englishpod_D0025dg

Elementary ‐Upper‐Intermediate ‐ Planning For
The Worst (D0025)
A: Well, right, let’s move to our next order of business, as
many of you are aware, in recent weeks there has been a
lot of media coverage surrounding this bird flu issue. And
it’s come to my attention that our company lacks any sort
of bird flu contingency plan.
B: Basically, we need to come up with a clear plan; we
need to outline specific actions that our company can take
to maintain critical business functions in case a pandemic
strikes.
A: So, what I’d like to do is: first appoint someone to look
after drafting our plan; Ralph, I’d like you to head up this
project.
C: Sure, no problem. What issues do you want me to
consider?
B: Well, let’s see, there are a few points we need to be
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thinking about. . . first, I’ll need you to analyze our
numbers and figure out what kind of financial impact an
outbreak might have.
A: You’ll also need to think about how we can avoid any
of our employees getting infected; think of ways to reduce
employee-customer contact, perhaps some IT solutions
that will allow our people to work from home.
C: I guess you’ll need me to forecast employee absences
as well, right? And I’ll think about the impact this will
have on our clients. Hey, what about vaccines? Should we
be thinking about getting vaccines for our employees?
A: Exactly right. So, I’ll leave this to you, and we’ll
review the draft plan in two weeks. Okay, so, anyone want
to order some KFC for lunch?