BEC剑桥高级英语听力原文(手录)

1.1 The future of human resources

1)I think the problem is that in the last fifteen years,employers haven't shown

their employees much loyalty.They've hired and fired pretty much at will,according to whether the market dictated that they need to increase or reduce the workforce.The flipside of this is that employees now,particularly those in the 25 to 35 age group,don't feel much loyalty to their employer either.Developing strategies to hold on to highly skilled and highly qualified people has become the number one priority in human resources - in all big companies,in fact.

2)There's no doubt that in the next ten years there will be a move away from the

nine to five office-based model of work. In fact ,it's already happening with women ,who often find it challenging to balance work and domestic schedules.

This could mean more 'teleworking', in other words working at home and being linked to the office by computer;or it could mean shorter working weeks or just more flexible hours, Unless companies offer these possibilities,a lot of people will look for alternative types of work.

3)Companies are finding that graduates and school leavers aren't well enough

prepared for working life. This is going to drive two changes,I think. One is a greater co-operating between companies and universities or colleges to ensure that at entry level to the company, people have the right skills. We'll also see more investment in corporate training - corporate universities and so on -so that employees' skills can be moulded to the needs of the company.

4)As the birth rate decreased and life expectancy increases, there will be

shortages in the job market. Consequently, a lot of ex-employees who thought they had finished their careers at 60 or whatever,will be called back to work.

This will suit the companies, but it will suit the employees too, because their pensions will probably be inadequate to fund their longer retirement.

5)At the moment people in their 50s and 60s are , on the whole , very poorly valued

in companies. Firms want to recruit younger employees who are cheaper to employ and more adaptable to a changing business environment. But as the supply of these younger workers dries up, we'll have to consider older staff differently. I hope that in future the wisdom and experience of this group will become more valued.

1.2 An environment accident

J=Journalist S=Spokesperson

J : So, can you tell me how this happened?

S : Well, it was a very unfortunate combination of events. As you know , weather conditions have been severe in the eastern Atlantic for the last couple of days. The ship's captain reported that the ship was in trouble at 11pm last night and was ordered to make for port as quickly as possible. At 2:30 pm he reported that she was grounded on some rocks just off the Cornish coast.

J: But this isn't the first time this particular ship has been in an accident.is it? S: She has been involved in two incidents in the past, but these had nothing to do with

her sea-worthiness,She is a well-maintained ship in excellent working order with an experience crew on board.

J: And what are you intending to do to limit the damage to the environment now? S: Unfortunately, while conditions remain so hostile, there is very little we can do, but the moment the storms subside we will be mounting an operation to transfer the oil off the ship using tugs.

J: Do you think that this kind of accident is acceptable?

S: I think it needs to be put into perspective. Accidents at sea are far less common than rail or road accidents. The problem is that they attract much more publicity ... J: Well, yes, Whichever way you look at it, it's a PR disaster for your company, isn't it ?

S: As I've said, this type of incident does attract a lot of media attention. I just hope that the public can see ...

2.1 The PeopleSoft takeover

COMMENTATOR I think you could sum up PeopleSoft's approach to their employees like this:"We want you to be happy, we want you to do the things you've good at and that you enjoy doing. ' Very few big IT consulting companies are like that.They usually throw people straight in at the deep end: put them on jobs where they don't necessarily have much skill or experience, arguing that it's good for them to learn. But I think that although they have talked a lot about caring for their people and having fun, PeopleSoft put a lot of responsibility on them too. Like they were saying, ' Here's a job you can do and will enjoy doing,but you'll be accountable for the results.' To enforce that they generally started people on low salaries - and I mean low - and explained that greater rewards would come in time. In fairness, it was direct and honest. In December 2004,when Oracle took over,a lot of employees decided to leave. For a start, the feeling was that their applications just weren't as good as PeopleSoft's - in fact they were probably just more difficult to use - and secondly people thought that Oracle didn't respect employees as much. The CEO of PeopleSoft, Dave Duffield, had a very paternalistic approach - he used to sign his emails ' DAD '(which were his initials). It wasn't well-paid work but people felt valued, which is often more important. Also there was a relaxed atmosphere around the company.The moment the merger was announced, that kind of evaporated. It seemed to become tense, people wondering if the new CEO was going to live up to his reputation for wielding the axe. And, in retrospect, you would have to say they were right to be worried!

INDUSTRY ANALYST Oracle gets a lot of flak because of its aggressive growth strategy,but i'm afraid in this sector only the big guys are going to survive. The merger with PeopleSoft was a business necessity. It didn't happen because the two companies were so alike - their cultures were very different.At Oracle there's a greater sense of urgency ... It's a stressful environment, but the rewards are huge. I know some reps there who are making millions of dollars. Sure, if you don't cut it, you've toast pretty fast,but that's business. It's survival of the fittest. The differences really come from the nature of the two businesses. Oracle's core

product is databases and with databases the customer often make a decision whether to buy or not in a matter of weeks. With ERP applications, which is more PeopleSoft territory, you can be in discussions with customers for months, analysing their needs and then proposing the right solution before a sale is agreed. So that naturally makes for a different culture. The other thing is that the merger happened really quickly - like marrying before you've really got to know the bride. So, of course people are uncertain. I think in the end, though, as both sets of employees adapt to each other's way of working, things will settle down.

2.2 Falling shares

CEO ok,hi everyone. I'll make this brief, because I have another meeting to get to ,but what I have to say is no less important for being short.

As you know, in our three-year plan we had a target of 20% growth by the end of this year. As things stand, we've going to be quite a bit short of that - trading circumstances haven't been easy. And unless we do something about it in the next few months, the consequences on our share price could be pretty significant. The markets are already getting a bit twitchy as you will have read in the financial press.

It's unrealistic to think that we are going to trade our way out of this. All the indications are that the market is going to remain flat for at least the next twelve months. So, what I need you to do is to come up with some possible targets for acquisition. We're looking for a medium-sized business, reasonably well established in the market. It doesn't have to be a toy business, but it must be related ... in other words in the leisure retail sector, because that is where our expertise is. I don't need to tell you your jobs, I know you'll be discreet, but do get on with it - time's not on our side. I'll schedule a meeting for a month's time to hear what you've come up with.

3.1 Dealing with problems

CCO=Call centre operator C=Customer

CCO: Hello, Penco Telecommunications.

C: At last. I was just about to hang up. I've been on the phone for ten minutes going through various options ... None of which I wanted.

CCO: I do apologize for the wait.sir. How can I help you ?

C: I've been waiting in all day for an engineer to come and repair my line. He was due to come at ten o'clock this morning ... It's now three in the afternoon. I telephoned at twelve o'clock and one of your operators promised to call me back, but she hasn't. I've wasted my day waiting around and worse than that I still can't receive any calls. CCO: I'm very sorry. Can i have your number and I'll look into it straightaway ?

C: Yes , it's 01889 245624.

CCO: Ok. One moment - I'm going to see who the engineer is that has been assigned to the job ... Ok, I have his number. I'm going to put you on hold and try to find out what's happened.

C: Please don't disappear. As i said, it took me ten minutes to get through in the first place.

CCO: Don't worry, I'll come straight back to you. One moment ... Right, I'm afraid he has been delayed on another job. He apologises for not calling you sooner. He normally works until 5pm but he's offered to work later this evening to fit in your job. He can be there by 6pm. Would that be convenient?

C: No, it would not. I'm going out to the cinema this evening.

CCO: I quite understand. In that case, I'm going to have to reschedule him for another day. Can you tell me when would be convenient ?

C: Well, first thing tomorrow morning, but...

CCO : I'll see what I can do. Please just bear with me for a moment while I speak to him again ... Right that's arranged for tomorrow morning at nine.

C: That's all very well, But what am I supposed to do in the meantime ?

CCO: Do you have a mobile phone,sir ?

C: Yes.

CCO: What I can do is to divert any calls coming into your office number on to your mobile phone until your line is repaired. Would that be acceptable to you ?

C: I suppose so. When can you do that ?

CCO : If you'd like to tell me your mobile number, I can get that activated immediately

C: Ok, the number is ...

3.2 Exam practice

I imagine most of you are here today because you want to find out more about the job of a coach. Some of you will be sceptical about its benefits, others will have already started making a career out of coaching.

I myself have been a coach since the late 90s, but our academy was set up more recently in 2004 in response to a demand for more formal training in the field. We are a private institution and don't rely on any government funding. Our aim was to try to professionalise an industry which until then had been, in this country at any rate, a rather disorganised and unregulated industry. We now have over 450 members and run twelve courses a year in various types of coaching. These range from day seminars for people who are already practising as coaches to four-week courses or the beginner.

So what is a coach exactly ? Well, there are many different types of coach offering help in many different aspects of business and personal life: from financial or management coaching through to parent coaching and work-life balance coaching. But the basic principles remain the same whatever the field: using simple psychology and simple direction to help people to believe in themselves and to achieve their goals.

The great thing about coaches is that not only do they help you to identify your goals and the obstacles to achieving them, but they stay there cheering you on from the sidelines. In other words, they always help the clients to look forward. This is very unlike traditional counselling, which tends to focus more on past events and mistakes and helping the person to get over these before they can move on.

I'm going to show you a short film of a coaching session in a moment, but before

I do, I will just mention something about the rewards of the job, and the qualifications and resources that you need for it because these are questions that will be concerning many of you.

The rewards: Well, job satisfaction is , of course, very high. I mean, how often do you come home from work and are able to say, ' wow, I really made a difference to someone's life today '?As to financial rewards, sessions with coaches usually start at about ￡70 per hour but experienced coaches can earn anything up to ￡400 per hour. As to qualifications, you will need to follow an accredited coaching course, such as the ones we run here at the academy, and also you will need considerable experience in the field that you are coaching in. If you don't have this background it will be difficult for the client to have confidence in you.

What else do you need to set up as a coach ? Most coaching is done at the client's office or home, but some coaches also see people at their own homes. In fact there's no need always to meet face-to-face. I know of several coaches who conduct session by phone or online, even sometimes by text message ...

4.1 Sales techniques

Sarah We make financial software for medium-sized companies. Competition is strong - not necessarily price competition, because in our sector, quality , reliability and service are far more important factors. We use a sales technique that's called ' relationship selling '. In other words, we spend a lot of time getting to know each prospect's individual needs :their business processes, their strategic aims, and um ... Also the issues and constraints they face. The idea is that the customer sees us as a partner, someone who's going to work with them and help them find the best solution for their business. Working this way, there are times when I have to freely admit to people that our products may not be best suited to their particular needs, but to be honest I'd much prefer to be doing that than using some hard-sell technique to push something I don't really believe in myself, you know ...

Presenter Thank you, Sarah. Now, Dale Freidman, I know you have a very different approach ...

Dale I would say so, yes. In my line of business, it's all about perceived benefits - there are some tangible ones like, for example, use of natural ingredients in our deodorants, but everyone in the industry copies ideas, so it's difficult to sustain any kind of technical competitive advantage for long. So, I use a lot of anecdotes when I sell; I tell stories, get people laughing, My approach is direct - I guess some might say pushy, but I get results. I deal only with the decision maker, who's generally a buyer for a chain of stores. You'd be amazed how much time people waste talking to the wrong guy. I always start by presenting them with the most expensive options, because this increases our average sales, and as soon as I get a buying signal from them - it could be anything, you know, just a question like ' What's your most popular product ? '- I move in and close the sale by discussing quantities required, special delivery arrangements, favorable payment terms, thing that make them feel they're getting added value ...

4.2 A sales forecast

Anke Reigl Is everyone ready ? Good, then I'll begin. Ok ... Well, based on average growth in sales over the last two years and given the relatively stable state of the market at the moment as far as competition is concerned, we're forecasting a fairly modest increase in the first quarter, about 2to 3%. We expect this to rise to between 7and 10% in the second and third quarters, after the launch of the new slow - release version of the drug. Marketing tells me - thanks, Werner for your help with this ...

Werner You're welcome.

Anke Reigl ... That demand for this version is strong and should be reflected in sales more or less immediately. So that's the basic picture. There are just a couple of monthly variations to this trend which I'll explain now

If you look at the graph, you'll see that in March last year sales wet up quite sharply and that the figure predicted for this year is much lower. The reason for this is that Bayer had distribution problems and weren't able to supply the required quantities to their customers. We were fortunate, because we were carting extra stock and were fortunate, because we were carrying extra stock and were able to take advantage of the situation. I think it's worth nothing that disruptions in the supply chain can affect anyone and it really does pay for us to hold a reasonable amount of stock in reserve for events like these.

As you know, sales generally decline in April and Mat - it's just a seasonal factor - bur as I already mentioned, the launch of the new version this year is expected to boost them considerably, especially in April directly after the campaign. They'll drop back a little after that, but in July we'll have the usual early summer phenomenon when distributors ...

5.1 A culture of debt

Economist Perhaps the greater legacy of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is the way he transformed people’s attitude to credit and debt. During his term of office not only the national debt of America, but also personal debt, increased substantially.

Since the Great Depression of the 1930s, people in America have been naturally reluctant to borrow money. But for this generation, in the US and increasingly globally, debt has become respectable. From an early age, young people take out loans to pay their way through college and borrowing against equity in real estate is now at record levels. Re-mortgaging your home was unheard of generations ago: a second mortgage was an indication of a household in trouble. But today it is routine.

All this is possible because credit is easy and interest rates are low. Banks are encouraged to lend, and often do so irresponsibly. In some states it’s possible to get a 100% mortgage – in other words with no down – payment –equivalent to four times a couple’s combined annual salary. The market is constantly coming up with new financial products and new ways of extending credit to ordinary people. General Motors, whose automotive business is in decline, now sells home equity loans though a subsidiary: it’s the only part of company that has been consistently profitable in recent years.

The reason for this boom in money lending is clear – to fund consumer spending. As long as people are spending, economic growth continues. In other more conservative borrowing cultures, like Germany, economic growth has slowed because in times of uncertainty people tend to save their money, rather than borrowing and spending to make themselves feel better.

So does the accumulating debt matter ? Some say that as long as asset values rise faster than debt, there’s no problem. In 2005 Americans were twelve trillion dollars in debt, but their personal assets stood at 64 trillion dollars . Others argue that we are sitting on a time-bomb.

Asset value will not continue to rise indefinitely and when they crash, millions of people will be plunged into negative equity. Liabilities remain the same but assets can go up and down in value. This was the case with stock market values, which saw sharp falls around 2000. Crisis was averted only because investors moved their money into real estate.

For millions of Americans this only confirmed the culture Alan Greenspan had been promoting – debt is good. And if he turns out to be wrong – well, we all had fun in the meantime.

5.2 discussing costs

CA=Cost accountant GM=General manager

CA Look, we’ve got to do something. Doing nothing is not an option. Our margins will just get squeezed more and more.

GM Ok. What do you suggest?

CA Personally,I’d recommend cutting the wage bill – either by laying some people off or by freezing salaries.

GM Neither of which are going to be very popular options.

CA No, but the alternatives are probably worse : reducing material costs will definitely have an impact on product quality and cutting back on advertising expenditure is only a short-term solution – it will hurt us in the long run.

GM No, I see that.What about administrative costs or other overheads ? Instead of cutting staff, we could try and do something about getting our energy bills down for example.

CA I’ve already done as much as I can in those areas. I have thought about this a lot and for me, the only real solution is to tackle labour costs. It may be painful, but the advantage of it would be that, once done, we could get back to concentrating on selling.

GM Ok, I hear what you’re saying, but I think it might create more problems than you think. I’m going to go away and think about it … see if there is an acceptable way of doing it.

5.3 Matching

we are accused frequently of doing nothing about the ageing population and the consequent hole in pension funds. But you have to understand that, at the moment at any rate, there are no popular solutions to this problem. Either we raise the

retirement age or we increase taxes on working people. Neither of these is a vote winner. I think a lot of us in government are hoping that if we just hold on a bit, then sooner or later another solution will present itself.

5.4 Exam practice

1)I don’t believe in the capital markets. For a start they are unpredictable and for

another thing, not everyone has the possibility to take such risks with their money. I have always been of the view that you pay taxes through your working life in order to enjoy certain benefits from the state and certain protection against difficult times. For example, in case of unemployment or sickness or for your retirement, for that matter. So when I retire, I will live on what the government is due to give me. If I can’t afford cruises in the Caribbean, then that’s too bad.

2)I’m very lucky to have worked in the civil service, which has its own pension

scheme. My salary has never been as good as it might have been in the private sector, but you accept that when you work for a public service. What you do get is job security, longer holidays, good medical insurance and an excellent pension.

My pension is calculated as a percentage of my final salary. That’s very rare in the private sector. Usually private companies take your average salary over a period of, say, twenty years. So all in all I expect to be very comfortable when I retire, even if I haven’t had that much disposable income during my working life.

3)People think that as a company director, I’m bound to have all sorts of privileged

pension benefits and company schemes going on – some special executive plan. But it’s not the case. We have a company scheme for all our employees but I don’t actually participate in it. Instead, I’ve put most of my money in a long-term savings account, that gives a good rate of return if you keep it in for long enough.

It seems bizarre I know, but I make far more than I need to spend and I guess I’m naturally cautious with my money.

4)There’s a saying – I don’t know who by – that you should ‘ inivest in land, because

they don’t make it any more! ‘I think that’s good advice. Around 2004 there started to be a lot of stories in the media about company pensions and private pensions not delivering the benefits t hey had promised, mainly because they were linked to stock market investments. At that point I decided to withdraw my money from my own private pension and put it into property. I figured that if I bought a small office building, then by the time I reached retirement age, I would have paid off the mortgage and could live off the rent … so that’s what I did.

5)I realized quite early on that my state pension wasn’t going to be sufficient, so I

took out a private one when I was about 30. It works like a managed investment fund – a mixture of blue-chip stocks – so I don’t really have much say in how the money is invested. Unfortunately, like a lot of private pension schemes, it hasn’t really performed as predicted. I think the projected growth rate was between 8 and 12% and it’s grown at about 4.5%, which isn’t much above inflation. There are signs that the stock markets are doing a little better now, so I’m hopeful that in

the long run I will have reasonable funds for my retirement. Would I advise anyone to do the same … with hindsight, probably not .

6.1 A contract to supply

B=Barbara P=Paul

B Paragon. Can I help you ?

P Hello, is that Barbara ?

B Yes, speaking.

P Hi, Barbara, this is Paul from A1 Flooring in London. I’m just calling to discuss the extension of our contract for next year. Is this a good moment for you ?

B Yes, as good as any, I guess. Let me just get a pen and paper so I can make some notes … Ok, so where have we got to ?

P Well, first the good news. The Klik laminate flooring has been going really well here – you’ll probably have noticed that from the order book in the last six months or so. Customers really love it : the feedback we’ve had has been excellent.

B That’s great.

P It is good. I have to say, I’m not so surprised – it’s an excellent product, very high quality and the price reflects that of course. Which brings me on to my next point. Now, I’m not asking for better commission – we’re ok on that – but what would really help is more seasonal discounting from your end. What I mean is, reductions that we could pass straight on to our customers. Generally, we run sales in January, spring and late summer and at the moment Paragon’s products are the only ones that don’t feature. I suppose you could say that gives them a certain exclusivity in the eyes of the customer, but at the same time …

B I can see the logic of what you’re saying, and I’ve no doubt it would help sales, but what you must understand is that it’s very difficult for us to have a policy with you that’s different from all our other customers. Let me think … what I could suggest is that we try and feed you more discounted stock when we are coming to the end of a particular product line. I can speak to the boss about that.

P Well, could you also mention to him the principle of seasonal discounts, because I think it would generate even more interest in the products.

B All right, I will … but I’m not too optimistic. Are there any other points ?

P Yes, there is one other problem, which is that when we place an order, it’s quite often the case that you don’t have exactly what we want in stock and you offer us a substitute instead. Let me give you an example: we want engineered wood flooring in a natural oak and you only have it in a stained oak. On the whole we try to be flexible, but it’s something which seems to be happening more and more – and what worries me.

B I do understand, Paul, and I apologise. It’s something which we are trying to solve. But it’s not really a problem of our own making. It’s a result of shortage in raw material and delays further up the supply chain. We do try to carry reserve stocks of all types of wood, but as you know it’s a sensitive product to transport and store and we often have to rely on what’s available from our suppliers at a given time. That’s just the nature of the product.

P Yes, I appreciate all that, but explaining it to our customers is another thing.

Often they’re just not prepared to wait and if they can’t get what they want exactly when they want it, they’ll go elsewhere. In the end, that’s no good for either of us. Are you saying that the situation is unlikely to improve because if you are …

6.2 Telephone expressions

1) A Can I speak to Yan Lin, please?

B I’m sorry, the liner is engaged. Would you like to hold?

A No, that’s ok. I’ll call back later.

2) A I’m afraid Mr. Chiu is out of the office today.

B Ok. Can you take a message ?

A Of course. I’ll just get a pen and paper.

3) A Hello, Morris Industries.

B Can I have the sales department, please ?

A One moment. I’ll put you through.

4) A I’m afraid our computer are down at the moment.

B But I need the information by the end of today.

A Ok, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

B Thank you. I’d appreciate that.

5) A How can I help ?

B Can you ask Esther to bring her laptop with her ?

A Sure. I’ll make sure she gets the message.

B Thanks.

6) A I’m calling about Mr. Signelli. Is his bill for $3,000 or $3,500 ?

B One second. I’ll just check my records.

7) A Can I speak to Sarah, please ?

B Hang on. I’ll see if she’s back from lunch yet.

8) A So, it’s the Taj Mahal restaurant at 1 o’clock.

B Great. I’ll look forward to seeing you then.

7.1 Strengths and weaknesses

1)I admire my boss a lot. He’s very capable; he knows exactly what he’s doing and

he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty, not like some managers who think they’re above it all. The one problem is that he takes on too much. I don’t think it’s because he doesn’t trust us to do a good job – it’s because he likes to be involved in everything. He’s a bit of a control freak. The result is that he spreads himself very thin, when he could hand more work out to others, and he’s often overloaded and stressed.

2)Cheryl’s not particularly brilliant, but she knows that. She knows her own

limitations, which is certainly one of her strengths. In fact, I don’t think you have to be particularly bright to be a manager – that’s more a quality you need in a leader. A manager’s job is to bring order to the workplace and the team, so that people are clear about what they should be doing and when they should be doing it.

Cheryl is very good at getting everyone working in the most efficient way and that makes our working environment much less stressful.

3)He’s not an easy guy to work for. He has very high expectations of his staff and

he can be rude and too direct. Sensitivity is not his strong point. He often puts you on the spot : ‘What makes you think this will work? ‘ Have you thought about the cost of this? ‘ and so on. You have to be prepared to justify your actions a lot.

Some people can’t stand being challenged like this all the time, but you can’t deny that he gets the most out of his staff. People do perform.

4)There are people who listen to what you are saying, and people who hear what you

are saying. Paul is one of the former. He does try to listen to other people’s ideas, but his mind has often moved onto the next thing, and he doesn’t take on board what you’re saying. It’s the same thing when he’s expressing his own ideas and wishes. He kind of takes it for granted that everyone has reached the same point in their thinking that he has, when often they’re still two or three steps behind.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s a very nice guy – kind and clever, and he has lots of great ideas and vision for the company –but because of these communication difficulties, he can be very frustrating to work for.

5)The financial rewards in our company are not so huge, but in spite of that, in my

team we all stay very motivated because our boss really appreciates our work.

She’s actually very protective of her own people. She gives us a lot of praise.

Other people in the company say she’s a maverick, a kind of a loner. They say she’s difficult to get on with and doesn’t really have the company’s interests at heart. But I wouldn’t know about that really, because it’s not the side of her that we see. What we get is 100% loyalty and encouragement.

8.1 Corporate social responsibility

I’d like to talk to you today about an approach to doing business that is fast gaining popularity. It is the concept of Triple Bottom Line. We all know the term bottom line and what it refers to, namely the financial profitability of the company. Triple Bottom Line, or 3BL as it is sometimes called, recognizes that there are two other important factors in measuring a company’s success –social performance and environmental performance. Put in a more friendly way 3BL is about ‘ People. Planet and Profits .‘ Nor are these things unconnected: the three legs are in fact strongly linked.

Why is this important ? In today’s global economy, the standards set by business, and not by government, are more and more what affect people’s lives. The environment, as we all know, is under unprecedented pressure. In many sectors –transport, energy generation, production of chemicals and plastics – business can play its part in reducing pollution, particularly CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. It can also take more responsibility for the full lifecycle of products – from manufacture to disposal.

In the area of social performance, business must consider the welfare of their employees and the communities in which they operate. In the pursuit of a better financial bottom line, companies will naturally look to reduce their labour costs. This may mean cutting jobs or wages or it may mean outsourcing work or relocating to a country where labour is cheaper. All too often the impact of these actions on the

workforce is not taken properly into account.

One aspect of social responsibility –sponsorship of community projects –has already been taken up by companies on a wide scale. That is probably because companies have been quick to see the financial benefit of the good publicity that comes from being involved in such helpful projects.

Does all this sound nice ? Of course it does, but it’s not enough to say you are going to follow a policy of corporate social responsibility : to make a difference companies have to ‘ walk the talk ‘. So how do you go about translating good intentions into concrete actions that will really make a difference ?

The first thing is to be attentive to the needs of all stakeholders. This means that companies must recognize their responsibilities not only to their shareholders, but also be committed to respecting their employees, their suppliers, their customers, and the local community and environment in which they operate.

The second point is about audits and reporting. Companies already submit their financial accounts for audit; they must also submit to social audits and environmental impact audits. These must be reported to the outside world so that everyone can see the results of their performance in the three key areas, thus tying companies to their promises. However, this means that companies have to be honest and open about their actions and so expose themselves to public criticism. It’s easy to advertise your successes to your customer; It’s not so easy to publicise the level of pollution from your factory or, if you are a private company, to disclose your financial results.

9.1 Market research

Mr. N=Mr. Niedermeier TM=Telemarketer

Mr. N Hello?

TM Sir, is that Mr. Niedermeier ?

Mr. N Yes,it is. How can I help you ?

TM Sir, I’m calling you from Arat Marketing. You’ve a holder of a gold Mastercard, is that correct ?

Mr. N Er … yes, I am.

TM We are carrying out some market research on behalf of your bank. It’s a short survey and to thank you for your time we would like to enter you for a prize draw to win an Aston Martin Vantage sports car. Would now be a convenient time or shall I call back later ?

Mr. N Umm … how long will it take ?/

TM Only five minutes,sir.

Mr. N And what is it for exactly? I’m not sure I understood.

TM It’s a survey into consumer perceptions of brands. I’m going to give you the names of some well-known brands and I’d like you to give me one positive and one negative impression of this brand. If you don’t have an impression say ‘ None ‘.If you have no knowledge of the brand say ‘I don’t know ’. Otherwise just keep your answer short and simple. Are you ready ?

Mr. N Er … yeah, I guess so.

TM Ok. Dell Computers. Have you ever bought one ?

Mr. N yes.

TM One positive impression of the brand ?

Mr. N Umm … good value for money.

TM And negative ?

Mr. N None.

9.2 A product presentation

Like most good innovations, the one I will present to you today is beautifully simple. Successful new products to my mind fall into two categories : those which are essentially luxuries. However seductively they’re presented and packaged, they are unnecessary. And then there are those which are necessary, only people haven’t realized it before because the product didn’t exist yet. Which would you rather be selling ? I know I’d rather be selling a neat solution to an unsolved problem.

Ok, so, how many of you only remember to waste your house plants when you see them wilting or dying ? How many of you then spend the next month over-watering the plant until its roots start to rot and its leaves start to blacken ? Come on, we’ve all done it.

Plant-carer is the answer to these to these problems. It’s the brainchild of one of our R&D team, who made an early prototype of the product for his own use at home. Because he was on holiday for two weeks and had no-one in the block of apartments that he felt he could ask to look after his plants, he devised a simple automatic watering system. Basically, it consists of a container of water, a valve and a humidity sensor. When the humidity sensor detects that the earth in the plant pot is too dry, it causes a valve to open and release a fixed amount of water from the container into the plant pot. As long as the earth is damp, the valve remains closed.

We also have in the pipeline a more sophisticated model which can be used all the time, not just when you are away from home. With a range of settings, it allows you to set Plant-carer to deliver exactly the amount of water indicated in the plant care instructions, watering them as they need to be watered. The result is that the average person can care for a plant as an expert would.

I hope you’re beginning to see the enormous potential we have here. This is a product that will appeals to everyone –not just limited to Garden Centres, or even DIY centres. Plant-carer is a product aimed at the mass market … it can be sold also through every major supermarket in the country.

It comes in three sizes, the smallest retailing at an amazing €8. It complies with all health and safety regulations and doesn’t need batteries or any other power source to run on.

I can’t tell you how excited I am by the prospects for this product. It has the capability to transform this company; to do, even if it’s on a smaller scale perhaps, what the Model T did for Ford and what the iPod did for Apple. Thank you.

9.3 Idioms

M1= Manager 1 M2= Manager 2

M1 As I see it, this is a job we can do – it’s well within our capabilities. The only

stumbling block is the price.

M2 I’ll say. They’re asking us to do something for a price which, quite frankly, for the work involved on our side , just isn’t realistic!

M1 Yes, but you’re assuming that we’ve got to start from scratch and that’s not actually the case. It’s not as pricey a job as you think. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel, here. We can just take an existing piece of software and rework it.

M2 You say that, but I know what these projects are like. You imagine it’s all going to be plain sailing, but then you inevitably run into one problem after another and before you know it, the costs have spiraled out of control.

M1 Of course there would be teething problems – there are with any project. And of course we would have to cost that in. But I’m sure we can find some middle ground with them.

M2 Ok, but if it all goes pear-shaped, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

10.1 A team-building day

Well, hello. Good to see that you all made it – thank you. I hope that the programme I’m going to show you today will excite you as much as it does us. I should say before going through it, that although this will be a fun day, the ultimate aim is not just for everyone to have a good time, but to get to know each other better and to understand how each individual thinks, functions and likes to work. It’s this understanding that will make us a stronger team.

I’ve written a summary of the programme on the handout you’ve all got in front of you and I’ll just go through the schedule now. We’ll meet here at 8am on the morning and be taken by coach direct to Silverstone racing circuit. That should take about 90 minutes. On arrival, we’ll be met by Pauline Carter, who is our host for the day. She will explain the morning’s activity and then we’ll divide into four groups. Lunch will be at 1 pm in the corporate hospitality suite in the main grandstand and we have a guest speaker lined up – his identity will remain a surprise for now. After lunch Pauline will take us back to the track for the afternoon’s activities and we should be finished by about 4:30. We’ll then have a debriefing session which will last about an hour. This is a chance for everyone to talk about their experiences of the day should finish at about 5:30. The coach will bring us back to London by 7pm.

What will you be doing exactly ? Well, I don’t want to give away too much but I will tell you two things. First of all , you don’t have to be a grand prix driver : that’s to say, you won’t have to drive a fast car if you don’t want to. Secondly, there is much more to the tasks you will be undertaking than just driving skills and knowledge of motor sport.

So, how should you prepare ? Please dress casually : jeans and training shoes (no high heels,please) and a jumper or warn jacket in case it’s cold. You don’t need to bring any of the following : money, mobile phones ,PDA’s, laptops. You can bring a camera if you want. Everything else you need will be supplied. As I said at the outset, I think it’s going to be a really fun and exciting day and I hope it also achieves its aim of helping you to work more closely as a team. Now, are there any questions I can answer? Please remember that I can’t really say more about the details of the event itself at the

moment …

10.2 Taking notes

Hello David, Claudia –do have a seat. You’re now coming towards the end of your training here – I hope you’ve both enjoyed your time. I’ve got one more task for you and this is it – please listen carefully. What I’d like you to do is to think about the office environment you’ve been working in for the last six months and to produce some proposals on how it could be improved.

There are some obvious areas to look at : because of the nature our work and people being out of the office often, not everyone has his or her own desk and that can be a little frustrating. You may also think that the open plan office is a mistake –I certainly find it difficult sometimes when I have clients on the phone. Then there’s the cosmetic side of it – people do comment on the décor being a little monotonous and impersonal – maybe that’s just a matter of taste.

But these are conclusions I’d like you to draw for yourselves. I don’t wat to spoonfeed you or pre-empt your proposals. I suggest you spend the first couple looking around, talking to people, getting their views and write up your report on day three. One way or another I’d like the proposals on my desk first thing Thursday morning. Any questions ?

11.1 Relocation experiences

1) A lot of regions try to attract companies by offering low business rates. That’s

why we originally moved here seven years ago. Unfortunately, it was just a carrot to get people like us here. It lasted for a while, but last year the local authority put up rates by a massive 30%. Now it’s as expensive as anywhere else. If someone is thinking of moving for similar reasons, I’d advise against it. It’s like sitting in the garden in the evening trying to stay in the sun –you keep moving your chair, but sooner or later the shade catches up with you.

2)We moved out here five years ago. Living in the city was expensive, but that

wasn’t the real motivation. I was commuting out to our offices every day, which are near the airport. It was taking me an hour and a half each way, which was crazy. Our house is now only ten minutes away, which is really handy – I can just take the bike or walk. It has other advantages too : the schools are great, there’s lots of green space. Generally it’s very peaceful, expect when the planes go overhead : then you can’t hear yourself think.

3)Competition is so tough in our field that reducing costs became a necessity. We

didn’t really want to move the operation, but in the end we had to get our wage bill under control. Moving to Hungary has been a great success : the people are highly skilled, hard-working and very productive. The salary bill is about half what it was, but it is creeping up. I guess that’s inevitable with developing economies;

people want more money to buy more expensive things.

4)We’d heard so many people say how stress –free life was in Australia, that we

decided to make the plunge and move out here. And what they say is true : the people are relaxed, the sun shines and it’s easy to get around. I say easy, but

actually any trip becomes a major expedition. Australians will drive two hours to visit some friends without giving it a second thought. So we don’t go out as much as we used to. When we do there are lots of things to do – it’s not the cultural desert that people in Europe make out it is.

5)Basically, it was just a lack of space. Our business was growing and we couldn’t

keep the level of stock that the orders demanded. We’ve now got more than enough – I just hope business stays buoyant. It has made delivery a little more expensive because we’re not as central as were – most of our customers are in the London area. But you can’t have it both ways. On the other hand, our suppliers probably find it easier to get stock to us, so I suppose the move has benefited them.

12.1 Listening script

John So, Jim, what did you know about doing business in China before you made your first trip there ?

Jim Very little, actually. These days there’s a lot of literature and advice out there.

I had heard about the principle of Guanxi before I went to China, but I hadn’t

really realized how important a part of business culture it was.

John What is Guanxi, exactly ?

Jim It refers to relationships or connections with people that are built on trust and have been developed over a long time. These relationships are based on shared experience – people operating in a similar field – and often also on the exchange of gifts or favours.

John But if you’re an outside, that must make life very difficult. You don’t have a shared background as such …

Jim That’s right. You don’t have those networks and for that reason you’re going to have to be patient, because it takes time to develop them. That’s why so many foreign businesses look for a Chinese partner who has good contracts already, like an agent or business partner.

John And is there any other way to shortcut this process ?

Jim Not really. Gift-giving is helpful –presenting a small gift at the end of a meeting, for example. Don’t expect immediate returns, though, and don’t give anything big. The Chinese government has clamped down hard on bribery in recent years and won’t tolerate it. What you have to do is build friendships. John And how would you go about that ? Any particular tips ?

Jim There’s no particular secret : just get to know your partners, exchange small talk, invite them out for meals –Chinese people love eating out. They’ll certainly invite you out to a restaurant at some point. The main thing is just to be yourself …with an extra bit of formality and politeness. Don’t do what some people do and try to be Chinese.

John And are there any things you shouldn’t talk about – any taboos ?

Jim Umm …I think the important thing is to show genuine interest in learning about China and the government. There are also a few different habits.

Sometime during the meal there will be toasts – make sure that you make one

to the most senior member of the group there.

John Any other tips ?

Jim Well, they appreciate the best – established brands with a quality reputation –having had limited access to western products in the past. Everyday practicalities ? Er … people dress soberly for business, they shake hands on meeting …usually, though occasionally they’ll just nod at you. They love to exchange business cards, so bring lots of those. And when you receive one make sure you study it carefully – it’s very rude just to put it straight in your pocket.

John What about their behavior ? The Chinese have a reputation for being difficult to read.

Jim I don’t really find that. Perhaps they use facial expressions or gestures less freely than westerners do. They do seem to take their time agreeing to things.

There are two reasons for that : first of all, they generally operate within big hierarchies and the decision may need to come from high up; secondly, they dislike saying ‘no’ directly. If they start to make a series of small objections to something, it generally means they’re trying to say they’re not interested.

But above all, as I said before, don’t worry about the time all this takes –you’re going to need that anyway to learn how Chinese companies operate and all the governance and tax laws, the regulations around joint ventures and so on …

12.2 Conversation starters

Sarah Hi Joachim, sorry to be a little late.

Joachim No problem. Good to see you again. How was your trip ?

Sarah It was fine. No delays, just the usual traffic from the airport.

Joachim And did you find our offices easily ?

Sarah Yes, thank you. Your directions were very clear.

Joachim Ok, so, can I get you a coffee before we start?

Sarah Yes. I’d love one. White, one sugar, please.

Joachim And, how are you fixed for time ?

Sarah I’ve got a couple of hours now. I hope that’s enough.

Joachim sorry, do you mind if I just take this call ?

Sarah No, of course not, Go ahead …

Joachim Sorry about that – the boss. So, are you expecting it to be a good year ? Sarah Well, I hope so. Last year was pretty flat, as you know.

Joachim Well, that’s really what I’d like to talk about today –how we can ramp things up a bit. Can I be of any help with the marketing side of things ? Sarah That’s kind of you, but we should be able to cope. It’s just a question of programming it in. We’re planning a campaign meeting next week …Joachim … so I think that’s been a useful start to our discussions. I will programme another meeting for two weeks’ time. But I think you have to go now. Would you like to go for a meal this evening ?

Sarah I’d love to, but I’m afraid I have to be back in London by six.

Joachim No worries. Would you like a lift back to the station ? Sarah That would be really nice, but I don’t want to put you out. Joachim It’s no problem. I’m going that way anyway.

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