Unit 5 International Business Styles

Ex. 1. Read the portraits of managers in five different countries (New Insights into Business, p.44 – p.45, Ex.1) and fill in the gaps with the names of the countries or adjectives of nationality.

Characteristics of management often vary according to national culture, which can determine how managers are trained, how they use their authority, what relationships they have at work, how they approach their jobs and so on.

… ¹ managers receive a general education and believe it is important to continue education and training at work. Their … ² colleagues generally attend business schools whereas … ³ managers hold technical degrees rather than business qualifications.

In … ⁴ they consider professional and technical skills to be very important and in … ⁵ social qualities are considered to be as important as education.

… ⁶ managers encourage their employees to work individually. In … ⁷ employees are rewarded for using initiative while … ⁸ managers clearly define how jobs should be done.

In … ⁹ they have relatively formal relationships at work but in … ¹⁰ it is acceptable to communicate easily and informally at work.

… ¹¹ managers have a strong sense of authority and respect the different positions in the hierarchy of their companies. At this point … ¹² and … ¹³ managers use another practice. … ¹⁴ managers do not use much authority and appreciate low-level decision making. … ¹⁵ managers take a practical approach to management and prefer to delegate authority.

In …. ¹⁶ employees are expected to be very loyal to their companies and to obey. … ¹⁷ employees are expected to work hard. … ¹⁸ managers are extremely innovative, optimistic and determined. They work very long hours and expect their subordinates to do so.