Market Research: the importance of doing market research before launching a new product
Sales: How to sell a product effectively in international markets
Product Promotion: the importance of selecting appropriate members of staff to attend exhibitions
Communication: the importance in business of maintaining contact with clients
Public Relations: the importance of adequate supervision and training of staff who deal with the public
Management: How to run a meeting successfully
Transport Management: the importance to a business of an efficient public transport system
Any distribution of products from producers to wholesalers or from wholesalers to retailers requires transportation. The cost of transporting some products can exceed the cost of producing them. An efficient form of transportation can result in higher costs and lower profits for the firm. For each form of transportation, firms should estimate timing, cost, and availability. This assessment allows the firm to choose an optimal method of transportation. The most common forms of transportation used to distribute products are truck, rail, air, water, pipeline.
Transport Management: the importance of using environmentally friendly means of transport whenever possible
Health & Safety
Employee Safety: Firms ensure that the workplace is safe for employees by closely monitoring the production process. Some obvious safety precautions are to check machinery and equipment for proper working conditions, require safety glasses or any other equipment that one can prevent injury, and emphasize any special safety precautions in training seminars.
Firms that create a safe working environment prevent injuries and improve the morale of their employees. Many firms, such as Allied Signal, now identify workplace safety as one of their main goals. Levi Strauss and Company imposes safety guidelines not only its U.S. facilities but also on Asian factories where some of its clothes are made. Starbucks Coffee Company has developed a code of conduct in an attempt to improve the quality of life in coffee-producing countries.
Life Skills: the importance of being able to cope with stress in a job
Technology: the importance of training staff in how to use new technology when introducing it into the workplaceSpeaking Test Part III
Sample Dialogues
Time Management
[Definition: the manner by which managers allocate their time when managing tasks]Sample
Zhang: Hi, Ms Wang, you know, our company is sort of out of control these days. Don't you think so?
Wang: Yeah. Everything seems to be in disorder here in our company. And that obviously has a lot to do with poor time management.
Zhang: You mean poor time management has caused all these problems. Why?
Wang: When time is not well planned within a company, they usually do not allocate blocks of time to specified tasks. They do not have a definite idea of when they should complete a certain task. And …
Zhang: And I think they often neglect the ordering of priorities. I mean certain tasks need our prior attention. But in our company every task is treated on an equal basis, even if it is a very urgent task. |
