Hgs45ye4business spotlight september oktober 2015 by gooldkewaq

Business Spotlight

BusinessSpotlight Englisch für den Beruf

Language Test your punctuation

September–Oktober | Ausgabe 5/2015

You can do it!

Ten tips for solving problems

Intercultural

Doing business with Canada Management

Do we really need bosses?

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EDITORIAL

No problem? An essential part of business Ian McMaster, editor-in-chief

life is being able to solve problems when they arise.

What was that you said? You think that we should be using the words “challenges” or “issues” instead of “problems”? Will that really make the problems/challenges/issues any easier to solve? In

Business Englisch

the last article of his ten-part Business Skills series, Bob Dignen

für Fach- und Führungskräfte

provides ten tips for effective problem-solving (see p. 30). And his first tip is to accept the fact that there is indeed a problem.

One problem area for many learners

■

Business English Zielgerichtete Präsenz- und Onlinetrainingskonzepte

■

Passgenaue Inhalte fach- und branchenspezifisch

■

Effektive Trainingsformen Business Workshops für Meetings, Presentations, Negotiations

Solving problems: better together

is punctuation. We hope that our special test will help you with any problems you might have in this area (see p. 12). But remember: punctuation tends to be less rigid in English than in German.

Phrasal verbs can also be a problem in English because small changes to

KERN AG Training (Zentrale)

the parts can cause big changes in know the difference between “set

Leipziger Straße 51, 60487 Frankfurt / M.

(0 69) 7 56 07 39-0

iStock

the meaning. For example, do you something down”, “set something

info@kerntraining.com www.kerntraining.com

off”, “set something out”, “set something up” and “set off on something”? Our latest language booklet, written by Hildegard Rudolph, will guide

Auch in zentraler

you through 100 tricky phrasal verbs.

NK F U RT HAUPT WACHE FR3AFrankfurt/M. Phrasal verbs: our new booklet

Ian McMaster, editor-in-chief Contact: i.mcmaster@spotlight-verlag.de

5/2015

Lage an der

31 Schillerstraße 2 · 60

KERN AG Training Schulungszentren unter anderem in: Aachen · Augsburg · Berlin · Bielefeld · Bochum · Bonn Braunschweig · Bremen · Darmstadt · Dortmund · Dresden Duisburg · Düsseldorf · Essen · Frankfurt / Main · Freiburg Friedrichshafen · Hamburg · Hannover · Heilbronn · Ingolstadt Kaiserslautern · Karlsruhe · Kassel · Kiel · Köln · Leipzig Mainz · Mannheim · Mönchengladbach · München · Münster Nürnberg · Offenbach · Regensburg · Saarbrücken · Schweinfurt Stuttgart · Ulm · Weil a. Rh. · Wiesbaden · Wuppertal · Würzburg International: Amsterdam · Graz · Linz · Lyon · Salzburg Warschau · Wien

CONTENTS 5/2015 iStock

12 Punctuation test

ddp

18 Karren Brady The Big Picture

Careers

68 Teaching advanced Why Finnish teachers and pupils are so happy 72 Tips and Trends Networking; avoiding bad jobs

Working World 8

Names and News plus The latest from the world of business

Language Test 12 Punctuation Test your knowledge of English punctuation

Global Business 18 Profile British businesswoman Karren Brady 22 Head-to-Head advanced Should salaries be transparent? 26 It’s Personal advanced plus Elisabeth Ribbans on rail travel in Britain 29 Business Press Behind the headlines advanced

Business Skills 30 Series (10): Solving Problems plus Ten tips for successful problem-solving plus 35 Training Plan Strategies for solving problems 36 Toolbox Ken Taylor on being assertive

Intercultural Communication 38 Canada plus Doing business with Canadians

Management 74 Holacracy advanced Managing without bosses 78 What Happened Next How containers revolutionized shipping 79 Executive Eye Adrian Furnham on Big Brother at work

Moodboard

United States Drying up in California

Technology 80 Artificial Intelligence advanced Computers that are almost human 83 Language Focus advanced Sand

People 86 My Working Life easy Ewa Sendecka, product designer in Cracow

Regular sections 3 Editorial 24 SprachenShop 37 Classified Ads 84 Feedback / Impressum 85 Preview

READERS’ SERVICE Email: abo@spotlight-verlag.de Internet: www.spotlight-verlag.de Telephone: +49 (0)89/8 56 81-16 Fax: +49 (0)89/8 56 81-159

Multimedia learning with Business Spotlight Business Spotlight plus plus Practise the language used in the magazine with our exercise booklet. In this issue, we focus on the vocabulary you need to talk about telecommunications, an intercultural quiz on Canada and successful problem-solving.

Business Spotlight Audio Our audio product offers more than 70 minutes of texts, dialogues, exercises and interviews. On this CD, listen to a short story and learn to be more assertive.

30 Solving problems

Thinkstockeditorial

38 Canada

GUIDE

55 vocabulary Useful Languagesection Section Language easy

48 Easy English Representing your team

easy

50 Grammar at Work Interview questions

plus

52 Translation False friends and more

Language in Business Spotlight Articles in the magazine use the style, spelling, punctuation and pronunciation of British English unless otherwise marked. US

53 Language Cards To pull out and practise 55 SKILL UP! Get connected!

A merican style, spelling, punctuation and pronunciation are used in these articles.

All articles are marked with their level of language difficulty. Articles not marked on the contents pages are at a medium level. (CEF stands for the Council of Europe’s “Common European Framework of Reference for Languages”.)

56 English for… Traffic control 58 Email Editing and proofreading 59 English on the Move Lost luggage

plus

easy

Approximately at CEF level A2

60 Teacher Talk Interview with Ed Pegg

medium

Approximately at CEF levels B1–B2

62 Legal English Settling out of court

advanced

Approximately at CEF levels C1–C2

63 Talking Finance Going for broke

advanced

64 Short Story Too good to be true 66 Products / Solutions What’s new?

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

67 Key Words Vocabulary from this issue Cover topics

Business Spotlight Online

BusinessSpotlight Englisch für den Beruf

in the classroom

Solving problems Dear colleagues Negotiating is a key part of life, not just at work but also at home. In fact, we often negotiate with others without even realizing it — for example, when we are discussing who will take on a particular task at work or talking with our partners about which film we are going to watch on television or at the cinema. The activities in “A good deal” (p. 2) will help you and your students to think about and improve your negotiating skills. It is very hard to escape politics and political discussions. And despite what many people think, this can be an important topic for business small talk. “Talking politics” (p. 3) looks at ways of practising the vocabulary of politics that we present in our special guide, Skill Up!.

5/15

Contents

Ian McMaster Editor-in-chief i.mcmaster@bspotlight-verlag.de

Title

Main focus

Minutes

Level

Based on item in magazine

Page

LESSON ACTIVITIES 1. Key elements 2. A good deal

Intercultural awareness

medium

Negotiating

120

advanced

medium

easy

3. Talking politics

Vocabulary-building

4. Reporting for duty*

Reading and writing reports

WORKSHEET

*Photocopiable material for the activity “Reporting for duty”

“Masters of the elements” (pp. 38–45) “A winning strategy” (pp. 30–35)

2 2

Skill Up!

“Business reports” (pp. 48–49)

3 4

WARMERS AND FILLERS 1. Small homes 2. Girls and computers 3. A new job

Talking about homes Female and male education

30 30

all levels all levels

“The downside of growth” (p. 26) “Helping girls” (p. 8)

How to earn respect

all levels

“How to earn respect in a new job” (p. 71)

4. Culture or cult

Organizations

all levels

“Business culture or cult?” (p. 75)

HIGHLIGHT

Business Spotlight Audio 2/2015: tips for better negotiating

SERVICE

Important dates

Spotlight Verlag GmbH, Abteilung Key Account, Postfach 1565 82144 Planegg, Deutschland Tel. +49(0)89/85681-150, Fax +49(0)89/85681-119 e-mail: lehrer@spotlight-verlag.de

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onestopenglish Staff Room offer

Business Spotlight in the classroom ist ein kostenloser Service für Business-Spotlight-Abonnenten in Lehrberufen. Er bezieht sich auf die jeweils aktuelle Heftausgabe. Business Spotlight erhalten Sie im Sammelbezug für Ihre Unterrichtsteilnehmer mit einem besonders attraktiven Mengenrabatt. Nähere Informationen erhältlich bei:

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IMPRESSUM HERAUSGEBER UND VERLAGSLEITER: Dr. Wolfgang Stock CHEFREDAKTEUR: Dr. Ian McMaster GESCHÄFTSFÜHRENDE REDAKTEURIN (CVD): Maja Sirola AUTOREN: Mike Hogan, Ian McMaster REDAKTION: Margaret Davis, Hildegard Rudolph,

Business Spotlight in the classroom This six-page supplement for teachers and trainers provides lesson activities based on articles in Business Spotlight. It is free to those who subscribe to the magazine. To order, please send an email to: schulmedien@spotlight-verlag.de

plus

www Go to our website for more language-learning activities, as well as news and blogs. Subscribers have full access to our online premium content. www.business-spotlight.de www.business-spotlight.de 5

Cover photograph: iStock

46 Vocabulary The railway station

Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

THE BIG PICTURE UNITED STATES

6 www.business-spotlight.de

5/2015

Drying up C

medium US

alifornia’s drought, now in its fourth year, has seriously damaged the state’s economy. Estimates say that,

in 2014, the drought caused losses of over $2 billion (about €1.8 billion). Earlier this year, Governor Jerry Brown ordered people living in urban areas to reduce their water use by an average of 25 percent. This photograph shows homes with swimming pools in the desert resort of Palm Springs. According to Reuters, the average daily water usage per person there is 201 gallons (about 760 liters), which is more than twice the state average. Critics of Brown’s conservation plan say it does not require similar savings from agricultural businesses. They note that it takes over 20 gallons of water to grow one ounce (30 grams) of asparagus and more than 100 gallons to produce an ounce of beef.

asparagus [E(spÄrEgEs] billion [(bIljEn] conservation [)kA:ns&r(veIS&n*] drought [draUt] gallon [(gÄlEn] ounce [aUns] resort [ri(zO:rt*] usage [(ju:sIdZ]

Spargel Milliarde(n) Naturschutz; hier: Einsparung(en) Dürre (US-)Gallone (3,78 l) Unze Ferien-, Urlaubsort hier: Verbrauch

* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.

5/2015

www.business-spotlight.de 7

WORKING WORLD NAMES AND NEWS

www.trevornoah.com

Influential: South African comedian Trevor Noah

PROFILE

King of comedy?

revor Noah is used to being in the news. Even before he takes over as host of the US satirical comedy programme The Daily Show in September, Noah has been making headlines as a mixed-race comedian in post-apartheid South Africa. But less than 24 hours after he was named to replace the popular Jon Stewart, Noah was making negative headlines with his Twitter account. Critics

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any”

medium

Listen to this text on Business Spotlight Audio

said that some posts dating back to 2009 were offensive to women and Jews. “Many young people don’t watch The Daily Show just to laugh,” wrote blogger Jamie Weinstein, “they watch the show to get their news. The show shapes perceptions.” date back to (a year) auf (ein Jahr) zurückgehen, [)deIt (bÄk tu] aus (einem Jahr) stammen host [hEUst] Gastgeber(in); hier: Moderator(in) Jew [dZu:] Jude/Jüdin make headlines Schlagzeilen machen; [)meIk (hedlaInz] hier: bekannt werden offensive [E(fensIv] beleidigend, kränkend perception [pE(sepS&n] Wahrnehmung; hier: Sichtweise used to: be ~ sth. [(ju:st tu] an etw. gewöhnt sein

8 www.business-spotlight.de

Corbis

US writer Alice Walker, 71 (The Color Purple)

5/2015

SINGAPORE

medium

End of the road?

ingapore is famous for its cheap and delicious street food. But changes to government regulations could mean the end of a long-standing tradition. These days, most street vendors — also known as hawkers — sell their food at hawker centres established by the government. According to food blogger Dr Leslie Tay, the original hawkers continue to pay artificially low rents, but later arrivals are paying market rates. This means that the newcomers are forced to charge higher prices. To cut costs, younger hawkers are opening stalls at several locations, with food that can be prepared in bulk and in advance. Tay told The Economist that the Singaporean government “has committed to providing cheap food for the masses”. Yet as the older generation of hawkers retires, food will become more expensive, he says.

Listen to this text on Business Spotlight Audio

Sources: The Guardian; Office for National Statistics (www.ons.gov.uk)

➡

Russia’s foreign reserves fell from $500 billion at the end of 2013 to about $360 billion by mid-2015. The drop was caused mainly by Western government sanctions, according to the International Monetary Fund; the IMF predicts that the Russian economy will recover in 2016. Source: Financial Times

billion [(bIljEn] Milliarde(n) foreign reserves [)fQrEn ri(z§:vz] Währungsreserven International Monetary Fund (IMF) Internationaler [IntE)nÄS&nEl (mVnItEri fVnd] Währungsfonds predict sth. [pri(dIkt] etw. vorhersagen quarter [(kwO:tE] Quartal

plus Do exercises on this topic in Business Spotlight plus End of the road [)end Ev DE (rEUd] Ende der Fahnenstange commit to sth. [kE(mIt tu] sich etw. verschreiben delicious [di(lISEs] wohlschmeckend, lecker hawker [(hO:kE] fliegende(r) Händler(in) in advance [)In Ed(vA:ns] im Voraus in bulk [)In (bVlk] in großen Mengen later arrival [)leItEr E(raIv&l] hier: später Hinzugekommene(r) long-standing [)lQN (stÄndIN] langjährig stall [stO:l] (Markt-)Stand street vendor [(stri:t )vendE] Straßenverkäufer(in)

Famously good food: street vendors in Singapore

Wörterbücher sind schwarz und weiß. Sprachen sind es nicht.

Englischhausen Leben Sie 6 Tage lang 100% auf Englisch. www.englischhausen.de

5/2015

iStock editorial

➡

The price of houses in Scotland rose 14.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2015. Price growth in the Scottish market was higher than in London, where prices rose by 11.2 per cent over the same period.

WORKING WORLD NAMES AND NEWS

DENMARK

advanced

High-tech preachers

ometimes, it seems that the religious life is more about administrative details than about spiritual ones. Helping overworked clerics spend less time on clerical tasks is the idea behind the Danish start-up ChurchDesk. “Churches have been managing themselves for thousands of years, but they’re being challenged on their story and their relevance,” says company chairman Klaus Nyengaard. “They need to spend less time on administration and more time on the values they have and preaching the Gospel,” Nyengaard told the Financial Times. ChurchDesk charges a €150 monthly flat rate for software that includes a calendar and a digital filing system, as well as employee collaboration tools. “We don’t talk about faith and theology — we talk about facilitating workflows,” says 27-year-old company founder Christian Steffensen, himself the son of a pastor. “This is not a Christian project — it’s a start-up,” Steffensen adds. “We’re young people that love to be part of this venture of disrupting a market that nobody disrupted before.”

iStock

cleric [(klerIk] Geistliche(r) clerical tasks [)klerIk&l (tA:sks] Büroarbeit(en) disrupt sth. [dIs(rVpt] etw. stören; hier: aufmischen facilitate sth. [fE(sIlEteIt] etw. erleichtern filing system [(faIlIN )sIstEm] Ablagesystem founder [(faUndE] Gründer(in) Gospel: preach the ~ [(gQsp&l] das Evangelium predigen venture [(ventSE] Projekt, Unternehmen

Doing God’s work: easier when computer-assisted

30.9

Percentage of government revenues raised by consumption taxes in the US

consumption tax Verbrauchsteuer [kEn(sVmpS&n tÄks] revenues [(revEnju:z] Einnahmen

Percentage of government revenues raised by consumption taxes (OECD average) Sources: The Wall Street Journal; Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (www.oecd.org)

“Minds are like parachutes; they work best when open” Scottish businessman Thomas Dewar (1864–1930) parachute [(pÄrESu:t] Fallschirm

10 www.business-spotlight.de

5/2015

Important call? Check your phone in private

U.S.

easy US

Leave your cell at home

e all make mistakes, and as long as you don’t kill someone, most mistakes are soon forgotten. But here’s one that employers say is unforgivable: checking your cell phone during a job interview. According to a recent survey, 77 percent of hiring managers say that this is the worst thing you can do in a job interview. The managers, who work in advertising and marketing, said that candidates who checked their phones would not be considered for potential jobs. Most people are on their best behavior during job interviews, explains Diane Domeyer, head of the company that did the survey. “So any sign of unprofessional or unproductive behavior makes a big impact, no matter how qualified the person may be for the position,” Domeyer says.

*This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.

What hiring managers see as negative: Checking or answering the phone during the interview (77%) Arriving late without apologizing (70%) Not bringing documents that were requested Wearing inappropriate clothing

(69%)

Speaking poorly of a past job or employer (62%) Sources: Workopolis.com; The Creative Group: www.roberthalf.com/creativegroup

What they said... “Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?” US ventriloquist Edgar Bergen (1903–78)

“People are still willing to do an honest day’s work. The trouble is — they want a week’s pay for it” US comedian Joey Adams (1911–99)

“One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important” British philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872–1970)

nervous breakdown [)n§:vEs (breIkdaUn] Nervenzusammenbruch take a chance [)teIk E (tSA:ns] ein Risiko eingehen ventriloquist [ven(trIlEkwIst] Bauchredner(in)

5/2015

(70%)

iStock

apologize [E(pA:lEdZaIz*] sich entschuldigen behavior: be on one’s best ~ [bi(heIvj&r*] sich von seiner besten Seite zeigen cell (phone) [(sel (foUn)*] US Handy hiring manager [(haI&rIN )mÄnIdZ&r*] Personalverantwortliche(r) impact: make an ~ [(ImpÄkt] Auswirkungen haben inappropriate [)InE(proUpriEt*] unpassend job interview [(dZA:b )Int&rvju:*] Bewerbungsgespräch no matter [)noU (mÄt&r*] egal, ganz gleich survey [(s§:veI] Umfrage

Bad behavior

Percentage of British women who say that they control household finances. According to Merryn Somerset Webb, editor-in-chief of MoneyWeek, one reason for the trend is the popularity of online banking, which can be done in private. editor-in-chief [)edItEr In (tSi:f]

Chefredakteur(in)

Source: Good Housekeeping (www.goodhousekeeping.co.uk)

www Find more stories online at

www.business-spotlight.de/news

www.business-spotlight.de 11

LANGUAGE TEST PUNCTUATION

Children drive slowly Ein Text ohne Satzzeichen ist unlesbar. Falsch gesetzte oder fehlende Satzzeichen machen einen schlechten Eindruck oder führen zu Missverständnissen. Hildegard Rudolph hat Übungen zu den wichtigsten Anwendungen zusammengestellt.

all levels

THE SITUATION: The Prints, a company based in the northern English city of York, prints a wide range of products, including cards, calendars and catalogues.

Be careful! Punctuation can significantly change the meaning of sentences, as you can see from our headline: l

Children drive slowly. Written like this, children are drivers who drive slowly — which is unlikely.

Children, drive slowly! Written like this, you are telling children to drive slowly.

Children! Drive slowly! Written like this, drivers are requested to drive slowly because there are children living in that street, crossing the street on their way to school, etc.

Start well (9 points)

easy

Below are some extracts from an email to a customer. But there’s something missing in each sentence. Place commas where they would normally occur. a) Unfortunately there were some mistakes in the crossword calendars. b) For this reason we’ll send you some free copies. c) The birthday cards however are available in four different formats. d) In addition we’ll send out some samples immediately. e) Finally could you tell us the number of cards you need? f) And of course we’ll be glad to give you a discount.

It’s important: punctuation is a key part of writing!

5/2015

iStock (4)

g) In the meantime I’ll check your last order.

Punctuation marks . , ? !

= full stop [)fUl (stQp] (US period [(pIriEd*]) = comma [(kQmE] = question mark [(kwestSEn mA:k]

: ; — - ’ “…”

= exclamation mark [)eksklE(meIS&n mA:k] (US exclamation point [)eksklE(meIS&n poInt])

‘…’

= colon [(kEUlEn] = semicolon [)semi(kEUlEn] = dash [dÄS] = hyphen [(haIf&n] = apostrophe [E(pQstrEfi]

= i nverted commas [In)v§:tId (kQmEz] UK, double quotes [)dVb&l (kwEUts] UK, (double) quotation marks [)dVb&l kwEU(teIS&n mA:ks] = single quotes [)sINg&l (kwEUts] UK, single quotation marks [)sINg&l kwEU(teIS&n mA:ks]

(…) = (round) brackets [)raUnd (brÄkIts] UK, parentheses [pE(renTEsi:z] […] = square brackets [)skweE (brÄkIts] / = forward slash [)fO:wEd (slÄS] * This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.

easy

Place the apostrophes (11 points)

Claire is proofreading her company’s newsletter. She notices that all the apostrophes are missing. Put them in. a) Next January, theyll open the companys new branch: its in Cornwall and its second branch in England. b) Theres now a lift next to the staircase. Youre not allowed to use it when the receptions closed. c) Our competitors poster series was awarded a prize. d) The picture cards of the worlds megacities are available at the receptionists desk. e) Anyone whos got a doctors appointment during working hours has to inform a colleague.

The greengrocer’s apostrophe This is an apostrophe that is used incorrectly (also in English-speaking countries) to form the plural of a noun. Its name probably goes back to handmade signs in grocery stores. It can still often be seen today in signs such as “apple’s”, “orange’s” or “grape’s” instead of the correct “apples”, “oranges” or “grapes”. 5/2015

www.business-spotlight.de 13

LANGUAGE TEST PUNCTUATION

medium

It’s all relative (9 points)

Charlotte and Michael are looking at the new catalogue. Set off the relative clauses in commas where needed. Charlotte: The colours of the pictures in the new catalogue (a) which came out yesterday (b) are excellent! Michael: And the calendars (c) that show characters from Disney films (d) are brilliant! The illustrations were made by the guy (e) who also illustrated the postcards. Charlotte: I met that guy (f) who is French by the way (g) some years ago. Michael: Well, I haven’t met him yet, but I know all the illustrations (h) which he made for our products. Charlotte: He also illustrated the picture book (i) that I gave to my niece for her birthday.

medium

Get it right! (10 points)

Claire and Michael are talking about cards that a customer has sent back. Add the commas where they are typically used. Claire:

Do you know (a) why they sent back those birthday cards?

Michael: They told me on the phone (b) that the format was too large. And they said (c) that the colour of the paper was also wrong. Claire:

And did they also tell you (d) which format they wanted?

Michael: They said (e) that they needed a standard size. And they would be very grateful (f) if we could send them the cards by the end of this week. Claire:

Before we send out the cards again (g) we should check the size.

Michael: I think (h) that this wouldn’t have happened (i) if we had done that before. Claire:

But even if you check everything carefully (j) things like this can happen.

Comma rules? Note that the placement of commas (and other punctuation marks) is in many cases not as strict as it is in German. In this test, we focus on where commas are generally used.

14 www.business-spotlight.de

5/2015

advanced

Check that text! (28 points)

Claire is checking the text that will be used for a presentation about the company. Add the normal punctuation marks and capital letters. The marks || indicate the end of each sentence. as you can see in this graph our sales figures have increased

|| you may ask now what the reason was for this

improvement || was it the general recovery of the market or was it because of the excellent marketing strategy for our new products

|| heres a list of our new range of calendars table calendars pocket calendars tear-off

calendars wall calendars in different formats etc before we started to work with Design & More our new graphic design agency some of our calendars looked a bit dull

|| now there is a wide variety of pictures photos of landscapes city skylines and people drawings in

black-and-white bright and pastel colours classical and modern illustrations

|| well done ||

Digital Vision; iStock (4)

Früher Feierabend dank FCm Ihre individuellen Wünsche rund um Ihre Geschäftsreise stehen im Mittelpunkt unserer Arbeit. Ihr persönlicher Ansprechpartner kümmert sich im Rahmen unserer Full-Service-Betreuung um alle Ihre Belange und macht das Unmögliche für Sie möglich: ob bei der Planung, der kurzfristigen Umbuchung, während der Reise und nach der Reise. So können Sie sich auf das Wesentliche konzentrieren und sparen Zeit, Aufwand und Kosten. Mehr Informationen zu unseren Angeboten finden Sie auf www.de.fcm.travel oder fordern Sie noch heute Ihr persönliches Angebot an unter Telefon +49 (0)69 9588-1891.

www.de.fcm.travel Better 5/2015 travel ideas. Greater savings.

www.business-spotlight.de 15

LANGUAGE TEST PUNCTUATION

The German way (12 points)

advanced

Claire receives an email from a German client. Klaus, who wrote the email, uses German capitalization and punctuation rules. But English is punctuated differently from German. Correct the mistakes. Dear Claire, in the section „Calendars for every purpose” in your latest catalogue there are a lot of nice calendars. I think, that many of them could be interesting to our customers. However what our customers like most, are calendars with photos of landscapes. Unfortunately I could not find any large-format wall calendars, that show landscapes in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. Could you tell me, if you have any of these? Or if you do not have such calendars, would it be possible, to make them for the next year? I look forward, to hearing from you soon. Kind regards Klaus

Dashes and hyphens (8 points)

advanced

Michael is checking a brochure about The Prints and notices that all the hyphens and dashes are missing. Can you put them in the right places? The Prints is a York based manufacturer of cards, calendars and catalogues. The company was founded in the 1960s and celebrated its 45th anniversary three years ago. It is well known nationwide for its first class products. The company was found ed by Charles Smith the same Charles Smith who was mayor of York in 1950 and is run today by his son Matthew. The high standard of the products is ensured by the high quality materials used. And the sustainable and environment friendly production methods show the company’s commitment to the protection of the environment and

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Moodboard; iStock (4)

of our children’s future.

PUNCTUATION LANGUAGE TEST

How did you do? 75 and more: Excellent! You are a master of English punctuation. You know which punctuation marks go where.

50–74: Well done! In general, you know how to use punctuation correctly, and the mistakes you make are unlikely to cause serious misunderstandings.

26–49: Good. You are familiar with the basics of punctuation. But you should do the more difficult exercises again to improve your skills.

10–25: Could do better. You clearly don’t like punctuation, but it is a necessary evil. You should try the test again.

ANSWERS 1. Start well a) Unfortunately, … b) For this reason, … c) The birthday cards, however, … d) In addition, … e) Finally, … f) And, of course, … g) In the meantime, … Comments: l At the beginning of a sentence, adverbs and adverbial phrases that express the writer’s attitude — such as “in addition”, “unfortunately” or “of course” — are generally followed by a comma. l Within a sentence, these adverbs and adverbial phrases are set off by commas. 2. Place the apostrophes a) Next January, they’ll open the company’s new branch: it’s in Cornwall and its second branch in England. b) There’s now a lift next to the staircase. You’re not allowed to use it when the reception’s closed. c) Our competitor’s (or competitors’) poster series was awarded a prize. d) The picture cards of the world’s megacities are available at the receptionist’s desk. e) Anyone who’s got a doctor’s appointment during working hours has to inform a colleague. Comments: l The apostrophe + “s” is used in a singular noun phrase (“the company’s new branch”) or an irregular plural (women’s rights) to indicate possession. Whereas in a plural noun phrase (“competitors’ products”), only the apostrophe is used. l In contractions, the apostrophe is used to indicate an omitted letter and space (“it’s” = it is; “you’re” = you are). 3. It’s all relative a) comma b) comma c) no comma d) no comma e) no comma

For more information Business Spotlight issues 3/2008 (Punctuation), 3/2011 (Hyphens and splits), 1/2015 (Punctuation rules) Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss (Gotham Books) New Oxford Style Manual (Oxford University Press)

f) comma g) comma h) no comma i) no comma

Comments: l Defining relative clauses — which are an integral part of the message of the sentence and cannot be dropped — are written without commas. l Non-defining relative clauses — which add additional information and could, in principle, be dropped from the sentence — are set off by commas and there is a slight pause where the commas are. l The relative pronoun “that” occurs only in defining relative clauses. “Which” and “who” occur in both types.

4. Get it right! a) no comma b) no comma c) no comma d) no comma e) no comma f) no comma g) comma h) no comma i) no comma j) comma

6. The German way Dear Claire(,)

Comments: l In a sentence with a subclause preceding a main clause, there is generally a comma between the two. l If the subclause follows the main clause, there is usually no comma. l There is never a comma before an object “that”-clause (German: dass). 5. Check that text! As you can see in this graph, our sales figures have increased. You may ask now what the reason was for this improvement. Was it the general recovery of the market(,) or was it because of the excellent marketing strategy for our new products? Here’s a list of our new range of calendars: table calendars, pocket calendars, tear-off calendars, wall calendars in different formats, etc. Before we started to work with Design & More, our new graphic design agency, some of our calendars looked a bit dull. Now there is a wide variety of pictures: photos of landscapes, city skylines and people; drawings in black-andwhite, bright and pastel colours; classical and modern illustrations. Well done! Comments: l Sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a full stop. l There is generally a lower-case letter after a colon, even when a complete sentence follows the colon. l There is generally a comma after an introductory subclause and also to set off separate words in a list. l A colon is used to introduce a list following a complete sentence. l Lists can be subdivided into distinct parts with semicolons, which provide logical structure. l Questions end with a question mark and exclamations with an exclamation mark.

In the section “Calendars for every purpose” in your latest catalogue, there are a lot of nice calendars. I think that many of them could be interesting to our customers. However, what our customers like most are calendars with photos of landscapes. Unfortunately, I could not find any large-format wall calendars that show landscapes in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. Could you tell me if you have any of these? Or if you do not have such calendars, would it be possible to make them for the next year? I look forward to hearing from you soon. Kind regards(,) Klaus Comments: l Commas at the start and end are optional: you can have both or neither. l The first word in the body text is capitalized. l Inverted commas are raised and point inward. l There is no comma before an object “whether/if”-clause. l There is no comma before an infinitival clause or a gerundparticiple clause (“I look forward to...”). 7. Dashes and hyphens The Prints is a York-based manufacturer of cards, calendars and catalogues. The company was founded in the 1960s and celebrated its 45th anniversary three years ago. It is well known nationwide for its first-class products. The company was founded by Charles Smith — the same Charles Smith who was mayor of York in 1950 — and is run today by his son Matthew. The high standard of the products is ensured by the high-quality materials used. And the sustainable and environment-friendly production methods are proof of the company’s commitment to the protection of the environment — and of our children’s future. Comments: l A hyphen splits words at the end of a line and is used to combine single words when used attributively. l A hyphen is shorter than a dash and has no spaces before and after it. l A dash is used to insert a remark that does not otherwise belong to the structure of the sentence in which it occurs.

The Oxford comma When there are three or more elements in a list, British usage generally has no comma before the “and” that accompanies the final element, whereas US usage prefers a comma. This is known as the “Oxford comma” because it was traditionally used by printers, readers and editors at Oxford University Press.

Hildegard Rudolph is a certified translator and a freelance editor, teacher and book author. Contact: bs.lektorat@spotlight-verlag.de

5/2015

www.business-spotlight.de 17

GLOBAL BUSINESS PROFILE

On the ball Die Überzeugung, dass sich mit harter Arbeit jedes Ziel erreichen lässt, hat Karren Bradys Handeln seit früher Kindheit bestimmt. Margaret Davis beschreibt den beruflichen Werdegang einer sehr

ddp

ungewöhnlichen Frau.

medium

She’s the boss: football’s Karren Brady

here are so many stories about Karren Brady that it’s hard to know which one to tell first. Perhaps the one about six-year-old Karren putting a sign outside the family home offering manicures and massages — her mother was not amused at the arrival of strange men Karren called “my customers”. Or how, as managing director of Birmingham City football club, Brady sold her football-player husband — twice — when the club needed cash. “I would say to him, ‘Stoke’s a wonderful place. You’ll love it. You’ll be so happy there — it’s perfect for you,’” Brady told The Guardian with a laugh. The 46-year-old entrepreneur and

vice chairman of West Ham United is a familiar figure in Britain. She employs more than 800 people, writes newspaper and magazine columns, works as a motivational speaker and is a panellist on the popular BBC television series The Apprentice. In 2014, she was made a Conservative life peer and sits in the House of Lords as Baroness Brady of Knightsbridge.

“Meanwhile I’ve got married, had two children and undergone brain surgery,” Brady sums up dryly in her autobiography, Strong Woman. By the time she and her brother were teenagers, their Irish father was a millionaire. Brady writes that “there was a powerful feeling all around me, all the way through my childhood, that you could achieve most things through hard work. My father worked all the time and gradually it started to pay off. My mum got a sports car, my dad a Rolls-Royce, we started to go on fancy holidays, my brother and I were eventually 4 On the ball immer am Ball, [)Qn DE (bO:l] ifml. auf Zack apprentice [E(prentIs] Lehrling, Auszubildende(r) brain surgery Hirnoperation [(breIn )s§:dZEri] entrepreneur Unternehmer(in) [)QntrEprE(n§:] fancy [(fÄnsi] schick life peer [)laIf (pIE] UK Peer auf Lebenszeit (peer Mitglied des britischen Oberhauses) managing director Geschäftsführer(in) [)mÄnIdZIN dE(rektE] panellist [(pÄnElIst] Podiumsteilnehmer(in) pay off [)peI (Qf] sich lohnen, sich bezahlt machen sum (sth.) up [)sVm (Vp] (etw.) zusammenfassen undergo sth. [)VndE(gEU] sich etw. unterziehen

About Karren Brady Born: 4 April 1969 in Edmonton, North London Official title: Baroness Brady of Knightsbridge (Conservative life peer in the House of Lords since September 2014) Current job: vice chairman, West Ham United football club; entrepreneur; motivational speaker; author; media personality Education: left school at 18 Career: aged 18, hired by Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agency; at 19, moved to the advertising department of LBC radio in London; became a director at Sport Newspapers at age 20; in 1993, aged 23, became managing director, Birmingham City football club, where she remained until 2009; vice chairman of West Ham United in London since 2010 Personal life: married, since 1995, to Paul Peschisolido, former professional football player and manager. They have two children, Sophia and Paolo. Estimated net worth: £82 million (€115 million) department [di(pA:tmEnt] Abteilung entrepreneur [)QntrEprE(n§:] Unternehmer(in) life peer [)laIf (pIE] UK Peer auf Lebenszeit (peer Mitglied des britischen Oberhauses) managing director [)mÄnIdZIN dE(rektE] Geschäftsführer(in) net worth [)net (w§:T] Reinvermögen; hier: Vermögen vice chairman [)vaIs (tSeEmEn] stellvertretende(r) Vorsitzende(r)

www.business-spotlight.de 19

picture-alliance/dpa

GLOBAL BUSINESS PROFILE Family first: Brady with children and husband, Paul

Corbis

Next mayor of London? Brady and Boris Johnson

“I’m shocked that some people can be out of reach in the evenings, or at weekends. I am always contactable” moved to private schools — and it was all the result of hard graft.” Brady hated the convent school she was sent to, but enjoyed her last two years of school at Aldenham, a private boys’ school that accepted girls in the sixth form. That may have prepared her for dealing later with the male-dominated world of football. It certainly made her feel she understood men. “Boys are like dogs — they need lots of exercise, lots of food and lots of pats on the head,” she writes. “To me, they’re simple creatures, very easy to work out.” As a child, Brady got up at five in the morning to help her grandmother, an office cleaner — just for the fun of it. At 16, she got her first holiday job, as a receptionist at a hairdresser’s. “By the end of the first day I had completely reorganized it. I’d reworked the rotas, changed the opening hours, reset the till and redone the pricing. I was even advising people on what they should have done with their hair.” Clearly, the future “First Woman of Football” has never lacked self-confidence. Brady left school at 18 and did not go on to

20 www.business-spotlight.de

university. Her first job was with the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. A year later, she joined the London radio station LBC, where she sold advertising and learned as much as possible about the business. “I’d put my hand up whenever they asked for someone to do something,” she writes. “Even if I didn’t know what they were asking for I’d say, ‘I’ll do it’. That gave me a real edge.” One of Brady’s advertising clients at LBC was publisher David Sullivan, who was so impressed with the young woman that he hired her. Always looking for new opportunities, Brady noticed an advertisement offering a football club for sale. “Why don’t you buy it and let me run it?” she asked Sullivan. It was, without a doubt, a mad idea, but Sullivan agreed, which is how the 23-year-old Brady became the managing director of a football club she’d never heard of, in a city she’d never visited — Birmingham. The deal was a sensation. Brady became the first woman to head a professional football club in the UK. She claims that the media attention took her by surprise. “As a woman,

my looks and the way I dressed came under a lot of scrutiny,” Brady writes. “I couldn’t understand it — it wasn’t as though I was there to manage a team or play football: I had gone to run a business.” At the end of her first press conference, when she asked if there were any more questions, a reporter asked for her vital statistics. The players soon learned she was

not to be trifled with, however. Another of the famous Brady stories is about the time she travelled on the team bus to a game in Newcastle. As she walked back from the toilet, one of the players commented, “I can see your tits from here.” Brady responded: “Well, when I sell you to Crewe, convent school Klosterschule [(kQnvEnt sku:l] edge: give sb. an ~ [edZ] jmdm. einen Vorteil verschaffen exercise [(eksEsaIz] Bewegung, Sport hard graft Schufterei, [)hA:d (grA:ft] UK ifml. harte Arbeit pat [pÄt] Tätscheln pricing [(praIsIN] Preisfestsetzung publisher [(pVblISE] Verleger(in) redo sth. [)ri:(du:] etw. neu machen; hier: neu gestalten reset sth. [)ri:(set] etw. neu einstellen rota [(rEUtE] UK Dienstplan run [rVn] hier: leiten, führen scrutiny: come under ~ einer genauen Prüfung [(skru:tIni] unterzogen werden sixth form etwa: 12. und [)sIksT (fO:m] UK 13. Klasse surprise: take sb. by ~ jmdn. überraschen [sE(praIz] till [tIl] Kasse tit [tIt] vulg. Titte trifled: sb. is not to mit jmdm. ist nicht be ~ with [(traIf&ld] zu spaßen vital statistics hier: Körpermaße [)vaIt&l stE(tIstIks] UK ifml. work sb. out [)w§:k (aUt] hier: jmdn. berechnen

5/2015

you won’t be able to see them from there.” That player remains nameless, but it certainly was not the one she later married, Canadian Paul Peschisolido. Like Brady, he comes from a strong Catholic background and wanted to have a family of his own. Their first child, Sophia, was born in 1996. Brady went back to work three days after the birth, a decision she says she now regrets, but which seemed necessary at the time. “Maternity-leave provision was minimal in those days and attitudes were very different,” she explains. “Flexible working didn’t exist as it does now — I hadn’t even heard of it as a concept, let alone an actual choice that was open to me.” Brady advises other women not to let motherhood stand in the way of a career — or vice versa. It is possible to have both, although not without sacrifices, she says. Some of her advice should perhaps come with a warning that following it could put your health at risk: “For 13 years I didn’t have a holiday and barely took a day off. I just worked solidly. If you

ambassador [)Äm(bÄsEdE] Botschafter(in) aneurysm [(ÄnjE)rIzEm] Aneurysma appoint sb. [E(pOInt] jmdn. ernennen barely [(beEli] kaum hier: Auszeit break [breIk] clear sb. of sth. [(klIEr Qv] jmdn. von etw. freisprechen convention [kEn(venS&n] Kongress emergency [i(m§:dZEnsi] Notfall; Notgym [dZIm] Fitnessstudio let alone [)let E(lEUn] geschweige denn maternity leave Mutterschaftsurlaub [mE(t§:nEti li:v] mayor [meE] Bürgermeister(in) persistent [pE(sIstEnt] anhaltend provision [prE(vIZ&n] Regelung push on [)pUS (Qn] weitermachen put sth. off [)pUt (Qf] etw. aufschieben rumour [(ru:mE] Gerücht run [rVn] hier: kandidieren solidly [(sQlIdli] ununterbrochen take a day off einen Tag freinehmen [)teIk E deI (Qf] turn [t§:n] hier: werden vice versa [)vaIsi (v§:sE] umgekehrt wrongdoing [(rQN)du:IN] Fehlverhalten

5/2015

Corbis

Political roots: Brady at the 2011 Conservative Party convention

want to be successful, that is what you have to do,” she insists. “You can’t just stop when you’re tired, you have to push on.” Brady divides her week between

work in London and home in Birmingham. “When I’m in London I work constantly, every minute of the day. I don’t stop for lunch, I don’t go to the gym. I work from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to sleep.” She once calculated that, if she drank less water, she would not have to go to the toilet as often and would have more time for work. Now, she does take regular, short holidays, which she describes as “a complete break”, yet she always takes her smartphone along. “I’m shocked that some people can be out of reach in the evenings, or at weekends, or on holiday. I am always contactable.” In 2006, the robustly healthy Brady got a huge shock. After she suffered a serious allergy attack, medical tests showed that Brady had a brain aneurysm. Her doctor called and told her she needed to consult a specialist. Typically, she asked the doctor if the appointment could wait. “Is it so serious I might die if I put off seeing a specialist until next week?” she asked. “You could die crossing the road,” the doctor told her. Six weeks after emergency surgery, she was back at work. April 2008 saw the only scandal in Brady’s career, when she and Birmingham City owner, David Sullivan, were arrested in connection with an

investigation into tax-related football corruption. In 2009, they were cleared of any wrongdoing. A member of the Conservative Party for more than ten years, Brady introduced finance minister George Osborne at the party convention in 2013. Despite being appointed the party’s small-business ambassador and persistent rumours that she will run for mayor of London when Boris Johnson resigns in 2016, Brady says she has no political ambitions. That could change, however. “I always said I’d retire at 40, and then when I turned 40 it was 50, but I don’t know what I’d be retiring from,” she told The Irish Independent. “There’s a terrible thing that someone sent me after [the aneurysm] saying: ‘On their deathbed no one ever said, I wish I’d spent more time in the office’, and I thought, ‘I don’t know who you’re talking about because I like being here — it’s not a BS sacrifice to me.’”

For more information BOOK Strong Woman, Karren Brady (HarperCollins) WEBSITES Karren Brady video clips from The Apprentice: www.youtube.com/ watch?v=hxl-tgTpZwQ Karren Brady talking about her career: www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5u-3Lpg8vk Margaret Davis is editor of the Careers and Global Business sections of Business Spotlight. Contact: m.davis@spotlight-verlag.de

www.business-spotlight.de 21

GLOBAL BUSINESS HEAD-TO-HEAD

Should salaries be transparent? Die Frage nach dem Gehalt ist meist tabu. Doch wäre die Arbeitswelt mit mehr Transparenz — notfalls per Gesetz — nicht gerechter? Ja und nein, wie Vicki Sussens erfuhr.

advanced US

Yes! “Pay secrecy leads to dissatisfaction and high turnover” Edward E. Lawler III

ccountability requires information. Without valid information, actions taken by individuals are difficult to judge and can be seriously misunderstood. Secrecy makes it difficult to hold individuals and organizations accountable for what they do. It also makes it difficult for those who are treated unfairly to make the case for fair treatment. Pay secrecy is practiced in many organizations. Some even dismiss people for talking about their pay. Secrecy prevents individuals and organizations from being held accountable for some of the most important decisions they make. It also concentrates power in the hands of those individuals who have pay information. All too often, this leads to them making indefensible pay decisions that they do not have to defend and that create the gender gap. As a result of secrecy, it is not surprising that many employees believe their pay is unfair and are not sure

22 www.business-spotlight.de

how it is determined. This leads to multiple negative effects, including dissatisfaction, low engagement, and high turnover. Motivation is also reduced because of doubts about what individuals need to do to receive pay raises and bonuses. In total, pay systems tend to be less effective in organizations that practice secrecy than in those that don’t. When I suggest to organizations that they make pay public, they generally agree that it is a good idea, but say that they first need to get their pay rates into a “defensible order”. When I ask how long that will take, they usually say a few years. Not surprisingly, when I check back a few years later, little has changed and they say they need more time to get their pay rates into a defensible position. In the absence of public accountability, how long that will take is anybody’s guess. Mine is that it will never happen as long as pay is kept secret. Simply stated, the motivation to pay

people correctly is absent when pay is secret because information is power. With pay secrecy, the unfairly treated lack it. As a result, it works against closing the gender gap. The solution is simple: Make pay public. This is the best way to hold decision-makers accountable for their pay decisions and empower those who are unfairly paid. It is an effective way to eliminate gender-based pay differences. It will also benefit those organizations that do pay people fairly because it will be clear to all. accountability Verantwortlichkeit; [E)kaUntE(bIlEti] Rechenschaftspflicht accountable: hold sb. ~ jmdn. zur Rechenschaft [E(kaUntEb&l] ziehen anybody’s guess: be ~ völlig offen sein [)enibA:diz (ges*] dismiss sb. [dIs(mIs] jmdn. entlassen empower sb. [Im(paU&r*] jmdn. befähigen; hier: stärken engagement (Ein-)Bindung [In(geIdZmEnt] gender gap Ungleichbehandlung von [(dZend&r gÄp*] Männern und Frauen (gender Geschlecht) indefensible unvertretbar [)Indi(fensEb&l] make a case for sth. Argumente für etw. [)meIk E (keIs fO:r*] vorbringen pay rate [(peI reIt] Lohnsatz secrecy [(si:krEsi] Geheimhaltung turnover [(t§:n)oUv&r*] Fluktuation valid [(vÄlId] stichhaltig *This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.

Edward E. Lawler III is director of the Center for Effective Organizations and distinguished professor at the University of Southern California. He is the author of more than 50 books.

5/2015

Fuse

Salaries: who should know what?

No! “Salaries are only one part of the rewards package” Carol Boyer

ay transparency might sound like an easy solution to questions of pay inequity, but it is not a panacea. For anyone who is familiar with the phrase “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing,” salary information is one of the most sensitive subjects. It needs to be interpreted within the context of a total compensation and rewards package, and not as an isolated statistic. Comparing jobs is more complex than it appears. And comparing job titles is dangerous unless a detailed analysis of the duties and requirements has been performed. Many factors go into determining a person’s salary for “like” jobs, including experience, education, and performance. For newly hired employees, their past salary might need to be considered in order to get them to make the move. And salary is only one piece of the

5/2015

rewards package; factors such as benefits and work-life offerings also need to be looked at. Misinterpretation of salary data can cause bigger problems than those caused by not being transparent. Without knowing all the facts that went into a salary decision, employees can end up demotivated unnecessarily, simply because they don’t see the full picture or know why or how decisions were made. More important than salary transparency per se is transparency of the process by which salary decisions are made. Again, one has to look at the total rewards package. When employees understand the full value of their benefits, paid time off, other payments such as shift or overtime pay, and any other components of their remuneration, they can put their compensation into context.

When employees understand how pay is determined — and they trust that the process is fair and consistent — much of the suspicion goes away. Communication of the process is as important, if not more so, than communication of coworkers’ salaries. Transparency of process leads to trust in an organization, which leads to higher engagement and more focus on performance. Understanding leads to trust. And if you don’t trust that the organization has — and carries out — a fair process, why would you BS want to work there anyway? benefits [(benIfIts] compensation [)kA:mpEn(seIS&n*] consistent [kEn(sIstEnt] full picture [)fUl (pIktS&r*] overtime [(oUv&rtaIm*] panacea [)pÄnE(si:E*] pay inequity [(peI In)ekwEti] remuneration [ri)mju:nE(reIS&n] rewards package [ri(wO:rdz )pÄkIdZ*] sensitive [(sensEtIv] shift [SIft] suspicion [sE(spIS&n] work-life offerings [)w§:k laIf (O:fErINz*]

Zusatzleistungen Vergütung, Entlohnung folgerichtig vollständiger Überblick Überstunden Patentrezept ungleiche Entlohnung, Lohngefälle Vergütung Vergütungspaket heikel Schicht Misstrauen, Argwohn spezielle Mitarbeiterangebote

*This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.

L isten to more views on this topic on Business Spotlight Audio Carol Boyer is assistant vice president for compensation at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Manhasset, New York.

www.business-spotlight.de 23

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GLOBAL BUSINESS IT’S PERSONAL

A one-way affair? In dem Land, in dem vor rund 200 Jahren die Dampflokomotive entwickelt wurde, ist das Zugfahren schon längst kein Vergnügen mehr. Die Züge sind überfüllt und überteuert und fahren unpünktlich, wie Elisabeth Ribbans zu berichten weiß.

of London nearly three years ago, I’ve driven to the capital fewer than a dozen times. And yet I make the 145-kilometre journey at least twice a week. I always take the train if I can, but my affection for rail increasingly feels like a one-way affair. I know I’m not alone. Overcrowded, overpriced and sliding backwards on punctuality, these trains take our money — lots of it — and leave us feeling taken for granted. Britain has the highest train fares in Europe, with ticket prices rising 27 per cent over the past five years. A commuter travelling to London from Brighton, 80 kilometres away, now spends 17 per cent of a gross average salary on a monthly ticket. A worker making a similar journey in Germany affection [E(fekS&n] Liebe, Zuneigung board (a train) [bO:d] (in einen Zug) einsteigen commuter [kE(mju:tE] Pendler(in) fare [feE] Fahrpreis gross [grEUs] brutto, Bruttoguessing game Ratespiel [(gesIN geIm] head start [)hed (stA:t] Vorsprung peak times: at ~ zu Spitzenzeiten [(pi:k taImz] platform [(plÄtfO:m] Bahnsteig renationalize sth. etw. wieder [)ri:(nÄS&nElaIz] verstaatlichen return ticket (Hin- und) Rückfahr[ri)t§:n (tIkIt] UK karte shareholder [(SeEhEUldE] Aktionär(in) slide backwards on sth. auf etw. zurückgleiten; [)slaId (bÄkwEdz Qn] hier: bei etw. zunehmend non-stand. schlechter werden subsidiary [sEb(sIdiEri] Tochterunternehmen subsidy [(sVbsEdi] Subvention taken for a ride: be ~ verschaukelt werden [)teIkEn fEr E (raId] ifml. taken for granted: feel ~ hier: sich als unwichtig [)teIkEn fE (grA:ntId] betrachtet fühlen

26 www.business-spotlight.de

The joys of train travel: overpriced, overcrowded — and late

spends 9 per cent. This summer, the cost of a return ticket to London on my line increased by up to 87 per cent. For passengers travelling after the morning rush hour but hoping to return in the late afternoon before 7.20 p.m., the price of a standardclass return ticket bought on the day of travel from my station is now £69.60 (about €95).

Thinkstock editorial

I love trains. Since I moved out

advanced

“British train travellers are tired of being taken for a ride” That’s the price for the journey, not

for a seat. If you want to sit, you have to be quick, especially at peak times. When I travelled for work in Germany and Switzerland, I was pleased that timetables included a platform number for the train. In Britain, the question of where a train might arrive and depart is often a guessing game, with platforms announced just minutes before departure. Experienced commuters know there are phone apps that give you a 60-second head start with this information. They are the ones already sitting comfortably in their seats when you board. Sitting more comfortably still are the train companies in the UK’s fragmented, privatized system (which include, ironically, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn). With fare payers and

taxpayers providing income and subsidies, these companies cannot lose. In 2013, they paid £200 million (€272 million) in dividends to shareholders. Running an efficient rail network

is not easy, but as the country that invented trains over 200 years ago, we’ve had a long time to get things right. We’ve got it so wrong for so long that it’s no wonder the majority of Britons regularly say they want their railways renationalized. They’re BS tired of being taken for a ride. plus For related reading-comprehension exercises, see Business Spotlight plus Elisabeth Ribbans is a British journalist and editorial consultant. She is also a former managing editor of The Guardian newspaper in London. Contact: eribbans@yahoo.com

5/2015

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BUSINESS PRESS GLOBAL BUSINESS

Behind the headlines Headlines in the English-language media are often difficult to understand because they use jargon and

ods of economic setbacks. The data for the first half of 2015 showed that growth was weak and that the US economy was vulnerable to shocks. vex: If something vexes you, it annoys or frustrates you. Fed: The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, or “Fed”, which is responsible for setting interest rates in response to economic data. In simple English: The vulnerability of the US economy has frustrated the Federal Reserve once again.

The Economist

Growth: Here, recent data on US economic growth. hiccups: “Hiccups” in economic growth are peri-

Financial Times

The Guardian

The Wall Street Journal

wordplay, and leave out words. Here, we look at the meaning of recent business headlines.

Zoopla: Zoopla Property, a UK website providing property market information. dips: “To dip” is to fall. Here, it refers to Zoopla’s share price. as: Here, this means “after”. Note the use of the present tense for a past event, which is typical in headlines. agency member numbers: This is the number of estate agents who are members of Zoopla. fall 23%: The number of members fell by 23 per cent. In simple English: Zoopla Property’s share price fell after it lost 23 per cent of its estate agent members.

www Are you confused by the language in the press? Keep your

English up to date at www.business-spotlight.de/news

5/2015

advanced

Railing against: “To rail against something” means “to protest strongly against it”. bailing: “To bail out a bank” means “to rescue it financially”. In this case, US politicians attacked the Federal Reserve Bank for its bank rescues between 2007 and 2009, in which it allegedly favoured certain institutions. In simple English: The US system of bailing out banks is under attack.

Folly: Here, “folly” means “the foolishness”. £50bn HS2 project: The £50 billion (about €70 billion) high-speed railway line, known as the HS2, which is planned to run from London to Birmingham and, eventually, to Manchester and Leeds. hit the buffers: If something “hits the buffers” (a British idiom), it is stopped or fails to develop. The idiom is also a play on words here: “buffers” are metal barriers at the end of a railway track. In simple English: The foolish £50 billion HS2 highspeed railway project must be stopped.

allegedly [E(ledZIdli] angeblich barrier [(bÄriE] Schranke; hier: Block bn (billion) [(bIljEn] Mrd. (Milliarde(n)) estate agent [I(steIt )eIdZEnt] UK Immobilienmakler(in) hiccup [(hIkVp] Schluckauf interest rate [(IntrEst reIt] Zinssatz property market [(prQpEti )mA:kIt] Immobilienmarkt setback [(setbÄk] Rückschlag share price [(SeE praIs] Aktienkurs shock [SQk] hier: Einbruch vex sb. [veks] jmdn. ärgern, plagen vulnerability [)vVlnErE(bIlEti] Anfälligkeit vulnerable: be ~ to sth. [(vVlnErEb&l] gegen etw. anfällig sein

www.business-spotlight.de 29

Problem? What problem? Nicht immer lĂ¤uft im beruflichen Alltag alles ohne Probleme. Warum diese entstehen und wie sie sich zum medium

Series Part Ten

Nutzen aller lĂśsen lassen, zeigt Bob Dignen im zehnten und letzten Teil unserer Serie.

Tricky problem: good planning can help you to find a solution

30 www.business-spotlight.de

5/2015

SOLVING PROBLEMS BUSINESS SKILLS

This article is the tenth and last in our special skills series. Each article contains ten top tips for a key area of business communication — and a training plan to help you to structure your learning (see p. 35). In previous issues: Part One: Listening (2/2014); Part Two: Speaking (3/2014); Part Three: Writing (4/2014); Part Four: Telephoning (5/2014); Part Five: Meetings (6/2014); Part Six: Business Contacts (1/2015); Part Seven: Negotiating (2/2015); Part Eight: Teamwork (3/2015); Part Nine: Presentations (4/2015) You can order these issues for €13.90 each plus postage by contacting us via email at leserservice@spotlight-verlag.de or telephone +49 (0)89/85681-16.

he ability to find the right solutions to problems, both operational and strategic, is a core competence. But with the business world becoming ever more complex, problem-solving is increasingly difficult. In this article, we present ten ideas for improving your problem-solving skills.

TIP 1 Uncover the problem One of the biggest challenges is getting people to admit that a problem even exists. There is a tendency for problems to be ignored or swept under the carpet. This is understandable; people may not want to admit failure or to be blamed when things go wrong. Yet it is important that problems should be identified and solved quickly in the interests of improved innovation and performance. There are various ways that you can encourage people to discuss problems openly: l Is

everything going OK? Are there any issues? l So, what issues should we discuss today? l Remember that we can learn from mistakes only if we discuss them.

l I’d

like one comment from each person. Jackie, you start, please.

TIP 2 Understand the complexity Problems tend to consist of a complex mix of psychological, interpersonal, intercultural and organizational factors. Communication problems may come from different beliefs about the right way to do things. There may be incompatibilities between company processes and the particular technologies. And people are often obstructive and confrontational as a result of unresolved psychological issues. If we try to discuss solutions before understanding the problem properly, we are likely to offer quick but inappropriate solutions. We need to collect a lot of information by talk-4 carpet: sweep sth. etw. unter den Teppich under the ~ [(kA:pIt] kehren challenge [(tSÄlIndZ] Herausforderung, schwierige Aufgabe core [kO:] Kern inappropriate ungeeignet [)InE(prEUpriEt] incompatibility Unvereinbarkeit [)InkEm)pÄtE(bIlEti] issue [(ISu:] Frage, Problem obstructive: be ~ sich querstellen [Eb(strVktIv] performance [pE(fO:mEns] Ergebnisse, Erfolg unresolved [)Vnri(zQlvd] ungelöst

5/2015

Getty Images

There is a tendency for problems to be ignored or swept under the carpet www.business-spotlight.de 31

BUSINESS SKILLS SOLVING PROBLEMS

l Do

you prefer to engage or sanction people? l When and how might you need to show more flexibility?

Fuse

TIP 4 Be careful about culture

Complex: try to understand the real issues rather than offering quick solutions

ing to people, observing the situation closely and creating opportunities for different viewpoints to be discussed. Here are some useful phrases: l Can

you tell me more about the background to this? l Is this a people problem or a technology problem? Or both? l So, is the core problem the fact that… ? l Peter, you mentioned that… But Sue said that… ?

TIP 3 Deal with the people aspect Most of the problems we face are at least partly people problems. Diverse personalities and behaviour can make collaboration difficult. Differences in

anticipate sth. [Än(tIsIpeIt] etw. vorhersehen collaboration Zusammenarbeit [kE)lÄbE(reIS&n] competing [kEm(pi:tIN] rivalisierend deny sth. [di(naI] etw. abstreiten diversity [daI(v§:sEti] Verschiedenheit, Vielfalt engage sb. [In(geIdZ] jmdn. einbinden, einbeziehen esteem [I(sti:m] Wertschätzung label [(leIb&l] Etikett(ierung), Abstempelung maturity [mE(tSUErEti] Reife on time [)Qn (taIm] rechtzeitig, fristgerecht phrase [freIz] Formulierung sanction sb. [(sÄNkS&n] jmdn. (be)strafen target [(tA:gIt] Ziel(vorgabe)

32 www.business-spotlight.de

competency can lead to poor quality or delays. Family problems can mean that people lose focus. Confidence and esteem issues can make it difficult for people to accept new responsibilities. The list is endless. There are two basic approaches to managing people problems: either we engage people or we sanction them. The first approach can mean finding time to build relationships (“Shall we go for dinner later?”), offering support (“Do you need help preparing the presentation?”) or providing training or coaching for people who are struggling in their role. The alternative approach means defining clear performance targets, taking disciplinary measures to deal with inappropriate attitudes or behaviour (“It is not acceptable to…”) and discussing the prospect of someone losing their job if performance doesn’t improve. The choice of strategy depends partly on beliefs about how to motivate performance and partly on the specific “problem individual” and the context. Think about your own approach: l How do you prefer to manage the people who you work with?

When working internationally, it’s all too easy to think that problems are the result of cultural differences in behaviour and attitudes. While we shouldn’t deny that diversity can create challenges, neither should we be simplistic in our analysis. People are too complex to be explained by a national passport. We need to go beyond the label of “culture”, and to get to know individuals and to understand their personal perspectives and professional experiences, and how they like to do business. One way to do this is to ask questions to uncover people’s preferences and any potential problems. For example: l What

is good leadership to you? l What is a good team in your opinion? l What is good decision-making to you? l What is a good relationship from your perspective? l What does “on time” mean to you?

TIP 5 Minimize the problems A key problem in most organizations is internal communication. This is not surprising. People often have partly competing roles. They may also be situated across the globe, using a range of languages, operating in very different local markets and communicating mainly electronically. Instead of seeing communication difficulties as problems, we should really see them as a normal part of business, something that is nobody’s fault. But these difficulties require a certain level of professional maturity, if we are to anticipate and manage them successfully. One way of doing

5/2015

Together: discuss the problems in your team

this is to minimize the problems, and remove the anxiety and emotional pressure, that can cause challenges to escalate into conflict. For example, you could say: l Don’t

worry about the delay. It’s normal for… l You know, this shouldn’t matter because… l I don’t think we are really so far apart on how to…

People often decide not to share problems. They may not want to admit that they need help, and prefer to maintain the illusion of control and authority. More positively, people may not want to burden others with additional problems. Yet, talking issues through with others can help us to find creative solutions. Also, other people may feel honoured to be asked to give advice, which helps to build a sense of trust. Here are some useful phrases: l Joe,

can we have a quiet word later? I have a problem and I need your help? l To be honest, I’m struggling with this because… l The basic issue is that… and I don’t know how to… l Am I seeing this in the right way? l What do you think I could do to solve this problem?

TIP 7 Discuss things in your team Effective problem-solving often takes place in a team. The following threestep model can be used for your situation and needs. Step one: Create options. It is important to generate a range of creative ideas. Help people to come up with new ideas by asking them questions: l Paul,

from an HR perspective, what do you think of Patricia’s idea?

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iStock

TIP 6 Get advice early

Talking issues through with others can help us to find creative solutions l Peter,

what do you think? Remember, no idea is too crazy here. l What if we… ? l Are we assuming too much if we say that… ? Step 2: Decide on a solution. In the

l I’ll

end, a solution must be agreed on and a decision made. This means focusing the discussion:

Our brains often do strange things that make it difficult for us to find the right solutions. We should try to recognize these psychological phenomena so that we can minimize their impact. l We rely on past experience. This may be rational and effective in some sit-4

l Are

we close to agreement on this? so can we all agree that we should… ? l So, we all agree to… Is that right? Step 3: Confirm the next steps. People l OK,

often agree on a solution but fail to implement it. This may be because of a lack of understanding about the agreed solution, or because of a lack of time and energy to do what has been agreed. It is therefore essential to clarify the decision and describe the details of implementation: l So,

just to avoid any confusion, we’re saying that… l Are we all committed 100 per cent to this? Peter, Jackie, Frank? l Is there anything that might stop us with this? If so, what can we do about it?

give each of you a call next week to discuss how we should move forward.

TIP 8 Manage the psychology

anxiety [ÄN(zaIEti] Besorgnis; hier: Missstimmung assume sth. [E(sju:m] etw. voraussetzen burden sb. [(b§:d&n] jmdn. belasten clarify sth. [(klÄrEfaI] etw. (ab)klären come up with sth. sich etw. einfallen [)kVm (Vp wID] lassen committed: be ~ to sth. hinter etw. stehen [kE(mItId] confirm sth. [kEn(f§:m] etw. bestätigen HR (human resources) Personal(abteilung) [)eItS (A:] impact [(ImpÄkt] (Aus-)Wirkung(en) maintain sth. [meIn(teIn] etw. wahren move forward hier: weiter vorgehen [)mu:v (fO:wEd] rely on sth. [ri(laI Qn] sich auf etw. stützen word: have a quiet ~ in Ruhe miteinander [w§:d] reden

www.business-spotlight.de 33

BUSINESS SKILLS SOLVING PROBLEMS

It is important to accept that certain problems cannot be solved

iStock

TIP 10 Accept reality

Focused: keep an open mind and don’t worry about what happened in the past

uations, but all too often, it means that we apply solutions that are inappropriate. We need to keep an open mind, focus on the current problem and not be “blinded by experience”. l We use false logic. Imagine tossing a coin 100 times and every time it lands on heads. What is the probability that it will land on tails the next time? Our intuition may tell us that tails must now be highly likely, but the odds remain at 50 per cent each time. The lesson of this example is that we need to question our intuition and logic. l We are highly emotional. We are often driven by powerful emotions, such as fear and anger. But even when others provoke negative emotions in us, we blinded [(blaIndId] geblendet corrosive [kE(rEUsIv] ätzend; hier: quälend defer to sb./sth. [di(f§: tu] sich jmdm./etw. beugen driven: be ~ [(drIv&n] hier: gesteuert werden heads [hedz] Kopf (Münze) inclusive [In(klu:sIv] hier: alle miteinbeziehend keep an open mind aufgeschlossen bleiben [)ki:p En )EUpEn (maInd] lesson [(les&n] hier: Lektion messy [(mesi] chaotisch; hier: schwierig obey sb./sth. [E(beI] jmdm./etw. gehorchen odds [Qdz] Chancen, Wahrscheinlichkeit provoke sth. [prE(vEUk] etw. hervorrufen tackle sth. [(tÄk&l] etw. angehen tails [teI&lz] Zahl (Münze) toss sth. [tQs] etw. werfen undermine sth. etw. untergraben [)VndE(maIn]

34 www.business-spotlight.de

need to maintain a positive and objective approach. This helps to create a tolerant and inclusive working culture, in which we can solve problems faster and more creatively. l We defer to authority. People learn from an early age to obey rules and those in charge. But one of the reasons that problems don’t get discussed and dealt with effectively is fear of saying something stupid and risking our reputation. Understanding when and how to question the views of those in authority can be essential for effective problem-solving.

TIP 9 Think about time Many of the problems of business life are the result of time pressure. This often means that people fail to listen to each other effectively and do their jobs too quickly, without sufficient preparation and analysis. This can lead to increased stress and poorer motivation, performance and health. We need to clarify the time needed for particular activities, the performance expectations and possible alternative scenarios. For example: l So,

how long will we need to do this? level of quality is necessary? l Do we need to allow more time in case of… ? l What happens if we can’t… ? l What

Problem-solving can be a messy business. Many problems cannot be solved quickly and simply, if at all. This may create stress, a feeling of inefficiency and a corrosive atmosphere that undermines collaboration. But we do not have superhuman powers, and it is important to accept that certain problems cannot be solved: l So,

do the politics of the situation mean that we just have to accept… ? l It’s not ideal in many respects, but we need to consider that… l OK, well, we won’t solve all the problems, but at least…

Organizations need effective leadership that creates an atmosphere of honesty and support, and that allows problems to be discussed and tackled innovatively. Most organizations are a long way from that situation. This means that you will need to play a constructive role yourself. Now, is BS that a problem for you? In the next issue Take our special test and find out how well you can use the strategies covered in our ten-part series.

D o an exercise on this topic on Business Spotlight Audio plus For exercises on problem-solving, see Business Spotlight plus www For more tips on communication skills,

watch our “Business with Bob” videos at www.business-spotlight.de/videos/bob

Bob Dignen is a director of York Associates (www.york-associates.co.uk) and author of many books. Contact: bob.dignen@york-associates.co.uk

5/2015

TRAINING PLAN BUSINESS SKILLS

In this training plan, you will find suggestions on how to improve your problem-solving skills. We have divided the activities into five weekly blocks, each of which includes an exercise and two tasks based on Bob Dignen’s ten top tips. You can adapt the timing of the plan to suit your own schedule.

Exercise

Tasks

WEEK 1

Exercise: Read the article on pages 30–34, paying particular attention to the first two tips. Make a note of any unfamiliar words and create a database of useful phrases. n

Task 1: In your next meeting, ask questions in order to discover whether there are any problems below the surface. Use both open questions (“How well are things going?”) and closed questions (“Are there any problems here that we need to discuss?”).

Task 2: When someone raises a problem with you, take the time to fully understand the issues. Ask the other person what they could do differently to solve the problem.

Exercise: Reread the third and fourth tips on page 32. www Every day this week, try to do one of our online exercises at www.businessspotlight.de n

Task 3: Identify a “people problem” you are facing and think of some ways to resolve it. Spend time with the “difficult person” and offer them support. End by saying, “It was good to talk.”

Task 4: Talk to a colleague who can help you to learn more about a particular culture (national, departmental, etc.). Say you are not interested in stereotyping but in hearing personal views.

Exercise: Reread the fifth and sixth tips in the article on pages 32–33. plus Then, complete the language exercises in Business Spotlight plus (pp. 8–11). n

Task 5: Identify a mentor who is willing to share with you insights into your organization, its goals, strategies and trends. Your aim is to be able to distinguish better between serious problems and difficulties that are normal in your organization.

Task 6: Ask a colleague for advice on a problem. Explain the situation openly and honestly. Listen carefully to their advice and don’t reject it immediately, even if you have tried it before. Thank them and observe later whether their advice helps you.

Exercise: Reread the seventh and eighth tips in the article on page 33–34. Do the exercises on problem-solving on Business Spotlight Audio (tracks 7–9). n

Task 7: In your next meeting, try to encourage people to come up with creative solutions. This could be through explicit encouragement or by bringing in new ideas of your own.

Task 8: When you discuss a problem with a colleague, challenge your assumptions. Are you basing your solution purely on past experience? What solutions might others come up with?

Exercise: Reread the ninth and tenth tips on page 34. Make a note of the strategies — and phrases — you have used successfully in your problem-solving in the past few weeks. Write down some new things you could do in future. n

Task 9: When planning a project in your next meeting, take 15 minutes to brainstorm some ideas about what might go wrong and where delays might occur. Then think about what you need to do now to prevent these problems from happening.

Task 10: Identify the five main challenges that you face at work. Decide which aspects are solvable (by you or others) and which are not. Discuss your analysis with a colleague and think of strategies for coping with the seemingly unsolvable problems.

WEEK 2

WEEK 3

WEEK 4

WEEK 5

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Done

www.business-spotlight.de 35

iStock

Week

BUSINESS SKILLS TOOLBOX

Being assertive In dieser Rubrik nutzt Ken Taylor seine internationalen Erfahrungen. Hier erklärt er, was für ein selbstbewusstes medium

und durchsetzungsfähiges Verhalten wichtig ist.

iStock

3. How assertive are you?

Positive and confident: assertiveness in action

1. What is “assertiveness” exactly? There’s more than one translation of the word “assertiveness” in the German language. Here are four aspects of assertiveness: l positive self-confidence and self-esteem l clear, open communication l speaking in such a way that people take notice l showing responsibility for your actions We have the right to be ourselves, the right to ask for what we need, the right to choose and the right to make mistakes. Being assertive means exercising those rights. An assertive person looks for “win-win” solutions to problems and approaches life positively and confidently.

If you want to check how assertive you are, ask yourself the following questions: l Do I communicate effectively in groups? l Do I control my emotions? l Can I give criticism without offending? l Do I state my opinions clearly and directly? l Am I free of stress? l Do other people ask my opinion? l Do I ask for help? l Am I satisfied with the result when I complain? l Can I say no? l Am I comfortable with who I am? These questions, and your answers to them, will give you a better feeling for the concept of assertiveness and an indication of your strengths and weaknesses in this area.

2. How can you show assertiveness? l Through

your body language: assertive body language is open and friendly, with direct eye contact. Gestures and movements are relaxed and steady. Greetings are accompanied by a smile. l Through your voice: breathing more deeply when talking in public gives your voice greater resonance and a better timbre. This, together with stressing the keywords in sentences with your voice and with pauses, makes you sound more confident. l Through the words you use: be brief. Don’t say too much. Don’t overexplain or overapologize. If you want to show the strength of your personal opinion, don’t be afraid to start a sentence with the word “I”. Use positive language; for example: “I can handle that” or “I know what to do”. Be polite, but be ready to say no and show that you mean what you say: “No, I’m afraid you can’t have Thursday off, as you really are needed for that customer event in the shop.”

assertive: be ~ [E(s§:tIv] Durchsetzungsvermögen zeigen assertiveness Durchsetzungs[E(s§:tIvnEs] vermögen brief: be ~ [bri:f] sich kurz fassen comfortable [(kVmftEb&l] hier: zufrieden gestures [(dZestSEz] Gestik indication: give sb. an ~ jmdm. einen Anhalts[)IndI(keIS&n] punkt geben off [Qf] hier: frei offend sb. [E(fend] jmdn. beleidigen overapologize sich übermäßig [)EUvErE(pQlEdZaIz] entschuldigen resonance [(rez&nEns] Klang self-esteem [)self I(sti:m] Selbstwertgefühl steady [(stedi] fest; hier: sicher stress sth. [stres] etw. betonen timbre [(tÄmbE] Timbre, Klangfarbe win-win für alle Beteiligten [)wIn (wIn] positiv

Ken Taylor is a communication consultant and author of 50 Ways to Improve Your Business English (Summertown). Contact: KTaylor868@aol.com

Practise these skills on Business Spotlight Audio

36 www.business-spotlight.de

5/2015

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IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH IN ENGLAND

The quiet Americans Über Kanada hört und liest man eher wenig. Doch ist das Land, das bei Wirtschaftspartnern und Einwanderern noch immer begehrt ist, wirklich nur ein stiller Amerikaner? Vicki Sussens zeigt Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede mit dem südlichen Nachbarn USA auf. Not being in the news is not necessarily a bad thing, of course. Canada practically sailed through the financial crisis of 2008 because its banks were more conservative and better regulated than others in the developed world. It also has a healthy trade surplus with its largest trading partner, the US, and a relatively low issue [(ISu:] Problem; auch: Thema plague sb. [pleIg] jmdn. heimsuchen, jmdm. zu schaffen machen survey [(s§:veI] Studie, Untersuchung trade surplus Außenhandels[(treId )s§:plEs] überschuss

unemployment rate of under seven per cent. On top of all that, Vancouver, followed by Toronto and Ottawa, offers the highest standard of living in North America, according to Mercer’s 2015 Quality of Living 4 Survey.

A CLOSER LOOK The quiet Americans is a reference to the title of an anti-war novel (The Quiet American) by the English author Graham Greene, first published in 1955. The book describes the experiences of Thomas Fowler, a fictional British journalist covering the First Indochina War in Vietnam, and his relationship with Alden Pyle, a young American CIA agent. cover sth. [(kVvE]

38 www.business-spotlight.de

hier: über etw. berichten Getty Images

hat is it about Canada’s culture and history that has made it the quiet North American — a country that is neither controversial nor plagued by big issues, and where the world seems to be in order? “Canadians often joke that Canada is ‘a pretty boring place’,” says intercultural expert Alexia Petersen, a Canadian who lives in Aachen, Germany. “Nothing really dramatic happens there, so you don’t hear much about it in the news.”

medium

CANADA INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

5/2015

Very Canadian: tourist with Mounties in Ottawa

iStock

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION CANADA

Spectacular scenery: Vancouver skyline

Not surprisingly, Canadian voters are not as disillusioned with mainstream political parties as voters are in the US or the EU. And Canada is now the most popular country for German university students and the second-most popular for high-school students. One of the reasons is its excellent education system. Another is Canada’s pristine nature, according to Ingmar Eschli, who runs the

website Auslandspraktikum.info in Hamburg. “Canada is an interesting alternative for young Germans heading for North America but who want a more individual experience than the mainstream experience offered in the US,” Eschli says. Canada does, of course, have prob-

lems. The world’s fifth-largest producer of oil has been hit hard by fall-

“With no external threats, enough resources to keep it rich, few people to look after and a functioning democracy, Canada is at peace with itself and the world” Alexia Petersen, intercultural expert, Aachen, Germany

40 www.business-spotlight.de

ing oil prices, with its nominal GDP falling by 0.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2015, the first decrease since the second quarter of 2009. Also, recent changes to immigration laws have seen Canada dropping from third to sixth place in the 2015 Migrant Integration Policy Index. But why is Canada so different from the United States? After all, it has many similarities to its neighbour. Like the US, Canada is an immigrant country settled by resourceful pioneers, who helped carve out a brave new world. And it continues carve sth. out etw. schnitzen; [)kA:v (aUt] hier: aufbauen GDP (gross domestic BIP (Bruttoinlandsproduct) [)dZi: di: (pi:] produkt) mainstream etabliert; für die breite [(meInstri:m] Masse pristine [(prIsti:n] unberührt, ursprünglich quarter [(kwO:tE] Quartal resourceful [ri(zO:sf&l] einfallsreich, erfinderisch

5/2015

Reuters

Canada: Fast facts

Able Stock

Northern life: Inuit family in Iqaluit

Rustic: 19th-century farmers in Chicoutimi, Quebec

to attract courageous people wanting to start new lives. “You don’t emigrate if you can’t deal with risks,” says Petersen. And like the US, Canada also experienced a post-Second World War economic boom. In Canada’s case, this helped transform the country from a mostly rural economy into the highly diversified economy it is today. Canada and America also share values. They are both democracies, have market-oriented economies and admire high achievers. One of the

department Abteilung; [di(pA:tmEnt] hier: Ministerium high achiever Person, die hohe [)haI E(tSi:vE] Leistungen erbringt marker [(mA:kE] Markierung; hier: Unter scheidungskriterium remote [ri(mEUt] abgelegen rural [(rUErEl] ländlich sparsely [(spA:sli] spärlich; hier: dünn vast [vA:st] riesig

5/2015

first questions Canadians will ask you is “What you do?” writes the Centre for Intercultural Learning, run by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada. “Work [in Canada] is a social marker; it is what separates and defines a person in relation to another.” Canadians also sound like Ameri-

cans, at least to European ears. This is not surprising: some 90 per cent of Canadians live within 160 kilometres of the US border. Canada’s remote northern territories — Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut — occupy a vast area, but are extremely sparsely populated. Finally, Canada and America are good friends and trading partners. They have long made peace since the American Revolution (1775–83), in which the colonies that later became 4

Official name: Canada Government: Parliamentary democracy, federation and constitutional monarchy Capital: Ottawa 1.3 million (2014)* Other major urban areas: Toronto 6 million, Montreal 4 million, Vancouver 2.5 million, Calgary 1.4 million, Quebec City 799,600 (2014)* Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General David Lloyd Johnston (since 1 October 2010) Head of government: Prime Minister Stephen Joseph Harper (since 6 February 2006) Population: 35.7 million (January 2015 est.)* Official languages: English, French GDP (at purchasing power parity): $1.579 trillion (2014 est.) Real growth rate of GDP: 0.6% (fourth quarter 2014)* Unemployment: 6.8% (May 2015)* Inflation: 0.9% (May 2015)* Main trading partners: US, China, Mexico Ethnic groups: Canadian 32.2%, English 19.8%, French 15.5%, Scottish 14.4%, Irish 13.8%, German 9.8%, Chinese 4.5%, Italian 4.5%, North American Indian 4.2%, other 50.9%. (Percentages add up to more than 100% because some people belong to more than one ethnic group.) est. (estimate) [(estImEt] Schätzung GDP (gross domestic BIP (Bruttoinlandsproduct) [)dZi: di: (pi:] produkt) purchasing power parity: kaufkraftbereinigt at ~ [)p§:tSEsIN )paUE (pÄrEti] quarter [(kwO:tE] Quartal trillion [(trIljEn] Billion(en) Sources: CIA “The World Factbook” (https://www. cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ ca.html); *Statistics Canada (www.statcan.gc.ca)

www.business-spotlight.de 41

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION CANADA

A German view “Germans are much more excited about Canada now. More and more students want to study there” to you”. Canadians often say the German language sounds rough and aggressive.

Kerstin Hansen became interested in Canada after visiting the country in 1997. “I met a Canadian who is now one of my best friends,” Hansen says. “He taught me most of what I know about the country.” Hansen has run the intercultural training and language school Interact! in Hamburg for 22 years. What are some typical intercultural misunderstandings between Canadians and Germans? Canadians seldom say no directly. Germans have difficulty understanding that a “maybe” could mean “no”, as can a statement like, “We will have to get back

Canada sided with the British. Also, the 1989 Canada–US Free Trade Agreement and the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement have increased trade and economic integration between them, and they now form the world’s largest trading partnership, with Canada being America’s major supplier of uranium and energy, including gas, oil and electricity. Yet Canada is not America. “Most Canadians see themselves as humbler, funnier, more tolerant and/or less aggressive than Americans,” writes the Centre for Intercultural Learning, adding that the best way to impress Canadians is to show that you know the differences between Canadians and Americans. So what are the differences? “Canada did not break with the Old World as radically as the US,” in-

42 www.business-spotlight.de

What surprised you about Canadians? Their strong bond with Canada’s beautiful nature, and their love for and pride in their country. To what extent are Germans interested in Canada? Germans are more excited now about Canada than when I started Interact! 22 years ago. More and more students want to study there. Younger people seem generally more open to other cultures. What three tips would you give Germans going to Canada? Don’t compare them to Americans. Be polite, smile and look people in the eyes

tercultural expert Petersen says. “So while America invented itself along the way, Canada held on to European values.” Canada did not even fight for independence from Britain. In July 1867, the British government passed a law that united the British colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Province of Canada (present-day Ontario and Quebec) into a confederation called the Dominion of Canada. Although the dominion was given some self-rule, Canada remained a British colony until 1931 and inherited much of the British legal, social and political systems. It is still a member of the union of former British colonies, the Commonwealth, with Queen Elizabeth II its head of state. By contrast, America turned its back on the Old World, fighting a war of independence to create a new state based on the ideals of liberty,

during a conversation. Compliment them on their beautiful country and friendly people. Why do you think Canada is so popular among Germans? Germans like the fact that Canadians are really friendly, outgoing and open to new people and other cultures. Canadians are very tolerant of differences. They don’t judge people and always remain polite to foreigners.

bond [bQnd] Bindung compliment sb. jmdm. ein Kompliment [(kQmplIment] machen, jmdn. beglückwünschen get back to sb. sich wieder mit jmdm. [)get (bÄk tu] in Verbindung setzen outgoing kontaktfreudig, [)aUt(gEUIN] aufgeschlossen

individualism, egalitarianism and laissez-faire government. It believes it has a special place among nations because it was built on what it considers to be universal principles (see Business Spotlight 6/2014). “Americans believe every person is responsible for securing their own freedom and this has resulted in a deep suspicion of government,” says Petersen. It is why America does not have a

egalitarianism Egalitarismus, Gleich[i)gÄlI(teEriEn)IzEm] heit in der mensch lichen Gesellschaft humble [(hVmb&l] bescheiden inherit sth. [In(herIt] etw. erben; hier: übernehmen laissez-faire government Regierung, die wenig [)leIseI feE (gVv&nmEnt] Kontrolle ausübt New Brunswick Neubraunschweig [)nju: (brVnzwIk] Nova Scotia [)nEUvE (skEUSE] Neuschottland side with sb. [(saId wID] sich auf jmds. Seite schlagen suspicion [sE(spIS&n] Misstrauen turn one’s back on sb./sth. sich von jmdm./etw. [)t§:n wVnz (bÄk Qn] abwenden

5/2015

strong labour movement or a welfare state, and why there is resistance to universal healthcare and pensions. Canada, on the other hand, took over the European idea that government is there to look after its citizens and has a universal social welfare and healthcare system. So while individualism and a suspicion of government drives the US and has led to a missionary zeal to promote universal freedom globally, a more self-effacing, consensus-oriented political system drives Canada. This expresses itself geopolitically as well. “You rarely hear Canada on the world stage seemingly trying to impose its values on other countries,” Petersen adds. “Canada is a soft power. And soft power is about persuasion and taking differences into consideration.” Another big difference between Canada and the US affect sth. [E(fekt] etw. betreffen constitution Verfassung [kQnstI(tju:S&n] distinct [dI(stINkt] unterschiedlich drive sth. [draIv] etw. antreiben; hier: das Handeln bestimmen engine [(endZIn] hier: Zugpferd der Konjunktur fraction [(frÄkS&n] Bruchteil healthcare [(helTkeE] Gesundheitswesen impose sth. on sb. jmdm. etw. [Im(pEUz Qn] aufoktroyieren self-effacing [)self I(feIsIN] zurückhaltend slump [slVmp] Einbruch universal [)ju:nI(v§:s&l] allgemein, für alle welfare state Sozial,- Wohlfahrtsstaat [(welfeE steIt] zeal [zi:&l] Eifer

5/2015

Alamy (2)

Environmental concerns: Keystone XL protesters

Becoming Canadians: citizenship ceremony

lies in geography. As Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, once said: “If some countries have too much history, Canada has too much geography.” The Great White North, as Canada is often called, is the second-largest country in the world, after Russia. But while it consists of 10 million square kilometres, it has a population of only 35.7 million — less than half of Germany’s 81 million and a fraction of the US’s 320 million. Canada is also resource-rich, and

its geography has divided the country into distinct economic regions, providing it with a well-balanced economy. So when the oil-producing province of Alberta faces a price slump

— as it did in the first few months of 2015 — growth is not affected in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, which are Canada’s high-tech, services and manufacturing engines. Canada’s geography has given it something of an island mentality, says Petersen. “While it is a huge country, it is bordered on both sides by an ocean and to the south, it has a friendly neighbour. So with no external threats, enough resources to keep it rich, few people to look after and a functioning democracy, Canada is at peace with itself and the world. In fact, peace, order and good government are written into its constitution.” But perhaps the biggest difference between the two countries is that 4

www.business-spotlight.de 43

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION CANADA

Young and talented “Canada is safe, has a high standard of living, is multicultural and there is a high level of tolerance for other people”

Ana Laura Jimenez is a typical global nomad. The young Mexican studied international commerce in Mexico City and in Lancaster in the UK. Ten years ago, she went to Vancouver to gain overseas work experience and ended up staying there. Now a Canadian, she has a top job as a logistics specialist at a firm that moves goods for the mining and engineering industries. Canada is a magnet for the young and talented. Vancouver, in particular, ranks among the top five cities in the world to live in, according to the 2015 Mercer Quality of Living Survey. The West Coast

while the US sees itself as a melting pot of cultures, Canada’s focus has been on preserving individual cultural identities. All these factors — a government that works, cultural tolerance and spectacular nature — have made Canada a magnet for immigrants. Canada is the 11th-top expatriate

destination, with 38 per cent of people going there to improve their quality of life, according to the 2014 HSBC Expat Explorer Report. Canada introduced a points-based immigration system in 1967, which did not take into account race or country of origin. Instead, it favoured an applicant’s usefulness to Canada, such as education, work experience and language skills. This resulted in waves of immigrants from India, China, Vietnam, Jamaica and Haiti in the 1970s. Canada’s booming hightech, aerospace, film and mining industries continue to attract migrants, especially the young and talented.

44 www.business-spotlight.de

city is the headquarters of major mining firms and has a booming film industry. It is also a growing biotech and IT hub. It is Canada’s largest harbour city and a gateway to trade in the Pacific region. When Jimenez first arrived, the competition for jobs was not as great as it is now. “It is hard for the newly arrived to get jobs, especially if they don’t have connections,” she says. In her spare time, Jimenez is the Vancouver “ambassador” for the expat socialmedia site InterNations.org. She coordinates events to help members to network and establish themselves in the city. “We have over 500 members, who come from more than 50 different countries,” she says. What attracts them to Canada?

Half of Toronto residents today were born outside Canada. Alexia Petersen is often asked where she comes from, and when she says Canada, she is asked where she “really” comes from (her parents emigrated from Taiwan). Where she comes from, however, this is a cultural faux pas. “In Canada, you are a Canadian, regardless of your ethnic roots,” she says. Ironically, Canada now has too many talented immigrants and much higher unemployment among its immigrant population. This is one reason why the government introduced a new “Express Entry” immigration system in January 2015. This favours applicants with job offers or with skills the country needs. At the top of the list are young global nomads (see box above). However, the new laws also make it harder for families of immigrants to move to Canada, leading to fears that Canada is becoming less immigrant-friendly. Another key issue facing Canada relates to its aboriginal inhabitants.

“Canada is safe, has a high standard of living, is multicultural and there is a high level of tolerance for people’s own customs, habits and beliefs,” says Jimenez.

ambassador [Äm(bÄsEdE] Botschafter(in) competition [)kQmpE(tIS&n] Konkurrenz end up doing sth. schließlich etw. tun [)end Vp (du:IN] engineering industry Maschinenbaubranche [endZI(nIErIN )IndEstri] expat(riate) ständig im Ausland [eks(pÄt(riEt)] lebende Person; hier: Auswanderer/-wanderin gateway [(geItweI] Tor headquarters [)hed(kwO:tEz] Hauptsitz hub [hVb] Zentrum network [(netw§:k] Kontakte knüpfen und pflegen spare time [)speE (taIm] Freizeit survey [(s§:veI] Studie, Untersuchung

A Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) looking at Canadian policies of assimilation for aboriginals has concluded its work after six years. While it sounds like a conciliatory government initiative, the formation of the TRC was, in fact, a condition of a 2007 class-action lawsuit brought by aboriginal students against the government for its system of “Indian residential schools”. Startaboriginal inhabitant Ureinwohner(in) [ÄbE)rIdZ&nEl In(hÄbItEnt] aerospace [(eErEUspeIs] Luftfahrt applicant [(ÄplIkEnt] Antragsteller(in) bring (a lawsuit) [brIN] (eine Klage) anstrengen class-action lawsuit Sammelklage [)klA:s )ÄkS&n (lO:su:t] conciliatory versöhnlich [kEn(sIliEtEri] conclude sth. [kEn(klu:d] etw. abschließen expat(riate) ständig im Ausland [eks(pÄt(riEt)] lebende Person; hier: Auswanderer/-wanderin melting pot [(meltIN pQt] Schmelztiegel preserve sth. [pri(z§:v] etw. bewahren reconciliation Ver-, Aussöhnung [)rekEnsIli(eIS&n] residential school staatliches Internat [rezI(denS&l sku:l] Can. take sth. into account etw. berücksichtigen [)teIk )Intu E(kaUnt]

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Getty Images

Good to know l Be

Joining in: immigrants celebrating Canada Day

ing in the 1880s, this system placed native children in boarding schools far from their families, where they were forced to abandon their cultural roots and suffered neglect as well as physical and sexual abuse. More than 6,000 children died in the residential schools, the last of which closed in 1996. Then there is the Quebec separatist movement, which gained momentum in the 1960s and which remains a constant reminder that many in the former French colony, which was handed over to Britain in the 18th century, do not feel culturally tied to Canada. In October, Canadians will go to the polls in the 42nd federal elections. The election issues highlight the fact that Canada has not been spared the effects of a rapidly changing global economy. There is voter anger at Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government over job

For more information BOOKS Surfacing, Margaret Atwood (Little, Brown) Two Solitudes, Hugh MacLennan (New Canadian Library) Why I Hate Canadians, Will Ferguson (Douglas & McIntyre) Why We Act Like Canadians, Pierre Berton (McClelland & Stewart) WEBSITES Alexia Petersen, intercultural expert: www.aspetersen.de/home_e.html Centre for Intercultural Learning: www.intercultures.ca/cil-cai/ci-ic-eng. asp?iso=ca#cn-1 Kerstin Hansen, intercultural expert and head of Interact!: www.interact-experts.com

losses and decreasing job security. And Canada has also been labelled one of the world’s worst climatechange offenders. In 2015, it ranked 58 out of 61 countries in the Climate Change Performance Index. The highly controversial Keystone XL Pipeline, planned to take oil from Alberta to the Gulf Coast in the US, is a burning issue with environmentalists. The oil comes from tar sands and involves an extraction process that releases up to four times the CO2 emissions of normal oil extraction. With growing international calls to leave fossil fuels in the ground, Canada’s poor environmental performance means the country can no longer avoid negative headlines. BS

abandon sth. [E(bÄndEn] etw. aufgeben abuse [E(bju:s] Missbrauch anger [(ÄngE] Verärgerung boarding school Internat [(bO:dIN sku:l] burning [(b§:nIN] hier: heiß diskutiert call [kO:l] hier: Forderung environmentalist Umweltschützer(in) [In)vaI&rEn(ment&lIst] extraction [Ik(strÄkS&n] Gewinnung, Förderung federal elections Wahlen auf [)fedErEl i(lekS&nz] Bundesebene fossil fuel [)fQs&l (fju:El] fossiler Brennstoff gain momentum an Boden gewinnen [)geIn mEU(mentEm] go to the polls wählen [)gEU tE DE (pEUlz] highlight sth. [(haIlaIt] etw. hervorheben label sb. sth. [(leIb&l] jmdn. etw. nennen native [(neItIv] hier: Ureinwohnerneglect [nI(glekt] Vernachlässigung offender [E(fendE] Zuwiderhandelnde(r); hier: Sünder(in) release sth. [ri(li:s] etw. freisetzen reminder [ri(maIndE] Erinnerung(sstück) spared: be ~ sth. von etw. verschont [speEd] werden tar sand [(tA: sÄnd] Teersand tied: be ~ to sth. [taId] mit etw. verbunden sein

sure that you never call a Canadian an American. l Be respectful of religious, gender, class and ethnic differences. l Subjects to avoid with people you don’t know well include money, salary, religion and politics — especially to do with the Quebec separatist movement. l Canadians are generally private and reserved. l Observe physical distance. Canadians generally like to have at least an arm’s length of space between them and another person. l Canadians use first names, but it is best to start using Mr, Ms or Mrs and the last name until invited to use first names. l O vertime is expected, especially of managers. l It is acceptable to ask for feedback from your bosses, but you are also expected to show initiative. l To be successful in business, it is essential to build rapport, and one of the best ways to do this is over a meal. l Networks are important. However, you won’t get far if you cannot prove you can do the job. l Avoid publicly confronting your colleagues. build rapport ein gutes Verhältnis [)bIld rÄ(pO:] aufbauen gender [(dZendE] Geschlecht network [(netw§:k] Netzwerk overtime [(EUvEtaIm] Überstunden reserved [ri(z§:vd] zurückhaltend Source: Centre for Intercultural Learning (www. intercultures.ca/cil-cai/overview-apercu-eng.asp?iso=ca)

H ear more about this topic on Business Spotlight Audio plus T est your knowledge of Canada in Business Spotlight plus Vicki Sussens is a feature writer who edits the Intercultural and Management sections of Business Spotlight. Contact: bs.editorial@spotlight-verlag.de

www.business-spotlight.de 45

LANGUAGE VOCABULARY

The railway station

In dieser Rubrik präsentieren wir nützliche Begriffe aus der Arbeitswelt. Von Hildegard Rudolph

easy

1 8 15

1. railway station [(reI&lweI )steIS&n] UK, Bahnhof train station [(treIn )steIS&n] (US railroad station [(reI&lroUd )steIS&n*]) central station [)sentrEl (steIS&n], main station [)meIn (steIS&n]

Hauptbahnhof

2. concourse [(kQNkO:s]

Bahnhofshalle

3. ticket office [(tIkIt )QfIs] (US ticket booth [(tIkIt )bu:T*])

Fahrkartenschalter

book a seat [)bUk E (si:t]

einen Sitzplatz reservieren

buy a ticket [)baI E (tIkIt]

eine Fahrkarte kaufen

fare [feE]

Fahrpreis

one-way ticket [)wVn weI (tIkIt]

einfache Fahrkarte

railcard [(reI&lkA:d] UK BahnCard

return a ticket [ri)t§:n E (tIkIt] eine Fahrkarte zurückgeben

return ticket [ri)t§:n (tIkIt] (US round- trip ticket [)raUnd trIp (tIkIt])

(Hin- und) Rückfahrkarte

single ticket [)sINg&l (tIkIt] UK Einzelfahrkarte wagon number [(wÄgEn )nVmbE] Wagennummer

4. ticket officer [(tIkIt )QfIsE]

Schalterbeamter/ -beamtin

5. ticket (vending) machine Fahrkartenautomat [)tIkIt (vendIN mE)Si:n] 6. platform [(plÄtfO:m]

Bahnsteig

7. passenger train [(pÄsIndZE treIn]

Personen-, Reisezug

8. timetable [(taIm)teIb&l]

Anzeigetafel

arrival (board) [E(raIv&l (bO:d)]

Ankunft(stafel)

cancelled [(kÄns&ld]

annulliert

delayed [di(leId]

verspätet

departure (board) [di(pA:tSE (bO:d)]

Abfahrt(stafel)

destination [)destI(neIS&n]

Zielbahnhof

intermediate stop [IntE)mi:diEt (stQp]

Zwischenhalt

platform number [(plÄtfO:m )nVmbE]

Gleisnummer

9. passenger [(pÄsIndZE]

Fahrgast, Reisende(r)

10. station operator [(steIS&n )QpEreItE]

Bahnhofsvorsteher(in)

11. left luggage [)left (lVgIdZ] (US baggage room [(bÄgIdZ ru:m])

Gepäckaufbewahrung

Bernhard Förth

12. lost property [)lQst (prQpEti] Fundbüro (US lost and found [)lO:st En (faUnd*]) 13. newsagent [(nju:z)eIdZEnt] (US newsdealer [(nu:zdi:l&r*])

Zeitschriftenladen; Zeitungshändler(in)

kiosk [(ki:Qsk] (US newsstand [(nu:zstÄnd*])

Zeitungskiosk

14. takeaway [(teIkE)weI] (US takeout [(teIkaUt*])

Imbissstand

15. drinks machine [(drINks mE)Si:n], beverage vending machine

Getränkeautomat

[)bevErIdZ (vendIN mE)Si:n] *This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.

46 www.business-spotlight.de

5/2015

Exercise 2: When’s the next train to... ? Unscramble the words in bold to complete the text. When Susan arrives at the a) w a i r a l y ____________ station,

Exercise 1: What’s right?

her train has just left. And the next train will be b) d a y e d l e

Try to choose the correct options without looking at the vocabulary list on the left.

____________. So she goes to the c) g e n t a s e n w ____________, buys a fashion magazine, gets herself something to drink from the

1. If you have left something on a train, you go to the ____________ to get it back. a) left luggage b) lost property

d) b e a g v e r e ____________ vending machine, sits down on a bench

2. When your train arrives later than scheduled, it is ____________. a) cancelled b) delayed

h) r e n r t u ____________ or only a single i) t e c k t i ____________

and starts watching e) g e r s a p e s s n ____________. An elderly woman is talking to the ticket f) r e c o f i f ____________ at one of the ticket g) o f e f i s c ____________. She is not sure whether to buy a

and asks how much the j) a f r e ____________ costs. And, of course, a lot of people are looking at the timetable to get information about the k) u r e p a r t d e ____________ time and l) p o r m l a t f

3. The ____________ tells you where your train will leave from. a) platform number b) wagon number

____________ number of their trains. Finally, the m) a l r i v r a ____________ of her train is announced. Answers on page 66

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LANGUAGE EASY ENGLISH

Teamwork: make sure others know about your success

Representing your team Jeder soll wissen, wenn ein Team erfolgreich war. Aber wie teilt man das anderen mit, ohne gleich als Prahlhans zu gelten? Mike Hogan liefert Ihnen die passenden englischen Formulierungen.

t is often said that “success breeds success”. And when your team is successful, you need to be able to represent it effectively within your organization so that its success is recognized by others. This will then often lead to new opportunities to get involved in interesting work and projects. But it is important to be able to represent your team in a positive, polite and diplomatic way. As you read the following dialogue, think about the answers to these questions: l How did Jim start talking about his team’s success? l How did he control his enthusiasm to avoid boasting? l How did he show the value of his team’s work?

48 www.business-spotlight.de

Dialogue Jim: OK, Katja. I’ll send you the health and safety report tomorrow. Katja: Thanks for helping us to find solutions to the problems in the factory. You know this is an important project. We also need to plan the new production line. Your report will be very helpful. Jim: Ah, OK. I didn’t realize that a new production line was also planned. You know that we advised on the three new lines in our other factory in Mainz last year, right? Katja: Oh, really? No, I didn’t know that. I’m still new and learning about various past projects. Jim: Of course. Well, our team developed and implemented the health and safety processes for all three

easy

lines. We have specialists in the relevant areas, for example, noise regulations and dust, as well as things such as stress and ergonomic seats for the machines. Katja: That sounds really interesting. I thought you just wrote the reports. Tell me more. Jim: Well, we do write the reports, but the main focus of our work is supporting both current and planned working environments. This is one of our main strengths. Last year,

boast [bEUst] angeben, sich brüsten breed sth. [bri:d] etw. züchten; hier: erzeugen implement [(ImplEment] etw. umsetzen production line Fertigungsstraße [prE(dVkS&n laIn] working environment Arbeitsumgebung, -umfeld [(w§:kIN In)vaI&rEnmEnt]

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our work helped lead to a reduction in absenteeism of 17 per cent by addressing stress and other personal factors. We also helped reduce the number of accidents from an average of 113 per year to 48. This represented a saving to the company of around €500,000. Katja: That’s great. I think I could really use some help from you and your team with this new production line. Could we meet on Friday, so I can show you our plans? Jim: Certainly. I’d be happy to help and I’m sure the team will be very interested in this new opportunity. Friday sounds great. Here are the answers to the three questions we asked:

l Jim

started talking about his team’s success by linking it to the discussion he was already having with Katja. l Jim avoided boasting about his team’s success by focusing on their particular specializations, skills and experience. l Jim showed the value of his team’s work by focusing on their successful results and the benefits for the organization.

Represent well, but don’t boast l

ake sure that what you say is M useful and relevant to the other person. Don’t simply talk about how great your team is.

Useful phrases for representing your team a) Talking about your team’s experience l You know that we advised on…, right? l Well, we developed/implemented… l Do you remember that we... [insert past action] last year? b) Talking about your team’s skills l We have specialists in the relevant areas, such as… l The main focus of our work is supporting/helping… l Our team can cover the five main areas / eight key languages / key stages. l This is one of our main strengths. c) Talking about your team’s success year, our work helped lead to… l We also helped reduce… l We cut the time it takes to… l Last

absenteeism [)ÄbsEn(ti:)IzEm] address sth. [E(dres] assume sth. [E(sju:m] cut sth. [kVt] insert sth. [In(s§:t] key [ki:] line [laIn] link sth. [lINk] lose face [)lu:z (feIs] piece of information: a ~ [)pi:s Ev )InfE(meIS&n] stage [steIdZ] tag question [(tÄg )kwestSEn] take (time) [teIk]

Fehlzeit(en) etw. ansprechen; hier: bei etw. ansetzen etw. voraussetzen hier: etw. reduzieren etw. einfügen hier: wesentlich, wichtig hier: Fertigungsstraße etw. verknüpfen; hier: auf etw. verweisen sein Gesicht verlieren eine Information hier: Phase Bestätigungsfrage (Zeit) erfordern

d) Talking about the benefits to the company represented a saving to the company of around… l Our work saved... l We helped to cut the budget by more than five per cent. l This

e) Offering help be happy to help. l We’ll do all we can to help you. l I’m sure the team will be very interested in this new opportunity. BS l Could we meet on… ? l I’d

Grammar: checking with “you know” and “right?” When you want to check that someone already knows a piece of information, you can start your sentence with “you know” and end with “right?”. This is a good way to show that you think the other person already knows whatever it is you are talking about, but you don’t just assume this. You also make it possible for the other person to say no without losing face. Look at this example from the dialogue: l

ou know that we advised on the three new lines in our other factory in Y Mainz last year, right?

Using right? in this way at the end of a sentence is very common and is often easier than using traditional tag questions such as “don’t you?”, “didn’t you?”, “haven’t you?”, etc.

5/2015

D o exercises on this topic on Business Spotlight Audio plus You can find related exercises in Business Spotlight plus

Mike Hogan is a director of York Associates (www.york-associates.co.uk) and a coursebook author. Contact: mike.hogan@york-associates.co.uk

www.business-spotlight.de 49

LANGUAGE GRAMMAR AT WORK

Interview questions Fragen sind ein wesentlicher Bestandteil eines jeden Bewerbungsgesprächs. Anna Hochsieder erklärt mit Beispielen, wie man sie bilden kann.

medium

Jessica is a human resources manager in a software company. Here are some of the questions she asked a candidate in a recent job interview. 1. Did you find us all right? 2. What do you know about this company? What new skill have you learned recently? 3. What made you apply for this position? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Why are you the right person for this job? 4. Could you tell me where you see yourself in five years’ time? 5. Can you tell me whether you like taking risks? Do you think that you work well under time pressure? Would you say that you are a good team worker? 6. Tell me about a time when you successfully solved a problem. 7. How would you prepare for a business trip abroad? If you could start your career over again, what would you change? What would you do if you didn’t have to work for a living? 8. Do you have any questions? all right: find sb. ~ [)O:l (raIt] den Weg zu jmdm. gut finden apply for sth. [E(plaI fO:] sich für etw. bewerben human resources [)hju:mEn ri(zO:sIz] Personal(wesen) job interview [(dZQb )IntEvju:] Bewerbungsgespräch work for a living [(w§:k fEr E )lIvIN] sich seinen Lebensunterhalt verdienen

Explanations 1. Most interview questions are open questions that begin with a question word. Jessica’s first question, a closed (“yes/no”) question, serves as a friendly icebreaker before the actual interview starts. 2. An open question begins with a question word. If this is the object of the verb in the question, an auxiliary is needed. The word order is question word (+ noun phrase) + auxiliary + subject + main verb. 3. If the question word (+ noun phrase) is the subject of the main verb in the

50 www.business-spotlight.de

question, the auxiliary “do” is not required.

6. Interview questions can sometimes take the form of a request or an order: l Tell me about a time when you successfully solved a problem. 7. Hypothetical questions are common in job interviews. As they refer to imagined situations in the present or future, they use the second conditional — would + infinitive — and if + past simple in the “if”-clause if one is present. 8. To round off the interview, Jessica asks one final question, in order to give the candidate the opportunity to ask BS questions. k

Exercise

Make these questions less direct by introducing them with another question using the verb in brackets. a) How do you handle criticism? ______________________________ (can) b) What does success mean to you?

4. To make a question more polite, you can introduce it with another question. In such cases, the actual question part is an indirect question and thus contains no auxiliary and the word order is question word (+ noun phrase) + subject + verb: “...where you see...”

_____________________________ (could) Answers on page 66

Y ou’ll find a related exercise on Business Spotlight Audio plus Do more exercises on this topic in Business Spotlight plus www Further exercises can be found at

5. Many closed questions are more structurally complex than our icebreaker above. They might contain, for example, an indirect question with if/ whether or a “that”-clause as object.

www.business-spotlight.de/grammar Anna Hochsieder is a Munich-based teacher of English who writes regularly in Business Spotlight. Contact: a.hochsieder@googlemail.com

5/2015

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LANGUAGE TRANSLATION

False friends

medium

You mean...

You should say...

Don‘t say...

As this means...

adäquat

suitable, appropriate

adequate

ausreichend, genügend

Er sucht noch immer eine adäquate Stelle.

He is still looking for a suitable job.

Fund

discovery, find

fund, funds

Dies ist der sensationellste Fund, der je gemacht wurde.

This is the most sensational discovery ever made.

fund = Fonds; funds = Gelder, Mittel

prüfen

audit

prove

beweisen

Unsere Konten müssen von unab- hängigen Prüfern geprüft werden.

Our accounts have to be audited by independent auditors.

D o an exercise on false friends on Business Spotlight Audio

Tricky translations

How do you say “outstanding” in German?

Don’t confuse... recipe, receipt l

I f you use or consult a recipe ([(resEpi] Kochrezept) when you are cooking, you read instructions telling you how to cook or bake the dish. The recipe will also tell you what ingredients and quantities you should use: “I must get your father’s recipe for barbecue sauce.”

I f you ask somebody for a receipt ([ri(si:t] Quittung, Rechnung, Beleg), you are asking for written proof that you have paid a specific sum of money, for example for a meal in a restaurant, a taxi fare or a hotel bill. Most companies require their employees to present receipts before they can claim their travel expenses: “Excuse me, this handwritten note isn’t official enough. Can I please have a proper receipt?” Also, many shops will allow customers to exchange or return goods only if they can present a receipt.

An “outstanding” student or performance is a truly excellent one. It is translated as hervorragend, außerordentlich or überragend: “His examination results were outstanding. I’m very proud of him.” — Seine Prüfungsergebnisse waren hervorragend. Ich bin sehr stolz auf ihn. In financial English, “outstanding” can also refer to something that has not yet been paid. In this case, we translate it as offen, ausstehend or unbezahlt: “Please settle the outstanding balance within 14 days.” — Bitte begleichen Sie den Restbetrag innerhalb von 14 Tagen. Credit controllers worry about “outstanding debts” (Außenstände, ausstehende Forderungen, Restschuld) and logistics companies have to handle “outstanding deliveries” (Restlieferungen).

How do you say löschen in English? In word processing and publishing, löschen means to remove text from a document. In this sense, it is translated as delete: Ich habe die Überschrift versehentlich gelöscht. — “I accidentally deleted the headline.” Löschen also means “to spray water or chemicals on a fire to put it out”. Here, it is translated as extinguish, douse or put out: Die Feuerwehr hat den Brand noch nicht gelöscht. — “The fire brigade hasn’t put out the fire yet.” All public buildings should have a fire extinguisher (Feuerlöscher). Finally, den Durst löschen involves stopping yourself from feeling thirsty by having something to drink. This is translated as quench or, in more literary English, slake one’s thirst: Du solltest Deinen Durst nicht mit Bier löschen; trink lieber Wasser! — “You shouldn’t quench your thirst with beer; drink water instead!”

Exercise Translate the following sentences. a) My boss has outstanding leadership skills.

Mike Seymour is an author, trainer and translator. He also writes regularly for Business Spotlight. Contact: www.mikeseymour.com

52 www.business-spotlight.de

b) Sie haben die Flammen innerhalb einer Stunde gelöscht.

Answers on page 66

5/2015

CARDS LANGUAGE

by Hildegard Rudolph

Grammar

Singular or plural? Choose the right form of the noun.

Singular or plural? Choose the right form of the verb.

“The purchase price is much too high for a ten-year / years-old building.”

“Economics was / were his favourite subject.”

www.business-spotlight.de

Translation

Translate this sentence into English.

Translate this sentence into German.

Du hast deine Sache sehr gut gemacht.

“Let’s call it a day.”

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Word choice

Which word is correct?

“Could you please remind / remember me to call him back?”

“He was responsive / responsible for quality management.”

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Business talk

What does the speaker mean?

“Are you sure they didn’t cook the books?”

“The new product was all loss and no gain.”

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LANGUAGE CARDS

“Economics was his favourite subject.”

“The purchase price is much too high for a ten-year-old building.”

Sciences ending in -ics look like plural nouns, but they are in fact singular, and are followed by the singular form of the verb.

In compound adjectives formed with a number and a noun, the noun is given in the singular.

Volkswirtschaftslehre; Wirtschaftswissenschaften

ein zehn Jahre altes Gebäude

BS 5/2015

Machen wir Schluss / Feierabend für heute.

“You have done / did a very good job.”

This phrase is used to suggest that it’s time to end the day’s work.

This phrase is used to tell someone that they have done something very well.

BS 5/2015

“He was responsible for quality management.”

“Could you please remind me to call him back?”

If you are responsible for a task, you make sure that it is done properly. Someone who is “responsive to something” reacts quickly to it.

If you remind somebody to do something, you tell them again so that they do not forget. “Remember” means “think of something again”.

für etw. zuständig sein

jmdn. daran erinnern, etw. zu tun

BS 5/2015

The phrase all loss and no gain means that your investment of time and money in something does not end up bringing a profit or any other benefits.

When a company cooks the books, it manipulates the figures in its financial reports and balance sheets in order to make its general finances seem better than they actually are.

außer Spesen nichts gewesen

die Bücher manipulieren

BS 5/2015

SKILL UP!

Improve your

BUSINESS VOCABULARY with our essential guide RECENT TOPICS:

With this issue

Emotional times, no. 22 (5/2013) l Property, no. 23 (6/2013) l Retailing, no. 24 (1/2014) l The language of innovation, no. 25 (2/2014) l Arts and culture, no. 26 (3/2014) l Insurance, no. 27 (4/2014) l The news media, no. 28 (5/2014) l Energy, no. 29 (6/2014) l Your hobbies, no. 30 (1/2015) l All about politics, no. 31 (2/2015) l The world of music, no. 32 (3/2015) l The language of law, no. 33 (4/2015) l

COMING UP: l

Design & Architecture, no. 35 (6/2015)

Zusätzliche sowie zurückliegende Ausgaben von SKILL UP! können Sie zusammen mit dem Sprachmagazin Business Spotlight nachbestellen: www.business-spotlight.de/einzelausgaben Tel. +49(0)89/8 56 81-16; E-Mail: leserservice@spotlight-verlag.de

For a full list of Skill Up! topics covered to date, go to www.business-spotlight.de/skill-up

5/2015

www.business-spotlight.de 55

LANGUAGE ENGLISH FOR . . .

Thinkstock editorial

In need of control: traffic in Tokyo

Traffic control

Bei hohem Verkehrsaufkommen würde es vielerorts ohne ein Leitsystem zu noch mehr Staus kommen. Sprachlich leitet Sie Evan Frendo durch den dichten Verkehr.

ost of us are familiar with the experience of driving a car — from the pleasure of speeding along a motorway to the frustrations of rush-hour traffic as we make our way to and from work with hundreds of other road users. Most of us are also aware that this traffic is managed and controlled, although it is easy to forget how close we are to an accident every time we sit in a car. Just think about the traffic flows at an intersection. This can be extremely

Exercise: Talking about traffic Match the words in the two columns to create common word partnerships. a) b) c) d) e)

rush warning speed road busy

limit intersection triangle hour markings Answers on page 66

56 www.business-spotlight.de

medium

complex, with very large numbers of vehicles and pedestrians navigating their way through it. At a busy intersection, there is not a lot of time or space for thinking. The whole system needs to be both efficient and safe. There are basically three ways to do this. First, we can create rules and guidelines so that everyone knows what

to do at an intersection; people decide when to move and where to go. Second, we can channel traffic, for example, with turn lanes or roundabouts, which limits where people can go. And third, we can use traffic signals to tell people when they can move. We can also use other devices, such as road markings or traffic signs. Sometimes, traffic control is temporary. A simple example of this is when your car breaks down. You take out your warning triangle and place it so that the other drivers can see it. At construction sites, traffic control can be more complicated, with cones, warning signs and speed limits helping to warn and guide the traffic. But the principle is still the same: the aim is to create a system that is efficient and safe for all to use. In many cities, CCTV is used to prevent traffic congestion. The authorities then divert traffic or change the speed of the flow as necessary. Modern vehicles are equipped with intelligent systems so that the car “knows” the local traffic situation and can advise the driver to change the route and speed if necessary. And in some cities, traffic authorities now monitor the environment for pollution and intervene to change the traffic flow in order to minimize the negative effects.

authority [O:(TQrEti] break down [)breIk (daUn] CCTV (closed circuit television) [)si: si: ti: (vi:] channel sth. [(tSÄn&l] cone [kEUn] construction site [kEn(strVkS&n saIt] device [di(vaIs] divert sth. [daI(v§:t] guideline [(gaIdlaIn] intersection [)IntE(sekS&n] monitor sth. [(mQnItE] pedestrian [pE(destriEn] pollution [pE(lu:S&n] roundabout [(raUndEbaUt] UK speed along sth. [)spi:d E(lQN] traffic congestion [(trÄfIk kEn)dZEstSEn] traffic signal [(trÄfIk )sIgn&l] turn(ing) lane [(t§:n(IN) leIn] vehicle [(vi:Ik&l] warning triangle [(wO:nIN )traIÄNg&l]

Behörde eine Panne haben Videoüberwachung etw. kanalisieren; lenken Pylon, (Leit-)Kegel Baustelle Vorrichtung, Gerät; hier: Maßnahme etw. umleiten Richt-, Leitlinie (Straßen-)Kreuzung etw. überwachen Fußgänger(in) Umweltverschmutzung, Schadstoffbelastung Kreisverkehr etw. entlangrasen Verkehrsstau Lichtzeichen, Ampel Abbiegespur Fahrzeug Warndreieck

5/2015

People authority [O:(TQrEti] driver [(draIvE] highway patrol [)haIweI pE(troUl*] US lollipop man/lady [(lQlipQp )mÄn/)leIdi] ifml. (US crossing guard [(krO:sIN gA:rd*]) oncoming traffic [)QnkVmIN (trÄfIk] passenger [(pÄsIndZE] pedestrian [pE(destriEn] road user [(rEUd )ju:zE] traffic cop [(trÄfIk kQp] ifml. traffic police [(trÄfIk pE)li:s] traffic warden [(trÄfIk )wO:d&n] (US meter attendant [(mi:t&r E)tendEnt*])

Behörde Fahrer(in) Autobahnpolizei Schülerlotse/-lotsin Gegenverkehr Fahrgast Fußgänger(in) Verkehrsteilnehmer(in) Verkehrspolizist(in) Verkehrspolizei Parkwächter(in), Politesse

Pedestrians pedestrian crossing Fußgängerüberweg [pE)destriEn (krQsIN] (US crosswalk [(krO:swO:k*]) traffic island [(trÄfIk )aIlEnd] Verkehrsinsel zebra crossing [(zebrE )krQsIN] UK Zebrastreifen

Road systems access road [(Äkses rEUd] Zubringerstraße artery [(A:tEri] Hauptverkehrsader avenue [(ÄvEnju:] Boulevard, Allee divided highway Schnellstraße [dI)vaIdId (haIweI] US dual carriageway doppelspurige [)dju:El (kÄrIdZweI] UK Schnellstraße expressway Schnellstraße [Ik(spresweI] US highway [(haIweI] US Schnellstraße, Autobahn intersection [)IntE(sekS&n] (Straßen-)Kreuzung junction [(dZVNkS&n] Kreuzung, Anschlussstelle major road [)meIdZE (rEUd] Hauptstraße minor road [)maInE (rEUd] Nebenstraße motorway [(mEUtEweI] Autobahn (US freeway [(fri:weI]) overpass [(EUvEpA:s] Überführung (traffic) lane [((trÄfIk) leIn] (Fahr-)Spur underpass [(VndEpA:s] Unterführung

For more information

www More job vocabulary can be found at

www.business-spotlight.de/vocabulary

Heavy traffic bottleneck [(bQt&lnek] Engstelle bumper-to-bumper [)bVmpE tE (bVmpE] „Stoßstange an Stoßstange“, extrem dichter Verkehr congestion [kEn(dZestSEn] Verkehrsstau gridlock [(grIdlQk] Verkehrskollaps rush hour [(rVS )aUE] Hauptverkehrszeit, Berufsverkehr stuck in traffic: be ~ [)stVk In (trÄfIk] im Stau stecken tailback [(teI&lbÄk] UK Rückstau traffic jam [(trÄfIk dZÄm] Verkehrsstau

Traffic control devices barricade [)bÄrI(keId] Absperrung message board [(mesIdZ bO:d] Anzeigetafel road markings [(rEUd )mA:kINz] Straßen-, Fahrbahnmarkierungen rumble strip [(rVmb&l strIp] Rüttelstreifen traffic cone [(trÄfIk kEUn] Verkehrs(leit)kegel, Pylon traffic lights [(trÄfIk laIts] Ampel(anlage) traffic signal [(trÄfIk )sIgn&l] Lichtzeichen, Ampel warning triangle [(wO:nIN )traIÄNg&l] Warndreieck

Controlling traffic flow channelling [(tSÄn&lIN] Lenkung, Steuerung crash barrier [(crÄS )bÄriE] Leitplanke (US guardrail [(gA:rdreI&l*]) diversion [daI(v§:S&n] UK Umleitung divert traffic [daI)v§:t (trÄfIk] den Verkehr umleiten reroute traffic [ri:)ru:t (trÄfIk] den Verkehr umleiten, umdirigieren roundabout [(raUndEbaUt] (US traffic circle Kreisverkehr [(trÄfIk )s§:k&l], rotary [(roUtEri*]) turn(ing) lane [(t§:n(IN) leIn] Abbiegespur

Controlling access barrier [(bÄriE] Sperre bollard [(bQlA:d] UK Poller toll [tEUl] Straßenbenutzungsgebühr, Maut toll booth [(tEUl bu:D] Mautstelle toll bridge [(tEUl brIdZ] gebührenpflichtige Brücke, Mautbrücke toll road [(tEUl rEUd] gebührenpflichtige Straße, Mautstraße toll tunnel [(tEUl )tVn&l] gebührenpflichtiger Tunnel, Mauttunnel turnpike [(t§:npaIk] US Mautstraße weight restriction [(weIt ri)strIkS&n] Gewichtsbeschränkung

WEBSITES Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (US): http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov The Highway Code (UK): https://www.gov.uk/browse/ driving/highway-code device [di(vaIs] Vorrichtung, Gerät; hier: Maßnahme manual [(mÄnjuEl] Leitfaden, Handbuch uniform [(ju:nIfO:m] einheitlich

Evan Frendo worked as a mechanical engineer for 11 years. He has been an author and trainer in ESP since 1993. Contact: evan.frendo@e4b.de

5/2015

Controlling speed accelerate [Ek(selEreIt] beschleunigen reduce speed [ri)dju:s (spi:d] die Geschwindigkeit verringern, das Tempo drosseln sleeping policeman [)sli:pIN pE(li:smEn] UK Bodenschwelle slow down [)slEU (daUn] langsamer fahren speed bump [(spi:d bVmp] Bodenschwelle Geschwindigkeitsübertretung, speeding [(spi:dIN] zu schnelles Fahren speed limit [(spi:d )lImIt] Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung, Tempolimit speed trap [(spi:d trÄp] Radarfalle speed up [)spi:d (Vp] beschleunigen, schneller fahren step on the gas [)step Qn DE (gÄs] ifml. Gas geben, aufs Gas treten * This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.

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LANGUAGE EMAIL

Editing and proofreading Niemand freut sich über unklare E-Mails voller Tippfehler. Deshalb rät Anna Hochsieder, nicht zu schnell auf „Senden“ zu klicken.

Check, check and check again: how to avoid mistakes

medium

David and Alan are planning to set up a telecommunications system for a country in Africa. Read David’s email to Alan. Then compare it with the improved version below.

Seven problems Subject: Tech specs Hi Alan Her’s the latest version of the technical specifcations for local government and service providers, which now also address environmental and safety concerns, which I would ask you to read carefully and get back to me with your feedback as soon as possible. I’ve highlighted the paragraph that where you need to add the information concerning wind speeds, thanks. David

1. T he subject line is too general and does not say what the email is about. 2. The email has two subjects, but consists of only one long paragraph. 3. The layout is unattractive, as the email is in one long block, with no blank lines. 4. The email contains typing errors. 5. The first sentence is far too long. 6. The first sentence contains two relative clauses, making it difficult to understand what each one refers to. 7. David’s two requests to Alan can easily be overlooked because they are hidden in long, complicated sentences.

Seven solutions Subject: Tech specs — your feedback and additions Hi Alan Here’s the latest version of the technical specifications, for the use of local government and service providers. The new version also addresses environmental and safety concerns. Please read the text carefully and get back to me with your feedback as soon as possible. You’ll see that I’ve highlighted one of the paragraphs. Please add the information concerning wind speeds there. Thanks in advance! David

www Improve your writing skills at www.business-spotlight.de/writing

Anna Hochsieder is a Munich-based teacher of English who writes regularly in Business Spotlight. Contact: a.hochsieder@googlemail.com

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1. Clearly state the topic of your email in the subject line. 2. Divide your message up into paragraphs — one for each new idea. 3. Insert a blank line between paragraphs for better readability. 4. Use a spellchecker, or proofread your email carefully. 5. Don’t put too much information in one sentence. 6. Don’t write sentences with more than one relative clause. 7. Clearly state what you want the recipient of your email to do. The speed of writing and sending emails can make us careless about editing and proofreading. Before you click “send”, read your message again and check it against our list of tips. BS address sth. [E(dres] etw. behandeln, aufgreifen blank line [)blÄNk (laIn] Leerzeile concerns [kEn(s§:nz] Anliegen, Belange edit sth. [(edIt] etw. redigieren highlight sth. [(haIlaIt] etw. hervorheben in advance [)In Ed(vA:ns] im Voraus proofread sth. [(pru:fri:d] etw. Korrektur lesen recipient [ri(sIpiEnt] Empfänger(in) relative clause [)relEtIv (klO:z] Relativsatz specs (specifications) [speks] ifml. (technische) Daten spellchecker [(speltSekE] Rechtschreibprüfung subject [(sVbdZekt] Betreff typing error [(taIpIN )erE] Tippfehler

5/2015

ENGLISH ON THE MOVE LANGUAGE

Lost luggage Ihr Gepäck ist unterwegs hängengeblieben? Ken Taylor verhilft Ihnen zum Ersatz der wichtigsten Dinge.

Airline representative: I’m really sorry about your missing luggage. My colleague has managed to trace it to Rome, where it was offloaded by mistake. I’m afraid we won’t be able to get it to your hotel until the day after tomorrow. Sabine: Oh, dear. I have two important meetings tomorrow, and only the jeans and T-shirt I’m wearing — and no toiletries. Airline representative: I’ve been given the authority to help you buy some emergency toiletries and clothing. This brochure shows you what you can claim from us. Sabine: Thank you. Let me see… It has a list of acceptable items I can buy and gives a maximum amount I can spend on each item. approval [E(pru:v&l] Bewilligung approve sth. [E(pru:v] etw. bewilligen attach sth. [E(tÄtS] etw. anheften, beifügen authority: have the ~ befugt sein [O:(TQrEti] claim form [(kleIm fO:m] Antragsformular claim sth. from sb. etw. von jmdm. [(kleIm frQm] verlangen continental hier: auf dem [)kQntI(nent&l] europäischen Festland geltend emergency [i(m§:dZEnsi] Notfall; hier: Notexpenses [Ik(spensIz] Auslagen item [(aItEm] Artikel itemize sth. [(aItEmaIz] etw. einzeln auflisten label sth. [(leIb&l] etw. etikettieren offload sth. [)Qf(lEUd] etw. ausladen purchase [(p§:tSEs] Einkauf receipt [ri(si:t] Quittung, Beleg reimbursable erstattungsfähig [)ri:Im(b§:sEb&l] tights [taIts] Strumpfhose(n) toiletries [(tOIlEtriz] Toilettenartikel trace sth. [treIs] etw. (zurück)verfolgen underwear [(VndEweE] Unterwäsche verification Überprüfung [)verIfI(keIS&n]

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Airline representative: That’s right. Save the receipts and attach them to your claim form, then send them to the address on the form. When it’s been approved, the money will be sent directly to your bank.

Toiletries Sabine: Thanks for helping me with this, Theresa. Theresa: No problem. What is it you need to get? Sabine: Toothbrush, toothpaste and some deodorant to start with. I don’t need soap or shampoo. I get those at the hotel. Theresa: Any make-up? Sabine: No, I don’t think so. I have the basics in my handbag.

Clothes Theresa: So what are we looking for? Sabine: Shoes, tights, underwear and a dress. Oh, and a blazer, too, I think. It’s quite cold in some of the offices I go to. Theresa: Do you know your sizes? We have different sizes here in the UK. Some shops label their clothes with both UK and continental sizes, but not all do. Sabine: Oh, I didn’t know that. My shoe size is 38. I wonder what that is here. Theresa: Why don’t I look it up on my phone? Here we are. It’s UK size 5. Sabine: What about dress sizes? I’m a size 36 in Germany. Theresa: That’s size 10 here. Sabine: Right. So now I know what I’m looking for.

Creatas

At the information desk

medium

Oh, dear: where’s my luggage?

The claim form Sabine: I’ve completed the sections about flight numbers and my personal details. But there are a couple of things I’m not sure about. What does “itemize your purchases” mean? Theresa: It means you need to list everything you’ve bought. Sabina: Right. And what’s “verification and approval”? Theresa: That’s for their internal use. You don’t need to write anything. Sabine: I don’t understand this: “Receipts must accompany all claims for reimbursable expenses.” Theresa: That means you must include a receipt for everything you claim. Sabine: These forms can be really difficult when English is your second language. Theresa: They can be difficult for native speakers, too. The wording is very BS formal and bureaucratic. Y ou can hear more on this topic on Business Spotlight Audio plus You can find exercises on this topic in Business Spotlight plus Ken Taylor is a communication consultant and author of 50 Ways to Improve Your Business English (Summertown). Contact: KTaylor868@aol.com

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LANGUAGE TEACHER TALK

Students are my inspiration

Wortschatz und Grammatik sind wichtig. Doch noch wichtiger ist die effiziente und pragmatische Anwendung von Sprache im Kontext, wie Ian McMaster vom

Sprach- und Kommunikationstrainer Ed Pegg erfuhr.

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Who is Ed Pegg? Ed Pegg is a business English trainer, teacher trainer and materials writer from London. He teaches the international business communication programme at the London School of English, where he helps global professionals to improve their communication skills for international business. He regularly speaks at international conferences and has written the starter level of the business English course In Company 3.0 for Macmillan. Website: www.londonschool.com Contact: edpegg@hotmail.com professionals [prE(feS&nElz] Fachleute

Current position Business English trainer at the London School of English. Home I live where I was born: Sutton in south-west London. My second home is Bochnia in southern Poland, where I used to live and where my wife is from. Languages spoken My native language is English. I can also speak Spanish and Polish, although not very well. When did you start teaching? My first job was teaching teenagers in Bochnia, Poland, in 2005. I began specializing in business English training in 2007, when I moved back to London. My first job was in a large Japanese bank. It was quite intimidating. What kind of language learner are you? I like to talk to people, so I’m not a fan of a heavily book-based approach

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or a strong focus on grammar learning. I like to talk, and when I don’t understand something, I ask questions. This auditory approach doesn’t work for everyone, but I’m comfortable with it.

say — and the potential impact that this may have in their professional context — I can help them to improve their ability to communicate and, thereby, their ability to do their job.

What is the role of the teacher? The teacher exists to facilitate learning and understanding. Most of the teacher’s job is done in preparation. You find the gaps in your learners’ knowledge, design activities that help them close those gaps and then support them while they do the work.

What are some of the key principles that promote effective language learning? The most important thing is repetition, but I also think contextualization is very important. If learners can experience new language in a context that is meaningful to them, it makes it easier to remember and recall that language in the future because it has been made accessible and meaningful.

What makes your classes special? Many of the learners at the London School of English already know quite a lot of grammar and vocabulary. However, they’re often unaware of the cultural and interpersonal impact of certain types of language. As a result, they commonly choose the language that’s easiest for them to produce, with no thought to the communicative impact. By helping learners analyse what they

accessible [Ek(sesEb&l] zugänglich auditory [(O:dItEri] akustisch; hier: auf dem Hören basierend contextualization Kontextualisierung [kEn)tekstjuElaI(zeIS&n] design sth. [di(zaIn] etw. konzipieren facilitate sth. [fE(sIlEteIt] etw. erleichtern gap [gÄp] Lücke; hier auch: Defizit impact [(ImpÄkt] (Aus-)Wirkung(en) intimidating einschüchternd [In(tImIdeItIN] recall sth. [ri(kO:l] sich an etw. erinnern

5/2015

Digital Vision

“There needs to be a greater focus on the meaning of language in context”

Ambitions and dreams I’d love to run my own language company in the future. I don’t think there’s anything like being your own boss.

Think about it: what impact are you having on others?

How do you think business English should be taught in future? There needs to be a greater focus on the meaning of language in context. Functional language is incredibly important for effective communication, but, in the past, this has often meant that we give learners lists of things they can say in a meeting, for example. What we don’t do is help learners understand what language is effective in certain situations and what is ineffective. I’d like to see more material focused on the intercultural and interpersonal use of language rather than on general intercultural awareness. If our students are aware of the best thing to say, they’ll be much more able to do business effectively.

them in class really easily. This is particularly important in business English, as many of the contexts in which my learners use English are not catered for in published materials.

Has any technology or tool made a difference to how you teach? Mobile phones and YouTube have made a real difference. It’s now possible to make videos, upload them and use

Who inspires you? My students are the source of most of my inspiration. One learner had never studied English before but was preparing to host a major meeting for his company. It was an uphill struggle, but he never gave up. His commitment and dedication to doing a seemingly impossible task is always in the back of my mind when I have my own struggles.

access [(Äkses] Zugang cater for sth. [(keItE fO:] sich um etw. kümmern; hier: behandeln commitment Engagement [kE(mItmEnt] dedication Hingabe; [)dedI(keIS&n] hier: Einsatz host sth. [hEUst] etw. veranstalten; hier: leiten unglaublich incredibly [In(kredEbli] link with sb. [(lINk wID] sich mit jmdm. vernetzen novel [(nQv&l] Roman quote [kwEUt] Zitat source [sO:s] Quelle uphill struggle etwa: ein hartes Stück [)VphIl (strVg&l] Arbeit

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Do you use social media in your classes? Apart from YouTube, I don’t use social media, but it has been massively important for my professional development. By linking with colleagues on Facebook and Twitter, I have access to a huge amount of knowledge and ideas that I would otherwise have missed. Favourite quote “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” (Simon Sinek, US author and management expert)

Must-read for teachers The Language of Business Meetings by Michael Handford. Must-read for fun The Hornblower series of novels by C. S. Forester.

What language or intercultural mistakes have made you — or your learners — laugh out loud? When I was in Poland, a student told me the story of his first business trip to the UK. A group of colleagues were talking and he needed to interrupt, but realized he didn’t know what to say. He took a risk and said, “Sorry, may I break you?” When I see him today, I BS still ask if I can break him.

Study tip It’s important to commit new language to the long-term memory, but this takes a long time. If you’re trying to learn new vocabulary, remember that repetition is more important than the amount you try to memorize. Keep a vocabulary diary or use a flashcard app on your phone. Find time to review the vocabulary regularly and, in the long term, you’ll remember the new words. But learning new vocabulary really does take a lot of effort. commit sth. to memory etwa: etw. im Gedächtnis [kE)mIt tE (memEri] verankern diary [(daIEri] Tagebuch; hier: (Vokabel-) Heft flashcard [(flÄSkA:d] Lernkarte mit Worten, Zahlen oder Bildern long-term memory Langzeitgedächtnis [)lQN t§:m (memEri] memorize sth. [(memEraIz] sich etw. einprägen review sth. [ri(vju:] etw. durchgehen

www For more on business English training,

see www.business-spotlight.de/teachers

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iStock

LANGUAGE LEGAL ENGLISH

Settling out of court Streitfälle lassen sich nicht nur vor Gericht, sondern häufig auch außergerichtlich regeln, advanced

wie Matt Firth erklärt.

he most cost-effective way to deal with a claim is to settle out of court. This may be possible without legal help. If not, a lawyer will attempt a settlement before issuing court proceedings. A pecuniary settlement involves the payment of money. A settlement in kind is one where payment is made with something other than money, such as property or goods. Settlements are still possible after proceedings have started, and either party may suggest a settlement. Any offer of a settlement should be marked “without prejudice”. This prevents the offer from being used as evidence. For example, if the claim is for €20,000 and the claimant offers to settle for €15,000, the defendant might try to use the letter in court as evidence of a weakness in the claimant’s case. This is not possible if the letter is clearly marked “without prejudice”. “Without prejudice” protection is available only if the communication

Reaching agreement: a way to save time and money

A “without prejudice” offer

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

Our client: Jonathan Burkart Accident in Canterbury store on 22 May 2015 We write further to our letter of 25 May 2015. To avoid the time involved in pursuing this case to trial, our client is willing to accept a lump payment of £10,000. This offer remains open for seven days from the date of this letter, following which our client has instructed us to commence proceedings. We look forward to receiving your reply. Yours faithfully Sidney Brewster

is part of a serious attempt to settle. Threats or clear admissions of liability will not usually be protected. For example, if a defendant writes to the claimant and admits that he owes money, but will deny this if taken to court, the court will likely accept the communication as evidence, even if it is marked BS “without prejudice”.

Exercise: Time to settle? Choose the words that best complete the text. Settlements are the most a) cost-effective / legitimate way to resolve a dispute. A lawyer will usually try to settle before b) seeking / issuing court proceedings. Settlements need not involve the payment of money; a(n) c) without prejudice / in-kind settlement involves the transferring of property or goods. If the correct wording is used in an offer to settle, it cannot be used as d) protection / evidence against the other party. This will not be the case, however, if the defendant admits e) liability / prejudice in a letter to the claimant. Answers on page 66

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admission [Ed(mIS&n] Eingeständnis admit sth. [Ed(mIt] etw. eingestehen claim [kleIm] (Rechts-)Anspruch, Klagebegehren claimant [(kleImEnt] Antragssteller(in), Kläger(in) commence sth. [kE(mens] etw. einleiten defendant [di(fendEnt] Antragsgegner(in), Beklagte(r) deny sth. [di(naI] etw. abstreiten evidence [(evIdEns] Beweis(e) further to [(f§:DE tu] bezugnehmend auf in kind [)In (kaInd] in Sachwerten issue court proceedings ein Gerichtsverfahren [)ISu: (kO:t prE)si:dINz] anstrengen liability [)laIE(bIlEti] Haftung; hier: Schuld lump payment einmalige Zahlung [)lVmp (peImEnt] pecuniary [pI(kju:niEri] finanziell pursue a case to trial einen Fall vor Gericht [pE)sju: E keIs tE (traIEl] bringen remain open [ri)meIn (EUpEn] bestehen bleiben settlement [(set&lmEnt] Vergleich settle out of court sich außergerichtlich [)set&l aUt Ev (kO:t] einigen taken sb. to court jmdn. verklagen [)teIk tE (kO:t] without prejudice ohne Obligo, ohne [wID)aUt (predZudIs] Verbindlichkeit

Matt Firth teaches legal English at the University of St Gallen and at the Management Center Innsbruck. Contact: matthew.firth@unisg.ch

5/2015

TALKING FINANCE LANGUAGE

Going for broke

Reich, aber nicht liquide — hoch verschuldet, aber liquide. Kann das überhaupt sein? Ian McMaster erklärt es Ihnen.

advanced

“In a pub, you can turn one form of

magine that you are in a pub in London with a good friend called Tim. It is his turn to buy the drinks, but he pulls the pockets out of his trousers to show they are empty and says, “sorry, but I’m skint, flat broke”. Broke? Tim owns an enormous house and has already paid off the mortgage. He has no other debts and earns a large salary. How can he possibly be broke? Just at this moment, Julie, another friend of yours, walks into the pub. She is up to her ears in debt to both her bank and her friends after she lost her job last year. She has no significant assets and has problems paying her bills and the interest on her debts. But she pulls out £20 and cheefully says, “just got my unemployment money — anyone want a beer”? What is going on here? How come rich Tim has no money, but poor Julie seems to be flush? This scenario illustrates the difference between two key concepts: liquidity and solvency. Tim has no solvency problems: he has a high net worth (the difference between his assets and liabilities). But he has a short-term liquidity problem: he has no cash on him in the pub. Julie, on the other hand, is insolvent, as her liabilities (her debts) exceed her assets. In other words, her net worth

5/2015

is negative. But Julie is liquid, as she has just received some money from the government. Indeed, we could say that she is about to turn one liquid asset (cash) into a very different form of liquid asset (beer). Tim could solve his short-term liquidity problem by borrowing money — either from you and Julie directly (if you trust him to pay you back) or from a bank. Julie, in spite of her current Going for broke alles aufs Spiel setzen, [)gEUIN fE (brEUk] ifml. aufs Ganze gehen assets [(Äsets] Vermögen(swerte) debt(s) [det(s)] Schulden extend and pretend Kreditverlängerung bei [Ik)stend En pri(tend] schlechter Bonität ifml. (wörtl.: verlängere und tue so, als ob) flat broke: be ~ total abgebrannt sein [)flÄt (brEUk] ifml. flush: be ~ [flVS] ifml. gut bei Kasse sein how come... wie kann es sein, dass... [)haU (kVm] ifml. insolvent [In(sQlvEnt] zahlungsunfähig interest [(IntrEst] Zins(en) liabilities [)laIE(bIlEtiz] Verbindlichkeiten mortgage [(mO:gIdZ] Hypothek net worth [)net (w§:T] Nettovermögen, Eigenkapital pay sth. off [)peI (Qf] etw. abbezahlen, tilgen put sth. off [)pUt (Qf] etw. ver-, hinausschieben short-term [)SO:t (t§:m] kurzfristig skint [skInt] UK ifml. blank, pleite solvency [(sQlvEnsi] Zahlungsfähigkeit unemployment money Arbeitslosengeld [)VnIm(plOImEnt )mVni] up to one‘s ears in debt: bis über beide Ohren be ~ [)Vp tE wVnz verschuldet sein )IEz In (dets] ifml. write sth. off [)raIt (Qf] etw. abschreiben

Stockbyte

liquid asset into a very different form”

Empty pockets: but he is so rich!

liquidity, has a much bigger problem. She has no idea how she will be able to pay back her debts unless she gets a new job quickly. Of course, Julie’s bank and her friends also have a problem if she can’t pay back her debts. In a worst-case scenario, they might have to write off some or all of the debt. Or they could put off the date by which Julie has to pay back the debt (a strategy informally called “extend and pretend” in cases where it is highly unlikely that the debt will ever be paid back). Another creative option would be for Tim to take over some or all of Julie’s debt. Julie could then pay Tim back when she gets a job. Anyway, as Julie has offered to buy some beers, I suggest the three of you sit down and try to find a solution that you can all agree on. Cheers! BS Ian McMaster is editor-in-chief of Business Spotlight. Read his weekly blog on global business at www.business-spotlight.de/blogs Contact: i.mcmaster@spotlight-verlag.de

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LANGUAGE SHORT STORY

The story of a lifetime? Or maybe not...

Too good to be true Dass alles so reibungslos verlaufen würde, hätte er sich nie träumen lassen. Der Erfolg scheint medium iStock

ihm sicher — wäre da bloß nicht dieser Anruf gewesen. Von James Schofield

“S

hall I get you a taxi?” Richard asked. He turned up the collar of his cashmere coat against the dirty November wind blowing down the London street, outside the restaurant they’d just left in Covent Garden. “I’ll take the bus,” Annie answered. “Let me walk you to the Strand then.” She shrugged her shoulders. “If you want. You can get your taxi from there.” Richard had already thought of that. As they walked, he tried to take her arm, but she shook herself free. Not much longer, he thought. Stay nice. At the lights where she had to cross the road, he stopped. “Well, goodbye then. I… I’m sorry it ended like this. But it’s for the best.” He thought about giving her a last kiss, but her fierce, pale face stopped him. She nodded. “Probably. By the way, I should tell you one thing…” “Taxi!” Richard shouted quickly, waving at a black cab. It stopped and he climbed gratefully into the warm

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interior. “Take care!” he said. Strange, he thought. She doesn’t seem particularly sad. Cold, but not sad. He was glad she wasn’t crying. That was always so embarrassing. “Chelsea, please. 17 Smith Street.” As the cab drove off, he relaxed for the first time all day. Thank God that was over! At 55, he was too old for this kind of thing. A pity that he couldn’t write the article he’d planned, but that bastard lawyer had left him no choice. Perhaps he and Miriam should go for a holiday somewhere nice and warm, like Mustique. It would give poor Annie time to get over him. Richard Olsen was a journalist — a financial journalist. Six months earlier, he’d started researching an investment company, Hawksmoor Trading Ltd. It was a difficult organization to investigate. Their speciality was ethical investments in Africa, which meant that the diamonds they traded were certified as coming from legitimate

sources and that the rare metals were from well-managed mines with happy employees. Best of all, their return on investment was phenomenal. Quarter for quarter, they showed profits of between 30 and 50 per cent. Big investors begged to be allowed to give them more money. “If something seems too good to be true,” he told the financial editor of

collar [(kQlE] Kragen embarrassing [Im(bÄrEsIN] peinlich, unangenehm fierce [fIEs] grimmig financial editor Finanzredakteur(in) [faI(nÄnS&l )edItE] lawyer [(lO:jE] Anwalt/Anwältin legitimate [lI(dZItEmEt] rechtmäßig, legal lights [laIts] hier: Ampel Ltd [(lImItId] UK etwa: GmbH quarter [(kwO:tE] Quartal rare metals [)reE (met&lz] Seltene Metalle research sth. [ri(s§:tS] Recherchen über etw. einholen return on investment (ROI) Kapitalrendite [ri)t§:n Qn In(vestmEnt] source [sO:s] Quelle Strand: the ~ [strÄnd] Straße in London take care [)teIk (keE] mach’s gut walk sb. [wO:k] jmdn. begleiten

5/2015

“This is going to be big! Thanks to you,

the newspaper he worked for, “then it probably is!” He began collecting information. A geologist who’d been fired from a mine in Zambia showed him horrifying pictures of working conditions. He flew to Angola and found that the company’s diamond trade was based on blood diamonds: stones dug up illegally and used to finance wars in the region. They were bought by middlemen, given a fake certificate and sold to Hawksmoor at a fraction of what they were worth. But every time he thought he was getting somewhere, his source would dry up. Richard became increasingly frustrated and was about to give up when he met Annie Hart, a junior secretary at Hawksmoor with a strong interest in the environment. “They’re destroying everything they touch in Africa,” she agreed. “We have to stop them!” Richard explained that he needed documentation to prove his claims. “No problem,” she answered. Her being attractive was a bonus, of course, and after a time, he arranged for their meetings to take place in a small hotel in Mayfair. He showed her

big [bIg] ifml. hier: eine große Sache divorce sb. [dI(vO:s] sich von jmdm. scheiden lassen dry up [)draI (Vp] versiegen exposé [ek(spEUzeI] Enthüllungsstory fraction [(frÄkS&n] Bruchteil freelance [(fri:lA:ns] freiberuflich handcuffs [(hÄndkVfs] Handschellen HR (human resources) Personalabteilung [)eItS (A:] intimate [(IntImEt] intim, sehr privat junior secretary Nachwuchssekretär(in) [)dZu:niE (sekrEtEri] middleman [(mId&lmÄn] Zwischenhändler raid [reId] Razzia senior directors die Geschäftsführung, [)si:niE dE(rektEz] der Vorstand sincere [sIn(sIE] aufrichtig sue sb. [sju:] jmdn. verklagen taste [teIst] hier: Vorliebe

5/2015

any new information he’d uncovered, she gave him the documents that she’d copied and then they went to bed. Richard could hardly believe his luck. He began writing an exposé of the company that would lead to it being investigated when published. “This is going to be big! Thanks to you,” he told Annie, “I might end up winning awards. You’re fantastic!” So the lawyer’s phone call that morning came as a big surprise. His name was Adam Kingston, he said, and he wanted to discuss Hawksmoor Trading. “We have nothing to discuss,” Richard said. “You’ll find out my opinion of Hawksmoor in the newspapers soon enough.” “That would be a bad idea, Mr Olsen. Because then Mrs Olsen would have to learn about Ms Hart…” Richard rapidly changed his mind. His problem was that if Miriam found out about Annie, she’d divorce him. She’d warned him of that when they’d married. As a result, Richard had always been careful to keep his little affairs secret. Miriam was the one with the real money and, although his salary was good, Richard had expensive tastes. The visit to Kingston was short. The photographs he had of Richard and Annie were unquestionably intimate. Richard agreed not to write an article and then rang Annie to arrange a last meeting. Understandably, she was angry. It had been a rough day for her, she said. She’d been told by HR to clear her desk in ten minutes and was then escorted by security from the building. And now Richard didn’t want to see her any more. “And you’re not going to write about what we discovered?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Annie. I was always honest about Miriam.” “So I’ve lost my job for nothing!” “And I feel terrible about that,” he said, looking sincere. “I really do.” He ordered himself another cognac and then paid the bill. … “Darling! Wasn’t that the company you were investigating?” asked Miriam a few weeks later. Richard came off the balcony of their hotel room to find her watching CNN and a report of a police raid on the Hawksmoor offices. Senior directors were filmed being led out in handcuffs. “Arrests followed this morning’s sensational report in The Guardian newspaper by freelance investigative journalist Annie Hart,” the reporter said. “Annie, what led you to...” After Miriam went down to the pool, he called Annie. “That was my story! You never told me you were a journalist. I’ll sue you! You have no right...” “You didn’t want it, Richard,” answered Annie coolly. “So sue me. Speak to my lawyer.” “I will! Who is he?” “Oh, you know him already. Adam Kingston. Shall I ask him to give you BS another call?” BS

Language point

I might end up winning awards”

The term black cab is often used to refer to London taxis. Traditionally, these taxis, which are often regarded as a symbol of the city, were black. Today, they can be found in a range of colours. London cab drivers have to pass an extensive test called “The Knowledge” to prove that they know their way round the city.

Y ou can listen to this short story on Business Spotlight Audio

James Schofield is co-author of the Double Dealing series. You can find more of his stories and his blog at http://jrtschofield.blogspot.de

www.business-spotlight.de 65

LANGUAGE PRODUCTS

What’s new?

Sie wollen noch tiefer ins Englische eintauchen? Wir haben uns für Sie nach neuen Produkten umgesehen.

medium

Books Wise Words: Politics, Business, Small Talk 50 Key Expressions and Business Idioms Small talk is important in business communication — and it doesn’t have to be about the weather. Even politics aren’t taboo: many political terms are used when talking about business, as this book by former Business Spotlight deputy editor Deborah Capras shows. Key terms are translated into German. Deborah Capras (wise words media), €4.99 (Kindle €2.99; iBook €5.99)

How to Deal with Difficult People If all your colleagues and your boss were pleasant and easy to work with, your workplace would be practically perfect. Unfortunately, few workplaces are perfect, which is why this book is so useful. It explains what makes some people so difficult and provides advice on how to stay calm, react unemotionally and develop strategies for dealing with people who behave badly and have poor attitudes. Gill Hasson (Capstone/Wiley), €14.90

Biography

deputy editor [)depjUti (edItE] stellvertretende(r) Chefredakteur(in)

Road to Power The subtitle of this book is How GM’s Mary Barra Shattered the Glass Ceiling. Barra (see Business Spotlight 3/2014), who has been CEO of General Motors (GM) since 2013, is the first woman to head a major car company. This book follows her career, from the factory floor, to intern, to engineer and product designer, all the way to the top role at the global car manufacturer. Laura Colby (Bloomberg Press/Wiley), €26.90

Why People (Don’t) Buy The launch of a new product is usually preceded by careful research of the market and the development of marketing strategies. To be successful, marketing managers should consider the reasons why consumers do not buy a product. They also need to be able to predict which marketing actions will change consumer behaviour. Based on scientific publications and case studies, this book focuses on these two issues. Amitav Chakravarti, Manoj Thomas (Palgrave Macmillan), £21.99

CEO (chief executive officer) Vorstandsvorsitzende(r) [)si: i: (EU] engineer [)endZI(nIE] Ingenieur(in) factory floor [)fÄktri (flO:] Werkhalle gläserne Decke, unsichtbare glass ceiling [)glA:s (si:lIN] Aufstiegsbarriere intern [(Int§:n] Praktikant(in) shatter sth. [(SÄtE] hier: überwinden

issue [(ISu:] Sachverhalt launch [lO:ntS] (Markt-)Einführung precede sth. [pri(si:d] etw. vorausgehen predict sth. [pri(dIkt] etw. vorhersagen research [ri(s§:tS] Recherche(n)

Solutions Vocabulary (pp. 46–47): Exercise 1 1–b; 2–b; 3–a

Exercise 2 a) railway; b) delayed; c) newsagent; d) beverage; e) passengers; f) officer; g) offices; h) return; i) ticket; j) fare; k) departure; l) platform; m) arrival

66 www.business-spotlight.de

Grammar at Work (p. 50): a) Can you tell me how you handle criticism? b) Could you describe what success means to you? (Other answers are possible.)

Translation (p. 52): a) Mein Chef / Meine Chefin hat hervorragende Führungsqualitäten.

b) They extinguished the flames within one hour.

English for… traffic control (pp. 56–57): a) b) c) d) e)

rush hour warning triangle speed limit road markings busy intersection

Legal English (p. 62): a) cost-effective b) issuing c) in-kind d) evidence e) liability

Language Focus (p. 83): a) true b) false c) true

5/2015

KEY WORDS LANGUAGE

Listen and learn! You can download an MP3 file of this Key Words list from our website.

Vocabulary trainer

Use our Key Words list to learn vocabulary from the current Business Spotlight. The definitions will help you understand the words — and build your vocabulary.

Nouns and noun phrases commuter

a person who regularly goes to and from work by car or public transport

Pendler(in)

filing system

the manner in which documents are placed and kept in folders

Ablagesystem

haulage company UK

a company that transports goods

Speditions-, Transportunternehmen

heads

the side of a coin that has an image of a head on it

Kopf (Münze)

maiden voyage

the very first journey of a new ship

Jungfernfahrt

quarter

a period of three months

Quartal

tails

the side of a coin that does not have an image of a head on it

Zahl (Münze)

Verbs breed sth.

to keep animals, controlling and organizing their reproduction

etw. züchten

bug sth.

to listen to somebody’s conversation with a hidden microphone

etw. abhören

cease

to stop happening

aufhören

insert sth.

to put something into something

etw. einfügen

offload sth.

to empty something (from a container, lorry, ship, etc.)

etw. entladen

toss sth.

to throw something

etw. werfen

vex sb.

to annoy somebody or make somebody angry

jmdn. ärgern, plagen

Adjectives and adverbs blinded

not being able to see for a short time, for example after having looked directly at the sun

geblendet

far-fetched

difficult to believe

abwegig, weit hergeholt

long-standing

having existed for a long time

langjährig

reimbursable

repayable, refundable, for example expenses, taxes

erstattungsfähig

standardized

made with the same features, quality, etc.

genormt

unresolved

not yet solved or answered

ungelöst

Idioms and expressions all right: find sb. ~

to find the way to somebody’s office or house easily

den Weg zu jmdm. gut finden

behaviour: be on one’s best ~

to behave as well as one can

sich von seiner besten Seite zeigen

carpet: sweep sth. under the ~

to ignore or conceal something that is embarrassing or difficult in the hope that it will be forgotten

etw. unter den Teppich kehren

in bulk

in large numbers or amounts

in großen Mengen

redundancy: take ~

leave a company voluntarily aus einem Unternehmen ausscheiden

taken for a ride: be ~ ifml. to be deceived or cheated

verschaukelt werden

www Subscribers to Business Spotlight can download a PDF of these key words as well as a complete

vocabulary list (English–German) for each magazine at www.business-spotlight.de/words

5/2015

www.business-spotlight.de 67

Prized profession Wie schafft es Finnland, bei den Pisa-Studien immer wieder so gut abzuschneiden? Hat das Land einfach nur die besseren Lehrer und die fleißigeren Schüler? Oder liegt es am Bildungssystem überhaupt? David Crouch versucht, Antworten auf diese Fragen zu finden.

68 www.business-spotlight.de

advanced

5/2015

TEACHING CAREERS

Getty Imagest

n a quiet classroom decorated with the joyful creations of small children, Ville Sallinen is learning about what makes Finland’s schools the envy of the world. Sallinen, 22, is teaching a handful of eight-year-olds how to read. He is nearing the end of a short placement at the Viikki Teacher Training School during his five-year master’s degree in primary school teaching. The training school in eastern Helsinki describes itself as a laboratory for student teachers. Here, Sallinen can try out the theories he has learned at the university to which the school is affiliated. It’s the equivalent to university teaching hospitals for medical students. “This is one of the ways we show how much we respect teaching. It is as important as training doctors,” says the school’s principal, Kimmo Koskinen. Welcome to a country where teaching is a highly prized profession. Fin-

land’s teachers have kept the nation near the top of the influential Pisa performance rankings since they were first published, in 2001. This has led to a flood of educational tourists — teachers wanting to learn from the Finnish experience.

teaching at Helsinki University. The high-level training is the basis that gives young teachers a great deal of autonomy to choose what methods they use in the classroom. This is a strong contrast to England, Krokfors says, where she feels teaching is 4

Finland is going through a deep

affiliated: be ~ to sth. etw. angeschlossen sein [E(fIlieItId] applicant [(ÄplIkEnt] Bewerber(in) beef [bi:f] ifml. Nörgelei; hier: Negativpunkt competition Wettbewerb, Konkurrenz[)kQmpE(tIS&n] kampf degree [di(gri:] Abschluss; hier: Studiengang educational pädagogisch, Bildungs[)edju(keIS&nEl] envy: be the ~ of the weltweit beneidet world [(envi] werden (envy Neid) performance ranking Leistungsrangliste [pE(fO:mEns )rÄNkIN] placement [(pleIsmEnt] UK Praktikum primary school Grundschule [(praImEri sku:l] UK principal [(prInsEp&l] Rektor(in) prized [praIzd] geschätzt teaching hospital Lehrkrankenhaus [(ti:tSIN )hQspIt&l] while [waI&l] hier: solange

economic crisis, and there are financial pressures on schools, just as there are on the rest of the public sector. But the five-year master’s degree for primary school teachers is not in question. Competition to study there is extremely strong — only seven per cent of applicants in Helsinki were accepted this year, leaving more than 1,400 disappointed. “The beef in the Finnish teacher training system is the time that students have to learn, and while politicians are happy for Finland to produce good teachers, that’s OK,” says Leena Krokfors, professor of

Highly valued: teaching Finnish children

CAREERS TEACHING

“Teachers in Finland are autonomous professionals, respected for making a difference to young people’s lives” “somewhere between administration and giving tests to students”. In Finland, teachers are largely free from external requirements such as inspection, standardized testing and government control. School inspections were scrapped in the 1990s. “Teachers need to have this high-quality education so they really do know how to use the freedom they are given, and learn to solve problems in a research-based way,” Krokfors says. “The most important thing we teach them is to take pedagogical decisions and [make] judgements for themselves.” In Britain, by contrast, academies, private schools and free schools can hire people to teach even if they are not qualified. The Labour Party claimed in 2013 that becoming a teacher in Britain was now easier than getting a job flipping burgers. For a small, agrarian and relatively poor nation, educating all of its youth equally well was seen as the best way to catch up with other industrialized countries, according to Pasi Sahlberg, a Finnish educationist at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, who has done much to popularize Finland’s methods abroad. The Finnish dream, as he calls it, was for all children, regardless of family background or personal conditions, to have a good school in their community — a focus that has remained unchanged for the past four decades. In the early phase, during the 1970s and ’80s, there was strict central control over schools. Stateprescribed curricula, external school

70 www.business-spotlight.de

inspections and detailed regulation gave the Finnish government strict control over schools and teachers. In a second phase, from the early 1990s, however, Finland began to create a new culture of education characterized by trust between educational authorities and schools, and by local control, professionalism and autonomy. Schools became responsible for their own curriculum planning and student assessment, while state inspections were stopped. This required teachers to have high academic credentials and be treated like professionals. Krokfors adds her own explanation for the high regard in which teachers are held: “If we look back at Finland’s history, teachers have always been seen as the people who brought civilization to small villages” as the country modernized in the middle of the last century, she says. Not only is teacher education in Finland strongly research-based, but all the students on the primary school master’s course are involved in research themselves — something that makes Patrik Scheinin, dean of the faculty, very proud. The course aims to produce “didacticians” who can develop research-based teaching methods, he says. “We want to produce cognitive dissonance. The task of a good didactician is to disturb the thinking of someone who assumes they know everything about teaching,” Scheinin says. “Just because you’ve been doing something for 20 years and it works for you doesn’t mean it works for other teachers, other students or in other subjects.”

In the city centre at Helsinki Normal Lyceum, another of the 11 university teacher training schools spread around the country, student teachers are running day-long multidisciplinary workshops for pupils aged 13 to 19. In one, Maria Hyväri, 24, is discussing the educational methods of John Dewey, Rudolf Steiner and Maria Montessori, and asking pupils to think critically about teaching methods at the school. Classes are

A CLOSER LOOK John Dewey (1859–1952), Rudolf Steiner (1861– 1925) and Maria Montessori (1870–1952) pioneered new educational methods. Dewey was an American philosopher and educational reformer whose focus was on educational democracy. Steiner was an Austrian mystic, architect and philosopher, while Montessori was an Italian physician, educator and innovator. educational pädagogisch, Bildungs[)edju(keIS&nEl] physician [fI(zIS&n] Arzt/Ärztin pioneer sth. [)paIE(nIE] für etw. den Weg bereiten

agrarian [E(greEriEn] landwirtschaftlich (geprägt) assessment [E(sesmEnt] Beurteilung assume sth. [E(sju:m] von etw. ausgehen catch up with sb./sth. den Anschluss an [)kÄtS (Vp wID] jmdn./etw. finden credentials [krE(denS&lz] Referenzen; hier: Qualifikationen curriculum (pl. curricula) Lehrplan [kE(rIkjUlEm] dean [di:n] Dekan(in) educate sb. [(edjukeIt] jmdn. unterrichten, bilden educational authority Schulbehörde [edju)keIS&nEl O:(TQrEti] educationist Pädagoge/Pädagogin [)edju(keIS&nIst] faculty [(fÄk&lti] Fakultät, Fachbereich flip sth. [flIp] etw. rumdrehen, wenden graduate school of Graduiertenfakultät education [)grÄdZuEt für Pädagogik sku:l Ev )edju(keIS&n] inspection [In(spekS&n] Überprüfung; hier: Hospitation prescribe sth. [pri(skraIb] etw. vorschreiben professional [prE(feS&nEl] Experte/Expertin, Fachkraft regard: hold sb. in high ~ jmdn. hoch achten [ri(gA:d] regardless of unabhängig von [ri(gA:dlEs Qv] research [ri(s§:tS] Forschung, Recherche(n) scrap sth. [skrÄp] etw. abschaffen student [(stju:d&nt] hier: Schüler(in)

5/2015

Fuse

For more information BOOK Finnish Lessons 2.0: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland?, Pasi Sahlberg (Teachers College Press)

Eager: highly motivated teachers mean motivated pupils

mixed and there is no streaming. “I want to make a difference,” she says. “There are all these new teaching tools and ideas, and it’s great because here we can try different things — it makes me feel inspired.” Because the school is full of student teachers, pupils are “used to being experimented on,” she says, although sometimes, they might get a bit tired of the constant rotation. Hyväri is in the middle of an undergraduate degree in French and English, but she has chosen to take an additional pedagogical year in the middle of her five-year degree. Through this, she will qualify as a secondary school teacher. During this year, she spends about half her time in the school, and half in the university’s teaching department. For Olli Määttä, a teacher trainer at the school, Finland’s Pisa scores are a by-product of the system rather than a central focus. “When we got the results, we were thinking: if we are that good, how bad are the others? We were taken by surprise,” he says. It showed that the country was doing some things right, he says, and vindicated the decision in the 1970s to make primary school teacher education a university degree. Teacher training schools are highly sought after by parents, Määttä says.

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Educationists point to historically specific factors that have helped to form Finland’s schools, such as the country’s small population, its relatively late dash for modernity and broad acceptance of values such as equality and collaboration that are part of its version of the Nordic welfare model. But the decision to make teaching an advanced degree subject has given teaching a high profile in Finnish society. “Teachers in Finland are autonomous professionals, respected for making a difference to young people’s lives,” says Sahlberg. As a result, those who choose to train are devoted to teaching for life, he says. “My concern is with fast-track teacher preparation programmes turning teaching into something you do for a while and move on, and almost anyone can do it.” Back in the Viikki primary school, Ville Sallinen says he got the teaching bug eight years ago while still at school, when he started coaching football. That created in him an interest in working with children. He is not particularly academic, he says, but like many students, his passion for teaching got him on to the master’s course. “I would like to have more experience in schools like what we are having now,” he says. “Next year we have no practical element. It is good

to get experience in a real school.” At the end of each day, he sits down with his mentor, Tunja Tuominen, to deconstruct teaching moments and to theorize about them. Says Tuominen: “Student teachers come here like little chicks, mouths wide open and BS eager to learn.” © Guardian News & Media 2015

advanced degree etwa: Masterstudium [Ed)vA:nst di(gri:] bug: get the... ~ [bVg] von der ... Leidenschaft gepackt werden (bug Bazillus) by-product [(baI )prQdVkt] Nebenprodukt chick [tSIk] Küken, (Vogel-)Junges coach sth. [kEUtS] Trainer(in) für etw. sein collaboration Zusammenarbeit [kE)lÄbE(reIS&n] dash for sth. [(dÄS fO:] Jagd, Ansturm auf etw.; hier: Bemühen um etw. deconstruct sth. etw. zerlegen; [)di:kEn(strVkt] hier: analysieren department [di(pA:tmEnt] Fakultät, Fachbereich devoted: be ~ to doing etw. mit Begeisterung sth. [di(vEUtId] tun (devoted hingebungsvoll) eager [(i:gE] begierig fast-track [(fA:st trÄk] Schnell-; hier: im Schnelldurchgang high profile: give sth. a ~ etw. einen hohen Stellen[)haI (prEUfaI&l] wert einräumen make a difference etw. bewirken [)meIk E (dIfrEns] score [skO:] Punktzahl; hier: Ergebnis secondary school weiterführende Schule [(sekEndEri sku:l] streaming [stri:mIN] Einteilung in Leistungsgruppen undergraduate degree etwa: Bachelorstudium [VndE)grÄdZuEt di(gri:] (undergraduate Student(in) vor dem ersten akademischen Grad) vindicate sth. [(vIndIkeIt] etw. rechtfertigen welfare model Sozialstaatsmodell [(welfeE )mQd&l]

www.business-spotlight.de 71

CAREERS TIPS AND TRENDS

All in a day’s work Können nur Informatiker programmieren? Worauf muss man in Stellenangeboten achten, damit der Job hält, was er verspricht? Margaret Davis sagt es Ihnen.

medium

Networking

Stay connected

iStock

eeping in touch with people in your field is important, especially if you are looking for a job. But you need to stay in contact regularly, and not just when you need help. Author Selena Rezvani told Forbes that contacts are less likely to help if they are approached only in difficult situations. “Investing time in your network when things are stable makes you real and human to those who know you and makes them far more likely to vouch for you when times are tough,” Rezvani explains. in touch: keep ~ [In (tVtS] network [(netw§:k] stable [(steIb&l] vouch for sb. [(vaUtS fO:]

You need them: stay in contact with people

in Kontakt bleiben (soziales) Netzwerk stabil, sicher sich für jmdn. verbürgen

Away from your desk Titanic Belfast

Coding’s cool

riting computer programs — known as “coding” — used to be reserved for IT professionals. Not any more. Today, children as young as seven are learning programming languages, and coding has also become an important skill for jobseekers. “I equate coding to reading and writing and basic literacy,” says Adam Enbar, of the Flatiron School in New York. “Not everyone needs to be Shakespeare, just as not everyone needs to be an amazing developer,” Enbar told The Wall Street Journal. “But we’re entering a world where every job, if not already, will be technical.”

amazing [E(meIzIN] ifml. toll, fantastisch equate sth. to sth. etw. mit etw. [i(kweIt tu] gleichsetzen literacy [(lIt&rEsi] Lese- und Schreib fähigkeit; hier: Kenntnisse professional [prE(feS&nEl] Experte/Expertin

ven though the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage, people in Belfast are proud that it was built there. The spectacular Titanic Belfast museum tells the story of the tragic ship and its continued impact on the life of the Northern Irish capital. www.titanicbelfast.com

impact [(ImpÄkt] Auswirkung(en) maiden voyage [)meId&n (vOIIdZ] Jungfernfahrt (voyage Seereise)

NITB

Trend

Cool coders: learning programming

Fuse

5/2015

How to... Avoid applying for a bad job he job looked great on paper and the job interview went well. Unfortunately, once you started working, it all went pear-shaped. Blogger Peter Harris Not what you expected: learn to (Workopolis.com) knows all about it. spot job disasters early The careers columnist has some advice on what to look for in job advertisements so that you do not apply for a bad job. reasons. However, one that I have repeatedly seen is that the position is to replace a current employee who l Double job titles. “I’ve seen job postings for a ‘Bilindoesn’t yet know they’re being replaced.” gual Office Admin/Translator’,” Harris writes. “What does this mean? It means they want to hire someone l You’ve seen this job posting before — several times. on as an office admin and yet have them translate “Unless it’s for a traditionally high turnover position all of the company’s communications at the same like some in the retail and hospitality industries, this time — rather than paying for an actual translator.” is usually a sign that the company can’t keep people. Approach with caution. There’s a reason employees l Listing earning potential, not actual earnings. “Someleave their jobs.” times positions listed as ‘events’ or ‘marketing’ are actually sales roles. The worst of these are the ones that ask you to purchase products upfront yourself apply for sth. [E(plaI fO:] sich für etw. bewerben in order to resell them to others before you see any hospitality industry [)hQspI(tÄlEti )IndEstri] Gastgewerbe job interview [(dZQb )IntEvju:] Bewerbungsgespräch profit,” Harris warns. job posting [(dZQb )pEUstIN] Stellenausschreibung l Long periods of unpaid training. “This can be a techjob title [(dZQb )taIt&l] Tätigkeitsbezeichnung office admin [)QfIs (ÄdmIn] UK ifml. Bürokaufmann/-frau nique to simply get you to work for free. It can also pear-shaped: go ~ [(peE SeIpt] UK ifml. schiefgehen mean that the company has a poor working environpurchase sth. [(p§:tSEs] etw. erwerben put up with sth. [)pUt (Vp wID] etw. hinnehmen, ertragen ment with a high turnover rate, so they want to see if retail industry [(ri:teI&l )IndEstri] Einzelhandel(sbranche) you’ll stick around and what you’ll put up with before sales role [(seI&lz rEUl] hier: Vertriebsposition stick around [)stIk E(raUnd] ifml. (da)bleiben they actually start paying you.” turnover rate [(t§:nEUvE reIt] Fluktuationsrate l The company is not named in the job posting. “Emupfront [)Vp(frVnt] im Voraus ployers can post anonymous job postings for many working environment [(w§:kIN In)vaI&rEnmEnt] Arbeitsumfeld

$2.9 million

s an MBA worth the high cost? Yes, over time, according to the research organization QS (Quacquarelli Symonds). “After 20 years, the average return on investment for a European full-time MBA is $2.9 million [€2.6 million],” QS writes in its 2015 “Return on Investment Report”.

The report adds that “the average salary for a European MBA graduate is $91,586, compared to $45,500 for a master’s graduate”. graduate [(grÄdZuEt] MBA (Master of Business Administration) [)em bi: (eI] over time [)EUvE (taIm] research organization [ri(s§:tS O:gEnaI)zeIS&n] return on investment (ROI) [ri)t§:n Qn In(vestmEnt]

Absolvent(in) postgraduales Managementstudium hier: langfristig Forschungsinstitut Rentabilität

www Keep up to date with career trends at

www.business-spotlight.de/careers

5/2015

www.business-spotlight.de 73

iStock

Enough circles: time to return to hierarchy?

Bring back the bosses Sind Sie die st채ndigen Anweisungen von Vorgesetzten leid? Dann schaffen Sie sie doch einfach ab! Wie? Mit Holakratie. Edward Helmore erkl채rt diese Unternehmensphilosophie, die von vielen gewollt wird, aber

74 www.business-spotlight.de

advanced

5/2015

Blend Imagest

aus unterschiedlichen Gr체nden nicht bei jedem Anklang findet.

HOLACRACY MANAGEMENT

ick of the boss? Tired of instruction? As many as 300 companies in the US are embracing holacracy, a self-managing business philosophy that some say can make companies more robust, innovative and better attuned to the needs of customers. However, earlier this year, the Amazon-owned online shoe retailer Zappos.com, a leading supporter of no-boss, non-hierarchical governance, was shocked by a mass employee defection. Almost 14 per cent, or 210 of its 1,500 employees, took redundancy rather than give up familiar titles or positions and adapt to a holacratic system of “circles” in which employees decide for themselves how to do their job, also known as “energizing a role”.

The defections have not discouraged Zappos chief executive, Tony Hsieh, from adopting a system that’s designed to replace human-imposed, top-down hierarchies with flattened-

Is holacracy a bold step toward self-management or a progressive kindergarten? out holarchies. In a 4,700-word letter to employees, Hsieh said he believed that the holacratic system empowered employees “to act more like entrepreneurs”. But the US business community remains unconvinced: is Zappos — a billion-dollar company — being reorganized into a kind of progressive kindergarten that will ultimately implode, or is it taking a bold step into the future of self-management under an extensive code of governance and practices? The company is known for its quirks. Obsessed with customer satisfaction — its motto is “Deliver WOW through service” — Zappos calls its executives “monkeys” and greets visitors to its Las Vegas headquarters with cowbells.

What is holacracy?

he philosophy of holacracy is described in a 15,000-word “constitution”. Employees are assigned a “circle” and roles within it are assigned, elected or formed into sub-circles. Stripping bosses of their titles is the first step. Then comes the more difficult task of distributing leadership into each role. As The Wall Street Journal noted: when everyone’s in charge, there probably will be a lot of meetings. The goal is radical transparency — there’s no hiding behind titles or bureaucracy. As Tony Hsieh says, paraphrasing Charles Darwin: “It’s not the fastest or the strongest that survive. It’s the ones most adaptive to change.” assign sth. to sb. [E(saIn tu] constitution [)kQnstI(tju:S&n] holacracy [hEU(lQkrEsi] in charge: be ~ of sth. [)In (tSA:dZ] paraphrase sb. [(pÄrEfreIz] strip sb. of sth. [(strIp Qv]

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jmdm. etw. zuweisen Verfassung, Satzung Holakratie für etw. verantwortlich sein jmdn. frei zitieren jmdm. etw. entziehen

Self-organizing or self-managing companies are not new. Examples include W. L. Gore & Associates, maker of Gore-Tex, which employs more than 10,000 people, and Morning Star, a tomato processor. But in 2007, a 28-year-old computer programmer, Brian Robertson, came up with the concept of holacracy and wrote its 15,000-word “constitution”. Robertson’s book Holacracy: The Revolutionary Management System that Abolishes Hierarchy (Portfolio Penguin) was published in June. According to Harvard Business School professor Ethan Bernstein, who has led several studies of self- 4 abolish sth. [E(bQlIS] etw. abschaffen adopt sth. [E(dQpt] etw. einführen attuned: be ~ to sth. auf etw. eingestellt sein [E(tju:nd] billion [(bIljEn] Milliarde(n) bold [bEUld] kühn, gewagt business school betriebswirtschaftliche [(bIznEs sku:l] Fakultät chief executive Firmenchef(in) [)tSi:f Ig(zekjUtIv] constitution Verfassung, Satzung [)kQnstI(tju:S&n] defection [di(fekS&n] Abtrünnigkeit, Flucht deliver wow etwa: (den Kunden) [di)lIvE (waU] ifml. total begeistern designed: be ~ to do sth. darauf ausgelegt sein, [di(zaInd] etw. zu tun embrace sth. [Im(breIs] etw. aufgreifen, sich zu eigen machen empower sb. [Im(paUE] jmdn. ermächtigen entrepreneur Unternehmer(in) [)QntrEprE(n§:] executive [Ig(zekjUtIv] leitende(r) Angestellte(r) flattened-out [)flÄt&nd (aUt] verflacht governance [(gVv&nEns] Führung(sform) human-imposed von Menschen [)hju:mEn Im(pEUzd] auferlegt implode [Im(plEUd] zusammenbrechen; hier: an sich selbst scheitern processor [(prEUsesE] Verarbeitungsbetrieb quirk [kw§:k] Eigenheit redundancy: take ~ aus einem Unternehmen [ri(dVndEnsi] ausscheiden retailer [(ri:teI&lE] Einzelhändler(in) ultimately [(VltImEtli] letztendlich

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MANAGEMENT HOLACRACY

When everyone is in charge, there will be lots of meetings

Charismatic leader: Tony Hsieh of Zappos

organizing firms, the philosophy is not to remove hierarchies entirely but to allow companies to form hierarchies organically and to make domains over which people have more fluid authority. “We want Zappos to function more like a city and less like a topdown bureaucratic organization,” Hsieh told the journal Quartz. He says that cities become more productive as they grow; companies less. “Look at companies that existed 50 years ago in the Fortune 500 — most don’t exist today. Companies tend to die and cities don’t.” But American business commentators are divided over Hsieh’s experiment. Forbes magazine calls it “gurus gone wild”; The Wall Street Journal, “confusion”. But studies suggest that the relationship between manager and employee is already changing, with companies giving workers more autonomy in an effort to limit unproductive management hierarchies. The modern company, according

to Forbes, is more of a conversation than a mandate. “We all want organizations to make us more capable of being productive, but many of us feel our organizations make us less capable and we could potentially do things better individually than we

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could as a team,” Bernstein explains. “That requires a restructuring process, not structure, so the problem we’re trying to solve is to create organizations that are supportive of restructuring processes.” A key aspect of holacracy is expli-

citness. If employees have a problem, they can announce a “tension”. In a manager-less, title-free environment such as Zappos, all roles, responsibilities and policies are stored in software. At Zappos, it goes by the name of “glass frog”. The idea is to adapt companies that were established in an era in which many employees performed repetitive tasks to the modern era of companies run by relatively few people that can quickly reach stratospheric valuations. Three decades ago, a billion-dollar organization would have had hundreds of thousands of employees, says Bernstein; when WhatsApp was bought by Facebook for $19 billion (about €17 billion) last year, it had 55 employees. “This is part of a greater change in the way we conceive of organizations, and in the different way we organize for scale and move toward more knowledge or technology work with less need for larger numbers of human beings doing coordinated

and repetitive tasks over time.” But does the organization without structure cease to be an organization at all? Bernstein says holacracy is good at conflict resolution, but it doesn’t solve questions of career progression, compensation, hiring and firing — all the traditional components of a bureaucracy. “If you reduce structure, you have to raise another part. Holacracy raises the process aspect of it,” he adds. That means as many as five extra working hours a week, according to Zappos employees. Hsieh says it will take three to five years to fully implement holacratic values. It is, he says, BS “a process of trial and error”. © Guardian News & Media 2015

Your experiences How important is hierarchy in the workplace? Email us about your experiences — positive and negative — and we will publish your comments online. Contact: business@business-spotlight.de

career progression beruflicher Werdegang [kE(rIE prE)greS&n] cease [si:s] aufhören compensation Entlohnung [)kQmpEn(seIS&n] conceive of sth. sich etw. vorstellen [kEn(si:v Qv] conflict resolution Konfliktlösung [(kQnflIkt rezE)lu:S&n] domain [dEU(meIn] Bereich explicitness [Ik(splIsItnEs] Ausdrücklichkeit, Deutlichkeit fluid [(flu:Id] fließend; hier: flexibel gestaltbar gone wild [)gQn (waI&ld] durchgedreht, -geknallt mandate [(mÄndeIt] Auftrag, Anordnung scale [skeI&l] Größe(nordnung) tension [(tenS&n] Spannung trial and error Ausprobieren [)traIEl End (erE] valuation [)vÄlju(eIS&n] Bewertung

5/2015

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MANAGEMENT WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

The container story Riesige Containerschiffe schippern heute über alle Weltmeere. Den ersten Schiffscontainer hat Vicki Sussens für Sie aufgespürt.

Maersk Line/Flickr

Visionary: Malcom McLean and containers

The background

The solution

Before shipping containers were invented, goods being transferred from lorries to trains to ships had to be individually offloaded and loaded again. This made up almost half the cost of shipping, according to Marc Levinson, author of The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger. Goods also had to wait in warehouses for the next stage of transport, often delaying shipment. And the costs of transporting different goods varied.

McLean decided that if goods could be transported in standardized containers, the entire container, and not just individual goods, could be transferred from lorries to trains to ships. The idea of transporting various goods in one box was not new, according to the World Shipping Council’s history of containers. The US government had used small, standardized containers to ship supplies during the Second World War. However, McLean’s idea of a seamless transport system, later known as “intermodalism”, was new. At the time, he owned only one truck, which was not enough to invest in his idea. By 1955, his business was big enough for him to be able to buy the small Pan-Atlantic Steamship Company.

The problem One day, in 1937, Malcom McLean, owner of a haulage company in North Carolina, was waiting for cranes to unload cargo from his truck on to a ship in Hoboken, New Jersey. It took nearly the whole day, and he decided a lot of time was being wasted. McLean had earned money to buy his first truck by working at a petrol station. The entrepreneur was looking for ways to improve his business.

78 www.business-spotlight.de

What happened next In 1956, McLean’s first converted tanker, carrying 58 containers, left from Newark, New Jersey, to Houston, Texas. In 1960, with several container ships in operation, the firm’s name changed to Sea-Land

medium

Service. In 1966, Sea-Land sent the world’s first international container ship, the Fairland, from the US to Rotterdam, with 236 containers on board. The idea spread quickly and, by 1968, the container ship industry had been born. In that year, 18 new container ships were built globally. By the early 1980s, container ships were sailing to every corner of the world. “The container made shipping cheap and changed the shape of the world economy,” writes Levinson. “Sleepy harbours such as Busan in South Korea and Seattle moved into the front ranks of the world’s ports, and massive new ports were built in places where none had been before.” In 2014, containers moved 10.5 billion tonnes of cargo, according to Clarkson Research Services Limited BS (CRSL). billion [(bIljEn] Milliarde(n) cargo [(kA:gEU] Fracht(gut) converted umgewandelt, [kEn(v§:tId] umgebaut council [(kaUns&l] Rat; hier: Verband crane [kreIn] Kran entrepreneur Unternehmer(in) [)QntrEprE(n§:] goods [gUdz] Güter, Ware(n) haulage company Speditions-, Transport[(hO:lIdZ )kVmpEni] UK unternehmen load sth. [lEUd] etw. laden lorry [(lQri] UK Lastkraftwagen offload sth. etw. entladen [)Qf(lEUd] research [ri(s§:tS] Forschung seamless [(si:mlEs] nahtlos shipment [(SIpmEnt] Beförderung, Versand shipping [(SIpIN] Versendung; Schifffahrt; hier: Schiffssleepy [(sli:pi] verschlafen standardized genormt [(stÄndEdaIzd] steamship [(sti:mSIp] Dampfschiff warehouse [(weEhaUs] Lager, Warendepot

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EXECUTIVE EYE MANAGEMENT

Big Brother at work An Überwachungskameras in Kaufhäusern, an Flughäfen und auf öffentlichen Plätzen haben wir uns im Laufe der Zeit gewöhnt. Aber am Arbeitsplatz? Unser Management-Experte Adrian Furnham befasst sich hier mit deren Ursache und Wirkung.

Cameras in the street record your

medium

Surveillance: workers are being watched in many ways

Digital Vision

every move in the UK. Shops record what you buy. There is biometric surveillance and social-network analysis. more easily hidden — and so less We are the most spied upon society controversial. Secondly, the internet of all time. But it is electronic moniprovides workers with more opportoring in the workplace that concerns tunities than ever before to misuse people most. What sort of employer their work time. Over two thirds of spends millions on equipment to spy people admit to regularly using the on its staff? What does it say about internet privately at work. trust and honesty? Thirdly, employers say they moniStudies show that 50 per cent of tor staff to improve productivity and, employers monitor email traffic and in some cases, to prevent company two thirds monitor internet connections. Workplace surveillance “What sort of employer spends millions on has increased exponentially over the past decade and is likely to equipment to spy on its staff?” continue to do so. There are three reasons for this. First, surveillance software is property from being stolen or inforativity. This can also increase levels becoming cheaper and more powmation from being passed on to jourof stress and, paradoxically, secrecy. erful. The miniaturization of moninalists, competitors or tax authoritoring products means that they are ties. Some claim they use surveillance Cameras increase workers’ anxiety to stop sexual and racial harassment. and can reduce their productivity. In There are many forms of surveilone case, a boss constantly flashed a anxiety [ÄN(zaIEti] Angst; hier: Unbehagen lance. Phone conversations can be message to a data processor: “You capture [(kÄptSE] Erfassung competitor [kEm(petItE] Konkurrent(in) recorded. Computer software offers are working less hard than the perdata processor Datenverarbeiter(in) such options as keystroke monitorson next to you.” This only increased [(deItE )prEUsesE] flash sth. [flÄS] etw. kurz einblenden ing, screenshot capture, content filthat person’s anxiety and lowered full stop [)fUl (stQp] UK Punkt, basta tering and blocking. productivity still further. harassment [(hÄrEsmEnt] Belästigung infringe on sth. etw. verletzen Surveillance infringes on privacy, [In(frIndZ Qn] full stop. It gives power to Big BrothCameras are easy to hide — try keystroke [(ki:strEUk] Tastenanschlag er and turns workplaces into prisonfinding them in shops. And now there monitor sb./sth. [(mQnItE] jmdn./etw. überwachen monitoring [(mQnItErIN] Überwachung like institutions. And worse — for is the possibility of real-time surveilmorale [mE(rA:l] [wg. Aussprache] employers — it can increase the problance. Through the use of GPS sysprivacy [(prIvEsi] Privat-, Intimsphäre screenshot [(skri:nSQt] Bildschirmaufnahme BS lem it was introduced to stop. tems, all mobile-phone owners can be secrecy [(si:krEsi] Heimlichkeit followed wherever they go. spy (up)on sb. jmdn. ausspionieren Adrian Furnham is a psychology professor at [(spaI (E)p)Qn] So, what is the psychological effect University College, London. His latest book surveillance [sE(veIlEns] Überwachung of surveillance on workers? Clearly, is The Resilient Manager: Navigating the tax authority Steuerbehörde [(tÄks O:)TQrEti] it can reduce trust, morale and creChallenges of Working Life (Palgrave Macmillan).

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www.business-spotlight.de 79

Your friend the robot: face of the future?

iStock

Almost human

80 www.business-spotlight.de

5/2015

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY

Schon bald könnten Computer mit gesundem Menschenverstand ausgestattet sein. Hannah Devlin informiert über technische Möglichkeiten, aber auch Gefahren künstlicher Intelligenz.

omputers will have developed “common sense” within a decade and we could be counting them among our friends not long afterwards, one of the world’s leading AI scientists has predicted. Professor Geoff Hinton, who was hired by Google two years ago to help develop intelligent operating systems, says that the company is on the brink of developing algorithms with the capacity for logic, natural conversation and even flirtation. The researcher told The Guardian that Google is working on a new type of algorithm designed to encode thoughts as sequences of numbers — something he describes as “thought vectors”. Although the work is at an early stage, he says there is a plausible path from the current software to a more sophisticated version that would have something approaching human-like capacity for reasoning and logic. “Basically, they’ll have common sense.” The idea that thoughts can be captured and distilled down to cold sequences of digits is controversial, Hinton said. “There’ll be a lot of people who argue against it, who say you can’t capture a thought like that,” he added. “But there’s no reason why not. I think you can capture a thought

by a vector.” Hinton believes that the “thought vector” approach will help crack two of the central challenges in artificial intelligence: mastering natural, conversational language, and the ability to make leaps of logic. He paints a picture of the near future in which people will chat with their computers, not only to extract information, but for fun — as in the film Her, in which Joaquin Phoenix falls in love with his intelligent operating system. “It’s not that far-fetched,” Hinton says. “I don’t see why it shouldn’t be like a friend. I don’t see why you shouldn’t grow quite attached to them.” In the past two years, scientists have already made significant progress in overcoming these challenges. Richard Socher, an artificial intelligence scientist at Stanford University, recently developed a program called NaSent, which he trained to recognize human sentiment using 12,000 sentences taken from the film-review website RottenTomatoes.com. Part of the initial motivation for developing “thought vectors” was to improve translation software, such as Google Translate, which currently uses dictionaries to translate individual words, and searches through previously translated documents to find typical translations of phrases. Although these methods often provide

“I don’t see why it shouldn’t be like a friend. I don’t see why you shouldn’t grow attached to them”

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advanced

the rough meaning, they frequently produce nonsense and incorrect grammar. Thought vectors, Hinton explained,

work at a higher level by extracting something closer to actual meaning. The technique works by assigning each word a set of numbers (or a vector) that define its position in a theoretical “meaning space”, or cloud. A sentence can be looked at as a path between these words, which can, in turn, be distilled down to its own set of numbers, or thought vector. The key is working out which numbers to assign to each word in a language — this is where deep learning comes in. Initially, the positions of 4

assign sth. (to) sth. etw. einer Sache [E(saIn (tu)] zuweisen, zuordnen attached: grow ~ eine Bindung zu jmdm./ to sb./sth. [E(tÄtSt] etw. entwickeln brink: be on the ~ of kurz davorstehen, doing sth. [brINk] etw. zu tun capture sth. [(kÄptSE] etw. erfassen cloud [klaUd] (Daten-)Wolke cold [kEUld] hier: nüchtern common sense gesunder Menschen[)kQmEn (sens] verstand crack sth. [krÄk] ifml. etw. knacken digit [(dIdZIt] Ziffer distil sth. down to sth. etw. zu etw. zusammen[dI)stIl (daUn tu] fassen encode sth. [In(kEUd] etw. kodieren extract sth. etw. gewinnen; [Ik(strÄkt] auch: herausfiltern far-fetched abwegig, weit [)fA: (fetSt] hergeholt flirtation [fl§:(teIS&n] Flirt(en) leap of logic: make a ~ eine logische Schluss[)li:p Ev (lQdZIk] folgerung ziehen master sth. [(mA:stE] etw. meistern, beherrschen predict sth. [pri(dIkt] etw. vorhersagen previously [(pri:viEsli] zuvor sentiment [(sentImEnt] Gefühl; hier: Gedanken sophisticated technisch ausgereifter [sE(fIstIkeItId] technique [tek(ni:k] [wg. Aussprache]

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TECHNOLOGY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Warner Bros

In love with a machine: Her, starring Joaquin Phoenix

“Irony is going to be hard to get. You have to be master of the literal first” words within each cloud are ordered at random and the translation algorithm begins training on a dataset of translated sentences. At first, the translations it produces are nonsense, but a feedback loop provides an error signal that allows the position of each word to be refined until eventually, the position of words in the cloud captures the way humans use them — effectively, a map of their meanings. Hinton said that the idea that language can be deconstructed with almost mathematical precision is surprising, but true. “If you take the vector for Paris and subtract the vector for France and add Italy, you get Rome,” he said. “It’s quite remarkable.” Dr Hermann Hauser, a Cambridge computer scientist and entrepreneur, says that Hinton and others could be on the way to solving what programmers call the “genie problem”. “With machines at the moment,

you get exactly what you wished for,” Hauser comments. “The problem is, we’re not very good at wishing for the right thing. When you look at humans, the recognition of individual words isn’t particularly impressive — the important bit is figuring out what

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the guy wants. Hinton is our number one guru in the world on this at the moment,” he adds. Some aspects of communication are likely to prove more challenging, Hinton predicts. “Irony is going to be hard to get,” he says. “You have to be master of the literal first. But then, Americans don’t get irony either. Computers are going to reach the level of Americans before Brits.” A flirtatious program would “prob-

ably be quite simple” to create, however. “It probably wouldn’t be subtly flirtatious to begin with, but it would be capable of saying borderline politically incorrect phrases,” he says. Many of the recent advances in AI have come from the field of deep learning, which Hinton has been working on since the 1980s. At its core is the idea that computer programs learn how to carry out tasks by training on huge datasets, rather than being taught a set of inflexible rules. With the advent of large datasets and powerful processors, the approach pioneered by Hinton decades ago now underpins the work of Google’s artificial intelligence arm, DeepMind, and similar programs of research at Facebook and Microsoft. Hinton plays down concerns about

the dangers of AI raised by those such as entrepreneur Elon Musk (see Business Spotlight 5/2014), who has described the technologies under development as humanity’s greatest existential threat. “The risk of something seriously dangerous happening is in the five-year time frame. Ten years at most,” Musk warned last year. “I’m more scared about the things that have already happened,” Hinton responds. “The NSA is already bugging everything that everybody does. Each time there’s a new revelation from Snowdon, you realize the extent of it. I am scared that if you make the technology work better, you help the NSA misuse it more,” he added. “I’d be more worried about that than about autonomous killer robots.” BS © Guardian News & Media 2015

advent [(Ädvent] Aufkommen allow sth. [E(laU] hier: etw. ermöglichen arm [A:m] Zweig at random [)Ät (rÄndEm] zufällig; hier: nach dem Zufallsprinzip borderline [(bO:dElaIn] grenzwertig; hier: gerade noch akzeptabel bug sth. [bVg] etw. abhören core [kO:] Kern, Zentrum dataset [(deItEset] Datensatz deconstruct sth. etw. auf seine wesent[)di:kEn(strVkt] lichen Bestandteile zurückführen entrepreneur Unternehmer(in) [)QntrEprE(n§:] figure sth. out etw. herausfinden [)fIgEr (aUt] ifml. flirtatious [fl§:(teISEs] (gern) flirtend genie problem Genie-, Flaschengeist[(dZi:ni )prQblEm] Problem get [get] ifml. hier: verstehen, in den Griff bekommen guy [gaI] ifml. Typ, Kerl loop [lu:p] Schleife master of the literal: be ~ die wörtliche Bedeu[)mA:stEr Ev DE (lIt&rEl] tung des Gesagten beherrschen pioneer sth. [)paIE(nIE] für etw. Pionierarbeit leisten raise sth. [reIz] hier: etw. aufwerfen refine sth. [ri(faIn] etw. verbessern; hier: genauer zuordnen revelation [)revE(leIS&n] Enthüllung subtly [(sVt&li] subtil subtract sth. [sEb(trÄkt] etw. subtrahieren time frame [(taIm freIm] Zeitrahmen, -spanne to begin with anfangs, zunächst [tE bi(gIn wID] einmal underpin sth. [)VndE(pIn] etw. (unter)stützen

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iStock

LANGUAGE FOCUS TECHNOLOGY

Sand Wer denkt beim Anblick von Sand nicht an Urlaub? Dass man aber nicht nur Sandburgen bauen kann, erfahren Sie von Brigitte Markner-Jäger.

any of us associate sand with beaches where we have spent holidays. But have you ever wondered what sand is and where it comes from? Sand is rock broken down into grain sizes ranging from 0.06 mm to 2.0 mm. It occurs in many forms and colours, depending on the rock types and their mineral particles. In a process called the “rock cycle”, rocks erode by weathering, are broken down into smaller and smaller pieces, and are transported as gravel in rivers or oceans, where the particles are deposited as sand or silt. Sand is not only nice to walk on or to play with. It also has many industrial uses. For this purpose, sand is dredged from rivers and lakes. Alternatively, rocks have to be mined in quarries. They are then crushed to gravel and, finally, milled to sand. Sand is used as a filter to remove impurities or as an abrasive — for example, in sandpaper. Sandblasting is a technique used to polish surfaces. In IT, sand is needed for producing computer chips because of its silicon content. Sand is also the basic material used in the construction industry for making concrete or glass. And many drilling techniques use sand to hold open drill holes or cracks. Industrial demand for sand is rising, and many countries import it. Since sand is a depleting natural reBS source, it has to be conserved. Brigitte Markner-Jäger is a senior lecturer of technical English at the TFH Georg Agricola in Bochum. Contact: markner-jaeger@tfh-bochum.de

5/2015

advanced

Vocabulary abrasive [E(breIsIv] abreibend; Schleifmittel aggregate [(ÄgrIgEt] Gesteinskörnung; Schotter coarse-grained [)kO:s (greInd] grobkörnig composite material [)kQmpEzIt mE(tIEriEl] Verbundwerkstoff Beton concrete [(kQNkri:t] conserve sth. [kEn(s§:v] etw. erhalten, bewahren construction sand [kEn(strVkS&n sÄnd] Bausand, Industriesand crack [krÄk] Riss, Spalt crush sth. [krVS] etw. brechen, zerkleinern depleting [di(pli:tIN] knapper werdend, schwindend deposit [di(pQzIt] sich ablagern; Ablagerung(sschicht) dredge sth. [dredZ] etw. ausbaggern, schlämmen drill hole [(drIl hEUl] Bohrloch drilling [(drIlIN] Bohren, Bohrerode [I(rEUd] erodieren foundry mould [(faUndri mEUld] Gussform grain size [(greIn saIz] Korngröße gravel [(grÄv&l] Kies hydraulic fracking [haI)drO:lIk (frÄkIN] hydraulisches Fracking impurity [Im(pjUErEti] Unreinheit, Verschmutzung mill sth. [mIl] etw. zermahlen mine sth. [maIn] etw. fördern, gewinnen mineral resource [(mIn&rEl ri)zO:s] mineralischer Rohstoff mortar [)mO:tE] Mörtel pebbles [(peb&lz] Kieselsteine; Geröll polish sth. [(pQlIS] etw. polieren; hier: schleifen property [(prQpEti] Eigenschaft purety [(pjUErEti] Reinheit quarry [(kwQri] Steinbruch quartz sand [(kwO:ts sÄnd] Quarzsand recycled sand [ri:)saIk&ld (sÄnd] aufbereiteter Sand rock cycle [(rQk )saIk&l] Gesteinskreislauf sandblasting [(sÄndblA:stIN] Sandstrahlen sandcast [(sÄndkA:st] sandgießen; Sandguss sandpaper [(sÄnd)peIpE] Sand-, Schleifpapier silica sand [(sIlIkE sÄnd] Quarzsand silicon [(sIlIkEn] Silizium silt [sIlt] Schlick(sand), Schluff soil [sOI&l] (Erd-)Boden, Erdreich weathering [(weDErIN] Verwitterung

Exercise: Grains of truth? Are the following statements true or false? a) Sand is defined by its grain size. b) The IT sector uses sand as an abrasive. c) Sand is used for making glass.

True False

❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ Answers on page 66

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Beauty and the beasts

hank you so much for the valuable column by Elisabeth Ribbans (It’s Personal, Business Spotlight 4/2015), which helps to make people aware of the intolerable cruelty of animal testing and informs you how to choose cruelty-free cosmetic products. Animals are living beings like humans, with a right to live and to be respected and treated well. Every life is precious and unique. So it is important to know what you have to take into account to make sure that you get a cosmetic product that doesn’t cause death or suffering to animals, and that you can buy and use with a clear conscience. By the way, I would like to thank you for your great magazine, which is interesting and very instructive. Eyka Lorenz, Bad Mergentheim

Schwieriges Thema

achdem ich mich aktuell mit der englischen Silbentrennung (am Zeilenende) herumschlagen musste und gerne wüsste, wie es wirklich geht — meine Bitte und Anregung, dieses Thema doch in einer kommenden Ausgabe aufzugreifen. Dass Silbentrennungen grundsätzlich unschön und zu vermeiden sind, ist bekannt, nur kommt man eben nicht immer ohne Trennung im Blocksatz aus. Scheint ein etwas schwieriges Thema zu sein. Marina Horbatsch, Bad Waldsee

Thank you for your suggestion. In The Write Way (Business Spotlight 3/2011), Anna Hochsieder dealt with the topic of end-of-line splits. Here’s some of what she wrote: l Words that already have a hyphen should be split only at the hyphen: a 300-year- | old farmhouse, a four- | star hotel. l Compound words written as one word are best split between the two words making up the compound: south | east, news | paper. l Contractions — words such as it’s, shouldn’t — should never be split. l Words are usually divided between syllables, but there are different systems. Business Spotlight uses the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, which marks syllable breaks with a dot. You can’t go wrong if you follow the recommendation of the Oxford Dictionaries website: “Always try to split the word in a sensible place.” For more information, go to www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/hyphen The Editor

84 www.business-spotlight.de

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iq media marketing gmbh Andreas Wulff, Sandra Holstein, Matthias Schalamon Brandstwiete 1, 20457 Hamburg, Tel. +49 (0)211/887-2340, Fax +49 (0)211/887-97-2340, E-Mail: matthias.schalamon@ iqm.de iq media marketing gmbh Andreas Wulff, Michael Seidel, Matthias Schalamon Berlin, Tel. +49 (0)211/887-2340, Fax +49 (0)211/887-972340, E-Mail: matthias.schalamon@iqm.de International Sales Empfehlungsanzeigen iq media marketing gmbh Gerda Gavric-Hollender, Bettina Goedert Vanessa Schäfer, Gezim Berisha Kasernenstraße 67, 40213 Düsseldorf, Tel. +49 (0)211/8872343, Fax +49 (0)211/887-97-2343, E-Mail: international@iqm.de

5/2014

Thinkstock editorial

Foto: Michael Brown

6/2015 PREVIEW

Working with France

iStock

A founding member of the European Union, France is the top destination for Germany’s exports. But the country is going through a difficult reform process. In our Intercultural feature, we look at how to do business with the French.

The face of consumer power Sharon White says she will put consumers’ interests first. A profile of the new head of Ofcom, the regulatory body for Britain’s telecoms, broadcasting and postal services.

LANGUAGE DESIGN & ARCHITECTURE Improve your business vocabulary with our 20-page guide:

SKILL UP!

also: Test: business skills In the past ten issues, Bob Dignen has provided tips for key business skills, from listening well to solving problems. Find out how well you can do these things, with our special test.

Email: formal or informal? Grammar: telephone phrases English for... prisons Business Spotlight 6/2015 is on sale from 28 October 2015

5/2015

www.business-spotlight.de 85

PEOPLE MY WORKING LIFE

Ewa Sendecka: product designer Bei einem Produkt sind nicht nur Funktion und Verbraucherwünsche, sondern auch ein gutes Design wichtig. Vicki Sussens sprach mit der polnischen Produktdesignerin.

medium

were not for me! With industrial design, I was able to combine my creative and technical skills. If you add passion, it makes for a good business. Training for the job: The hardest part in design is real-life experience and dealing with clients. It takes years of practice and you never stop learning. With each new product, you have new technological, implementation, strategic and marketing challenges. Woman with a passion: Ewa Sendecka has both creative and technical skills

Current job: Co-owner of Otoprojekt Design Studio and of Anteklight in Cracow, Poland.

mark, also doing an internship there. After my studies, I started Otoprojekt with my colleague Michał Tabor.

Job description: Our role ranges from design consultant to manufacturer. We make sure the product is beautiful and functional, and that it meets a market need and can be produced, packaged and transported efficiently. Anteklight sells our own designer lamps internationally.

Pay: I’m happy with it, but the real pay is positive feedback from clients.

Home: Cracow, Poland Age and family: Twenty-nine. I don’t have my own family yet. Clients: Big manufacturers of heaters, LED lighting and medical furniture, for example. Anteklight clients include pubs, cafes, shops, businesses and private customers. Years in the job: I did freelance design work while studying design in Den-

86 www.business-spotlight.de

Languages needed: English is essential but so, too, is knowledge of local cultures. My understanding of Denmark helped us to sell our products there. Working hours: About eight hours a day, but I work flexibly, which is nice on sunny days. Holidays: In design, you go from one problem to another, so it’s hard to get distance. I go on holidays that use a different part of my brain. Last year, I went to a surfing school in Portugal. Why I chose this job: I wanted to study art, but my parents wanted me to do something practical. I tried electronics and telecommunications, which

Skills needed: An eye for design, a head for business, PR and marketing skills. You are also your own business card, so you need to be professional. Favourite part of the job: Sitting in a meeting with a firm’s management team where they say they like our design and it has a great future. Least favourite part of the job: When a client does not know what they want and you have to use psychology to find it out for them. If I weren’t in this job… I’d have a BS small bakery. I love baking. business card [(bIznEs kA:d] Visitenkarte challenge [(tSÄlIndZ] Herausforderung consultant [kEn(sVltEnt] Berater(in) eye [aI] hier: Blick freelance [(fri:lA:ns] freiberuflich head [hed] hier: Sinn heater [(hi:tE] Heizgerät internship [(Int§:nSIp] Praktikum Cracow [(krÄkaU] Krakau manufacturer Hersteller(in) [)mÄnju(fÄktSErE] medical furniture Mobiliar für medizi[)medIk&l (f§:nItSE] nische Einrichtungen package sth. [(pÄkIdZ] etw. verpacken

5/2015

Fit in Sprachen? Testen Sie Ihr Wissen!

Englisch Franzรถsisch Business Englisch Spanisch Italienisch Deutsch als Fremdsprache

Ihr kostenloser Sprach-Check:

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BusinessSpotlight

SKILL UP!

VOKABELTRAINING LEICHT GEMACHT

AUSGABE

Get

connected!

also:

The world of telecommunications | Mobile devices

CONTENTS

TIME TO TALK Can you imagine communication today without a mobile phone? In this Skill Up!, we present the language you will need to talk about telecommunications. How many types of devices do you use? In Picture This! (pp. 4–5), our illustration shows what you might see on any number of desks around the world. Turn to Word Bank (pp. 6–7) to find out more about the technology behind telecommunications. And in our Small Talk section (pp. 16–17), you can practise the vocabulary you need to talk about the latest mobile phones. Dagmar Taylor, language author business@spotlight-verlag.de

Have fun learning the words and expressions that will help you to communicate and stay connected!

Recent Skill Up! topics All about politics, no. 31 (2/2015) The world of music, no. 32 (3/2015) l The language of law, no. 33 (4/2015) l l

Why not try changing the language to English in the settings on your mobile? Is it easy to find your way around your phone now? Make a note of the words that are new to you. Try it again a few days later.

www.

For a full list of Skill Up! topics covered to date, go to www.business-spotlight.de/skill-up

SKILL UP!

2 SKILL UP!

Word of the Day

On our website, you’ll find selected vocabulary in our Word of the Day section. You can listen to the words, definitions and example sentences — and download the MP3 file of each word — at www.business-spotlight.de

ISSUE 34

iStock

At your fingertips: the latest devices

CHECKLIST: WHAT CAN YOU DO? Below, you will find the contents of this issue of Skill Up! and a checklist of what you should be able to do with confidence after studying this guide. Ask yourself what you can really do. If you can’t say yes to every statement, go back and spend more time on learning the relevant vocabulary. Don’t forget to read our Skill Up! tips and do the online exercises!

wContents

Page(s) Checklist

Picture This! On the desk

Tech talk

I know the vocabulary for talking about the devices and gadgets I use to communicate.

❏

❏ ❏

6–7

I can use word partnerships to talk about technology and telecommunications.

❏

❏ ❏

8–9

I can identify the false friends presented here — and use the correct translations.

❏

❏ ❏

10–11

I can use the language I have learned to talk about jobs in telecommunications.

❏

❏ ❏

12–13

I can correctly use idiomatic expressions to talk about communicating by telephone.

❏

❏ ❏

14–15

I know how to use the different members of the “connect” family.

❏

❏ ❏

16–17

I can make small talk about mobile phones, smartphones and types of contracts.

❏

❏ ❏

I feel more confident using the vocabulary in this guide.

❏

❏ ❏

False Friends

Handy buttons

In Focus

From trainee to specialist

Essential Idioms Touching base

Close Relations Stay connected

Small Talk

A new phone

Your Profile Talk to me!

Preview 19

ISSUE 34

Yes!

4–5

Word Bank

Not yet A little

SKILL UP! 3

PICTURE THIS! Bernhard Förth

3 2

4 21

20 5 19 6 18

8 17

11 7

10 12

15 16

Getting carried away by all the gadgets?

13 14

ON THE DESK

Nowadays, reaching for the phone isn’t the only option when we need to talk to someone. In this illustration, we focus on the various devices and technology that is available to us.

1. computer, PC [)pi: (si:] Computer, PC 2. screen Bildschirm 3. webcam [(webkÄm], Webcam, Netzkamera camera 4. video call Videoanruf, -gespräch conference call Telefonkonferenz Icon, Symbol 5. icon [(aIkQn] 6. smartphone Smartphone mobile (phone) Handy (US cell (phone)) 7. charging dock, Docking-Station docking station charger Ladegerät

4 SKILL UP!

8. instant messaging Nachrichten-App, app Instant-Messaging Dienst cross-platform plattformübergreifend text (sb.) SMS(-Nachricht); jmdm. eine SMS schicken 9. (loud)speaker Lautsprecher 10. router Router 11. antenna Antenne 12. extension lead (UK) Verlängerungskabel [li:d] / cable / cord Steckdose 13. socket, outlet multi-gang socket Steckdosenleiste

ISSUE 34

What are they saying?

What you need

Will: Hey, Sandra. I can’t see you. Have you got your camera turned on?

adapter Adapter application software Anwender-Software (Handy-)Schutzhülle bumper [(bVmpE] cable Kabel case Hülle Display display [dIs(pleI] handset Handapparat high-speed mobile broadband schnelles, mobiles Breitband landline Festnetz line Leitung LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network LTE-Netzwerk mains (power) adapter UK Netzteil, Netzgerät (mobile) device (mobiles) Gerät mobile network (US cellular network) Mobilfunknetz mobile operating system mobiles Betriebssystem receiver Hörer (rechargeable) battery Akku screen protector Bildschirm-, Displayschutz SIM (Subscriber SIM-Karte Identification Module) card USB (Universal Serial Bus) stick USB-Stick VoIP (Voice over Internet IP-Telefonie, InternetProtocol) [vOIp] Telefonie Wi-Fi, WLAN Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) [(waI faI]

Sandra: Where do I turn it on? Oh, is it this icon down at the bottom of the screen? Will: Ah, there you are! Is this your first-ever video call, then? Sandra: Yes. How did you guess? It’s so nice to see you! This is much better than texting.

“Could you call me on the landline, please? My battery’s nearly dead!”

Did you know? Bluetooth technology is named after a Danish king, Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson. (There are a few theories as to why he was called Bluetooth — from a love of blueberries to a fondness for blue clothing.) Back in the tenth century, King Harald united Danish and Norwegian tribes into a single kingdom. Bluetooth technology — started by Ericsson, IBM, Nokia, Intel and Toshiba — links computers with other devices by enabling cable-free connections. l

Mikro Kopfhörer

ISSUE 34

Stecker Tablet-PC App für soziale Medien Tastatur schnurlose Maus Bluetooth Telefon Taste Schnur, Kabel Mikrofon

iSt

14. plug 15. tablet 16. social networking app 17. keyboard 18. wireless mouse Bluetooth 19. telephone button [(bVt&n], key cord 20. microphone [(maIkrEfEUn] mic [maIk], mike ifml. 21. headphones

Smart is an informal synonym for “intelligent”. l

SKILL UP! 5

WORD BANK

TECH TALK

It’s hard to imagine doing our work without telecommunications. We present vocabulary and word partnerships for telecommunications and technology.

Networking technology Transmission analogue/digital signal analoges/digitales Signal communication protocol Übertragungsprotokoll point-to-point protocol Punkt-zu-Punkt-Protokoll (PPP) (PPP) data transfer Datenübertragung, -übermittlung fibre optics Glasfasertechnik interface Schnittstelle microwave communication Mikrowellenkommunikation satellite communication Satellitenkommunikation modulation Modulation carrier signal Trägersignal modulating signal Modulationssignal switching Umschaltung undersea cable Unterwasser-, Seekabel

bit rate Bitrate, Übertragungsgeschwindigkeit ethernet Ethernet GSM (Global System for GSM-Netzwerk Mobile Communications) high-speed network Hochgeschwindigkeitsnetz LAN (Local Area Network) lokales Netzwerk, Nahbereichsnetzwerk MAN (Metropolitan MAN, regionales Area Network) Netzwerk WAN (Wide Area Network) WAN, Fernbereichsnetzwerk multiplexing Multiplexverfahren terrestrial network terrestrisches Netz wireline network Festnetz

Wireless

“The trend towards the convergence of telecoms and TV services has accelerated rapidly”

next generation wireless Mobilfunksystem der nächsten system Generation wireless data transmission drahtlose/mobile Datenübertragung wireless local loop (WLL) drahtloser Teilnehmeranschluss wireless network drahtloses / WLAN-Netzwerk

iStock

Satellite communication: parabolic antennae

6 SKILL UP!

ISSUE 34

Did you know? Tele is a prefix from the Greek tele that means “over a long distance”. l Telecoms is short for “telecommunications”. lT elco is short for “telecommunications company”. It is used especially in newspal

pers: “Telco fined £100,000 for blocking access to emergency calls.”

Collocations with “telecommunications” telecommunications... carrier Telekommunikationsbetreiber company Telekommunikationsunternehmen, Fernmeldegesellschaft device Telekommunikationsgerät engineering Telekommunikations-, Fernmelde-, Nachrichtentechnik equipment Telekommunikations-, Fernmeldeanlagen industry Telekommunikationsbranche, -industrie, Fenmeldewesen infrastructure Telekommunikationsinfrastruktur network Telekommunikations-, Fernmeldenetz operator Telekommunikationsanbieter, -betreiber satellite Telekommunikationssatellit sector Telekommunikationsbranche, -sektor, Fernmeldewesen service Telekommunikationsdienst system Telekommunikations-, Nachrichtensystem technology Telekommunikations-, Nachrichtentechnik tower Fernmeldeturm

“There are some emerging technologies that have fantastic performance, but whose cost is prohibitive”

Collocations with “technology” broadband technology communication/ communications technology computer technology Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology emerging technology induction charging technology information technology (IT) packet-based technology satellite technology software technology

Breitbandtechnik Kommunikationstechnik Computertechnik digitale Breitbandübertragung neue Technologie Induktionsladetechnik Informationstechnik (IT) paketvermittelte Technologie Satellitentechnik Softwaretechnik

“They are the leading mobile telecommunications operator in the country, with a market share of 41 per cent” ISSUE 34

FALSE FRIENDS

HANDY BUTTONS

There are many words in German and English that sound similar but have very different

mobile

Griffin

meanings. They are “false friends”. Learn the correct translations of these terms.

handy

What’s Handy in English?

It’s not handy!

Handy = mobile (phone) UK, cell (phone) US

handy = handlich, praktisch

“I’m afraid Craig isn’t in the office today, but you can reach him on his mobile.”

“We’ve got one of those multi-charger docks in the office. It’s very handy!”

wave What’s Welle in English? Welle = wave

It’s not well! well = Brunnen

well

iStock (3)

“The sound waves created by the speaker are converted into electrical signals.”

“The charity has been building water wells in rural Africa since 1994.”

8 SKILL UP!

ISSUE 34

taste

Apple

key

What’s Taste in English?

It’s not taste!

Taste = key, button

taste = Geschmack

“Please press the hash key to continue.”

“I’m not surprised he’s got a gold smartwatch. He’s always had expensive taste!”

channel What’s Kanal in English? Kanal = channel “Do you mind if I change the channel? The news has just started on BBC1.”

It’s not canal! canal = K anal (für die Schifffahrt angelegt)

canal

“Did you know that Amsterdam has more than 100 kilometres of canals?”

You can do an exercise on Business Spotlight Audio

iStock (3)

Skill up! Audio

YOUR PROFILE Write down your own example sentences for the false friends on this page.

ISSUE 34

IN FOCUS

FROM TRAINEE TO SPECIALIST Who are the people who work in the telecommunications industry and what do they do? Here are some of the most important positions and tasks.

The people

Full-stack developers have specialized knowledge in all stages of software development, and work with both back-end and front-end technologies.

A line mechanic installs, repairs and maintains overhead and underground lines.

Technicians install, test, troubleshoot and handle the maintenance of various types of telecommunications equipment.

A data assurance manager works with clients to manage business risks and establish the right controls, processes and structures to ensure that decisions are based on accurate information.

10 SKILL UP!

administrator Administrator(in), Verwalter(in) database administrator Datenbankadministrator(in) systems administrator Systemadministrator(in) analyst Analytiker(in) forecasting analyst Prognoseanalytiker(in) network analyst Netzwerkanalytiker(in) coordinator Koordinator(in) customer care agent Kundenberater(in), -betreuer(in) customer experience Kundenerfahrungsmanager(in) manager data architect Datenarchitekt(in) data assurance manager Informationsqualitätsmanager(in) developer Entwickler(in) full-stack developer Full-Stack-Entwickler(in), Allroundentwickler(in) software developer Softwareentwickler(in) engineer Ingenieur(in); Techniker(in) design engineer Entwicklungsingenieur(in) network engineer Netzwerktechniker(in) installation manager Installationsmanager(in) line mechanic Kabelmonteur(in) supervisor Aufsichtsperson, Kontrolleur(in) technician Techniker(in), Fachkraft broadcast technician Rundfunktechniker(in) field technician Servicetechniker(in) technical support technische Unterstützung, technischer Support telecommunications Lösungsarchitekt(in) für solution architect Telekommunikation trainee Auszubildende(r) web design specialist Spezialist(in) für Web-Design

Network engineers are involved in the design, improvement and implementation of computer networks. They carry out fault-finding diagnostics and determine solutions. ISSUE 34

Find the right technician and find a solution!

What do they do? analyse sth. etw. analysieren build sth. etw. bauen configure sth. [kEn(fIgE] etw. konfigurieren design sth. etw. konstruieren, konzipieren develop sth. etw. entwickeln etw. sicherstellen, sichern ensure sth. [In(SO:] handle sth. etw. handhaben implement sth. etw. umsetzen implementation Umsetzung improve sth. etw. verbessern improvement Verbesserung install sth. etw. installieren maintain sth. etw. warten maintenance Wartung etw. kontrollieren, überwachen monitor sth. [(mQnItE] repair sth. etw. reparieren, instand setzen safeguard sth. [(seIfgA:d] etw. (ab)sichern test sth. etw. testen troubleshoot sth. Fehler bei etw. beheben

Skill set be involved in sth. be proficient in sth. [prE(fIS&nt] be specialized in sth. have functional knowledge in sth. general knowledge specialized knowledge

bei etw. mitwirken in etw. kompetent sein auf etw. spezialisiert sein praktische/funktionale Kenntnisse in etw. haben allgemeine Kenntnisse Fachkenntnisse

In more detail

ISSUE 34

Daten analysieren ein Konzept / eine Vorstellung darlegen Software bauen Fehler-/Störungsdiagnosen vornehmen Datenmodelle konstruieren Lösungen erarbeiten unternehmerische Risiken steuern Unterstützung / Empfehlungen anbieten finanzielle Transaktionen unterstützen etw. in ein Endprodukt umsetzen Photodisc

analyse data articulate a concept [A:(tIkjuleIt] build software carry out fault-finding diagnostics [(fO:lt faIndIN daIEg)nQstIks] design data models determine solutions manage business risks provide support / advice support financial transactions turn sth. into a finished product

ESSENTIAL IDIOMS

TOUCHING BASE

There are lots of idioms we can use to talk about communicating by telephone. Here, we present some of the most common expressions.

SKILL UP!

From baseball: “touch base”

First, read the two versions of the short conversations. Then cover up the idiomatic version and read the simpler version again. Can you remember how to say the same things idiomatically? Check that you’ve understood them with our translations.

Clancy: Shaz! I’ve been trying to get hold of you all morning. Shaz: Sorry. The phone’s been ringing off the hook. Clancy: I just wanted to touch base... Shaz: You’re breaking up. What did you say?

Now, more simply Clancy: Shaz! I’ve been trying to contact you all morning. Shaz: Sorry. The phone’s been ringing constantly. Clancy: I wanted to talk to you to find out how things are... Shaz: The phone signal is very poor. What did you say?

iStock

First, the idiomatic way

Check the translations get hold of sb. jmdn. erreichen ifml. ring off the hook pausenlos US ifml. klingeln touch base ifml. sich melden breaking up: jmdn. nicht sb. is ~ verstehen können

Now, more simply

Fleur: Hello. Hello? Jasper: Fleur? Oh. I didn’t mean to call you. Em... How are things? Fleur: Did you just butt dial me? Jasper: Yes. Sorry. Can I give you a buzz later?

Fleur: Hello. Hello? Jasper: Fleur? Oh. I didn’t mean to call you. Em... How are you? Fleur: Did you just call me accidentally? Jasper: Yes. Sorry. Can I call you later?

iStock

First, the idiomatic way

Check the translations How are things? Wie geht’s? butt dial sb. US ifml. jmdn. unbeabsichtigt anrufen (durch Sitzen auf dem Handy) give sb. a buzz ifml. jmdn. anrufen

Dial B for butt ISSUE 34

He hung up on me!

First, the idiomatic way

iStock

Shaz: Hi, Clancy? This is Shaz. I just wanted to return your call. Clancy: Oh, hi! I hope you don’t think I hung up on you earlier. Shaz: No worries. So what were you saying before we were cut off? Clancy: I just wanted to get in touch to see how you are.

Now, more simply

Check the translations

Shaz: Hi, Clancy? This is Shaz. I just wanted to call you back. Clancy: Oh, hi! I hope you don’t think I ended the call earlier by putting the phone down. Shaz: No worries. So what were you saying before we were interrupted? Clancy: I just wanted to talk to you to see how you are.

return sb.’s call jmdn. zurückrufen hang up on sb. (in einem Telefonat mit jmdm.) einfach auflegen cut off: be ~ unterbrochen werden get in touch sich melden

Let’s catch up and talk!

Jasper: I’d better ring off now, Fleur. I’ve got to be in a meeting in a minute. Fleur: OK. It’s been great catching up with you. Let’s not leave it so long next time. Jasper: I know. We should both try harder to stay in touch. Fleur: Great. Give me a tinkle next week. Maybe we can go for a drink.

Now, more simply Jasper: I’d better end our conversation now, Fleur. I’ve got to be in a meeting in a minute. Fleur: OK. It’s been great talking to you and hearing your news. Let’s not leave it so long next time. Jasper: I know. We should both try harder to stay in contact. Fleur: Great. Call me next week. Maybe we can go for a drink.

Digital Vision

First, the idiomatic way

Check the translations ring off UK auflegen catch up with sb. jmdn. (nach langer Zeit) wiedertreffen und über Neuigkeiten plaudern stay in touch in Kontakt bleiben give sb. a tinkle jmdn. anbimmeln, anläuten UK ifml.

Skill up! Audio

You can do an exercise on Business Spotlight Audio

ISSUE 34

SKILL UP! 13

CLOSE RELATIONS

STAY CONNECTED

How many words from the “connect” family do you know? Take a closer look at our overview and learn how to use them — in all sorts of contexts.

+ able

connect

connectable

+ ed

connected

+ ion

connection

+ ive

connective

+ or

connector

dis +

+ ness

connectedness

+ ity

connectivity

disconnect

+ ed

disconnected

inter +

interconnect

+ ed

interconnected

mis +

misconnect

+ ed

misconnected

re +

reconnect

+ ed

reconnected

un +

unconnect

+ ed

unconnected

“Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected”

14 SKILL UP!

iStock (2)

William Plomer (1903–73), South African author

Superfast connection

The “connect” family connect sb./sth. jmdn./etw. verbinden; etw. anschließen connectable anschließbar; verknüpfbar connected verbunden; angeschlossen; zusammengehörig connnectedness Verbundenheit connection Anschluss, Verbindung; Beziehung, Kontakt connective verbindend; zusammenhängend; Bindewort (Grammatik) connectivity Verbindung(en); Anschlussfähigkeit connector Anschluss(stecker), Verbindungsstück, Lüsterklemme disconnect Trennschalter; fehlende Verbindung disconnect sth. etw. trennen; ausschalten, abschalten disconnected unterbrochen, getrennt; unzusammenhängend interconnect (zwei Dinge) miteinander verbinden; (two things) zusammenschalten interconnected miteinander verbunden; zusammenhängend misconnect sth. etw. nicht ordnungsgemäß verbinden, anschließen misconnected nicht ordnungsgemäß verbunden, falsch angeschlossen reconnect sth. etw. wieder verbinden, wieder anschließen; umklemmen reconnected wieder verbunden; umgeklemmt unconnect den Kontakt zu jmdm. lösen with sb. unconnected nicht miteinander in Beziehung stehend; losgelöst; unzusammenhängend

IN ACTION: CONNECTION

Use the family: connect l

Affordable broadband connectivity has the potential to transform education and improve skills for a globalized economy.

e’s doing an internship at a Japanese H company that produces electrical connectors — the devices that hold wires in position.

P aul told me he hasn’t voted for years because he feels there’s a disconnect between the electorate and politicians.

A spokesman for the telephone company said that they hoped that the lines would be reconnected by the end of the day.

Although the two cases are very similar, they are wholly unconnected.

A connection is something that links two things: ➜ “She refused to accept that there was a connection between the high turnover of staff and her lack of leadership skills.” A connection can mean the act of connecting or the state of being connected: ➜ “He may not have got your emails. He’s been having trouble with his internet connection.” In an electrical system, a connection can be a point where two parts of an electrical circuit join: ➜ “Apparently, the fire was caused by a faulty connection.” When we are talking about travel, a connection is a means of travelling to another place: ➜ “I’m afraid he’s not going to make it on time. He missed his connection in Amsterdam.” We can also use connections to talk about (influential) people we know who can help or advise us ➜

ISSUE 34

in our social or professional life: “ Talk to Wilma. She’ll be able to help you because she has lots of connections in the industry.” SKILL UP! 15

SMALL TALK

A NEW PHONE

As almost everyone has a mobile phone these days, a new phone that is also the latest model can become a talking point. Here, we provide you with useful vocabulary and expressions.

Situation: James has noticed that his colleague Dina has a new mobile phone.

James: Nice phone! Is it yours? Dina:

What do you mean, is it mine?

James: [laughs] Just kidding. It’s new, isn’t it? Dina: Yes. My old phone was so ancient it was embarrassing. It was almost four years old! James: [laughs] And? Are you happy with it? Dina: Yes! I love it. I’m still a little overwhelmed by all the features, though. When I first got it, my son showed me all the things it can do. I don’t know how he knows. He’s only 12! James: My son’s the same. Digital natives! What do you think of the HD retina screen? Dina: It’s awesome. I love the bigger display, and the fingerprint recognition feature as well. The battery life is a bit crap, though. Even when I dim the screen in the settings, the battery still doesn’t last all day. James: True, that. I got a wireless charger for free when I got my phone. Dina:

Did you? How did you manage that?

James: I threatened to change to a different provider. I was suddenly offered a new contract with much better conditions, and an upgrade! That’s why I’ve got the latest model. Dina: What a good deal. What about the tariff? James: I use my phone more for the internet than for making calls, so I got a 4G tariff.

4G vierte Generation im Mobilfunk battery life Batterielaufzeit conditions Bedingungen contract Vertrag crap vulg. Mist, Scheiße credit Guthaben deal Geschäft, Vereinbarung Person, die mit digital native [)dIdZIt&l (neItIv] digitalen Technologien aufgewachsen ist dim the screen das Display abdunkeln Display display [dIs(pleI] embarrassing peinlich Funktion feature [(fi:tSE] fingerprint recognition Fingerabdrucker[)rekEg(nIS&n] kennung HD retina screen [eItS Retina-Screen mit )di: (retInE )skri:n] hoher Pixeldichte keep track of sth. die Übersicht über etw. behalten kidding: be ~ einen Scherz / Scherze machen latest model: the ~ das neueste Modell pay-as-you-go Prepaidprovider Anbieter settings Einstellungen Tarif tariff [(tÄrIf] top sth. up UK etw. (mit Geld) aufladen upgrade Upgrade, verbesserte Version wireless charger kabelloses Ladegerät

Dina: I think that’s what I’ve got. We got a payas-you-go contract for my son. That way, we can keep track of the costs. He’s allowed a certain amount of credit each month. If he needs more, he can top it up. James: [phone rings] Oh. That’s mine. See you later. 16 SKILL UP!

Look how big the new display is!

ISSUE 34

Stocks? There’s an app for everything

iStock (2)

Which features does your smartphone have?

All our SIM-only plans come with unlimited air time, a monthly spend cap and 4G at no extra cost. 4G is great for streaming music, route planning and watching videos. If your current phone isn’t 4G already, visit one of our stores to arrange an upgrade. Should you wish to continue using your current phone, you’ll still be able to connect to 3G and 2G networks. 3G may be slower, but it’s still good for checking emails and web surfing.

See if 4G is available where you are with our coverage checker.

ISSUE 34

alarm clock stopwatch timer calculator e-reader GPS navigation mobile tag reader mp3 player predictive text [pri(dIktIv] QR code (Quick Response) torch voice-activated personal assistant voice dictation web browser

Wecker; Weckfunktion Stoppuhr Zeitschaltuhr (Taschen-)Rechner E-Reader GPS-Navigation Funketikettenleser MP3-Player Texterkennung QR-Code Taschenlampe sprachbasierter persönlicher Assistent Spracherkennung Webbrowser

Mobile phone contracts 4G / 3G / 2G network Netzwerk der vierten/dritten/zweiten Generation add-on option Zusatzoption air time Sendezeit coverage Netzabdeckung, (Handy-)Netz data allowance Datenvolumen dual band Dualband GPRS (General Packet GPRS (allgemeiner paketorientierter Radio Service) Funkdienst) inclusive minutes Inklusiv-, Freiminuten peak Spitzenzeit off-peak außerhalb der Spitzenzeiten prepaid credit Prepaid-Guthaben reduced rate ermäßigte Gebühr roaming Roaming(gebühr) SIM card (Subscriber SIM-Karte Identity Module) spend cap Kostenobergrenze SKILL UP! 17

YOUR PROFILE

TALK TO ME!

Personalize this guide by adding your own example sentences — which should reflect words and expressions you need in order to talk about your circumstances.

STAYING IN TOUCH How do you stay in touch with the people who matter to you but who don’t live close to you? Do you talk via video-chat apps, social media, text message or on the good old phone? Which do you prefer and why?

Smartphones are evolving rapidly. What do you think the next-generation smartphones will look like and what will they be able to do?

Using the vocabulary from In Focus (pp. 10–11), describe the last time you had some telecommunications equipment installed or repaired. What exactly did the person who helped you do?

SMALL TALK: CAN YOURS DO THIS? Imagine you are talking to a good friend about all the features you like on your new smartphone. Write a minidialogue, using expressions from our Small Talk section (pp. 16–17).

18 SKILL UP!

ISSUE 34

iStock

PREVIEW

DESIGN & ARCHITECTURE IMPRESSUM

HERAUSGEBER UND VERLAGSLEITER: Dr. Wolfgang Stock CHEFREDAKTEUR: Dr. Ian McMaster GESCHÄFTSFÜHRENDE REDAKTEURIN (CvD): Maja Sirola AUTORIN: Dagmar Taylor REDAKTION: Margaret Davis, Hildegard Rudolph, Michele Tilgner BILDREDAKTION: Sarah Gough (Leitung), Thorsten Mansch GESTALTUNG: loop grafikdesign München PRODUKTIONSLEITUNG: Ingrid Sturm VERTRIEBSLEITUNG: Monika Wohlgemuth MARKETINGLEITUNG: Holger Hofmann ANZEIGENLEITUNG: Axel Zettler

Do you admire modern architecture or are you like Prince Charles? Our next Skill Up! focuses on the language you need to talk about buildings and design.

FALSE FRIENDS: stock, dome PICTURE THIS: an architect’s plan WORD BANK: materials and styles

also:

SMALL TALK

VERLAG und REDAKTION: Spotlight Verlag GmbH Postanschrift: Postfach 1565, 82144 Planegg Hausanschrift: Fraunhoferstraße 22, 82152 Planegg Telefon: +49 (0)89 8 56 81-0; Fax +49 (0)89 8 56 81-105 Internet: www.business-spotlight.de

What do you think of that building?

ISSUE 34

Glass house: City Hall, London

Thinkstock editorial

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BusinessSpotlight

100

TRICKY VERBS

FOR YOUR JOB do up come off make out go on look after

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Look it up!*

any English phrasal verbs are tricky for learners. For example, do you know the difference between “to pay something off” and “to pay somebody off”? Or between “to keep something up” and “to keep up with something”? In this booklet, we present 100 phrasal verbs that are useful at work. And on page 19, you can take our special test to see how well you know the verbs we’ve presented here. We hope you find this booklet helpful and look forward to your feedback. Hildegard Rudolph, author

Impressum HERAUSGEBER UND VERLAGSLEITER: Dr. Wolfgang Stock CHEFREDAKTEUR: Dr. Ian McMaster GESCHÄFTSFÜHRENDE REDAKTEURIN: Maja Sirola (CvD) REDAKTION: Dr. Karl Brehmer, Margaret Davis, Hildegard Rudolph, Michele Tilgner AUTORIN: Hildegard Rudolph BILDREDAKTION: Sarah Gough, Thorsten Mansch GESTALTUNG: loopgrafikdesign München VERTRIEBSLEITUNG: Monika Wohlgemuth MARKETINGLEITUNG: Holger Hofmann ANZEIGENLEITUNG: Axel Zettler PRODUKTIONSLEITUNG: Ingrid Sturm VERLAG UND REDAKTION: Spotlight Verlag GmbH Postanschrift: Postfach 1565, 82144 Planegg Hausanschrift: Fraunhoferstraße 22, 82152 Planegg, Telefon: +49 (0)89/8 56 81-0 Internet: www.business-spotlight.de LITHO: Mohn Media Mohndruck GmbH, 33311 Gütersloh DRUCK: teNeues, 47906 Kempen © 5/2015 Spotlight Verlag, auch für alle genannten Autoren, Fotografen und Mitarbeiter.

Contents

bs.lektorat@spotlight-verlag.de

What is a phrasal verb?

look, see, think

give, have, take

come, go, run

do, make, pay

put, set, turn

bring, get, keep

And ten more...

Test your phrasal verbs

*“To look something up” is a phrasal verb that has a non-literal meaning because the word “up” is not used in its normal sense. For a description of the different types of phrasal verbs, see pages 4–5.

Business Spotlight 3

What is a phrasal verb?

adverbial particle can be used: for example, “after” in “look after sb.” (sich um jmdn. kümmern). l The particle can also be a preposition: for example, “away” in “pull sth. away” (etw. wegziehen). l There are also combinations of verb + adverbial particle + preposition: for example, “look forward to sth.” (sich auf etw. freuen). l An

Read the following dialogue, in which Janet from accounts has arrived back in the office from an IT workshop. The phrasal verbs are marked in bold and their usage is explained on the opposite page.

Go up the hill to the hotel, whose prices have gone up 4 Business Spotlight

accounts [E(kaUnts] Buchhaltung (sabteilung) amazing [E(meIzIN] ifml. fantastisch butt [bVt] Zigarettenstummel burning [(b§:nIN] brennend, glühend tank truck [(tÄNk trVk] Tanklaster venue [(venju:] Veranstaltungsort

Digital Vision

Phrasal verbs are multi-word combinations of verb + particle:

David: Hi, Janet. How was your workshop? Did they come up with anything new? Janet: It was very interesting. And the venue was amazing! David: Yes, I know the conference centre in that spa hotel. You go up the hill from the city centre, and it’s at the top, right? We spent our first wedding anniversary there. But I’m sure that the prices will have gone up since then. Janet: Probably — but I’m sure you could look them up on the hotel website. Anyway, what happened here while I was away? David: Oh, there was that terrible accident at the petrol station in town. Someone threw away a burning butt, and a tank truck caught fire and went up in flames. Janet: That’s awful! Well, I hope your project doesn’t go up in smoke. David: No, it definitely won’t. The first test went fine last week, when we turned on the engine.

Types of phrasal verbs The phrasal verbs in the dialogue can be classified into the following groups: 1. Literal meaning Here, both the verb and the particle maintain their basic meaning: l go

up the hill = (den Hügel) hinaufgehen sth. away = etw. wegwerfen

l throw

2. Semi-literal meaning In these cases, the verb + particle combination is used in a figurative sense: l prices

go up = die Preise gehen nach oben

3. Non-literal meaning In these cases, the meaning of the words is changed: l look

sth. up = etw. nachschlagen up with sth. new = s ich etwas Neues einfallen lassen

l c ome

For some verb + particle combinations in this category, the meaning depends on whether the combination is used with “somebody” or “something”: l turn l turn

sth. on = etw. anstellen, einschalten sb. on = jmdn. antörnen, in Fahrt bringen

4. Idioms and expressions In these cases, the verb + particle combination is used with another word, forming an idiom or expression: l go l go

up in smoke = sich in Dunst auflösen up in flames = e xplodieren, in Flammen aufgehen

SEPARABLE AND INSEPARABLE PHRASAL VERBS

1. With separable phrasal verbs, the verb and particle can be written together or separately: l He looked the prices up on the website. l He looked up the prices on the website. If the object is a pronoun (“them” in the following sentence), the verb and particle are always separated: l He looked them up on the website. 2. With phrasal verbs that are inseparable, the verb and particle always go together, even if the object is a pronoun: l I look forward to my new job. l I look forward to it.

In this booklet, we focus on groups 2 and 3: phrasal verbs with a semiliteral or non-literal meaning. Business Spotlight 5

Wavebreak Media

look, see, think

Looking through the plan: looking into the details

Situation: Ronald from the marketing department is discussing the campaign for a new product with Clarissa, the leading graphic designer of an advertising agency. Ronald: Clarissa, thanks for sending me your drafts for the campaign. I looked through them last night and would like to discuss some points with you now. Clarissa: Of course, Ronald. We should look into the details.

BE CAREFUL! If you don’t treat your customers well and look after them, you might have to look for new customers. 6 Business Spotlight

Ronald: So tell me: who was it who thought up all these tools? The cardboard table tents and postcards for the raffles are great! Clarissa: Our intern did. He’s really good at it. And he thinks of everything. He even looked for locations for the table tents and for distributing the postcards. Ronald: Great! Oh, Clarissa, excuse me for a minute. I’d just like to see my colleague off. She’s going on holiday tomorrow. cardboard [(kA:dbO:d] Pappe, Karton draft [drA:ft] Entwurf intern [(Int§:n] Praktikant(in) raffle [(rÄf&l] Gewinnspiel table tent [(teIb&l tent] Tischaufsteller tool [tu:l] Werkzeug; hier: Werbemittel

Phrasal verbs look after sb./sth. sich um jmdn./etw. kümmern Who will look after the new customers? look at sth. (sich) etw. ansehen Let’s look at the figures first and then decide what to do. look for sb./sth. jmdn./etw. suchen Are you still looking for the green folder? look forward to sth. sich auf etw. freuen I’m looking forward to a weekend in London. look into sth. etw. genauer prüfen We should look into this matter again. look out for sth. vor etw. auf der Hut sein Look out for what the competition is doing! look through sth. etw. überfliegen Just let me look through the minutes of the last meeting. look sth. up etw. nachschlagen You can look up the technical specifications in this manual. see sb. off jmdn. verabschieden; wegschicken He’s no longer here. I saw him off half an hour ago. see through sb./sth. jmdn./etw. durchschauen It wasn’t difficult to see through him and his plans. see to sb./sth. sich um jmdn./etw. kümmern We need someone who can see to the catering. think of sth. an etw. denken, etw. gedenken She’s thinking of getting a new computer. think sth. out etw. ersinnen, konzipieren I need some time to think out a way to deal with this. think sth. through etw. (gründlich) durchdenken We should think through our policy before making any changes. think sth. up sich etw. ausdenken Who thought up this strategy? Business Spotlight 7

iStock

give, have, take

Giving in to the customer and also giving up any plans

Situation: A customer would like to have the products that he ordered three weeks earlier than planned. Nick: Robert from project planning asked me if he could have the specifications by Monday, as he has to start production earlier. Anne: So they gave in to that customer who had threatened to buy from one of our competitors?

BE CAREFUL! If you have somebody in (for example, a business partner), they come to your office. If you’re having them on, you are making fun of them. 8 Business Spotlight

Nick: Looks like it. We might have to ask Mike to take on some extra work. Anne: Is that a good idea? This week, he’s testing the new software, and next week, he has somebody in from the IT consultants. He won’t have time to help us properly. Nick: Well, let’s get started then. Anne: And give up any plans for the weekend… competitor [kEm(pEtItE] get started [)get (stA:tId] project planning [(prQdZekt )plÄnIN] specifications [)spesEfI(keIS&n]

Mitbewerber(in) loslegen Projektierung (sabteilung) technische Daten

Phrasal verbs give sth. away etw. hergeben; preisgeben Please don’t give away all the details of our negotiations. give in to sb./sth. jmdm./etw. nachgeben Having negotiated for hours, they finally gave in to our proposal. give sth. off etw. abgeben LED lamps do not give off much heat. give sb./sth. up jmdn./etw. aufgeben She had to give up her job because of an allergy. have sb. in jmdn. im Hause haben They had the auditors in to examine their accounts. have sb. on UK ifml. jmdn. auf den Arm nehmen Don’t take him seriously. He’s just having you on. have sth. on etw. an/eingeschaltet haben I don’t like having the radio on all the time. take after sb. jmdm. nachkommen, gleichen He takes after his grandfather, who founded the company. take against sb./sth. UK sich gegen jmdn./etw. wenden Even his good friends took against him after the bankruptcy. take sb./sth. along jmdn./etw. mitnehmen You should take your secretary along to the meeting. take sth. down etw. abbauen, abmontieren Who took down the fences? take sth. off etw. ab-, wegnehmen You have to take off the lid to see what’s inside. take sth. on etw. übernehmen Are there any other tasks I could take on for you? take to sb./sth. an jmdm./etw. Gefallen finden In the end, we took to the idea of opening a pub in Dublin. take sth. up etw. beanspruchen Reading emails takes up a lot of my time. Business Spotlight 9

iStock

come, go, run

Going about it the right way, and going on

Situation: Ben is talking to his colleague Daniel about meeting an old friend from university at a trade fair. Ben: Daniel, guess who just wrote me an email? Daniel: I have no idea. But I’m sure you’re about to tell me. Ben: Kate! I ran into her when I was at the trade fair last Thursday. Daniel: You mean Kate from university, who ran off with the dean?

BE CAREFUL! If you run out of something, you no longer have any left. But if you run off with something, you are stealing it. 10 Business Spotlight

Ben: Exactly. She now works for a Swedish manufacturer of lamps that run on solar energy. She told me that they had to start a recall because the metal covers kept coming off one of their models. Daniel: Well, I’m sure Kate will find a solution. She always knew how to go about solving problems. Ben: Talking about solutions: how about going on to find out what went wrong with our own material test? dean [di:n] manufacturer [)mÄnju(fÄktSErE] metal cover [)met&l (kVvE] recall [(ri:kO:l] trade fair [(treId feE]

Dekan(in) Hersteller(in) Metallabdeckung Rückrufaktion Messe

Phrasal verbs come back to sth. auf etw. zurückkommen I’ll come back to your question as soon as possible. come down to sth. auf etw. hinauslaufen In the end, it will come down to who offers the lowest price. come off sich lösen, abgehen Could you help me? A button has come off my suit. come round UK vorbeischauen Come round to our new offices when you’re in town. go about sth. etw. angehen He had no idea how to go about his new task. go down fallen, zurückgehen, nachlassen The price of their clothes has gone down, but so has the quality. go on to sth. zu etw. übergehen Let’s go on to the next point on the agenda. go with sth. zu etw. passen The way she dresses doesn’t go with her position. go without sth. etw. nicht haben, auf etw. verzichten A lot of people have to go without clean drinking water. run into sb. jmdn. zufällig treffen I ran into a former colleague whom I hadn’t seen for years. run into sth. in etw. (hinein)geraten They ran into difficulties and couldn’t keep to the deadline. run off with sb./sth. ifml. mit jmdm./etw. durchbrennen He ran off with all the shop’s cash. run on sth. This car runs on biofuel.

mit etw. laufen, funktionieren

run out of sth. etw. nicht mehr haben As a result of the strike, the supermarket has run out of milk. run sth. up etw. auflaufen lassen They ran up a deficit of several thousand euros. Business Spotlight 11

iStock

do, make, pay

Doing up the floor and doing without machines

Situation: The factory floor at a window manufacturer has to be modernized. Thomas and Paul are discussing the matter. Thomas: Paul, do you know how long they will need to do up the factory floor? Paul: First, they’ll do the part where the workbench is. They’ll dismantle it and later reinstall it. We’ll have to do without any equipment for about a week.

BE CAREFUL! If you make up for something (like a mistake), you put things right. If you make something up (like a story), you invent it. 12 Business Spotlight

Thomas: Well, instead of reinstalling the old workbench, couldn’t they buy the new model we saw in the catalogue? It’s a big investment, but I’m sure it would pay off within three or four years. Paul: But isn’t it also much bigger? Thomas: The former conference room could be used as a production area. This would take about a week or so, but as the new workbench will be much faster, we could easily make up for any delay. dismantle sth. etw. demontieren [dIs(mÄnt&l] factory floor Werkshalle [)fÄktri (flO:] manufacturer Hersteller(in) [)mÄnju(fÄktSErE] workbench [(w§:kbentS] Hobelbank

Phrasal verbs do away with sth. etw. loswerden We need to do away with the current system for storing information. do sb. down UK ifml. jmdn. heruntermachen You shouldn’t do anybody down in the presence of others. do sth. out UK ifml. etw. (gründlich) aufräumen I sometimes have to do out my office. do sth. over ifml. etw. noch einmal machen I think we should do this financial report over. do sth. up UK ifml. etw. renovieren While they are doing up our offices, we have to work in containers. do without sb./sth. ohne jmdn./etw. auskommen It’s awful! She can’t do without her iPhone! make after sb./sth. hinter jmdm./etw. herjagen The police made after the bank robbers. make away/off with sth. sich mit etw. davonmachen She made off with all the company’s money. make for sth. für etw. sorgen The good results make for optimism among the managers. make sth. out etw. verstehen, erkennen I couldn’t make out why he wanted to leave the company. make sth. up etw. erfinden He made up this story, didn’t he? make up for sth. etw. ausgleichen, wettmachen The excellent results made up for all our hard work. pay off sich bezahlt machen All your efforts will pay off in the end. pay sb. off jmdn. kaufen, bestechen We had to pay off the gangsters who were threatening us. pay sth. off etw. abzahlen, zurückzahlen They had to sell their house to pay off their debts. Business Spotlight 13

iStock

put, set, turn

We can’t put up with him putting things off again!

Situation: John, the head of production, has filed a request to the finance department for the purchase of a new machine. John: Helen, I’ve just got your email about the decision to turn down my request for the purchase of a new machine. Helen: I really feel sorry about that, John. But our bank has refused to put up our overdraft limit. And

BE CAREFUL! If you turn something up (like a radio), you increase the volume. If you turn up (for a party), you appear. 14 Business Spotlight

if no other source of funds turns up, we’ll have to put back this investment for a while. John: I really don’t understand this decision, Helen. Faster production would have been a chance to turn the company’s finances round. Helen: I know, I know. But let’s wait until we get the bank’s detailed report in which they set out the reasons for their decision. department [di(pA:tmEnt] file sth. [faI&l] overdraft limit [(EUvEdrA:ft )lImIt] source of funds [)sO:s Ev (fVndz]

Abteilung etw. einreichen Kreditrahmen Geldquelle

Phrasal verbs put sth. back etw. zurückstellen Let’s put back the discussion until Tom is here, too. put sth. off etw. verschieben, aufschieben I have a doctor’s appointment, so could we put off the meeting? put sth. up etw. erhöhen, heraufsetzen Is it true that the ECB has put up interest rates? put up with sb./sth. sich mit jmdm./etw. abfinden So we’ll have to put up with another delay. set sb./sth. back jmdn./etw. in Verzug bringen The long winter set us back at least a couple of weeks. set sth. down etw. niederschreiben They asked him to set down his ideas. set off on sth. zu etw. aufbrechen He’s setting off on his first business trip abroad. set sth. off etw. auslösen, in Gang setzen The news of their bankruptcy set off a series of reactions. set sth. out etw. darlegen, erläutern Let me set out the company’s strategy first. set sth. up etw. errichten, einrichten She set up a foundation to support children in need. turn sb./sth. down jmdn./etw. zurückweisen Do you understand why he turned down my proposal? turn sth. round etw. wenden The government’s new policy might help to turn the economy round. turn to sb. sich an jmdn. wenden I told him to turn to Phil for help with the internet access. turn up erscheinen, auftauchen I’m sure he’ll turn up later. He won’t miss this party. turn sth. up etw. höher/lauter stellen Shall I turn up the sound or is it loud enough? Business Spotlight 15

Getting on with things, getting over problems

iStock

bring, get, keep

Situation: A bicycle manufacturer is testing an innovative bicycle frame made of CFRP. Alan, head of R&D, is having a meeting with Phil, whose team is testing the prototype. Alan: How are you getting on with the prototype? Phil: We had problems with the new material. But we’ve got over them and everything’s fine now. Alan: You probably know that one of our competitors is working on

BE CAREFUL! If you bring something up in a meeting, you talk about it. If you bring children up, you care for them. 16 Business Spotlight

a similar bicycle frame. Could we perhaps bring forward our production schedule? Phil: If we want to keep up our standards, we have to keep to all steps in the production process. Alan: OK. Well, what counts is that we bring out a really cutting-edge product. CFRP (carbon-fibre- CFK (carbonfaserreinforced plastic) verstärkter [)si: ef A: (pi:] Kunststoff) competitor [kEm(petItE] Mitbewerber(in) cutting-edge topaktuell [)kVtIN (edZ] manufacturer Hersteller(in) [)mÄnju(fÄktSErE] R&D (research and F&E (Forschung development) und Entwicklung) [)A:r En (di:] schedule [(Sedju:l] Zeitplan

Phrasal verbs bring sb./sth. along jmdn./etw. mitbringen You may bring along your partners. bring sth. forward etw. vorverlegen Could we bring the meeting forward to 9.30? bring sth. out etw. herausbringen They’ve brought out some really innovative products. jmdn. aufziehen, großziehen bring sb. up It’s not easy to bring up children while trying to run a company. bring sth. up etw. zur Sprache bringen You should bring the matter up in our next meeting. get sth. across etw. rüberbringen He didn’t manage to get his message across. get away with sth. mit etw. ungeschoren davonkommen It was all her fault, but she got away with it. get back to sb. sich wieder bei jmdm. melden I’ll get back to you with some more details as soon as possible. get down to sth. sich an etw. heranmachen Let’s get down to business now. get on with sth. mit etw. weitermachen; vorankommen She got on with the project immediately. get over sth. über etw. hinwegkommen, etw. überwinden They finally managed to get over their production problems. keep sth. down etw. niedrig halten Due to strong competition, we have to keep prices down. keep to sth. sich an etw. halten, etw. einhalten This wouldn’t have happened if you had kept to the rules. keep sth. up etw. aufrechterhalten We need to keep up our reputation for quality. keep up with sb./sth. mit jmdm./etw. mithalten, Schritt halten We have to work hard to keep up with our competitors. Business Spotlight 17

Moodboard

And ten more...

Here are ten more phrasal verbs that you will find useful at work.

break off with sb. sich von jmdm. trennen After several failures, they broke off with their business partner. call sth. off etw. absagen, abblasen They apologized for calling off the workshop. catch up with sb./sth. den Anschluss an jmdn./etw. finden If we work hard, we’ll catch up with our competitors. cut back on sth. etw. kürzen Even if we cut back on expenditures, we have to maintain our quality. dress down ifml. sich leger kleiden I love casual Fridays, because then I can dress down. fall back on sb./sth. auf jmdn./etw. zurückgreifen She retired a year ago, but we can fall back on her in an emergency. hold on to sb./sth. an jmdm./etw. festhalten We need to hold on to our traditional values. lay sb. off jmdn. entlassen Is it true that they are going to lay off another ten employees? pick sb. up jmdn. abholen Our driver will pick you up from the airport. sort sth. out etw. klären Finally, they sorted out their difficulties.

FOR MORE... There are, of course, many more than 100 phrasal verbs in English. Whenever you come across a new one, write it down with its German translation. For more about phrasal verbs, see these books: Collins COBUILD — Phrasal Verbs Dictionary (HarperCollins); Phrasal Verbs Plus (Macmillan) 18 Business Spotlight

How well do you know the phrasal verbs we have presented in this booklet? Complete the sentences with the missing words.

Test

your phrasal verbs

Look, see, think 1. They are thinking _____ building a new canteen. So they are looking _____ someone who will see _____ the catering. Give, have, take 2. She takes _____ her mother, who also had the TV _____ whenever she was at home and even when she had visitors. She just can’t give _____ the habit. Come, go, run 3. He asked me to come _____ to their new house after work. He’s so proud of it: the hot water runs _____ solar energy, and the colour of the curtains goes _____ the carpet. Do, make, pay 4. I don’t understand why he did you _____: all your hard work paid _____ and you made _____ for the loss. Put, set, turn 5. If we set _____ the new production line immediately, we won’t have to put _____ the launch of the new product. And we won’t have to turn _____ our Liverpool branch for help, either. Bring, get, keep 6. They promised to keep the pollution _____ and bring _____ the topic of electric cars at the next meeting. But they didn’t and, as a result, they got _____ with it. Answers

Business Spotlight 19

1. of; for; to; 2. after; on; up; 3. round (also possible: over); on; with; 4. down; off; up; 5. up; off; to; 6. down; up; away

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