Communicating in Business. Деловой иностранный язык (английский)

30 • being formal or informal • punctuality • humor • giving presents • being direct (saying exactly what you think) • using first names Task 3.2. Read this article and choose one of these titles for it: When in Rome... Problems that business people face Travelling abroad Good manners, good business Doing business in Europe I didn't mean to be rude! Text 1 NOBODY actually wants to cause offence but, as business becomes ever more international, it is increasingly easy to get it wrong. There may be a single European market but it does not mean that managers behave the same in Greece as they do in Denmark. In many European countries handshaking is an automatic gesture. In France good manners require that on arriving at a business meeting a manager shakes hands with everyone present. This can be a demanding task and, in a crowded room, may require gymnastic ability if the farthest hand is to be reached. Handshaking is almost as popular in other countries including Germany, Belgium and Italy. But Northern Europeans, such as the British and Scandinavians, are not quite so fond of physical demonstrations of friendliness. In Europe the most common challenge is not the content of the food, but the way you behave as you eat. Some things are just not done. In France it is not good manners to raise tricky questions of business over the main course. Business has its place: after the cheese course. Unless you are prepared to eat in silence you have to talk about something, that is, other than the business deal which you are continually chewing over in your head. Italians give similar importance to the whole process of business entertaining. In fact, in Italy the biggest fear, as course after course appears, is that you entirely forget you are there on business. If you have the energy, you can always do the polite thing when the meal finally ends, and offer to pay. Then, after a lively discussion, you must remember the next polite thing to do -...