AUDIO SCRIPTS
177
LESSON 8.1 RECORDING 8.1
M = Michel, Mi = Mike, A= Astrid, J = John,
S = Sofia
M:
I’m Michel, from France. Globalisation’s
definitely made the world smaller, but I don’t
think it’s a fairer place. I think it has benefits
for developed world consumers, but not for
workers in poorer countries. It often means
things like child labour and other abuses of
human rights. There are some benefits but
they’re not evenly distributed. It’s contributed
to the gap between the rich and poor
countries. Globalisation exploits the poor and
has no respect for local cultures.
MI:
Hi, this is Mike from the USA.
Globalisation is just another aspect of
evolution. It’s a new name for an old
process. Surely the coming of the railways
and industrialisation hundreds of years ago
was globalisation? It enables products to
be produced wherever it is most efficient
to do so. I think it means great social
and economic progress for developing
countries. I don’t understand this anti-
globalisation movement and feeling. Surely
free markets and the free movement of
people, goods and services are beneficial
to economies all over the world?
A:
This is Astrid, from Sweden. I think it’s
true that globalisation has connected the
world with great technological advances in
communications. Television and the Internet
have improved people’s lives all over the
world. For me personally, globalisation is a
good thing but it has also pushed rich and
poor further apart. Globalisation is basically
an economic movement. Manufacturing
goes to the cheapest places. Companies
maximise profits by exploiting workers as
a way of reducing costs. Globalisation is
mostly about corporate greed.
J:
John, from the UK. Globalisation benefits
everyone, including people in developing
countries. It allows me personally to work
from home in the UK with clients and
colleagues all over the world. Globalisation
isn’t just benefiting big corporations. It also
benefits small businesses like my own.
Technology and cheaper transport mean I can
compete with large corporations who used to
have a monopoly on faraway markets.
S:
I’m Sofia, speaking from Colombia. You
know, when the result of globalisation is
damaging the environment, it’s a bad thing.
It’s clear to me that global warming and
climate change are the direct results of
globalisation. Industry and big business have
no respect for the environment – they’re
only interested in making money. I don’t see
any benefits for workers in poor countries
who are just exploited by globalisation.
LESSON 8.2 RECORDING 8.2
R = Radio presenter, G = Gina, P = Paulo, C =
Carlos, I = Iwonna
R:
On today’s programme four international
recruitment managers give advice to
university leavers who wish to work for global
companies. Gina, could you start us off please?
G:
Certainly. I meet a lot of employers who
recruit graduates, and most of them say
they value individuals who are comfortable
working in global teams and who are
willing to work with people from different
backgrounds and cultures. They want
people who have the ability to think quickly
and intelligently. It’s about taking an active
interest in the world around them and
having a global mindset. That’s what will
catch the eye of global recruiters. These
global graduates need to be able to show
they’ve thought about the global challenges
and opportunities facing companies.
P:
I agree with you, Gina. They need
to demonstrate that they have global
skills. They need to understand the
communication styles of the cultures
they’ve come from, for example are
their cultures direct or indirect, are they
formal or informal. And they need to
demonstrate curiosity and patience and be
respectful about how people from other
cultures communicate. It’s about having
more awareness about yourself and the
culture you come from. If they are in a
confusing situation they need to take a
step back and not take things personally.
The challenge is to stay open to other
ways of communicating and not to make
quick judgments about people. It’s about
putting yourself in their shoes. At the same
time, treat people as individuals and don’t
stereotype them. The key words to think
about are flexibility and adaptability. You
can try to act appropriately by watching
what other people do and mirroring their
behaviour. If you try to respect and adjust to
the way another person communicates, then
that will help put them at ease and help
you to avoid miscommunication. Trust your
intuition and have confidence that you will
act with sensitivity.
C:
Maybe I can come in here Paulo, and give
an example of how you can adapt and
adjust. If I’m communicating with someone
who has a more indirect communication
style than me, then I should remember
that they may be giving me hints rather
than explaining clearly what they want.
And they may not appreciate a very direct
answer as this may be interpreted as rude.
In this situation I would adapt my behaviour
by paying more attention to how I phrase
things and by softening my style to make
sure information and facts don’t come
across too directly. And I could think about
speaking to them in private as that might
avoid embarrassment. I would also look out
for body language and non-verbal clues as
to what they are trying to express. Iwonna,
would you like to come in here?
I:
That’s a really useful example Carlos. I’d
like to give our listeners a practical example
as well. Let’s take the classic example of
attitudes to meetings. Let’s consider a meeting
between people from two different cultures.
In the first culture, the individual and their
contributions and achievements are highly
valued. People from this culture want a
focussed, facts only, get it done, listen to me
type meeting. However, in the second culture,
the team is highly valued, and consensus,
deciding something together, is a vital step
in decision-making and it might take time
to get to a decision. This culture also wants
to make the other person look good and is
not focussed on grabbing the spotlight or
speaking up in meetings. People from the
second culture don’t speak up and people
from the first culture just think people from the
second culture never say anything. So good
ideas go unspoken and misunderstandings
grow. And the problem can get worse when
one is looking at virtual communication and
tele conferencing between people in different
time zones, and where there is a shortage
of time and meetings cannot drag on. If you
want to work for a global team, you need to
think about how you would react in situations
like these, and you need to be able to adapt,
whichever culture you come from …
LESSON 8.3 RECORDING 8.3
J = Jane, T = Tomas, M = Maria
J:
Well, I’m delighted with the outcome of the
annual report on our charity and we can say
our clean up from the oil spill was a great
success. But let’s catch up on our plans for our
latest environmental campaign … and I have
to say I’m sorry for being out of touch last
week but I had my computer fixed yesterday
and hope to catch up with emails this week.
So, can you bring us up to speed, Tomas?
T:
Yeah. I had the web team update the site with
news about the global campaign last week
and we got the figures approved by Finance.
J:
Right. One other thing I forgot to say …
Hamza called me and, unfortunately, he
had his car stolen so he won’t be able to
make the meeting!
T:
Oh dear!
M:
That’s a shame.
J:
OK, well back to the new campaign. So now
it’s just a case of having it all signed off by the
legal team. Maria, can you deal with that?
M:
Sure. When do we need it by?
J:
Oh, no rush. The original deadline is fine –
we’re well ahead of schedule.
LESSON 8.4 RECORDING 8.4
P = Presenter, CEO = Bob Craven
P:
Good evening everyone and welcome
to this week’s edition of In the Hot Seat,
with me, Louise Falcon. Tonight my guest
is Bob Craven, chief executive of the
supermarket giant Smithsons.
CEO:
Good evening, everyone.
P:
Welcome to the programme, Bob. It’s
good to finally have you on the show to
answer a few questions.
CEO:
It’s my pleasure, Louise.
P:
Could I start off by asking you about the
success of Smithsons – why do you think
it’s so successful?
CEO:
Well, Louise, I think it’s because of our
range of products and because we have
always meant good value for money.
P:
Yes, but what do you mean by good
value? Surely in some markets, and for
some people, you are very expensive?
CEO:
Well, I don’t think so actually. Basically,
what I’m saying is the customer is at the
heart of our business. We always charge
lower prices than our competitors.
P:
Ah, yes, but some people accuse you of
using low prices to force the competition
out of business.
CEO:
Sorry, I don’t know what you mean, Louise.
P:
Well, there’ve been examples where
you have destroyed small businesses by
keeping prices low, which of course you
can do because of your size.
CEO:
That’s ridiculous, Louise. What we’re
doing is offering the consumer a choice …
and part of that choice is lower prices. And
we’re proud of that. Now, you could force
people to use higher priced competitors
to keep them in business, but that doesn’t
seem right to me. What I really want to say
is that we believe in the customers’ right to
choose where they shop.
