Business English Pair Work 1

177 Pages·8.143 MB·English

by  Flinders Steve.

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Pair Work I
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- - l Steve Flinders and Simon Sweeney
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Illustrated by Nevllle Swalne
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In memory of Frunk Zappa (1940-93)
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Contents
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Introduction
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Teachers'Notes
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Pairw orkA ctivities
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Activity StudentA StudentB Activity StudentA StudentB
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I Ice breaker 25 101 34 Managementa nd leadership
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l- 2 Advertising 26 ro2 skills for women 63 138
Agendas 27 103 35 Managementq ualities 64 r39
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l_- 4 Bank charges 28 104 36 Market research 65 t40
H 5 Budget presentation 29 105 37 Market survey 66 T4I
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6 Businessa necdote 3l r07 38 Meeting arrangements 67 r42
tlg-- 7 Businesse tiquette 32 108 39 Mission statement 68 r43
8 Businessg ifts 33 109 40 Pay versusb enefits 69 t44
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l- 9 Businessin itials 34 110 4l Performance appraisal 70 t45
4 l0 Buying and selling 35 111 42 Presentingi nformation 7I r46
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ll Cashflow problems 36 IT2 43 Pressa nd public relations 72 147
rrJ _ 1: Companyo f the year 37 113 44 hoduct endorsement 74 148
l-1 Company organization 38 tr4 45 Production delays 75 t49
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lrr- tl+t Company presentation 39 ll5 46 hofit and loss account 77 l5l
r-- 15 Companyt our 4I TT7 47 Project management 78 r52
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16 Companyv isit 42 118 48 Quality 80 154
rJ 1- Corporatec ulture 43 I19 49 Quiz 1 81 155
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t8 Corporate sponsorship 44 120 50 Qaiz2 82 156
rrrr--- 19 Costs and reducing overheads 46 r22 5l Raising finance 83 r57
20 Customer care 47 123 52 Recruitment 84 158
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l-- 2l Customerc omplaint 48 124 53 Recycling 86 160
E - 22 Customsh oldup 50 126 54 Relocation 87 161
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23 Employeem orale 51 r27 55 Salest argets 88 r62
Hr-= 1A Entertaining visitors 52 t28 56 Small talk 1 89 t63
25 Environmentally friendly office 53 129 57 Small talk 2 90 r64
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l- 26 Equal opportunities 54 130 58 Spare parts 9I 165
rJ 27 Franchising 55 131 59 Team building 92 r66
l-- 28 Health and safety 56 r32 60 Time management 93 167
rJ 29 ln-house magazine 57 r33 6l Training priorities 94 168
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30 Interview techniques 58 134 62 Transportation 95 r69
rLJ - 3l Job application 59 r35 63 Work environment 96 r70
rJ 3Z Large versus small companies 61 136 64 Work rotas 97 t7l
l- 55 Late payment of invoice 62 r37 65 Works council 98 172
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l_ Glossary 173
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l- A-Zo f LanguagFeu nctions
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CommunicationS kill Table t82
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Teachers'notes
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H 1 lce breaker 2 Advertising
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H Introducti.on Introduction
'Ice
breakers'a re short exercisesf or use with a new This role play revolves aroundh ow to allocatem oney
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L- classt o help peoplet o get to know eacho ther. availablef or advertisins.
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H Lead-in Lead-in
aH Ask why it is important for businessp eople to be able Questions:
L to: o what methodso f advertisinga re there?
'break
H r the ice'with strangers o what methods would be suitable for advertisins
L- . ask polite questionst o find out more about business sportse quipment?
contacts
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o be able to say clearly and concisely who they are, Method
H what they do and wheret hey comef rom. 1 Direct studentA to statea n initial position. B should
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respond with some general comments and observa-
rr- -- Method tions- on football sponsorshipf,o r example.A needs
o With a group class,d ivide studentsi nto As and Bs. to chooseb etweena broadly-basedp ackagec entred
HL' There are two possible methods.E ither Bs ask all on athleticss ponsorshipo, r a n.urowerc ampaignl ed
their questions,t hen As questionB s. Or students by TV advertising. Student B has to change A's
HL takei t in tumst o aska question. mind - away from football sponsorship.
r If the group is not too large, get studentst o walk 2 Make sure learnersc ome to an agreemento n a total
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around so that all the As interview all the Bs and packagea nd that all points in their roles are included
vice versa. in the discussion.
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Follow-up Follow-up
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L- I Get selecteds tudentst o tell the whole group in one After giving feedback, noting the positive achieve-
or two sentences: mentso f the negotiation,s uggesta n exchangeo f letters
fUr- - their name summarizingt he agreement.
V - their job title and main responsibility
L- - their company,c ompanya ctivity (if necessarya) nd
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-d companyl ocation. 3 Agendas
You may wish to provide a model, for example:, My
rLd name is Sylvia Smith and I'm a language trainer Introduction
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responsiblef or business English training at ABC The activity involves a discussion on the telephone
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L= Pharmaceuticalsb,a sedi n Berlin.' aboutp lanninga n agendaf or a meeting.
Explain rhat this is a vital skill which everyonei n
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L- the group must be able to perform with easeb y the Lead-in
end of the course.I f some studentsa re unsurea bout I Discusst he themeo f quality:
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rd uncertainty persists in any case, suggestt hat both - how do companiesr aise and maintain quality stand-
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you and the student try to get more information ards?
E' beforey our next meeting. 2 Then elicit commentso n agendas:
lt-- 2 Get studentst o write short personala nd professional - shoulda ll businessm eetingsh ave agendas?
}J profiles of their partners, for example as in a job - are written agendasa lwaysn ecessary?
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applicationf orm. - the answer could be that all meetingsn eed clear
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down.
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Teachers'notes
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Method Method
1 After the introductory discussion above, students Explain the two roles - A as presenter,B as a listener !
preparet heir roles and B starts,r eminding A about who needst o understandp reciselyw hat A is sayinga nd
his/her letter and making some general critical to questiona ny part of the budgett hat is not totally clear. I
remarkst ogetherw ith suggestions.
2 T\ey should reach agreemento n a new agendab ut Follow-up I
postpones omed iscussiont o the meetingi tself. Note Somel eamersm ay chooset o presents omeo ther infor-
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that the final agendad ependso n other people's com- mation relating to their own work or interests and
mentst oo. invite questionsf rom their partners.T his would be a
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good opportunity to reverset he roles of presentera nd
Follow-ip listener.
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They shouldp roducea new agendat ogether.
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6 Businessa necdote
4 Bankc harges L
Introduction
Introduction This activity can be used to finish off a lesson or a L
This activity is essentiallya bout customers ervicei n a course, or as a break between two more extended,
familiar context:a bank. intensivea ctivities. L
Lead-in Lead-in F
I Ask studentst o discussw hat they think of banksa nd Is it important for businessp eople to be able to tell
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the quality of servicet hey provide. They may recall anecdotes?W hy is it important for businessp eople to
somep ersonale xperiencesg, ood and not so good. be able to tell them clearly and CONCISELY?
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2 Move discussiono n to the natureo f customers ervice
and why the concepti s important. Method ts
1 Tell studentst hat there are six stages.T ell them how
Method ./ long you would like them to spend on each one.
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A begins the role play by ringing with a complaint. B (l-ltlz minutesp er stage.)
has to decide how to respond.T he role play is poten- 2 Signal to studentsw hen the time for eachs tagei s up. t
tially highly conflictive, much depending on how Be firm aboutt he changeover.
student B, the bank employee,d ecidest o resolve the 3 Listen in to each pair. Be ready to prompt students L
two problems involved. There are several possible who haved ifficulty coming up with ideas.
ways to resolve the difficulties, depending on the 4 When the exercisei s over, get students,s till in pairs, l
bank'sk eennessto provide a customer-friendlys ervice. to go over the story again in order to improve and
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polishi t.
Follow-up 5 Invite selectedp airs to report their stories to the
Have studentsw ork togethert o createa short dialogue whole group. l
basedo n handling a complaint to a bank. Reverset he
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roles so B is making the complaint. Altematively get Follow-up
them to change the context from banking to another 1 Get studentsi n pairs to tell each other their own
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servicei ndustry. businessa necdotesG. et partnerst o report back to the
group the anecdotest hey have just heard. Again,
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encouragec larity and concisenesas t every stage.
5 Budgetp resentation 2 Get studentst o write down the anecdotet hey have F
inventedo r their own anecdote.
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Introduction 3 Languagea nalysisa nd feedback.
The activity provides practice in presentingi nforma-
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tion and in listening to a presentationa nd asking for
explanations. 7 Businesse tiquette
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Lead-in Introduction
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Check students'u nderstandingo f key vocabulary,s uch This activity encouragess tudentst o reflect upon every-
asb udget,s alesb udget,c osto f salesa ndc osto f selling. day businessb ehaviour, to formulate rules for their E
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Teachers'notes
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ou'n behaviour,a nd to leam about the rules goveming Follow-up
LL{ - other people'sb ehaviour. A jointly producedm emo stating company policy on
receivingg ifts.
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\\hat aspectso f businesse tiquettea re important in the
L' srudents'o wn culture?W hat happensi f you break the 9 Businessin itials
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rules.r
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L- Introduction
.llethod
Like the quizzes,t his can be treated as a quite light-
LL' - I Even' studenth as five different areast o cover. Tell hearted exercise to round off a lesson or a course.
r- -{s and Bs that they are going to take it in turns to There is neverthelessa seriousa nd useful pedagogical
L- .Je:cnbe certain aspects of business behaviour to objective.I t is importantf or businessp eoplet o be able
eacho ther.
to read the internationalb usinessp ress.U nfamiliar sets
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L- I .\s and Bs shouldr eadt heir copies.G ive them a little of initials are often a barrier to understandingw hen
- Iune to think about the rules goveming their own reading in a foreign language.T his activity includes
L_- behaviourf or eacha real isted on their own sheets. some of the more common sets of initials from the
5t_- -: Get .{s to lead with Shakingh ands.A s tell Bs what worlds of businessp, olitics,e conomicsc, omputing,e tc.
the conventionsf or shakingh andsa re in their coun-
r{ tn'icompany/departmenat s appropriate.B s should Method
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then comment on the differencesb etweenw hat As 1 Get Bs to testA s on setso f initials l-16. Bs should
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L_- haved escribeda nd their own experience. give the correct answer after each attempt by As;
-1 Get Bs to do the samew ith Businessc ards and con- where necessaryth ey should explain eacha nswera s
4t - tirue alternationu ntil the end. far as they can, and scoret heir partnerso ut of 16.
2 Now reverser oles and get As to testB s.
5t_' Follow-up 3 Pairsr eport back to the group with teacherc larifying
z I Generalr eportingb ack. Get eachA to report on a B any remaining problem sets. Ask studentsi f their
t-- areaa nd vice versa,l eadingi nto generald iscussion. companyh as a VP for HR or R&D, what their com-
z I lnvite opinions about other areaso f everydayb usi- pany's USP is, or whethert heir companyr uns a TQA
t_- ness life, for example, punctuality, the status of programme.
' 1 deadlines,s mokinga t work.
t_ 3 .{sk whether any of these areas are codified or Follow-up
, ' u'hethera ny of them shouldb e. I Ask studentst o provide their own sets of initials in
L English to testt he rest of the class.
4- 2 Provide newspapers/newms agazinesf or the group
8 Businessg ifts
! and ask them to identify eithera s many setso f initials
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as possiblef rom the quiz; or other setso f initials for
Introduction further quiz work.
4 The activity is basedo n an internal discussiont o for-
mulate policy on employeesr eceiving gifts from sup- Answers
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plierso r customers. MD Managing Director. The manager with overall
responsibility for the day-to-day running of the
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I*ad-in company( British English).
To introducet he theme,a sk:
4 VP Vice-President.U sually with a departmentalo r
o what is the purposeo f businessg ifts?
geographical responsibility, for example: Vice-
. areg ifts commoni n your country?
4 hesident in charge of Human Resourceso r Vice-
. can they causep roblemso r conflict?
PresidentS ales,C entrala nd SouthA merican Reeion
4 r what sort of things could be presenteda s gifts? (AmericanE nglish).
-_ Method R&D Researcha nd Development.T he division of a
Studentss hould engagei n a wide-rangingd iscussion, company doing the technical or scientific work
4 bringing in all the points on their role cards.G et them neededt o find new products.
to reacha generallya greedn ew policy on gifts. PA PersonalA ssistant. A senior executive's helper.
J_ PAs are usually thought to be more than secretaries
but lesst hanm anagers.
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Teachers'notes
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MBA Master in BusinessA dministration. The most PR Public Relations.T he job of Public Relationsi s to
importantb usinesss choolo r university qualification ensuret hat the public image of a companyi s as pos- L
in business.S ome students do the MBA straight itive asp ossible.
after their first degree;o thers get a few years'job PhD Doctor of Philosophy.T he doctoratec an, how- F
experiencefi rst.
ever, be in any of a wide range of subjects,n ot just
EU European Union. The political and economic philosophy. b
group whosec urrentm embersa reA ustria, Belgium,
ECU EuropeanC urrency Unit. A currency which is
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Denmark, Eire, Finland, France,G ermany,G reece,
an averageo f a certain number of other European
Netherlands, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, currenciesa nd possibly the future single cunency F
Swedena nd the United Kingdom.
for all the memberso f the EuropeanU nion (EU).
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The OECD Organizationf or Economic Cooperationa nd b
main international free trading agreementb etween
Development.A n economic researcha nd forecast-
nations,a iming to reducea s far as possiblet he bar- L
ing agencyf unded by the rich industrializedn ations
riers to trade across national frontiers. The most
and basedi n Paris, whose aim is to encouragee co-
recent GAff was eventually signed in 1994 after nomic growth, high employment and financial sta- !.
lengthy negotiationsk nown as the UruguayR ound.
bility amongi ts members. ts
IBM International Business Machines. Still the
ABB Asea Brown Boveri. A major Swiss-Swedish
world's biggestc omputerc ompany. engineeringc ompany. F
SAS ScandinavianA irline Systems.T he airline com-
JAL JapanA irlines. The main Japanesea irline com-
pany for the Nordic countries. t-
pany.
WP Word Processing.T yping and editing text on a
DTP Desk Top Publishing. The computer-based
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computer.
activity which producest ext with integratedg raph-
RAM RandomA ccessM emory. The dynamic system ics and varied layout, for examplef or a newsletter, L
memory of a computer that holds programmes and CY or home-producedm agazine.
dataw hile they areb eing worked on. CPU CentralP rocessingU nit. The brain of a computer. F
AGM Annual General Meeting. The meeting, for AOB Any Other Business. The last item on the
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example,o f a company'ss hareholdersw, hich takes agendao f a meeting.
placeo ncea year.
GDP Gross Domestic Product. The measureo f the E
GNP Gross National Product. The measure of the wealth created by a country in a year, excluding
wealth created by a country in a year, including moneye amedf rom abroad. F
moneye arnedf rom abroad.
USP Unique Selling Proposition. What every com-
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VAT The general tax applied at each point of pany should have - a unique reasonw hy customers
exchangeo f goodso r services. shouldb uy from them rathert han from any other. E
The 4 Ps Price, homotion, Packaging,P lace.T hesea re TQA Total Quality Assurance.A n approacht o seek-
the main componentso f the MarketingM ix, the most ing to achievet he highestq uality of product or ser- :
importantf actorsi n the marketingo f a product. vice provided by getting everyonei n the organiza-
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LO Intemational Labour Organization. A United tion to focus on quality all the time.
Nations Agency concemedw ith the rights, protec- IMF Intemational Monetary Fund. A fund set up in
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tion and healtha nd safetyo f workersw orldwide. 1947 and to which most of the countries in the
CEO Chief Executive Officer. The manager with world belong, which exists to lend money to coun- F
overall responsibility for the day-to-dayr unning of tries in financiald ifficulties, particularlyt o help with
the company. (More commonly used in American balanceo f paymentsp roblems.T he IMF often with- D
English). holds loans to govemmentsif it doesn ot approveo f
VIP Very Important Person.R ich, famous,o r power- their economicp olicy plans. E
ful peoplew ho receives pecialt reatment.M ajor air-
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ports,f or example,o ften have a VIP lounge.
HR Human Resources.T he managemento f such l
things as pay and conditions for all people who
work in a company. F
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Teachers'notes
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3 In discussion,b oth sidesn eedt o reacha greemenot n
rLLJ- 10 Buyinga nd selting exactly what is possible and what stepsn eed to be
takenn ext.
H Introduction
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Negotiation is an important skill not only for people Follow-up
rLJ - involved in the kind of lengthy discussionn eeded,f or I Togetherb oth studentsc ould work out a letter to the
example,t o set up this kind of agencya greement;b ut customero ffering a unit price discount but request-
lLd - also in informal everyday situations like persuading ing tight paymentt erms.
someonet o stay on late at work or changinga holiday 2 They could also work out a revised cash budget on
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L- date. This activity can be useful practice for both for_ the basiso f the order and a possibleb ank loan.
mal or large-scalen egotiation and informal or small-
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L- Lead-in
H In what situationsa re negotiatings kills necessary?A re Introdaction
l-- theses kills relevanto nly in the workplace? This activity can help studentsr o focus, albeit in a
rJ potentially lightheartedw ay, on the perennialp roblem
L.- Method
of how to make small businessesg row. If necessary,
rLrl . I Give studentsp lenty of time to read their activity the situation could be adapted to the context of a
sheetsC. alculatorsc ould be useful.
departmento r profit centre if participantsa ll work in
rLd - 2 Set a clear time limit - 20 or 25 minutes should be largeo rganizations.
r enough - for the activity, and give studentst wo or
threem inutes'waming beforey ou stop them. Lead-in
3 Get studentst o start with some small talk before In what situationsa re companiesg iven prizes?W hat type
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L- going into the main body of the negotiation. of prizesa re given?W hat companiesh ave won prizes?
4 Get eachp air to summarizet he main points of their
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L- agreements o that each participant is clear about Method
what hasb eena greed. I If you suspectt hat studentsm ay not be very forth-
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L' coming about imagining their own company into
Follow-up
lLrJ existence, brainstorm an example with the whole
L I Get selectedp airs to talk through the stagesi n their classb eforet he activity begins.
rrrJ- negotiationi n order to analyset he reasonsf or their 2 Note that the list of preferencesfo r A and B are dif-
particularr esult. ferent.
H 2 Get studentst o write down the terms of their agree-
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ment. Follow-up
Hr- During feedback,f ind out what the students'own ideas
werea ndl ist them on the board.S eew hethera ny pattem
Hr-- 11 Cashflowp roblems emergesfr om the choicesm adeb y the differentp airs.
tH Introduction
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The activity is a fairly complex face-to-faced iscussion 13 Companyo rganization
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L- betweena cautiousf inancem anagera nd an ambitious
marketing managerr eluctant to turn away a major order. Introductinn
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l-- The activity is based on a face-to-face discussion
Lead-in
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l-- As a lead-in, discusst he meaning,c ausesa nd implica- designa new organizationf or their companiesw ho are
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Method
Lead-in
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l-- I Both sidesn eed a few minutest o preparet heir roles Startb y asking:
H and absorbt he informationt hey have. o why companiesh aveh ierarchies
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2 B should start by outlining the order and askingh ow o why companiesh aves tructuredo rganization
Hl_ much cash is available. A is pessimistica bout the r if there are alternativest o traditional companys truc-
cashflows ituation. tures.
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Teachers'notes
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Method Method
o Each side needst o explain its primary objectivesa nd 1 The notesb elow the plan on A's sheeta re only brief l-/
to outline its concems.T here will be some trade off guidelinesf or A, who will need time to preparet he
betweent he two. presentation.T he preparationc ould be done before l-l
o Studentsc an sit side by side and actually draw up a the lesson.
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fresh organization chart based on their preferred 2 EncourageB s to preparel ots of questionss o that the
optionsa nd what they can agreeo n. activity is as interactive as possible. Discourage
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monologuesf rom As.
Follow-up
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Ajoint presentationo f the new structureu sing a board Follow-up
or OHP. I Repeatt he activity with the roles reversed.
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2 Get As and Bs to write follow-up letterst o the visit:
- As sayingt hey areh oping for businessf rom Bs <
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14 Companyp resentation - Bs saying whethero r not they have decidedt o do
businessw ith As. E]
Introduction
Introducing oneselfa nd one's work is a common com- -
municationn eedi n intemationalb usinessT. his activity 16 Gompanvyi sit
gives an oppornrnity to practise a relatively formal L./ '
presentation. Introduction
This is an information gap exercise which also -
Lead-in providesp racticei n numbersa nd spellinga nd checking -
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To introduce the theme, discusst he function of trade information. It can thus be used with lower level
fairs and what goeso n at suche vents. students.
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Method Lead-in
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This is a two-part activity in which studentsb oth pre- Ask the studentsif : l
senta fictitious companya nd heara bouto ne. o they havea ny problemsw ith spellingf oreign names =
1 Ask A to present Conta Inc. B intemrpts with o they have any problemsw ith understandingn umbers qI
requestsf or clarification and/or further information. o if the! have any special strategiesf or spelling and
B can alsot ake notes. counting.
2 Next, B presentsE dile S.p.A. and the roles are there-
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fore reversed. Method
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1 Get studentst o write down any information, e'g. car l.J
Follow-up registrationo r telephonen umbers,t hat they give to _.']
Ask learnerst o presentt heir own or anotherr eal com- their partners. .i
pany that they know well. Suggestt hey include saying 2 At the end of the activity, get studentst o check that
who they are and what their responsibilitiesa re.A fur- all the information has been correctly transferred. H-J
ther follow-up is to try a similar presentationb, ut much
more informally. Follow-up
Repeat the activity with the roles reversed.P artners :
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now know what information they have to give so -J
15 Compantyo ur shouldg ive a more polishedp erformance'
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Introduction
It is important for businessp eople to be able to talk 17 Corporatecu lture
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clearly and concisely about their company'sp roducts, H
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history and organization,a s well as being able to guide Introduction
visitors round the workplace. The main aim of this activity is to provoke discussion
so don't be too concemedi f the studentsf ail to come =
Lead-in up with a coherent policy by the time you call the
Which companiesr eceive visitors? Are there any spe- group together. :
cial security arrangementsA? re there any specialr isks H
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abouts howingv isitors around?
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Teachers'notes
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bad-in negotiationi n which eachp articipantw ill havet o com-
rf{ Ask srudentsi f they know any companiesw ith their promise in order to reach the desired objective. See
o*n specialc ulture.W hat are the characteristicso f cor- alsoA ctivity 27 on franchising.
}LJ . porate culrure?D oes it help employeest o work better
together? Lead-in
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L- To introducet he theme,c heck students'understanding
Methd of cosfs,c ost of salesa ndc ost of selling.
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L- Encourages tudentst o add ideas in the same spirit to
the list. Method
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L- Each player in the negotiationa pproachesth e problem
Follow-up from a rather different perspective:A is more conser-
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L- I In the group discussionf ollowing the activity, get vative in termso f defendinge mployeesi'n terests,w hile
rLJ srudentst o identify the assumptionsu nderlying the B is more inclined to defend shareholdersa nd seek
L- variousp ossiblep olicieso n the list, e.g. that compan- improvedp roductivity. Consequentlyc, ompromisea nd
H ies are too hierarchical, that there are not enough bargaining will be required. Encourage students to
f
women in top managemente, tc. and find out if they begin by statingt heir agreedo bjectives( to find savings
Hr- agreew ith thesea ssumptionso r not. Which onesd o of l0%o)a nd to find issueso n which they agreeb efore
they think are nonsensical?W hy? going into detail on more problematica reas.A s a gen-
rLJ . 2 Get the group to brainstorm their own equally eral principle, suggestt hat they should only compro-
unorthodoxp olicy suggestions. mise where they get something in retum - in other
fLrd - words, in concedinga point they shouldg ain a conces-
sion in anothera rea.T his may involve looking at two
Il-_ 18 Corporatesp onsorship or three points together - a common negotiating
u approach.
H
Introduction
The activity is designedt o encouragee xtensived iscus- Follow-up
tH
L- sion. Studentsm ay wish to invent details of the com- Set up a similar negotiation involving more particip-
u pany they both representa nd such details may influence ants,s o that the negotiationi nvolves teams.
JH
the final choice. Otherwise,t here is no obviously right
.J answer.
U
20 Customecr are
El I*ad-in
L-
Why do companieso ffer sponsorship?W hat types of Introduction
H eventsd o they sponsor?W hat benefitsd oes each side This activity emphasizest he importance of looking
L-
get? after your customers- thosew ho buy a product as well
r
U ast hosew ho buy a service.
Method
rrd -- Sincet his activity involves quite a lot of reading,a llow Lead-in
time for this before beginningt he activity or distribute In your introduction to this activity, ask about the dis-
H
L- the activity sheetsb eforet he lessonb egins. tinction betweeni nternal customers( other employees
within the same organization whom you serve) and
rd
L- Follow-up extemal customers( those outside the company who
I Systematizef eedbackf rom the group by asking for pay you to provide them with a product or service).
}J
L- the strong and the weak points of eachf ile and writ- Ask studentsh ow far they servei nternal as opposedt o
ing them up on the board.
}J externalc ustomersin their work; and ask them whether
f 2 Get studentst o write a letter of acceptancet o the they shouldb e more focusedo n extemalc ustomers.
u sponsorshipr ecipient and of rejection to the other
Gd
two causes. Method
DJ After the Bs have administeredth e questionnaireto the
L-
As, the partnersc anr everser oles.
Dd 19 Costsa nd reducingo verheads
L'
Follow-up
CLrJ' Introduction I The group can prioritize the different featureso fcus-
The activity involves a fairly detailed face-to-face tomer care listed in the questionnaireO. ne technique
Ed
f
Dd
T
E
t
F
Teachers'notes
!
for getting a large group to arrive at a final list is: Lead-in
a) to get eachp air to agreeo n a list of priorities; then To setu p the theme,a sk: L
b)to get two pairs together to agree on a common r what causesd elaysa t frontiers
!
list; then o what documentsa ren eeded
c) to get two groups of four to agreeo n a common o how cand elaysb e keptt o a minimum
E
list, etc. r if the problemsa t frontiersa re the samee verywhere
2 Get detailedf eedbacko n how well your studentsf eel o if the solutionst o the problemsa re the samee very-
L
their organizations serve their intemal and their where.
externalc ustomers,a nd how theset wo kinds of ser- Be tactful aboutt he issueo f corrupt officials - in some F
vice cogld be improved. placesm ention of comrption may be acceptableo nly if
I
it referst o other countries!
21 Customerc omplaint !
Method
Studentsh ave a reasonablea mounto f freedom in how
l
Introduction to resolvet he problemh ere.T he discussioni s led by A
This activity practisest wo important communication statingt he problem and askingh ow it may be resolved.
!
and businesss kills. As have to turn an unhappy cus- B respondsa nd togethert he two positions are brought
tomer into a happy one. Bs have to avoid being fobbed closer - or not, dependingo n the degreeo f obduracy F
off with lesst han what they regarda s their properd ue. held by the official, B, or rectitudeh eld by A.
F
Lead-in
Follow-up
Ask students: Some studentsm ight like to role play a face-to-face Fb
r in what situationst hey have made complaints over meeting at the frontier, with other studentsp laying
the last few months relatedr oles, including the driver. t
o whethert heir complaintsh aveb eenw ell handled
o why it is important for companiest o be able to deal F
efficiently with complaints. 23 Employeem orale
ts
Method
Introduction
1 Allow adequateti me for the heavierr eadingi nput or F
This activity begins with an exchangeo f information,
distributet he activity sheetsb eforet he sessionb egins.
followed by discussion.I t is important for the students t-
2 Ensure that both partners are clear about the final
to completet he first part satisfactorilyb efore they start
outcome of the discussionb y getting them to write
the second. b
noteso n the agreemenrte acheda nd comparen otes.
Lead-in F
Follow-up
Ask the studentsi n what way morale affects the way
1 Get eachp air to report back on their agreementa nd
people work. What are the possible results of poor F
tabulatea ll the agreementso n the board.
employeem orale?
2 Get feedback on how the encounter between Bs'
F
firmness and As' desire to win over the customer
Method
swayed the discussion one way or the other. 1 Before the studentsb egin,m ake it clear to As and Bs F
Brainstorm language gambits which As and Bs that they have different lists of suggestionsf or
might haveu sed. increasingc ompanym orale on their activity sheets. l.
3 Get studentst o write A's letter apologizing for the Underlinet he fact that they are not expectedt o com-
inconveniences, ummarzi ing the agreemenrt eached, pete by shortlisting more of their own key actions t
etc. thant heir parmers'.T he objectivei s simplyt o get what t
they both agreei s the bestp ossiblep olicy defined.
2 You could encourageth em to simulatef ormal meet- l.
22 Customsh oldup
ings with Bs and then As making shortp resentations
of the ideasl isted. They will neede xtra time to pre- b
Introduction
pare this. This should then be followed by an open
This is a telephonec onversationb etweent wo people ts
discussiono f the merits of eachi dea in tum.
with verv different concems.
3 Studentsm ay wish to add their own ideas.
ll
t