BEC HIGHER AD BE - Cambridge Institut
Page 72DEThere may be improvements for an OWO’s staff when it outsources services.Despite their success in business terms, MSSs may not be high profile.OWOs may not have consistent policies with regard to MSSs.It is theoretically possible for the majority of an OWO’s activities to be contracted to MSSs.Outsourcing is affecting the way performance is measured in some areas of business.456782There are different ways of assessing the total financial worth of outsourced business.3increased outsourcing they commission.OWOs are finding that they need to adapt their management methods as a result of theC2BThere is a risk that outsourcing too many operations could weaken an OWO.A10There is an example at the beginning, (0). There are signs that some MSSs are moving into foreign markets.You will need to use some of these letters more than once. 0For each statement 1 – 8, mark one letter (A, B, C, D or E) on your Answer Sheet. Example:Which article (A, B, C, D or E) does each statement 1 – 8 refer to?of their activities to be run by managed service suppliers (MSSs).organisations which outsource (OWOs). These are organisations which give contracts for someLook at the statements below and at the five extracts from an article on the opposite page about Questions 1 – 8PART ONECBAdisjointed contract-by-contract basis.their relationship with MSSs, rather than on agovernments to think more strategically aboutfrom MSSs for both the private sector andconsequences of growth are generating callspositive and negative ways. This and otherdependent on the OWO’s performance – in bothto a point where their reputation becomesestablished managerial thinking of their OWOsof MSSs are finding themselves drawn into theThe growth of outsourcing means that a numberEstimates of the scope and value of managedservice supplying vary according to thedefinitions used of what activities are included orexcluded in calculations. Although some MSSsare large – for example, the Alfis Group is, with200,000 employees, one of the ten biggestprivate sector employers in Europe – they enjoylittle of the public name recognition of theOWOs for whom they work. At the same time, infields such as IT and research, OWOs nowoutsource not only non-core activities but alsothose where they believe specialist MSSs canbring additional expertise.Basic activities such as catering, cleaning andsecurity were often the first to be contracted outas both the private and public sectors yielded tothe 1990s’ philosophy of concentrating on coreactivities. As a result of outsourcing, manycanteens have lost their institutional atmosphereand resemble high-street retail outlets, boostingboth the range of products and facilities forworkers and the MSSs’ turnover. Profits from thegrowing UK outsourcing market are helping thebiggest catering MSSs to expand overseas as theindustry develops a global dimension.ED3Turn Over otherwise of those activities is assessed.changing the basis on which the success orsignificant parts of public sector activities’,MSSs have ‘gradually taken control ofreport also expresses concern that some largeleft with only a ‘fragile shell remaining’. Thenegative possibility of ‘hollow’ organisations,organisations must be balanced against thereport warns that the notion of virtualrelationships with its clients. However, a recenteverything so that it can concentrate on handling– one which chooses to outsource almostinterest in the concept of the virtual organisationmay continue to coincide – with increasingThe growth in outsourcing has coincided – andthe public and private sectors.inherited from dozens of organisations in bothissues as their workforces often consist of staffMSSs face new employment and recruitmentgiving internal directions. Meanwhile, manywith partner organisations rather than simplyskilled at negotiating and handling relationshipsgenerating a need for high-level staff who will beto MSSs is impacting on the way OWOs are run,There are signs that the spread of contracting outBEC HIGHERREADING SAMPLE PAPER
For each gap 9 – 14, mark one letter (A – H) on your Answer Sheet.Do not use any letter more than once.There is an example at the beginning, (0). 4Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps. Those who make disastrous business decisionsgenerally exhibit two characteristic types ofbehaviour. First they make a selectiveinterpretation of the evidence when deciding to goahead with a project. (0).H. .How do such bad decisions come about?One reason is that the people in control aredetermined to make their mark by doingsomething dramatic. (9). . Once the leaderhas decided to put his or her name to a project,many in the organisation believe it politic tosupport it too, whatever their private doubts.(10). . These doubters know that such aperception will cloud their future careers. Thedesire to agree with the boss is typical ofcommittees, with group members often takingcollective decisions that they would not have takenindividually. They look around the table, see theircolleagues nodding in agreement and suppresstheir own doubts. If all these intelligent peoplebelieve this is the right thing to do, they think tothemselves, perhaps it is. It rarely occurs tocommittee members that all their colleagues havemade the same dubious calculation.Responsible managers usually ask to see theevidence before reaching a decision. (11). .Even those who consider all the evidence, goodand bad, fail to take account of the fact that expertpredictions are often wrong. The reason for this isthat feedback is only effective if it is receivedquickly and often; and senior executives rarelybecome the experts they claim to be, because theymake too few big decisions to learn much fromthem. So when it becomes clear that disasterlooms, many executives insist on pressing aheadregardless. (12). . The repercussions of doingso can be daunting.So what can be done to prevent companiesmaking bad decisions? (13). . Another is todelegate the decision on whether or not to continueto people who are not in the thick of the decisionmaking, such as the non-executive directors.(14). . But they shouldn’t expect anygratitude: people who have made huge mistakesare not going to say ‘Thank you, we should havepaid attention to you in the first place.’Bad business decisions areeasy to makeRead this text taken from an article about how companies’ decision-making can go wrong. Questions 9 – 14PART TWODCBA0ABCDEFGabout stopping at this stage.many reputations are at stake to thinkToo much money has been spent and toonever attempt anything brave or risky.This is not to argue that companies shouldHG5Turn Over failure was someone else’s fault.Coupled with this, they insist that thethat support their case.But they often rely only on those parts of itdisloyal.After all, people who persistently point tothese are not met.and to agree in advance to abandon it ifOne solution is to set targets for a projectpotential pitfalls are seen as negative andFEwill remember.Hchanged the company in a way that historyThey want to be recognised as havingbeforehand, and were listened to.in the organisation raised their doubtsIt would be far better, though, if dissidentsExample:BEC HIGHERPage 73
6 company that is then sold off orprivatised.work with. Their productivity islow and their ability to poisonrow about the past andfrustration on the part of both.business where people believethe poor performer can do noanother branch in the dreariestmethod is the problem-solvingA different and more successfulthen argues about how thisincident occurred and howtypical it was. The net result is atraditionally been the mostfavoured, is to pass them on.There is usually a part of anydamage. Alternatively, poorperformers can be moved todefined; then wants an exampleof when this behaviour occurred;subordinate a low mark on theirappraisal form. The employeefirst wants the behaviourscenario that all managershate is as follows: show aproblemearlyon.Manymanagers find dealing withincompetence very difficult. TheAll three of these strategies arethe result of not dealing with thecompetence.employee is thus confirmedin his or her delusions ofquite senior and well-paid, theactual jobs are fairly pointlessones in which incompetentpeople can hide without doingany serious damage. TheThissoundsbizarreandexceedingly stupid but is notinfrequently adopted. The idea isthat, although these posts areThe second approach, which hassee the problem employeegetting away with it.leads to frustration on the part ofthe good hardworking staff wholaziness or serious absenteeism,the manager gives the employeeless work to do. This inevitablyproblem, hoping that it will goaway. Rather than confrontclassic ineffective ways ofdealing with the incompetent.The first is to ignore theTraditionally, there are threeof weak managers who havedeclined to tackle the problem.existence in the organisation isnearly always due to a long lineInterestingly, their numbers inany organisation have more todo with management’s refusal todeal with the situation than withpoor selection. That is, theirThere is a third approach whichis to promote the incompetent.clever variant of this tactic isto herd all the incompetentemployees into one part of thedeluded, hypochondriac underperformers. They are difficult tomanage and miserable tostaff morale high. They are,alas, always well-entrenchedandmanagement-resistant.part of town, or to another town,or even to another country. AEvery organisation has its shareof employees-from-hell: the lazy,you choose.the bracing waters of the jobmarket.part of the organisation, but intothat they be let go – notencouraged to go to anotherdisinterested outside consultantdoes a motivation analysis andhas the power to recommendinsist that they have an annualpsychological test where awhich may be the best solutionfor all concerned; raise the gameby making sure they are givenever higher but reachabletargets. A final strategy is toThere is really only a verylimited number of things thatcan be done with the reallyincompetent. Buy them out,They may be distracted byproblems at home or more likelythey have been managed verypoorly in the past.who cannot, or will not, respondto good management. They maybe unable to do the job due tonot having the ability to learnever-changing tasks fast enough.behaviour. The touchy orsensitive employee normallyresponds to this reasonably well.Nevertheless, there are thosedescription of the desirablebehaviour, not the incompetentbe done differently to achieve ahigher score. The emphasis is onthe future not the past; on a clearstill shows the low score but,rather than attempting to explainit, one describes what needs toapproach. This insists that oneFor each question 15 – 20, mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet for the answerthe opposite page.Read the following extract from an article about incompetent employees, and the questions onQuestions 15 – 20PART THREETheyTheyTheyTheylose interest in the issue of incompetent employees.fail to take a firm line with inefficient employees.have little idea of what is really required of their staff.often make bad decisions when choosing new staff.ItItItIthas only a short-term effect on the problem.means that better workers will not have to work so hard.makes good workers aware that problems are being dealt with.sends a negative message to those who do their job well.have all of the incompetent staff working in the same part of the company.improve the attitude of the incompetent staff to work by giving them promotion.put the incompetent staff in a situation where they can do as little harm as possible.make the work so unattractive that the incompetent staff want to leave.demand a detailed explanation of what they have done wrong.claim that special circumstances have had an effect on their work.deny that their work has been in any way unsatisfactory.argue that they find the work they have had to do frustrating.make no reference to the most recent appraisal mark.compare the work of the employee with that of more efficient workers.make clear what will happen if performance does not approve.explain to the employee how he or she can gain a better appraisal mark.ABCDSet them targets which it would be impossible to attain.Give them a test designed to identify their strengths.Pay them a sum of money to leave the company.Get an outside consultant to find them another job.7Turn Over 20 What does the writer suggest as a way to deal with incompetent employees who fail to respondeven to a problem-solving approach?ABCD19 In the sixth paragraph the writer says that when talking to an incompetent employee a managershouldABCD18 The writer says in the fifth paragraph that employees who are given a low mark on theirappraisal form willABCD17 In both the second and third ineffective methods of dealing with incompetent employees, themanagers’ aim is toABCD16 What is the effect of the first of the methods suggested for dealing with incompetent staff?ABCD15 What criticism does the writer make of managers in the first paragraph?BEC HIGHERPage 74
PART FOURThere is an example at the beginning, (0).8For each question 21 – 30, mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. .a newspaper article about.my life:the support of.questions.of our discussions, such.an agenda. And I know thatmuch more at ease with my life.better at tackling difficult situations now, and best of all, I feeleverything I say to my coach is in the strictest confidence. I’m farthough I don’t always (30)as situations at work, or conflicts between me and colleagues,.things over with.I sometimes pick topics in (29)trust and respect to (28)and to understand who I am. It’s good to have someone you canwhich help me to discover what I’m dissatisfied with in my life,My life coach is very good at asking me (27). I realised I needed to learn how todeal with problems before they occurred.relationships at (26)someone neutral to talk to were putting my work anda coach, but professional challenges, long hours and not havingI’d achieved my material goals before (25)I was looking for a more personal way to (24)and decided to learn more.a new kind of consultant, called a life coach, I became curious,.to staying vaguely dissatisfied for therest of my life. But when I (23)success, I was (22)of personal happiness. Having read too many of them withouthas probably learned that such books do not hold the (21)Anyone who has ever (0) D through a self-improvement bookWhy I Found A Life CoachChoose the correct word or phrase to fill each gap from A, B, C or D on the opposite page. neutral consultant to discuss work-related problems.Read the article below about life coaching – regular meetings between a business person and a Questions 21 – parationtalkexaminingdangerappointingevaluatefound iscussprobinghazardsigningaccountcame sayexploringriskregisteringestimateran intotolerantkeyinspectedDDDDDDDDDDDhold9Turn Over et withcontentedsecretglancedBEC HIGHERPage 75
T10WORKING ABROADI.original national identity.An international career requires a variety of skills. The time tobegin preparing for such a career is now.effectively, especially (40) . . . . . . long distances, via newcommunications technologies, such as videoconferencingand teleconferencing.experience to work in cross-national contexts places apremium on those who have developed the skills to enablethem to rise to that challenge. (37) . . . . . . is needed is flexibilityand adaptability, both of (38) . . . . . . arise from a state of mindrather than from innate ability. Teamworking skills are alsoimportant and (39) . . . . . . is the ability to communicateThe growing demand for people with the skills and(36)The characteristics of international travel will vary widely. Forsome people it will mean that they will occasionally have tospend a (34) . . . . . . days in a foreign city, while for others it willmean that they will constantly be moving from (35) . . . . . .country to another until they eventually lose touch withworking in a huge multi-national corporation to find (32) . . . . . .being asked to work abroad. Companies that not so (33) . . . . . .years ago reserved foreign travel for directors, are nowsending middle managers and even new recruits on projectsoverseas.into from choice, but (31) . . . . . . many it has now become arequirement of staying in work. You do not have to beAn increasing number of people are finding (0) . . . . . .necessary to spend at least part of their working life abroad.An international career used to be something people optedThere is an example at the beginning, (0). 0For each question 31 – 40, write one word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet. Example Read the article below about working abroad. 000CYOORURECimpression.that simply imparts information, whereas a letter is your chance to make anextent that is how it should be: a CV is a formal, with structured documentletter can take twice as long as writing your CV. But because to some52why you should still be considered. It’s not easy, and often writing the51don't hold a relevant qualification that the job ad has specified it (say,a university degree or a vocational diploma), so you’ll need to explainmotivation is, and what you hope to achieve. If your CV shows that you4850ought to explain them why you want to make the move, what your4749For example, if you’re looking to change in industries, then your letterclearly through any points that the CV alone doesn’t deal with and that46complement for your CV. This means it should flesh out and explain43therefore might otherwise be missed out by prospective employers.always remember that the purpose of a covering letter is there to4245covering letter doesn’t just get ‘filed’ in the rubbish bin? Firstly, you4144When you’re applying for a job, what can you do to ensure that your000DON’T GET “FILED IN THE BIN”ExamplesThe exercise begins with two examples, (0) and (00).TIf there is an extra word in the line, write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your answer sheet.If a line is correct, write CORRECT on your Answer Sheet does not fit in with the meaning of the text. Some lines, however, are correct.In most of the lines 41 – 52 there is one extra word. It is either grammatically incorrect orRead the text below about writing good covering letters.Questions 41 – 52Questions 31 – 40 PART SIXPART FIVE11BEC HIGHERPage 76
Part OnePart TwoPart ThreePart FourPart FivePart WONETHEIRWHATWHICHSOOVER/ACROSSBEC HIGHERREADING ANSWER SEWITHPage 77
Centre No.E0BEC H - RCDEEFFGGGHHH20 A19 A18 A17 A16 ABDFHH14 ACEGGBDFF13 ACEEBDD12 ACCBH11 AGBF10 AE15 ADB9 ACPart 30CPart 2For example:For Parts 5 and 6:Write your answer clearly in CAPITAL LETTERS.Write one letter in each box.If you think C is the right answer to the question,mark your answer sheet like this:ABFor example:For Parts 1 to 4:Mark one box for each answer.Use a PENCIL (B or HB).Rub out any answer you wish to change with an eraser.InstructionsBBBBBBCCCCCCB7 APart 4BBBBB27 A28 A29 A30 ABBBBBCCCCC26 A25 A24 A23 A22 A21 A8 ABBA6B5 A4 7890123456789RDP462/362Turn over for Parts 5 and 6DDDDDDBABB2 A1BAPart 1BEC Higher Reading Answer SheetIf the candidate is ABSENT or has WITHDRAWN shade n TitleGCandidate No.ICandidate’s SignatureIf not already printed, write namein CAPITALS and complete theCandidate No. grid (in pencil)
BEC HIGHER AD BE 3 C The growth of outsourcing means that a number of MSSs are finding themselves drawn into the established managerial thinking of their OWOs to a point where their reputation becomes dependent on the OWO’s performance – in both positive and negative ways. This and other consequences of growth are generating calls from MSSs for both the private sector and governments to .
The BEC Preliminary Wordlist gives teachers a guide to the vocabulary needed when preparing students for the BEC Preliminary examination. Background to the list The BEC Preliminary Vocabulary list was originally developed by Cambridge ESOL in consultation with external consultants to guide item write
BEC Higher Levels: B1 up to BEC-Higher Course (–C1) Thank you for your interest in our self-assessment test. This test should give you an idea how good your current business English skills are, and help you to decide whether you are ready to join one of our BEC Higher preparation courses.
BEC Preliminary involves three papers, for BEC Vantage and BEC Higher you need to sit four. The BEC Preliminary papers are: Reading and Writing (1 hour and 20 minutes – Reading includes seven tasks, like a multiple choice test and a gap-filling exercise; in the Writing test you’ll be asked to produce two short pieces relating to business); Listening (around 40 minutes – based on input .
978-0-521-73920-7 - Cambridge BEC Higher 4: With Answers: Examination Papers from University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations: English for Speakers of Other Languages Frontmatter Moreinformation. Test of Reading (1 hour) This paper consists of six parts with 52 questions, which take the form of two multiple-matching tasks, two multiple-choice tasks, a cloze test and an error- identification .
A DETAILED GUIDE TO BEC VANTAGE TEST OF READING Time: 1 hour BEC VANTAGE. Page 42 . ONE Questions 1 - 7 . READING SAMPLE PAPER. Page 44 BEC VANTAGE A The hotel staff assumed they should be booked into the same room. B But there is clear evidence that things are slowly improving. C
Lecture 25. Bose-Einstein Condensation (Ch. 7 ) 70 years after the Einstein prediction, the BEC in weakly interacting Bose systems has been experimentally demonstrated - by laser coolingof a system of weakly-interacting alkali atoms in a magnetic trap. Nobel 2001 BEC and related phenomena BEC of photons (lasers) BEC in a strongly-interacting system
Cambridge Primary Checkpoint Cambridge Secondary 1 (11–14 years*) Cambridge Secondary 1 Cambridge Checkpoint Cambridge Secondary 2 (14–16 years*) Cambridge IGCSE Cambridge Advanced (16–19 years*) Cambridge International AS and A Cambridge Pre-
Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-63581-4 – Cambridge Global English Stage 6 Jane Boylan Kathryn Harper Frontmatter More information Cambridge Global English Cambridge Global English . Cambridge Global English Cambridge Global English
