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return n 3 [C] Over 12.2 million taxpayers filedfederal returns electronically this year. I allegations that the company had falsified its corporate tax return.

Charge'^ 1 [C,U] Vodafone is cutting its call charges by 15%. | You can search the D&B database free of charge. +for: Politicians are opposing higher chargesfor electricity. C usually plural] concern at the level of bank charges charged by some ofthe High Street banks

fixtures and fittings BrE abbreviation f & f; fixtures AmE n [plural] Ask the seller of the house to list the smaller fixtures and fittings that are to be left.

Selling, general andadministrative expenses were more than 30%, so IBM needed a gross margin of around 40%just to make any reasonable profit.

market research also marketing research;

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Managers from this country

•consider social qualities to be as important as education.

•encourage their employees to take an interest in their work.

•pay close attention to the quality of working life.

•do not use as much authority as in other countries.

•appreciate low-level decision-making.

•are often women.

Managers from this country

Managers from this country

•generally attend business schools.

•communicate easily and informally at work.

• admire the qualities of a leader.

•expect everyone to work hard. Individual performance is measured and initiative is rewarded.

•have competitive and aggressive attitudes to work.

•often accept innovation and change.

Learning to cope with corporate culture clashes

The dos and don'ts of travelling abroad are a potential minefield for the unprepared traveller. If you spit in some countries, you could end up in prison. In others, spitting is a competitive sport.

TheCentreforInternational Briefinghasspent40yearspreparing the wary traveller for such pitfalls. Though it may sound like a covert operation for aspiring secret agents, what the Centre does is prepare travellers for encounters with new social and business customs worldwide. To date, over 50,000 people have passed through its headquarters at Farnham Castle in Surrey. 'There are two broad tracks tc our training programme,' explains leff Toms, Marketing Director. 'One covers business needs, the other social etiquette*. For example, business travellers need to know how decision-making works.'

In China, it may be necessary to have government involved in any decisions taken. And in India, people are sometimes late for a scheduled appointment.

While we are familiar with the short firm handshake in this part of the world, in the Middle East the hand is held in a loose grip for a longer time. In Islamic cultures, showing the soles of your feet is a sign of disrespect and crossing your legs is seen as offensive.

'For them, the most senior person at the meeting will say very little, and the person doing most of the talking is not very important.' Doherty has spent 12 of his 16 years with the IDA working abroad in the USA, Germany, South-East Asia and lapan.

'With a population of 125 million

condensed into a narrow strip of land, private space for the Japanese is virtually non-existent. You can't worry about your personal space in a packed train when people are standing on your feet.'

Tiptoeing through the minefield

Do

•Show an interest in, and at least an elementary knowledge of the country you are visiting;

•Learn a few words of the language - it will be seen as a compliment;

•Be sensitive to countries who have bigger and betterknown neighbours, and try not to confuse Canadians with Americans, New Zealanders with Australians, Belgians with French;

•Familiarise yourself with the basics of business and social etiquette. As a starting point, learning how to greet people is very important.

leff Toms tells the story of a British employee asked to post a letter by her Indonesian employer. 'She knew the letter was too late for the six o'clock post, so she decided to hold it until the eight o'clock one. Her boss saw the letter on her desk and sacked her for not posting it immediately. In Western cultures, we believe in empowering* people and rewarding them for using initiative, but other cultures operate on the basis of obeying direct orders.'

Don't

•Assume you won't meet any communication problems because you speak English. You may think you are paying somebody a compliment by telling them their business is going a bomb*, Americans will infer you think it is failing.

•Appear too reserved. As Americans are generally more exuberant* than their European colleagues, they may equate reserve with lack of enthusiasm.

Reading

Vocabulary

International Business Styles

1 Read the text opposite about The Centre for International Briefing, which runs training courses for business people travelling to other countries, and complete the paragraphs using the sentences below.

a'In a country like Japan, the notion of personal space which we value so much simply has no meaning,' he says.

bIn Asian cultures most of it takes place behind the scenes.

cThe difference between understanding a culture and ignoring its conventions can be the measure of success or failure abroad.

dThe Centre for International Briefing has spent 40 years preparing the wary traveller for such pitfalls.

eJohn Doherty, International Marketing Director with the Irish Industrial Development Authority, explains how you can easily talk yourself into trouble at a business meeting in Japan:

fGreetings, gestures and terms of address are all potential hazards abroad.

2 In pairs, discuss these questions.

aWhat social etiquette is important for business travellers to your country?

bIn your experience, what can be difficult about dealing with British or Americans?

I Match the words from the text with their corresponding definitions.

unit five

Vocabulary development: prefixes

' Complete the passage using words from Vocabulary 1 in the correct form.

Gift giving in the international business context

In Great Britain and the United States corporate gift giving is not a very popular ; people can spend their entire working lives without ever receiving a

corporate gift. However, gift giving is sometimes an integral part of the

international client or business partner, or you may find that your gesture appears 4 . For example, in China a desk clock 5 bad luck or death.

It is also interesting to note that the receiver never opens a gift in front of the giver as that would signify that the content was more important than the act of giving. Waiting for the person to open your gift would show

that you were not6 to Chinese culture. In France,

don't give something with your company logo, as they find items like this impersonal and in bad taste. Giving knives in Italy, Russia or Argentina could lead to problems in establishing a deal as this signifies cutting off the relationship! Giving flowers is another possible 7 . In England,

Australia and Canada, some people see white lilies as a symbol of death while in Germany, yellow and white chrysanthemums could be seen this way.

In the text on page 46, the word non-existent (para 7) consists of the prefix non- and the main word existent. The prefix gives the word the opposite meaning.

1 Match the prefixes with the groups of adjectives.

In which of the six lists do the adjectives have something in common?

2 Add prefixes to the following adjectives.

3 Add one more adjective to each group above.

The imperative

Practice

International Business Styles

Language Focus

The imperative has the same form as the infinitive without to. It is used:

• to give orders or instructions, for example on packaging, labels or documents.

Fill in the form in block capitals. Empty the contents into boiling water.

• to give strong advice.

Avoid showing the soles ofyour feet in the Middle East.

If you want to be emphatic you can use do or always.

Do learn a few words of the language.

Always familiarise yourself with the basics.

The negative is formed by using don't or never.

Don't appear too reserved.

Never cross your legs in the Middle East.

•• For more information on the imperative, turn to page 166.

Complete the sentences below using the expressions in the box in the correct imperative form, positive or negative.

2, be curious and fascinated instead.

3some time in preparing yourself for encounters with other business and cultural styles.

4your understanding of the countries and cultures you are visiting by attending cross-cultural seminars.

5the general protocol and etiquette of the country or countries you

are visiting.

6delays, frequent changes in plans and cancellations.

7to have easy access

to your e-mail while on the road. In some cases it may be impossible to log on to your internet server remotely.

v