Appendix

Task

Situation

Role-Play 1

Coburn Tool Corporation receives a unique proposition from Companhia Internacional de Comercio: in exchange for US $ 400,000 in assorted gears, Coburn would receive the equivalent in Brazilian shoes, which it could sell in the American market.Coburn’s first reaction was to reject the deal; indeed, the overseas sales manager, John McEnroe, found the arrangement almost laughable. On further consideration, however, he began to think more seriously about the proposition. Four hundred thousand dollars was a significant amount of money. But what would a machine tool manufacturer do with shoes? Garcia is experienced at dealing with Western businessmen and has quick answers to all of McEnroe’s questions, while the latter is unfamiliar with barter. Garcia mentions American corporate giants like Citicorp, Sears, GM, so as to show McEnroe that companies much larger than his own got involved in countertrade and to make it seem less risky. Garcia makes the proposal more attractive by telling McEnroe that he can even earn some extra money through a commission. Garcia is going to send a tentative order for the gears, making McEnroe show that he has a firm offer for a large amount of money.

Act out a series of telephone conversations between John McEnroe, Overseas Sales Manager, Coburn Tool Corp. and Jose Garcia, Presi-dent, Companhia Internacional de Comercio. After the first conversa-tion Mr. McEnroe consults his colleague Alain Malone. Rose Ward, Mr. McEnroe’s secretary, receives telephone calls and does secretarial jobs.

John McEnroe: Your first reaction was to reject the deal; indeed, you found the arrangement almost laughable. On second thought you and your associates decided you might as well investigate it. You are of course happy to sell $400,000 worth of gears, but you do not know what to do with shoes. Garcia’s idea of setting up a trading subsidiary sounds strange and you are afraid your boss will only laugh you out of office. But then you try to find out how the deal will work and what would happen if you are unable to sell the shoes. You don’t know what a good shoe is and what a good price is. The whole business sounds very risky. But the hint about an extra profit makes the idea more attractive and you ask Garcia to let you talk to some commodity specialists and to your associates. If they feel you can move the shoes, you might consider it. It’s natural that Coburn will be reluctant to ship $400,000 worth of gears without first having some assurance they will actually get paid. So you ask Garcia to send you the specs (specifications) on the shoes together with some samples; also a breakdown on what gears they want to purchase.

Make use of the helpful phrases:

§ I must confess....

§ At first... seemed completely out of the question....

§ Obviously, we’re happy to..., but why in the world are we to do with...?

§ I can’t see us doing it. What I can see is....

§ Well, that’s another matter.

§ Hmm. But suppose....

§ I know next to nothing about....

§ At the moment that seems little more than wishful thinking [2] ….

§ Well, I obviously can’t make a decision now. Let me....

§ Do this for me -.... Then we can talk some more.

§ Best, though, not to laugh too loud [3].

Garcia: You focus your interlocutor’s attention on the fact that countertrade is one way Brazil has managed to cope with its foreign exchange problems. In your opinion Coburn can arrange to transfer title to a middleman, i.e. an importer in the U.S., or follow the example of Sears, G.M. or Citicorp and set up a trading subsidiary of their own. Then you explain to John McEnroe how the deal will work: Coburn Tool Corporation sends CIC $400,000 in parts and CIC sends them the title for $400,000 in shoes. When Coburn sells the shoes, CIC will deliver them wherever they want and Coburn won’t have to house them. The shoes are excellent and the price is extremely low. A commodities specialist should be able to evaluate the product and sell it. But the point in your reasoning is that John McEnroe can make an extra profit on this deal, taking a small commission on the sale of the shoes, say 2-3 %. You will get the shoes off to Coburn right away and also send a tentative order for their gears.

Make use of the helpful phrases:

· My name is …. I’d like to speak to Mr. …, please.

· I’d like to make an appointment to see Mr. … sometime next week.

· I’m sure it must have seemed unusual to you at first, but....

· There are a couple of actions you can take, say....

· That’s usually the first reaction.

· It’s really fairly simple.

· That shouldn’t be a problem.

· That’s where the specialist comes in. If you....

· Thanks for considering this proposal.

· I feel sure we can work something out.

Alain Malone: You chief wants to find out how the deal will work and what would happen if you are unable to sell the shoes. You are young and advantageous and forward-looking. That’s why you do not reject the offer and make a preliminary desk research. Countertrade is actually a form of currency exchange. It may even be considered as a form of bartering between a developed country and developing countries. Such trading entails a high level of risk and requires a thorough understanding of markets in all countries involved. You are quite aware that it is not a method of trading that businesses in developed countries favour. Still, that may be the only way to trade with a country that has few dollars. You suggest that you refer to a commodities specialist so that he could evaluate the product and help sell it.

Make use of the helpful phrases:

§ Let’s be clear first of all over the general problems.

§ However, one or two comments have some validity.

§ It makes sense for us to ….

§ As things stand, ….

§ After all, ….

§ It’s beyond doubt that ….

§ It’s my perception that ….

§ He who hesitates is lost.

§ That would be the best idea under the circumstances.

Rose Ward: When you answer the phone, your response depends on two things:

If the call you receive is a direct incoming call you state the name of your company:

“Coburn Tool Corporation’s. Good morning.”

If the call you receive is via a private exchange switchboard you state your name and department

“Head office. Miss Ward speaking.”, or “Miss Ward. Head office.”

You should not just say “Hullo”. This causes confusion, does not help the caller, and wastes time.

Make use of the helpful phrases:

§ I’m afraid Mr. M is not here at the moment. Can I help you, or would you like to speak to someone else?

§ And your name? I didn’t hear it properly the first time.

§ Will you, please, spell your name?

§ Would you like him to phone you when he comes back to the office?

§ Would you like to phone again later?

§ Would you like to leave a message?

§ I’ll pass the message on to Mr. ….

§ I’ll just check Mr. M’s diary, and see if I can arrange an appointment for you.

§ Would … (Wednesday afternoon, 2.30) be convenient?

§ I’ll make a note of that.

§ Would you like me to confirm the appointment?

§ Just a moment. I won’t be long.

§ Mr. M is on the other line at the moment. Would you like him to phone you back later?

§ I have Mr.G of …(the name of the company) on the line. He wants to speak to …

§ All right. You are trough. (Соединяю.)

§ Fine. I”ll do that.

Your decision:

Complete the secretary’s message form for the telephone conversation:

MESSAGE FORM

For …………………………………………………………………………

From ……………………………………………………………………….

Of ………………………………………………………………………….

Tel No. …………………………………………………………………….

came to see you	sent telex message	urgent	please ring him / her
telephoned	appointment to see you	telex back	will phone later
cabled	wants to see you	will write	will come again

Message ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Date …………………………………… Time ……………………………….

Received by ………………………………………………………………….

Note:

In international calls, the spelling of names often causes difficulty. Secretaries use the official Post Office alphabetic code, and if you are spelling a word to an English-speaking person on the phone, they will understand you if you use this code.

The official Post Office alphabetical code is:

A	for Andrew	H	for Harry	O	for Oliver	V	for Victory
B	for Benjamin	I	for Isaac	P	for Peter	W	for William
C	for Charlie	J	for Jack	Q	for Queenie	X	for X-ray
D	for David	K	for King	R	for Robert	Y	for Yellow
E	for Edward	L	for Lucy	S	for Sugar	Z	for Zebra
F	for Frederick	M	for Mary	T	for Tommy
G	for George	N	for Nellie	U	for Uncle

Дата добавления: 2014-12-23