ⅰ life english
talking about time
1.
how are we doing for time?
do we have time for that?
how much time do we have left?
are we on schedule?
do we have time?
are we making good time?
2.
times flies by too quickly.
time passes by too swiftly.
time waits for no man.
enjoy life while you’re still young.
don’t miss any opportunity.
don’t pass up any good chances.
3.
time is important.
time is valuable.
time is precious.
do as much as you can every day.
take every opportunity and chance given to you.
don’t waste any time.
ⅱ presentation topics
motivating staff
what is important when…?
motivating staff
l financial benefits
l career development opportunities
what is important when…?
introducing a reward system for staff
l purpose of the reward system
l types of reward offered
what is important when…?
aiming to reduce staff turnover
l financial incentives
l career structure
key points: financial benefits; career development/structure; reduce staff turnover
financial benefits:
managers, company owners and supervisors have always been frustrated and bewildered by employees with little or no motivation.
staff always want reward for their contribution to the company and what they are worth. such factors are just like market forces. the fundamental reason of looking for a job is to get pay. staff do the job what they are paid for. however, quite often, the staff work overtime under their managers’ demand. if the company fails to give proper financial benefits staff might subsequently feel not being fairly treated, and therefore frustrate their enthusiasm for their work.
staff want some sort of recognition for the job that they do. correct financial benefits plan will arouse their enthusiasm; otherwise they would feel being ignored.
the job that the staff are doing is not always interesting, or the working environment may not be pleasant, or their colleagues might not be very helpful and cooperative. in this kind of situation/under the kind of circumstance, the staff would become stressful and uninterested in their job. correct financial benefits can normally distract staff from their dissatisfaction with….
career development/structure:
job-hunting is always a two-way process. on one hand, the employees look for their ideal jobs, on the other hand the employer, at the same time, look for competitive people. an employer has a number of methods to attract the best people into its business. such as high pay, traveling opportunities, company cars and training/career development opportunities.
good educational background is not the only element that the future employers will take into account when they look for someone in the job market. postgraduate qualifications and professional trainings are equally or even more important than the higher education deGREes. when the hr managers only have 30 seconds to go through each applicant’s cv, the sector that will catch their eyes are normally your qualification and professional training experiences, which show whether you suit their vacant positions.
nowadays, very few people would like to go for that kind of job-for-life posts. they all wish to have their jobs better and better. if an employee is able to get the opportunities to obtain some sort of professional training during the course of employment, this experience will definitely enhance his value in the employment market and therefore benefits his future job-hunting.
so in the two-way job-seeking process, while the employer is choosing its favorite people, the wise future employee will consider the training and career development opportunities with his/her future employer and try to make himself/herself more competitive in the employment market.
ⅲ business dialogue
1) negotiating a job offer
employer: would you consider an offer of $56,000 per year?
ms. wilson: what kind of benefits are talking about?
employer: our standard package includes health insurance, two weeks vacation and a company car.
ms. wilson: are these things negotiable?
employer: uh…not normally. what do you have in mind ?
ms. wilson: vacation time is important to me. i would be willing to give up these other items in order to receive more vacation days.
employer: what an interesting idea, ms. wilson. would you also be willing to accept a cut in initial salary?
ms. wilson: possibly. what do you have in mind ?
2) employee pay raise
boss: you have done an excellent job this year and we are pleased with the results.
employee: i am glad that you have been happy with my performance.
boss: as a result of your performance, we happy to offer you the position of manager.
employee: does this title come with an increase in salary?
boss: yes, it does.
employee: can you give me the specifics?
boss: your monthly gross salary will increase by $500.
employee: that sounds fair.
3) asking for a raise
mr. white: so, tell me: what makes you think we should give you a raise?
miss small: i’ve got several good reasons. i’ve been here several years, my work has proven to be good, and i’ve noticed that people in comparable jobs get paid more than i do.
mr. white: salaries are confidential; how do you know how much money these “other people” make?
miss small: well, i’ve noticed all the new cars around here, for one thing.
mr. white: those are company cars provided to the sales staff for their business trips. also, some employees receive sales commissions. so good salesmen will naturally earn more.
miss small: that’s understandable. well, rather than comparing my salary with someone else’s, perhaps we could talk about my job performance. surely you’ve noticed the extra hours i’ve put in recently? if i were being paid an hourly wage, with the standard time – and – a – half for overtime, i’d be earning much more.
mr. white: i see you point. however, it might be hard to get a raise approved. profits were down last quarter, and the whole company is tightening its belt, so anything that affects the annual budget is hard to get approved. but i’ll tell you what i’ll do. i’ll give you a one – time bonus for your recent hard work. and i’ll try to arrange some sort of compensation for any future overtime.
miss small: that would be very good of you, mr. white.
4) asking for a raise
martin: mr. smith, i have been doing some industry research and was shocked to learn that the average salary for a position that is similar to mine pays, on average $2,000 more per year than i am currently making.
mr. smith: what are you basing this information on?
martin: first and secondary research. i hope that you can address this concern immediately as i find it very disturbing.
mr. smith: yes, i will. we are very happy with performance and want to continue our good working relationship.
martin: i wish the same. as such, i hope you will seriously consider a pay increase.
mr. smith: let me take this up with the director and get back to you immediately.
ⅳ conversation notes
注意：
1. 考试中不要说 “pardon?”
2. never say “sorry” in examination!
3. 没听清可用以下说法
i don’t quite understand you. would you explain it a little bit for me?
i am not sure what you are getting at. would you express it in another way?
