Business Result Pre-Intermediate Units 6 and 7
Choose one of the ideas below. Say why you think it is a good idea for your company, listen to and respond to your partner’s reactions, discuss for longer if you like, then take turns doing the same with different ideas from below.
Ways to improve the company to discuss
- Ask some staff to become freelance
- Become more specialised
- Bring in an external training organisation
- Change suppliers
- Do a customer satisfaction survey
- Expand or cut the number of employees
- Headhunt staff from your competitors
- Hire an external consultant
- Hire more sales reps
- Introduce flexible hours
- Introduce more paid holiday
- Move to a more central part of the city
- Operate in more countries, e.g. open branches or start subsidiaries in Southeast Asia
- Merge with a multinational company
- Pass more work on to sub-contractors
- Produce a new product or provide a new service
- Use an employment agency to find staff
- Use an outside PR (= public relations) company
Do the same with your own ideas of how the company could be more successful.
Share one you agreed was a good idea with the class and see what they think. Then share one you agreed was not a good idea with the class, and see what they think.
Brainstorm language which you used or could use to do these things:
- strong opinion
- weak opinion
- strong agreement
- weak agreement
- strong disagreement
- weak disagreement/ polite disagreement
Choose three ideas which you think are worth considering. Roleplay a whole meeting to decide which one idea is best of the three, starting from when you all enter the room and ending with you all leaving.
Report what you decided to the class and see if they agree it is the best of the options. The compare how you started and ended the meetings, including what the stages were and what you said.
What topics are good for small talk at the beginning and end of meetings?
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