商务英语考试《BEC中级》真题预测汇编

商务英语考试《BEC中级》真题预测汇编

试题1

Evaluatingtheperformanceoftheboard

Fewemployeesescapetheannualortwice-yearly

performancereview.(0)GTheanswerisnota

greatnumber.Andthesmallerthecompany,thefewerchecks

thereareonhowwellthe

directorsaredoing.Someofthelargestcompanies

formallyassesstheperformanceoftheirboard,butvery

fewneworgrowingcompanieshavemanagedtogetroundto

establishinganysuchprocedure.

Manybusinessexpertsbelieve,however,thatitis

importantforallcompaniestoreviewtheperformanceof

theboard.(8)Anotherreasonisthatthe

boarditselfneedsinformationon

howwellitisdoing,justasmuchasotheremployees

do.Forthechiefexecutive,appraisalofsomesortis

absolutelyessentialforhisorherownsakeandforthe

goodofthecompany.Indeed,

manyofthosewhohavereachedthislevelremarkon

howlonelythejobofchiefexecutiveisandhowfew

opportunitiestheygettodiscussissuesrelatingtoit.

Thereissomeevidencetoshowthatoncesmaller

companiesputaboardappraisalprocessinplace,theyfind

thisprocessrelativelyeasytooperate.

(9)Theircounterpartsinlarger

organisations,however,areoftenafraidthat

appraisalscouldbeachallengetotheirstatus.

So,howshouldcompaniesassesstheirboard?

(10)Ataverybasiclevel,thiscouldsimply

meangettingallthedirectorstowritedownwhattheyhave

achievedandhowtheycanimproveonit.Attheotherend

ofthescaleisthefull1360-degree*appraisal.Here,each

directorisappraisedinasystematicmannerbya

combinationofthechairmanandfellowdirectors.

Inthelargestcompaniestherearemanymethodsfor

assessingtheboard.Anumberofsuchcompanieshave

self-assessmentschemes.Thechairmanmaymeeteachboard

member

individuallytoaskhowthingsaregoing,inafairly

informalway.Thewholeboardmightalsomeettotalkabout

itsprogressinopensession.(11)These

mightaskforpeople1sopinions

ontheboard1smaintasksoronhowwellthecommittees

areworking.

Researchindicatestherehasbeensomeimprovementin

thewaytheappraisalofboardmembersisconducted.

(12)Thechairmanwillhavebeeninvolved

directlyorindirectlyinthe

appraisalofallmembersoftheboard.Whosejobis

it,then,toappraisethechairman?

AItisoftenthecasethatthedirectorsofsuch

companiesareevenhappytoreceivecriticism,asthiscan

preventthemfrommakingbasicmistakes.

BTherestoftheworkforceseesitasunfairifthe

directorsaretheonlymembersofthecompanytoescape

appraisal.

CTheseareencouragingastheyputalimitonthepower

ofthechairmantoassessfellowdirectors.

DAlternatively,questionnairesmightbedistributed

todirectors,formingthebasisforfuturediscussion.

EOneissueremains,however,whenalltheothershave

beendealtwith.

FItisgenerallyagreedthatitisthechairman's

responsibilitytoensuretheregularappraisalofeach

memberoftheboard.

GHowever,onewondershowmanycompanieshaveinplace

aformalappraisalprocessfortheirboardofdirectors.

参考答案：

《Evaluatingtheperformanceoftheboard》,评估董

事局的表现。众所周知一个公司里面是经常对员工的表现进行评

估的，那么谁又来评估董事局的表现呢?这篇文章讲了对董事局

表现进行评估的重要性和一些方法。

第八题，前面说对董事局的表现进行评估是很重要的。空格

后面的句子中有anotherreason,可见这个第八空应该填入对

董事局表现进行评估原因的句子。B符合这一特点，为

什么要进行评估，因为“如果决策层是公司唯一逃避评估的

成员的话，其他的员工会视之为不公平。”

第九题，前面说小公司会发现这种评估过程更容易操作。空

格后面一个however,说大公司的决策层会认为评估是对他们地

位的一种挑战。可见这个空格应该填入表示小公司愿意接受评估

的句子。A符合这一特点：通常这些公司的决策层会很乐意接受

批评，因为这可以防止他们犯错误。这里的suchcompanies是

个暗示，可以和前面的smallercompanies对应上。

第十题，前面问怎样对公司的董事局进行评估。那么很明显,

后面跟的句子应该和评估的方式方法有关。符合这一标准的只有

F：一般认为确保对董事局里每个成员的定期评估是主席的责任。

也就是说是依赖于主席进行评估。responsibility是个关键词。

第十一题。第五段依然是讲评估的'方法，具体的过程。空

格的前面说主席可以单独会见董事局的每一个成员，或者是集体

在一起谈话。空格后面说这些可以询问人们关于董事局主要任务

以及委员会的工作进展情况的意见。askforpeople,sopinion

是个关键点，什么可以询问人们的观点？调查。选D,

questionnaires是个关键的暗示：或者，也许可以给经理们分

发调查问卷，形成未来讨论的基础。

第十二题，这一空前面说有调查显示对董事局成员进行评估

的方法有所改善。空格后面来了一个疑问，提出没有人评估主席。

可见第十二题有转折的意思，选E,有关键的连词however,而且

E的oneissueremains,正好对应最后一段最后一句话的一个

问题。内容上也吻合。

试题2

B1ItwouldbeadvisableforFlackstoconsultcustomers

beforedevelopinganewproduct.

D2Producinggoodsforspecialistmarketsmight

increaseFlacks1profits.

C3Flacksmayneedtochangethefunctionofoneof

itsfacilities.

A4Flacksshouldutiliseitscurrentexpertiseto

enteradifferentmarket.

B5Flacksmayneedtoconsiderclosingitscurrent

productionfacility.

C6Flacksshoulddeveloptheconnectionsithas

establishedwithleadingretailers.

A7Expandingtheproductrangewouldnotbeaproblem

fortheworkforce.

FlacksisaUK-basedcompanythatproducesfashion

accessoriesforwomen.Howcanitcontinue

togrowitsbusiness?

ASusanFalmer

Facedwithashrinkingmarket,cheapimportsand

competitivepricing,Flackswillhavetowork

hardtoincreaseitsmargins.Theyneedtomoveinto

amorepromisingmarket,onewheredemand

isgrowingandwherethecompanycanexploitexisting

skillsandcontacts.Theycouldthinkabout

brandextension-thiswouldnotbeagiantleapand

thesalesforcewouldtakeitinitsstride.Also,

theywouldn*tneedtore-equiptheirfactoryandcould

usenon-UKsourcingiffacilitiesherearein

shortsupply.

BMesutGuzel

Theyhavethefundamentalsofasurvivalstrategyin

amarketwhereoutsourcedmanufactureand

branddifferentiationholdthekeytosuccess.Ithink

theyshouldinitiallylocatesomeoftheir

productioninanothercountry,wheremanufacturing

qualitytendstobebetteranditiseasierto

meetchangingcustomerdemands.Buttheyshouldalso

regularlymonitorproductioninBritain

andthinkaboutoutsourcingallthisworkabroadat

somepointiftheyneeditdonefaster.The

companyshouldcontinuetoworkoninnovativeproducts,

andthoroughmarketresearchwillhelp

toensureanynewideasarewellreceived.

CGaryWilmot

Inordertobeattheirrivalsinahighlycompetitive

market,Flacksshouldensuretheirproductsare

attractiveandbuildontheirrelationshipswiththe

bigstoresratherthantryingtogoitaloneand

marketdirectly.Theyshouldalsoconsiderrefocusing

productionbyusingtheirUKfactoryfor

high-specificationproducts.Theycouldeventually

buildmoreproductionoverseasinacycleof

continuousdevelopment.

DMichalKaminski

Thedemandforfashionaccessoriesisrelativelyflat

andthecompanyshouldconsiderexploiting

nichemarketstoimproveitsmargins.Butevenwithin

these,Flacksmustdistinguishitsgoods

fromthoseofitsrivalsintermsofquality,

performanceanddesign.Innovativesales,marketing

andPRarevitaltoexploitthesenicheproducts.One

competitiveadvantagethatFlacksdoeshave

isproductiontimes.Manyretailchainsnowhave

two-tiersupplychainsandFlackscouldfocuson

top-uporders.Theymightalsoinvestigateothersales

channelssuchasmailorder.

答案解析：

这篇文章是关于一个女性时尚饰品公司一一Flacks的发展

战略问题，四个专家给出了自己的建议。这套题目的答案稍微有

些隐晦。

第一题，说在开发新产品前咨询客户的意见对于Flacks来

讲是很明智的。答案是B段的最后一句：thoroughmarket

researchwillhelptoensureanynewideasarewell

received.彻底的市场调查能够确保新的思想很好的被接受。

Marketresearch,市场调查，在很大程度上就

是咨询客户的意见(consultcustomers),anynewideas

可以对应于developinganewproduct,能够wellreceived,

那么对于公司来讲当然就是advisable了。选B。第二题，说为

专业市场生产产品可以增加利润。答案是D段的这么一句：the

companyshouldconsiderexploitingnichemarketsto

improveitsmargins这题关键是要理解一个市场的含义：niche

marketo看英英解释：asmallareaoftradewithintheeconomy,

ofteninvolvingspecializedproductsoimproveitsmargins

也就是increaseprofits,选D。

第三题，说Flacks可能需要改变它的一个设备的功能。这

里答案不是太明显，是C段的这么一句：Theyshouldalso

considerrefocusingproductionbyusingtheirUKfactory

for

high-specificationproductso他们也需要考虑通过利用

英国工厂生产高规格产品来调整生产焦点。也就是说，英国工厂

原来不是生产高规格产品的，即题目说的.改变它的一个设备的

功能。

第四题，说Flacks可以利用现有的技能来进入一个新的市

场。答案是A段的这么一句：

Theyneedtomoveintoamorepromisingmarket,one

wheredemandisgrowingandwherethecompanycanexploit

existingskillsandcontactso他们需要进入一个更有发展前

景的市场，一个需求增长并且公司可以利用现有技能和合同的市

场。exploitexistingskills也就是utiliseitscurrent

expertiseo

第五题，说Flacks可以考虑关闭现有的生产设备。这题也

有些隐晦，答案是这么一句：

thinkaboutoutsourcingallthisworkabroado关键

就在于outsource这个词的意思：turntooutsidesuppliersor

manufacturers外购。既然是要考虑outsourceturnto

outsidemanufactures,那么也就是可以考虑关闭自己的生产设

备了。选B。

第六题，说Flacks应该考虑发展同领先的连锁商已经建立

起来的关系。答案在C段：

buildontheirrelationshipswiththebigstores发

展他们同大商店的关系。

第七题，说扩展产品范围对劳动力来讲不是问题。答案在A

段：Theycouldthinkabout

brandextension-thiswouldnotbeagiantleapand

thesalesforcewouldtakeitinitsstride.他们可以考

虑品牌扩张——这不是一个巨大的跳跃，在销售力量的步调范围

之内。言下之意，不是问题。选A。

试题3

Planning

Inanyplanningsystem,fromthesimplestbudgetingtothe

mostcomplexcorporateplanning,thereisanannual

process.Thisispartlyduetothefactthatfirms

(19)theiraccountingonayearly(20)but

alsoBECausesimilar(21)oftenoccurinthe

market.

Usually,thelargerthefirm,thelongertheplanning

takes.Buttypically,planningfornextyearmaystartnine

monthsormoreinadvance,withvariousstagesof

evaluationleadingto(22)ofthecompleteplan

threemonthsbeforethestartoftheyear.

Planningcontinues,however,throughouttheyear,

sincemanagers(23)progressagainsttargets,

whilelookingforwardtothenextyear.Whatishappening

nowwill(24)theobjectivesandplansforthe

future.

Intoday*sbusinessclimate,asmarketsconstantly

changeandbecomemoredifficultto(25),some

analystsbelievethatlong-termplanningispointless.In

somemarketstheymayberight,aslongascompaniescan

buildthesortofflexibilityintotheir(26)which

allowsthemto(27)toanysuddenchanges.

Mostfirms,however,needtoplanmorethanoneyear

aheadinorderto(28)theirlong-termgoals.This

mayreflectthetimeittakestocommissionandbuilda

newproductionplant,or,inmarketing(29),it

maybeaquestionofhowlongittakestoresearchand

launcharangeofnewproducts,andreachacertain

(30)inthemarket.If,forexample,itisgoing

totakefiveyearsforaparticularairlinetobecomethe

(31)choiceamongstbusinesstravellersoncertain

routes,theairlinemustplanforthevarious(32)

involved.

Everyone-yearplan,therefore,mustbe(33)

inrelationtolonger-termplans,anditshouldcontaindie

stagesthatarenecessarytoachievethefinalgoals.

19AmakeupBcarryoutCbringaboutDputdown

20AbasisBgroundsCfoundationDstructure

21AdistributionsBguidesCdesignsDpatterns

22AapprovalBpermissionCconsentDdecision

23AvalueBinspectCreviewDsurvey

24AcommandBpromptCinfluenceDpersuade

25AguessBspeculateCreckonDpredict

26AoperationsBtechniquesCmeasuresDexercises

27AanswerBrespondCcounterDreply

28AmoveBleadCdevelopDbenefit

29AexpressionsBdescriptionsCwordsDterms

30AreputationBpositionCsituationDinfluence

31AdesiredBselectedCpreferredDsupposed

32AactsBstepsCmeansDpoints

33AhandedoverBdrawnupCmadeoutDwrittenoff

参考答案：

这篇文章是关于公司计划的(planning),做计划时的过程和

需要考虑的一些因素。

全文的第一句话说公司做的决定是一个年度过程(annual

process)o接下来谈到原因。19题，makeup是组成、捏造、化

妆的意思，用在这里和accounting搭配不上;carryout是执行

(todosomethingthatneedstobeorganizedand

planned)；bringabout是带来，使发生(tomakesomething

happen)；putdown放下，镇压。从意思上看，应该选B,carry

OUto

事实上，carryoutaccountingon…・・basis是金融英语

里专业且地道的说法。最常见的一种是carryoutaccountingon

theaccrualbasis执行权责发生制。相应的，20题选basis,

公司时在一年的基础上执行会计准则的。

21题，这里需要理解上下文的含义。这一整句话仍然是在

说明公司进行planning的原因。正是因为相似的'模式会在市场

上出现，所以公司才需要进行计划。选pattems是最符合原义

的。

22题，很明显，这里填入的词是表示批准、通过之类的，

是指年前三个月完整的计划就会被通过。从中文意思上看，A、B、

C三个词都是符合的。具体看英文解释对几个词的用法进行区

分。

approval：whenaplan,decision,orpersonis

officiallyaccepted批准，正式的

eg：Thepresidenthasalreadygivenhisapprovaltothe

plan.

permission：whensomeoneisofficiallyallowedtodo

something允许，也是正式的

eg：Youmustaskpermissionbeforetakingany

photographsinsidethechurch.

approval：whenaplan,decision,orpersonis

officiallyaccepted批准，正式的

eg：Thepresidenthasalreadygivenhisapprovaltothe

plan.

permission：whensomeoneisofficiallyallowedtodo

something允许，也是正式的

eg：Youmustaskpermissionbeforetakingany

photographsinsidethechurch.

试题4

自卖自夸

Howdoyoufeelaboutthequalityofourproducts?

你觉得我们产品的质量怎么样？

Whatabouthavingalookatasamplefirst?

先看一看产品吧？

Whataboutplacingatrialorder?

何不先试订货？

Youcanrestassured.

你可以放心。

Wearealwaysimprovingourdesignandpatternsto

conformtotheworldmarket.

我们一直在提高我们产品的设计水平，以满足世界市场的要

求。

ThisnewproductistothetasteofEuropeanmarket.

这种新产品欧洲很受欢迎。

Ithinkitwillalsofindagoodmarketinyourcountry.

我认为它会在您的国家畅销。

Finequalityaswellaslowpriceswillhelppushthe

salesofyourproducts.

优良的、质量和较低的价格有助于产品销售。

Reliabilityisourstrongpoint.

可靠性正是我们产品的优点。

Thisproductisnowingreatdemandandwehaveonhand

manyenquiriesfromothercountries.

这种产品现在需求量很大，我们手头上有来自其他国家的很

多询盘。

Doyouhavespecificrequestforpacking?Herearethe

samplesofpackingavailablenow.Youmayhavealook.

你们对包装有什么特别要求吗？这是我们目前用的包装样

品，你可以看下。

Weregretthatthegoodsyouinquiredaboutarenot

available.

很遗憾，你们所询货物目前无货。

Wouldyouacceptdeliveryspreadoveraperiodoftime?

不知你们能不能接受在一段时间内分批交货？

试题5

得饶人处且饶人

BEC商务英语核心句型：

Getoffthedoggie'stail.

得饶人处且饶人，放他一马吧！

Getoffthedoggie*stail.直译过来就是：“放过狗尾巴”，

显然不能这样望文生义，这个句子的正确意思是：“得饶人处且

饶人，放别人一马”。因此，当美国人说"Getoffthedoggie's

tail.”时,他/她要表达的意思就是："Lethimoff.M."Let's

forgivehimifpossible."、"Let'sbelenientwheneverit

ispossible.，

情景对白：

Terry：Thatguybetrayedus.Ihatehisguts.It'snot

enoughtojustfirehim.

泰瑞：那个家伙背叛了我们。我对他恨之入骨。炒掉他还不

够解恨。

Benjamin：Enough,Terry.Getoffthedoggie1stail.

本杰明：行了，泰瑞。得饶人处且饶人，放他一马吧！

搭配句积累：

①I'lllethimgobankruptsoonerorlater.

我迟早要让他破产。

(2)1saidIwouldneverforgivehimandhewouldpay

thepriceforwhathehaddone.

我之前说过我永远也不会原谅他，他要为自己的'所作所为

付出代价。

③I'llhavehisheadbecausehehasmadesuchabig

mistake.

他犯了这么大的错误，我一定要严惩他。

④Allofourworkisinvainbecauseofhim,andIwill

neverlethimoff.

都是因为他，我们辛辛苦苦的成果都白费了，我是不会放过

他的。

BEC商务英语单词：

lenientadj.宽大的，仁慈的

Hebelievesthegovernmentalreadyislenientwith

drugtraffickers.

他认为政府对毒贩已经很宽容了。

ProfessorOswaldtakesasightlymorelenientview.

奥斯瓦尔德教授的观点稍微温和些。

Mostoftheothersappealedagainsttheirlifeprison

sentenceswithdeath,hopingformorelenientones.

其他大部分罪犯都进行了上诉，反对法院对他们终生监禁的

判决，并希望受到更宽大的处理。

试题6

OBEC中级商务英语考试真题模拟

Lookatthestatementsbelowandtheadviceto

businessesontheoppositepageaboutusingother

companiestoruntheirITservices.

1、theneedtoteachskillstoemployeesworkingon

theoutsourcedprocess

2、rememberingtheinitialreasonforsettingupthe

outsourcedproject

3、theneedtodrawupagreementsthatsetouthow

integrationistobeachieved

4、addressingtheissueofstaffwhoworkonthe

outsourcedprocessbeingatadistantsite

5、theimportanceofmakingsomeoneresponsiblefor

theintegrationprocess

6、staffontheoutsourcedprojectfamiliarising

themselveswithvariousdetailsofthebusiness

7、problemsbeingassociatedwithanalternativeto

outsourcing

WhenabusinessdecidestooutsourceitsITservices,

itneedstoconsiderthequestionofintegration.Four

expertsgivetheirviews.

A.GianlucaTramcere,SilicaSystems

AnoutsourcedITserviceisneverafullyindependent

entity.Itistiedtothehomecompany'spreviousand

continuingsystemsofworking.Butdespitetheadded

responsibilityofmanagingnewwaysofworking,many

businessesignoretheintegrationprocess.Theyfailto

establishcontractsthatdefinethewaysinwhichthetwo

companieswillworkalongsideoneanother,andfocus

solelyonthetechnologicalaspectsofservicedelivery.

B.KevinRayner,Domola

Businessesneedtobuildintegrationcompetency

centresdedicatedtomanagingtheintegrationeffort.It

iscriticaltohaveanindividualinchargetocheckthat

theexternalandinternalbusinessoperationswork

together.Althoughcompaniesoftenthinkofoutsourcing

asawayofgettingridofpeopleandassets,theyneed

torememberthat,atthesametime,outsourcinginvolves

gainingpeople.Becausethereisanewoperationbeing

carriedoutinadifferentwayoutsideofthehomebusiness,

thiscreatesatrainingelement.

C,ClaytonLocke,DigitalSolutions

Communicationisthekeytosuccess,andoutsourcing

tootherregionsorcountriescanleadtoarangeof

problems.Foranysuchinitiative,itisnecessaryto

createateamwherethereisgood,opencommunicationand

aclearunderstandingofobjectivesandincentives.

Bringingpeopletothehomelocationfromtheoutsourced

centreisnecessary,sinceitcanaidunderstandingofthe

complexitiesoftheexistingsystem.Tointegrate

efficiently,outsourcingpersonnelhavetotalktothe

homecompanysexecutivesanduserstounderstandtheir

experiences.

D.KimNoon,JGTech

Onewaytoavoidthedifficultiesofintegrationis

tocreateajoint-venturecompanywiththeoutsourcer.

Thus,acompanycanswapitsassetsforashareofthe

profits.Yetjointventuresbringpotentialtroubles,and

companiesshouldbecarefulnottolosesightofthe

originalrationaleforoutsourcing：togaincost

efficienciesandqualityofserviceinanareathatfor

somereasoncouldnotbecarriedoutentirelyin-house.

Thecomplexitiesandcostsofajoint-ventureinitiative

shouldnotbeunderestimated.

这篇文章讲的是外购(outsourcing),分别有四位专家就这

个问题给出了自己的看法。A段的专家强调建立合同的重要性，

B段专家认为要派专人负责，C段专家讲外派人员和本公司之间

要有一个互动，D段专家讲如果与外包商(outsourcer)组成联合

企业的话可能带来的一系列问题。如果对文章有个大概、基本的

了解，很多题目不用细看就可以得出结论。

第一题的答案稍微有些隐晦，在B段的最后一句。"Because

thereisanewoperationbeingcarriedoutinadifferent

wayoutsideofthehomebusiness,thiscreatesatraining

element.”因为新的操作是在本公司以外的地方以一种新的方式

被执行，所以产生了培训成分。这里的training对应第一题的

w

“teachskillstoemployeeso第二题的答案在D段中间：

companiesshouldbecarefulnottolosesightofthe

originalrationaleforoutsourcing.这里的・rationale是基

本原理、根本原因的意思。第三题的答案在A段，非常明显的

establishcontracts。第四段的答案是C段的最后一句话，

outsourcingpersonnelhavetotalktothehomecompany'

sexecutivesanduserstounderstandtheirexperiences.

这里的talkto对应address,向・・・・谈话。第四题的意思是“说

明在远址工作的外购人员的事情"也就是C段最后一句说的外

购人员向公司汇报他们的经历。第五段的答案在B段，相当明显：

Itiscriticaltohaveanindividualinchargetocheck

thattheexternalandinternalbusinessoperationswork

togethero需要派专人负责integrationo第六题说“外派人员

要熟悉自身工作的不同细节”，对应C段的“createateamwhere

thereisaclearunderstandingofobjectivesand

incentives.w打造一个对目标和动机都有清晰理解的团队。第

七题稍微绕一点。题目里的"analternativetooutsourcingw

指的是D段里的"createajoint-venturecompanywiththe

outsourcerw,建立一个联合企业。D段里的专家一直在强调联

合企业的麻烦和复杂性（jointventuresbringpotential

troubles),所以是正确答案。

试题7

历年商务英语考试BEC中级真题

Moderninternationaltradingpracticesare

highlightingthegrowingimportanceoflanguagetraining

Modern-daybusinessreallydoestranscendnational

barriers.ThankstosophisticatedITandcommunications

systems,businessescannowmarkettheirproductsona

trulyglobalscale.Theworldisindisputablybecominga

smallerplace,asserviceandmanufacturingcompanies

searchtheinternationalmarketplacefornewsuppliersand

clients.Businessesmust,however,beawarethatoncethey

expandtheareainwhichtheyoperate,theyfaceincreased

competition.Thestandardandqualityoftheirgoods

becomeincreasinglyimportantinkeepingupwith

competitors.Butmostofall,itistheserviceelement

accompanyingthegoodswhichiscrucialtoacompany1s

successinaparticularmarket.Thisnewphilosophyhas

ledtomanycompanies,someofwhichhaveevenoffered

productsofalesserquality,gainingsuccessoverseas.

Althoughglobalisationmay,insomesenses,have

broughtnationaleconomiesclosertogether,societies

aroundtheworldstillhaveradicallydifferent

expectations,processesandstandards.Thesearenota

functionofeconomicchange,butaremoredeep-rootedand

difficulttoalter.Theycanbeamajorproblemfor

businessesexpandingabroad,withthegreatestobstacle

ofallbeingthelanguagebarrier.Ifyouhavetodealwith

clients,suppliersanddistributorsinarangeof

countries,youwillnotonlyneedtheskillstocommunicate

withthem,youwillalsoneedtoreconcileanynational

biasesyouhavewiththediversewaysofdoingbusiness

thatexistaroundtheglobe.

Thevalueofeffectivecommunicationisnottobe

underestimated.Newtechnologysuchasvideoconferencing

andemailhasplayedapartinmakingthecommunication

processeasier,anditmayalsobepossiblethatthe

introductionoflanguageinterpretationsoftwarewill

helpwithsomeglobalcommunicationsproblems.But,of

course,itisthehumanelementofthecommunication

processthatissovitalinbusiness,especiallyin

negotiations,presentationsandteam-building.Itis

essentialformanagerstomeetregularlywithstaff,

customersandpartners,sothatissuescanbediscussed,

messagescommunicatedandfeedbackobtained.

Thevalueofwell-organisedlanguagetrainingis

immense,andcanbringbenefitstoalllevelsand

departmentswithinamultinationalorganisation.

Unfortunately,however,manyorganisationshaveavery

narrowviewwhenitcomestotrainingofanykind.Often,

anurgentrequirementhastobeidentifiedbeforetraining

isauthorised.Then,atrainingcompanyisemployedora

programmeisdevelopedin-house,theteamistrained,and

thatisseenastheendofthematter.However,thefact

remainsthattrainingprogrammesareeffectiveonlyif

theyarerelevanttoacompany*sbroader,long-termneeds.

Theyshouldberegardedasaninvestmentratherthana

cost.

Changesinexpectationsandattitudesarecertainto

continueforcompaniesthattradeglobally.Althoughsuch

companiesarenotyetfacedwiththeirinternational

partnersandclientsdemandingthatbusinessbeconducted

intheirmothertongue,theyrealisethatoverseas

competitionisincreasingfast.Ifthesecompanieswant

tocontinuetoachievesuccessontheinternational

tradingcircuit,theymustbepreparedtoadaptto

situationsandspeakthe