Business‏

To: The Studio Classroom Audience
備忘錄
收件人：空中英語教室讀者
From: Businessman Bob
發件人：生意人包伯
Re: American Business
主題：美國企業
American business is fairly straightforward. Like this memo, it has no hidden agendas.
Rather, it puts everything out on the table—what you see is what you get. If this direct approach makes you uncomfortable, I'm sorry, but we might as well be up-front about things. I'm here to tell you about American business, and you're here to learn. Any questions so far?
美國企業是相當直接的。如同這份
備忘錄，沒有暗藏的議程。反
之，它把所有東西都清楚寫明——你看
到的就是你所收到的。如果這種直接的
方式令你覺得不舒服，我很抱歉，但是
我們也該坦率的面對事情。現在我要告
訴你美式企業文化，你呢，就是要學
習。目前為止有沒有什麼問題？
Some experts consider American business professionals to have a parochial or
ethnocentric perspective. They claim that Americans don’t consider things from other cultures’ points of view. They even attribute to us attitudes of superiority and arrogance. Whether or not that’s true, many factors contribute to this perception:
Item 1: America has a large domestic market, minimizing the need for a global business orientation.
Item 2: America is a world leader, both politically and technologically. As some have said, since the world follows us, why should we follow them?
１ 地域觀念
有些專家認為美國的企業家有地域
觀念，或是以自我種族為中心。他們主
張美國人不會從其他的文化觀點來考慮
事情。他們甚至讓我們戴上優越感和傲慢的帽子。不管這是不是真的，造成這
種看法的因素有許多：
第一：美國擁有廣大的國內市場，因此
全球商業導向的需要便減到最小。
第二：在政治和科技兩方面，美國都處
於全世界的主導地位。如同有人說，既
然世界是跟著我們走，我們又何需跟著
世界走呢？Item 3: America is the seat of capitalism, and most major schools of business management are located within its borders.
Item 4: English (in particular, American English) is the language of international business. In recent decades, however, more American business people have come to recognize the need to be more international in their perspective. With the development of an increasingly interdependent global community, the lack of cross- cultural communication skills can severely limit one’s business success.
第三：美國是資本主義的大本營，而且
大多數主要的企業管理學校都位於美國
境內。
第四：英語（特別是美式英語）是國際
貿易上通用的語言。
然而，近幾十年來，有更多的美國
企業人士開始認識到，他們需要有更具
國際性的眼光。隨著全球共同體相互依
賴程度漸增的發展方向來看，缺乏跨文
化的溝通技巧將嚴重限制一個人在企業
上的成就。
Business in America reflects American values. After all, American business is American business. Let me give you a few examples of what I mean:
a. Individual Achievement.
In some cultures, people may attain their positions through family connections or having
influential friends rather than solely through personal qualifications. But in America,
while nepotism does exist, most people believe a person should stand on his own two feet.
美國企業反映了美國人的價值觀。
畢竟，美國企業就是美國人的企業。讓
我舉一些例子說明我的意思：
a.個人成就感
在某些文化中，人們想達到高位，
可以透過家族關係或者有權勢的朋友，
而非單憑個人的條件資格。但是在美
國，即使裙帶關係確實存在，大部分相
信一個人應該靠著自己的才幹自力更
生。
Let me share with you my own business philosophy: The bottom line isn’t money; it’s quality. As Ford Motor Company puts it, “Quality is Job 1.” Why focus on quality? Because quality leads to customer loyalty, which will increase profits in the long run. Quality control means not just weeding out bad products before they go onto the market, but also in-process quality control. That means checking the total process of manufacturing to guarantee excellence at all levels.
讓我告訴你我自己的企業哲學：最
重要的並不是錢，而是品質。如同福特
汽車公司所標榜的「品質第一」。為什麼
專注於品質呢？因為品質帶來顧客的忠
誠，長期而言將會增加利潤。品質管制
的意思不只是在不良產品進入市場前將
之淘汰，也是指生產過程中的品管。意
即檢查整個製造過程，以確保在每個階
段的完美。
Owning a business is a big responsibility. In America, business owners have to meet rigid safety standards. Even then, they face the risk of litigation if somebody gets hurt on the job. In addition, many companies have to deal with labor unions. Besides that, managers have to satisfy affirmative action laws, which require them to hire a certain number of minorities. Now many of these issues pertain more to big companies than to small businesses. But with any size firm, it takes a
lot of work to stay afloat.
擁有一家企業肩負很大的責任。在
美國，企業擁有者必須符合嚴格的安全
標準。即使如此，如果有人在工作中受
傷，他們仍得面對被起訴的風險。此
外，許多公司必須應付工會。還有，經
營者必須遵守「肯定行動」的法律。這
項法律要求他們必須雇用一定數目的弱
勢族群。現在這些事項大部分是針對大
企業，而非小公司。但是不論公司大
小，想要保持穩定的盈收，需要很多的
努力。Of course, along with the responsibilities come some great privileges. I don’t mean perks like stock options and club memberships, although those have their place. Having a business allows you to make a contribution to society. Some businessmen give large donations to educational institutions or charities helping needy children. For me, that’s really what makes it all worthwhile. Well, that’s about it. If you have any questions, see my secretary, and she’ll set up an appointment.
當然，極大的特權伴隨責任而來。
我指的不是額外的津貼，或股票購置優
先權或俱樂部的會員資格，雖然它們也
有一席之地。擁有企業使你能對社會有
所貢獻。有些企業人士捐贈大筆金錢給
教育機構，或幫助貧窮兒童的慈善團
體。對我而言，這才是經營企業有意義
之處。好吧，就是這樣了。如果你有任何
問題，去找我的秘書，她會替你安排會
面時間。
?Word Bankparochialism (n) 地域觀念；眼界狹小
interdependent (adj) 互相依賴的
nepotism (n) 任用親戚的作風；裙帶關係
weed out (v phr) 淘汰；剔除
rigid (adj) 嚴格的
affirmative action (n phr) 肯定法案（指公司雇用人員時不可因種族或性別而有所歧視，必須雇用一定人數的弱勢團體）
pertain (v) 有關於；適合於
perk (n) 正式薪餉以外之任何收入；額外補貼
The Day's Phrase
Will El Yunque's beautiful tropical rainforest make the New7Wonders of Nature list?雲蓋國家森林美侖美奐的熱帶雨林會列入世界新七大自然奇景嗎？
You can count on me, boss! I'll do whatever you need me to do.
你可以放心交給我，老闆！不論你要我去做什麼事，我都會去做的。
More than 50 years ago, four young men changed the music world五十多年前，四名年輕男子為音樂界帶來了改變
It's very cold today. You'd better bundle up before you go outside.
今天天氣很冷。你外出時最好穿暖和點。
This often-used tape has become part of our popular culture這種常用的膠帶已成為流行文化的一部份
Stay calm, Patrick. Don't lose your temper!保持冷靜，派崔克。別發脾氣呀！
Don't make fun of me! I hate it when people laugh at me.不要開我玩笑！我討厭人家嘲笑我！
Understanding your financial options了解理財之道
You look like you're thinking about something serious. What's on your mind?你看起來好像在想什麼很嚴重的事。你在想什麼呢？
The restaurant ran out of chicken. So I had beef instead.
那家餐廳沒有雞肉了。所以我改吃牛肉。
Can one learn a language effectively from a nonnative speaker?跟非母語人士學習語言效果會更好嗎？
I have a lot of homework to do. I'd better hit the books!我有很多功課要做。我最好專心用功去了。