] 
, Dünger silage [(saIlIdZ] 
,  Silage, Silofutter
limestone [(laImstEUn] 
Foto: Eamon Ward

, Kalkstein slurry [(slVri] 

, Gülle
marine creature
[mE)ri:n (kri:tSE]  subsidy [(sVbsEdi] 
, Meerestier , Subvention

CAREERS & MANAGEMENT 6/2020 Business Spotlight 65 


into an explosion of colour as lipstick-red orchids and
deep blue gentians bloom. Above them, ready to feed,
should be a large number of insects.
But by the 1990s, the rocky uplands, which had
been farmed for 6,000 years, had been abandoned in
favour of lowland fields that were prepared with ni-
trogen fertilizer. The farms were clean and green, but
food they can produce. The biggest challenge was to
get them to take on a new role — to convince them
they have a broader destiny than just food. And for
Grazing among that, they needed to be supported and paid to do it.”
the limestone: He established a pioneering scheme, paid for by
goats out
to pasture the EU’s environment directorate, that pays farm-
ers for nature-filled fields and clean waterways. He’s
one of the first supporters of the once-radical idea of
“public money for public goods”. Instead of giving
farmers money for the amount of land they own, or
the quantity of food they produce, they are rewarded
for producing healthy, diverse fields.
Dunford avoided paying farmers for taking ac-
tions regardless of their impacts — the standard way
that farm subsidies are given out. Instead, he took
abandon sth. [E(bÄndEn]  inspiration from “results-based” agri-environment
,  etw. aufgeben schemes that had been tried out in Canada and the
breed [bri:d]  UK in the 1980s. Farmers would be paid if their prac-
, Rasse tices resulted in positive environmental outcomes.
destiny [(destEni]  It’s an approach that recognizes what farmers know
, Bestimmung
but large-scale agricultural policies ignore: every field
figure sth. [(fIgE] ifml.  is different. Their lands are scored on a scale of zero
,  etw. schätzen
to ten; healthier, nature-filled fields score higher and
gentian [(dZenS&n]  attract larger payments.
, Enzian
Fifteen years on, with 328 farmers signed up, the
grant-aided: be ~
Burren has been reshaped. Dunford’s project has
[)grA:nt (eIdId] 
,  finanzielle Hilfe(n) renewed the close relationship between farmers
erhalten and their hilly fields. Farmers have brought back an
large-scale
[)lA:dZ (skeI&l] 
Burren cattle: as rugged as the landscape
,  groß angelegt
make a living
[)meIk E (lIvIN] 
,  seinen Lebensunterhalt
verdienen
nitrogen [(naItrEdZEn] 
, Stickstoff

where had the species-rich habitats gone? “Everyone nothing: be at ~

[(nVTIN] UK ,  etwa:
thought the best thing for the Burren was to close the
nichts zu bestellen haben
gates, get rid of the farmers and let nature look after
orchid [(O:kId] 
itself,” says Davoren. , Orchidee

outcome [(aUtkVm] 
A landscape transformed , Ergebnis
Brendan Dunford, a young ecologist, arrived in 1999 pioneering scheme
to do research on farming. He soon recognized the [paIE)nIErIN (ski:m] 
changes that were putting negative pressure on the , zukunftsweisendes
Programm
landscape. Resilient breeds were being replaced with
pollution [pE(lu:S&n] 
larger continental cattle with feed demands greater
, Verschmutzung
than the land could provide. Cattle slurry was getting
resilient [ri(zIliEnt] 
into underground streams, causing water pollution. , widerstandsfähig
“It was economically successful for farmers. They
scored: be ~ on a scale
were grant-aided to turn ‘bad’ land into ‘good’,” says [skO:d] 
Dunford. “They were trying to make a living. It was ,  auf einer Skala bewertet
werden
a big moment for me — I figured that unless I came
back with a better financial proposition, with the con- signed up: be ~ (to sth.)
[)saInd (Vp] 
viction that this is the right thing to do, then I was at ,  sich (zu etw.)
nothing.” verpflichtet haben
Fotos: XX

Dunford needed to radically rethink what it means uplands [(VplEndz] 

to be a farmer. “What defined farmers was how much , Hochland

66  Business Spotlight 6/2020 CAREERS & MANAGEMENT

 In late spring, brown hairstreak
[)braUn (heEstri:k] 
the grey rocks , Nierenfleck-Zipfelfalter

are transformed bumblebee [(bVmb&lbi:] 

, Hummel
into an explosion by-product
of colour [(baI )prQdVkt] 
, Nebenprodukt

calcareous [kÄl(keEriEs] 
, kalkhaltig

carbon emissions
ancient tradition called “winterage”, whereby cattle [(kA:bEn i)mIS&nz] 
spend the cold months on the uplands. They graze , CO2-Emissionen

down the tough, hardy grasses, which provides space face sth. [feIs] 
for rare flowers in spring; here, the limestone rocks ,  etw. gegenüberstehen

act as giant hot-water bottles, slowly giving off the feedlot [(fi:dlQt] 
, Mastbetrieb
summer heat stored in the rocks. It has transformed
parts of the uplands into species-rich calcareous give sth. off [)gIv (Qf] 
,  etw. abgeben
grasslands, filled with native flowers such as O’Kel-
graze sth. down
ly’s spotted orchid, perennial mountain avens and
[)greIz (daUn] 
the rare lesser twayblade orchid. ,  etw. abweiden
Life attracts life; each summer, butterflies such as hot-water bottle
the pearl-bordered fritillary and the brown hairstreak [)hQt (wO:tE )bQt&l] 
can be seen in the fields, and it’s now not uncommon , Wärmflasche;
hier: Wärmespeicher
to hear the distinctive sound of the shrill carder bee.
lesser twayblade
Recent data by Dr Dara Stanley, of University Col-
[)lesE (tweIbleId] 
lege Dublin, shows that higher-scoring fields in the ,  Kleines Zweiblatt Plant diversity: a sign of ecological health
Burren programme have a higher species richness morale [mE(rA:l] 
of bumblebees. “What they’re doing in the Burren is , Arbeitsmoral European scientists called for a radical change to
working,” she says. mountain avens farm subsidies, arguing that the money must be
[(maUntIn )eIv&nz]  used to pay farmers for public goods, and that re-
, Silberwurz
Ireland’s environmental crisis sults-based schemes should be part of this reform.
The Burren scheme does not solve all of the prob- pearl-bordered fritillary Meanwhile, the EU’s new food policy, which was
[)p§:l )bO:dEd frI(tIlEri] 
lems. It’s not easy to convince younger generations , Silberfleck-Perlmutt-
published in May, is rooted in the kind of ecologi-
of farmers to resist the temptations — and salaries — falter cal-based farming systems that Dunford’s model has
of urban life. Dunford’s current budget to pay them perennial [pE(reniEl]  pioneered. The Burren could serve as a regional guide
for nature — on average, they get about €6,600 a year , mehrjährig for the future of farming.
— isn’t enough to keep them all on the land. Many shrill carder bee Public money for public goods is the basis of the
of Ireland’s cattle end their lives in large-scale feed- [)SrIl )kA:dE (bi:]  UK’s proposed replacement for EU farm subsidies.
, Waldhummel
lots — a growing part of the country’s industrialized A report published in October 2019 by Natural Eng-
agrifood sector — to be fattened up before slaughter slaughter [(slO:tE]  land said that a pilot results-based project in the
, Schlachtung
Fotos: Burrenbeo Trust; Roger Coulam, DejaVu Designs/Alamy Stock Photo

and export, mainly to the UK.
But morale among farmers in the Burren is high,
and their environment is in remarkable shape. This
sets it firmly apart from the majority of Irish farm-
land. Nature in Ireland is facing “acute problems”,
says Dr Liam Lysaght, of the National Biodiversity
Data Centre, whose scientists believe that a third of
all bee species in the country could die out within
the next ten years. Ireland struggles with high car-
bon emissions, ammonia levels and water pollution.
This is a highly critical time for the €59 billion
European Common Agricultural Policy. A third of
the budget goes to so-called greening measures,
designed to improve nature and reduce emissions,
but these have been a failure. In March, a group of
Yorkshire Dales was beneficial to wildlife and had
spotted orchid
[)spQtId (O:kId] 
enthusiastic support from the farmers.
,  Geflecktes Knabenkraut For Michael Davoren, farming today couldn’t be
temptation more different from the dark days of the 1990s. “Big
[temp(teIS&n]  ships are difficult to turn around, and agriculture is a
, Verlockung
very big ship. But Brendan Dunford turned it around
for us,” he says. “In the past, the environment was a
by-product. In the future, the environment is what
we’ll be producing, and the food will be a by-product.”
ELLA MCSWEENEY
Dunford’s guiding philosophy — that we need more
is a food and farming, not less — overturns the view held by some
farming journal- that the only hope for nature is to take humans out
ist and presenter
of the picture and leave the land alone. He listened to
from Ireland.
© Guardian News & farmers — and found a way to attract them towards a
Media 2020 new destiny: one that is full of life.

CAREERS & MANAGEMENT 6/2020 Business Spotlight 67 

 CAREERS & MANAGEMENT
HOW TO...

Recognize
and avoid a
job scam
Wer auf einem Jobportal unverlangt
ein Stellenangebot erhält, sollte
skeptisch sein. Es könnte sich um
Betrug handeln. Tipps, wie Sie sich
in einem solchen Fall verhalten
sollten, hat DEBORAH CAPRAS
für Sie parat.
MEDIUM

Sounds too

T
good to be
true? Trust
here are many different types of or documents in unsolicited emails or your instincts
job scams, but they are usually de- messages, for instance, could take you to
signed to do one thing: to gain ac- a fake site that installs malware on your
cess to your personal information. computer or phone. “Type in the word
With the right details, it’s possible ‘scam’ after the email address to see if
to scam you out of money or steal someone else has reported the company.”
check sb. out scam [skÄm] ifml. 
your identity. Here’s some expert [)tSek (aUt]  ,  Betrug, Schwindel
advice on how to spot the red flags. Be critical ,  jmdn. überprüfen
scam sb. out of sth.
“Trust your instincts,” says Doyle. If do sth. for a living [)skÄm (aUt Qv] ifml. 
Network with care someone unexpectedly contacts you [)du: fEr E (lIvIN]  ,  sich bei jmdm. durch
,  etw. beruflich machen Betrug etw. erschleichen
You might be flattered if you get a sur- about the possibility of a job, your first
prise contact request from a headhunter thought might be that it’s a scam — and fall for sth. senior researcher
[(fO:l fO:]  ifml. [)si:niE ri(s§:tSE] 
on a professional networking site, such you’d probably be right. If it sounds too ,  auf etw. hereinfallen ,  leitende(r) Forscher(in)
as LinkedIn or Xing. In fact, you should good to be true, it usually is. flattered: be ~ spot sth. [spQt] 
be sceptical and check them out. Once [(flÄtEd]  ,  etw. erkennen
someone is in your network, they can Stay cool ,  sich geschmeichelt
suspicion [sE(spIS&n] 
fühlen
use your details to start a phishing attack, Because of the difficult situation that job- , Argwohn
warns Allison Wikoff, a senior research- seekers may be in, job scammers know keep a level head
tailor sth. to sb.
[)ki:p E )lev&l (hed] 
er at Secureworks. “They can really tailor they are more likely to fall for a fake of- ,  einen kühlen Kopf
[(teIlE tu] 
,  etw. auf jmdn.
the phishing email to the person’s profile, fer. That’s why they try to create a sense bewahren
zuschneiden
based on what they do for a living, what of urgency in their victims. The job offer malware [(mÄlweE] 
trick sb. into sth.
type of job they have, all of which makes it comes quickly, for instance, but with a re- , Schadsoftware
[(trIk )Intu] 
so much easier to trick them into clicking quest for bank details. The key to stopping recruiter [ri(kru:tE]  ,  jmdn. (in betrügerischer
, Personalvermittler(in), Absicht) zu etw. verleiten
a link,” she told USA TODAY. these scams is to keep a level head and ask
-referent(in)
questions, says Steve Ragan, a security unsolicited
red flag [)red (flÄg]  [)VnsE(lIsItId] 
Foto: LaylaBird/iStock.com

Don’t click, check expert at Akamai. “Legitimate recruiters , Warnsignal , unverlangt

Before doing anything else, do a detailed will have no problem proving themselves
internet search on the sender and organ- to you in a way that leaves no room for
ization, writes Alison Doyle, a job-search suspicion,” Ragan wrote in Fast Company. For more career trends, go to
expert at The Balance Careers. Links A fake job offer will soon disappear. www.business-spotlight.de/careers

68  Business Spotlight 6/2020 CAREERS & MANAGEMENT

 CAREERS & MANAGEMENT
EXECUTIVE EYE

“Employees do not
disengage heart or brain
at the office door”
Spiritualität von Arbeitnehmern wird bisher allgemein als
Privatsache betrachtet. Da sie aber auch Teil menschlicher
Bedürfnisse ist, könnte sie auch am Arbeitsplatz relevant
werden und dort zu positiven Veränderungen führen.
MEDIUM PLUS

I
n the early 2000s, a new fad emerged
in the US (as always): workplace
spirituality. For many people, the
concept is about as oxymoronic as
“business ethics” or “military intelli-
gence”. But it becomes relevant again
as the coronavirus crisis forces a
review of how we work.
Workplace spirituality originates in
the ever popular but not yet proven idea
of spiritual intelligence. This is the ability
to invest everyday activities, events and
relationships with a sense of the sacred
and divine, and to solve everyday prob-
lems through spirituality.
A cursory web search shows that work-
place spirituality has multiple meanings:
acting with honesty and integrity in all
aspects of work; treating employees, sup-
pliers, shareholders and customers in a
responsible, caring way; taking on social,
environmental and ecological responsi-
bility by serving the “wider social commu-
nity”; holding religious study groups and/
or prayer/meditation meetings at work;
and being able to discuss values without
the dogmatism and controls of an organ-
Fotos: the-lightwriter, AndreyPopov/iStock.com; privt
ADRIAN FURNHAM private/family time to be successful? Are we self-centred and
is a professor in forgetting the principles of service to others in the wider com-
the Department of
munity? Do employees experience a sense of wonder at work?
Leadership and
Organisational Do they have a sense of community?
Psychology at the Workplace spirituality sceptics raise various concerns, includ-
Norwegian Business ing that it imposes the ethics of a particular religious group on
School, and author
of 92 books.
others, or that it trivializes religious and spiritual belief. Some
worry about cost, time-wasting and the potential harassment of
those who are not spiritual. It has also been suggested that the
movement is led by baby boomers, who are much more aware
of their mortality.
A focus on workplace spirituality makes the workplace some-
where to express or fulfil one’s deeper purpose. Work is an inte-
gral part of life, and employees do not disengage heart or brain at
the office door. People bring to work their attitudes, beliefs and
values about material and spiritual affairs. And personal ethics
and values are relevant in nearly all aspects of work: from the
choice of vocation to the treatment of colleagues and customers.
accountability harassment purpose [(p§:pEs] 
[E)kaUntE(bIlEti]  [(hÄrEsmEnt]  ,  hier: Bestimmung
, Verantwortlichkeit ,  Belästigung, Bedrängung
raise concerns
cursory [(k§:s&ri]  impose sth. on sb. [)reIz kEn(s§:nz] 
, flüchtig [Im(pEUz Qn]  ,  Bedenken aufkommen
,  jmdm. etw. aufzwingen lassen
disengage sth.
[)dIsIn(geIdZ]  invest sth. with sth. review [ri(vju:] 
,  etw. ausschalten [In(vest wID]  , Überprüfung
,  etw. mit etw. ausstatten

divine [dI(vaIn]  sacred [(seIkrId] 

ized religion. , göttlich military intelligence , heilig
Certainly, many of these values can [)mIlItEri In(telIdZEns] 
emerge [i(m§:dZ]  sense of wonder
+ PLUS , Abwehrdienst
be counted as aspects of spirituality: , entstehen [)sens Ev (wVndE] 
means [mi:nz]  ,  Sinn für das Wunderbare
accountability, caring, cooperativeness, Try our reading end [end] 
, Mittel
honesty, integrity, justice, respect, ser- comprehension ,  hier: Zweck shareholder
exercises on this mortality [mO:(tÄlEti]  [(SeE)hEUldE] 
vice and trustworthiness. Spirituality is a article in our fad [fÄd] 
, Sterblichkeit, , Aktionär(in)
exercise booklet, , Modeerscheinung,
means, not an end. It supposedly encour- Vergänglichkeit
Business Spotlight kurzlebiger Trend supplier [sE(plaIE] 
ages questions such as these: Are our busi- Plus. To order, go oxymoronic , Lieferant(in)
to www.aboshop. fulfil sth. [fUl(fIl] 
ness decisions based exclusively on prof- spotlight-verlag.de ,  etw. erfüllen
[)QksimE(rQnIk] 
vocation [vEU(keIS&n] 
,  sich widersprechend
it? Are employees required to sacrifice , Beruf(ung)

CAREERS & MANAGEMENT 6/2020 Business Spotlight 69 

 WORK & RELAX
IN THE ZONE

NSFW
Während immer mehr Menschen im Homeoffice arbeiten, verwischen sich auch die Grenzen zwischen
beruflicher und privater Nutzung eines firmeneigenen Computers immer mehr. Doch zu welchen Zwecken,
wenn überhaupt, ist das zulässig? JULIAN EARWAKER zeigt auf, dass Datensicherheit und das individuelle
Recht auf Privatsphäre ein weitaus komplexeres Thema sind als manch einer vermutet.
ADVANCED  AUDIO  PLUS

COMPUTER
Y
ou are what you Google search,”
read a recent Washington Post head-
line. So is it risky to use your work
computer for personal matters?
What would your internet activi-
MISUSE IN THE US
$63 billion
ty reveal?
With more people working from home (€56 billion): the estimated cost
than ever before, the line is blurring be- each year of lost productivity due
tween work-related and private comput- to workplace internet misuse
er use. But even at home, it is always wise

99% 70%
to assume that your work computer is
of internet porn
being monitored, advises TheWirecutter. of professionals admit
use happens
to at least one form of
com: “Avoid saying or doing anything on computer misuse
during the nine-to-
five workday
a work-issued computer or account that
you don’t want your employer to see.” It

28% 20%
is amazing how many people ignore this of people of employees
basic advice. buying gifts do access
so from work cybersex at
Many people use work computers for computers work
personal business. Research by Personnel

30–40% 25%
Today.com shows that 47 per cent of UK of data breaches
workers find it acceptable to use the inter- of employee studied in a
internet activity report were
net for personal affairs during work hours. is not work- caused by
And TheBalanceCareers.com says that US related internal misuse
employees spend between one and three

66%
hours a day surfing the web at work.
of employers monitor
But just because many people do it their employees’
doesn’t make it a wise practice. Personal internet use
internet use at work can have a negative
impact on productivity and customer Sources: www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/pages/cms_006514.aspx
Fotos: solidcolours, asbe, mgkaya, mbortolino/iStock.com

lwww.amanet.org/articles/the-latest-on-workplace-monitoring-and-surveillance
service, choke bandwidth and, potential- lhttps://itsecuritycentral.teramind.co/2018/01/01/employee-monitoring
ly, expose an organization to legal liability.
“Tackling employee misuse of IT systems NSFW (not safe/suitable blur [bl§:] , verwischen legal liability: expose tackle sth.
should be a top priority for all public- for work) sb./sth. to ~ [(tÄk&l] 
breach [bri:tS] 
[)en es ef (dVb&l ju:]  [)li:g&l laIE(bIlEti]  ,  etw. angehen
sector organizations, particularly those ,  nicht arbeitsplatzsicher,
, Verletzung
,  hier: jmdn./etw. haftbar
tax authority
which handle the financial data of mil- unangemessen für den choke sth. [tSEUk]  machen
[(tÄks O:)TQrEti] 
lions of people,” says Christy Wyatt, Arbeitsplatz ,  etw. drosseln
line [laIn] ,  hier: Grenze , Steuerbehörde
CEO of Absolute Software, speaking to amazing [E(meIzIN]  HMRC (Her Majesty’s
, erstaunlich
monitor sth. [(mQnItE]  work-issued
Revenue & Customs)
TheRegister.com. [)eItS em A: (si:] UK 
,  etw. kontrollieren [(w§:k )ISu:d] 
assume sth. [E(sju:m]  ,  zu Arbeitszwecken
In 2019, the UK tax authority HMRC ,  etw. annehmen, ,  britische Steuer- und reveal sth. [ri(vi:&l] 
vergeben
disciplined 92 employees for computer unterstellen Zollbehörde ,  etw. offenbaren

70  Business Spotlight 6/2020 WORK & RELAX

 What’s on that
laptop? It had better
be work-related!

misuse over a two-year period. Email

and social media breaches were the most
common offences. Eight employees were
dismissed. And earlier this year, The Law
Society Gazette reported that an employ-
ee with 24 years of service at the UK law
firm Weightmans lost her claim for unfair
dismissal after an internal investigation
“found hundreds of [internet] entries for
sites such as Shoeaholics, Ryanair, EasyJet
and Debenhams”.
It’s important to note that computer
misuse involves more than just browsing
the latest fashion trends or travel pages.
Sending inappropriate material to private
email addresses, cyberbullying, installing
software without authorization, changing
access rights and viewing pornographic,
offensive or obscene material at work are
all serious breaches.
Alongside these offences, Glassdoor.
com lists further things you should never
do on your work computer. Don’t save
personal passwords on your work device;
don’t make inappropriate jokes or derog-
It’s always wise to assume that your
atory comments about work in email, so- work computer is being monitored
cial media or messaging; never access free
public Wi-Fi while working on sensitive
material; don’t allow friends or colleagues way of alleviating the misuse of the inter- computer can be seen and will be stored,
to access your work computer remotely; net is to establish a very clear usage policy permanently. Ask yourself: would my
don’t store personal or financial data; that is spelled out to all new hires during employer be happy discovering this on
don’t use your work computer for your the selection process.” my computer? “Know your employer’s
side business (for example eBay sales). Does your organization have an IT, policies about the internet and email use.
Add to that another top tip from experts: email and internet policy? If so, are you What you don’t know or pay attention to
never use your work computer to search familiar with it? could hurt your standing with your em-
for a new job! Even if you think everybody else is ployer,” warns TheBalanceCareers.com. As
Using a memory stick or removable doing it, steer clear of computer misuse. many HMRC employees discovered to
data-storage device might seem risk-free, Assume that everything on your work their cost.
but it could introduce a virus or malicious
software to the work-issued comput-
alleviate sth. gazette [gE(zet]  offence [E(fens]  sensitive [(sensEtIv] 
er. According to ComputerEconomics.com, [E(li:vieIt]  ,  [wg. Aussprache]  , Vergehen , sensibel
57 per cent of organizations view portable ,  etw. verringern
inappropriate offensive side business
storage as a major threat to their IT securi- breach [bri:tS]  [)InE(prEUpriEt]  [E(fensIv]  [(saId )bIznEs] 
ty — the single biggest threat of computer , Verletzung , unangemessen ,  beleidigend; anstößig , Nebengeschäft(e)

misuse. Downloading pirated software, cyberbullying malicious Prevention is always spell sth. out
viewing sports via illegal streaming, using [(saIbE)bUliIN]  [mE(lISEs]  better than cure. [)spel (aUt] 
,  Mobbing im Internet , Schad- [pri)venS&n Iz O:lweIz ,  etw. klar darlegen
file-sharing software or accessing less se- )betE DÄn (kjUE] 
derogatory new hire standing [(stÄndIN] 
cure social media platforms at work could ,  Vorbeugung ist stets
[di(rQgEtEri]  [)nju: (haIE]  US ,  Stand, Ruf
involve similar risks. besser als Heilen.
, abfällig ,  neu eingestellte(r)
steer clear of sth.
“Prevention is always better than cure,” Mitarbeiter(in) remotely [ri(mEUtli] 
dismiss sb. [dIs(mIs]  [)stIE (klIEr Qv] 
,  per Fernzugriff
says CoreCruitment.com, “and one simple ,  jmdn. entlassen ,  sich vor etw. hüten

WORK & RELAX 6/2020 Business Spotlight 71 

 WORK & RELAX
AWAY FROM YOUR DESK
Recommended for you
Verbannen Sie die englische Sprache nicht an den Arbeitsplatz! Mit
Büchern, Serien und anderen Dingen räumen Sie ihr auch in Ihrer
Freizeit einen Platz ein. Von DEBORAH CAPRAS
MEDIUM
TRAVEL
Watching two people wine and dine
is not usually terribly entertaining.
But when the two are the British ac-
tors/comedians Steve Coogan and
Rob Brydon, it’s great fun. In The
Trip to Greece, these friends eat, talk
and laugh most of their way across
the less touristy areas of Greece, and
also put in a more melancholic stop
on Lesbos. Starting in Turkey, they
end their culinary journey in Ithaca
— just like Odysseus, they joke. This
is the fourth, final and best part of
their BBC travel/comedy series that
started ten years ago and has taken
them across the UK, Italy and Spain.
Greece is not a bad place to finish
up. Available on DVD.
finish up [)fInIS (Vp] ,  hier: landen
Odysseus [E(dIsju:s] ,  [wg. Aussprache]
wine and dine [)waIn En (daIn] 
,  fürstlich essen
72  Business Spotlight 6/2020
Steve Coogan (left) and
Rob Brydon: friends
on a culinary odyssey
BOOK
The characters in The Motion of the Body Through
Space (Borough) aren’t always likeable, but that’s
not a problem. US author Lionel Shriver has writ-
ten an entertaining story around an older couple
and the modern cult of extreme sports. The hus-
band decides to train for a super-triathlon the mo-
ment his wife — who had been an exercise addict
all her life — is preparing for a knee replacement
operation. Shriver spices it up with several non-
PC moments and includes a few other eccentric
athletes. Their obsessive routines and acerbic
exchanges will make you laugh, and maybe also
make you reflect on how you spend your time.
acerbic motion [(mEUS&n]  spice sth. up
[E(s§:bIk]  , Bewegung [)spaIs (Vp] 
, bissig ,  etw. aufpeppen
non-PC (politically correct)
exercise addict [)nQn pi: (si:]  triathlon
[(eksEsaIz )ÄdIkt]  ,  politisch nicht korrekt [traI(ÄTlEn] 
,  Sport-, Fitnessfanatiker(in) ,  [wg. Aussprache]
routine [)ru:(ti:n] 
,  [wg. Aussprache]
WORK & RELAX
 CHILDREN’S BOOK
This year is the 50th anniversary of adorable [E(dO:rEb&l] 
Mog the Forgetful Cat, a picture book , entzückend

about an adorable family pet and how anniversary

[)ÄnI(v§:sEri] 
it unexpectedly saves the day. There’s
,  Jahrestag, Jubiläum
now a whole series of books about
pet [pet] 
Mog, all beautifully written and illus- , Haustier
trated by Judith Kerr. The publisher,
prolific
HarperCollins, is marking the event [prEU(lIfIk] 
with special anniversary editions of ,  produktiv; erfolgreich

the books, as well as with an audio save the day

collection read by Tacy Kneale, the au- [)seIv DE (deI] 
,  die Lage retten
thor’s daughter. It’s a shame Kerr will
miss the celebrations. The prolific and
inspiring author died last year, aged 95.
A true story:
a winner or www.mogthecat.com
a cheat?

CRIME STORY Not just for the

This is not a spoiler, but in 2003, kids: a cat called
Charles and Diana Ingram were Mog
found guilty of cheating on Who
Wants to Be a Millionaire?, the popu-
lar TV game show. But what’s the
true story? Quiz is a three-part dra-
ma that follows the couple, played
by Matthew Macfadyen and Sian
Clifford, on to the show and into the The Strip: the iconic
signs of Las Vegas
courtroom afterwards. It’s a grip-
ping portrayal of an unusual crime
and some farcical tricks.

cheat [tSi:t]  farcical

,  schummeln, mogeln [(fA:sIk&l] 
,  grotesk, absurd
courtroom
[(kO:tru:m]  gripping [(grIpIN] 
, Gerichtssaal ,  fesselnd

INSTAGRAM
How about some Vegas-style glam-
our? The Neon Museum in Las Vegas
regularly updates its Instagram ac-
count with stories, images and audio
clips of the Strip, the main street of
casinos, bars, hotels and motels that
runs through the city. Discover how
the iconic neon signs helped change a
remote road in the desert into an adult
amusement park.
Fotos: Andy Hall/IFC Films

@theneonmuseumlasvegas

iconic [aI(kQnIk]  remote [ri(mEUt] 

, kultig , abgelegen

WORK & RELAX 6/2020 Business Spotlight 73 

 FEEDBACK
READERS’ LETTERS

Mehr längere Audio-Artikel Lieber nicht alphabetisch

Im Allgemeinen bin ich sehr zufrieden mit Ich bin seit vielen Jahren begeisterter Leser
dem Business Spotlight Digital-Archiv. Allerdings Ihrer Zeitschrift. Als ich letztens das französi­
enthält der Audiotrainer nur wenige Artikel sche Pedant écoute las, fiel mir auf, dass die
aus dem Business Spotlight Magazin. Übersetzungen nicht in alphabetischer Rei­
Gerade die Artikel mit längeren Textpas­ henfolge, sondern in der Reihenfolge ihres
sagen (meistens „Advanced“) würde ich mir Auftretens im Text zu finden waren. Dies emp­ Please send your
als Audio wünschen. Dafür lieber weniger fand ich als sehr angenehm und vorteilhaft und feedback to:
Ian McMaster
Nachsprechübungen auf dem Audio-Trainer. möchte Sie anregen darüber nachzudenken, Editor-in-chief
Bärbel Grubert, via email dieses Vorgehen auch in Business Spotlight zu Email: i.mcmaster@
spotlight-verlag.de
übernehmen. We reserve the right to
For more information on our digital archive, go Michael Kiersch, via email edit comments for
to: www.business-spotlight.de/audio-upgrade clar­ity or length.

MILLION, BILLION, TRILLION

A number of readers have written asking us to
clarify the meaning of certain large numbers in
Time to listen: English and German. Here is a short overview:
more longer million = Million (1,000,000)
articles instead
of exercises? billion = Milliarde (1,000,000,000)
trillion = Billion (1,000,000,000,000) Solution: Who am I?
(p. 76)
The English term “billion” in particular causes
confusion. Historically, this was used to mean Michelle Obama,
Former First Lady of
1,000,000,000,000 in the UK, the same as the the US
German term Billion. But since the 1970s, the of-
ficial British definition of a “billion” has been the
same as the US one (1,000,000,000).

JARGON BUSTER

Understand the jargon — be careful how you use it

MEDIUM

parallel path
Foto: Ben Houdijk/Shutterstock.com

➻ Example ➻ Explanation
“I had to parallel path the Lon­ Used as a verb, “parallel path” simply means to do two things at the same time. In a 2020
don and New York proposals. article on jargon for New York Magazine, author Molly Young wrote that “in its fakery and
It was a lot of work!” puffery and lack of a reason to exist”, the term is “the perfect corporate neologism”.

74  Business Spotlight 6/2020 FEEDBACK

 PREVIEW
ISSUE 7/2020
Managing a crisis:
do you know the words
you’ll need?
impressum
Geschäftsführerin
Malgorzata Schweizer
Chefredakteur
Dr. Ian McMas­ter (V.i.S.d.P.)
Geschäftsführende Redakteurin
(Chefin vom Dienst)
Maja Sirola
Redaktion
Tenley van den Berg,
Dr. Karl Brehmer (frei),
Susanne Krause (online),
Hildegard Rudolph (frei),
Michele Tilgner (frei)
Bildredaktion
Sarah Gough (Leitung),
Judith Rothenbusch
Gestaltung
Georg Lechner,
Nerina Wilter (frei)
Mitarbeiter dieser Ausgabe
Sabine Hübner Pesce,
Ina Sinning (frei)
Autoren
Illustration: sesame/iStock.com
Deborah Capras, Bob Dignen,
Julian Earwak­er, Matt Firth,
Steve Flinders, Adrian Furnham,
Anna Hochsieder, Mike Hogan,
Lois Hoyal, Karen Richardson,
James Schofield, Mike Seymour,
Vicki Sussens, Dagmar Taylor,
Ken Taylor, Paul Wheatley
PREVIEW
Leitung Produktion und
Redaktionsmanagement ­
Thorsten Mansch
Vertriebsleiterin
Moni­ka Wohl­ge­muth
Marketingleiterin
Jessica Sonnenberg
Litho
Mohn Media Mohndruck GmbH
33311 Gütersloh
Druck
Vogel Druck & Medienservice
GmbH, 97204 Höchberg
Vertrieb Handel
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Spotlight Ver­lag GmbH
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ISSN 1617-1888
© 2020 Spot­light Ver­lag,
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n
ht Managing a crisis
m Crisis management skills
020. have become essential for
many people at work. But
how well do you know the
necessary vocabulary? Find
out with our language test.
Organizational life
In spite of the term, most
organizations are, in fact,
highly disorganized. Our
Business Skills article
looks at the true nature of
organizational culture.
SKILL UP!
Working remotely
In our next Skill Up! booklet,
we give you the words and
expressions you’ll need
when you and your team
work remotely.
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6/2020 Business Spotlight 75 
 AND FINALLY...
ONE QUESTION

? Who am I?
MEDIUM US

From Chicago’s South Side

to Netflix: who is
our mystery person?

⋅⋅ I grew up in a working-class neighborhood

on the South Side of Chicago.
⋅⋅ Both my brother, Craig, and I skipped the
second grade.
⋅⋅ By the sixth grade, I was in the gifted class.
⋅⋅ ⋅⋅⋅⋅
I played the piano so often as a child I am thought of as being a style icon.

⋅⋅⋅⋅
that my parents had to ask me to stop. I have written two books — American
My parents did not go to college. Grown and Becoming — and have

⋅⋅
My father died of complications starred in a Netflix documentary.
from multiple sclerosis when I was in Known for my self-confidence, I was

⋅⋅
my 20s. determined to ignore others’ “smack
I was shocked to see students driving talk” as first lady of the United States.
I was
⋅⋅
BMWs at college.
The mother of one of my college
determined to roommates had her daughter moved
to another room because she didn’t
Who am I?
Turn to page 74 for the answer.
ignore others’
⋅⋅
want her to live with a black person.
I graduated from Princeton
‘smack talk’ University in 1985 and Harvard Law advocate sth. [(ÄdvEkeIt] 
,  sich für etw. einsetzen
multiple sclerosis

⋅⋅
School in 1988.
I met my husband at a law firm at
which he was a summer associate.
buddy [(bVdi]  US ifml.
, Kumpel; hier: Kollege
[)mVltIp&l sklE(roUsEs*] 
,  [wg. Aussprache]
push-up competition
[(pUS Vp kA:mpE)tIS&n*] 

⋅⋅
I was his advisor. exercise [(eks&rsaIz*] 
, Liegestützenwettbewerb
,  hier: Sport
Before I agreed to date him, I made roommate [(ru:mmeIt] 
gifted class [(gIftId klÄs*] 
him play basketball against my , Zimmergenosse/
, Begabtenklasse

⋅⋅
brother. -genossin
grade [greId] US 
My advice to my husband before an screw sth. up
, Klasse
[)skru: (Vp] ifml. 
important speech: “Just don’t screw it ,  etw. vermasseln
graduate [(grÄdZueIt] 

⋅⋅
up, buddy!” ,  seinen Abschluss
skip sth. [skIp] 
While in the role I am known for, machen
,  etw. überspringen
I advocated exercise and a healthy IVF (in vitro fertilization)
smack talk [(smÄk tO:k]

⋅⋅
diet. [)aI vi: (ef] 
ifml. , beleidigende
,  künstliche Befruchtung
I have appeared several times on The Äußerungen
law firm [(lO: f§:m] 
Ellen DeGeneres Show. In one episode, summer associate
Illustration: Georg Lechner

, Anwaltskanzlei

⋅⋅
I won a push-up competition. [)sVmEr E(soUSiEt*] 
law school [(lO: sku:l]  ,  Jurastudent(in), der/
After suffering a miscarriage, I had ,  juristische Fakultät die (im Sommer) in einer

⋅⋅
The information about our
mystery person was compiled
by TENLEY VAN DEN BERG.
my two daughters through IVF. Kanzlei arbeitet
miscarriage
Many consider me to be a polarizing [(mIs)kÄrIdZ*]  * This symbol marks
figure. , Fehlgeburt standard US pronunciation.

76  Business Spotlight 6/2020 AND FINALLY...

BU SINE S S EN GLISC H
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 SKILL UP!
Ausgabe
➳ 65

Sprachtraining leicht gemacht

THE LANGUAGE OF

TRENDS
➺
 CONTENTS

Ups and downs

DEBORAH CAPRAS
Author, editor,
corporate writer
Contact:
deborahcapras@
wise-words.com

Whether you are talking about stocks

and shares, company profits or the recent
interest in Cockapoos, you will need to master
the language of trends. In this issue of Skill Up!,
we provide you with the words and phrases you
will need for describing trends. The most effec-
In Word Bank (pp. 4–5), you can learn gen- tive way to learn a
eral vocabulary for key economic trends and language is not by
movements. The dialogues in the In Context learning grammar and
vocabulary separately
section (pp. 6–11) focus on phrases for talking but to learn in chunks
about personal ups and downs, key econom­ — groups of words
ic developments and business developments. that form meaning-
The phrases from the extracts are listed in ful units. When you
can process chunks,
Phrase Bank on pages 12–13. In the grammar
rather than individual
section (pp. 20–21), we look at different ways words, communica-
to talk about numbers, fractions and percen­ tion becomes faster
Illustration: Bernhard Förth; Foto: privat

tages. Try the Test exercises at the end of the and more efficient.
booklet, on pages 22–23, to see how well you Practise chunks from
the Phrase Bank and
know the language presented in this issue.
Collocations pages
Don’t forget to read the Skill Up! boxes for by making a note of
tips on how to improve your trend vocabulary those you think will
and use the language correctly. You’ll find come in useful when
more such boxes in Business Spotlight magazine. describing trends.

2  SKILL UP!
 CONTENTS

Contents Knowledge check

What do you know already?

Word Bank A. Do you say there are “green

Key vocabulary 4–5
shoots” or “green sprouts”
In Context when the economy is start-
Shortages and downturns 6–7 ing to improve?
Boom or bust? 8–9
Upswings 10–11 B. What is the English
expression for falsche Spar-
Phrase Bank
samkeit?
How to say it 12–13

False Friends C. Is a “trough” a good thing

Avoid ticks 14–15 or a bad thing?

Collocations
D. The adjective “booming”
The shape of the economy 16–17
is commonly used with
Essential Idioms “economy”. Which adjec-
What did they say again? 18–19 tive that begins with “bu-”
is also used?
Grammar Check
Looking at numbers 20–21
E. How would you translate
Test sich verzehnfachen?
Test yourself! 22–23

You’ll find the answers on the

following pages and on page 23.

IMPRESSUM
GESCHÄFTSFÜHRERIN:
Malgorzata Schweizer
CHEFREDAKTEUR:
Dr. Ian McMaster (V.i.S.d.P.)
GESCHÄFTSFÜHRENDE
REDAKTEURIN: Maja Sirola (CvD)
AUTORIN: Deborah Capras
REDAKTION: Hildegard Rudolph (frei),
Michele Tilgner (frei)
BILDREDAKTION: Sarah Gough
(Leitung), Judith Rothenbusch
GESTALTUNG: Georg Lechner
LEITUNG PRODUKTION UND VERLAG und REDAKTION:
REDAKTIONSMANAGEMENT: Spotlight Verlag GmbH
Thorsten Mansch Kistlerhofstr. 172, 81379 München
MARKETINGLEITERIN: Telefon: +49 (0)89 8 56 81-0
Jessica Sonnenberg Fax: +49 (0)89 8 56 81-105
ANZEIGEN UND KOOPERATIONEN: Internet: www.business-spotlight.de
Iriet Yusuf © 6/2020 Spotlight Verlag, auch für alle
genannten Autoren, Fotografen und
LITHO: Mohn Media Mohndruck GmbH, Mitarbeiter.
33311 Gütersloh Der Spotlight Verlag ist ein Tochter‑​
DRUCK: Medienschiff Bruno, Hamburg, ­unternehmen der Zeitverlag Gerd
www.msbruno.de Bucerius GmbH & Co. KG

SKILL UP! 3 
 WORD BANK

Key vocabulary
Here, we present the essential vocabu-
lary for talking about economic and
business trends.

Key economic “Up” expressions

expressions headline inflation   boost sth.  ,  etw. ankurbeln
boom-bust cycle   ,  maßgebliche Inflationsrate, bull market  
,  konjunkturelle Berg- und Gesamtinflation ,  (spekulative) Hausse
Talfahrt household debt   climb  ,  Anstieg; steigen
bubble  , Blase ,  Verschuldung der privaten
double (sth.)  ,  sich verdop-
Haushalte
business confidence   peln; etw. verdoppeln
, Unternehmervertrauen; household spending  
flourish  ,  florieren
Konjunkturoptimismus ,  Ausgaben der privaten
Haushalte gain  ,  Zunahme; gewinnen,
consumer confidence   zunehmen
, Verbrauchervertrauen house prices  
,  Haus-, Immobilienpriese go up  ,  ansteigen
consumer demand  
job vacancies  ,  offene Stellen hike (sth.)  ,  starke Erhöhung;
,  Verbraucher-, Konsum-
etw. stark erhöhen
nachfrage new car registrations  
, Kfz-Neuzulassungen improve (sth.)  ,  sich verbes-
consumer spending  
sern; etw. verbessern
,  Verbraucher-, Konsum- strong currency  
ausgaben ,  starke Währung increase (sth.) 
,  sich erhöhen; etw. erhöhen
core inflation  ,  Kerninflation sustainable recovery  
,  nachhaltige Belebung jump  ,  emporschnellen
deep recession  
,  tief greifende Rezession trade deficit   kick-start sth.  ,  etw. (wieder)
, Handels(bilanz)defizit in Gang bringen
exchange rate  
, Wechselkurs trade surplus   leap  ,  starker Anstieg;
, Handels(bilanz)überschuss stark ansteigen
full employment  
, Vollbeschäftigung unemployment (rate)   peak  ,  (vorläufiger) Höchst-
,  Arbeitslosigkeit, Arbeits- stand; einen (vorläufigen)
green shoots  
losenquote Höchststand erreichen
Illustration: Bernhard Förth

,  erste (hoffnungsvolle)
Anzeichen von Wachstum unsustainable growth   pick up ,  zunehmen
gross domestic product (GDP)  ,  auf Dauer unhaltbares rally  ,  Erholung; sich erholen
,  Bruttoinlandsprodukt (BIP) Wachstum
ramp sth. up  UK
gross national product (GNP)   weak currency   ,  etw. verstärken, intensivieren
,  Bruttosozialprodukt (BSP) ,  schwache Währung
recover  ,  sich erholen

4  SKILL UP!

revive sth.   lower sth.   Key adjectives
,  etw. wiederbeleben
rise (sharply)  plummet  bleak  , trostlos
,  (stark) ansteigen
sharp rise  ,  starker Anstieg
shore sth. up  ,  etw. stützen
(sky)rocket   senken, reduzieren
,  in die Höhe schnellen
soar  ,  stark ansteigen,
abheben
surge  ,  starker Anstieg;
stark ansteigen
“Down” expressions
bear market  
,  (spekulative) Baisse
bottom out  
,  die Talsohle erreichen
collapse (in sth.)  
,  Verfall (von etw.); verfallen,
zusammenbrechen
contract  ,  schrumpfen
cut sth.  ,  etw. kürzen,
reduzieren
decline  , Rückgang,
Verschlechterung; zurückgehen,
sich verschlechtern
decrease (sth.) ,  Rückgang,
Senkung; sich verringern,
abnehmen; etw. senken
deteriorate  “unemployment rose
,  sich verschlechtern
deterioration  
,  Verschlechterung
dive  , abstürzen
drop  ,  Rückgang; abnehmen,
zurückgehen
fall  ,  fallen, nachgeben
go down  , fallen
,  etw. senken, reduzieren
,  absacken, stark fallen
plunge  , (ab-)stürzen
reduce sth. ,  etw. verringen,
reduction  ,  Senkung, Abbau,
Reduzierung
slash (sth.) ,  drastische
Kürzung; etw. kürzen
slump , (Kurs-)Einbruch,
(Wirtschafts-)Krise; plötzlich
zurückgehen
(stock-market) crash   ,  wesentlich, maßgeblich
, Börsenkrach
take a hit  ,  einbrechen, einen
Einbruch erleiden
trough ,  Konjunkturtief
tumble  ,  Sturz; stürzen
“Up and down”
expressions
be unstable  , schwanken
develop ,  sich entwickeln
fluctuate  , schwanken
see-saw  ,  auf und ab gehen
swing  , umschlagen
yo-yo  ,  auf und ab gehen
“Stability”
expressions
even out  ,  sich einpendeln
level off  ,  abflachen
level out  ,  sich einpendeln
stabilize  ,  sich stabilisieren
stagnate  , stagnieren
WORD BANK
and adverbs
considerable(-bly) 
,  erheblich, beträchtlich
gloomy  , düster
gradual(ly) 
,  allmählich, schrittweise
healthy  ,  gesund, gut
moderate(ly)  
,  mäßig, maßvoll
sharp(ly)  ,  stark, deutlich
significant(ly)  
steep(ly)  , steil
substantial(ly)  
,  erheblich, maßgeblich
COMBINATIONS
Use logical combina-
tions of adjectives and
nouns or adverbs and
verbs to lend emphasis
and variety to your de-
scriptions. Both “there
was a sharp/steep rise
in unemployment” and
sharply/steeply” have
the same meaning, but
the verb/adverb com-
binations sound more
dynamic. Make a note
of common combina-
tions in news items
about the economy or
business trends.
SKILL UP! 5 
 IN CONTEXT

Shortages and downturns

On the next six pages, we present
extracts with key phrases and
expressions you can use to describe
trends across different situations.

The Situation:
Jamie Smith and May Rich work for
a construction company. Both Jamie
and May love dogs — and they have
children who are unemployed.

1. Shortages 2. Doubled and tripled

Jamie: Can I show you a photo?
Meet Flynn, my new puppy.
May: You got a Cockapoo! He’s so
cute! But I heard there’s a shortage
of them. I asked at a lot of breeders,
but they all said the waiting lists
are too long. Demand has risen
tenfold over the last five months.
How did you get him?
Jamie: I know people who know
people.
breeder , Züchter(in)
cute , niedlich
puppy ,  junger Hund, Welpe
shortage , Knappheit
tenfold: rise ~   quadruple ,  sich vervierfachen
,  um das Zehnfache steigen, sich verzehnfachen
6  SKILL UP!
Jamie: Prices are being ramped
up. Because of the increase in de-
mand, prices have soared.
May: What do you mean by
“soared”? How high can the price
go — for a dog? Have prices dou-
bled, tripled or quadrupled?
Jamie: I paid five times what I
would have paid five months ago.
May: That’s extortionate.
Jamie: But totally worth it. You
know that Phil, my oldest, has been
living with us again since he lost
his job. Flynn is good company.
extortionate , horrend
triple ,  sich verdreifachen

3. The many jobless
May: How is Phil? How’s the job
search going?
Jamie: It’s incredibly tough. Have
you seen this morning’s headlines?
“Unemployment rate surges to
record-breaking high.”
May: Isn’t that the headline every
day?
Jamie: True. How long can this
downturn last?
incredibly , unglaublich
DOUBLE TO TENFOLD
We can add the suffix -fold to
a number to create adjec-
tives and adverbs that are
used to show by how much
something has increased. For
example:
 he prices increased
T
tenfold.
 here was a tenfold increase
T
in prices.
Illustration: Bernhard Förth
As we can’t create a verb with
this suffix, the translation of
sich verzehnfachen is increase/
rise tenfold. Note: The word
manifold means vielfältig.
IN CONTEXT
4. Peaks and troughs
May: I was reading that some
economists say we’ve reached a
peak in unemployment. There are
some signs of recovery.
Jamie: That’s hard to believe. The
job market has been turned up-
side down. Many industries are
contracting. You know, a large
proportion of Phil’s friends are un-
employed. He’s thinking of going
back to university.
May: Ouch. That will put a dent in
your finances.
Jamie: Yeah, we’re going to be
stuck in an economic trough for
the next two years. Flynn will have
to eat the cheap dog food.
dent ,  Delle, Loch
economist , Ökonom(in)
turn sth. upside down 
,  etw. auf den Kopf stellen
Phrase Bank
For a list of all the key phrases used in
the dialogues, see pages 12–13
SKILL UP! 7 
 IN CONTEXT

Boom or bust?
Here, we present some more key phrases and expressions you will find
useful for understanding and talking about economic trends and their
effects on businesses.

The Situation:
Both May and Jamie are news junkies.
They read everything, but they are espe-
cially interested in house-price trends, as
they could affect their business.

5. In the news

LIVE: INTERVIEW:
Public trust in Why the Federal
government falls Reserve plans to
to all-time low slash interest rates

REPORT: THIS WEEK: LIVE:

Job growth is Tourism is Local house
stronger than slowly ramping prices fall at
expected up again sharpest rate
since 2009

OPINION: PERSONAL
Illustration: Bernhard Förth

Trillions alone FINANCE:

are not enough House prices all-time low ,  Tiefststand
to shore up the recover across the interest rate ,  Zinssatz
economy south trillion ,  Billion(en)

8  SKILL UP!

6. Opportunities
May: In our experience, people
tend to invest more in housing
when the economy is booming.
A year ago, we were worried that
the property market might over-
heat. Not any more. Given recent
market volatility, investment in
this sector has taken a hit.
Jamie: We are looking at how to
restart new business areas for a
sustainable recovery.
May: Recent economic develop-
ments have highlighted our weak-
nesses. The current recession has
worsened our situation. We’re not
green enough.
given , angesichts
housing , Wohnungsbau
property , Immobilie(n)
volatility , Volatilität,
Schwankung(en)
BILLIONS AND TRILLIONS
A million is the same in English and in
German. A billion is not. When we talk
about a billion, we are referring to a
thousand million. This is eine Milliarde
in German. If you’re talking about eine
Billion in German, then that would be a
13-digit number, or a trillion in English.
And as for eine Billiarde — that’s a thou-
sand trillion or simply a quadrillion.
All these numbers are used the same
way in both British and US English.
IN CONTEXT
The Situation:
Should the company expand into
new areas? May and Jamie discuss
recent trends and possible effects on
their business.
7. Greener focus
May: We need to kick-start our
green business — retrofitting
buildings to make them more en-
ergy efficient.
Jamie: It won’t be easy. People’s
incomes are falling and mortgage
availability has declined. Supply
of housing is also tight. Rents
will also decline as demand
drops.
May: I understand that the gov-
ernment might inject €16 billion
for the construction and retrofit-
ting of green and affordable hous-
es this year. This is up by 50 per
cent on last year.
billion , Milliarde(n)
mortgage , Hypothek
retrofit sth. 
,  etw. nachrüsten, umbauen
tight ,  hier: knapp
Phrase Bank
For a list of all the key phrases used in
the dialogues, see pages 12–13
SKILL UP! 9 
 IN CONTEXT
Upswings
Here, we provide some key phrases
and expressions you might need when
writing reports about business trends.
8. Future opportunities
ONE TO WATCH: GREEN RENOVATIONS
To meet the climate change goals
for 2035, there is a need to increase
the current rate of energy-efficient
home retrofits from one to four per
cent per year.
The government is expected
to provide a financial incentive
programme of €16 billion for the
retrofitting of 26 million homes. The
stimulus package will also cut VAT
on retrofits. It currently stands at 13
per cent. Such a move could boost
investment in the housing market,
create jobs and revive the economy.
account for sth. ,  etw. ausmachen
goal , Ziel
greenhouse gas , Treibhausgas
incentive , Anreiz
low-carbon , kohlenstoffarm
natural gas , Erdgas
VAT (value added tax) 
,  MwSt. (Mehrwertsteuer)
10  SKILL UP!
The Situation:
Jamie and May write a report
for their boss, Liz Arden,
about recent trends in the
construction industry. They
discuss the future together.
Heating gains
Our focus needs to be on low-carbon
and renewable technologies and, in
particular, on heating. It accounts for
more than a third of the country’s
greenhouse gas emissions. Around
75 per cent of the current heating
demand is met by natural gas. On
average, a green retrofit would need
to result in reductions in emissions
of between 20 and 30 per cent to
qualify for the programme. With the
right retrofit and heat pump, we can
slash emissions by an average of
45 per cent.
Illustration: Bernhard Förth
 PHRASE BANK

How to say it
In this section, you’ll find a collection of the phrases and expressions used
in the extracts on the previous pages (pp. 6–11). The numbers (1–10)
after each of the phrases refer to the extract it was taken from.

Describing economic trends Talking about percentages and

 here’s a shortage of… [1]
T fractions
Unemployment rate surges to
record-breaking high. [3]
How long can this downturn last?
[3]
There are some signs of recovery.
[4]
Many industries are contracting. [4]
We’re going to be stuck in an eco-
nomic trough. [4]
Job growth is stronger than ex-
pected. [5]
The current recession has wors-
ened our situation. [6]
Talking about amounts
 emand has risen tenfold over the
D again. [5]
last five months. [1]
I paid five times what I would have
paid five months ago. [2]
A large proportion of… [4]
Local house prices fall at sharpest
rate since 2009. [5]
On average,… [8]
That would average out at around…
[10]
 his is up by 50 per cent on last
T
year. [7]
It currently stands at 13 per cent. [8]
It accounts for more than a third
of… [8]
Around 75 per cent of… [8]
We can slash emissions by an aver-
age of 45 per cent. [8]
It could boost their house price by
up to 15 per cent. [10]
Describing upward trends
 rices are being ramped up. [2]
P
We’ve reached a peak in… [4]
Tourism is slowly ramping up
We need to kick-start our green
business. [7]
Describing downward trends
 ublic trust in government falls to
P
all-time low. [5]
Incomes are falling. [7]
Mortgage availability has declined.
[7]
Supply of housing is also tight. [7]
Our retrofits can reduce carbon
emissions… [10]

12  SKILL UP!

 IN CONTEXT

9. Looking back
Liz: We’ve had a turbulent year.
The sharp drop in consumer con-
fidence led to a collapse in house
prices. As a result, there has been
a slump in new builds. Prices are
expected to remain unstable for
several months. They may even
out next year. We cannot wait for
the market to recover.
Jamie: I agree. According to my
calculations, we can easily retrofit
around 100 houses a month.

10. Looking forward

THE AVERAGE
We can use “average” as a
noun, verb or adjective:
Noun:
I t costs an average of
€20,000 for each retrofit.
Adjective:
 he average cost is €20,000.
T improve air quality and increase
Verb:
I t averages (out) at around
€20,000.
We translate im Durchschnitt as
on average. If you are looking
for a translation for Otto Nor-
malverbraucher, use average
consumer.
May: House owners are interested
in green retrofitting. It could boost
their house price by up to 15 per
cent. That would average out at
around €60,000 in some areas.
Liz: Any savings on energy bills?
Jamie: It could save the average
household €650 a year.
Liz: That is good news. Our retro-
fits can reduce carbon emissions,
wealth. What’s not to like?
What’s not to like? ifml. ,  Tolle Idee!
Phrase Bank
For a list of all the key phrases used in
the dialogues, see pages 12–13

SKILL UP! 11 


Talking about (in)stability
 rices are expected to remain
P  hat do you mean by “soared”? [2]
unstable for… [9]
They may even out next year. [9]
Explaining the reasons
 ecause of the increase in demand,
B
prices have soared. [2]
People tend to invest more in hous-
ing when the economy is booming.
[6]
Given recent market volatility,
investment in this sector has taken
a hit. [6]
Rents will also decline as demand
drops. [7]
To meet the climate change goals
for 2035, there is a need to increase
the current rate of… [8]
Such a move could boost invest-
Illustration: Bernhard Förth
ment. [8]
The sharp drop in consumer confi-
dence led to a collapse in… [9]
As a result, there has been a slump
in… [9]
According to my calculations,… [9]
PHRASE BANK
Asking for more information
W
How high can the price go? [2]
Have prices doubled, tripled or
quadrupled? [2]
PROVIDE CONTEXT
When you use numbers in your
descriptions of trends, compare
the figures with a previous time-
frame, a business unit, another
company or country:
This is up by 50 per cent on
last year.
You could also try to connect the
numbers to the people that they
are affecting. Help your audi-
ence to understand the impact
of the trends by putting the
figures into context for them:
It could boost their house price
by up to 15 per cent.
SKILL UP! 13 
 FALSE FRIENDS

Avoid ticks
Skill Up! Audio
There are many words in German and English
You can do an
that sound similar but have very different exercise on
meanings. They are called “false friends”. Business Spotlight
Audio.

TAD ALMOST

TICK NEAR

Fotos: marchmeena29, U. J. Alexander, gabort71, juststock/iStock.com

What’s Tick in English? What’s nahezu in English?
Tick (ugs.) = tad ifml., a little nahezu = almost, virtually
● It’ll be a tad warmer tomorrow. ● Our profits dropped to almost

Just one degree! zero last month!

It’s not tick! It’s not near!

tick = Zecke near = in der Nähe
● Ticks can carry some nasty ● The office is very near. It’s just

diseases. ten minutes away

Other translations:
tick = Häckchen, Haken, Zeichen
Tick = tic, quirk
14  SKILL UP!

TRICKY TRANSLATIONS
How do you say
Konjunktur in English?
●  enerally, we translate Konjunk-
G nächsten Jahres fortsetzen könnte.
tur as economy: So könnte der
Staat die Konjunktur ankurbeln.
, “Here’s how the government
could boost the economy.”
●  or compound nouns with Kon-
F point, or Hochkonjunktur, we talk
junktur, we often use expressions
with the adjective economic:
Trotz der ungewissen Konjunk-
turentwicklung bleiben wir optimis-
tisch. , “Despite the uncertain
economic trend, we remain op-
timistic.”
● I n compound nouns that refer
to ways to boost the economy,
such as Konjunkturpaket, -pro-
gramm or -spritze, we can use ex-
pressions with recovery, (eco-
nomic) stimulus or bailout: Das
Konjunkturpaket wird das Wachs-
tum erhöhen. , “The economic
stimulus package will increase
growth.”
●  or a low point, or Konjunkturab-
F late it as be all the rage or be in
schwung, we can use a(n) (eco-
nomic) lull, (economic) slow-
down, (economic) downturn
FALSE FRIENDS
or a recession, depending on
the severity of the situation:
Es ist gut möglich, dass sich der
Konjunkturabschwung bis Ende
, “It’s quite possible that the
economic downturn could con-
tinue until the end of next year.”
●  hen Konjunktur refers to a high
W
about a boom, upward trend or
upswing: Auch in Zeiten der Hoch-
konjunktur fand sie keine Arbeit.
, “Even during the boom she
didn’t get a job.”
● I f the expression (Hoch-)Konjunk-
tur haben refers to economic or
business matters, we translate it
as be popular or be in demand:
Bei Anlegern haben Pharmaun-
ternehmen gerade Hochkonjunktur.
, “Pharmaceutical firms are
popular with investors at the
moment.”
● If, however, (Hoch-)Konjunktur
haben refers to something other
than the economy, we can trans-
fashion: Verschwörungstheorien
haben Hochkonjunktur. , “Con-
spiracy theories are all the rage.”
SKILL UP! 15 
 COLLOCATIONS

The shape of
the economy
How many word partnerships do you know
that sound natural with “economy”? Take
a closer look at our overview of common
collocations and learn how to use them.

Adjectives with flagging economy 

Strong
,  nachlassende Konjunktur
“economy”
global economy 
ailing economy  booming
,  Weltwirtschaft
,  kränkelnde Wirtschaft
informal economy  buoyant
booming economy 
, boomende/florierende
,  informelle Wirtschaft, dynamic
Schattenwirtschaft
Wirtschaft robust
overheated economy 
buoyant economy 
,  überhitzte Konjunktur
,  gute Konjunktur, florierende
robust economy  ,  robuste
Wirtschaft
Wirtschaft/Konjunktur
Weak
circular economy 
, Kreislaufwirtschaft sharing economy 
, Sharing-/Share-Economy ailing
dynamic economy 
,  dynamische Wirtschaft/ sluggish economy  flagging
Konjunktur ,  lustlose Konjunktur overheated
emerging economy   throwaway economy  sluggish
, Schwellenland , Wegwerfwirtschaft,
-gesellschaft

Types
A FALSE ECONOMY?
The word economy has several meanings. The first is circular
“the whole of a country’s business, trade and services emerging
and the money they make” (Wirtschaft). Another is
global
Illustration: Bernhard Förth

“the careful use or saving of money and resources”, as

in “this design improves fuel economy” (Kraftstoffein- informal
sparung, -effizienz). A false economy is when you try sharing
to save money in the wrong places, and create more throwaway
costs or losses in the end (falsche Sparsamkeit).

16  SKILL UP!

 COLLOCATIONS

insulate (from sth.) 

Nouns with
noun + “economy” “economy”
,  (von etw.) abkoppeln;
(vor etw.) bewahren
cash cash economy  kick-start  
, Schattenwirtschaft ,  ankurbeln, in Schwung
gig
gig economy  bringen
knowledge , Gig-Wirtschaft prop up  , stützen
service (Wirtschaftsform, bei der
rescue , retten
shadow kurzfristig Arbeit vergeben
wird) revive , (wieder)beleben
underground shore up , stützen
knowledge economy 
, wissensbasierte stimulate  , stimulieren,
Wirtschaft in Gang bringen
service economy 
, Dienstleistungs-
wirtschaft, -gesellschaft
“The economy”
verb + “the economy” with verbs
shadow economy 
,  Schatten-, Parallel-
The economy will… 
,  Die Wirtschaft wird …
boost wirtschaft
collapse 
insulate underground economy 
, zusammenbrechen,
,  Schatten-, Untergrund-
kick-start wirtschaft einbrechen
prop up contract 
rescue , schrumpfen
Verbs with “the flourish , florieren
revive economy”
shore up pick up  , (wieder)
…the economy  anziehen, anspringen
stimulate ,  die Wirtschaft ...
recover ,  sich erholen
boost  
stall  ,  stocken, zum
,  ankurbeln
Stillstand kommen

“the economy” + verb

The global economy
collapse Jack: If the economy doesn’t pick up
contract soon, we’ll all be out of work. This could
flourish be the end of the gig economy as we
pick up know it.
recover George: The government will do what­
stall ever it takes to shore up the economy.
Jack: But it’s completely stalled!
SKILL UP! 17 
 ESSENTIAL IDIOMS
What did they say again?
English is rich in idiomatic expressions. It’s important to under-
stand exactly what they mean. Learn some key idioms here.
Ouch! He’s
feeling the
squeeze
First, the idiomatic way
Sam: I’m worried that this current
boom will soon run out of steam.
Evan: Why? Just because some
people are feeling the squeeze, it
doesn’t mean we will.
Sam: I don’t know. But in this eco-
nomic climate, all bets are off.
Now, more simply
Sam: I’m worried that this current
boom will soon lose momentum.
Evan: Why? Just because some
people are feeling the pressure
from a lack of money and resourc-
es, it doesn’t mean we will.
Sam: I don’t know. But in this
economic climate, no one really
knows what will happen.
run out of steam ifml. ,  an Schwung verlieren
squeeze: feel the ~  ,  den Druck spüren
all bets are off ifml. ,  alles ist möglich
18  SKILL UP!
First, read the two versions of
the short conversations. Then
cover up the simpler version
and read the idiomatic dialogue
again. Can you remember the
meanings?
First, the idiomatic way
Sam: Their shares have gone
through the roof. Shouldn’t we
invest?
Evan: No, it’s just a dead-cat
bounce! You’ll see. In the future,
they’re going to be nothing but
trouble.
Now, more simply
Sam: Their shares have gone up
really high. Shouldn’t we invest?
Evan: No, it’s just a temporary re-
covery that won’t last long at all!
You’ll see. In the future, they’re
going to be only trouble.
Fotos: jmiks, hjalmeida/iStock.com
through the roof: go ~ ifml. 
,  in die Höhe schnellen, durch die Decke gehen
dead-cat bounce ifml. 
,  kurzfristige Markterholung vor einem
erneuten Fall der Börsenkurse
nothing but  ,  nichts als, bloß

Skill Up! Audio
You can do an
exercise on
Business Spotlight
Audio.
First, the idiomatic way
Sam: It’s good we didn’t invest in
that other US firm. Did you see
that their shares took a nosedive
this morning?
Evan: How did they crash and
burn already? Their products
were second to none.
Sam: Beats me!
Now, more simply
Sam: It’s good we didn’t invest in
that other US firm. Did you see
that their shares dropped sudden-
ly and significantly this morning?
Evan: How did they completely
collapse already? Their products
were as good as or even better
than any other.
Sam: I’ve no idea!
nosedive: take a ~ ifml. 
,  abstürzen, einen Einbruch erleben
crash and burn ifml.  lassen
,  komplett scheitern
second to none: be ~   ,  jenseits von Gut und Böse
,  absolute Spitze sein, unübertroffen sein
Beats me! ifml.  ,  gegen den Strom schwimmen, sich dem Trend
,  Da bin ich überfragt!, Keine Ahnung!
ESSENTIAL IDIOMS
Going down:
taking a nosedive
First, the idiomatic way
Sam: Going forward, what will
make or break us is demand.
Evan: And that’s off the charts
right now.
Sam: Incredible. We’ve managed
to buck the trend!
Now, more simply
Sam: In the future, what will help
us to be a success or failure is de-
mand.
Evan: And that’s far better than
normal or expected right now.
Sam: Incredible. We’ve managed
to succeed even though the cur-
rent and developing situation
makes it difficult to do so.
going forward ,  in Zukunft
make or break sb./sth.  
,  jmdn./etw. erfolgreich sein oder scheitern
off the charts  
buck the trend 
widersetzen
SKILL UP! 19 
 GRAMMAR CHECK
Looking at numbers
Knowledge of the basics of English grammar will help you to
communicate clearly and confidently. Here, we show
you how to talk about numbers when describing trends.
“Up” and “down”
We can use “up” to talk about an
increase in number, and “down”
for a decrease:
Unemployment is up/down.
To compare with another period
of time, use “up on” or “down on”:
Unemployment is up on last
month.
To specify a number, use “up/down
to” or “up/down from”:
We’re up to 12 million unem­
ployed, up from 10.5 million.
Bookings are down to 34 —
that’s down from 48 for the
same period last year.
To compare numbers, use “up/
down by”:
Revenues are up by almost 15
per cent.
“In” or “of”?
After nouns that describe move­
ment, use “in” to specify what
changed:
20  SKILL UP!
W  e saw a 12 per cent increase in
sales.
There was a sharp decrease in
the number of registrations.
Use “of” to specify a precise num­
ber or percentage:
We saw an increase of 12 per
cent in sales.
There was a decrease of 120 reg­
istrations compared to last year.
“By” or “to”?
After verbs that describe change,
use “by” to specify the amount of
change or difference between two
different values. Use “to” to specify
the end point:
Production went up by 400 units
in one month.
This brings the jobless rate to
38.6 million in only nine weeks.
Note that when we use a percen­
tage after a verb, we can leave out
“by”:
Our profit margin has decreased
(by) two per cent.

“From” or “to”?
With verbs and nouns, we use
“from” to signify the starting point
and “to” for the end point:
Inflation dropped to 0.8 per cent,
from 1.5 per cent in March.
There was a drop in inflation to
0.8 per cent.
Verbs with “at”
After some verbs, we also use “at”
to refer to a specific amount or
point. These verbs include “end”,
“bottom out”, “peak”, “stabilize”,
“stand” and “start”:
Recent data shows that inflation
peaked at 13.7 per cent.
Fractions
With fractions, we use “of” before
a noun:
We expect a quarter of our reve­
nues to disappear.
With “half” we can leave out the
“of”:
Half (of) the people have lost
money.
Fractions are generally followed
by a singular verb, unless the frac­
tion refers to a plural noun. Then it
takes a plural verb:
Two-thirds of the market has
collapsed.
GRAMMAR CHECK
A
 third of employees have re-
jected the new measures.
Percentages
As with fractions, if the noun
phrase following the percentage is
singular, use a singular verb. If it’s
plural, use a plural verb:
Only five per cent of turnover is
spent on salaries.
Thirty-seven per cent of our em­
ployees are smokers.
A FRACTION OF THE PEOPLE?
What would you answer if you
were asked the following?
What fraction of politicians
supported the government?
A possible answer would be
“Maybe a third”, or “More than
half”. The question is not about
which political parties support-
ed the government.
Fraction is a false friend mean-
ing “a small part or amount of
something”. It’s translated as
Bruchteil or (mathematischer)
Bruch or, as it would be here,
as Anteil. When talking about
most political systems, the best
translation for the German
Fraktion is “parliamentary party”.
In the US, you could talk about
a “congressional faction”, but
never a “fraction”.
SKILL UP! 21 
 TEST
Test yourself!
See how well you know the words
and phrases presented in this
booklet by doing the exercises
below. Cover the answers at the
bottom of page 23.
1. Choose the correct
options to complete the
sentences.
A. Consumer spending /
spend has changed dramat-
ically since the beginning of
the crisis.
B. Household credit / debt
has also gone down as peo-
ple are consuming less.
C. Our strong currency /
exchange is a problem for
exports.
D. Job ads went up as soon
as business confidence /
conviction returned.
E. We recorded our highest
trade debit / deficit with
China this month.
F. House prices went up when
interest duties / rates fell
sharply.
22  SKILL UP!
2. Rearrange the letters to
complete the missing verb
forms. The first letter is in
the correct place.
A. The government will do
whatever it takes
to (sreho)
up the economy.
B. Their stock price has
been
(fnucliatgtu).
C. US stocks
(pmudetlme) after the
reports of more job losses.
D. Some industries have
managed to
(foriluhs) despite the
negative conditions in the
market.
Illustration: Bernhard Förth
E. The economic outlook
continues to
(doterritaee).

3. What would you say in the
following situations?
A. You want to say that there
are not enough jobs. Use
“shortage”.
B. You want to ask when the
downturn might end. Use
“How long”.
C. Explain that a retrofit could
increase the house price,
but not by more than 15 per
cent. Use “boost”.
D. Say that there are very few
houses for sale. Use “tight”.
E. Show that you expect
prices to be more stable
next year. Use “even”.
Answers from page 3:
A. green shoots = erste (hoffnungsvolle)
Anzeichen von Wachstum
B. false economy
C. a bad thing (trough = Konjunkturtief)
D. buoyant (buoyant economy = gute Konjunktur,
florierende Wirtschaft)
E. increase/rise tenfold
TEST
4. Replace each German
word (in italics) in the
sentences below with the
correct English word.
A. The prices dropped to
(nahezu) zero this morning.
B. I hate this heat. I’m hoping
it will be a(n)
(Tick) cooler tomorrow.
C. What we urgently need
is a government
(Konjunkturpaket).
D. This
(Konjunkturabschwung) will
last at least until the end
of the year.
Answers:
1. A. spending; B. debt; C. currency;
D. confidence; E. deficit; F. rates
2. A. shore; B. fluctuating; C. plummeted;
D. flourish; E. deteriorate
3. A. There’s a shortage of jobs.
B. How long can this downturn last?
 C. A
 retrofit could boost the house price by
up to 15 per cent.
D. Supply of housing is tight.
E. Prices will (probably) even out next year.
(Other options possible.)
4. A. almost/virtually; B. tad;
C. economic stimulus package;
D. (economic) lull / (economic) slowdown /
(economic) downturn / recession
SKILL UP! 23 
 20 Jahre
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 Teil 8 GETTING A NEW JOB

VOKABEL TRAINER
Teil 1 YOU AND YOUR JOB (7/19) Teil 5 NEGOTIATING (3/20)
ÜBE
TESTEN
Teil 2 TELEPHONING (8/19) Teil 6 EMAILS AND TEXTS (4/20) NUTZ N
Teil 3 SMALL TALK (1/20) Teil 7 PRESENTATIONS (5/20) EN
Teil 4 MEETINGS (2/20) Teil 8 GETTING A NEW JOB (6/20)

das muss ich super, das kann ich

wiederholen schon

THE BASICS
START STRONG
advertise a job  ,  eine Stelle ausschreiben
If you know someone
advertise a vacancy internally/  ,  eine Stelle intern/extern
externally ausschreiben
who works at the
company where there
applicant  , Bewerber(in)
is an open position ,
candidate    , Kandidat(in)
you might be able to
closing date   , Bewerbungsschluss
namedrop them in your
covering letter UK   ,  Begleit-, Bewerbungsschreiben covering letter. Having
cover letter US    ,  Begleit-, Bewerbungsschreiben a personal referral can
CV (curriculm vitae)   ,  Lebenslauf make a difference. Ask
employee  ,  Angestellte(r), Arbeitnehmer(in) the person first!
employer  , Arbeitgeber(in)

fill a vacancy  ,  eine offene Stelle besetzen

Marjorie Walker, head of global sales at
TUTEL, told me you have a job opening for
HR department  , Personalabteilung
a senior project manager at your compa-
human resources (HR) manager  , Personalleiter(in)
ny and recommended that I contact you
intern  , Praktikant(in)
directly.
interview  , Vorstellungs-, Bewerbungsgespräch

(job) application     ,  Bewerbung

job description  , Stellenbeschreibung MAKE IT PERSONAL

job opening   ,  freie Stelle “Dear Sir or Madam” isn’t the best way
job profile  ,  Anforderungs-, Tätigkeitsprofil to start a covering letter . Find out the
job requirement  , berufliche Anforderung, name of the human resources (HR)
Einstellungskriterium manager and use “Dear Mr/Ms” and
job title  ,  Stellen-, Berufsbezeichnung their surname instead.
open position   ,  offene Stelle

personnel department  , Personalabteilung

questionnaire  , Fragebogen

recruiter  , Personalvermittler(in) THE IDEAL JOB?

recruitment firm    , Personalvermittlung Here’s a short checklist before you
referral     , Empfehlung start writing a job application:
rejection (letter)  , Ablehnung(sschreiben)

résumé US  ,  Lebenslauf

● Does the job description interest you?
● Do you meet the job requirements ?
trainee  , Auszubildende(r)
What makes you the best candidate
● 
vacancy  ,  offene Stelle, freie Stelle
for the job?
work placement   , Praktikum
THE APPLICATION
THE COVERING LETTER:
application form  , Bewerbungsformular

application portfolio  , Bewerbungsmappe

OPENING
With reference to your job advertise-
apply for sth.   ,  sich für etw. bewerben
ment, I am writing to apply for the
apply on spec  ,  sich blind bewerben
position of senior software developer.
attachment    ,  Anhang; Anlage
job ad(vertisement)  ,  Stellenanzeige, -angebot

look for a (new) job  ,  (sich) eine (neue) Stelle suchen

HIGHLIGHTS
referee UK     , Referenzgeber(in)
Having worked in the media business
reference    ,  Empfehlung; Arbeitszeugnis for over seven years, I have a strong
speculative application   ,  Blind-, Initiativbewerbung track record of all these qualities.
submit an application  ,  eine Bewerbung einreichen

testimonial  , Empfehlungsschreiben; My former employers describe me as

Arbeitszeugnis a fast learner, natural leader and
video pitch   ,  kurze Video-Präsentation good negotiator.
YOUR EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS
achievement   , Leistung

career history  ,  beruflicher Werdegang YOUR SKILL SET

certificate  ,  Zeugnis; Bescheinigung I have extensive first-hand experience
degree  , Studienabschluss; akademischer of project management and am
Grad familiar with the tools your company
degree/leaving certificate  ,  Abschlusszeugnis has developed. I was instrumental in
extensive expertise in sth.     ,  fundiertes Fachwissen in etw. training my team to use these tools.
familiar with sth.     , mit etw. vertraut

first-hand experience of sth.   , Erfahrung(en) aus erster Hand

in etw.
gain experience in sth.    ,  in etw. Erfahrung(en) sammeln

graduate  , (Hochschul-)Absolvent(in)

graduate (in sth.)  ,  (in etw.) einen Abschluss machen

graduate trainee   , Auszubildende(r) (mit Hoch-

schulabschluss)
impressed by sth.  ,  von etw. beeindruckt

instrumental in sth.  ,  maßgeblich an etw. beteiligt

involved in sth.   , in etw. eingebunden / mit etw.

befasst
school report  , Schulzeugnis

track record   , Erfolgsbilanz

used to sth.  ,  an etw. gewöhnt

YOUR SKILLS PROVEN ABILITY

fast learner  , jmd. mit einer schnellen
Auffassungsgabe ● I think you need to add a
good negotiator  ,  gute(r) Verhandlungsführer(in) few more achievements to
native speaker (of German)  , (deutsche(r)) Muttersprachler(in) your CV. Look, they really
natural leader   , Führungspersönlichkeit
want someone with strong
proven ability in sth.  , nachgewiesene Fähigkeit(en)
für/in etw. troubleshooting skills.
skilled in sth.     ,  in etw. kompetent/geübt ● I’ll add something about
skill set  ,  Fähigkeiten, Kompetenzen
how I was directly involved
strong troubleshooting skills  , starke lösungsorientierte
Fähigkeiten in designing the new system.
YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS
In your CV, you can list your past
achievements using just the past
participle of a verb:
● Succeeded in increasing sales by
five per cent within the first year.
● Exceeded sales targets within the
first quarter.
● Oversaw the implementation of
cost-cutting processes.
STRONG LANGUAGE
SKILLS
In your covering letter and career
profile, remember to focus on
the skills and qualifications that
are relevant to the position. For
example:
As someone who is fluent in
● 
English, proficient in Italian and
a native speaker of German, I am
ideally suited for the position.
WHY YOU?
In your covering letter or career
profile, highlight your knowled-
ge and experience to show what
makes you the better candidate:
What sets me apart from other
candidates is my extensive practical
experience and technical knowledge.
What’s more, I take pride in my work.
ACTION VERBS
achieve sth.   ,  etw. erreichen
act as sb.  ,  fungieren als jmd.
be in charge of sth.  ,  für etw. zuständig sein
carry sth. out  ,  etw. durchführen
contribute to sth.  ,  zu etw. beitragen
coordinate sth.  ,  etw. koordinieren
create sth.  ,  etw. schaffen
cut sth.    ,  etw. reduzieren
deal with sth.  , sich mit etw. befassen
demonstrate sth.  ,  etw. zeigen, demonstrieren
devise sth.   
double sth. 
,  etw. konzipieren
,  etw. verdoppeln
establish sth.  ,  etw. einführen, einrichten
exceed sth.  ,  etw. übertreffen
excel at sth.   ,  sich in etw. hervortun
generate sth.    ,  etw. erzeugen
head sth.  , an der Spitze von etw. stehen,
etw. leiten
implement sth.    ,  etw. umsetzen
improve sth.    ,  etw. verbessern
introduce sth.    ,  etw. einführen
lead sth.    ,  etw. leiten
manage sth.    ,  etw. leiten, regeln
oversee sth.     ,  etw. beaufsichtigen, überwachen
prioritize sth.  ,  etw. nach Priorität ordnen
raise sth.  ,  etw. steigern
recruit sb.  ,  jmdn. einstellen
report to sb.  ,  jmdm. Rapport erstatten
set sb. apart from others   ,  jmdn. von anderen abheben
set sth. up  ,  etw. gründen, errichten
shortlist sb.  , jmdn. in die engere Auswahl
nehmen
succeed in sth.   ,  in etw. Erfolg haben
supervise sb./sth.  ,  jmdn./etw. beaufsichtigen
take pride in sth.  ,  mit Stolz auf etw. verweisen
use one’s skills  ,  seine Fähigkeiten einsetzen
work in a team  ,  in einem Team arbeiten
STRONG ADJECTIVES
excited by sth.    ,  von etw. begeistert
fluent in (a language)     ,  (eine Sprache) fließend sprechend
passionate about sth.    , an etw. leidenschaftlich
interessiert
proficient in sth.    , in etw. kompetent,
für etw. qualifiziert
responsible for sth.    ,  für etw. verantwortlich/zuständig
suited for sth.   ,  für etw. geeignet
well-versed in sth.  ,  in etw. versiert, bewandert
 WHAT YOU
SHOULD KNOW
ADJECTIVES WITH PREPOSITIONS
AND NOUN PHRASES
The following expressions formed with
adjective + preposition + noun phrase
are useful when talking about your in-
terests, knowledge and skills:
● I am excited by the prospect of working
for your organization.
● I am impressed by your company’s history.
● I was closely involved in the redesign.
● I am passionate about this issue.

YOUR CV
Start with a longer career profile, then
list your achievements, with the most
recent first. You don’t need to include
your age, gender, religion, marital sta-
tus or children on any job application.
We usually divide the CV into the fol-
lowing sections:
Career profile: Write a short personal
description.
Work experience: Give details of your
career history and achievements at
each position.
Education: Include all relevant quali-
fications, as well as places and periods
of study.

FALSE FRIENDS
The German word Annonce is translated
as advertisement, advert or ad:
●  I am writing in response to your adverti-
sement for a designer.
Don’t use announcement, as this means
Bekanntmachung:
● John will make the announcement after
lunch.

ADAPT TO SUCCEED
Don’t use the same CV or covering
letter for every job application. You
should adapt them both for every job
that you apply for. Make sure they fit
the job profile as closely as possible.
THE INTERVIEW
accept a job  ,  eine Arbeit/Stelle annehmen
benefits  , Zusatzleistungen
be shortlisted  ,  in die engere Auswahl kommen
compensation package  , Gesamtvergütung
challenge  ,  Herausforderung; Aufgabe
expected salary  , Gehaltsvorstellung
give x weeks’ notice   , eine x-wöchige Kündigungsfrist haben
initial training  , Einarbeitung
TELL ME ABOUT THE TIME…
If the interviewer asks about a problem you had
to deal with, use the STAR technique (Situation,
Task, Activity, Result) to highlight your problem-
solving skills.
● First, describe the situation.
● Then, explain what the problem was.
● Next, say what you did to solve the problem.
● Finally, explain the result of your actions.

interview sb.  , mit jmdm. ein Bewerbungsgespräch

führen
interviewee  , Kandidat(in) im Bewerbungsgespräch

interviewer  , Person, die das Bewerbungsgespräch YOUR REASONS

führt When the interviewer asks why you want to
interview panel  , Bewerbungsausschuss change jobs, make sure you have some good
invite sb. for/to an interview  , jmdn. zum Bewerbungsgespräch reasons ready:
einladen
Why do you want to leave your job?
● 
job offer  , Stellenangebot
I’ve taken my current role as far as I can. I’d like to
● 
make the cut ifml.   ,  es in die Endrunde schaffen have even more responsibility . I’m looking for a
namedrop sb.   , jmds. Namen einfließen lassen new challenge .
negotiate sth.  ,  etw. verhandeln

notice period   , Kündigungsfrist

offer sb. a job  ,  jmdm. eine Stelle anbieten A NEW BEGINNING?

onboarding   , Eingliederung ● When could you start? What’s your
poach sb.  ,  jmdn. abwerben
notice period ?
probation(ary) period  , Probezeit

reimburse travel expenses  ,  Reisekosten erstatten

● I have to give six weeks’ notice.
responsibility   ,  Verantwortung ● That’s perfect for us. You seem like a
shortlist  ,  (engere) Auswahlliste team player , so we’d like to offer you
starting date  , Eintrittsdatum
the job.
terms of employment  , Anstellungsbedingungen

trial period  , Probezeit

IMPRESSUM
turn down a job  ,  eine Arbeit/Stelle ablehnen
HERAUSGEBER Jan Henrik Groß
working hours  , Arbeitszeit(en) CHEFREDAKTEUR Dr. Ian McMaster (V.i.S.d.P.)
THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE ART DIRECTOR Michael Scheufler
GESCHÄFTSFÜHRENDE REDAKTEURIN
committed / dedicated  , engagiert (Chefin vom Dienst) Maja Sirola
AUTORIN Deborah Capras
competent  , fachkundig
REDAKTION Hildegard Rudolph (frei), Michele Tilgner (frei)
conscientious    ,  gewissenhaft, pflichtbewusst BILDREDAKTION Sarah Gough, Judith Rothenbusch
GESTALTUNG Georg Lechner
customer-focused  , kundenorientiert DRUCK Medienschiff Bruno, Hamburg, www.msbruno.de

decisive  , entscheidungsfreudig © 2020 Spotlight Verlag, auch für alle genannten Autoren, Fotografen und Mitar-
beiter. Der Spotlight Verlag ist ein Tochterunternehmen der Zeitverlag
experienced  , erfahren Gerd Bucerius GmbH & Co. KG
proactive  ,  die Initiative ergreifend

reliable  , zuverlässig

self-driven  ,  selbstständig, mit eigenem Antrieb

self-motivated    , eigenmotiviert
skilled  , qualifiziert
team player   ,  teamfähige Person
trustworthy    , vertrauenswürdig
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