Further listening > Task 1

Joblessness can lead to a series of problems, and it is not easy to solve them.

First of all, being jobless often means lacking social contact with fellow employees, and lacking a purpose for many hours of the day. Also, it obviously affects your ability to pay bills and to purchase the necessities of life.

Lack of this ability is especially serious for those with family obligations, debts, or medical costs, and it is especially true in a country like the United States, where the availability of medical insurance is often linked to holding a job.

Some maintain that jobless people can rely on unemployment insurance, but this is not true. Unemployment insurance in the U.S. typically does not even replace 50 percent of the income one receives on the job, and one cannot receive it forever. Therefore, the unemployed often end up tapping

welfare programs such as Food Stamps or accumulating formal debt to banks or informal debt to friends and relatives.

Some hold that low-income jobs provide a solution to joblessness, but this is not true either. Since it is difficult or even impossible to get unemployment insurance benefits without having worked in the past, job-seekers have to accept low-income jobs. Thus, unemployment insurance keeps a ready supply of low-paid workers. To make things worse, many employers take advantage of this. When they resort to such management techniques as low wages and benefits, as well as few chances for advancement, they bear the unemployment insurance option in mind. Under increasing unemployment pressure, jobless people suffer from a variety of financial, psychological and social problems. Increased unemployment encourages bad health and raises in both crime and suicide rates.

ABCDA Task 2

Barbara: I've really got to think about my future. You've heard of the cutbacks

the management is making, right? Alan:

Oh, yes. I've heard it. But you haven't anything to worry about.

Barbara: Around here you never know from one day to the next whether you can keep

your job. Alan:

Come on, they won't let you go. You've been here for so long. Besides, you're good at your job.

Barbara: That may be, but I feel that I've reached the glass ceiling in this company. Alan:

Glass ceiling? What do you mean by that?

Barbara: I've been working here for 10 years. I haven't gotten a promotion in three

years. I thought I should be vice president by now. If I were a man, I'm sure I would be vice president. Alan:

There's no official company policy, but it's true that they don't promote women to management positions here.

Barbara: I can see the writing on the wall. I think it's time to change jobs, and

maybe even careers, if I want to get ahead. Alan:

Change careers? That's a big jump. If you change careers, what will you do?

Barbara: I'm doing market research here, but I studied public relations in college.

I'd like to do PR for a large multinational company. Alan:

That sounds exciting, and the pay would be better, too. Yeah, if I were you, I would keep an eye on the job postings on the Internet.

Barbara: Thanks, I will.

TTFFF

Viewing and speaking Task 1

Voice-over: It's time for John to make his first visit to see if he can help turn

things around. He really has his work cut out this time, but will Matt be prepared to take on board any of John's suggestions? They meet at Sticmatz HQ, the Aitkenhead's family home. John needs to get a handle on Matt, his business and his expectations. John:

For the forthcoming financial year, how many units are you hoping to sell?

Really, I'd expect to sell very... a minimum of three million units by this time next year. Three million units? Yeah.

Three-million-unit sales next year? That's an awesome target. So what is this business going to do in the current year to fuel that phenomenal expansion?

We're really, really gonna hop on the marketing and sales in a way that we haven't even touched... scratched the surface of. We're looking for two quality salespeople, and we can now more aggressively market the product at trade shows, um, and just generally do a lot of grass roots marketing to really get the brand out there.

Matt:

John: Matt: John:

Matt:

Voice-over: John's read the business plans, seen the product, and met the

entrepreneur. To him, the problems are obvious. John:

They've clearly got some very real challenges. Firstly they must raise some money. And that is not going to be easy. The sales targets for next year are wildly optimistic. Three million units. Now that would be a hard task, even if they had a fully-fledged operational,

functioning sales and marketing department, which they don't have.

They're going to need to employ the right people. They need to get the money from the investment to employ some hard-headed salesmen.

Voice-over: But can Matt deliver on getting the investment before the business

sinks? John:

Firstly you must raise some money. So the first priority, having got the money, is to employ an experienced salesman. Ahem.

You need to employ someone who understands branding, understands negotiation with supermarkets, or national chains.

Matt: John:

Unit 6 The truth can be stranger than fiction. Lead in