Communicatietraining Engels 3 23-24

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Table of Contents
PAGE
Outline and practical organisation of the course 2
1 Vocabulary lists
1.1 This is my company 6
1.2 I work for this company 25
1.3 National and international 29
1.4 Accounting and finance 33
1.5 Human resources 43
2 Telephoning practice 56
3 Analysing and describing charts 65
4 Presentation 76
5 Writing skills
5.1 taking notes 86
5.2 writing business mails 87
5.3 writing reports 92
5.4 text cohesion: conjunctions and linkers 107
6 Grammar
6.1 Eradicating stubborn problems 115
6.2 the passive 126
6.3 modality 130
7 Discussion and meeting

7.1 Discussion idioms 136
7.2 Meeting language 138
8 Business topics
8.1 How to enhance motivation and performance? 144
8.2 We need change in our organisation! 153
Examples of tests and exams 164
Key to exercises 168
Geannoteerde bronnenlijst 174
Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

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Outline and practical organisation of the course
The course Communicatietraining Engels 3 is meant for upper-intermediate students (CEF B2) who
need English in a business environment to conduct supportive and managerial tasks typical of a
management assistant. The course offers authentic materials to improve speaking and writing skills
as required. Next to that, the course teaches writing skills to be able to conduct business
correspondence and reporting.
The course enables students to
− apply telephone skills related to standard situations and more difficult topics like complaints
− present charts in a business context
− participate in a decision-holding meeting with peers
− conduct a professional presentation
− write a status report
− write business mails describing your business
− use essential business vocabulary and vocabulary specific to the diverse roles of a management
assistant
− apply HR related theories to small business cases and discuss strategies and recommendations
using appropriate terminology
How does assessment take place?
Below you see the split up of the grade for CTE 3.
Debriefing / post-internship assignment WRITTEN/ORAL 6

Presentation ORAL 8
Written test WRITTEN 8
Meeting 1 ORAL 4
Meeting 2 ORAL 4
June exam WRITTEN 30
This renders a total of 60 points to be gained. Look out: 50% of your grade is earned by mid-May: start
studying timely!
The resit in August (call it “August”, because by the beginning of September most exams have taken
place …) comprises a written and an oral part, covering 40 and 20 points respectively.

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What if I miss a test?
For all tests you notify according to our department policy: you notify our department secretary BEFORE
THE START OF THE TEST via the official way (absence application). This is also the way to hand in your
evidence (usually a doctor’s note) as soon as possible. Only students on the official lists of the department
secretary receive a chance for a resit.
You also best send a mail to me, so I can take into account your resit. You will receive a reply stating that I
took note of your communication. Below you find what happens in various cases:
• written test or meeting missed: the teacher will establish a time for a resit.
• Presentation missed: you will receive a new topic which you have to work out alone. The rest of the
team presents and covers the entire topic!
Bear in mind that a “resit of the resit” does not exist. Missing the second chance inevitably means receiving
the grade “not present”.
Working in class and communicating
The basis for all educational activities is motivation. You can prove motivation
(1) by having your materials with you: you have the syllabus printed out. As many instructions are
based on taking notes in the syllabus, working with a digital version of the syllabus is difficult. If you
print on both sides and 2 sheets to the page, you can reduce this 180-page syllabus to only 45 pages.
Consulting the syllabus on smartphone or laptop is not permitted in class. If you do not have a paper
syllabus with you, the teacher will request you to leave class.
(2) by having made assignments: if many students don’t make the assignments the teacher requires,
the flow of teaching is seriously impeded and good students start to suffer. The teacher has the right
not to treat materials he requested as homework if ¼ of the students have not made this homework.
The teacher can request students who did not make the homework to leave class.
(3) By cooperating actively and not being distracted by social media. The use of mobile phones,
including having a mobile phone on the desk, is forbidden in class. Students who trespass this rule
will be requested to leave class.
(4) By communicating in English at all times, especially when talking to the teacher, but preferably also
among your fellow students. It is well known that this “total immersion” in the foreign language is
a far more efficient way to learn than talking “about” the language in your own tongue. Every time
you switch to Dutch or French, you “drag down” the level of the entire class. So don’t.

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We make these agreements on communication:
(1) If you want to contact your teacher, the best way is in class during the break or by sending a mail
(hans.denruyter@odisee.be). The Teams chat is a means to communicate during online sessions. It
is not meant to contact your teacher outside sessions. Chat messages will not be answered.
(2) Mails asking what was covered in class or what has to be prepared for next class will not be
answered. This information can usually be found on Toledo, and if not, you can ask friends.
(3) Mails written in Dutch will not receive a proper reply. You will receive the simple message “In English
please”.
(4) Mails containing bad addresses or closes will receive a reply, but you will be informed that your
wrong formulation will be sanctioned with -1 out of 20 for the written test that takes place in the
course of the term.
Example of a mail to your teacher
Dear Mr Denruyter
I am not able to participate in the written test, as I am ill. I also sent a mail to the official absent mail address
of our department, providing a doctor’s note. I hope I can get a second chance to do the test.
Kind regards
(your name)

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7 Vocabulary lists and exercises
This cartoon, taken from Obelix and Co., a comic book in the famous Asterix series, shows that of course you
can “survive” in English without business vocabulary. But dealing with professionals will involve learning
“their” language and way of expressing. Otherwise you will sound like a simpleton (“Uh?”) and people won’t
take you seriously.
7.1 Vocabulary list “This is my company”
Business Zaken
1 How is business? (singular!) Hoe gaan de zaken?
2 a businessman, businesswoman (plural - zakenman, ondernemer / zakenvrouw
men, -women)
3 an entrepreneur succesvol ondernemer
4 to manufacture // to produce articles artikelen vervaardigen, produceren
Pass notes: in these lists the double slash (//) indicates
“synonymous”. The teacher can always ban the word
“producing”, forcing you to memorize “manufacturing” as a
synonymous word!
5 a company (-nies) bedrijf, onderneming, firma, maatschappij
6 an enterprise bedrijf, onderneming
Pass notes: the most common word is “company”, “enterprise”
is used much less. The original meaning of “enterprise”, “a
difficult and risky undertaking”, often still is embedded in the
word: you can use it to emphasize the entrepreneurial, risky
nature of the business you work for.
7 The head office is // The headquarters is/are Het hoofdkantoor is in Brussel.
in Brussels.
Pass notes: “headquarters” can be treated as a singular or as
a plural.
8 management de directie, het management
9 my manager mijn directeur
10 We rent office space in Dubai and we own We huren kantoorruimte in Dubai en we zijn
office space in Shanghai. eigenaar van onze kantoorruimte in Shanghai.
11 renting versus owning huren versus eigenaar zijn

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forms of business bedrijfsvormen

12 a self-owned businessman // a self- een zelfstandig zakenman
employed businessman
13 Is Asma self-employed or employed? Is Asma zelfstandig of werkt ze voor iemand?
Pass notes: “een zelfstandige persoon” in the sense of “not
influenced by other people” is of course “an independent
person”. But if you want to point out somebody does not “work
for a boss”, in other words, is not employed by somebody else,
you state that this person employs herself, in other words: is
self-employed.
14 I met 3 self-employed. Ik vergaderde met 3 zelfstandigen.
Pass notes: “self-employed” is for speakers of Dutch or French
a strange word. You cannot say “a self-employed”, you have to
say “I am self-employed” without indefinite article. The plural
does not change the form: 1 self-employed, 2 self-employed
15 a small or medium sized enterprise (an SME, KMO (kleine of middelgrote onderneming)
plural: SMEs)
Pass notes: notice how English never uses apostrophe to build
the plural and simply attaches “s”: 2 SMEs, 5 UFOs.
16 a private limited company (ltd.) een bvba (besloten vennootschap met beperkte
aansprakelijkheid)
17 a public limited company (plc) in the UK // an een NV (naamloze vennootschap)
incorporated company (inc.) in the US
18 The basic difference between a private and a Het fundamentele verschil tussen een bvba en een
public limited company: in both forms of NV: in beide bedrijfsvormen hebben de
business shareholders have only limited aandeelhouders slechts beperkte aansprakelijkheid
liability (e.g. in case of bankruptcy), but the (bv. in geval van bankroet), maar de aandelen van
shares of the latter are publicly traded on a de laatste worden publiek verhandeld op een beurs.
stock exchange. In other words: the public Met andere woorden: de NV is beursgenoteerd.
limited company is listed.
Pass notes: this looks like a good question at a test…
19 Simpson Ltd. is not listed on the stock Simpson Ltd. is niet beursgenoteerd, maar Simpson
exchange, but Simpson Inc. is. Inc. wel.
20 We are a private limited company Wij zijn een bvba.
We are a plc Wij zijn een NV.
We are Smith & Sons ltd. Wij zijn de bvba Smith & Sons.
Pass notes:the classical mistake on the test is ***”We are an
ltd.” “Ltd.” is simply a written abbreviation put after the name
of a company to indicate it is a private limited company. It is
only used when you give the full name of a company. On the
other hand, “plc” can be used in the way you talk in Dutch: “We
zijn een NV” = “We are a plc”.
21 shares aandelen (in een firma)
22 a shareholder aandeelhouder
23 the stock exchange beurs
Pass notes: look at the context if you have to translate “beurs”
on the test! It can be either a stock exchange (to trade shares,
bonds etc.) or a trade fair (exhibition at which companies
promote their products, like a book fair or the Brussels motor
show)
24 to merge – a merger fusioneren – een fusie

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Pass notes: notice how the verb is shorter than the noun: when
two companies merge, it is called a merger.
25 to take over – a takeover overnemen – een overname
26 to acquire – an acquisition verwerven – een verwerving/aankoop
27 When it became clear we couldn’t merge Toen het duidelijk werd dat we niet konden
with our main competitor, we tried to acquire fusioneren met onze belangrijkste concurrent,
the company by buying up shares. probeerden we het bedrijf te verwerven door
aandelen op te kopen.
company structure bedrijfsstructuur
28 to found or to set up a company een bedrijf stichten, oprichten
29 Our company was founded / was set up in Ons bedrijf werd/is opgericht in 2008.
2008.
Pass notes: this is the verb “to found-founded-founded”, not to
be confused with “to find-found-found”. Notice how you will
state “The company was founded, I was born”, in the simple
past, whereas in Dutch you will state “het bedrijf is opgericht,
ik ben geboren”.
30 We have our headquarters in London. We hebben ons hoofdkwartier in Londen.
31 Our parent company is based in London. Ons moederbedrijf is gevestigd in Londen.
32 in our subsidiary (UK) // in our affiliate (US) in onze dochtermaatschappij
33 in our branch (office) in ons filiaal
Pass notes:the English “branch” denotes one office of a larger
organisation (Dutch “een filiaal”), whereas the Dutch word
“branche” is a synonym of “sector”!
34 One of our subsidiaries/affiliates is located in Een van onze dochterondernemingen is gevestigd in
the Middle East. het Midden-Oosten.
35 We have branch offices all over the world, We hebben filialen over de hele wereld, maar
but mainly in Europe and Asia. voornamelijk in Europa en Azie.
36 branch manager filiaaldirecteur, filiaalleider
37 the organizational chart het organigram
38 the board of directors raad van bestuur
39 Mr Gates is CEO / Chief Executive Officer of Meneer Gates is CEO / afgevaardigd bestuurder /
Microsoft. algemeen directeur van Microsoft.
40 I am PA (personal assistant) of the CEO of Ik ben PA (persoonlijke assistent) van de CEO van
Odisys. Odisys
41 production department productieafdeling
42 finance and administration department / afdeling financien en administratie
Finance and Administration (F&A)
43 marketing department marketingafdeling
44 purchasing department afdeling aankopen
45 sales department afdeling verkoop
46 logistics department logistieke afdeling
47 IT department IT-afdeling, afdeling informatica
48 research and development (R&D) onderzoek en ontwikkeling (O&O)

49 F&A consists of four full-time employees. Financiën en administratie bestaat uit vier voltijdse
Pass notes: notice how Dutch “bestaan uit” is translated as werknemers.
“consist of”. Sorry to break it to you, but “out of” doesn’t work
…

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50 Mrs Shelby is my direct superior. She has 20 Mevrouw Shelby is mijn onmiddellijke overste. Ze
subordinates working for her. heeft 20 ondergeschikten die voor haar werken.
Pass notes: the word “boss” of course exists in English, but is
not considered business English. People will talk about their
“manager” (general use) or “superior” (sounds more technical-
administrative).
51 A strongly hierarchical organisation is Een sterk hiërarchische organisatie is gedateerd,
outdated, we nowadays believe in flat vandaag de dag geloven we meer in vlakke
organisations and teams. organisaties en teams.
52 We cooperate in smaller teams. We werken samen in kleinere teams.
corporate strategy bedrijfsstrategie
53 a performance oriented company prestatiegericht bedrijf
54 a client oriented company klantgericht bedrijf

55 a team oriented approach teamgerichte aanpak
56 Is your company performance oriented? – I Is uw bedrijf prestatiegericht? – Ik zou zeggen dat
would say it is both output oriented and het zowel resultaatgericht als klantgericht is.
client oriented.
57 Can you combine output and customer Kan je resultaat en klantvriendelijkheid
friendliness? combineren?
58 What is our company’s policy in case of Wat is de politiek van ons bedrijf in het geval van
shrinking revenue? een krimpende omzet?
59 a shrinking vs a growing revenue een krimpende vs groeiende omzet
60 to rise (rose, risen) stijgen
to raise something (raised, raised) iets verhogen
to drop, to fall (fell, fallen) dalen
to lower something iets verlagen
61 Our profit rises vs Onze winst stijgt tgo.

Our profit falls//drops Onze winst daalt
62 We raise our budget vs We verhogen ons budget tgo.
We lower our budget We verlagen ons budget
Pass notes: the verb “increase” can be used for both “the profit
increases” and “We increase our budget”. Likewise, “decrease”
can be used both for “the profit decreases” and “We decrease
our budget”. In practice, the verbs “rise-fall/drop” (without a
direct object) and “raise-lower” (with a direct object: a person
raises something else) are used much more. Hence, on the test
the use of “increase” and “decrease” will be banned: get used
to memorizing “rise-fall-raise-lower”.
63 How will we allocate // split up the budget? Hoe zullen we het budget verdelen?
Pass notes: “verdelen, uitdelen” can have 3 translations, don’t
mix them up:
- I allocate a budget (smaller and larger parts)
- I distribute a pie (everyone gets the same size)
- I hand out samples or leaflets (you give every passer-by a
sample or leaflet)
64 to apply – an application toepassen – een toepassing
65 an internal audit interne doorlichting

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66 We’ve just organized an audit of the logistics We hebben juist een doorlichting van de afdeling
department, which is in need of a logistiek georganiseerd; die heeft dringend een
restructuring. herstructurering nodig.
67 to restructure – a restructuring herstructureren – een herstructurering
68 the number of employees, branches versus Het aantal personeelsleden, filialen versus een
an amount of money geldbedrag
69 the sales figures and the turnover figures De verkoopcijfers en de omzetcijfers
Pass notes: when discussing a company, you can say “give me
the numbers”. But as soon as you specify which numbers, you
start using “figures”. Hence: sales figures, turnover figures,
personnel figures.
problems in the company problemen in het bedrijf

70 mismanagement Wanbeleid
71 to resign // to quit your job (quit-quit) ontslag nemen, je ontslag indienen

72 I have resigned / I have quit my job. Ik heb mijn ontslag ingediend.
73 I have given my notice. Ik heb mijn opzeg ingediend.
74 I have given a six weeks’ notice. Ik heb ontslag genomen met een opzegtermijn van
6 weken.
75 The company went bankrupt // collapsed in Het bedrijf ging failliet in 2014.
2014.
76 The company filed for bankruptcy in 2013. Het bedrijf vroeg het faillissement aan in 2013.
77 A lot of companies went bust (informal) due Heel wat bedrijven gingen overkop door de
to the financial crisis of 2008. financiële crisis van 2008.
78 When you file for bankruptcy, you want to Als je een faillissement aanvraagt, wil je je schulden
eliminate your debts. kwijtspelen.
the national economy nationale economie
79 The economy is doing well. De economie doet het goed.
Pass notes: mark how the Dutch is expression is translated: not
“it” and not “good”! “Ik doe het goed” = “I’m doing well” !
80 the public sector overheidssector, publieke sector
81 the private sector Privésector
82 Public utilities are offered by a utility (Openbare) nutsvoorzieningen worden geleverd
company door een nutsbedrijf (water, elektriciteit, gas, …)
83 a state-owned company Overheidsbedrijf
84 privatisation Privatisering
85 Supporters of privatization claim it helps to Voorstanders van privatisering beweren dat het
establish a free market: it will give the public helpt om een vrije markt te vestigen: het geeft het
a greater choice at a competitive price. publiek een grotere keuze aan een concurrentiële
prijs.
86 Adversaries claim that when you give private Tegenstanders beweren dat als je privé-
businesses control over essential services this ondernemingen de controle over essentiële
leads to excessive cost cutting in order to diensten geeft, dit leidt tot overdreven
achieve profit; the result will be a poor kostenbesparingen om winst te halen; het resultaat
quality service. zal een lage kwaliteit van dienstverlening zijn.
Pass notes: don’t you think these two entries on privatization
suspiciously look like a test question?
87 import and export invoer en uitvoer, import en export
88 foreign trade buitenlandse handel
89 unemployment Werkloosheid

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90 the unemployment rate werkloosheidspercentage

91 inflation Inflatie
92 economic growth economische groei
93 the gross domestic product (GDP) bruto binnenlands product
94 the economy de economie
95 economic versus economical economisch tegenover zuinig
96 This is a very economical car vs This is an Dit is een erg zuinige auto tgo. Dit is een
economic boom economische boom.
97 to recover – an economic recovery herstellen – een economisch herstel
sectors sectoren
98 In which sector / line of business are you In welke sector/branche (!!) bent u actief/
active? werkzaam?
Pass notes: on the test the teacher will of course use the Dutch
word “branche”, to test whether you recognize the difficulty.
The English word “a branch” means “een filiaal”, and has
nothing to do with “sector, business”.
99 the agricultural sector landbouw

100 the manufacturing sector industriële sector
101 the tertiary or service sector tertiaire of dienstensector
102 the wholesale trade groothandel
103 the retail trade kleinhandel, detailhandel
104 What’s the retail price of the product? Wat is de kleinhandelsprijs / winkelprijs van dat
product?
105 I’m active in the construction sector. Ik ben actief in de bouwnijverheid / bouwsector.
106 healthcare gezondheidssector
107 entertainment sector amusementssector
108 banking sector bankensector
109 restaurant sector horecabranche
110 distributive sector distributiesector
111 I work for KBC, a Belgian bank. (not “by”!) Ik werk bij KBC, een Belgische bank.
112 I work for a real estate agency. Ik werk voor een immobiliënkantoor.
the product het product
113 a good, goods een goed, goederen
114 to introduce // launch a product een product (op de markt) lanceren

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115 a successful product introduction // product een succesvolle lancering v/e product
launch
116 to withdraw a product (I withdrew, I have een product van de markt halen (bv. wegens een
withdrawn) productiefout, gebrek).
117 In 2003 Zymix successfully launched a new In 2003 bracht Zymix met groot succes een nieuw
drug, but after complaints from hundreds of geneesmiddel op de markt, maar na klachten van
doctors and patients it had to withdraw the honderden dokters en patiënten moest het zes
product 6 months later. maanden later het product terug van de markt
halen.
118 to discontinue a product een product uit productie nemen, stoppen met
Pass notes: do you notice the difference between productie
“withdrawing” and “discontinuing a product”? In the first case
there is a serious crisis forcing you to take your product off the
shelves of all shops. In the second case you just stop producing.
119 the product range // the assortment productgamma (v/e bedrijf)
120 a wide and varied range een breed en gevarieerd gamma
121 We extend the range – a product extension We breiden het gamma uit – een productuitbreiding
122 We expand to Ireland – an expansion We breiden naar Ierland uit – een uitbreiding
Pass notes: look out with “uitbreiden”. If you mean “going
somewhere else”, you will use “enlarging” or “expanding”. If
you mean “we have more articles in our product range”, you
talk about “extending the assortment”.
123 tailor-made products // customised products op maat gemaakte producten
124 standard features standaard eigenschappen/kenmerken
125 accessories accessoires
126 We have environmentally friendly products. We hebben milieuvriendelijke producten.
127 We offer user friendly products. We bieden gebruiksvriendelijke producten aan.
128 sustainable products duurzame producten
129 We emphasize sustainability in our We leggen nadruk op duurzaamheid in ons
production process. productieproces.
130 FMCG products (fast moving consumer verbruiksgoederen (zoals WC-papier, shampoo, …:
goods) or non-durable products elke week te kopen)
131 durable goods duurzame goederen (zoals een TV, die je voor jaren
Pass notes: “sustainable” and “durable” both translate as koopt)
“duurzaam” in Dutch, but they don’t mean the same! The first
word means “good for planet and people”, the second word is
the opposite of FMCG products, and means “this article can
last for years”.
132 DIY articles (do-it-yourself) doe-het-zelf-artikelen
133 household appliances huishoudelijke apparaten (koelkast, …)
134 convenience meals kant-en-klare maaltijden
135 a cheap product and an expensive one een goedkoop product en een duur

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Market your product! Zet je product in de markt!

136 a brand merk
137 advertising reclame

138 an advertising campaign reclamecampagne
Pass notes: students always mix up “advertising” and
“advertisement”. The first word is a generic term for all things
you do to advertise the product: ads, billboards, discounts, …
That is why you talk about an “advertising campaign” and an
“advertising agency”. The second word is 1 specific instance: a
piece of text or a picture that tries to make you buy the
product.
139 a billboard groot reclamepaneel
140 an advertisement // an advert // an ad reclame-advertentie
141 a commercial spot op TV of internet
142 You can place classic ads in newspapers or Je kan klassieke advertenties plaatsen in kranten of
magazines, but why not work with pop-ups tijdschriften, maar waarom niet werken met pop-
on the internet? ups op het internet?
143 a good search engine een goede zoekmachine (zoals Google)
144 search engine optimization - SEO zoekmachine-optimalisatie
145 Which keywords will ensure our website will Welke zoektermen zullen ervoor zorgen dat onze
pop up on the first page of the Google website op de eerste pagina van de Google
ranking? resultatenlijst opduikt?
146 word-of-mouth advertising mond-aan-mondreclame
147 We hand out samples. We delen staaltjes uit.
Pass notes: as remarked earlier, “verdelen” depends on what
object you handle. You will “hand out samples or brochures”,
but you will “allocate a budget”. Finally, “distributing” is used
for giving equal parts of something, like “distributing cake”.
148 to grant a discount vs to receive a discount een korting toestaan tgo. een korting verkrijgen
Pass notes: not “give” or “get”, and it’s also not a “reduction”
149 We organise a contest. We organiseren een wedstrijd.
Pass notes: “competition” or “game” is for sports, like a
football game. If you organize something as an advertising
stunt, it is called a contest.
150 an advertising agency reclamebureau
151 a marketer // a marketeer marketer
152 We conduct a survey. We voeren een enquête uit.
153 We conduct a market research. We voeren een marktonderzoek uit.
154 to claim – a claim beweren – een bewering
155 We have interviewed 100 persons; most We hebben 100 personen geïnterviewd; de meeste
interviewees claim they don’t know the respondenten beweren dat ze het producten niet
product. kennen.
156 Two out of three interviewees emphasize the Twee op drie respondenten beklemtonen het
importance of customer service. belang van klantenservice.
Pass notes: notice how to say “2 op 3 klanten” or “80 op 100
Belgen”. The same for grades: you score 7 out of 10!
157 Can you fill out this questionnaire? Kan u deze vragenlijst invullen?
Pass notes: students tend to mix up “survey” and
“questionnaire”. The first is the whole research, the second is
one tool that can be used in a survey: a list of questions on a
sheet of paper.

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customers and markets klanten en markten

158 a client // a customer klant
159 a consumer consument
160 the customer base klantenbestand, cliënteel v/e firma
161 a new (customer) target group een nieuwe (klanten)doelgroep
162 to compete with – a competitor – the concurreren met – een concurrent – de concurrentie
competition
163 Our prices are highly competitive. Onze prijzen zijn zeer concurrentieel.
164 a competitive advantage // edge over concurrentievoordeel op anderen
others
165 In retail we have to compete with AH and In de kleinhandel moeten we concurreren met AH en
Colruyt. Colruyt.
166 a market-driven approach een marktgerichte aanpak
167 supply and demand vraag en aanbod
168 To be market-driven, a company has to Om marktgericht te zijn moet een bedrijf de reële
identify real demand. vraag identificeren.
169 The demand for our products has grown De vraag naar onze producten is aanzienlijk
considerably. gestegen.
Pass notes: “vraag” is a complicated word. If you just talk
informally about something you want to know, you have a
“question”. But if you write, you will call it a “request” or an
“enquiry”. And when you talk about the need for something
to be supplied, you talk about “demand”, hence “the law of
supply and demand”, “de wet van vraag en aanbod” (in
Dutch we reverse the terms). Notice how Dutch talks about
“vraag NAAR”, whereas English and French will talk about
“demand FOR”, “demande POUR”.
170 Customers buy from us and we sell to them. Klanten kopen van ons en wij verkopen aan hen.

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171 buying and selling (buy-bought-bought, kopen en verkopen

sell-sold-sold)
Pass notes: Look at the difference noun “sales – verb
“selling”. You had good “sales” because you “sold” a lot.
172 We want to become market leader. We willen marktleider worden.
173 a key player belangrijke speler (op de markt)
174 a market share of 20 percent een marktaandeel van 20 percent
Pass notes: students often mix up “shares” and “market
share”. “Shares” are small parts of the ownership of a
company which you can buy on the stock market. Your
market share is the number of things you sell compared to
the sales of competitors: the higher your market share, the
more you sell compared to competition.
175 We gained market share vs we lost market We wonnen marktaandeel tgo. We verloren
share marktaandeel.
176 How can we raise our market share? Hoe kunnen we ons marktaandeel verhogen, doen
stijgen?
177 Which market segment are we interested In welk marktsegment zijn we geïnteresseerd: het
in: the high-spending segment, singles, rijkere segment, singles, ouders, oudere mensen?
parents, elderly people?
178 Customers prefer personalized ads – a Klanten geven de voorkeur aan gepersonaliseerde
preference for something advertenties – een voorkeur voor iets
179 Customers complain about poor service – a Klanten klagen over slechte service – een klacht over
complaint about sth iets
production and logistics productie en logistiek
180 production line productielijn
181 The suppliers supply goods. De leveranciers leveren goederen.
182 manufacturing defect productiefout
183 We installed a conveyor belt. We installeerden een lopende band, transportband
184 resources // raw materials grondstoffen
185 intermediate materials halfafgewerkte materialen
186 finished goods eindproducten
187 a factory (factories) fabriek
188 a plant vestiging
Pass notes: “factory” and “plant” can partly be used
interchangeably. The first word implies that something
physical is produced there (Dutch “fabriceren”), the second
word simply refers to the location of “a” company,
irrespective of production. The difference “fabriek-vestiging”
is the same.
189 Three plants had to be closed because they Er moesten 3 vestigingen gesloten worden omdat ze
were no longer profitable. niet langer rendabel waren.
190 Our assets consist of two plants in Brussels Onze activa bestaan uit twee vestigingen in Brussel
and a warehouse in Dilbeek. en een magazijn in Dilbeek.
191 a warehouse magazijn, opslagplaats
192 warehousing costs opslagkosten
193 to store goods goederen stockeren
194 to pack the products de producten verpakken
195 to label the products de producten etiketteren

15
sales verkoop
196 The sales were good. De verkoop was goed.
197 our sales figures our verkoopcijfers
Pass notes: notice how “sales” is always a plural and how you
talk about “sales figures”, not ***”numbers”.
198 orders bestellingen, orders
199 Today our most important customer has Vandaag plaatste onze belangrijkste klant een
placed a large order. belangrijke bestelling.
200 revenue (US) // turnover (UK) omzet
201 profit vs loss winst tgo. verlies
Pass notes: Students tend to lump “turnover” and “profit”
together. Don’t. Your turnover minus your costs is your profit
(or your loss). You can have a high turnover and still suffer loss.
202 operating profit bedrijfswinst
Pass notes: classic on the test. Students see the word “bedrijf”
and write “company”. But “bedrijfswinst” refers to the profit
you made from your activities, your operations (Dutch
“bedrijvigheden”). Hence the strange word “operating profit”.
203 We made a large loss in 2015. We maakten een groot verlies in 2015.
204 Our turnover amounts to 5m euros. Onze omzet bedraagt 5 miljoen euro.
Pass notes: did you spot the preposition “to”? Most students
forget it on the test …
205 That’s a small vs large amount. Dat is een klein tgo. groot bedrag.
206 5 hundred (500) euros vijfhonderd euro
5 thousand (5,000) euros vijfduizend euro
5 million (5,000,000) = 5m euros 5 miljoen euro
5.3 million euros = 5.3 m euros 5,3 miljoen euro
5 billion euros (5,000,000,000) = 5bn euros 5 miljard euro
Pass notes: dear Francophones, numbers do not get an „s“ in
English. French „5 millions“ is English „5 million“. For Dutch +
French: spot the difference, “1 miljard” is “1 billion” (a 1
followed by 9 zeroes).
Comma is used in English to separate thousands (5,000), digital
point is used to create partial numbers (8.5%).

16
207 Turnover witnessed // experienced a big De omzet kende een grote groei in 2014.
growth in 2014.
Pass notes: classic on the test. “Het antwoord kennen” is of
course “knowing the answer”, but “We kenden een verlies” is
“We experienced a loss”. “Knowing” cannot be used in the
sense of “experiencing something”.
208 The company suffered a loss in 2015. Het bedrijf leed een verlies in 2015.
209 approximately // roughly 1m euros ongeveer 1 miljoen euro
210 We lost approximately 10,000 euros in We verloren ongeveer 10.000 euro aan omzet.
turnover.
211 a slight versus a steep growth een lichte tgo. een sterke, steile groei
212 sales target verkoopdoel
213 fixed costs vaste kosten
214 variable costs variabele kosten
215 We have to assess the costs – a correct We moeten de kosten ramen/inschatten – een
assessment of the costs correcte raming/schatting van de kosten
216 Marketing costs are directly proportional to De marketingkosten zijn recht evenredig aan onze
our sales. verkoop.
217 We need to achieve economies of scale. We moeten schaalvoordelen realiseren.
Pass notes: this is a classic on the test. “Voordelen” is of course
“advantages”. But in the case of “the bigger the scale, the
better”, English will talk about “besparingen”, or “economies”.
218 Is our profit margin too low or just high Is onze winstmarge te laag of net hoog genoeg?
enough?
219 break-even point break-evenpunt
220 to break even (broke even, have broken het break-evenpunt halen, winst halen
even)
221 Thanks to the successful launch of their new Door de succesvolle lancering van hun nieuwe
product, BSB finally has broken even. product haalde BSB eindelijk winst.
222 We need to maximize profit and to minimize We moeten onze winst maximaliseren en onze
costs kosten minimaliseren.
writing mails mails schrijven

223 Attached / In attachment you will find In bijlage/attachment vindt u
224 Following our telephone conversation / our Naar aanleiding van ons telefoongesprek / van
meeting onze vergadering

17
225 a reply antwoord (in mails, brieven)

226 a request / an enquiry vraag (in mails, brieven)
227 In reply to your request I am pleased to give In antwoord op uw vraag geef ik u graag een
you an overview. overzicht.
Pass notes: the superclassic on the test! When you talk
informally, you will of course use “question” and “answer”. But
in written business English, you will always refer to a “request”
of a customer and to your “reply” to it. Hence the strange
expression “in reply to your request”. Memorize it, it’s the first
thing you will write on the test!
228 As (we) agreed I am sending you … Zoals afgesproken stuur ik u …
229 In the table below you will find … In de tabel hieronder vindt u …
230 Please/Kindly fill out the form. Gelieve het formulier in te vullen.
231 Kindly send me the results of the survey. Gelieve me de resultaten van de enquête te
sturen.
232 At the meeting it was said/stated that … Op de vergadering werd er gezegd/beweerd dat
Pass notes: look at the difference with Dutch! Don’t say ““there …
was said”, but “It was claimed”, “It was stated”.
233 to cause – a cause veroorzaken – een oorzaak
234 to lead to sth (led - led) zorgen voor, leiden tot
235 Shrinking revenue was caused by the financial De krimpende omzet werd veroorzaakt door de
crisis. This in turn led to financial difficulties for financiële crisis. Dit leidde op zijn beurt tot
the company. financiële moeilijkheden voor het bedrijf.
236 Regarding / With regard to the turnover I want Wat de omzet betreft wil ik erop wijzen dat …
to point out …
237 What are your views on this matter? Wat is uw mening over deze zaak?
238 I would like to emphasize / stress that Ik wil (graag) beklemtonen dat
239 I would like to remind you of the meeting. Ik wil u graag aan de vergadering herinneren.
240 according to management volgens het management
241 I apologise for the mistake. Ik verontschuldig me voor de fout.
242 I will keep you informed. Ik hou u op de hoogte.
243 Please reply by return. Gelieve per kerende te antwoorden.
244 I look forward to your reply. Ik kijk uit naar uw antwoord
245 I look forward to cooperating with you / Ik kijk ernaar uit met u samen te werken / u
meeting you in person / receiving your reply. persoonlijk te ontmoeten / uw antwoord te
Pass notes: this is a notoriously difficult structure for students. ontvangen.
This is not “to + infinitive”, but the preposition “to” + ing form
(compare: “I succeeded in convincing her”, “I apologize for
addressing you incorrectly”)
246 Should you have further questions, please Mocht u nog verdere vragen hebben, voel u dan
feel free to contact me. vrij mij te contacteren.
the meeting de vergadering
247 There will be a meeting for all members of staff Er is een vergadering voor alle personeelsleden
in the meeting room. in de vergaderzaal.
248 to schedule something iets plannen, inplannen

249 The meeting is scheduled for Friday. De vergadering is voor vrijdag gepland.
250 a quarterly meeting on 23 May at 9am. kwartaalvergadering op 23 mei om 9u
Pass notes: do you notice how you pinpoint moments by
using ON for days and AT for hours?
251 Let’s schedule the meeting for Monday next Laten we onze vergadering op volgende week
week. maandag plannen.

18
252 to postpone the meeting vergadering uitstellen

253 to cancel the meeting vergadering afgelasten
254 to notify staff het personeel informeren, verwittigen (not
Pass notes: use this on the test when the teacher bans the “inform”)
word “inform”!
255 We have to notify all participants that the We moeten alle deelnemers verwittigen dat de
meeting will be postponed to 5 pm. vergadering zal uitgesteld worden tot 17 uur.
256 What is the subject of today’s meeting? Wat is het onderwerp van de vergadering van
vandaag?
257 There are four items on the agenda. Er zijn vier agendapunten.
Pass notes: notice how in the context of a meeting the word
“agenda” is perfect (as opposed to noting down your
appointments in a diary or a schedule, not in an “agenda”…). Also
notice how you cannot have “points” in a meeting, we talk about
items or topics.
258 Who will keep the minutes of the meeting? Wie neemt er notulen // Wie maakt het verslag?
Pass notes: a meeting has “minutes”, not a “report” or
“summary”. The word is always in plural, just like the old-
fashioned Dutch word “de notulen van de vergadering”.
259 to delete an item and to add an item een agendapunt verwijderen en een agendapunt
toevoegen
260 an issue onderwerp, omstreden onderwerp
261 The issue we have to tackle is the controversial De hete aardappel die we moeten aanpakken is
environmental report. dat controversiële milieurapport.
262 I completely agree with you on this. Ik ga akkoord met jou over dit.
263 I don’t agree. Ik ga niet akkoord.
264 to take into account Rekening houden met iets
265 You haven’t taken into account side effects for Je hebt geen rekening gehouden met
our salespeople. neveneffecten voor onze verkopers.
266 to analyse – an analysis (!) analyseren – een analyse
267 to expect – an expectation verwachten – een verwachting
268 to confirm – a confirmation bevestigen – een bevestiging
269 to change – a change veranderen – een verandering
270 to improve – an improvement verbeteren – een verbetering
271 to conclude – a conclusion besluiten – een besluit
272 to decide – a decision beslissen – een beslissing
273 All departments report significant Alle afdelingen melden een significante
improvement. verbetering.
Pass notes: most students are familiar with “mentioning” as a
translation for “melden”. OK, but “mentioning” is just casually
referring, giving little detail. When departments “report”
something, when an employee “reports” a problem, it is serious.
So “reporting” is what you will use for “melden” in a business
English context.
274 It depends on the figures. Het hangt af van de cijfers.
Pass notes: this is a difficult idiom for francophones. “ça depend
DE toi” = “It depends ON you”.
275 Rachel will take care of this issue. Rachel zal zorgen/zorg dragen voor dit
probleem.
276 We succeeded in improving procedures. We slaagden erin de procedures te verbeteren.
Pass notes: “succeed in” functions with an ing form. “I
succeeded in convincing you”.

19
277 We failed to raise turnover. We slaagden er niet in de omzet te verhogen.

Pass notes: “failing to” + infinitive is of course the negative of
“succeeding in”, and a very practical short verb, avoiding “didn’t
succeed in”. The teacher likes to ask on the test “er niet in slagen
te (in 1 word)”, forcing you to use “failing to”.
278 At the meeting it was decided that we would Op de vergadering werd er beslist dat we het
raise the marketing budget by 20%. marketingbudget met 20% zouden verhogen.
Pass notes: for the Dutch “er werd beslist” you should not use
“there was”. Instead: “it was decided”, “it was said”, “it was
confirmed”.
279 Just a moment, I will check my diary // Ogenblikje, ik kijk mijn agenda na en kijk wat
schedule and see what’s possible. mogelijk is.
Pass notes: did you notice the translation of “agenda” meaning
“book or electronic application in which you store
appointments”? In English an “agenda” is ONLY the “agenda of
today’s meeting”.
280 Wonderful, I believe 23 May fits my diary. So Fantastisch, ik geloof dat 23 mei in mijn agenda
let’s meet on 23 May at 11am. past. Laten we elkaar dus zien op 23 mei om 11
uur ’s ochtends.
281 Let’s meet on Monday / Tuesday / Laten we elkaar zien op ma/di/wo/do/vr/za/zo
Wednesday / Thursday / Friday / Saturday / om 8 uur ’s avonds.
Sunday at 8pm.
282 Excellent, I note it down / write it down in my Perfect, ik noteer het ook in mijn agenda, we zien
diary as well, we meet on 23 May. elkaar op 23 mei.
283 January, February, March, April, May, June, Alle maanden van het jaar
July, August, September, October, November,
December
Pass notes: days and months always have a capital!
284 We met last year, this year, we will meet next We zagen elkaar vorig jaar, dit jaar, we zullen
year. elkaar volgend jaar zien.
Pass notes: due to interference with French (l’année passée)
students tend to use “past” to refer to last week or last year. This
sounds unusual; get used to saying “last week”.
285 We have a daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly We hebben een dagelijkse, wekelijkse,
meeting. tweewekelijkse (= om de 14 dagen),
maandelijkse vergadering.
286 Our meeting lasted half an hour, an hour, an Onze vergadering duurde een half uur, een uur,
hour and a half. anderhalf uur.
287 Can you text her that we meet at 8am? Kan je haar even sms’en/whatsappen/… dat we
Pass notes: “texting” is a nice verb missing in Dutch. It refers to elkaar zien om 8 ’s morgens?
any type of written communication, be it over SMS, FB,
Whatsapp, Slack, …
288 mobile phone (UK) // cell (phone) (US) GSM
289 At the meeting it was decided that we would Op de vergadering werd er beslist dat we het
raise the marketing budget by 20%. marketingbudget met 20% zouden verhogen.
Pass notes: for the Dutch “er werd beslist” you should not use
“there was”. Instead: “it was decided”, “it was said”, “it was
confirmed”.
290 We have a conference call // an online We gaan telefonisch vergaderen om 10u00.
meeting at 10am.
291 Have you sent attendees an invite? Heb je de deelnemers een uitnodiging
verstuurd?

20
Give the word belonging to this definition. Definitions largely taken from the Cambridge Advanced
Dictionary online version.
1 a company that belongs to the government and not to private individuals = a … company
2 having legal responsibility for something or someone = you are … for your children.
3 a company whose shares can be sold to the public =
4 to make a company’s shares available on a particular financial market = the company was … on the
London stock exchange.
5 a very large board on which advertisements are shown =
6 a type of company whose shares are not traded on a stock market and may only be sold if other
shareholders agree =
7 sector that produces goods rather than services =
8 sector that builds or makes something, especially buildings, bridges, roads etc. =
9 to join together to make a larger company = the two companies …
10 to take control of a company by buying enough shares to do this = we … our competitor
11 to connect a person using a phone to the person they want to speak to = Can you … me … Mr.
Dupont?
12 the activity of selling goods in small amounts to the public, usually in shops =
13 the activity of selling goods in large amounts to businesses rather than to the public in small
amounts =
14 the point at which a business starts to make as much money as it has spent on a particular
product =
15 the difference between the cost of making and selling something and the price it is sold for =
16 the reduction of production costs that is a result of making and selling goods in large quantities,
e.g., the ability to buy large amounts of materials at reduced prices =
17 a company’s profit from its normal business activities =
18 a continuous moving strip or surface used for transporting objects from one place to another =
19 a company or person that provides things that people or companies want or need, e.g.to produce
things = Zymix is our … for leather and fur
20 products that are made during a manufacturing process that are used in the production of other
goods. = Wood, steel, and sugar are all examples of …
21 a large building used for storing things before they are sold =
22 costs such as wages or rent that do not change in relation to how much a business produces =
23 to delay an event and plan that it should happen at a later date = to …………………….. the
appointment.

21
24 The act of organizing a company in a new way to make it operate more effectively = a
…………………….. of the company
25 One of several subjects to be considered during e.g. a meeting = …………………….. on the agenda
26 The written record of what was said at a meeting = the ……………………..
27 To make an official request at a law court to give control of financial matters to a person who sells
your property to pay your debts = to ……………………..
28 To give part of a budget to someone as their share, to use in a particular way = We ……………………..
20% for marketing.
29 The process of improving quality and quantity of web traffic to a website from search engines = …
30 A measure of profitability, calculated by defining profit as a percentage of revenue. E.g. “we have a
… of 8%” means that for every 100 euros of revenue you earn 8 euros.
Fill out. (6 points on a test, -1 for each unknown word).
We had a new product. We placed large ………………………. on the roads so people got to know the
product. Next to that, we also relied on ………………………………., i.e., people telling to each other how
wonderful the product is. To measure success, we conducted a …………………………. interviewing 100
people, 60 of them claimed they had heard about the product. When people placed a large ………………..,
we ………………….. (not “give”) a discount of 20 per cent. We established a ………………………. of 1000 items
in the first term but we managed to sell 1500, so our expectations were exceeded! Every item selling
for 10 €, costs being 8 €, we made a ……………………………………….. of 15,000 € and a ………………………….. of
3000 €. In order to lower production costs we have to convince our …………………. to sell us raw materials
at lower prices.
In which sentence can you use the word “rise”? And in which the word “raise”? Replace, using the
correct form (to rise-rose-risen, to raise-raised-raised!).
The market share increases by 3 percent in 2004.

Management increased the wages by 3 percent.
The crisis increased unemployment.
You have to increase the budget!
Profit increased rapidly in 2018.
The advertising campaign increased turnover by 20% in 2020.
We have increased our R&D budget by 30%.
Turnover has increased by 30% since 2018.
Every sentence contains just one grammatical or vocabulary mistake. One sentence contains NO
mistake. Correct. (6, -1 per mistake)
The company doesn’t consists of 3 but of 4 parts.

This Scottish company had to withdraw a product with a manufacturing defect.
My husband commute every day to Brussels.
This restaurant scores 4 on 5 on Tripadvisor.
It was difficult to distribute the budget; we suggest 40 percent for payroll and 60 percent for
projects.

22
Last year the two companies mergered to become the key player in their sector.
Write out 4 example sentences to illustrate the problem stijgen – verhogen – dalen – verlagen. It’s
of course forbidden to use “increase” or “decrease”.
Next to 4 different verbs you also use these words: filialen, winst, rekening houden met iets,
aankoopafdeling.
-
-
-
-
Write out 4 sentences containing the word “costs” and containing stijgen – verhogen – dalen –
verlagen in the present perfect. You cannot use “increase” or “decrease”.
-
-
-
-
Fill out the correct preposition in these structures taken from the vocabulary list.
2 … 3 customers
The demand ….. our products has risen significantly.
I look forward ….. your reply.
Turnover increased ….. 10% last year.
Could you put me through …. Mr. Banks?
The increase in employees is directly proportional …. the rise in turnover.
The company succeeded ….. breaking even.
The company failed ….. break even.
Our organization consists ….. 5 departments.
I apologize ….. this error.
Work out this business mail. Write out full sentences. Words in bold should appear literally in your
text. (24 / 3 * 2 = 16)
Je kreeg een mail van de heer Sean Conly, die geïnteresseerd is in jouw bedrijf Odifix en een afspraak
met je maakte. Je schrijft een formele mail terug waarin je het volgende meegeeft.
(onderwerplijn)
(aanspreking)
(dank) In antwoord op uw vraag (vervolledig zelf de zin).
Odifix in 2012 opgericht door meneer Chalamet en mevrouw Ferguson. In 2016 Odifix (overnemen)
concurrent Petrifax. Sinds 2018 Odifix (uitbreiden) met twee dochtermaatschappijen. In 2019 Odifix
(fusioneren) met Obelix, maar het management (verlagen – not “decrease”) het budget voor
Onderzoek & Ontwikkeling, en de bedrijfswinst (dalen – not “decrease” or “go down”) met 30%. We
beslisten toen om nieuwe producten te lanceren.
Het bedrijf bestaat uit een afdeling aankopen en een efficiënt georganiseerde verkoopsafdeling. De
omzet bedraagt (not “is”) 18,3 miljoen euro. In bijlage vindt u een goed geanalyseerd overzicht. Ik
kijk ernaar uit met u samen te werken.
(groet)

23
Work out this business mail. Write out full sentences. Words in bold should appear literally in your
text. (24 / 3 * 2 = 16)
Je kreeg een mail van mevrouw Muriel Wright, die geïnteresseerd is in jouw bedrijf Odifix en een
afspraak met je maakte. Je schrijft een formele mail terug waarin je het volgende meegeeft.
(onderwerplijn)
(aanspreking)
(dank) Als antwoord op uw vraag … (vul deze zin zelf aan).
Meneer en mevrouw Bourne (oprichten) Odifix in 2014. In 2016 Odifix (fusioneren) met KMO
Petrifax en zo (realiseren) schaalvoordelen. Hoofdkwartier in Brussel; sinds 2018 (uitbreiden) met 2
dochterondernemingen. Sinds 2018 omzet (stijgen – not “increase” or “go up”) met 30% tot 3,4
miljoen euro. Het bedrijf bestaat uit 5 afdelingen. De doorlichting van dit jaar toonde dat we de
kosten beter moeten ramen, want die stegen recht evenredig met de groeiende omzet. In bijlage
vindt u een overzicht van klachten over rendabele kant-en-klare maaltijden: onze half afgewerkte
producten zijn goed gemaakt, maar te duur. Ik wil u graag herinneren aan onze vergadering.
(groet)
Work out this mail. (15/3*2 = 10)

Je schrijft aan al je collega’s een mail waarin je vertelt over de uitdagingen van het bedrijf (vergeet
onderwerplijn, aanspreking en afsluitende groet niet!) Je gebruikt in je mail de volgende woorden:
verkoopcijfers niet rendabel kortingen toestaan (not “give”)

verlies lijden klantendoelgroep bestellingen plaatsen
marktaandeel zelfstandigen vraag naar producten
dalen (not “decrease” or “go down”) 2 op 3 respondenten stijging recht evenredig met …
marktonderzoek uitvoeren

24
7.2 Vocabulary list “I work for this company”
staff personeel
292 Staff // personnel (not “personal”!) personeel
Pass notes: the first word is used much more, hence
derivative words like “staffing problems” or “overstaffed”.
293 We have highly skilled staff. We hebben zeer vakbekwaam personeel.

294 an employee (s) vs an employer (s) bediende, werknemer tgo werkgever
295 a temp(orary), two temps interimpersoneelslid
296 a part-timer part-timer, deeltijds personeelslid
297 Last week our sales department was slightly Vorige week was onze verkoopsafdeling lichtjes
understaffed due to illness. onderbemand door ziekte.
298 The marketing department definitely is Er is duidelijk teveel personeel in de
overstaffed. marketingafdeling.
Pass notes: notice how words like department or
government have no “e” in the middle, as opposed to
French (le departement, le gouvernement)
299 a staff shortage personeelstekort
300 to hire staff personeel aannemen
301 a vacancy (-cies) vacature
302 a post // a position functie, plaats
303 We have advertised our vacancy for a part- We hebben onze vacature voor een deeltijdse
time management assistant in all quality management assistent in alle kwaliteitskranten
newspapers. geplaatst.
304 a job centre arbeidsbureau, VDAB
305 a job ad(vertisement) personeelsadvertentie
306 an applicant // a candidate sollicitant
307 an application sollicitatie, sollicitatiebrief
308 to apply for a position solliciteren voor/naar een functie
309 Last year we had over four hundred Vorig jaar hadden we meer dan 400 sollicitanten.
applicants.
310 We have received fifteen applications for We hebben vijftien sollicitatiebrieven voor die
the post. functie ontvangen.
311 a job interview sollicitatiegesprek
312 I think we should interview this candidate, Ik denk dat we met deze kandidate een
her C.V. looks very promising. sollicitatiegesprek moeten hebben, haar c.v. ziet er
Pass notes: notice how on the English side you see words like veelbelovend uit.
“apply” or “job interview”, whereas on the Dutch side you
can read 10 times the word “sollicitatie”. Look out for this!
313 a résumé // a C.V. c.v.
314 We have to reject over seventy percent of We moeten meer dan zeventig procent van de
applicants. sollicitanten afwijzen.

25
a career starts with a persuasive résumé
315 a contract of employment arbeidscontract

316 benefits voordelen buiten het gewone salaris,
Pass notes: the typical Belgian expression “secundaire voordelen” secundaire voordelen
points at the fact that your salary comes first, and next to that you
can benefit from other “secundary” perks. Notice how the English
word absolutely does not look like the Dutch expression.
“Advantages” is never used to talk about salary.
317 We offer interesting benefits to our salespeople: a We bieden onze verkopers interessante
company car, an expense account and a flextime voordelen: een bedrijfswagen, een
schedule. onkostenrekening en een schema met
flexibele werkuren.
318 We will prepare your contract for signing by the We zullen uw contract laten opstellen zodat
end of the week. het tegen het eind van de week ondertekend
kan worden.
319 a reduction of staff afvloeiing van personeel
320 to fire people // mensen ontslaan, mensen laten afvloeien
to dismiss people //
to lay off staff (lay-laid-laid)
Pass notes: there is of course a difference in use between these three
terms. “Firing” is the most direct word, often considered too brutal.
“Dismissing” is softer. “Laying off people” is again much softer and
can even be called a euphemism, a term disguising reality.
321 50 people were laid off in 2016. Er werden 50 mensen ontslagen in 2016.
322 I believe that is a wrongful dismissal. Ik geloof dat dit onjuist ontslag is.
323 We have recently dismissed our chief accountant We hebben onlangs onze hoofdaccountant
for fraudulent activities. ontslagen vanwege frauduleuze praktijken.
324 The personnel turnover is too high, there is too Het personeelsverloop is te hoog, er wordt
much hiring and firing. teveel aangenomen en ontslagen.
Pass notes: is high personnel turnover good or bad for an
organization? A high turnover (omzet) is good, but high personnel
turnover is a negative sign! It means that there is a lot of hiring and
firing or resigning going on; apparently employees are not
satisfied.”Hiring and firing” is of course a fixed expression because of
the rhyme.
working hours werkuren

325 Working hours are from nine to five. Onze werktijden zijn van negen tot vijf.
326 She does not have a full-time job, she took a part- Ze heeft geen voltijdse baan, ze nam een
time job working three days a week. deeltijdse baan waarbij ze 3 dagen per week
werkt.

26
327 flextime job, flexitime job baan met variabele, flexibele werkuren
328 I have a flextime schedule. Ik heb een rooster met flexibele werkuren.
329 shift work ploegenwerk, werk in shifts
330 the night shift, the day shift nachtploeg, dagploeg
331 a lunch break een middagpauze
pay verloning
332 Pay for my job is satisfactory. De verloning voor mijn werk is bevredigend.
333 a salary (salaries) salaris, maandloon
334 My wage is too low // My wages are too low. Mijn loon is te laag.
Pass notes: this word can be used in singular or plural without
changing its meaning.
335 a salary increase // a salary raise // a pay raise salarisverhoging
336 In this department we are all in the same salary In deze afdeling zitten we allemaal in
bracket. dezelfde salarisschaal.
337 expenses onkosten, uitgaven
338 travelling expenses reisonkosten
339 A salesperson is usually entitled to a daily een dagelijkse onkostenvergoeding
allowance that covers daily travelling and food
expenses.
340 Last week I paid for my hotel from the expenses Ik betaalde mijn hotel vorige week van de
account. onkostenrekening.
341 Mrs Kermode would like to be reimbursed for her Mevrouw Kermode zou graag vergoed willen
expenses, but she cannot find the receipt. worden voor haar uitgaven, maar ze kan het
rekeningbewijs niet vinden.
342 to reimburse - a reimbursement vergoeden, terugbetalen – een vergoeding,
terugbetaling
343 My wage is too low // My wages are too low. Mijn loon is te laag.
Pass notes: this word can be singular or plural, with no change of
meaning. One person can have good wages.
344 That freelancer charges a fixed fee. Die freelancer vraagt een vast honorarium
(vrije beroepen zoals dokters, advocaten,
accountants)
345 I’m on the payroll of the company. Ik sta op de loonlijst van het bedrijf.
346 When will I receive my first pay cheque? Wanneer krijg ik mijn eerste looncheque //
betaalcheque?
347 I had to work overtime yesterday. Gisteren moest ik overuren maken.
348 piece-work wage stukloon (= betaling voor de hoeveelheid
verricht werk i.p.v. per aantal gewerkte uren,
bv. 10 pagina’s vertalen = 100 euro)
349 I have received a large bonus vs a small bonus Ik heb een grote premie gekregen vs kleine
Pass notes: notice how you don’t use “big” or “little” when talking premie
about amounts of money. Instead, you will talk about a large sum of
money, a small fee, a large bonus.
Notice that the Dutch word “premie” is here a bonus; a premium
would be the money that you pay for your insurance policy.
350 We pay our sales staff a commission bonus for We betalen ons verkooppersoneel provisie
every sale they make, next to a basic salary. voor elke verkoop, naast hun basissalaris.
351 We expect staff to take part in training at least We verwachten van ons personeel dat het
twice a year. ten minste twee maal per jaar
bijscholing/training volgt.
352 to reward performance prestatie belonen

27
353 an incentive incentive, aanmoediging(spremie)

354 As an incentive we regularly award the best Als aanmoediging kennen we regelmatig de
performing staff a salary raise. best presterende personeelsleden een
salarisverhoging toe.
working relations werkrelaties

355 a colleague (spelling!) collega
356 I work as an office manager for Akses. Ik werk als office manager bij (!) Akses.
357 I used to work in the banking sector, but I wasn’t Ik werkte vroeger in de banksector, maar ik
satisfied with my wages. was niet tevreden met mijn loon.
Pass notes: spot the translation of “vroeger”. To be used if at
the test time indications like “in the past” are ruled out.
358 My husband/wife still works in that sector. Mijn man / vrouw werkt nog steeds in die
sector.
359 an internship // a traineeship stage
360 an intern // a trainee stagiair
361 The dress code at our workplace is business De kledingstijl op onze werkplaats is
casual: ties and suits are no longer obligatory, as “business casual”: dassen en pakken zijn niet
in formal business, but we still wear shirts. A T langer verplicht, zoals in “formal business”,
shirt or jeans are of course off limits. maar we dragen nog steeds hemden. Een T-
Pass notes: wouldn’t the description of two dress codes on the shirt of jeans zijn vanzelfsprekend
work floor be an ideal question on the test? onmogelijk.
362 white-collar workers versus blue-collar workers bedienden en arbeiders
Pass notes: the strict difference between white-collar and blue-collar
workers is typical of Belgium. In other countries you will just talk
about “employees” and use the word “manual work” to indicate that
a person mainly uses his hands in his job. In Belgium the difference
will imply differences in pay, benefits and holidays.
363 Ms Banks is retired. Mevrouw Banks is op pensioen.
364 working conditions werkomstandigheden
365 Our manager likes to be considered a fair Onze directeur wil graag gezien worden als
employer. een correcte, eerlijke (specific word!)
werkgever.
366 She wants to increase job satisfaction. Ze wil de tevredenheid over het werk
verhogen.
367 The relationship with management is tense. De relatie met de directie is gespannen.
368 the trade union de vakbond
369 Are you unionised? Bent u aangesloten bij de vakbond?
370 a strike een staking
371 Last year the employees were on strike for 48 Vorig jaar staakten de werknemers 48 uur
hours. lang.

28
1 rate at which employees leave a company and are replaced by new people = ………………
2 a person employed to work for a short period, especially in an office while another person is absent
or when there is extra work = ……………………..
3 a government office where unemployed people can go for advice and information about jobs that
are available = ……………………..
4 An organization that represents the people who work in a particular industry, protects their rights,
discusses their pay and working conditions = ……………………..
5 Dishonest and illegal, especially in a business context = ……………………..
6 A job that no one is doing and is therefore available for someone new to do = a …………
7 Type of wage where the amount of pay depends on the number of things finished (e.g. you
produce 1,000 bricks, so you receive 1,000 euros) = a ……………………………
8 She stopped working permanently because of age = she is ……………………..
9 A person who has a less important position than you in an organization and works for you =
……………………..
10 An advantage such as medical insurance or sick pay that employees receive from their employer
in addition to money = a ……………………..
11 A person who requests to be employed in a job = ……………………..
12 A meeting in which an employer asks the person applying for a job questions to see whether they
would be the right person to do that job = a ……………………..
13 Time spent working after the usual time expected in a job = ……………………..
14 Dress code on the work floor in which ties and suits are obligatory = …………………………………..
15 An arrangement in which your employer pays for the things you bought while you are doing your
job, such as food, travel or business clothes. “I spent a lot but I get a ………………………………………”
16 An extra amount of money given to an employee in addition to their salary as a reward for excellent
work = ……………………………………..
17 Having more employees than are needed: “Our department is inefficient and hugely …………….……”
18 A list of the people employed by a company including how much each one earns = ………………………
19 An amount of money charged for a fixed service, for instance a doctor’s visit or the consultation of
a lawyer = …………………………..

29
1.3 Vocabulary list “national and international”
explaining Belgium België uitleggen

372 Belgium is a federal state consisting of 3 regions: België is een federale staat die bestaat uit 3
Flanders, Wallonia and the Brussels Capital regio’s: Vlaanderen, Wallonië en het Brussels
Region. hoofdstedelijk gewest.
373 There is no language called “Belgian”, but we have Er is geen taal die “Belgisch” heet, maar we
famous Belgian export products such as hebben wel bekende Belgische
chocolates or diamonds. exportproducten zoals pralines en diamanten.
374 The Flemish live in Flanders, they don’t speak In Vlaanderen leven Vlamingen, ze spreken
“Flemish” but Dutch. geen “Vlaams” maar wel Nederlands.
375 The Walloons live in Wallonia, they don’t speak In Wallonië leven de Walen, ze spreken geen
“Walloon” but French. “Waals” maar wel Frans.
376 In Brussels the Brussels people or Brussels citizens In Brussel leven de Brusselaars.
live.
377 Brussels is a bilingual area. Brussel is tweetalig gebied.
378 The three communities: the Flemish (Dutch De drie gemeenschappen: de Vlaamse
speaking) community, the French speaking (Nederlandstalige) gemeenschap, de
community and the German speaking Franstalige gemeenschap en de Duitstalige
community. gemeenschap.
379 There are a few cities in Belgium with English Er zijn enkele steden in België met Engelse
spelling: Antwerp, Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and spelling: Antwerpen, Brussel, Brugge, Gent en
Ostend. For the rest: use Dutch or French spelling. Oostende. Voor de rest: gebruik Nederlandse
of Franse spelling
380 an Antwerp businessman, a Liege company een Antwerpse zakenman, een Luiks bedrijf
Pass notes: notice how you just add the name of the city before the
noun; no -s needed! With countries you can only do this if it is an
abbreviation: “a UK company”, “a US company”. With other countries
you have to use the adjective form: “a Belgian company”, “a French
entrepreneur”
381 a Brussels based company een in Brussel gevestigd bedrijf
Pass notes: our capital is with an s in English
Regions (territory based) and communities (language based) in Belgium

30
28 member states of the EU up to 2020… Brexit
explaining the European Union de Europese Unie uitleggen

382 The EU forms the world’s largest internal De EU vormt ’s werelds grootste interne markt.
market.
383 the European Central Bank (ECB) sets the De Europese Centrale Bank bepaalt de rentevoet
interest rates of countries of the Eurozone in van landen van de Eurozone om inflatie in
order to control inflation. bedwang te houden.
384 The Bank of England is the central bank of the De Bank of England is de centrale bank van het
UK and plays the same role for the British Verenigd Koninkrijk; ze speelt voor het Britse
pound as the ECB does for the euro. In the US pond dezelfde rol als de ECB voor de euro. In de
it is the Federal Reserve that is responsible for VS is de Federal Reserve verantwoordelijk voor
the dollar. de dollar.
Pass notes: don’t you think the previous two entries form the
perfect answer to the question “What is the function of the ECB,
and compare to two major Anglo-Saxon countries”?
385 Since the financial crisis most Eurozone Sinds de financiële crisis handhaven de meeste
countries maintain a policy of austerity. landen van de Eurozone een politiek van
besparingen.
386 to enlarge – an enlargement uitbreiden – een uitbreiding
387 the eastward enlargement of the EU de oostelijke uitbreiding van de EU
388 Slovakia is a member state. Slovakije is een lidstaat
389 Ukraine applies for membership. Oekraïne stelt zich kandidaat voor lidmaatschap.
390 accession to the EU toetreding tot de EU
391 Brexit: in 2016 the UK voted to leave the EU, in Brexit: in 2016 stemde het VK voor vertrek uit de
2020 the UK actually left. EU, in 2020 verliet het VK feitelijk de EU.
392 The campaign revolved around the question De campagne draaide rond de vraag “blijven”
“remain” versus “leave”, but both the “remain versus “vertrekken”, maar beide kampen wilden
camp” and the “leave camp” wanted to keep graag toegang tot de Europese interne markt
access to the European internal market. blijven hebben.
Pass notes: these 2 entries form a short history of Brexit: test!!

31
Country Inhabitant Adjective

393 the United Kingdom a UK citizen (s) It’s a UK company (!)
the UK a Briton (s), a Brit(s), a British businessman
Great Britain (!) the British (!)
England an Englishman, the English an English company
Scotland a Scots(wo)man, the Scots Scottish whisky
394 Ireland an Irish(wo)man, the Irish Irish whiskey

395 the USA a US American (s) It’s a US company (!)
a US citizen (s) It’s a US American company
396 Australia an Australian (s) an Australian organisation
397 New Zealand a New Zealander (s) the New Zealand production
398 South Africa a South African (s) two South African companies
399 Canada a Canadian (s) three Canadian cities
400 the EU an EU citizen (s) the EU policy
the European Union the EU countries
401 France a French(wo)man, the French I love French cheese
402 Italy an Italian (s) excellent Italian wine
403 Germany a German (s) five German beer makers
404 Switzerland a Swiss, the Swiss I have two Swiss watches
405 Austria an Austrian (s) Austrian cake is heavy.
406 Spain a Spaniard, the Spanish (!) The Spanish coast
407 Portugal a Portuguese, the Portuguese Portuguese port
408 Belgium a Belgian (s) Belgian chocolates
409 the Netherlands (!) a Dutch(wo)man, the Dutch the Dutch language
410 Denmark a Dane (s) Danish milk
411 Sweden a Swede (s) the Swedish system
412 Finland a Finn (s) Finnish mobile phones
413 Norway a Norwegian (s) Norwegian wood
414 Western Europe a Western European (-n -ns) Western European countries
415 Eastern Europe an Eastern European (-n -ns) Eastern European countries
416 Russia a Russian (s) Russian gas
417 Poland a Pole (s) Polish mazurkas
418 Ukraine a Ukrainian (s) Ukrainian grain exports
419 the Czech Republic a Czech (-) Czech beer
420 Hungary a Hungarian (s) three Hungarian dishes
421 Croatia a Croatian (s) the Croatian islands
422 Serbia a Serbian (s) the Serbian dinar
423 Albania an Albanian (s) the Albanian diaspora
424 Greece a Greek (s) the Greek tourism sector
425 Türkiye / Turkey a Turk (s) Turkish pistachio baklava
426 Morocco a Moroccan (s) a Moroccan tajine
427 the Arab countries an Arab (s) We import Arab oil (!)
I speak Arabic (!)
428 China a Chinese, the Chinese two Chinese tech companies
429 Japan a Japanese, the Japanese the Japanese trade
430 India an Indian (s) Indian employees
431 Israel an Israeli (s) five Israeli companies
432 Palestine a Palestinian (s) Palestinian export products
433 Syria a Syrian (s) the Syrian refugee crisis
434 Congo a Congolese, the Congolese the Congolese languages
435 Brazil a Brazilian (s) a Brazilian beach

32
Pass notes:
• I am pretty sure the teacher won’t ask countries like “France” or “Italy”. Which ones in this list are difficult,
unfamiliar to you? Mark these with a highlighter.
• Notice how the country, the inhabitants and the adjective are all capitalized, as opposed to e.g. French, where you
have to decide whether it is the language (“le Français”, capitalized) or a common adjective (“une entreprise
française”, not capitalized). In English: never doubt, it’s always capitalized!
• Dear Francophones, notice how an adjective NEVER takes +s in English: “1 German company, 3 German
companies” (compare: “1 entreprise allemande, 3 entreprises allemandes”)
• Spot differences with your own language like Dutch “Canadees”” vs English “Canadian”, French “la Suisse” vs
English “Switzerland”, but “Swiss cheese”. Spot also the confusing pair Dutch-German.
• Spelling: Britain with only 1 T, Portuguese, Czech, …
• Notice: “The Netherlands are small, they are located to the North of Belgium” (plural!). “Holland” is not accepted
on the test, although US Americans will use the word to denote our Northern neighbour.
• At the request of the Turkish government “Türkiye” was adopted by the United Nations as the official name for
Turkey in 2022. However, many international media keep on using the spelling “Turkey” (for the time being?).
Both variants are acceptable on a test.
• Notice the difference between “Arab countries, Arab products, Arab companies” (the adjective) and “I speak
Moroccan Arabic” (the language).
• Notice how nationalities in -ese do not change the form in plural: one Japanese, five Japanese.
• Notice how abbreviations like “UK” or “US” make possible “a UK company”, “a US company”, “the EU policy”.
Look out: this is NOT possible for countries that are not abbreviated: “a France company” or “a Belgium company”
are not possible, you have to use the adjective: “a French company”, “a Belgian company”.
the Anglosphere: countries with English as the first language for most people in dark blue, English as
an official language in light blue, various regions in which English is used as a main tool for international
communication

33
1.4 Vocabulary list accounting and finance
accounting / accountancy accountancy

436 abookkeeping Boekhouden
437 a bookkeeper Boekhouder
438 the accounting year zakenjaar, boekjaar
439 a quarter Kwartaal
440 in the third quarter of 2016 // in het derde kwartaal van 2016 (= periode j-a-s)
in Q3 of 2016
441 our quarterly results onze kwartaalsresultaten
442 an account rekening (financieel document)
443 a bill rekening (te betalen rekening, bv. restaurant)
444 a receipt rekening (bewijs, bv. van restaurantuitgaven)
pass notes: “rekening” can have 3 translations. As a
financial statement that tracks what happens in the
company and which can be consulted in bookkeeping it is
called an “account”. As something you have to pay, it is a
“bill”. And, finally, when you have paid, you get proof of
your payment, which is called a receipt.
445 For all expenses our personnel has to provide Voor alle uitgaven moet ons personeel een
a receipt. rekening voorleggen.

34
446 Could you make up the invoice? Kan jij de factuur opmaken?
447 financial reporting financiële rapportering
448 the financial report // the annual report de jaarrekening, het jaarverslag:
a. the profit and loss account (P&L) // a.de resultatenrekening of de winst- en
the income statement verliesrekening
b. the balance sheet b. de balans
c. the cash flow statement c. het kasstroomoverzicht
Pass notes: “give the three parts of the financial report” would be
perfect on the test, don’t you think?
449 an overview of our assets and liabilities een overzicht van onze activa en passiva
450 current assets vlottende activa
451 fixed assets vaste activa
452 pre-tax profit winst voor belastingen
453 In many companies payroll accounts for over In veel bedrijven beslaat de loonlijst meer dan
70% of expenditure. 70% van de uitgaven. / neemt … voor zijn
rekening / telt voor …
454 to account for beslaan, voor zijn rekening nemen, tellen voor
455 expenditure // expenses uitgaven
456 to calculate – a calculation berekenen – een berekening
457 We have to calculate the key financial We moeten de voornaamste financiële
indicators and ratios. indicatoren en ratio’s berekenen.
458 An auditor will check and guarantee the Een auditfirma controleert en garandeert de
accuracy of accounts such as the balance sheet juistheid van financiële rekeningen zoals de
and the profit and loss account. balans en de winst- en verliesrekening.
459 liquidity liquiditeit
460 leverage solvabiliteit
461 profitability rendabiliteit
462 How profitable is this company? Hoe rendabel is deze onderneming?
463 to report rapporteren, laten weten, melden
464 Our accounting department reports declining Onze boekhoudafdeling meldt dalende
sales figures and a stable profitability. verkoopcijfers en een stabiele rendabiliteit.
Pass notes: look out with “melden”: “mentioning” is just
casually referring. If you want to point out something
important, you “report”.
465 to support vs to oppose voorstander zijn van, voor iets zijn tgo.
tegenstander zijn van, tegen iets zijn
466 Management opposes cutting costs and De directie is tegen het verlagen van de kosten en
supports making more investments in research is voorstander van meer investeringen in
and development. onderzoek en ontwikkeling.
Pass notes: both “support” and “oppose” function with
ing forms: you will support cutting costs and oppose firing
staff.
467 to pay taxes belastingen betalen
468 the tax office dienst belastingen
469 An individual has to pay income tax. Een persoon moet personenbelasting betalen.
470 A company pays corporate tax. Een bedrijf betaalt vennootschapsbelasting.
471 the taxpayer and the tax authorities de belastingbetaler en de fiscus
472 We rent office space for tax purposes. We huren kantoorruimte voor fiscale doeleinden.
Pass notes: avoid the word “fiscal”, it has a different
meaning in English. Instead, talk about “tax”!
473 value added tax // VAT BTW

35
474 The price is 100 euros, including VAT vs De prijs is 100 euro, BTW inclusief tgo. exclusief.
excluding VAT.
475 Is this inclusive of VAT? // Is this including Is dit inclusief BTW?
VAT?
Pass notes: the Dutch construction “inclusief BTW” is
either “including VAT” or “inclusive of VAT”. Don’t be
misled by how it is formulated in Dutch!
banking bankieren
476 a transaction een (financiele) verrichting, transactie
477 a current account een lopende rekening, zichtrekening
478 a savings account een spaarrekening
479 I deposit money on my account. Ik stort geld op mijn rekening.
480 I withdraw money from my account. Ik haal geld af van mijn rekening.
481 a withdrawal een geldafhaling
482 I transfer money to your account. Ik schrijf geld over op jouw rekening.
483 to yield opleveren
484 How much interest does a savings account Hoeveel intrest/rente levert een spaarrekening
yield nowadays? vandaag de dag op?
485 Our standard savings account yields an Onze standaard spaarrekening levert een
interest of 1.5 percent. rente/intrest van 1,5 percent op.
Pass notes: don’t use “give” or other common verbs:
accounts or investments yield profit.
And look at the translation of “rente”: not “rent”, but
always “interest”. “Rent” is what you pay every month if
you rent an apartment.
486 My account is in the red // in debt. Mijn rekening staat negatief.
487 My account is in the black // in credit. Mijn rekening staat positief.
488 I have overdrawn my account. Ik ben in het rood gegaan op mijn rekening.
489 I use banker’s order for rent and my mortgage. Ik gebruik automatische overschrijving voor huur
en hypotheek.
490 I use direct debit for variable costs, such as Ik gebruik direct casco/domiciliëring voor
phoning or Amazon orders. variabele bedragen zoals telefoneren of
bestellingen bij Amazon.
491 Where can I find a cash dispenser // a Waar kan ik een geldautomaat vinden?
cashpoint // an ATM?
492 to charge aanrekenen, kosten rekenen
493 We charge an annual fee of 20 euros for your Wij rekenen een jaarlijkse kost van 20 euro voor
current and savings account. uw lopende en spaarrekening aan.
Pass notes: banks and other institutions don’t “ask
money”, they “charge” fees or costs.
494 To borrow from the bank lenen van de bank
495 To lend (lent, lent!) to somebody (uit)lenen aan iemand
496 Last year I borrowed 100,000 euros from the Vorig jaar leende ik 100.000 euro van de bank,
bank, 30,000 of which I lent to you. waarvan ik 30.000 uitleende aan jou.
497 I want to take out a loan (took out, have taken Ik wil een lening aangaan/afsluiten.
out)
Pass notes: you don’t “take” or “close” a loan, you “take
it out”.
498 I have to repay the loan. Ik moet de lening terugbetalen.
499 The bank charges a rate of 1.2 percent. De bank rekent een rente van 1,2 percent aan.
500 floating-rate loan lening met variabele rente

36
501 fixed-rate loan lening met vaste rente

502 a mortgage hypothecaire lening
503 She defaulted on her mortgage. Ze kon haar betalingsverplichtingen voor haar
hypothecaire lening niet nakomen / Ze faalde op
haar hypotheeklening.
504 She pays a monthly rate of 600 euros for her Ze doet een maandelijkse afbetaling van 600
house. euro.
Pass notes: look at the different construction Dutch-
English. “Ik DOE een afbetaling” vs “I PAY a rate”.
505 In our bank branch we have a branch manager In ons bankfiliaal hebben we een filiaaldirecteur
and two bank tellers. en twee bankbedienden.
506 Let’s go to the counter. Laten we naar het loket gaan.
507 I want to report a theft. My wallet has been Ik wil een diefstal aangeven. Mijn portefeuille is
stolen and my credit card needs to be blocked. gestolen en mijn kredietkaart moet geblokkeerd
worden.
508 Please sign over here. Gelieve hier te tekenen.
509 You can leave valuables in our deposit box. U kan waardevolle voorwerpen in onze banksafe
bewaren.
insurance verzekeringen
510 We have taken out insurance. We hebben een verzekering afgesloten.
Pass notes: see earlier: you take out a loan, you take out
insurance. No other verbs!
511 I am afraid our insurance policy does not cover Ik vrees dat onze verzekeringspolis dit niet dekt.
this.
512 We are covered under our accident policy. We zijn gedekt door onze ongevallenpolis.
513 Our policy excludes damage by third parties. Onze polis sluit schade veroorzaakt door derden
uit.
514 to hold liable (held, held) aansprakelijk stellen
515 We have to hold you liable for the damage Wij moeten u aansprakelijk stellen voor de
caused. veroorzaakte schade.
Pass notes: look at how you say “veroorzaakte schade”. It
is “damage caused”, “inconvenience caused”, “people
interviewed”: adjectives derived from verbs AFTER the
noun!
516 Our company attorney will take up contact Onze bedrijfsjurist zal contact met u opnemen.
with you.
517 You will be compensated for the loss. U zal worden vergoed voor het verlies.
518 a claim een schadegeval, verzekeringsgeval
519 a claim form schadeformulier
520 an accident report/statement ongevallenformulier
521 medical insurance ziekteverzekering
522 life insurance levensverzekering
523 professional indemnity insurance beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering
524 car insurance autoverzekering
525 homeowner’s insurance brandverzekering (eigenlijk huisverzekering!)
526 The contract expires on 30 June. Het contract vervalt op 30 juni.

37
Insurance in fairy tales …
financial markets financiële markten

527 a stock exchange (BrE) // a stock market (financiële) beurs, zoals in New York of Londen
(AmE)
528 a trade fair (handels)beurs, zoals het autosalon

Pass notes: needless to say, on the test the difference
between stock exchange and trade fair (both “beurs”)
is important! For francophones: “fair trade”
(commerce equitable) is not “a trade fair”.
529 AB Inbev is quoted // listed on the stock AB Inbev is genoteerd op de beurs.
exchange.
530 AB Inbev is a listed company AB Inbev is een beursgenoteerd bedrijf
531 shares (BrE) or stocks (AmE) aandelen
532 to sell shares vs to buy shares aandelen verkopen vs kopen
533 a currency munteenheid
534 Currencies such as dollars, pounds and Munten zoals dollar, pond en euro worden
euros are traded. verhandeld.
535 notes (UK) // bills (US) and coins bankbriefjes en muntstukken
536 a five-pound note and a five-dollar bill Een bankbriefje van 5 pond en eentje van 5 dollar
537 What’s the rate // price of the euro? Wat is de koers // prijs van de euro?
538 What’s the rate // price of the AB Inbev Wat is de koers//prijs van het aandeel van AB Inbev?
share?
Pass notes: at the test the teacher will of course only
ask “koers”, so you have to memorize “rate” or
“price”. “Course” is the course of a river, has nothing
to do with shares. Look at the short, efficient way of
saying “the Amazon share”, “the Alphabet share”.
539 a bond obligatie
540 a government bond staatsobligatie
541 Do you prefer bonds or shares? Bonds are a Geef je de voorkeur aan obligaties of aandelen?
sound investment, involving a low risk, Obligaties zijn een veilige belegging met een laag
whereas shares are a risky investment. risico, terwijl aandelen een riskante investering zijn.
542 an investment een belegging, investering
543 sound versus risky veilig tgo. riskant
544 investment portfolio beleggingsportefeuille
545 I prefer a mix of risk loving securities such Ik hou van een mengeling van risicolievende
as shares and risk averse ones, such as waardepapieren zoals aandelen en risicoschuwe,
government bonds. zoals staatsobligaties.
546 a consultancy (-ies) een consulent

38
547 an auditor een auditfirma

548 the “Big Four” auditors and consultancies De “Big Four” auditfirma’s en consulenten zijn
are KPMG, PWC, Deloitte and EY (Ernst and KMPG, PWC, Deloitte en EY.
Young)
549 The financial district of London is called “the Het financiële district van Londen heet “the City”,
City”, in the United States Wall Street is terwijl in de Verenigde Staten Wall Street
legendary as the seat of the New York Stock legendarisch is als de zetel van de New Yorkse
Exchange. beurs.
550 The FTSE 100 (pronounced “footsie”) is the De FTSE 100 is de aandelenindex van de Londense
share index of the London stock exchange. beurs.
551 An index is a measure for the economy of a Een index is een maatstaf voor de economie van
country, usually composed of the een land, gewoonlijk samengesteld uit de
performance of various large companies of prestatie van verschillende grote bedrijven van
that country. dat land.
552 The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the De Dow Jones Industrial Average, de NASDAQ en
NASDAQ and the S&P 500 are important de S&P 500 zijn belangrijke indexen voor de
indices for the US economy. economie van de VS.
553 The CAC 40 is the index for the French De CAC 40 is de index voor de Franse economie,
economy, the Bel 20 for the Belgian economy de Bel 20 voor de Belgische economie en de DAX
and the DAX for the German economy. voor de Duitse economie.
554 The European Union forms the world’s De Europese Unie vormt het grootste handelsblok
largest trading bloc. van de wereld.
555 The Eurozone forms a monetary union and a De eurozone vormt een monetaire unie en een
customs union. douane-unie.
Pass notes: the last 8 entries are to be known: the
teacher can ask you “the index for the French
economy?” or “one of the Big Four?” or “one of the
indices for the US economy?”
Life in the City of London …

39

40
1 a piece of paper or a message stating that money, goods, or information have been received =
2 instruction to a bank to pay a particular amount of money at regular times from a person’s bank
account to another bank account =
3 a financial ratio; the relationship between the amount of money a company owes to banks (=
debts) and the value of the company =
4 a financial ratio; money, or assets that can be changed into money easily = the company has
excellent …
5 a financial ratio; level at which a company is generating more income than expenses = we have a
good …
6 agreement to borrow money from a bank, especially in order to buy a house =
7 arrangement for making payments in which your bank moves various amounts of money from your
account into a company’s account at regular times = I pay these bills by …
8 agreement between several countries to reduce or remove any taxes on goods traded between
them, and to charge the same taxes on goods from other countries =
9 place where shares in companies are bought and sold =
10 document that shows the value of a company’s assets and its debts =
11 unwilling to take risks or wanting to avoid risks as much as possible =
12 official paper given by the government or a company to show that you lent them money that they
will pay back to you at a particular interest =
13 bank account you can take money from at any time and that usually earns little or no interest =
14 tax that a company has to pay on its profits =
15 document that shows a company’s profit or loss in a particular period =
16 document that shows the money coming into and out of a company during a particular period =
17 an asset such as cash or raw materials which a company will use up or sell during the same year =
18 an asset such as land, buildings, equipment, etc., which is owned by a company and which is used
to produce income for the company =
19 a list of things provided or work done, together with their cost, for payment at a later time =
20 the debts of a company, term used in accounting =
21 to fail to do something, e.g. pay a debt, that you legally have to do = to … on a debt
22 a large event at which companies show their products and try to increase business =

41
Translate these sentences.

“Increase” and “decrease” are banned, use the verbs r…-r…-d…-l…
Pay attention to linking words!
Onze solvabiliteit is de laatste maanden sterk gestegen, maar de liquiditeit is gedaald.
In juni hebben we onze rendabiliteit verhoogd doordat we onze uitgaven (not “costs”) voor
marketing verlaagd hebben.
De koers van het AB Inbev-aandeel is gestegen in mei door de gestegen bierconsumptie.
In het derde kwartaal hebben we de investeringen in onderzoek en ontwikkeling verhoogd. Bijgevolg

steeg ook de prijs van onze producten.
Onze winst voor belastingen is gedaald in 2018. Bijgevolg verhoogden we onze marketinguitgaven (not
“costs”).
Omdat (don’t use “because”) de bank haar interest op de hypothecaire lening verhoogde, steeg ook
de maandelijkse afbetaling.
Hoewel de koers van alle Belgische aandelen sterk steeg, daalde de koers van Colruyt.
Hoe meer we de kosten verlagen, hoe meer we de omzet verhogen.

42
Write out a business mail according to conventions seen in class and containing the words below.
You underline them so the teacher can correct efficiently. (8 points. 12 problems / 3 * 2 = 8)
Context: je wil meneer Burke uitleggen waarom je vorige maand ontslag nam. De hoofdreden was
dat je vergeefs solliciteerde naar een functie als afdelingsleider bij de aankoopafdeling, maar er liep
heel wat meer mis.
opzeg indienen (dus niet “ontslag nemen”) “despite”

Noorse collega “due to”
rekening houden met … notulen vd vergadering verliezen
prestatiegericht solliciteren naar functie
aankoopafdeling sollicitant afwijzen
Work out a mail in full, fluent sentences. Words in bold need to be used literally.
You work for the company Featherlite. You receive a mail from a client, Jeff Bezos, who wants to
know more about the company’s structure and history. You send the following. (30 problems / 3 *
2 = 20 points)
(dank) in antwoord op uw vraag overzicht structuur en geschiedenis van ons bedrijf.

2004 oprichting bedrijf, actief in de amusementssector.
2007 oprichting dochterondernemingen in Nederland en Oostenrijk.
2008 krimpende omzet door financiële crisis, zware hypothecaire lening op ons magazijn. Nieuwe
strategie moest worden toegepast: alleen halfafgewerkte materialen gebruiken, leveranciers
veranderen. Resultaat: terug rendabel in 2009.
2011 Deense bank leent ons bedrijf geld voor overname concurrent DeadLead.
2014 fusie met Noors bedrijf Birds of a Feather, bedrijf wordt NV en is nu genoteerd op de Londense
beurs, maar we staan niet in de aandelenindex …………….. (= de Londense aandelenindex). De koers
van het aandeel steeg (not “increase”) van 30 euro in mei 2014 naar 48 euro in december 2017.In
bijlage: winst- en verliesrekening en informatie van onze accountant, ………………………………….. (= 1 of
the Big Four auditors)

43
1.5 Vocabulary list human resources
recruiting recruteren
556 We need to make up a job profile. We moeten een job-profiel opstellen.
557 to post a job een werkaanbieding plaatsen
558 We post jobs in print media and also We plaatsen werkaanbiedingen in de gedrukte pers en
rely on e-recruiting. vertrouwen ook op e-recruiting.
559 to rely on sth vertrouwen, steunen op iets
560 recruitment consultant recruteringsconsulent(e)
561 to recruit – recruitment recruteren – recrutering
562 We track applicants and invite them to We traceren kandidaten en nodigen ze uit voor
job interviews. sollicitatiegesprekken.
563 We check skills and qualifications. We controleren vaardigheden en diploma’s.
Pass notes: look at the translation of Dutch
“diploma’s”. Of course, the English word
“diplomas” exists, but recruiters will always
request your “qualifications”, the things you
qualified in.
564 We shortlist candidates before the We stellen een lijstje met kandidaten op voor de
employer interviews them. werkgever hen interviewt.
565 A modern resume lists not only Een modern CV somt niet enkel diploma’s op maar ook
qualifications but also skills, student vaardigheden, studentenjobs en vrijwilligerswerk.
jobs and volunteer work.
566 Which skills are required? Welke vaardigheden zijn vereist?
567 Please provide copies of your Gelieve kopieën van uw diploma’s te verstrekken en een
qualifications and a criminal record uittreksel uit het strafregister (vroeger “bewijs van goed
extract. gedrag en zeden”)
568 We match candidates to suitable jobs. We koppelen kandidaten aan geschikte jobs.
569 suitable geschikt, gepast
570 We select the best candidate for the We selecteren de beste kandidaat voor de job.
job.
571 headhunting headhunting (het vinden van geschikte kandidaten voor
leidinggevende functies)

44
572 We will check your references and do a We zullen uw referenties controleren en een
background check. achtergrondcheck uitvoeren.
573 You may expect a job offer. U kan een jobaanbieding verwachten.
redundancy afvloeiingen
574 We made 50 staff redundant – We lieten 50 medewerkers afvloeien - afvloeiingen
redundancies (euphemistic language) (eufemistisch taalgebruik)
575 I hand in my notice. Ik dien mijn ontslag in.
576 I resign – my resignation Ik neem ontslag – mijn ontslag
577 notice period ontslagperiode
578 You’re in breach of your contract if you Je pleegt contractbreuk als je mondeling ontslag neemt:
resign verbally: it needs to be done in schriftelijk ontslag is vereist.
written form.
579 We always conduct an exit interview We voeren altijd een exitgesprek met personeel dat ons
with staff leaving. verlaat.
580 severance pay // redundancy pay ontslagvergoeding
your career path je carrièrepad

581 your career je carrière
Pass notes: look at the strange spelling. Only 1 R?
And double E? Yes. “An aircraft carrier” is “een
vliegdekmoederschip”, something else entirely …
582 The HR department will offer you career De afdeling HR zal je ook carrière-advies geven.
counselling.
Pass notes: typical HR speak is “offering
counselling”. You won’t advise people, but
counsel them.
583 the corporate ladder de carrièreladder
584 Climbing the corporate ladder is a Klimmen op de carrièreladder is een uitdaging,
challenge, reaching C level positions is topmanagersposities bereiken is enkel voor de happy
only for the happy few. few.
585 How much does an entry-level Hoeveel verdient een beginnend medewerker in jouw
employee earn in your sector? sector?
586 to make promotion promotie maken

45
587 I got promoted – a promotion Ik kreeg promotie,werd gepromoveerd - promotie

588 I got demoted – a demotion Ik kreeg demotie, werd gedegradeerd - degradatie
589 In 2014 we outsourced ICT to a Polish In 2014 besteedden we ICT uit / outsourceten we ICT aan
company. - outsourcing een Pools bedrijf.
590 temporary secondment tijdelijke detachering
591 an internal and an external secondment interne en externe detachering
592 a temp(orary) een interimkracht
593 a temporary work office // temp een interimkantoor zoals Accountemps
agency // staffing agency such as
Accountemps
594 I am freelancer working for a temp Ik ben freelancer en ik werk voor een interimkantoor.
agency.
employee retention Personeelsbehoud

595 to retain - retention behouden – behoud
596 Employee retention can be defined as a Personeelsbehoud kan worden gedefinieerd als de
company’s ability to prevent employee vaardigheid van een bedrijf om personeelsverloop tegen
turnover. te gaan.
597 We need to reward staff in order to We moeten personeel belonen (verlonen) om ze te
retain them. kunnen behouden.
598 Ultimately our reward system wants to Ultiem wil ons beloningssysteem de prestaties van onze
maximize employee performance. medewerkers maximaliseren.
599 Hoch much do you earn? Hoeveel verdient u?
600 gross salary versus net salary bruto salaris versus netto salaris
601 salary negotiation salarisonderhandeling
602 Brenda wants to negotiate better pay Brenda wil een beter loon en voordelen onderhandelen.
and benefits.
603 employee benefits voordelen voor werknemers
604 I have to manage employee payroll. Ik moet de loonlijst van de werknemers beheren.
605 to manage - management beheren – het beheer
606 maternity leave zwangerschapsverlof
607 parental leave ouderschapsverlof
608 The company is willing to pay for Het bedrijf is bereid te betalen voor de
daycare. kinderopvang/crèche.
609 holiday pay vakantiegeld
610 sick leave ziekteverlof
611 I worked 5 overtime hours. Ik deed 5 overuren.
Pass notes: notice the difference between Dutch
“ik doe overuren” and English “I work overtime.”
If you want to refer to the number of hours you
worked overtime, you can say “I worked five
overtime hours”.
612 Overtime is paid extra. // Overtime Overuren worden extra uitbetaald.
hours are paid extra.
613 I have too much unused vacation time. Ik heb teveel niet opgenomen vakantiedagen.
614 medical insurance ziekteverzekering
615 life insurance levensverzekering
616 You get a benefit package tailored to U krijgt een voordelenpakket op maat gesneden van uw
your needs. behoeften.
617 You get a bonus if you meet the sales U krijgt een premie als u het verkoopdoel haalt.
target.

46
Pass notes: on the work floor you receive

bonuses. A “premium” would be something you
pay for insurance.
618 I hate having to meet targets. Ik haat het om doelstellingen te moeten halen.
619 Next to seniority we take into account Naast anciënniteit houden we ook rekening met ervaring
experience and performance. en prestaties.
620 to take into account sth rekening houden met …
621 seniority Anciënniteit
622 I don’t believe in seniority, I favour a Ik geloof niet in anciënniteit, ik ben voorstander van een
merit-based approach. aanpak gebaseerd op verdienste.
623 merit pay betaling op basis van verdienste
624 training Bijscholing
625 team-building activities team-buildingactiviteiten
626 a company outing een bedrijfsuitstapje
627 job (dis)satisfaction (on)tevredenheid met de job
628 Our sector is very vulnerable to job- Onze sector is zeer gevoelig/kwetsbaar voor job-hoppen.
hopping.
629 Job empowerment: getting a certain Job empowerment: een zekere graad van autonomie en
degree of autonomy and control in your controle verkrijgen over je activiteiten en doelen.
activities and goals.
appraising employees medewerkers evalueren

630 to appraise evalueren
631 an employee appraisal evaluatie van een medewerker
632 an appraisal meeting / a performance evaluatiegesprek, functioneringsgesprek
review
Pass notes: the words “to evaluate” and
“evaluation” exist but are rarely used. If the
meaning is “giving somebody a grade”, people
talk about “grading” or “assessing”. If the
meaning is “conducting a meeting to discuss
someone’s performance”, “appraising” is the
term preferred.
633 Next to giving constructive feedback we Naast het geven van constructieve feedback bepalen we
like to set goals. graag doelstellingen.
634 We give praise, but we also point out We geven lof, maar wijzen ook op kansen voor
opportunities for improvement. verbetering.
635 a survey een enquête
636 We conduct // execute a survey on … We voeren een enquête uit over …
637 We conduct // execute an interview We voeren een interview met …
with …
638 Please fill out the form. Gelieve het formulier in te vullen.
639 Please fill out the questionnaire. Gelieve de vragenlijst in te vullen.
640 The survey makes use of a questionnaire De enquête maakt gebruik van een vragenlijst met
with multiple-choice questions and multiple-choicevragen, en open vragen.
open-ended questions.
641 How would you rate our service on a Hoe zou u onze dienstverlening beoordelen, op een
scale from 1 to 5? schaal van 1 tot 5?
personality traits persoonlijkheidskenmerken

642 I am introverted versus extroverted Ik ben introvert tgo. extravert

47
Pass notes: Wow! Did you notice the spelling?

IntrOverted and extrOverted?
643 talkative versus reserved praatgraag tgo. gereserveerd
644 bold versus restrained durfal tgo. geremd
645 considerate versus inconsiderate or tactvol tgo. niet tactvol, ongevoelig
insensitive
646 disorderly versus orderly wanordelijk versus ordelijk
647 open to feedback versus unreflective open voor feedback versus niet reflecterend en
and defensive verdedigend ingesteld
648 self-aware versus self-conscious versus zelfbewust (positief) versus zelfbewust (probleem)
complacent versus zelfvoldaan
Pass notes: there is a serious difference between
“self-aware” and “self-conscious”. Both translate
as “zelfbewust”, but the first means “knowing
and understanding yourself and the effect of your
actions well”, which is an indication of mature
professional behaviour. The second one means
“too aware of what other people are thinking
about you, and hence restrained”. Someone who
blushes profusely is “self-conscious”, someone
who takes into account how people will react to
her actions is “self-aware”. Beyond repair is of
course “complacent”: showing smug, uncritical
satisfaction with your achievements.
649 a balanced person versus a moody een uitgebalanceerd, beheerst persoon tegenover een
person humeurig persoon
650 an imaginative and inventive employee een werknemer vol verbeeldingskracht en inventief
versus a shallow thinker tegenover een oppervlakkige denker
651 a grounded manager versus a hysterical een geaarde manager tegenover een hysterische
manager manager
652 Each generation on the work floor has Elke generatie op de werkvloer heeft zijn eigen
its own added value. toegevoegde waarde.
653 Baby boomers (born up to 1965) are Babyboomers verlaten momenteel de werkvloer en
retiring now, taking a rich experience nemen een rijke ervaring mee. Gen X is sterk gefocust op
with them. Gen X’ers (born between efficiëntie. Gen Y of millennials zijn flexibele
1965 and 1980) are strongly focused on teamspelers. Gen Z, ook wel “Zoomers” genaamd,
efficiency. Gen Y or millennials (born hebben een creatieve instelling.
1981 to 1995) are flexible team players.
Gen Z, also called “Zoomers” (born 1996
to 2010), have a creative attitude.
extremely task-oriented …

48
vaardigheden waar werkgevers naar op

skills employers are looking for
zoek zijn
654 work ethic werkethiek
655 commitment to the company loyaliteit, toewijding aan het bedrijf
656 She’s extremely committed. Ze is extreem toegewijd, loyaal.
657 resilience – resilient veerkracht – veerkrachtig
658 efficiency – efficient efficiëntie – efficiënt
659 problem solving skills probleemoplossende vaardigheden
660 decision-making skills de vaardigheid beslissingen te kunnen nemen
661 You need to prioritize / manage Je moet prioriteiten stellen gebaseerd op dringendheid.
priorities based on urgency.
662 learning skills leervaardigheid
663 attention to detail oog voor detail
664 listening skills luistervaardigheid
665 persuasive skills overtuigingskracht
666 people skills sociale vaardigheden
667 I’m good or bad at multitasking. Ik ben goed//slecht in multitasking.
668 I am customer oriented and well Ik ben klantgericht en goed georganiseerd.
organized.
669 I speak French as my mother tongue, I Ik spreek Frans als moedertaal, ik spreek vloeiend Engels
speak English fluently and I have basic en ik heb basisnoties van Duits.
notions of German.
working on skills ...
challenges on the work floor uitdagingen op de werkvloer

670 mobbing // bullying pestgedrag
671 to harass – harassment pesten, lastigvallen- pestgedrag, grensoverschrijdend
gedrag
672 Employees who are harassed may have Werknemers die gepest worden kunnen geconfronteerd
to face malicious rumours, pranks and worden met boosaardige roddels, grove grappen en zelfs
even physical violence. fysiek geweld.
673 sexual harassment sexueel grensoverschrijdend gedrag
674 I would like to raise concerns about Ik wil graag mijn bezorgdheid uiten over sexisme op de
sexism on the work floor. werkvloer.
675 This organisation very much believes in Deze organisatie gelooft sterk in gelijke kansen, los van
equal opportunities, regardless of sex, geslacht, etnische achtergrond, godsdienst, leeftijd of
ethnic background, religion, age or fysieke handicap.
physical disability.
676 We need to invest more in diversity, We moeten meer investeren in diversiteit, gelijkheid van
equity and inclusion (D.E.I.) kansen en inclusie.

49
677 Part of our D.E.I. initiatives is to involve Deel van onze D.E.I.-initiatieven is het betrekken van
people of diverse demographic mensen met een diverse demografische achtergrond bij
backgrounds in the core activities of our de kernactiviteiten van onze organisatie.
organization.
678 to involve sbd in sth Iemand betrekken bij iets
679 We have to pay attention to the needs We moeten aandacht schenken aan de noden van
of women and LGBTQ+ employees. vrouwen, medewerkers uit de LGBTQ+-gemeenschap.
680 to discriminate against women / older vrouwen / oudere mensen / etnische minderheden
people / ethnic minorities … discrimineren
Pass notes: “discriminating” is intransitive,
meaning it cannot take a direct object as in
Dutch: “Jij discrimineert mij”. In English you have
to add “against” to express the same: “You
discriminate against me”.
681 a gender inclusive approach een genderinclusieve aanpak
682 Do you prefer the term “people of Geef jij de voorkeur aan de term “mensen van kleur” of
colour” or “person with a migration “persoon met een migratie-achtergrond”?
background”?
683 We have an ombudsman (service) for We hebben een ombudsman/dienst voor gelijke kansen.
equal opportunities.
684 Please report all problems to our Gelieve problemen aan onze ombuds te
ombudsman. melden/rapporteren.
685 We have to work on a better access for We moeten werk maken van een betere toegang voor
disabled. gehandicapten.
686 We have problems with your conduct We hebben problemen met uw gedrag op de werkvloer.
on the work floor.
687 Britt was accused of harassment. Britt werd beschuldigd van grensoverschrijdend gedrag.
688 A disciplinary investigation was Een disciplinair onderzoek werd uitgevoerd.
conducted.
689 In the end she was acquitted. Uiteindelijk werd ze vrijgesproken.
690 Two people had to leave the Twee mensen moesten de organisatie verlaten omwille
organization because of slander. van laster.
691 working conditions werkomstandigheden
692 People get stressed due to bad working De mensen raken gestresseerd door slechte
conditions. werkomstandigheden.
693 A stressful // stressy job versus a Een stresserende job versus een gestresseerde
stressed employee. medewerker
Pass notes: things are stressful (neutral) or
stressy (informal), persons are stressed. Sorry to
break it to you: ***stressing does not exist, it is a
literal and wrong translation of “stresserend”.
694 to cope with vechten met, moeizaam omgaan met
695 Approximately 20 per cent of employees Ongeveer 20 procent van de medewerkers vechten
cope with burn-out or show burn-out tegen burn-out of vertonen symptomen van burn-out.
symptoms.
696 If you don’t agree with the decision Als u niet akkoord gaat met de genomen beslissing kan u
taken you can appeal. in beroep gaan.
697 to appeal in beroep gaan
698 suspension from work schorsing / non-actiefstelling
699 You will be suspended from work for 2 Je zal 2 weken worden geschorst op het werk.
weeks.

50
700 I am unionised, so I will contact my Ik ben aangesloten bij een vakbond, ik zal dus mijn
union representative. vakbondsverantwoordelijke raadplegen.
701 There’s too much pressure on the work Er is te veel druk op de werkvloer.
floor.
702 We are overburdened with superfluous We worden overladen met overbodige taken.
tasks.
703 The conflict remains unresolved. Het conflict blijft onopgelost.
704 My superior is too much task-oriented Mijn overste is te zeer taakgericht en niet relatie-
and not relationship oriented // people georiënteerd.
oriented.
working from home thuiswerk
705 Corona induced a new work Corona leidde tot een nieuwe werkomgeving die
environment, dominated by gedomineerd wordt door telewerk // thuiswerk.
work from home (WFH) //
telework //
telecommuting //
remote work
Pass notes:
Various synonymous words to denote the fact
you do (part of) your work not at the official
work-place. Look out: in common language these
words are used interchangeably. Legislators tend
to distinguish between different types of working
remotely for liability and insurance purposes: in
the US “remote work” denotes working
permanently from home or at a co-working
space, whereas “telework” will mean your official
duty station still is the company premises, where
you have to report regularly.
706 A major advantage is you can skip the Een belangrijk voordeel is dat je het lange pendeltraject
long commute. kan vermijden.
707 Asynchronous work is perfect for night Asynchroon werk is perfect voor nachtraven of mensen
owls or people with kids. met kinderen.
708 an improved work-life balance een verbeterde werk-levenbalans
709 lack of equipment gebrek aan uitrusting
710 distractions at home afleiding thuis
711 Avoid back-to-back meetings: improve Vermijd back-to-back meetings: pas je rooster aan en
scheduling and balance meetings with balanceer vergaderingen met andere activiteiten.
other activities.
712 the right to disconnect het recht om te deconnecteren
713 We believe in WFH but we require in- Wij geloven in thuiswerken maar gaan uit van twee keer
office work twice a week for meetings per week werk op kantoor voor vergaderingen en
and projects: a hybrid work projecten: een hybride werkomgeving.
environment.

51
Compliance naleving van de regels

714 to comply with regulations de regels naleven (specifiek op de werkvloer)
715 to commit fraud fraude plegen

716 Frank defrauded the company by forging Frank lichtte het bedrijf op door documenten te
documents. vervalsen.
Pass notes:
“defrauding” is transitive, it can take a direct object (“I
defraud you”). In Dutch the verb “oplichten” can do the
same (“ik licht jou op”), whereas “fraude plegen” can’t.
717 fraudulent activities frauduleuze activiteiten
718 Brenda tried to bribe our accountant. Brenda probeerde onze accountant om te kopen.
719 an offence een overtreding, een misdaad
720 the offender de overtreder
721 It turned out our CEO was caught driving Het bleek dat onze CEO werd opgepakt toen hij
under influence. reed onder invloed.
722 to collide – a collision botsen – een botsing
723 He collided with a bicycle on the parking lot. Hij botste tegen een fiets op het parkeerterrein.
724 He was involved in a traffic accident. Hij was betrokken in een verkeersongeval.
725 European accident statement Europees aanrijdingsformulier
726 Charly was accused of theft of company Charly werd beschuldigd van diefstal van
property. bedrijfseigendommen.
727 This was recorded on CCTV. Dit werd opgenomen door ons gesloten TV-
circuit.
728 Images from CCTV proved she regularly stole Beelden van het gesloten TV-circuit toonden aan
beamers. (to steal-stole-stolen) dat ze regelmatig beamers stal.
Compliance: sometimes a gray area…

52

53
1 a meeting in which an employer asks the person applying for a job questions to see whether they
would be the right person to do that job =
2 a job that no one is doing and is therefore available for someone new to do =
3 a period of time that an employee must work in their job after they have said that they are leaving,
or after they have been asked to leave =
4 to lower someone in rank or position =
5 a period of time when an employee is sent to work somewhere else, to increase the number of
workers, to replace other workers, or to exchange experience =
6 a list of the people employed by a company showing how much each one earns; also: the amount
of money paid to the people employed by a company =
7 period in which a woman is legally allowed to be absent from work in the weeks before and after
she gives birth =
8 the advantage you get by working for a company for a long time =
9 money you earn before tax is deducted from it =
10 feeling so satisfied with your own abilities that you feel you do not need to try any harder
(negative); “she’s very … “ =
11 changing from being happy to sad or angry quickly and often for no clear reason; “he is …” =
12 the first language that you learn when you are a baby =
13 making you want to do or believe a particular thing: “a … speech” =
14 to hurt or frighten someone, often forcing that person to do something they do not want to do =
15 to formally request that an official decision is changed =
16 punishment in which a person is temporarily not allowed to work, go to school or take part in an
activity =
17 having too much to carry, contain, or deal with: “there’s too much work, I am …” =
18 more than is needed or wanted: the report was marred by a mass of … detail =
19 money that a company pays to workers who have lost their jobs because they are no longer
needed =
20 to put someone on a list of the most suitable people for a job: “we … 5 candidates” =
21 advice and information about what type someone could do or how they could progress to a better
job =
22 to give up a job or position by telling your employer that you are leaving: “I …” =
23 A demographic cohort born between 1980 and 1995. Came on the work floor around 2000 =

54
Fill out the appropriate word.
(On the career website of a large company) “I was able to do a six-month ……………….., in London, and
it gave me a new perspective on my place in the larger firm and even a new perspective on living in
Dallas, which has a lot more sunshine than London!”
A company that restructures will often ……………….. (not “fire”, softer expression) employees.
Sometimes it will have to pay out ……………….. to these employees.
Next to your basic salary you may expect ……………….. such as a company car. You will also get a large
……………….. if you meet sales targets.
I’m very sorry, but working for 20 years in our company does not count as a criterion for promotion.
We don’t believe in ……………….., only in merit.
It’s important our managers give employees constructive feedback. For that reason we organize
semi-annually ……………….. . They are largely based on ……………….. colleagues will fill out, rating their
colleague’s performance and skills.
Very annoying: as we have stairs everywhere in our entrance lobby there is no suitable ………………..
for disabled. We are now collecting offers from construction companies and we are ………………..
overtime to get the job done on time.
As Mr. Merton left our company we now have a ……………….. . Sheryl, can you make up a ………………..
and ……………….. it on our company website? ……………….. will have to send their ………………..,
containing skills and the required ……………….., such as a bachelor’s degree. Please point out that we
need ……………….. ( = not shallow) people who are good ……………….. languages and people skills.
We ……………….. a survey on customer satisfaction, using an online ……………….. our customers have to
fill in. We ask them to ……………. our service on a scale from 1 ……………….. 10.
A very embarrassing situation. It is better you will be ……………….. from work for some time, say, a
week or two, so we can sort out the allegations for sexual ………………..
Apparently your ……………….. to our organization is not so large – you don’t want to devote yourself
completely to the new projects. (not “devotion” 😊)
Give the opposite, taking a word from the list “human resources”.
Saida is too people oriented, she’d better be a bit more ………………..

Oh yeah? Before you fire me, I ……………….. myself! See you! (not “quit”)
No, she didn’t get promoted, to the contrary, she got ……………….. !
No, I wouldn’t call Frank talkative, he’s more ……………….. .
It’s important you are considerate when dealing with people, we can’t use ……………….. people.
No, I don’t work for a boss, I’m ……………….. . (not “freelancer”: too specific)
Do you have a fixed salary or do you get a ……………….. for every customer contact?
I have to admit I haven’t witnessed this myself, I only have it from hearsay, it is just a ……………….. .
Only keep what is vital in your report and discard all ……………….. sentences.

55
Translate these structures, and link them with one of these linking words. You have to use up all
six. (12)
whereas consequently although

however because of despite
Het sollicitatiegesprek ging goed + de Arabische sollicitant werd niet aangenomen.
Onze KMO kon haar betalingsverplichtingen niet nakomen + ze ging failliet.
Mijn brutosalaris is gestegen + ik ben wanordelijk (not “messy”)
Ik ben zelfstandige + mijn vriend is een interimkracht bij KPMG.
Ik heb alle diploma’s + ik heb geen overtuigingskracht.
Frank maakte grove grappen + hij had een gesprek over zijn gedrag (not “behaviour”) op de
werkvloer.
The glories of WFH …

56
2 Telephoning practice
When Odisee teachers talk to tutors of students doing an internship (second year: 6 weeks, third year: 15
weeks), the following comment is frequently heard: “Your student performs fine, integrates well, … The
only thing we had to work on in the beginning was: picking up the phone. Very nervous, cold sweat,
paralysed. So we worked out a few scripts …”
It turns out that students are increasingly more used to asynchronous communication, writing WhatsApp
messages and leaving voice notes, and that the “old-fashioned” phone call, in its synchronous directness,
is perceived as invading your privacy, intimidating in its directness and unpredictability.
We need to work on this. Message number one: telephoning is not magic. It is a skill you can learn. The
main techniques:
- Scripts of situations
- practicing scripts on the phone
- learning on the work floor: making notes on situations, reflecting on them, noting down solutions,
practicing again
A situation to start with
person A
You are an employee working for KPMG. You cooperate with Amir Bentajar from PWC on a client, the
company Toyota Boshoku. You try to reach him to fix a date for a meeting. Your ideal timing is Wednesday
in the late afternoon.
Take into account that you probably will start talking to a management assistant, who can connect you
with the person you need.
person B
You work for PWC. You are a management assistant who has to connect incoming calls with the right
manager.
Person C
You are Amir Bentajar, and you cooperate with KPMG for a joint project on Toyota Boshoku. Time slots
available for a meeting with him/her: Wednesday 10-12 and 3-7.

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A script to start with
A: Good morning, PWC, Anton speaking. How may I be of service to you?

B: Good morning. This is Asma Temsamani from KPMG. Could I speak to Mr Bentajar please?
A: Certainly, madam. I will check whether he is available … Right, I notice his meeting has just ended. Just a
moment, I will put you through to // connect you with Mr Bentajar right away.
B: Thank you very much. Have a nice day.
A: Pleased to be of service to you, good-bye.
C: Good morning, Amir Bentajar.
B: Good morning, Amir. Asma from KPMG.
C: Morning, Asma, how are you doing?
B: Fine, thank you. I was wondering if we could fix a date for our meeting on Toyota Boshoku?
C: Of course, thanks for bringing that up. I’m checking my schedule. Would Wednesday at 3pm at your
place suit you?
B: Well, I can try to squeeze it in, but what if we postpone it by two hours, say, at 5pm?
C: Wonderful, 5pm sharp it will be. I’ve noted it down. I have to point out that by 7 I will have to leave.
B: Well, that won’t pose a problem, I assume: the meeting will take roughly 1 hour, so even taking into
account some fine tuning, by 6.30pm we can call it a day. Excellent, thanks for being so cooperative.
C: You’re welcome. It’s a pleasure working with you. Well, have a nice day then, and see you Wednesday.
B: Yes, have a nice day too. Good-bye.
Avoid beginners mistake Please use

Uh … hello? Good morning. Marketcom. Frank Drebbin speaking. How may I be of
service to you? / How can I help you? / What can we do for you?
So who are you? Who's calling please ?
What’s your name? May I have your name please ?
Can I note down your name please ?
What ? Sorry, I didn't get quite that/this.
What’s it about? Could you please repeat (your name/the name of your company/who
you would like to speak)?
Certainly madam, if you would be so kind to give me your order
number?
I wanna talk I would like to speak with // talk to Mrs Fairfax
I wanna talk about I had a few questions concerning/regarding …

It concerns my personal file.
She’s busy, she doesn’t I'm afraid Mrs Fairfax is engaged with a client / tied up in a meeting /
have time for you. She’s occupied with a customer / out of office at the moment.
there at 2pm. She will be available after 2pm.
Ok, no problem. Certainly, sir. // Of course, Mrs. Bentajar.
That’s ok for me. Right, that sounds perfect.
No worries. Wonderful, that fits my schedule.
I think that would be most efficient.
Thank you for helping me out!
Thanks for being so cooperative!
I appreciate the gesture. Much appreciated.
You’re welcome! Pleased to be of service to you!

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Giving information on the telephone
Spelling
Knowing your alphabet: the UK and the EU legislation, the iPhone, the IRA, the YMCA, JFK airport, the
WHO guidelines, a G7 meeting in Brussels. I worked for EY, KPMG and PWC. We work with the banks ING,
KBC and HSBC. Where to find an ATM? Is the meeting on the Belgian GDP at 10am GMT or 10am CET?
CUL8R!
Jean-Baptiste Gabin Jeronimo Ferreiro-Rocher

Sophie d’Artagnan Marie-Claire de la Faille
Anouar el Erraoui Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz
Friedensreich Hundertwasser Jennifer Lopez
Giovanni da Silva Yentl Geybels
a website:
www.odisee.be (double you, dot)
a mail address :
hans.denruyter@odisee.be (dot, at, dot)
inge_mueller@fh-brandenburg.de (underscore, at, dash, dot)
Dates and times
Saying dates requires the ordinal numbers (first, second third), not the cardinal numbers (one, two, three).
You were born “on the first of May” (or as Americans say: “on May first”).
We meet …. 2 March 2023 … 10am. (on the second of March at 10am)

We meet … 15 July 2023 … 10.15am. (on the fifteenth of July at a quarter past 10)
We meet … 6 January 2023 … 10.45pm. (on the sixth of January at a quarter to 11)
A meeting … 3 June 2019 … 10.30am. (on the third of June at half past 10am)
A meeting … 5 May 2002 … 9.15pm. (on the fifth of May at a quarter past 9pm)
I was born … (your birthday ?) (on THE DDDth OF MM two thousand and two,
or twenty oh two)
Numerical information
Spot the tendency in English to pronounce each digit separately and to avoid “strings”.
a telephone number :
++32 476 102 105 (international dialing code 32 for Belgium, 4 7 6 1 0 (“oh”) 2 1 0 5 – each digit
pronounced separately, not “four hundred and seventy-six as in Dutch!)
a product reference :
12-324/3 (one two dash three two four slash three)
a hotel room :
In hotel room 403 (four oh three)

59
a large number :
Belgium has 11,548,000 inhabitants. (eleven million five hundred and forty-eight thousand)
Belgium has 11.5m inhabitants. (eleven point five million)
Our planet supports currently 7.9bn inhabitants. (seven point nine billion)
a decimal number :
8.356% of the Belgian population (eight point three five six percent)
1 mile = 1.609 kilometers. (one point six “oh” nine)
Dimensions
Again: spot the tendency to pronounce digits separately after the decimal point.
Additionally: notice the plural when measuring: you are 18 years old, not “18 jaar oud” as in Dutch.
I weigh 56.53 kg and I am 1m65 tall. (56 point five three kilograms, one meter sixty-five)
The room is 5.35m wide and 8.55m long. (five point three five meters, eight point five five meters)
The room measures 5.3m X 10.65m. (five point three meters by ten point six five meters)
The content of the boxes is 45 cm². (forty-five square centimeters)
The surface of our presentation stand is 15 m². (fifteen square meters)
Belgium measures 30,000 km². (thirty thousand square kilometers)
The content of such a container is 44 m³. (forty-four cubic meters)
It’s now 25°C, in Siberia it’s -15°C. (twenty-five degrees Celsius, minus fifteen degrees Celsius)
Money
For larger amounts of money we use the decimal point and add the word million or billion.
For smaller amounts of money the amount is “split up” in the amount in euros and in cents, the amount in
pounds and in pence. 1 euro = 100 cents, 1 (British) pound = 100 pence, 1 (American) dollar = 100 cents
Turnover 2021 amounted to €5.35m. (five point three five million euros)
Google faces a €4bn fine. (four billion euros)
The product costs €25.50. (twenty-five euros and fifty cents)
A Eurostar ticket costs £85.30. (eighty-five pounds and thirty pence)
In the US the average car costs $22,503. (twenty-two thousand five hundred and three dollars)

60
Telephone situations
Seven different telephone situations can be found below. For the test on telephoning these slips will be
used, the arrows indicating which role you have to play. The lecturer will choose several of them and ask
your and a fellow student to role-play them. Make sure that you can play both person A and person B in
each situation and that you use “rich” telephoning idioms fluently. “How may I be of service to you” yields
a better grade than “How can I help you?”, which in turn is better than not asking anything. Tip: Imitating
the test circumstances is important. Using a pair of scissors you can cut out the situations and use the slips
to train. This is an imitation of the role-play you can expect at the test.
Situatie 1: iemand doorschakelen

A: je werkt voor PWC als receptionist. JIJ neemt de telefoon op! Je
probeert door te schakelen. Mevrouw Kermode blijkt druk bezig met een
andere klant. Geef opties: wachten of boodschap. In geval van wachten
zet je klant in wachtstand.
B: Klant, je wil spreken met mevrouw Kermode, en je belandt bij een
telefonist. Je hebt tijd genoeg om op mevrouw Kermode te wachten.
Situatie 2: iemand doorschakelen, wat niet lukt, dan boodschap aannemen

A: Klant, je wenst te spreken met mevrouw Kermode. Je hebt geen tijd,
dus laat je een boodschap achter: dossier B52 is verkeerd, mevrouw
Kermode moet zo snel mogelijk contact met je opnemen.
B: Je werkt voor het bedrijf PWC als receptionist. JIJ neemt de telefoon op.
Je schakelt door. Mevrouw Kermode blijkt druk bezig met klant, maar kan
straks wel tijd vrijmaken. Opties: wachten of boodschapje?

61
Situatie 3: een andere collega is verantwoordelijk

A: je werkt voor PWC. JIJ neemt de telefoon op! In de afgelopen maanden
heeft mevrouw Kermode je bedrijfje verlaten. Haar dossiers worden nu
afgehandeld door meneer Sennett.
B: Je bent een klant. Je wil met mevrouw Kermode spreken over je
dossier.
Situatie 4: telefoontje kwijtspelen

A: je werkt voor PWC. JIJ neemt de telefoon op! Je bent echter in
vergadering tot 3 uur ‘s namiddags en je kan niet ingaan op de vraag.
Opties: jij belt terug, of laat je terug opbellen.
B: Klant, je wil met A de laatste bestellingen bespreken, die bizar genoeg
altijd veel fouten bevatten.
Situatie 5: slechte verbinding

A: je werkt voor PWC. JIJ neemt de telefoon op!
De verbinding is bar slecht, je verstaat niets. Maak dit duidelijk aan de
beller en los op.
B: je bent een klant en je wil praten over een probleem: het gaat over de
laatste bestellingen, die altijd veel fouten bevatten.
Situatie 6: een naam achterhalen

Je werkt voor PWC. JIJ neemt de telefoon op! Je mag alleen doorschakelen naar
STUDENT meneer Ferguson als je de naam van de beller weet.
TEACHER Je wil meneer Ferguson spreken zonder je naam op te geven.
Situatie 7: een moeilijke klant

Je werkt voor het bedrijf Finetoner dat kopietoestellen aflevert. JIJ neemt de
STUDENT telefoon op! Je krijgt een telefoontje over de verkeerde levering van een
kopietoestel. De klant ratelt door. Procedure is altijd dat je opzoekt wanneer een
technisch team kan langskomen voor de vervanging. Dat is vermoedelijk ergens in
de loop van de namiddag, je hebt gewoon een minuutje nodig om het juiste
tijdsvenster vast te leggen.
Klant. Je kreeg een verkeerd kopietoestel B52 geleverd waarvan de software niet
TEACHER compatibel is met jullie computers. Je bent razend omdat je hele afdeling kostbare
tijd verliest, je hebt de B51 nodig.

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Making and receiving complaints
Person calling Person called

I’m afraid I have to make/register a serious complaint. What seems to be the trouble?
I must make a complaint about the service at your hotel.
I’m returning the machine to you by air When did you place the order?
freight.(luchttransport)
You may think I’m a nuisance (lastpost), or that I’m too I’m afraid there’s been a mix-up.
fussy (pietluttig), but I really can’t accept this kind of thing
again. Yes, I did report the accident on the
The taxi came so late that I missed my flight to Rome. day it happened, but you didn’t tell
They’re not like the samples(stalen) we got. The quality me on the phone that I had to send in
just isn’t good enough. a written report too.
Of course I understand that there may be a delay, but can’t
you please let us know. Then we can plan accordingly. Look, I realise this may put you in a
(dienovereenkomstig) difficult position, but I think it’s better
I wish you’d keep to the deadlines we fixed. The parts I for you to know exactly how things
ordered for last week still haven’t arrived. stand.
But you told us we could count on delivery by the 21st and
it was only on that condition that we placed the order.
Listen, I haven’t got time to wait for your ‘full
investigation’. (diepgaand onderzoek) When am I going to
get full compensation? (volledige schadeloosstelling)
That’s what I want to know.
Handling complaints
Your complaint is perfectly justified, but may I explain the matter from our point of view?
Yes, I do understand your question. It’s not easy for me to answer it right now, but I’ll certainly try.
You see, when you asked us to make immediate delivery, we did all we could to meet your request.
Yes, that’s right up to a point, but this is how we see the situation.
We did our best to help you, but I do understand your point of view.
I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll find out as much as I can and ring you back this afternoon.
Establishing a good company image

Yes, there does seem to have been a mistake at our end. Thanks for telling me about it.
Something has obviously gone wrong.
Please excuse us for this mistake.
Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience.
Positively oriented question

Have you thought of this possibility?
Would you be interested in hearing our point of view?
May I make a few suggestions?
What do you think of this idea?
Can we come and give you a demonstration?
Is it feasible to coordinate our activities in this area?

63
Making and changing appointments
Making appointments: person calling/called
I’ll just check my appointment book // schedule / diary. (not agenda!)

When would be convenient for you?
Sorry, I’ve got something scheduled then.
Could we arrange something else?
Could you send me confirmation of the appointment?
Shall we say Wednesday at 3 o’clock?
Would it be possible to postpone our meeting?
Things are going smoothly, so we can meet as arranged.
Changing appointments: person calling/person called
Could you manage to fix another appointment?

How about the 4th? Are you free then?
So sorry I missed you when you wanted to visit me. I was away all week and got your message too late.
I’m phoning you because I don’t think I’ll be able to come after all.
Let’s fix another date then. Would it suit you if we met at the club on Friday afternoon?

64
Giving road directions
use satnav to find our company premises

go straight ahead, continue till the end
a bend, a curve, a sharp curve
turn sharply to the right/left VS take a sharp turn to the right
turn slightly to the left VS take a slight turn to the left
take a 90 degrees turn to the right, take a U turn
enter the street, take the tunnel, it’s to your left
you have to give priority, you take priority
you merge onto the highway
highway infrastructure:
highway or motorway
interchange
junction
the third exit on the E40
the Brussels ring road
road infrastructure:
a dual carriageway with two lanes in each direction
a one-way road, a two-way road
a single-track road
an alley
a dead end street
a boulevard
a flyover
a square
a bicycle lane, a bus lane
a (pedestrian) crossing
a roundabout
a crossroad, crossroads, junction, intersection
a T junction
road surfaces:
concrete, asphalt, cobbles, cobbled street
safety:
speed bumps, speed humps, sleeping policemen, speeding camera, speed limit is 50 km an hour, you
exceed the speed limit and you get a fine, a speeding ticket, a traffic offence, a traffic ticket
objects:
traffic lights, road signs or traffic signs, road works

65
3 Analysing and describing charts
Match the correct name and description to the picture.
1. A table is a convenient way to show large amount of data.

2. A pie chart displays the size of each part as a percentage of a whole.
3. A flow chart is a diagram showing the progress of material through the steps of a
manufacturing process or the succession of operations in a complex activity.
4. A bar chart is used to compare different items.
5. A line chart depicts changes over a period of time, showing data and trends.
6. An organisational chart or organogram is a diagram that shows the structure of an organisation
and the relationships and relative ranks of its parts and positions/jobs.
............... ............... ...............
............... ............... ...............

66
How do you describe the chart?
Introduction Topic Circumstances

This graph shows ... the results of our products ... over 10 years.
The diagram outlines ... rates of economic growth ... between 1990 and 1996.
This table lists ... the top ten agencies ... in the industrial world.
This pie chart represents the company's turnover ... for this year in our sector.
This line chart depicts ... the changes in sales ... over the past year.
Look at the graph and write the appropriate letters in front of each definition:
 : the horizontal axis (or the x axis)  : a solid line

 : the vertical axis (or the y axis)  : a broken line
 : the scale  : a dotted line
A bar chart contains bars, a pie chart contains pies.

The horizontal axis is the time line, covering the period from 2005 to 2007. The horizontal axis is /
symbolizes / shows / depicts the value of the euro, compared to the dollar.
the red line represents / depicts / plots the development of profits
the dark blue bars represent the turnover

67
What do you observe in the chart?
Introduction Observer Topic

In this chart ... we can perceive ... a steep growth of GDP.
In the latter half of the nineties ... we can notice ... a gentle decline of sales.
In the early noughties ... we can distinguish ... two different trends.
In the first half of the year ... we can clearly see ... a stagnation in sales.
Organize the verbs below in 3 groups: synonyms of “rise”, synonyms of “drop” and “other”. Do you
understand them all?
increase decrease drop

grow sky-rocket rise fluctuate
plummet plunge surge go up go down

fall stagnate
hover around remain level stay stable
slump shrink
bottom out collapse decline
rise fall other

68
Rise and raise: in which sentence can you use “rise”, in which “raise”?
Drop and lower: in which sentence can you use “drop”, in which “lower”?
The market share increases by 3 percent in 2004.

Management increased the wages by 3 percent.
The crisis increased unemployment.
You have to increase the budget!
Profit increased rapidly in 2018.
prepositions: BY – FROM – TO !!!

The index fell by 2 percent to 5,305 points.
The index rose from 5,305 to 5,586 points.
Compared to / with 2004, profits in 2005 grew much faster.
The turnover in 2008 amounts to 4.2 bn euros.
How do you indicate the degree or speed of change ?
The GDP of China witnesses a remarkable growth

faces a considerable
experiences a slow – fast – steady
shows a staggering - surprising
knows*** a steep
a slumping
a bumpy
a massive
a marked
The share price rose
suddenly < > steadily, continually
surprisingly, strikingly < > as could be expected, again
steeply < > gradually, slowly
slightly, modestly < > substantially, dramatically, considerably
insignificantly < > significantly, markedly, noticeably
How do you talk about time?
January-February-March = the first quarter

the first/last 3 quarters of 2018
over the last four years, two quarters, …
in the course of 2018, in the second quarter of 2018
in the last year, the previous year, in the next/following year

69
in the first half / second half of the year

in the beginning of 2018
in the middle of 2018
at the end of 2018
a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly increase/drop/development
How to tackle pie charts?
popular subtypes
doughnut chart exploded pie chart waffle chart
This pie chart is divided into slices representing proportions of our sales.
40% of our sales are taken up by our newest wheelbarrow model.
Our newest wheelbarrow model accounts for no less than 40% of our sales, whereas the 2016 model
still is good for a quarter of our sales.
The lion’s share is taken up by our newest wheelbarrow model, whereas the 2016 model comes in
second with 25%.
The red coloured segment / area / slice represents/ stands for …
Sales in France make up 40% of the grand total.
A major/significant/impressive proportion of sales is taken up by the new model.
Over a quarter of / more than a third of / three-fifths of sales is generated by the new model.
Nearly a third of sales is generated by the new model.
Approximately half of sales comes from the new model.
The proportions of sales generated by online sales and sales in our outlets are quite similar.
Less than 10% of sales can be attributed to our sales reps.
A modest proportion of a mere 5% is finally taken up by the old model.
How to tackle maths?
The blue line represents the average of household incomes in Belgium. (average = the sum of a group
of numbers divided by the number of items)
The red line represents the median of household incomes in Belgium. (median = the middle number
of a group of numbers ordered by rank)
This line indicates the development of the 85th percentile (85th percentile = the value below which
85% of the observations are found, used for instance in growth charts, to compare children’s height
in comparison to national averages and percentiles)
How to vary verbs and nouns?
Microsoft shares fell by 2 %

Microsoft shares dropped by 2 %
Microsoft shares displayed/showed a drop of 2 %
Microsoft shares suddenly plunged by 2 %
Microsoft shares suffered a plunge of 2 %

70
Microsoft shares experienced a drop of 2 %
The turnover grew by 5 percent > the turnover witnessed a growth

The turnover increased > the turnover experienced an increase
The turnover dropped > the turnover suffered a drop
The turnover rose to over 10 m euros > exceeded the level of 10 m euros.
The turnover rose to over 10 m euros > hit the magical twenty-million euro mark.
How to talk about extremes?
Nokia’s share reached a high – a low in the third quarter of 2011.

The share price reached an all-time high in the Summer of 2010.
The share price hit a historical low in the first quarter of 2012.
You here notice in the chart a peak – a dip in 2010.
How to compare?
The MS share rose, whereas Facebook’s share stayed stable.

The MS share rose, compared to Facebook’s share staying stable.
The MS share witnessed a steep rise, compared to a small drop for Facebook.
While the MS share experienced a steady rise, the Facebook share faced a reverse development / a
completely different trajectory.
Turnover rose directly proportional to the rise of the marketing budget.
The number of complaints developed inversely proportional to the raise of the aftersales budget.
How to emphasize?
What strikes the eye in this chart is ....

The most salient development clearly is revenue growth in 2012.
At first glance the main factor influencing buying decisions is user friendliness.
We can distinguish a clear trend: ...
A clear upward trend can be perceived.
Obviously, the rise of expenses in 2017 is the most outspoken development.
Needless to say, the most obvious trend is the rise of our expenses.
I have to emphasize the rise of expenses in 2017.
I want to highlight the dramatic increase of expenses in 2017.
How do you end your story?
We reached the end of our story.

In conclusion, we can state that …
By way of conclusion, we can claim that …
The bottom line of our story is that …
This trend will likely continue.
If this trend continues, we can expect sales of model X to overtake model Y.
Looking at the information in the charts and the developments of the last
years, we can conclude that the company will survive.
claim that
perceive that
state that

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Exercise 1: Match each sentence below with one of the following graphs.
1.  The investment level rose suddenly.

2.  The sales of our products fell slightly in the final quarter.
3.  The Research and Development budget has stabilized over the past few years.
4.  At the end of the first year, sales stood at 50 per cent of the present level.
5.  The price reached a peak before falling a little and then maintaining the same level.
6.  There has been a steady increase in costs over several years.
7.  The sudden collapse in share prices has surprised everyone.
8.  The value of the shares has shown a steady decline.
Exercise 2: Look at the graph below, then complete the sentences.
1. The ............................................... compares three products : A, B and C.

2. The ............. shows time over ten years while the ............. shows sales in number of units.
3. As you can see, product A is represented by the ...............................................
4. The performance of Product B is shown by the ..............................................
5. And a …………………………………. has been used to show the results of Product C.
6. Clearly, ................................... is the most successful product .
7. Sales of Product B .......................... in recent years while sales of Product C ......................
8. In contrast, product A has shown a ..................................................

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Exercise 3: Read the following text and draw the corresponding graph on the right.
The graph opposite covers the

years 1976 to 1995. It shows
that the number of television
viewing hours rose steadily
and steeply during that period
in the US, starting at just
under 5 hours a day to reach
more than 7 hours in 1995.
There was a slight increase in
1982 and sharper falls in 1986
and 1991. The next decrease,
in 1994, is hardly significant.
Though we do not have the
latest figures, it is unlikely that
the trend will have reversed.
Exercise 4: In a presentation you introduce and comment the following graph. You use the linkers
“consequently”, “despite”, “however”, “although” and “due to”.
Use rich vocabulary to comment movements.
Examples of causes: seasonal fluctuations, temperature, festivities like Christmas, Easter or Ramadan, …

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Do you understand the mysteries of ‘percent’?
Price of our product in 2015: 20 euros

Price of our product in 2016: 30 euros
In 2016 we raised the price of our product by ....... percent. (Implying: 20 euros = the base of 100 percent)
Market share of our product in 2015: 20 percent

Market share of our product in 2016: 30 percent.
In 2016 the market share of our product rose by …… percent (implying: 20 percent = the base of 100
percent)
In 2016 the market share of our product rose by ……. percentage points (implying: the total market is the
base of 100 percent)
In other words: ‘percent’ you use when you want to epress a ratio of two original numbers. ‘percentage
point’ you use when you want to express the arithmetic difference of two percentages.
Fill out: ‘percent’ or ‘percentage points’
When you earn up to 10,860 euros you have to pay 25 percent income tax in Belgium. But when you are in
the tax band of over 38,080 euros you will have to pay 50 percent income tax. This is 100 …………………..
more or 25 ……………………. more than tax for the lowest tax band.
In 2017 our market share rose by 2 …………………………………… to 1/5 of the entire market, which is a
staggering 11 …………………………….. in one year! Not bad!
Exercise 5: write out a text on this chart focusing on salient trends and using the words ‘percent’ and
‘percentage points’.

74
Exercise 6: explain the chart below
- What is the segmentation of the horizontal axis? What does each bar represent?
- Why do the bars have a funny indented end?
- What does GDP mean?
- Can you explain what the size of the second bar means exactly?
- “In the second quarter of 2003 China’s GDP fell”. Is this true? Why?

75
Exercise 7: Work out a small presentation on the history of Apple Inc., integrating textual information
and charts. Bear in mind that you will interact with the slides in your presentation (“As you can perceive
in …”, “the line chart clearly demonstrates …”)
2010-2012: eerste generaties iPhone groot succes
2012: concurrenten Samsung en Huawei produceren gelijkaardige telefoons aan lagere prijs
2016: lager marktaandeel in vergelijking met concurrenten
tweede helft 2018: economische problemen in China + lokaal product Huawei populairder
einde december 2018: Apple kondigt zwakkere verkoop aan, investeerders reageren
omzet Apple Inc.

in miljard US
dollar
ontwikkeling van
het Apple-aandeel
in 2018

76
4 Presentation
What every good presenter will say is crucial:
(1) take your audience from point A to point B ("What should people know/understand when I'm
finished?")
(2) love your audience, understand what it wants to learn
(3) keep the focus on your message and your audience, not your slides. If you can relate adequately to a
sudden reaction in the audience, you are on the right track to establish “rapport”.
Preparing a presentation
First define your objective:

Do I want to inform people about something or do I want to persuade them?
Decide what you will say and in which order.

If you want to persuade your audience, you typically organise your presentation in the following way:
Define the problem
Identify valuable solutions
Make your recommendation
Support this recommendation with strong reasoning
Conclude
If you want to inform people, you might have to use various structures, depending on the topic:
- a chronological overview (e.g. the history of a company)
- a geographical overview (e.g. the different plants of a company)
- an analysis of a problem and an overview of possible solutions
…
Ideally, in this stage you have NOT produced a Powerpoint or Prezi yet.
Now decide how you will present, make a time schedule, and decide on your slides (graphics, images.
As soon as you know the content of your presentation more or less, start training your presentation by
DOING the presentation, ideally in the room in which the presentation will take place, so you can
discover how to use the space and how to add effective gestures.

77
Language for presentations
Making a good first impression!
address Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen,

Dear students,
introducing My name is Frank and I represent the company Fortis. And this is my colleague
the team Natacha.
We are Frank, Kate and Jessica, …
In our presentation we will (NOT “gonna”, NOT “are going to”) try to find an answer to
purpose the question “Should we invest in the company Inditex”.
In the next ten minutes we will present an overview of the company Inditex to you.
We will give you a presentation on the company Inditex, focusing on the question “Is
this company interesting to invest in?”
Our presentation will last (NOT “is going to last”) about 10 minutes. Please feel free to
duration interrupt with questions at any time.
and Should something be unclear, please don’t hesitate to ask questions.
questions We suggest that you keep any questions to the end.
We will give a quick overview and we will deal with your questions at the end.
To make sure you can easily follow our presentation, we made a hand-out, that I will
Hand-outs distribute now. Could you pass this on please?
I will pass on the hand-outs with our presentation.
I will start our analysis by studying the number of store openings of Inditex’ different
structure brands.
and
participants Secondly, Luke will analyse the influence of this strategy on financial data, such as
sales and profits.
Finally, Sandra will interpret the development of the share price.

At the end, we will try to find a conclusion, returning to our initial question: “Is Inditex
a worthwhile company to invest in?”
Other verbs: enlarge on the advantages, expand on the history, discuss assets and
setbacks, elaborate on the strategy, study, list, enumerate, expound on, take you
through, deal with, tackle, …
Don’t use: *** talk about, tell (boring verbs)

Don’t use: *** handle a topic (simply wrong)
Don’t say: ***I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna tell that (colloquial)

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In the thick of the fight
Next slide please!

Technicalities
Could you go back to the previous slide, please.
We are experiencing some technical problems here. Never mind, we’ll try to fix
it as soon as possible.
Well, it seems that the beamer has stopped functioning. We will try to continue
without visual help. You can still follow on the hand-out.
Handing over So, that’s it for my part. I now give the word to Kate. – Thank you Luke!
I pass on the stick to Kate.
I’m now going to pass things over to Kate.
Kate, would you like to take over? The floor is all yours.
Question technique 1: Make a content link between several parts! Present the
next part as the answer to a question raised by the previous part.
So the conclusion for my part clearly is: Inditex is opening up new stores at an
incredible speed. Obviously, the management hopes that this is the correct way
to expand and conquer market shares.
So the question is …was this strategy really a success?

Did it actually influence sales or profits?
>>>>>>
Now, these questions can be answered by Kate, who will analyse the financial
data of the last years.
– Thank you, Dave.
Question technique 2: Climb into the mind of your audience! Present the next
part as the answer to a (unuttered) question of your audience.
So far for the strategy of Inditex. The Spanish company clearly is opening up up
new shops at a high pace.
Now, I guess you are all wondering: Does the huge pace of opening new shops
help Inditex in any way to be successful? Or – a horrible thought – is their
strategy simply a waste of money?
In order to know that, we will have to look at some financial data. And that will
be done by our expert, Kate. Kate, the floor is all yours.

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Leaving a strong impression at the end
So, we have now almost reached the end of our presentation. Let’s now return to our
Return to initial question. That was: “Is Inditex worthwhile to invest in?”
beginning
Do you still remember the question we initially asked? We were wondering whether it
was interesting to invest in Inditex. I believe that we now can give an answer to that
question, firmly based on our research.
Let’s quickly resume what we have learned up to now. We first discovered that the
Helicopter aggressive pace of opening new shops has helped Inditex to grow in sales and
view achieve higher and higher profits.
And this in turn has been interpreted as a very positive development by investors: The
share price has continually risen in 2006 and 2007.
So the answer to our question is a very emphatic “yes”. We judge Inditex to be a

Conclusion sound investment, because of its strong long-term strategy, which is reflected in an
ever increasing share price.
We thank you for your attention.

Thanks
Well, thank you for listening. Are there any questions as to our presentation?
So, thank you for being so patient with us. We hope we didn’t bore you too much by
details and figures. It was important for us to convey the main message as clearly as
possible. We are now eager to answer your questions.
This has been a short talk. We were not interested in cramming too many details into
our presentation, leaving some space for discussion.
We are waiting for your questions.
I guess you will have a lot of questions. We are happy to discuss them with you.
…
Well, it seems like we covered all questions. Again thank you for your attention! We
hope you enjoyed.

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Visual aids
Students on average spend more time on constructing the Powerpoint or Prezi than on thinking what
they want to say. That’s a pity. Try to spend less time on your PP and if you do, take these rules into
account:
- Don’t overuse the use of “bulleted lists” – they are usually more speaker oriented than
audience oriented.
- Instead, use visuals: photos, charts, cartoons
- Don’t overuse “generic images” (empty images of e.g. people thinking or funny question
marks to announce Q&A)
- Recommended maximum number of words per slide: 30
- Don’t overload slides with small figures or very complex graphics.
What is wrong with this bulleted list?
Taxware: a new software to help you file your tax form
- 2008
- Easy to use
- The user has to fill out information manually but the program will carry out all calculations
and will optimize your tax return
- Optimization several options
- Retail 214 euros, wholesale discounts
Make a better version:
Tips on interacting with your Powerpoint
- Never read aloud what is on the slide: your audience tends to be alphabetized. Instead:
paraphrase, reshuffle, tell anecdotes, illustrate, …
- Dealing with charts and tables full of figures: don’t read aloud too many figures, as the
audience can read. Instead, focus on major trends, cite a few salient figures, and above all:
deliver an interpretation of what people can read.
- Never start a new slide by turning towards it and reading “And now … about … (title)” Instead:
“Maybe you were all now wondering whether the company hasn’t had any backlash. Well, as
this slide clearly shows you, the company certainly has had its share of difficulties.”

81
- Think of the TTT principle: touch (the screen), turn (toward the audience), talk.
- Division looking at slide versus looking at audience: 5 % versus 95 %. Love your audience, not
your slideshow!
A fun cartoon. But is your presentation style still a diluted version of this?
Let a friend read your presentation to discover the last embarrassing typos …
Did you know you actually do a presentation for an audience, and not for the powerpoint? Love your
audience, look at it for at least 90 percent of the time.

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Originality in images and charts
(1) Avoid generic presentation images
With every image ask yourself the question: what is the added value? Does this increase the audience’s
grasp of the subject? Does it entertain and inform? If the answer is “no”, you probably used a stock
image like the ones above.
Please stop the annoying habit of googling words like “questions”, “conflict” or “comparison” and
taking the first image you find. You downgrade your own presentation doing that. Instead: photos,
charts, maps, screenshots, … that convey information.
(2) Avoid generic presentation memes
What looks original and daring to you, looks tired and old to an audience that has to watch dozens of
presentations a year (your fellow students) or hundreds of presentations a year (your teacher). Did
you know “funny” memes like the ones above have already been used a million times? It’s because
they turn up on the first page of your Google results if you type in “presentation funny meme”…
(3) Personalising
Why don’t you make your own fun or insightful stuff? You can nowadays use
- meme generators
- word cloud generators
- charts and maps of your own production
- images with your personal comments added
thus making your visuals personal and thus … really fun.

83
Body language and the space you present in
Do your presentation at least one time without any words and simply observe yourself in the mirror.
See which movements your hands, your arms, your feet, your head, your eyes make to convey the
message. Indicate relevant places in your text where you really want to convince your audience with a
certain gesture and train these spots.
Remember: what looks effective for an unexperienced presenter is usually too small, not convincing.
What looks like opera in your eyes, is usually highly effective for your audience of 30 people.
Believe: your body is your partner, not your enemy. Use it effectively and increase the power of your
presentation!
Use of space: think of the triangle audience-slides-presenter. Explore the whole space that has been
given to you. If you keep staying in the corner next to the computer, people will find your message less
convincing.
Use of eye contact: take 3 people in the room, each representing a different part of the audience. Look
during your presentation from one person to the other of these three, so that everybody believes
you’re looking at them.
Be aware of your stopgaps (euh … like …. actually …) and your nervous ticks. Do you balance from one
leg to the other one? Do you tend to hide behind the computer? Let friends observe you and share
their impressions. Or film yourself while presenting.

84
How would you work out these sentences “in space”?
The UK consists of 4 different parts: Great Britain is comprised of Scotland in the North (6 m
inhabitants), England in the South (52 m inhabitants), Wales in the Southwest (3m inhabitants). Finally,
Northern Ireland covers the northernmost part of the island of Ireland, and is thus no part of Great
Britain. Hence the name “the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”.
Should we invest in company Zymix? Yes, because revenue keeps on rising. They have also developed
interesting new products. And … No, because their costs tend to rise quicker, and competition is getting
stronger. So the message is mixed, it is a bit risky.

85
Grading the presentation
There are basically two approaches to grading: analytic and holistic assessment. Analytic assessment will
assign grades to various aspects of the product, like quality of the slides, grammar, fluency, pronunciation
etc. The grades are added up, the sum being the grade for the entire presentation. This system has its
advantages, but also its setbacks: it can lead to vague grades ‘somewhere in the middle’, in which clear
failures are treated too softly, and good performance is not sufficiently rewarded.
In a holistic approach to grading, the teacher is not an accountant counting the errors. Instead, s/he looks
at the entire performance and assesses whether it meets the standards, without breaking up the product in
individual components.
Grading for this presentation will happen holistically, i.e., focusing on the general picture that your
presentation conveys and downsizing the question of assessing to the crucial question:
Is this a passable professional presentation?
Definition of ‘professional’: suppose the presentation does not take place in front of an audience of students,
but in front of an audience of employees of a company which hired you to deliver a presentation. This puts
things in perspective: a ‘blackout’ or a ‘second chance’ does not exist on that level. You have to perform, or
no pay (grade).
The teacher will use the following overview of elements to determine this question. Do you understand
every element?
CONTENT audience adaptation, informativeness, relation to existing knowledge,

establishment of connections, evidence quality, quotations, sources,
persuasiveness
STRUCTURE helicopter view, organisation, attention getter, main points, transitions,
review, conclusion
VERBAL Sentence building, vocabulary and word selection, concrete language, figures
COMMUNICATION of speech and comparisons, stopgaps, text in slides, volume of voice, fluency,
pauses, articulation, pronunciation
NON-VERBAL images and graphs in slides, listener oriented slide show, projector
COMMUNICATION management, enthusiasm, body language (rapport, eye contact, smiling, facial
expression, gesturing, arms, posture), use of space, use of artefacts, ticks,
involving the audience
Once the teacher has established a grade for the presentation as a whole, he will deviate from this “group
grade” to establish a grade per person. In this way, a 14 (“better than average”) can be turned into e.g. a 16,
a 14 and a 13.
Practical rules for presentation

• No sheets allowed, also no sheets with “keywords”. The only help is your Powerpoint or Prezi.
• If a student is ill, the rest of the team delivers a full product (principle “the show must go on”). Upon
providing a doctor’s note, the absent student can later on deliver a presentation, but on an entirely
different topic.
• If a student clearly doesn’t know how to proceed, the rest of the team takes over and delivers the
product (“the show must go on”)
• You will get a minimum, a maximum and an “ideal” time. Presentations shorter than the minimum
time receive 0. If your presentation exceeds the maximum time, you will be cut off.

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5 Writing skills
5.1 Taking notes

The three Rs
Record
- During the lecture/meeting/debate, sit where you can hear and see clearly without distractions.
- Don't crowd your notes! Leave blanks to fill in missed items and to expand upon your notes later.
Take too many notes, rather than not enough. You can always omit unnecessary information later.
- Focus on the points speakers are making, rather than scrambling to copy the entire overhead
without listening to what is being said.
- Write down notes in your own words. However, definitions of technical terms should be recorded
exactly as given.
- Stay alert for and highlight points the speaker emphasizes through his or her verbal cues. Watch
for lists such as "the following 5 steps" or "the 4 major causes" and for summaries signalled by
words such as "consequently" or "therefore".
- Use abbreviations, technical symbols instead of writing out words. Be consistent.
Reduce
After the meeting, write a summary of the ideas and facts using key words as cue words. Summarizing
helps to clarify meanings and relationships of ideas
Review
- Review your notes as soon as possible

- Should you recopy your notes? Some people benefit from rewriting or recopying their lecture
notes. However, be sure to allow time to think about your notes. Experiment and find out what
works best for you. Copying without thinking about (or revising) notes does not necessarily aid
retention. This is similar to hearing, but not actively listening. Manipulating the material by
reorganizing and putting it into your own words, however, does lead to better retention.
- Fill in further facts and examples while the lecture is still fresh in your mind.
- As you read your notes, underline, highlight, or mark main points or important points you will
want to give special attention to.
- Connect concepts to see the "big picture’ and use headlines.

87
5.2 Writing business mails
Addressing a person: when do you use which form?
Dear Madam, dear Sir,

Dear colleagues,
Dear all,
Dear Sir,
Dear Madam,
Dear Mr Coessens,
Dear Ms Vande Walle,
Dear Mrs Cornwallis,
(((Dear Miss Hughes,)))
Dear Frank,
Dear Kate,
Subject line: be precise and mention the type of mail you send
Request/Enquiry: information on German customers

Reply to your request on German customers
Complaint: account 330-0579035-47
Meeting of 4 February: minutes
Closing: when do you use which form? Gliding scale of formality
Yours faithfully,
Yours sincerely,
Kind regards,
Best regards,
Regards,
Best wishes,
Rgrds,
Bw,
ttys
Agreement: if addressing or complimentary close are incorrect, the teacher has the right NOT to read
your letter and you lose all points connected to the exercise.
A few examples to get 0:
* Dear Sir Jones,
* Dear Mister Jones,
* Dear Miss Jones,
* Your sincerely, yours sincerly, you’re sincirely, kindly regards, …

88
Examples of mail correspondence
Subject: question on correct amount for invoice AZ/325-1
Dear Mike
The correct amount is 2,348€ excluding VAT. I’ll keep you informed.
Kind regards
Ayoub Erradahi
Subject: report on sales 2016
Dear Mr Taggart
As requested over the phone, please find attached the report on sales 2016. I have corrected the errors you
have pointed out.
Kindly inform me should there still be errors in this version.
Regards
Michael Benson
Subject : Request : visit of KBC London by students of finance and insurance on Nov 10
Dear Hans,
Thank you for your mail.
I am pleased to hear that you are interested in visiting KBC again, and I can confirm that Thurs 10th at
2.00pm will be fine for us. Unfortunately, neither Tim nor Bert are working now in KBC London Branch, but
myself and perhaps one or two other colleagues will make the presentation. As you suggest, we can talk
around topics such as Brexit.
It would be appreciated if you could confirm attendees (both students and supervisors) by the middle of
October to ensure that we have time to create security passes for each student.
We look forward to welcoming you.
Best regards,
Jason

89
The fifteen magical phrases
Every mail is unique. Yet, in every mail there will be formulaic sentences, “magical phrases”, that turn up
time and again. These fifteen phrases you should really know by heart!
1 Thank you for your mail.

2 In reply to your request I send you … “question” and “answer”? Sorry, but that’s a no-go on
the test…
3 I am pleased to send you the data you have don’t use “happy”. And again: don’t use “ask”
requested.
4 In attachment // Attached you will find … // Please
find attached …
5 Following our meeting/our telephone call of 4 July Dutch “in opvolging van”
2019
6 Regarding our cooperation I have to point out … // As Dutch “wat … betreft”
to // As regards
7 We would like a meeting concerning our project in Dutch “betreffende”. The difference with the previous
Singapore. one? “Concerning” can only be used AFTER the word it
is linked to: “a mail concerning, a meeting concerning,
…”
8 Kindly // Please send us / notify staff / confirm Dutch “gelieve te …”
9 Your mail will be forwarded // escalated to the Dutch “doorsturen”
person responsible.
10 Please reply by return. Dutch “per kerende”
11 Should you have further questions, do not hesitate
to contact us.
12 I look forward to your reply / to our project / to Do you notice (1) the “to” and (2) the ing form when
cooperating / to meeting you in person / to you want to attach a verb?
collaborating.
13 Thank you in advance. Dutch “bij voorbaat”
14 My apologies // I apologize for the inconvenience. Dutch “het ongemak”
15 Thank you for your understanding. This expression exists in English, but is used MUCH less
than in French. Better use “My apologies for the
inconvenience”! Don’t use “comprehension” in this
one, dear Francophones!

90
Style: formulaic sentences
A large part of business correspondence consists of “formulas”, fixed ways to perform communicative
actions. Get used to writing like this, and memorize a few of the most common ones:
I am very pleased to announce …

I am delighted to offer you ...
I look forward to seeing you.
meeting you
your reply
Please send me …
Kindly send us ...
Should you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Stylistic differences from French
APOLOGIZING INSTEAD OF ASKING FOR UNDERSTANDING

Merci de votre comprehension
<>
I (once again) apologize for this inconvenience.
Thank you for your understanding.
LAST SENTENCE AND CLOSE ARE SEPARATE

En attendant votre reponse, je reste … salutations distinguées
<>
I look forward to your reply.
Kind regards
Style: hedge phrases and superfluous structures
I am writing this letter to inform you of the fact that we would be very pleased if we could meet.
I was wondering whether it would be possible to send us your catalogue.
Why do people write this?

- page filler (“a good letter is a long letter”)
- “it should be like that!” (my grandfather wrote in the same style)
- Laziness (postponing the decision what to write)
- Influence of other languages (e.g. French), in which formulaic sentences still play a larger role
Look at these alternatives, characterised by a direct and precise style:
>>> We are a Brussels based business. We are highly interested in your assortment.
>>> Could we meet in the course of ….
>>> Please send us your catalogue.
>>> Kindly contact me to discuss further details.
>>> I look forward to your reply. Kind regards

91
Do not make assumptions about what is known or wished for. Just write straightforward what you find
important.
BAD: I don’t know whether you already know this, but I am writing to inform you that …
BETTER: Please note that we are closed on Tuesday.
Do not go to deep into motivations and decisions if you want to communicate a clear guideline or rule. Just
formulate the rule.
BAD: Employees tend to use copiers for private purposes. Management doesn’t like that. Hence, the
decision was taken to communicate to everybody that it is forbidden to use the copiers for private
purposes.
BETTER: Using copiers for private purposes is strictly forbidden.
Style: too informal
Some words and structures are perfect in conversation and not done in written form. A few examples:
- kind of, kinda

- it’s gonna be
- it was like a big event
- it was really like a big event
- subject-verb coherence: the company raised their turnover. They did a good job.
- vague quantifiers: some information, some more interviews, a few people, …
- vague nouns: a few people, several things, some stuff

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5.3 Writing reports
5.3.1 Types of reports

In business, planning and writing reports, making summaries and taking notes are important skills which
may be expected of everyone. Reports can be transmitted in the form of conversations, letters, memos,
special forms, separate documents of several pages. They can be long, short, formal or informal.
The main types of reports are:
Call reports: reports that you write after you have visited someone outside the company such as a
customer, a supplier, etc.
Status reports: these describe the status of a project, an ongoing activity or an investigation. Such reports
can serve various purposes. They can be informative, providing background information to help someone
make up their mind about something and there are reports that make recommendations or indicate a
course of action.
Meeting reports or minutes: these are reports you write after an internal meeting. They can also be
written following an external meeting at which you and at least one other different party (a customer, a
supplier, a competitor, …) participated.
producing reports: apparently a human universal

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5.3.2 The call report
Some companies ask their commercial employees to follow an own defined call report structure. If there is
no ‘in-house’ structure, it is strongly recommended to follow the structure as given on the left hand side of
the table.
Date/name company visited - Important for filing purposes

Persons attending meeting - Who are your counterparts at the meeting? (so
you remember for next time)
Background -Describes what has happened before the
meeting (e.g. customer has called twice to
complain about…, e.g. customer has asked
competitor for another bid)
Items discussed -Per subject discussed, a summary of the
discussion
Issues raised (issues for the customer, not for -Problems raised, items that must be taken care
you!) of after the meeting
Next steps -Who does what and by when? ‘Who’ can be
either the writer of the report or other staff or
maybe a 3rd company
For economical reasons, call reports will be characterized by a short style. Sentences may be short or telex
style, use of dashes “-“ is recommended, but the writer must be certain that both himself and possibly
other readers will be able to understand what is written (e.g. suppose the report is consulted two months
after the date of writing.) Tense used is mostly simple past.
Example of call report
Date/company: 21 February 2012 (2-3.30pm) / Boldon plc
Participants: Mr Jones, Marketing Manager

Mrs Lang, Sales Manager
Background: - Boldon has requested a demo and wishes to implement an MSIS

early next year.
- Decision expected before end of year.
Topics discussed: - Demo showed.

- Pricing discussed.
- Security: Boldon persuaded now that our system is secure
Issues raised: Boldon finds the prices too high and would like to get a reduction
of about 5%, which is not allowed by our sales policy.
Next steps: Send Mr Jones a ‘best’ price proposal before 1 March

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5.3.3 The status report
Structuring
The structure of status reports depends largely on the purpose of the report. Each purpose will bring
about different elements, answering different questions.
e.g. the research structure
Introduction Objective (Background: what is investigated + why?)

Procedure or Method (how was information gathered or what methods
were used?)
Body Findings or Facts (What are the results?)
Terminal section Conclusions (What can we learn?)

Recommendations (Which steps should be taken?)
(Appendices)
Other possible structures are:
problem structure action structure evaluation structure

What is the exact problem? What is the purpose of the action? What are the relevant features
Why is it a problem? What are the conditions of the of the subject?
What causes the problem? action? What are the positive aspects?
What can be done about it? How is the action carried out in broad What are the negative aspects?
outline? What is the final evaluation?
How are parts of the action carried What can or has to be done
out? about it?
How is the course of the action
checked?
Structure suitable for almost any report, to be used on tests:
Purpose
Methodology // Method followed
Findings // Analysis
Conclusion // Recommendations

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Example of status report
REPORT ON LATENESS OF OFFICE STAFF OVER THE LAST TWO MONTHS

OBJECTIVE
This report analyses reasons for the increase in lateness of several office workers
over the last two months. It was written at the request of Ms Fairbanks.
METHOD FOLLOWED
All staff was interviewed individually on the sudden increase in unpunctuality.
Replies were compared to observation of the two main roads and the company’s car
park early every morning for a week.
FINDINGS
1 The latecomers are to 80 percent commuters who travel to work by private
transport. Train and underground commuters arrive on time.
2 The two main roads leading into town have had major road works done on them
for the last eight weeks; this causes unavoidable traffic jams and long delays.
Obviously, nothing can be done about the road works. Probably they will be
finished in six weeks’ time.
3 About two months ago our company opened its new mail order
section. Approximately sixty new employees were recruited. As this
new section starts work forty-five minutes before the office staff each
morning, the car park gets filled with vehicles belonging to workers in
that section. The company has not enlarged the car park to
accommodate the additional vehicles. Consequently, many office
staff cannot find parking space and have to drive around surrounding
roads looking for a parking area. This causes serious delays.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 As the road works will be finished in six weeks, staff should be asked to leave home
for work a little earlier than usual for this period to enable them to arrive on time.
2 People will insist on travelling to work in their own transport. Consequently, the
solution is for the company either to enlarge the existing car park or to obtain a
second car park near the office. Enlarging the existing car park is in the short term
the best solution, as it is surrounded by company land, which at present is fenced off
from the car park.
Your Name
12 September 20..
Deputy Office Manager

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Language and style of reports
(1) Use the four titles objective – method followed – findings – recommendations to subdivide your
text. A further subdivision would be in paragraphs or would use numbered lists.
(2) Reporting wants to obtain neutrality and objectivity. Consequently, it avoids personal language (no
“I” or “we”) in favour of impersonal constructions or passive constructions.
*** I used >>> This report makes use of …
*** I tested >>> To test this, 10 employees …
Management has to implement changes as of next year.
These changes will have to be implemented as of next year.
(3) Reporting will avoid emotions or strong expressions of opinion:

a. it does not address the reader
b. it does not ask rhetorical questions (“What can be done about this?”)
c. it avoids emotional punctuation (exclamation marks, emoticons)
d. it avoids ambiguous language like irony or insinuations (“But yeah, that could be expected
with an employee like that”)
e. it avoids moralising or paternalising observations on what management should do or how a
company should be run.
(4) Reporting will avoid imprecise, vague or informal words. A list of examples:
vague nouns some information > data from the profit and loss account
some people > employees from the HR department
vague quantifiers *some, a few > 20% of staff, selected customers, …

*lots of, plenty > 70% of staff, a clear majority of interviewees
*sometimes > infrequently
*most of the time > in 80% of cases
*not enough > insufficiently
informal verbs *talk to the people > interviews with staff

*take a look at the P&L > research the profit and loss account
*check staff > investigate, research, conduct interviews, …
contracted forms *doesn’t, won’t, can’t, … > does not, will not, cannot, …
(5) Informal intensifiers, although beloved by students, tend to prescribe the emotion a reader should
feel and are therefore not objective. Instead, only neutral intensifiers like very, highly or rather
qualify. The word “good” is good enough.
amazingly well > very well
incredibly efficient > highly efficient
extremely good > very good
really expensive > rather expensive
super profitable > very profitable
pretty good > correct, satisfactory, sufficient, good

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(6) Use of tenses:
The objective is formulated in the simple present.

This report studies/analyses…
The chapter method is generally written in the simple past, as it refers to actions lying completely
in the past.
A survey was conducted, the income statement was analysed
Findings can be either written in the simple present or simple past.

60% of interviewees claim / claimed that the product is satisfactory.
The concluding section (recommendations, conclusion) is typically written in the simple present and
will contain many forms in the future simple.
A meeting on customer satisfaction should be scheduled
This procedure will be implemented in Q4 of 2021.
(7) Long sentences or short sentences? Try to bring together causes and consequences in short
sentences that are self-evident by the effective use of linkers such as although, however,
consequently, due to, whereas. Think of “less is more”.
Declining customer satisfaction causes a significant drop in turnover. Consequently, the
customers’ trust has to be regained.
(8) Using lists with numbers, dashes or bullets is allowed. Take care when you list items: either full
sentences or simple nouns. Make sure every item in the list looks like the other items and that the
title of the list fits every item.
(9) Advice in the concluding section should be formulated neutrally. “I think” or “I find that” is
absolutely forbidden. Instead, the typical options are the following:
(a) combination modal verb + main verb

Control procedures have to be improved
Customer invoicing needs to be followed up more frequently.
(b) “nominalisation”, use of a noun, to focus on concepts rather than actions:

Improvement of control procedures is recommended.
A more frequent follow-up of customer invoicing is of paramount importance.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
For exercises and tests we will use as a rule: ALWAYS write out FULL sentences with a conjugated verb, even
when you use bullets in e.g. your list of recommendations.
***Scheduling of a meeting on tax mitigation

>>>
A meeting on … should be scheduled
On tests every structure not containing a conjugated verb will lead to -1.

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Reporting idioms
All words and expressions on the following pages are supposed to be known at tests or the exam! Do you
know the Dutch equivalents?
OBJECTIVE (“What does the report do?”
This report offers an analysis of ...

The purpose of this report is to look into / analyse / understand ...
This report aims to investigate …
This report analyses, researches, looks into, studies …

lists, sums up, enumerates …
compares, makes/draws a comparison between …
The report analyses our sector/line of business, our competitors/competition, customers, our customer
database, our suppliers, our departments, …
… and formulates recommendations in order to improve / optimize HR procedures / our client database /
communication between departments / …
METHOD (“How does the report work?”)
To this purpose the report makes use of a sample of ...

The report is based on interviews with ...
The report studies the financial reports of ...
The report draws its information from the archives of 2012-2018.
The report draws on the financial reports of 2015 and 2016.
A random sample, a representative sample of … was interviewed / monitored / studied

Two files were not withheld in the sample because they were incomplete.
A survey was conducted
An online survey using a questionnaire with closed questions was filled out by 70 percent of staff.
Interviews with 5 randomly chosen employees from every department
Interviews with 5 managers involved were held/conducted/organised
Making use of the quarterly results of 2014, the report assesses trends for 2015.
to assess
to forecast

FINDINGS (What does the report discover?)
Three main trends can be discerned:
firstly, secondly, most importantly,

strange enough, unexpectedly, against all expectations << >> obviously
furthermore, moreover, in addition
at last, finally
A salient detail/development/trend is ...

... strikes the eye.
... definitely is / turns out to be / seems to be the most important/ dominating/ revolutionary/
surprising / salient/ unexpected trend/finding/fact
!!! It seems that <<< >>> it turns out that !!! (compare Dutch: schijnt tgo. blijkt)
In the survey it turned out a majority of staff is dissatisfied with our canteen.
The client database turns out to be poorly updated.
2 out of 3 clients turn out to be familiar with the product.
<<< >>>
The client database seems outdated; further research needs to confirm the initial impression.
A balance sheet analysis revealed/demonstrated/showed a weak profitability.

Interviews revealed a general discontent.
The results suggest that high-spending customers are more likely to buy …
The poor results of the survey underscore staff’s discontent.
Analysis indicates that …
Interviewees claim/state they suffer from stress. (not ***say)

Most interviewees judged/considered March as a period with little stress.
The alleged increased stress was contradicted by the fact most interviewees considered their job as
easy.
Allegedly, management never has communicated this policy to staff.
These results were confirmed by …

<<< >>>
These results were contradicted by …
in the period under consideration

in the sample studied
the employees interviewed (not ***the interviewed employees)

RECOMMENDATIONS (“What should we do now?”)
In summary, by way of conclusion

It can be concluded that …
Conclusions that can be drawn are …
the three most important measures, three highly recommended changes

to recommend – the following recommendations are made:
to advise – the three most important items (!) of advice are:
to implement – implementation of three measures is inevitable: …
to require – strict budget control is required.
This measure will reinforce vs diminish the impact of …
…. is advisable / crucial / of the highest importance / of paramount importance

…. is inevitable
…. should be implemented/carried out/processed/…
to extrapolate results / trends

The results cannot be extrapolated to other departments, as specific conditions will vary.
If sales results are extrapolated, the product will break even in 2023.

Exercise on reporting style and idioms: rewrite these sentences by substantivizing a verb
Modal verb + main verb = noun + passive construction
Reports need to be audited = An audit of the reports is recommended
Employees should be trained more =
Employees have to calculate tax bands =
The sales department needs to dismiss 5 staff =
Prices of competitors need to be compared. =
Marketing strategy needs to be revised. =
Recurrent errors need to be corrected. =
Sales techniques need to be improved. =
Avoiding a dangling or superfluous participle. Correct these sentences if necessary. Focus on the
ing form: (1) is it clear who performs this action? (2) Is this the most elegant way to phrase?
Having analysed the balance sheet we can conclude the company is highly leveraged.
Having analysed the balance sheet a cost reduction needs to be implemented.
Looking at the numbers we can conclude the company is highly leveraged.
Looking at this chart we can state that profit has increased every year since 2012.
Interviewing the managers of all departments we quickly discovered a general mood of discontent.
Interviewing the managers of all departments there was a general mood of discontent.
Interviewing the managers of all departments a general mood of discontent was discovered.
After discovering these elements 3 measures need to be taken: …
After discovering these elements we strongly recommend three measures: …

102
5.3.4 Writing longer formal reports
The elements a full formal report could contain:

the cover
the title page
the preface
the table of contents
the summary
the explanation of terms / List of symbols
the introduction
the body with its different chapters and paragraphs
the conclusions/recommendations
the bibliography
the list of appendices
Typography
Give some thought to choosing the quality and the format of the paper you use, to installing the
correct margins, line spacing, font, enumeration techniques, space between text blocks and even to
positioning the page numbers.
- Be consistent
- Make a purposeful use of blank lines. Insert an extra blank line over and below figures, tables,
enumerations, headings, formulae and section titles;
- Use block paragraphing;
- Select a current type of letter (font) and use it throughout the report. Many different or italic fonts
create a restless impression.
- Use bold or enlarged print to put emphasis where you want it;
- See to it that your text is correctly spread across the page. Do not leave a single line belonging to
a longer paragraph to appear all by itself at the top or at the bottom.
Tables and graphs
Tables and graphs can be used to illustrate, clarify and/or summarize the information provided in the
report. However they should only be selected if they really do any of the above things. Correctly
used they will certainly contribute to the professional image of your report.
Please observe the following instructions:
1 As a rule charts, tables and graphs are embedded in the text. There are two notable exceptions/
however:
- if the same illustration is needed at more than one place in the report.
- if illustrations are so numerous or extensive that they would interfere with the text too much.
In such cases a ‘List of Figures’ should be incorporated. Do so in the Table of Contents or at the
start of the Appendix.

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2 All tables and graphs should have a number and a title. These are printed as headings. Tables and
graphs should be numbered independently. It is wise to start numbering with each new chapter,
rather than throughout the entire report in case changes have to be made at a later stage. For
example figure 3.1 is the first figure in chapter 3.
3 Always insert the source you derived your information from under the table and graph. You give
the name of the author and year of publication. The complete specification can be found in the
table of references.
4 Each figure should be referred to at least once. Do so immediately before the figure is presented.
A correct formulation is not 'see the following graph' but 'see figure 3.1' or ‘see table 5.2; In the
text you need to repeat only the essence of the information shown in an illustration. The following
sentences can be used to introduce a table:
- To give you an example of including materials (see table 3.1)
- Furthermore, including various types of graphs can improve the quality of your report to a
great extent. Often the help of a spread sheet programme can produce good results (see
figures 3.1 and 3.2)
- Finally, the use of presenting formulae in your report is illustrated (see formula 1)
Quotations
If you decide to include quotations, make sure that they are literal. Short quotations should be
incorporated in your sentence by using the reported speech.
When a quotation is longer, it is advisable to reproduce it separated from the main text by a blank
line, indenting at the left and right hand margins. If you decide to omit something from a longer
quotation, you indicate that by inserting three dots between square brackets. If quotation marks
appear within a quotation they are indicated by double quotation marks.
If the source has not been incorporated in the text, quotes should always receive a footnote.
Footnotes
Notes are used to refer to sources. Moreover, they are used to modify certain statements. Only in
scientific publications each word, every statement should be accounted for. In other reports matters
are different.
It is important to realize that the use of notes does not generally improve readability. Notes
interrupt the reading speed.

104
Write out a report with the following information. Use the correct structure for reporting. A
literal translation of the words in bold SHOULD be in your report. (Calculation of difficulties:
10 listed words + (15/3*2 words in text) = 20 points)
(based on all lists up to finance & accounting)
Je werkt voor het bedrijf Odisnacks. De directie gaf je de opdracht om te onderzoeken waarom
zoveel klanten hun betalingsverplichtingen voor bestellingen niet nakomen en een paar
voorstellen ter verbetering te doen.
Bon, allemaal goed en wel, maar wat moet je dan precies onderzoeken? Wel, je denkt: ik ga
eens in het kasstroomoverzicht van 2020 onze inkomsten wat bekijken. En daarnaast eens een
klapke doen met een paar van onze grote klanten! Heel plezier om die mensen eens te
ontmoeten.
Wel, het was heel boeiend wat je zoal verzamelde! Het strafste was toch wel:
jullie boekhouders beweerden altijd dat jullie facturen zo superduidelijk waren?? << >> klanten
lazen de facturen verkeerd en dachten dat het bedrag inclusief BTW was! Dzju toch. >>>
verkeerd bedrag betaald!
Nog zo een straffe: jullie verkoopafdeling stond vaak kortingen toe, die niet op de facturen
stonden! >>> klanten bellen met klachten.
En de trieste uitsmijter: veel klanten in de horecasector willen echt wel betalen << >>
banken lenen geen geld meer uit door de covid-lockdown.
Okéééééééé … Wat gaan we hieraan doen? Je denkt eens na en je besluit je werkgever de
volgende dingen aan te raden:
- reclame-campagnes rond kortingen communiceren aan boekhouders
- zelfstandige klanten persoonlijk contacteren om te checken of ze kunnen betalen
- vergadering inplannen (not “plan”) voor boekhouders met maar één agendapunt, nl. het
opmaken van de facturen.
You use in your report the following words:

randomly due to
draw on consequently
salient contrary to
“het blijkt dat” however
to reveal
paramount

105
Use the correct structure for reporting. A literal translation of the words in bold SHOULD be in
your report. (Calculation of difficulties: 10 listed words + (24/3*2 words in text) = 26 points)
(based on all lists up to finance & accounting)
Heel wat problemen in je onderneming, waar de Oostenrijkse en Noorse vestigingen verlies maken.
Je baas vroeg je om de oorzaken te onderzoeken, en de verkoop te verhogen (not “increase”)
Je vroeg je af wat je te doen stond. Je besloot om eerst en vooral eens de directeurs van de
verkoopafdelingen van de twee vestigingen te spreken. Voorts nam je een enquête bij het personeel
af en je bezocht ook een paar grote klanten en leveranciers. Jammer wel dat 20% van de
vragenlijsten moest worden weggesmeten, want niet correct ingevuld.
De resultaten waren op z’n zachtst gezegd verrassend. De directeurs bluffen wel over de goeie
organisatie, maar de verkoopteams worden overvraagd met overbodige administratieve taken.
Voorts was verloning volledig gekoppeld aan anciënniteit i.p.v. bv. prestatie. Er waren ook weinig
incentives zoals bv. onkostenrekeningen of bedrijfswagens. Leveranciers: vooral bvba’s uit de
bouwsector klaagden dat rekeningen te laat betaald werden en vroegen daarom naar domiciliëring.
Niet simpel, maar je komt toch tot 3 grote aanbevelingen. Administratieve taken moeten echt
verminderd (not “decrease”) worden; meer prestatiegerichte aanpak én verloning met bv. aandelen
in het bedrijf of meer risicoschuwe waardepapieren zoals staatsobligaties.
You use in your report the following words:

to withhold although
“optimaliseren” consequently
“het blijkt dat” contrary to
to draw on furthermore
to reveal
to implement

106
Write out a report according to the rules seen in class.

Words in bold need to be used literally. (30 / 3 * 2 = 20 points)
(based on all lists, including HR)
Je onderneming Odiware, actief in ICT, heeft heel wat problemen om personeel te behouden. Dat is
jammer, want uiteindelijk wil je bedrijf de prestaties van de medewerkers optimaliseren en de
rendabiliteit te verhogen. Je kreeg de opdracht om hier een rapport over op te stellen. Een eerste
moeilijkheid is natuurlijk dat je zit met 5 verschillende dochtermaatschappijen verspreid over de
wereld. Je besluit om als volgt te werk te gaan: je gaat in de 5 dochtermaatschappijen telkens met
skype een babbel slaan met de HR manager. En voorts stel je een online-enquête op, die je naar alle
medewerkers verstuurt, ook aan hen die ontslagen werden of zelf hun opzeg gaven.
Fascinerend wat je allemaal te weten kwam! Een in het oog springende trend was dat medewerkers
zegden (reporting term!) dat het organigram te hiërarchisch was. In 40 procent van de vragenlijsten
werd aangeduid dat er te weinig mogelijkheden voor interne detachering waren – heel veel
werknemers willen eens in de Canadese vestiging gewerkt hebben. Vrouwelijke medewerkers in de
Zwitserse vestiging klagen dat er te weinig zwangerschapsverlof en ouderschapsverlof is: de dienst
financiën wil namelijk de uitgaven voor loonlijst verlagen. Er zijn ook in 3 vestigingen klachten over
sexuele intimidatie en weinig mogelijkheden om in beroep te gaan. Het blijkt ook dat de
aankoopafdeling te prestatiegericht is en weinig aandacht besteedt aan loyaliteit (not “loyalty”!).
Je kan natuurlijk niet elk probleem tackelen, en daarom concentreer je je op de grote lijnen. De
voordelen voor medewerkers moeten worden verbeterd, je denkt aan premies bij goede prestatie
en aan overuren die extra worden uitbetaald. Er moeten ook vaker evaluatiegesprekken worden
gehouden. Tenslotte moet de dienst carrière-advies (not “advice”!) meer aandacht besteden aan
detachering.

107
5.4 Text cohesion: conjunctions and linkers

Look at the example sentences. Do you use this linking word with one or two sentences (i.e. with a
main and subclause or with two main clauses)? Find appropriate equivalents in Dutch (or French).
MEANING linking words examples
but I was ill, but still I went to school.

C
although, even Although we have cut costs, we still make losses.
O though, though We still make losses, although we have cut its costs.
N in spite of, In spite of/despite his poor health, my father is always

despite cheerful.
T Last Tuesday, the morning air was still clear and fresh, in
spite of all the traffic // despite all the traffic.
R
however I have always been a good friend. However he hasn’t
A invited me to his party.
Losing at games doesn’t seem to matter to women. Most
S men, however, can’t stand it.
T nevertheless Last Summer I had to cancel my trip to the States.

Nevertheless, I had excellent holidays.
yet I don’t understand it. Yet, I try to make the exercises.

C
A consequently I had never seen him. Consequently I wasn’t able to
U recognise him.
S that is why, Demand for clamshell phones has risen. That is
E therefore, why/therefore/as a result all mobile phone companies
AND as a result are increasingly turning to clamshell phones.
C Because/as/since there was a strike last spring, the
O because, as, factory had to close temporarily.
N since
S Because of the strike last spring the factory had to close
E because of temporarily.
Q due to (negative Due to the strike last spring the factory had to close
U reason) temporarily.
E thanks to Thanks to you I finally understand how to make this
N (positive reason) exercise.
C
E
P
U in order to, to (In order) to gain time, he took a short cut with his bicycle.
R
P so as to The company closed a few plants so as to cut down on
O logistics.
S lest (archaic) We buy a poppy on Armistice Day lest we forget.
E

108
Before we go to the theatre, we have to order tickets.

before After we have analysed the report, we can decide on
T after cutting the budget.
I While you are waiting, you can have a drink at our
M while cafeteria.
E During the exam you cannot speak.
during We have to work until the next shift comes in.
until You have to order new folders when you are running out
when of materials.
first of all, What’s going to happen at Mike’s party? First of all you
S secondly, thirdly, ... come in, secondly you get a drink, thirdly a show will start,
E then then there’s a short break and eventually the DJ will get
Q eventually everyone on the dancing floor.
U
E in addition, Our management plans to increase production by
N additionally modernising the plant. In addition it will hire new
C engineers.
I
N furthermore The firm only produces kitchen furniture. Furthermore,
G it’s rather old-fashioned.
moreover The company has employed 20 new staff. Moreover, it

plans to take over its competitor.
F
O regarding We have a problem regarding the delivery.
C with regards to As to the delivery we have to point out we don’t agree.
U as regards We have a problem concerning the delivery.
S as to
concerning
E
X except (for) All people except (for) you have agreed.
C
E unless Unless there is still a question, I’d like to continue.
P
T In this type of fight all means bar kicking against the head
I bar (inf) are allowed.
N
G
M
E by + ing form Our management plans to increase production by
A modernising the plant.
N
S
C
O if If you grant us a quantity discount we will certainly place
N future orders.
D provided that Provided that you give us a quantity discount we will
I certainly place future orders.
T on condition

109
I On condition that I can see my child every week, I accept

O assuming your lawyer’s proposal.
N Assuming staff has accepted the changes up to now, we
A planned to introduce 3 new managers.
L
comparable to Our company’s rise in profit is comparable to that of

sector peers.
C similar to Our company’s rise in profit is similar to that of sector
O peers.
M different from Our company’s rise in profit is very different from that of
P sector peers.
A
R whereas Inditex mainly produces in Europe, whereas H&M will
I typically use Asian suppliers.
N in contrast to France has a high unemployment rate, in contrast to
G Germany.
contrary to Contrary to what Trump claims, Russia meddles in US
elections.
CORRELATIVE both … and … Both you and I have to take this test.
CONJUNCTIONS either …. or … We will go on holiday to either Spain or Italy.
neither … nor … She’s neither happy nor sad.
whether … or … Whether you understand it or not is not that important.
Linking words after which you use a noun (and not a sentence!)
Because it is raining = because of the rain

Because it is raining = due to the rain
Because you helped me = thanks to your help
Although there was a big traffic jam = in spite of the traffic jam
Although there was a big traffic jam = despite the traffic jam

110
Connect these two clauses:
I’m ill + I’m going to school
Connect them by using the following linking words:
but >>> I’m ill, but I’m going to school
although >>>
however >>>
nevertheless >>>
in spite of >>>
despite >>>
Connect these two clauses:
We had better prices than our competitors + our turnover was larger
Connect them by using the following linking words:
because >>>
because of >>>
since >>>
thanks to >>>
consequently >>>
Translate these tricky sentences.
Hoewel we een Oostenrijks bedrijf willen overnemen, investeren we vooral in Zwitserland.
We willen een Oostenrijks bedrijf overnemen. We investeren echter vooral in Zwitserland.
Ondanks onze intentie om een Oostenrijks bedrijf over te nemen, investeren we vooral in
Zwitserland.

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Exercise: combine situation and linking word and create a sentence.

SITUATION 1: Our profit margin is very small + we need to sell far more products
SITUATION 2: we had to face a hostile bid + we are market leader
however
nevertheless
because of
despite
although
due to
in spite of
consequently
Compare these companies making use of :

comparable to, different from, similar to, whereas, in contrast to.
revenue 2018 revenue 2019 staff 2019 number of plants

Zymix 6.8m euros 8.3m euros 58 4
Odicomp 5m euros 3.9m euros 32 3
Bruxaflex 9m euros 11.3m euros 64 4
When can you use in contrast to? When contrary to?
She said she would go home. Instead, she stayed at the party.
Zymix is active in the healthcare sector, Bruxaflex in the construction sector.
Mr. Banks: “Our company is in good shape.” 20% of staff has been laid off this year.
I have a Samsung phone. Margot thinks I have an iPhone.
We hire new staff. Zymix lays off staff.

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Causation sentences using ing forms
Dutch:
Frank nam heel wat risico's op de markt. Daarom verloor hij uiteindelijk alles.
English:
Frank took a lot of risks on the market. Consequently he eventually lost everything.
OR
(by) Taking a lot of risks on the market, Frank eventually lost everything.
Exercise: Rewrite these sentences using an ing form.
Mr Pembroke has a lot of experience. Therefore he will be able to manage your portfolio.
Mrs Vermont is our expert in car insurance. She will look into your case.
When we consider all risks, it still is a wise investment.
We have analysed your case. We believe that you could save by cutting travel expenses.
I lost a few invoices. I wasn't able to finish the data input.
We switched to a new bookkeeping system. We may have missed a few invoices in the trial period.
Exercise on “door te” constructions: “You will only succeed by bribing”
Door te klasseren (to file) word je goed.
Je kan enkel slagen door hard te werken.
Onze firma moet groeien door te fusioneren met Fortis.
Ze heeft die promotie gehaald door te intrigeren (to intrigue)
Join the following sentences using linking words
You will hurt yourself. You are careful.
I shall take the boat out. It is windy or not.
Jim won the competition. He’d had no previous experience.

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The firm had to close. The shareholders did not lose their money.
Sam lost his job. He had a good record of attendance.
Sue is learning how to cook. She does not intend to get married.
I came back home. It was very late. I opened the front door. I got a shock. Burglars had ransacked
the flat.
It was a stormy day. The sea was very rough. The ship was lurching from side to side. I had a most
miserable time.
He is very rich. He is very mean. He never gives his friends anything.
I will lend you the money. You must pay it back within a week. I shall be very angry. If you do not. I
shall not speak to you again.
It rained very heavily. It rained for days. The level of the water in the reservoir rose. The pressure on
the dam grew greater and greater. In the end it burst. Many people were drowned.
She got out of the car. It was a Rolls Royce. She was carrying a bunch of roses. Her heel caught in a
grating. She fell over. The roses scattered all over the pavement.
We planned to give a dinner party. We bought lots of food. We could not cook it. We had forgotten
to pay our gas bill. Our gas had been cut off.
Some boys were playing cricket. One of them hit the ball very hard. It came over the hedge into my
garden. It broke a window of my greenhouse.
I broke the news to her. It was very sad. It was that her son had been injured in an accident. She
broke down.
Mr. Robinson is a kind man. He became very irritable. I asked him about the days after the war. He
was a barrister then. He made his personal fortune by floating companies then.
I could not find a British-made ball point pen. I bought a French one. This pen was very expensive. It
was an extremely simple pen.

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Fill in the proper linking word and/or preposition.
You may be right. ... I 'm going to do it my way.
.... his former wife .... his girlfriend were mentioned in his will.
The flight was delayed ..... fog.
..... every precaution is taken to protect items lodged with us, we are not responsible for loss or
damage to visitors' property.
We cannot call ourselves truly civilised ... we stop killing animals for fun.
You should make a note of it in your diary ... you forget.
The patient's condition was serious ... they had to operate.
I am afraid you'll have to put up with it, ...you like it ... not.
.... good Britain's economic prospect are, we still have a long way to go.
Nice ... she was, I could not help but dislike her.
Recent allegations about our security service ... justify lack of confidence in its competence ... call for
any special inquiry.
... a few blisters on her feet, she was in good health and spirits.
This is a difficult question to answer ... the instability of world markets.
... his ill-health, Mr. Johnson works hard.
We advertised the post in three national newspapers. We have not, ..., received any applications.
Complete the sentences, using "as" or "like".
1. I work ... a language teacher.

2. He works ... a slave.
3. She looks ... her mother.
4. ... you know, it's against the law.
5. Their voices echoed ... in a cave.

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6 Grammar
6.1 Eradicating stubborn problems
6.1.1 quantifiers: a lot of, much, many, little, few
a lot of: general use

much: for uncountable words much money (you can’t say ‘two moneys’)
many: for countable words many problems
On the whole ‘much’ and ‘many’ tend to be used in sentences with a verb negative.
There aren’t many tables in this room.
There isn’t much noise over here.
For questions ‘much’ and ‘many’ are the only possibility:
How many people do you know here?
How much money is left over?
Fill out ‘much’ or ‘many’

I don’t owe you …………… money.
On this shelf …………… interesting books on the topic financial reporting can be found.
There are ............... obstacles to overcome.
Let’s see: how …………… items do we need?
We have to admire her …………… courage is needed for this action.
little and a little: for uncountable words

few and a few: for countable words
The difference between normal forms and ‘a’ forms: ‘little’ and ‘few’ have a negative meaning (‘not as
much as you would like’), ‘a little’ and ‘a few’ have positive meaning (‘quite some’).
degrees of comparison: little-less-least vs few-fewer-fewest
In informal English you can say ‘I read less books than you’, in formal English this would read ‘fewer
books’.
Fill out: little/a little/few/a few

She has ….. experience. Never believe what she says.
He has been living in Brussels for only one week, but he has already ….. friends.
He is mostly alone, since he has ….. friends.
Would you like ….. champagne?
You don’t need to go shopping: there are ….. eggs in the fridge and I’ve got ….. bread and cheese.
At the end of this session I would like to say ….. words to thank our sponsors.
She trained too …………… and now has ……………. chance to win.
Translate.
En? Genoeg gestudeerd, of te weinig?
Je hebt een beetje geluk nodig en je mag maar weinig fouten maken.
Er zijn niet veel bezoekers en er is ook niet veel sfeer.

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6.1.2 Quick-quicker-quickest: degrees of comparison
A fat book an interesting position positive

A fatter book a more interesting position comparative
the fattest the most interesting position superlative
the least fat book the least interesting position ‘negative superlative’
a less fat book a less interesting position ‘negative comparative’
(1) You use the short forms ‘fatter’ and ‘fattest’ when the word has only 1 syllable (lettergreep).
Next to these monosyllabic words, all adjectives on –y use the short system: funny – funnier
– funniest home videos. Otherwise: formation with more-most
(2) Irregular forms

bad – worse – worst (‘badder’ and ‘baddest’ only in rap language)
far – further – furthest
good – better – best
little – less – least
much – more – most
(3) We say ‘fatter THAN’, not ‘then’, not ‘as’. THEN will be used to tell a story: I arrived at my
place around 8 pm, then I took a shower and then, around 10 pm, I went to the party.
(4) Mind the structure “the faster, the better” (Dutch “hoe …, hoe beter/liever”)
Translate:
Ik kies het modernste systeem.

Ik heb het minst moderne systeem.
Sana is de intelligentste studente.
Benedicte is een minder intelligente studente.
Francis is de minst intelligente student.
De minst goede prestatie
De interessantste bijscholing
De minst interessante bijscholing
We hadden minder hoge klantentevredenheid
We hadden in 2010 een minder hoge omzet en in 2011 de laagste omzet.
de efficiëntste methode
Kan u a.u.b. minder roken?
De beste vergoeding en de minst goede vergoeding
Sana rookt het minst van iedereen.
Kevin rookt minder gezonde sigaretten.
Hoe interessanter hoe liever.
Hoe minder sigaretten hoe beter.

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6.1.3 manual or manually: adjective or adverb?
Formation of adverbs: adjective + ly (quick – quickly)
Special cases:
beautiful – beautifully (doubling of l)
easy – easily (adjectives in –y)
automatic – automatically (adjectives in -ic)
Exceptions:
This is fast – I work fast
This rock is very hard – I work hard (versus I work hardly!)
It’s late – He works late. (versus Lately I haven’t seen him a lot)
It’s early – She works early.
This is good – The company is doing well
Function of adverbs
(1) The word says something about the verb (how?) and can be translated as ‘op …
manier/wijze’
We store data manually (= op manuele wijze)
He walks quickly (= op een snelle manier)
Exception: to smell, taste, sound (verbs of the senses)
That smells good, tastes good, sounds good, ...
Exception: to be, to look, to appear, to seem, to stay (copular verbs)
That looks/is quite good, it stays good 3 months, we remain sound.
(2) The word says something about an adjective
She’s an unbelievably beautiful girl.
(3) The word says something about another adverb
She behaves unbelievably stupidly (= in such a stupid way
that it is unbelievable)
Note 1: A tip for people who are better at French: In French an adverb is formed by –ment:
Elle chante extrêmement bien.
She sings extremely well.
Note 2: A structure used frequently: ‘well’ or another adverb + present participle or past participle
slowly decreasing, rapidly advancing, steadily rising
well done, well said, well thought
systematically applied, efficiently executed, quickly written
Are these sentences right or wrong? Correct.
1. He sang an incredible beautiful melody.

2. He sang an incredible melody.
3. He sang incredible beautiful.
4. She is unbelievable clever.
5. She works good and her soup tastes good.
6. He speaks French extremely good.

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Fill out: adjective or adverb.
Your exam results were very ……..

You did very …….in your exams.
I didn’t sleep very …….last night.
We store these papers ……………(manueel).
He looked at me ………….(angry) when I interrupted him.
The cargo is loaded (manual) while the invoice is generated (automatic).
He plays the piano very (good).
The soup tastes (good).
The soup smells (good).
He is (quick).
He runs (quick).
He eats (quick).
They think (thorough).
Last year the sales figures rose (slow).
Last year the sales figures rose (fast).
What a success! He did it really (good).
This approach is very (good).
Translate. Think of French (‘bien connu’, ‘bien écrit’, ...)
Het bedrijf is goed gekend.

Het huis is goed geconstrueerd.
het product werd goed aanvaard door de klanten
het was een goed geschreven artikel
een goed betaalde job in een goed functionerend bedrijf
een goed bewaard geheim (“can you keep a secret?”)
dit is een goed gemeende kritiek (critique)
snel stijgende prijzen en traag dalende kosten
Ze schreef een goed gelezen artikel (= artikel dat vaak
gelezen werd).
Dit is een vaak (“goed”) gebruikte techniek voor startende
bedrijven.
Goed gedaan! Goed gezegd! “well done”
Goed bedoeld, maar verkeerd (poor) uitgevoerd (perform)
Wij zijn goede boekhouders, maar slecht betaald. (poor)
Wij zijn goed getrainde management assistants in een
efficiënt georganiseerde afdeling met een efficiënte baas.
Construct a sentence in which 2 adverbs occur right after each other. The last one is based on “good”.
Construct a sentence in which 2 adverbs occur right after each other. The last one is based on
“efficient”.

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6.1.4 Formation and use of tenses

Give the simple past and past participle of the following verbs:
to pay -
to stay -
to say -
to rise –
to raise –
to happen –
to build –
to send –
Correct these mistakes.

He kiss very badly. >>>
I see him not. >>>
Helen helps not when we need her. >>>
Likes Frank helping people? >>>
Have I to help you? >>>
It is true that Belgium a complicated country is. >>>
I don’t know whether she in need of help is. >>>
Did you had a nice time? >>>
Normally works our team in this office. >>>
The four main tenses

PRESENT simple present present continuous
describes facts or frequency (adverbs of Focus on activity going on now (add “just
frequency!) now” to test)
I live in Brussels. What are you doing?
I often watch this series. - I am watching TV just now.
She frequently works till late at night.
PAST simple past present perfect

marks a period that is completely over; time marks a period that is not completely over,
indications such as: yesterday, last week, link with present; time indications such as:
three years ago, in January, in 2019. since 2019, the last three months, this week,
Last month I contacted 3 clients. never, ever
Yesterday the company reported a loss. Since January we have lost 3 clients.
I have never seen this man before.
Correct the following mistakes in tense use and give a rule.

Our company is producing car tyres.
correction: “produces”. Rule: facts should be expressed by simple present, whereas the present
continuous is used when the focus is on “now”.
Our company is founded in 1983.

It has made losses from 2000 until 2005.
In 2005 it has been restructured.
Since then it always made healthy profits.
I am born in 2003.
In secondary school I have studied languages and economics.
I didn’t get German yet.

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6.1.5 Pronouns
Agreement subject (pronoun) - verb

In Dutch sentences like “Het zijn moeilijke tijden” or “Dit zijn mijn collega’s” are normal, although
“het” and “dit” are singular forms combined with a verb in plural. In English this is impossible.
Instead, subject and verb have to agree: “These are difficult times” and “These are my colleagues”.
Demonstrative pronouns
this manager (singular) versus these managers (plural), these people (plural)
Reflexive pronouns
I will do it (by) myself, you will do it (by) yourself, he will do it himself, she will do it herself, the
company itself, we will do it ourselves, you will do it yourselves, they will do it themselves
Translate.
Dit zijn problemen die wij zelf gaan oplossen.
Dat zijn rapporten die zij zelf geschreven hebben.
Het zijn agendapunten die je zelf moet verwijderen.
Relative pronouns
Typical mistakes: ***the manager which, ***the company who, ***the company for that I work
(1) “that” is the universal relative: can be used in (almost) all cases
The manager that is responsible for recruiting is called Francine.
The company that is willing to cooperate is located in Ghent.
(2) “who”: only for humans
The manager who is responsible for recruiting is called Francine.
(3) “which”: only for non-humans
The company which is willing to cooperate is located in Ghent.
(4) The “zero relative” is possible when the relative functions as a direct or indirect object, not
as the subject
***The company is willing to cooperate is located in Ghent. (subject function: not possible)
The company I work for is located in Ghent. (prepositional object)
The company we contacted is located in Ghent. (direct object)
(5) “whom” is the form of “who” after prepositions (in, at, for, with, without, by, above, …). For
“which” there is no special form.
The manager for whom I work is called Frank
The employees with whom we cooperate are all from R&D.
The company with which we cooperate is EY.
(6) “that” is impossible in a non-defining clause (introduced by a comma, gives explanation)
EY, which is one of the Big Four consultants, is located in Belliardstraat.
***EY, that is one of the Big Four consultants, is located in Belliardstraat
(7) “that” cannot be used after a preposition; instead use “which” or zero relative
*** There are 3 companies for that I have worked.
There are 3 companies for which I have worked // 3 companies I have worked for.

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Correct the mistakes (if any).
There are three regions: Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels, who is a bilingual region.
There are 7 political parties which you can vote for.
There is a conflict which makes cooperation with the sales department difficult.
Do you know a manager for that we can work?
Now I give the word to Joyce, that will deal with the history of Flanders.
This is a style of drawing which was created by Hergé.
The department for whom I have to develop this project consists of only 5 people.
We bought a house which is 80 years old.
The product who costs more is over there.
Our department, which consists of 8 people, is situated on the 8th floor.
That is the management assistant which I used to work with.
That is the writing tool which I used to work with.
That is the writing tool that I used to work with.
That is the writing tool with that I used to work.
That is the writing tool with which I used to work.
That is the writing tool I used to work with.
The jobs who I applied for include key account manager and sales representative.
Fill out all forms possible, choosing from: that, which, who, whom, X (nothing)
The bank … we try to copy is KBC.

The company … I work for is ING.
The company for … I work is ING.
The manager … I have to call is Frank Drebbin.
The manager … contacted me is Frank Drebbin.
The manager … I work for is absent.
The manager for … I work is absent.
The advertising agency with … we cooperate is Duval Branding.
The advertising agency … we cooperate with is Duval Branding.

122
Relative pronouns in combination with prepositions
Dutch tends to “merge” prepositions and relative pronouns:
de mensen waarmee ik samenwerk (“met wie”)

het salaris waarvoor ik het doe (“voor hetwelke”)
de producten waarin we geloven (“in dewelke”)
de maatregelen waartegen we protesteren (“tegen dewelke”)
Some of these “mergers”, like “wherein” or “wherewith” exist in English, but usually they sound
very archaic, a bit like “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” (Shakespeare, Romeo and
Juliet, a text of 400 years old). The 2 strategies to use:
(1) split up preposition + relative pronoun and translate (but don’t forget difference whom-which!)
(2) use only the zero relative
the people with whom I cooperate / the people I cooperate with

the wage for which I do it / the which I do it for
the products in which we believe / the products we believe in
the measures against which we protest / the measures we protest against
Translate.
de mensen waarin ik geloof

de bedrijven waarmee we samenwerken
de KMO’s waarin ik al gewerkt heb
de echtgeno(o)t(e) waarzonder ik dit nooit zou gekund hebben
het rapport waarin dit wordt vermeld
de collega waarlangs ik werk
de collega waarmee ik samenwerk
de bedrijven waarin ik werk
de GSM waarmee ik bel
de rapporten waarin ons bedrijf vermeld wordt

123
6.1.6 Spelling
Business English is not txt speak or chatspeak
Hi mate, whazzup?
Hello, morning Fred.
Good afternoon, Mr Bridges.
How do you do, sir. Welcome to our office.
These are four sentences performing the same communicative action (greeting), but in four different
registers. Register is the level of formality and the adaptation to the circumstances (e.g. written or
oral) you apply when communicating. It dictates grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, intonation and
even your body (the way you are standing and your distance, gestures, facial expression,...).
In this course we try to build up expertise in business English, and that entails using a certain register.
This means that some language that students are familiar with from chatting, texting, watching films
etc. cannot be used in class and certainly not in test situations. The eternal claim of students (“Yeah,
but I heard that in a film / I looked it up on Google, it exists”) does not take into account that register
is equally (or even more?) important as grammar or spelling.
All cases below cannot be used in class or tests and will invariably result in -0.5 (spelling mistake) for
EVERY instance.
(1) sound based popular spellings

‘u’ for ‘you’ ‘i’ for ‘I’
‘ur’ for ‘your’ ‘nite’ for ‘night’
‘bisnis’ for ‘business’ ‘luv’ for ‘love’ ‘
(2) use of number homophones or letter homophones

Gr8 = great me 2 = me too
2EZ = too easy 2NTE = tonight
182 = I hate you We R = we are
(3) use of symbols

I will be late & I will try to come to the second part of the session.
I will be late → I will try to come to the second part of the session.
Of all these cases ‘i’, ‘u’ and ‘ur’ are the most dangerous ones, used even by good students. It seems
many students were allowed to use these forms in secondary school. Forget them – at least in this
course.
Should you be interested in this use of English, you can consult the following websites:
http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emoticons
http://www.abbreviations.com

124
Rewrite these sentences in standard English.
This is a gr8 way 2 spk 2 othr ppl.

OMG, did U C? LOL!
i m l8 2day. CUL8R.
u r wrong: he gonna leave da skool tonite.
Mi bisnis is gr8, urs 2?
Fill out: 1 o or 2 o?
Do you have this problem t…..?

There’s simply t….. much t….. do in a t….. short amount of time.
Does this count t……, or do you think it’s t……. far-fetched?
T….. go t….. the loo, simply turn left.
Fill out: you’re, your, they’re, their
Dear Frank, ………………… crazy to keep talking to her, after …………… quarrel.
Our competitors’ strategy is clear: ……………….. intent on launching ……………. new products to increase
……………. market share.
Plural versus apostrophe (‘)
Plural is +s: friends, employees

Common exceptions: 1 man – 2 men, 1 woman – 2 women, 1 child – 2 children
The word “people” is a plural: people are very friendly.
If a word ends in –y, the plural is –ies: 1 company – 2 companies
Apostrophe is something students tend to overuse. It is NEVER used for plural (2 managers, 2
companies, 4 SMEs). It is used
(1) to indicate possession.
e.g.: John’s bike, Patricia’s parents, the company’s turnover, our cat’s toy (singular + ‘s)
e.g.: our parents’ belief, our cats’ toy, all companies’ shareholders (plural s + ‘)
(2) to abbreviate words:
e.g.: it is = it’s, she is = she’s, does not = doesn’t, there is = there’s, you are = you’re, …
Fill out as in the example.
This is the toy of my brother. This is my brother’s toy.

This is the bike of my father. This is
This is the ball of our cats. This is
This is the competitor of the company This is
This is the goal of our strategy This is
This is the future of our children This is
This is the room of the babies This is
These are the advantages of this strategy These are
These are the wages of the managers These are

125
Company, company’s, companies, companies’. Make four example sentences, each containing one
of these four words.
Doubling consonants in verbs
The final consonant of a verb is doubled in the simple past/past participle/-ing form
IF the stress lies on the last syllable (so not develop - I am developing);
IF the consonant is really the last letter (so not surprise - I am surprising);
IF the consonant is alone (so not ask - I am asking)
A good example: refer – I am referring (stress on last syllable, r is really the last letter and stands alone)
Fill the blanks.
to quit He keeps ……….ing.

to develop Last year, the company ………………. new software.
to refer I am …………….. to your letter of last week.
to surprise That is really …………….ing!
to avoid She keeps ………..ing me.
to tell He keeps ……….ing me that I am wrong.
to tease He has ………… me a lot when we were younger.
to admit Yesterday she finally ………………. that she had
to commit ………………. a big mistake.
to rebel In 1998 many soldiers ……………………. .
to mention I only ………………………. his name and he got very angry.
to happen What would have ………………………. if I had kissed him?
Mixed exercise. Complete or indicate the correct possibility.
There are 3 compan…… bigger th….n ours.

There is only 1 bab….. more beautiful/beautifull than m…ne.
We developed/developped several new strateg….. to beat our competitors/competitor’s strateg….. .
My friends/friend’s bike has broken down. He’s/his repairing it.
My girlfriend’s/girlfriends/girlfriends’ books are lying at my parents’/parent’s/parents place.

I will first go to the bakers/baker’s and th….n I will go to the supermarket.
Have you heard about BP ? Its/it’s unclear whether its/it’s profits have increased.
Its/it’s obvious that its/it’s employees will go on strike tomorrow.
I personaly/personally mentioned/mentionned that he is smarter than/then me.

On Monday/monday 8 july/July I saw 3 french/French employees speaking Spanish/spanish and using
our company’s/companies’/companies telephones.
Can you please already/allready finish the report and th.....n help me?
Witch/which sentence is the last one?

126
6.2 The passive
Advantages of the passive mode
A statement often heard: ‘Never use passive: it makes a text slow and heavy-handed.’ Some
counter-evidence:
I was born in 1984.

This report is divided into 3 parts.
The company Senufru was founded in 1987.
The number of sales outlets has to be reduced.
You’ve officially been pimped. (typical sentence in ‘Pimp My Ride’ on MTV)
Your account will be closed as of today.
Each one of these sentences is passive. Each one would sound heavy-handed and awkward when
phrased in the active.
My mother bore me in 1984 ???

When writing this report I divided it into 3 parts ???
Conclusion: in many cases the passive is the most effective mode to formulate, especially emphasis is
on the action and not the agent (the one carrying out the action).
How to make a passive sentence?

Correct tense of “to be” + past participle of the main verb
(1) Decide which tense you want to use. Time indications help you decide!
simple present (general information)
present continuous (actions going on now, Dutch ‘aan het doen’)
simple past (completely over)
present perfect (lasting up to now)
(2) Now form this tense with “to be”

simple present (I am)
present continuous (I am being)
simple past (I was)
present perfect (I have been)
(3) Now you add the past participle of the verb that you want to use
simple present (I am rewarded)
present continuous (I am being rewarded)
simple past (I was rewarded)
present perfect (I have been rewarded)
What is the past participle?

- It’s the third form of irregular verbs (to see-saw-seen).
- For the regular ones it’s the form ending on –ed. (worked, exercised)

127
How to make a passive sentence with modal verbs
two possibilities: now and in the past
she should be rewarded (now – the present infinitive of “to be”)

"ze moet beloond worden"
she should have been rewarded (in the past – the past infinitive of “to be”)
"ze had moeten beloond worden"
How to make a passive sentence with "have to"
I have to build a house >>> a house has to BE built.

I had to build a house >>> a house had to BE built.
I will have to build a house >>> a house will have to BE built.
Dutch and English: different tense systems in the past!
NU: Ik bouw een huis >>> Het huis wordt gebouwd

VERLEDEN: Ik bouwde een huis >>> Het huis is gebouwd / werd gebouwd
NOW: I build a house >>> The house is built

PAST: I built a house >>> The house was built
Compare: Ik ben geboren in 1987 versus I was born in 1987.
Fill out the correct passive tense form. But before you do, first decide on the tense to be used:
simple present, simple past, present continuous, present perfect.
I ……………………………………, but I’ve come anyway. (to invite – not)
Since 2003 the revenue ……………………….. (to double).
In the last 6 months the number of employees …………………. by 5 percent (to raise)
She …………………………………….. that she is not wanted here? (to tell)
In 2003 my best friend ………………………. by Fortis. (to fire)
Excuse the mess. The house ………………………………………. (to paint)
This house …………………… in 1973. (to build)
The company ……………………….. 6 years ago. (to found)
Some 3,000,000 € worth of investment …………………………… in the last six months. (to raise)
I ……………………… by Mr Kentridge to write a report on Q3. (to ask)
She ………………………………… to cooperate. (ze zal moeten gedwongen worden).

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Exercise: translate these sentences. Pay attention to tenses!
Het sollicitatiegesprek wordt net nu gevoerd.
De vergadering zal geopend worden door mevrouw Sloane.
Gisteren werd de vergadering voorgezeten (to chair) door meneer Keanes.
De vergaderzaal wordt net gereinigd (to clean). - De vergaderzaal is toch gisteren al gereinigd?
Deze informatie kan worden gevonden in uw dossier.
Deze informatie is misschien vergeten geweest door uw boekhouder. (“misschien”: use the correct
modal verb)
Het budget moet verlaagd zijn door onze directeur. Hoe dom, het budget had moeten verhoogd zijn
door onze directeur.
Ik moet nu de Zwitserse klanten contacteren. – Ja, ze hadden vorige week moeten gecontacteerd
zijn.
One structure in Dutch, 4 in English
Which sentence is passive, which active? Which tense would you use?
We zijn gisteren gewonnen. =
We zijn deze week drie keer gewonnen. =
We zijn gisteren verrast. =
We zijn deze week drie keer verrast. =
Fill out this scheme.
Active, simple past Passive, simple past

De prijs is vorige maand sterk gestegen. Het personeel is vorige maand beloond.
Active, present perfect Passive, present perfect

De prijs is dit jaar sterk gestegen. Het personeel is dit jaar beloond.
Translation of impersonal construction “er is” + past participle
“Er is” or “er zijn” can be translated literally as “there is” or “there are”. However, if followed by a
past participle, this technique of an impersonal construction is impossible in English. Instead,
rephrase the structure without “er” in Dutch and translate.
Er is een probleem. >>> There’s a problem.

Er zijn problemen. >>> There are problems.
Er is een probleem gevonden. >>> A problem has been detected.
Er werd gisteren een fout gemaakt. >>> An error was made yesterday.
Er wordt een vergadering belegd. >>> A meeting is planned.

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Translate these structures, paying attention to differences with Dutch.
Er wordt morgen een vergadering gehouden (to hold)
Er werd vorig jaar een goede winst gemaakt.
Er worden in dit kwartaal meer producten verkocht.
Er werd drie keer naar mij gebeld. (to phone a person).
Er is gisteren niets beloofd.
Er wordt naar een oplossing gezocht.
Er wordt op dit moment voor u gezorgd.
Er wordt een groot verlies gerapporteerd bij Colruyt.
Er werden vorig jaar vijf studies besteld.
Er werd geen rekening gehouden met mogelijke investeringen. (to take into account)
Er zijn dit jaar al vijf Oostenrijkse kopers gecontacteerd.
Er zijn gisteren twee bedrijven gefusioneerd.
Er zijn in de loop van deze maand twee nieuwe transportbanden geïnstalleerd.

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6.3 Modality
Modal auxiliary verbs
can could
will would
may might
shall should
must
need to
ought to
(have to)
Typical (but not for “have to”):

• no s in 3d person!
• Negation and question: no “do” (“I can’t, can I?” versus “I don’t work, do I?”)
Translation of “kunnen”
Now: I can invest in Colruyt.

I’m able to invest in Colruyt.
In the past: I could invest in Colruyt (but I didn’t do it – general ability)

I was able to invest in Colruyt (which I did – specific action)
I succeeded in investing in Colruyt.
I managed to invest in Colruyt.
In the future: I will be able to invest in Colruyt.
Translation of “moeten”
Now: You have to study a bit more.

You must study a bit more.
You should study a bit more. (difference?)
Madam, must we do this exercise?

Madam, do we have to do this exercise? (difference?)
In the past: Yesterday I had to (***must ≠ “moest”!) work till 7pm.
Negation of obligation/permission (“niet mogen” vs “niet hoeven”)
You can’t go there.

You mustn’t go there.
You shouldn’t go there.
You don’t have to go there.
What’s the difference?

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Translate:
Vorige week kon ik 3 km op 45 minuten zwemmen.
Volgend jaar zullen we vijf nieuwe werknemers kunnen aannemen.
Moet ik nu echt naar bed gaan om 8 uur?
We kunnen ongeveer 1 miljoen euro besparen.
Moeten we de omzet niet berekenen?
Gisteren kon ik Margot vragen om naar de fuif te gaan, maar ik vroeg Cindy.
Vorige week kon het aandeel van Colruyt stijgen tot 70 euro.
Kon jij al goed Engels spreken toen je 16 was?
Je moet deze oefening niet maken.
Je mag deze oefening niet maken.
Het management mag deze werknemers niet ontslaan. In de plaats daarvan moeten ze mensen
aanwerven.
Moet je morgen om 8 beginnen? Neen, ik moet niet, maar ik mag niet later dan om 9 beginnen.

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Levels of formality
LESS FORMAL Can I come in?

Can you open the window?
Could I come in?

Could you open the window?
May I come in? May I?
Would it be OK with you if I came in?

Would it be OK with you if I opened the window?
Would you mind me coming in?

MORE FORMAL
Would you mind me opening the window?
Would you open the window please?
would you like.
Exercise: Ask somebody if you can check her data. Use 3 levels of formality.
Exercise: You are in a train compartment that is very stuffy. You address passengers to ask for their
permission to open a window. Give 3 ways, with rising level of formality.

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Levels of probability
IMPROBABLE Frank is not ill.
Frank might be ill.

Frank could be ill.
Frank may be ill.

Fran can be ill.
Frank probably is ill.

CERTAIN
Frank is ill.
Frank must be ill.
might: 20% probability, or, as in this case: 100%...
Exercise: Say "Je hebt gelijk" in 4 ways, ranging from very improbable to pure fact.
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Exercise: You work as a management assistant. You come up with 4 DIFFERENT mistakes in
documents. List them. Use modal verbs to explain the probability a mistake has been made.
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Levels of urging
FORBIDDEN You can't smoke.

You mustn't smoke.
You could help a bit. (suggestion level)

You might help a bit.
You had better stop smoking. (advice level)

You need to stop smoking. (advice)
You ought to stop smoking. (advice)
OBLIGATION You should stop smoking. (moral obligation)

You have to stop smoking. (objective obligation)
You must stop smoking. (subjective obligation)
Exercise: Give a person 3 items of advice for his/her life. Vary in levels of urging.
(e.g.: smoking, reading less comics, studying more, going out every weekend, …)
Exercise: You forbid a person to use his/her mobile phone during the meeting. Use in the two
sentences another modal verb.
Exercise: "Je zou die film toch ns moeten zien." Say this sentence 5 times, going from weak obligation
to absolute obligation.

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Levels of downplaying/stressing
NEGATION That's not an informative article. It’s not empty. She’s not pretty.
DOWNPLAYING That's a quite informative article. (ironical) She's quite pretty
That's a fairly informative article.

She's fairly pretty.
That's a quite informative article.
That's a pretty informative article. She's rather pretty.
That's a rather informative article.
She's quite a pretty girl.
That's quite an informative article. The glass is virtually/ practically

That's a very informative article. empty.
That's a highly informative article. She does have a pretty face.
STRESSING That's an amazingly informative article.
She's very pretty.
She's amazingly pretty.
Exercise: Write an article about courses of your curriculum. Explain how relevant, interesting, boring,
challenging … they are, and use AT LEAST 7 different expressions from above.
Exercise: You want to recommend a customer 3 possible actions to optimize her investment portfolio
(e.g. opting for a safe currency like the Swiss franc instead of a more volatile currency like the dollar.
Compare and stress their returns by using modal adverbs.
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7 Discussion and meeting
7.1 Discussion idioms

A refresher for basic vocabulary to express your opinion.
Structuring your statement

Beginning
To start with I believe …
I’d like to begin by…. ing
Expressing your ideas/opinions/views
In general, generally speaking, on the whole
I’d like to make several points …. Firstly/secondly/thirdly ….
Furthermore, moreover, I would like to add
on the one hand, on the other hand
I (particularly) want to emphasize/highlight the fact that…
Closing
Finally, to sum up, all in all
Asking for an opinion

What’s your position on …?
What’s your view on…?
Agreeing completely
I agree (with you).
I absolutely / completely / entirely agree with you.
I can support your idea.
This is exactly my opinion.
I think we can agree on that.
Yes, you could actually be right.
You are right with what you are saying.
Agreeing partially
I agree with you to a certain extent/ up to a point , yet don’t you think that …
Have you thought about looking at it from a different angle?
I wonder if you have taken into account that …
Shouldn’t you take into account that …
Aren’t there more sides to this issue?
Maybe you are a bit hasty in saying that …
What you are saying is fine, but I’m still rather unhappy about …
Yes, you could also look at it from this point of view.
Disagreeing tactfully
I am not quite sure if I can agree.
Could it be that you got something wrong here?
I am afraid I cannot follow your argument.
I’m sorry but I really can’t agree with you on that.
I am afraid I cannot support that idea.
There seems to be a slight misunderstanding. Perhaps I should clarify what I said.

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Paraphrasing
So what you're saying is …
So you think …
So actually you would claim that
So, if I understand you well, the company should …
Interrupting/taking control of the discussion

Sorry to break in, but …
Excuse me, but I would like to say a few words about that.
Sorry for interrupting. May I just ask a question?
I’m afraid I can’t comment on that yet/at this stage
If I may just interrupt you for a moment, I’d like to …
I don’t want to interrupt, but can I just say that …
Could I just make a few comments, please?
Allow me to add a few comments.
Modality: levels of downplaying/stressing

That's quite/fairly/pretty interesting!
That's really not bad at all!
That's quite right.
You're entirely vs slightly off the point.
You're entirely vs slightly mistaken there.
That’s completely / rather / slightly off the point.
The very simple stuff students tend to forget
How do you show interest?

Really? Right. No way. That’s interesting.
Hmmm. Okay. That's interesting. You may have a point there.
Quite right. Well said. Well put. Absolutely.
Exactly. Oh no. No kidding. I’m not sure.
Discourse markers, “fillers”

Let's see Well, Actually, As a matter of fact,
Let me see Erm, Well, you know, Hard to say, but
How shall I put it, You know, If you ask me, Really,
… like … Mmm… Basically, So,
Believe me, Right?

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7.2 Meeting language
Highlight with a marker pen idiomatic expressions that could be used in any meeting, i.e., “meeting
language”.
Introductions
Meeting Chairman: If we are all here, let's get started. First of all, I'd like you to please join me in
welcoming Jack Peterson, our Southwest Area Sales Vice President.
Jack Peterson: Thank you for having me, I'm looking forward to today's meeting.
Meeting Chairman: I'd also like to introduce Margaret Simmons who recently joined our team.
Margaret Simmons: May I also introduce my assistant, Bob Hamp.
Meeting Chairman: Welcome Bob. I'm afraid our national sales director, Anne Trusting, can't be with
us today. She is in Kobe at the moment, developing our Far East sales force.
Reviewing Past Business
Meeting Chairman: Let's get started. We're here today to discuss ways of improving sales in rural
market areas. First, let's go over the report from the last meeting which was held on June 24th. Right,
Tom, over to you.
Tom Robbins: Thank you Mark. Let me just summarize the main points of the last meeting. We began
the meeting by approving the changes in our sales reporting system discussed on May 30th. After
briefly revising the changes that will take place, we moved on to a brainstorming session concerning
after sales customer support improvements. You'll find a copy of the main ideas developed and
discussed in these sessions in the photocopies in front of you. The meeting was declared closed at
11.30.
Beginning the Meeting
Meeting Chairman: Thank you Tom. So, if there is nothing else we need to discuss, let's move on to
today's agenda. Have you all received a copy of today's agenda? If you don't mind, I'd like to skip
item 1 and move on to item 2: Sales improvement in rural market areas. Jack has kindly agreed to
give us a report on this matter. Jack?
Discussing Items
Jack Peterson: Before I begin the report, I'd like to get some ideas from you all. How do you feel
about rural sales in your sales districts? I suggest we go round the table first to get all of your input.
John Ruting: In my opinion, we have been focusing too much on urban customers and their needs.
The way I see things, we need to return to our rural base by developing an advertising campaign to
focus on their particular needs.
Alice Linnes: I'm afraid I can't agree with you. I think rural customers want to feel as important as our
customers living in cities. I suggest we give our rural sales teams more help with advanced customer
information reporting.
Donald Peters: Excuse me, I didn't catch that. Could you repeat that, please?
Alice Linnes: I just stated that we need to give our rural sales teams better customer information
reporting.

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John Ruting: I don't quite follow you. What exactly do you mean?
Alice Linnes: Well, we provide our city sales staff with database information on all of our larger
clients. We should be providing the same sort of knowledge on our rural customers to our sales staff
there.
Jack Peterson: Would you like to add anything, Jennifer?
Jennifer Miles: I must admit I never thought about rural sales that way before. I have to agree with
Alice.
Jack Peterson: Well, let me begin with this Power Point presentation (Jack presents his report).
Jack Peterson: As you can see, we are developing new methods to reach out to our rural customers.
John Ruting: I suggest we break up into groups and discuss the ideas we've seen presented.
Finishing the Meeting
Meeting Chairman: Unfortunately, we're running short of time. We'll have to leave that to another
time.
Jack Peterson: Before we close, let me just summarize the main points:
Rural customers need special help to feel more valued.

Our sales teams need more accurate information on our customers.
A survey will be completed to collect data on spending habits in these areas.
The results of this survey will be delivered to our sales teams
We are considering specific data mining procedures to help deepen our understanding.
Meeting Chairman: Thank you very much Jack. Right, it looks as though we've covered the main
items Is there any other business?
Donald Peters: Can we fix the next meeting, please?
Meeting Chairman: Good idea Donald. How does Friday in two weeks time sound to everyone? Let's
meet at the same time, 9 o'clock. Is that OK for everyone? Excellent. I'd like to thank Jack for coming
to our meeting today. The meeting is closed.
(Taken over from: About.com: English as a second language.

http://esl.about.com/cs/onthejobenglish/a/a_meetex.htm

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Communicative actions in meetings
Check the expressions below. Make sure you understand how they are used. Choose the ones you
feel comfortable with. Pronounce them several times aloud, to make them your own.
opening
Good morning everyone.
If we’re all here, let’s get started.
The purpose of the meeting this morning is…
On the agenda we have four issues.
First … then we move on to … and finally we have to …
agenda
Have you all received a copy of the agenda?
The agenda contains four items: first …, secondly, …, then … and finally four, we …
Let’s tackle all points in this order.
We skip item 1 and move on to the second issue, …
I suggest we take item 2 last.
Ann, would you mind taking minutes?
changing the subject

Ok, we’ll now move on to…
I think we should leave this point and come back to it later.
Let us first settle the date of our event.
signalling
I’d like to make a suggestion.
Well, one thing we could do is…
I think we’ll probably have to…
It might be better to…
May I have a word?
If I may, I think …
Excuse me for interrupting, …
May I come in here? We could of course …
If you ask me, I tend to think that …
I’d like to make several points. Firstly, …
positive comment
Good point!
I get your point.
I think that’s interesting because …
I like your idea, because…
I like in particular the stress you put on …
That would be very helpful.
That could mean a real improvement.
That’s exactly the way I feel.
I see what you mean.
That’s exactly my opinion.
Yes, you could actually be right.

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expressing dissatisfaction
I don’t think that would do much good.
I really don’t believe that would work out, because…
It won’t work. It just won’t work.
That’s a highly debatable point.
I’m not quite sure if I can agree.
Could it be that you got something wrong here?
I’m afraid I canno follow your argument.
I’m sorry but I really can’t agree with you on that.
I’m afraid I cannot support that idea.
expressing disagreement in subtle ways

I’m very sorry, but I’m afraid that…
I’m terribly sorry, but…
I’m sorry to have to say this, but…
I think you may have forgotten…
It may have slipped your mind, but…
I believe there are many interesting things in what you are saying. However, I have the impression
you leave out a few important aspects.
Up to a point I agree with you, but …
To a certain extent I agree with you. However, …
I agree with you to a certain extent / up to a point, yet don’t you think that …
Right, looking at it from a different angle …
Shouldn’t you take into account that …
Maybe you’re a bit hasty in saying that …
What you are saying is fine, but I’m still rather unhappy about …
There seems to be a misunderstanding about…
Before we move on to adapting that strategy, we have to take a lot of preliminary steps. Have you
thought of …
Yes, you could also look at it from this point of view.
expressing feelings
No, my main concern is …
Actually, I’m more concerned with …
showing sympathy
I know how you feel about this.
I know how important this is to you.
I know what you mean.
showing interest
Really? That’s interesting.
That sounds like a viable/efficient/promising solution/strategy/proposal.
Sounds promising. Sounds great!
looking for support

That’s fair enough, isn’t it?
Well, that’s about it. What do you think of it?
That would be my suggestion. What’s missing?
Is there any area I haven’t covered?

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asking for verification or clarification

Could you tell me some more about…?
I’d also like to know…
There’s something else I’d like to know…
Can you give us some more details about…
You did say “next week”, didn’t you?
Do you mean that …?
Are you saying….?
What exactly do you mean by …?
Could you be more specific please?
So what you are saying is…
Sorry, I don’t follow you.
interrupting / taking control

Sorry to break in, but …
Excuse me, but I’d like to say a few words about that.
Sorry for interrupting, may I just ask a question?
If I may … If I may just interrupt you for a moment, I’d like to …
Could I just make a few comments please?
making suggestions
Another option would be to …
Alternatively, we could …
How about …? What if we …? Why don’t we …? Couldn’t we just …?
Maybe it’s time we …
I’d say, let’s go for …
identifying the real problem

I have the impression this leads to nothing.
What is really bothering you?
What is the real issue at stake?
emphasizing
I’d just like to highlight…
I’d like to emphasize that …
I keep going on about it, but…
There seems to be a slight misunderstanding. Perhaps I should clarify what I said: …
Expressing doubt or possibility

75% certain Sales are likely to increase.
I expect that sales will increase.
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if sales increased.
50% certain It’s quite possible that sales will increase.

Sales may well increase.
There’s a chance that sales will increase.
Sales might increase, we don’t know for sure.
25% certain Sales are unlikely to increase.

Sales probably won’t increase.

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referring to visuals
Let’s take a look at the chart/slide/picture
I invite you all to examine carefully the chart at hand.
involving participants
We haven’t heard from you yet, Ann.
What do you think about this proposal?
Would you like to add anything to that, Frank?
Has anyone else got anything to contribute?
Ann, can you take us through the annual report of our competitors?
Nick, what’s your opinion of this strategy?
Isabelle, what’s your view on this strategy?
saying nothing
I’m afraid I can’t comment on that at this stage.
That’s very difficult to say/determine/forecast. We still don’t know all details.
keeping the meeting on target

We’re running short of time.
Please be brief, we only have half an hour left.
I’m afraid we have run out of time.
I’m afraid that’s outside the scope of this meeting.
Let’s get back on track, will we?
That’s not really why we’re here today.
Let’s return to the main focus of today’s meeting.
We’ll have to leave that to another time.
I think we’d better leave that for another meeting.
voting
Let’s simply vote on this issue.
All of you in favour of adapting/implementing/hiring/contacting/... raise your hand.
All of you opposing the proposal raise your hand.
Five are in favour, five are against. That’s a tie.
Eight are in favour, two against. That’s a clear majority, proposal has been accepted.
Two in favour, eight against. Proposal has been rejected.
summarizing
Can we just summarize the points we’ve agreed so far?
Right then, let’s see what we’ve got.
If you’ll allow me, I’ll quickly summarize the results of our meeting.
So we’re agreed. You will tackle X and I will contact Mrs. Y.
Ending
Right, it looks as though we’ve covered the main issues.
So, we will have to wrap up this meeting.
So, I have the impression it’s a wrap.
Thank you all for this fruitful discussion.
Let’s bring this to a close for today.
Can we set the date for a next meeting?
What about next Wednesday at 10 am? How is that?
The meeting is closed, I thank you all.

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8. Business topics
8.1 How to enhance motivation and performance in

our company?
Watch source 1, the TED talk by Dan Pink:
- Could you explain “extrinsic” and “intrinsic” motivation giving examples of your own?
- Why is “extrinsic” somehow linked to the past and “intrinsic” to the future? Can you link this to the
nature of the jobs and the job expectations?
- What does “AMP” stand for? Can you give examples for each one focusing on e.g. “being a student
of Organisation & Management at Odisee”?
Read source 2:
- What is the “traditional” (negative) view of performance reviews?
- What is the purpose of good performance review?
- Make a list of keywords standing for characteristics of good, effective appraisal meetings
- What should be your attitude if you do not like the process you undergo?
Read source 3:
- A definition of the 360-degree appraisal method?
- What can 360° performance appraisal add?
- And how do employees perceive it generally?
- What could be setbacks? In which situations may 360-degree appraisal backfire?
Read source 4:
- What are major emerging trends in appraisal and performance measuring? Can you give examples
for each trend?
Read source 5:
- Take a look at the Wikipedia article “law of unintended consequences” to understand the concept.
Select 3 simple stories you would be able to narrate in a few sentences and which illustrate the
concept of “good intentions, unintended consequences”.
- Take a look at the article. Can you explain “Goodheart’s Law”? And what are KPIs? What do they
have to do with performance measuring?
- What is your key takeaway on Goodheart’s Law when adapted to performance measuring?

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Source 1
Dan Pink’s TEDtalk on motivation nicely conveys a few key concepts to broaden your idea of what
performance and motivation entails:
https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_the_puzzle_of_motivation
Source 2
PERFORMANCE REVIEWS: MORE THAN JUST

TICKING BOXES
Done properly, performance reviews can progress your career and benefit your
employer. Here's how to make the most of them
Performance reviews can be an annual rigmarole: managers tick boxes, set goals which might bear no
real relation to your day job and are disconnected from actual business needs. Worst of all, some can
end up being less about your work, and more about personalities and flexing managerial muscles.
We come across all kinds of horror stories in our work: someone whose appraisal consisted of being
asked to sign a pre-written statement; bosses only interested in talking rather than listening; and
strict time limits that put a stop to any conversation.
But it's important people know what performance reviews should really be like so you can give
feedback and steer your employer to an approach that works for both of you. Smart reviews will help
you progress and feel wanted, and the organisation will benefit from what you do. If you're not getting
what you need, or feel your line manager isn't putting in the right level of preparation for the meeting,
you should have the confidence to ask for change.
A standard performance review fulfils two distinct purposes: to look back on progress and
achievements in the past year, and prepare an individual development plan for your future success.
First, your boss should have a good knowledge and understanding of what you do and have
undertaken some preparation. Some organisations ask their employees to take along examples of
work that demonstrate their contribution. This is a good exercise and can be useful to avoid the
session being carried out at a general level.
Other organisations use "360-degree feedback", including comments from the full circle of people you
work with, colleagues, and supplier firms. Others do "skip level" feedback, a review with your bosses'
boss. Both of these approaches are valuable because they encourage different perspectives beyond the
agenda of your immediate manager.
Next should come the goals for the coming year. You should leave a review meeting with some new
impetus: you know what you need to do, what good performance looks like, and why that's important
for you and the organisation. Your manager should be specific about what success is for your role and
articulate the relationship between your daily tasks and behaviours, and what this means for the
organisation's own objectives.
Your review in general needs to be focused on the outcomes rather than on just the individual tasks.
But there shouldn't be too many goals. A manager should be able to understand everything you're
involved with and prioritise what really matters for you. Development guides are sometimes used to
spell out what kinds of actions and behaviours are required and what to aim for. It's inevitably
divisive, but attaching financial rewards to performance ratings can help to give more obvious
significance to the review process and an incentive for you and your boss to take it seriously.

146
You should feel the review is part of a partnership, not something imposed on you from above. So
once the paperwork has been done, your boss should be involved in what happens next, either
providing support and coaching or making sure there's the right environment to develop. This might
include ensuring time, training budget or different kinds of work experience are provided, for
example.
The ideal situation is for ongoing conversations to be taking place between managers and their staff,
so that the performance review becomes less about looking back, and more a straightforward focus on
how to make progress and help the organisation.
Given how fundamental performance reviews are to setting a direction for your daily working life, you
have every right to challenge your boss if the approach isn't working. If you've recently completed a
review and have nagging doubts, ask for a face-to-face catchup to discuss the next steps and outcomes
from the discussion. Be diplomatic: stress the importance of an effective process to get the best from
you rather than failings on their part, but be clear about what is going to be most helpful to you and
your role.
It may be the system – or lack of system – within the organisation which is the underlying problem. If
this is the case, give some constructive feedback and suggestions to the HR department. Remember
that, no matter how frustrating your experience of existing performance reviews might be, you need to
work within the system: feedback and requests for more clarity, support and an idea of how your role
affects the business results is all valid and useful, but outright rejection isn't.
Susy Roberts is director of people development consultancy Hunter Roberts
This article appeared in The Guardian, online version 15 January 2013

https://www.theguardian.com/careers/careers-blog/performance-reviews-more-than-ticking-boxes
Source 3
360-Degree Appraisal: Pros and Cons of Multi-Rater

Feedback
Can you get a full picture of an employee’s performance with a 360-degree appraisal? That’s the
question businesses want to know when implementing this popular technique, which asks managers,
peers, direct reports and even clients to offer employee feedback.
While 360-degree appraisals are more of a developmental tool than a rating tool, many organizations
integrate this performance review system with other evaluation tools to accelerate improvement
company-wide. In this article, we discuss what the 360-degree appraisal is and explore the advantages
and disadvantages of asking for feedback from multiple sources.
What is a 360-degree appraisal?
A 360-degree performance appraisal, also known as 360-degree feedback or multi-rater feedback, is

when employers evaluate employee performance from as many sources as possible, instead of only
one-on-one feedback from a direct manager. Once all the feedback is collected, it is used to measure
employee strengths, weaknesses and skills and can provide a well-rounded performance review. If the
360-degree performance appraisal is well designed, it can boost team performance, promote self-
awareness and create transparent communication. However, there are also some drawbacks to the
360-degree appraisal method if it's not executed properly.

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Advantages of 360-degree appraisals
There are many pros to using the 360-degree feedback method, such as motivating employee
engagement, a transparent feedback process and improving overall efficiency of feedback. Here are
some of the upsides of using this evaluation technique:
Because the 360-degree feedback comes from so many different sources, the information collected is
broader and therefore has the potential to be more accurate. It may be possible to notice recurring
patterns and themes from the feedback. As the number of respondents increases, there is a better idea
of an employee's behavior, work and relationships. Clients, customers, colleagues and other sources of
feedback provide information that wouldn't otherwise be possible to know. Employees are more likely
to take feedback into consideration when it comes from multiple sources instead of just one person.
Theoretically, when a team is able to identify all of their strengths and weakness as individuals and as
a team, they have the knowledge and motivation necessary to make changes and improvements. When
employees know what behaviors they need to develop and improve, they can become better workers as
individuals and become better collaborators with their team, which results in a more productive and
positive work environment.
It can be a positive experience to see how others perceive you in the workplace. Those who take part in
the 360-degree feedback have the opportunity to anonymously share what they feel about their
colleagues. It's not very often that coworkers have the opportunity to know what others think of them.
It is important that participants are able to handle the feedback without feeling upset by focusing on a
growth mindset and the opportunity to grow personally and professionally.
Generally, employees like to receive feedback and the 360-degree appraisal method resolves any
issues with a lack of frequent feedback. This multi-rater feedback provides employees with a chance to
receive more feedback and more frequent feedback from a wide variety of sources. Often, employees
also perceive the feedback as being more accurate and more fair since it comes from multiple sources.
360-degree feedback is typically provided and received anonymously. There are some advantages to
anonymous feedback, like helping employees to feel more comfortable about the feedback they want
to share, especially when it comes to negative or constructive feedback.
Employees are able to develop a sense of self-awareness about their strengths and weakness when
using 360-degree feedback. This awareness can motivate employees to work towards self
improvement, develop new skills and improve existing skills. This self-awareness can also bridge the
difference between how employees see themselves and the opinions others have of them.
Skills gaps can affect individual employees and their organization as a whole. Personal and
organizational gaps in training are identifiable with the 360-degree performance appraisal. The
feedback provides an overall understanding of individual, departmental and organizational skill
competency and finds particular areas where there are issues with training so management can
implement training programs.
360-degree feedback can boost morale and help employees and managers to work together better.
When used correctly, the feedback can build trust, increase communication, improve overall
performance and encourage teams to reach mutual goals. It can also help employees to align their
goals with the organization's goals and see a clearer picture of the skills they need to be successful.
One of the biggest benefits to the 360-degree appraisal method is insight and understanding of an
employee's role in the company. It helps employees to see beyond their daily tasks and outcomes and
identify how their role contributes to the organization. Managers are able to better understand how an
employee fits in with the team and get a glimpse at other nuanced feedback besides just finished work
assignments.
Increased transparency from 360-degree feedback can lead to developing trust between coworkers. An
increase in transparency and trust may enhance decision making, increase performance and build a

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solid foundation of knowledge, all of which has the potential to increase revenue. When used
intentionally, 360-degree feedback can let organizations generate ideas, improve operations, make
positive changes and tap into unrealized potential.
Disadvantages of 360-degree appraisals
While there are many advantages to using the 360-degree feedback method, there can be some
potential drawbacks, such as creating conflicts, lowering morale and limiting upward career paths.
Here are some of the downsides of using the 360-degree performance appraisal evaluation technique:
It can take significant time to complete a 360-degree performance appraisal. It takes time for the
sources to participate in answering the questions thoughtfully and for the supervisors or HR
employees to read through the material and analyze it with insight. The quality and amount of
feedback often comes at the cost of lost time. Weighing the feedback and compiling it all into one
performance review document with customized software can expedite the process. It can also be
helpful to determine whether the feedback is worth the time invested.
Some managers may have the temptation to use 360-degree feedback to focus on the negative aspects
of employee performance rather than develop and encourage the positive aspects. Too much
negativity can lead to resentment and feelings of fear or anger. Managers can be mindful of this
possibility and focus on balancing both negative and positive feedback, teaching about constructive
criticism and turning negative comments into beneficial actionable statements.
If a lack of trust exists among coworkers, they may not offer honest feedback, but rather just say what
they think people want to hear. If the feedback is not honest then it is likely also inaccurate, which is
not very useful. A small close-knit team may be afraid of being too critical, and a very large team may
not know each other well enough to give an accurate assessment. Prevent this situation by setting up
clear guidelines and being transparent about expectations with 360-degree feedback.
It's important to follow through on communicating what managers learned from the 360-degree
performance appraisal and how they plan to address the feedback. If the participants feel like the 360-
degree feedback was just busy work or a useless exercise, then there may not be any tangible growth or
positive change, trust in leadership may deplete and engagement may go down. Leadership can
prevent this from happening by following through with an action plan based on the feedback results.
While anonymous feedback with the 360-degree performance appraisal may make some employees
more comfortable and able to share their opinions more freely, the opposite can happen as well. Some
employees may not feel the need to take the 360-degree feedback seriously or may use the anonymity
to be overly negative, critical or focused on weaknesses.
Often organizations go about introducing and using the 360-degree appraisal method poorly. It's
important to go about using the evaluation method with the right steps, such as introducing the
method properly and with positivity and maximizing the value of the feedback. This is especially
important when changing from one type of performance feedback to another and when it might affect
employees' compensation or positions.
An article from the online career guide “Indeed”, published 8 March 2021
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/360-degree-appraisal

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Source 4
TOP THREE TRENDS IN PERFORMANCE

MANAGEMENT IN 2022
Jessica Kriegel
Forbes Councils Member
Jessica Kriegel, EdD, is Chief People and Culture Officer at Experience.com.
As a workplace culture expert who's guided industry leaders at Oracle, Toyota, Lockheed Martin and
the Federal Reserve, I’ve had the opportunity to observe a host of varied management styles. Over
time, my insights led me to create and implement intentional cultures that were directly responsible
for accelerating performance. As we emerge from the cocoon of the pandemic and the impact it’s had
on business as we knew it, I’ve come to see three top trends in performance management:
1. Impact of hybrid work
2. More continuous feedback and check-ins
3. Using performance data gathered in real time
Performance Management Trend No. 1: Impact Of Hybrid Work
What does flexibility mean? While employees are looking for more flexible work situations, it has
managers wondering, “what does flexible work really mean?”
There are two areas of flexibility that need to be considered: location and time.
Some jobs can be performed remotely but have fixed timelines. For example, customer service support
roles need to be performed during business hours. Other jobs need to be performed at a specific
location but can be carried out at any time. For example, a stocking position tends to be more
deadline-driven. Stockers can manage inventory and move things around by a specific date and time,
but the work can often be performed during or outside business hours.
When employees say they want flexible schedules, they can also mean that they’d like to arrive at work
by say 10:30 a.m. and leave by 6:30 p.m. instead of the typical 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. schedule. Workers
often prefer this type of schedule when they don’t need to continuously collaborate and when the
primary goal is just to get the work done on time.
Employers need to ask clarifying questions to make sure they understand what type of flexibility
employees really want. Flexible work arrangements, like a hybrid work solution, may be possible
depending on the role, workplace needs and other details.
A great solution to balancing employee desire for flexibility with employers’ preference for onsite work
is a hybrid work solution. What that looks like for each individual company and employee will vary,
but it often looks like allowing employees to work from home for a few days a week and coming into
the office for the remainder. Some positions don’t fit a flexible work situation but many do.
Performance Management Trend No. 2: More Continuous Feedback And Check-Ins
Continuous feedback will be a major cornerstone in performance management this year. Mercer's
2019 Global Performance Management Study found that only "2% of companies feel their
performance management approach delivers exceptional value." That’s a lot of room for improvement
for the majority of companies.
By changing the approach to include more continuous feedback and employee check-ins it can be
easier to provide the needed real-time resources for improvement and growth. By documenting a plan

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for continuous feedback and annual performance reviews, everyone in the company will be more likely
to comply and see the results of building a culture of continuous improvement and growth.
A plan that dictates processes based on continuous feedback and performance management enhances
the employee experience. It allows real-time communication between employees, managers and HR
so that the data and processes that are critical to the company and employee growth can be managed
in one place.
Performance Management Trend No. 3: Using Performance Data Gathered In Real

Time
Organizations can no longer rely on "gut feelings" and biases to make important decisions.
Competition for top talent is more intense than ever. To remain competitive, organizations need to
make data-driven decisions that optimize performance, motivation and development.
To summarize, in this new world order, managers will be more likely to succeed if they:
• Exhibit flexibility to meet employees' needs.
• See communication not as something to be executed from the top down, but across the aisle.
• Acknowledge the importance of data and the realization that satisfaction, whether that is from an
employee experience (EX) or customer experience (CX) perspective, can and should be measured.
Overall, we can expect greater flexibility, communication and feedback as major themes in
performance management this year.
Forbes article from 13 May 2022, retrieved from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2022/05/13/top-three-trends-in-
performance-management-in-2022/

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Source 5
Before you read the article, quickly scan the Wikipedia article “Unintended consequences” to
understand the general idea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences
An article from “Truly Intelligent Business”, a corporate website on data management:
Using Goodhart’s Law to Ensure Your KPIs

Are Not Misused
Back in the 1970s, economist Charles Goodhart popularised a saying which has become known as
Goodhart’s Law:
“When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” *
The law warns against the natural human tendency to ‘game the system’. A popular example uses
performance targets in a nail factory: If you measure people on the number of nails they make, then
they will make lots of tiny nails to achieve the target. If, instead, you measure people on the weight of
nails they make, then they will make a few large, heavy nails to achieve the target.
This is obviously not meant to be taken literally, but it does illustrate the point well. Sometimes your
targets and KPIs don’t help you achieve your objectives and goals – human nature inevitably conspires
against you.
So What Can You Do to Avoid This?
For a start, just being aware of Goodhart’s Law puts you at an advantage. If your KPIs aren’t achieving
what they should, you can look at whether people are interpreting them differently to how you
expected, and plug any holes.
You can also try to formulate better targets in the first place – ones that aren’t subject to gaming. This
is easier said than done, of course, but there are a few rules of thumb you can follow:
• Divide and conquer – develop a range of KPIs that work together. It’s easy to work out how to stretch
the definition of one or two targets to game the system, it’s a lot harder when there are several of
them. So try to develop your KPIs strategically, foreseeing how they’ll be used, so that they cover all
scenarios. A balanced scorecard approach works well here.
• Be clear and complete – leave no wiggle room. The clearer and more complete your KPIs are, the less
people will be able to misinterpret them to their advantage in ways you didn’t foresee. So make sure
you haven’t left any gaps that could be exploited.
• Measure and control. Make sure that you have the appropriate governance and controls in place to
monitor your KPIs and make sure that they’re working as you intended.

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Better Performance Targets in the Nail Factory
So how can the nail factory we saw above use these rules of thumb to improve its KPIs?
• By targeting people on both the number and the weight of nails they produce (divide and conquer),
they can stop the balance shifting too far in either direction.
• By specifying the weight and size of the nails that should be produced (clear and complete), they can
ensure there is no room for misinterpretation. As a bonus, it’s also now sufficient to go back to a single
KPI (either number or weight of nails produced).
• Finally, by installing quality controls at key points in the manufacturing process, and employing
someone to be responsible for measuring output quality and ensuring KPIs are met (measure and
control), they can apply governance as a further defence against targets being misused.
By taking a similar approach – being aware of Goodhart’s Law, and using the rules of thumb above –
you too can move towards more effective KPIs that help you achieve your objectives and goals.

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8.2 We need change in our organization!
Read source 1
- Change isn’t always easy. Give three ways to cope with change fatigue.
- The bottomline of this article is: change should not be top-down, it should be firmly rooted in staff.
Give examples of this “bottom-up approach”.
Watch source 2
- Note down the acronym and fill out the words it is composed of.
- For each word: note down a few keywords that help you to understand the concept.
- Explain the difference between “knowledge” and “ability” using the golf example.
Read source 3 to form a general understanding of the ADKAR model

- Can you explain the 5 steps of the model in your own words?
- Would you say this is a top-down approach centered on outcomes or rather a bottom-up approach
centered on process?
Read source 4 to be able to “fill up” the model with a concrete example.
- Suppose you want to introduce a new system in education: no longer grades based on tests, but
grades based on motivation in class. Try to pinpoint for each step in the ADKAR model what you
have to do and what employees (in this case: teachers and students) have to know / do / avoid…?
- Can you imagine why many coaches working on organizational change management like to use
ADKAR?
Read source 5 to broaden your understanding of change management.

- As an introduction: the “fun theory of change” claims that the easiest way to change people’s
behaviour for the better is to make what they need to do fun. By making climbing the stairs more
fun (e.g. by turning stairs into piano keys), more people will ignore the elevator. Can you link this
theory to change management, a model of which we studied in the two previous texts? Where could
you see the link?
- A specific subtype of the “fun theory” is the “nudge theory”: you “nudge” people into behaviour by
making it easy and funny. Take a look at the examples in the text and try to understand why they
were successful.

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Source 1
EMPLOYEES ARE LOSING PATIENCE WITH

CHANGE INITIATIVES
by Cian O Morain and Peter Aykens
9 May 2023
Business transformation will remain at the forefront in 2023, as organizations continue to refine hybrid
ways of working and respond to the urgent need to digitalize, while also contending with inflation, a
continuing talent shortage, and supply-chain constraints. These circumstances, which require higher levels
of productivity and performance, also mean a lot of change: In 2022, the average employee experienced 10
planned enterprise changes — such as a restructure to achieve efficiencies, a culture transformation to
unlock new ways of working, or the replacement of a legacy tech system — up from two in 2016, according
to Gartner research.
While more change is coming, the workforce has hit a wall: A Gartner survey revealed that employees’
willingness to support enterprise change collapsed to just 43% in 2022, compared to 74% in 2016.
We call the gap between the required change effort and employee change willingness the “transformation
deficit.” Unless functional leaders steer swiftly and expertly, the transformation deficit will stymie
organizations’ ambitions and undermine the employee experience, fueling decreased engagement and
increased attrition.
The irony is that many of the goals of transformation — redesigning teams and structures, automating
drudge activities, reengineering corporate culture — seek to ease burnout and fatigue and increase
efficiency. Unfortunately, many leaders are approaching change management by applying short-term fixes,
which is unsustainable.
The Big Pitfall: Moving Too Fast
The most common mistake when it comes to change management today is trying to build momentum for
transformation by hitting the accelerator. A 2022 Gartner survey found that 75% of organizations are
adopting a top-down approach to change, where leaders set the change strategy, create detailed
implementation roadmaps, and deploy a high volume of change communications. Their goal is for workers
to buy into the new path and for managers to lead the charge as champions and role models for their teams.
Unfortunately, navigating the pandemic asked a lot of employees — and while they delivered, it came at a
cost. Relentless sprinting means many employees are running on fumes. Gartner research reveals the
following:
• Fifty-five percent of employees took a significant hit to their own health, their team relationships, and their work
environment to sustain high performance through the disruption.
• Only 36% of employees reported high trust in their organizations, with onsite workers reporting the least trust.
• Half of employees reported struggling to find the information or people they needed to do their job on an ever-increasing
volume of tasks.
Toward a More Sustainable Transformation
To get the most out of the change energy in your organization, Gartner analysis finds that leaders need to
focus on two elements: prioritized change and managing fatigue.

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Prioritized Change
Prioritized change means leaders show employees where to invest their energy by communicating their
backlog of priorities, including change initiatives. Without such guidance, employees are likely to give 110%
for each change, resulting in a blowout.
Many leadership teams already rank the most important organizational projects and initiatives, but that
knowledge often isn’t shared beyond leadership team discussions. Communicating this more broadly can
help teams more effectively manage their energy and efforts.
For example, IT leaders at The Cooperators, a Canadian insurance company, publish their priority progress
list to all employees every month. The visibility helps employees understand the mechanics of the business,
informing real and important judgments about where they should focus their attention.
Leaders must step back and consider the employee experience when determining the optimal speed for
implementing change initiatives. For example, IT leaders at Sky Cable, a Filipino telecom, created guidelines
for minimizing fatigue arising from a constant flow of technology changes. Their guidance includes “Design
solutions to be visually like old solutions,” and “During periods of high change, minimize process changes
that disrupt employee work.” They create a release calendar synched with the change efforts outside their
own department. As a result, IT leaders can spot the best times to deploy new improvements.
Prioritized change can help leaders identify any changes that should be scrapped altogether. If a change is
always at the bottom of your backlog and you continually delay it, it’s probably not critical.
Managing Change Fatigue

While organizational change management (OCM) is table stakes, fatigue management is a new change
management muscle that executives must build. Three actions can prevent the risk of change fatigue:
1. Build in periods of proactive rest to sustain change energy.
Remote and hybrid working has collapsed the distinction between work and life. In 2022, “workers [were]
still effectively giving away the equivalent of more than a working day (8.5 hours) of unpaid overtime each
week: less than in 2021 but still more than pre-pandemic,” according to payroll company ADP. But Gartner
analysis shows more time working does not result in higher performance.
Rest does increase performance — if it’s proactive. Organizations must rethink how they approach rest,
embedding it into the workflow to prevent burnout. Proactive rest should have three characteristics:
• Available: There is a robust set of options for employees to use to rest and stay charged. These
could include no-meeting days, defined working hours, planned “down time” within projects, or
all-company days off.
• Accessible: Employees are encouraged to take advantage of the available tools and resources and
to rest guilt-free.
• Appropriate: Those rest tools meet the individual needs of employees.
According to Gartner research, rest that is available, accessible, and appropriate contributes to a 26%
increase in employee performance and a tenfold reduction in the number of employees experiencing
burnout.
2. Move away from a top-down approach and open source your change plans.
Open-source change management embraces employees as active participants in change planning and
implementation. It requires three shifts in thinking:
• Involve employees in decision-making. This isn’t about allowing employees to vote on every
change; it means finding ways to infuse the voice of those most impacted into your planning.
Gartner research has found that this step alone can increase your change success by 15%. It makes

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change management a meritocracy, where you increase the odds that the best ideas and inputs are
included in decision-making.
• Shift implementation planning to employees. Leaders often don’t have enough visibility into
the daily workflows of their teams to dictate a successful change approach. And leaving the
workforce out of change implementation can increase resistance and failure. Gartner research has
found that when employees own implementation planning, change success increases by 24%.
• Engage in two-way conversations throughout the change process. Instead of focusing on
how you’ll sell the change to employees, think of communications as a way to surface employee
reactions. Holding regular, honest conversations about the change will allow employees to share
their questions and opinions, which will drive understanding and make them feel like they’re part
of the commitment to change. Gartner research has found that this step can increase change
success by 32%.
3. Reimagine the role of managers in change.
Many managers are struggling to balance the needs of their leaders with the expectations of their employees.
On top of this, managers are overwhelmed with change, too, making it difficult for them to effectively role
model all the changes. Only 57% of managers report having enough capacity in their day-to-day work to
support their teams through change.
Instead of asking managers to champion each and every change, leaders should instead challenge their
managers to act as resilience builders. Managers who build their teams’ ability to self-navigate through
change can increase employee sustainable performance by 29% and protect their own performance at the
same time.
These managers know that they don’t always have the time or skills to demonstrate what change looks like.
Instead, they ensure their teams learn by doing. They identify their employees’ strengths and motivations,
and they connect them to colleagues with the relevant experience that they can best learn from.
Taken together, the strategies of prioritized change and fatigue management will advance the fuel economy
of your 2023 transformation efforts, reducing drag and building momentum from employee energy.
Cian O Morain and Peter Aykens, “Employees are losing patience with change initiatives” in Harvard
Business Review (May 2023):
https://hbr.org/2023/05/employees-are-losing-patience-with-change-initiatives
Source 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_7I03LOyyk
The Prosci ADKAR Model: Prosci Tim Talks (4:18)

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Source 3
THE 5 ELEMENTS OF THE ADKAR MODEL
Organizational changes often fail because employees don’t understand the importance of getting on
board the change or how to successfully make the change. They simply understand that a change is
happening. And leaders are often not equipped to engage individuals effectively during the change and
to manage any potential resistance.
The ADKAR Model addresses these challenges by equipping leaders with the right strategies and tools,
and individuals with the right information, motivation and ability to successfully move through
changes in the organization.
By outlining the goals and outcomes of successful change, the ADKAR Model enables leaders and
change management teams to focus their activities on what will drive individual change and therefore
achieve organizational results.

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AWARENESS
Before looking at the contributing and resisting factors, there is an important but subtle nuance on
how awareness is defined in the model. In the ADKAR Model, the first building block is defined as
"awareness of the need for change," not simply "awareness that a change is happening.” This may
seem trivial at first, but it is an important distinction and is not merely semantics.
Building awareness as defined within ADKAR means sharing both the nature of the change and
answering why this change is necessary. It means clearly explaining the business drivers or
opportunities that have resulted in the need for change. It also means addressing why a change is
needed now, and explaining the risk of not changing. Remember, we have only succeeded at building
awareness when an employee says, "I understand the nature of the change and why this change is
needed." This is the power and essence of an individual change management model.
It is easy to jump straight to knowledge. Rather than investing the time and energy in campaigns to
build awareness and desire, some change management practitioners will immediately put employees
in training as a way to encourage individual change. The result is easy to predict; employees show up
for training but sit with their arms crossed wondering why they are there. Without the prerequisite
awareness and desire, efforts to build knowledge will not be successful and can actually create more
resistance.
Lack of awareness has been cited as the number one reason for employee resistance in Prosci's latest
benchmarking study. Study participants continue to report that employees were not opposed to the
solution or to the new way of doing work, but rather they resisted change because no one made a clear
and compelling case for why the change was needed in the first place. By overlooking or ignoring
awareness, projects faced much more resistance, ultimately slowing down progress and reducing
Return on Investment.
When an organization is in trouble, and it is readily visible to employees, building awareness of the
need for change is easy. In fact, many employees will likely have already acknowledged that something
is broken and needs to be changed. However, building awareness when an organization is succeeding
is often a more difficult proposition. Change management professionals will have to work harder to
create a compelling case of change so that the reasons are blatantly evident.
DESIRE
Once an individual has an understanding of why a change is needed, the next step in successful
change is making a personal decision to support and participate in the change.
Many practitioners say that desire is the most difficult of the five building blocks to achieve. Desire is
difficult because it is ultimately a personal decision that is not under our direct control. While there
are certainly ways to try and influence a person's decision to embrace a change, in the end individuals
must make this decision themselves. As with awareness, desire is only achieved when the individual
says to us, "I will be part of this change."
KNOWLEDGE
From a change management perspective, there are two distinct types of knowledge. The first is
knowledge on how to change (what to do during the transition), and the second is knowledge on how
to perform effectively in the future state (knowledge on the ultimate skills and behaviors needed to
support the change). In practice, both of these types of knowledge may be integrated and addressed
with a single plan, but as you are documenting and developing training requirements it is important to
consider both of these aspects.
Remember, however, that knowledge is only effective when the individual already has awareness and
desire. Each of us has been to a training program where we were not sure why we were there in the
first place. Without awareness and desire, you cannot effectively create the knowledge that is
necessary for a successful change.

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ABILITY
Ability is the stage in an individual’s change process where the change actually occurs. Ability is
defined by an individual demonstrating the required changes such that overall expected performance
results are achieved.
While knowledge and ability can seem similar, there can be a very large gap between the two. While
someone can gain the knowledge about a new skill (the tools needed, the process, the proper
technique), it may take much longer for this knowledge to translate into ability in terms of
performance.
There is often a large gap between knowledge and ability. Ensure that in addition to training to impart
knowledge, employees are given sufficient tools for building their own ability. This includes hands-on
practice, support from coaches and the availability to network and work with others who have made
the change successfully.
REINFORCEMENT
It is a natural tendency to revert back to what we know. In fact, there is research emerging about how
the brain functions that suggests it is not just a natural tendency but a physiological tendency. While
making a change is difficult, sustaining a change can be even more difficult. This is why reinforcement
is such a critical component of successful change. It encompasses the mechanisms and approaches so
that the new way stays in place.
One of the reasons reinforcement can be difficult, from a change management perspective, is that
once a change is finished, we are often already moving on to the next change. Acknowledge this fact,
and the tendency to simply "move on" once a change goes live, and build the necessary mechanisms to
reinforce a change.
It takes concerted effort and time to make sure a change stays in place. Given the scarce resources and
change saturation that many organizations face, reinforcement efforts can often fall short. As the final
building block of successful change, the focus on reinforcement needs to remain strong so that
changes are sustained and deliver the expected results over time. You only know if a change was
successful if you take a step back afterward and see if employees are actually doing their jobs
differently.
Successful reinforcement may require:

- Celebrations
- Rewards and recognition
- Feedback
- Corrective actions
- Visible performance measurement
- Accountability mechanisms
Texts taken over and adapted from the website of Prosci, the HR organization that developed the
ADKAR model: https://www.prosci.com/methodology/adkar

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Source 4
Change Management: the ADKAR

Model Explained with Examples
1. Awareness
So, how can an organization achieve this? Let’s consider an example. When McDonald’s introduced
touch-screen kiosks within their outlets, it enabled customers to place their order without talking to
team members. The team worried about their job security. However, thanks to the change leaders’
communication skills and EQ they implemented the change successfully, and the company still
employs humans (not just machines) at their outlets.
2. Desire
Let’s consider an example again. Suppose the marketing team in your company has been using
basic CRM software for the past two years. But now, since the business is growing, you have decided
to invest in a state-of-the-art CRM platform. Now, the thing is, it will require employees to spend a
few extra hours every day for a couple of months to learn how to use it efficiently. At this stage, it is
necessary to communicate to the team that not just the company, will benefit from this in the long
run. For instance, you could mention that this CRM will enable the business to charge a higher fee
from clients, and this higher charge will also result in higher salaries soon.
3. Knowledge
Let’s discuss a scenario to understand this point better. If you’re switching to Agile, you should hire
an Agile coach who can design Agile workflows and help teams learn and utilize them. Whether it’s
Scrum or Kanban, Agile methodologies can be tricky to understand initially. And if you are
incorporating Agile in your organization, you must give the employees in-depth knowledge of this
methodology, otherwise, the change management process could be futile.
4. Ability
Let’s continue with the example that was mentioned in the previous point. Before fully incorporating
Agile into the company, change leaders, along with the Agile coach, must conduct test sprints and
have weekly meetings to identify how well employees are adapting to the new ways of working.
Leaders must also identify and evaluate any barriers and get rid of them. Furthermore, team
members who are struggling to apply the Agile methodology in their day-to-day tasks should be
offered guidance and support.
5. Reinforcement
Zendesk, a SaaS company headquartered in California, uses the ‘Champagne Campaign’ to motivate
its employees. As soon as a sales agent reaches their target number of sales, the sales manager
places a champagne bottle at their desk. This example isn't necessarily related to any particular
methodology for change management, but it surely is a creative way to publicly reward high
achievers and facilitate healthy competition within the company.
Examples taken over from the text “Change Management”, https://consultport.com/for-

consultants/change-management-the-adkar-model-explained-with-examples/

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Source 5
THE 7 MOST CREATIVE EXAMPLES OF HABIT-CHANGING NUDGES
FROM SPEED CAMERA LOTTERIES TO PIANO STAIRS: A COLLECTION OF 7 NIFTY NUDGES SPOTTED IN THE WILD
Nudge Theory, as articulated by Nobel Prize-winning behavioral economist Richard Thaler, has
spawned a universe of real-world applications. The principles of ‘choice architecture’ have since been
applied by both savvy marketers and public policy makers.
“There’s no such thing as ‘neutral’ design. Small and apparently insignificant details can have major
impacts on people’s behavior.” — Richard H. Thaler
A nudge helps people make better choices for themselves without restricting their freedom of choice. It
accomplishes this by making it easier for people to make a certain decision. In other words, putting
fruit at eye level counts as a nudge. Banning junk food does not. Now that we’ve got the definitions out
of the way, let’s get into some of the most clever nudges I could find. Starting with…
1 / bathroom accuracy
Perhaps the most famous example of nudging in action took place in the early 1990s at Schiphol
Airport in Amsterdam. Here, the airport’s designers used a simple trick to improve bathroom
cleanliness.
By printing the above image of a housefly on the inside of urinals, the airport significantly improved
user “accuracy”: spillage on the bathroom floor was reduced by 80%!
2 / SPEED CAMERA LOTTERY
Now this is my favorite nudge of all time. In 2010, Volkswagen picked Kevin Richardson as the winner
of its Fun Theory Contest. Richardson invented the “Speed Camera Lottery,” which uses the speeding
cameras at intersections to reward those who obey the speed limit with the fees paid by those who
violated it.
I find this idea simple and brilliant. It’s sticks and carrots on an entirely new level. The Speed Camera
Lottery is the ultimate nudge: it doesn’t restrict choice — you can still drive as fast as you want to — but
the better/safer option is made more attractive in a magnificently creative way. I’m not the only one
who thinks this idea is great. The Swedish National Society for Road Safety apparently liked it as well,
since they worked with Kevin to experiment with the concept in Stockholm in November 2010. During
the trial, 24,857 cars passed the cameras, and the average speed dropped from 32 km/h to 25 km/h —
which is exactly the speed limit of Stockholm’s main roads!
3 / REDUCING CIGARETTE LITTER ON THE STREETS OF LONDON
Football fans are known to have very strong opinions on who’s the #1 player of the world.
Environmental organization Hubbub takes advantage of this in a brilliant way:

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These voting ashtrays (or ‘Ballot Bins’) don’t stop at football though, with previous questions also
including matters surrounding Formula One, tennis, and cricket. At this point, 30 UK councils are
using it to tackle cigarette litter.
The innovative ashtrays have proven to reduce cigarette litter by 46%, as measured by Southend
Council in 2017. In America, environmental charity Keep America Beautiful also tested the Ballot Bins
in three different sites. They measured the impact after six months and found a reduction of cigarette
litter on busy streets by a whopping 74%.
4 / SMALLER PLATES = LESS FOOD WASTE
The picture above illustrates an experiment by GreeNudge. By reducing plate sizes in hotel restaurants
by 2”, they were able to reduce food waste by as much as 22%. Importantly, guest satisfaction stayed
the same — patrons barely noticed the difference.
5 / BLEEP — HONK REDUCTION SYSTEM
A simple intervention to reduce indiscriminate honking on Indian roads. Every time the driver honks, a
red smiley button starts beeping and flashing. To turn it off, the driver has to press the button. In other
words, the button makes the subconscious habit of indiscriminate honking conscious again by giving
immediate feedback to the driver.
The results? Drivers reduced their honking by an average of 61% over a period of six months because
the red buzzer was such an annoyance. Apparently, 61% of honking was (more or less) habitual and
unrelated to safety.
6 / 3D CHILD ON THE ROAD: SAFETY BOOST OR RECIPE FOR DISASTER?
This one’s a bit more controversial. Preventable, a Canadian traffic safety organization, painted an
optical illusion of a little girl chasing a ball, which begins to take shape from about 50 feet away. They
placed it on a busy intersection near the Ecole Pauline Johnson in West Vancouver for a week.

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Although it’s an innovative idea, some critics say that it could cause accidents. “I think it’s awful. I think
it’s dangerous,” Sam Schwartz, a former traffic commissioner in New York City, told ABC News. “I
think drivers are always scanning and suddenly they see this image up, they may very well panic.”
I personally don’t think that playing with people’s reactions while they’re sitting in a 2,500-pound
moving projectile of steel and glass is very wise, but what do you think? Is this helpful in reducing risks
or will it just cause even more problems by scaring drivers and leading them to swerve?
7 / THE FAMOUS PIANO STAIRS: MOZART + MOVEMENT = FUN
The piano stairs encourage subway commuters to ditch the escalators and go for the healthier option:
climbing the stairs. It shows that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s
behavior for the better.
After the stairs were first introduced in Sweden, the idea struck a chord (pun intended) with people
around the world, with a video of the concept clocking up over 23 million views on YouTube. They’ve
become a massive hit in cities all over the world, with piano stairs appearing in places like Milan,
Melbourne, Istanbul, and Auckland.
This article was a post on the platform medium.com from 20 December 2020:
https://medium.com/@lmercadinhooraimp/the-7-most-creative-examples-of-habit-changing-
nudges-d8640285424

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Last year’s test in April
CT Engels 3 (H. Denruyter) 2021-2022

Written test on Thursday 21 April 2022
1 KNOWLEDGE OF VOCABULARY. Write down words from the lists you had to study. (4)
A financial ratio; the relationship between the amount of money a company owes to banks (= debts)
and the value of the company = (1)
The tax a company (not a person) has to pay on its profits = (2)
The share index of the London stock exchange = (3)
2 of the “Big Four” auditors = (4)
The reduction of production costs that is a result of making and selling goods in large quantities (e.g.,
ability to buy large amounts at reduced prices) = (5)
Type of wage where the amount of pay depends on the number of things finished (e.g. you produce
1,000 bricks, so you receive 1,000 euros) = (6)
2 LINKERS (6)
Write out one sentence with “contrary to” and one sentence with “in contrast to” in which “contrary
to” could not be used. Both sentences should contain the word “reclamebureau”. (2)
Link these clauses three times into a structure, using these three linkers (4)
Ik had een lening met vaste rente + ik faalde op mijn hypotheeklening.
- although
- however
- despite
Write out 2 structures illustrating the difference in use between “regarding” and “concerning”. Both
structures contain the word “uw spaarrekening” (1)

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3 Write out a report with the following information. Use the correct structure for reporting and A
TITLE!
For the words in bold you have to come up with words from the lists you had to study.
Calculation of difficulties: 10 listed words + (15/3*2 words in text) = 20 points
Je werkt voor het bedrijf Odisnacks. Je besluit een rapport te schrijven waarin je voorstellen
formuleert om de kwartaalsresultaten te verhogen (not “increase”), want die zijn toch wat
slappekes de laatste jaren…
Efkes nadenken, hoe dat aanpakken? Wel, zeker ne keer een klapke gaan doen met managers
zekers? Je kreeg er wat belangrijke te pakken, niet slecht. Verder eens kijken naar het jaarverslag van
2021, en een overzicht van de activa en passiva maken.
Je maakte een paar notities van wat je zoal ontdekte.

- Oeioei, hoog personeelsverloop in de afdeling onderzoek en ontwikkeling??? De manager praat
daar over een resultaatgerichte organisatie <<< >>> andere managers praten over wanbeleid … >>>
veel werknemers gaven ontslag vorig jaar.
- En wat is dat bij productie??? Hoge rendabiliteit << >> te hoge kosten (not “costs”)
- boekhoudafdeling: opstellen facturen OK << >> soms bedragen inclusief BTW, terwijl het exclusief
zou moeten zijn…
Wow, wat gaan we hier allemaal aan doen? Tja… Volgens jou zijn de belangrijkste dingen:
- nieuwe procedures in O&O nodig!!!
- doorlichting van kosten bij productie!!
Use in your report the following words:
paramount consequently
allegedly whereas
salient despite
implement although
to draw on
to underscore

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Last year’s June exam
QUESTION 1: REPORT (24 points)

Write out a report according to the rules seen in class. Mind:
- transform the text in Dutch into proper reporting language, using the correct structure for
reporting and a TITLE
- always write out FULL sentences, also in the advice section
- use for words in bold the literal equivalent from the syllabus
- use in your report the 10 words listed below the text in Dutch
Calculation of difficulties: 10 listed words + 18 words in bold + advice = 10 + (18/3*2) + 2 = 24
Je onderneming kampt met groot probleem: mega-groot personeelsverloop. En straf: iedereen die
wordt aangeworven, geeft na een paar maanden zijn opzeg. Problemo problemo! Wat daaraan te
doen? Enfin, je chef vroeg je om eens een aantal dingen te onderzoeken.
Je denkt dat je best gegevens verzamelt door 2 dingen te doen: enerzijds eens een enquête bij het
huidige personeel over tevredenheid en zo. En dan anderzijds eens een klapke gaan doen met een
tiental mensen die zelf hun ontslag hadden ingediend. Niet makkelijk om die te vinden, en twee
interviews waren echt te oppervlakkig (not “superficial”)>>> interview weggesmeten.
De belangrijkste bevindingen, in steno (jij schrijft VOLLEDIGE zinnen in rapport!!!):
(1) Afgelopen 3 kwartalen: personeelsverloop stijgt (not “to increase”) altijd recht evenredig met
toename omzet >>> Als dit in toekomst: in 2023 personeelstekort.
(2) Straffe tegenstelling: enquête bij personeel: overtuigingskracht is belangrijk bij personeel << >>
interviews met mensen die ontslag namen: zeer prestatiegericht beleid!
(3) Opschepperij van de managers dat secundaire voordelen zo keigoed zijn << >> interviews met
mensen die ontslag namen: geen onkostenrekening voor mensen op handelsbeurzen, stom!
(4) verkoopdoelen in afdeling huishoudelijke apparaten te hoog + alleen bonus voor best
presterende collega’s >> personeel gedemotiveerd.
Je schrijft zelf twee adviezen uit (VOLLEDIGE zinnen!) die gebaseerd zijn op bovenstaande
bevindingen.
Use in your report:
to contradict consequently
to extrapolate despite
to withhold due to
alleged although
to require
to reveal
PLEASE WRITE DOWN YOUR TITLE FIRST!
QUESTION 2: WRITING OUT ADVICE (12)

You write a mail (don’t forget addressing and closing!) to your manager in which you give advice
that demonstrates you can apply the theoretical knowledge and vocabulary of the chapters of
Business Result treated this year. (application of theory/content = 8; language and vocabulary = 4)
Context: in jullie organisatie lopen er een aantal dingen spaak met de MOTIVATIE. Het lijkt zo simpel:
- de best presterende verkopers krijgen een bonus, zwakke verkopers gaan eruit.
- 1 keer per jaar is er een functioneringsgesprek, lekker cosy alleen met de manager.
- de werkdruk ligt hoog, tijd voor bijscholing enz is er niet echt.
- Om de personeelsleden maximaal te laten renderen zit iedereen in een lekker strak “9 to 5”
systeem, zo kunnen de managers perfect opvolgen waar iedereen mee bezig is.

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Goed toch? Wel, blijkbaar niet goed. De personeelsleden klagen steen en been , en je voelt hoe jullie
juist jonge, gemotiveerde mensen aan de concurrentie verliezen.
Je baas, mevrouw Simone Rattle, schrikt en vraagt aan jou of je deze moeilijke situatie kan
counteren. Haar doel is natuurlijk een fijne werkvloer waar iedereen graag komt en optimaal
presteert. Ze kijkt verwachtingsvol naar jou en vraagt het volgende:
(1) analyseer het huidige systeem en zijn problemen MET BEHULP VAN EEN THEORIE.
(2) schets elementen van een nieuw systeem, MET BEHULP VAN EEN THEORIE.
(3) hoe dit implementeren, zodat iedereen, ook de oude garde, mee is? Gebruik voor deze stap
enkele elementen van change management (gebruik het model dat we zagen!)
QUESTION 3: THEORY (6)

Explain the candle problem presented by Dan Pink in his TedTalk.
(1) narrate the scientific experiment.
(2) which consequences can be drawn from the results of different groups?
(3) apply these consequences to the work floor of the 21st century.
QUESTION 4: HOFSTEDE (8)

You write a mail (don’t forget addressing and closing!) in which you give advice, demonstrating you
are well acquainted with the Hofstede model.
Context: You work in the Belgian plant of P&G, the American consumer products holding. Every year
a few colleagues from Finland take up a secondment. You would expect people from tiny European
countries are very similar, but every year it turns out fitting the Finns into the Belgian organization is
very difficult. The Finns behave strangely during meetings, do not seem to understand assignments,
emphasize aspects that Belgians find less important and vice versa etc. Every year fitting them into
the Belgian organization turns out to be difficult. Your manager, called Frank Furedi, asked you to
find out more and come up with a trajectory for these colleagues which might help them to adapt to
the Belgian environment. You consult the website of Hofstede to find out Belgian and Finnish scores
on the main dimensions and you discover the following:
Power Distance: B = 65, F = 33
Individualism: B = 75, F = 63
Masculinity: B = 54, F = 26
Uncertainty Avoidance: B = 94, F = 59
In your mail you
(1) introduce the Hofstede model: what is it? How to understand? (2 to 3 sentences)
(2) point out major differences between Belgian and Finnish culture. For that purpose: pick out 2
dimensions, not more, and specify very clear situations on the work floor that may arise due to the
differences: how will Belgians react/expect, and how Austrians? (5 to 8 sentences)
(3) give tailor-made advice focusing on the two dimensions you discussed: how to tackle these issues?
(in other words: just saying “give a workshop” is not valid!). (3 to 5 sentences)

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Key to exercises
Exercises vocabulary list “This is my company”
Give the word belonging to this definition.

1 state-owned 2 liable 3 public limited company 4 listed 5 billboard 6 private limited company 7 manufacturing sector 8 construction sector
9 merge 10 we take over 11 Can you put me through to Mr. Dupont 12 retail trade 13 wholesale trade 14 break-even point 15 profit 16
economies of scale 17 operating profit 18 conveyor belt 19 supplier 20 intermediate products 21 warehouse 22 fixed costs 23 postpone 24
restructuring 25 items / topics 26 minutes 27 file for bankruptcy 28 allocate 29 search engine optimization 30 profit margin
Fill out. (6 points on a test, -1 for each unknown word).

We had a new product. We placed large billboards on the roads so people got to know the product. Next to that, we also relied on word of
mouth, i.e., people telling to each other how wonderful the product is. To measure success, we conducted a survey interviewing 100 people,
60 of them claimed they had heard about the product. When people placed a large order, we granted (not “give”) a discount of 20 per cent.
We established a sales target of 1000 items in the first term but we managed to sell 1500, so our expectations were exceeded! Every item
selling for 10 €, costs being 8 €, we made a turnover of 15,000 € and a profit of 3000 €. In order to lower production costs we have to
convince our suppliers to sell us raw materials at lower prices.
In which sentence can you use the word “rise”? And in which the word “raise”? Replace, using the correct form (to rise-rose-risen, to
raise raised-raised!).
The market share rose by 3 percent in 2004.
Management raised the wages by 3 percent.
The crisis raised unemployment.
You have to raise the budget!
Profit rose rapidly in 2018.
The advertising campaign raised turnover by 20% in 2020.
We have raised our R&D budget by 30%.
Turnover has risen by 30% since 2018.
Every sentence contains just one grammatical or vocabulary mistake. One sentence contains NO mistake. Correct. (6, -1 per mistake)
The company doesn’t consist of 3 but of 4 parts.
/ (sentence correct)
My husband commutes every day to Brussels.
This restaurant scores 4 out of 5 on Tripadvisor.
It was difficult to allocate the budget; we suggest 40 percent for payroll and 60 percent for projects.
Last year the two companies merged to become the key player in their sector.
Write out 4 example sentences to illustrate the problem stijgen – verhogen – dalen – verlagen.
The number of branches has risen this year. (= stijgen)
The profit of the new product that was introduced by the members of the purchasing department has fallen. (= dalen)
We must take into account that our marketing budget was raised by 30%. (= verhogen)
The purchasing department has lowered its number of staff. (= verlagen)
Write out 4 sentences containing the word “costs” and containing stijgen – verhogen – dalen – verlagen in the present perfect. You
cannot use “increase” or “decrease”.
Our costs have risen by 10 percent
Our costs have dropped/fallen by 10%.
Our manager has raised the costs for videoconferencing.
Management has lowered the costs for travelling.
Fill out the correct preposition in these structures taken from the vocabulary list.
2 out of 3 customers
The demand for our products has risen significantly.
I look forward to your reply.
Turnover increased by 10% last year.
Could you put me through to Mr. Banks?
The increase in employees is directly proportional to the rise in turnover.
The company succeeded in breaking even.
The company failed to break even.
Our organization consists of 5 departments.
I apologize for this error.
Work out this business mail.
Subject: Overview of the company Odifix

Dear Mr Conly // Dear Sir
Thank you for your mail. In reply to your request I would like to give you a brief overview of our company.

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Odifix was founded by Mr. Chalamet and Mrs. Ferguson in 2012. In 2016 Odifix took over its competitor Petrifax. Since 2018 Odifix has
expanded (present perfect!) with two affiliates. In 2019 Odifix failed to merge with Obelix, but management lowered the budget for
Research and Development and operating profit fell/dropped by 30%. As a result, we decided to launch new products.
Our company presently consists of a purchasing department and an efficiently organised sales department. Turnover amounts to 18.3
million euros. In attachment you will find a well analysed overview. I would like to remind you of our meeting of next Monday. I look
forward to cooperating with you.
Kind regards
…
Work out this business mail.
Subject: Overview of the company Odifix

Dear Ms Wright // Dear Mrs Wright // Dear Madam
Following our telephone conversation I am delighted to brief you on our company.
Mr and Mrs Bourne founded Odifix in 2014. In 2016 the company merged with SME Petrifax and managed to realise economies of scale.
Headquarters are located in Brussels. Since 2018 the company has expanded with 2 subsidiaries. Since 2018 turnover has risen by 30% to
3.4 million euros. The company consists of 5 departments. The audit of this year / This year’s audit showed that we have to assess costs
better, as these have risen directly proportional to the growing turnover.
In attachment you will find an overview of complaints about our profitable convenience meals: our intermediate products are well made,
but too expensive.
I would like to remind you of our meeting.
Kind regards
(name)
Subject: Reaction to dropping sales figures
Dear colleagues
We would like to address the issue of declining sales figures.
Last year our company suffered a loss, due to our market share dropping considerably.
It was decided to conduct a market research with our customer target group of self-employed people. It turned out that 2 out of 3
interviewees were no longer interested in our DIY articles. That is why these products are no longer profitable. Furthermore, customers
were interested in promotions in which we granted discounts when orders were placed quickly.
We implemented these measures accordingly: non-profitable products were discontinued, more discounts were granted to long-standing
customers. Immediately the demand for products started to rise. This quarter we can proudly announce that the growth of sales is directly
proportional to the number of discounts granted. Congratulations with all your efforts to increase business!
Should you have further questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards
Britt Eckland
Exercise vocabulary list “I work for this company”

1 personnel turnover 2 temp(orary) 3 job centre 4 a trade union 5 fraudulent 6 vacancy 7 piece-work wage 8 retired 9 subordinate 10 a
benefit 11 applicant or candidate 12 job interview 13 overtime (hours) 14 formal business 15 reimbursement 16 bonus 17 overstaffed 18
payroll 19 fee
Exercises vocabulary list “finance and accounting”
Definitions
1 receipt 2 banker’s order 3 solvency 4 liquidity 5 profitability 6 mortgage 7 direct debit 8 customs union 9 stock exchange 10 balance sheet
11 risk averse 12 government bond 13 current account 14 corporate tax 15 profit and loss account / income statement 16 cashflow statement
17 current assets 18 fixed assets 19 invoice 20 liabilities 21 to default on a debt 22 a trade fair

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Translate
Our solvency has risen strongly in the last months, but liquidity has dropped/fallen.
In June we raised our profitability by lowering our expenses for marketing.
The price of the AB Inbev share rose in May due to the risen beer consumption.
In the third quarter we raised investments in research & development. Consequently, the price of our products rose as well.
Our pre-tax profit dropped/fell in 2018. Consequently, we raised our marketing expenses.
Since the bank raised its mortgage interest, the monthly rate rose as well.
Although the price of all Belgian shares rose strongly, the Colruyt price fell/dropped.
The more we lower the costs, the more we raise turnover.
Dear Mr Bezos
Thank you for your mail. In reply to your request I am delighted to provide you with the following overview of structure and history of our
organization.
The company was founded in 2004 and has always been active in the entertainment industry. In 2007 subsidiaries in the Netherlands and
Austria were founded / set up. Due to shrinking turnover/revenue caused by the financial crisis of 2008, we had to take out a heavy
mortgage on our warehouse. A new strategy had to be applied/implemented: we started using only intermediate materials and changed
suppliers. Consequently, we became profitable again in 2009.
In 2011 a Danish bank lent our company money for the takeover of our competitor DeadLead. In 2014 we merged with the Norwegian
company Birds of a Feather. We became a public limited company listed on the London Stock Exchange but we are not in the share index
FTSE100. The share price rose from 30 euros in May 2014 to 48 euros in December 2017.
In attachment you will find our profit and loss account and information of our accountant KPMG.
I hope this overview met your expectations. Should you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards
Ragnar Lothbrok
Exercises vocabulary list “Human resources”
1 job interview 2 vacancy 3 notice period 4 to demote 5 secondment 6 payroll 7 maternal leave 8 seniority 9 gross salary 10 she’s very
complacent 11 he is moody 12 mother tongue 13 a persuasive speech 14 to bully somebody 15 to appeal 16 suspension 17 overburdened
18 superfluous detail 19 severance pay / redundancy pay 20 we shortlist 21 job counseling 22 I quit, I resign 23 Gen Y, the millennials
Fill out the appropriate word.

Secondment, lay off, redundancy pay / severance pay, benefits, bonus, seniority, appraisal meetings / performance reviews, questionnaires
No suitable entrance, working overtime, vacancy, job profile, post it, Candidates/applicants resumé, qualifications, imaginative, good at
We conduct, questionnaire, rate, from 1 to 10.
Suspended, harassment, commitment
People oriented vs output oriented, I resign, demoted, restrained, inconsiderate/insensitive, self-employed, bonus, rumour, superfluous
Although the job interview went well, the Arab applicant was not hired.
Because of Frank’s pranks he had a conversation on his conduct on the work floor.
Our SME defaulted. Consequently, it went bankrupt.
Despite the fact I’m disorderly, my gross salary has risen.
I am self-employed, whereas my friend works as a temp for/in KPMG (not “by”)
I have all qualifications. However, I lack persuasive skills.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exercises “Eradicating stubborn problems”
Fill out ‘much’ or ‘many’

Much, many, many, many, much
Fill out: little/a little/few/a few
Little experience, a few friends, few friends
A little champagne, a few eggs, a little bread, a few words, too little, little chance
Translate.
And? Studied enough, or too little?
You need a little luck and you should make few mistakes.
There are not many visitors and there is not much atmosphere.

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Translate.
I choose the most modern system.
I have the least modern system.
Sana is the most intelligent student.
Benedicte is a less intelligent student.
Francis is the least intelligent student.
the least good performance
the most interesting training
the least interesting training
We had less high customer satisfaction.
We had a less high revenue/turnover in 2010 and the lowest in 2011.
the most efficient method
Could you please smoke less?
The best remuneration/compensation and the least good compensation.
Sana smokes the least of everyone.
Kevin smokes less healthy cigarettes.
The more interesting, the better.
The less cigarettes, the better.
Are these sentences right or wrong? Correct.

1. An incredibly beautiful melody (function 2)
2. Correct
3. Incredibly (function 3) beautifully (function 2)
4. She is unbelievably (function 2) clever
5. She works well (function 1) and her soup tastes good (exception to function 1)
6. He speaks French extremely well (function 1)
Fill out: adjective or adverb.

Your exam results were very good
You did very well in your exams.
I didn’t sleep very much last night.
We store these papers manually.
He looked at me angrily when I interrupted him.
The cargo is loaded manually while the invoice is generated automatically.
He plays the piano very well
The soup tastes good
He is quick
He runs quickly
He eats quickly
They think thoroughly
Last year the sales figures rose slowly
Last year the sales figures rose fast
What a success! He did it really well
This approach is very good
Translate. Think of French (‘bien connu’, ‘bien écrit’, ...)

The company is well known
The house is well constructed
The product was well accepted by the customers.
It was a well written article.
a well-paid job in a well-functioning company
a well-kept secret
this is a well-meant critique
rapidly rising prices and slowly falling costs
She wrote a well-read article.
This is an well used technique for start-ups
Well done! Well said!
Well meant, but poorly performed.
We are good accountants, but poorly paid.
We are well-trained management assistants in an efficiently organised department with an efficient boss
Construct a sentence in which 2 adverbs occur right after each other. The last one is based on “good”.
This car is made extremely well.
Construct a sentence in which 2 adverbs occur right after each other. The last one is based on “efficient”.
They worked highly efficiently.
Give the simple past and past participle of the following verbs:
to pay - paid – paid, to stay - stayed – stayed, to say - said - said
to rise – rose – risen, to raise – raised – raised, to happen – happened - happened
to build – built – built, to send – sent – sent

172
Correct these mistakes.

He kiss very badly. >>> He kisses very badly.
I see him not. >>> I don’t see him
Helen helps not when we need her. >>> Helen doesn’t help when we need her
Likes Frank helping people? >>> Does Frank like helping people?
Have I to help you? >>> Do I have to help you?
It is true that Belgium a complicated country is. >>> It’s true that Belgium is a complicated country.
I don’t know whether she in need of help is. >>> I don’t know whether she is in need of help.
Did you had a nice time? >>> Did you have a nice time?
Normally works our team in this office. >>> Normally our team works in this office.
Correct the following mistakes in tense use and give a rule.

Our company was founded in 1983.
Rule: a passive simple past, as “1983” is a time indication that is completely over.
It made losses from 2000 until 2005.
Rule: a simple past, as 2000-2005 is a period that is completely over (don’t think that “period” automatically means up to now! That would
be the case if it were “Since 2000 it has made losses”: present perfect, as the time indication is a period up to now)
In 2005 it was restructured.
Rule: a passive simple past, as “in 2005” is a time indication that is completely over.
Since then it has always made healthy profits.
Rule: present perfect, as the time indication “since then” is a period lasting up to now.
I was born in 2003.
Rule: a passive simple past, as “in 2003” is completely over. (compare to Dutch: “ik BEN geboren” – different in English! Also compare to the
first sentence of this exercise).
In secondary school I studied languages and economics.
Rule: simple past, as the period “in secondary school” is completely over, not up to now
I haven’t got German yet.
Rule: present perfect, as “yet” indicates a period up to now, in this case from the beginning of your schooling up to now.
Translate.
These are problems we will solve (by) ourselves.
These/Those are reports they have written (by) themselves.
These are items on the agenda you have to remove yourself.
Correct the mistakes (if any).

Brussels, which is (not “that”, as there is a comma, additional explanation)
Parties which you can vote for: correct
A conflict which: correct
A manager for whom we can work or a manager we can work for (not “that” after preposition)
Joyce, who will deal (not “that” after comma)
Drawing which: correct
Department for which or The department I have to develop this project for
A house which: correct
The product which costs more
Our department, which: correct
The management assistant who I used
The writing tool which I used to work with: correct
The writing tool that I used: correct
The writing tool with which: correct
The writing tool I used to work with: correct
The jobs that / which / X I applied for
Fill out all forms possible, choosing from: that, which, who, whom, X (nothing)
The bank which / that / X we try to copy is KBC.
The company which / that / X I work for is ING.
The company for which I work is ING.
The manager that / who / X I have to call is Frank Drebbin.
The manager that / who contacted me is Frank Drebbin.
The manager that / who / X I work for is absent.
The manager for whom I work is absent.
The advertising agency with which we cooperate
The advertising agency that / X we cooperate with
Translate.
the people in whom I believe / the people I believe in
the companies with which we cooperate / the companies we cooperate with
the SMEs in which I have already worked / the SMEs I have already worked in
the husband/spouse without whom I would never have succeeded
the report in which this is mentioned / the report this is mentioned in
the colleague next to whom I work / the colleague I work next to
the colleague with whom I cooperate / the colleague I cooperate with

173
the companies in which I work / the companies I work in

the mobile phone with which I call / the mobile phone I call with
the reports in which our company is mentioned / the reports in which our company is mentioned
Rewrite these sentences in standard English.

This is a great way to speak to other people.
Oh my God, did you see? Laughing out loud!
I’m late today. See you later.
You are wrong: he is going to leave the school tonight.
My business is great, yours too?
Fill out: 1 o or 2 o?
Do you have this problem too?
There’s simply too much to do in a too short amount of time.
Does this count too, or do you think it’s too far-fetched?
To go to the loo, simply turn left.
Fill out: you’re, your, they’re, their

Dear Frank, you’re crazy to keep talking to her, after your quarrel.
Our competitors’ strategy is clear: they’re intent on launching their new products to increase their market share.
Fill out as in the example.

This is the toy of my brother. This is my brother’s toy.
This is the bike of my father. This is my father’s bike.
This is the ball of our cats. This is our cat’s ball.
This is the competitor of the company This is the company’s competitor.
This is the goal of our strategy This is our strategy’s goal.
This is the future of our children This is our children’s future.
This is the room of the babies This is our babies’ room.
These are the advantages of this strategy These are the strategy’s advantages.
These are the wages of the managers These are the managers’ wages.
The company is nearly bankrupt.
The company’s turnover dropped significantly last year.
We own 3 companies.
These companies’ revenue is transferred to my bank account.
Fill the blanks.

He keeps quitting.
Last year the company developed new software.
I am referring to your letter of last week.
That is really surprising!
She keeps avoiding me.
He keeps telling me that I am wrong.
He has teased me a lot when we were younger.
Yesterday she finally admitted that she had
committed a big mistake.
In 1998 many soldiers rebelled.
I only mentioned his name and he got very angry.
What would have happened if I had kissed him?
Mixed exercise. Complete or indicate the correct possibility.

There are 3 companies bigger than ours.
There is only 1 baby more beautiful than mine.
We developed several new strategies to beat our competitor’s strategies.
My friend’s bike has broken down. He’s repairing it.
My girlfriend’s books are lying at my parents’ place.
I will first go to the baker’s and then I will go to the supermarket.
Have you heard about BP ? it’s unclear whether its profits have increased.
it’s obvious that its employees will go on strike tomorrow.
I personally mentioned that he is smarter than me.
On Monday 8 July I saw 3 French employees speaking Spanish and using our company’s telephones.
Can you please already finish the report and then help me?
which sentence is the last one?

174
Geannoteerde bronnenlijst
Voor het samenstellen van de woordenschatlijsten werd o.a. gebruik gemaakt van de volgende
werken of online tools:
Cambridge Dictionary (2023). Cambridge: CUP. Online: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/

Cotton, D. e.a. (2003). Market Leader. Course Book. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
Ferguson, N. (2010), The Ascent of Money.
Harisson, L., Cushen C. (2005). English for International Education, London: Heinle
Jones, L. Alexander, R. (2001) New International Business English. Workbook. Cambridge: CUP.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2014). Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
Mascull, B. (2004) Business Vocabulary in Use. Advanced. Cambridge: CUP.
Mascull, B. (2000) Key Words in Business. Glasgow: HarperCollins.
Powell, M. (2003). In Company. Oxford: Macmillan.
De grammatica-oefeningen zijn van eigen makelij en tackelen typische fouten die tweedejaars nog
steeds maken. Er wordt aangeleund bij de grammatica gepresenteerd in:
De Moor, W. (1998). A Contrastive Reference Grammar. Kapellen: Pelckmans.
Voor het stuk over vergaderen werd gebruik gemaakt van vrij te consulteren websites en:
Gutmann, J. (2010). Taking minutes of meetings, London: Kogan page.
Thomson, K. (2011). English for meetings, Oxford: Oxford university Press.
De notities over zakelijke correspondentie en rapportering werden geïnspireerd door

Ringeling, J.C.T (1993). Zakelijk schrijven in het Engels. Wolters-Noordhoff en diverse voorbeelden die
online te vinden zijn. Voorbeeldmails komen uit de eigen correspondentie met native speakers of
werden van vrij te consulteren websites geplukt.
De teksten van de twee business topics “motivation and performance” en “change” komen van vrij te
consulteren websites, de weblinks staan onderaan de artikels.
Op Toledo staat een Powerpoint met online tools voor Engelse taal en bronnen voor opzoekwerk die
de studenten aangeraden worden, o.a. in het kader van presentaties.

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1

Outline and practical organisation of the course 2

3 Analysing and describing charts 65

7 Discussion and meeting

Examples of tests and exams 164

Key to exercises 168

Geannoteerde bronnenlijst 174

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

Outline and practical organisation of the course

The course enables students to

How does assessment take place?

Below you see the split up of the grade for CTE 3.

Debriefing / post-internship assignment WRITTEN/ORAL 6

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

What if I miss a test?

Working in class and communicating

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

We make these agreements on communication:

Example of a mail to your teacher

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

7 Vocabulary lists and exercises

7.1 Vocabulary list “This is my company”

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

forms of business bedrijfsvormen

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

company structure bedrijfsstructuur

28 to found or to set up a company een bedrijf stichten, oprichten

48 research and development (R&D) onderzoek en ontwikkeling (O&O)

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

54 a client oriented company klantgericht bedrijf

61 Our profit rises vs Onze winst stijgt tgo.

64 to apply – an application toepassen – een toepassing

65 an internal audit interne doorlichting

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

problems in the company problemen in het bedrijf

71 to resign // to quit your job (quit-quit) ontslag nemen, je ontslag indienen

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

90 the unemployment rate werkloosheidspercentage

99 the agricultural sector landbouw

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

Market your product! Zet je product in de markt!

137 advertising reclame

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

customers and markets klanten en markten

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

171 buying and selling (buy-bought-bought, kopen en verkopen

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

writing mails mails schrijven

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

225 a reply antwoord (in mails, brieven)

248 to schedule something iets plannen, inplannen

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

252 to postpone the meeting vergadering uitstellen

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

277 We failed to raise turnover. We slaagden er niet in de omzet te verhogen.

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

Communicatietraining Engels 3 2023-24

Fill out. (6 points on a test, -1 for each unknown word).

The market share increases by 3 percent in 2004.

The company doesn’t consists of 3 but of 4 parts.