Before you begin:
Page 64, exercises 1, 2 & 3
1 Look at the photographs. What would you want to know about China if you were visiting the country on a business trip?
Suggested answer:
I want to know how they greet each other, what kind of food they prefer, and more knowledge about their language.
2 DW Which of the following do you think is most and least essential in a business meeting? Check the meanings of any word(s) that you do not know in the Glossary on pages 95–96 or in a dictionary.
(order the actions from most essential (1) to least essential (7))
| be able to answer detailed questions do a deal give a business card make small talk negotiate shake hands tell a joke |
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Words |
English meaning |
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do a deal (v) |
to arrange an agreement in business |
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be prepared for detailed questions |
to be ready to understand complicated questions and respond to them appropriately. |
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give a business card |
to give someone a card that shows a business person's name, position and contact details. |
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make small talk |
to have an informal chat with someone in order to start a conversation. |
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negotiate (v) negotiation (n) negotiable (adj) |
to discuss something in order to reach an agreement, especially in business or politics.
|
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shake hands [with someone] (v) |
to move someone's hand up and down in a greeting. |
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tell a joke (v) |
to say something to make people laugh. |
|
track record (n) |
all of a person's or organisation's past achievements, successes or failures which show how well they have done something. |
Suggested answer:
Students' own answers
3 This is an interview with a Jordanian businessman about his experiences in China. Listen and read. Did the interview help you to answer the question in exercise 2?
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Doing business in China Today, we talk to Mr Ghanem, a businessman based in Amman who often visits China. We asked him when he first started doing business with China. ''I've been doing business with China for many years. My first trip there was in 2004 CE, and it was not very successful''. . Why was it not successful? "I worked for a small computer company in Amman. They sent me to China when I was quite young. If only the company had realised that the Chinese respect age and experience more than youth! ' Did you make any mistakes on that visit? 'Yes! I wish I had researched Chinese culture before I visited the country. In order to be successful in China, you need to earn their respect. Chinese business people will always ask about the company's successes in the past. However, because I worked for a new company, I could not talk about its track record. We did not do any business deals on that first trip.‟ When did you learn how to be successful in China? „I joined a larger company and they sent me on a cultural awareness course. On my next visit to China, it felt as if I hadn't anything on my first visit!‟ What advice can you give to people wanting to do business in China? „Before I visit a company, I send recommendations from previous clients. I also send my business card with my job position and qualifications translated into Chinese.‟ Can you tell us about your last meeting in China? „Of course! I arrived on time. You must not arrive late, as this shows disrespect. Then, when I met the company director, I shook hands with him gently. I began the meeting by making small talk about my interesting experiences in China. During the meeting, I made sure that my voice and body language were calm and controlled. I never told a joke, as this may not be translated correctly or could cause offence.‟ Was it a successful meeting? ''Yes, it was. I knew that the director had researched my business thoroughly before the meeting, so I was prepared for his detailed questions. When I began negotiating, I started with the important issues. The Chinese believe in avoiding conflict. It is always important to be patient. I was prepared to compromise, so in the end, the meeting was successful. |
Explanation
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Doing business in China Today, we talk to Mr Ghanem, a businessman based in Amman who often visits China. We asked him when he first started doing business with China. ''I've been doing business with China for many years. My first trip there was in 2004 CE, and it was not very successful Why was it not successful? "I worked for a small computer company in Amman. They sent me to China when I was quite young. If only the company had realised that the Chinese respect age and experience more than youth! ' |
- Mr Ghanem is a businessman based in Amman
- Mr Ghanem often visits China
- Mr Ghanem has been doing business with China for many years
- Mr Ghanem's first business trip to China was not successful because: he didn't have enough knowledge about the culture of China, and he was too young.
- The Chinese respect age and experience more than youth.
- The underlined pronoun 'who' refers to Mr Ghanem
- The underlined pronouns 'he' and 'him' refer to Mr Ghanem
- The underlined pronoun 'it' refers to Mr Ghanem's first trip to china
- The underlined pronoun there refers to China
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Did you make any mistakes on that visit? 'Yes! I wish I had researched Chinese culture before I visited the country. In order to be successful in China, you need to earn their respect. Chinese business people will always ask about the company's successes in the past. However, because I worked for a new company, I could not talk about its track record. We did not do any business deals on that first trip.‟ When did you learn how to be successful in China? ''I joined a larger company and they sent me on a cultural awareness course. On my next visit to China, it felt as if I hadn't anything on my first visit!‟ |
- Mr Ghanem didn't research Chinese culture before he visited China.
- If you want to be successful in China, you need to earn their respect.
- Mr Ghanem did not do any business deals on that first trip to China because he worked for a new company which didn't have a track record.
- When Mr Ghanem visited China for the second time, he had been on a cultural awareness course and so he knew how to do business in China.
- The word track record means "all of a person's or organisation's past achievements, successes or failures which show how well they have done something."
- The underlined pronouns (I X 5) refer to Mr Ghanem
- The underlined pronoun their refers to Chinese.
- The underlined pronoun 'its' refers to a new company.
- The underlined pronoun 'they' in the text above refers to people responsible for the company.
- Earn respect and join a company are collocations
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What advice can you give to people wanting to do business in China? ''Before I visit a company, I send recommendations from previous clients. I also send my business card with my job position and qualifications translated into Chinese.‟ Can you tell us about your last meeting in China? „Of course! I arrived on time. You must not arrive late, as this shows disrespect. Then, when I met the company director, I shook hands with him gently. I began the meeting by making small talk about my interesting experiences in China. During the meeting, I made sure that my voice and body language were calm and controlled. I never told a joke, as this may not be translated correctly or could cause offence.‟ |
- Some advice for those who want to do business in China:
Sending recommendations from previous clients.
Sending a business card with the job position and qualifications translated into Chinese.
- In China, you have to respect time.
- In China, it is polite to shake hands gently.
- In China, it can make small talk about your interesting experiences.
- In China, you have to be sure that your voice and body language are calm and controlled.
- In China, you aren't allowed to tell a joke for two reasons:
The joke may not be translated correctly.
The joke could cause offence.
- The collocation 'shake hands' means: moving someone's hand up and down in a greeting.
- The underlined pronoun 'this' refers to telling a joke.
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Was it a successful meeting? ''Yes, it was. I knew that the director had researched my business thoroughly before the meeting, so I was prepared for his detailed questions. When I began negotiating, I started with the important issues. The Chinese believe in avoiding conflict. It is always important to be patient. I was prepared to compromise, so in the end, the meeting was successful. |
- The meeting was successful because:
He was prepared for the director's detailed questions.
He started with the important issues.
He was prepared to compromise.
- The underlined pronoun 'his' in the text above refers to the director.
- Being prepared for detailed questions means: being ready to understand complicated questions and respond to them appropriately.