BEC剑桥商务英语资料：Unit07-12课文

1、Unit 7Focus: Three Directors discussing payListening TaskMD- Managing DirectorPD- Personnel DirectorOD- Operations DirectorMD: But we want to offer more than just fair pay. I want to be able to say that we can offer the best rates of pay in the area.OD: Well, youre the big boss. The only things stop

2、ping you are the Financial Director and the bank. I thin both would have something to say.MD: I daresay they would. But if we offer the best rates of pay for the job, then no one can turn around and say that theyre leaving because of the money. It enables us to take money out of the equation.OD: But

3、 will it enable us to establish a reputation for being the best employer?MD: No, but it will certainly give us prestige in the neighborhood. Itll help to boost our reputation.PD: But it cant make us into the best employer.MD: No, but itll certainly stop us from being seen as the worst.OD: From the p

4、ersonnel recruitment point of view, itll allow us to get the right staff. It means that well be able to get the right number of people with the right qualifications and the right experience.MD: But theres a difference between paying competitive wages to get the people we need and overpaying people.

5、Remember that overpayment stops people from moving on. They stay in a job for all the wrong reasons.PD: Yes, of course. We must fry to strike a balance. Pay well for prestige and to get the right people, but not overpay so that we are stuck with the wrong people.OD: From my point of view in operatio

6、ns, the organization of the pay packet is very important. It enables me to control a major part of the operations function and also to save money.MD: You mean through overtime?OD: Yes, partly through overtime and partly through other incentives.PD: Yes, but remember that more often than not, its the

7、 workers who are more capable of controlling overtime than the employers. In fact, these days we cant use pay to control our total wages costs.OD: OK. I accept that conditions have changed.PD: Well, you only have to look at the costs incurred in redundancies or dismissals.MD: And the same is true fo

8、r women. The old legislation enabled companies to recruit them on a temporary basis and then get rid of them when they werent needed.PD: Oh yes, the new employment laws prohibit companies from acting like that. Of course, there are still many companies which would like to go back to the old days!MD:

9、 But coming back to the power of pay. Dont you think some workers are motivated by money?PD: Complex question. Yes and no. productivity payments tend to encourage workers to produce quantity rather than quality. It does motivate workers to produce more, but Im really not sure if it enables us to be

10、more competitive.Unit 8Focus: A sSenior Director talking about the competitive position of his companyListening TaskWhat Id like to do is to outline a SWOT analysis of the company, which we have recently carried out. As Im sure you all know, SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and t

11、hreats.So lets start with the strengths. Its apparent that out main competitive advantage is our range of products. Our accounts software packages are perceived as the most user-friendly on the market, relatively easy to install, requiring much less training than our competitors packages and represe

12、nting better value for money. So, all in all weve got an excellent product. Our other main strength is our people-especially on the after-sales side. Our after-sales team is perceived as faster, more qualified, friendlier and generally more efficient than our competitors. This applies both to the he

13、lpdesk and the field maintenance people.Right. Lets turn to the weaknesses. Although we have such a strong product, we havent achieved the sort of market penetration we should have. Basically this is because our marketing is not so effective as our competitors. One especially, STERLING, has a much s

14、tronger presence in the market both in terms of sales and profile. Weve relied too heavily on product quality, not enough on promotion. Weve got to put considerably more effort into our advertising and direct mail campaigns.So, that brings me to the opportunities. Were clearly not taking the opportu

15、nity we have to dominate the small business user market. We could be achieving significantly higher sales- I estimate fifty to sixty percent more. We could also be building a much more extensive customer base-this would ensure a more secure future as well.Our main threat, of course, is STERLING. The

16、yve got a much more impressive dealer network and their promotion is a lot more sophisticated than ours. On the other hand, weve got the better range of products. We should be capitalizing on this. One wayUnit 9Focus: A promotion review committee discussing some candidates for promotionJoan: Oh I do

17、nt know. Hes already been with the firm for 20 years. Surely hes not still expecting promotion. Do you agree, Peter?Peter: Well, John Jeffrys has always shown great loyalty to the firm. Its time this was rewarded, in my opinion.Clive: Its not just a question of loyalty. Would he be any good at the j

18、ob? He would need to manage a small team-hes got no experience of that yet.Peter: He never will have any experience unless we give him a chance!Joan: We cant afford to be sentimental. I dont think hes the man for the job. Hes always been a follower, not a leader. Lets move on to the other candidates

19、. Rita Hayden has already shown great personnel management skills, I feel, even if shesPeter: Oh, come on, Joan! Shes still learning her trade! We cant afford to take a risk with someone so inexperienced.Clive: I agree with Peter. Ritas not yet ready for the responsibility. I favour Susan Palmer. Sh

20、es got a lot of experience, shes already worked in the department other occasions so she knows the ropes and shes Joan: But shes always struck me as a bit cautious. We need someone dynamic for this job.Peter: Id agree with Clive. I think Susan Palmer would do a good job. Maybe shes a bit cautious bu

21、t shes solid, reliable We need those qualities too.Joan: Well, if youre both so sure, I suppose Ill have to agree. Still, well wait a week before confirming it just in case any other applicants put their names forward.Clive: But weve already had the closing date forUnit 10Focus: The Manager of a spo

22、rtswear shop talking to two new assistants about the transactions and records involved when buying stockListening TaskA: So, what do we mean by a supplier? Debbie.T1: A supplier is a company that sells goods to a shop, like us.A: Right. So, if we need goods, we go to a supplier. Notice that I said a

23、 supplier. For all the goods we stock here there are various suppliers we use. And we try to stay in contact with all of them so that we can get the best offers. So how do we compare the offers?T2: By making an enquiry.A: And how?T2: By phone.A: Right. This book here, The Sports Equipment Trade Jour

24、nal, gives details of all the trade suppliers. That means companies that sell to the trade to shops like us. So, when we need stock, we check for suppliers here and then phone round for quotes. When asking for q quote we need to sate the item we want and the quantity we need. And we write the quotes

25、 here on the quote record from, showing the suppliers name, the item, the quantity and the price. And before we put the phone down?T1: We ask the supplier to send us a copy.A: Or better?T1: To fax us a quote.A: Right. And why?T2: So that we have something in writing.A: So what details would you expe

26、ct the supplier to fax?T1: Oh, erpricespecial discounts, delivery costsA: And?T2: And delivery time.A: Right. Good. So, now weve got the best quote. Whats next?T1: We place an order.A: And how do we place the order?T2: Using our order form. And we send it or fax it to the supplier.A: Exactly. So thi

27、s is the order form here. As you can see, it shows our name here, the suppliers name here, and our order number. Below that we write the details of the order: item name, item reference number, number of units and the unit price. At the bottom we write the agreed delivery date from the suppliers fax,

28、 and the delivery address, which is our address here. What else does the order need?T1: A signature.A: Right. In fact, Im the only person who can sign for orders, so all order forms will need to come to me. Right?Ts: Fine/OK/Right.A: So, the goods arrive as agreed, together with another document. Do

29、 you know that its called?T1: A delivery note.A: Yes, thats right. The delivery note is proof that weve taken delivery of the goods. So we have to sign the delivery note and hand it back to the driver. So now weve got the goods. Obviously we check that the items delivered are what we ordered. And we

30、 also make sure that they have been delivered in good condition. So, lets presume that everythings okay. What happens next?T2: We receive a bill.A: Yes a bill or?T1: An invoice.A: Exactly. And thats what we are going to look at next.Unit 11Sales TrainingFocus: A Sales Manager and his Regional Sales

31、Managers discussing the importance of customer serviceListening TaskAnn: More and more emphasis on service, and higher customer expectations, as well. Many have done their homework before they go into the store and they ask all the right questions.Jack: Yes, youd think they knew the products in deta

32、il. Of course, its not only the customers. Ive had a few problems with our field salesmen. Saying that theyve found our people in HQ unhelpful.Ann: Thats our technical colleagues, of course. In fact, my region-surveys show theres been some improvement in the sales force since this time last year, wh

33、en we discussed this same problem.Glyn: So, the training plan for the sales force next year looks like this. At the top weve got our three regions-north, south, and central. And on the left the different training programmes. Then, for each training programme to be offered, theres the dates here. So,

34、 first the Sales Communication Course. Thats a three-day module and it will be offered in HQ in Week 6 to all new sales staff. How many participants have we got? Ann?Ann: Not many in my team. Let me seetwo.Glyn: Right. Jack?Jack: Ive got three.Glyn: Right, so thats five. No participants form my team

35、. Moving on, the next course is Interpersonal Skills. This is a new course, specially designed for sales personnel.All: Good.All: Interesting.Glyn: Just what we need. So, we are going to run this in each region.Ann: How long is it?Glyn: Let me seeOne day.Jack: Thats not much time, is it?Glyn: Well,

36、its a pilot programme. There are mixed feelings about it, so I plan to run several short courses before making a final decision.Ann: So, is this for all our salesmen?Glyn: Yes, thats right. Itll be held in Week 9 for the northern region, Week 11 for the south and Week14 for the central. I intend to

37、give you all a short questionnaire because Id like to get a little feedback, and hopefully build it into the subsequent courses.All: Right. Fine. OK.Glyn: Then finally, theres the technical training. There will be two courses-Introducing the Product Range and Advanced Product Features. The introduct

38、ory course will be for the same participants as the sales training course.Ann: So two from my team.Jack: And three from mine.Glyn: Actually, theres one person form my team who Id like to attend. So that makes six. And finally, Ann: Sorry, when and where?Glyn: Right. Let me see. Theres no information

39、 about that here. Let me just check in this file. Yes, two days in Week 7 and itll take place here at HQ. So that just leaves the Advanced Product Features. This is also a new course, incorporating this years models. So everyone should attend. Itll be run in each region for each team. Now the dates

40、are north: Week 10; south: Week 12 and central: Week 15. Right, if thats all clear, Ive got a few other points Id like to discussUnit 12The supply ChainFocus: A presentation by a Director of Logistics about the supply chainListening TaskOne of the key area of our operations is logistics-namely the m

41、anagement of materials movement-all the way through form raw materials supply to end-customer delivery. Its vital from two points of view: firstly, customer satisfaction in terms of quality and delivery times; and secondly, internal financial control in terms of inventory levels and manufacturing cos