You will hear five different people talking about the companies they work for.

Speaker One
Man: There seem to have been so many changes already this year . . . it’s hard to keep up, to keep taking things on board. The CEO’s nothing if not dynamic, that’s for sure! Well, they say this new system will work better, compared to the previous one, with its habit of crashing the network on a weekly basis. It’s certainly been tough, battling to meet our performance targets, only to find your PC can’t access anything all afternoon. It’s just so frustrating! So let’s hope it proves to be one innovation that’s of real benefit, that helps us help clients with what they need . . . because that’s what we’re best at, the front line, and I hope we never lose sight of that. Satisfying them is what’s rewarding, after all.
Speaker Two
Woman: It always comes down to people in the end, and that’s why keeping staff happy is so crucial to success. We have to have a culture of creativity, of imagination, to keep improving. Our growth and profits come from our ability to keep bringing out new models, new features, that keep us ahead, and of course, those ideas all come from people. That’s why I think this latest in-company development makes sense. Instead of having different people spread about in different departments all over the company, while trying to think in related ways, it’s much better to group them in one section, especially since we’ve got the space. I think it’s a good example of intelligent management - proper strategic thinking at its best. I’ll be very interested to see what fresh angles come out of the new set-up.
Speaker Three
Man: Well, yes, it’s very much in line with the way we usually go about things, so I’m sure it’ll prove to be a change for the better. I mean, if we’re saying we want to monitor things, to relate achievement to targets and so on, then of course we should be looking to have more aspects tied in and programmed. It’s only fair that the sales staff should become involved in the setting of targets in the first place, so that’s a useful improvement, which’ll make them feel more accountable for results. I also think it could have an impact on how they deal with their customers, because they’ll have more of a stake. We’ve always been good at bringing staff on, providing attractive career paths, quarterly bonuses and so on, that keep them motivated.
Speaker Four
Woman: Well, in a small company like ours, everything has to count for something, otherwise we’ll sink . . . competition’s so tight now, we have to be sure that we’re doing the right thing. Without scale, we’re never going to be able to compete on price - that’s just a fact of life - but where we’ve always been good, I think, is on getting our name noticed out there. Ingenious promotions, placements, high-profile local sponsorship, that kind of thing ... it all adds up. And I think they’ve put the right person in charge this time. John’s skills will transfer very well from his old section, and his IT knowledge is second to none, which will come in very handy here as we battle away with our rather antiquated computers!
Speaker Five
Man: I have to say I feel almost uneasy about our success . . . it’s as if it’s too good to be true, and that eventually all this expansion will have to come to a halt. I don’t know if I trust the long-term predictions for growth. But then again, I guess we really have got the right package - a reliable product that customers know they can trust in a market where things are changing so rapidly that they can often feel rather bewildered by all the new developments. What they want to be sure of is getting value for money, and we’re succeeding by offering high-quality products that don’t cost the earth. Anyway, I suppose this refurbishment is the right thing to do, to rearrange the sections like this . . . it’s certainly easier than looking for a new site, at any rate.
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Now listen to the recording again.
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That is the end of Part Two.