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Unit1MenAreDifferentfromWomeninManyWaysTraditionally,menandwomenwereseenasoppositepolesofamagnet.Menwerestrong,womenwereweak;menwerethebreadwinners,womenwerethehomemakers;menwererational,womenwereemotional.Inaccordancewiththesebeliefs,themenfilledtheleadershippositionsinsociety,aswellasthemajorityofpositionsthatrequiredcourage,clear-thinkingandintellect.Womentookonthenurturing,caringorsupportivejobssuchasnurse,teacher,assistant.However,modernsocietyhasgreatlychallengedtheseperceiveddifferencesbetweenmenandwomenThesedaysgenderrolesarebecominglessclear.Womenaremovingintothemale-dominatedoccupationsandprovingthattheycanbeequallysuccessfulinthesefields.Moreover,somemenaretakingonthehomemakerroleandfindingthatitsuitsthem.Insomecultures,forexampletheNaxicultureofsouthwesternChina,thewomenhavealwaysbeentheheadofthehouseholdandresponsibleforbothworkandfinance.So,aremenandwomenreallyallthatdifferent?Fromthechangingperspectivestowardsthisquestion,itwouldseemthatsocializationplaysalargeroleindefiningmasculinityandfemininityinanygiventimeperiodandinanygivenculture.Inotherwords,perhapsmenandwomenarenotthatdifferentafterall.Unit2Cultureplaysanimportantroleinbusiness.Indifferentculturestherearedifferentideasaboutwhenmeetingsshouldbescheduled,howmuchnoticeshouldbegiven,Wherepeopleshouldbeseatedandhowthenegotiationsshouldbeproceed.Duringthenegotiationstherearealsovastculturaldifferencesinwhatisconsideredappropriatelanguage,communicationstyleandbodylanguage.Forexample,someculturevalueeyecontact,othersdonot.Someculturesuse'yes'asanacknowledgementofwhatthepersonhassaid,otheruse'yes'onlyforagreement.Socialconventionsofgreeting,dressing,eatingandentertainingalsovaryconsiderablyamongstculturesandtheseareimportanttolearnsincealotofbusinesstakesplacewhilehavingdinnerorenjoyingdrinkstogether.Ifabusinessmanattemptsacross-culturalbusinesspartnershipwithoutanadequateawarenessofhisassociate'sculture,heislikelytoencountermisunderstandingandmayevencauseoffence.Thiswilldamageandmayevenendthebusinessrelationship.Therefore,culturaldifferencesmustbecarefullyhandledwhendoingbusinesswithpeoplefromdifferentcountries.Unit3FightingAgainstPiracyNowadaystheproblemofpiracyhasbecomeincreasinglyserious.Notonlyisthereaseriouslackofknowledgeamongstthegeneralpublicaboutpiracyissues,butthereisalsoanattitudeofindifference.ThesedayspiracyisstronglyevidentinthecommercialworldinthewideavailabilityofillegalVCDsandDVDs,theinclusionofCopyrightedpictures,webgraphics,videoclipsandmagazineportionsinbusinesspresentationsandthephotocopyingofbooksandarticlesfordistributionwithouttheauthor'spermission.Thenegativeconsequencesofpiracyaretwo-fold.Firstly,theCopyrightownersarelikelytosuffersignificantfinanciallosses.Secondly,theCopyrightownerlosesrecognition,ifthesourceofthematerialisunacknowledged.Thereforeitisimportantforallcitizenstobecomeeducatedaboutpiracyissues,tofollowcopyrightlawsintheirownlives,andtoencouragetheircolleaguesandfriendstodothesame.Unit4TheImportanceofLearningSpokenEnglishIntoday'smodernworld,learningspokenEnglishhasmanyadvantages.Englishisfastbecomingtheinternationallanguageofmanyfields,includingpolitics,businessandeducation.NotonlyisEnglishusedbetweennativespeakersandnon-nativespeakers,butitisalsousedincreasinglyasacommonlanguageininteractionsbetweennon-nativespeakers.HavingagoodgraspofspokenEnglishhelpsyoutoimproveyourchancesofemployment.Thesedays,therearemanyforeigncompaniesoperatingfromChina,andmanyChinese-ownedcompanieshavetradelinkswithforeignpartners.ThesecompaniesrequirespeakersofEnglishwithsufficientlanguageskillstoensuresmoothbusinesstransactions.SpokenEnglishalsoprovidesthechancesforyoutocommunicatesociallywithpeoplefrommanyothercountries.Itgivesyouawindowintoothercultures,andotherperspectivesoftheworld.Italsogivesyouaccesstoforeignfilms,TVprograms,musicandnews.Therefore,spokenEnglishisanimportantandfundamentaltoolintoday'sglobalvillage.Unit5BusinessEthicsCreatingandsustaininganethicalcorporationisn'tasdifficultasyoumightthink;it'sactuallyeasierthansomeoftheday-to-daybusinesschallengesyouface.Thekeystorunninganethicalcompanyareaccountability,honesty,andinformationtransparency.Corporationsaren'tethicalorevilinandofthemselves--butpeoplecanbe.Soethicsmustfocusonyouandthepeopleyouworkwith.Mostpeoplewanttodotherightthing,butorganizationalstructuredoesnotguaranteetheywilldotherightthing,withoutmeaningtoorevenknowingit.Structuringanethicalcorporationmakesthegoaleasiertoachieve.Thechallengecouldnotbemoreurgent.AsubstantialmajorityofpeopleinChinaaredissatisfiedwiththesocialbehaviorofourcorporations,sayseveralrecentnewsreports.Poortreatmentofworkersathomeandabroad,productsthatdon'tperformasadvertised,fakecommodities,poorcustomerservice,environmentalpollution,tomentionafew.Responsiblebehaviorisimportanttoyourbusinesssuccess,butlet'snotforgetthatyou'reinbusiness--you'renotouttosolvetheworld'sproblems.Sohowdoyoubalancethetwo?Whatdoesitmeantobeethicalinbusiness?Itsimplyrequiresthatyoufollowyourbestmoralinstincts,eveninareasthatdon'tappeartoinvolvemoralis