Unit 1 opening the negotiations

Synopsis Kamakura’s negotiating team arrives at Visitron’s Head office for the opening of the negotiations. Richard Hamilton welcomes them and suggests a negotiating procedure. Howard Parker makes an opening statement and presents an outline of Visitron’s proposals. Kenji Yasukawa asks questions about the scope of the proposals, Visitron’s current financial position and the new technology. Don Chapman then begins a presentation of the new products.

Study Visitron’s confidential negotiating brief below and then answer the questions.

What is Visitron’s overall target?

2. What are the roles for the Visitron’s team?

3. What is Visitron’s major bargaining strength?

4. What is Visitron looking for in return for its offer of the new technology?

5. What is Visitron not willing to negotiate on?

Vocabulary Tasks

Task I.Define the meaning ofthe following words and expressions,
translate them into Russian:

1. awkward

2. bold

3. comprehensive agreement

4. concession

5. cost and revenue sharing

6. digression

7. fair and equitable agreement

8. fruitful

9. full commitment to

10. major beneficiary

11. on behalf of

12. prior to presentation

13. quid pro quo *

14. remainder (of the meeting)

15. rumors

16. strategic acquisitions *

17. to exploit one’s weaknesses

18. to fill smb in on some front

19. to hand smb over to smb

20. to keep smth from happening

21. to retreat to fallback position *

22. to sketch

23. incredulity

* definitions are available in the glossary

Task II. Translate the sentences into Russian:

Gentlemen, may I welcome you on behalf of the Visitron board to London. I hope your stay will be fruitful and successful.

Firstly, Mr. Parker outlines our current view of the market situation. Secondly, I sketch some of the possibilities we see open for our companies.

In the last three years we have seen a major shift in demand towards the smaller end of the market.

Worldwide Small Unit sales now represent 47% of total sales and this figure is forecast to rise to 70% by the end of the century.

Not only do they have the advantage of low unit costs as a result of the huge sales volume but we also know that they are now involved in a policy of strategic acquisitions around the world.

In the long term that would mean one thing, by the end of the year 2000 our industry will be dominated technically and commercially by a single operator.

We believe the scale of the Hyperscan threat requires a bold, comprehensive and coordinated response.

What we are looking for is a comprehensive agreement across the small end of the market, worldwide.

As a gesture of our seriousness, we intend to put at the center of our talks the recent major advances in technology that I outlined to you in Tokyo.

Yasukawa’s questioning of Chapman on the technical aspects of the new market and detector components was very detailed.