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 continues his discussion with Mr. Dave Gomez of Federal Motors. It is Tuesday, June 18, of last year.
Mr. Gomez is not concerned about deadline pressure because he has until January 1 to install the machines. He is interested in International Robotics' performance record, and he asks Mr. Blake to send him some performance reports.
| Mr. Gomez: | Uh, another concern is your performance record in Asia with these machines. |
| Mr. Blake: | Why don't I send you some reports on our performance,... on the performance of the robots in some Korean companies who are also our clients. And I'm sure you'll be quite pleased with what you see. |
| Mr. Gomez: | Okay, great. Could you get those off to me within a few weeks? |
| Mr. Blake: | Sure. That shouldn't be a problem. In fact, as soon as I get back to Beijing, I'll see to it. |
"How can I be sure that I understand the other person's ideas in a negotiation?
In a negotiation, it's very important to confirm your understanding of a proposal. For example, if someone wants to sell a book for thirteen dollars, you want to make sure that they aren't saying thirty dollars. That's a very simple example. In negotiations between corporations, there may be many pages of details. When you negotiate, you have to read very carefully and listen carefully to what people have to say.
If you don't confirm, you might reject a proposal because you misunderstand it. Or even worse, you might accept it by mistake. One good way to confirm understanding is to paraphrase, or restate, what you read or hear. You shouldn't respond to a proposal unless you are sure that you have understood it.
If you have questions about American business and culture, write to gary@dyned.com.
John Jacobs is a manager for JobNet, a company that provides temporary employees. Jane Harder needs computer programmers for her company.
| Mr. Jacobs: | So you need five experienced programmers by the tenth of next month? |
| Ms. Harder: | Yes, as I said, we are going to use a new computer system in our warehouse. |
| Mr. Jacobs: | Well, that won't be a problem. I can promise three programmers by the first of the month. And I can guarantee the other two by your deadline. |
| Ms. Harder: | But will they be experienced? We need experienced programmers. |
| Mr. Jacobs: | They will have at least one year's experience with the computer software. |
| Ms. Harder: | You're sure of that? |
| Mr. Jacobs: | I'll see to it personally. |
| Ms. Harder: | And how much will this cost us? |
| Mr. Jacobs: | It'll be two thousand dollars per week for each programmer. |
| Ms. Harder: | That's pretty expensive. Why so much? |
| Mr. Jacobs: | Well, experienced computer programmers are expensive. They can easily get very high salaries anywhere they work. If we want them to stay with us, we have to pay them well. In addition, our company has to make some money. We're providing a service. |
| Ms. Harder: | OK. That sounds reasonable. |
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 often necessary to give promises and reassurances. Here are some examples.
Listen to Functioning in Business on the Voice of America radio network, then answer this week's question.
Do you think that Federal Motors is going to buy Mr. Blake's robots?
Why do you think so?
Send your answer to max@dyned.com.
Last week's Question of the Week: What is the deadline for installing the robots in the Federal Motors factory?
Answer: They need to be installed by January 1.
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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