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Harvard Business Review

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You know the scenario. It could be in an online meeting, or perhaps you are seated around a boardroom table. The meeting leader asks everyone to briefly introduce themselves. Suddenly, your brain goes into hyperdrive. What should I say about myself?

You start ruminating about previous self-introductions when you got tongue-tied, when you forgot to mention something important, or worse, when you rambled on for too long. Then, you realize you're not listening to what the others are sharing. If there was a quiz on everyone's name, you would fail.

The stress associated with introducing yourself is common and not without warrant. Everyone's eyes and ears are on you. It's easy to mess up. On the other hand, self-introductions are the most direct way to reinforce your desired personal brand. And they can be easy to do.

The secret is using a simple framework: Present, past, and future.

Present

Start with a present-tense statement to introduce yourself:
Hi, I'm Ashley and I'm a software engineer. My current focus is optimizing customer experience. Nice to meet you all. My name is Michael and I'm the creative director. I work in the Brooklyn office.
Of course, what you share will depend on the situation and on the audience. If you are not sure what to share, your name and job title is a great place to start. If there's an opportunity to elaborate, you can also share other details such as a current project, your expertise, or your geographical location.

Past

The second part of your introduction is past tense. This is where you can add two or three points that will provide people with relevant details about your background. It is also your opportunity to establish credibility. Consider your education and other credentials, past projects, employers, and accomplishments.
My background is in computer science. Before joining this team, I worked with big data to identify insights for our clients in the health care industry. I've been at the firm for eight years. Most recently, I worked on the Alpha Financial account, where last year's campaign won us a Webby award.
Future

The third and last part in this framework is future-oriented. This is your opportunity to demonstrate enthusiasm for what's ahead. If you're in a job interview, you could share your eagerness about opportunities at the firm. If you're in a meeting, you could express interest in the meeting topic. If you're kicking off a project with a new team, you could talk about how excited you are, or share your goals for the project.
I'm honored to be here. This project is a significant opportunity for all of us. I'm excited to work with you all to solve our clients' biggest challenges!
That's it for the self-introduction framework. Present, past, future. Eloquent and effective. By using this approach, you'll not only introduce yourself better, but it also frees you from ruminating on what you'll say when it's your turn to introduce yourself and allows you to listen when others introduce themselves. You will also make it easy for the person who introduces themselves after you, since you'll conclude your self-introduction with positive enthusiasm.

The next time you're in a meeting and someone says, "Let's go around the table and introduce ourselves," you know what to do. Take a slow, deep breath, and think, "Present, past, future." Then smile and listen to everyone else until it's your turn. You got this!

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Many of us dread the self-introduction, be it in an online meeting or at the boardroom table. Here is a practical framework you can leverage to introduce yourself with confidence in any context, online or in-person: Present, past, and future. You can customize this framework both for yourself as an individual and for the specific context.

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Listening & Reading & Understanding / Metaverse & Wildlife

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Listening & Reading & Understanding / Metaverse & Wildlife

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Gautam Shah: Can the metaverse bring us closer to wildlife?

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Technologist and TED Fellow Gautam Shah invites us to imagine how the metaverse could redefine the relationships between humans and other species. By giving individual wild animals a personal identity (such as Fio, a young orangutan in Borneo, or Mweituria, an elephant living in Kenya) and sharing data on their migration, milestones and habitats, Shah thinks we could empathize with wildlife in a whole new way.

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Oral expression in interaction: work in groupe: create small talks in a professional field & develop a conversation

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Oral expression in interaction: work in groupe: create small talks in a professional field & develop a conversation

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How to introduce yourself - individually & professionally / Oral expression

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How to introduce yourself - individually & professionally / Oral expression

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Listening & Understanding & Oral expression (In which situations do you have fun?)

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Listening & Understanding & Oral expression (In which situations do you have fun?)

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Catherine Price: Why having fun is the secret to a healthier life

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Have you had your daily dose of fun? It’s not just enjoyable, it’s also essential for your health and happiness, says science journalist Catherine Price. She proposes a new definition of fun -- what she calls “true fun” -- and shares easy, evidence-backed ways to weave playfulness, flow and connecti…

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Personal projects (2 students) - work in progress presentation

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Personal projects (2 students) - work in progress presentation

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BBC Learning English

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Tim
Hi. I'm Tim and this is my Pronunciation workshop. Here I'm going to show you how English is really spoken. Come on, let's go inside. You know, I've been thinking about decorating my workshop - bringing a little bit of colour to it. But I can't decide between blue or orange. Hmm. Let's ask the people of London.

I prefer the blue one to the orange one.
I prefer the blue one to the orange one.
I prefer the blue one to the orange one.

Tim
That sounds pretty comprehensive. Blue it is. I'll go in and get the paints. Ooh, but first, let's talk about pronunciation. Now, everyone used the definite article - the - and in each case it wasn't stressed, but the pronunciation was slightly different. I'm going to go in and get the paints: you listen again and see if you can hear the two different ways the definite article is pronounced. I'll see you inside.

I prefer the blue one to the orange one.
I prefer the blue one to the orange one.
I prefer the blue one to the orange one.

If it's not stressed, the pronunciation of the word the will change depending on the word that follows. If the next word begins in a consonant sound, it's pronounced /ðə/. I prefer the blue one. But, if the next word begins in a vowel sound, it's pronounced /ðɪː/. I prefer the orange one. And you might remember from a previous video that when the sound /ɪː/ is followed by a vowel sound, you might also hear a small linking /j/ in between. I prefer the orange one. Here are some more examples.

In a restaurant, I always order the apple pie.
I think the autumn is the best time of year.
The earlier I get up, the happier I am.
It's the one over there.

Tim
So you've heard the examples, and now it's your turn. Listen and repeat.

Examples
In a restaurant, I always order the apple pie.
I think the autumn is the best time of year.
The earlier I get up, the happier I am.
It's the one over there.

Tim
Well done. Now remember, if you want to learn more about pronunciation, then please visit our website, bbclearningenglish.com. And that is about it from the pronunciation workshop for this week. I'll see you soon. Bye bye! Right - let's get cracking on this painting. Now, you know the problem with these paint pots is that the lids aren't always the easiest to open. Ahh! Owww! Eeeshh! Not again!

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BBC Learning English - Pronunciation / Tim's Pronunciation Workshop: The

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Tim demonstrates two different ways to pronounce the word 'the'

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Tim's Pronunciation Workshop: Would you...?

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Tim's Pronunciation Workshop: Would you...?

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Tim
Hi. I'm Tim and this is my Pronunciation workshop. Here I'm going to show you how English is really spoken. Come on. Let's go inside. How do you ask for help? And what is the connection between this... and this? Well, this is a piece of what? And what is the female version of this animal called? Put them together and what do you get? Well, here's how some people in London ask for help.

Would you do me a favour?
Would you do me a favour?
Would you do me a favour?
Would you do me a favour?
Would you do me a favour?

Tim
Wood. Ewe. Would you - get it? Now, the words 'ewe' and 'you' have the same pronunciation, don't they? But what happens to the word 'you' when it comes after the sound /d/? Watch and listen again

Tim
In fluent speech when one word ends in a /d/ sound and the next word begins in a /j/ sound, the two sounds come together and change to a /ʤ/ sound. You also might have noticed that the /uː/ in 'you' can change to schwa. So 'would you' becomes 'woul/ʤ/ou', or even 'woul/ʤə/ ' This is an example of assimilation. Here are some more examples.

Examples
I'm sa d you decided to quit.
Coul d you get here by midnight?
Shoul d you see him, can you give him a message?
I don't think the gol d you bought was real.

Tim
Right, so you've heard the examples. What do we do? Listen and repeat.

Examples
I'm sa d you decided to quit.
Coul d you get here by midnight?
Shoul d you see him, can you give him a message?
I don't think the gol d you bought was real.

Tim
Well done. And remember, if you want to learn more about pronunciation, then please visit our website, bbclearningenglish.com. And that is about it from the pronunciation workshop for this week. I'll see you soon. Bye bye! Right, now, what am I going to do with you? Ha ha - what am I going do with 'ewe', get it? Oh come on, would you give a guy a break?! She gets it.

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BBC Learning English - Pronunciation / Tim's Pronunciation Workshop: Would you...?

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How the phrase 'would you...?' is pronounced in natural English

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Tim's Pronunciation Workshop: Elision of [h]

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Tim's Pronunciation Workshop: Elision of [h]

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Tim
Hi. I'm Tim and this is my Pronunciation workshop. Here I'm going to show you how English is really spoken. Come on, let's go inside. Now, if you've been following my adventures in this workshop, you will know that I have had a bit of bad luck, now and then. But not half as much bad luck as this chap. Listen to what these people are saying about him.

He looks like he's had an accident.
He looks like he's had an accident.
He looks like he's had an accident.
He looks like he's had an accident.

Tim
Now, they all used the word 'he' twice. But there were two different pronunciations. Listen out for them both as you watch again.

Tim
In fluent speech, if the word 'he' comes at the beginning of a sentence or clause, then the 'h' sound /h/ is pronounced. But if it comes in the middle of a sentence or clause and after a consonant, then the 'h' sound is not usually pronounced. So /hi ː/ becomes /i ː/ and 'he looks like he's had an accident' becomes 'he looks like ' e's had an accident'. Not this change also happens with certain other words beginning with the 'h' sound, like him, his or her. Here are some more examples.

Examples
I really like his cooking.
We think he's left the country.
They let him leave early.
They offered her a promotion.

Tim
Right, so you've heard the examples, and now it's your turn. You know the drill by now. Listen and repeat.

Examples
I really like his cooking.
We think he's left the country.
They let him leave early.
They offered her a promotion.

Tim
Well done. Now remember, if you want to learn more about pronunciation, then please visit our website, bbclearningenglish.com. And that is about it from the pronunciation workshop for this week. I'll see you soon. Bye bye! Now, that man in the photograph - his head looked a bit sore - which reminds me. Saw! I love DIY! Actually, I am a bit accident-prone. But my twin Tom is very good with his hands. I think I'll give him a ring and ask for his advice. Ow! Every time!

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BBC Learning English - Pronunciation / Tim's Pronunciation Workshop: Elision of /h/

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How do we pronounce words beginning with /h/ in natural spoken English?

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Ted Talk: How we'll earn money in a future without jobs

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Ted Talk: How we'll earn money in a future without jobs

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How we’ll earn money in a future without jobs

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Machines that can think, learn and adapt are coming -- and that could mean that we humans will end up with significant unemployment. What should we do about it? In a straightforward talk about a controversial idea, futurist Martin Ford makes the case for separating income from traditional work and instituting a universal basic income.

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How to introduce yourself

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how to introduce yourself Christina - Bing video

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Bibliography:
Market Leader - Intermediate, 3rd ed., Pearson publisher

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Market Leader - Intermediate (course book)

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Market Leader - Intermediate (course book)

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Tech giants Google, Microsoft and Facebook are all applying the lessons of machine learning to translation, but a small company called DeepL has outdone them all and raised the bar for the field.
Its translation tool is just as quick as the outsized competition, but more accurate and nuanced than any we've tried.

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DeepL Translate: The world's most accurate translator

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Translate texts & full document files instantly. Accurate translations for individuals and Teams. Millions translate with DeepL every day.

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Le service sans frais de Google traduit instantanément des mots, des expressions et des pages Web entre le français et plus de 100 autres langues.

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Linguee | Dictionnaire anglais-français (et autres langues)

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Dictionnaire anglais-français avec des millions de phrases traduites en anglais-français. Moteur de recherche de traductions anglais-français.

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Dictionnaires bilingues en ligne gratuits. Français-Anglais : plus de 300 000 traductions, et la réponse à plus de 500 000 questions de traduction dans les forums.

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Reverso | Traduction gratuite, dictionnaire

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Reverso | Traduction gratuite, dictionnaire

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Le service de traduction en ligne gratuit de Reverso qui traduit vos textes de l’anglais vers le français, l’espagnol, l’italien, l’allemand, le russe, le portugais, l’hébreu, le japonais, l’arabe, le néerlandais, le polonais, le roumain, le turc.

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Visual Dictionary Online

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QA International launched , a new valuable resource to learn Spanish. Includes 17 all-around themes to explore, including the human body, sciences and food. MORE

From the image to the word and its definition, the Visual Dictionary Online is an all-in-one reference. Search the themes to quickly locate words, or find the meaning of a word by viewing the image it represents. What's more, the Visual Dictionary Online helps you learn English in a visual and accessible way. The Visual Dictionary Online is ideal for teachers, parents, translators and students of all skill levels. Explore the Visual Dictionary Online and enrich your mind. Perfect for home, school or work. Discover a visual world of information!

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QA International launched , a new valuable resource to learn Spanish. Includes 17 all-around themes to explore, including the human body, sciences and food. MORE From the image to the word and its definition, the Visual Dictionary Online is an all-in-one reference.

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market leader intermediate unit 4 audio - Bing video

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Market Leader Intermediate 3rd Edition DVD Video Unit 4 interview

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Personal projects (2 students) - work in progress presentation

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Personal projects (2 students) - work in progress presentation

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BBC Learning English - Pronunciation / Tim’s Pronunciation Workshop: Schwa

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Tim’s looking at an aspect of spoken English called ‘schwa’

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Have you ever heard someone dismissively say something like, "It's just semantics."

While semantics -- the meaning of a word or phrase -- aren't necessarily always something to argue over, in business the language you use is important.

And of course, some people might think the difference between words like client and customer is an argument of semantics, this difference will actually help you make strategic decisions about customer service. In this post, let's review the difference between client and customer and why it matters.

Truthfully, clients and customers are similar, but the difference lies in the type of service that a customer is purchasing. If you run a SaaS company, then you have customers. On the other hand, if you run a law firm, you have clients.

Let's review some examples below to help you contextualize the difference in the type of service.
Client-based services:

Law firm

Design studio

Insurance agency

Accounting firm

Real estate agency

Marketing/advertising agency

Customer-based services:

SaaS company

Retail store

Subscription-based company

Bank

Restaurant

Amusement park

One way that I like to think about it is if a company has a customer service department, then they usually service customers, not clients. Companies that don't have a customer service department are typically client-based companies.

However, it's important to note that some companies can have both clients and customers. For subscription-based companies like SaaS companies, for example, some customers might purchase professional services where they have a personalized customer success manager (CSM) from your team. These are your high-value customers who become clients. If a customer hasn't purchased a professional service from your company, then they're a customer, not a client.

Now your mind is probably spinning thinking of other terms to describe your customers and wondering what the differences are. In fact, you've probably heard of the term consumer. So, what's the difference between a customer and a consumer? Let's dive in below.

Customer vs. Consumer

A customer is a person who buys goods or services from a business, while a consumer is a type of customer who buys goods or services for personal use. Think of consumers as the more specific type of customer for B2C companies, while a customer can purchase from a B2C or B2B company. You can think about it like this: Consumers are the end-users of a product, and might not have been the actual customer who purchased the product.

Client vs. Customer Services

The difference between client services and customer service is the same difference between professional services and your customer support organization. While your customer support will answer phone calls, emails, and chats from a large number of customers, your professional services team will be responsible for a smaller number of customers so they can give them more personalized attention.

Now that you understand the difference between all these terms and the different types of services, you might be wondering, "Why does this matter?"

Well, all businesses have customers, but not every business has clients. Clients, by definition, will receive more personalized attention and have more access to employees by having a dedicated customer success manager or a case manager.

It's important to keep these differences in mind when you're developing your customer service strategy. If you have customers, you'll provide customer support. However, if you have clients, you'll offer a specific CSM to help your highest value customers achieve greater success. In lots of cases, you might offer both client services and customer service.

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Client vs. Customer: What's the Difference & Why Does it Matter?

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Have you ever heard someone dismissively say something like, "It's just semantics." While semantics -- the meaning of a word or phrase -- aren't necessarily always something to argue over, in business the language you use is important.

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The Ultimate Guide to Software as a Service (SaaS)

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Learn how the SaaS industry works and discover everything you need to know to launch and grow a successful SaaS product.

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Reading & Understanding & Translating (a paragraph)

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Reading & Understanding & Translating (a paragraph)

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Comparative & Superlative & Playing a role using comparatives & superlatives

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Comparative & Superlative & Playing a role using comparatives & superlatives

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You poor thing. But, lots of comparatives there in your story - we had later and quicker: Catherine woke up later than usual, and she said the bus is quicker than walking.

I did. And to make the comparative form of short adjectives or adverbs, we just add the letters -e-r. So, quick, quicker. But if the word already ends in -e, we just add the letter -r. Late, later.

I also said that the bus is easier than cycling and the traffic was much busier than normal. For adjectives and adverbs that end in the letter -y and the sound ee, make comparatives by losing the letter -y and adding the letters -i-e-r. So the comparative of easy is easier.

And busy becomes busier. In fact, Catherine said the traffic was much busier. Now, we can use much or a lot before an adjective or adverb to emphasise the difference. Much busier; a lot easier.

For example, impatient has three syllables: im-pa-tient, so the comparative of impatient is more impatient.

Finn
The bus went slower and slower and people became more and more impatient.

I'm not surprised. Here Catherine used two different comparatives - slower and more impatient - with the, to say how one thing changes when something else changes. The slower the bus went, the more impatient the people became. Really not a good morning, was it, Catherine?

That's right. For two-syllable words ending in the letter -y, change the y to i and add -e-s-t, so easy becomes the easiest.

My best friend is getting married today.

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BBC Learning English - Course: intermediate / Unit 13 / Session 2 / Activity 3

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You poor thing. But, lots of comparatives there in your story - we had later and quicker: Catherine woke up later than usual, and she said the bus is quicker than walking. I did. And to make the comparative form of short adjectives or adverbs, we just add the letters - e-r.

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Market Leader Intermediate, 3rd ed. - Unit 4

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Market Leader Intermediate, 3rd ed. - Unit 4

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market leader intermediate unit 4 audio - Bing video

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Market Leader Intermediate 3rd Edition DVD Video Unit 4 interview

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Personal projects (2 students) - work in progress presentation

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Personal projects (2 students) - work in progress presentation

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Personal projects (2 students) - work in progress presentation

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Personal projects (2 students) - work in progress presentation

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Personal projects (2 students) - work in progress presentation

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Personal projects (2 students) - work in progress presentation

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Listening & Comprehension - Companies vs. Countries

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Listening & Comprehension - Companies vs. Countries

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Images : Getty / BBC
TRANSCRIPT
Tim
Multinational corporations can be really big - bigger even than some countries. But does that mean they're more powerful than a country? We'll show you how the law keeps things balanced.

How can countries stop multinational companies if they break the law?

And why do they end up fighting each other in court?

And... let's find out how companies structure themselves to limit the power of a state.

Daniel Leader
They're used to getting away with it. For decades, no one's held them to account. They've never been subject to any serious pressure.

Tim
So, as these companies grow, is the law keeping up? Do countries or companies have more power, legally? Let's look at Canada, one of the most sued countries in the world.

Canada has been sued lots, because of something called the North American Free Trade Agreement: NAFTA.

NAFTA was the free trade deal between Canada, the USA and Mexico.

But, it also made it easier for investors to sue governments if they thought the deal was broken.

Canada soon became the most sued developed country in the world - with 35 claims against it.

Foreign companies forced changes in Canadian law on toxic waste imports and sued for millions of dollars over oil drilling regulations.

Campaigners were unhappy and it was eventually replaced by the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement, which limited the power of multinational companies to take countries to court.

Maude Barlow campaigned against the trade agreement, which she saw as deeply unfair. She explained how she thinks companies got to be so powerful.

Maude Barlow
These corporations just expanded out so that their production is in this country, and their tax haven's in this country, and their administration's here, and so on... their head office might be somewhere else. And so they truly are global corporations: they really don't belong any nation states. And they want to influence law - both nation-state law, but international law - or a lack of international law - so that they can do what they want.

Tim
Maude thinks some multinational companies use their size and spread to influence and avoid the law. She explained whether she thought laws helped countries or companies more.

Maude Barlow
And here's the important thing: that what... the kind of laws that corporations get, in free trade agreements, give them legal right to sue governments if they don't like their laws, if they can... if they show that their laws can... are affecting their... their right to profit - negatively affecting their right to make money. Whereas there's nothing currently internationally, at the... at the treaty level, at the UN level, that really does impose restrictions on these corporations.

Tim
Maude says corporations can get rights from trade agreements, but aren't limited as much by treaties. She thinks companies have ended up with more power than countries. She explained how:

Maude Barlow
That's the interesting thing: it's not that all the countries got together and said, 'Let's give these corporations legal rights that we don't have. It happened piece by piece by piece. It started with this North American Free Trade Agreement, but since then there are more than 3,000 bilateral investment agreements between countries - so, that's between any two countries and they... then the corporation of this country can sue that government, and the corporations that country can sue that government.

Tim
Maude says companies have gradually gained power through lots of trade agreements.

So, some strong opinions there from the campaigner, Maude Barlow. States and multinationals often disagree. Does the way the companies are made protect them from the law?

For instance, a company is based in the United States, but it owns several 'subsidiary companies' in another country, like China and Russia, that are registered in those countries.

This kind of structure means the main company is protected from being sued because it's harder to sue a parent company for the actions of a subsidiary in another country.

So, what does that actually mean in reality? Daniel Leader has taken major companies to court. He explains how hard it is to punish a parent company for the actions of a subsidiary.

Daniel Leader
It is hard. We've had long legal battles that have gone all the way to the Supreme Court, where parent companies try to limit the principle of parent company liability.

But, happily, the Supreme Court now has twice rejected the company's attempt to narrow parent company liability, and has in fact unanimously expanded the scope of parent company liability, and gone so far as to say if a parent company makes a public commitment about supervising or assisting its subsidiary and it fails to do so, that in itself can give rise to legal liability.

Tim
It is hard to punish a parent company, but some courts, like the UK Supreme Court, are doing more to hold parent companies responsible. How effective is the law in dealing with companies that break the rules?

Daniel Leader
It's getting more effective. It's... the fundamental problem is you've had corporate impunity for decades, if not longer: corporations have not been held to account for very serious human rights and environmental abuses.

But what's increasingly happening is the courts in many jurisdictions are saying this is no longer acceptable and they are indicating that they are willing to hold parent companies to account for the harms that their subsidiaries have caused.

Tim
Daniel thinks for many years companies have avoided being punished for very serious things, but that is changing. So, how does a company use its structure to avoid legal responsibility?

Daniel Leader
Well, historically what they've done is they've hidden behind what's called a corporate veil. They've said that the subsidiary is the one that's legally responsible and the parent company should have no legal liability at all for what happened. But that is what we were unable... we were able to unpick with the Supreme Court, where the Supreme Court said, 'Absolutely not. We are not going to allow corporations to hide behind their structures, if a parent company itself has been involved in the harm that has been committed.'

Tim
Something called the 'corporate veil' meant subsidiary companies were the only ones responsible if they broke the law and were the only ones punished. How is this actually changing?

Daniel Leader
Historically, companies have sat back: they haven't really concerned themselves too much about what the working conditions are in factories or in... within their subsidiaries. They've just let it happen. And they've certainly never felt that they could be held to account. But what we are seeing is a real change in attitude: you're getting more and more lawyers willing to take cases, more and more organisations that are monitoring compliance.

Tim
He says where once companies felt they could do what they liked, now more and more lawyers are willing to fight for your rights against these big companies.

We've seen how multinational companies can try to use the law to force countries to do what they want. But this episode has also shown the power of the law - and the determination of lawyers - to make sure even these huge corporations follow the rules that keep us all safe.

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BBC Learning English - Big Business - International Law / Companies Vs Countries

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Images : Getty / BBC TRANSCRIPT Tim Multinational corporations can be really big - bigger even than some countries. But does that mean they're more powerful than a country? We'll show you how the law keeps things balanced. How can countries stop multinational companies if they break the law?

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Listening & Comprehension - What is a multinational ?                                    

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Listening & Comprehension - What is a multinational ?                                    

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BBC Learning English - Big Business - International Law / What is a multinational?

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Images : Getty / BBC
TRANSCRIPT
Tim
Multinational corporations - from the clothes we wear, to the technology we use. They influence and control our lives in ways we possibly don't even understand.

We'll show you how the law shapes their behaviour to keep us safe.

In this first episode... they're bigger than many countries, but what exactly is a multinational corporation? With huge resources and growing power, what keeps them in line?And is the law keeping up as these companies change themselves and the world around us?

Multinational corporations - private companies which operate in many nations - can be richer than some countries... and they're getting richer.
Food and drinks maker Nestlé, famous for Kit Kats and Cheerios, was worth around 350 billion dollars in 2020. That's more than the economic output of Portugal.

Oil company Shell is worth 87 billion dollars - more than the Democratic Republic of Congo. And apple, whose products you might be using now, is worth 2 trillion dollars. That puts its wealth ahead of both Russia and Canada! How have companies got so big recently?

Katie Silver
Well, in part the growth of the internet means that a company can be based in one place, but sell around the world. And that means it can grow and become very powerful. Another aspect is China: it has opened up in recent decades and so has been able to attract investment from around the world, helping these companies to grow bigger.

Tim
The world is changing. These powerful international organisations can know what we buy, who our friends are and virtually everything else about us.

Questions have already been raised about how they're using this power.
If they chose to abuse that power and even break the law, what would stop them?
We spoke to lawyer Mark Stephens and asked how the law is changing as multinationals get bigger.

Mark Stephens
The law's had to adapt and change from a nationally based system where, you know, a company would only work in one country, where... to the modern day, where companies will have multitudes of jurisdictions that they operate in and therefore they need some kind of almost global control and that's where international law comes in, because it sets the standards - the basic minimum standards - that they have to comply with.

Tim
Mark thinks the law needs to develop to set basic standards for multinational corporations. Many laws were designed when companies were in just one country. So, how effective is the law in dealing with multinationals?

Mark Stephens
I think the complexity of companies today, on an internationalised basis, makes the law very difficult to be enforced against them. So, I've got one client, which has 748 companies in about 47 different countries, and so getting an oversight of that, getting control of that from a legal and regulatory side, can be very challenging. And that's the opportunity that international law provides, because essentially it's giving the minimum standards to which they need to operate.

Tim
Companies are very complex so sometimes it's hard to enforce the law when they are spread out around the world. Can we punish a parent company for something it's responsible for in another country?

Mark Stephens
It's becoming easier to punish a... a mother company - the holding company, if you will - for the actions of its subsidiaries. But on the face of it, it's the subsidiary that is going to be liable. It's only if you can show that there was a controlling mind back at the headquarters, or that in some way they should be accountable, that you can hold the parent company to account.

Lawyers are becoming increasingly ingenious in the way in which they are visiting accountability on the parent companies, and that's only got to be a good thing because if they're accountable, they will behave better.

Tim
It is becoming easier to punish companies for wrongdoing in different countries, and if they are accountable, it will influence their behaviour.
Of course, many companies do what's right without being forced to, but it can take something shocking happening to start change.
In 2013, the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed, killing more than a thousand people. It was the worst of many such incidents in the country.

The following month, international clothing manufacturers quickly made a legal agreement to improve safety in factories in Bangladesh.

Katie Silver
This is what's known as Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR. These are the practices or policies that a business can implement that do good in the world. Think charity, or volunteering, or the environment and it's more than just about profit.

Tim
But what about when companies don't choose to behave? How can the law control something that is so big? Ranjan Agarwal, a Canadian lawyer who deals with big companies, explained who is responsible for enforcing the law on multinational companies.

Ranjan Agarwal
In our system around the world, we seem to have accepted that the obligation or responsibility to police corporations is with individual states. In international law, there is no general rule that companies are responsible for wrongful acts, even if they're committed internationally or abroad. There are treaties, multilateral treaties, that impose requirements or obligations on countries, but not on companies.

Tim
There is no international body that regulates multinationals. Instead, there are treaties that impose obligations on countries, but not companies. So, do these companies have to follow things like international human rights laws?

Ranjan Agarwal
For the most part, no. In our system, we require companies to follow the domestic laws of their states. Those domestic laws may align with international human rights laws, or human rights norms - expectations that we have as a community. There are a couple of exceptions, where states... where - sorry - companies may be governed by international treaties, but those are generally exceptions.

Tim
Companies followed the domestic laws of their states, but they don't necessarily have to follow international human rights laws, which are designed for countries. How do people decide which state's laws a company follow?

Ranjan Agarwal
For the most part, people don't decide where the law's going to be enforced. We require our governments - sometimes working together - to establish rules. In essence, we have jurisdictional laws across the world: each country gets to decide where and how it's going to take jurisdiction over companies. Sometimes it's where the company operates - that is, where its headquarters is. Sometimes it's where the company does business, but again we rely on unique... individual states to make those decisions.

Tim
Sometimes governments work together to establish rules, but each country gets to decide where and how it's going to take legal action over companies.

So, is international law fit for purpose as these companies develop?

Ranjan Agarwal
I believe that international law is moving to a place where companies may be held to account. For example, several years ago the UN established guiding principles on business and human rights, which were intended to create a global standard, to implement a framework to prevent and address the risk of human rights on business activity. But as long as we have nation states, I believe that we will rely on individual countries to enforce these norms.

Tim
Even though the UN established principles to guide businesses on human rights, we rely on individual countries to enforce the law on companies.

So, we've heard that the way multinational corporations are spread around the world makes them hard for the law to control. We also heard that the law is changing to deal with that. But international laws will always depend on countries to agree to follow them.

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BBC Learning English - Big Business - International Law / What is a multinational?

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Images : Getty / BBC TRANSCRIPT Tim Multinational corporations - from the clothes we wear, to the technology we use. They influence and control our lives in ways we possibly don't even understand. We'll show you how the law shapes their behaviour to keep us safe. In this first episode...

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Frequently Asked Questions Why is career planning important? Career planning is important because it allows you to set goals and create a strategy that will help you achieve them. Without career planning, you may not have a path to follow and it may be difficult to navigate your education, industries, and jobs.