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. |
