Learn more about the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine. We provide you with new vocabulary and interesting idioms.
The current pandemic does not only bring global health issues but also has a negative effect on the economy – die Wirtschaft. Another shift is becoming visible now. In the wake – inmitten – of the pandemic many industries experience a labour shortage – der Arbeitskräftemangel. This has far reaching consequences like supply chain disruptions – die Unterbrechung der Versorgungskette. As the economies reopen many workers quit – kündigen – roles and demand – die Nachfrage – rises.
One factor behind the labour shortage are changing demographics. For example, many poeple are leaving into early retirement – frühzeitige Rente. Many people experienced the benefits of home office during the pandemic. And the thought of returning to the office is not an attractive one. Additonally, a slower birth rate means that less younger workers are entering the workforce – die Belegschaft/ die Arbeitskräfte. On top of that, border controls and immigration limitations and demands for better pays and more flexible working arrangements – die Arbeitsvereinbarungen – have an influence on the job market. Latest surveys – die Umfrage – show that more poeple are willing to switch employment or walk out on a job. In the US the so-called quits-rate rose to 4.3 million.
The sectors that are effected the most are accomodation and food services – die Gastronomie -, wholesale trade – der Großhandel – and governement education – die Bildung.
Key industries struggle to keep up with demand due to a lack of workers and raw materials. This disrupts global as well as local production. Furthermore, it hampers – beeinträchtigen – economic growth. And leads to a product and service shortage for customers. Experts state that while the pandemic is accentuating – etw hervorheben – the labour shortage the problems started beforehand. One reason might be, that workers have built up savings – das Ersparte – buffers and dont feel the urgency – die Dringlichkeit – to return to work.
In the UK the situation has been exacerbated – verschärfen – by Brexit. The many foreign workers the country relied on – sich verlassen – have left the UK. Industries that are effected most are meat production, transporttation and agriculture – die Landwirtschaft. This has led to a shortage of fuel at as stations. This situation could go on longer than expected at the moment. Not only that, it could mean that companies have to raise pay in order to keep their current staff – das Personal.
In order to stop redundancies – die Entlassung – during the pandemic governements have introduced furlough – Urlaub, Freistellung – and subsidized – bezuschussen – worker´s earnings. The situation could mean one good thing for job seekers. Namely, more leverage – das Druckmittel – to negotiate for better pay and conditions in the future.
Going public means that a private company becomes publicly-traded – börsennotiert – and owned – staatlich. This is also called a stock launch oder initial public offering (ipo) – der Börsengang. Shares – die Aktien – of a company are sold to institutional and individual investors. This is a way of companies to expand – expandieren – and raise capital – das Kapital, Geldmittel. Furthermore, it increases a company´s prestige – das Ansehen.
The first step is to contact an investment bank. And to make decisions on how many shares will be issued and on their price. The investment bank then becomes owner – Eigentümer – of the shares and assmues legal responsibility – rechtliche Verantwortung. This is also called underwriting. The underwriter will try and seel the shares to the public for more than what was padi to the original owners of the company.
The earliest form of a company issuing public shares was the publicani during the Roman Republic. These shares were sold to public investors and at a market in the Forum. The first modern IPO occured – sich zutragen – in 1602 by the Dutch East India Company. They became the first company in history to sell bonds – die Anleihen – and shares of stock to the general public.
But before a company can think about going public it needs to meet a few requirements – die Voraussetzungen. For one, the company needs to have predictable – vorhersehbar – and consistent revenue – der Umsatz. Furthermore, the company should have extra cash to fund – etw finanzieren – the process of going public as it is not cheap. However, the funds from going public should not be used to cover the costs – die Kosten decken. The company should also still have room to grow while being amongst the top players in their field. Potential investors will compare companies in that field to one another. Additionally, the company should have a strong management team. Beyond the financials one of the biggest factors for investors is the quality of leadership – die Führungskraft.
And last but not least, a company should have a long term business plan – der Wirtschaftsplan – for the next three to five years. This helps the market and potential investors to see that the company knows what they are doing and what they want to achieve.
For a company to go public is a big decision. And as with almost every issue there are advantages and disadvantages – Vor- und Nachteile – that need to be taken into consideration.
You applied – sich bewerben – for a new job and they invited you to come in for an interview – das Bewerbungsgespräch. In a short English course we will help you be prepared for all eventualities – Möglichkeiten.
Now it is important to make a good first impression – erster Eindruck – and to be prepared. It helps to read up on the company, to know some of the key dates, current projects and customers. Look at the company´s website, their social media and recent press releases – die Pressemitteilung – to get an understanding. Furthermore, you should be prepared to answer questions about your salary expectations – die Gehaltsvorstellung. It might help boost your confidence if you prepare your outfit in advance. By researching the company you can find out about the dress code as well to know what is apropriate – angemessen. Make sure to arrive at the company 10 – 15 minutes early, its important to be on time. Use those to calm youself, take a deep breath and focus on the task in front of you.
Another tip, dont talk negatively about your previous employers. Companies want to hire problem solvers, just focus on what gained – erhalten – your job and what comes next. Also, have specific examples ready of how your previous work experience might be relevant to the new job position.
Here are a few of the most common – häufig, gebräuchlich – interview questions. It is not necessary to memorise all the answers but it helps of you take time before the interview to have answers ready. Keep your answers short and concise –prägnant – and make sure to maintain eye contact. On top of that, while it seems tempting to embellish – ausschmücken – on your skills, interviewers usually find honesty more refreshing.
It is also important to have some questions ready you can ask yourself. This shows that you came prepared and that you ar serious about the position.
Hopefully that helps you in preparing for a new job, best of luck!
This week´s business English blog post deals with advertising strategies – this is a step by step plan to reach customers – der Kunde – and convince –jdn überzeugen – them to buy specific products. A well-planned strategy might help a company to sell more products than their competitors – der Konkurrent. But, its important to adapt the strategy to the product and the market. An advertising strategy that worked for a product in the past might not be the right choice for a campaign at present. People change their perspective and with that their requirements – Ansrpüche. Planning an advertising strategy is a creative process. In order to launch an effective advertisement campaign you need to understand your business and your target audience – die Zielgruppe.
Determine the purpose – der Zweck – the first decision is to decide why you want to advertise. To boost sales? Or to launch a new product? To increase tarffic on the website or foot traffic?
Determine the target audience – this is a crucial – maßgeblich – step. Companies create a profile of the customer that is supposed to buy the product and create the campaign around their interests.
Decide on advertising budget size – it is essential to decide on the budget size before deciding on an advertising strategy
Select media and schedule – there are a few media outlets – Medienkanäle – a company can choose to advertise their product. Such as print media, digital media, direct mails, radio advertising, trade shows, outdoor medias (billboards, posters)
Implement – etw. umsetzen – advertising program – implementing the advertising strategy is referred to as an advertising campaign. It is important to have consistency – Übereinstimmung – when advertising a product on different platforms.
Measure – etw messen – effectiveness – the effectiveness can be measured by the return on investment you get by implementing an advertising strategy.
A performance review – das Mitarbeitergespräch – is a conversation between an employee and a manager to evaluate – beurteilen – the work performance. By offering feedback and setting goals the employee has the opportunity to improve – sich verbessern. And by identifying the strengths – die Stärken – and weaknesses – die Schwächen – of an employee their performance can be further enhanced – etw. steigern.
In the past companies conducted – etw durchführen – an annual performance review for all their employees. But nowadays companies move towards a more frequent feedback performance management system – with quarterly, monthly or even weekly reviews. This can help detecting and correcting issues early on and avoiding them in the future. Furthermore, it is important for the employee to understand what is expected of them and how their work aligns – etw. anpassen – with larger company goals.
Here area few tips for an employee going into a performance review. You can prepare yourself by doing the following:
Here a few things a manager should avoid during a performance review:
Every week we provide you with a new topic and with it useful vocabulary and idioms. This week it is time to vote – wählen! The German federal election – die Bundestagswahl – is coming up on Sunday, September 26th and we have a few interesting facts for you.
Elections have been the main means by which modern democracy has operated since the 17th century. But elections have been held long before that, in ancient Greece and Rome. These were used to select – auswählen – rulers and the pope. Suffrage – das Wahlrecht – is typically only for citizens of the country. But the question who is allowed to vote is crucial to the process of elections. The electorate – die Wählerschaft – does not automatically include everyone. In Australia, for example, the Aboriginal people were only allowed to vote after 1962. And for a long time only male citizens in general were allowed to vote. In many countries this is still the situation.
In order to convert a vote into a political decision we need an electoral system – ein Wahlsystem. There are different counting systems and ballot types – proportional, majoritarian – nach Mehrheit – and mixed systems. In most elections the secret ballot – geheime Abstimmung – is now considered crucial for a free and fair result. Furthermore, elected officials are accountable – rechenschaftspflichtig – to the people and must therefore return at prescribed intervals to be reelcted. But there are different schedules for different countries – for instance, the president of the US is elected for four years, the president of Ireland for seven years and the president of France for five years.
Sometimes an election is in danger of being rigged – hier: manipulieren. As a result, the winning party might not actually have the trust of the majority of the electorate. Furthermore, a sham election – die Scheinwahl – is held purely for show while the outcome has already been decided in advance.
The last German federal election took place 4 years ago in 2017. Evey German citizen who is at least 18 years old is eligible – hier: berechtigt – to vote. Everyone has the opportunity to vote per postal vote – Briefwahl. On top of that, right now politicians and their supporters attempt to win voters over to their side by campaigning – Wahlkampf. The city of Leipzig is full with campaign posters by the top candidates – Spitzenkandidat:in. And in order to keep track on how your candidate is doing people can consult opinion polls – Meinungsumfrage. Of course, people can also abstain – sich enthalten – from their vote.
Learn new english vocabularies and idioms about a new business related topic every week. Small Talk is crucial – ausschlaggebend – for your success in business. It is light, informal conversation and is commonly used when you are talking to someone you dont know that well. Or during networking events organised by your company. The number one advice is to ask questions. Because as long as the other person is talking you dont have to say anything. But dont just ask one question and move on to the next topic. Rather, listen and ask follow-up questions. To help you we have a few golden rules that will help you make small talk at the next work event.
These topics can help you to get the conversation going and might make you feel more confident.
Negotiation – Every week our business English blog brings you a new and interesting topic with useful vocabulary and idioms. This week its all about how to negotiate – verhandeln – and the five styles. A negotation is a dialogue between two ore more parties in order to agree – übereinstimmen – on matters of mutual interest. Or it is used to gain advantage – einen Vorteil verschaffen – for an individual. We negotiate daily, often without being aware of it. We use it in personal situations like parenting, marriage or divorce. However, this blog focuses on negotiations in a business context.
People bring different skill sets – Fertigkeiten – and experiences with them. And these influence the way they interact with others and also their way of negotiating. A good negotiator – der Verhandlungsführer – knows how to use their primary style to their advantage and when to switch to another style.
a competetive negotiation – die Konkurrenzstrategie: this style is aimed to win, a competitive negotiator will do whatever it takes to get their way. They focus on winning rather than reaching a mutual benefiting – beiderseitig vorteilhaft – agreement. This style is useful when you need to reach a short-term agreement quickly.
a collaborative negotiation – die kooperative Strategie: this style focuses more on making sure every party leaves the table with what they came to achieve. A collaborative negotiator values building relationships and is willing to invest time into finding innovative solutions.
compromising negotiation – die Kompromissstrategie: this style is willing to relinquish – aufgeben, abtreten – some terms in favour to gain others. A compromising negotiation style is most useful in situations where the opposite party is trustworthy, and the agreement is under a tight deadline
avoiding negotiation – die Vermeidungsstrategie: these people do not like confrontation. Avoiding negotiation styles work best in situations where the negotiation concerns a matter that is trivial to both parties. Or when its more important to resolve – etw. beilegen, beschließen – the mater as quickly as possible than the outcome itself.
accomodating negotiation – die Anpassungsstrategie: this style is the opposite of the competitive negotiation. It is aimed at building and preserving – erhalten – a good relationship and friendly rapport with the other party. Often by sacrificing – opfern -some of the company´s interests in favour of the other party. This style is best used if a company caused harm to another and needs to make peace.
Every week we present you with an interesting topic, useful English vocabulary and idioms. This week our blog is all about social media.
The sector – die Branche – is relatively new but has rapidly grown over the last few years. And with that also came a new job, namely the social media expert. This is someone who is well versed – versiert, bewandert – in marketing through social media channels. Someone who monitors site metrics, responds to reader comments and oversees creative designs. They are responsible for creating and administering – verwalten – content on different social media platforms. Furthermore, social media is an important tool used to create brand awareness – Markenbekannheit – and to enhance a company´s name recogntion – der Bekannheitsgrad.
A challenge for businesses use of social media are raised customer expectations. They want immediacy – Unmittelbarkeit – and expect interesting new ideas to promote a product or a service. Businesses should be aware of these expectations. It is also important to have a plan for handling negative comments. And last but not least, social media experts need to make sure that the represent their company in a professional way.
