Reading Practice

In the passage below the German trainee felt that the people who want to be addressed as 'Dr' must be …

When discussing this topic in a training course, a German trainee and a British trainee got into a hot debate about whether it was appropriate for someone with a doctorate to use the corresponding title on their business card. The British trainee maintained that anyone who wasn't a medical doctor expecting to be addressed as 'Dr' was disgustingly pompous and full of themselves. The German trainee, however, argued that the hard work and years of education put into earning that PhD should give them full rights to expect to be addressed as 'Dr'.

• hard-working

• conceited and self-important

• doing a medical degree

• from Germany

According to the passage below, if you are not sure how to address someone, you should …

This stark difference in opinion over something that could be conceived as minor and thus easily overlooked goes to show that we often attach meaning to even the most mundane practices. When things that we are used to are done differently, it could spark the strongest reactions in us. While many Continental Europeans and Latin Americans prefer to be addressed with a title, for example Mr or Ms and their surname when meeting someone in a business context for the first time, Americans, and increasingly the British, now tend to prefer using their first names. The best thing to do is to listen and observe how your conversation partner addresses you and, if you are still unsure, do not be afraid to inquire the issue directly with them.

• use the title you see on their business card.

• make your decision based on cultural stereotypes about their country.

• address them the way you'd like to be addressed.

• ask them what they would like you to call them.

According to the passage below, There might be a misunderstanding if an American smiles at a Russian business associate because the Russian might think that the American is ...

A famous Russian proverb states that 'a smile without reason is a sign of idiocy' and a so-called 'smile of respect' is seen as insincere and often regarded with suspicion in Russia. Yet in countries like the United States, Australia and Britain, smiling is often interpreted as a sign of openness, friendship and respect, and is frequently used to break the ice.

• being fake.

• challenging their authority.

• trying to break the ice.

• disrespectful.

According to the paragraph below, Americans and British people sometimes use eye contact to show that they ...

An American or British person might be looking their client in the eye to show that they are paying full attention to what is being said, but if that client is from Japan or Korea, they might find the direct eye contact awkward or even disrespectful. In parts of South America and Africa, prolonged eye contact could also be seen as challenging authority. In the Middle East, eye contact across genders is considered inappropriate, although eye contact within a gender could signify honesty and truthfulness.

• like the speaker.

• are fully invested in what is being said.

• are honest and truthful.

• are attending to every need of the speaker.

The last paragraph warns the reader not to ...

Having an increased awareness of the possible differences in expectations and behaviour can help us avoid cases of miscommunication, but it is vital that we also remember that cultural stereotypes can be detrimental to building good business relationships. Although national cultures could play a part in shaping the way we behave and think, we are also largely influenced by the region we come from, the communities we associate with, our age and gender, our corporate culture and our individual experiences of the world. The knowledge of the potential differences should therefore be something we keep at the back of our minds, rather than something that we use to pigeonhole the individuals of an entire nation.

• engage in international business communication.

• abide by the way national cultures shape our thoughts and beliefs.

• let miscommunication damage our business relationships.

• overgeneralise using our knowledge of cultural stereotypes.

In the paragraph below, what does the 'feedback sandwich' involve?

Your manager stops you and says she needs to have a word about your performance in the recent project. You worry about it all weekend, wondering what you might have done wrong. When you step into her office on Monday morning she begins by praising you for the good work you've done on the project, and you wonder if this is the obligatory praise that starts off the typical 'feedback sandwich'. You know how the feedback sandwich goes: say something nice, say what you really want to say, say something nice again.

• Giving positive feedback by accompanying it with negative feedback.

• Giving negative feedback by accompanying it with positive feedback

• Creating a feedback culture in an organisation

• Devaluing positive feedback

In an attempt to inject some positivity into their feedback, many managers rely on sandwiching negative feedback between two positive comments. However, when feedback becomes such a routine, employees can start to perceive positive feedback as simply a form of sugarcoating the negatives, thus diminishing its value. Instead, positive feedback should not simply be seen as something to cushion the negative, but should be delivered so as to reinforce and encourage good performance.

The writer believes that the 'feedback sandwich' …

• can encourage good performance.

• makes negative feedback more painful.

• makes employees fearful of feedback.

• is too predictable to be effective.

Psychologist and 'growth mindset' proponent Carol Dweck spoke of the plasticity of the brain and our ability to develop skills and talents that we might not have been good at to start with. Many of us tend to focus our praise on the end result and seemingly innate talents, e.g. 'You really have an eye for details' or 'You have a real talent for organising events'. However, research suggests that by focusing on the process of how things are done – praising effort, experimentation and problem-solving strategies – we can encourage the development of new skills and the continued honing of talents.

The 'growth mindset' idea is that ...

• we should focus on honing the talents that we are born with.

• the end result is more important than the process.

• we must not tell people that they are good at certain things.

• we are able to adapt and evolve if we pay attention to the means rather than the ends.

Make giving positive feedback part of your team/department/company culture. Don't just wait for special moments like appraisals to give feedback. Offer informal positive feedback when making small talk or when walking down a corridor. Feedback doesn't have to only come from the higher ranks either. Encourage peer feedback among team members and colleagues and actively ask them for positive comments on each other's performances on tasks. 

How can we create a culture of positive feedback?

• By offering feedback only during informal occasions such as when walking down a corridor

• By making sure that only positive and not negative feedback is given

• By asking your employees to offer positive feedback to their colleagues

• By not conducting appraisals for employees

It might take time to counter the effects of an environment where there is a cynical view of positive feedback, but in the long run, by embracing positive feedback, you can not only enhance working performance but also enrich the quality of life in the workplace. 

A cynical view of positive feedback …

• is irreversible.

• can make the quality of working life richer.

• can be healthy.

• can be changed gradually.