You will hear a recording. Click on the paragraph that best relates to the recording.

(a) Company leaders have to be careful that they do not have one set of practices for those in the office and another for those who telecommute. Besides needing to be fair at all times, managers will find that a telecommuting arrangement will simply not work if workers feel isolated and excluded from the company culture.

(b) Telecommuting has a lot of advantages but to make it work, company leaders need to plan in advance to ensure that they anticipate issues for example training, security and communication. They also need to ensure that they hire workers who are suited to working remotely and ensure equal access to resources and advancement.

(c) When workers ask if they can work from home, companies should consider a telecommuting arrangement, as it has several advantages for businesses as well as workers. There is money to be saved on overheads and training but for telecommuting to function properly, only independent staff should be allowed to work in this way.

(d) Managers should not rush into letting their employees telecommute. It may sound good because businesses can save money on things like office space, but if workers’ needs and ambitions are not well catered for in the arrangement, the company culture will ultimately be damaged and they may even be sued.

You will hear a recording. Click on the paragraph that best relates to the recording.

a) While many of us believe that we enjoy making choices, several studies have shown that this is not in fact the case. When faced with choosing from several types of jam, consumers were interested at first but soon became overloaded with choice. They simply abandoned the choice and went back to their favourite brands.

b) The incredible range of choices that consumers now have is making business difficult for companies who have to provide more and more choices to keep up with the market but also for consumers who expect choice but give up without making any choices at all if they feel confused by the wide range on offer.

c) Consumers face more choices than they did in the past and a study showed shoppers are attracted if a number of options are presented to them. However, those options still need to be of a good quality and something that appeals to the consumer or, as in the study, they will walk away without making a purchase.

d) With a wide range of choices, one would expect consumers to buy more products. However, a consumer experiment found that when customers had many choices, they were likely to sample the products but became overwhelmed and did not buy much, whereas they were more likely to buy something when they had far fewer options to choose from.