Unit 5. Business Ethics

1. Read the extract from the article from the CNN Money website and complete it with the expressions listed.

exceed

effort

consulting

figure out special              ethics policies

operate              presentation              support

small-business owners              value

business contacts              gift

Choosing Business Gifts

Making a good impression at the holidays with your best customers.

New York — Wondering what type of holiday gifts to give your ... (1)? Take a tip from the experts: If you can’t give an absolutely perfect present, don’t give one at all.

... (2) don’t have to spend a lot of money when they want to remember the customers who have given them significant business throughout the year. A sincere ... (3) and a tasteful... (4) will make a more lasting impression.

“The person should feel that you really ... (5) their business,” said Gud- run Bellerjeau, of Pleasant Valley Exquisitum in Knox, NY. You want to give something that says, “You are ... (6). I appreciate your business, your effort, your... (7).”

Before you ... (8) what gift to get a business contact, find out if you’re allowed to give a gift at all.

“Lots of companies (and most government agencies) have ... (9) which may allow or disallow the giving or receiving of gifts,” said Ellie Kittle, president of Regalo, a corporate ... (10) company in Menands, NY. “Don’t put your client in a funny position of having to give your gift back.”

Federal employees ... (11) under a policy that says the sum of all gifts received in one year cannot ... (12) $ 25. That includes meals, drinks or other gratuities that could be misconstrued as a kickback.

Private companies that once gave generously to clients at Christmas time have scaled back in recent years, and have adopted the government guidelines for themselves.

2. After fdling in the gaps read the extract once more and decide which of the statements are True and which are False and write T for True and F for False.

1. You can make a present even if you don’t know your business contacts preferences.
2. It is important to spend a great amount of money to show your respect to your customers.
3. You can make a more lasting impression without an expensive gift.
4. Your business contacts are allowed to accept valuable gifts.
5. A gift exceeding $ 25 can be considered as a bribe.

3. Give Russian equivalents and make up your own sentences:

• expression of appreciation;
• subtle and appropriate;
• business-to-business giving;
• prioritize;
• lasting appeal.

4. Translate the following sentences into Russian.

1. “We do customized greeting cards for our clients, but we don’t give a lot of gifts.” If the agency does give a gift, “it would not exceed $ 25.”
2. Jeff Corcoran, who runs Applied Success Retail Consultants in Ballston Lake, NY, acknowledges that it’s a more stringent corporate environment today. The generous year-end bounties that were part of his father’s business era have no place in his own.
3. Corcoran says he doesn’t give his clients gifts, “because I’m a consultant, and that would be considered a conflict of interest.”
4. Even the merchant operating on a shoestring can keep an attractive plate of holiday cookies on the counter for walk-in customers. It doesn’t cost much, and you’ll leave your customers with a good taste in their mouths — literally.
5. “We give out a lot of product samples and brushes around the holidays,” said Mary Lusio of Amelia’s Hair Designs in El Centro, CA. Free samples normally distributed year-round can take on a holiday theme simply by being displayed in a more decorative, festive container.

5. Render the extract from the article using the active vocabulary.

Вчерашняя встреча главы российской нефтяной компании «ЮКОС» Михаила Ходорковского и председателя совета директоров «Квэрнер» Харальда Ариквэрна в Осло прошла в обстановке враждебности, напомнившей о временах Холодной войны.

Когда «ЮКОС» был просто одним из крупных клиентов «Квэрнер», отношения компаний были здоровыми. Купив 22 % акций этой англонорвежской инженерной группы, переживающей сейчас сложные времена, «ЮКОС» заставил Норвегию сомневаться в чистоте намерений России. В норвежской прессе появилось по этому поводу множество публикаций агрессивного характера.

Те, кто впервые узнал о «ЮКОСе», были неприятно удивлены, обнаружив в его прошлом наличие большого числа «скелетов в шкафах», а это присуще многим российским компаниям, возникшим в девяностых годах или пережившим то тревожное десятилетие. Но те, кто наблюдает за эволюцией российской экономики, видят и положительные тенденции, не дающие пока возможности делать окончательные выводы.

За последние два года «ЮКОС» превратился из корпорации-парии в любимчика местного инвестиционного сообщества.