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Section 3. You will hear two students called Tom and Bella attending the third meeting

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of the after school club. They are talking with their professor about the furniture company.

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First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 26.

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Now, listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 26.

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Before we start, Tom and Bella, thanks for coming in today to talk about the key case studies

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that will help you to understand your classwork better.

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Now, I hope you've read the notes I gave you last week on the furniture company Willows.

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As this will be the focus of our discussion today, let's begin.

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Who can tell me what the current focus of the company's business is?

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The company used to be very large with many retail outlets across the country.

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However, since the recession, there have been fewer people spending money on furniture

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and so the company was forced to close all of its outlets and now only operates online.

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Well done, Tom. Bella, can you add anything?

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Willows used to produce a very large number of products such as tables, chairs and light fittings.

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However, through market research, they realized that most of their profit was made from the sale of bookcases

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so they now specialize in this one product.

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Very good. Does anyone know how our department began its contact with Willows?

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Did you contact the company, Professor?

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No, Tom. It wasn't through me.

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Our headmaster saw an article that the manager had written in the newspaper

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and became very interested in the company.

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He contacted Willows and arranged for a student to work their full time during the summer.

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Yes, exactly. Does anyone know what the student thought of their time working at Willows?

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Yes, he is a friend of ours. He worked as a member of the design team, creating technical drawings of the furniture using a computer.

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There was a special software that he used, which he said had a bad interface and was very difficult to predict.

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However, it was very efficient and helpful for quickly drawing up furniture designs.

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How interesting.

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Yes, it was. We both visited him whilst he was working there and he showed us around.

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Unfortunately, visitors were not allowed to access the IT department, but it was great to chat with his colleagues.

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Did you meet his manager?

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His manager is a very busy man, so he didn't have time to meet with us.

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However, we were allowed to inspect the accounts, which really helped us to understand the effects of the software on the company.

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Well, what an exciting experience.

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Now, before I forget, next week I'll be conducting face-to-face interviews with each of you to prepare for job interviews.

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Can we do it as a group?

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I'm afraid not, Bella. I want to give each of you my undivided attention, and there will be too much disturbance if I interview you altogether.

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Plus, it will be more realistic if I interview you alone.

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Have you finished writing the feedback on our exam results, Professor?

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Yes, I have, Tom. And I must say that I was not disappointed.

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I am glad to say that your performance has dramatically increased since you began attending this after school club, and you have both scored above the average.

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If you continue to work hard, your results should soon improve significantly.

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Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 27-30.

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Now, listen and answer questions 27-30.

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Now, back to our discussion about Willows. Can anyone tell me what business decisions might benefit the company?

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A new system would definitely benefit Willows. Their system is very outdated. I don't think it would help them to gain more profit.

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However, the system is capable of doing the work of hundreds of people. This would, therefore, significantly lower labor costs.

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I agree. Unfortunately, unless they also replace the machinery in their workshop, the new system won't reduce the production time.

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That is a shame. If they can't reduce their production time, they won't be able to increase sales.

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The answer is to hire more staff in order to increase the efficiency of the production line.

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Yes, you have both made interesting points. Now for one final question before we finish this week's session.

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How will new clients be affected by the new system?

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Unfortunately, the new system does not allow clients to connect to the Willows system from home, so they are unable to access their work online.

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This also means that the system presents no opportunity to attract more contacts, since clients are unable to view it from their homes.

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Yes, that's true. However, it could definitely benefit clients who visit the showroom.

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The system is very interactive and allows clients to easily browse the furniture catalog, which will save them a lot of time.

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It's a shame that staff are still needed to guide clients through the online system, as it means that no savings can be made in labor costs.

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I think the major benefit of the new system is that it enables staff to design the furniture in front of the client, which allows them to get a lot more involved in the design.

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Bravo, you've both contributed fantastic points to our conversation. That concludes our session for today. I'll see you next week.

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That is the end of section 3. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

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Now turn to section 3.

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section 4.