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.
