商务英语 Level 6 Unit 2 Part 3 Dialo

Dialogue【Discussing outsourcing】

Hey, did you read the news about Wave Electronics?
It says they decided to fire 30,000 customer service employees in the US and outsource operations to India.
Yes, I saw it.
To be honest, I'm not surprised.
Outsourcing is so common these days.
We're living in a global economy after all.

But a lot of people are protesting the decision, even a few celebrities.
They're saying globalization increases unemployment in the US.
It's time to start putting people over profits.
That's a little bit simplistic, though, don't you think?
No. I agree with the protesters completely.
A company shouldn't fire employees who have been with the company for years just because it wants to make more money.

protest: 抗议
celebrity: 名人
simplistic: 过分简单化的
protester: 抗议者

Well, I know we often generalize corporations as greedy and heartless.
But I think in the case of Wave Electronics, it can't be helped.
Seriously? Why do you say that?
Their sales have been steadily declining for years, and they've taken on debt.
To balance out their sinking revenue, they need to reduce costs.

generalize: 概括

And the operating cost of having 30,000 full-time US employees must be astronomical.
Yet, customer service isn't a highly-skilled job.
Outsourcing to India makes sense.
But many of those employees have been working for the company for a long time.
What happened to job security, or getting a pension?

astronomical: 巨大的
pension: 退休金

Those days are gone. Companies need to keep growing to survive.
And in the globalized economy, there are more opportunities to reduce operating costs, which eat into profits.
Wave Electronics didn't write the rules of the game. It's just playing along.

You're just biased because you work for one of those greedy and heartless corporations.
Look who's talking!
Remember before we had Chloe, we used to have a maid, Anita?
She was with us for years.
But after Chloe was born and you decided to start working from home, you let Anita go.
We could have afforded her, though.

maid: 女服务员

That's not the same thing at all!
I didn't "outsource" the job to a cheaper maid.
No, just a free one.
But you saw the chance to reduce operating costs, and you did.
That's completely different!
We're regular people!
Wave Electronics is a multinational corporation!
Corporations are people, too.
Oh, go clean the kitchen.

Question

1. Why isn't he surprised by Wave Electronics's decision?
   > outsourcing is common
2. From her point of view,
   > the company is putting profits over people
3. If something is simplistic,
   > it is treated as less complex than it is
4. Outsourcing is common in the globalized economy.
5. Outsourcing jobs overseas increases unemployment at home.
6. Why does he think Wave Electronics has to outsource operations to India?
   > they have been losing too much money
7. If a number is astronomical, it is
   > incredibly high
8. Corporations are often generalized as greedy and heartless.
9. If you're biased toward something, you're
   > prejudiced
10. He thinks the reason she fired their maid is similar to
    > why Wave Electronics outsourced their jobs
11. If a multinational corporation decides to reduce its operating costs, it could affect thousands of jobs