3 The Business Intermediate Answer Key, The Business intermediate

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Answer key
1 Corporate culture
1.1 About business
Work culture and placements
1
It depends on company culture. New employees need to try to work out
quickly what is expected in each of the three situations and to adjust to the
company culture as soon as they can. To start off though, it’s probably safest
to dress smartly, not be the first or the last to leave the office, maybe make
one or two contributions to a meeting, but more importantly to listen and
learn at first.
2
1 The experiment demonstrated how an unwritten rule is created.
2 Seven examples of unwritten rules:
- nobody should ever climb the ladder
- working long hours is more important than achieving results
- the boss is always right, even when he’s wrong
- if you’re not at your desk, you’re not working
- nobody complains, because nothing changes
- women, ethnic minorities and the over 50s are not promoted
- the customer is king, but don’t tell anyone, because management are
more interested in proﬁ tability.
3 New staff quickly learn when their ideas and opinions are listened to
and valued, and when it’s better to keep them to themselves; which
assignments and aspects of their performance will be checked and
evaluated, and whose objectives and instructions they can safely ignore.
They learn from the way staff speak to management, to customers and
to each other, and from the differences between what is said, decided or
promised, and what actually gets done.
3
Suggested answers:
1 Organizations and companies can try to avoid negative unwritten rules
by respecting commitments, giving and listening to feedback, deﬁ ning
and applying clear procedures, providing training to develop a positive
work culture.
2 A government department:
Ofﬁ ce etiquette: formal dress code, strict ofﬁ ce hours, inﬂ exible, subject
to security constraints
Relationships with colleagues, management and clients / business
partners: hierarchical and formalized
Autonomy and initiative: limited, strict procedures for everything
A small public relations ﬁ rm:
Ofﬁ ce etiquette: probably very informal, relaxed, ﬂ exible, results-
orientated rather than time-conscious
Relationships with colleagues, management and clients / business
partners: friendly and participative, little or no visible hierarchy
Autonomy and initiative: wide, but must be justiﬁ ed
A manufacturing company:
Answers will depend on national and corporate culture.
3 Answerswillvary.
4
1 Alessandra was not accepted by her colleagues. David upset an intern.
2 Alessandra misunderstood the (unwritten) ofﬁ ce rules on working hours.
David assumed Monica would know to inform him she had a dentist’s
appointment, but she didn’t; Monica misinterpreted David’s friendliness
as changing the supervisor–intern relationship.
5
Students’ mistakes:
Alessandra’s story: didn’t ask about / was not sensitive to unwritten rules;
didn’t talk to colleagues
David’s story: took friendly culture at face value; didn’t accept criticism;
didn’t learn from the problem
Supervisors’ mistakes:
Alessandra’s story: didn’t tell student about unwritten rules; gave student too
much autonomy; didn’t make sure student met colleagues
David’s story: didn’t explain local work culture; didn’t keep enough distance
from intern; didn’t understand the intern’s confusion
6
Answers will vary.
IT and Technical Support: Roxane Pawle = IT Manager + one web developer
and two support engineers
3
1 Because Warndar is a small company.
2 Because Warndar is growing fast, so it’s going to change as they hire new
staff.
3 Because right now they don’t have an HR department as such.
4 The COO runs the business on a day-to-day basis. The CEO deals with
strategy and she’s on the board of the parent company.
5 Irysis is Warndar’s parent company. They took Warndar over a couple of
years ago.
6 He resigned when he was appointed Head of IT at a big consultancy ﬁ rm
but was ﬁ red after three months.
7 Research and Development, Engineering, and Marketing and Sales.
8 Doug Pearson coordinates development programmes; he liaises with
Marketing and Engineering.
4
1 c) 2 e) 3 d) 4 a) 5 b)
6 i) 7 h) 8 j) 9f) 10 g)
5
1 alongside 2 under 3 as 4 at 5 in 6 on
1.3 Grammar
Past tenses and advice structures
1
1 told 2 hadfallen 3 wasbeginning/hadbegun
4 hadgiven 5 called 6 hadimproved 7 hadlearnt
8 hadclosed 9 wererising 10 closed
2
1 ask 2 asking 3 asking 4 toask 5 asking 6 ask
7 toask 8 ask 9 toask 10 toask 11 asking 12 toask
Strong recommendations: 1, 4, 7, 9, 12
Careful or friendly suggestions: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11
3
1 The CEO did very well for himself. The CEO gave a party.
2 The CEO challenged his team. He showed the executives the pool.
3 There was a loud splash. Everyone followed the CEO to the barbecue.
4 The CFO swam for his life. Everyone arrived back at the pool.
5 The CFO reached the edge. The crocodiles tried to catch him.
6 A crocodile tried to bite the CFO. The CFO climbed out of the pool.
4
1 had done; was proudly showing
2 hadbuilt
3 had just started; was
4 turned around; ran back; was swimming
5 had almost caught; reached
6 had / ‘d just managed; heard
5
Student A:
1 c) 2 e) 3 d) 4 a) 5 b)
6 h) 7 i) 8 g) 9 j) 10 f)
Student B:
1 c) 2 d) 3 a) 4 b) 5 h) 6 g) 7 e) 8 f)
6
1 b) 2 d) 3 e) 4 c) 5 a)
6 g) 7 i) 8 j) 9 f) 10 h)
(7 h) and 10 i) are also possible)
1.4 Speaking
Meetings – one-to-one
1
Answers depend on local and work cultures. Suggested answers:
1 In most English-speaking cultures, this is the norm, with the notable
exception of Africa, where superiors, and frequently peers, are addressed
by their surname. Use of the ﬁ rst name is also unusual in much of Asia,
and in Germany.
2 Some cultures, like France, make a clear distinction between business
and personal life. Others, like the Swedish furniture company Ikea,
organize regular social events, where all levels of staff are expected to
mix freely.
3 In most Latin cultures, managers will expect subordinates to perform
tasks like making coffee. Some staff in Nordic cultures may be shocked
and even insulted by such a request.
4 This usually depends more on the type of work involved than on local
or work culture. Personal calls for staff in production may be very
unwelcome, whereas in departments like sales or marketing, where work
organization is more ﬂ exible, there is usually no particular problem.
5 This is the case in many English-speaking and Nordic cultures, especially
in the USA. In Latin and Asian countries, the opposite is often true, with
a certain kudos or even machismo associated with working late.
6 This probably depends on the organization as much as on the culture: in
large scientiﬁ c meetings, for example, the majority of attendees will not
be expected to speak.
1.2 Vocabulary
Work organization and responsibility
1
Suggested answers:
1 foreman, supervisor, project leader, line manager, director (by
hierarchical status)
2 section,department,ofﬁ ce, branch, unit, subsidiary, division, company
(by size)
3 task, job, assignment, project (by importance)
2
David Darren = COO
Administration: Monica Overstreet is Ofﬁ ce Manager + two accountants
Marketing and Sales: Bertram Newman = Marketing and Sales Manager =
one art director, one PR ofﬁ cer and two salesmen
R&D: Douglas Pearson = R&D Manager + seven research scientists
Engineering: Herb Munroe = Program Manager + two software engineers
and one technical writer
1
Answer key
7 Some organizations welcome and even encourage junior staff to suggest
improvements; this is usually less well accepted in smaller companies,
where the management feel more personally involved and responsible for
the way things are done.
8 Some companies have a policy of not hiring couples and will more or
less actively dissuade staff from entering romantic relationships. Other
companies accept that relationships will occur, but when they do, will
move the partners to separate parts of the organization. In extreme cases,
one member of the couple may be asked to resign.
2
Version 1: impatient, ﬁ rm, authoritative, threatening, frank and possibly
objective and dogmatic
Version 2: objective, a good listener, diplomatic, friendly, understanding,
insincere and possibly weak
3
In Version 1, Simon’s language is direct, with short, simple sentences; in
Version 2, it is diplomatic, with longer, more complex phrases.
4
Version 1:
1 You mustn’t talk about your colleagues like that.
2 Yes, but she had a good reason to refuse.
3 You won’t get results from people like Maureen if you’re rude.
4 You apologize, or there’ll be trouble.
Version 2:
1 I think perhaps you should be more careful about how you talk about
your colleagues.
2 You might want to think about why she couldn’t help you.
3 Don’t you think you might get better results from people like Maureen by
being a little more diplomatic?
4 Why don’t you ask Maureen to have a coffee with you, and just clear the
air?
5
Modals
would, could
and
might:
You might want to …
Wouldn’t you agree that …?
You could maybe …
Wouldn’t it be better to …?
You’d do better to …
Introductory phrases:
I think perhaps …
It seems to me that …
Actually, I think …
You could maybe …
Negative questions:
Don’t you think …?
Wouldn’t you agree that …?
Wouldn’t it be better to …?
Why don’t you ...?
6
Suggested answers:
1 Wouldn’t it be better not to disturb your co-workers?
2 It seems to me that you need to prioritize if you want to meet deadlines.
3 You might want to delegate more if you want to ﬁ nish the job.
4 I think perhaps you shouldn’t eat at your desk.
5 You’d do better not to make personal calls at work.
6 Actually, I think if you ignore your colleagues, you can’t expect them to
help.
7 Wouldn’t you agree that you should take care of your life-work balance if
you don’t want to get ill?
7
1 I hear you had a problem.
2 Perhaps you should be more careful.
3 You ought to do the same.
4 I appreciate that you work hard.
5 I didn’t mean to be rude.
6 It can happen to anyone
1.5 Writing
A placement report
1
Suggested answer:
It will contain information about his work experience, colleagues and
managers, the company, the department(s) he worked in and what he
learned while he was at the company. It will be written in a formal style.
2
3 Observations about the company
5 Appendix
1 Introduction
4 Professional achievements
2 Experience from work placement
3
4
Conclusions
2
Analysis of successes and failures
1
Objectives of the internship
2
Details of your responsibilities
4
Analysis of what you learned
3
Evaluation of the company as a potential employer
4
Suggestions for the future
1
Description of the company and how it is organized
1
Practical details about the placement
3
Description of the company’s culture and policies
4
1 under the supervision of Mr Geoffrey Thomson
2 customers were contacted by telephone
3 it became clear that
4 The order of the items was therefore modiﬁ ed …
5 To obtain a similar result through media campaigns would cost millions.
6 mostimpressive
7 was a major challenge.
8 Fortunately, I was able to apply the knowledge I had acquired in
marketing in year two of my degree …
9 the results of my study were extremely well received
5
Suggested answers:
- three months near Birmingham at a place called Diftco – they export
construction equipment
- It was all right
- a bit crazy there – people worked really hard, sometimes from eight in
the morning to nine or ten in the evening
- in charge of preparing shipping documents
- did international trade last semester – it helped a lot to understand what
was going on
- Boss was very strict. But, OK – she didn’t scream at me when I did
something wrong.
- once sent a container to Austria instead of Australia
- really strong accent – I didn’t understand half of what he said
- sophisticated automatic system
- can’t ever completely eliminate human error
- good placement for ﬁ rst-years, but second-years should have more
management responsibility
- was hoping to get some management experience, but I mostly worked
alone
- I learned quite a lot in three months
- wouldn’t like to work there
6
Model answer:
I was employed for three months at Diftco, near Birmingham, under the
supervision of Ms Witten. The objective of the internship was to gain
management experience in an industrial environment. Diftco exports
construction equipment and is one of the most proﬁ table ﬁ rms in the
region.
I worked in the Export Ofﬁ ce most of time, where I was in charge of
preparing shipping documents. I was also responsible for checking
containers in the warehouse, where the equipment is assembled and
packed. I successfully learnt to use the automatic bar code system used
in the warehouse. This is a sophisticated automatic system, which assigns
a code and a position to every component in the warehouse. However,
it was interesting to discover that even such a sophisticated tool can
never completely eliminate human error. Perhaps the most valuable
lesson I learnt was to double-check information. The importance of
careful checking was emphasized when I unfortunately sent a container
to Austria instead of Australia, because I had misunderstood my
correspondent on the telephone.
The company is successful and well organized, with a very motivated,
hard-working and dedicated staff. However, I feel I would be more
effective in an environment with more variety and less routine
paperwork. One area of the company’s activity leaves room for
improvement, and that is the problem of waste in the warehouse. A more
systematic policy of recycling would help to solve this problem.
The course module in international trade studied last semester was
extremely valuable in understanding how a company like Diftco works.
Thanks to this preparation, I was able to establish a good rapport
with the export staff. On the other hand, communication with the
warehousemen was much more difﬁ cult, mainly because many of them
do not speak English.
Overall, the internship was a positive experience, which allowed me to
gain signiﬁ cant experience in three months. However, I mostly worked
alone and therefore did not achieve the goal of acquiring management
experience. A placement at Diftco would be most valuable for ﬁ rst-year
students; second-year students would beneﬁ t from a position with greater
management responsibility.
Appendix: A Daily journal, B Copies of letters to and from Ms Witten,
supervisor
2
Answer key
1.6 Case study
Counselling
1
Suggested answers:
culture shock in general, language problems, homesickness, food, climate,
housing, schools, family members don’t make the adjustment, cultural
differences at work and outside work
2
Counselling = helping someone manage a personal problem using their own
resources
Counselling skills = listening, talking, helping, assisting, exploring problems
The three phases of counselling = Phase one = Talk; Phase two = Think;
Phase three = Act
4
1 How did you feel?
2 So you’re saying that…?
4 Right.
5 You were
surprised?
6 So, to sum up, …
7 What are the options?
8 What would happen if (+
past tense
)?
9 What’s your ﬁ rst priority?
10 Why not start by -
ing
...?planning
5
Suggested answers:
1 What did you do?
2 So what you mean is …
4 That’s interesting.
5 Really? You actually (said) …?
6 So, basically, …
7 What alternatives can you see?
8 Would that get the result you want?
9 Where do you think you need to start?
10 Before you do anything else, why don’t you …?
Employee proﬁ le and training:
1 Good communication skills: English, listening, patience, persuasion
2 Technical skills: computer literacy, good typing speed, marketing skills
3 Special training: 2 weeks – 3 months, accent, listening, slang, etiquette,
telesales, CRM, terminology
Promotion prospects:
1 Can become a supervisor after three or four years, and eventually a
manager
2 Experience in a contact centre is valuable in other jobs
2.2 Vocabulary
Customer service and telephoning
1
abusive (
C
), annoyed (
B
), appreciative (
C
), cheerful (
H
), competent
(
H
), difﬁ cult (
C
), frustrated (
B
), grateful (
C
), helpful (
H
), irritated (
B
),
knowledgeable (
H
), patient (
H
), persuasive (
H
), pleasant (
H
), reassuring
(
H
), rude (
C
), satisﬁ ed (
C
), sympathetic (
H
), understanding (
H
), upset (
C
)
2
Stress not on ﬁ rst syllable: abusive, annoyed, appreciative, frustrated,
persuasive, reassuring, sympathetic, understanding, upset
Stress on third syllable: reassuring, sympathetic, understanding
3
Suggested answers:
1 reassuring, pleasant, sympathetic, understanding
2 abusive, frustrated, annoyed, irritated, rude, upset
3 knowledgeable, competent, helpful
4 appreciative, grateful, satisﬁ ed
5 frustrated, annoyed, irritated, upset
6 sympathetic, understanding, patient
7 persuasive, pleasant
8 upset, frustrated, grateful, appreciative
9 cheerful, helpful, pleasant
10 difﬁ cult, irritated
4
Suggested answers:
1 When I switch it on, nothing happens. (fax, photocopier, PC, mobile
phone)
2 It broke down on the way to work. (car)
3 It keeps crashing. (PC)
4 There’s something stuck inside. (fax, photocopier)
5 I can’t switch it off. (photocopier, PC, mobile phone)
6 It’s not working properly. (car, fax, photocopier, PC, mobile phone)
7 It won’t start. (car, PC)
8 It’s out of order. (fax, photocopier, PC)
9 I think it’s a complete write-off. (car, fax, photocopier, PC, mobile
phone)
10 The battery’s dead. (car, PC, mobile phone)
5
1 identify the symptoms
2 diagnose the fault
3 sort out a problem
4 talk the customer through the process
5 escalate the problem to the supervisor
6 arrange a visit from our technician
7 exchange the product
8 give a full refund
6
1 a) 2 d)ore) 3 c) 4 b) 5 d)ore) 6 g) 7 f)
7
1 switchoff 2 disconnect 3 unscrew 4 remove
5 release 6Liftout 7 insert 8 pushinto 9 Fasten
10 Replace 11 screwin 12 turnon
8
1 Could you hold on a moment, please? = b) I’m in the middle of an
interesting conversation.
2 We tried to contact you, but we couldn’t get through. = c) We lost your
phone number.
3 I’m going to put you through to my supervisor. = d) Heh, heh, let’s see
how she likes your ridiculous questions.
4 Could you hang up, and I’ll call / ring you back? = a) Maybe. If I have
nothing else to do
.
5 I’ll just take down your details. = f) I’ll pretend to do something useful
.
6 I can’t hear you very well. Could you speak up please? = g) They’re
playing my favourite song on the radio.
7 We’ll get back to you as soon as we solve the problem. h) We might ring
next week if we remember.
8 The engineer is out at the moment. Please call / ring back later. e) We don’t
know what you’re talking about.
9
it doesn’t work
2 Customer support
2.1 About business
Call centres
1
Suggested answers:
Postive aspects:
a satisfying job with fun people; physically undemanding; clean, modern
environment; ﬂ exible hours; promotion prospects; steady income
Negative aspects:
a boring, dead-end job; stressful, humiliating sweatshops; inhuman
conditions; unsociable hours; staff are under-trained and overworked;
poorly-paid
2
A: Smarter Indians
B: Call of the East
C: UK jobs leak
D: Unions strike back
E: More Britons concerned
3
Suggested answers:
Paragraph F: It’s not as easy for Indians to get a job in a British call centre in
India as one might think.
Paragraph G: Coming into contact with the wealthy Western world is a hard
learning experience for Indian employees.
Paragraph H: Call centre employees need to be protected from redundancy
and exploitation wherever they are.
4
3 Trade unions are worried about job losses, poor working conditions and
exploitation of workers worldwide in a growing industry where work is
stressful.
7
Suggested answers:
Why India?
1 ... one million English-speaking college graduates enter job market every
year.
2 Low labour costs for highly competent staff.
Changes to call centres:
1 New technology: email, SMS, online chat, browser sharing
2 The operator’s job has become more complex and more satisfying
3 Centres are trying hard to respect their staff.
Perks of the job:
1 Transport to and from work by taxi
2 Good working conditions with fruit, drinks, cakes, subsidized meals,
massage, air-conditioning, competitions, the beach
3
Answer key
10
Suggested answers:
• The customer is always right.
• Make the customer feel valued and important.
• Be courteous and friendly at all times.
• Give customers what they want.
• Always deliver what you promise.
• Pay attention to detail.
• Deal with problems quickly and efﬁ ciently.
• Choose the right people to do the job.
• Train your customer service staff to the highest standards.
• Don’t stand still – keep reviewing what you do and how you do it.
4
1 Suggested answer:
Helpline: Superword helpline. Hold the line, please … Thank you for
holding. May I help you?
Customer: Yes, I’m afraid I’m having a problem with your program.
Helpline: I’m sorry to hear that. Let me sort that out for you.
Customer: Yes, I’d appreciate that.
Helpline: All right. What sort of problems are you having?
Customer: Well, I can’t print PDF ﬁ les.
Helpline: Sorry? I’m afraid it’s not a very good line. Could you speak up
a bit?
Customer: Oh sorry, yes. Is this better? I was just saying that I can’t print
PDF ﬁ les.
Helpline: I see. In that case, I think it would be best to speak to our PDF
expert.
Customer: All right, can you put me through?
Helpline: Well, I’m afraid he’s not available at the moment but I can ask
him to call you back. When would be convenient for you?
Customer: Tomorrow morning?
Helpline: That would be ﬁ ne. On this number, Mrs, er,…?
Customer: Gearhirt. Jamila Gearhirt.
Helpline: Could you spell that please?
Customer: Yes, of course. That’s G-E-A-R-H-I-R-T.
Helpline: All right, Mrs Gearhirt. Tomorrow morning at about 9 o’clock,
then?
Customer: Yes, that’s perfect. Thank you very much.
Helpline: You’re welcome. Goodbye.
3 Suggested answer:
Helpline: Good afternoon. May I help you?
Customer: Oh, hello. Is that Autosales?
Helpline: Yes, sir. Pamela speaking. How can I help you?
Customer: Oh, good. Well, I’m calling about the new car I bought last
week. It won’t start.
Helpline: Oh, I’m very sorry to hear that. It must be very annoying for
you.
Customer: Well, can you do something about it?
Helpline: I’m afraid the mechanics are all out to lunch right now, sir.
Customer: Well, can I leave a message?
Helpline: Yes of course. Could I have your name please?
Customer: It’s McCready. Alistair McCready.
Helpline: Ah, yes, Mr McCready. All right, I’ll make sure someone calls
you back ﬁ rst thing after lunch.
Customer: All right. Well, I’ll be expecting your call. Goodbye.
Helpline: Goodbye, Mr McCready.
5
1 The customer can’t use WordPerfect because there is a power outage.
2 The operator tells the customer to take his computer back to the store
because he is too stupid to own a computer.
6
A Explaining the problem
I’m having trouble with WordPerfect.
It doesn’t work.
It won’t accept anything when I type.
Nothing happens.
I can’t type anything.
B Diagnosing the causes
Was it working properly before that?
What does your screen look like now?
Have you tried hitting ‘Escape’?
Did you quit WordPerfect?
Can you move the cursor around?
Does your monitor have a power indicator?
C Giving instructions
Could you look on the back of the monitor?
Now you just have to follow the cord to the plug.
I need you to look back there again.
I’d like you to go and get them.
Then I want you to take it back to the store.
D Promising help
I’ll have someone call the electricity company.
7
Have you installed any new software? B
I’ll get our technical expert to help you. D
I’m having difﬁ culty connecting to the Internet. A
It keeps crashing. A
You’ll have to adjust the settings in the control panel. C
We’ll get back to you in a couple of hours. D
What happens if you press ‘Control’ – ‘Alt’ – ‘Delete’? B
I’ll have a technician call as soon as possible.
2.3 Grammar
Asking questions and giving instructions
1
1 can I / may I
2 is it / is that
3 would you
4 do I / can I / will I
5 did you
6 was it
7 have you
8 do I
9 you don’t
10 could you / can you / would you
11 can you / could you / will you
12 will I have / do I have / do I need
13 You needn’t / You don’t have to / You don’t / You won’t
14 you might have / you might need / you may have / you may need /
you’ll have / you’ll need / you have / you need
2
a USB memory stick
3
1 Is it advertised on TV?
2 Do you use it for work?
3 Would you ﬁ nd one in every ofﬁ ce?
4 Can you put it in your pocket?
5 Did it exist ten years ago?
6 Does it use electricity?
7 Do you use it to speak to people?
8 Is there a connection with computers?
9 Does it cost more than $30?
10 Has it replaced the ﬂ oppy disk?
5
2
Can you fax me the details?
4
Would you mind faxing me the details?
5
Do you think you could possibly fax me the details, please?
1
Fax me the details, will you?
3
Could you fax me the details, please?
6
I was wondering if you would have any objection to faxing me the
details?
6
e) No, no problem.
The negative is appropriate for 2 and 6, but not for the others.
8
1 don’t 6 ’ll need to / ‘ll have to
2 ’ll need to / ’ll have to / ‘ll need to 7 don’t
3 needn’t / don’t have to 8 needn’t / don’t have to
4 Don’t 9 don’t
5 might have to 10 needn’t / don’t have to
2.4 Speaking Dealing with problems by telephone
2
1 The customer can’t import spreadsheets into a Superword document.
2 The operator promises to ask the spreadsheet specialist to call back in a
few minutes.
3
1 Please hold the line.
2 Dean speaking.
3 How can I help you?
4 What exactly seems to be the problem?
5 It’s not a very good line.
6 Could you speak up a little?
7 I’ll put you through to …
8 The number’s busy.
9 Could I ask her to get back to you?
10 So, you’re on …
11 Could I have your name please?
12 Not at all.
D
8
1 a) down b) down c) up d) up e) up f) down
9 See Recordings.
4
Answer key
2.5 Writing
Formal and informal correspondence
1
Suggested answer:
Depending on the language, typical features which distinguish formal from
informal or neutral styles are: use of titles or speciﬁ c form of address, use of
polite / familiar 2nd person pronoun, absence / use of 1st person pronoun,
absence / use of conventional polite expressions, use of indirect / direct
style, use of formal / informal vocabulary, absence / use of contractions, use
of references, reference to previous correspondence, length of sentences,
layout constraints.
2
1 a customer service department 4
a senior colleague
5
1 This leads to high staff turnover.
2 Supervisers have to be strict about punctuality and breaks.
3 Punctuality is a problem.
4 Advisers can’t personalize their work space.
5 Customers need more help; there are more calls than the centre can
answer, so advisers have to make calls as short as possible.
6 Advisers have to read out instructions from the manual; explaining
things they don’t understand themselves is not satisfying.
7 There is no chance of employing women with children.
3
3 Products and packaging
3.1 About business
Packaging
1
Issues for consideration:
Packaging should protect the product whilst in transport, display the
product to its advantage on the shelf, resist pilfering (e.g. be large enough to
prevent the small product being hidden in a pocket), be a practical shape for
transport and storage, carry text for instructions, etc.
2
1 He thinks packaging is the best way to communicate the difference that
makes your product the best choice.
2 New China Packaging uses cross-functional ‘task forces’ to develop
packaging concepts.
3
1 T 2 F 3 F 4 T 5 T
6 F 7 T 8 T 9 F 10 T
4
1 a) HR (for) b) Sales (against)
2 Suggested answers:
R&D: ‘The beneﬁ ts are similar to those in packaging design: knowing
customer needs, production constraints and ﬁ nancial priorities helps
engineers produce better products.’ (for)
Training: ‘They might perhaps be useful in designing programmes,
but not in delivering them; attendees prefer to have a single contact.’
(against)
IT: ‘They’re very useful in determining the exact needs of users and
administrators at all levels, as well as the ﬁ nancial and technical
constraints.’ (for)
5
1 ‘Wrap rage’ is a new term used to describe the irritation and loss of
self-control experienced when struggling to open wrapping / product
packaging.
2 It’s especially prevalent amongst seniors: 70% of over 50s experience
wrap rage-related injuries.
3 It’s triggered by sterile food packs, child- or pilfer-proof packaging, ring-
pull cans, price tags and overpackaging.
4 There is pressure on manufacturers to meet stringent protection
standards at low cost.
6
Suggested answers:
1 to decrease the amount of stock that disappears from shops because it is
stolen by customers or staff
2 the factors which most often cause people to become frustrated and
irritated with packaging
3 people can even lose their temper trying to remove labels with prices
from some products
4 something which enrages people who feel strongly about ecology
5 after a long period of discouragement there are signs of hope
6 Basically, unless they respond, they’ll lose customers.
7
Suggested answers:
1 Most commonly used materials are plastic and cardboard or paperboard.
Paperboard is cheap, recyclable, easy to print on, plastic is more versatile
and more secure. Other materials such as metal, glass and wood are
unlikely to be used for this type of product.
2 and 3 Anything is possible, but preferably not a standard, rectangular box
with pale or dark colours and small photos and print.
3.2 Vocabulary
Specifications and features
1
The most likely chronological order:
6 Beta test the product by users in typical situations
5 Conduct market studies to test the concept
8 Launch the product
4 Draw sketches and build mockups
7 Go into production
3 Draw up speciﬁ cations for the product
1 Generate new ideas in focus groups and brainstorming meetings
2 Screen out unfeasible or unproﬁ table ideas
a junior colleague
1
a customer
2
2
Formal messages: 1, 2
Neutral / informal messages: 3, 4
3
Formal
Neutral / Informal
Greeting
Dear Ms Reckett,
Hi James,
Dear Sir or Madam,
Dear Miss Roebotham,
Opening
I am writing with regard to Thanks for your mail.
I am writing to enquire about Re your email ...
Requests
I was wondering if you
could...?
Give me a ring …
I would be very grateful if
you could...
Can you just … ?
Closing
I would very much
appreciate any help
Hope this helps.
Thank you for your help.
Don’t hesitate to get back
to me
Salutation
Yours sincerely,
Cheers,
Yours faithfully,
Regards,
4
1 James has adapted to Margaret’s informal style after conﬁ rming that she
remembers him from the party.
Max has switched to Miss Roebotham’s formal style after discovering
that she is not in fact an old friend.
2 Suggested answers:
Email 5:
Thanks …
‡
Thank you …
Cheers
‡
Yours sincerely
Email 6:
I would be very grateful if you could …
‡
Can you …
I would like to express my gratitude for …
‡
Thanks for …
Email 7:
I’ve attached …
‡
Please ﬁ nd attached …
Hope this helps.
‡
Do not hesitate to contact us again if you need any
further information.
Email 8:
I was wondering if you would mind coming …
‡
Could you come / Why
don’t you come …?
Yours sincerely
‡
Best wishes
2.6 Case study
Cybertartan Software
1
Suggested answers:
Customers can make a complaint, send a product back to the manufacturer,
refuse to buy speciﬁ c products or use speciﬁ c shops, etc.
2
1 customer satisfaction, recruitment problems, high staff turnover, need to
reduce costs
2 Customers are dissatisﬁ ed because there aren’t enough advisers and
because they are kept on hold to increase call charges; more money
rather than less is required to recruit and keep good staff.
3
1 T
2 F
3 F (average call 12 minutes @ £0.50 / minute = £6: cost of call = £4.50)
4 D (it depends – perhaps not if hold time is reduced)
5 T
6 F (only ‘very dissatisﬁ ed’ tripled)
7 T (cost only fourth in top 5)
4
the shift system
5
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