Business Spotlight Meetings - Ten top tips (Vorschau)
Business Spotlight Business Spotlight Englisch für den Beruf Language Test Synonyms and antonyms November–Dezember | Ausgabe 6/2014 Meetings Ten top tips Careers Success at job interviews Intercultural How to work with Americans EXTRA IM HEFT Fit in Englisch 20 Tabellen Basisgrammatik Deutschland: € 13,90 l CH sfr 25,00 A l E l I l L l P (cont.) l SK: € 15,80 06 4 195 378 413906
- Page 2 and 3: Übung macht den Meister! Das Übun
- Page 4 and 5: CONTENTS 6/2014 18 Marissa Mayer Co
- Page 6 and 7: THE BIG PICTURE UNITED STATES R. D.
- Page 8 and 9: WORKING WORLD NAMES AND NEWS We’l
- Page 10 and 11: WORKING WORLD NAMES AND NEWS Modern
- Page 12 and 13: LANGUAGE TEST SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS
- Page 14 and 15: LANGUAGE TEST SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS
- Page 16 and 17: LANGUAGE TEST SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS
- Page 18 and 19: Geek-in-chief Wo immer sie auftritt
- Page 20 and 21: t GLOBAL BUSINESS PROFILE Youth mar
- Page 22 and 23: Mehr Sprache können Sie nirgendwo
- Page 24 and 25: GLOBAL BUSINESS HEAD-TO-HEAD Will t
- Page 26 and 27: GLOBAL BUSINESS IT’S PERSONAL Win
- Page 28 and 29: Sprachen lernen und erleben ✔ 28
- Page 30 and 31: Meeting your needs Für viele sind
- Page 32 and 33: BUSINESS SKILLS MEETINGS l What are
- Page 34 and 35: BUSINESS SKILLS MEETINGS Check: how
- Page 36 and 37: BUSINESS SKILLS TOOLBOX Writing in
- Page 38 and 39: An impossible dream? Hat sich mit d
- Page 40 and 41: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION THE US
- Page 42 and 43: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION THE US
- Page 44 and 45: Corbis Digging deep in Texas: extra
- Page 46 and 47: LANGUAGE VOCABULARY Concert halls I
- Page 48 and 49: LANGUAGE EASY ENGLISH iStock Explai
- Page 50 and 51: LANGUAGE WISE WORDS Feel the sun an
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong><br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong><br />
Englisch für den Beruf<br />
Language Test<br />
Synonyms<br />
and antonyms<br />
November–Dezember | Ausgabe 6/2014<br />
<strong>Meetings</strong><br />
<strong>Ten</strong> <strong>top</strong> <strong>tips</strong><br />
Careers<br />
Success at<br />
job interviews<br />
Intercultural<br />
How to work<br />
with Americans<br />
EXTRA IM HEFT<br />
Fit in Englisch<br />
20 Tabellen Basisgrammatik<br />
Deutschland: € 13,90 l CH sfr 25,00<br />
A l E l I l L l P (cont.) l SK: € 15,80<br />
06<br />
4 195 378 413906
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EDITORIAL<br />
Language <strong>tips</strong><br />
Für Ihren<br />
erfolgreichen<br />
Englisch-Unterricht<br />
Kursbücher von Klett und<br />
Cambridge University Press<br />
When we ask our readers what<br />
Ian McMaster, editor-in-chief<br />
aspect of their English they<br />
would most like to improve,<br />
their answer is usually “vocabulary”. This includes both general<br />
words and phrases as well as ones relating to specific areas of<br />
business. An important dimension of vocabulary is being able to<br />
say the same thing in different ways. You can find out how your<br />
word power is with our excellent/wonderful/magnificent test on<br />
synonyms and antonyms<br />
(opposites). It starts on<br />
page 12.<br />
Another key aspect of<br />
language is grammar. We<br />
have a special bonus for<br />
you with this issue of<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong>: an eightpage<br />
grammar pull-out, with<br />
20 tables covering the most<br />
important grammar points (see<br />
p. 55). We hope you find them useful.<br />
Grammar tables: to pull<br />
out and keep<br />
General English<br />
Anzeige:<br />
Great!<br />
KERN<br />
1/3<br />
Von Starter bis B1:<br />
4c<br />
Frische Ideen, neue<br />
didaktische Methoden<br />
und viele abwechslungsreiche<br />
Übungen überzeugen<br />
www.klett.de/great<br />
English<br />
Unlimited<br />
Weltsprache Englisch:<br />
Für alle, die Ihren<br />
Schwerpunkt auf<br />
authentisches, globales<br />
Englisch legen.<br />
www.klett.de/<br />
englishunlimited<br />
<strong>Business</strong>/<br />
Professional English<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> Verlag and <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> will be media partners at<br />
two upcoming language events in Berlin: Expolingua Berlin, on<br />
21 and 22 November (www.expolingua.com/expolingua_berlin/<br />
de); and this year’s Languages & <strong>Business</strong> Forum on 3 December<br />
(www.languages-business.com). We look forward to seeing as<br />
many of our readers as possible at these events.<br />
Ian McMaster, editor-in-chief<br />
Contact: i.mcmaster@spotlight-verlag.de<br />
<strong>Business</strong><br />
Advantage<br />
Theorie und Praxis<br />
in Bestform:<br />
Mit zahlreichen Fallbeispielen<br />
aus realen<br />
Unternehmen inklusive<br />
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Für Spezialisten:<br />
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Autoren und Fachexperten<br />
aus der jeweiligen<br />
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6/2014
CONTENTS 6/2014<br />
18 Marissa Mayer<br />
Corbis<br />
38 American Dream?<br />
Mauritius<br />
The Big Picture<br />
6 United States plus<br />
Amazon getting ready for Christmas<br />
Working World<br />
8 Names and News plus<br />
The latest from the world of business<br />
Language Test<br />
12 Synonyms and Antonyms<br />
How extensive is your vocabulary?<br />
Global <strong>Business</strong><br />
18 Profile<br />
Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s charismatic boss<br />
24 Head-to-Head advanced<br />
Is TTIP good for Europe?<br />
26 It’s Personal advanced<br />
Elisabeth Ribbans on winning and sleeping<br />
29 <strong>Business</strong> Press Behind the headlines advanced<br />
<strong>Business</strong> Skills<br />
30 Series (5): <strong>Meetings</strong> plus<br />
<strong>Ten</strong> <strong>tips</strong> for better meetings<br />
35 Training Plan plus<br />
Improve your meetings skills<br />
36 Toolbox<br />
Ken Taylor on better writing<br />
Intercultural Communication<br />
38 The US<br />
Doing business with Americans<br />
Multimedia learning with <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong><br />
plus<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> plus<br />
plus Practise the language used in the<br />
magazine with our exercise booklet. In<br />
this issue, we focus on the vocabulary<br />
you need to talk about energy, a listening<br />
exercise on medical tourism and the<br />
language of meetings.<br />
Careers<br />
76 Series (3): Job Interviews<br />
What to say — and what not to say<br />
82 Tips and Trends<br />
Advising your boss; dealing with office politics<br />
Management<br />
84 Mobile Banking<br />
Living without cash in Zimbabwe<br />
86 What Happened Next<br />
The Mobro garbage barge<br />
87 Executive Eye plus<br />
Adrian Furnham on managing orchestras<br />
Technology<br />
88 Acoustics advanced<br />
Objects that can hear<br />
90 Trends<br />
Cigarette secrets; efficiency at work; Shrinky Dinks<br />
91 Language Focus advanced<br />
Technical drawing<br />
People<br />
94 My Working Life easy<br />
Beccy Jesson, nature ambassador<br />
Regular sections<br />
3 Editorial<br />
22 SprachenShop<br />
37 Index 2014<br />
81 Classified Ads<br />
92 Feedback / Impressum<br />
93 Preview<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong><br />
Englisch für den Beruf<br />
AUDIO<br />
<strong>Business</strong> Skills<br />
How to improve<br />
your meetings<br />
Intercultural<br />
Communication<br />
Working with<br />
Americans<br />
6/14<br />
CD<br />
Careers<br />
Job interviews<br />
Unbenannt-1 1 19.09.14 07:25<br />
Fuse<br />
READERS’ SERVICE<br />
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<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio<br />
Our audio product offers more than 70 minutes of<br />
texts, dialogues, exercises and interviews. On this CD, you<br />
can get <strong>tips</strong> on how to have a successful job interview.
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Dear colleagues<br />
<strong>Meetings</strong> can be productive. Don’t laugh, I’m actually being serious. You do,<br />
however, need to master certain techniques, strategies and turns of phrases<br />
to turn international meetings into a success. As meetings generally take<br />
up a lot of time at work, we’ve devoted a lot of space to this <strong>top</strong>ic in our<br />
products. “<strong>Meetings</strong> matter” (p. 2) will help you to make the most of them.<br />
Have you ever dropped off in a meeting? You must know someone who has. Don’t be too critical<br />
of them — their need for sleep may be genetic. See our activity “Sleepyhead” (p. 5) to learn<br />
more. On the same page, you’ll also find a filler to energize your students (“Time out”). We hope<br />
you have the energy to make use of all our activities.<br />
Deborah Capras<br />
Deputy editor<br />
bs.deputyeditor@spotlight-verlag.de<br />
Title Main focus Minutes Level Based on item in magazine Page<br />
LESSON ACTIVITIES<br />
1. The American dream Intercultural awareness 90 medium “An impossible dream” (pp. 38–45) 2<br />
2. <strong>Meetings</strong> matter* Communication strategies 60/60 med.–adv. <strong>Business</strong> Skills (pp. 30–35) 2<br />
3. Little comfort Vocabulary-building 45/45 med.–adv. Skill Up!, Wise Words (pp. 50–51) 3<br />
4. Trends today Describing developments 90 easy Easy English (pp. 46–47) 3<br />
WORKSHEET *Photocopiable material for the activity “<strong>Meetings</strong> matter” 4<br />
WARMERS AND FILLERS<br />
1. Sleepyhead? Personal needs 30 advanced “Winning, losing, snoozing” (p. 26) 5<br />
2. Can’t be bothered Attitudes to work 30 medium Names and News (p. 10) 5<br />
3. Drinks on me Relationship-building 15–30 all levels “All in a day’s work” (pp. 82–83) 5<br />
4. Time out Work schedules 15–30 all levels “Ideas and inventions” (p. 90) 5<br />
HIGHLIGHT <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio: an extended section on job interviews 5<br />
SERVICE Online survey l Important dates l ones<strong>top</strong>english Staff Room offer 5<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> in the classroom ist ein kos ten los er Service für <strong>Business</strong>-<strong>Spotlight</strong>-Abo nnenten in Lehr berufen. Er<br />
bezieht sich auf die jeweils aktuelle Heftausgabe.<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> erhal ten Sie im Sammel bezug für Ihre Unter richts teilnehmer mit einem besond ers attrak ti ven<br />
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Nähere Informationen erhältlich bei:<br />
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Tel. +49(0)89/85681-150, Fax +49(0)89/85681-119<br />
e-mail: lehrer@spot light-ver lag.de<br />
IMPRESSUM<br />
HERAUS GE BER UND VER LAGS LEI TER: Dr. Wolfgang Stock<br />
CHEFREDAKTEUR: Dr. Ian McMaster<br />
STELLVERTRETENDE CHEFREDAKTEURIN: Deborah Capras<br />
GESCHÄFTSFÜHRENDE REDAKTEURIN (CVD): Maja Sirola<br />
AUTOREN: Deborah Capras, Mike Hogan<br />
REDAKTION: Margaret Davis, Michele Tilgner<br />
GESTALTUNG: loop grafikdesign<br />
KEY ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT: Susanne Mürbeth<br />
© 2014 <strong>Spotlight</strong> Verlag, auch für alle genann ten<br />
Autoren, Fotografen und Mitarbeiter.<br />
BS_14_06_BS classroom.indd 1 19.09.14 14:04<br />
30 Good meetings<br />
55 Grammar basics<br />
63 Useful<br />
vocabulary<br />
Language Section<br />
Language section<br />
46 Vocabulary Concert halls easy<br />
47 Grammar at Work Showing interest plus<br />
48 Easy English Developments easy plus<br />
50 Wise Words Weather and renewable energy plus<br />
52 Translation False friends and more<br />
53 Language Cards To pull out and practise<br />
55 GRAMMAR BASICS 20 reference tables<br />
63 SKILL UP! Energy<br />
64 Email Linking phrases<br />
65 English on the Move Flight conversations<br />
66 Short Story The CBO<br />
68 English for… Philanthropy<br />
70 Legal English Understanding legislation advanced<br />
71 Talking Finance Pimp your GDP! advanced<br />
72 Teacher Talk Interview with Timothy Phillips<br />
74 Products What’s new?<br />
75 Key Words Vocabulary from this issue<br />
GUIDE<br />
Language in <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong><br />
Articles in the magazine use the style, spelling, punctuation and<br />
pronunciation of British English unless otherwise marked.<br />
US American style, spelling, punctuation and pronunciation<br />
are used in these articles.<br />
All articles are marked with their level of language difficulty.<br />
Articles not marked on the contents pages are at a medium level.<br />
(CEF stands for the Council of Europe’s “Common European<br />
Framework of Reference for Languages”.)<br />
easy Approximately at CEF level A2<br />
medium Approximately at CEF levels B1–B2<br />
advanced Approximately at CEF levels C1–C2<br />
ifml.: informal word or phrase; vulg.: vulgar word or phrase;<br />
sl.: slang word or phrase; non-stand.: non-standard word or phrase;<br />
UK: chiefly British usage; US: chiefly North American usage<br />
Cover <strong>top</strong>ics<br />
Cover photograph: Masterfile<br />
chlos<br />
sensatz<br />
Ideal<br />
für Kurse<br />
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Klassen!<br />
Preisstand: 07/2014<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong><br />
Englisch für den Beruf<br />
Contents<br />
That’s news to me<br />
in the classroom<br />
6/14<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> in the classroom<br />
This six-page supplement for teachers and<br />
trainers provides lesson activities based<br />
on articles in <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong>. It is free<br />
to those who subscribe to the magazine. To<br />
order, please send an email to:<br />
schulmedien@spotlight-verlag.de<br />
plus<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> Online<br />
www Go to our website for<br />
language-learning activities,<br />
as well as news and blogs.<br />
Subscribers have full access<br />
to our online premium content.<br />
www.business-spotlight.de<br />
www.business-spotlight.de 5
THE BIG PICTURE UNITED STATES<br />
R. D. Fresco/Reuters<br />
6 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
Ready for Christmas?<br />
medium US<br />
In this photo, a worker collects products for delivery at<br />
Amazon’s distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona, the<br />
largest of the company’s 80 worldwide. Amazon is getting<br />
ready for Cyber Monday — December 1 this year — the<br />
busiest day of the year for online businesses. The distribution<br />
center is 1.2 million square feet (about 111,500<br />
square metres) in area. According to Bloomberg News,<br />
approximately 50,000 seasonal workers are hired in<br />
Phoenix in preparation for Cyber Monday.<br />
Amazon’s German locations have seen several strikes<br />
over the past year. Verdi, the German services union,<br />
wants Amazon to recognize its employees as retail rather<br />
than logistics workers. This would mean wage increases<br />
of about €1 per hour.<br />
BS<br />
Cyber Monday [)saIb&r (mVndeI*] US<br />
distribution center [dIstrI(bju:S&n )sent&r*]<br />
Phoenix [(fi:nIks]<br />
retail [(ri:teI&l]<br />
seasonal worker [)si:z&nEl (w§:k&r*]<br />
services union [(s§:vEsIz )ju:njEn*]<br />
strike [straIk]<br />
* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.<br />
etwa: Aktionstag von Online-<br />
Shops am Montag nach<br />
Thanksgiving<br />
Vertriebszentrum<br />
[wg. Aussprache]<br />
Einzelhandel<br />
Saisonarbeiter(in)<br />
Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft<br />
Streik<br />
plus Find related exercises on this <strong>top</strong>ic in <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> plus<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 7
WORKING WORLD NAMES AND NEWS<br />
We’ll drink to that:<br />
marketer David Beckham<br />
DAVID BECKHAM<br />
Drink it like Beckham?<br />
easy<br />
Football star. Style icon. Celebrity dad. David Beckham is all those things<br />
and more. Now retired, the 39-year-old remains active with modelling<br />
contracts and his own line of men’s perfumes. Beckham’s latest project is<br />
a partnership with Diageo plc to develop a new whisky, called Haig Club.<br />
Some marketing experts are sceptical of the deal, however. During his<br />
playing career, Beckham avoided drinking alcohol and admits that he still<br />
rarely drinks more than a glass of red wine. “Beckham’s scored an own<br />
goal in [the] Haig Club signing,” wrote Mark Ritson in MarketingWeek.<br />
Listen to this text on <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio<br />
$32,400,000,000<br />
Amount Americans spent<br />
in 2012 on a wide range of<br />
sleep-related aids<br />
L. Jakson/Reuters<br />
Sources: The Wall Street Journal; IMS Health (www.imshealth.com)<br />
celebrity [sE(lebrEti]<br />
line [laIn]<br />
millionaire [)mIljE(neE]<br />
perfume [(p§:fju:m]<br />
plc (public limited company) [)pi: el (si:] UK<br />
score an own goal [)skO:r En )EUn (gEUl]<br />
sleep-related aid [)sli:p ri)leItId (eId]<br />
style icon [(staI&l )aIkQn]<br />
Berühmtheit, Promi<br />
Produktlinie<br />
[wg. Aussprache]<br />
[wg. Aussprache]<br />
AG<br />
ein Eigentor schießen<br />
Schlafmittel<br />
Stil-Ikone<br />
“If you’re not making mistakes,<br />
you’re not making decisions”<br />
Catherine Cook, 24, US internet millionaire<br />
8 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
NEW ZEALAND<br />
A change of fortune<br />
medium<br />
Like native groups in other countries, Maori tribes often<br />
earn money with legalized gambling on their land. But<br />
the Ngāi Tahu have become wealthy without needing casinos<br />
— instead, they have invested in property, the stock<br />
market and tourism.<br />
The tribe’s road to financial independence started in<br />
1998, when they received a NZ$ 170 million (about €110<br />
million) settlement from the New Zealand government.<br />
They could have divided it equally among the 50,000<br />
members of the tribe, but chose to invest it instead. “It’s a<br />
hand up, not a handout,” Mark Solomon, head of the tribal<br />
council, told The Wall Street Journal.<br />
<strong>Ten</strong> years ago, the tribe was offered a stake in a local<br />
casino. The Ngāi Tahu said no. “Gambling isn’t good. Even<br />
some of the gamblers said that,” Solomon comments.<br />
The amount of illegal gold imports<br />
seized in India rose by 534 per cent<br />
in 2013 to nearly 1,300 kilograms, up<br />
from 201 kilograms in 2012.<br />
➡<br />
NZTB<br />
Guided tour: successful Ngāi Tahu tourism investment<br />
4<br />
Sources: The Globe and Mail; Government of India,<br />
Prime Minister’s Office (http://pmindia.gov.in)<br />
The productivity per hour of British<br />
workers in 2012 was 21 per cent below<br />
the average productivity of workers<br />
in other G7 countries — the largest<br />
gap in 20 years. The gap is biggest<br />
in comparison with the US, Germany<br />
and France. However, British workers<br />
produce 11 per cent more per hour<br />
than Japanese workers.<br />
Sources: The Guardian; Office for National Statistics<br />
(www.statistics.gov.uk)<br />
A change of fortune<br />
[)E )tSeIndZ Ev (fO:tSEn]<br />
gambling [(gÄmblIN]<br />
gap [gÄp]<br />
handout [(hÄndaUt]<br />
hand up [)hÄnd (Vp]<br />
native [(neItIv]<br />
property [(prQpEti]<br />
seize sth. [si:z]<br />
settlement [(set&lmEnt]<br />
stake [steIk]<br />
stock market [(stQk )mA:kIt]<br />
tribal council [)traIb&l (kaUns&l]<br />
tribe [traIb]<br />
eine Schicksalswende<br />
➡<br />
Glücksspiel<br />
Diskrepanz<br />
Almosen<br />
hier etwa: hilfreiche Zuwendung<br />
hier: Ureinwohner(in)<br />
Immobilie(n)<br />
etw. beschlagnahmen<br />
Ausgleich(szahlung)<br />
Beteiligung<br />
Aktienmarkt<br />
Stammesrat<br />
Stamm<br />
Karrierefaktor<br />
Fremdsprachen<br />
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6/2014<br />
Internationale Sprachschulen
WORKING WORLD NAMES AND NEWS<br />
Modern choice:<br />
innovation or<br />
college education?<br />
CANADA<br />
Success stories<br />
More and more young Canadians are choosing<br />
to start a business instead of finishing<br />
university. Ironically, many of them are profiting<br />
from business incubators on university<br />
campuses.<br />
Hongwei Liu, 22, dropped out of engineering<br />
at the University of Waterloo, in Ontario,<br />
three years ago to start a company called<br />
MappedIn. The firm, which builds interactive<br />
maps, now has 13 employees.<br />
MappedIn is based in a business incubator<br />
on the Waterloo campus. “There are students<br />
who are looking for more than an education,”<br />
explains Mike Kirkup, the incubator’s director.<br />
“You really just need a lap<strong>top</strong> and time,”<br />
Kirkup told Maclean’s magazine.<br />
“A professional is<br />
someone who can do<br />
his best work when he<br />
doesn’t feel like it”<br />
Alistair Cooke (1908–2004), British radio and<br />
television journalist<br />
based: be ~ [beIst] seinen Sitz haben<br />
business incubator Gründerzentrum<br />
[(bIznEs )INkjEbeIt&r*] US<br />
drop out of sth.<br />
etw. ohne Abschluss<br />
[)drQp (aUt Qv]<br />
beenden<br />
engineering<br />
(Studium der)<br />
[)endZI(nIErIN]<br />
Ingenieurwissenschaften<br />
* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.<br />
Corbis<br />
Wavebreak Media<br />
medium<br />
10 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
POLAND<br />
Treating travellers<br />
advanced<br />
Do your teeth need work? How about that<br />
gimpy hip, or the plastic surgery you’ve<br />
been promising yourself? You might want to<br />
consider having the procedures carried out<br />
in Poland, where a government initiative is<br />
promoting the country as a low-cost, highperformance<br />
medical tourism destination for<br />
Scandinavians, Germans, Eastern Europeans,<br />
Britons — and even Americans.<br />
Dr Krzysztof Gonczowski’s multilingual<br />
dental clinic in Krakow is among the hightech<br />
facilities providing treatment. “We offer<br />
clients the complete package — we pick them<br />
up at the airport and they can stay in our<br />
apartments next to the clinic,” Gonczowski<br />
told The Guardian. “The treatment plan is<br />
designed to fit entirely around the customer.”<br />
Poland’s medical tourism development programme<br />
is 75 per cent funded by the EU, says<br />
CEO Magdalena Rutkowska. “It amazes me<br />
that people can be asked to pay $100,000 for<br />
heart bypass surgery in the US, but they can<br />
fly nine hours to us, they can have as good<br />
or better treatment, and pay just $15,000,”<br />
Rutkowska comments.<br />
Listen to this text on <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio<br />
plus Do exercises on this <strong>top</strong>ic in <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> plus<br />
iStock<br />
Credit<br />
Serious surgery: it will probably be cheaper in Poland<br />
70<br />
Percentage of working women<br />
in Japan who s<strong>top</strong> working for<br />
ten years or more after the birth<br />
of their first child.<br />
30<br />
Percentage of working women<br />
in the US who s<strong>top</strong> working<br />
for ten years or more after the<br />
birth of their first child.<br />
Source: The Economist<br />
What they said...<br />
“I love being a writer. What I can’t stand is the<br />
paperwork”<br />
Peter De Vries (1910–93), US novelist and satirist<br />
“Wanting to know an author because you like his work<br />
is like wanting to know a duck because you like pâté”<br />
Margaret Atwood, 74, Canadian novelist, poet and environmental activist<br />
“The writer is to the real world what Esperanto is<br />
to the language world — funny, maybe, but not that<br />
funny”<br />
Fran Lebowitz, 63, US essayist and humorist<br />
amaze sb. [E(meIz]<br />
CEO (chief executive<br />
officer) [)si: i: (EU]<br />
design sth. [di(zaIn]<br />
environmental activist<br />
[InvaI&rEn)ment&l<br />
(ÄktIvIst]<br />
facility [fE(sIlEti]<br />
fund sth. [fVnd]<br />
gimpy [(gImpi] US ifml.<br />
hip [hIp]<br />
novelist [(nQvElIst]<br />
package [(pÄkIdZ]<br />
paperwork [(peIpEw§:k]<br />
pâté [(pÄteI]<br />
plastic surgery<br />
[)plÄstIk (s§:dZEri]<br />
jmdn. erstaunen<br />
Geschäftsführer(in)<br />
etw. konzipieren<br />
Umweltaktivist(in)<br />
Einrichtung<br />
etw. finanzieren<br />
lahm; hier: schwer<br />
beweglich<br />
Hüfte<br />
Romanschriftsteller(in)<br />
(Leistungs-)Paket<br />
Schreibkram<br />
Pastete<br />
Schönheitsoperation<br />
www Find more stories online at<br />
www.business-spotlight.de/news<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 11
LANGUAGE TEST SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS<br />
Meet the relatives<br />
Ihnen fällt das passende Wort nicht ein? Versuchen Sie es doch einfach<br />
mal mit ähnlichen oder gegensätzlichen Begriffen. Carol Scheunemann und<br />
Hildegard Rudolph geben Ihnen hier Gelegenheit, das zu üben. all levels<br />
THE SITUATION:<br />
Kevin Young and Amy Tyson are partners<br />
in Kyat Consultancy. They advise<br />
firms that produce various types of<br />
consumer goods. Communication is<br />
key to their business. Let’s join them<br />
as they advise their clients and prepare<br />
material.<br />
1.<br />
Which opposite? (10 points)<br />
In their conversations, Amy and Kevin use words that have different meanings in different<br />
contexts. Choose the correct antonyms, or opposites, of the words in bold.<br />
easy<br />
cold l dark l easy l heavy l left l mild l soft l stupid<br />
l unfashionable l wrong<br />
a) Kevin: The supplier said the shipment would be light, but I think it’s __________.<br />
Amy: I was hoping the colour would be light. Doesn’t it seem a bit ___________?<br />
b) Kevin: The men’s room is the door on the right, the ladies’ room is on the _________.<br />
Amy: You know that I’m right, and you’re __________, don’t you?<br />
c) Kevin: Their thermos is perfect for both hot and ________ drinks.<br />
Amy: Most Mexican food is quite hot, but this dish is rather _________.<br />
d) Kevin: I didn’t think this would be such a hard job! Of course, nobody said it would<br />
be __________.<br />
Amy: This customer’s advertising is a hard sell. Perhaps a(n) __________ sell would<br />
be more successful?<br />
e) Kevin: He’s usually so smart. How could he be so _________ about this?<br />
Amy: Your new blazer is very smart! I’m glad you got rid of the _________ one.<br />
iStock<br />
12 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
2.<br />
Ins and outs (5 points)<br />
medium<br />
When talking to her client, Amy uses antonyms that are common in business contexts. From the group of three<br />
blue words, choose the antonym of the brown word in bold.<br />
a) You might need to borrow money. The bank will lend / leave / lose it to you at five per cent interest.<br />
b) Last year, the market for these products contracted, but luckily, it has recently extended / expanded /<br />
exploded again.<br />
c) Paying taxes is mandatory. The environmental charge, however, is optional / original / ordinary.<br />
d) You don’t produce mass-market goods. They are compatible / customized / complicated for each buyer.<br />
e) A healthy business should have more assets than liabilities / legalities / liaisons.<br />
4<br />
The same or opposite?<br />
Synonym: A word that means exactly<br />
or nearly the same as another<br />
word.<br />
Antonym: A word that is opposite in<br />
meaning to another word.<br />
Word choice:<br />
finding the<br />
6/2014 5/2014<br />
www.business-spotlight.de 13right term<br />
takes time
LANGUAGE TEST SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS<br />
Can I say it another way?<br />
Synonyms can help<br />
3.<br />
A quick check (5 points)<br />
medium<br />
In these short exchanges, a client uses synonyms when replying to Kevin. Complete<br />
each sentence with the correct word from the box.<br />
bargain l create l establish l reach l watch<br />
a) Kevin: You need to keep an eye on your rivals.<br />
Client: Sure, I know that we need to _________ the competition closely.<br />
b) Kevin: I think you should set up a European base.<br />
Client: OK, I think we can _________ an office in London.<br />
c) Kevin: We can help you to come up with a public-relations strategy.<br />
Client: Great, I was hoping you could help us to _________ the campaign.<br />
d) Kevin: You may have to negotiate new terms with your supplier.<br />
Client: Our purchaser will have to _________ with the European suppliers.<br />
e) Kevin: So, you believe that you’ll achieve double-digit growth next year?<br />
Client: Yes, we’re hoping to _________ 15 per cent or more.<br />
4.<br />
Desired qualities (15 points)<br />
medium<br />
The team is looking for a new employee. For each sentence, choose three antonyms from the box that have the<br />
opposite meaning of the brown word(s) in bold.<br />
a) We are looking for someone to (follow) a team of six people.<br />
1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________<br />
b) You will be responsible for clients who (take apart) furniture.<br />
1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________<br />
c) The ideal candidate should be extremely (lazy).<br />
1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________<br />
d) He or she should also be (disinterested).<br />
1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________<br />
e) This person will work in one of our (domestic) offices.<br />
1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________<br />
committed<br />
dedicated<br />
energetic<br />
enthusiastic<br />
global<br />
hard-working<br />
head<br />
international<br />
lead<br />
make<br />
manage<br />
manufacture<br />
produce<br />
productive<br />
worldwide<br />
14 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
5.<br />
Odd one out (5 points)<br />
medium<br />
Amy and Kevin are working on a report for a food company.<br />
Circle the antonym in each group of synonyms.<br />
a) The year was fantastic / amazing / wonderful / terrible / excellent<br />
for the firm.<br />
b) Company revenue / income / payment / earnings / proceeds was/<br />
were better than expected.<br />
c) Consumers are buying artificial / natural / organic / pure /<br />
unprocessed foods as fast as we can supply them!<br />
d) They believe these bring tangible / real / true / imaginary /<br />
actual health benefits.<br />
e) A complementary copy of this report is available gratis / free /<br />
for a fee / at no charge.<br />
6.<br />
Good alternatives (5 points)<br />
Instead of saying the word “return” in various contexts<br />
during the day, Amy and Kevin use phrasal verbs<br />
containing “back”. Complete the sentences using<br />
words from the box.<br />
a) I went to Spain last year. I<br />
hope to __________ again<br />
one day.<br />
b) I’ll let you use my tablet if<br />
you promise to __________<br />
to me tomorrow.<br />
come back<br />
give it back<br />
go back<br />
put it back<br />
take it back<br />
c) Unfortunately, our problem has __________.<br />
medium<br />
Langenscheidt<br />
„Fit für<br />
den Job!“<br />
Ob Telefonieren, E-Mails, Bewerbung oder<br />
Verhandlungen – dieser Kurs trainiert alle<br />
relevanten <strong>Business</strong>-Themen<br />
Lehrbuch mit 16 in sich abgeschlossenen<br />
Lektionen<br />
Dazu 2 Begleitbücher mit Lektionswortschatz,<br />
Lösungen und Hörtexten<br />
6 Audio-CDs mit Lektionstexten, Übungen<br />
und Wortschatz<br />
Für Fortgeschrittene ab dem Niveau B1<br />
d) The alarm clock I bought yesterday doesn’t work.<br />
Should I __________?<br />
www.langenscheidt.de<br />
e) Where is the file, Kevin? Didn’t you __________ in<br />
the cabinet yesterday?<br />
4<br />
4<br />
6/2014<br />
iStock
LANGUAGE TEST SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS<br />
What it’s not: antonyms<br />
describe opposites<br />
7.<br />
Not positive (10 points)<br />
medium<br />
In an email, Amy writes a negative evaluation of a visit to a client. Form the antonym of each word in brackets<br />
by using the correct prefix from the box. Each prefix is used only once.<br />
counter l de- l dis l il l im l in l ir l mis l non- l un<br />
I’m afraid that I found the company structure very a) _____ (organized). My first impression was negative, as<br />
the junior manager I spoke to was rather b) _____ (polite) and clearly c) _____ (experienced). His presentation<br />
of the company history was d) _____ (logical) and he was e) _____ (able) to provide the actual headcount of<br />
the organization. He also talked about policies that were f) _____ (existent). Then he g) _____ (emphasized)<br />
the importance of the firm’s mission statement. Indeed, at one point, he even greatly h) _____ (represented)<br />
his position in the organization, saying he was in charge of global hiring. I found his behaviour to be quite<br />
i) _____ (responsible). Nearly all the information he provided was wrong. I’m sorry to say that the appointment<br />
was j) _____ (productive) because I spent time gathering useless data.<br />
8.<br />
Your choices (15 points)<br />
advanced<br />
Kevin has listed some key concepts from his conversation with a telecoms client. Choose three<br />
synonyms from the box that he could use for each word in bold.<br />
a) Making calls has become very inexpensive.<br />
1. ___________ 2. ___________ 3. ___________<br />
b) The company’s smartphones have many popular features.<br />
1. ___________ 2. ___________ 3. ___________<br />
c) They contain the newest 5G technology.<br />
1. ___________ 2. ___________ 3. ___________<br />
d) A lot of money was invested in their elegant new design.<br />
1. ___________ 2. ___________ 3. ___________<br />
e) Prices of earlier models are expected to fall.<br />
1. ___________ 2. ___________ 3. ___________<br />
affordable<br />
characteristics<br />
cheap<br />
chic<br />
classic<br />
cutting-edge<br />
drop<br />
elements<br />
functions<br />
innovative<br />
low-cost<br />
plummet<br />
plunge<br />
state-of-the-art<br />
stylish<br />
16 www.business-spotlight.de<br />
6/2014
9.<br />
Mixed up (5 points)<br />
advanced<br />
Kevin’s foreign client mixes up some words in his presentation. Choose the<br />
antonyms of the words in brackets.<br />
iStock<br />
a) The project represents a(n) (insignificant) investment of resources.<br />
1. mammoth, huge 2. small, minor<br />
b) Our (scheduled) “end-of-summer” sale took consumers by surprise.<br />
1. planned, purposeful 2. spontaneous, impromptu<br />
c) The only (impracticable) way to finance the project would involve selling<br />
off some assets.<br />
1. feasible, practicable 2. foolish, unworkable<br />
d) An international company such as ours benefits from its (uniformity).<br />
1. variety, diversity 2. similarity, homogeny<br />
e) Unfortunately, our director’s statements were rather (clear-cut).<br />
1. definite, distinct 2. unclear, ambiguous<br />
How did you do?<br />
65–75 points Excellent! Magnificent!<br />
Superb! You have a great<br />
command of synonyms and antonyms.<br />
55–64 points Good. Check the<br />
dictionary for multiple meanings<br />
of words. This will help you to<br />
choose the correct synonyms or<br />
antonyms.<br />
ANSWERS<br />
1. Which opposite?<br />
a) heavy; dark<br />
b) left; wrong<br />
c) cold; mild<br />
d) easy; soft<br />
e) stupid; unfashionable<br />
2. Ins and outs<br />
a) lend = leihen<br />
b) expanded (expand = expandieren, sich ausweiten)<br />
c) optional = freiwillig<br />
d) customized = maßgeschneidert<br />
e) liabilities = Verbindlichkeiten<br />
3. A quick check<br />
a) watch<br />
b) establish<br />
c) create<br />
d) bargain = verhandeln, feilschen<br />
e) reach<br />
4. Desired qualities<br />
a) head = führen, leiten; lead; manage<br />
b) make; manufacture = herstellen; produce<br />
c) energetic = voller Energie; hard-working; productive<br />
d) committed = engagiert; dedicated = engagiert,<br />
bemüht; enthusiastic<br />
e) global; international; worldwide<br />
5. Odd one out<br />
a) terrible<br />
b) payment<br />
c) artificial<br />
d) imaginary = eingebildet, erfunden<br />
e) for a fee = gegen (eine) Gebühr<br />
6. Good alternatives<br />
a) go back = wieder hinfahren<br />
b) give it back (give sth. back = etw. zurückgeben)<br />
c) come back = zurückkehren<br />
d) take it back (take sth. back = etw. zurückbringen)<br />
e) put it back (put sth. back = etw. zurückstellen)<br />
7. Not positive<br />
a) disorganized = unorganisiert<br />
b) impolite = unhöflich<br />
c) inexperienced = unerfahren<br />
d) illogical = unlogisch<br />
e) unable = unfähig<br />
f) non-existent = nicht vorhanden<br />
g) de-emphasized (de-emphasize sth. = etw. abschwächen,<br />
herunterspielen)<br />
h) misrepresented (misrepresent sth. = etw. falsch<br />
darstellen)<br />
i) irresponsible = unverantwortlich<br />
j) counterproductive = kontraproduktiv<br />
8. Your choices<br />
a) affordable = erschwinglich; cheap = billig; lowcost<br />
= kostengünstig<br />
b) characteristics = Eigenschaften; elements;<br />
functions<br />
c) cutting-edge = <strong>top</strong>aktuell; innovative; state-ofthe-art<br />
= nach dem neuesten Stand der Technik<br />
d) chic; classic; stylish<br />
e) drop = abnehmen, fallen; plummet = absacken,<br />
stark fallen; plunge = (ab)stürzen<br />
9. Mixed up<br />
a–1 (mammoth = gewaltig, kolossal)<br />
b–2 (impromptu = improvisiert)<br />
c–1 (feasible = machbar)<br />
d–1 (variety = Vielfalt, Auswahl; diversity = Vielfalt,<br />
Vielseitigkeit)<br />
e–2 (ambiguous = mehrdeutig)<br />
45–54 points Fair. Try sites such<br />
as www.thesaurus.com or www.<br />
synonym.com to find similar and<br />
opposite words.<br />
40–44 points Could be better. Try<br />
looking up the words you did not<br />
know here. Use the internet to<br />
check which words to use in various<br />
contexts.<br />
www More exercises can be found at<br />
www.business-spotlight.de/vocabulary<br />
Carol Scheunemann is an editor at<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> and coordinates<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio. Contact:<br />
c.scheunemann@spotlight-verlag.de<br />
Hildegard Rudolph is a certified<br />
translator and a freelance editor,<br />
teacher and book author. Contact:<br />
bs.lektorat@spotlight-verlag.de<br />
6/2014<br />
www.business-spotlight.de 17
Geek-in-chief<br />
Wo immer sie auftritt, erregt sie Aufsehen. Doch hinter ihrer Warmherzigkeit verbirgt<br />
sich oft ein schroffes Verhalten. Margaret Davis stellt die ehrgeizige Yahoo-Chefin vor,<br />
deren Führungseigenschaften selbst Mitarbeiter teils infrage stellen. medium US<br />
With Marissa Mayer, what<br />
you see is not always what<br />
you get. The charismatic,<br />
young CEO of Yahoo is<br />
known for her warm and<br />
friendly public presentations. Yet the<br />
people who work with her are often<br />
surprised by her cool, abrupt manner<br />
in company meetings.<br />
Mayer is one of a rare breed — a female<br />
executive in the male-dominated<br />
tech industry. Hired in 1999 as employee<br />
number 20 at Google — the<br />
company’s first woman engineer —<br />
Mayer held a variety of <strong>top</strong> positions<br />
at the Internet giant before leaving to<br />
become CEO of the struggling Yahoo<br />
in 2012. At 37, she was the youngest<br />
CEO in Yahoo’s history.<br />
As an intelligent, attractive, and<br />
ambitious woman, Mayer was always<br />
certain to attract attention, not<br />
all of it positive. Google was happy to<br />
use her to promote the company, but<br />
when the attention turned too personal<br />
— with Vogue magazine covering<br />
her 2009 wedding to Internet<br />
investor Zachary Bogue — Mayer’s<br />
support dwindled. Some colleagues<br />
questioned her ability as a leader:<br />
“While she did a lot of good and<br />
useful things, she alienated people,<br />
because she jumped to conclusions<br />
about products and she was not always<br />
right, but she always thought<br />
she was right,” one Google executive<br />
told Vanity Fair magazine. Another<br />
described Mayer as “a dictator, with<br />
a <strong>top</strong>-down style.”<br />
Born on May 30, 1975, she is the<br />
daughter of an art teacher and an<br />
Geek-in-chief<br />
etwa: oberste(r)<br />
[)gi:k In (tSi:f] non-stand. Computerfreak(in)<br />
alienate sb. [(eIliEneIt] jmdn. verprellen<br />
CEO (chief executive Vorstandsvorsitzende(r)<br />
officer) [)si: i: (oU*]<br />
computer science Informatik<br />
[kEm)pju:t&r (saIEns*]<br />
debating [di(beItIN] Debattieren<br />
degree [di(gri:]<br />
Abschluss<br />
dwindle [(dwInd&l] schwinden<br />
engineer [)endZI(nI&r*] Ingenieur(in); Techniker(in)<br />
environmental engineer Umweltingenieur(in);<br />
[InvaI&rEn)ment&l -techniker(in)<br />
endZI(nI&r*]<br />
executive [Ig(zekjEtIv*] Führungskraft<br />
graduate [(grÄdZueIt] seinen Abschluss machen<br />
jump to conclusions voreilige Schlüsse ziehen<br />
[)dZVmp tE kEn(klu:Z&nz]<br />
pick [pIk]<br />
hier: auswählen<br />
rare breed: one of a ~ ein Exemplar einer<br />
[)re&r (bri:d*]<br />
seltenen Spezies<br />
set out to do sth. es darauf anlegen,<br />
[)set (aUt tE du:] etw. zu tun<br />
<strong>top</strong>-down [)tA:p (daUn*] hierarchisch<br />
way [weI] ifml.<br />
viel<br />
well-rounded<br />
vielseitig<br />
[)wel (raUndId]<br />
* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.<br />
environmental engineer. A <strong>top</strong> student<br />
in high school, she took part in<br />
a variety of after-school activities, including<br />
ballet, swimming, piano lessons,<br />
skating, and debating. “It was a<br />
very well-rounded childhood, with lots<br />
of different opportunities,” Mayer<br />
told Vogue. “My mom will say she<br />
set out to overstimulate me — surround<br />
me with way too many things<br />
and let me pick. As a result, I’ve always<br />
been a multitasker. I’ve always liked<br />
a lot of variety.” She was accepted by<br />
ten different universities, including<br />
Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, graduating<br />
from Stanford with degrees in symbolic<br />
systems and computer science,<br />
specializing in artificial intelligence.<br />
At Google, Mayer was known for<br />
100-hour workweeks and for sleeping<br />
only four hours a night. “I don’t<br />
Language point<br />
4<br />
What you see is not always<br />
what you get. This is a play<br />
on the computing expression<br />
“what you see is what you get,”<br />
or “WYSIWYG.” The acronym<br />
is used to describe a system<br />
in which what you type when<br />
editing looks almost the same<br />
in the final product.<br />
Getty Images
PROFILE GLOBAL BUSINESS<br />
Marissa Mayer: the public<br />
face of Yahoo
t<br />
GLOBAL BUSINESS PROFILE<br />
Youth market:<br />
Yahoo Screen (far<br />
left) and Flickr<br />
for the iPhone<br />
“People are more productive when<br />
they’re alone, but they’re more innovative<br />
when they’re together”<br />
be.” The response from Lisa Belkin<br />
of The Huffington Post was typical:<br />
“Putting ‘baby’ and ‘easy’ in the same<br />
sentence turns you into one of those<br />
mothers we don’t like very much.”<br />
really believe in burnout,” she told a<br />
New York audience in 2013. Mayer<br />
claims she didn’t plan to become<br />
one of the leading figures in Silicon<br />
Valley. “I didn’t set out to be at the<br />
<strong>top</strong> of technology companies. I’m just<br />
geeky and shy and I like to code,” she<br />
explained to Vogue.<br />
Described by her biographer, <strong>Business</strong><br />
Insider reporter Nicholas Carlson<br />
(see “For more information”<br />
box on p. 21), as “a natural teacher,”<br />
Mayer continued to teach at Stanford<br />
during her first years at Google, as<br />
well as starting a mentoring program<br />
at the company. When Google went<br />
public in 2004, Mayer and other<br />
Google employees became millionaires.<br />
Mayer began spending “conspicuously,”<br />
Carlson says, buying a<br />
$5 million penthouse at the Four Seasons<br />
Hotel in San Francisco, as well<br />
as a house near the Google campus<br />
in Mountain View, California. She<br />
also began giving elaborate parties at<br />
both homes.<br />
In 2012, in a PBS documentary called<br />
Makers, about women leaders, Mayer<br />
was dismissive of the influence of<br />
feminism on her career. “I don’t think I<br />
have sort of the militant drive and sort<br />
of the chip on the shoulder that sometimes<br />
comes with that,” she said.<br />
Mayer’s appointment as CEO of<br />
Yahoo in 2012 made her the youngest<br />
woman at the head of a Fortune 500<br />
company. Yahoo, founded in 1994,<br />
was worth $128 billion at its peak<br />
in 2000. Then the Internet bubble<br />
burst, and within a year, the company<br />
was worth just under $5 billion. By<br />
2012, Yahoo had had three CEOs in<br />
as many years — one of them, Carol<br />
Bartz, was fired over the phone. Not<br />
surprisingly, Yahoo’s employees were<br />
demoralized, and the company was<br />
not introducing new products.<br />
Enter Marissa Mayer. Already well<br />
known, she added to her own legend<br />
by announcing that she was five<br />
months pregnant when she joined<br />
the company. Mayer went back to<br />
work two weeks after giving birth,<br />
along with her baby and his nanny.<br />
(A nursery had been built next to her<br />
office in the meantime.) Two months<br />
later, she told a conference of women<br />
in business: “The baby’s been way<br />
easier than everyone made it out to<br />
In February of 2013, Mayer ended<br />
flexible employment agreements that<br />
had permitted some Yahoo employees<br />
to do their jobs from home, alienating<br />
working mothers both inside and<br />
outside the company. Mayer defended<br />
the policy a few months later at<br />
the Great Place to Work conference.<br />
“People are more productive when<br />
appointment [E(pOIntmEnt] Ernennung<br />
audience [(O:diEns] Publikum,<br />
Zuhörer(innen)<br />
billion [(bIljEn]<br />
Milliarde(n)<br />
bubble [(bVb&l]<br />
Blase<br />
chip on one’s shoulder: einen Komplex haben<br />
have a ~ [(tSIp A:n wVnz<br />
)SoUld&r*] ifml.<br />
code [koUd*]<br />
Computercodes<br />
schreiben<br />
conspicuously<br />
auffallend, deutlich<br />
[kEn(spIkjuEsli]<br />
sichtbar<br />
dismissive: be ~ of sth. etw. (geringschätzig)<br />
[dIs(mIsIv]<br />
abtun<br />
enter... [(ent&r*] hier: Vorhang auf für ...<br />
found sth. [faUnd] etw. gründen<br />
geeky [(gi:ki] ifml. technisch orientiert mit<br />
wenig Sozialkompetenz<br />
make sth. out to be sth. etw. als etw. darstellen<br />
[)meIk (aUt tE bi:]<br />
militant drive: have a ~ hier etwa: kämpferisch<br />
[)mIlItEnt (draIv]<br />
sein<br />
nanny [(nÄni]<br />
Kindermädchen<br />
natural [(nÄtS&rEl] hier: geborene(r,s)<br />
nursery [(n§:s&ri]<br />
Kinderzimmer<br />
public: go ~ [(pVblIk] an die Börse gehen<br />
sort of [(sO:rt Vv*] ifml. irgendwie<br />
turn sb. into sb./sth. jmdn. zu jmdm./etw.<br />
[)t§:n (Intu]<br />
machen<br />
* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.<br />
20 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
Power couple: Marissa Mayer and<br />
husband Zachary Bogue<br />
they’re alone,” she admitted, “but<br />
they’re more collaborative and innovative<br />
when they’re together. Some of<br />
the best ideas come from pulling two<br />
different ideas together.” The policy<br />
affects about 200 of the company’s<br />
12,000 employees, according to Fortune<br />
magazine.<br />
In her early days at Yahoo, Mayer<br />
worked hard to learn as much about<br />
the company as possible, holding<br />
meetings with employees, where<br />
she asked detailed questions. Not<br />
everyone was enthusiastic about her<br />
methods. One former Yahoo executive<br />
says he warned team members<br />
that Mayer in meetings was not the<br />
friendly, funny woman they were<br />
used to seeing in her public appearances.<br />
“Despite the warning, people<br />
— very experienced people with decades<br />
of experience — walked out and<br />
said, ‘That was the worst meeting<br />
of my entire career,’” he told Vanity<br />
Fair. “She will bring a tub of blueberries<br />
to a meeting and just stare<br />
acquisition [)ÄkwI(zIS&n] Erwerb, Übernahme<br />
ad [Äd]<br />
Anzeige; hier: Werbeaffect<br />
sb. [E(fekt] jmdn. betreffen<br />
blueberry [(blu:beri*] Heidelbeere<br />
cell phone [(sel foUn*] US Handy<br />
cloud [klaUd]<br />
Cloud, Datenwolke<br />
collaborative: be ~ zusammenarbeiten<br />
[kE(lÄbEreItIv*]<br />
core business<br />
Kerngeschäft<br />
[)kO:r (bIznEs*]<br />
dismal [(dIzmEl]<br />
miserabel<br />
dismissed [dIs(mIst] abgelehnt; hier: nicht<br />
ernst genommen<br />
display advertising Werbung im Online- und<br />
[dI(spleI )Ädv&rtaIzIN*] mobilen Bereich<br />
engineering<br />
hier: technisch<br />
[)endZI(nI&rIN*]<br />
oversleep [)oUv&r(sli:p*] verschlafen<br />
play [pleI]<br />
hier: sich verhalten<br />
pop sth. into one’s mouth sich etw. in den Mund<br />
[)pA:p IntE wVnz maUT*] schieben<br />
relaunch [(ri:lO:ntS] Neugestaltung,<br />
Überarbeitung<br />
revenue [(revEnju:] Einnahmen<br />
second-quarter result Ergebnis im 2. Quartal<br />
[)sekEnd )kwO:rt&r ri(zVlt*]<br />
short supply: be in ~ Mangelware sein<br />
[)SO:rt sE(plaI*]<br />
tub [tVb]<br />
Becher<br />
tweet [twi:t]<br />
twittern<br />
update [(VpdeIt]<br />
Aktualisierung<br />
* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.<br />
at you, popping blueberries into her<br />
mouth. People feel so dismissed.”<br />
Yet Mayer inspires loyalty among<br />
younger colleagues, especially those<br />
whom she has mentored. “If you’re<br />
on her team, she protects you and<br />
helps you. If not, she may not play as<br />
nicely,” one of her young employees<br />
told Vanity Fair.<br />
Corbis<br />
During her first year at Yahoo, Mayer<br />
made a number of business deals,<br />
buying tech start-ups in order to get<br />
their engineers, then shutting the<br />
companies down, a practice known<br />
as “acqui-hiring.” Yahoo’s new<br />
weather app for cell phones won an<br />
Apple design award in 2013. Mayer<br />
also oversaw the relaunch of the<br />
photo-sharing site Flickr, the update<br />
of Yahoo Mail, and the acquisition<br />
of social-media site Tumblr. With Yahoo<br />
News and Yahoo Screen, Mayer<br />
wants to attract young users via movies<br />
and concerts. She says Yahoo aims<br />
to “make the world’s daily habits inspiring<br />
and entertaining.”<br />
But after disappointing secondquarter<br />
results in 2014, some observers<br />
say the strategy isn’t working.<br />
“Things aren’t getting better,” financial<br />
analyst Colin Gillis told The New<br />
York Times. “The core business is<br />
still dismal.”<br />
Display advertising is one area<br />
where Yahoo has been losing revenue<br />
to Google and Facebook. Although<br />
Mayer has a strong product and<br />
engineering background, her critics<br />
say she has not yet developed her<br />
business side. Indeed, some of them<br />
claim she does not take the financial<br />
side of her job seriously enough. The<br />
fact that she was two hours late to<br />
a dinner with advertising executives<br />
in Cannes in June — Mayer says she<br />
overslept — is proof of this, the critics<br />
say. “It is another instance where<br />
she demonstrated that she doesn’t understand<br />
the value of clients, ad revenue,<br />
or agencies,” an advertising executive<br />
told The Wall Street Journal.<br />
Mayer herself told Bloomberg News<br />
that her friend Aaron Levie, CEO of<br />
the cloud company Box, tweeted that<br />
“the only actual news in this story is<br />
that Marissa does sleep.”<br />
What Mayer needs most at the moment<br />
is the time to grow into her<br />
demanding new role. Time, however,<br />
is in short supply in Silicon Valley —<br />
even for those who hardly sleep. BS<br />
For more information<br />
Marissa Mayer on why she’s not<br />
a feminist: http://on.aol.com/video/<br />
marissa-mayer--distance-from--<br />
feminism--517275744<br />
Mayer’s complete Makers video:<br />
www.makers.com/marissa-mayer<br />
The Truth about Marissa Mayer: An<br />
Unauthorized Biography, Nicholas Carlson:<br />
www.businessinsider.com/marissa-mayerbiography<br />
Margaret Davis is editor of the Careers<br />
and Global <strong>Business</strong> sections<br />
of <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong>. Contact:<br />
m.davis@spotlight-verlag.de<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 21
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GLOBAL BUSINESS HEAD-TO-HEAD<br />
Will the TTIP trade deal help Europe?<br />
Glaubt man den Befürwortern des TTIP können für die US- und EU-Wirtschaft bald rosige<br />
Zeiten anbrechen. Gegner aber warnen. Vicki Sussens hat beide Seiten gehört. advanced US<br />
No!<br />
“Economic gains<br />
will be small or<br />
even negative”<br />
Dean Baker<br />
Those in favor of the Transatlantic<br />
Trade and Investment<br />
Partnership (TTIP) make great<br />
claims about its benefits, going<br />
so far as to say it is a cure for the<br />
economic crisis on both sides of the<br />
Atlantic. The reality is that it will<br />
have hardly any effect on growth at<br />
all. TTIP will come at a considerable<br />
cost to national sovereignty, and<br />
some of the provisions could actually<br />
cause any growth to slow down.<br />
At the most basic level, the deal<br />
is not really about trade. Traditional<br />
trade barriers between the EU and<br />
the U.S., in the form of tariffs and<br />
quotas, have already largely been<br />
eliminated. That is why conventional<br />
estimates of TTIP’s effect on growth<br />
are small.<br />
The Centre for Economic Policy<br />
Research (CEPR) in the UK estimated<br />
a gain for the EU of 0.3–0.5 percent<br />
of GDP when the full effects are felt,<br />
more than 12 years from now. This<br />
will result in an annual growth of less<br />
than 0.05 percentage points — in the<br />
optimistic scenario. This is far too<br />
small to be noticed, meaning TTIP<br />
is hardly the sort of policy to boost<br />
eurozone economies.<br />
The projections are also open to<br />
serious question. While they include<br />
the benefits of reducing the minor<br />
trade barriers that remain, they don’t<br />
consider the cost of increased barriers<br />
that TTIP is likely to create. At the <strong>top</strong><br />
of this list are efforts by the United<br />
States to push through stronger patent<br />
and copyright protection.<br />
This issue is especially important<br />
in the case of prescription drugs. As<br />
a result of stronger patent protection,<br />
drug prices are roughly twice as high<br />
in the U.S. as they are in the EU. The<br />
pharmaceutical companies would<br />
like to use TTIP to bring EU prices<br />
closer to U.S. levels. Their success in<br />
this effort will not only mean more<br />
expensive drugs, but it will also be a<br />
drag on European growth.<br />
In a range of other areas, including<br />
consumer safety and the environment,<br />
TTIP is being used to get around<br />
regulations put in place at the national,<br />
subnational, or EU level. The deal<br />
even calls for a new legal structure<br />
to be created, to enable conflict resolution<br />
between investors and states.<br />
The assumption is that foreign businesses<br />
cannot count on fair treatment<br />
in the EU legal system.<br />
In short, Europe will be asked to<br />
sacrifice a great deal of control over<br />
many areas of public policy for economic<br />
gains that may be small or<br />
even negative. That is not the sort of<br />
deal that politicians usually like to<br />
sell at election time.<br />
annual [(ÄnjuEl]<br />
jährlich<br />
assumption [E(sVmpS&n] Annahme<br />
boost sth. [bu:st] etw. ankurbeln<br />
cofounder [(koUfaUnd&r*] Mitbegründer(in)<br />
consumer [kEn(su:m&r*] Verbraucher(in)<br />
cost [kO:st*]<br />
hier: Preis<br />
drag [drÄg]<br />
Hemmschuh<br />
GDP (gross domestic BIP (Bruttoinlandsproduct)<br />
[)dZi: di: (pi:] produkt)<br />
issue [(ISu:]<br />
Thema, Frage<br />
pharmaceutical<br />
[wg. Aussprache]<br />
[)fA:rmE(su:tIk&l*]<br />
prescription drug verschreibungs-<br />
[pri)skrIpS&n (drVg] pflichtiges Arzneimittel<br />
projection [prE(dZekS&n] Prognose<br />
provision [prE(vIZ&n] Bestimmung<br />
resolution [)rezE(lu:S&n] Lösung<br />
sovereignty [(sA:vrEnti*] Souveränität<br />
tariff [(tÄrIf]<br />
Zoll<br />
think tank [(TINk tÄNk] Denkfabrik<br />
trade barrier<br />
Handelsschranke<br />
[(treId )bÄri&r*]<br />
Transatlantic Trade and Transatlantisches<br />
Investment Partnership Freihandelsabkommen<br />
(TTIP)<br />
[)trÄnsEt)lÄntIk )treId En<br />
In(vestmEnt pA:rtn&rSIp*]<br />
*This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.<br />
Dean Baker is a U.S. macroeconomist and cofounder<br />
of the progressive think tank the Center for<br />
Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C.<br />
24 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
The free-trade<br />
promise: will TTIP<br />
really bring jobs<br />
and growth to<br />
the EU?<br />
Yes!<br />
“TTIP will provide<br />
larger export<br />
markets”<br />
Yvonne Bendinger-Rothschild<br />
TTIP will consolidate and remove<br />
trade barriers and tariffs<br />
as well as result in a fair and<br />
structured exchange of goods,<br />
services, and investments. The EU<br />
and the U.S. are already each other’s<br />
biggest trading partners and represent<br />
about 45 percent of the world<br />
economy. A trade agreement between<br />
partners with similar values and legal<br />
norms helps support a stable axis of<br />
trade and investment in an increasingly<br />
unstable world.<br />
According to a study by the Centre<br />
for Economic Policy Research<br />
(CEPR) in the UK, by 2027, TTIP<br />
will permanently increase the European<br />
economy by €120 billion and<br />
add approximately €95 billion to the<br />
U.S. economy.<br />
Increased trade, together with more<br />
aligned standards and regulatory systems,<br />
will optimize processes, improve<br />
efficiency, and make many consumer<br />
and industrial products cheaper. All<br />
of this increases competitiveness in<br />
the global market.<br />
The huge volume of EU–U.S. trade<br />
should also influence and improve<br />
norms and standards in other nations.<br />
Better agreement on standards<br />
will provide larger export markets<br />
for the products of the future.<br />
The European Commission estimates<br />
that TTIP will increase production<br />
and create millions of new jobs<br />
across Europe. The CEPR UK study<br />
shows this will lead to wage increases<br />
both for skilled and unskilled workers.<br />
Other studies suggest that higher<br />
employment and less expensive products<br />
will increase annual disposable<br />
incomes on average by €545.<br />
According to the European Commission,<br />
trade activity between the<br />
EU and the U.S. will increase by<br />
€445 billion. Many manufacturing<br />
processes are already found across<br />
different EU countries, which means<br />
that these effects will be evenly distributed<br />
across member states. TTIP<br />
will have the secondary advantage of<br />
requiring member states to balance<br />
their internal interests so they can<br />
improve their bargaining power with<br />
U.S. negotiators.<br />
The EU and U.S. will also benefit<br />
from a flow of foreign direct investment<br />
(FDI). A consensus on regulations<br />
and their enforcement will help<br />
protect financial markets and provide<br />
a stable business environment. BS<br />
aligned [E(laInd] (aufeinander)<br />
abgestimmt<br />
axis [(ÄksIs]<br />
Achse<br />
bargaining power Verhandlungsstärke<br />
[(bA:rgInIN )paU&r*]<br />
billion [(bIljEn]<br />
Milliarde(n)<br />
business environment wirtschaftliche<br />
[(bIznEs In)vaI&rEnmEnt] Rahmenbedingungen<br />
chamber of commerce Handelskammer<br />
[)tSeImb&r Ev (kA:m&rs*]<br />
competitiveness<br />
Wettbewerbsfähigkeit<br />
[kEm(petEtIvnEs]<br />
disposable income verfügbares Einkommen<br />
[dI)spoUzEb&l (InkVm*]<br />
enforcement [In(fO:rsmEnt*] Durchsetzung<br />
executive director leitende(r) Direktor(in)<br />
[Ig)zekjEtIv dE(rekt&r*]<br />
foreign direct investment ausländische<br />
(FDI) [)fO:rEn dE)rekt Direktinvestition(en)<br />
In(vestmEnt*]<br />
negotiator [nI(goUSieIt&r*] Verhandlungsführer(in)<br />
* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.<br />
Yvonne Bendinger-Rothschild is the executive<br />
director of the European American Chamber of<br />
Commerce in New York.<br />
iStock<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 25
GLOBAL BUSINESS IT’S PERSONAL<br />
Winning, losing, snoozing<br />
Warum sind manche Menschen frühmorgens nach wenigen Stunden Schlaf putzmunter?<br />
Und warum brauchen andere mehr davon, um leistungsfähig zu sein? Elisabeth Ribbans<br />
kennt den möglichen Grund für diese unterschiedlichen Bedürfnisse.<br />
advanced<br />
How many hours did you sleep last<br />
night? I’ve never heard a business<br />
leader answer that question with the<br />
word “seven”, “eight” or “nine”.<br />
No, it seems the powerful always<br />
claim to survive on a maximum of<br />
six hours, and often much less. Barack<br />
Obama sleeps for six hours; lifestyle<br />
guru Martha Stewart and Sergio<br />
Marchionne, CEO of Fiat, say<br />
they need just four, while Tom Ford<br />
manages to clothe beautiful people<br />
on only three.<br />
“Early birds” never seem to<br />
complain about rising in the<br />
dark. They don’t admit to wishing<br />
they could hit the snooze<br />
button. They are much more<br />
likely to tell you that sleep is an<br />
inconvenience and that 6 a.m. is a<br />
lie-in: “Of course I’m up at 5 a.m. if<br />
I’m going to the gym.” Yawn.<br />
allow sb. to do sth. jmdm. etw. ermöglichen<br />
[E)laU tE (du:]<br />
applied genomics angewandte Genomik<br />
[E)plaId dZi(nEUmIks]<br />
CEO (chief executive Hauptgeschäftsofficer)<br />
[)si: i: (EU] führer(in)<br />
conspiracy [kEn(spIrEsi] Verschwörung, Komplott<br />
desperate: be ~ for sth. etw. dringend<br />
[(despErEt]<br />
brauchen<br />
early bird [(§:li b§:d] ifml. Frühaufsteher(in)<br />
emphasize sth. [(emfEsaIz] etw. hervorheben<br />
equate sth. with sth. etw. mit etw.<br />
[i(kweIt wID]<br />
gleichsetzen<br />
gym [dZIm]<br />
Fitnessstudio<br />
lie-in [(laI In] UK<br />
(langes) Ausschlafen<br />
nap [nÄp]<br />
Nickerchen<br />
overshoot sth.<br />
hier: zu sehr in die Länge<br />
[)EUvE(Su:t]<br />
ziehen<br />
researcher [ri(s§:tSE] Forscher(in)<br />
snooze [snu:z]<br />
schlummern<br />
snooze button<br />
Schlummertaste<br />
[(snu:z )bVt&n]<br />
yawn [jO:n] ifml.<br />
Gähn(en)<br />
Time to get up: you’ll never be a<br />
success if you stay in bed!<br />
Donald Trump (three to four hours)<br />
equates snoozing with losing. According<br />
to the New York newspaper the<br />
Daily News, Trump asked, “How<br />
does somebody that’s sleeping 12 and<br />
14 hours a day compete with someone<br />
that’s sleeping three or four?”<br />
I’ve never read such statements<br />
without wondering (a) whether short<br />
sleepers are constantly and secretly<br />
“Are short sleepers secretly desperate for<br />
a nap? Or am I lazy if I sleep till 7 a.m.?”<br />
desperate for a nap; (b) what longterm<br />
damage they are doing to themselves;<br />
and (c) whether I’m being lazy<br />
when I set my alarm for 7 a.m.<br />
Now, a new study, published recently<br />
in the US journal Sleep, may<br />
provide some answers. It reports<br />
that researchers studying twins at the<br />
Center for Applied Genomics at the<br />
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia<br />
have identified a gene mutation that<br />
allows some people to function normally<br />
on under six hours’ sleep.<br />
Commenting on the research, Dr<br />
Timothy Morgenthaler, of the American<br />
Academy of Sleep Medicine, said:<br />
“This study emphasizes that our need<br />
for sleep is a biological requirement,<br />
not a personal preference.” Naturally,<br />
this discovery raises more questions.<br />
Has the world always been led by<br />
a self-selecting mutant conspiracy<br />
(US statesman Benjamin Franklin<br />
slept only two to four hours, and<br />
Bill Clinton needs just five hours)?<br />
Should those of us who sleep eight<br />
hours forget about joining the elite?<br />
Are the real achievers those without<br />
the sleep gene, who can function despite<br />
spending so little time in bed?<br />
Such is the weakness associated<br />
with sleep that Marissa Mayer, CEO<br />
of Yahoo (see pp. 18–21), made<br />
headlines in June when she overshot<br />
a siesta and was nearly two hours<br />
late for a business dinner. Personally,<br />
I only liked her more. BS<br />
Elisabeth Ribbans is a British journalist and<br />
editorial consultant. She is also a former managing<br />
editor of The Guardian newspaper in<br />
London. Contact: eribbans@yahoo.com<br />
iStock<br />
Credit<br />
26 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
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BUSINESS PRESS GLOBAL BUSINESS<br />
Behind the headlines<br />
Headlines in the English-language media are often difficult to understand because they use jargon and<br />
wordplay, and leave out words. Here, we look at the meaning of recent business headlines. advanced<br />
The Guardian Financial Times<br />
Brics: This is a play on words. “Brics” is short for<br />
“Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa”,<br />
the world’s most advanced developing nations. It’s<br />
pronounced just like “bricks”. The story is about<br />
the Brics’ plans to create a development bank to<br />
help each other in times of economic crisis.<br />
short of: If you are “short of something”, you don’t<br />
have enough of it.<br />
firewall: A computer-network security system that<br />
creates a barrier between a trusted network and<br />
one that is not trusted. Here, untrusted networks<br />
are an analogy for traditional Western lending<br />
institutions, such as the World Bank.<br />
In simple English: The idea of a development bank<br />
for the Brics countries is not yet fully worked out.<br />
holes: Here, this word means “problems”.<br />
holacracy: “Holarchy” is a term coined by Arthur<br />
Koestler in his 1967 book The Ghost in the Machine.<br />
It refers to parts of the brain (“holons”)<br />
that are autonomous and yet dependent on the<br />
whole brain. In 2007, software engineer Brian<br />
Robertson developed the idea of “holacracy” —<br />
an organizational form with employees in overlapping<br />
“circles” that work together on specific<br />
tasks. The article reports that Zappos, an online<br />
vendor, is planning to introduce such a system.<br />
In simple English: There are problems in applying the<br />
management theory of holacracy.<br />
www Are you confused by the language in the press? Keep your<br />
English up to date at www.business-spotlight.de/news<br />
The Economist<br />
The Wall Street Journal<br />
Slow, slow burn: Idiomatically, a “slow burn” means<br />
that something happens too slowly for people to<br />
see its full effects or dangers.<br />
on the economy: Here, the Australian economy. In<br />
standard English, the phrase would read “The<br />
slow, slow burn’s effect on the economy”.<br />
jobless: This refers to the unemployed in Australia.<br />
feeling the heat: This means “affected negatively”.<br />
In simple English: Unemployment in Australia has<br />
been rising so slowly that politicians have not noticed<br />
its serious negative impact on the country’s<br />
economy and workforce.<br />
Pinnacle: Pinnacle Foods is a US company that produces<br />
packaged foods. It is based in New Jersey.<br />
mulls: When you “mull something over”, such as<br />
your options, you think about them carefully. To<br />
save space, the word “over” has been left out.<br />
Hillshire options: Hillshire Brands is a US packaged-foods<br />
company based in Chicago.<br />
In simple English: The Pinnacle Foods company is<br />
deciding what action it should take regarding the<br />
Hillshire Brands firm.<br />
affected: be ~ [E(fektId]<br />
barrier [(bÄriE]<br />
coin sth. [kOIn]<br />
impact [(ImpÄkt]<br />
overlap [)EUvE(lÄp]<br />
phrase [freIz]<br />
trusted [(trVstId]<br />
vendor [(vendE]<br />
workforce [(w§:kfO:s]<br />
betroffen sein<br />
Barriere<br />
etw. prägen<br />
Auswirkung(en)<br />
sich überschneiden<br />
Ausdruck<br />
vertrauenswürdig;<br />
hier auch: sicher<br />
Verkäufer(in), Händler(in)<br />
Erwerbsbevölkerung<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 29
Meeting<br />
your needs<br />
Für viele sind Sitzungen unproduktiv,<br />
im Geschäftsalltag sind sie aber oft<br />
unverzichtbar. Im fünften Teil unserer<br />
Serie nennt Bob Dignen zehn Punkte,<br />
die eine Sitzung effizient und für die<br />
Teilnehmer zudem zu einer positiven<br />
Erfahrung machen.<br />
medium<br />
Series Part Five<br />
Plan ahead and make your<br />
meetings 30 more www.business-spotlight.de effective<br />
6/2014
MEETINGS BUSINESS SKILLS<br />
In spite of the complexity of the<br />
modern world, doing business effectively<br />
still depends on a number<br />
of key skills. One of these is the<br />
ability to hold meetings efficiently<br />
and take good decisions.<br />
Yet few of us like business meetings<br />
or find them productive. In this article,<br />
we provide ten <strong>tips</strong> to help you<br />
to make your meetings more efficient<br />
— and more enjoyable.<br />
This article is the fifth in our special<br />
skills series. Each article contains<br />
ten <strong>top</strong> <strong>tips</strong> for a key area of<br />
business communication — and a<br />
training plan to help you to structure<br />
your learning (see p. 35).<br />
In previous issues:<br />
Part One: Listening (2/2014)<br />
Part Two: Speaking (3/2014)<br />
Part Three: Writing (4/2014)<br />
Part Four: Telephoning (5/2014)<br />
TIP 1 Think about your goals<br />
You are more likely to reach your<br />
goals in a meeting if you have clear<br />
aims beforehand. Consider the following<br />
points:<br />
Your needs. What decisions are essential<br />
to you because they match your<br />
(or your department’s) goals, capabilities<br />
and resources?<br />
Your influence. What powers and arguments<br />
do you have at your disposal<br />
to get others to accept your decisions?<br />
These might include facts and<br />
figures or support from key people in<br />
your organization.<br />
Your flexibility. What is your fallback<br />
position if your ideal decision cannot<br />
be reached? What or who limits your<br />
flexibility to accept decisions?<br />
Understanding the needs of others<br />
may help you to reach your own<br />
goals. But in complex organizations,<br />
it is also important that people avoid<br />
narrow and defensive thinking — the<br />
so-called silo mentality. You should<br />
do some pre-meeting work by phone<br />
and email to gain a wider organizational<br />
perspective and to discover<br />
the needs of others. Here are some<br />
questions that you could ask your<br />
colleagues:<br />
l What exactly do you want from<br />
the meeting?<br />
l To what extent do you know what<br />
I want from the meeting?<br />
l What does your boss want from<br />
this meeting?<br />
4<br />
TIP 2 Consider your organization<br />
In addition to thinking about your<br />
own needs, it is essential to consider<br />
carefully the needs of your organization<br />
as a whole. The best decisions<br />
for the organization may not necessarily<br />
be in your personal interest or<br />
in the interest of the members of your<br />
department.<br />
Meeting your needs<br />
[)mi:tIN jO: (ni:dz]<br />
department<br />
[di(pA:tmEnt]<br />
disposal: have sth. at<br />
one’s ~ [dI(spEUz&l]<br />
fallback position<br />
[(fO:lbÄk pE)zIS&n]<br />
goal [gEUl]<br />
resource [ri(zO:s]<br />
silo mentality<br />
[(saIlEU men)tÄlEti]<br />
seinen Bedürfnissen/<br />
Erfordernissen gerecht<br />
werden<br />
Abteilung<br />
etw. zur Verfügung<br />
haben<br />
Alternative, Plan B<br />
Ziel<br />
Mittel<br />
„Silo-Mentalität“,<br />
isolierte Betrachtungsweise<br />
Understanding the needs of others may<br />
help you to reach your own goals<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 31<br />
Mauritius
BUSINESS SKILLS MEETINGS<br />
l What are the most important<br />
things to consider in the meeting?<br />
l What would you like to discuss<br />
first?<br />
l What’s the best way to decide this?<br />
l What would be the best or worst<br />
decision?<br />
l How can I support you in the<br />
meeting?<br />
l How can you support me?<br />
Many people make the mistake of<br />
trying to discover this sort of information<br />
in the meeting itself (if at all).<br />
This is not an effective use of the time<br />
available for the meeting. People then<br />
simply introduce their own points of<br />
view and defend them against criticism<br />
from others. As a result, meetings<br />
turn into a waste of time.<br />
TIP 3<br />
Use virtual meetings<br />
Many business people are not hugely<br />
enthusiastic about virtual meetings,<br />
whether they are telephone conferences<br />
or video conferences. But the<br />
main problems have less to do with<br />
the technology and more to do with<br />
the way it is used. Virtual meetings<br />
often have too many people discussing<br />
too many complex <strong>top</strong>ics, with a<br />
allocation [)ÄlE(keIS&n] Zuweisung<br />
briefing [(bri:fIN]<br />
Lagebesprechung<br />
chair [tSeE]<br />
Vorsitzende(r),<br />
Sitzungsleiter(in)<br />
clarity [(klÄrEti]<br />
Klarheit<br />
core [kO:]<br />
Kern<br />
face-to-face [)feIs tE (feIs] persönlich<br />
facilitation [fE)sIlE(teIS&n] Moderation; hier:<br />
Sitzungsleitung<br />
facilitator [fE(sIlEteItE] Moderator(in); hier:<br />
Sitzungsleiter(in)<br />
in advance [)In Ed(vA:ns] im Voraus<br />
keep an eye on sth. auf etw. achten<br />
[)ki:p En (aI Qn]<br />
maintain sth. [meIn(teIn] etw. aufrechterhalten<br />
phrase [freIz]<br />
Formulierung<br />
point [pOInt]<br />
hier: Argument<br />
schedule sth. [(Sedju:l] etw. anberaumen<br />
take (the temperature) (Fieber) messen<br />
[teIk]<br />
<strong>top</strong>ic [(tQpIk]<br />
Thema<br />
travel expenses<br />
Reisekosten<br />
[(trÄv&l Ik)spensIz]<br />
Interactive: face-to-face meetings have advantages, but so, too, do virtual meetings<br />
small number of people dominating<br />
the discussion while the others are<br />
largely silent.<br />
Yet virtual meetings offer numerous<br />
advantages in addition to savings<br />
on travel expenses. They can be<br />
scheduled quickly, whenever there is<br />
an urgent “need to talk”. And they<br />
can be more effective than face-toface<br />
meetings if people acquire the<br />
skills needed for focused discussions.<br />
This, however, requires companies to<br />
invest more in the training of virtual<br />
skills.<br />
Here are some <strong>tips</strong> for improving<br />
your virtual meetings:<br />
l Keep the number of participants<br />
small (eight to ten people).<br />
l Integrate video if possible to make<br />
meetings more personal.<br />
l Use the opening moments to “take<br />
the emotional temperature” and<br />
discover how people are feeling.<br />
l Remain action-focused. Virtual<br />
meetings are great for quick briefings<br />
and simple decisions.<br />
TIP 4<br />
Share the work<br />
The success of a meeting depends on<br />
the skills of the facilitator or chair.<br />
Effective facilitation guarantees the<br />
right time allocation for the various<br />
<strong>top</strong>ics, depth of analysis, levels<br />
of participation and clarity of decisions.<br />
Poor facilitation, on the other<br />
hand, will simply leave participants<br />
frustrated. Often, the best way to<br />
guarantee effective facilitation is to<br />
share it among a number of people.<br />
Each person then keeps an eye on<br />
certain elements of the process. This<br />
“sharing of chairing” can be done<br />
relatively simply: a number of core<br />
communication strategies are defined<br />
in advance, with simple phrases associated<br />
with each that the facilitators<br />
should use. Some examples are given<br />
below:<br />
Maintaining a positive group dynamic<br />
l That’s an important point.<br />
l I think we’re making good progress.<br />
Stimulating new ideas<br />
l Are there any other ideas?<br />
l What else could we do? Can we be<br />
more creative?<br />
Building group consensus<br />
l Anna, what do you think about Steven’s<br />
ideas?<br />
l Adding to what Petra just said, I<br />
think…<br />
Managing conflict<br />
l OK, it’s good to have some different<br />
views on this.<br />
l Let’s hear your ideas first, and then<br />
we can come to Mike’s.<br />
Getty Images<br />
32 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
It is important for both<br />
efficiency and staff<br />
morale that decisions<br />
be realistic<br />
Getting to a decision<br />
l So, can we take a decision on this?<br />
l How shall we go forward?<br />
Summarizing<br />
l So, what we are planning to do is…<br />
l This means that we will…<br />
TIP 5<br />
Be curious and open<br />
Participants have to understand that<br />
they are also responsible for making<br />
things run smoothly. Communication<br />
protocols can help, but they often<br />
fail because underlying destructive<br />
attitudes create the following vicious<br />
circle:<br />
l People see their own needs as more<br />
important than the needs of others.<br />
l People want to convince others<br />
rather than be convinced.<br />
l People don’t listen when others are<br />
speaking.<br />
l People reject each other’s ideas too<br />
quickly without considering the<br />
value of these ideas.<br />
affect sb. [E(fekt]<br />
evidence [(evIdEns]<br />
go forward<br />
[)gEU (fO:wEd]<br />
human resources<br />
[)hju:mEn ri(zO:sIz]<br />
implement sth.<br />
[(ImplIment]<br />
implementation<br />
[)ImplImen(teIS&n]<br />
morale [mE(rA:l]<br />
network [(netw§:k]<br />
protocol [(prEUtEUkQl]<br />
reject sth. [ri(dZekt]<br />
smoothly [(smu:Dli]<br />
summarize [(sVmEraIz]<br />
underlying<br />
[)VndE(laIIN]<br />
vicious circle<br />
[)vISEs (s§:k&l]<br />
jmdn. betreffen<br />
Beleg(e)<br />
weitermachen<br />
Personal(wesen)<br />
etw. umsetzen,<br />
realisieren<br />
Umsetzung,<br />
Realisierung<br />
[wg. Aussprache]<br />
sich vernetzen<br />
hier: Regel<br />
etw. ablehnen<br />
reibungslos<br />
ein Resümee ziehen<br />
zugrunde liegend<br />
Teufelskreis<br />
Getty Images<br />
l People become angry when their<br />
ideas are ignored or rejected.<br />
l When people become angry, they<br />
are less open to the needs and<br />
views of others.<br />
Instead, we need to enter meetings<br />
with less of a desire to persuade others,<br />
and with more openness to being<br />
persuaded. This means asking more<br />
questions, in order to understand the<br />
views and motivations of other people<br />
and to try to build a consensus:<br />
l What do you think?<br />
l Why do you say that?<br />
l Can you tell me more about… ?<br />
l What is the evidence for… ?<br />
l Who else supports this point of view?<br />
TIP 6<br />
Network for success<br />
Successful meetings generally take<br />
place among people who network<br />
beyond their own narrow function<br />
and who spend a lot of time building<br />
relationships. Again, this comes from<br />
asking questions:<br />
l What’s happening in your part of<br />
the organization?<br />
l How is strategy changing here?<br />
l How are the market dynamics<br />
affecting you right now?<br />
l Is there anything our department<br />
can help you with?<br />
Good networkers invest a considerable<br />
amount of time on building<br />
alliances and trust before meetings.<br />
TIP 7<br />
Take realistic decisions<br />
Decision time: try<br />
to be realistic<br />
One of the most frustrating things<br />
about meetings is the fact that decisions<br />
are often taken but not implemented<br />
(or implemented too slowly).<br />
Sometimes, there may be good reasons<br />
for this: the amount of work<br />
involved might be greater than expected,<br />
or the market situation may<br />
change after the meeting. But it is important<br />
for both efficiency and staff<br />
morale that the decisions that are<br />
taken in meetings be realistic. This<br />
means thinking carefully about the<br />
following points before deciding:<br />
l How realistic is this decision for<br />
the people affected?<br />
l What are the potential barriers to<br />
implementation (human resources,<br />
finances, etc.)?<br />
4<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 33
BUSINESS SKILLS MEETINGS<br />
Check: how good<br />
are your notes?<br />
l Who might oppose the decision<br />
and how might these people be<br />
managed?<br />
l How serious would a delay be?<br />
What is the contingency plan?<br />
l What happens if the decision is not<br />
implemented at all?<br />
l Is there a lower-risk alternative decision?<br />
Because of the increased complexity<br />
of organizations and greater market<br />
uncertainty, this kind of risk-based<br />
thinking is increasingly important.<br />
TIP 8<br />
Document well<br />
Few of us enjoy writing the minutes<br />
of meetings, but they are very important.<br />
They can provide a clear record<br />
of decisions and the reasons for them,<br />
and document deadlines and responsibilities.<br />
It is worth discussing who should<br />
write the minutes and when. If the<br />
minutes are written “live”, that is,<br />
during the meeting, decisions are visible<br />
to all, which may increase commitment.<br />
The downside is that such<br />
“documented discussions” can become<br />
heavy and dominated by talking<br />
about of the minutes themselves.<br />
Another question is who writes the<br />
minutes. A native speaker may find<br />
the task easier but is likely to write<br />
in a more idiomatic, less transparent<br />
way than a non-native speaker.<br />
commitment<br />
[kE(mItmEnt]<br />
contingency plan<br />
[kEn(tIndZEnsi plÄn]<br />
downside [(daUnsaId]<br />
draft [drA:ft]<br />
milestone [(maI&lstEUn]<br />
minutes [(mInIts]<br />
oppose sth. [E(pEUz]<br />
visible [(vIzEb&l]<br />
Engagement,<br />
Leistungsbereitschaft<br />
Notfallplan<br />
Kehrseite<br />
Entwurf, Konzept<br />
Meilenstein, Projekt-<br />
(zwischen)ziel<br />
Protokoll<br />
gegen etw. sein<br />
sichtbar; hier: klar<br />
TIP 9<br />
Stay in contact<br />
People may sit around tables together<br />
to take decisions, but then they<br />
return to their own departments<br />
(and/or countries). The work they do<br />
may not be transparent until another<br />
milestone arrives, at which point,<br />
it quickly becomes clear that not<br />
enough work (or the wrong work)<br />
has been done. It is therefore important<br />
for participants to communicate<br />
after the meetings, to let each other<br />
know how things are going and to<br />
check whether there are any problems<br />
that need solving. Sometimes, a<br />
short, informal email is enough:<br />
Hi Elisabeth<br />
Hope all is well. Just wanted to<br />
keep in touch after the meeting<br />
and see how things are going with<br />
your part of the project. I am<br />
doing quite well. I’m sending you<br />
my latest draft, if you have time<br />
for some quick feedback. Do let<br />
me know if you want me to look<br />
at anything and give you some<br />
comments.<br />
Best wishes<br />
Brian<br />
TIP 10 Reflect and improve<br />
After each meeting, spend a few minutes<br />
reflecting on what happened.<br />
Ask yourself:<br />
l How well prepared was I? What<br />
could I have done better?<br />
l Which data/arguments helped to<br />
influence others? Which data/arguments<br />
influenced me?<br />
l Was I open or defensive?<br />
Also look back at your notes from<br />
meetings over the past months and<br />
ask yourself:<br />
l Who has supported my ideas, and<br />
why?<br />
l Which decisions did I support that<br />
turned out to be right, and which<br />
were wrong?<br />
l What forms of behaviour helped<br />
me to reach the decisions I needed?<br />
Knowing that you will be looking<br />
back at your notes should encourage<br />
you to take more detailed and better<br />
notes in future meetings — and to<br />
become a better listener.<br />
BS<br />
In the next issue<br />
In Part Six of our special series, Bob<br />
Dignen will provide ten <strong>top</strong> <strong>tips</strong> for<br />
making business contacts.<br />
Do an exercise on this <strong>top</strong>ic on<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio<br />
plus For exercises on meetings, see<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> plus<br />
www You’ll find exercises on this <strong>top</strong>ic at<br />
www.business-spotlight.de/meetings<br />
For more <strong>tips</strong> on communication skills,<br />
watch our “<strong>Business</strong> with Bob” videos<br />
at www.business-spotlight.de/videos/bob<br />
Corbis<br />
Bob Dignen is a director of York Associates<br />
(www.york-associates.co.uk)<br />
and author of many books. Contact:<br />
bob.dignen@york-associates.co.uk<br />
34 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
TRAINING PLAN BUSINESS SKILLS<br />
In this training plan, you will find suggestions on how to structure your learning to improve your meetings skills. We<br />
have divided the activities into five weekly blocks, each of which includes an exercise and two tasks based on Bob<br />
Dignen’s ten <strong>top</strong> <strong>tips</strong>. You can adapt the timing of the plan to suit your own schedule.<br />
Week Exercise Tasks Done<br />
WEEK 1<br />
Exercise: Read the article on<br />
pages 30–34, paying particular<br />
attention to the first<br />
two <strong>tips</strong>. Make a note of any<br />
unfamiliar words and create<br />
a database of useful phrases.<br />
<br />
n<br />
Task 1: Before your next meeting, think about what would be the<br />
ideal decisions for you and your department. Also, think about<br />
how you can influence the decisions, and about your fallback<br />
position. Compare this to what happens in the meeting.<br />
Task 2: Consider how you can help others to reach their goals<br />
in a meeting. Note whether others respond positively to your<br />
support and observe the impact on your relations with others.<br />
n<br />
n<br />
WEEK 2<br />
Exercise: Reread the third<br />
and fourth <strong>tips</strong> on page 32.<br />
www Every day this week,<br />
do one of our special online<br />
exercises at www.businessspotlight.de/meetings<br />
n<br />
Task 3: Schedule some virtual meetings as a way of keeping<br />
in touch with colleagues in other countries. Note whether this<br />
helps you to build better understanding with your colleagues.<br />
Task 4: “Share the chairing” at your next meeting. A number of<br />
people should take responsibility for particular communication<br />
strategies and use the key phrases listed on pages 32–33.<br />
n<br />
n<br />
WEEK 3<br />
Exercise: Reread the fifth and<br />
sixth <strong>tips</strong> in the article on<br />
page 33. plus Then complete<br />
the language exercises<br />
in <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> plus<br />
(pp. 8–11). n<br />
Task 5: At your next meeting, listen attentively when others disagree<br />
with your views. Be curious and positive when challenged.<br />
Try to find out the reasons for other people’s opinions, and use<br />
their rejection of your ideas as an opportunity to improve them.<br />
Task 6: Identify someone in your next meeting whom you think it<br />
would be good to have in your professional network. Invite this<br />
person to have lunch in the coming weeks. Afterwards, decide<br />
whether it would be useful to keep in touch or not.<br />
n<br />
n<br />
WEEK 4<br />
Exercise: Reread the seventh<br />
and eighth <strong>tips</strong> in the<br />
article on pages 33–34.<br />
Do the exercises on<br />
meetings on tracks 8–10 of<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio.n<br />
Task 7: Ask questions in your next meeting about how realistic<br />
the decisions are. Focus on the impact on different departments,<br />
barriers to implementation and the risks of non-implementation.<br />
Task 8: Look carefully at the next set of minutes that you receive.<br />
How happy are you with them? Share your thoughts with the<br />
chair/facilitator and discuss any changes that could be made.<br />
n<br />
n<br />
iStock (2)<br />
WEEK 5<br />
Exercise: Reread the ninth<br />
and tenth <strong>tips</strong> on page 34.<br />
Make a note of the strategies<br />
and phrases you have used<br />
successfully in meetings in<br />
the past few weeks. Write<br />
down some new things you<br />
could do to improve your<br />
meetings skills. n<br />
Task 9: A week or so after an important meeting, write a follow-up<br />
email to a colleague. Update them on the progress you<br />
have made, ask them how they are doing and request/offer feedback.<br />
Think about how useful this form of communication is.<br />
Task 10: Review your meeting notes and consider how you could<br />
improve them. Reflect on the decisions made in meetings, which<br />
ones you supported and which ones turned out to be right/wrong.<br />
Think about what you can learn from this for future meetings.<br />
n<br />
n<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 35
BUSINESS SKILLS TOOLBOX<br />
Writing in English<br />
In dieser Rubrik nutzt Ken Taylor seine internationalen<br />
Erfahrungen und beantwortet Fragen, die im heutigen<br />
Geschäftsalltag häufig gestellt werden. medium<br />
Writing: not as difficult as you might think<br />
1. Is there an ideal length for a sentence?<br />
In German, long sentences with several subordinate clauses<br />
and a lot of commas are acceptable. In English, however,<br />
one generally writes shorter sentences, which are varied in<br />
length. Remember that a sentence with more than 20 words<br />
is difficult for the reader. Here’s a scale as a guide:<br />
Very easy<br />
Easy<br />
Fairly easy<br />
Standard<br />
Fairly difficult<br />
Difficult<br />
Very difficult<br />
Foto: Michael Brown<br />
8 words or fewer<br />
11 words or fewer<br />
14 words or fewer<br />
17 words<br />
21 words or more<br />
25 words or more<br />
29 words or more<br />
Aim for an average of fewer than 17 words per sentence<br />
when writing for an international readership.<br />
iStock<br />
3. Can I begin with “unfortunately”?<br />
Yes, if you are writing a letter of complaint,<br />
a threat or a warning. But if not, use<br />
positive words and expressions. Help your<br />
reader see things in a positive light. Here<br />
are some examples:<br />
Negative version<br />
Our office is closed<br />
after five o’clock.<br />
Unfortunately,<br />
I can’t help you<br />
with this.<br />
I’m afraid we can<br />
only offer you a five<br />
per cent discount.<br />
Positive version<br />
Our office is open<br />
until five o’clock.<br />
My colleague will<br />
be able to help you<br />
with this.<br />
We can certainly<br />
offer you a five<br />
per cent discount.<br />
Ask yourself whether you regularly use<br />
negative words like “problem”, “impossible”,<br />
“can’t” or “late”. If so, replace them<br />
with more positive expressions.<br />
2. Does it matter whether I mix British with US English?<br />
Most of us mix British English with US English — and this includes<br />
native speakers. We use expressions we have picked up<br />
from television, from advertising, or from colleagues and friends.<br />
We get emails or text messages with expressions that we copy<br />
in our replies. We even confuse the different spellings of a word<br />
without realizing it. (Is it “colour” or “color”?) Although we can<br />
choose to use a spellchecker for British or US English, mix-ups<br />
still occur.<br />
Don’t get too worried about this. Many German speakers of<br />
English are more familiar with British English from school. But<br />
many have worked or studied in the US. So use the language you<br />
feel most comfortable with. Simply be as consistent as possible.<br />
comfortable<br />
[(kVmftEb&l]<br />
consistent [kEn(sIstEnt]<br />
consultant [kEn(sVltEnt]<br />
discount [(dIskaUnt]<br />
pick sth. up [)pIk (Vp]<br />
scale [skeI&l]<br />
spellchecker<br />
[(speltSekE]<br />
spelling [(spelIN]<br />
subordinate clause<br />
[sE)bO:dInEt (klO:z]<br />
text message<br />
[(tekst )mesIdZ]<br />
hier: vertraut<br />
konsequent<br />
Berater(in)<br />
Preisnachlass<br />
etw. aufschnappen<br />
Maßstab, Skala<br />
Rechtschreibprüfungsprogramm<br />
Schreibweise<br />
Nebensatz<br />
SMS-Nachricht<br />
Ken Taylor is a communication consultant<br />
and author of 50 Ways to Improve<br />
Your <strong>Business</strong> English (Summertown).<br />
Contact: KTaylor868@aol.com<br />
36 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
INDEX<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> 2014<br />
An overview of our main stories from the past year<br />
THE BIG PICTURE<br />
n Flight attendants in China 2/14 n<br />
Funerals in Ghana 3/14 n Bees in<br />
Britain 4/14 n Bulls in Austria 5/14 n<br />
Amazon preparing for Christmas 6/14<br />
LANGUAGE TESTS<br />
n 101 key business terms 1/14 n<br />
Job titles 2/14 n Translation 3/14 n<br />
Politeness 4/14 n Presentations 5/14<br />
n Synonyms and antonyms 6/14<br />
GLOBAL BUSINESS<br />
FEATURE n TED talks 5/14<br />
IT’S PERSONAL n The human side of<br />
business 2/14 n Attention-seeking<br />
architects 3/14 n Fashion’s colour<br />
problem 4/14 n The inventor Elon Musk<br />
5/14 n Sleep, and who needs it 6/14<br />
PROFILE n Arianna Huffington, founder<br />
of The Huffington Post 1/14 n Jonathan<br />
Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury<br />
2/14 n Mary Barra, GM’s new CEO<br />
3/14 n Sir Jonathan Ive, Apple’s star<br />
designer 4/14 n Marissa Mayer, head<br />
of Yahoo 6/14<br />
HEAD-TO-HEAD n Should we ban<br />
fracking? 1/14 n Should teleworking<br />
be restricted? 2/14 n Are marketers<br />
spies? 3/14 n Should smoking breaks<br />
be banned? 4/14 n Independence for<br />
Scotland? 5/14 n The US-EU trade<br />
pact, TTIP: good for Europe? 6/14<br />
BUSINESS SKILLS<br />
FEATURES n Uncertainty 1/14 n<br />
Series: (1) Listening 2/14 n (2) Speaking<br />
3/14 n (3) Writing 4/14 n (4)<br />
Telephoning 5/14 n (5) <strong>Meetings</strong> 6/14<br />
TOOLBOX n Answering a colleague’s<br />
phone 1/14 n Running meetings<br />
2/14 n Answering questions 3/14<br />
n Feedback 4/14 n Increasing your<br />
vocabulary 5/14 n Writing <strong>tips</strong> 6/14<br />
SAY IT IN STYLE n Introductions 1/14<br />
INTERCULTURAL<br />
COMMUNICATION<br />
FEATURES n Socializing 1/14 n The<br />
value of culture 2/14 n Brazil 3/14<br />
n The UK 4/14 n China 5/14 n The<br />
US 6/14<br />
LOOKING BACK n Michelle Carstens<br />
on Australia’s challenges 1/14<br />
TRAVEL TIPS n New Year in Scotland<br />
1/14<br />
CAREERS<br />
FEATURES n Career coaches 1/14<br />
n Introverts 2/14 n MOOCS 3/14<br />
n Series: (1) Finding a job 4/14 n<br />
(2) Job applications 5/14 n (3) Job<br />
interviews 6/14<br />
MANAGEMENT<br />
FEATURES n Middle managers 1/14<br />
n Trends in executive training 2/14 n<br />
Charisma 3/14 n Rick’s Café 4/14 n<br />
Mobile banking in Zimbabwe 6/14<br />
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT n Low-cost<br />
air travel 1/14 n When eBay bought<br />
Skype 2/14 n McDonald’s hot-coffee<br />
case 3/14 n Japan’s quality miracle<br />
4/14 n The death of Superman<br />
5/14 n The Mobro 4000 garbage<br />
barge 6/14<br />
EXECUTIVE EYE n Overcoming adversity<br />
1/14 n The importance of<br />
trust 2/14 n Whistleblowers 3/14 n<br />
Cognitive psychology 4/14 n People<br />
who can make your life hell 5/14 n<br />
Managing an orchestra 6/14<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
FEATURES n Solar aeroplanes 1/14<br />
n Transient electronics 2/14 n<br />
Agricultural robots 3/14 n Formula<br />
One 4/14 n Electric paint 5/14 n<br />
Acoustics 6/14<br />
LANGUAGE FOCUS n Mechanical<br />
valves 1/14 n Engineering metals<br />
LANGUAGE<br />
VOCABULARY n The fire brigade 1/14<br />
n Industrial bakeries 2/14 n Playing<br />
golf 3/14 n Sightseeing 4/14 n<br />
Commercial cleaning 5/14 n Concert<br />
halls 6/14<br />
GRAMMAR AT WORK n Reported<br />
speech 1/14 n Necessity 2/14 n Talking<br />
about yourself 3/14 n Terms and<br />
conditions 4/14 n Polite requests 5/14<br />
n Keeping conversations going 6/14<br />
EASY ENGLISH n Reaching agreement<br />
1/14 n Visitors 2/14 n Making<br />
appointments 3/14 n Customer care<br />
4/14 n Getting approval 5/14 n<br />
Recent developments 6/14<br />
WISE WORDS n Reduplicatives 1/14<br />
n Hard work 2/14 n Football 3/14 n<br />
Word pairs 4/14 n Comic headlines<br />
5/14 n Weather idioms 6/14<br />
EMAIL n Key vocabulary 2/14 n<br />
Starting an email 3/14 n Ending<br />
an email 4/14 n Paragraphs 5/14 n<br />
Linking ideas 6/14<br />
ENGLISH ON THE MOVE n Car ferries<br />
1/14 n Conferences 2/14 n Staying<br />
2/14 n Quality management 3/14 n<br />
Medical lasers 4/14 n Helicopters<br />
5/14 n Technical drawing 6/14<br />
PEOPLE<br />
MY WORKING LIFE n Yacht service<br />
providers, Tunisia 1/14 n Pet detective,<br />
UK 2/14 n Taxi driver, Malawi<br />
3/14 n Tour guide, Gibraltar 4/14 n<br />
Post-office manager, Croatia 5/14 n<br />
Nature ambassador, UK 6/14<br />
with a host family 3/14 n Hiring a car<br />
abroad 4/14 n Taking the Eurostar<br />
5/14 n Flight conversations 6/14<br />
SHORT STORY n Top dog 1/14 n New<br />
perspectives 2/14 n Castles in the air<br />
3/14 n Weight management 4/14 n<br />
The birthday party 5/14 n The CBO<br />
6/14<br />
ENGLISH FOR... n Weather conditions<br />
1/14 n Call centres 2/14 n Opinion<br />
research 3/14 n Income tax returns<br />
4/14 n Stress management 5/14 n<br />
Philanthropy 6/14<br />
LEGAL ENGLISH n Legal training<br />
1/14 n General legal terms 2/14 n<br />
Product liability 3/14 n Memorandum<br />
of law 4/14 n Patent law 5/14 n<br />
Understanding legislation 6/14<br />
ECONOMICS AND FINANCE / TALKING<br />
FINANCE n Debts, exports and<br />
imports 1/14 n Getting real 2/14 n<br />
Money 3/14 n Taxes 4/14 n Stability<br />
and volatility 5/14 n GDP 6/14<br />
TEACHER TALK n Vicki Hollett 1/14 n<br />
Keith Harding 2/14 n Nicky Hockly<br />
3/14 n Ian Badger 4/14 n Julie<br />
Pratten 5/14 n Timothy Phillips 6/14<br />
SKILL UP!<br />
n Retailing 1/14<br />
n Innovation 2/14<br />
n Arts and culture 3/14<br />
n Insurance 4/14<br />
n The news media 5/14<br />
n Energy 6/14<br />
These issues of <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> (including Skill Up!) can be ordered by calling +49<br />
(0)89 856 81-16 or sending an email to abo@spotlight-verlag.de. Please understand that<br />
we are not able to send individual articles, either as paper versions or electronically.<br />
www To download this index in PDF format, go to www.business-spotlight.de/indexes<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 37
An impossible dream?<br />
Hat sich mit den wirtschaftlichen Problemen des Landes<br />
auch der Amerikanische Traum ausgeträumt? Nein, denn<br />
Präsident Obamas Slogan „Yes, we can!“ zeigt, dass es ihn<br />
noch gibt, wie Vicki Sussens erfahren hat.<br />
medium<br />
In April 2014, Kwasi Enin became<br />
a media star. The 17-year-old,<br />
whose parents had emigrated from<br />
Ghana to the US in the 1980s, applied<br />
to all eight of the country’s<br />
exclusive Ivy League universities and<br />
was accepted by each one — an extraordinary<br />
achievement.<br />
The media presented the goodlooking<br />
young man as an example of<br />
the American Dream, the idea that<br />
anyone can be successful, no matter<br />
what their education or birth<br />
(see box on p. 44). Enin’s parents,<br />
both nurses, taught him to aim high.<br />
Now, nothing can s<strong>top</strong> the Long Island<br />
wunderkind from following his<br />
dream of becoming a doctor.<br />
America is a “can-do” culture, in<br />
which achievement against all odds<br />
is the highest cultural value, and rallying<br />
cries such as President Obama’s<br />
“Yes, we can!” are typical.<br />
In the past decade, however, Americans<br />
have begun to wonder whether<br />
they “still can”. Both the American<br />
Dream and the idea of “American<br />
exceptionalism” — the term used to<br />
describe the US’ special place among<br />
nations because of its commitment to<br />
liberty, egalitarianism and individualism<br />
— have taken knocks. And there 4<br />
achievement [E(tSi:vmEnt] Leistung; hier auch:<br />
Erfolg<br />
against all odds<br />
allen Widrigkeiten<br />
[E)genst O:l (Qdz]<br />
zum Trotz<br />
aim high [)eIm (haI] hoch hinauswollen<br />
commitment [kE(mItmEnt] Verpflichtung<br />
decade [(dekeId]<br />
Jahrzehnt<br />
egalitarianism<br />
Egalitarismus,<br />
[i)gÄlI(teEriEnIzEm] Gleichheitsgedanke<br />
Ivy League universities acht private Elite-<br />
[)aIvi li:g )ju:nI(v§:sEti] universitäten im<br />
Nordosten der USA<br />
nurse [n§:s]<br />
Krankenpfleger(in)<br />
rallying cry [(rÄliIN kraI] Schlachtruf<br />
take knocks [)teIk (nQks] einen Knacks bekommen<br />
38 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
THE US INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION<br />
Mauritius<br />
Global symbol of freedom:<br />
the Statue of Liberty
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION THE US<br />
Credit<br />
is talk of the end of its role as the<br />
world’s leader, as China’s star rises.<br />
Not far from Long Island, 24-yearold<br />
Gracelyn Bateman walks across<br />
town to her job in a digital-media<br />
agency in Manhattan. She loves this<br />
lively, diverse city and says she feels<br />
“privileged” to live there.<br />
Bateman’s parents had no problem<br />
paying for her to study sociology at<br />
an Ivy League university. However,<br />
she does not believe she will reach<br />
her baby-boomer parents’ socioeconomic<br />
status. “It is going to be<br />
difficult for my generation to live<br />
out the American Dream the way<br />
our parents did,” she says. “I do not<br />
have a single friend in New York<br />
who is financially stable or able to<br />
save.” Unemployment for those aged<br />
between 16 and 24 is around 14 per<br />
Job fair: land of opportunity for youth?<br />
cent, compared to the national figure<br />
of just over six per cent.<br />
Even though GDP is expected to<br />
grow by nearly three per cent in<br />
2014 and unemployment has fallen<br />
significantly in recent years, real<br />
wages have been stagnating since<br />
the 1970s. A recent OECD report<br />
ranked US socio-economic inequality<br />
as the fourth worst of OECD countries,<br />
after Chile, Mexico and Turkey.<br />
“It is going to be difficult for<br />
my generation to live out<br />
the American Dream the way<br />
our parents did”<br />
Gracelyn Bateman, 24-year-old member of the millennial<br />
generation, who works in digital analytics in New York City<br />
baby boomer<br />
Angehörige(r) der<br />
[(beIbi )bu:mE]<br />
geburtenstarken<br />
Jahrgänge<br />
Chile [(tSIli]<br />
[wg. Aussprache]<br />
diverse [daI(v§:s] vielfältig; hier: bunt<br />
gemischt<br />
GDP (gross domestic BIP (Bruttoinlandsproduct)<br />
[)dZi: di: (pi:] produkt)<br />
millennial generation Generation der Personen,<br />
[mI(leniEl dZenE)reIS&n] die um das Jahr 2000<br />
herum Teenager waren<br />
stable [(steIb&l]<br />
stabil; hier: solide<br />
aufgestellt<br />
40 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
Proud Americans:<br />
celebrating<br />
Independence Day<br />
United States: Fast facts<br />
ddp<br />
Media star: Kwasi Enin, 17, is off to Yale<br />
The report’s authors say increasing<br />
inequality is stifling social mobility<br />
in the US. In the past 30 years, the<br />
pre-tax income of the wealthiest one<br />
per cent of Americans has doubled,<br />
while average incomes have risen by<br />
only 0.6 per cent annually and the<br />
incomes of the poorest ten per cent<br />
dropped by 15 per cent from 2000 to<br />
2010, according to the 2013 OECD<br />
Income Distribution Database.<br />
annually [(ÄnjuEli]<br />
benefit [(benIfIt]<br />
database [(deItEbeIs]<br />
economic recovery<br />
[i:kE)nQmIk ri(kVvEri]<br />
poll [pEUl]<br />
pre-tax income<br />
[)pri: tÄks (InkVm]<br />
stifle sth. [(staIf&l]<br />
jährlich<br />
Sozialleistung<br />
Datenbank<br />
Konjunkturaufschwung<br />
Umfrage<br />
Einkommen<br />
vor Steuern<br />
etw. unterdrücken,<br />
ersticken<br />
“To many people, what matters is<br />
not so much inequality of incomes,<br />
but rather inequality of opportunities,”<br />
say the authors of the OECD<br />
report. They believe the problems are<br />
structural and will not be solved by<br />
an economic recovery. Instead, policy<br />
changes are needed to improve education,<br />
to build the skills needed for<br />
a more technological and changing<br />
workplace and, especially, to reform<br />
tax and benefit policies, which are<br />
the most “direct and powerful instruments<br />
to redistribute income,” says<br />
the report.<br />
A Wall Street Journal/NBC News<br />
poll found that 71 per cent of those<br />
asked blame the country’s problems<br />
on federal politics, which has seen<br />
Reuters/Corbis<br />
4<br />
Official name:<br />
United States of America<br />
Government:<br />
Constitution-based federal republic<br />
Capital:<br />
Washington, DC, 4.7 million (2011)<br />
President:<br />
Barack Obama (since 20 January<br />
2005)<br />
Population:<br />
318.9 million (July 2014 est.)<br />
GDP (at purchasing power parity):<br />
$16.72 trillion (2013 est.)<br />
GDP (real growth rate):<br />
2.8% (2014 est.)<br />
Unemployment:<br />
6.2% (July 2014)<br />
Inflation:<br />
2.1% (June 2014)<br />
Main trading partners:<br />
Canada, China, Mexico, Japan and<br />
Germany<br />
Main ethnic groups:<br />
White 80%, Hispanic 15%, black<br />
13%, Asian 4%, Native American<br />
1% (July 2007 est.)<br />
Main religions:<br />
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic<br />
23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian<br />
1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist<br />
0.7%, Muslim 0.6% (2007 est.)<br />
constitution [)kQnstI(tju:S&n] Verfassung<br />
est. (estimate) [(estImEt] Schätzung<br />
GDP (gross domestic BIP (Bruttoinlandsproduct)<br />
[)dZi: di: (pi:] produkt)<br />
Jewish [(dZu:IS]<br />
jüdisch<br />
purchasing power parity: at ~ kaufkraftbereinigt<br />
[)p§:tSEsIN )paUE (pÄrEti]<br />
trillion [(trIljEn]<br />
Billion(en)<br />
Sources: CIA World Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/<br />
library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html);<br />
“IMF World Economic Outlook Update” (www.imf.org/<br />
external/pubs/ft/weo/2014/update/01); Bureau of<br />
Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm)<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 41
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION THE US<br />
Interview<br />
“Promoting yourself and the work you do is<br />
a matter of survival in America”<br />
MELISSA LAMSON is an American intercultural<br />
and diversity author and expert who<br />
has worked both in Germany and the US.<br />
The owner of Lamson Consulting, she has<br />
provided intercultural advice to the German<br />
foreign ministry. In 2006, she won<br />
an award for her work in diversity from<br />
the German government. Lamson, who<br />
coaches executives in Germany, talks to<br />
us about why understanding the US culture<br />
is essential to doing business there.<br />
What has your intercultural work with Germany<br />
and the US taught you?<br />
I’m constantly surprised at how differently<br />
we look at things. You think business<br />
is business, but then you find we have<br />
completely different ways of making decisions,<br />
prioritizing work, building relationships<br />
and getting support for a project.<br />
Germans and Americans have the opposite<br />
approach to risk-taking, action versus<br />
planning and thinking versus doing.<br />
What should Germans know about American<br />
culture?<br />
It is very complex. I recently did a study<br />
where I asked German international project<br />
managers which country was the<br />
hardest to work for and most said the<br />
US. Understanding the importance of<br />
succeeding at work is essential if one<br />
wants to do business in the US. It is the<br />
reason Americans self-promote and use<br />
extravagant language, and also why, to<br />
Europeans, they can seem naive, showy<br />
and false.<br />
Why do Americans behave like that?<br />
Unlike in social democracies, where a<br />
social net protects the weak, in America,<br />
business is a dog-eat-dog world. The<br />
social pact is “work hard and you can<br />
succeed”. You can go from rags to riches,<br />
but you can also quickly go from riches to<br />
rags. So all Americans know they can lose<br />
their jobs at any time. Promoting yourself<br />
and the work you do is therefore a matter<br />
of survival. Americans are conditioned at<br />
an early age to stand up in front of others<br />
and say how great they are.<br />
Why do Americans often appear permanently<br />
happy?<br />
Americans place a high value on being<br />
positive and solution-oriented. We<br />
Americans really believe that if you are<br />
positive, you will attract positive energy.<br />
People who talk about problems are seen<br />
as negative. There is also pressure on<br />
Americans to appear happy. Europeans<br />
are often unsure of how authentic this<br />
happiness is.<br />
Should Germans in America market themselves<br />
in the American way?<br />
If they don’t, there is a risk they will not<br />
succeed. I coach German executives to<br />
create a persona. I often use Steve Jobs<br />
as an example. He started off shy and<br />
was coached to become a big personality.<br />
My clients find being this new persona in<br />
a foreign language makes it easier. However,<br />
the more you adapt to US culture,<br />
the more you can start sharing your own<br />
way of doing things.<br />
approach [E(prEUtS] Herangehensweise<br />
challenge [(tSÄlIndZ] Herausforderung; hier:<br />
Problem<br />
consulting [kEn(sVltIN] Beratung; hier:<br />
Beratungsfirma<br />
diversity [daI(v§:sEti] Vielfalt<br />
dog-eat-dog [)dQg i:t (dQg] jeder gegen jeden<br />
executive [Ig(zekjUtIv] Führungskraft<br />
naive [naI(i:v]<br />
[wg. Aussprache]<br />
persona [pE(sEUnE] Persönlichkeit, Image<br />
prioritize sth.<br />
etw. nach Priorität<br />
[praI(QrItaIz]<br />
ordnen<br />
rags to riches: go from ~ vom Tellerwäscher zum<br />
[)rÄgz tE (rItSIz]<br />
Millionär werden<br />
(rags<br />
Lumpen)<br />
rift [rIft]<br />
Kluft<br />
showy [(SEUi]<br />
protzig, prunkliebend<br />
shy [SaI]<br />
schüchtern,<br />
zurückhaltend<br />
Give an example of the language Germans<br />
should use.<br />
Germans introduce a product saying:<br />
“We are very satisfied with this interesting<br />
product developed by our experts.”<br />
For Americans, “interesting” means<br />
“boring”. I teach them to say something<br />
like: “This is an exciting, life-changing<br />
product with huge competence behind it,<br />
which you cannot live without.”<br />
What about possible misunderstandings?<br />
A German executive recently told me<br />
she never realized how much Americans<br />
feared losing their jobs. If management<br />
spoke about “problems”, the staff<br />
thought they were about to be fired. In<br />
America, “problem” means “disaster”. In<br />
Germany, it merely means something that<br />
needs a solution.<br />
How do you handle mixed meetings with<br />
different cultural expectations?<br />
I recently attended a meeting between a<br />
German and US firm that had joined together<br />
and they asked for feedback. I told<br />
them I would do it separately. Germans<br />
want to hear the negative things first so<br />
they can avoid problems, so I told them:<br />
“There were really quite a few problems<br />
and certain areas could turn into disasters.”<br />
I had to focus on solutions and be<br />
positive for the Americans, so I said: “It<br />
was a very productive meeting, but we<br />
still have a few challenges and we need<br />
to create work teams to find solutions.”<br />
What is the worst mistake one can make<br />
in America?<br />
Criticize America! Avoid political discussions,<br />
even if you know Americans who<br />
live in Germany, and they criticize the<br />
US themselves. What unites Americans is<br />
an enormous sense of pride and protectiveness<br />
about their country. It’s a case<br />
of: I can criticize my own brother and<br />
sister, but if you do, it will create a rift<br />
between us.<br />
42 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
Labour unrest:<br />
workers speak<br />
out against<br />
unemployment<br />
a stalemate in recent years between<br />
the ruling Democrats and the Republicans<br />
on important issues such<br />
as debt, health care, financial-sector<br />
regulation and climate change. “The<br />
public seems to have moved beyond<br />
the plaintive cry of ‘Feel our pain’<br />
to the more angry pronouncement of<br />
‘You are causing our pain’,” Democratic<br />
pollster Fred Yang told The<br />
Wall Street Journal.<br />
Alamy (2)<br />
Younger voters, in particular, are<br />
disillusioned with traditional politics<br />
The good life: afternoon drinks at a roof<strong>top</strong> bar<br />
and increasing numbers describe<br />
themselves as independents. More<br />
multicultural, egalitarian and informed<br />
than any generation before<br />
them, they are practical rather than<br />
ideological, and they support individual<br />
policies rather than political<br />
parties, says Michelle Diggles, a political<br />
social mobility than blacks. Only 17<br />
per cent of black children born to<br />
middle-income families exceed their<br />
parents’ incomes, compared to 37 per<br />
analyst from the US think tank cent of white children in the same<br />
after all [)A:ftEr (O:l] schließlich<br />
beat the odds<br />
es entgegen aller<br />
[)bi:t Di (Qdz]<br />
Wahrscheinlichkeit Third Way, who believes they will income group, according to a report<br />
schaffen<br />
change politics.<br />
by the Brookings Institution, a policy<br />
debt [det]<br />
Schulden, Verschuldung<br />
decline [di(klaIn] Rückgang,<br />
A 2013 Pew study on American organization in Washington, DC.<br />
Verschlechterung attitudes also found that, while 48<br />
diversity [daI(v§:sEti] Vielfalt<br />
per cent of Americans believed the However, the American Dream<br />
egalitarian [i)gÄlI(teEriEn] egalitär, dem Egalitarismus<br />
verbunden US was the greatest country in the remains fundamental to America’s<br />
glass ceiling<br />
„gläserne Decke“,<br />
world, only 32 per cent of millennials sense of self. It is an ideal that says<br />
[)glA:s (si:lIN]<br />
unsichtbare Barriere<br />
health care [(helT keE] Gesundheitswesen had this view.<br />
the highest human achievement is to<br />
issue [(ISu:]<br />
Frage<br />
But is America really in decline? do one’s best. “This is why ambition,<br />
plaintive [(pleIntIv] wehleidig<br />
policy organization hier etwa: Organisation After all, the American Dream has self-promotion, success and beating<br />
[)pQlEsi O:gEnaI)zeIS&n] für öffentliche Politik never worked for everyone. In the the odds are so highly valued in America,”<br />
says intercultural and diversity<br />
pollster [(pEUlstE] Demoskop(in),<br />
Meinungsforscher(in) past few decades, anti-discrimination<br />
pronouncement<br />
Erklärung, Verkündigung policies have been created to remove expert Melissa Lamson (see interview<br />
[prE(naUnsmEnt]<br />
the glass ceiling for disadvantaged on p. 42). Lamson adds that pride in<br />
stalemate [(steI&lmeIt] Patt(situation)<br />
think tank [(TINk tÄNk] Denkfabrik groups. Yet whites still enjoy greater these values is what unites Americans 4<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 43
Corbis<br />
Digging deep in<br />
Texas: extracting<br />
oil from shale<br />
The American Dream<br />
James Truslow Adams (1878–<br />
1949), an American historian,<br />
coined this term in his popular book<br />
The Epic of America, published in<br />
1931. He wrote that the American<br />
Dream has attracted tens of millions<br />
of people from all nations to the US,<br />
but that it was much more than just<br />
a dream of making money: “It has<br />
been a dream of being able to grow<br />
to fullest development as man and<br />
woman, unhampered by the barriers<br />
which had slowly been erected in the<br />
older civilizations, unrepressed by social<br />
orders which had developed for<br />
the benefit of classes rather than for<br />
the simple human being of any and<br />
every class. And that dream has been<br />
realized more fully in actual life here<br />
than anywhere else…”<br />
coin sth. [kOIn]<br />
etw. prägen<br />
epic [(epIk]<br />
Epos<br />
erect sth. [I(rekt] etw. errichten<br />
historian [hI(stO:riEn] Historiker(in)<br />
unhampered [)Vn(hÄmpEd] ungehindert<br />
unrepressed [)Vnri(prest] nicht unterdrückt<br />
across all levels of society. In his recent<br />
book, The Unwinding: An Inner<br />
History of the New America (see box<br />
on p. 45), George Packer, a journalist<br />
at The New Yorker, describes the<br />
gradual breakdown of the US social<br />
contract, whereby institutions that<br />
are meant to promote social justice<br />
have broken down. However, he says<br />
that while the US goes through an<br />
“unwinding” every generation or so,<br />
each decline brings renewal, energy<br />
and a new unity.<br />
In one sign of renewal, US mayors<br />
have stepped in where federal<br />
politics have failed. The US Conference<br />
of Mayors, an organization<br />
that represents city leaders, recently<br />
formed a task force to fight inequality<br />
in their cities. “We recognize<br />
that rising inequality and declining<br />
opportunity are threats to our fundamental<br />
values and to the nation’s<br />
economic growth,” the mayors said<br />
in a press statement. More than 30<br />
mayors have promised to secure better<br />
wages, improve early childhood<br />
education and expand internet access<br />
for low-income residents, as well as<br />
make their cities better places to live<br />
in. In south Texas, another local initiaccess<br />
[(Äkses]<br />
Zugang<br />
declining [di(klaInIN] geringer werdend<br />
early childhood education frühkindliche<br />
[)§:li )tSaI&ldhUd<br />
Bildung<br />
)edju(keIS&n]<br />
mayor [meE]<br />
Bürgermeister(in)<br />
press statement<br />
Presseerklärung<br />
[(pres )steItmEnt]<br />
research director Forschungsdirektor(in)<br />
[ri(s§:tS dE)rektE]<br />
social contract<br />
Gesellschaftsvertrag<br />
[)sEUS&l (kQntrÄkt]<br />
step in [)step (In] einschreiten<br />
unity [(ju:nEti]<br />
Einheit<br />
unwinding [)Vn(waIndIN] Abwicklung<br />
“We want to make sure we get the<br />
most out of [the shale] boom”<br />
Thomas Tunstall, research director, Institute for Economic Development,<br />
University of Texas, San Antonio<br />
44 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
THE US INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION<br />
For more information<br />
BOOKS<br />
Chasing the American Dream: Understanding What<br />
Shapes Our Fortunes, Mark Robert Rank, Thomas A.<br />
Hirschl, Kirk A. Foster (Oxford University Press)<br />
Gray Mountain: A Novel, John Grisham (Doubleday)<br />
Unternehmenserfolg in den USA: Strategie, Markteintritt,<br />
Kultur — die größten Fehler, die besten<br />
Praxistipps, Melissa Lamson, Ralf Drews (Springer<br />
Gabler)<br />
The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New<br />
America, George Packer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)<br />
WEBSITES<br />
Lamson Consulting: www.lamsonconsulting.com<br />
World Values Survey: www.worldvaluessurvey.org<br />
ative is bringing jobs and growth, this<br />
time to the Eagle Ford shale region,<br />
the heart of America’s shale gas and<br />
oil boom.<br />
“We want to make sure we get the<br />
most out of this boom,” says Thomas<br />
Tunstall, research director at the Institute<br />
for Economic Development of<br />
the University of Texas in San Antonio.<br />
Tunstall is working with the Eagle<br />
Ford Shale Consortium, a group<br />
of city and county officials, businesses<br />
and research organizations set up<br />
to boost development in the region.<br />
University of Texas studies show<br />
that the shale industry in south Texas<br />
supports more than 116,000 fulltime<br />
jobs. Plans are to take advantage<br />
of the boom to develop infrastructure,<br />
by building roads, revitalizing<br />
downtown areas and diversifying the<br />
local economy to attract other forms<br />
of business and agriculture.<br />
The shale revolution is a sign<br />
of hope in America — although a<br />
controversial one — which in some<br />
ways, sums up the US struggle with<br />
itself. Growing energy independence<br />
is helping to reduce the US petroleum<br />
trade deficit and means reduced dependence<br />
on politically unstable suppliers<br />
in the Middle East. The boom<br />
is also attracting US petrochemical<br />
firms back home and benefiting the<br />
local manufacturing sector. But opponents<br />
of fracking — which uses<br />
highly pressurized liquids to fracture<br />
rocks hundreds of metres below the<br />
earth’s surface to release oil and gas<br />
— believe that the energy industry<br />
is insufficiently regulated and that<br />
serious environmental damage is being<br />
done in the process (see <strong>Business</strong><br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 1/2014). Sharon Wilson, an<br />
anti-fracking activist who had moved<br />
to Eagle Ford in the 1990s to live<br />
out what she calls her “American<br />
Dream” in the countryside, moved<br />
away after friends and neighbours<br />
became sick. “It’s not right for firms<br />
to put families’ health at risk,” she<br />
wrote in her blog. “Americans are<br />
better people than that.”<br />
George Packer says the only thing<br />
that never changes in the US are the<br />
voices: “American voices, open, sentimental,<br />
angry…” As long as Americans<br />
are raising their voices, change<br />
and renewal will come. And as Kwasi<br />
Enin’s case shows, the American<br />
Dream is still alive, even if it is not<br />
particularly well.<br />
BS<br />
boost sth. [bu:st] etw. ankurbeln<br />
chase sth. [tSeIs] etw. (nach)jagen<br />
consulting [kEn(sVltIN] Beratung; hier:<br />
Beratungsfirma<br />
county [(kaUnti] US etwa: (Land-)Kreis<br />
environmental damage Umweltbelastung,<br />
[InvaI&rEn)ment&l (dÄmIdZ] -schäden<br />
fortunes [(fO:tSEnz] Schicksal<br />
fracture sth. [(frÄktSE] etw. aufbrechen<br />
highly pressurized unter hohem Druck<br />
[)haIli (preSEraIzd] (stehend)<br />
novel [(nQv&l]<br />
Roman<br />
petroleum [pE(trEUliEm] Erdöl<br />
raise one’s voice seine Stimme erheben<br />
[)reIz wVnz (vOIs]<br />
release sth. [ri(li:s] etw. freisetzen<br />
research director Forschungsdirektor(in)<br />
[ri(s§:tS dE)rektE]<br />
revitalize sth.<br />
etw. neu beleben<br />
[ri:(vaItElaIz]<br />
shale [SeI&l]<br />
Schiefergestein<br />
shale gas [)SeI&l (gÄs] Schiefergas<br />
sum sth. up [)sVm (Vp] etw. zusammenfassen;<br />
hier: für etw. sinnbildlich<br />
sein<br />
supplier [sE(plaIE] Zulieferer/Zulieferin<br />
survey [(s§:veI]<br />
Studie, Umfrage<br />
trade deficit<br />
Außenhandelsdefizit<br />
[(treId )defEsIt]<br />
unstable [Vn(steIb&l] instabil<br />
unwinding [)Vn(waIndIN] Abwicklung<br />
Good to know<br />
l To promote your product or business,<br />
use exaggerated sales language.<br />
“Interesting” means “boring”<br />
in the US. Try “life-changing”,<br />
“exciting”, “huge impact”.<br />
l Self-promotion is seen as essential<br />
for getting ahead in the US. Managers<br />
often get coached on how to<br />
build an exciting persona.<br />
l Avoid using the word “problem”. In<br />
the US, it can mean “disaster”.<br />
l Talk about solutions, not problems.<br />
Focusing on problems can seem<br />
negative to Americans, who place<br />
a high value on being positive.<br />
l Never criticize America. Americans<br />
are very protective of their country.<br />
Be especially careful about discussing<br />
politics in work situations.<br />
l In the US, success is measured by<br />
profit, so Americans tend to regard<br />
tasks as being more important than<br />
relationships.<br />
l Keep a professional distance with<br />
business partners or colleagues.<br />
l Once you have gained the trust of<br />
US partners, you can introduce<br />
your own way of doing things. It is<br />
possible to balance both cultures<br />
in a relationship.<br />
exaggerated<br />
[Ig(zÄdZEreItId]<br />
get ahead [)get E(hed]<br />
impact [(ImpÄkt]<br />
persona [pE(sEUnE]<br />
sales [seI&lz]<br />
übertrieben,<br />
überzogen<br />
vorwärtskommen<br />
Wirkung<br />
Persönlichkeit, Image<br />
Vertrieb<br />
Listen to more about the US on<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio<br />
plus Test your knowledge of US English<br />
in <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> plus<br />
www For more on the US, go to<br />
www.business-spotlight.de/us<br />
Vicki Sussens is a feature writer who<br />
edits the Intercultural and Management<br />
sections of <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong>.<br />
Contact: bs.editorial@spotlight-verlag.de<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 45
LANGUAGE VOCABULARY<br />
Concert halls<br />
In<br />
dieser Rubrik präsentieren wir nützliche Begriffe aus<br />
der Arbeitswelt. Von Carol Scheunemann<br />
easy<br />
1<br />
2<br />
6<br />
8<br />
19<br />
3<br />
7<br />
4<br />
5<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11<br />
12<br />
13<br />
17<br />
18<br />
20<br />
14<br />
16<br />
21<br />
15<br />
1. concert hall [(kQnsEt hO:l] Konzertsaal<br />
2. curtain [(k§:t&n] Vorhang<br />
3. concertgoer [(kQnsEt)gEUE] Konzertbesucher(in)<br />
4. stage [steIdZ] Bühne<br />
5. (the) brass [(DE) brA:s] Blechblasinstrumente;<br />
die Blechbläser(innen)<br />
6. symphony orchestra [(sImfEni )O:kIstrE] Sinfonieorchester<br />
7. harp [hA:p] Harfe<br />
8. harpist [(hA:pIst] Harfist(in)<br />
9. (the) strings [(DE) strINz] Streichinstrumente;<br />
die Streicher(innen)<br />
10. leader [li:dE] (US concertmaster Konzertmeister, erste(r)<br />
[(kA:ns&rt)mÄst&r*])<br />
Geiger(in)<br />
first violin [)f§:st vaIE(lIn]<br />
erste(r) Geiger(in)<br />
11. conductor [kEn(dVktE] Dirigent(in)<br />
12. conductor’s stand [kEn(dVktEz stÄnd] Dirigentenpult<br />
13. musician [mju(zIS&n] Musiker(in)<br />
14. music critic [(mju:zIk )krItIk] Musikkritiker(in)<br />
15. dress circle [(dres )s§:k&l] erster Rang<br />
(US first balcony [)f§:st (bÄlkEni],<br />
mezzanine [(mezEni:n*])<br />
16. stalls [stO:lz] (US parquet [pA:r(keI*]) Parkett<br />
17. audience [(O:diEns] Publikum, Zuhörer(innen)<br />
18. usher [(VSE] Platzanweiser(in)<br />
19. box [bQks], loge [lEUZ] Loge<br />
20. row [rEU] Reihe<br />
21. aisle [(aI&l] Gang<br />
22. accessible seating [Ek)sesEb&l (si:tIN] Behindertenplätze<br />
* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.<br />
Exercise: The sound of music<br />
Fill in the vowels to complete the words from the list.<br />
The a) symph_ny _rch_str_’s first concert this season was a<br />
phenomenal success. This was also the premiere under the<br />
world-famous b) c_nd_ct_r. The c) m_s_c_ _ns’ performance<br />
was sensational! The evening ended with a lovely solo by the<br />
d) h_rp_st. Without exception, the e) c_nc_rtg_ _rs were very<br />
enthusiastic, and everyone in the f) _ _d_ _nc_ applauded<br />
until the g) c_rt_ _n fell. The evening was also a first for the<br />
recently renovated h) c_nc_rt h_ll, which now offers a wider<br />
i) st_g_ and comfortable new seats in all areas, from the<br />
central j) st_lls up to the k) dr_ss c_rcl_. Bravo!<br />
Answers on page 74<br />
22<br />
Bernhard Förth<br />
46 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
GRAMMAR AT WORK LANGUAGE<br />
Keeping a conversation going<br />
Zuhören und auf das Gehörte reagieren: Nur so kann ein Gespräch in Gang<br />
gehalten werden, wie Anna Hochsieder anhand von Beispielen erläutert.<br />
medium<br />
Alan and his colleague Brian have just heard a lecture on astrophysics.<br />
Alan: Well, that was interesting, wasn’t it?<br />
Brian: Fascinating. That man’s a wonderful speaker.<br />
Alan: Brilliant. And he certainly knows his subject.<br />
Brian: Absolutely. He makes me feel quite ignorant.<br />
Alan: But he’s not patronizing.<br />
Brian: Definitely not. He puts himself on an equal footing with his audience.<br />
It’s great how he explains complicated matters in simple terms.<br />
Alan: Exactly. Even my 15-year-old son reads his books.<br />
Brian: Does he?<br />
Alan: You know the one he wrote about black holes — he read that in<br />
one sitting.<br />
Brian: In one sitting?<br />
Alan: Yes. He asked me to get him a signed copy of the new book.<br />
Brian: And did you?<br />
Alan: Not yet. But I'll try and catch the author before he leaves.<br />
Brian: Good idea!<br />
audience [(O:diEns]<br />
Publikum<br />
footing: on an equal ~ [(fUtIN] auf Augenhöhe<br />
patronizing [(pÄtrE)naIzIN]<br />
gönnerhaft<br />
5. You can also respond with a question.<br />
This can be a short form of a regular<br />
question (Does he?), an echo question,<br />
which repeats the other speaker’s<br />
remark (In one sitting?), or a follow-up<br />
question that develops the conversation<br />
further (And did you?).<br />
6. An exclamation such as Good idea!<br />
serves to react in a positive way to<br />
something that has been said. Exclamations<br />
such as How awful! are<br />
used to respond to bad news. In both<br />
cases, their function is to show friendly<br />
interest and thereby to create an<br />
atmosphere that keeps the conversation<br />
going.<br />
BS<br />
Exercise<br />
Order the sentences to create a short<br />
conversation. Start with sentence e).<br />
k<br />
Explanations<br />
1. Tag questions such as wasn’t it? invite<br />
the listener to respond. They are<br />
attached to statements and usually<br />
consist of an auxiliary verb and a subject<br />
pronoun. Mixed tag questions are<br />
useful for developing a conversation:<br />
a positive statement is followed by a<br />
negative tag question and a negative<br />
statement by a positive tag question.<br />
2. You can often respond by using<br />
slightly different words. For example,<br />
you can follow interesting with another<br />
adjective, like fascinating. Both have a<br />
similar meaning (as do wonderful and<br />
brilliant), but the second one is stronger<br />
than the first.<br />
3. Adverbs such as absolutely and exactly<br />
are used to show strong agreement.<br />
To agree to a negative statement,<br />
you can sometimes add “not” after the<br />
adverb (Definitely not.).<br />
4. You can respond with a sentence<br />
that has a similar meaning. When Alan<br />
says that the speaker is not patronizing,<br />
Brian repeats the same thought in a<br />
different way, saying that the speaker<br />
puts himself on an equal footing with<br />
his audience. He then adds that the<br />
speaker explains complicated matters in<br />
simple terms.<br />
a) It’s not as if we didn’t have anything<br />
better to do.<br />
❏<br />
b) It just went on and on. ❏<br />
c) Exactly. I was hoping to leave<br />
early today.<br />
❏<br />
d) Yeah. It’s my wife’s birthday, and<br />
and I’m taking her out for a meal. ❏<br />
e) That was a long meeting! ❏<br />
f) Were you? ❏<br />
Answers on page 74<br />
plus Do more exercises on this <strong>top</strong>ic in<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> plus<br />
www More exercises can be found at<br />
www.business-spotlight.de/grammar<br />
Anna Hochsieder is a Munich-based<br />
teacher of English who writes regularly<br />
in <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong>. Contact:<br />
a.hochsieder@googlemail.com<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 47
LANGUAGE EASY ENGLISH<br />
iStock<br />
Explaining what has happened: make<br />
your message relevant and clear<br />
Recent developments<br />
Trends und Entwicklungen lassen sich sowohl mit Bildmaterial als<br />
auch mit sprachlichen Mitteln veranschaulichen. Mike Hogan gibt<br />
Ihnen Wendungen in diesem Zusammenhang zur Hand. easy<br />
When looking at the performance<br />
of your team, department or<br />
company, it is important to consider<br />
not only internal but also external<br />
factors, such as general business<br />
trends. Here, we look at the strategies<br />
and the language you will need for talking<br />
about recent developments.<br />
Read the following dialogue between<br />
a team member, Sue, and her boss,<br />
Ralph. As you read it, think about the<br />
answers to these questions:<br />
l How does Sue make it easier for<br />
Ralph to understand the information<br />
she presents?<br />
l How does Sue show the relevance of<br />
the information?<br />
l How does Sue create a sense of<br />
urgency?<br />
Dialogue<br />
Ralph: Hi, Sue. Tell me what you have<br />
found out about the latest trends.<br />
And what is their impact on our department<br />
and organization?<br />
Sue: Well, Ralph, as you can see from<br />
these charts, the percentage of millennials<br />
in the workforce has been<br />
rising rapidly over the past few years.<br />
We have also seen this in our company.<br />
As a result, the number of<br />
employees wanting either flexible<br />
working hours or wishing to work<br />
from home has been going up.<br />
Ralph: Well, that’s certainly interesting.<br />
Sue: Yes, it is. Also, and if you look<br />
at this image here, you can see the<br />
relationship between these developments<br />
and falling levels of employee<br />
satisfaction.<br />
Ralph: Right! That looks like a serious<br />
problem.<br />
Sue: It is indeed. What all this means<br />
is that it will be necessary for us to<br />
make some changes if we want to<br />
appeal to this younger generation<br />
of employees. If we don’t, we risk<br />
losing them.<br />
appeal to sb. [E(pi:&l tu]<br />
chart [tSA:t]<br />
department [di(pA:tmEnt]<br />
employee satisfaction<br />
[Im)plOIi: )sÄtIs(fÄkS&n]<br />
impact [(ImpÄkt]<br />
millennial [mI(leniEl]<br />
urgency [(§:dZEnsi]<br />
workforce [(w§:kfO:s]<br />
working hours<br />
[(w§:kIN )aUEz]<br />
bei jmdm. Anklang<br />
finden<br />
Grafik, Tabelle<br />
Abteilung<br />
Mitarbeiterzufriedenheit<br />
Auswirkung(en)<br />
Person, die um das Jahr<br />
2000 herum Teenager<br />
war<br />
Dringlichkeit<br />
arbeitende<br />
Bevölkerung<br />
Arbeitszeit(en)<br />
48 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
call to action [)kO:l tE (ÄkS&n]<br />
get back to sb. [)get (bÄk tu:]<br />
how about… ? [(haU E)baUt] ifml.<br />
key talent [)ki: (tÄlEnt]<br />
outdated [)aUt(deItId]<br />
up to date: bring sth. ~<br />
[)Vp tE (deIt]<br />
visuals [(vIZuElz]<br />
work-life balance<br />
[)w§:k )laIf (bÄlEns]<br />
Grammar: the present perfect continuous<br />
When talking about recent trends and developments at work, we often use<br />
the present perfect continuous (have/has been + -ing). This form is used when<br />
we are speaking about developments that are still happening and are relevant<br />
to the present.<br />
Look at these two examples from the dialogue:<br />
l …the percentage of millennials in the workforce has been rising rapidly over<br />
the past few years.<br />
Aufruf zum Handeln<br />
sich wieder mit jmdm. in Verbindung setzen<br />
hier: wie wäre es, wenn…?<br />
Spitzenleute<br />
veraltet, überholt<br />
etw. auf den neuesten Stand bringen<br />
Bildmaterial<br />
(ausgewogenes) Verhältnis zwischen<br />
Berufs- und Privatleben<br />
Ralph: OK, so what exactly do we need<br />
to do? What’s your opinion?<br />
Sue: Well, our processes and structures<br />
are outdated — and therefore hard<br />
for this younger generation to accept.<br />
People want more control over their<br />
work-life balance. That is one reason<br />
why we have seen a large increase in<br />
the number of employees asking to<br />
work from home.<br />
Ralph: Yes, but that’s not always possible<br />
because of the way our computer<br />
system is set up.<br />
Sue: Maybe, but if we don’t bring our<br />
processes up to date, we’ll find it<br />
difficult to improve employee satisfaction.<br />
Then we are likely to lose<br />
our key talent and our reputation will<br />
suffer badly.<br />
Ralph: You’re right. It is definitely time<br />
to make some changes to the way we<br />
work. The current system was created<br />
a long time ago, and we really<br />
do want to be a great place to work.<br />
Could you lead a project to identify<br />
the changes we could make to improve<br />
things for this new generation<br />
of employees?<br />
Sue: Sure. How about I get back to you<br />
in a month with some suggestions?<br />
Here are the answers to our questions:<br />
l Sue uses visuals (charts and an image)<br />
to help Ralph understand the<br />
developments.<br />
l Sue describes general developments<br />
and their impact on the department<br />
and company.<br />
l Sue focuses on what is likely to happen<br />
to the department and company<br />
if management does not react to the<br />
developments.<br />
Preparation points<br />
l Prepare visuals to help you make<br />
your points.<br />
l Make a connection between general<br />
trends and their impact on<br />
your organization.<br />
l Prepare a “call to action”.<br />
l …the number of employees wanting either flexible working hours or wishing<br />
to work from home has been going up.<br />
Useful phrases for talking about<br />
recent developments<br />
a) Referring to visuals<br />
l As you can see from this chart/image/<br />
diagram,…<br />
l If you look at this image, you can see<br />
that…<br />
l Look at the difference between the first<br />
and second figures.<br />
l Notice the relationship between this<br />
year and last year.<br />
b) The language of change<br />
l The percentage of millennials in the<br />
workforce has been rising rapidly over<br />
the past few years.<br />
l The number of employees wanting flexible<br />
working hours has been going up.<br />
l Employee satisfaction levels have been<br />
falling.<br />
l We have seen a large increase in the<br />
number of employees asking to work<br />
from home.<br />
c) A call to action<br />
l OK, so what exactly do we need to do?<br />
What’s your opinion?<br />
l What all this means is that it will be<br />
necessary for us to make some changes.<br />
l We urgently need to make some changes<br />
to our…<br />
l If we don’t bring our processes up to<br />
date, we’ll find it difficult to improve<br />
our...<br />
l Motivation is likely to decrease if we<br />
don’t do something about it soon.<br />
l If we don’t act now, we may lose our<br />
key talent and our reputation will suffer<br />
badly.<br />
BS<br />
Do exercises on this <strong>top</strong>ic on<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio<br />
plus You can find related exercises in<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> plus<br />
Mike Hogan is a director of York Associates<br />
(www.york-associates.co.uk)<br />
and a coursebook author. Contact:<br />
mike.hogan@york-associates.co.uk<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 49
LANGUAGE WISE WORDS<br />
Feel the sun and wind<br />
Sonne, Wind und Wolken gehören zum Klima, haben ihren Platz aber<br />
auch in Redewendungen. Deborah Capras nennt Beispiele.<br />
medium<br />
iStock<br />
“It’s clear which way<br />
the wind is blowing —<br />
and it’s against fossil<br />
fuels”<br />
is coming,” warns Eddard<br />
Stark in the cult TV<br />
“Winter<br />
show Game of Thrones. His<br />
words send a shiver down everyone’s<br />
spine. Winter means doom and gloom.<br />
There are always clouds on the horizon.<br />
Who wouldn’t prefer the clear blue<br />
skies of summer?<br />
Mid-August. Athens. I’m standing on<br />
the largest solar-powered boat in the<br />
world. It’s hot and I’m sweaty. There’s<br />
no shade and not a cloud in the sky.<br />
That’s how the captain likes it. Captain<br />
Gerard D’Aboville knows that his catamaran,<br />
the MS Tûranor PlanetSolar, is<br />
unique. It is powered by nearly 30,000<br />
photovoltaic cells, which charge the<br />
charge sth. [tSA:dZ]<br />
chase sth. [tSeIs]<br />
doom and gloom [)du:m En (glu:m]<br />
Elvish [(elvIS]<br />
shiver: send a ~ down sb.’s spine [(SIvE]<br />
single-handedly [)sINg&l (hÄndIdli]<br />
sweaty [(sweti]<br />
The Lord of the Rings [DE )lO:d Ev DE (rINz]<br />
unique [ju(ni:k]<br />
yachtswoman [(jQts)wUmEn]<br />
etw. aufladen<br />
etw. hinterherjagen<br />
tiefster Pessimismus; hier:<br />
Niedergeschlagenheit<br />
elbisch<br />
jmdn. erschauern lassen<br />
im Alleingang<br />
verschwitzt<br />
Der Herr der Ringe<br />
einzigartig<br />
Seglerin<br />
I can feel it already: it’s in the wind!<br />
ship’s 8.5 tons of lithium-ion batteries.<br />
Its name, Tûranor, is taken from the<br />
Elvish language invented by J. R. R.<br />
Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings,<br />
and means “the power of the sun”.<br />
This invention, however, is very real.<br />
For the sun<br />
The boat is also very slow, expensive<br />
(it cost over €12 million to build) and<br />
impractical. For it to work, the captain<br />
has to chase the sun and avoid<br />
the clouds. D’Aboville admits that it<br />
will never see the light of day as a<br />
commercial ship. It’s simply meant to<br />
demonstrate the possibilities of clean,<br />
renewable energy. I learn that it is the<br />
first solar-powered boat to go round the<br />
globe and that it took 584 days. The<br />
British yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur<br />
puts that record in the shade. She<br />
needed just over 70 days to sail singlehandedly<br />
around the world in 2005,<br />
powered by a different kind of renewable<br />
energy: wind.<br />
Against the wind<br />
Sceptics might view this catamaran as<br />
a symbol of all that is wrong with solar<br />
power. A tanker could never be powered<br />
by solar alone, they could say. And<br />
50 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
A CLOSER LOOK<br />
Until the late 19th century, Newcastle<br />
upon Tyne was a major coal-exporting<br />
city, so it was pointless to take coal there.<br />
Although the city no longer exports coal,<br />
we still use the expression take/carry coals<br />
to Newcastle (Eulen nach Athen tragen)<br />
to show that we think someone is bringing<br />
something to a place or a person that<br />
doesn’t need it. More generally, it describes<br />
a pointless action.<br />
they’d be right. It’s so expensive that<br />
it’s used only if it’s heavily subsidized,<br />
they could also say. This is often the<br />
case, too. However, it’s still clear which<br />
way the wind is blowing — and it’s<br />
against fossil fuels.<br />
Recently, Stanford University voted<br />
to sell its investments in coal-mining<br />
companies. The university, which has<br />
an $18.7 billion (€14 billion) endowment<br />
fund, is the largest US institution<br />
to turn away from fossil fuels because<br />
of concerns about climate change<br />
and investment responsibility. Despite<br />
what sceptics say, the biggest cause<br />
of climate change is carbon dioxide<br />
and burning coal produces plenty of<br />
it. Their decision is a clear sign that<br />
we are slowly looking for alternatives,<br />
which is a good thing.<br />
Forget the coal?<br />
How much we’ve moved away from<br />
coal is perhaps made clear when<br />
Jean-Dominique Vassalli, the rector of<br />
the University of Geneva and a member of<br />
the team on the MS Tûranor, tries to explain<br />
why they are in Greece. The team<br />
will investigate the Neolithic culture<br />
along the coast of the Peloponnese,<br />
he tells us, and the boat allows them<br />
to do their work using high-tech equipment<br />
without polluting the area. Vassalli<br />
jokes about Swiss archaeologists<br />
coming to Greece on a solar-powered<br />
boat built by Germans. He says it<br />
sounds like they are taking coals to<br />
Newcastle. His comment is met by<br />
blank faces. Few people in the room<br />
understand his analogy.<br />
If this fossil-fuel expression is no<br />
longer understood, does this mean that<br />
fossil fuels are going the way of the<br />
dinosaurs? Not quite yet. Winter is<br />
coming. And I’m turning on the central<br />
heating. It still uses oil.<br />
y<br />
Useful phrases<br />
Expressions with “wind” and “cloud”<br />
have one’s head in the clouds<br />
To have no idea of reality, to be daydreaming<br />
and not concentrating on the<br />
important things:<br />
lDo you really think that we can use solar<br />
power for this? You have your head in<br />
the clouds!<br />
it’s clear which way the wind is blowing<br />
This expression is used to show that we<br />
understand what is happening now, and<br />
what will likely happen in the future:<br />
l It’s clear which way the wind is blowing,<br />
so we have to change our strategy.<br />
put the wind up sb. UK ifml.<br />
When you “put the wind up someone”, you<br />
alarm or frighten them:<br />
l You really put the wind up John when<br />
you said that the company is thinking<br />
of firing him.<br />
sail close to the wind ifml.<br />
In business, we use this expression to<br />
show that something is very risky:<br />
l If you ask me, he is sailing close to the<br />
wind with that strategy of his.<br />
In the news<br />
Britain Is Solar-Energy Hot Spot<br />
The Wall Street Journal<br />
A “hotspot” (US “hot spot”) is a fashionable place for something.<br />
Britain is described as a hotspot because it’s becoming a popular<br />
place for investors in solar-energy projects. Britain is not normally<br />
seen as being a sunny place, but the government is subsidizing<br />
renewable energy, making it attractive for investors.<br />
archaeologist [)A:ki(QlEdZIst]<br />
billion [(bIljEn]<br />
blank [blÄNk]<br />
carbon dioxide [)kA:bEn daI(QksaId]<br />
coal mining [(kEUl )maInIN]<br />
endowment fund [In(daUmEnt fVnd]<br />
fossil fuel [)fQs&l (fju:El]<br />
go the way of the dinosaurs<br />
[)gEU DE )weI Ev DE (daInEsO:z]<br />
Peloponnese: the ~ [(pelEpEni:s]<br />
pointless [(pOIntlEs]<br />
pollute sth. [pE(lu:t]<br />
subsidize sth. [(sVbsIdaIz]<br />
Archäologe/-login<br />
Milliarde(n)<br />
ausdruckslos; hier: verständnislos<br />
Kohlendioxid<br />
Kohlebergbau<br />
Stiftungsfonds<br />
fossiler Brennstoff<br />
aussterben<br />
der Peloponnes<br />
sinnlos<br />
etw. verschmutzen<br />
etw. subventionieren<br />
under a cloud<br />
If someone is “under a cloud”, they have<br />
done something wrong (or are suspected<br />
of wrongdoing):<br />
l He left under a cloud when we found<br />
out he’d stolen money from a colleague.<br />
in the wind<br />
If something is “in the wind”, it is certain<br />
to happen:<br />
l We really want to use solar energy. It’s<br />
definitely in the wind.<br />
BS<br />
plus You can find exercises on this <strong>top</strong>ic in<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> plus<br />
Deborah Capras is deputy editor of <strong>Business</strong><br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> and responsible for the website.<br />
You can read her blog, Wise Words, and do<br />
her online language exercises at www.businessspotlight.de/blogs<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 51
LANGUAGE TRANSLATION<br />
False friends<br />
medium<br />
You mean... You should say... Don‘t say... As this means...<br />
sich arrangieren reach an agreement arrange (an)ordnen; regeln<br />
Am Ende haben wir uns doch In the end, we were able to reach<br />
arrangieren können.<br />
an agreement after all.<br />
Messe trade fair mess Unordnung,<br />
Das Hotel ist total ausgebucht The hotel is fully booked — Durcheinander<br />
— wegen der Messe. because of the trade fair.<br />
tippen bet, guess tip Trinkgeld geben; kippen,<br />
Ich tippe zwei zu eins für uns. I bet two to one for us. sich neigen<br />
Don’t confuse...<br />
take part in, take place, take a seat<br />
l When you take part in something<br />
(an etw. teilnehmen), you are actively<br />
involved in it with other people.<br />
If you take part in a race, then<br />
you compete in it: “More than 50<br />
of our employees took part in the<br />
marathon.”<br />
l You can also take part in a seminar,<br />
meeting or workshop. However,<br />
in this context, we often use the<br />
verbs “attend” or “participate in”<br />
instead. The people who take part<br />
are usually referred to as attendees<br />
or participants (Teilnehmer(innen)):<br />
“How many participants attended<br />
the last seminar?”<br />
l When an event, such as a meeting<br />
or concert, takes place (stattfinden),<br />
it happens: “The 2016<br />
Olympic Games will take place in<br />
Brazil.”<br />
l If you ask someone to take a seat<br />
(Platz nehmen), you invite that<br />
person to sit down: “Please take a<br />
seat. Mr Roberts will be with you<br />
in a moment.”<br />
Tricky translations<br />
How do you say “property” in German?<br />
“Property” means “a building or buildings” or “land, with or without buildings”.<br />
It is translated as Immobilie for buildings and Grund or Grundstück for land: “Who<br />
owns the property?” — Wem gehört das Grundstück/die Immobilie? We distinguish<br />
between residential property (Wohnimmobilie, -eigentum) and commercial property<br />
(gewerblich genutzte Immobilie). In the US, people use “real estate” for both.<br />
“Property” also means “things you own”. We usually translate this as Eigentum<br />
or Besitz: “The hotel is not liable for damage to personal property.” — Das Hotel<br />
haftet nicht für Schäden an Ihrem Eigentum. “Intellectual property” (geistiges<br />
Eigentum) includes inventions, patents and the products of an author’s work.<br />
When we refer to the qualities or characteristics of something, we also use<br />
“property”, but usually in the plural: “Many plants have healing properties.” It is<br />
best translated as Eigenschaft(en): Viele Pflanzen haben heilende Eigenschaften.<br />
How do you say eng in English?<br />
Eng can be used to describe a lack of space between two sides of a street, alley or<br />
entrance: Die Straße ist einfach zu eng für einen Lkw. In this case, it is translated<br />
as narrow: “The street is simply too narrow for a lorry.” If we are describing a room<br />
as eng, we use cramped or poky.<br />
In fashion, eng is used to describe clothes that fit the body very closely. If<br />
something is too small, we translate eng as tight: Ich kann dieses Kleid nicht mehr<br />
anziehen, es ist viel zu eng. — “I can’t wear that dress any more. It’s much too<br />
tight.” But there are other ways in which clothing can be eng. If the effect is sexy,<br />
then we say clinging or close-fitting/skinny, especially for jeans.<br />
We also use eng to show that there might not be enough time to do something:<br />
Es wird morgen eng sein. Here, too, it is translated as tight: “It will be tight tomorrow.”<br />
In this context, we also refer to a tight schedule (enger Terminplan).<br />
Exercise<br />
Translate the following sentences.<br />
a) This is private property. You can’t park here.<br />
Do an exercise on false friends on<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio<br />
Mike Seymour is an author, trainer<br />
and translator. He also writes<br />
regularly for <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong>.<br />
Contact: www.mikeseymour.com<br />
b) Das könnte aber zeitlich eng werden. Fahren wir lieber früher los.<br />
Answers on page 74<br />
52 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
y Deborah Capras<br />
CARDS LANGUAGE<br />
Phrasal verb<br />
Phrasal verb<br />
What does the speaker mean?<br />
“Can I run your idea by Mark first?”<br />
What does the speaker mean?<br />
“I ran into Joan at the conference.”<br />
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Expression<br />
Expression<br />
What does the speaker mean?<br />
“Going forward, we’ll need a new system.”<br />
What does the speaker mean?<br />
“The offer is not to be sneezed at.”<br />
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www.business-spotlight.de<br />
Abbreviation<br />
Abbreviation<br />
What does “PPP” stand for?<br />
“PPP is really difficult to measure.”<br />
What does “temp” stand for?<br />
“We could get a temp.”<br />
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Pronunciation<br />
Pronunciation<br />
How do you pronounce this word?<br />
pension scheme<br />
(Altersversorgung)<br />
How do you pronounce this word?<br />
public debt<br />
(Staatsverschuldung)<br />
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LANGUAGE CARDS<br />
If you run into somebody, you meet that person<br />
unexpectedly. Here, the speaker is saying that,<br />
by chance, he saw Joan at the conference.<br />
jmdn. zufällig treffen<br />
BS 6/2014<br />
If you run something by someone, you ask that<br />
person for their opinion on something that<br />
you are considering or that needs action.<br />
The speaker wants to ask Mark first before a<br />
decision is made.<br />
jmds. Meinung zu etw. einholen<br />
BS 6/2014<br />
The expression not to be sneezed at indicates<br />
that something is good, or at least good enough<br />
to consider taking or accepting. The speaker is<br />
saying that the offer should be taken seriously.<br />
nicht zu verachten sein<br />
BS 6/2014<br />
The phrase going forward is used here to mean “in<br />
the future”. The speaker is saying the system will<br />
need to be changed in the future. This expression<br />
is popular with politicians and managers, but it’s<br />
often criticized for being business jargon. “In the<br />
future” is much easier to understand.<br />
in Zukunft<br />
BS 6/2014<br />
Temp is short for “temporary worker”. We often<br />
use “temp” to refer to someone who does<br />
secretarial work on a contract.<br />
PPP stands for “purchasing power parity”. It<br />
refers to an imagined rate of exchange between<br />
currencies and is used to compare the buying<br />
power in different countries.<br />
Zeitarbeiter(in)<br />
BS 6/2014<br />
Kaufkraftparität<br />
BS 6/2014<br />
Public debt is pronounced [)pVblIk (det]. The<br />
main stress is on “debt”. The “b” in “debt”<br />
is silent.<br />
Pension scheme is pronounced [(penS&n ski:m].<br />
The main stress is on the first syllable of<br />
“pension”, which rhymes with “mention”.<br />
“Scheme” rhymes with “team”.<br />
BS 6/2014<br />
BS 6/2014
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> 6/2014<br />
Grammar basics – to take away<br />
Hildegard Rudolph hat für Sie auf acht Seiten die wichtigsten Grammatik-Regeln der englischen<br />
Sprache zusammengestellt. Zum Heraustrennen und Aufbewahren.<br />
TABLE 1:<br />
Nouns<br />
There are two types of noun: countable and uncountable.<br />
Countable nouns Singular Plural<br />
For regular plurals, add -s employer employers<br />
For nouns ending in -ch, -s, -sh, -x, add -es switch switches<br />
boss<br />
bosses<br />
crash<br />
crashes<br />
box<br />
boxes<br />
For nouns ending in -y, change y to i and add -es currency currencies<br />
For nouns ending in -f or -fe, change these to -ves shelf shelves<br />
life<br />
lives<br />
Some irregular plurals businessman/-woman businessmen/-women<br />
analysis<br />
analyses<br />
Uncountable nouns Singular Plural<br />
Some nouns have only a singular form. advice three pieces of advice<br />
Use “pieces of” or “bits of” for the plural information two bits of information<br />
Some nouns have only a plural form. (a pair of) trousers two pairs of trousers<br />
Use “pairs of” for the plural<br />
You and<br />
me!<br />
TABLE 2:<br />
Personal pronouns<br />
These can be used alone or with prepositions.<br />
Subject Direct object Indirect object<br />
I me (to) me<br />
you you (to) you<br />
he him (to) him<br />
she her (to) her<br />
it it (to) it<br />
we us (to) us<br />
they them (to) them<br />
TABLE 3:<br />
Verbs — present simple<br />
The present simple expresses actions and states in the present. Negations are formed using “do” / “does” + “not” + infinitive.<br />
iStock<br />
Regular verbs<br />
I / you / we / they work do not work (don’t work)<br />
he / she / it works does not work (doesn’t work)<br />
Third-person singular (he / she / it)<br />
For most verbs, add -s<br />
work → works [w§:ks]<br />
live → lives [lIvz]<br />
produce → produces [prE(dju:sIz]<br />
For verbs ending in -ch, -sh,<br />
-ss and -x, add -es<br />
Irregular verbs<br />
catch → catches [(kÄtSIz]<br />
wash → washes [(wQSIz]<br />
pass → passes [(pA:sIz]<br />
fix → fixes [(fIksIz]<br />
do → does [dVz]<br />
go → goes [gEUz]<br />
have → has<br />
Use the present simple:<br />
l to talk about states and facts<br />
She is a wonderful student, and she speaks<br />
French fluently.<br />
l to talk about habits and actions that are repeated<br />
(often with adverbs such as “always”, “never”)<br />
He never arrives on time.<br />
l to talk about schedules and timetables (also<br />
scheduled future actions)<br />
The meeting starts at 10 a.m.<br />
Irregular verb “be”<br />
I am am not<br />
he / she / it is is not<br />
we / you / they are are not<br />
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Grammar basics – to take away<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> 6/2014<br />
TABLE 4:<br />
Contractions<br />
Contractions are shortened forms. The apostrophe shows that one or more letters have been dropped.<br />
The auxiliary verbs “be” and “have” are often shortened<br />
I am I’m I am not I’m not<br />
he / she / it is he / she / it’s he / she / it is not he / she / it isn’t<br />
you / we / they are you / we / they’re you / we / they are not you / we / they aren’t<br />
I / you / we / they have I / you / we / they’ve I / you / we / they have not I / you / we / they haven’t<br />
he / she / it has he / she / it’s he / she / it has not he / she / it hasn’t<br />
The auxiliary forms “do” and “did” are often shortened when used with “not”<br />
I / you / we / they do not I / you / we / they don’t<br />
he / she / it does not<br />
he / she / it doesn’t<br />
I / you / we / they / he / she / it I / you / we / they / he / she / it didn’t<br />
did not<br />
TABLE 5: Verbs — modal verbs<br />
These often accompany a main verb. They do not take -s or -es in the 3rd person. Negations are formed<br />
using the modal + “not” + infinitive.<br />
I / you / we / they / can work cannot (can’t) work<br />
he / she / it could could not (couldn’t)<br />
may<br />
may not<br />
Note:<br />
might<br />
might not (mightn’t)<br />
l<br />
must<br />
must not (mustn’t)<br />
Could is the past simple of “can”. It is<br />
should<br />
should not (shouldn’t) also used in polite requests.<br />
would<br />
would not (wouldn’t)<br />
Could you help me, please?<br />
l Would is also used for polite statements<br />
and questions.<br />
Would you mind closing the window,<br />
please?<br />
I would like to leave earlier today.<br />
TABLE 6:<br />
Verbs — past simple<br />
The past simple expresses actions and states in the past. Negations are formed using “did” + “not” + infinitive.<br />
The importance<br />
of time<br />
Regular verbs<br />
I / you / we / they / he / she / it worked did not work (didn’t work)<br />
Forming the past simple<br />
For most verbs, add -ed<br />
work → worked [w§:kt]<br />
For verbs ending in -e, just add -d<br />
For some verbs, double<br />
the final consonant and add -ed<br />
Irregular verbs<br />
invite → invited [In(vaItId]<br />
raise → raised [reIzd]<br />
s<strong>top</strong> → s<strong>top</strong>ped [stQpt]<br />
travel → travelled (traveled US) [(trÄv&ld]<br />
do → did<br />
have → had<br />
(see the list of irregular verbs in Table 20)<br />
Use the past simple:<br />
l to talk about completed actions and states in the past (often with expressions of time, such as “last year”)<br />
Last year, profits increased by 35 per cent.<br />
iStock<br />
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Grammar basics – to take away<br />
TABLE 7:<br />
Verbs — present perfect<br />
The present perfect connects the past with the present. It is formed using “have” / “has” (+ “not”) + past participle.<br />
I / you / we / they have worked (’ve worked) have not worked (haven’t worked)<br />
he / she / it has worked (’s worked) has not worked (hasn’t worked)<br />
Forming the past participle<br />
For most verbs, add -ed<br />
For verbs ending in -e, just add -d<br />
For some verbs, double<br />
the final consonant and add -ed<br />
Irregular verbs<br />
Use the present perfect:<br />
l to talk about things that happened in the past,<br />
but that are still relevant in the present<br />
They have consistently sold more than<br />
expected.<br />
l to talk about life experiences<br />
He’s been the CEO of several international<br />
corporations.<br />
work → worked [w§:kt]<br />
invite → invited [In(vaItId]<br />
raise → raised [reIzd]<br />
s<strong>top</strong> → s<strong>top</strong>ped [stQpt]<br />
travel → travelled (traveled US ) [(trÄv&ld]<br />
be → been<br />
go → gone<br />
(see the list of irregular verbs in Table 20)<br />
l with “ever” and “never”<br />
Have you ever been to London? — No, I’ve<br />
never been there.<br />
l with “for” and “since”<br />
She’s worked at this company since 2011.<br />
She’s worked at this company for three<br />
years. (= She still works here.)<br />
“For” and “since”<br />
l Use “for” with periods of time:<br />
for two weeks<br />
l Use “since” with specific<br />
points of time:<br />
since yesterday; since two<br />
o’clock; since 1 May<br />
l Used with the past simple,<br />
“for” can refer to a past action<br />
or state:<br />
She worked in this department<br />
for three years.<br />
(= She no longer works<br />
here.)<br />
TABLE 8: Verbs — past perfect<br />
The past perfect expresses past actions that were<br />
completed before another past action. It is formed with<br />
“had” (+ “not”) + past participle.<br />
(see Table 7 for forms of the past participle)<br />
I / you / we / they / had worked had not worked (hadn’t worked)<br />
he / she / it<br />
Use the past perfect:<br />
l to talk about things that had begun, or were already over, when<br />
another activity or state started or took place<br />
The meeting had already started when he arrived.<br />
TABLE 9:<br />
Verbs — future<br />
There are several ways to express the future. The most common are the “will”-future and the “going to”-future.<br />
The “will”-future<br />
The “will”-future is used to talk about future actions and<br />
states. It is formed using “will” (+ “not”) + infinitive.<br />
I / you / we / they / will work will not work<br />
he / she / it (’ll work) (won’t work)<br />
The “going to”-future<br />
This expresses intended future actions and states. It is formed<br />
using “am” / “is” / “are” (+ “not”) + “going to” + infinitive.<br />
I am going to work am not going to work<br />
(’m going to work) (’m not going to work)<br />
Use the “will”-future:<br />
l to talk about events in the future<br />
Coffee will be served in the break.<br />
l to talk about forecasts<br />
Profits will fall.<br />
l to talk about spontaneous reactions<br />
I don’t know where the canteen is. — I’ll show you.<br />
Note:<br />
he / she / it is going to work is not going to work<br />
(’s going to work) (isn’t going to work)<br />
you / we / they are going to work are not going to work<br />
(’re going to work) (aren’t going to work)<br />
Use the “going to”-future:<br />
l to talk about something you want or intend to do<br />
I’m going to call him from the office tomorrow.<br />
l to talk about things you expect because of specific signs<br />
Based on these figures, they’re going to make a profit.<br />
l To talk about schedules and timetables, use the present<br />
simple (see Table 3)<br />
My plane leaves at 5 p.m.<br />
l To talk about fixed arrangements in the future, use the<br />
present continuous (see Table 10)<br />
6/2014<br />
He’s meeting the Japanese delegation tomorrow.<br />
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TABLE 10: Verbs — present continuous<br />
The present continuous expresses ongoing actions. It is formed using “am” / “is” / “are” (+ “not”) + present participle.<br />
I am working (’m working) am not working (’m not working)<br />
he / she / it is working (’s working) is not working (isn’t working)<br />
you / we / they are working (’re working) are not working (aren’t working)<br />
Forming the present participle<br />
For most verbs, add -ing<br />
For verbs ending in -e, drop the -e and add -ing<br />
For some verbs, double the final consonant and<br />
add -ing<br />
work → working<br />
write → writing<br />
s<strong>top</strong> → s<strong>top</strong>ping<br />
travel → travelling<br />
(traveling US)<br />
Use the present continuous:<br />
l to talk about events that are happening<br />
now<br />
Don’t disturb her. She’s writing the<br />
minutes of today’s meeting.<br />
l to talk about events that are happening<br />
in the current period<br />
He’s learning a new programming language.<br />
l to talk about fixed arrangements in the<br />
future<br />
I’m meeting a new customer in Dublin<br />
tomorrow.<br />
TABLE 11: Verbs — past continuous<br />
The past continuous expresses ongoing events in the past. It is formed using “was” / “were” (+ “not”) + present participle.<br />
I / he / she / it was working was not working (wasn’t working)<br />
you / we / they were working were not working (weren’t working)<br />
Use the past continuous:<br />
l to talk about an event that was going on when another began<br />
We were having a video conference when the lights went out.<br />
TABLE 12: Questions<br />
Questions that can be answered with “yes” or “no” are formed as follows:<br />
For the present simple, use “do” or “does” Do I / you / we / they work?<br />
Don’t<br />
Does he / she / it work?<br />
Doesn’t<br />
iStock<br />
For the past simple, use “did” Did I / you / we / they / work?<br />
Didn’t he / she / it<br />
For the “will”-future, use “will” or “won’t” Will I / you / we / they / work?<br />
Won’t<br />
he / she / it<br />
For the Have I / you / we / they worked?<br />
present perfect, Haven’t<br />
use “have” or “has” Has he / she / it worked?<br />
Hasn’t<br />
For the past perfect, Had I / you / we / they / worked?<br />
use “had” Hadn’t he / she / it<br />
For the “going to”- Am I going to work?<br />
future, use “am” / Are you / we / they<br />
“are” / “is” Is he / she / it<br />
Aren’t* I / you / we / they going to work?<br />
Isn’t he / she / it<br />
Note:<br />
*In negative questions, you ask: “Aren’t I... ?” not “Am I not... ?”<br />
For the present Am I working?<br />
continuous, Are you / we / they<br />
use “am” / “are” / Is he / she / it<br />
“is” Aren’t* I / you / we / they working?<br />
Isn’t he / she / it<br />
For the past Was I / he / she / it working?<br />
continuous, use Wasn’t<br />
“was” / “were” Were you / we / they working?<br />
Weren’t<br />
With modal verbs, Can I / you / we / they / come?<br />
use the modals Can’t he / she / it<br />
Would<br />
Wouldn’t<br />
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Grammar basics – to take away<br />
TABLE 13: Questions with question words<br />
Many questions are formed with a question word. Here are some examples of such “wh-”questions.<br />
What do you know?<br />
When did he leave?<br />
Where have they gone?<br />
Who did you meet?<br />
Why won’t we finish it?<br />
How can she do that?<br />
Note:<br />
l When the question word is the subject, questions<br />
in the present simple and past simple<br />
are formed without “do”, “does” or “did”.<br />
Who speaks French here?<br />
What happened that day?<br />
Who, what,<br />
why, when?<br />
iStock<br />
TABLE 14: Tag questions<br />
To get agreement or confirmation on something, you can use a question tag.<br />
Positive statements get a negative tag<br />
Present simple: the tag is “don’t” / “doesn’t” + subject<br />
Past simple: the tag is “didn’t” + subject<br />
Present perfect: the tag is “haven’t” / “hasn’t” + subject<br />
Past perfect: the tag is “hadn’t” + subject<br />
“Will”-future: the tag is “won’t” + subject<br />
“Going to”-future: the tag is “aren’t” / “isn’t” + subject<br />
Present continuous: the tag is “aren’t” / “isn’t” + subject<br />
Past continuous: the tag is “wasn’t” / “weren’t” + subject<br />
Modal verb: the tag is the modal + “n’t” + subject<br />
Negative statements get a positive tag<br />
Present simple: the tag is “do” / “does” + subject<br />
Past simple: the tag is “did” + subject<br />
Present perfect: the tag is “have” / “has” + subject<br />
Past perfect: the tag is “had” + subject<br />
“Will”-future: the tag is “will” + subject<br />
“Going to”-future: the tag is “am” / “are” / “is” + subject<br />
Present continuous: the tag is “am” / “are” / “is” + subject<br />
Past continuous: the tag is “was” / “were” + subject<br />
Modal verb: the tag is the modal + subject<br />
You work as a consultant, don’t you?<br />
She speaks English fluently, doesn’t she?<br />
They s<strong>top</strong>ped the project, didn’t they?<br />
They have done it very well, haven’t they?<br />
He’s just arrived, hasn’t he?<br />
She had met Jack before, hadn’t she?<br />
We’ll offer that price, won’t we?<br />
He’s going to leave the company, isn’t he?<br />
You’re drinking from my cup again, aren’t you?<br />
She was sleeping when you arrived, wasn’t she?<br />
They could answer the question, couldn’t they?<br />
You don’t work as a consultant, do you?<br />
She doesn’t speak English fluently, does she?<br />
They didn’t s<strong>top</strong> the project, did they?<br />
He hasn’t arrived yet, has he?<br />
She hadn’t met Jack before, had she?<br />
We won’t offer that price, will we?<br />
He’s not going to leave the company, is he?<br />
You’re not drinking from my cup again, are you?<br />
She wasn’t sleeping when you arrived, was she?<br />
They couldn’t answer the question, could they?<br />
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iStock<br />
An office<br />
with a<br />
beautiful<br />
view<br />
TABLE 15: Replies to yes-no questions<br />
Replies to questions that can be answered with “yes” or “no” often include a tag.<br />
Typical answers, using tags<br />
Use the same auxiliary or modal verb in the reply as in the question. Use a positive tag for a positive answer<br />
and a negative tag for a negative answer.<br />
Positive answer Negative answer<br />
Present simple Do you work? Yes, I do. No, I don’t.<br />
Past simple Did they work? Yes, they did. No, they didn’t.<br />
Present perfect Has she worked? Yes, she has. No, she hasn’t.<br />
Past perfect Had you worked? Yes, I had. No, I hadn’t.<br />
“Will”-future Will you work? Yes, I will. No, I won’t.<br />
“Going to”-future Is she going to work? Yes, she is. No, she isn’t.<br />
Present continuous Are you working? Yes, I am. No, I’m not.<br />
Past continuous Were they working? Yes, they were. No, they weren’t.<br />
Modal verbs Could he work? Yes, he could. No, he couldn’t.<br />
TABLE 16: Adjectives<br />
Adjectives tell us more about people, objects and events.<br />
Adjectives can be used in two ways<br />
l before a noun (attributively)<br />
We’ve got a beautiful view from our new offices.<br />
l after the verb “be” (predicatively)<br />
The view from our new offices is beautiful.<br />
Note:<br />
! Some adjectives ending in -ed or -ing are easily confused.<br />
Adjectives ending in -ed describe how somebody feels.<br />
Adjectives ending in -ing describe how somebody or something is.<br />
Here are some examples:<br />
interested She was interested in this survey. (Sie war an dieser Umfrage interessiert.)<br />
interesting This is an interesting survey. (Dies ist eine interessante Umfrage.)<br />
bored<br />
boring<br />
excited<br />
exciting<br />
We were bored by his speech. (Wir fühlten uns von seiner Rede gelangweilt.)<br />
His speech was boring. (Seine Rede war langweilig.)<br />
They got excited when they heard the news. (Sie freuten sich, als sie diese Nachricht hörten.)<br />
This news is exciting. (Diese Nachricht ist spannend.)<br />
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Grammar basics – to take away<br />
TABLE 17: Adverbs<br />
Adverbs are generally formed from adjectives and are often used to describe actions.<br />
In most cases, just add -ly to the adjective<br />
For adjectives ending in -y, change y to i and add -ly<br />
For adjectives ending in -le, replace -le with -ly<br />
For adjectives ending in -ic, add -ally<br />
Irregular adverbs<br />
Use adverbs:<br />
l to describe how something is done<br />
They’re listening carefully.<br />
He did the job well.<br />
Do not use adverbs:<br />
l with verbs that describe somebody or something, such as “be”, “become”,<br />
“feel”, “get”, “look” or “sound”. These are followed by an adjective, which<br />
modifies the noun.<br />
After he was promoted, he became arrogant.<br />
The new product looks terrible.<br />
Our recent figures sound good.<br />
bad → badly<br />
careful → carefully<br />
easy → easily<br />
possible → possibly<br />
automatic → automatically<br />
fast → fast<br />
good → well<br />
hard → hard<br />
late → late<br />
Be careful<br />
hard + -ly → hardly (kaum)<br />
He works hard. (Er arbeitet hart.)<br />
He hardly worked. (Er arbeitete kaum.)<br />
late + -ly → lately (kürzlich, in letzter Zeit)<br />
They arrived late. (Sie kamen (zu) spät.)<br />
I haven’t seen her lately. (Ich habe sie in<br />
letzter Zeit nicht gesehen.)<br />
TABLE 18: Prepositions of time and place<br />
It is important to learn the most common uses of prepositions in English.<br />
Prepositions of time<br />
at in on<br />
(times, meals, weekend) (times of day, months, years) (days of the week, dates)<br />
at six o’clock in the morning/afternoon/evening on Monday<br />
at breakfast in January on the first of May<br />
at the weekend UK in 2008 on my birthday<br />
! at night in the summer ! on the weekend US<br />
German bis has two different English<br />
translations: by and until.<br />
Ich brauche den Bericht bis spätestens<br />
Donnerstag = by Thursday. (“By” refers to<br />
a point in time at which something must<br />
occur at the latest.)<br />
Ich brauche den Bericht selbst bis Donnerstag<br />
= until Thursday. (“Until” refers to<br />
a stretch of time up to some given point.)<br />
German vor has two different English<br />
translations: before and ago.<br />
Wir müssen das Projekt vor der Sommerpause<br />
abschließen = before the summer<br />
break. (This refers to a stretch of time up<br />
to some future point.)<br />
Wir haben das Projekt vor zwei Wochen<br />
abgeschlossen = two weeks ago. (This<br />
looks back to a point of time in the past.)<br />
Prepositions of place<br />
at on to<br />
at the airport on the phone go to the canteen<br />
at the office on the internet go to university<br />
at the dentist’s<br />
on the radio / on TV<br />
at school / at work<br />
on the second floor<br />
at one’s computer / at one’s desk<br />
at a meeting<br />
at 23 Park Lane<br />
“on time” vs. “in time”<br />
Both mean “punctual” or “not<br />
late” but are used differently.<br />
l “On time” refers to a specific<br />
time.<br />
His plane arrived on time.<br />
l “In time” is in relation to another<br />
event.<br />
He arrived in time for the<br />
speech.<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 61
Grammar basics – to take away<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> 6/2014<br />
TABLE 19: Word order in sentences<br />
English word order is far less flexible than German word order.<br />
iStock<br />
Word order in positive statements<br />
subject verb object<br />
She speaks English.<br />
subject verb object adverb<br />
She speaks English fluently.<br />
subject verb object place<br />
She studied English in London.<br />
subject adverb of verb object place<br />
frequency<br />
She usually speaks English at work.<br />
Order, order: in this<br />
company, we usually<br />
start work at 9 a.m.<br />
subject verb object time<br />
We start work at 9 a.m.<br />
subject verb object place time<br />
They start work in this branch at 8.30 a.m.<br />
place subject verb object time<br />
In this branch, they start work at 8.30 a.m.<br />
(for the word order in questions, see Table 13)<br />
TABLE 20: Irregular verbs<br />
Many verbs that are used in business situations have irregular forms.<br />
Infinitive Simple past Past participle<br />
become became become<br />
begin began begun<br />
break broke broken<br />
bring brought brought<br />
build built built<br />
buy bought bought<br />
choose chose chosen<br />
come came come<br />
cost cost cost<br />
cut cut cut<br />
deal dealt dealt<br />
do did done<br />
draw drew drawn<br />
fall fell fallen<br />
find found found<br />
get got got<br />
give gave given<br />
go went gone<br />
grow grew grown<br />
have had had<br />
hold held held<br />
know knew known<br />
lead led led<br />
Infinitive Simple past Past participle<br />
leave left left<br />
lend lent lent<br />
lose lost lost<br />
make made made<br />
meet met met<br />
pay paid paid<br />
put put put<br />
read [ri:d] read [red] read [red]<br />
rise rose risen<br />
run ran run<br />
say said said<br />
see saw seen<br />
sell sold sold<br />
send sent sent<br />
set set set<br />
show showed shown<br />
speak spoke spoken<br />
spend spent spent<br />
take took taken<br />
tell told told<br />
think thought thought<br />
win won won<br />
write wrote written<br />
62 www.business-spotlight.de<br />
6/2014
SKILL UP!<br />
Improve your<br />
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with our essential guide<br />
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l Emotional times, no. 22 (5/2013)<br />
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6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 63
LANGUAGE EMAIL<br />
iStock<br />
Linking ideas<br />
Was tun, damit Emails sich flüssiger<br />
lesen? Anna Hochsieder zeigt, wie man<br />
Sätze und Absätze elegant miteinander<br />
verknüpft.<br />
medium<br />
Read the following email written by a hotel booking<br />
manager, Monica Hendricks, to a prospective customer,<br />
Ms Nelson.<br />
Let it flow: help your readers by linking your sentences and paragraphs<br />
Dear Ms Nelson<br />
Thank you for enquiring about the possibility of receiving a<br />
discount on your booking of our conference room.<br />
Although we understand that, as an NGO, your budget is limited,<br />
we do not normally offer discounts to first-time customers. However,<br />
our management is very much interested in promoting the<br />
aims of your organization. We are therefore prepared to make<br />
an exception, on the understanding that you name us as one<br />
of your sponsors.<br />
In addition, our offer will require you to book a minimum of ten<br />
bedrooms, for which we can also give you a special rate. Your<br />
guests will, of course, enjoy the same excellent service that we<br />
provide to all our customers.<br />
Lastly, please note that we request an advance payment of 50<br />
per cent of the total amount no later than a week before your<br />
arrival.<br />
I hope that this offer is acceptable to you and look forward to<br />
hearing from you.<br />
Yours sincerely<br />
Monica Hendricks<br />
advance payment [Ed)vA:ns (peImEnt] Vorauszahlung<br />
concession [kEn(seS&n]<br />
Zugeständnis<br />
consequence [(kQnsIkwEns]<br />
Folge, Konsequenz<br />
discount [(dIskaUnt]<br />
(Preis-)Nachlass<br />
enquire about sth. [In(kwaIEr E)baUt] etw. anfragen<br />
in conclusion [)In kEn(klu:Z&n] abschließend<br />
NGO (non-governmental<br />
NRO/NGO (Nichtregierungsorganization)<br />
[)en dZi: (EU]<br />
organisation)<br />
rate [reIt]<br />
Tarif<br />
relative pronoun [)relEtIv (prEUnaUn] Relativpronomen<br />
summarize sth. [(sVmEraIz]<br />
etw. zusammenfassen<br />
to sum up [tE )sVm (Vp]<br />
abschließend<br />
Yours sincerely [)jO:z sIn(sIEli] Mit freundlichen Grüßen<br />
l You can improve the flow of your writing by using<br />
words that show how your ideas are connected.<br />
These linking words guide the reader through your<br />
text. They connect sentences and paragraphs as<br />
well as parts of sentences.<br />
l In speaking and writing, we constantly use the<br />
common linking words and, but and so. Our email<br />
contains further linking words with the same functions:<br />
to add points (in addition, also, lastly), to<br />
contrast ideas (although, however) and to introduce<br />
a consequence (therefore).<br />
l The phrase on the understanding that links an offer<br />
to a condition and is a formal alternative to “if”.<br />
l Other uses of linking words include making a<br />
concession (of course, undoubtedly), providing an<br />
example (namely, specifically), comparing ideas<br />
(similarly, likewise), referring to time (eventually,<br />
meanwhile) or summarizing your ideas (in conclusion,<br />
to sum up).<br />
l Formal linking words such as however, nevertheless<br />
and moreover often occur at the beginning of a<br />
sentence, followed by a comma. A small number<br />
of linking words typically come at the end: for<br />
example, as well and too.<br />
l Relative pronouns (which, who, that) also have a<br />
linking function because they refer back to things<br />
that have just been mentioned.<br />
BS<br />
www Improve your writing skills at<br />
www.business-spotlight.de/writing<br />
Anna Hochsieder is a Munich-based teacher of English<br />
who writes regularly in <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong>. Contact:<br />
a.hochsieder@googlemail.com<br />
64 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
ENGLISH ON THE MOVE LANGUAGE<br />
Stockbyte<br />
Flight conversations<br />
Smalltalk an Bord mit dem Sitznachbarn? Ken Taylor zeigt,<br />
wie eine Unterhaltung verlaufen könnte.<br />
medium<br />
Taking your seat<br />
Lisa: Sorry to disturb you, but I’m in<br />
10A — the window seat.<br />
Frank: No problem. Can I help you with<br />
your carry-on case? It looks pretty<br />
heavy!<br />
Lisa: Thanks. That’s kind of you. It is at<br />
the hand-luggage limit — I haven’t<br />
got any hold luggage.<br />
Frank: So you won’t be in Dublin very<br />
long if you only have a carry-on.<br />
Lisa: No. Just a couple of days. I’m<br />
going on a seminar.<br />
Frank: A seminar. What’s it about?<br />
Lisa: Rather boring, I’m afraid. It’s to<br />
do with European tax laws.<br />
Frank: What? How to avoid them?<br />
Lisa: No, no. Nothing like that! It’s<br />
more about what effect they have on<br />
companies like mine.<br />
General conversation<br />
Frank: Have you been to Dublin before?<br />
Lisa: No, this is my first time. But I’ll<br />
be back for the second part of the<br />
course next month.<br />
Frank: You ought to take a couple of<br />
days next time and explore the city.<br />
Lisa: Do you live there?<br />
Frank: For the past five years. But I’m<br />
from London.<br />
Lisa: I like London. I’ve been there on<br />
holidays and business trips. Is Dublin<br />
as interesting?<br />
Frank: It’s different. More laid-back.<br />
I’m into music — every pub or club<br />
seems to have live music.<br />
Lisa: What sort of music do you like?<br />
Frank: Oh, I’m really into blues, but I<br />
like singer-songwriters, too — you<br />
know, like Ed Sheeran.<br />
Doing some work<br />
Flight attendant: Would you like to have<br />
something to drink with your sandwich,<br />
sir?<br />
Frank: Yes, please. I’ll have some red<br />
wine and a glass of water.<br />
Flight attendant: Certainly, sir. And for<br />
you, madam?<br />
Lisa: Just some water, please. I’ve got<br />
to keep my head clear.<br />
Frank: Surely, the course doesn’t start<br />
this evening!<br />
Lisa: No, it starts tomorrow morning.<br />
But I have to do some background<br />
reading first. Look, I’m sorry. I hope<br />
you don’t mind, but I really have to<br />
do a bit of reading before we land.<br />
Frank: Of course I don’t mind. You<br />
shouldn’t start your course off on the<br />
wrong foot.<br />
avoid sth. [E(vOId] etw. umgehen<br />
business card<br />
Visitenkarte<br />
[(bIznEs kA:d]<br />
carry-on case<br />
Kabinenkoffer<br />
[(kÄri Qn keIs]<br />
consultant [kEn(sVltEnt] Berater(in)<br />
explore sth. [Ik(splO:] etw. erkunden<br />
flight attendant<br />
Flugbegleiter(in)<br />
[(flaIt E)tendEnt]<br />
hand luggage<br />
Handgepäck<br />
[(hÄnd )lVgIdZ]<br />
hold luggage<br />
aufgegebenes Gepäck<br />
[(hEUld )lVgIdZ]<br />
into: be ~ sth. [(Intu] ifml. auf etw. stehen<br />
keep one’s head clear einen klaren Kopf<br />
[)ki:p wVnz (hed klIE] behalten<br />
Ltd (Limited) [(lImItId] UK etwa: GmbH<br />
more laid-back<br />
entspannter; hier: nicht<br />
[mO: )leId (bÄk] ifml. so stressig<br />
on the wrong foot: eine schlechte Ausstart<br />
sth. off ~<br />
gangsbasis bei etw.<br />
[Qn DE )rQN (fUt]<br />
haben<br />
pharmaceutical<br />
[wg. Aussprache]<br />
[)fA:mE(su:tIk&l]<br />
section [(sekS&n]<br />
Abschnitt<br />
stay on [)steI (Qn] länger bleiben<br />
supplier [sE(plaIE] Zulieferer/Zulieferin<br />
On the plane: time to do some work<br />
Coming in to land<br />
Lisa: Sorry, but what was that announcement?<br />
Frank: <strong>Ten</strong> minutes to landing.<br />
Lisa: Perfect. I’ve just got one more<br />
section to read. I can do that at the<br />
hotel.<br />
Frank: So, you mentioned you work in<br />
finance. Which company is that?<br />
Lisa: I’m the assistant finance manager<br />
in a firm in Berlin. We are a supplier<br />
to the pharmaceutical industry.<br />
Frank: Interesting. I’m in software development.<br />
Let me give you my business<br />
card.<br />
Lisa: Thanks. “Frank Williams, Development<br />
Manager, Projex Ltd.” Here’s<br />
my card.<br />
Frank: “Lisa Hartz, Assistant Finance<br />
Manager, ETC GmbH.” It’s been nice<br />
talking to you, Lisa. I hope you have<br />
a good time at your seminar. And<br />
remember: next time, stay on and<br />
explore the city. Don’t forget to try a<br />
Guinness while you’re here!<br />
BS<br />
You can hear more on this <strong>top</strong>ic on<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio<br />
Ken Taylor is a communication consultant<br />
and author of 50 Ways to Improve<br />
Your <strong>Business</strong> English (Summertown).<br />
Contact: KTaylor868@aol.com<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 65
LANGUAGE SHORT STORY<br />
Wings of beauty:<br />
butterflies bring<br />
inspiration and joy<br />
The CBO<br />
Zoonar<br />
Als Redakteur des Studentenblättchens einer eher kleinen Hochschule sollte man sich eine<br />
Begegnung mit einem Wirtschaftsguru nicht entgehen lassen. Von James Schofield medium<br />
When I heard that Professor<br />
Thomas Kozlowsky was coming<br />
to campus, I was desperate to<br />
interview him. Kozlowsky was “business<br />
guru to the business gurus” — as<br />
the US media often described him. The<br />
man was a living legend.<br />
Adviser to corporations and governments,<br />
inventor of the concept of<br />
turbo management and world-famous<br />
for his economics text “Non-linear Descriptions<br />
of Linear Relationships”, the<br />
professor had done everything, gone<br />
everywhere and met everybody. Luckily,<br />
for me, Kozlowsky was coming to town<br />
to visit the dean, who had been a student<br />
of his.<br />
As editor of a small college newspaper<br />
in Alabama, where the most<br />
exciting thing I’d written about was<br />
when classes were cancelled because<br />
of snow, this was a dream come true.<br />
Though, at first, it was something of a<br />
nightmare.<br />
“Professor?” I began after the dean<br />
had introduced us. “What’s your proposal<br />
for reducing the US trade deficit<br />
with China?”<br />
“Miles,” he said, “if I’m going to<br />
talk about the business world, I need<br />
a drink!”<br />
I took him to my favourite bar in<br />
town, which was a mistake, because<br />
it was also the favourite bar of our college<br />
baseball team, who’d just won a<br />
game — and the professor was a huge<br />
baseball fan. He spent three hours<br />
discussing home runs, strikeouts and a<br />
million other things with them.<br />
I was just about to ask him what he<br />
thought the best way to regulate Wall<br />
Street would be, when the team invited<br />
him to a party held by one of the<br />
fraternities on the campus. I lost him<br />
halfway through a drinking contest,<br />
and it must have been about four in the<br />
morning before I found him again, fast<br />
asleep on a couch. A cheerleader had<br />
her head on his shoulder and her arms<br />
around his neck. I was able to free the<br />
professor, and we tried to find our way<br />
to the dean’s house.<br />
“Miles,” he said, after falling over<br />
the same tree root twice, “I need to<br />
sit down.”<br />
come true: a dream ~ ein Traum, der in<br />
[)kVm (tru:]<br />
Erfüllung geht<br />
contest [(kQntest] Wettbewerb<br />
corporation [)kO:pE(reIS&n] Konzern<br />
desperate: be ~ to do sth. unbedingt etw. tun<br />
[(despErEt]<br />
wollen<br />
economics [)i:kE(nQmIks] Volkswirtschaft(slehre)<br />
editor [(edItE]<br />
(Chef-)Redakteur(in)<br />
fraternity [frE(t§:nEti] US studentische Verbindung<br />
nightmare [(naItmeE] Albtraum<br />
regulate sth. [(regjuleIt] etw. regulieren<br />
trade deficit<br />
Außenhandelsdefizit<br />
[(treId )defEsIt]<br />
66 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
“There are only three groups of<br />
people in an organization”<br />
We sat on a bench watching the<br />
moon. I tried to think of something<br />
intellectual to ask, but my head was<br />
a sea of beer and vodka. There was<br />
only one question that kept floating to<br />
the <strong>top</strong>.<br />
“Professor,” I asked finally, “I hope<br />
this doesn’t sound too stupid, but…<br />
what’s business really like? I mean, I’ve<br />
only ever been a student. Someday, I’ll<br />
have to work somewhere. What’s it like<br />
working for a large international firm?”<br />
He laughed loudly, and was then<br />
silent for a while.<br />
“Miles,” he said after a pause,<br />
“there are only three groups of people<br />
in an organization.” He reached into<br />
his jacket pocket and pulled out a can<br />
of Budweiser, opened it, drank deeply,<br />
then passed it to me.<br />
“Firstly,” he explained, “you have<br />
the cows. You give them grass and they<br />
make milk, cream and butter. They’re<br />
the producers. They create value for<br />
the company. Secondly, you’ve got the<br />
wolves. They look after the cows. They<br />
make sure that the cows are in the<br />
right place, have enough grass and are<br />
milked regularly. The cows do what the<br />
wolves say and the little wolves do what<br />
the big wolves say. Finally, you’ve got<br />
butterfly [(bVtEflaI]<br />
Schmetterling<br />
can [kÄn]<br />
(Alu-)Dose<br />
CEO (chief executive Hauptgeschäftsofficer)<br />
[)si: i: (EU]<br />
führer(in)<br />
choke on sth.<br />
sich an etw.<br />
[(tSEUk Qn]<br />
verschlucken<br />
dean [di:n]<br />
Dekan(in)<br />
downsize (a company) Stellen abbauen<br />
[(daUnsaIz]<br />
flutter off [)flVtEr (Qf] wegflattern<br />
management consultant Unternehmens-<br />
[(mÄnIdZmEnt kEn)sVltEnt] berater(in)<br />
moderator [(mQdEreItE] Diskussionsleiter(in)<br />
Office of the Dean<br />
Dekanat<br />
[)a:fEs Ev DE (di:n*] US<br />
stain [steIn]<br />
Fleck<br />
stick with sth. [(stIk wID] bei etw. bleiben<br />
university department Fachbereich,<br />
[ju:nI)v§:sEti di(pA:tmEnt] Fakultät<br />
*This symbol marks US pronunciation.<br />
the most important group of all: the<br />
butterflies.”<br />
I laughed so hard that I choked on<br />
my beer. He hit me on my back until I<br />
could breathe again.<br />
“You have to realize, Miles, life isn’t<br />
much fun for cows or wolves. The cows<br />
are afraid of the wolves because of<br />
their sharp teeth, and the wolves have<br />
problems not only with the cows —<br />
who don’t always do as they’re told<br />
— but also with each other. Big wolves<br />
bite little wolves, and sometimes, there<br />
are fights until one of them runs away.<br />
But when cows and wolves see the<br />
butterflies, they all say, ‘Oh, how beautiful!’<br />
They forget their problems and<br />
can concentrate on their work.”<br />
I said, “Yes, but who are they? I<br />
can see the cows are workers and the<br />
wolves are managers, but who are the<br />
butterflies?”<br />
“The trainers, newsletter writers,<br />
moderators, event organizers and the<br />
other communication experts. In other<br />
words, the ones who help the cows and<br />
wolves feel that what they’re doing has<br />
a purpose. Butterflies have only one<br />
natural enemy…”<br />
“Who’s that?”<br />
“Management consultants who are<br />
there to downsize the company,” said<br />
the professor. “They hate butterflies.<br />
The management consultants might<br />
shoot a cow if it’s not producing enough<br />
milk, or drive out a few lazy wolves, but<br />
they chase all the butterflies away.”<br />
He stood up and tried unsuccessfully<br />
to walk in a straight line.<br />
“Well, that’s not so good, is it?” I<br />
said, following. “It’s best to be a cow<br />
or a wolf, then.”<br />
“Do you think so?” he answered.<br />
“After six months with no butterflies,<br />
the cows and wolves become so depressed<br />
that they’re ready to kill themselves.<br />
So then, because the big wolves<br />
don’t know how to solve the problem<br />
themselves, they decide to have a<br />
team-building workshop. They invite a<br />
butterfly in to do the event — and within<br />
another six months, the company’s<br />
full of butterflies again.”<br />
“Do you need to belong to only one<br />
group?” I asked.<br />
“At the start of your career, you can<br />
try to find out what role suits you best,<br />
but then you have to make a decision<br />
and stick with it. Because if nobody is<br />
sure whether you’re a cow, a wolf or a<br />
butterfly, nobody will trust you.”<br />
We arrived at the door of the dean’s<br />
house. With difficulty, he put a key in<br />
the lock.<br />
“But what about you, professor?<br />
What are you?”<br />
He stood there for a moment, trying<br />
to focus his eyes, his hair all wild, beer<br />
stains down his shirt and the cheerleader’s<br />
lipstick on his cheek.<br />
“Butterfly, of course — a big one,<br />
though. I’m a CBO.”<br />
“CBO?”<br />
“Well, you’ve probably heard of<br />
CEOs, but I’m a CBO: Chief Butterfly<br />
Officer.”<br />
And then he fluttered off to bed. BS<br />
Language point<br />
dean This title is used in academic<br />
institutions. In the US, a dean heads<br />
a group of university departments, or<br />
a discipline such as me di cine. The<br />
Office of the Dean, also called the<br />
“Dean’s Office”, usual ly handles administrative<br />
matters, includ ing the<br />
budget, internal and external communication,<br />
and student support.<br />
You can hear more on this <strong>top</strong>ic on<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio<br />
James Schofield is co-author of the<br />
Double Dealing series. You can find<br />
more of his stories and his blog at<br />
http://jrtschofield.blogspot.de<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 67
LANGUAGE ENGLISH FOR . . .<br />
Bill Clinton in Africa:<br />
“philanthropy” means<br />
“love of mankind”<br />
Philanthropy<br />
Hilfsorganisationen finanzieren sich zum großen Teil aus<br />
Spenden. Carol Scheunemann gibt hier einen Überblick über<br />
Spenden, Spender und Wohltätigkeitszwecke. medium<br />
During the Christmas season, peo ple<br />
are more likely to donate money to<br />
a charitable organization than at<br />
any other time. In the US, for example,<br />
about a third of all donations are made<br />
in the last six weeks of the year.<br />
“Charity” and “philanthropy” are often<br />
used interchangeably, but there is<br />
a difference. Charity is help or money<br />
that is intended to reduce suffering.<br />
Philanthropy also involves help or money,<br />
but usually aims to create solutions<br />
that will prevent future suffering.<br />
Exercise: A good cause<br />
Choose the correct word in each sentence.<br />
a) One in three donations / foundations is<br />
made during the holiday season.<br />
b) Companies and charities are partners<br />
in co-creation / enterprises.<br />
c) People donate small amounts through<br />
crowdfunding / microfinancing.<br />
d) Many social enterprises make loans /<br />
profits.<br />
Answers on page 74<br />
We tend to associate philanthropy<br />
with wealthy individuals — Bill Gates<br />
is a prominent example. These people<br />
establish foundations or charities<br />
to carry out the philanthropic aims<br />
of solving social, medical or environmental<br />
problems. Philanthropists also<br />
make donations to the arts or the education<br />
system in their own countries.<br />
They “give back” to the community<br />
that made their wealth possible.<br />
Philanthropy relies on smaller donations,<br />
too. Crowdfunding (see <strong>Business</strong><br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 6/2013, pp. 72–75) uses<br />
internet platforms to connect people<br />
who want to support specific causes,<br />
Getty Images News / Thinkstock<br />
billion [(bIljEn]<br />
charitable organization<br />
[)tSÄrItEb&l )O:gEnaI(zeIS&n]<br />
charity [(tSÄrEti]<br />
Wohltätigkeit, Wohlfahrt; auch:<br />
Wohltätigkeitsorganisation<br />
Unternehmens-<br />
etw. spenden<br />
Spende<br />
Stiftung<br />
Einfluss<br />
Neuland<br />
Philanthropie, Wohltätigkeit<br />
soziales Unternehmen<br />
corporate [(kO:pErEt]<br />
donate sth. [dEU(neIt]<br />
donation [dEU(neIS&n]<br />
foundation [faUn(deIS&n]<br />
leverage [(li:vErIdZ]<br />
new frontier [)nju: (frVntIE]<br />
philanthropy [fI(lÄnTrEpi]<br />
social enterprise [)sEUS&l (entEpraIz]<br />
and is rapidly changing the way people<br />
donate. But corporate philanthropy is<br />
changing even faster.<br />
Traditionally, firms have sold certain<br />
products or sponsored events to be<br />
positively associated with charitable<br />
organizations. Alternatives now include<br />
“co-creation”, partnerships between<br />
firms and charities. Co-creation uses<br />
employee know-how and company resources<br />
to solve social problems while<br />
creating new business opportunities.<br />
Social enterprises are businesses<br />
that work to help people, to improve<br />
society and, in many cases, to make<br />
a profit while doing so. They aim to<br />
finance their projects through their own<br />
earnings rather than depend on donations<br />
or government aid.<br />
Philanthropy today is more than a<br />
do-good, feel-good activity. Lester M.<br />
Salamon, author of Leverage for Good:<br />
An Introduction to the New Frontiers<br />
of Philanthropy and Social Investment,<br />
says that charities and social enterprises<br />
are often the first organizations<br />
to reach the “bottom of the pyramid”,<br />
people who earn less than €4 a day,<br />
but who represent an enormous potential<br />
market of new customers.<br />
Salamon also says that philanthropy<br />
increasingly involves private investment<br />
capital. He points to microfinancing,<br />
which allows poor people<br />
to borrow money to start businesses.<br />
Microfinancing itself now represents<br />
a €48.5 billion industry. As firms get<br />
involved in social projects, charities are<br />
becoming more like companies.<br />
Milliarde(n)<br />
Wohltätigkeitsorganisation<br />
68 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
Giving help and money<br />
“We make a living by what we get.<br />
We make a life by what we give”<br />
Sir Winston Churchill (1874–1965), British prime<br />
minister<br />
“The man who dies rich, dies<br />
disgraced”<br />
Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919), Scottish-American<br />
industrialist and philanthropist<br />
“Anticipate charity by preventing<br />
poverty”<br />
Maimonides (1138–1204), Jewish philosopher,<br />
scholar and medical doctor<br />
anticipate sth. [Än(tIsIpeIt]<br />
disgraced [dIs(greIst]<br />
Jewish [(dZu:IS]<br />
make a living [)meIk E (lIvIN]<br />
scholar [(skQlE]<br />
Doing good<br />
aid [eId]<br />
altruism [(Ältru)IzEm]<br />
for a good cause<br />
[fEr E )gUd (kO:z]<br />
moral obligation<br />
[)mQrEl QblI(geIS&n]<br />
philanthropy [fI(lÄnTrEpi]<br />
religious motivation<br />
[ri)lIdZEs mEUtI(veIS&n]<br />
social good [)sEUS&l (gUd]<br />
For more information<br />
etw. vorgreifen; hier:<br />
zuvorkommen<br />
in Ungnade gefallen<br />
jüdisch<br />
seinen Lebensunterhalt<br />
verdienen<br />
Gelehrte(r)<br />
Hilfe<br />
Nächstenliebe<br />
für einen guten Zweck<br />
moralische Verpflichtung<br />
Philanthropie,<br />
Wohltätigkeit<br />
religiöse<br />
Beweggründe<br />
Allgemeinwohl<br />
WEBSITES<br />
“2013 Index of Global Philanthropy and<br />
Remittances”, Hudson Institute report:<br />
www.hudson.org/<strong>top</strong>ics/47-philanthropy<br />
“Global Institutional Philanthropy: A Preliminary<br />
Status Report”, Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker<br />
Support (WINGS) report: www.wingsweb.org<br />
Glossary of philanthropy terms:<br />
www.philanthropynetwork.org/?page=glossary<br />
Philanthropy Impact Magazine:<br />
www.philanthropy-impact.org<br />
www More job vocabulary can be found at<br />
www.business-spotlight.de/vocabulary<br />
Carol Scheunemann is an editor and staff writer at<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong>, with a focus on language tests.<br />
She also coordinates <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio.<br />
Contact: c.scheunemann@spotlight-verlag.de<br />
Raising money<br />
bequest [bi(kwest]<br />
charitable giving [)tSÄrItEb&l (gIvIN]<br />
crowdfunding [(kraUd)fVndIN]<br />
donate sth. [dEU(neIt]<br />
donation [dEU(neIS&n]<br />
endowment [In(daUmEnt]<br />
financial contribution<br />
[faI)nÄnS&l kQntrI(bju:S&n]<br />
fund sth. [fVnd]<br />
fundraising [(fVnd)reIzIN]<br />
grant funding [)grA:nt (fVndIN]<br />
grant making [(grA:nt )meIkIN]<br />
impact investing [(ImpÄkt In)vestIN]<br />
leverage [(li:vErIdZ]<br />
raise money [)reIz (mVni]<br />
remittance [ri(mIt&ns]<br />
social investment [)sEUS&l In(vestmEnt]<br />
tithe [taID]<br />
Organizations and strategies<br />
charity / charitable organization<br />
[(tSÄrEti / )tSÄrItEb&l )O:gEnaI(zeIS&n]<br />
co-creation [)kEU kri(eIS&n]<br />
foundation / trust [faUn(deIS&n / trVst]<br />
giving circle [(gIvIN )s§:k&l]<br />
non-governmental organization (NGO)<br />
[)nQn gVv&n)ment&l O:gEnaI(zeIS&n]<br />
non-profit [)nQn (prQfIt]<br />
social enterprise [)sEUS&l (entEpraIz]<br />
social purpose organization (SPO)<br />
[)sEUS&l (p§:pEs O:gEnaI)zeIS&n]<br />
People who give or receive<br />
benefactor [(benIfÄktE]<br />
beneficiary [)benI(fISEri]<br />
collaborator [kE(lÄbEreItE]<br />
donor [(dEUnE]<br />
grantee [grA:n(ti:]<br />
grant maker [(grA:nt )meIkE]<br />
(US grantmaker [(grÄnt)meIk&r*])<br />
patron [(peItrEn]<br />
philanthropist [fI(lÄnTrEpIst]<br />
social entrepreneur [)sEUS&l QntrEprE(n§:]<br />
sponsor [(spQnsE]<br />
trustee [)trV(sti:]<br />
volunteer [)vQlEn(tIE]<br />
Needs and causes<br />
disaster relief [dI(zA:stE ri)li:f]<br />
foster child [(fQstE tSAI&ld]<br />
homelessness [(hEUmlEsnEs]<br />
humanitarian aid [hjumÄnI)teEriEn (eId]<br />
orphan [(O:f&n]<br />
orphanage [(O:fEnIdZ]<br />
poverty [(pQvEti]<br />
shelter [(SeltE]<br />
welfare [(welfeE]<br />
* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.<br />
Hinterlassenschaft, Vermächtnis<br />
Spende(n) für einen wohltätigen Zweck<br />
Crowdfunding, Schwarmfinanzierung<br />
etw. spenden<br />
Spende<br />
Stiftung<br />
finanzieller Beitrag<br />
etw. finanzieren<br />
Spendensammeln, Mittelbeschaffung<br />
Zuschussfinanzierung, -förderung<br />
Fördertätigkeit, Unterstützung<br />
Investitionen mit positiven<br />
gesellschaftlichen Auswirkungen<br />
Einfluss<br />
Geld beschaffen<br />
Unterstützungszahlung<br />
Sozialinvestition(en)<br />
Zehnt, Zehnte<br />
Wohltätigkeitsorganisation, karitative<br />
Organisation<br />
Partnerschaft zwischen Unternehmen und<br />
karitativen Organisationen<br />
Stiftung, Fonds<br />
Geberkreis<br />
Nichtregierungsorganisation (NRO)<br />
gemeinnützig<br />
soziales Unternehmen<br />
Organisation mit sozialer Zielsetzung<br />
Wohltäter(in)<br />
(Leistungs-)Empfänger(in)<br />
Mitwirkende(r), Mitverantwortliche(r)<br />
Spender(in)<br />
Empfänger(in) einer Unterstützungsleistung<br />
Förderer/Förderin, Unterstützer(in)<br />
Wohltäter(in), Mäzen(in)<br />
Philanthrop(in), Menschenfreund(in)<br />
Sozialunternehmer(in)<br />
Sponsor(in)<br />
Treuhänder(in)<br />
ehrenamtliche(r) Mitarbeiter(in)<br />
Katastrophenhilfe<br />
Pflegekind<br />
Obdachlosigkeit<br />
humanitäre Hilfe<br />
Waise<br />
Waisenhaus<br />
Armut<br />
Schutz, Obdach<br />
Sozialhilfe<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 69
LANGUAGE LEGAL ENGLISH<br />
iStock<br />
Understanding<br />
legislation<br />
Selbst in der Muttersprache ist es oft nicht<br />
einfach, Gesetzestexte richtig zu verstehen.<br />
Matt Firth erklärt Ihnen, wie Sie auch in der<br />
Fremdsprache ans Ziel kommen. advanced<br />
Look for meaning: laws are carefully written, but not always easy to read<br />
Judges and lawyers are skilled at<br />
interpreting legislation, but many<br />
cases heard by the courts of appeal<br />
are decided only following extensive<br />
discussion of the meanings of<br />
certain words contained in a statute.<br />
Some laws are clearly written, and<br />
can be understood easily. However,<br />
because legal English contains many<br />
words that have more than one meaning,<br />
even the most carefully written<br />
laws can be interpreted in various ways.<br />
If the people involved in a dispute are<br />
able to understand the statutes relevant<br />
to the case, it can sometimes help<br />
to avoid litigation.<br />
Here are some <strong>tips</strong> for reading and<br />
interpreting laws:<br />
1. Start by reading the entire text<br />
quickly to get a general idea of what<br />
the legislation is about. Then read it<br />
again for detail.<br />
2. The legislation might have several<br />
related laws. Try to interpret each<br />
piece of legislation so that it is compatible<br />
with the others.<br />
3. Pay attention to all of the words and<br />
the punctuation. These were carefully<br />
thought out, so don’t ignore words<br />
you don’t understand or punctuation<br />
that seems confusing.<br />
4. Use the standard meaning of words<br />
as far as possible. However, if this<br />
leads to an absurd result, try to interpret<br />
the words so that they make<br />
sense.<br />
5. Where a law includes lists, pay close<br />
attention to every “and” and “or”.<br />
“And” means that all of the elements<br />
are included, “or” means that<br />
only one of the elements need be<br />
included.<br />
6. Check the text for any cross references<br />
to other legislation. Then read<br />
these as well to see how the laws<br />
relate to each other.<br />
Good use of intrinsic and extrinsic aids<br />
can help, too. Intrinsic aids are found<br />
within the law, for example, its long<br />
and short titles, the preamble and any<br />
definitions. Extrinsic aids include dictionaries,<br />
legislative debates and the<br />
historical background of the law. BS<br />
Exercise: Various meanings<br />
Choose the words that best complete the text.<br />
Legislation must be correctly a) ignored / interpreted before it can<br />
be properly understood. b) Disputing / Drafting parties might be<br />
able to avoid litigation if they read and understand the statutes<br />
involved. However, legislation is often unclear, and can contain<br />
words with more than one c) reference / meaning. Each law<br />
involved must be d) extrinsic / compatible with the others, and<br />
e) intrinsic / included aids can help you to understand the text<br />
of a statute.<br />
Answers on page 74<br />
aid [eId]<br />
court of appeal<br />
[)kO:t Ev E(pi:&l] UK<br />
cross reference<br />
[)krQs (ref&rEns]<br />
extrinsic [eks(trInsIk]<br />
hear (a case) [hIE]<br />
intrinsic [In(trInsIk]<br />
legislation [)ledZIs(leIS&n]<br />
litigation [)lItI(geIS&n]<br />
preamble [pri(Ämb&l]<br />
punctuation<br />
[)pVNktSu(eIS&n]<br />
statute [(stÄtSu:t]<br />
Hilfe, Hilfsmittel<br />
Berufungsgericht<br />
Querverweis<br />
nicht zur Sache selbst<br />
gehörend<br />
(einen Fall) verhandeln<br />
einen Bestandteil einer<br />
Sache bildend<br />
Gesetze; Gesetzgebung<br />
Rechtsstreit(igkeit)<br />
Präambel, Einleitung<br />
Interpunktion,<br />
Zeichensetzung<br />
Gesetz(esvorschrift)<br />
Matt Firth teaches legal English at<br />
the University of St Gallen and at<br />
the Management Center Innsbruck.<br />
Contact: matthew.firth@unisg.ch<br />
70 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
TALKING FINANCE LANGUAGE<br />
Pimp your GDP!<br />
Um das Bruttoinlandsprodukt zu steigern, greifen Regierungen zu<br />
erstaunlichen Mitteln. Ian McMaster gibt Auskunft.<br />
One of the main aims of governments<br />
is to increase the growth<br />
rate of their economies, which is<br />
usually measured by changes in gross<br />
domestic product (GDP). Now, a new<br />
source of growth has been found: sex<br />
and drugs. Rock ’n’ roll, in case you’re<br />
wondering, was already included.<br />
Let me explain. GDP is a measure<br />
of the total value of all the goods and<br />
services produced in an economy within<br />
a certain time period (see <strong>Business</strong><br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 6/2010, p. 84). That includes,<br />
for example, rock ’n’ roll CDs, downloads,<br />
concerts and merchandising.<br />
Although GDP is the most common<br />
measure of an economy, there are<br />
problems with using it as an indicator<br />
of living standards. For example:<br />
l GDP doesn’t count unpaid services,<br />
such as housework or unpaid childcare.<br />
If different families paid each other to<br />
clean their homes or look after their<br />
children, GDP would rise dramatically.<br />
l GDP doesn’t capture the costs of<br />
pollution and other negative factors<br />
that have no market price.<br />
l GDP counts many things — such as<br />
the production of weapons, cigarettes<br />
and alcohol — that many people would<br />
regard as having, at best, a dubious<br />
connection to living standards.<br />
A further problem with GDP is that<br />
it is very difficult to measure, as it inadvanced<br />
“Sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll are all<br />
part of an economy’s performance”<br />
volves collecting thousands of pieces<br />
of information and making hundreds of<br />
estimates. That is why GDP figures get<br />
revised so often. What we thought was<br />
a recession could later turn out to have<br />
been a period of growth (or vice versa).<br />
This creates chaos for policymakers.<br />
GDP figures also get revised when<br />
fundamental changes are made in the<br />
way they are calculated. Last year,<br />
GDP in the US grew overnight by 3.6<br />
per cent, or $560 billion, purely as<br />
a result of such revisions. The main<br />
reason was the decision to include<br />
research and development (R&D) as a<br />
form of investment — just like building<br />
Pimp your GDP!<br />
Motzen Sie Ihr BIP auf!<br />
[)pImp jE )dZi: di: (pi:] ifml.<br />
(pimp<br />
Zuhälter(in))<br />
billion [(bIljEn]<br />
Milliarde(n)<br />
boost [bu:st]<br />
Auftrieb<br />
capture (costs) [(kÄptSE] (Kosten) erfassen<br />
childcare [(tSaI&ldkeE] Kinderbetreuung<br />
consumption [kEn(sVmpS&n] Konsum<br />
drug [drVg]<br />
Arzneimittel; Droge<br />
dubious [(dju:biEs] zweifelhaft, dubiös<br />
estimate [(estImEt] Schätzung<br />
gross domestic product Bruttoinlandsprodukt<br />
(GDP) [)grEUs dE)mestIk (BIP)<br />
(prQdVkt]<br />
merchandising<br />
Vermarktung (von<br />
[(m§:tSEndaIzIN]<br />
Imageträgern)<br />
pollution [pE(lu:S&n] Umweltverschmutzung<br />
research and development Forschung und<br />
[ri)s§:tS En di(velEpmEnt] Entwicklung<br />
revise sth. [ri(vaIz] etw. bearbeiten;<br />
korrigieren<br />
revision [ri(vIZ&n]<br />
Bearbeitung; Korrektur<br />
statistician [)stÄtI(stIS&n] Statistiker(in)<br />
vice versa [)vaIsi (v§:sE] umgekehrt<br />
iStock<br />
Illegal drugs: now counted as part of GDP<br />
a new factory — rather than as a cost<br />
of production. European countries are<br />
now following the US example on R&D.<br />
But let’s get back to sex and drugs.<br />
One of the main changes being made<br />
by many countries this year is to include<br />
in GDP the value of prostitution<br />
and illegal drugs. This might seem<br />
strange, but GDP simply measures the<br />
value of goods and services in an economy.<br />
It doesn’t involve moral or legal<br />
judgements about particular activities.<br />
Britain’s economy alone is estimated<br />
to have received a £10 billion boost (at<br />
least statistically) as a result of including<br />
sex and drugs in its GDP figures.<br />
According to statisticians, this takes<br />
into account the work of an estimated<br />
61,000 prostitutes and consumption<br />
of heroin by some 38,000 heroin users.<br />
And you still think that economics<br />
is boring?<br />
BS<br />
Ian McMaster is editor-in-chief of <strong>Business</strong><br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong>. Read his weekly blog on global<br />
business at www.business-spotlight.de/blogs<br />
Contact: i.mcmaster@spotlight-verlag.de<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 71
LANGUAGE TEACHER TALK<br />
A call for professionalism<br />
Lernende sind unsere wichtigste Ressource. Jedes Detail ihres Berufsalltags<br />
ist für uns als Lehrende bedeutsam, wie Sprach- und Kommunikationstrainer<br />
Timothy Phillips seiner Gesprächspartnerin Deborah Capras erläutert. medium<br />
Who is Timothy Phillips?<br />
Tim Phillips is a senior consultant in the area of in-company language and communication<br />
training. As CEO of Skylight GmbH, he has set up highly specific<br />
training programmes for companies in different sectors. Tim spent many years<br />
working as an in-company trainer in Europe and South East Asia. He also worked<br />
as a senior consultant in the IT sector. Tim has co-developed a teacher-trainer<br />
programme, the Communication and Language Trainer Certificate, to raise the<br />
general standard of business English teaching in companies. He is British,<br />
understands French and is completely fluent in German.<br />
Email: contact@timothy.phillips.eu<br />
When did you start teaching?<br />
In 1982. I was a tutor librarian in the<br />
UK, teaching French and German on a<br />
distance-learning programme. I started<br />
teaching business English when I first<br />
came to Germany, in the late 1980s.<br />
What is the role of the teacher?<br />
There are many roles, each with its<br />
own qualities: guide, coach, motivator,<br />
active listener. The teacher is an oasis<br />
of trust and confidentiality.<br />
What are some of the key principles of<br />
effective language training?<br />
It needs to be SMART: specific, measurable,<br />
achievable, relevant, timebound.<br />
This is a well-established method<br />
in the business world that should be<br />
used in language training, too. Everyone<br />
— the trainers, the clients, their<br />
managers, HR — should agree on the<br />
learning goals and how they will be<br />
measured. This does not mean that the<br />
training should be mono-dimensional,<br />
or only goals- and business-focused.<br />
Energy, innovation and variety are still<br />
important elements of any language<br />
training.<br />
What are your current interests?<br />
I am a great believer in practising<br />
those communication tasks that our<br />
clients need to do at work in the safe<br />
environment of a training session. It’s<br />
important that we give feedback on all<br />
aspects of communication: linguistic,<br />
communicative and behavioural —<br />
which includes intercultural and multicultural<br />
competence and human empathy.<br />
My experience in hiring teachers<br />
tells me that very few business English<br />
trainers have the training to do this.<br />
But this is what will be required of<br />
them in the future, particularly if they<br />
wish to survive as a trainer in a business<br />
world that increasingly sees language<br />
training as a standard training<br />
product — rather like learning new<br />
software.<br />
What do you expect from business English<br />
trainers?<br />
A recognized qualification in teaching<br />
English, and, regardless of how much<br />
experience they have, I expect them<br />
CEO (chief executive Geschäftsführer(in)<br />
officer) [)si: i: (EU]<br />
coach [kEUtS]<br />
Trainer(in) und<br />
Berater(in)<br />
confidentiality<br />
Vertraulichkeit<br />
[)kQnfI)denSi(ÄlEti]<br />
distance-learning Fernkurs, -lehrgang<br />
programme [(dIstEns<br />
)l§:nIN )prEUgrÄm]<br />
empathy [(empETi] Empathie, Einfühlungsvermögen<br />
environment<br />
Umgebung, Umfeld<br />
[In(vaI&rEnmEnt]<br />
fluent: be ~ in<br />
(eine Sprache) fließend<br />
(a language) [(flu:Ent] sprechen<br />
HR (human resources) Personalabteilung<br />
[)eItS (A:]<br />
learning goal [(l§:nIN gEUl] Lernziel<br />
senior consultant leitende(r) Berater(in)<br />
[)si:niE kEn(sVltEnt]<br />
time-bound<br />
zeitgebunden, mit fester<br />
[(taIm baUnd]<br />
Zeitvorgabe<br />
tutor librarian<br />
etwa: Lernbetreuer(in)<br />
[)tju:tE laI(breEriEn] und Lernmittelberater(in)<br />
in Zusammenarbeit mit<br />
einer Bibliothek<br />
72 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
Wavebreak Media<br />
“The best resource is the<br />
one sitting directly in front of<br />
you — your client”<br />
Today’s trainers: professional, interested, curious and engaged<br />
to be engaged in their own personal<br />
and professional development. I find it<br />
hypocritical to train adult learners and<br />
then not be open to one’s own personal<br />
development. It’s not important that<br />
they have a business background, but<br />
it is important that they should be extremely<br />
interested in and curious about<br />
their clients’ area of work — and in all<br />
the details. At the same time, trainers<br />
need to understand the corporate<br />
culture as well as the international<br />
cultural environment within which their<br />
clients operate. They will begin to realize<br />
that the best resource — despite<br />
all the excellent publications on the<br />
market — is the one sitting directly in<br />
front of them: their client.<br />
approach [E(prEUtS] Methode,<br />
Vorgehensweise<br />
bite-sized [(baIt saIzd] ifml. mundgerecht; hier: klein<br />
B minor [)bi: (maInE] h-Moll<br />
cope with sth.<br />
mit etw. klarkommen,<br />
[(kEUp wID]<br />
etw. bewältigen<br />
corporate culture Unternehmenskultur<br />
[)kO:pErEt (kVltSE]<br />
device [di(vaIs]<br />
Gerät<br />
fiddle [(fId&l] ifml. Fiedel, Geige<br />
hypocritical [)hIpE(krItIk&l] scheinheilig<br />
lexical [(leksIk&l] lexikalisch, Wortpublisher<br />
[(pVblISE] Verlag; Verleger(in)<br />
quote [kwEUt]<br />
Zitat<br />
reception [ri(sepS&n] Empfang, Feier<br />
resource [ri(zO:s] (Informations-)Quelle<br />
sharp: 7 p.m. ~ [SA:p] Punkt 19 Uhr<br />
What kind of support do you expect from<br />
publishers?<br />
I strongly believe publishers need to<br />
completely redefine their business<br />
models and question whether there is<br />
even any need for a book in its traditional<br />
form. I would love to see content<br />
in bite-sized modules that can be used<br />
alone or combined by the trainer, each<br />
module coming in all media formats<br />
and downloadable on to any device.<br />
Must read: teaching<br />
An old one, but still relevant today: The<br />
Lexical Approach, Michael Lewis.<br />
Must read: for fun<br />
The poem “Start Close In”, by David<br />
Whyte, an Anglo-Irish poet who really<br />
inspires me.<br />
Any successful moment that few people<br />
know about?<br />
Playing the fiddle with the Irish band<br />
The Beastly Boys in a pub in England<br />
on Sunday nights in the early 1980s.<br />
It got us a drink.<br />
Favourite quote<br />
“The only real failure is the failure to<br />
try. The measure of our success is how<br />
we cope with our disappointment…<br />
Every morning we get up and do our<br />
best. That’s all that matters.” (From<br />
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel)<br />
Ambitions and dreams<br />
I have a number of business ambitions,<br />
which, for them to be successful, will<br />
need to stay secret! A dream is to be<br />
able to play Liszt’s Piano Sonata in<br />
B minor. It will probably always remain<br />
a dream, which for those who enjoy<br />
Liszt is probably a very good thing!<br />
What intercultural mistakes have made<br />
you laugh out loud?<br />
I was invited to a wedding reception<br />
at a luxury hotel in Singapore. The<br />
invitation clearly said “7 p.m. sharp”,<br />
so, being British, I arrived exactly at<br />
7 p.m. — only to find none of the other<br />
guests were there. Having eaten very<br />
little for lunch, I sat at the bar and ate<br />
the free nuts. At least two large gin<br />
and tonics later, people started arriving<br />
and I was ready to fall off my chair. I<br />
learned afterwards that arriving on time<br />
was considered impolite, as it gives the<br />
impression you want to be first to get<br />
to the food!<br />
BS<br />
Study tip<br />
Debate or dialogue?<br />
Try this with a study partner:<br />
l Choose a controversial statement, such<br />
as “The UK should leave the EU”.<br />
l Take a strong position: one partner for,<br />
the other against. Have a debate with<br />
your partner for five minutes.<br />
l Now, take the same position, but this<br />
time, each of you speaks in turn. Partner<br />
A talks for a minute — B may not<br />
interrupt! A s<strong>top</strong>s. B summarizes what<br />
A said and then B gives his own arguments.<br />
A may not interrupt.<br />
l Reflect on which conversation was<br />
more effective. Why?<br />
controversial<br />
kontrovers, umstritten<br />
[)kQntrE(v§:S&l]<br />
in turn [)In (t§:n]<br />
abwechselnd<br />
reflect on sth. [ri(flekt Qn] über etwas nachdenken<br />
summarize sth. [(sVmEraIz] etw. zusammenfassen<br />
www For more on business English training,<br />
see www.business-spotlight.de/teachers<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 73
LANGUAGE PRODUCTS<br />
What‘s new?<br />
Sie<br />
wollen noch tiefer ins Englische eintauchen? Wir haben uns<br />
für Sie nach neuen Produkten umgesehen.<br />
medium<br />
Books<br />
Book with audio CD<br />
The Art of Conversation<br />
You talk with your friends, your colleagues<br />
and your boss, on the phone and in meetings,<br />
as well as with the person sitting next<br />
to you on the plane. By talking, you build<br />
relationships and stay in contact with others.<br />
This book will help you to improve<br />
your conversation skills and express yourself<br />
confidently, even in difficult situations. Judy<br />
Apps (Capstone/Wiley), €14.90*<br />
Powerful Phrases for Successful Interviews<br />
The author has compiled more than 400<br />
words and phrases that jobseekers will find<br />
useful when answering difficult questions in<br />
job interviews. Jobseekers can use this book<br />
as a quick reference to the language they will<br />
need at every stage of their job search. Tony<br />
Beshara (McGraw-Hill / Amacom), €9.60*<br />
Managing Change / Working Virtually<br />
Part of the publisher’s International<br />
Management English series, Managing<br />
Change focuses on the skills leaders need<br />
to implement changes affecting teams.<br />
Working Virtually is for those who work<br />
remotely. Fiona Mee et al. (Delta Publishing<br />
/ York Associates), €29.95 each<br />
Calendar<br />
Langenscheidt Sprachkalender 2015<br />
<strong>Business</strong> English<br />
If you want to practise and improve<br />
your business English, this tear-off<br />
calendar is a good choice. It focuses<br />
on language activities, phrases,<br />
grammar and office communication.<br />
Karen Richardson, Werner<br />
Scheibling (Langenscheidt), €12.99*<br />
Intercultural Readiness<br />
Companies, trainers and employees can use<br />
this book to develop their skills for working<br />
across cultures. It is based on research on<br />
the four intercultural competences: intercultural<br />
sensitivity, intercultural communication,<br />
building commitment and managing<br />
uncertainty. Ursula Brinkmann, Oscar van<br />
Weerdenburg (Palgrave Macmillan), £24.99<br />
*These products are available at<br />
affect sb. [E(fekt]<br />
commitment [kE(mItmEnt]<br />
compile sth. [kEm(paI&l]<br />
implement sth. [(ImplIment]<br />
interview [(IntEvju:]<br />
phrase [freIz]<br />
publisher [(pVblISE]<br />
reference: use sth. as a ~ to sth.<br />
[(ref&rEns]<br />
remotely [ri(mEUtli]<br />
research [ri(s§:tS]<br />
sensitivity [)sensE(tIvEti]<br />
tear-off calendar [(teEr Qf )kÄlEndE]<br />
sich auf jmdn. auswirken<br />
Engagement, Einsatzbereitschaft<br />
etw. zusammentragen<br />
etw. umsetzen<br />
Bewerbungsgespräch<br />
Ausdruck, Formulierung<br />
Verlag; Verleger(in)<br />
etw. zum Nachschlagen für etw.<br />
benutzen<br />
entfernt; hier: räumlich getrennt<br />
Forschung<br />
Sensibilität, Feingefühl<br />
Abreißkalender<br />
Solutions<br />
Vocabulary (p. 46):<br />
a) symphony orchestra’s<br />
b) conductor<br />
c) musicians’<br />
d) harpist<br />
e) concertgoers<br />
f) audience<br />
g) curtain<br />
h) concert hall<br />
i) stage<br />
j) stalls<br />
k) dress circle<br />
Grammar at Work (p. 47):<br />
a–3; b–2; c–4; d–6; e–1; f–5<br />
Translation (p. 52):<br />
a) Das ist ein Privatgrundstück.<br />
Sie dürfen/können hier nicht<br />
parken.<br />
b) That could be a bit tight.<br />
Let’s set off/leave earlier.<br />
English for… philanthropy<br />
(pp. 68–69):<br />
a) donations<br />
b) co-creation<br />
c) crowdfunding<br />
d) profits<br />
Legal English (p. 70):<br />
a) interpreted; b) Disputing;<br />
c) meaning; d) compatible;<br />
e) intrinsic<br />
Language Focus (p. 91):<br />
a) documents<br />
b) exact<br />
c) blueprint<br />
74 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
KEY WORDS LANGUAGE<br />
Vocabulary trainer<br />
Use our Key Words list to learn vocabulary from the current <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong>. The<br />
definitions will help you understand the words — and build your vocabulary.<br />
Nouns and noun phrases<br />
business incubator a place where a new company can be started and supported with Gründerzentrum<br />
business advice and shared services<br />
core business the main area or activity that a company focuses on in its business Kerngeschäft<br />
operations<br />
denomination the face value of a banknote or coin Stückelung, Nennwert<br />
fallback position an alternative plan Alternative, Plan B<br />
silo thinking a general mentality that finds expression in a lack of communication etwa: Scheuklappendenken<br />
between departments in an organization<br />
supplier a company that supplies goods and/or services to another business Zulieferer/Zulieferin<br />
Verbs<br />
Listen and learn!<br />
You can download an MP3 file<br />
of this Key Words list from our<br />
website.<br />
appeal to sb. to be attractive or interesting to someone bei jmdm. Anklang finden<br />
circulate to pass from place to place or person to person im Umlauf sein<br />
cope with sth. to deal effectively with a problem, responsibility or difficulty mit etw. klarkommen,<br />
etw. bewältigen<br />
hear (a case) to listen to and judge (a legal case) (einen Fall) verhandeln<br />
prioritize sth. to do things in order of importance etw. nach Priorität ordnen<br />
rank sth. to give something a place within a grading system etw. bewerten<br />
Adjectives and adverbs<br />
awkward causing embarrassment peinlich<br />
consistent acting in the same way over time konsequent<br />
geeky ifml. very knowledgeable about technical matters but socially inept technisch orientiert mit wenig<br />
Sozialkompetenz<br />
patronizing treating someone in a condescending manner gönnerhaft<br />
remotely (operated or controlled) from a distance aus der Ferne<br />
single-handedly done by one person without receiving help from others im Alleingang<br />
Idioms and expressions<br />
get on with one’s own life to take a step back and put things into perspective etwa: sich wieder auf das<br />
Wesentliche konzentrieren<br />
go from rags to riches to start out very poor in life and later become very rich vom Tellerwäscher zum Millionär<br />
werden<br />
have a chip on one’s to seem angry all the time because you feel you’ve been unfairly treated einen Komplex haben<br />
shoulder<br />
take one’s lead from sb. to follow somebody else’s example sich an jmdm. orientieren<br />
www Subscribers to <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> can download the following lists at www.business-spotlight.de/words<br />
l a PDF of this Key Words list with an MP3 audio file of the words, definitions and example sentences<br />
l a PDF of the complete vocabulary list (English–German) for each magazine<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 75
Say it<br />
your way<br />
Mit der richtigen Vorbereitung wird Ihr<br />
nächstes Vorstellungsgespräch sicherlich<br />
gut gelingen. Margaret Davis hat Experten<br />
zum Thema befragt und die wichtigsten<br />
Tipps zusammengefasst.<br />
medium<br />
3<br />
SERIES: Part Three<br />
Your turn to talk: prepared<br />
for the job 76 interview<br />
www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014<br />
Masterfile
JOB INTERVIEWS CAREERS<br />
Your competent, convincing<br />
CV and covering letter (see<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> 5/2014)<br />
have resulted in an invitation<br />
for a job interview.<br />
Congratulations! You have worked<br />
hard to get this far and are excited —<br />
and probably a bit nervous — about<br />
the next step. Here’s how to turn that<br />
excitement into a confident performance,<br />
whether for a phone screening,<br />
an in-person interview or a video<br />
interview.<br />
First, ask for the name of your<br />
interviewer — or interviewers — and<br />
check LinkedIn or Twitter to find<br />
out about their career history and<br />
interests. “You are likely to feel more<br />
confident in the interview if you are<br />
conversing with someone you know<br />
something about,” wrote Ruth Spellman,<br />
chief executive of the Chartered<br />
Management Institute, in The<br />
Guardian. Ask about the format of<br />
the interview and the number of people<br />
involved. “It’s not that you have<br />
to prepare particularly differently,<br />
but if you’re expecting a relaxed chat<br />
with an HR person and you get five<br />
senior people grilling you, it’s likely<br />
to throw you,” says career coach Michael<br />
Higgins.<br />
Think about the questions interviewers<br />
often ask. “Why do you want<br />
to work here?” is a classic one. You<br />
can find information on the company<br />
website and in news stories about the<br />
business. If the company has a You-<br />
Tube channel, look at that as well.<br />
“Tell me about yourself” is another<br />
classic. While the answer ought to be<br />
simple, it’s easy to forget something<br />
essential — or to say something you<br />
didn’t intend to say, especially if you<br />
are nervous. The likelihood of saying<br />
the wrong thing increases when you<br />
are speaking a foreign language, so<br />
have a two- to three-minute response<br />
prepared and practise it.<br />
“Why do you want to work here?” is a classic<br />
interview question<br />
Often, interviewers will ask why<br />
you left a past job or why you want<br />
to leave your current one. Be careful<br />
how you respond to this. “Never<br />
speak badly of your previous employer,”<br />
says Chris Meredith, CEO<br />
of officebroker.com. “If asked why<br />
you’re leaving your current position,<br />
focus on your ambitions, how this<br />
job will help you get to where you<br />
need to be, and what elements of the<br />
job excite you,” Meredith told The<br />
Daily Telegraph.<br />
Another popular interview tactic is<br />
to ask about your weak points. Questions<br />
about weaknesses are designed<br />
to evaluate a candidate’s honesty and<br />
self-awareness, and to reduce the<br />
company’s risk of hiring the wrong<br />
person. “Always be prepared to share<br />
some weaknesses, but make sure the<br />
quality you choose is not central to<br />
the job,” Meredith says. “Finding a<br />
weakness from your past that you<br />
have worked towards improving can<br />
be an effective strategy. Come up<br />
with this trait as part of your interview<br />
preparation so that you won’t<br />
be left speechless.”<br />
“Tell me about a time you failed” is<br />
another question that strikes fear into<br />
the hearts of jobseekers. “Highlight a<br />
failure and then follow up with what<br />
you learned and how you changed,”<br />
advises career coach Christie Mims.<br />
“Interviewers are less concerned with<br />
the failure than how you handled<br />
it (you are human after all). They<br />
want to know that you are capable<br />
of thoughtful growth and can handle<br />
stress under pressure,” Mims told<br />
U.S. News & World Report.<br />
More and more interviewers are<br />
asking offbeat questions that, on the<br />
surface at least, seem to have little<br />
to do with the jobs they are trying<br />
to fill. The trend, which started at<br />
technology companies, has spread to<br />
other industries. For example, interviewees<br />
at the mining company BHP<br />
Billiton were asked recently, “Would<br />
you rather fight a horse-sized duck<br />
or a hundred duck-sized horses?”<br />
There are no right or wrong answers<br />
central: be ~ to sth.<br />
[(sentrEl]<br />
CEO (chief executive<br />
officer) [)si: i: (EU]<br />
chat [tSÄt]<br />
chief executive<br />
[)tSi:f Ig(zekjUtIv]<br />
come up with sth.<br />
[)kVm (Vp wID]<br />
converse with sb.<br />
[kEn(v§:s wID]<br />
covering letter<br />
[(kVv&rIN )letE] UK<br />
CV (curriculum vitae)<br />
[)si: (vi:]<br />
designed: be ~ to do sth.<br />
[di(zaInd]<br />
evaluate sth. [i(vÄljueIt]<br />
fill (a job) [fIl]<br />
follow up with sth.<br />
[)fQlEU (Vp wID]<br />
grill sb. [grIl] ifml.<br />
growth [grEUT]<br />
highlight sth. [(haIlaIt]<br />
hire sb. [(haIE]<br />
HR person<br />
[)eItS (A: )p§:s&n]<br />
in-person [)In (p§:s&n]<br />
interviewee [)IntEvju(i:]<br />
interviewer [(IntEvju:E]<br />
job interview<br />
[(dZQb )IntEvju:]<br />
mining [(maInIN]<br />
offbeat [)Qf(bi:t] ifml.<br />
phone screening<br />
[(fEUn )skri:nIN]<br />
previous [(pri:viEs]<br />
quality [(kwQlEti]<br />
senior [(si:niE]<br />
throw sb. [TrEU]<br />
trait [treIt]<br />
für etw. wesentlich sein<br />
Geschäftsführer(in)<br />
Unterhaltung, Plauderei<br />
Direktor(in), Leiter(in)<br />
sich etw. einfallen<br />
lassen<br />
mit jmdm. sprechen,<br />
sich mit jmdm. unterhalten<br />
Bewerbungsschreiben<br />
Lebenslauf<br />
etw. tun sollen<br />
etw. bewerten<br />
(eine Stelle) besetzen<br />
etw. als nächstes<br />
vorbringen<br />
jmdn. in die Mangel<br />
nehmen, jmdm. auf<br />
den Zahn fühlen<br />
hier: Entwicklung<br />
etw. hervorheben<br />
jmdn. einstellen<br />
Mitarbeiter(in) der<br />
Personalabteilung<br />
persönlich<br />
Interviewpartner(in);<br />
hier: Bewerber(in)<br />
Person, die das Bewerbungsgespräch<br />
führt<br />
Bewerbungsgespräch<br />
Bergbau<br />
ausgefallen,<br />
unkonventionell<br />
telefonische Vorauswahl<br />
frühere(r,s)<br />
hier: Eigenschaft<br />
hochrangig, leitend<br />
jmdn. aus dem Konzept<br />
bringen<br />
Eigenschaft, Merkmal<br />
4<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 77
CAREERS JOB INTERVIEWS<br />
Interview<br />
“At the end of the day, remember that a job<br />
interview is a two-way street”<br />
DAISY WRIGHT is a Canadian career<br />
coach and professional résumé writer.<br />
Born in Jamaica, Wright has worked in<br />
Jamaica, at the United Nations in New<br />
York and in Canada. She is the author<br />
of a careers advice book aimed at new<br />
immigrants, called No Canadian Experience,<br />
Eh? Wright talked to <strong>Business</strong><br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> about what to say — and<br />
what not to say — in international job<br />
interviews.<br />
How much personal information should<br />
you give in a job interview?<br />
Not much! Don’t speak about your<br />
marital or family status, since doing<br />
so could threaten the opportunity. For<br />
example, if someone reveals that she<br />
or he is married with kids, the interviewer<br />
may start thinking that, because<br />
the position requires lots of travel,<br />
the candidate would not be a good<br />
fit. The opposite is true, too. Candidates<br />
should not ask interviewers any<br />
personal questions. Some interviewers<br />
keep family photos on their desks to<br />
generate conversations around children<br />
and family. They know they can’t ask<br />
the question, so they set the situation<br />
up so that candidates ask about their<br />
family, then reveal their own status. Do<br />
not be tricked into such conversations.<br />
Are there any personal questions you<br />
should never answer?<br />
In Canada, it is unlawful for a candidate<br />
to be asked about race, age,<br />
ethnic background, religion, gender or<br />
marital status in an interview. Interviewers<br />
do not deliberately ask inappropriate<br />
questions, but because many<br />
are not trained on what questions to<br />
ask and how to word sensitive questions,<br />
they sometimes offend candidates.<br />
If candidates are asked questions<br />
that they consider inappropriate,<br />
they have three options: answer the<br />
question; refuse to answer; or use tact<br />
and diplomacy when answering.<br />
None of these options guarantee that<br />
candidates will get the job. If they answer<br />
the question, they may not get<br />
the job. If they refuse to answer, the<br />
interviewer may believe they are uncooperative<br />
and they won’t get the job. If<br />
they use diplomacy, they still may not<br />
get the job — but diplomacy is always<br />
a good option. For example, if you were<br />
asked the question “How old are you?”,<br />
you could answer it, if you don’t mind<br />
being asked such a personal question.<br />
You could refuse to answer, or you<br />
could use diplomacy and tell the interviewer<br />
that you are between the ages<br />
of 16 and 64.<br />
Why do interviewers sometimes ask<br />
strange questions like “How do you get<br />
a giraffe into a refrigerator?”<br />
The aim of such questions is to test the<br />
candidate’s creative or logical thinking<br />
processes. Can they think quickly?<br />
How do they solve problems? The interviewer<br />
also wants to know whether<br />
the candidate will fit into the culture<br />
of the organization. There are no right<br />
or wrong answers, so there’s no need<br />
to panic. You could turn the question<br />
back to the interviewer and say something<br />
like, “That’s an interesting question.<br />
How would you put a giraffe into a<br />
refrigerator?” This could backfire, but it<br />
could also give you time to think about<br />
the question.<br />
At the end of the day, candidates<br />
should remember that the interview<br />
is a two-way street. If they are being<br />
asked questions that make them feel<br />
uncomfortable or questions that they<br />
believe are irrelevant to the job, then<br />
they might want to look at the company<br />
again to see whether it’s going to be a<br />
good fit for them.<br />
backfire [)bÄk(faIE]<br />
ins Auge gehen<br />
deliberately [di(lIbErEtli]<br />
absichtlich<br />
eh? [eI]<br />
nicht wahr?<br />
end of the day: at the ~<br />
letztendlich<br />
[)end Ev DE (deI] ifml.<br />
fit: be a good ~ [fIt]<br />
sich gut eignen<br />
gender [(dZendE]<br />
Geschlecht<br />
inappropriate [)InE(prEUpriEt] unangemessen, unpassend<br />
interviewer [(IntEvju:E]<br />
Person, die das Bewerbungsgespräch führt<br />
job interview [(dZQb )IntEvju:] Bewerbungsgespräch<br />
marital status [(mÄrItEl )steItEs] Familienstand<br />
offend sb. [E(fend]<br />
jmdn. vor den Kopf stoßen<br />
résumé [(rezEmeI*] US<br />
Lebenslauf<br />
sensitive [(sensEtIv]<br />
heikel<br />
set sth. up [)set (Vp]<br />
etw. einrichten, arrangieren<br />
two-way street [)tu: weI (stri:t] ifml. wechselseitige Angelegenheit<br />
unlawful [Vn(lO:f&l]<br />
gesetzwidrig<br />
* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.<br />
78 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
Group dynamics: be<br />
friendly, but don’t flirt<br />
Video interviews are becoming popular because<br />
they save companies time and money<br />
to such questions, according to Canadian<br />
career coach Daisy Wright (see<br />
interview on p. 78). They are used to<br />
test candidates’ ability to think creatively,<br />
logically and quickly. While<br />
it is impossible to prepare for every<br />
offbeat question, an internet search<br />
under “strange interview questions”<br />
will at least give you an idea what to<br />
expect.<br />
Most job interviews take place<br />
in offices, but don’t be surprised if<br />
you are invited to go out to lunch<br />
or dinner with potential employers.<br />
The lunch interview is often used for<br />
groups of candidates, when interviewers<br />
want to see how you interact<br />
with others. Although a lunch interview<br />
may seem like a friendly, social<br />
apply to sb./sth.<br />
[E(plaI tu]<br />
conduct sth.<br />
[kEn(dVkt]<br />
disclose sth.<br />
[dIs(klEUz]<br />
lead: take one’s ~<br />
from sb. [li:d]<br />
mainstream<br />
[(meInstri:m]<br />
menu [(menju:]<br />
neat [ni:t]<br />
recruiting [ri(kru:tIN]<br />
remotely [ri(mEUtli]<br />
sich bei jmdm./etw.<br />
bewerben<br />
etw. durchführen<br />
etw. offenbaren,<br />
mitteilen<br />
sich an jmdm. orientieren<br />
etabliert<br />
Speisekarte<br />
ordentlich<br />
Personalbeschaffung<br />
aus der Ferne<br />
event, you shouldn’t be too relaxed,<br />
warns Julie Clare of Britain’s National<br />
Careers Service. “Don’t tell the employer<br />
things you wouldn’t disclose<br />
in a more formal interview,” Clare<br />
told The Guardian.<br />
You can prepare for a lunch interview<br />
by going to the restaurant beforehand<br />
to check the menu and atmosphere,<br />
or by looking it up online.<br />
Choose food that is simple to eat so<br />
you can concentrate on what is being<br />
said, and don’t order the most expensive<br />
dish on the menu. “Take your<br />
lead from the interviewer on what<br />
they order,” Clare says. “Don’t order<br />
the finest steak and a glass of expensive<br />
wine if the interviewer orders a<br />
sandwich and a glass of water.”<br />
You might also be asked to take<br />
part in a video interview, especially if<br />
you live far away from the interviewers.<br />
“If a company [had] said 15 years<br />
ago that they conducted interviews<br />
remotely through a camera in your<br />
computer, you would have thought<br />
you were applying to Hogwarts,”<br />
writes careers blogger Heather R.<br />
Huhman. “Now, webcam interviewing<br />
is becoming a mainstream meth-<br />
Wavebreak Media<br />
Interview <strong>tips</strong><br />
l Turn off your phone. “It’s surprising how<br />
many people think that taking a call or<br />
replying to texts during an interview situation<br />
are appropriate,” says Chris Meredith,<br />
head of officebroker.com.<br />
l Stand up while waiting to be called in<br />
for an interview. “You will often be shown<br />
into a boardroom before an interview and<br />
offered a seat while you wait. Don’t take<br />
it,” advises public-speaking expert Robin<br />
Kermode. “You don’t want their first impression<br />
of you to be struggling up out of<br />
a chair, so stay standing. You’ll look more<br />
confident if you are on their level as you<br />
first meet them.”<br />
l Don’t forget your CV. Show that you are<br />
well organized by taking all relevant information<br />
with you. Don’t assume that<br />
the interviewer will have a copy of all<br />
important information.<br />
l Don’t flirt. “Never say anything that<br />
could be taken as flirtatious, even if<br />
you’re just being nice,” Meredith warns.<br />
“It’s important you build up a positive relationship<br />
with your interviewer, but avoid<br />
complimenting them, as it could make<br />
the situation awkward.”<br />
appropriate [E(prEUpriEt]<br />
awkward [(O:kwEd]<br />
boardroom [(bO:dru:m]<br />
confident [(kQnfIdEnt]<br />
CV (curriculum vitae)<br />
[)si: (vi:]<br />
flirtatious [fl§:(teISEs]<br />
interview [(IntEvju:]<br />
interviewer [(IntEvju:E]<br />
take (a call) [teIk]<br />
text [tekst]<br />
Sources: The Daily Telegraph; The Guardian<br />
angebracht<br />
peinlich<br />
hier: Konferenzraum<br />
selbstsicher<br />
Lebenslauf<br />
kokett; hier: flirtend<br />
Bewerbungsgespräch<br />
Person, die das Bewerbungsgespräch<br />
führt<br />
(einen Anruf) entgegennehmen<br />
SMS<br />
od of recruiting — saving employers<br />
both time and money while still giving<br />
them (almost) all the information<br />
they need to make a hiring decision.”<br />
It’s important to make a professional<br />
impression, Huhman says.<br />
If you are interviewing from your<br />
house, do so in a neat, clean room.<br />
“Also, make sure you’re interviewing<br />
away from any loud noises or<br />
potential interruptions, such as a TV/<br />
4<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 79
CAREERS JOB INTERVIEWS<br />
iStock<br />
radio, pet, or smoke detector that<br />
needs new batteries.” Be sure that<br />
your face is well lit and that you are<br />
wearing professional clothing, preferably<br />
light-coloured so that you are<br />
easily seen.<br />
Most interviews end with interviewers<br />
asking candidates whether they<br />
have any questions. “I don’t have any<br />
questions” or “How much holiday<br />
do I get?” are the wrong response,<br />
says Chris Meredith. “While a job interview<br />
is a chance for you to decide<br />
whether you would potentially like<br />
to work at the company you’re interviewing<br />
at, asking how much holiday<br />
you get is a question you should save<br />
for after you’ve been offered the job,<br />
along with ‘How much do I get paid?’<br />
and ‘What is your sickness policy?’”<br />
As the interview comes to an end,<br />
you will want to find out where you<br />
stand. Writing in Forbes, Lisa Quast<br />
suggests asking something like:<br />
“Based on my background and the<br />
skills and experience we discussed,<br />
how well do I fit the profile of the<br />
candidate you are looking for?” To<br />
After-interview<br />
checklist<br />
After every interview, take the time<br />
to analyse your performance. Answering<br />
the following questions<br />
will help you improve, according<br />
to Australian career coach Liz<br />
Cassidy.<br />
l What went well? Why?<br />
l What did not go well? Why?<br />
l What would I do differently if I<br />
were to repeat the interview?<br />
l What interview skills must I develop<br />
further?<br />
Source: Job Interview Questions & Answers,<br />
Liz Cassidy (Third Sigma International)<br />
interview [(IntEvju:]<br />
Bewerbungsgespräch<br />
How did you do? Interviews<br />
are a learning experience<br />
find out how close the employer is<br />
to actually hiring, Quast suggests<br />
asking, “What are the next steps in<br />
the hiring process?” This should also<br />
help you discover whether more candidates<br />
will be interviewed.<br />
Don’t underestimate the importance<br />
of small details that are easily overlooked,<br />
Quast says. Ask for the interviewer’s<br />
business card before leaving.<br />
“That way you’ll have their correctly<br />
spelled name, title, mailing address,<br />
telephone number and email address<br />
to use when you write your thankyou<br />
note.”<br />
If you’ve just been interviewed for<br />
your dream job, of course you hope<br />
that the interview will be followed<br />
by a job offer. But it’s important to<br />
be realistic. You may need to present<br />
yourself to a number of employers<br />
before one of them offers you a job,<br />
so regard every interview as a learning<br />
experience. “As soon after the<br />
interview as you can, find a quiet<br />
business card<br />
[(bIznEs kA:d]<br />
incorporated<br />
[In(kO:pEreItId]<br />
rank sth. [rÄNk]<br />
scale [skeI&l]<br />
sickness policy<br />
[(sIknEs )pQlEsi]<br />
smoke detector<br />
[(smEUk di)tektE]<br />
spell sth. [spel]<br />
Visitenkarte<br />
Aktiengesellschaft<br />
etw. bewerten<br />
Skala<br />
Regelung(en) für den<br />
Krankheitsfall<br />
Rauchmelder<br />
etw. buchstabieren;<br />
hier: schreiben<br />
For more information<br />
BOOKS<br />
Job Interviews: Top Answers to Tough<br />
Questions, John Lees (McGraw-Hill)<br />
What to Say in Every Job Interview, Carole<br />
Martin (McGraw-Hill Education)<br />
Your Career, Your Way! Lisa Quast (Career<br />
Woman, Incorporated)<br />
WEBSITES<br />
British career coach Michael Higgins has<br />
career advice for professionals:<br />
www.thisismypath.co.uk<br />
Career advice, especially for young people,<br />
from US blogger and author Heather R.<br />
Huhman: http://heatherhuhman.com<br />
place and write down as many of the<br />
questions that you were asked as you<br />
can remember,” suggests Michael<br />
Higgins. “Rank how you answered<br />
them on a scale of one to ten. Work<br />
on the answers in order from lowest<br />
to highest so that you can improve<br />
for future interviews.”<br />
BS<br />
This is the final part of our three-part<br />
series on finding a job. Part one, “Selling<br />
yourself” (<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> 4/2014),<br />
looked at job-search methods. Part two,<br />
“Making the cut” (<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong><br />
5/2014), provided <strong>tips</strong> on writing covering<br />
letters and CVs.<br />
Practise your interviewing skills on<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio<br />
www Keep up to date with career trends at<br />
www.business-spotlight.de/careers<br />
Margaret Davis is the editor of the<br />
Careers and Global <strong>Business</strong> sections<br />
of <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong>. Contact:<br />
m.davis@spotlight-verlag.de<br />
80 www.business-spotlight.de<br />
6/2014
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CAREERS TIPS AND TRENDS<br />
All in a day’s work<br />
Kann man sein Feierabendbier nicht auch in der Firma<br />
trinken? Und wie verhält man sich bei Rangeleien am<br />
Arbeitsplatz? Margaret Davis antwortet.<br />
medium<br />
Photodisc<br />
Feedback<br />
Advising your boss<br />
Do you ever wish you could give your boss advice? Offering<br />
feedback to your boss (also known as “upward feedback”)<br />
can be risky, says Assistant Professor James Detert, of Cornell<br />
University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management.<br />
“General advice on how to be a better boss is tough to give<br />
unless you’re asked for it,” Detert told the Harvard <strong>Business</strong><br />
Review. You may not realize the pressure your boss is under,<br />
he warns. “Subordinates by and large don’t have a full<br />
appreciation of the reality of their bosses.”<br />
Risky advice: “Here’s what<br />
I think you should do!”<br />
Trend<br />
Beer in the office<br />
London office workers often meet at the pub after<br />
work on Fridays. Now, some tech companies are<br />
having beer delivered to the office instead.<br />
This is good news for companies like Desk-Beers,<br />
a London start-up that delivers craft beers to offices.<br />
Andrew McDonough of Tribesports, one of the company’s<br />
customers, likes the idea, too. “Most of the<br />
pubs in London are packed on a Friday evening, so if<br />
we did go straight to the pub, it would be difficult for<br />
us to talk to each<br />
other,” McDonough<br />
explained<br />
to the Financial<br />
Times.<br />
Cheers! Just another Friday<br />
night at the office?<br />
Stockbyte<br />
Away from your desk<br />
DVD<br />
While many women return to work after<br />
years as stay-at-home mums, most<br />
don’t do so because their husbands have<br />
been sent to prison. In The Good Wife,<br />
Julianna Margulies plays Alicia, who is<br />
finding her way back into the workforce.<br />
Set in a large law firm, this is beautifully<br />
acted and stylishly presented television.<br />
appreciation<br />
Wertschätzung; hier:<br />
[E)pri:Si(eIS&n]<br />
Verständnis<br />
by and large<br />
im Großen und Ganzen,<br />
[)baI En (lA:dZ]<br />
insgesamt<br />
craft beer [(krA:ft bIE] traditionell gebrautes Bier<br />
graduate school of wirtschaftswissenmanagement<br />
[)grÄdZuEt schaftliche Fakultät<br />
)sku:l Ev (mÄnIdZmEnt] US<br />
law firm [(lO: f§:m] Anwaltskanzlei<br />
packed [pÄkt]<br />
brechend voll<br />
stay-at-home mum nicht berufstätige Mutter<br />
[)steI Et )hEUm (mVm]<br />
UK ifml.<br />
subordinate [sE(bO:dInEt] Untergebene(r)<br />
tough [tVf]<br />
schwierig<br />
workforce [(w§:kfO:s] erwerbstätige Bevölkerung<br />
6/2014
Forgive and forget:<br />
one way of dealing with it<br />
How to...<br />
Deal with office politics<br />
like the job, but I hate the office politics.” How<br />
“I many times have you heard someone make<br />
a comment like this? Perhaps you’ve even said it<br />
yourself. In an ideal world, everyone would treat<br />
each other fairly at work — until we reach that state,<br />
though, it’s wise to learn how to handle workplace<br />
differences. Here’s some advice from Washington<br />
Post careers columnist Joyce E. A. Russell:<br />
l Keep conflicts away from your boss. “Bosses generally<br />
don’t like to hear about conflicts between employees,”<br />
says Russell, who is a licensed industrial<br />
and organizational psychologist. “Bosses expect us<br />
to resolve conflict on our own.”<br />
l Find an outside mentor. “It helps to vent your<br />
frustrations with an outsider and then listen to their<br />
advice,” Russell explains.<br />
l Don’t reveal too much personal information. “Manipulators<br />
can gain personal information from you<br />
and then use this against you later.”<br />
l Learn to forgive and forget. “This is really hard<br />
to do,” Russell admits, “but holding onto hatred or<br />
anger is really counterproductive. Anger and ideas<br />
of revenge can consume you to the point where you<br />
just can’t operate,” she says. “By letting it go, you<br />
can get on with your own life.”<br />
Fuse<br />
iStock<br />
Why me? Women<br />
managers are at risk<br />
Statistically speaking<br />
Risky business<br />
Female CEOs are more likely to be fired<br />
than male ones, according to a study<br />
of 2,500 major companies. The study, by<br />
international consultancy Strategy&, found<br />
that fewer than three in ten male chief<br />
executives were fired in the past ten years,<br />
whereas nearly two in five female bosses<br />
were forced to leave their companies.<br />
CEO (chief executive Geschäftsführer(in)<br />
officer) [)si: i: (EU]<br />
consultancy [kEn(sVltEnsi] Beratungsfirma<br />
consume sb. [kEn(sju:m] jmdn. verzehren<br />
get on with one’s own life etwa: sich wieder auf<br />
[get )Qn wID wVnz<br />
das Wesentliche<br />
)EUn (laIf]<br />
konzentrieren<br />
licensed [(laIs&nst] zugelassen<br />
make sth. up [)meIk (Vp] sich etw. ausdenken<br />
office politics<br />
Rangeleien am<br />
[)QfIs (pQlEtIks]<br />
Arbeitsplatz<br />
resolve sth. [ri(zQlv] etw. lösen<br />
revenge [ri(vendZ]<br />
Rache<br />
track record [(trÄk re)kO:d] Erfolgsbilanz<br />
vent sth. [vent]<br />
etw. ab-, rauslassen<br />
Dilbert<br />
Sources: Financial Times; Strategy& (www.strategyand.pwc.com)<br />
www.dilbert.com; dilbertcartoonist@gmail.com<br />
28/04/2014 ©Scott Adams, Dist.<br />
6/2014<br />
www.business-spotlight.de 83
MANAGEMENT MOBILE BANKING<br />
Money man:<br />
Strive Masiyiwa,<br />
founder of<br />
Econet Wireless<br />
Living<br />
without cash<br />
Reuters<br />
Wer schleppt heute noch große Mengen Bargeld mit sich herum, wenn er seinen Zahlungsverkehr auch<br />
bargeldlos abwickeln kann? Und das per Handy. Anna Leach berichtet von einer rasanten Entwicklung in<br />
Simbabwe, an deren Anfang humanitäre Beweggründe standen.<br />
medium<br />
Will Zimbabwe become<br />
Africa’s first cashless<br />
society? Telecommunications<br />
company, and<br />
now mobile banking<br />
service, Econet Wireless believes that<br />
in less than 12 months, there will be<br />
no more need for notes and coins in<br />
this southern African country. “We<br />
do not expect anyone to still be using<br />
paper money in a year’s time,”<br />
Douglas Mboweni, the company’s<br />
CEO, recently said. “It will be just<br />
like Europe or America, where you<br />
no longer see people carrying bundles<br />
of cash.”<br />
The collapse of Zimbabwe’s economy<br />
in 2002 prepared the way for<br />
Econet Wireless’s mobile payment<br />
system. “Hyperinflation had destroyed<br />
people’s confidence in financial<br />
institutions,” said the Zimbabwe<br />
company’s founder, Strive Masiyiwa,<br />
at a recent symposium.<br />
“The lowest denomination circulating<br />
was one [Zimbabwean] dollar<br />
[€0.002].” The company set up a<br />
mobile payment system that handles<br />
small amounts. “Today, 43 per cent<br />
of GDP moves through Econet Wireless,”<br />
he says. Masiyiwa was born<br />
in Zimbabwe (then still called Rhodesia)<br />
in 1961. His family fled the<br />
country in the turmoil after Prime<br />
Minister Ian Smith declared independence<br />
in 1965, settling in Zambia.<br />
His parents, who ran their own<br />
business, managed to send Masiyiwa<br />
to school in Scotland when he was<br />
12. After school, he studied electronic<br />
engineering at the University of Wales<br />
and worked for a computer company<br />
in Cambridge before returning to<br />
Zimbabwe in the early 1980s.<br />
bundles of cash<br />
[)bVnd&lz Ev (kÄS]<br />
(bundle<br />
CEO (chief executive<br />
officer) [)si: i: (EU]<br />
circulate [(s§:kjuleIt]<br />
denomination<br />
[di)nQmI(neIS&n]<br />
electronic engineering<br />
[elek)trQnIk endZI(nIErIN]<br />
founder [(faUndE]<br />
GDP (gross domestic<br />
product) [)dZi: di: (pi:]<br />
mobile [(mEUbaI&l]<br />
turmoil [(t§:mOI&l]<br />
große Mengen Bargeld<br />
Bündel)<br />
Geschäftsführer(in)<br />
im Umlauf sein<br />
Stückelung, Nennwert<br />
Elektronik<br />
Gründer(in)<br />
BIP (Bruttoinlandsprodukt)<br />
hier: über Mobiltelefon<br />
Aufruhr<br />
84 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
Econet Wireless was established in<br />
1998, but only after a five-year legal<br />
battle with the government for<br />
a licence to deliver telephone services.<br />
The company now operates<br />
in 17 countries, including Botswana,<br />
Lesotho, Kenya, Nigeria, South<br />
Africa and New Zealand. In 2000,<br />
when turmoil broke out over President<br />
Robert Mugabe’s efforts to take<br />
over white farmers’ lands, Masiyiwa<br />
moved his family and company headquarters<br />
to South Africa.<br />
Econet Wireless developed mobile<br />
payments to help NGOs transfer<br />
money to refugees after the war<br />
in Burundi ended in 2005. “Donor<br />
agencies were trying to find ways to<br />
make cash payments to refugees,”<br />
says Masiyiwa. “So we built the payment<br />
system initially not as a business<br />
but as a way to help humanitarians<br />
get money to people in rural<br />
areas who were trying to re-establish<br />
their lives.”<br />
That model was extended and now<br />
mobile money transfers are central to<br />
affordable [E(fO:dEb&l] erschwinglich<br />
allow [E(laU]<br />
hier: ermöglichen<br />
aspiration [)ÄspE(reIS&n] Ambition, (hohes) Ziel<br />
casual worker<br />
Gelegenheitsarbeiter(in)<br />
[)kÄZuEl (w§:kE]<br />
cell phone [(sel foUn*] US Handy<br />
charging station<br />
Ladestation<br />
[(tSA:dZIN )steIS&n]<br />
debt [det]<br />
Schulden, Verschuldung<br />
disposable income verfügbares Einkommen<br />
[dI)spEUzEb&l (InkVm]<br />
donor agency<br />
Geberorganisation<br />
[(dEUnEr )eIdZEnsi]<br />
frontier [(frVntIE] Grenze; hier: neues<br />
Terrain<br />
headquarters<br />
Zentrale<br />
[)hed(kwO:tEz]<br />
humanitarian<br />
Philanthrop; hier:<br />
[hju)mÄnI(teEriEn] Vertreter(in) einer<br />
humanitären<br />
Hilfsorganisation<br />
kiosk [(ki:Qsk]<br />
Verkaufsstand, Bude<br />
NGO (non-governmental NRO (Nichtregierungsorganization)<br />
[)en dZi: (EU] organisation)<br />
plug sth. in [)plVg (In] etw. einstöpseln,<br />
anschließen<br />
refugee [)refju(dZi:] Flüchtling<br />
rural [(rUErEl]<br />
ländlich<br />
sensitivity [)sensE(tIvEti] Sensibilität, Feingefühl<br />
* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.<br />
“Hyperinflation had destroyed people’s<br />
confidence in financial institutions”<br />
Econet Wireless’s business. Masiyiwa<br />
is passionate about this part of his<br />
business. He believes that extending<br />
saving and credit services to the poorest<br />
people helps by giving them “a<br />
sense that they are in control of their<br />
own lives”.<br />
His next project is to create a product<br />
that allows people who are informally<br />
employed, such as owners<br />
of small farms and casual workers,<br />
to get credit. “In Africa, 70 per cent<br />
of people are informally employed,”<br />
he says. “The big frontier for us is to<br />
create platforms where those people<br />
can get credit.” He says the system is<br />
self-regulating because banks won’t<br />
extend excessive credit, so there’s no<br />
risk that they will get into unmanageable<br />
debt. He believes it is even more<br />
important to offer people the ability<br />
to save than to give them credit.<br />
“We’re trying to build up a savings<br />
culture where people are encouraged<br />
to save, even if they only have<br />
a dollar — to pay for their children’s<br />
school, for transport, for the doctor.”<br />
In 1998, when Econet Wireless was<br />
given a licence to operate, 70 per cent<br />
of people in the country had never<br />
heard a telephone ring. “Today, 75<br />
Strive Masiyiwa, founder, Econet Wireless<br />
per cent of Zimbabweans have a cell<br />
phone,” he said. “And I want 75 per<br />
cent of the people in Africa to have a<br />
bank account — on a mobile phone.”<br />
Masiyiwa has found a solution to<br />
the energy problem that may otherwise<br />
have prevented him from realizing<br />
his dream. “We have developed<br />
solar charging stations, where people<br />
can go into a kiosk and plug in their<br />
phones for free.”<br />
The secret of his success has been<br />
developing services that are practical,<br />
simple and affordable.<br />
“We have to develop services with<br />
sensitivity to the fact that in Africa<br />
our customers don’t have the same<br />
disposable income as in New Zealand,<br />
for example,” says Masiyiwa.<br />
He believes that it is a mistake,<br />
however, to assume that the poorest<br />
behave differently from other customers.<br />
“Their aspirations are no<br />
different from those who have higher<br />
incomes,” he says. “They want<br />
to use Facebook. They want to use<br />
WhatsApp. We have to find ways for<br />
them to have those things with their<br />
very low incomes.”<br />
BS<br />
© Guardian News & Media 2014<br />
From me to<br />
you: Econet<br />
helps people in<br />
Zimbabwe<br />
to avoid<br />
using cash<br />
6/2014
MANAGEMENT WHAT HAPPENED NEXT<br />
The Mobro garbage barge<br />
Ein mit Müll beladenes Lastschiff, der nirgends anlegen durfte, wurde zum<br />
Symbol des Abfallproblems in den USA. Vicki Sussens berichtet.<br />
medium<br />
Getty Images<br />
The Mobro 4000: on a journey to nowhere<br />
The background<br />
In the 1970s, US environmental<br />
awareness grew as a reaction to the<br />
polluting effects of the 1960s economic<br />
boom, which saw the mass production<br />
of disposable goods. The US<br />
Environmental Protection Agency<br />
(EPA) was formed in December<br />
1970 to create and enforce laws that<br />
would protect the environment. In<br />
the 1980s, it focused its attention on<br />
poor waste management.<br />
The problem<br />
Many polluting landfills were forced<br />
to close. Municipalities planned bigger<br />
and better landfills and, in some<br />
cases, recycling plants. However, they<br />
struggled to build them because of<br />
the strict regulations and also resistance<br />
from “Nimbys” — the name<br />
given to those who want change but<br />
say “not in my backyard”. In 1986,<br />
overflowing landfills — including one<br />
in the town of Islip, on Long Island,<br />
New York — received a lot of media<br />
attention.<br />
The solution<br />
Lowell Harrelson, a businessman in<br />
Alabama, saw a business opportunity<br />
in the problems. He decided to transport<br />
garbage by barge from landfills<br />
in Long Island to the emptier landfills<br />
in the US South. There, he planned<br />
to generate electricity from the methane<br />
gas released by the garbage.<br />
He bought a barge called the Mobro<br />
4000 from Tommy Gesuale, the only<br />
person licensed at the time to transport<br />
garbage by barge. Gesuale found<br />
further investors for Harrelson, including<br />
the leader of a Mafia-run garbage<br />
business, Salvatore Avellino. On<br />
22 March 1987, the barge left Islip<br />
for Morehead City, North Carolina,<br />
which had agreed to take the cargo.<br />
What happened next<br />
After the barge’s arrival in Morehead<br />
City made the news on 1 April, state<br />
environmental officials inspected the<br />
Mobro 4000. They found a bedpan<br />
and claimed the garbage contained<br />
potentially dangerous hospital waste.<br />
The barge was turned away and began<br />
a 9,700-kilometre-long journey<br />
along the US coastline trying to<br />
offload its cargo. The media gave it<br />
names such as “the gar-barge” and<br />
“the barge to nowhere”. “Nobody<br />
in an elected position could afford<br />
to take this mythologically frightening<br />
load into their community,” says<br />
Brendan Sexton, then New York<br />
City sanitation commissioner, in a<br />
documentary on the Mobro by Retro<br />
Report. The barge became a symbol<br />
of America’s growing waste crisis.<br />
Greenpeace hung a banner on it that<br />
read “Next time … try recycling”.<br />
In October 1987, Harrelson was ordered<br />
by a Brooklyn court to have the<br />
garbage burned, which he did. The<br />
Mobro is now seen as having played<br />
a major role in promoting recycling,<br />
which spread rapidly after 1987. BS<br />
environmental awareness Umweltbewusstsein<br />
[InvaI&rEn)ment&l E(weEnEs]<br />
pollute sth. [pE(lu:t]<br />
etw. verschmutzen<br />
disposable goods<br />
Wegwerfprodukte<br />
[dI)spEUzEb&l (gUdz]<br />
agency [(eIdZEnsi]<br />
Behörde<br />
enforce sth. [In(fO:s] etw. durchsetzen<br />
waste management<br />
Abfallentsorgung<br />
[(weIst )mÄnIdZmEnt]<br />
landfill [(lÄndfIl]<br />
(Müll-)Deponie<br />
municipality<br />
Stadtverwaltung,<br />
[mju)nIsI(pÄlEti]<br />
Kommune<br />
recycling plant<br />
Recyclinganlage<br />
[)ri:(saIk&lIN plA:nt]<br />
not in my backyard<br />
nicht vor meiner<br />
[)nA:t In (maI bÄk<br />
Haustür<br />
)jA:rd*] US<br />
garbage [(gA:rbIdZ*] US Abfall/Abfälle, Müll<br />
barge [bA:dZ]<br />
Lastschiff<br />
methane [(mi:TeIn]<br />
[wg. Aussprache]<br />
release sth. [ri(li:s]<br />
etw. freisetzen<br />
cargo [(kA:gEU]<br />
Fracht<br />
bedpan [(bedpÄn]<br />
Bettpfanne<br />
offload (cargo) [)Qf(lEUd] (Fracht) löschen<br />
sanitation commissioner Leiter(in) des Amtes<br />
[)sÄnI(teIS&n kE)mIS&nE] für Abfallwirtschaft<br />
* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.<br />
86 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
EXECUTIVE EYE MANAGEMENT<br />
The management of music<br />
Sollten Aufbau und Funktionsweise eines Synfonieorchesters nicht endlich denen eines<br />
modernen Unternehmens angepasst werden? Unser Management-Experte Adrian Furnham<br />
stellt einen Vergleich an und kommt zu einem überraschenden Ergebnis.<br />
medium<br />
The symphony orchestra has totally<br />
escaped the influences of modern<br />
management. No wonder they are<br />
fewer in number. Clearly, a shake-up<br />
is needed. Here are some (not too<br />
serious) recommendations, based on<br />
cutting-edge management science:<br />
l Restructuring. No manager can<br />
effectively control a staff of 100 or<br />
more. The orchestra should have a flat<br />
organizational structure, with players<br />
divided into three groups: “bangers”,<br />
“blowers” and “scrapers”.<br />
l Job titles. The title “conductor”<br />
reflects an authoritarian<br />
work culture. It’ll be changed to<br />
“chief synchronization officer”.<br />
l Teamwork. In order to avoid silo<br />
thinking and build morale, divisions<br />
will not sit together during perform-<br />
banger [(bÄNgE]<br />
Knallende(r); hier:<br />
Schlagwerker(in)<br />
blower [(blEUE]<br />
Pustende(r); hier:<br />
Bläser(in)<br />
chief [tSi:f]<br />
leitend<br />
conductor [kEn(dVktE] Dirigent(in)<br />
cutting-edge [)kVtIN (edZ] (<strong>top</strong>)aktuell<br />
diversity [daI(v§:sEti] Vielfalt<br />
double bassist<br />
Kontrabassist(in)<br />
[)dVb&l (beIsIst]<br />
downsizing [(daUnsaIzIN] Personalabbau<br />
earplug [(IEplVg]<br />
Ohrstöpsel<br />
French horn [)frentS (hO:n] (Wald-)Horn<br />
impairment [Im(peEmEnt] Beeinträchtigung<br />
kettledrum [(ket&ldrVm] Kesselpauke<br />
officer [(QfIsE]<br />
hier: Beauftragte(r)<br />
restructuring [)ri:(strVktSErIN] Umstrukturierung<br />
scraper [(skreIpE]<br />
Kratzende(r); hier:<br />
Streicher(in)<br />
shake-up [(SeIk Vp] ifml. Umorganisation<br />
silo thinking<br />
isolierte<br />
[(saIlEU )TINkIN]<br />
Betrachtungsweise<br />
In harmony: why it is better not to<br />
reorganize symphony orchestras<br />
ances. Players will be arranged in<br />
groups of three, each with a different<br />
skill set. The double bassist, for example,<br />
will sit with the kettledrums<br />
and the French horn.<br />
l Salaries and bonuses. Equal pay<br />
for equal work will be replaced by<br />
fixed and variable pay. Fixed pay will<br />
be low and based on the instrument.<br />
“If orchestras listened to management<br />
gurus, we would all need earplugs”<br />
Variable pay will be based on the<br />
number of notes played: those playing<br />
6,000 notes, for example, will<br />
earn three times as much as those<br />
playing 2,000. Bonuses will be paid<br />
for notes played at greater speed.<br />
l Downsizing. It is inefficient to<br />
have so many players doing the same<br />
job when technology can take over<br />
some of the work. There will therefore<br />
be a maximum of three players<br />
of the same instrument, with sounds<br />
being digitally strengthened.<br />
l Health and safety. Sitting for so<br />
long in the middle of so much noise<br />
can damage eyes, ears and muscles.<br />
The maximum time of unbroken play<br />
will therefore be 20 minutes. Players<br />
will be given headphones to cut out<br />
Flashover/Alamy<br />
damaging sounds. Players inactive<br />
for more than 15 minutes at a time<br />
will leave the stage to save energy.<br />
l Diversity. Middle-class white players<br />
from advantaged backgrounds<br />
still dominate orchestras, and those<br />
with visual and hearing impairments<br />
are not given a chance. A quota of 25<br />
per cent of the players will be selected<br />
according to demographic representation<br />
rather than ability alone.<br />
Clearly, if orchestras were run like<br />
firms, we would all need earplugs. BS<br />
plus For related reading-comprehension<br />
exercises, see <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> plus<br />
Adrian Furnham is a psychology professor at<br />
University College, London. His latest book<br />
is The Resilient Manager: Navigating the<br />
Challenges of Working Life (Palgrave Macmillan).<br />
6/2014<br />
www.business-spotlight.de 87
TECHNOLOGY ACOUSTICS<br />
iStock<br />
Ready to hear:<br />
leaves are as<br />
good as ears<br />
Are the plants listening?<br />
Man sieht sich auf einem Video ohne Ton einen Gegenstand an und weiß trotzdem,<br />
welche Geräusche ihn umgeben. Alex Hern erklärt, wie das funktioniert. advanced<br />
Researchers at the Massachusetts<br />
Institute of Technology<br />
(MIT), working with<br />
Microsoft and Adobe, have<br />
developed a method of reconstructing<br />
sound from a video of<br />
an object — using a crisp packet, a<br />
glass of water or a potted plant as a<br />
microphone.<br />
The technology is similar to that<br />
found in laser microphones used by<br />
spies around the world to eavesdrop<br />
on conversations by measuring the<br />
miniature vibrations on reflective<br />
surfaces. But rather than using expensive,<br />
specialist equipment, the researchers<br />
were able to extract audio<br />
from a high-speed video of everyday<br />
objects.<br />
In one case, they even extracted<br />
recognizable sound from a video<br />
made by a normal digital camera.<br />
“When sound hits an object, it causes<br />
the object to vibrate,” explains MIT<br />
postgraduate student Abe Davis.<br />
“The motion of this vibration creates<br />
a very subtle visual signal that’s usually<br />
invisible to the naked eye. People<br />
didn’t realize that this information<br />
was there.”<br />
By analysing high-speed video of<br />
a potted plant, for example, Davis<br />
and the rest of the team were able<br />
crisp packet<br />
Chipstüte<br />
[(krIsp )pÄkIt] UK<br />
extract sth. [Ik(strÄkt] etw. extrahieren<br />
postgraduate student Doktorand(in)<br />
[pEUst(grÄdjuEt )stu:dEnt]<br />
potted plant<br />
Topfpflanze<br />
[)pQtId (plA:nt]<br />
spy [spaI]<br />
Spion<br />
subtle [(sVt&l]<br />
fein, kaum wahrnehmbar<br />
88 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
Microphones are everywhere:<br />
your words are not secret<br />
Corbis<br />
to extract the recording of a classic<br />
children’s song, “Mary Had a Little<br />
Lamb”, which was played next<br />
to the plant. In another experiment,<br />
they were able to recreate the voice<br />
of a human reading the lyrics to the<br />
song — from a video taken of a crisp<br />
packet that was filmed through a<br />
glass door.<br />
For Davis and his team, this technology<br />
offers more potential than<br />
its obvious uses for surveillance and<br />
police work. They plan on testing<br />
whether the acoustic properties of<br />
objects will give researchers more<br />
information about the internal properties<br />
of the objects. He calls this “a<br />
new kind of imaging”.<br />
“We’re recovering sounds from<br />
objects,” he says. “That gives us a<br />
lot of information about the sound<br />
that’s going on around the object,<br />
but it also gives us a lot of information<br />
about the object itself, because<br />
different objects are going to respond<br />
to sound in different ways.”<br />
For more information<br />
VIDEO<br />
Abe Davis explains the audio experiments and<br />
presents his recordings in The Visual Microphone:<br />
Passive Recovery of Sound from Video<br />
at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKXOucXB4a8<br />
audible [(O:dEb&l]<br />
hörbar<br />
electrical engineering Elektrotechnik<br />
[i)lektrIk&l )endZI(nIErIN]<br />
footage [(fUtIdZ]<br />
Filmmaterial<br />
frame rate [(freIm reIt] Bildfrequenz<br />
imaging [(ImIdZIN]<br />
Bildgebung<br />
line by line [)laIn baI (laIn] zeilenweise<br />
lyrics [(lIrIks]<br />
(Lied-)Text(e)<br />
potato-chip bag<br />
Chipstüte<br />
[pE(teItoU tSIp )bÄg*] US<br />
property [(prQpEti]<br />
Eigenschaft<br />
ridiculous [rI(dIkjUlEs] lächerlich<br />
rolling shutter [)rEUlIN (SVtE] Rolling-Shutter<br />
(shutter<br />
Verschluss)<br />
single-lens reflex camera Spiegelreflex-<br />
[)sINg&l lenz (ri:fleks kÄmErE] kamera<br />
surveillance [sE(veIlEns] Überwachung<br />
theatrics [Ti(ÄtrIks]<br />
Theatralik<br />
* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.<br />
6/2014<br />
“When sound hits an<br />
object, it causes the object<br />
to vibrate”<br />
Typically, the algorithm that allows<br />
people to extract acoustic information<br />
requires a camera that records<br />
high-speed video. The frequency —<br />
in other words, the number of vibrations<br />
per second — for audible sound<br />
ranges from 20 to 20,000 hertz (Hz).<br />
A sound can be extracted only by a<br />
camera that has a frame rate higher<br />
than the frequency itself. Standard<br />
cameras, with a frame rate of just 60<br />
frames per second, cannot be used to<br />
extract anything more than extremely<br />
low-frequency sounds.<br />
But the researchers developed a<br />
second method, using the “rolling<br />
shutter” typical of digital video cameras,<br />
to extract enough information<br />
from the video to be able to recreate<br />
high-frequency audio. Instead of<br />
saving the entire image at once, such<br />
cameras record the video line by line,<br />
which means far more data can be<br />
extracted. A simple digital single-lens<br />
reflex camera making a video of a<br />
crisp packet at 60 frames per second<br />
can then be used to recreate the audio<br />
being played at the same time.<br />
Alexei Efros, a professor of electrical<br />
engineering at the University<br />
of California at Berkeley, praised the<br />
work as “new and refreshing”.<br />
“We’re scientists, and sometimes<br />
we watch these movies, like James<br />
Bond, and we think, ‘This is Hollywood<br />
theatrics. It’s not possible to<br />
do that. This is ridiculous’,” says Efros.<br />
“And suddenly, there you have<br />
it. This is totally out of some Hollywood<br />
thriller. You know that the<br />
killer has admitted his guilt because<br />
there’s some surveillance footage of<br />
his potato-chip bag vibrating.” BS<br />
Language point<br />
© Guardian News & Media 2014<br />
eavesdrop (belauschen) “Eaves” are<br />
extensions at the edges of a roof that<br />
prevent rainwater from flowing down<br />
the side of a building. People formerly<br />
used the term “eavesdrip”, or “eavesdrop”,<br />
to refer to the area where the<br />
water hit the ground, generally about<br />
a metre away from the wall. When<br />
you stand this distance from an open<br />
window, you can hear a conversation<br />
being held inside the building — and<br />
that is how “eavesdrop” came into use<br />
as a verb.
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS<br />
iStock<br />
Ideas and inventions<br />
Gibt es Neuigkeiten? Carol Scheunemann präsentiert technische<br />
Innovationen und neue wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse. medium<br />
Cigarette secrets<br />
Smokers are often told how harmful cigarettes are. But used<br />
cigarette butts may soon be in high demand. Scientists in<br />
South Korea have developed a carbon-based material from<br />
cigarette butts that can store electrical energy. They hope the<br />
material can be used to cover the surface of the electrodes<br />
on supercapacitors, which are electrochemical components that are found in lap<strong>top</strong>s, GPS<br />
systems and wind turbines, for example.<br />
According to the scientists, the cellulose acetate fibres in cigarette filters are the key. A<br />
simple one-step burning process called pyrolysis causes small holes of different sizes to be<br />
formed. This increases the surface area of the material, giving it the ability to store more<br />
electrical energy than commercially available carbon or graphene. Millions and millions<br />
of used cigarette butts are thrown away every year, so there should be no lack of supply.<br />
Used filters:<br />
will they help to<br />
power lap<strong>top</strong>s?<br />
In the news<br />
15,000<br />
The number of young people to be hired by 2018<br />
for Australia’s “Green Army”, an environmentalprotection<br />
programme.<br />
Shrinky Dinks<br />
Source: Australian Government (www.environment.gov.au)<br />
A shrink-plastic product for children that has now<br />
been used to build a self-folding, walking robot.<br />
Did you know?<br />
If you’d like to increase your efficiency at work,<br />
take a break about once an hour, and leave your<br />
desk during this time if possible. Software that records<br />
workers’ activity at the computer shows that<br />
the most productive employees work intensely for<br />
52 minutes, then pause for 17 minutes before<br />
returning to their tasks.<br />
Source: DeskTime (www.desktime.com)<br />
Stockbyte<br />
Sources: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Harvard University<br />
Fuse<br />
11.4<br />
Percentage of US students who<br />
dropped out of high schools that<br />
raised their maths and science<br />
requirements in the 1990s. The<br />
national average at that time was<br />
8.6 per cent.<br />
Sources: Washington University in St. Louis<br />
(Andrew D. Plunk, William F. Tate, Laura J. Bierut,<br />
Richard A. Grucza); Educational Researcher<br />
(http://edr.sagepub.com)<br />
carbon [(kA:bEn]<br />
cellulose acetate fibre<br />
[)seljulEUs )ÄsEteIt (faIbE]<br />
cigarette butt [)sIgE(ret bVt]<br />
component [kEm(pEUnEnt]<br />
drop out of (school)<br />
[)drQp (aUt Qv]<br />
graphene [(grÄfi:n]<br />
pyrolysis [paI(rQlEsIs]<br />
shrink plastic [(SrINk )plÄstIk]<br />
supercapacitor [)su:pEkE(pÄsItE]<br />
take a break [)teIk E (breIk]<br />
Kohlenstoff, Karbon<br />
Zelluloseazetatfaser<br />
Zigarettenstummel, Kippe<br />
Bauteil<br />
ohne Abschluss (von<br />
einer Schule) abgehen<br />
Graphen<br />
Pyrolyse<br />
Schrumpfplastik<br />
Superkondensator<br />
eine Pause einlegen<br />
Too complex: some students<br />
avoid maths and science<br />
6/2014
LANGUAGE FOCUS TECHNOLOGY<br />
Technical drawing<br />
Früher Reißbrett, heute Computer. In den letzten<br />
Jahren hat sich die Arbeit technischer Zeichner<br />
stark verändert, wie Evan Frendo zeigt. advanced<br />
The English expression “back to the<br />
drawing board” means to “start<br />
over” or “a new plan is needed”. It<br />
comes from the traditional work of a<br />
draughtsperson, or drafter, who sat<br />
at a drawing board and used tools<br />
such as a compass, T-square or stencil<br />
to produce technical drawings.<br />
Today, drafters use computer-aided<br />
design (CAD) and drafting software<br />
to create 2D or 3D drawings. These<br />
communicate technical information,<br />
typically from mechanical engineers<br />
to machine operators, from designers<br />
to a product’s makers, or from architects<br />
to builders.<br />
Expert drafting skills are needed<br />
not only to produce technical drawings,<br />
but to read them, too. The<br />
drawings present a visual language<br />
that uses special symbols and conventions<br />
to express meaning.<br />
Technical drawings must be exact.<br />
They are also legal documents, and<br />
may be included in a contract, because<br />
they present specific information<br />
about materials, tolerances, perspectives,<br />
dimensions, shapes, etc.,<br />
that are necessary for a particular<br />
machine, building or process.<br />
Copies of technical drawings were<br />
once made using a process that produced<br />
white lines on a blue background.<br />
This is why we use the term<br />
“blueprint” to talk about a design or<br />
plan in its early stages.<br />
BS<br />
Evan Frendo is a mechanical engineer.<br />
He is now an author and trainer<br />
in English for Specific Purposes.<br />
Contact: evan.frendo@e4b.de<br />
Vocabulary<br />
annotation [)ÄnEU(teIS&n]<br />
Anmerkung, Beschriftung<br />
auxiliary [O:g(zIliEri]<br />
Hilfs-, Zusatzaxis<br />
(pl. axes) [(ÄksIs ((Äksi:z)]<br />
Achse(n)<br />
blueprint [(blu:prInt]<br />
Blaupause, Entwurf<br />
border [(bO:dE]<br />
Rand<br />
call-out [(kO:l aUt]<br />
Angabe<br />
compass [(kVmpEs]<br />
Zirkel<br />
computer-aided design (CAD)<br />
computergestützte Gestaltung/<br />
[kEm)pju:tEr )eIdId di(zaIn]<br />
Konstruktion<br />
contract [(kQntrÄkt]<br />
Vertrag<br />
cross section [(krQs )sekS&n]<br />
Querschnitt<br />
design (sth.) [di(zaIn]<br />
Entwurf; etw. entwerfen, konstruieren<br />
designer [di(zaInE]<br />
Entwickler(in), Konstrukteur(in)<br />
diagram [(daIEgrÄm]<br />
grafische Darstellung, Schaubild<br />
dimension [daI(menS&n]<br />
Maß, Abmessung<br />
draft (sth.) [drA:ft]<br />
Entwurf; etw. zeichnen, entwerfen,<br />
skizzieren<br />
drafter [drA:ftE]<br />
technische(r) Zeichner(in)<br />
draughtsperson [(drA:fts)p§:s&n]<br />
technische(r) Zeichner(in)<br />
drawing board [(drO:IN bO:d]<br />
Reiß-, Zeichenbrett<br />
hatching [(hÄtSIN]<br />
Schraffierung, Schraffur<br />
layout [(leIaUt]<br />
Aufbau, Anordnung, Gestaltung<br />
legal document [)li:g&l (dQkjumEnt]<br />
rechtsgültiges Schriftstück<br />
lettering [(let&rIN]<br />
Beschriftung<br />
mechanical engineer [mI)kÄnIk&l )endZI(nIE] Maschinenbauingenieur(in)<br />
orthographic [)O:TE(grÄfIk]<br />
rechtwinklig, Normalparts<br />
list [(pA:ts lIst]<br />
Bauteilliste<br />
plane [pleIn]<br />
Ebene<br />
revision [ri(vIZ&n]<br />
Korrektur, Überarbeitung<br />
section [(sekS&n]<br />
Schnitt<br />
sheet [Si:t]<br />
Blatt, Bogen<br />
sketch [sketS]<br />
Entwurf, Skizze, Zeichnung<br />
standard [(stÄndEd]<br />
Norm<br />
stencil [(stens&l]<br />
Schablone<br />
technical drawing<br />
technische Zeichnung;<br />
[)teknIk&l (drO:IN]<br />
technisches Zeichnen<br />
tolerance [(tQlErEns]<br />
Toleranz, zulässige Maßabweichung<br />
T-square [(ti: skweE]<br />
Reißschiene<br />
view [vju:]<br />
Ansicht, Riss<br />
Exercise: Making plans<br />
Choose the correct terms to complete the sentences.<br />
a) Technical drawings are legal elements / documents.<br />
b) Technical drawings must be exact / exciting.<br />
c) A copy of a drawing is also known as a drawing board / blueprint.<br />
Answers on page 74<br />
iStock<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 91
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Kreativität und Engagement<br />
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92 www.business-spotlight.de 5/2014
1/2015 PREVIEW<br />
Foto: Michael Brown<br />
Alamy<br />
Working with Italy<br />
The third-largest economy in the eurozone, Italy is a key trading<br />
partner of Germany. And it is now facing a difficult process<br />
of political and economic reform. In our Intercultural feature,<br />
we look at how to do business with Italians.<br />
iStock Editorial<br />
Test your jargon!<br />
“Deliverables”, “buy-in”, “tiger teams”,<br />
“peeling the onion” and much more. Find<br />
out how good your knowledge of business<br />
jargon is with our special language test.<br />
LANGUAGE<br />
HOBBIES<br />
Improve your business<br />
vocabulary with<br />
our 20-page guide:<br />
SKILL UP!<br />
Great inventions<br />
What was the most important invention of all time? The wheel?<br />
The internal combustion engine? The personal computer? The<br />
start of a new series on inventions that changed our lives.<br />
also:<br />
Email: punctuation<br />
Grammar: times and schedules<br />
English for... relocation<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> 1/2015 is on sale from 17 December 2014<br />
6/2014 www.business-spotlight.de 93
PEOPLE MY WORKING LIFE<br />
Beccy Jesson: Nature ambassador<br />
Dort, wo die ältesten Bäume Europas stehen, arbeitet sie und will die Besucher für einen<br />
nachhaltigen Umgang mit der Natur begeistern, wie Vicki Sussens von ihr erfuhr. easy<br />
Least favourite part of the job: Putting<br />
the cover on the cargo bike at the end<br />
of the day.<br />
Ambitions: To always have work that<br />
gives me a life and not just money.<br />
Helping nature: Beccy Jesson persuades park visitors to leave their cars behind<br />
Current job: Sustainable-travel ambassador<br />
for the New Forest National<br />
Park in Hampshire, in the south of<br />
England.<br />
Job description: I encourage visitors to<br />
leave their cars behind and have an<br />
active nature experience by walking,<br />
taking our tour bus, kayaking or hiring<br />
a bicycle. I work from an e-bike<br />
called a “cargo bike”.<br />
Age and family: Thirty-one. No kids,<br />
but I have a boyfriend who almost<br />
qualifies as one!<br />
Why I chose this job: I don’t like being<br />
in an office. I’d rather be out and<br />
about, meeting people and actively<br />
taking part in life. Plus, I think cycling<br />
is the absolutely best form of<br />
transport.<br />
Training for the job: In the first week,<br />
I had to try out all the activities I<br />
would be promoting. I learned how<br />
to use the cargo bike and did an<br />
emergency first-aid course.<br />
Languages: English, Spanish and some<br />
French.<br />
Most rewarding experience: Recently, I<br />
persuaded two young women to hire<br />
a bike. Later, when I met them in<br />
the forest, they were riding a tandem<br />
because one couldn’t ride a bike, and<br />
they were loving it. I was so happy<br />
that I had helped somebody have<br />
their first positive cycling experience.<br />
Main changes in the job: We now have<br />
a “Tech Crèche”, a safe where people<br />
can leave their car keys and technology<br />
when they visit the park. It means<br />
parents don’t have children fighting<br />
over the iPad, children can have their<br />
parents’ full attention and couples<br />
can enjoy each other without one or<br />
the other being on Facebook. And<br />
maybe, just maybe, they’ll discover<br />
that they like connecting with something<br />
other than technology. BS<br />
Home: Totton, near Southampton,<br />
although I have moved around so<br />
much that I don’t really have a home<br />
town.<br />
Working hours: Thirty hours a week.<br />
Pay: I get paid well to do a fun and<br />
rewarding job, but for me, it’s not<br />
about the money.<br />
Skills needed: I’m fit from cycling and<br />
I really believe in what we’re promoting.<br />
I’m not sure these are skills, but<br />
they’re important.<br />
Favourite parts of the job: Helping people,<br />
which makes me feel good, as<br />
well as reducing the number of cars<br />
in the park and, so, protecting the<br />
health of the forest.<br />
ambassador [Äm(bÄsEdE] Botschafter(in)<br />
cargo bike [(kA:gEU baIk] Lastenfahrrad<br />
cover [(kVvE]<br />
Schutzhülle<br />
crèche [kreS] UK<br />
Kinderkrippe<br />
emergency first aid Erste Hilfe, Notfallhilfe<br />
[i)m§:dZEnsi )f§:st (eId]<br />
Hampshire [(hÄmpSE] [wg. Aussprache]<br />
kayaking [(kaIÄkIN] Kajakfahren<br />
out and about: be ~ unterwegs sein<br />
[)aUt &n E(baUt]<br />
qualify as sb.<br />
als jmd. angesehen<br />
[(kwQlIfaI Äz]<br />
werden<br />
sustainable travel nachhaltiges Reisen<br />
[sE)steInEb&l (trÄv&l]<br />
94 www.business-spotlight.de 6/2014
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<strong>Business</strong><strong>Spotlight</strong><br />
SKILL UP!<br />
VOKABELTRAINING LEICHT GEMACHT<br />
AUSGABE 29<br />
Energy<br />
also:<br />
Hardwired and a live wire | Living off the grid
CONTENTS<br />
FEEL THE ENERGY!<br />
Are you feeling the cold already? Is it time to turn on the heating? In this<br />
Skill Up!, we present the language you will need to talk about the energy<br />
business and your energy needs.<br />
Could you live without any creature comforts? Most people I know would<br />
find it very hard. In Picture This! (pp. 4–5), our illustration shows how<br />
living off the grid might work. If you don’t get your energy from your own<br />
wind generator, you’ll need the vocabulary in Word Bank (pp. 6–7) to talk<br />
about your energy needs. Have you changed to renewable energy yet to<br />
power your home or office equipment? Turn to In Focus (pp. 10–11) to<br />
learn more about “power” and “power” collocations.<br />
Would you describe yourself as a conservationist or a consumer? It<br />
could make a big difference. You can learn more about the “conserve”<br />
and “consume” families in Close Relations (pp. 14–15).<br />
Don’t switch off yet! There’s more. In Essential Idioms (pp. 12–13),<br />
you can learn “energy” expressions for talking about personal energy<br />
and business situations. If you’re not all fired up yet, you might be<br />
after reading Small Talk (pp. 16–17), where we talk about phantoms<br />
and vampires. You really should learn to avoid them.<br />
Deborah Capras, deputy editor<br />
bs.deputyeditor@spotlight-verlag.de<br />
SKILL UP!<br />
Get energized! Choose five words from<br />
this guide and write them on separate<br />
pieces of paper. When you have to go<br />
somewhere, take one with you. Make<br />
sentences with the word as you walk<br />
around. Get the blood flowing — walk<br />
faster! Enjoy throwing the paper away<br />
when you know the word.<br />
www.<br />
Skill up! online<br />
On our website, you’ll find selected<br />
vocabulary from this guide in our<br />
Word of the Day section. To listen<br />
to the words, definitions and example<br />
sentences — and to download<br />
the MP3 file of each word — go to<br />
www.business-spotlight.de/skill-up<br />
2 SKILL UP! ISSUE 29
Energy at hand:<br />
wind and sun<br />
iStock<br />
CHECKLIST: WHAT CAN YOU DO?<br />
Below, you will find the contents of this issue of Skill Up! and a checklist of what you should<br />
be able to do with confidence after studying this guide. Ask yourself what you can really do.<br />
If you can’t say yes to every statement, go back and spend more time on learning the relevant<br />
vocabulary. Don’t forget to read our Skill Up! <strong>tips</strong> and do the online exercises!<br />
wContents Page(s) Checklist Not yet A little Yes!<br />
Picture This!<br />
Off the grid? 4–5 I know the vocabulary for talking about basic energy ❏ ❏ ❏<br />
needs in the home.<br />
Word Bank<br />
Renewable 6–7 I can talk about renewable and non-renewable sources<br />
or not?<br />
of energy.<br />
❏ ❏ ❏<br />
False Friends<br />
Damp stickers 8–9 I can identify the false friends presented here — and use ❏ ❏ ❏<br />
the correct translations.<br />
In Focus<br />
We’ve got the 10–11 I have learned common collocations with “power” and can ❏ ❏ ❏<br />
power!<br />
talk about energy companies and their work.<br />
Essential Idioms<br />
Hardwired and a 12–13 I can correctly use idiomatic expressions to talk about the ❏ ❏ ❏<br />
live wire<br />
physical and mental energy you need to do your work.<br />
Close Relations<br />
Consume or 14–15 I know how to use the different members of the “consume” ❏ ❏ ❏<br />
conserve?<br />
and “conserve” families.<br />
Small Talk<br />
The light-bulb 16–17 I can make small talk about energy-saving measures<br />
moment!<br />
at work and at home.<br />
❏ ❏ ❏<br />
Your Profile<br />
Use your energy 18 I feel more confident using the vocabulary in this guide. ❏ ❏ ❏<br />
Preview 19<br />
ISSUE 29<br />
SKILL UP! 3
PICTURE THIS!<br />
2<br />
Bernhard Förth<br />
4<br />
7<br />
1<br />
3 5 6<br />
12<br />
11<br />
10<br />
9<br />
8<br />
It’s not easy without<br />
creature comforts<br />
OFF THE GRID?<br />
Have you ever tried to live without electricity? It may not be a problem for a few days of<br />
camping, but could you do it forever? Here are the words you will need to discuss this <strong>top</strong>ic.<br />
1. coal-fired power station Kohlekraftwerk<br />
opencast mine Tagebaugrube<br />
2. carbon emissions Kohlendioxid-,<br />
[(kA:bEn i)mIS&nz] CO 2 -Ausstoß<br />
3. pylon [(paIlEn] Hochspannungsmast<br />
4. national grid Stromversorgungsnetz<br />
high voltage [(vEUltIdZ] Hochspannung<br />
overhead line Überlandleitung<br />
5. solar-powered home Solarhaus<br />
energy-neutral build- Passivhaus<br />
ing [)enEdZi (nju:trEl]<br />
6. solar panel Sonnenkollektor<br />
7. wind generator Windgenerator<br />
harness wind energy Windkraft nutzen<br />
8. backup generator Notstromaggregat<br />
diesel-powered mit Dieselantrieb<br />
9. water butt Regentonne<br />
(US rain barrel)<br />
10. green consumer umweltbewusste(r)<br />
Verbraucher(in)<br />
carbon footprint CO 2 -Bilanz<br />
creature comforts häusliche<br />
Annehmlichkeiten<br />
live off the grid vom Versorgungsnetz<br />
abgekoppelt leben<br />
11. utility bill Gas-, Wasser-<br />
[ju(tIlEti )bIl] und/oder Stromrechnung<br />
12. outhouse US Plumpsklo<br />
4 SKILL UP! ISSUE 29
What are they saying?<br />
Matt: Living off the grid means my utility bills are zero.<br />
Julia: But you live so close to the power station anyway. What’s the point?<br />
Matt: Well, you have to start somewhere. At least I’ve reduced my own carbon footprint.<br />
Julia: And you’ve reduced your creature comforts, too. I couldn’t do that!<br />
Your home — your energy<br />
air conditioner / conditioning Klimaanlage<br />
boiler<br />
Heißwasserspeicher<br />
central heating<br />
Zentralheizung<br />
energy-efficient<br />
energiesparende<br />
alternative<br />
Alternative<br />
fan heater<br />
Heizlüfter<br />
feed-in tariffs<br />
Einspeisevergütung<br />
[)fi:d In (tÄrIfs]<br />
gas/oil furnace [(f§:nIs] Gas-/Ölheizung<br />
geothermal HVAC (heating, Erdwärmeanlage<br />
ventilation, air-<br />
(Heizungs-, Lüftungsconditioning)<br />
system und Klimaanlage)<br />
heat pump<br />
Wärmepumpe<br />
air heat pump<br />
Luft-Wärmepumpe<br />
geothermal heat pump Erdwärmepumpe<br />
immersion heater UK Tauchsieder<br />
paraffin heater [(pÄrEfIn] UK Petroleumofen<br />
radiator [(reIdieItE] Heizkörper<br />
solar water heater Solaranlage für<br />
Warmwasser<br />
storage heater<br />
Nachtspeicherofen<br />
Saving energy<br />
insulated pipes [(Insju)leItId] isolierte Rohre<br />
insulation [)Insju(leIS&n] Wärmedämmung<br />
off-peak rate<br />
Nachtstromtarif<br />
SKILL UP!<br />
In the UK, “gas” describes the<br />
substance that is burned to<br />
cook food or to heat a house.<br />
In the US, “gas” is also used in<br />
this context, but it more commonly<br />
describes the fuel that<br />
powers a car or other vehicle.<br />
In the UK, on the other hand, we<br />
call this fuel “petrol”.<br />
ISSUE 29<br />
Did you know?<br />
For many homes in mild climates, heat pumps<br />
can be an energy-efficient alternative to boilers,<br />
furnaces and air conditioners. A heat pump<br />
can both heat and cool. On a simple level, it is a<br />
lot like your refrigerator. Heat pumps use electricity<br />
to move air from a cool space to a warm<br />
space, and the other way round, heating or cooling<br />
the air as required.<br />
Your energy — your appliances<br />
appliance [E(plaIEns] Haushaltsgerät<br />
dishwasher<br />
Geschirrspüler<br />
electric cooker UK Elektroherd<br />
energy efficiency class Energieeffizienzklasse<br />
extractor fan<br />
Dunstabzug<br />
flat-screen television Flachbildfernseher<br />
freezer<br />
Gefrierschrank,-truhe<br />
fridge-freezer<br />
Kühl-Gefrierkombination<br />
microwave<br />
Mikrowelle<br />
oven [(Vv&n]<br />
(Back-)Ofen<br />
refrigerator (fridge) Kühlschrank<br />
[ri(frIdZEreItE]<br />
stove<br />
Herd<br />
(tumble) dryer<br />
Trockner<br />
washing machine Waschmaschine<br />
Is your house<br />
energy-efficient?<br />
SKILL UP! 5<br />
iStock
WORD BANK<br />
RENEWABLE OR NOT?<br />
Most people get their energy from a variety of sources. Here, we present<br />
vocabulary for talking about renewable — and non-renewable — energy<br />
sources, as well as about energy policies.<br />
Renewable energy<br />
renewable [ri(nju:Eb&l] erneuerbar<br />
baseload power plant Grundlastkraftwerk<br />
biofuel [(baIEU)fju:El] Biokraftstoff<br />
biomass [(baIEU)mÄs] Biomasse<br />
dam<br />
Talsperre; Staudamm<br />
geothermal energy geothermische Energie,<br />
[)dZi:EU(T§:m&l]<br />
Geothermie, Erdwärme<br />
geothermal power plant Geothermie kraftwerk<br />
hot water reservoir Warmwasserspeicher<br />
[(rezEvwA:]<br />
hydroelectric plant Wasserkraftwerk<br />
[)haIdrEUI(lektrIk]<br />
hydrogen fuel cell Wasserstoffbrennzelle<br />
hydropower [)haIdrEU(paUE] Wasserkraft<br />
photovoltaic energy photovoltaische Energie,<br />
[)fEUtEUvQl(teIIk] Photovoltaik<br />
solar cell [(sEUlE] Solarzelle<br />
solar panel [)sEUlE (pÄn&l] Sonnenkollektor<br />
solar power<br />
Sonnenenergie, -kraft<br />
tidal barrage<br />
Gezeitenskraftwerk<br />
[)taId&l (bÄrA:Z]<br />
tidal power<br />
Gezeitenenergie, -kraft<br />
windmill<br />
Windrad<br />
wind power installation Windkraftanlage<br />
wind turbine [(t§:baIn] Windrad, -turbine<br />
offshore wind farm Offshore-Windpark<br />
wind-turbine industry Windkraftindustrie<br />
wood pellets [(pelIts] Holzpellets<br />
Non-renewable energy<br />
non-renewable<br />
nicht erneuerbar<br />
[)nQn ri(nju:Eb&l]<br />
fossil fuels [)fQs&l (fju:Elz] fossile Brennstoffe<br />
coal<br />
Kohle<br />
drilling for oil and gas Erdöl- und Erdgasbohrung(en)<br />
gas/oil deposits Gas-/Ölvorkommen<br />
liquid gas<br />
Flüssiggas<br />
natural gas<br />
Erdgas<br />
natural gas reserves Erdgasvorräte<br />
oil and gas exploration Erdöl- und Erdgassuche/-erschließung<br />
petroleum<br />
Erdöl<br />
shale gas<br />
Schiefergas<br />
horizontal hydraulic Fracking<br />
fracturing (fracking)<br />
[hQrI)zQnt&l haI)drO:lIk<br />
(frÄktSErIN]<br />
nuclear power station Kernkraftwerk<br />
peaking plant<br />
Spitzenlastkraftwerk<br />
Getty Images News/Thinkstock<br />
6 SKILL UP!<br />
The Danish wind-turbine<br />
industry is the<br />
largest in the world<br />
ISSUE 29
Is wind energy fully<br />
sustainable?<br />
China burns almost as much coal<br />
as all other countries combined<br />
Is it sustainable?<br />
ecologically sustainable ökologisch verträglich/<br />
[i:kE)lQdZIk&li sE(steInEb&l] tragfähig<br />
ecologically unsustainable ökologisch nicht<br />
[)VnsE(steInEb&l] verträglich/tragfähig<br />
environmentally<br />
umweltverträglich<br />
sustainable<br />
[InvaI&rEn(ment&li<br />
)sE(steInEb&l]<br />
fully sustainable voll tragfähig/<br />
[sE(steInEb&l]<br />
nachhaltig<br />
sustainable use of energy nachhaltige Energie-<br />
[sE(steInEb&l]<br />
nutzung<br />
What do you think?<br />
l Burning fossil fuels contributes to climate<br />
change.<br />
l Fracking is a major source of greenhouse<br />
gases.<br />
l If solar energy were efficient, we wouldn’t<br />
need to subsidize it.<br />
l Bloated subsidies for renewable energy<br />
are a problem for the energy industry.<br />
l Oil, coal and gas subsidies far outweigh<br />
those for renewables.<br />
l CCS is a great way to reduce global CO 2<br />
emissions by storing it underground, for<br />
example, in old gas reservoirs.<br />
l You should switch your supplier if it<br />
doesn’t use renewable sources.<br />
(bloated) subsidy<br />
CCS (carbon capture and storage)<br />
climate change<br />
contribute to sth.<br />
emissions<br />
gas reservoir [(rezEvwA:]<br />
greenhouse gas<br />
outweigh sth.<br />
store sth. underground<br />
subsidize sth. [(sVbsIdaIz]<br />
supplier<br />
switch sb./sth.<br />
(zu hohe) Subvention<br />
CO 2 -Abscheidung und -Speicherung<br />
Klimawandel<br />
zu etw. beitragen<br />
Emissionen, Ausstoß<br />
Gasspeicher<br />
Treibhausgas<br />
höher/mehr als etw. sein<br />
etw. unterirdisch speichern<br />
etw. subventionieren<br />
Anbieter(in)<br />
jmdn./etw. wechseln<br />
China is the world leader in wind<br />
power installations<br />
ISSUE 29<br />
SKILL UP! 7
FALSE FRIENDS<br />
DAMP STICKERS<br />
There are many words in German and English that sound similar but have very different<br />
meanings. They are “false friends”. Learn the correct translations of these terms.<br />
paraffin<br />
petroleum<br />
iStock<br />
iStock<br />
What’s Petroleum in English?<br />
Petroleum = paraffin (oil) (US kerosene)<br />
“On the farm in Devon, my great-grandparents<br />
used paraffin lamps.”<br />
It’s not petroleum!<br />
petroleum = Erd-, Mineralöl; Rohbenzin<br />
“The petroleum we use is recovered mostly<br />
through drilling in Texas.”<br />
steam<br />
iStock<br />
What’s Dampf in English?<br />
Dampf = steam<br />
“There’s a lot of steam coming out of<br />
those chimneys. Is it safe?”<br />
It’s not damp!<br />
damp = feucht, Feuchtigkeit<br />
“The walls are so damp we could grow<br />
mushrooms inside the house.”<br />
damp<br />
iStock<br />
<br />
Skill up! Audio<br />
You can do an exercise on<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio<br />
8 SKILL UP! ISSUE 29
Moodboard<br />
Fuse<br />
plug<br />
sticker<br />
What’s Stecker in English?<br />
Stecker = plug<br />
“I can’t believe this is an electric car, but here’s<br />
the plug!”<br />
It’s not sticker!<br />
sticker = Aufkleber, Etikett<br />
“Put a sticker on the wall to remind people to<br />
turn off the lights.”<br />
charge<br />
What’s laden in English?<br />
laden = charge<br />
“Could I charge my phone somewhere?”<br />
It’s not load!<br />
load = (be)laden<br />
“If you load the car with anything else, you<br />
won’t be able to drive it.”<br />
Fuse<br />
Other translations<br />
load = Ladung; Last<br />
“The lorry has a full load.”<br />
“We tested it to check maximum power load.”<br />
fully charged = voll aufgeladen<br />
“My phone’s now fully charged.”<br />
load<br />
iStock<br />
YOUR PROFILE<br />
Write down your own example sentences for the false friends on this page.<br />
ISSUE 29
IN FOCUS<br />
WE’VE GOT THE POWER!<br />
We need energy to power our machines, gadgets and even our<br />
own work. We present useful expressions and word partnerships<br />
that are connected to power and energy.<br />
SKILL UP!<br />
“Power” has several meanings. It can refer<br />
to electricity and energy, but also to<br />
authority, depending on the context. When<br />
you see new expressions with “power”, you<br />
might want to check the meaning in a good<br />
dictionary. Don’t automatically think that<br />
people are talking about energy.<br />
be in power an der Macht sein The party has been in power for three years.<br />
do everything in one’s power alles in seiner Macht Stehende tun I’ll do everything in my power to help.<br />
have the power to do sth. die Befugnis haben, etw. zu tun I don’t have the power to do that.<br />
power Kraft This machine has a lot of power.<br />
power Leistung I need a new computer with more power.<br />
power Strom This system wastes a lot of power.<br />
Powerful times<br />
With power<br />
power cable<br />
power line<br />
power point<br />
power rating<br />
power source<br />
power supply<br />
power surge<br />
power switch<br />
Stromkabel<br />
Starkstromleitung<br />
Steckdose<br />
Leistungsstärke<br />
Stromquelle<br />
Stromversorgung<br />
Überspannung<br />
(Strom-)Schalter<br />
Without power<br />
be left without power<br />
power cut<br />
power failure<br />
power outage [(aUtIdZ]<br />
Other expressions<br />
blackout<br />
brownout<br />
ohne Strom sein<br />
Stromsperre<br />
Netzausfall<br />
Stromausfall<br />
Stromausfall<br />
Spannungsabfall,<br />
partieller<br />
Stromausfall<br />
iStock<br />
10 SKILL UP!<br />
ISSUE 29
Energy basics<br />
The power companies<br />
electricity retailing<br />
[ilek)trIsEti (ri:teIlIN]<br />
electricity supply<br />
emissions trading<br />
energy company<br />
privately owned<br />
publicly owned<br />
public utility company<br />
[ju(tIlEti]<br />
state-owned energy<br />
company<br />
supplier<br />
utilities<br />
The energy company<br />
What they do<br />
cut off / disconnect sb.’s<br />
electricity/power<br />
cut off / disconnect<br />
the electricity/power<br />
distribute electricity/<br />
energy/power<br />
generate electricity/<br />
energy/power<br />
supply electricity/<br />
energy/power<br />
Verkauf von Strom an den<br />
Endkunden<br />
Stromversorgung<br />
Emissionshandel<br />
Energieversorgungsunternehmen<br />
in Privatbesitz<br />
in Staatsbesitz<br />
öffentliches Versorgungsunternehmen<br />
staatseigenes Energieunternehmen<br />
Anbieter(in)<br />
Leistungen der<br />
Versorgungswirtschaft<br />
jmdm. den Strom abschalten<br />
jmdm. den Strom abschalten<br />
Strom vertreiben<br />
Strom erzeugen<br />
Strom liefern<br />
The government<br />
renewable energy act Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz<br />
[ri)nju:Eb&l (enEdZi Äkt] (EEG)<br />
surcharge [(s§:tSA:dZ] Aufschlag<br />
What they do<br />
cap sth.<br />
eine Obergrenze festlegen<br />
liberalize sth. [(lIb&rElaIz] etw. liberalisieren<br />
nationalize sth. [(nÄS&nElaIz] etw. verstaatlichen<br />
privatize sth. [(praIvEtaIz] etw. privatisieren<br />
procure sth. [prE(kjUE] etw. beschaffen, erwerben<br />
regulate sth. [(regjuleIt] etw. regulieren<br />
subsidize sth. [(sVbsIdaIz] etw. subventionieren<br />
The powers<br />
that be<br />
Powerful people enjoy<br />
power dressing and<br />
often wear a power suit<br />
to work. They probably<br />
think it gives them bargaining<br />
power, especially<br />
in pow er struggles. They<br />
may start the day with a<br />
power breakfast, and,<br />
if they get tired after a<br />
power lunch, they take<br />
a power nap in their corner<br />
office. Then, they’re<br />
usually ready to go on<br />
another power trip.<br />
bargaining power Verhandlungs-<br />
[(bA:gInIN )paUE] stärke<br />
power breakfast reichhaltiges<br />
Frühstück<br />
power dressing Autorität einflößende<br />
Kleidung<br />
power lunch kalorienreiches<br />
Mittagsessen<br />
power nap erholsames<br />
Nickerchen<br />
power struggle Machtkampf<br />
power suit [su:t] <strong>Business</strong>anzug;<br />
-kostüm<br />
power trip Egotrip<br />
the powers that be die da oben<br />
ISSUE 29<br />
Bargaining power: we’ll cut<br />
off the power!
ESSENTIAL IDIOMS<br />
HARDWIRED AND A LIVE WIRE<br />
You need a lot of energy to do your work, so it can become problematic when you lose<br />
energy — and interest. Here, we focus on useful idioms for talking about this <strong>top</strong>ic.<br />
SKILL UP!<br />
First, read the two versions of the short conversations. Then<br />
cover up the idiomatic version and read the simpler version<br />
again. Can you remember how to say the same things idiomatically?<br />
Check that you’ve understood them with our translations.<br />
Look at him: he’s<br />
totally burned out<br />
First, the idiomatic way<br />
Paula: John must be hardwired to be pessimistic. He says<br />
our sales won’t improve whatever we do.<br />
Julian: Do you think he’s burned out? He seems to be running<br />
on empty. He switches off when I talk to him.<br />
Now, more simply<br />
Paula: John must have it in his genes to be pessimistic. He<br />
says our sales won’t improve whatever we do.<br />
Julian: Do you think he’s exhausted from working too hard?<br />
He seems to have no energy. He s<strong>top</strong>s listening when<br />
I talk to him.<br />
Check the translations<br />
hardwired: be ~ veranlagt sein<br />
to be sth. ifml. etw. zu sein<br />
burned out ausgebrannt,<br />
ausgelaugt<br />
running on empty: am Ende sein<br />
be ~<br />
switch off ifml. abschalten<br />
Creatas<br />
First, the idiomatic way<br />
Paula: John’s been getting a lot of heat from<br />
management.<br />
Julian: I heard. And to add fuel to the fire, John<br />
just lost his best client.<br />
Paula: I don’t think he can take the heat.<br />
Now, more simply<br />
Paula: John’s been getting a lot of criticism from<br />
management.<br />
Julian: I heard. And to make a difficult situation<br />
worse, John just lost his best client.<br />
Paula: I don’t think he can take the pressure.<br />
iStock<br />
Check the translations<br />
get a lot of heat (from sb. about sth.)<br />
add fuel to the fire<br />
take the heat<br />
(von jmdm. wegen etw.) ordentlich<br />
Druck bekommen<br />
Öl ins Feuer gießen<br />
dem Druck standhalten<br />
You’re just adding fuel<br />
to the fire!<br />
ISSUE 29
Sending shock waves:<br />
she’s a real live wire<br />
Check the translations<br />
total gas: be a ~ ifml.<br />
live wire: be a real ~<br />
ifml.<br />
send shock waves<br />
through sth.<br />
light a fire under sb.<br />
iStock<br />
total abgefahren sein<br />
hyperaktiv sein, ständig<br />
unter Strom stehen<br />
Schockwellen durch<br />
etw. schicken<br />
jmdm. Feuer unterm<br />
Hintern machen<br />
First, the idiomatic way<br />
Julian: That meeting was a total gas!<br />
Paula: The new manager is a real live wire,<br />
isn’t she? Her methods will send<br />
shock waves through the department.<br />
Julian: John didn’t look too happy.<br />
Paula: Oh, he never does. Maybe Marie can<br />
light a fire under him, though!<br />
Now, more simply<br />
Julian:<br />
Paula:<br />
Julian:<br />
Paula:<br />
That meeting was such a lot of fun!<br />
The new manager is very energetic,<br />
isn’t she? Her methods will cause a<br />
huge shock in the department.<br />
John didn’t look too happy.<br />
Oh, he never does. Maybe Marie can<br />
make him work harder and with more<br />
enthusiasm, though!<br />
First, the idiomatic way<br />
Paula: Marie has some exciting projects in<br />
the pipeline. Everything else has<br />
been put on the back burner.<br />
John: I’ve had a look at them. They’re going<br />
to crash and burn.<br />
Paula: Oh, John, you really need to get more<br />
fired up.<br />
Do you know what’s<br />
in the pipeline?<br />
Now, more simply<br />
Paula: Marie has some exciting projects<br />
planned. Everything else has been<br />
postponed.<br />
John: I’ve had a look at them. They’re going<br />
to fail spectacularly.<br />
Paula: Oh, John, you really need to become<br />
more enthusiastic.<br />
iStock<br />
Check the translations<br />
in the pipeline in Planung, in Vorbereitung<br />
put sth. on the back etw. auf Eis legen,<br />
burner<br />
zurückstellen<br />
crash and burn ifml. einen Fehlschlag erleiden<br />
fired up: get ~ mehr Enthusiasmus zeigen<br />
<br />
Skill up! Audio<br />
You can do an exercise on<br />
<strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio<br />
ISSUE 29<br />
SKILL UP! 13
CLOSE RELATIONS<br />
CONSUME OR CONSERVE?<br />
How much energy do you consume? Could you find ways to conserve energy, both at work<br />
and at home? Here, we look at key members of the “consume” and “conserve” families.<br />
conserve + ation conservation + ist<br />
conservationist<br />
+ able<br />
consumable<br />
+ s<br />
consumables<br />
consume<br />
+ er<br />
consumer<br />
+ ism<br />
consumerism<br />
+ ption<br />
consumption<br />
The “conserve” family<br />
conservation<br />
conservationist<br />
conserve sth. [kEn(s§:v]<br />
Naturschutz; Umweltschutz<br />
Naturschützer(in); Umweltschützer(in)<br />
etw. schonen; sparen; erhalten; konservieren<br />
The “consume” family<br />
consumable [kEn(sju:mEb&l] verbrauchbar, verzehrbar<br />
consumables<br />
Verbrauchsgüter, -material<br />
consume sth. [kEn(sju:m] etw. verbrauchen, konsumieren<br />
consumer<br />
Verbraucher(in), Konsument(in); Endkunde/-kundin<br />
consumerism<br />
Konsumdenken, -verhalten; Verbraucherschutz<br />
consumption [kEn(sVmpS&n] Konsum, Verbrauch; Verzehr<br />
Conserving energy:<br />
consuming less<br />
SKILL UP!<br />
Don’t confuse a “conservationist” [)kQnsE(veIS&nIst]<br />
with a “conservative” [kEn(s§:vEtIv]. A conservationist<br />
is someone who protects the environment from<br />
damage. A conservative is someone who doesn’t want<br />
change, particularly in society. A conservative can<br />
also be someone with right-of-centre political beliefs<br />
or a supporter of the Conservative Party.<br />
iStock<br />
14 SKILL UP! ISSUE 29
Consumption is still<br />
a problem<br />
Use the families:<br />
conserve and consume<br />
Stockbyte<br />
l The new fridge consumes a lot<br />
less electricity than the old one.<br />
l This is a conservation area. Isn’t<br />
it beautiful?<br />
l I work for an oil company, but I’m<br />
still a conservationist.<br />
l In 2020, we estimate that global<br />
coal consumption will be about<br />
twice what it was in 2000.<br />
l Today’s consumers are often unaware<br />
how much energy their<br />
smartphones and computers are<br />
consuming.<br />
IN ACTION: CONSERVE AND CONSUME<br />
➜ If you conserve land, water or other natural resources, you prevent them from being damaged or<br />
destroyed:<br />
“We were able to s<strong>top</strong> the building of the factory and have conserved the land for the future.”<br />
➜ If you conserve electricity, water or other sources of energy, you use very little of these so that they<br />
are not wasted:<br />
“Conserve energy — turn off your computer at night.”<br />
➜ In physics, we use conserve to mean “maintain a quantity (such as energy) at a constant level”:<br />
“Energy can’t be created or destroyed, so the sum of mass and energy is always conserved.”<br />
➜ In cooking, we conserve fruit to make jam or other syrups:<br />
“I’ve picked so many strawberries, I’ll have to conserve some of them or they will go bad.”<br />
➜ We use consume to mean “use” or “use up” when we are talking about resources or energy, such<br />
as coal, petrol or electricity:<br />
“How much electricity do we consume in a year?”<br />
➜ Use consume as a more formal synonym for “eat” or “drink”:<br />
“I consume far too much coffee at work.”<br />
ISSUE 29<br />
SKILL UP! 15
SMALL TALK<br />
THE LIGHT-BULB MOMENT!<br />
In the office, natural light is best. But if you work long hours, at some point, you will have<br />
to use artificial light. We present the language you will need to talk about different lights.<br />
Situation:<br />
Sara and Ed share an office. He supports the<br />
idea of making the office more energy-efficient,<br />
but Sara is not so sure.<br />
Sara:<br />
Ed:<br />
Sara:<br />
Ed:<br />
Sara:<br />
Ed:<br />
Sara:<br />
Ed:<br />
Sara:<br />
Ed:<br />
Sara:<br />
Ed:<br />
Sara:<br />
Ed:<br />
Sara:<br />
Ed:<br />
What are you doing?<br />
Changing the light bulb in your uplighter.<br />
Don’t worry, I can do it on my own. Do you<br />
know how many psychiatrists it takes to<br />
change a light bulb?<br />
No. How many?<br />
Also just the one... but only if the light bulb<br />
really wants to change.<br />
Nice one. But I don’t want to change the<br />
light bulb in my office. You’re putting in one<br />
of those energy-efficient bulbs, aren’t you?<br />
We’re phasing out the incandescent bulbs.<br />
You know they’re banned in the office.<br />
But I hate the cold blue light. I brought that<br />
one from home.<br />
I know you did. Here, you can have it back.<br />
Thanks. I’m stockpiling them.<br />
Why on earth would you do that?<br />
The fluorescent lamps contain hazardous<br />
waste — mercury. I want to keep using the<br />
old ones as long as possible.<br />
You’re thinking of CFLs. This is an LED. It<br />
doesn’t contain mercury and it lasts longer<br />
— and will save the company money. It<br />
also emits a clear, white light. Wait, I’ll<br />
show you. OK, switch on the light now.<br />
Oh, it’s flickering. Nice strobe effect!<br />
It shouldn’t do that. There must be a problem<br />
with the dimmer switch.<br />
Do you have any other bright ideas? Shall I<br />
call the electrical engineer?<br />
No! I really can do it on my own.<br />
artificial light [A:tI(fIS&l]<br />
ban sth.<br />
bright idea<br />
CFL (compact<br />
fluorescent light)<br />
change (sth.)<br />
dimmer switch<br />
electrical engineer<br />
[i)lektrIk&l )endZI(nIE]<br />
emit (light) [i(mIt]<br />
energy-efficient bulb<br />
flicker<br />
fluorescent lamp<br />
[flO:(res&nt]<br />
hazardous waste<br />
[(hÄzEdEs]<br />
incandescent bulb<br />
[)InkÄn(des&nt]<br />
LED (light emitting diode)<br />
light bulb<br />
mercury [(m§:kju&ri]<br />
phase sth. out<br />
psychiatrist [saI(kaIEtrIst]<br />
stockpile sth.<br />
strobe effect<br />
switch sth. on<br />
uplighter<br />
why on earth... ?<br />
künstliches Licht<br />
etw. verbieten<br />
glänzende Idee<br />
Kompaktleuchtstofflampe<br />
(etw.) auswechseln;<br />
sich ändern<br />
Dimmerschalter<br />
Elektroingenieur(in)<br />
ausstrahlen<br />
Energiesparlampe<br />
flackern<br />
Leuchtstofflampe<br />
Sondermüll<br />
(weißglühende)<br />
Glühbirne<br />
LED, Leuchtdiode<br />
Glühbirne<br />
Quecksilber<br />
etw. nach und<br />
nach aus dem<br />
Verkehr ziehen<br />
Psychiater(in)<br />
etw. horten<br />
Stroboskopeffekt<br />
etw. einschalten<br />
Deckenfluter<br />
warum, um Himmels<br />
willen...?<br />
At least it’s<br />
16 SKILL UP! not flickering<br />
ISSUE 29<br />
Purestock
Did this shed<br />
some light?<br />
Say goodbye to phantoms and vampires<br />
Every bit of energy that you can save will reduce your contribution to climate change.<br />
l Eliminate phantom load and vampire power. This is when a device is turned off but is<br />
still plugged in — and therefore still consuming electricity. Unplug devices when possible.<br />
l Avoid leaving electrical devices on standby mode.<br />
l Unplug your charger when you’ve finished charging your phone. Chargers continue to draw<br />
electricity from the mains otherwise.<br />
l Use “master/slave” power bars for your computer and peripherals, such as your monitor<br />
and printer. Your computer is the “master”. When you power it up or down, every other device<br />
(the slaves) will also be switched on or off. If the peripherals stay on, they will continue<br />
to draw an idle current.<br />
l Protect your computer against power surges by using a power bar with a circuit breaker to<br />
interrupt the flow of electric current in case of an overload or a short circuit.<br />
l Avoid electric shocks — don’t overload wall sockets.<br />
iStock<br />
charge a phone<br />
ein Handy aufladen<br />
charger<br />
Ladegerät<br />
circuit breaker [(s§:kIt] Schutzschalter<br />
contribution<br />
Beitrag<br />
device [di(vaIs]<br />
Gerät<br />
draw (electricity) (Strom) ziehen<br />
electric shock<br />
Stromschlag<br />
idle current [)aId&l (kVrEnt] Ruhestrom<br />
mains UK<br />
Stromnetz<br />
on standby mode im Standby-Modus<br />
peripheral [pE(rIf&rEl] Peripheriegerät<br />
phantom load<br />
Standby-Leistung,<br />
Stromverbrauch im<br />
Standby-Modus<br />
plug sth. in<br />
etw. anschließen,<br />
einstecken<br />
power (a computer) einen Computer hoch-/<br />
up/down<br />
herunterfahren<br />
power bar<br />
Mehrfachsteckerleiste<br />
power surge<br />
Überspannung,<br />
Stromstoß<br />
short circuit<br />
Kurzschluss<br />
switch sth. on/off etw. ein-/ausschalten<br />
unplug sth.<br />
etw. ausstecken,<br />
den Stecker von etw.<br />
herausziehen<br />
vampire power<br />
Standby-Leistung,<br />
Stromverbrauch im<br />
Standby-Modus<br />
wall socket<br />
Wandsteckdose<br />
“Light” idioms<br />
Could you shed some light on this problem?<br />
Könntest du/Könnten Sie Licht in die Angelegenheit<br />
bringen?<br />
The lights are on but nobody’s home!<br />
Er/Sie ist nicht der/die Hellste.<br />
This project will never see the light of day.<br />
Dieses Projekt wird nie das Licht der Welt erblicken.<br />
When did you have your light-bulb moment?<br />
Wann ist dir/Ihnen ein Licht aufgegangen? Wann<br />
hattest du/hatten Sie deinen/Ihren Augenblick der<br />
Erleuchtung?<br />
ISSUE 29<br />
SKILL UP! 17
YOUR PROFILE<br />
USE YOUR ENERGY<br />
Personalize this guide by adding your own example sentences — which should reflect<br />
words and expressions you need in order to talk about your circumstances.<br />
POWER TO YOU<br />
Could you live off the grid? List the pros and cons below, from your point of view.<br />
Do you know someone who takes a power nap? Or someone who goes on a power trip? Describe their<br />
routine using the vocabulary from In Focus. Our exercises in <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong> plus will help you to<br />
understand the language.<br />
Today, you need a lot of energy to deal with the stress at work. Create a short dialogue below in which you<br />
discuss how work can affect people. Use expressions from Essential Idioms (pp. 12–13).<br />
SMALL TALK: SAVE IT!<br />
Could you think up imaginative ways to save energy at work? Write down your ideas below, using expressions<br />
from Small Talk (pp. 16–17).<br />
18 SKILL UP!<br />
ISSUE 29
PREVIEW<br />
iStock<br />
HOBBIES<br />
IMPRESSUM<br />
HERAUSGEBER UND VERLAGSLEITER:<br />
Dr. Wolfgang Stock<br />
CHEFREDAKTEUR: Dr. Ian McMaster<br />
STELLVERTRETENDE CHEFREDAKTEURIN:<br />
Deborah Capras<br />
GESCHÄFTSFÜHRENDE REDAKTEURIN (CvD):<br />
Maja Sirola<br />
AUTORIN: Deborah Capras<br />
REDAKTION: Margaret Davis, Hildegard Rudolph,<br />
Michele Tilgner<br />
BILDREDAKTION: Sarah Gough (Leitung),<br />
Thorsten Mansch<br />
GESTALTUNG: loop grafikdesign München<br />
PRODUKTIONSLEITUNG: Ingrid Sturm<br />
VERTRIEBSLEITUNG: Monika Wohlgemuth<br />
MARKETINGLEITUNG: Holger Hofmann<br />
ANZEIGENLEITUNG: Axel Zettler<br />
VERLAG und REDAKTION:<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> Verlag GmbH<br />
Postanschrift: Postfach 1565, 82144 Planegg<br />
Hausanschrift:<br />
Fraunhoferstraße 22, 82152 Planegg<br />
Telefon: +49 (0)89 8 56 81-0;<br />
Fax +49 (0)89 8 56 81-105<br />
Internet: www.business-spotlight.de<br />
LITHO: Mohn Media Mohndruck GmbH, 33311<br />
Gütersloh<br />
DRUCK: Rotaplan Offset Kammann Druck GmbH,<br />
93057 Regensburg<br />
© 6/2014 <strong>Spotlight</strong> Verlag, auch für alle<br />
genannten Autoren, Fotografen und Mitarbeiter.<br />
Cover photograph: iStock<br />
ISSUE 29<br />
Deep-sea<br />
diving:<br />
it’s not for<br />
everyone!<br />
Spend less time at work and more time<br />
on the things you really love: your hobbies!<br />
The next issue of Skill Up! focuses<br />
on the language you will need.<br />
FALSE FRIENDS: objective, cram<br />
ESSENTIAL IDIOMS: Game on!<br />
PICTURE THIS: Let’s cook!<br />
also:<br />
SMALL TALK<br />
Living dangerously<br />
iStock
Fit für die Energiebranche ?<br />
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Energy English // Start: 3. November 2014<br />
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