•You will hear another five short pieces. •Each speaker is talking about the effects of a new development in the workplace. •Wri

F: I think things are going to be different from now on. I’m not sure that they’ll be any better but at least we should know what’s going on. Uh, look at the schedule he’s given us for next month: two meetings a week at least, the daily update on department activity on the network.  I like Mr.  Renalds, but you must admit he wasn’t very good at office communications.

M: It would have made a great difference to next year’s budget. We would be able to afford a significant increase in the wage bill, even create some new positions, but now things aren’t looking so good. It’s hard to believe they decided to caned. They were so keen on our products initially.