*UNIT 10: 120 - 131 Giving & Getting Opinions

Dear Ashley,

To answer your question about where I stand on the possible Stevenson Telecom project, it seems to me that we should spare no resources in pursuing it.

There are at least two reasons for this. first, successfully completing the project would give us a much-needed boost to our reputation worldwide. Second, we would be able to create a future revenue source at Stevenson seems to be on a path to further growth.

I hope this helps as your team contemplates the project.

Sincerely,

Ethan Chen

Type I 請求意見

Subject: Request for Feedback on Feasibility Study

For your review, I'm attaching Oliver Chu's feasibility study on the proposed office complex project in Ilan. Can you give me your opinion on whether we should proceed with the project?

120 尋求意見

Bill, any thoughts on the attached booth design?

Tell me what you think of this idea.

I was thinking we should transfer Mr. Chen to a new team. What do you think?

What do you think we should do?

Let me know what you think about the rumor.

What's your take on the recent decline of our stock price?

What do you think this happened?

What's your view on what happened today?

What are your thoughts on what the client said about the signage?

What do you think about their new proposal for office equipment?

Give me your thoughts on how we should deal with the problem.

Can you give me your opinion about the samples sent by TSMC?

What do you think about the new PR agency's performance so far?

Do you think implementing this new strategic plan is a good idea?

What do you think is the right person for this job?

When do you think we should inform our client about this?

Where do you think is the best place to take a client out to dinner?

How do you think we should respond to the e-mail?

What's your position on the planned office move to Tainan?

Which do you think is the proper method?

I want to ask your opinion on the current status of the TSMC account.

Do you have any comments on this?

Do you have any idea why Mrs. Tsai left the meeting so abruptly?

Do you have any views on the the government policy?

What's your opinion on the possibility of our winning the bid?

Where do you stand on the proposed change of the rbudget?

We need your opinion on devising a proper response to the crisis.

How do you feel about us moving forward with acquisition of UMC?

I was wondering how you felt about the supplier not meeting the delivery date.

How do you feel about rearranging the cubicles on the 5th floor?

In your opinion, how is the project unfolding?

Do you have any thoughts on how to handle Mrs. Wang's habitual tardiness?

What do you think the consequences will be if we decide not to hire Jenny's son?

Could I get your input on the schedule issue?

I'm curious about your opinion on the new employee in your business unit.

I would welcome your honest assessment of John Smith's role as our consultant.

Please give me some constructive feedback on the progress report.

I'm interested in hearing your personal thoughts on the new method proposed by the engineers.

We're all in consensus of approving the preliminary marketing plan. How about your team?

I would be interested in getting your opinion on how to respond.

I would like to hear your opinion on the results of last night's emergency board meeting.

We would love to hear what you have to say about the CTO's announcement yesterday.

We would like to get your thought on your opinion on the recent incident at the research center.

Would you mind giving me your opinion about the agreed-upon starting date?

Given what we know so far about UMC's finances, what would you suggest as our maximum offering price for the company?

As your input is important, please e-mail me your professional opinion about the claims made by the plant employees.

Your company's feedback would we much appreciated.

Type II 提出意見

Subject: New Proposed for Interactive Software

My opinion about the new method proposed by the engineers is that we should run multiple tests to ensure the program's stability. I don't think we can afford to rework the program after turning it over to our client.

121 Giving Opinions

IMHO, the performance of the new PR agency has been less than expected.

It's possible that the first method is better.

I would suggest that we consider changing the supplier.

It may be a good idea to reassess the proposed budget changes.

It may not be a bad idea to discuss the situation with the legal team.

I tend to think that blaming the failure of the product launch on R&D may be a mistake.

It could be that a master plan incorporating all phases of the long-term plan may be answer.

It might be the case that the decline of our stock price is only temporary.

It may be prudent for us to hold off on making the decision at this time.

It would seem to me that the recent incident at the research center warrants an organized investigation.

122 提出直接的意見

To me, the new employee seems to be adjusting well.

As I see it, the preliminary marketing plan is still incomplete.

I guess that the project has been going well.

I figure that the engineers are the most qualified to come up with a new method.

I'm not sure that the timing is right.

My feeling is that Mrs. Chu left the meeting in order to buy some time.

I feel that the booth is too colorful fro the type of products we carry.

As far as I'm concerned, the rumors are absolutely false.

I think that he may have an ulterior motive for calling the meeting this late in the game.

In my opinion, phase-by-phase schedule should be drawn up to make certain that each part of this project will be complete on time.

I believe that we have a better-than-average chance of winning the bid.

I would have to say that we have no choice but to hire James' son.

My thinking is that the starting date should actually be easier.

My view is that the CEO's announcement was quite timely.

It's not the best interest of our company.

From my point of view, the new government policy does have some merits.

In my view, transferring Mr. Chen to a new team is an excellent idea.

It's our opinion that the new strategic plan contains a few flaws, as outlined below.

123 提出明確意見

Frankly, it's a non-issue.

It's a scary idea, if you ask me.

I'm not going to mince words, John, it's a bad idea.

Anyone can see that rearranging the cubicles will not change anything.

It goes without saying that the handle design is the new laptop's differentiating factor.

I'm confident that we can meet the deadline.

I have total confidence in the success of the new product.

We have no choice but to pursue extreme cost-cutting measures.

I'm certain that our industry is set for a rebound.

I'm convinced that the new policy does not take temporary workers into consideration.

I have every reason to believe that we made the right choice.

Obviously, we ought ot consider their position on this matter.

It's obviously that this is a losing proposition.

Clearly, the project team has not considered other options.

There can be no doubt that this merger is our only choice.

Type III 說明重要

Subject: Rain Damage to Warehouse

I think the most important thing is to first ascertain the extent of the damage at the warehouse caused by the rain. Only then can we formulate an action plan to address this problem. Also, I don't think that informing our client is that important at this point.

124 主要問題

Let's concentrate on fulfilling the orders on time.

I'm convinced that understanding their business is the key to winning their account.

I can't tell you how important it is for us to complete this phase by the end of April.

I strongly recommend double-checking all data from the research.

We cannot overlook the significance of the attached e-mail from TSMC.

It's critical to first understand the background of the report.

Without a doubt, we will need to focus all our resources on penetrating the North American market.

Getting the right publicity is vital to success of this product launch.

Our major priority at this point is to figure out a way to salvage our relationship with Ms. Chu.

In particular, the successful candidates must possess a thorough knowledge of our business.

It's imperative that we move quickly with purchase.

Considering that this client has traditionally placed a strong emphasis on design, it behooves us to hire temporary designers for this project.

Finding a new method of cutting sheet metal should be given primary importance at the plant.

During our transition to a new business area, employee morale is an essential element.

Maintaining the lead in the market requires our foremost collective effort.

The final price is of utmost importance to us.

125 次要問題

To me, finishing the production be this month is not that important.

I doubt that our past experience with land development projects is that crucial to this proposal.

That issue is less important than you might think.

I feel that guaranteeing swift delivery is not a major priority.

Your writing style is not as important as the content itself.

Executing an MOU is of secondary importance.

The significance of sales revenue is minor compared to net profits.

Their main consideration is probably not individual prices.

The long-term effect of Ethan's resign will be minor.

The fourth one is a nonessential item.

There are more important factors to consider than just pricing.

Type IV 對不確定事表意見

Subject: First Phase Completion Date

I believe it is likely that the first phase of the project can be completed by June 10th, provided that the owner-furnished items arrive on time. However, to prevent any potential problems, we would like to propose a reasonable new date of July 15th. This would allow your other vendors enough time to complete their own portion of the contract.

126 高可能性時

I can't imagine Jane being able to help us this time.

I don't think a strike is likely to happen.

I doubt we can set up a task force team on such a short notice.

We probably will not get an e-mail from TSMC.

This is unlikely to happen.

It will be difficult to find out who else is bidding on the project.

That is an improbable situation - one that I hope never materialize.

At this point, persuading the supplier to come back to the negotiating table is practically impossible.

There is not much we can do to change their minds.

The possibility of a severe storm is quite low in my opinion.

The likelihood of us completing those tasks by tomorrow is one in there.

The chances of us meeting the deadline are quite slem.

Type V 延後或拒絕提出意見

Subject: Re: Tower's Structural Integrity

Since I'm not qualified to provide an opinion on the structural integrity of the tower, I will not be able to give you any feedback on the matter. Of course if you have any questions regarding tis architectural elements, I would be happy to discuss it.

128 延後提意見

Right now I have no comment about the proposal, but I will e-mail you after I've had a chance to review it thoroughly.

Because I haven't seen the report yet, I really can't say for sure at this point.

Could you give me some time to mull over the situation so I can provide a useful feedback?

Would you mind if I got back to you later with my comments?

129 拒絕提意見

I don't really have any specific comments about the board's decision.

I am sorry, but I don't have much to say about the changes proposed by the team.

I am not sure that I have a personal opinion on the design.

If you don't mind, I would rather not discuss UMC's development plan.

We are not in a position to provide an opinion about an incident that we know nothing about.

With no background information about the project, it would be difficult to provide a constructive opinion.

Type VI 請求額外說明

Subject: Reassessment of Proposed Budget Changes

In your last e-mail, you expressed the opinion that the proposed budget changes should be reassessed. I was wondering, however, if you clarify which specific aspects of the proposed changes you thought should in fact be reassessed.

130 請求額外說明

Are you proposing that we allow the consultants to work with us for the entire month?

What exactly did you mean by the estimate not being correct?

Can you provide more details about your ideas to improve productivity?

Can you tell me what those extreme cost-cutting measures might be?

I'm quite not sure what you meant by a master plan. Do you mean a plan created with input from all departments?

What I wanted to know was what you thought about the new employee's performance.

I'd be interested to hear more about your idea to combine the two meetings.

What do you mean by MOU being of secondary importance? Are you saying that we should proceed with negotiating for the contract itself?

Could you clarify one point for me?

You said we should attempt to ship the products earlier. What would be an appropriate date?

You indicated that the second method is better. Please clarify what you mean by "second."

I was actually asking about the potential effect on our own resources. Could you address this issue?

Could you be more specific about why you think the project is a losing proposition?

You indicated that the booth design seems too colorful to showcase our products. Do you feel that way about option 3 as well?

Could you tell me more about what the preliminary sales plan is missing?

When you stated you thought the meeting was productive, did you mean that you felt we were making progress?

If I understood you correctly, you are suggesting that we transfer two personnel from Research to task force team. Am I correct?

If you don't mind my asking, how to you propose we get the supplier to send us the shipment one month earlier?

131 提供額外說明

I think I should clarify that.

Let me try and rephrase what I wrote.

What I was trying to say was that tsmc is our largest client, and we can't afford to lose the account.

I didn't mean that the MOU is unnecessary. I meant that there are factors to consider first.

What I meant was that we need to make enough profits with the product to justify its continued existence.