The
course is designed for students who are interested in business with
Italy for professional reasons. The program focuses on the Italian
language of business, aiming at providing students with the basic
vocabulary and professional expressions that are most often used.
The topics are confronted in several ways: with topical readings
from manuals used in business schools, as well as analyses of letters,
office documents and newspaper articles about business. After identifying
the basic technical vocabulary and expressions, the student is helped
to assimilate them through targeted exercises and discussions. On
the request of the student, guided visits can be organized to businesses
in the student's area of interest.
Topics
that may be discussed during the course:
1.
Job applications: how to write a job application, useful expressions
2.
Curriculum vitae: language and structure of the curriculum, kinds
of curricula
3.
References: requesting and providing references
4.
Layout of a business letter
5.
Layout, date, address, headings, referrals, beginning phrases, body
of the letter, closing phrases, signature, abbreviations, style
6.
Requesting and sending price lists, catalogues and samples. Orders,
payment, information, complaints, organizing transport, rentals,
insurance
7.
Job applications and advertising for sales representatives
8.
Business owners: classification of companies
9.
Retail and wholesale companies, sales networks
10.
Business regulations: Italian and European laws
11.
The organization of commerce, auxiliary roles and organizations,
mediators, agents, sales representatives, couriers and shippers,
chambers of commerce, commodity exchange, commercial associations
12.
Sales contracts
13.
Banking documents
14.
National work contracts in the commercial sector
Since
the material is extremely broad and cannot be covered in a thorough
manner in the few available lessons, students may begin the course
by planning with the instructor a program with a narrower focus
on the basis of their needs, with a concentration on only several
topics. In particular, if a student needs to increase his expertise
in a specific area for professional reasons, we recommend that he
inform us before arriving in order to give the instructor sufficient
time to prepare a specific program with selected texts. For example,
if a student works in an office of import-export, special attention
will be given to international correspondence, banking documents
relative to business transactions, Italian law on import-export
and the organization of and participation in Italian trade fairs.
If instead the student intends to seek work in Italy, the course
will concentrate on how to write a job application, curriculum vitae,
references, etc.
