DynEd International, Inc. |
DynEd International, Inc. |
The Functioning in Business radio course will help you learn American business English through listening to business meetings and discussions and to interviews with American business people.
With your radio host, Elizabeth Moore, you will follow the story of an important business trip. You will listen to conversations which introduce vocabulary and expressions used to conduct business in English. You will also listen to Business Dialogs which present many kinds of business situations.
Our business and culture expert, Gary Engleton, will offer Culture Tips about American business culture. Gary will also focus on important language functions used in business and social situations.
This week on Functioning in Business, Charles Blake of International Robotics is meeting with Mr. Dave Gomez of Federal Motors. Yesterday they discussed the technology of the robots, the price, and a little about how the robots are being used by other companies.
Mr. Blake agrees to send a group of English-speaking technical advisors to train the engineers at Federal Motors. He also offers to provide a service manual in English that will be easy to read and very clear and useful to the engineers.
| Elizabeth: | Mr. Gomez, why was training such a concern? |
| Mr. Gomez: | Well, with high-tech equipment, training is always a major worry. Robots have to be operated properly or they'll break down. If that happens, repairs will delay production. Any delay in production is very expensive. |
| Elizabeth: | So that's why you asked about technical advisors? Yes, I wanted to make sure that someone would be available to train our workers. |
"Can you give me some tips on how to begin a successful negotiation?"
Developing a good relationship is important to any negotiation. Good negotiators want an agreement that is good for both sides. That is sometimes called a win-win solution. Negotiating is different from playing a game, where one person wins and the other person loses.
Try to understand what the other side needs. Find out everything that you can about the company. You also should get to know the people in the company. For example, arrive early at meetings to chat about personal matters. Small talk is important. It can help to build trust.
Finally, if possible, avoid short deadlines. It takes time to develop a good working relationship. And good agreements are based on good relationships.
If you have questions about American business and culture, write to gary@dyned.com.
Ira Cohen of Hippo Records is negotiating with Winnie Smith of Smith Auto Sales. Hippo Records wants to buy ten cars for their sales people.
| Ms. Smith: | Let me say once again, we can sell you our four-door, midsize
car for thirteen thousand dollars. That includes power steering and brakes, air conditioning and an FM/AM radio. |
| Mr. Cohen: | That's a good price, but I'm sorry. We don't want a midsize car. As I've said several times before, we want an economy car. |
| Ms. Smith: | Mr. Cohen, I understand your position. But as I've told you, we are selling the midsize cars at a very low price! I don't understand why you aren't interested in them. |
| Mr. Cohen: | It's because our primary concerns are dependability and costs. An economy car costs less to buy and to operate. And we don't care about extras, like air conditioning. |
| Ms. Smith: | Mr. Cohen, I'm going to be very honest with you. Our mid-sized cars are more dependable and more durable than the economy cars. In addition, we have a large supply, and we'd like to reduce our inventory. If you would buy ten cars, I would be willing to reduce the price even more. And I'm sure your salespeople would like the air conditioning. |
| Mr. Cohen: | Well... in that case, I might be interested. |
Functioning in Business will teach you about how to use English in business and social situations.
This week's lessons focus on Negotiations. In a negotiation, it is sometimes useful to repeat something that you said earlier. Here are some examples.
Listen to Functioning in Business on the Voice of America radio network, then answer this week's question.
What is the deadline for installing the robots in the Federal Motors factory?
Send your answer to max@dyned.com.
Each week you will receive e-mail Study Tips, news, and activities. Join today!
The Functioning in Business radio course is based on DynEd's Functioning in Business courseware and the Functioning in Business textbook, by P. Lance Knowles and Francis Bailey, published by Longman.
For more information about DynEd courseware, contact sales@dyned.com.
If you have any questions or comments,write to elizabeth@dyned.com.
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