Trade Delegation

　　The company you work for is considering whether to send a trade delegation to a country which is a potential new market.

　　You have been asked to help plan the trip.

　　Discuss the situation together and decide:

　　* What the advantage and disadvantage of sending staff on the trip might be

　　*What kinds of information about doing business in the country the staff need to know before the trip

　　*What the company should achieve during the trip

　　商务代表团

　　你所在的公司计划派一个商务代表团去一个国家去开发那里潜在的新市场。公司要求你协助策划和组织这次计划。

　　你们一起讨论当前的状况，并决定：

　　l 此行的好处和坏处

　　l 员工在出发前需要了解哪些关于国家的信息

　　l 此行应该达到的目的是什么

　　【词汇&短语】

　　方案 proposal 优点，加分点 plus

　　把事情办成 pull it off 保留 retain

　　悬而未解的 pending 期待 look forward to

　　快速的 at a quick tempo 设想 assume

　　让步 make concession 重新调整 readjust

　　【句型点击】

　　You are saying……?

　　It does appear that way.

　　I’m really positive that….

　　I would not waste my time pursuing that….如果是我，我不会将时间浪费在这里

　　Could you please clarify your statement?

　　Could you go over it again?

　　【参考范例】

　　A: Our company is planning to send a trade delegation to Japan to develop the potential market there. What’s your proposal of the trip?

　　B: No wonder Jeffery and Thompson were brushing up their Japanese recently. They said they overheard something about this plan but it was still a pending issue. Is it too early to plan for sending delegation there? As far as I am concerned, there is not yet enough market survey backing up the plan.

　　C: It might appear that way. But in spite of this disadvantage, we still ought to do something whereas our major competitors are invading into the ready market. Anyway, to give it a shot is better than stay watching. And after all, it is a perfect opportunity to expand our horizon.

　　A: I believe the advantage outweighs the disadvantage. Now, we’d better think about what information about doing business in the country the staff need to know before the trip and make sure we send a strong team there.

　　C: Ok. Let’s make a list of what should be planned in advance. Firstly, I think the delegation member must have a good command of the language and local business manners.

　　B: You are saying exactly what I am thinking about. It all depend on the language communication to inquire about possibilities of doing business there. So, let’s make it our priority.

　　C: You just mentioned business manner. I definitely agree with you there. As an Asian country, Japanese share some culture with china, but we also have traditions that do not coincide with each other. One of the objectives of the trip is to give a good impression in the major cities of Japan. We should make the staff clear about the goal of their mission and get them fully prepared for this assignment.

　　A: It is also urgent to come up with what products the delegation should take with along the trip and in what way they should present them to the Japanese.

　　B: Could you go over it again? I didn’t catch up with it.

　　A: Ok, let me clarify my statement. I mean we should prepare some products of our company. And we should think about how to promote them in the Japanese market.

　　B: Got it. We have to prepare something with real pluses at a reasonably quick tempo. We can ask our candidates to think about some options. Personally, I don’t think we should retain the same style. I don’t have anything in particular in my mind right now, and I can’t say it for certain off-hand, but I assume that we be a little bit creative on this issue because we are there to make ourselves being heard and saw.

　　C: It is your specialist to invent and create. You can be in charge of this part of the work. I am looking forward to your bright idea.

　　A: I am into this idea as well. Ok, the last subject of today’s discussion. What’s your comment on the follow-up steps after the returning of the group?

　　B: We can arrange them to report to the marketing department and share their experience. I’m sure what they saw and left must help to readjust the marketing strategies.

　　C: And that will be a great achievement.