1) Frank Miller, the new CEO of Fairform Furniture, implemented changes after noticing issues with how staff spent their time and communicated.
2) Miller noticed staff spent too much time reading emails, so he had office staff visit colleagues in other departments and the warehouse to speak face-to-face whenever possible.
3) Even with these simple changes, Miller found he had more motivated and productive staff that became better at managing their time, despite more regular meetings. The actual time spent in meetings was cut by 50%.
1) Frank Miller, the new CEO of Fairform Furniture, implemented changes after noticing issues with how staff spent their time and communicated.
2) Miller noticed staff spent too much time reading emails, so he had office staff visit colleagues in other departments and the warehouse to speak face-to-face whenever possible.
3) Even with these simple changes, Miller found he had more motivated and productive staff that became better at managing their time, despite more regular meetings. The actual time spent in meetings was cut by 50%.
1) Frank Miller, the new CEO of Fairform Furniture, implemented changes after noticing issues with how staff spent their time and communicated.
2) Miller noticed staff spent too much time reading emails, so he had office staff visit colleagues in other departments and the warehouse to speak face-to-face whenever possible.
3) Even with these simple changes, Miller found he had more motivated and productive staff that became better at managing their time, despite more regular meetings. The actual time spent in meetings was cut by 50%.
1) Frank Miller, the new CEO of Fairform Furniture, implemented changes after noticing issues with how staff spent their time and communicated.
2) Miller noticed staff spent too much time reading emails, so he had office staff visit colleagues in other departments and the warehouse to speak face-to-face whenever possible.
3) Even with these simple changes, Miller found he had more motivated and productive staff that became better at managing their time, despite more regular meetings. The actual time spent in meetings was cut by 50%.
LANGUAGE 2 Complete the second sentence so that it has a Lesson 7.1 Vocabulary similar meaning to the first sentence. Use the BECV/BULATS word in CAPITALS. 1 Choose the correct option a, b, c or d. 1 Every day we have a meeting to discuss ideas. If you manage your time well, it allows you to BASIS 1 efficiency and avoid missing important We have a meeting . deadlines. At the 2 time, it can alleviate stress and help you to become far more productive. Experts 2 I didn’t stop working on the report yesterday. advise you to 3 a regular break in order to DAY Yesterday, I . recharge your batteries. So many people believe they are being more productive if they do not stop for breaks, but this is a misconception. The first steps to 3 It doesn’t matter which day you collect the goods managing your time are to 4 your key priorities next week. ANY You can and then 5 the right resources to each task. By next week. doing this, you should be able to avoid running 6 time. Moreover, it will allow you to have time 4 It won’t take many more weeks to complete the for any unexpected issues that may occur. Being project. FEW more organised also means that deadlines may even The project will be finished be met 7 time, which is always a bonus. If you . take more time to 8 jobs which need to be completed, there will be less chance of staff having 5 My manager rarely praises my work. EVER to regularly work 9 . So, whatever job you do, My manager it’s always worth 10 time for planning and my work. scheduling because, in the long run, it could save you a lot of time, stress and money. 6 I occasionally attend conferences for work. FROM I attend . 1 a allocate b maximise c schedule d take 7 They very rarely leave work before 8 p.m. ALMOST 2 They before a same b similar c right d certain 8 p.m. 3 a waste b measure c make d take 8 When I started, I didn’t really like my job. FIRST 4 I . a identify b maximise c allocate d measure 5 a make b allocate c schedule d set 9 You must send that document by 7 p.m. or it will be 6 too late. AT a up to b up against c out of d away from That document must be sent 7 . a beyond b in front of c above d ahead of 8 10 I sometimes get bored and look for other jobs. a measure b schedule c maximise d use NOW 9 bored and a on time b extra time c overtime d in time look for other jobs. 10 __/10 a wasting b measuring c doing d making __/10
UNIT 7: Language and skills test Name:_________________________________
Lesson 7.3 Functional language SKILLS
PTE Part B Short listening 3 Complete the sentences with ONE word in each BECV gap. 6 [BP_B2_Test_07_002.mp3] You will a telephone 1 I need a response by of business. conversation and a conference call update. For 2 Let me know when you’ll get a to each question, write one or two words or a send me that information. number. 3 I was expecting the results by end of , but they haven’t come. Listening 1 4 Please this. It’s urgent. 5 I’m sorry for not your call before now. Order notes __/5 Company Name: 1 Ltd.
Lesson 7.4 Functional language Problems with own 2
PTE Part H Response selection Need 3 10 mm HDG bolts 4 [BP_B2_Test_07_001.mp3] Listen to the Part order being sent today by courier to: Unit 5 Exbury speaker and choose the correct answer a, b or c. Industrial Park, MG24 3HJ. Remaining items to be sent 1a b c tomorrow. 2a b c 3a b c No 4 with us, so £305 paid by card. 4a b c 5a b c Listening 2 __/5
Lesson 7.5 Functional language Courses available
BULATS Training courses include Leadership, Time management 5 Complete the text with ONE word in each gap. and 5 .
I am really sorry to tell you that we’ve 1 Leadership course starts 5th October for 6 . a big problem with your order. 2 to Time management course is held monthly on the unforeseen circumstances, we are no longer able to 7 . meet your deadline. There has been a delay because of a factory shutdown last week. This was All 8 staff should regularly attend the 3 by an electrical failure in the area and Reducing stress course. the factory was closed for two days. We 4 propose that we deliver what we’ve __/8 already completed. I apologise for any inconvenience caused, but assure you that the second half of the order will be ready by next Wednesday at the 5 . __/5
UNIT 7: Language and skills test Name:_________________________________
Reading office staff visit colleagues in other departments, and the
BECV/BULATS warehouse, to speak face-to-face whenever possible, as he had noticed that most workers spent far too much time 7 Read the article about Fairform Furniture and reading emails. questions below. For each question, choose the correct answer a, b, c or d. Even with the simple changes Miller implemented, he found he had more motivated and productive staff and they CHANGING TIMES AT FAIRFORM became much better at managing their time. ‘Despite more regular meetings, the actual time spent in meetings has been Before he took over last year, Frank Miller, the CEO of cut by 50 per cent and customers have started to receive Fairform Furniture – a medium-sized UK company which their furniture on specific dates. Miller says, ‘It has taken a manufactures and sells stylish hand-made furniture – knew few months for staff to see the benefits of these changes the company had some of the most innovative, experienced and there are still a few people getting used to them, but the craftsmen in the industry producing fine, high-end products, main thing is sales are back up again and customers and so he was surprised to learn the firm was losing market staff are happier’. share and productivity was at a very low level.
However, on joining, Miller discovered a ‘chaotic 1 In the first paragraph, we learn that Fairform atmosphere’, typified by his first day in the customer a employs only experienced staff. service office. ‘There were staff on the phone trying to calm b was not as productive as it could have been. angry customers, or trying to find lost paperwork while c sells products to a large mass market. surrounded by bits of wood that belonged to broken and d needs better employees. returned models’. Not surprisingly, Miller discovered customer service employees were stressed and 2 When Miller started his job he found overwhelmed by the amount of work they had to do and a the order process working well. this pattern was repeated throughout the organisation. b staff overwhelmed by angry customers. Miller also realized there was little planning and c staff unclear about delivery dates. scheduling. When an order came in, it was passed to a d he had to spend time searching for lost paperwork. craftsman, and the customers were rarely given a firm 3 One of Miller’s first requests was that staff delivery date from customer service. a tell him what they didn’t like about their work. After collecting feedback from the staff about their work, b schedule their work better in future. Miller implemented a staff diary system for a few weeks. c explain why they might have problems. All staff had to record every activity they undertook each d keep a record of daily tasks. day, including breaks, with details of how long each task 4 When he read their diaries, Miller discovered that most took. They also had to write down reasons for any delays to employees customer orders that occurred. Initially, many staff thought a thought the exercise was a complete waste of time. it was a waste of time and just added to their workload, but b had identified how systems and processes could over time they would recognise the benefits. Miller spent change. the following few weeks reading the diaries and observing c needed to communicate with each other better. procedures to identify how systems and processes could be d found that other staff refused to help them. changed. One clear observation was how much time was wasted with staff waiting for someone else in another 5 One of Miller’s first strategies was to encourage staff to department. There was clearly a distinct lack of a improve the workflow. communication between co-workers, who rarely spoke to b create a list of priority tasks. each other, in part due to the lack of procedure and c build longer breaks into the schedule. directives, and poor internal communications systems. d limit the number of their breaks. Over the following weeks, Miller began to implement some 6 To improve communication and time management, simple time management strategies that would improve Miller encouraged staff to workflow. The first thing he suggested was that all staff a reduce face-to-face meetings. created a to-do list every morning, with no more than three b include more staff in meetings. things on it; staff would then make sure that the orders were c visit staff in other UK offices. prioritised correctly and got done on time. He also d speak to people instead of emailing them. encouraged staff to take regular breaks during the day and build them into any schedule they created. 7 One outcome of the time management changes is that a production staff are managing time better. In order to shorten time spent in meetings, he introduced b customers choose the dates they receive goods. more regular but shorter, ‘stand-up meetings’ which c the time spent in meetings has been halved. included only the people who really needed to attend and d there are fewer meetings. had a definite finish time. He recommended that central __/7
UNIT 7: Language and skills test Name:_________________________________
Writing Write 120–140 words.
BECV Part 2 8 You are a Project Manager and are going to miss a deadline. You have been asked to reply to the Operations Director and explain the reasons for this.
Look at the emails and the handwritten notes you
have already made on some details.
Using all your handwritten notes, write an email
explaining why the deadline is going to be missed and proposing how you should proceed. no! – minimum 2 weeks’ To: Project Manager delay From: Operations Director Subject: Project 2 - Phase 1 - School in Doha Could you let me know if you’re on track to meet the Phase 1 deadline of the school building project? As you know, if we don’t meet the final deadline, we will have to pay compensation. Thanks. don’t worry – final deadline still OK We can start some Phase 2 To: work early – Project Manager don’t need From: HJS Building Supplies materials for Subject: Factory fire that
We regret to inform you that there was a fire at our factory
last night. Consequently, we won’t be able to deliver your order on time. It will be another two weeks before we can supply you with the building materials you ordered. We know that you have tight deadlines and will understand if you have to look for another supplier. However, we sincerely hope that this will only be a temporary interruption. __/10
