Taking care of business – Weekly meeting

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS – WEEKLY MEETING

Click the link below to listen to the dialogue:

Dialogue comprehension
1. Why isn´t Fred attending the meeting?
2. Do they plan to keep Fred posted on the meeting? How do they plan to do that?
3. Has the launch of their new product been delayed before? When do they expect to launch it?
4. How does Jeff feel about this new product?
5. What does Jeff think they should do about the surveillance equipment?
6. Does it look like they´ll be reaching their sales goals for the quarter?
7. How are the two new sales reps getting along?
8. Is everything ready for the upcoming congress? Where will it take place and how big will their booth be?

Find words or expressions in the dialogue with the same meaning of:
a- ready: _________________________________
b- keep someone informed: ________________________________
c- approaching; happening soon: _____________________
d- running late; after the time that was planned: ____________________________
e- viable; capable of being done: _______________________________
f- something very successful: _______________________
g- delay or put off an action, event, appointment, etc: _____________________
h- call one’s place of work to say you are ill and cannot come to work: _____________
i- a rough estimate or figure: ______________________
j- become familiar with an activity; begin to get used to something: ________________
k- a person who is hardworking and enthusiastic: __________________________
l- without enough workers: _________________________
m- a stand: __________________________
n- the most significant or interesting parts of something: ______________________
o- a subject that people discuss or argue about: __________________________

Taking care of business – Weekly meeting

Jeff: Wow, we have some important issues to cover today. Where´s Fred? Does anyone know about him?
Linda: Yeah, he called in sick earlier today. He was really sorry he couldn´t make it to today´s meeting. I told him I would e-mail him with the highlights later.
Jeff: Ok, let´s make sure we brief him on all the key topics. We have a lot of things going on these days. Ok, let´s get started then. I guess we need to first talk about our next launch. As you know we are behind schedule with this new product, so when do you think would be a feasible date for us to launch it?
Kate: I´d say mid April to be on the safe side. I talked to Dave and Carol the day before yesterday, they told me that since things have been running smoothly now they don´t foresee any more delays.
Jeff: Sounds good. I´m sure this new toy will be a hit with the kids. I´m very excited about it. Let´s just make sure we avoid any last minute surprises. I wouldn´t like to have to postpone the launch again. Please keep me posted on any further developments.
Kate: Sure, sir. I´ll meet with them again tomorrow and I´ll let you know.
Jeff: Good, let´s move on … Ok, our next item on the agenda is … surveillance equipment, right, Mark, do we have a ballpark figure on the cost of the surveillance equipment yet?
Mark: Yes sir, we´ve received two price quotations and the average figure is $9000,00
Jeff: Humm, it might be a good idea to check with a third company, what do you say?
Mark: I already got in touch with another one yesterday, they should be e-mailing their quotation later today and I´ll let you know.
Jeff: Very good Mark, thanks! Now, I have to tell you I´m very glad about the great news, it seems that we´ll be reaching all our sales goals for the quarter and I´d like to thank you for your effort and the great teamwork. By the way, how are the two new sales reps getting along?
Mark: Not bad, I think they need a little more time to get into the swing of things, but they´ve been doing a very good job and seem very eager to learn.
Jeff: Great, that´s what we need, eager beavers. Let´s make sure we hire some more people with this profile next time any of the departments is short-staffed. OK, one last thing before we wrap up, our booth for the upcoming Miami congress, so, where do we stand Linda?
Linda: Everything is all set sir, we´ll have our usual 90 square meters and a great layout.
Jeff: Thanks Linda, this is just what I wanted to hear. All right folks, I think we all need to go check our e-mail now. We´ll meet again on Wednesday at the usual time.