Speaking Test Part II
1. Customer Relations: the importance of making customers feel valued
2. Company growth: the importance to a company of controlling expansion
3. Marketing: how to ensure that agents maintain a high level of effectiveness when representing a company
4. Time Management: the importance of planning work time effectively
5. Project Development: how to ensure inter-departmental co-operation on new projects
6. Purchasing: how to evaluate and 0select new products
7. Personnel Management: the importance to a company of having well motivated staff
8. Strategic Planning: how to decide whether to purchase or rent company premises
9. Sales: how to ensure that price levels for new products are set appropriately
10. Communication Skills: the importance of foreign language training for 0selected employees
11. Advertising: how to 0select a suitable agency to handle a company s advertising
12. Finance: how to decide whether to float a company on the stock-market
13. Marketing: the importance to a company of offering its products on the world-wide web
14. Staff Training: how to evaluate the effectiveness of company training programmes
15. Company Growth: how to decide when it is the right time for a business to expand
16. Public Relations: the importance to a company of sponsoring well-known personalities from the arts and popular culture
17. Recruitment: how to ensure that the best candidate for a post is 0selected
18. Information Management: how to analyse and make effective use of information
19. Sales: the importance of brand image in ensuring that products or services sell well
20. Technology: the importance to a company of keeping up-to-date with internet developments
21. Quality Control: how to ensure that a company consistently maintains quality control standards
22. Product Promotion: how to make effective use of the media when promoting a new product or service
23. Product Management: the importance of teamwork for the effective management of projects
24. Health and Safety: how to develop a responsible attitude among staff to the health and safety requirements of accompany
25. Technology: the importance of computer skills for the workplace of the future
26. Communications: how to ensure that e-mail is used appropriately by staff for internal and external communications
27. Staff Development: how to administer a staff budget effectively
28. Market Research: the importance of finding out about customers habits and attitudes
29. Financial Management: how to identify ways of reducing costs in a company
30. Communication: how to achieve an effective working relationship between different departments within a company
31. Communication skills: the importance of understanding cultural differences when working in an international environment
32. Personnel Management: the importance of providing employees with clear job descriptions
33. Company Growth: how to ensure that company growth proceeds at the optimum rate
34. Time Management: how to manage a heavy workload effectively
35. Health and Safety: the importance to a company of having a Health and Safety policy
36. Human Resources: how to ensure that staff at all levels receive appropriate feedback on individual performance
Samples
Customer Relations: how to maintain customer interest in a company s products
As is know to all, it is very important for a company to maintain customer interest in their products. I think a company should try every possible way to retain its current customers.
First, it should always make sure that it provides its customers with quality goods and after-sales service. Second, it should lay enough emphasis on the feedback from its current customers and take prompt action to take care of their needs and demands. Third, if possible it may provide some incentives to its old customers. For example, it can grant a certain discount to them if their purchases reach a certain amount. Apart from all these, a company should design strategies to attract new customers and create transactions with them, to expand their customer base, so to speak. These strategies include product diversification and upgrading.
All in all, a company should try its utmost to keep its current customers satisfied with its products and services, and at the same time it should stay ahead of the market through product and pricing strategies.
How to fill a key vacancy
In order to fill a key vacancy, a company will usually follow the same standard procedure.
It will begin by producing an accurate job description of what it would like the successful candidate to do. From this, it can then produce a profile of this ideal candidate, which is a list of skills, experience, attributes and so on.
Having produced this profile, the company must then decide on the best recruitment method to capture a candidate with this profile. This might be an internal advertisement or an external advertisement in a newspaper, on the Internet say, even an agency or perhaps a headhunter.
Having decided on the best recruitment method, the advertisements are then placed or the headhunter contacted and a list of candidates will be then drawn up to be put through the company s recruitment processes. This might be interviews, psychometric tests or even hand-writing analysis. This will then produce the ideal candidate for the company.
The company will then have to negotiate terms with this candidate and, hopefully, this will result in terms which are both affordable for the company and attractive enough to get the candidate they want.
Background Information
Career Planning: how to assess the career opportunities provided by different types of companies
Career Planning:
Even after a job is offered and accepted, career decisions must be made. On-the-job experience may affect the desired path. Aspiring to achieve a position above the present position is natural. The planned career path to that position may involve either a series of promotions within the firm or switching to a different firm. While planning a career path is a useful motivator, the plans should be achievable. If everyone planned to be president of a company, most plans would not be achieved. This can cause frustration. A preferable career path would include short-term goals, since some ultimate goals may take twenty years or longer. The use of short-term goals can reinforce confidence as goals are achieved.
Career Development: the importance of acquiring a range of skills throughout your career
It is important a person to have a range of skills in the course of his career development. When he has a range of skills, he is obviously more competitive than those who don t and therefore has more chances of promotion. And it will be easier for him to find a job outside his company if he is not satisfied with his present job. In addition, a person with a range of skills is more likely to work his way up to the top of the corporate ladder.
Human Resources: how to provide effective support for new members of staff
Training: The importance of a continuous programme of staff training within a company
Staff Management: how to achieve and maintain high motivation among a workforce
Motivating Employees: Employees tend to be more satisfied with their jobs if they are provided (1) compensation that is aligned with their performance, (2) job security, (3) a flexible work schedule, and (4) employee involvement programs. Firms should offer job security, compensation that is tied to employee performance, more flexible work schedules, and more employee involvement programs. To the extent that job satisfaction can motivate employees to improve their performance, firms may be able to a higher production level by providing greater job satisfaction.
Marketing Research
Managers cannot always wait for information to arrive in bits and pieces from the marketing intelligence system. They often require formal studies of specific situations. For example, Toshiba wants to know how many and what kinds of people or companies will buy its new superfast laptop computer. Or Barat College in Lake Forest, Illinois, needs to know what percentage of its target market has heard of Barat, how they heard, what they know, and how they feel about Barat. In such situations, the marketing intelligence system will not provide the detailed information needed. Managers will need marketing research.
We define marketing research as the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing an organization. Every marketer needs research. Marketing researchers engage in a wide variety of activities, ranging from market potential and market share studies, to assessments of customer satisfaction and purchase behavior, to studies of pricing, distribution, and promotion activities.
A company can conduct marketing research in its own research department or have some or all of it done outside. Although most large companies have their own marketing research departments, they often use outside firms to do special research tasks or studies. A company with no research department has to buy the services of research firms.
Marketing: the importance of packaging products appropriately
In recent times, numerous factors have made packaging an important marketing tool. Increased competition and clutter on retail store shelves means that packages now must perform many sales tasks-from attracting attention, to describing the product, to making the sale. Companies are realizing the power of good packaging to create instant consumer recognition of the company or brand. For example, in an average supermarket, which stocks 15,000 to 17,000 items, the typical shopper passes by some 300 items per minute, and 53 percent of all purchases are made on impulse. In this highly competitive environment, the package may be the seller s last chance to influence buyers. It becomes a "five-second commercial." The Campbell Soup Company estimates that the average shopper sees its familiar red and white can 76 times a year, creating the equivalent of $26 million worth of advertising.
Market Research: the importance of doing market research before launching a new product
Sales: How to sell a product effectively in international markets
Product Promotion: the importance of 0selecting appropriate members of staff to attend exhibitions
Communication: the importance in business of maintaining contact with clients
Public Relations: the importance of adequate supervision and training of staff who deal with the public
Management: How to run a meeting successfully
Transport Management: the importance to a business of an efficient public transport system
Any distribution of products from producers to wholesalers or from wholesalers to retailers requires transportation. The cost of transporting some products can exceed the cost of producing them. An efficient form of transportation can result in higher costs and lower profits for the firm. For each form of transportation, firms should estimate timing, cost, and availability. This assessment allows the firm to choose an optimal method of transportation. The most common forms of transportation used to distribute products are truck, rail, air, water, pipeline.
Transport Management: the importance of using environmentally friendly means of transport whenever possible
Health &. Safety
Employee Safety: Firms ensure that the workplace is safe for employees by closely monitoring the production process. Some obvious safety precautions are to check machinery and equipment for proper working conditions, require safety glasses or any other equipment that one can prevent injury, and emphasize any special safety precautions in training seminars.
Firms that create a safe working environment prevent injuries and improve the morale of their employees. Many firms, such as Allied Signal, now identify workplace safety as one of their main goals. Levi Strauss and Company imposes safety guidelines not only its U.S. facilities but also on Asian factories where some of its clothes are made. Starbucks Coffee Company has developed a code of conduct in an attempt to improve the quality of life in coffee-producing countries.
Life Skills: the importance of being able to cope with stress in a job
Technology: the importance of training staff in how to use new technology when introducing it into the workplace
Speaking Test Part III
Sample Dialogues
Time Management
[Definition: the manner by which managers allocate their time when managing tasks]
Sample
Zhang: Hi, Ms Wang, you know, our company is sort of out of control these days. Don t you think so?
Wang: Yeah. Everything seems to be in disorder here in our company. And that obviously has a lot to do with poor time management.
Zhang: You mean poor time management has caused all these problems. Why?
Wang: When time is not well planned within a company, they usually do not allocate blocks of time to specified tasks. They do not have a definite idea of when they should complete a certain task. And …
Zhang: And I think they often neglect the ordering of priorities. I mean certain tasks need our prior attention. But in our company every task is treated on an equal basis, even if it is a very urgent task.
Wang: That s the point. So time should be planned according to the importance of the tasks we need to deal with.
Zhang: So what do you think we can do so that time is managed effectively here in our company?
Wang: You mean what procedures we can adopt?
Zhang: Sure. That s what our boss is asking us to do. Right?
Wang: Right. I think we ve got a lot to do. First, we should make all the staff members realize how important effective time management is to our company.
Zhang: Yes, I think we can give them instruction in time management, especially those in supervisory positions.
Wang: Right, perhaps we can run a few training programs for them. If need, we may invite some experts from outside to help us.
Zhang: Another thing we can do is to make all the managers, or even every staff member, come up with a job description of their own. In this way, they can be pretty sure about what they are responsible for and what they are not.
Wang: Yes, that s a good idea. And I think, the top managers of our company should come up with a set of rules as to what kind of jobs should be given priority to. In this way, we can make sure that important tasks are dealt with first.
Zhang: Good idea. So to sum up, our company should run a few training programs, and every staff member should write a job description of their own.
Wang: And rules should be made as to what kind of job should be given priority to.
Responding to Competition
Zhang: You know our sales have fallen a lot during the past quarter.
Wang: Yes, one of our competitors is charging a lot less than us.
Zhang: I know. It is a new company in this line of business. We really need to do something about it.
Wang: What do you think we can do?
Zhang: I think we can launch an advertising campaign to promote our product.
Wang: Yes, it s a good idea. But that will surely add to our cost and therefore push up our price.
Zhang: I know what you mean. Price is a major consideration when a customer decides on a purchase. But there are certainly many other considerations on their part, for example, quality and after-sales service.
Wang: That makes sense. Ours is a high quality product and our after-sales service is good enough, I think. That s why we are charging a higher price than our competitors. So we should emphasize our quality and after-sales service in our ad so that...
Zhang: So that people will know the high quality of our product and after-sales service and more people will buy our products.
Wang: But I am still worried about the price. You know customers always like low prices.
Zhang: Yes, indeed. In fact, we can cut down a bit on our price. You know when sales increase after our advertising, we are likely to increase our profit even if we cut down our price a little bit.
Wang: Yes, a low price high volume strategy.
Zhang: That s it. We may even consider some other incentives, such as a coupon to go with our newspaper ad, and …
Wang: And I think we can offer free delivery for our customers.
Zhang: Yes, but we cannot afford to offer free delivery for all our customers.
Wang: Only those who are within the free delivery area, I think.
Zhang: Yes, I think so.
New Computer System
Wang: Well, you know our company is considering buying an up-to-date computer system.
Zhang: Yes, just to replace the system we re using now. I think it s a wise decision.
Wang: We need to find out what new computer systems are available first.
Zhang: Yes, so that we can choose one that is most suitable for our company. I think we can find some information from Internet.
Wang: Yes, but I m afraid not all the information on the Internet is reliable.
Zhang: Right, but at least we can get some information about the system providers.
Wang: That s right, but we can also find some information from newspaper advertisements. I tend to think they are more reliable.
Zhang: Sure. I have the same feeling.
Wang: But I think the best way is to visit some of the providers and have face-to-face talks with them so that they can know our needs and we can see for ourselves how their systems work.
Zhang: And then make our own decision as to what best suits us.
Wang: Right. Let s do that. And in replacing the existing system, I think there are a few factors we need to take into account. First, do we have to buy up-to-date computers if we decide to use new systems?
Zhang: I think we ll have to.
Wang: In that case, what shall do with these replaced computers?
Zhang: I think we ll have to dispose of them at very low prices.
Wang: Yes, I don t think there s any other alternative.
Zhang: And also I think we ll have to retrain our people. I bet not many of them are familiar with the up-to-date system.
Wang: Yes, so let s recommend it to the HR. I think they can run some training programs for the staff involved.
Zhang: Right. I couldn t agree more.
Promotional Video
Zhang: You know, we are going to make a video to promote our products.
Wang: Yeah. And we are going to send them to our potential new clients. Really a good idea, isn t it?
Zhang: Sure. Which members of staff should be involved in making the video, do you think?
Wang: Well. I think there should be representatives from Marketing because primarily it is their job to promote the sales, isn t it?
Zhang: Yes, and we should also involve R&.D people. You know, they certainly know more than the others about our products.
Wang: They know what characteristic features of our products we should present to our clients.
Zhang: Right. And we should assure our potential clients of the high quality of our products, so I would suggest we include Quality Control also.
Wang: Good idea. And people on the after-sales side too. You know after-sales service is one of the primary concerns of our clients.
Zhang: Good. So we shall involve people from Marketing, R&.D, QC and After-Sales.
Wang: Right. Now what aspects of our activities do you think we should include in the video?
Zhang: There s really a lot. First of all, I think we should let our clients know that ours is an established company in the line. So I think we can include the 50th anniversary of our company in the video, and…
Wang: And our research and development activities too.
Zhang: Yes, but…
Wang: But what?
Zhang: But we cannot go into too much detail in our presentation. You know it s sort of business secret, isn t it?
Wang: Just enough to convince them that ours is of very high quality.
Zhang: And naturally, we can include our quality control procedures and also after-sales services.
Wang: And also we can demonstrate our product in the video. Don t you think so?
Zhang: A neat idea.
Cutting Departmental Costs
Wang: You know our departmental costs have risen a lot recently.
Zhang: Yes, I think we are exceeding our budget.
Wang: What do you think are the reasons?
Zhang: I think there are many reasons for this. You know last month we run a series of promotion campaigns. That s a lot of money, isn t it?
Wang: Yes, but I think we spent too much on that. I mean we could have spent less.
Zhang: Uh Um?
Wang: You know we have been traveling a lot around the country. And most of us travel by air.
Zhang: You mean some of the travels are not necessary.
Wang: Exactly. You know, some of the face-to-face talks may simply be replaced by email communication.
Zhang: There s a lot in what you ve said. I think we should make full use of our modern facilities and save some expensive travels.
Wang: Not only that. I think modern facilities, like computers, should be made full use of within the company, too. I mean a lot of money could have been saved, if we had done that.
Zhang: What do you mean?
Wang: You see, each month we spend a good lot of money on office supplies like print paper.
Zhang: Yes, some of the managers always ask for printouts instead of retrieving information from the computer system.
Wang: Especially those senior managers, who are usually older than others. They are simply not accustomed to the advanced computer system.
Zhang: And young people are also responsible for the increase in costs, too. You know many of them often keep their computers on for the whole night.
Wang: And very often they forget to turn off lights when they leave their offices.
Zhang: So, something must be done before things become any worse.
Wang: Right. I think we should offer some incentives to those who save costs in their jobs.
Zhang: Like what?
Wang: Like a quarterly award for them.
Zhang: And personally I see an absolute need for a training course for our staff members.
Wang: On computers?
Zhang: Yeah. So that they can make better use of them. And in this way, I believe we ll be able to bring down our costs.
Corporate Image
Wang: You know we are going to run a series of activities for the local community.
Zhang: Yes, just to improve our corporate image. But what do you think we can do for the community?
Wang: I think we can do something for the needy people.
Zhang: You mean we can contribute to the local community charity.
Wang: Exactly. And apart from that, I think we could sponsor a few programmes of entertainment.
Zhang: Like an orchestra or a singing performance or something?
Wang: Yeah. And I think we should also do something for the primary pupils. You know how important they are nowadays.
Zhang: Yeah. We may provide them with some school things.
Wang: You mean school things they can buy anywhere or those made to our special order?
Zhang: I think we can have them made to our order, with our name or logo on them.
Wang: All these shall benefit us in many ways.
Zhang: Yes. Obviously, they help establish a favorable corporate image.
Wang: Yes, more people in the community will come to see us as a company willing to help them.
Zhang: Yeah, and in this way our customer base shall be reinforced and expanded.
Customer Involvement
Wang: You know our management has decided to get our customers involved in our range and quality of products.
Zhang: That s a very good idea. Customers opinions are really important to us if we want to stay ahead in the market. But how to get their opinions?
Wang: It s certainly not easy. I think we can do that through the Internet. We can invite our customers to email us their opinions about our products whenever they have any.
Zhang: But not all the customers have access to the Internet.
Wang: No, of course not. I bet we can take advantage of our helpline service.
Zhang: Yes. And we can also design a questionnaire for this purpose. And give it to our customers when they buy our products,
Wang: Good. But then, how can we make use of their opinions when we have got them?
Zhang: We can pass them on to R&.D and QC. I think it s mostly their job to diversify our products and improve their quality.
Wang: Yes. I think R&.D can take into consideration the feedback from the customers when they try to upgrade our products or develop new products.
Zhang: And QC can have a better idea as to how to ensure our quality or how to make it even better.
Factory Site
Wang: You know, ABC &. Co. Ltd, one of our clients in the UK, is considering building a factory in Shanghai.
Zhang: Yes. I think it s a wise decision. More and more multinational corporations are coming here to invest.
Wang: They want to know where to build their factory. Have you got anything in mind?
Zhang: Well, I think they could build their factory in Pu Dong High-Tech &. Development area.
Wang: Yeah. It s a very nice place, with a very friendly investment environment.
Zhang: You said it. They provide first-rate service for foreign investors. And the traffic there is really convenient.
Wang: And there are quite a lot of preferential policies for foreign investors.
Zhang: But the fee for land use is a bit too high there.
Wang: Yeah. That s about the only thing some of the foreign investors complain about.
Zhang: I hear some of the development areas around Shanghai, like those in Kunshan and Suzhou, are also good and they charge a much lower fee for land use.
Wang: So ABC &. Co. Ltd could also invest in those cities.
Zhang: I think so. And what do you think the company need to know about work practices in our country?
Wang: There s quite a number of things, I think.
Zhang: Like what?
Wang: I think they should get to know if there is any restriction on the employment of the local people.
Zhang: And especially the policies in relation to the overtime and paid holidays.
Wang: That s right.
Language Audit
Zhang: You know we are going to make a survey of all our staff members in terms of their foreign language skills..
Wang: Good idea. This will be beneficial to both the management and the staff members themselves.
Zhang: Yes, that makes sense. But how can we convince the staff members that the survey would be beneficial to them?
Wang: I don t think it s difficult. Just let them know that we are running a series of training classes for them. A survey of their skills in foreign language will help us place them in a class appropriate for them.
Zhang: And I think that we should also get across to them that we are thinking of assigning some sales reps to the States. Those whose English is better than the others have a better chance to be chosen.
Wang: I think that will be convincing enough. And we ve actually touched upon the question of how to put into use the survey results.
Zhang: Yeah. And I think there s more uses that we can put the results into. For example, some of our staff members have been complaining about our foreign language textbook being too difficult. This way, we shall be able to compile books appropriate for them.
Wang: Good. And it also helps us in placing our staff members. You know, some of the positions need people with better foreign language skills than others.
Zhang: Yes, indeed.
Job sharing
Wang: You know our company is considering a job sharing system.
Zhang: Yeah, a system that allows some jobs to be shared by two staff members.
Wang: So if we introduce this scheme, which types of job do you think it would be suitable for?
Zhang: Not many, I am afraid. Obviously most of the managers cannot work on a job-sharing basis.
Wang: That makes sense. It would be difficult to split a managerial task between two managers.
Zhang: But I think this scheme would be perfectly suitable for some clerical work. For example, two clerks can share a typing task.
Wang: Then what kind of people do you think would be most suited to sharing jobs?
Zhang: Mostly working mothers, who need to take care of their babies while working with a company.
Wang: And also employees who hope to pursue a higher degree.
Zhang: Yeah, they can share a job with a colleague so that they can afford some time to attend lectures in colleges or universities.
Wang: Anyway, do you think this scheme should be introduced in our company?
Zhang: Well, there are quite a lot of young people in our company, who re thinking of a higher degree, an MBA or something. If they are allowed to share their jobs with others, they can have more flexibility in arranging their time schedule.
Wang: And there they ll have more chances to get a higher degree.
Zhang: Right.
Foreign Trade Mission
Zhang: You know a foreign trade mission from the USA is coming to visit our country early next month.
Wang: Yeah. I was told that one week ago. And we are supposed to give a talk to them about our company.
Zhang: What do you think should be included in the talk?
Wang: Naturally, we should brief them on the track record of our company.
Zhang: You mean to emphasize that our company has a long history of more than 100 years old.
Wang: Not only that. We should let them know that we have been very successful in our line of business.
Zhang: Do you think we should let them know that we are a leading exporter of Silk Garments in East China?
Wang: Exactly. I think we can give out some pamphlets about our company before the talk.
Zhang: Good idea. But mind you, do not bare everything about us at the meeting. I mean there s certainly a lot that we have to keep as a secret.
Wang: You mean marketing intelligence.
Zhang: Sort of. I mean there is no need for us to tell them how our products are priced. And also our detailed plan to expand into overseas markets.
Wang: I know what you mean. Well, what types of social activities do you think we can provide for them after the talk.
Zhang: I think we can show them around one of our main manufacturers.
Wang: A factory tour?
Zhang: Exactly.
Wang: And we may invite them to a dinner at a restaurant nearby.
Zhang: That s what we usually do. I don t think we need to make this trade mission an exception.
Staff Turnover
The managing Director of your company is keen to reduce the number of staff leaving after a short time. You have been asked to suggest ways of encouraging staff to stay in the company
Discuss, and decide together:
l What kinds of incentives might help to retain staff
l How to ensure that staff satisfaction is maintained
Follow-up questions:
What benefit does having a stable workforce bring to a company?
What are the most common reasons why people change companies?
Is it a disadvantage for a job applicant to have a history of changing jobs? (Why/Why not?)
Do you think people will change jobs more frequently or less frequently? (Why/Why not?)
Will it become more important for an employee to have a wide range of skills in the future? (Why/Why not?)
Market Research
Your company is considering introducing a new product and wants to assess the market potential. You have been asked to suggest ways of doing this.
Discuss, and decide together:
l What kinds of information would be useful to obtain
l How to decide whether to go ahead with the product
Follow-up questions:
Is market research essential when introducing a new product? (Why/Why not?)
What kinds of products or services is market research most useful for?
How accurately do you think consumers respond to marketing questionnaires? (Why/Why not?)
In what ways can companies influence consumer opinion?
How necessary is it for a company to diversify production? (Why)
Product Recall
Your company has discovered a design fault in a new product and needs to recall this product from customers. You have been asked to make recommendations about the best way to handle this incident.
Discuss, and decide together
l What would be the most effective method of informing customers of the product recall
l How to ensure the company s reputation remains undamaged by the incident
Follow-up questions:
How can attitudes to a company change if one of their products has to be recalled because of a problem over quality? (Why?)
What else can have a negative effect on consumers attitudes to a company? (Why?)
What measures can companies introduce to avoid the need for product recalls? (Why?)
Is quality always the most important consideration for consumers when purchasing a product? (Why/Why not?)
How can companies succeed in developing brand loyalty?
Sales Conferences
The export sector of your company is expanding, and plans are being discussed for holding annual conferences for overseas agents. You have been asked to make recommendations for the proposal.
Discuss, and decide together:
l What the benefits of annual conferences would be for the participants
l What the content of the conferences could be
Follow-up questions:
Should companies which send overseas agents to conferences be consulted about the content? (Why/Why not?)
What kinds of data should be provided for agents at this kind of conference? (Why?)
What would be an effective way of following up the conference? (Why?)
How might sales strategies and products vary from one country or region to another? (Why?)
How important is networking in the modern business world? (Why?)
Project Abroad
Your company is proposing to send a team of staff abroad for six months to set up an office and train local employees. You have been asked to make recommendations for the project.
Discuss, and decide together:
l How to 0select appropriate staff to manage the project
l What preparation and advice the staff would need before leaving
Follow-up questions:
What advantages would there be in working abroad for a short period of time? (Why/Why not?)
What kinds of problems could staff encounter while working abroad?
How can people get the kinds of information they need while they are working abroad?
What effect does the increase in international contacts have on the way companies operate? (Why?)
How important is it for business to have their own offices abroad?
Customer Base
The Finance Director of your company is concerned that the majority of its income comes from one main client. You have been asked to make recommendations on ways to expand your company s customer base.
Discuss, and decide together:
l What the potential dangers are of having only one main client
l How the company could try to gain additional clients
Follow-up questions:
What advantages could there be for companies in having a relatively small customer base? (Why?)
When attracting new customers, how important is it for companies to give information about their existing clients? (Why/Why not?)
What can companies do to strengthen customer loyalty, apart from offering good customer service?
How can companies which operate globally ensure consistently high levels of customer satisfaction?
In what ways can companies respond to increased competition from other companies?
Staff Suggestion Scheme
Your company is planning to introducing a suggestion scheme and to encourage members of staff at all levels to contribute ideas. You have been asked to consider ways of setting up the scheme.
Discuss, and decide together:
l How to set up the scheme so that all staff feel they can contribute
l How suggestions from members of staff could be evaluated
Follow-up questions:
Which kinds of companies can benefit most from suggestion schemes? (Why?)
What other methods can companies use to generate ideas for improvements?
What are other ways of increasing staff involvement in a company?
In what ways can companies obtain suggestions or comments from customers?
How important are new ideas for companies in maintaining competitiveness? (Why?)
Health and Fitness Facilities
Your company is considering providing a fitness center on the premises to help employees improve their health and fitness. You have been asked to make recommendations for this scheme.
Discuss, and decide together:
l What benefits the center would bring for the company
l How to promote the need for health and fitness to all staff
Follow-up questions:
Would company fitness facilities be equally popular among all staff? (Why/Why not?)
Should employees have to pay to use health and fitness facilities? (Why/Why not?)
What other ways are there for companies to encourage their employees to remain fit and healthy?
Should companies include employees families in their health and fitness provision? (Why/Why not?)
Is the welfare of employees an appropriate concern for companies? (Why/Why not?)
Staff Relocation
Your company needs to relocate several members of staff to a new branch opening in another part of the country. You have been asked to submit ideas on how to make relocation attractive for staff.
Discuss, and decide together:
l Which types of financial incentives the company could offer to staff
l What information staff would need to know about the new location
Follow-up questions:
What other assistance might be necessary for staff who are relocating? (Why?)
How could staff who are unwilling to relocate be encouraged to do so?
What do you think influences a company s choice of location for its branches? (Why?)
What are the implications for company organization of having branches in different places? (Why?)
Do you think there will be greater international expansion of companies in the future? (Why?/Why not?)
Incentives Scheme for Staff
Your company is considering setting up an incentive scheme to improve staff performance. You have been asked to make recommendations for the scheme.
Discuss, and decide together:
l What benefits an incentive scheme for staff would bring to the company
l What types of incentives could be offered
Follow-up questions:
Which incentives do you think are most effective for encouraging people to work hard? (Why?)
What disadvantages could there be in incentive schemes? (Why?)
Is it essential for companies to reward extra effort? (Why?/ Why not?)
How do you think a company can inspire loyalty in employees?
How do you think the traditional employer/employee relationship might change in the future? (Why?)
Staff Suggestion Scheme [For 3 candidates]
Your company is planning to introducing a suggestion scheme and to encourage members of staff at all levels to contribute ideas. You have been asked to consider ways of setting up the scheme.
Discuss, and decide together:
l How to set up the scheme so that all staff feel they can contribute
l How suggestions from members of staff could be evaluated
l What kinds of rewards would be suitable for suggestions made
Health and Fitness Facilities [For 3 candidates]
Your company is considering providing a fitness center on the premises to help employees improve their health and fitness. You have been asked to make recommendations for this scheme.
Discuss, and decide together:
l What benefits the center would bring for the company
l Which types of facilities could be included
l How to promote the need for health and fitness to all staff
Staff Relocation [For 3 candidates]
Your company needs to relocate several members of staff to a new branch opening in another part of the country. You have been asked to submit ideas on how to make relocation attractive for staff.
Discuss, and decide together:
l Which types of financial incentives the company could offer to staff
l What other types of incentives might be important
l What information staff would need to know about the new location
Incentives Scheme for Staff
Your company is considering setting up an incentive scheme to improve staff performance. You have been asked to make recommendations for the scheme.
Discuss, and decide together:
l What benefits an incentive scheme for staff would bring to the company
l What types of incentives could be offered
l Which employees in the company should be targeted