(1) What expense do people typically incur on a business trip?

　　商務(wù)差旅中有哪些主要費(fèi)用?

　　Expenses on a business trip include hotel bills, traveling expenses, public transportation fares, fax or telephone charges and client entertainment expenses, etc.

　　(2) How should companies control business travel expenses?

　　公司應(yīng)怎樣控制其商務(wù)差旅費(fèi)用?

　　Companies should develop a sound expenses claims system to prevent any system abuse and possible malpractice.(系統(tǒng)濫用和可能的舞弊行為)

　　(3) Do you think it’s necessary to have control over the usage of electricity?(Why?/Why not?)

　　你是否認(rèn)為控制電力使用很重要?(為什么?)

　　Yes. Electricity costs are a very important component of overheads, if a company can keep electric rates low, it will certainly be very helpful in overheads reduction.

　　(4) Is it important to involve employees in overheads reduction project?(Why?)

　　讓員工參與辦公費(fèi)用削減計(jì)劃是否重要?(為什么?)

　　Yes. Overheads are the indirect cost of business, they are closely related to the welfare of all staff members, so concerted efforts are needed from both managers and staff to implement the overheads reduction project.

　　PART TWO: Mini-presentation

　　What’s important when…?

　　Aiming to slash business overheads 要削減管理費(fèi)用需要考慮哪些要點(diǎn)?

　　l Budget and management 預(yù)算和管理

　　l Long-term effects 長(zhǎng)期效果

　　First of all, business overhead expenditure needs to be budgeted and apportioned as fairly as possible to different departments of the business. Once we have set a clear budget plan, we’ll be able to manage the overheads costs by limiting budget spending and improving overhead productivity. And in case an over-expenditure occurs, we’ll be able to track the cause and check it in time.

　　Meanwhile, long-term effects should also be considered. In reducing overheads costs, we should not aim to seek instant success, we should put our overheads reduction plan in a greater perspective and evaluate their overall effects. Reduction measures should enable the company to tap its potential productivity and ensure its future development.

　　In addition to that, we also need to involve our staff member into the overheads reduction project, and try to see if they have anything to contribute to it.

　　首先，公司經(jīng)費(fèi)需要被預(yù)算以及盡可能公平的分配給公司不同的部門。一旦我們有一個(gè)清晰的預(yù)算計(jì)劃，我們可以管理日常開支來限制預(yù)算的花費(fèi)和改善生產(chǎn)力的日常開銷。而且一旦偶然發(fā)生經(jīng)費(fèi)超出的情況，我們也能夠及時(shí)追蹤和檢查原因。

　　同時(shí)，長(zhǎng)期的效果也應(yīng)該被考慮，為了減少日常開支，我們不應(yīng)該只追求急功近利，我們應(yīng)當(dāng)從更長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)的角度去看待我們的經(jīng)費(fèi)削減計(jì)劃，而且要評(píng)估其總體效果。削減措施應(yīng)使公司能夠利用其潛在的生產(chǎn)力，并確保其未來的發(fā)展。

　　除此之外，我們也應(yīng)需要讓員工參與到經(jīng)費(fèi)削減方案當(dāng)中，并嘗試尋找他們能對(duì)其有何貢獻(xiàn)。

　　PART THREE: Discussion

　　Introducing new ways to save on office supplies

　　The company you work for has decided to introduce new ways to save on office supplies, as a part of the overheads reduction plan. You have been asked to make suggestions about it. Discuss the situation together, and decide:

　　l what are the ways to save office expenses

　　l how to motivate the staff

　　實(shí)行節(jié)省辦公用品的新方法

　　作為削減管理費(fèi)用計(jì)劃的一部分，你們公司正在考慮實(shí)行節(jié)省辦公用品的新方法。請(qǐng)你們協(xié)助策劃這一計(jì)劃。討論并決定：

　　l 節(jié)省辦公開支有哪些方法

　　l 怎樣激發(fā)員工的熱情

　　A: To keep office expenses down, we can start from office stationery. Items like pens, paper, paper clips, and pencils do not cost a lot individually, but we use them in large quantities, so there is potential for huge savings.

　　B: I’m with you here. You see, there is a great difference in price between the name-brand and generic brand stationery, so if we look for cheaper sources, we’ll end up saving hundreds of pounds a year.

　　A: Yes, cheaper sources are important, we can get much cheaper prices on office suppliers through group purchasing. If we pool our orders with other businesses, we can buy in large quantity and receive lower bulk prices.

　　B: Indeed. We can also use mail-order. Mail-order office supply companies are convenient because they deliver to your door, and it saves both gas and time.

　　A: We should also encourage staff to recycle used paper, and ask our staff to edit on the screen as much as possible, print one final rough draft to proofread on paper. That’s a very effective way to reduce paper consumption.

　　B: And buying used office furniture is also an important way of cutting overheads. But to motivate our staff members, there should be measures to monitor their performance regularly. We can…

　　A: I’d like to put in a word here, never use disposables in the office, use recycled printer cartridges and rechargeable batteries.

　　B: Yes, that’s especially important. We should involve all office staff into our cost saving plan. For example, we should ask staff members to turn off the air-conditioner half an hour before they leave the office, so as to cut some electricity bills.

　　A: You’re right. To make sure that our staff voluntarily comply with the overheads expenditure reduction rules, we can include that in our staff appraisals. I mean whether staff members are supportive in our overheads reduction project.

　　B: I agree. And we can also award those who are most supportive in our project.

　　A: That’s good.

　　A: 為了減少辦公經(jīng)費(fèi)，我們首先應(yīng)從辦公文具入手。例如：鋼筆、紙張、回形針，以及鉛筆等，每個(gè)人都不會(huì)花費(fèi)太多，但是我們有大量的需求數(shù)量，因此，這里有巨大的節(jié)約潛力可挖掘。

　　B：我同意你的觀點(diǎn)，你看，名牌和一般文具之間有巨大的價(jià)格差異。因此，如果我們尋找更便宜的貨源，我們將每年節(jié)省幾百英鎊。

　　A：是的，便宜的貨源是很重要的，我們可以通過團(tuán)購(gòu)讓辦公用品的供應(yīng)商提供更為低廉的價(jià)格。如果我們與其他公司共同訂購(gòu)，就可以購(gòu)買更多數(shù)量的用品來得到更低的批發(fā)價(jià)格。

　　B：事實(shí)上。我們也可以選擇郵購(gòu)。郵購(gòu)辦公用品公司非常便利，因?yàn)樗麄兯拓浬祥T，這將節(jié)省汽油和時(shí)間。

　　A：我們也可以鼓勵(lì)員工使用再生紙，要求我們的員工盡可能在電腦里編輯，把最后的草稿打印出來校對(duì)。這是減少紙張浪費(fèi)的一個(gè)非常有效的方法。

　　B：購(gòu)買二手辦公家具也是一個(gè)重要的減少經(jīng)費(fèi)的方法。但是為了激勵(lì)員工，應(yīng)該采取方法定期監(jiān)督他們的表現(xiàn)，我們能…

　　A：我想插一句，永遠(yuǎn)不要在辦公室使用一次性的文具，使用再生打印機(jī)墨盒及充電電池。

　　B：是的，那是特別的重要。我們應(yīng)該讓所有員工參與到我們的成本降低計(jì)劃中，例如，我們應(yīng)該告訴員工在離開辦公室前半小時(shí)關(guān)閉空調(diào)，可以因此節(jié)省電費(fèi)。

　　A：是的。確保我們的員工自愿遵守經(jīng)費(fèi)削減規(guī)則，我們應(yīng)該把它作為員工評(píng)估的一項(xiàng)。我的意思是員工是否支持我們的經(jīng)費(fèi)削減方案這條。

　　B：我同意。我們也可以獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)那些最支持我們方案的員工。

　　A：那很棒。

　　(1) How important is it for companies to keep overheads down?

　　公司削減管理開支有何重要意義?

　　Keeping costs under control and overheads down is a priority for all organizations, because overheads costs are directly related to the company’s profitability and welfare of the staff members.

　　(2) Is it a good idea to cut investment to reduce overheads?

　　用減少投資的辦法來削減管理費(fèi)用好么?(為什么?)

　　No. cutting investment to reduce costs is a short-term measure. In the long run, it is unfavourable to company development, as limited scale and productivity weakens a company’s competitive edge.

　　(3) Might there be some measures that would not be effective?

　　有些措施是否可能無效?(為什么?)

　　Yes. If you set a very low limit on telephone bills, employees might fail to maintain regular contact with their clients or customers for fear of over-expenses.

　　(4) What do you think the manager should do in overheads cutting project?

　　在削減管理開支計(jì)劃中，經(jīng)理應(yīng)該做些什么?

　　I think the manager is responsible for budgeting overheads and carefully tracking the costs, minimizing expenditure at all time. He should also see to it that staff members abide by the rules as required.

　　(5) What new ideas do you have to keep overheads costs down in a company?

　　關(guān)于削減公司的管理費(fèi)用，你有什么新的想法?

　　Companies can make use of the internet, conducting routine office work through digital media. We can convert every single paper process into a digital one, the so-called “paperless office”. It lowers overheads very effectively.

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