III. Listening In
Task 1: How to Avoid Bankruptcy
Manager: Adam! Have you any suggestions about how we can avoid bankruptcy?
Adam: Downsizing would certainly reduce our operating costs. You know, make us lean and mean, the way you have to be in today’s market.
Manager: Where do you suggest we start making these staff cuts?
Adam: The logical place to start would be in administration. They usually overstaffed.
Manager: That’s not going to go over very well with our employees. Some of them have been with the company for years.
Adam: It’s painful process, but there’s no choice. They’ll just have to get used to the idea.
Manager: We can give them a fairly decent severance package when they’re fired.
Adam: I know. And I think that if we computerize the office, we could reduce office staff by about 20 percent just by eliminating a lot of paperwork.
Manager: OK. If we lay off 20 percent of the administrative staff, will that be enough to get the company back on its feet?
Adam: Unfortunately not. We’ll also need to make some cuts in the service department.
Manager: How can we do that and maintain the level of service that we offer our passengers?
Adam: Well, we’ll have to retrain the service staff and streamline our operations, so we won’t need as many people to run things smoothly.
Manager: Well, this is serious, but I really don’t think we have any other choice. If we keep losing money like this, we’ll have to shut everything down.
1. What is the dialog mainly concerned with?
2. What does the man mean by “make us lean and mean”?
3. What is the difficulty in cutting the administrative staff?
4. What will happen as a result of firing the administrators?
5. What does the man think will happen after they cut 20 percent of the administrators?
Keys: 1B 2.D 3.A 4.C 5.C
For Reference
1. He suggests retaining the service staff and streaming their operations, so they won’t need as many people to run things smoothly.
2. That is a serious step, but she thinks they haven’t any other choice. If they keep losing money, they will have to shut everything down.
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