会话精读——商务英语之“生产线创新”

在国际商务交流中，生产线创新是企业经常关注的话题之一。生产线创新是生产车间的活力之源，企业的成功都离不开创新。不同的企业在互相交流与借鉴时，常常谈及这一话题，在这个过程中，需要使用哪些英语表达呢？下面，让我们一起开启新的学习，“精读”生产线创新的实用会话吧！

· 对话

Bobby: Welcome to Youyou Coffee, Ms. Hill.

Ms. Hill: Thank you. I'm delighted to be able to visit at last. I hear that your company is being innovative on the assembly line?

Bobby: Yes. We're busy making some changes. Workers used to complain about their boring jobs because each worker was performing only one simple operation repeatedly on the assembly line.

Ms. Hill: Yes, that's why I'm interested. —We have a similar problem.

Bobby: Yes, some employees said they felt they didn't have any stake in the company. It began to affect morale and became a real headache.

Ms. Hill: So, how did you deal with it?

Bobby: We redesigned the factory and improved the work environment.

Ms. Hill: But how?

Bobby: The workshop now has glass walls. The assembly line winds its way through the workshop so everyone can see most of what is going on. It gives employees a greater sense that they are part of a team and that they have a shared responsibility to see the product effectively created. We've also started to play some cheerful music towards the end of each shift to lighten the atmosphere in the workshop.

Ms. Hill: Mm! That sounds good.

Bobby: We're also considering giving shares to some of our long-term employees so that they have a stake in the company. We're going to encourage them to invest in the company if they want to as well.

Ms. Hill: Wow, that's a bold move.

Bobby: Well, actually, Dely in the UK has experimented doing that and it's been well received by the workers.

Ms. Hill: Really? Then maybe it is worth trying.

鲍比：欢迎来到悠悠咖啡，希尔女士。

希尔女士：谢谢。很高兴终于能来此参观。我听说贵公司正在对流水线进行创新？

鲍比：是的，我们正在忙着做一些调整。过去工人们常常抱怨工作枯燥乏味，因为每个工人在流水线上只重复进行一个简单的操作。

希尔女士：是的，这正是我感兴趣的原因——我们也有类似的问题。

鲍比：对，有些员工表示，他们觉得自己在公司没有任何价值。这已经影响了士气，成了一个棘手的问题。

希尔女士：所以你们是怎样解决这个问题的？

鲍比：我们重新设计了工厂，改善了员工的工作环境。

希尔女士：具体是怎么做的呢？

鲍比：现在车间安装了玻璃墙。流水线贯穿整个车间，这样每个人都能看到车间内的整体工作情况。这种设计方式可以让员工们更加清楚地认识到他们是团队的一部分，他们为产品的高效生产承担共同责任。另外，我们开始在每班快要结束的时候，在车间里放一些欢快的音乐，来缓和车间的气氛。

希尔女士：嗯！听起来不错。

鲍比：我们还在考虑给一些老员工分发股份，这样他们和公司就息息相关了。我们还会鼓励他们给公司投资，如果他们有这个想法的话。

希尔女士：哇，这是个大胆的尝试。

鲍比：嗯，实际上，英国的德理公司已经做了这样的尝试，工人们的反响很好。

希尔女士：真的吗？或许这值得一试。

· 脚本分析

(1)  delighted

    adj. 高兴的

(2) complain about...

    抱怨……

(3) repeatedly

    adv. 反复地，重复地

(4) stake

    n. 股份，股本

(5)  morale

    n. 士气，精神面貌

(6)  share

    n. 股份，份额

(7)  bold

    adj. 大胆的，敢于冒险的

(8)  I hear that your company is being innovative on the assembly line?

    be innovative on...

    在……上创新

    assembly line

    装配线，流水线

(9)  We're busy making some changes.

    be busying doing ...

    忙于做......

(10)  The assembly line winds its way through the workshop so everyone can see most of what is going on.

    wind the way through

    蜿蜒而行

(11)   We've also started to play some cheerful music towards the end of each shift to lighten the atmosphere in the workshop.

    cheerful

    adj. 令人愉快的，兴高采烈的

    lighten the atmosphere

    缓和气氛

(12)  Then maybe it is worth trying.

    be worth doing...

    值得做……

initiative   n. 主动性

minimize   v. 将......减到最少，最小化

inhibit   v. 约束，抑止

tactical   adj. 战术上的，善于筹划的

team-building   团队建设

cost-conscious   注重节约成本的

liven up   使……有生气，使活跃

reward system   奖励制度

managerial skill   管理技能

mutual trust   相互信任

rotating schedule   轮班制

temporary measure   权宜之计

put in place   实施，做到

What kind of quality control do you have?

你们用什么办法来控制质量呢？

We are running on two shifts.

我们实行的工作是两班倒。

I'm impressed by your innovation.

你们的创新给我留下了很深的印象。