Name: The Business of English - Episode 6: What are the options?
Uploaded: 2014-05-14T11:43:31.000Z
Duration: 10 min 21 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Present continuous

Now we're looking at the options for handling our on-line orders. They're going through

To-infinitive

the roof and frankly the lead-time for delivery is blowing out. We need to improve our performance

Well, as I see it, we have three options. The obvious one is to employ more people to

do the job. Another alternative is to automate the system more - cut down on the physical

Well, looking at increasing staff versus automation, we have to consider the cost. Automating has

a higher capital cost than putting on more staff. On the other hand, employing more people

is more expensive over a long term. If we keep growing, it'll cost more in the long

How likely is it that we'll see continued growth?

I'd say a high probability. Nothing's certain in business.

Outsourcing? Well, it does take the problem off our hands. But we lose contact with our

Outsourcing is the cheapest option, and the easiest - in the short term. But if we want

to keep the operation in-house, the best option is automating our system. The only down side

is, we're taking a risk that our business will keep growing.

We certainly do. We've looked before at formal meetings. Today's

meeting is a more informal one, to discuss a specific issue. The discussion is more free-flowing,

or uncontrolled. Let's look first at some of the language used by Denise when she introduces

the problem. Now we're looking at the options for handling

our on-line orders. They're going through the roof and frankly the lead-time for delivery

is blowing out. We need to improve our performance in this area.

Denise says, "We're looking at the options."

Options are different solutions, or answers, to a problem. What is the problem? On-line

On-line orders are orders for goods received through the internet, and if they're going

through the roof, they are increasing in number very rapidly.

The lead-time for delivery is the amount of time it takes from when the order is received

to when it's delivered, and if it's blowing out - that time is becoming too long. We use

the expression blowing out for something which is becoming too great, in a bad way.

So to improve our performance means, in this case, to shorten the time it takes to deliver

Let's look at Tan's suggested options. Well, as I see it, we have three options.

The obvious one is to employ more people to do the job. Another alternative is to automate

the system more - cut down on the physical handling.

We could outsource. Tan describes three options. First he lets

us know that this is his opinion, by saying, "As I see it."

Practise with Tan some different ways of letting someone know that what you're stating is your

opinion. As I see it, there are three options.

From my point of view there are three options.

As far as I'm concerned, there are three options. The three options are: employ more people,

To outsource means to use an outside company. When presenting different options, we can

order them by numbers, like this. Firstly, we could employ more people, secondly we could

automate, and thirdly we could outsource.

We can also use phrases, such as 'one option is to' and 'another option is to'.

We can also use linking words, such as 'or' and 'alternatively'.

Or, we can use a combination of these methods.

Now let's look at the language used to discuss these options.

is more expensive over a long term. When considering two options, we are comparing

them. Barbara talks about increasing staff versus automation. She is saying that she

is going to compare these two things. Another phrase she could use is 'as against'. Practise

with her. Let's look at increased staff versus automation.

Let's look at increased staff as against automation. When comparing two things, we use comparative

Listen to Barbara again, and see if you can hear the two comparative adjectives.

Automating has a higher capital cost than putting on more staff. On the other hand,

employing more people is more expensive over a long term.

She says automating has a higher capital cost than putting on more staff. Higher is a comparative

We often use 'than' for the option that is being compared. Remember for words of longer

than two syllables, we use 'more' for the comparative. Employing more people is more

expensive. Because Barbara has already said what the second option is, automating, she

doesn't need to say employing more people is more expensive than automating .

Notice that she uses the phrase 'on the other hand'. This is used to introduce another side

to an argument. Practise this with Barbara. On the one hand automation is expensive.

On the other hand it's more efficient. Another way of comparing two ideas is to use

linking words such as but , although and however .

Automation is expensive, but it's more efficient.

Although automation is expensive, it's more efficient.

Automation is expensive, however it's more efficient.

Now listen to the discussion about the likelihood of continued growth.

Denise asks how likely continued growth is. In looking at words to describe likelihood,

We can also qualify these with words such as: very, quite,

Its highly probable It's reasonably certain

And in a different kind of sentence, we can use them as nouns:

There's a probability There's a high likelihood