#0216 – Outsourcing Operations, - Ang, mater, ESL Podcast McQuillan Jeff mp3+PDF

#0216 – Outsourcing Operations

#0216 – Outsourcing Operations, - Ang, mater, ESL Podcast McQuillan Jeff mp3+PDF

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English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 216 – Outsourcing Operations
GLOSSARY
overhead
– the money a company spends to run its business
* Moving to a bigger office building will mean an increase in the company’s
overhead for upcoming years.
to outsource
– to have company business done by people outside of the
company; to pay someone else to do part of the company’s work
* Many companies outsource for services that they need only once in a while.
pros and cons
– reasons for and against something; the positive and negative
reasons for something; the advantages and disadvantages; the good and the bad
parts of something
* She sat down with her parents and made a list of the pros and cons of going to
an out-of-state college.
in principle
– in general, but not necessary all the time or in all cases
* She followed the recipe exactly, so in principle, the cake should taste good.
downside
– the bad parts of something; the negative aspects of something; the
disadvantages
* The downside of the job promotion is working more hours.
in house
– in the building; within the company
* She used to work part-time for that publishing company, but now that they edit
its books in house, she has to find other work.
non-core operations
– the services within a company that are not as important
to the main business
* When a company decides to downsize, non-core operations are usually the first
of many departments to let people go.
IT
– short for “information technology”; a department or part of the company that
handles computers and technology-related problems
* Lisa was told to make an appointment with IT so she can learn about the new
programs that they’ve just installed on her computer.
1
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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 216 – Outsourcing Operations
accounting
– the department or group of people at a company that keeps track
of how much the company spends its money and how much money it receives
* June is a busy month for government accounting departments since it’s usually
the end of the official year.
call center
– a place where people answer or make phone calls for companies
* Many U.S. airline companies forward customer calls to call centers in other
countries.
call volume
– number of calls; the number of calls during a specific time period
* This month’s increased call volume proves that it was a good idea to advertise
in major newspapers.
to micro-manage
– to tell someone what to do step-by-step; to supervise work
too closely and not to let employees make their own decisions
* The new hires wouldn’t have to be micro-managed if they showed up on time
and did what they were supposed to do.
oversight
– supervision; overseeing someone or some work to make sure it is
done properly and on time
* Hopefully, having Beatrice working at the downtown office will give her more
oversight of the Showland project.
quality control
– rules and levels of standard in a company to make sure that
something is as good as it should be
* If a product doesn’t meet quality control standards, it is never sold.
offshore
– company business done in foreign countries; overseas
* It’s not unusual for American companies these days to have offshore
operations.
to think along the same lines
– to be thinking of the same thing or of doing the
same thing; to agree with someone else’s thinking
* Laura and I were thinking along the same lines and agreed to paint the living
room walls blue.
staff
– a group of workers
* For Martha’s birthday, the staff put money together and bought her a nice
sweater.
2
These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2006). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 216 – Outsourcing Operations
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. Which part of the company is Bonnie and Jean-Luc not thinking of
outsourcing?
a) The call center
b) Accounting
c) IT
2. What does Jean-Luc think of Bonnie’s suggestion to outsource some of the
company’s operations?
a) He disagrees with her.
b) He thinks it’s a good idea.
c) He doesn’t think the staff will like the idea.
______________
WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
overhead
The word “overhead” in this podcast means the money used to operate a
business: “If we don’t reduce our overhead, we’ll need to fire at least 10
employees.” The word “overhead” can also be used as an adjective to mean
something that is above your head: “This room is too dark. We need to install
some overhead lights so visitors can see the displays better.” Or, “While I was
sitting on the beach, a really big bird flew overhead and made a lot of noise.” In
an airplane, the storage space where passengers put their bags above their
seats are called the “overhead compartment”: “I was the last passenger to get
on the plane and there was no more room in the overhead compartment for my
briefcase.”
staff
In this podcast, the word “staff” is used as a noun to mean a group of workers:
“The staff’s positive attitude made it a pleasant place to work.” The same word
can also be used as a verb, “to staff,” which means to supply or hire people to
work on something or for someone: “Make sure to staff the event with at least
eight waiters and five busboys.” “Staff” can also be used as a noun to mean a
long stick that is usually as tall as or taller than the person carrying it: “In the
story, the old man who lived on the side of the mountain always carried a staff to
help him get around.”
3
These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2006). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 216 – Outsourcing Operations
CULTURE NOTE
Many companies outsource to reduce costs. It makes sense that if a company
can get work done by hiring an outside firm, they will have a “competitive
advantage” or a better chance of getting a customer because of their lower
prices. As outsourcing has become more common in U.S. companies, however,
it has become more “controversial,” or something that people disagree about.
The most controversial part is “offshoring,” or transferring a company's work to
another company in another country that specializes in that type of work. The
two areas in a company most likely to be offshored are production and service.
American companies have, for a long time, offshored production or
manufacturing to countries where “labor” or paid work is cheaper. For instance,
U.S. companies may “manufacture” or make their electronic parts in Taiwan or
make clothes and toys in China. Until recently, companies didn’t think that
services could be offshored. With the creation and improvement of
telecommunications, however, many large U.S. companies have transferred their
call centers offshore. Even though the company provides a phone number in the
U.S., calls are “forwarded” or sent to a different company that's been contracted
to take them, such as those in India, South Africa, or the Philippines.
Although offshoring is becoming more and more common, there have been
“critics,” or those who have a negative opinion. One of the drawbacks they point
out is that offshoring results in lower quality of service. These critics argue that
because outsourced workers don't actually work for the main company (they
work for the company that's been hired to do the work), they might not care about
the quality of the job they're doing as much as regular workers would. And, since
outsourced companies tend to do one type of work for many companies, some
say that special needs that a company has may not be served.
______________
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – b
4
These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2006). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 216 – Outsourcing Operations
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 216, “Outsourcing
Operations.”
This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 216. I'm your host, Dr.
Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in
beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Remember to visit our website at eslpod.com to find more information about this
podcast, additional services we offer and a complete Learning Guide to this
episode. The Learning Guide contains all of the vocabulary, additional words,
explanations, sample sentences, cultural notes and a complete transcript of this
episode.
This podcast is about a business that tries to hire, or get, another company to do
part of their work. It's called “Outsourcing Operations.” Let's get started.
[Start of story]
Bonnie: I wanted us to meet today to talk about ways to reduce our overhead.
One suggestion is for us to outsource some of our operations. I’d like to hear
what you think are the pros and cons of doing that.
Jean-Luc: I think that, in principle, it’s a good idea. It would save us a lot of
money, but I see a downside. We would lose control of some of our key in house
operations.
Bonnie: Well, I think that we want to focus on non-core operations, such as IT or
accounting. I know that other companies have outsourced their call centers, but
that would take a lot of training, especially with our call volume.
Jean-Luc: I completely agree. I don’t think that the call center needs to be
micro-managed, but it does take more oversight than IT or accounting for quality
control, especially if we decide to go offshore.
Bonnie: Okay, I think we’re thinking along the same lines. Let’s call a meeting
with the rest of the staff to get their thoughts. How about next Tuesday at 10
a.m.?
5
These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2006). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
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