Relationships - people.unica.it · business relationships. What factors do you think she will mention? [Cotton et al. (2011: 22)] Relations or Relationships? These two words both

LESSON 3

Building relationships

You are going to listen to Gillian Baker, Business Relations Manager with an international training organisation, talkingabout how companies can build strong business relationships. What factors do youthink she will mention?

[Cotton et al. (2011: 22)]

Relations or Relationships?These two words both mean the same thing ("the way in which two or more people, groups, countries, etc., talk to, behave toward, and deal with each other"), and so some of their uses overlap, but they have different connotations.Relations is used in more formal writing and tends to be used more of the interactions between countries or large groups of people ("relations between Iraq and the U.S.," "relations between blacks and whites"). It is also used in constructions like "diplomatic relations" or "international relations." When relations is used of specific people, it is a very formal use that refers to the act of sexual intercourse. It is not correct to say, "I am in relations with him." For that, you would use the word relationship.Relationship tends to be used more broadly and generally to describe the interactions between specific people or smaller groups of people. When used of specific people, it often can refer to a romantic connection ("I am in a relationship with him") unless another type of relationship is specified ("her relationship with her coworkers", "the parent-child relationship"). Because relationship is more informal than relations, it is not used as much as relations in formal writing about countries or large groups of people, but these uses ("the relationship between Iraq and the U.S.") are not uncommon and are idiomatic.

[http://www.learnersdictionary.com/qa/relations-and-relationship]

What are the most important relationships for you at your place of work/study? Why?

[Cotton et al. (2011: 22)]

Read the article and answer these questions:

1. What objective does AIG have in China?2. What does Mr Greenberg see as his role in the company?3. Why is Asia important to AIG?

[Cotton et al. (2006: 24)]

[Cotton et al. (2011: 27)]

Role play

You are networking at a conference about sports goods.

STUDENT A: you are sales manager for a sports goods company. You are at a conference and see someone who you met briefly last year at a trade fair.A) reintroduce yourselfb) find out if the person is interested in becoming an agent for your companySTUDENT B: you have a wholesale business specialising in sports good. You are at a conference and you see someone you think you recognise, but are not sure. When they introduce themselves:a) show some interestb) try to find out if there is any possibility of working together in the future

[Cotton et al. (2006: 27)]

Complete the table with these verbs, which are often used with the word relations [Cotton et al. (2011: 23)]

break off – build up – cement – cultivate – cut off – damage – develop– disrupt – encourage – establish – foster – improve – jeopardise –maintain – promote – restore – resume – sever – sour – strengthen -undermine

POSITIVE MEANING NEGATIVE MEANING

build up relations break off relations

Complete the table with these verbs, which are often used with the word relations [Cotton et al. (2011: 23)]

break off – build up – cement – cultivate – cut off – damage – develop– disrupt – encourage – establish – foster – improve – jeopardise –maintain – promote – restore – resume – sever – sour – strengthen -undermine

POSITIVE MEANING NEGATIVE MEANING

build up – cement - cultivate break off – cut off – damagedevelop – encourage – establish disrupt – jeopardise – severfoster – improve – maintain sour – underminepromote – restore – resumestrengthen

Choose the correct verb in each sentence[Cotton et al. (2011: 23)]

1 Sales staff who are impolite to customers disrupt / damage the reputation of a company

2 We are planning to promote / establish branch offices in Spain next year

3 By merging with a US company, we greatly strengthened / maintained our sales force.

4 Relations with customers have been fostered / undermined recently by poor after-sales service.

5 Thanks to a new communications system, we are souring / improving relations with suppliers.

6 A strike at our factory last year resumed / disrupted production for several weeks

7 We could not agree on several points, so we broke off/ cut off talks regarding a joint venture.

8 The success of our new product launch was cemented / jeopardised by an unimaginative advertising campaign.

9 In order to gain market share in China, we are building up / cutting off relationships with localagents.

10 Business relations between the two countries have been severed / fostered by official visits and trade delegations.

Choose the correct verb in each sentence[Cotton et al. (2011: 23)]

1 Sales staff who are impolite to customers damage the reputation of a company.

2 We are planning to establish branch offices in Spain next year.

3 By merging with a US company, we greatly strengthened our sales force.

4 Relations with customers have been undermined recently by poor after-sales service.

5 Thanks to a new communications system, we are improving relations with suppliers.

6 A strike at our factory last year disrupted production for several weeks.

7 We could not agree on several points, so we cut off talks regarding a joint venture.

8 The success of our new product launch was jeopardised by an unimaginative advertising campaign.

9 In order to gain market share in China, we are building up relationships with local agents.

10 Business relations between the two countries have been fostered by official visits and trade delegations.

Give an example of a company you know which is good at building relationships with its customers. How do they do this?

[Cotton et al. (2011: 23)]

Bibliography

Cotton, D., Falvey, D., Kent, S. (2011), Market Leader Upper Intermediate. Business English Course Book. Harlow, Essex: Pearson.

Cotton, D., Falvey, D., Kent, S. (2011), Market Leader Upper Intermediate. Business English Course Book. Harlow, Essex: Pearson.