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New article: case study about BMW and Rover

5/11/2013

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I've finished and published an article about a famous business case study: BMW's acquisition of Rover (which is now part SAIC Motor 上汽 under the name Roewe 荣威).
Picture
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  • Case Study: Auto Industry Acquisition by BMW of Rover
I've explained the background (the economic and political situation in Britain), the basic facts of the case, and the consequences.
I've also given links to:
  • dictionary definitions & example sentences for lots of useful business English vocabulary
  • encyclopedia articles about the companies and people involved
  • news & business articles that I used as references for my article
I hope you find it interesting / useful.
If you have any comments, please write below.
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Communication difficulties between English-speakers & Chinese-speakers is about more than just language...

12/8/2011

4 Comments

 
Recently I was reading an interview with an American linguist who has written a book about her time living in Beijing and studying Mandarin Chinese.
  • Eight Questions: Deborah Fallows, ‘Dreaming in Chinese’
One interesting point she made was about how culture affects what words we use and what things we choose to talk about.

From the point of view of a Westerner: "How can you suddenly leave off the 'please's when you have lived a life where 'please' and 'thank you' are drummed into you from the get-go? Or how can you not be taken aback when asked about your earnings, your rent, your age, or asked which of your children you like best?"

Westerners meeting someone for the first time (or even the second or third time) would never ask such questions. And as children, English-speakers are taught to always make requests with 'softeners' like "please" or "could you...?" And to say "thank you" when receiving something. A native English-speaker might feel a person is being rude to them if these 'softeners' are not used.

And from the point of view of a Chinese person: "One Chinese woman told me an involved story about her childhood experience with a western missionary couple. The couple took her and some school friends on a picnic, [during which] the husband asked his wife to “please” pass the water. The schoolgirls were shocked – horrified – that this husband would ask his wife for something in such a formal way."

So remember: when communicating with people from another country, consider their language AND their culture to avoid unwanted offence or confusion.
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    G.A.L.E.S.L. / joe3

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  • Home
  • Blog
  • ESL Links
    • Links during Online Classes
    • General English
    • TOEIC
    • TOEFL
    • Online Conversation / Language Exchange
    • Listening
    • Vocabulary
    • Grammar
    • Verbs
    • Business English
    • Telephone English
    • Other Links
  • Articles
    • Q & A: Help with International Accents, Page 1 >
      • Accents page 2: Ask them to slow down
      • Accents page 3: Get to know other accents
      • Accents page 4: Using online accent resources: IDEA
      • Accents page 5: Using online accent resources: Speech Accent Archive
      • Accents page 6: Using online accent resources: Map Your Voice
    • Case Study: BMW and Rover
  • Conversation Issues
    • Nice to meet you
    • How have you been?
    • Where are you? / Where are you from?
    • meet a problem
    • colleagues
    • -ed [versus] -ing
    • borrow [versus] lend
    • "or" questions
    • Relax myself
    • Sorry for my late
    • Name card
  • Search
  • About / Contact
  • Sound Problems
    • Feedback & Echo
    • No Sound
    • Fans
    • Interruptions
    • Volume Level