Ôn luyện Market Leader Advanced – Unit 8: Consultants – Học Hay (Phần 1)

A. Complete the extract below about consultants using words and phrases in the box.

best practices          brief          deliverable          implementation          operational         performance           scope            specialised expertise          tangible            techniques and methods

 

Management consultants can help organisations to improve their …………… (1). They can provide external, objective advice and …………… (2) which companies do not have in-house.

Because consultants work with multiple clients, they are also aware of industry …………… (3).

Companies typically hire consultants to help with financial management, human resources services, IT …………… (4), change management, strategy development and improving …………… (5) efficiency.

Consultants generally use their own …………… (6) in order to identify problems, and recommend more effective and efficient ways of working. In the past, a consultancy’s main  …………… (7) on a project was generally the report. Nowadays, clients want more …………… (8)  and practical approaches to helping them stay in business. Critical, therefore, to the success of a project is agreeing the objectives and …………… (9) of the work, together with the benefits to be expected and how they will be measured. Clients need to provide as clear a …………… (10) as possible, which identifies the value that the project will bring. 

 

Đáp án:

1. performance

2. specialised expertise

3. best practices

4. implementation

5. operational

6. techniques and methods

7. deliverable

8. tangible

9. scope

10. brief

 

B. Listen to the first part of an interview with Peter Sirman, Head of Operations Consulting at the PA Consulting Group, and complete each gap with between two and four words.

Peter Sirman uses the phrase ‘……………’ (1) to explain what operations refers to. The first step in the consultation process is to find out what the company …………… (2) to its customers and to see how well they’re actually doing that.

Operations is essentially about …………… (3), so it’s important to understand what the customers want to ensure that the company is providing a …………… (4), a product that they like, and that this is happening every time to the right …………… (5). Therefore, the consultants begin by talking to customers. These are quite detailed conversations about the …………… (6) that the customers value. This information can be used later to …………… (7) the company is delivering services and products.

 

Đáp án:

1. order to cash

2. should be delivering

3. serving customers

4. service they value

5. level of quality

6. features of the product / product features / products and services

7. shape the way

 

C. Listen to the next part of the interview and decide if these statements are true or false. Correct the false ones.

1. The technique mentioned is called Value Stream Planning.

2. It is used to analyse all processes needed to deliver the goods or services.

3. The technique looks at the amount of money spent on each stage of the process.

4. It helps to identify where problems arise and any duplication of processes.

 

Đáp án:

1. False: The technique mentioned is called Value Stream Mapping.

2. True

3. False: The technique looks at the period of time spent on each stage of the process, and the levels of quality.

4. True

 

D. Listen to the third part of the interview and answer these questions. 

1. What is the second phase of the consultants’ work?

2. What type of advice might the consultants give a company at this stage?

3. What term is used for the time period between the beginning and end of a process?

4. What information is used to set targets?

5. What is identified in the second step?

 

Đáp án:

1. Redesigning the work I Corning up with better ways of doing things

2. Stop doing things the customer doesn’t value, or that are a waste of time and money and/or do things differently.

3. lead tirne(s) (These have to be reduced in order to improve efficiency.)

4. What the customer wants, e.g. shorter delivery times

5. The ‘drivers’ of improved performance, e.g. lead time; reducing (driving down) costs; improving (driving up) quality

 

E. Listen to the final part of the interview and make a note of the three options that Peter Sirman mentions for improved performance.

 

Đáp án:

1. Taking out unnecessary steps, e.g. outsourcing some activities

2. Restructuring the company, e.g. by consolidating into a larger site

3. The management infrastructure, e.g. helping managers to understand and improve their performance

 

F. Listen to the last part of the interview again. How do Peter and his team try to win support for their recommendations?

 

Đáp án:

Through discussions with the client staff in workshops and meetings, in order to reach consensus around the changes they are recommending.

Write an e-mail summarising what was agreed in one of your negotiations. Then check your partner’s summary. Did you describe the same terms and conditions?

 

Đáp án:

Suggested answer

To: Claudio Timi

From: Denise Hall

Date: 10 April

Subject: Sunshine Beauty Products agreement

 

Dear Claudio Timi,

I’m writing to confirm what we discussed in our meeting on 8 April. Sunshine Beauty Products is pleased to offer Daisy

Supermarkets the following terms of agreement:

Specification of goods and price agreed

Sunshine Beauty Products will provide Daisy Supermarkets with our extensive sun range at the special prices listed below:

• Sunshine sun cream, Factors 10 and 25 @ €8.00 and €10.00 respectively (minimum orders of 1,000 units each)

• Sunshine Kids sun cream, Factor 50 @€12.00 (min. 500 units)

• Sunshine face cream at €11.00 (min. 500 units)

• Sunshine after-sun lotion at €8.00 (min. 500 units)

• Sunshine haircare holiday pack at €6.00 per pack (min. 500 units)

Please note: should Daisy Supermarkets place orders of less than the minimum amount agreed, Sunshine Beauty

Products will have to review these prices.

Delivery and payment

Payment will be on a sale-or-return basis for the first 500 units of each product. As we agreed, 40% of payment will be paid on delivery, with the remainder paid 60 days after delivery -with the approval of Daisy Supermarkets.

I would like to point out that the expected delivery date is the week of 5 May, subject to confirmation and product availability.

Limitation of liability, cancellation, refunds and warranty policy

I’m sending you a document with details regarding these – see the attached pdf.

If you have any queries, please let me know. Could you also please confirm your initial orders as agreed in our meeting by e-mail as soon as you can? Many thanks.

We’re looking forward to receiving written confirmation of the above terms and your first orders.

Best wishes,

Name, position and company