Unit 3. Structure of the Company

Exercise 1.Learn the following words.

Vocabulary
1. to manufacture	- производить
2. to produce	- производить, выпускать
3. to distribute	- распространять
4. to specialize in	- специализироваться на
5. high-quality	- высококачественный
6. market leader	- лидер рынка
7. Head Office	- главная контора фирмы
8. branch	- филиал
9. subsidiary	- дочерняя компания, филиал
10. alarm systems	- охранные системы
11. to launch	- запускать в производство
12. brand new	- новейший
13. to put smth. on the market	- пустить в продажу
14. fair	- ярмарка
15. to be in charge of	- руководить, отвечать за ч.-л.
16. product launch	- запуск продукта в производство
17. Board of Directors	- Совет директоров
18. Chairman	- Председатель
19. Managing Director	- директор-распорядитель
20. Chief Executive Officer	- главный управляющий фирмы
21. PR (Public Relations) Officer	- сотрудник по связям с общественностью
22. Chief Accountant	- главный бухгалтер
23. Sales Mngr.	- коммерческий директор; менеджер отдела продаж
24. Sales Department	- отдел сбыта, коммерческий отдел
25. Finance Dpt.	- финансовый отдел
26. Accounts/Accounting Dpt.	- бухгалтерия
27. Advertising Dpt.	- отдел рекламы
28. Training Dpt.	- отдел обучения и подготовки кадров
29. Planning Dpt.	- плановый отдел
30. Marketing Dpt.	- отдел маркетинга
31. R&D/Research & Development Dpt.	- отдел исследований и развития
32. Administration Dpt.	- отдел административного управления
33. Distribution Dpt.	- отдел распространения продукции
34. Quality Dpt.	- отдел контроля за качеством
35. Packaging Dpt.	- отдел упаковки товара
36. Production Dpt.	- производственный отдел
37. Purchasing Dpt.	- отдел снабжения
38. to run (a company)	- руководить
39. to head (a company)	- возглавлять
40. to be accountable to to report to to be under	- отчитываться перед кем-либо, подчиняться кому-либо
41. to be in charge of	- отвечать за что-либо, руководить
42. to look after to take care of to be responsible for	- отвечать за что-либо
43. appointment	- назначение (на должность)
44. product development	- разработка продукции
45. market research	- исследование рынка
46. publicity	- реклама
47. sales promotion	- продвижение товара на рынке
48. sale	- продажа
49. recruitment	- набор персонала
50. retailing	- розничная торговля
51. to operate on the Stock Exchange	- вести операции на фондовой бирже
52. to deal with	- заниматься чем-либо
53. insurance	- страхование
54. cash flow	- движение денежной наличности
55. competition	- конкуренция, соревнование
56. head quarters	- штаб-квартира

 

 

Exercise 2. Read the following Conversation about the Structure of “Biopaints International” Company and complete the chart of the Company given below.

Presenter:	Today we are talking to Philip Knight about the structure of Biopaints International. Philip’s the General Manager of the Perth factory. Philip, do you think you could tell us something about the way Biopaints is actually organized?
Philip Knight:	Yes, certainly. Er… we employ about two thousand people in all in two different locations. Most people work here at our headquarters plant. And this is where we have the administrative departments, of course.
Presenter:	Well, perhaps you could say something about the department structure?
Philip Knight:	Yes, certainly. Well, now first of all, as you know we’ve got two factories, one here in Perth, Australia, and other in Singapore. Lee Boon Eng is the other General Manager, over there in Singapore.
Presenter:	And you are completely independent of each other, is that right?
Philip Knight:	Oh, yes. Our two plants are fairly independent. I mean, I am responsible to George Harris, the Production Manager, and we have to co-operate closely with Rosemary Broom, the Marketing Manager.
Presenter:	Mm, yeah.
Philip Knight:	But otherwise, as far as day to day running is concerned, we’re pretty much left alone to get on with the job. Oh, and I forgot to mention finance. The Finance Director is Weimin Tan. She’s a very important woman. And her task is to make sure the money side of things is OK. The accountant and such people, they report to her directly.
Presenter:	Is that all?
Philip Knight:	Oh, no, no. There’s Personnel too.
Presenter:	Oh, yes.
Philip Knight:	That’s quite separate. Deirdre Spencer is Personnel Manager. And the Training Manager reports to her, of course.
Presenter:	What about Research and Development? Isn’t that a separate department?
Philip Knight:	Well, in terms of the laboratories, there are two: one at each production plant. But it’s a separate department and it has a separate head. And that’s Dr Tarcisius Chin.
Presenter:	Are there any other features worth mentioning?
Philip Knight:	There’s the planning department – Chow Fung is in charge of that. And a purchasing department – in the materials for production.
Presenter:	Yes, and what about the board of directors and the chairman?
Philip Knight:	Yes, well they’re at the top, aren’t they, of course? I mean, a couple of the executives are directors themselves. The Managing Director, of course, that’s Robert Leaf and then there’s…

 

A. To whom the following people report?

the Public Relations Manager, the Works Manager, the Advertising Manager the Export Manager, the Project Manager

B. Speak on the Chain of Command at “Biopaints International” Company. Use the following words:

- to report to, to be accountable to, be under;

- to be in charge of, to look after, to take care of, to be responsible for

Exercise 3. A) Look at the diagram below showing the structure of a multinational company based in the US.

B) Ask and answer questions using the Modal:

- Who is responsible for Business Systems in the Pacific?

- That comes under the Pacific Division.

a) Corporate Planning___________________

b) Defence Systems in Africa_____________

c) Telecommunications in USA____________

d) Business Systems in Europe_____________

e) Telecommunications in SE Asia__________

Exercise 4. Below is part of the structure of your company. It is a medium-sized subsidiary of a UK parent Company.

- Imagine that the members of the Group International Audit team are visiting your firm. Help the auditors by answering the questions given below. Do it accordingly to the following:

Model: - I have a question about the company’s sales budget.

Your reply: You’ll have to see the sales people about that.

1) Could you help me? It’s about last year’s development costs.

2) I’d like to know exactly when you delivered these goods.

3) Our Company Audit team wants to visit you soon. Who should I ask about it?

4) Do you have purchase contracts with all your suppliers?

5) I’d like to discuss this cash-flow forecast. Who do you think could help me?

 

Exercise 5.A) Read the following piece of information and make up the scheme of the company.

Our firm consists of 6 departments: Production, Sales, Export, Financial, Personnel and Research & Development. The last one is the newest at the company. It was created five years ago.

Our management are the Meeting of Shareholders and the Board of Directors. Earlier the President of the Company was one of senior partners. Now it is Mr. Rogers. Currently we employ about 1,600 people. Our turnover is more than £300 million. We export our equipment to 5 countries all over the world. Besides we have two daughter companies in Holland and Germany with headquarters in those countries. They are our subsidiaries.

Each company trades under its own name. But we are looking for new partners in Eastern Europe as well. We would like to expand our activity. So Mr. Cartwright went to Moscow to establish personal contracts with some other companies.

B) Render the content of the text.

 

Exercise 6. A)Read the following passages about two companies.

Over the decades, the name of Siemens has become synonymous with progress. Since 1847, when Werner Siemens and Johann George Halske founded the Siemens & Halske Telegraph Construction Company in Berlin, the history of Siemens has been closely linked with the development of electrical engineering. While still a fledgling firm, Siemens & Halske spearheaded the evolution of telegraphy with the first pointer telegraph and the construction of an extensive telegraph network. In 1866 Werner Siemens invented the dynamo machine, laying the cornerstone of power engineering.

New ideas are an old tradition at Siemens. The company that grew out of the original Siemens & Halske is today a highly innovative leader in the world electrical and electronics market. Composed of Siemens AG and an array of domestic and foreign subsidiaries, the contemporary Siemens organization continues to set milestones on the road of progress.

Siemens maintains its own production facilities in more than 50 countries and operates a worldwide sales network. With more than 300,000 employees, it is one of the largest companies in the world electrical/electronics industry, having recorded annual sales of DM 82 billion in the 1992/93 fiscal year. Reliable and farsighted management is united with the youthful dynamism and zest for innovation that typify the company.

In 1849, Johann Phillip Holzmann founded a company in Sprendlingen, near Francfurt am Main, which initially undertook work in connection with the construction of the railroads, but very quickly expanded its activities to include all fields of building construction and civil engineering. The first major foreign project was started in 1882, with the contract for Amsterdam’s Central Station.

By the turn of the century, branch offices and regional offices had been established at numerous locations throughout Germany. As early as 1885, Holzmann had more than 5,000 employees. Interesting activities from this period include the company’s work on the Baghdad railroad and railroad projects in East Africa.

Holzmann has passed through all forms of company organization, from individual proprietorship via a limited and general partnership through to a GmbH (limited liability company). The Philip Holzmann Aktiengesellschaft (public limited company) was formed in 1917. Companies founded by Holzmann were active in South America.

Even following the losses manpower and assets during the Second World War, Holzmann was able, as early as 1950, to recommence its foreign activities. 1979 saw acquisition of J. A. Jones Construction Company, of Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, a major American corporation active in the construction field. This was followed in1981 by the purchase of Lockwood Green Engineers, Inc., Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA. Together with its USA subsidiaries Holzmann has responded to the changes occurring in the construction industry with a flexible and versatile corporate strategy.

The takeover in early 1989 of the Steinmüller Group, one of Germany’s leading companies in the sectors of power engineering, process engineering and environmental protection demonstrates this.

B) Complete the information missing in this table:

Dates	What happened?	Who did what?
	Invention of dynamo machine
	First large foreign order begun
	Aktiengesellschaft founded
	Acquisition of J. A. Jones Construction Company
	Recorded annual sales of DM 82 billion

C) Complete the following table with the information from the articles:

	Holzmann	Siemens
Locations of the company’s activities
Activities of both companies up to 1940s
Recent activities of the companies

 

Exercise 7. Match the descriptions with types of organization.

1. company (UK) corporation (US) 2. cooperative 3. government agency 4. holding company   5. limited company 6. multinational   7. nationalized company   8. offshore company   9. parent company   10. partnership     11. private company   12. public company   13. society   14. subsidiary (affiliate)   15. minority interest   16. charity

a) a company which owns another one b) company owned by the state c) firm owned by a parent company d) a company whose shares are not publicly available e) a friendly association of people f) a democratic firm owned by its workers g) an organization to relieve poverty; benefit from financial concessions h) an organization operating in several countries i) company in which another firm has less than a 50 % interest j) a firm, usually without commercial activity, created to be parent to other companies   k) a company whose shares are publicly available l) a firm based in a tax haven to avoid higher taxation m) an organization operating to make a profit n) a firm where shareholder’s liability is limited o) an organization which is part of the state administration p) two or more partners working together for profit, without limited liability

 

Exercise 8.A) Read the text.

The purpose of an organization is to make common people do uncommon things. An organization cannot depend on genius. The objective of any organization is to make ordinary human beings perform better than they are capable of, to bring out whatever strength there is in its members and use it to make all other members perform more and better. It is the test of an organization that it neutralizes the weaknesses of its members. The proper organization enables an employee to realize himself and to do what he ought to do. To achieve such a goal there should be a proper atmosphere at the company.

There are 5 requirements which are supposed to ensure the right spirit throughout management organization.

1. There must be high performance requirements; no mediocre performance; and rewards must be based on performance.

2. Each management job must be rewarding job in itself rather than just a step in the promotion ladder.

3. There must be rational and just promotion system.

4. Management needs a “charter” spelling out clearly who has the power to make decisions; and there should be some way for a manager to appeal to a higher court.

5. In its appointments management must demonstrate that it realizes that integrity is the absolute requirement of a manager, the one quality that he has to bring with him and cannot be expected to acquire later on.

A man should never be appointed to a managerial position if his vision focuses on people’s weaknesses rather than on their strengths. He should be a realist; and no one is less realistic than the cynic. A man should never be appointed if he is more interested in the question: “Who is right?” than in the question: “What is right?” Management should never appoint a man who considers intelligence more important than integrity.

The men with whom a man works, and especially his subordinates, know in a few weeks whether he has integrity or not. They may forgive a man a great deal: incompetence, ignorance, insecurity or bad manners. But they will not forgive him lack of integrity. Nor will they forgive higher management for choosing him.

B) Ask the other members of your group what they think of these opinions about how work is organized. Decide which of the points you can agree on.

1. People working in business should be told what to do and should do it without asking questions.

2. Employees want to be recognized as people with their own (personal) needs.

3. Employees have to be forced to work: otherwise they are just lazy.

4. Managers need to closely control what employees do.

5. Nobody wants responsibility at work.

6. If there are problems to be solved, everybody should be asked their opinion before anything is done.

 

Exercise 9. You may find some of these expressions useful. If you want to agree with someone you can say:

- That’s exactly what I think.	- That’s just what I was thinking.
- That’s a good point.	- I agree entirely.
- Quite right, I couldn’t agree more.	- Yes, I’m all in favour of that.

It’s often considered rude or aggressive to say “You’re wrong” or “I don’t agree with you”. It’s more polite to disagree with someone by saying.

- I see what you mean, but ...	- I don’t quite agree because...
- I don’t think it’s such a good idea ...	- Maybe but don’t you think...?
- That’s true, but on the other hand ...

b) Discuss these questions

- How authoritarian or co-operative should managers be?

- How democratic should the workplace be?

c) Make up the dialog. Exchanging your opinion on the points mentioned above.

 

Exercise 10. A) Read the following text and do the assignments given after the text.

What’s it like, working for ABS?

At dinner you meet an old friend of yours, who now works for ABS. He tells you what it is like working for that organization.

“What’s it like? I am happy. There are good promotion prospects if you are interested. And there’s a very good training scheme. At the moment I’m considering a transfer to another division. Salaries are quite competitive; there’s a generous profit – sharing scheme too. There is also a five – week holiday allowance, which is better than in a lot of firms.

What else is there to say? A company car, of course. Quite a good pension scheme. That’s it. The only think I wasn’t happy about was the fact that when I started the job, the relocation expenses weren’t very generous; you know, buying a new house, moving the family, all that sort of things cost money.”

B) Compel the following:

1. There are good promotion_______________ .

2. Salaries are quite ____________________ .

3. There’s a _________ profit-sharing scheme.

4. There’s a five week _________________ .

C) Answer the questions.

1. What benefits does your friend receive?

2. What kind of move is your friend considering.

 

Exercise 11. Match the expressions underlined in the following sentences with their meanings below.

1. The headhunters are looking for managers with hands – on experience and an excellent track record.

2. Where I work, a couple of years in sales is the inside track.

3. Young Linda is a high – flier now. In a couple of years she will be one of the movers and shakers.

4. In our organization success is the name of the game!

5. Top management here prefer to leave the number – crunching to young executives on the way up.

Example: The fast way to make progress=the inside track.

a) the fast way to make progress.

b) making important calculations.

c) the dynamic people who make things happen.

d) moving up towards the top of the firm.

e) an ambitions person whose results are excellent.

f) practical and direct knowledge of their job.

g) the small number of senior people who run the organization.

h) very good past performance.

i) outside agencies who hire people for companies.

j) the main aim of the firm.