PART ONE:

Questions 1-12
 You will hear three conversations or messages.
 Write ONE or TWO words or A NUMBER in the numbered spaces on the
notes or forms below.
 You will hear each recording twice.
Conversation one
Question 1-4
 Look at the summary of an interview with Jost, a business analyst.
 You will hear people talking about the theme of innovation.
INNOVATION
Topic given: How to run an efficient company, but still create space for
innovative ideas, without cutting into the (1) ____bottom line______?
Look into the case of 3M
- Invented the Post-it note and experienced a drastic change in its leader
- The new leader, McNerney aimed at increasing (2) __earnings________ in
the beginning.
- Shift its emphasis from innovation to (3) ___quality control_______
- Introduced a programme that demands high accuracy and eliminate
production (4) ___defects_______

Conversation Two
Questions 5-8
  Look at the summary below.
 You will hear a recorded interview about a “systems thinking” approach.
- Staff’s thinking patterns are geared towards their reflection upon the
implications of what they do beyond their areas of (5)
___responsibility_______.
- Staff are also expected to attend a course tailored to put their jobs into the (6)
__wider________ business context, so that they can see the bigger picture.
- Approach to learning and training across the company:
 Two areas of training: job-specific and (7) __generic________
 The former has its focus on individual training needs
 The latter refers to skills training – (8) __management________ skills,
communication skills or IT skills

Conversation Three
Questions 9-12
 Look at the summary below.
 You will hear people talking about the recruitment and meritocracy policy.
- An organization that aims at creating real value for its (9)
___stakeholders_______
- Embracing a culture of quality leadership, accountability, collaboration
and passion
- Adopt an approach to supporting the talents:
 Combine role rotations and assignments with formal training, on-
the-job learning, (10) __mentoring________, coaching and
leadership development programmes
 Encourage talent (11) __mobility________
  Have a reputation for transferring and building (12)
___sustainable_______ local capability in almost every area.

PART TWO: Questions 13-22

Section One Recruited >> not suffcient >> updated >>
after-sales >> standardised
(Questions 13-17)
 You will hear five short recordings.
 For each recording, decide what opinion the speaker has about the
company they work for.
 Write one letter (A-H) next to the number of the recording.
13. ___F____________
14. ___G____________ A. The after-sales service is poor.
15. ___B____________ B. The company brochure should be updated.
16. ____A___________ C. More money should be invested in R&D.
17. ___D____________ D. Employment contracts should be standardised.14
E. A member of staff should be dismissed.
F. Some new trainees should be recruited. 13
G. The company insurance provision is not sufficient.
H. Product delivery agreements need to be clearer.
Section Two
(Questions 18-22)
 You will hear another five recordings. Five people are talking about
problems with a project.
 For each recording, decide what the problem was.
 Write one letter (A-H) next to the number of the recording.

relevant skilss >> unreliable >> bankrupt >> recruited >> wrong equipment
18. _____F__________
A Staff were unhappy about working overtime.
19. _____D__________ B The budget was inadequate.
20. _____G__________ C The wrong equipment was delivered.
D The equipment was unreliable.
21. _____H__________ E The customer changed the specifications.
22. _____C__________ F Staff lacked relevant skills.
G The supplier went bankrupt.
PART THREE: H Too few staff were recruited.
Questions 23-30
 You will hear two managers, Louis and Sally, discussing changes in their
company.
 For each question (23-30), write one letter (A, B or C) for the correct answer.

23. Why did Brett decide to try to produce the Rainaway map?
A. He was assured that it was better than existing products of that type.
B. He could see a way of manufacturing it reasonably cheaply.
C. He was unable to buy anything similar himself.

24. When he started to develop Rainaway, Brett was confident of his

knowledge of ________.
A. target customers
B. distribution methods
C. pricing strategies

25. What helped Brett’s business to grow?

A. a low-interest loan from a commercial bank
B. an informal discussion with a business adviser
C. free software from a firm called Croner Consulting
26. What problem was there with the trial production of Rainaway?
A. the small size of the printed product
B. the low quality of the print materials
C. the slow printing process used

27. What problem did Brett have with printing companies?

A. They were unwilling to make a long-lasting product.
B. They misunderstood his business idea.
C. They wanted to charge more for a high-risk project.
28. Brett realises that Herne Publishing might try to ________.
A. copy his idea
B. use his contacts
C. take over his business

29. Since the company was launched in 2001, ________.

A. turnover has reached more than £700,000
B. the average retail price per map has reached £24
C. a total of 200,000 copies of Rainaway maps have been sold

30. What is the next challenge for Brett’s company?

A. maintaining the effectiveness of its advertising
B. developing a new range of publications
C. expanding the size of its call centre

THE END OF THE TEST