[pause]
Conversation Three. Questions 9 to 12. Look at the notes below.
You will hear a journalist phoning the Managing Director of Shipton's Foods about his firm's website.
You have fifteen seconds to read through the notes. [pause]
Now listen, and [ill in the spaces. [pause]
Woman: Thanks for sparing the time to help with my article. Man: That's OK. You'd like to know about our website? Woman: Yes. Who is responsible for updating it? Man: Our IT department's relatively small, and our technical staff lack the skills needed, so
the work is contracted out to our IT consultant ... but our Marketing Team had some creative input at the start.
Woman: Does the website serve its purpose? Man: Basically, yes. It's a big site because of all the details we include of our products, and
as it's primarily aimed at trade customers, putting up pages like the company history ... or annual report ... seems pointless.
Woman: Are you intending to use your site in other ways? Man: We looked into internet recruitment, but decided against it. We're exploring online
selling - I think that'll happen quite soon. Apart from that, I'm unconvinced of the benefits of further investment.
Woman: Could I ask why? Man: Well, the bigger the site, the more technical problems there are, and that impacts on
staffing. Fundamentally, any marketing activity has to be cost effective, and that's my main concern about the internet.
Woman: Well, thanks very much for your help. [pause]
Now listen to the recording again. [pause]
That is the end of Part One. You now have twenty seconds to check your answers. [pause]
Part Two. Questions 13 to 22.
Now listen to the recording again. Section One.
Questions 13 to 17.
You will hear five short recordings.
For each recording, decide what the speaker's strategy is for success in management. Write one letter (A-H) next to the number of the recording. Do not use any letter more than once.
After you have listened once, replay the recordings. You have fifteen seconds to read the list A-H. [pause]
Now listen, and decide what each speaker's strategy is for success in management. [pause]
Thirteen
No matter what kind of business situation I'm in, it's always important to know exactly who the individual is I'm communicating with. The worst mistake you can make is to fail to find out what drives them - money, status or whatever. Once you've worked that out, you'll be able to ensure you communicate what's in it for them personally. This should essentially govern the way you respond to people, enabling you to stay in control of the situation and achieve the desired outcome. [pause] Fourteen
I've learnt some valuable management lessons over the years, not least in how to avoid the failure of a project. No matter what your position is, you always have to be prepared for opposition. And it's important to anticipate this by getting as many colleagues as possible on your side, so that if, in discussions, someone objects to your plans, you - and a number of others - are able to give an immediate response in order to silence your opponent. [pause] Fifteen
When I first started running my own business I made some dreadful mistakes in the way I handled staff. The worst thing you can do is stick to one strategy and apply it to every situation. Sometimes you just need to show 'em who's boss; other times some gentle persuasion is more effective - in my opinion, anyway. I'm sure I was often criticised for my management style - not that I let it bother me, though. [pause] Sixteen
I've found if you want to stay in charge of a situation, the worst mistake you can make is not keeping people up to speed with what you're doing at every single stage of the process. Of course, that doesn't mean you need to be seeking universal agreement or approval for your actions and opinions - some people will always be critical - but at least adopting this approach will encourage an atmosphere in which everyone feels included. [pause] Seventeen
There are always going to be things in a company people don't like, and if you've created an atmosphere in which they're encouraged to contribute ideas freely, you have to learn to deal with complaints. Revealing that you are, for example, upset by their comments is a crucial error - you will have shown a weakness in your character that others may try to exploit - and may lead to a general lack of support for you. [pause]
Now listen to the recordings again. [pause]
Section Two.
Questions 18 to 22.
You will hear another five recordings.
For each recording, decide what the speaker's main reason is for making the phone call. Write one letter (A-H) next to the number of the recording. Do not use any letter more than once.
After you have listened once, replay the recordings. You have fifteen seconds to read the list A-H. [pause]
Now listen, and decide what each speaker's main reason is for making the phone call. [pause] Eighteen
We've got a real problem here, so your advice has been very welcome. I've decided that what you said is probably true. We've got too many people working in non-productive departments and not enough people in those departments where the workload is increasing. Your idea of offering transfers before we do anything like starting a recruitment campaign is, I think, a good one and I'm going to follow it up. [pause] Nineteen
In December, we accepted a very large contract which we all knew would mean everyone having to do extra hours, whether here or at home, to fulfil it. I realise that your particular circumstances make this very difficult to deal with, but that's also true of many of your colleagues. I'm afraid I'm going to have to say that I can't do anything about it at the moment. If I did, everyone else would suffer. [pause] Twenty
I've been thinking about what you said about the hospitality committee. I completely agree with you that the arrangements they made for the annual conference last year were most inadequate and so, like you, I think it'd be a very bad idea to repeat them. However, I also think you should he very careful how you say this to the senior management. In my opinion, it's not worth risking your career over something as minor as this. [pause] Twenty-one
There are three flights that day, but two of them require an overnight stay at the airport and it's not company policy to fund that. So, we're left with the third one, the one that leaves at eight o' clock in the evening. If you agree, I'll ask for that one and we can travel down together. We can probably get a lot of work done on the train to the airport. [pause] Twenty-two
I know you think the company's making a mistake in refusing to allow staff to work flexibly in thisway. I realise this kind of arrangement is common now, but I can't accept that the company should employ staff on full pay and then never see them. We've always said that a full staff being here in the office, punctually and regularly, is a really important part of what makes this company what it is, and I agree with that. [pause]
Now listen to the recordings again. [pause]
That is the end of Part Two. [pause]
Part Three. Questions 23 to 30.
You will bear Sophie Garland, the General
Manager of Daylong Leisure Centres and.James Pinot, the Operations Manager, discussing problems at the Nottingham centre.
For each question 23-30, mark one letter (A, B or C) for the correct answer. After you have listened once, replay the recording.
You have forty-five seconds to read through the questions. [pause]
Now listen, and mark A, B or C. [pause]
Woman: Hello, James, do sit down. Right, as you know, our Nottingham centre has had a
significant drop in income over the last few months. In fact, it's doing much worse than our other British centres, for reasons we haven't really been able to get to the
Man:
Woman:
Man:
Woman:
Man:
Woman: Man: Woman:
Man:
Woman: [pause]
Now listen to the recording again. [pause]
That is the end of Part Three. You now have ten minutes to transfer your answers to your Answer Sheet. [pause]
Note: Teacher, stop the recording here and time ten minutes. Remind students when there is one minute remaining.
bottom of. The situation is now pretty worrying, and even if immediate action is taken, I don't expect Nottingham to return to profitability this year. Now, it seems to me we have two options facing us.\operation going, and the second is to close it down completely. What's your feeling about it?
Closing it down would be a disaster. You know, when there was a situation like this in the European division, they turned it around with a special promotion which worked very well. Do you remember this time last year, when we thought we'd have to sell some of the French centres? Well, now they're doing well and we didn't even have to spend any extra money on them, either.
Yes, that's true. But Nottingham has lost nearly a million in the six months and we can't afford to keep absorbing that kind of loss. I really think we should close it down as soon as possible and liquidise our assets. It's on a prime site, which would be worth a lot to developers. I don't even think it's worth trying to sell it as a going concern to one of our competitors.
Isn't that rather short-sighted? The same thing's happening everywhere. It's always the service industries which are hit first when people are worried about job security. And before you say that the centres are looking outdated and that consumer tastes and fashions have changed, I've done my homework and the consumer surveys show that people would still come if they had the money.
That's not the only reason, James. And the bottom line is, the Board are pushing me to improve figures now. We're falling behind the competition, and if we keep Nottingham open, we'll need a major change in our image. A good advertising campaign might bring in more customers while we're running it, but at best it'd just be a short-term solution.
I don't agree with you, Sophie. However, I've got another idea. Why don't we run the centre with minimum staff, no more expensive recruiting, and think about closing during the quiet times of day until the situation improves? We could go on with the special offers we're running, because they bring in a few new customers, and don't cost us anything.
It's a thought, but I'm not sure the Board will go for it. They're really keen to sell the Nottingham centre. That way they could cover their deficit and make the shareholders happy at the same time. It's an attractive solution.
Even if they decide to sell, they're not likely to get very much for it, are they? Not at the moment. Property values are at an all time low. Can't we at least try to keep the Nottingham centre operational?
Well, it's not going to be possible to keep it running as it is now, but your idea for making savings might work. Do you think you'd be able to get the centre to break even within say six months? But remember, there's no extra money for major promotions.
I'd like to have the chance to try, Sophie. I think I can do it, with minimal promotions. Yes.
Then let me have a written proposal in time for next week's Board meeting, will you?
That is the end of the test.
TEST 6
Part One. Questions 1 to 12.
You will hear three telephone conversations or messages.
Write one or two words or a number in the numbered Spaces on the notes or forms below. After you have listened once, replay each recording. [pause]
Conversation One. Questions 1 to 4. Look at the note below.
You will hear the manager of a production company phoning a customer's office. You have fifteen seconds to read through the note. [pause]
Now listen, and fill in the spaces. [pause] Man: Parkinson Machine Tools. Can I help you?
Woman: This is Mary Parsons of Murdoch Limited. Can I speak to Sandy Ellis? Man: Which department, please?
Woman: I'm not sure. Perhaps Assembly. Man: No... erm ... here he is, Machine Services Section ... I'm sorry, he's on voice mail.
Would you like to call back later?
Woman: I usually deal with him, but can I leave a message with you? Man: Certainly.
Woman: Your company has installed computerised cutting tools and packing machines in our
despatch department. The last one, a packing machine, was installed in July, and it's recently developed a fault.
Man: Mmm.
Woman: The measurements and materials for the boxes are all right, but there's some sort of
problem with the box assembly mechanism. The boxes are weak, and goods get damaged
Man: Right, I'll leave a message for Sandy, and I'll ask the Customer Services Manager if
he has time to call in and look at the situation before he goes home this evening. We'll get an engineer out to you first thing tomorrow morning.
Woman: Thanks, bye. [pause]
Now listen to the recording again. [pause]
Conversation Two. Questions 5 to 8. Look at the form below.
You will hear a man telephoning the Financial Press Information Service with an order. You have fifteen seconds to read through the form. [pause]
Now listen, and fill in the spaces. [pause]
Woman: Please state your enquiry, giving the name of the publication, the date of issue and the
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