Прочитайте и переведите диалог в паре. Опишите современное положение совместных предприятий в России:

Steven: Do the joint ventures still enjoy the special status that was granted to them several years ago?

Denis: The answer is negative. Let's look at the history of the matter. Several years ago a unique legal entity, a joint venture, was created to encourage and control foreign investment in the centrally planned Soviet economy.

Steven: I know that great changes have taken place in your country's economy since. Have the joint ventures been affected?

Denis: They have, as they have been deprived of the right to export items produced by them without paying customs duties. Some other advantages have also disappeared over the last two years.  

Steven: What exactly do you mean?

Denis: A two-year tax holiday and exemption from the obligatory sale of hard currency earnings for roubles should be mentioned first of all.

Steven: So joint ventures are now legally identical to Russian companies, aren't they?

Denis: Generally speaking they are. The only difference is that joint ventures have a foreign shareholder.

Steven: Have foreign companies been discouraged by the new regulations?

Denis: I wouldn't say so. Foreign partners, especially multinationals, often prefer to keep a larger share of control over their investments.

Steven: That's fair, isn't it?  

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legal environment правовая атмосфера; to grant a status предоставлять статус; to encourage поощрять; deprive of the right лишить права; tax holiday освобождение от уплаты налогов; hard currency earnings поступления в твердой валюте

 

UNIT 16. DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT. LEVELS OF MANAGEMENT

Vocabulary:

scientific – научный

knowledge – опыт

apply – применять

provide – обеспечивать

require – требовать

application – применение

ability – способность

represent – представлять

correspond – соответствует

top manager – высший менеджер

middle manager – менеджер среднего звена

first-line manager – менеджер низшего звена  

chief executive officer – главный исполнительный директор

determine – определять

Board – совет директоров

division manager – руководитель подразделения

department head – начальник отдела

plant manager – директор завода

operations manager – директор производства

office manager – офис-менеджер

supervisor – инспектор, начальник

foreman – мастер, бригадир

project manager – руководитель проекта

salary – заработная плата (ежемесячная)

wage – заработная плата (почасовая)

solve – решать

operating employee – работник-исполнитель

 

Переведите следующие тексты и расскажите об уровнях менеджмента:

DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT

Management is based on scientific theories and today we can say that it is a developing science.

But knowledge of theories and principles doesn't provide practical results. It is necessary to know how to apply this knowledge. Practical application of knowledge in the management area requires certain abilities or skills. Here is an example:

Depending on its size, an organization may employ a number of specialized managers who are responsible for particular areas of management. A very large organization may employ many managers, each responsible for activities of one management area. In contrast, the owner of a sole proprietorship may be the only manager in the organization. He or she is responsible for all levels and areas of management.

What is important to an organization is not the number of managers it employs but the ability of these managers to achieve the organization's goals, and this ability requires a great skill.

In other words, management is the process of coordinating the resources of an organization to achieve the primary organizational goals.

 

LEVELS OF MANAGEMENT

Each organization can be represented as a three-story structure or a pyramid. Each story corresponds to one of the three general levels of management: top managers, middle managers, and first-line managers. At the basic level of this pyramid there are operating employees.

A top manager is an upper-level executive who guides and controls the overall activities of the organization. Top managers constitute a small group.

They are generally responsible for the organization's planning and developing its mission. They also determine the firm's strategy and its major policies. It takes years of hard work as well as talent and good luck, to reach the ranks of top managers. They are president, vice president, chief executive officer, and member of the Board.

A middle manager is a manager who implements the strategy and major policies handed down from the top level of the organization. Middle managers develop tactical plans, policies, and standard operating procedures, and they coordinate and supervise the activities of first-line managers. Titles at the middle-management level include division manager, department head, plant manager, and operations manager.

A first-line manager is a manager who coordinates and supervises the activities of operating employees. First-line managers spend most of their time working with employees, answering questions, and solving day-to-day problems. Most first-line managers are former operating employees who, owing to their hard work and potential, were promoted into management. Many of today's middle and top managers began their careers on this first management level. Common titles for first-line managers include office manager, supervisor, foreman and project manager.

Operating employees are not managers. They are qualified and non-qualified persons working for the organization. For their labour or services they get salaries or wages. They represent the work force of the organization.

 

2. Ответьте на вопросы:

1. What is management? 2. What does practical application of knowledge in management require? 3. What is for an organization important: a number of managers or managers with a great skill? 4. How can be each organization represented? 5. What is a top manager responsible for? 6. Who are top managers? 7. Who implements the strategy and major policies handed down from the top level of the organization? 8. Who are middle managers? 9. Who coordinates and supervises the activities of operating employees? 10. On which management level did many of today's middle and top managers begin their careers? 11. Whom do common titles for first-line managers include? 12. Are operating employees managers? 13. Whom do they represent in the organization?