Two distinct senses: (1)
戏班子 (xì bānzi, opera/theatre troupe) — the older meaning, still vivid in literary and rural contexts; (2)
领导班子 (lǐngdǎo bānzi, leadership team) — the very common modern meaning in CCP and corporate jargon, referring to the core management group of an organization.
班子 by itself usually picks up sense 2 in news and business contexts.
