The future of management: listening answers and explanations
A speaker opens a seminar with some ideas, drawn from talking to managers and reading surveys, about how management is likely to change over the next ten years. The talk covers business markets, outside influences, how companies are structured, management styles and changes in the wider economy.
Ten gaps in order, and the five note headings follow the talk. Listen for the signposts: 'One area I want to mention is business markets', 'I think businesses are becoming more open to external influences', 'Management styles will almost certainly continue to change' and 'Many of the changes are influenced by developments in the wider economy'.
Answer key and self-check
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the part yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
How to attack this block: One word only, and the notes are compressed, so most gaps need the exact noun or adjective the speaker uses. Check the word class: some gaps need an adjective (global, flexible, self-employed) and some a noun. Hyphenated words count as one word.
Question 31
Answer: competitionThe first point under business markets
What will be greater among companies?
increase in competition, with companies from all round the world trying to sell similar products.
Question says → You hear
greater ... among companiesincrease in competition, with companies from all round the world
Why: An 'increase in competition' becomes 'greater competition'. Companies everywhere selling similar products explains it.
The trap: Choice is mentioned next, but it's consumers who get more choice, not companies.
Question 32
Answer: globalAfter the example about food products in Australia
What kind of large companies are gaining power?
mergers and takeovers mean that governments are actually losing power to major global corporations.
Question says → You hear
increase in power of large ... companieslosing power to major global corporations
Why: If governments are losing power to these corporations, the corporations are gaining it. 'Major' matches 'large', and 'corporations' matches 'companies', so the gap is global.
The trap: Major is the word right before and fits grammatically, but large already says that. Governments are the ones losing power, not the answer.
Question 33
Answer: demand'A third point I want to make about markets'
What is rising in some countries?
A third point I want to make about markets is that in the rapidly expanding economies, such as India, China. Brazil and Russia, demand is growing very fast.
Question says → You hear
rising ... in certain countriesin the rapidly expanding economies … demand is growing very fast
Why: 'Growing very fast' is 'rising', and the countries are the four named. The thing rising is demand.
The trap: Pressure on resources comes straight after, but it's the result of demand. Economies are 'expanding', but they are the countries, not what's rising in them.
Question 34
Answer: customersStart of the external influences section
Who are businesses talking to more before deciding?
companies are consulting customers more and more before
Question says → You hear
more discussion withconsulting customers more and more
Why: 'Consulting' is 'discussion with', and 'more and more' is 'more'. Plural customers.
The trap: Consumers was used earlier, in the markets section, so it's easy to write that. The speaker says customers here.
Question 35
Answer: regulation'Another influence is that concerns about the environment'
What might environmental concerns lead to more of?
concerns about the environment will force manufacturers to extend product lifecycles, to reduce the amount of pollution and waste. And in some cases … will need to be strengthened.
Question says → You hear
lead to morewill need to be strengthened
Why: Regulation 'will need to be strengthened', which the note calls 'more regulation'. The word is clear in the recording (the bank's text misprints it).
The trap: Pollution and waste are what they want to reduce, not increase. 'Lifecycles' is what gets extended, but it doesn't fit 'more ...' as one word.
Question 36
Answer: projectStart of the business structures section, after societies becoming more democratic
What will new teams be formed to work on?
teams created with a specific project in mind. And when they're completed, the teams will be disbanded and new ones formed.
Question says → You hear
to work on a particularteams created with a specific project in mind
Why: 'Specific' becomes 'particular', and teams are created for one project and then broken up. Singular, after 'a particular'.
The trap: Structure and companies are nearby, but they aren't what teams work on.
Question 37
Answer: flexibleWhen the speaker talks about businesses competing for staff
What kind of hours may businesses need to offer?
examples that will attract and retain staff are traditional ones like flexible hours and
Question says → You hear
offer hours that areflexible hours
the chance to work remotelyremote working
Why: Flexible hours are one way to keep staff, alongside remote working. The note turns 'flexible hours' into 'hours that are flexible'.
The trap: Traditional describes the type of benefit, not the hours. Remote is already in the note.
Question 38
Answer: leadership'Management styles will almost certainly continue to change'
What do managers increasingly need to provide?
Senior managers will require a lot more than the efficiency that they've always needed. Above all they'll need great skills in leadership
Question says → You hear
increasing need for managers to provide goodAbove all they'll need great skills in leadership
Why: 'Above all' marks the key need: leadership. 'Great' becomes 'good' in the note.
The trap: Efficiency is the first quality mentioned, but it's something they've always needed. The note asks what's increasingly needed.
Question 39
Answer: womenAfter the point about men in their fifties and sixties
Who is changing management by taking senior roles?
more consultative and collaborative, caused above all, by more women moving into senior management positions.
Question says → You hear
changes influenced bycaused above all, by
taking senior rolesmoving into senior management positions
Why: 'Caused by' is 'influenced by', and 'moving into senior management positions' is 'taking senior roles'. The people doing it are women.
The trap: Men are mentioned first, as the people who hold these jobs now. The change comes from women joining them.
Question 40
Answer: self-employedThe final point, the move away from working for one employer
What kind of workers are there more and more of?
Instead, more and more people are … to gain the freedom and control over their lives that they're unlikely to get from being employed.
Question says → You hear
more and more ... workersInstead, more and more people are
Why: People are becoming self-employed to get more freedom. Self-employed is one hyphenated word, so it fits the limit. Spell both parts and keep the hyphen.
The trap: Employed is said at the end, but it's the opposite: the people leaving employers. Without 'self-' the answer means the reverse.
Environmental concerns lead to longer product lifecycles and less pollution and waste, all said first. The gap is the last idea: regulation 'will need to be strengthened'.
'Major global corporations': the note has 'large ... companies', so major is already covered by large. The gap is global.
Words from this recording worth keeping
mergers and takeovers(Business markets)
companies joining together or buying each other
exert influence(Business markets)
use power to affect what happens
lifecycles(External influences)
how long a product lasts from making to disposal
disbanded(Business structures)
broken up, no longer working as a group
retain staff(Business structures)
keep employees from leaving
consultative(Management styles)
asking for others' opinions before deciding
collaborative(Management styles)
working together with others
intellectual property(Changes in the economy)
ideas and creative work that belong to someone
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 10 Test 2 listening paper with the real audio: all four parts, played once, marked the moment you finish. Already done it? Take it again and listen for the traps this page showed you.
Cambridge IELTS 10, Test 2, Listening Part 4. The recording, transcript and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts of the transcript only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full material, or sit the test on Langujet.
