向老板建议MakingSuggestionsToTheBoss
MR. RAMIREZ: Come in, Arnold. Have a seat. ARNOLD: Good morning. MR. RAMIREZ: Would you like something to drink? ARNOLD: No, thank you. I just had two cups of coffee at my desk. MR. RAMIREZ: So, you're a serious coffee drinker. ARNOLD: Yes, it keeps me going. Sometimes I think I'm addicted. MR. RAMIREZ: Well, coffee isn't such a bad thing. Everyone has to have something. For me, it's cigars. Are you a cigar smoker? ARNOLD: No, I've tried them. But I’m not really a smoker. MR. RAMIREZ: Well, what would you like to talk to me about? ARNOLD: I wanted to set up this meeting with you to discuss a little proposal. MR. RAMIREZ: I'm glad when people have new ideas around here. Tell me about it. ARNOLD: It is about the staff meetings. You know how we have a staff meeting every Tuesday. MR. RAMIREZ: Yes. ARNOLD: Well, I have been thinking about it. And I believe we could do things more efficiently here. MR. RAMIREZ: What do you suggest? ARNOLD: The way it is now, the staff from all four branches get together once a week. We meet for one hour. But I think a lot of time is wasted in transportation. MR. RAMIREZ: You mean because people have to go across town to get here. ARNOLD: Yes. Some people spend half of the morning on the road. MR. RAMIREZ: That's true. But our staff meetings are very important, Arnold. I don't know how we can function without them. ARNOLD: I think they are important too. That's why I want people to have a better attitude about them. MR. RAMIREZ: I know a lot of people think the meetings aren't too useful. I'm aware of that. ARNOLD: Here's what I propose. I think we should meet once every two weeks, but meet for ninety minutes or more. MR. RAMIREZ: Well. ARNOLD: I also think the meetings should be more focused. And I would be willing to take responsibility for that. MR. RAMIREZ: You mean you want to run the meetings? ARNOLD: No, not really run them. But I could help organize them. I could discuss meeting topics with you, and then prepare a schedule for each meeting. I could then send an e-mail to all the staff to explain the coming meeting. This way the meetings would become more focused, and people would prepare better. MR. RAMIREZ: Hmm. But we would meet every two weeks. ARNOLD: I really think it would work. The meetings could be longer, and better organized. MR. RAMIREZ: I am not against the idea, Arnold. It may really be more efficient, as you say. I'll tell you what we can do. Why don't we try your proposal for a month, and see how it works. ARNOLD: Excellent. I would be happy to get started on it. MR. RAMIREZ: I will call the managers. Then tomorrow I'll tell you when we can schedule our first meeting in this “new style.” |