The diagram below shows the management structure of a company. Match the people with their positions.

 

 

1. I’m Mitch Parson and I’m the director responsible for the company budgets and accounts.

2. I’m Scott Miller. I’m not actually a manager at ABC, but I do sit on the board.

3. My name is Steve Burn. I’m the CEO and I also chair the board.

4. My name is Jessica Parker. I’m in charge of the company’s information systems.

5. I’m Alex Fisher. My team develops new products and tests them.

6. I’m Jennifer and my team deals with calls from the public … and complaints!

7. I’m Nigel Fairchild and I’m responsible for company recruitment and staff development.

8. My name is Robert Beck and I report to the CEO.

Complete the organisation chart from the information provided. Two examples have been done for you. (Note that there are various ways of constructing an organisation chart. This is one of the most usual.)

The Managing Director (sometimes called the Chief Executive or President in the USA) is the head of the company.

The company is run by the Board of Directors; each Director is in charge of a department. However, the Chairman of the Board is in overall control and may not be the head of any one department.

Most companies have Finance, Sales, Marketing (sometimes part of Sales), Production, Research and Development (R&D) and Personnel Departments. These are the most common departments, but some companies have others as well.

Most departments have the Manager who is in charge of its day-to-day running and who reports to the Director; the Director is responsible for strategic planning and for making decisions.

Various personnel in each department report to the Manager. One example, present in almost all companies, is the Sales Representative who reports to the Sales Manager.

 

Read this short presentation of the management team of this British company. Then write the correct letters (a-n) in the right places in the organisation chart.

 

At the top of the company, the Chairman of the Board (a) is responsible to the shareholders and the day-to-day running is the responsibility of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) (b), who also has a seat on the Board.

Five directors form the senior management committee of the company. Going from left to right on the organisation chart, we start with the Director of Finance (c), who runs his division with his Deputy (d).

Then we have the Director of Operations (e), who is responsible for production and logistics. The Factory Manager (f) answers directly to him.

Next we have the Director of Marketing (g), who is also responsible for sales, so the National Sales Manager (h) reports to him on the activities of the whole sales team, which is divided into two regions, north and south, each managed by a regional sales manager (i; j).

The Director of Human Resources (k) has a Training and Development Manager (l) and a Compensation and Benefit Manager (m), who look after the day-to-day running of her department.

Finally, the Director of Research and Development (n) runs a small but important division of the company. She too reports directly to the CEO.

 

Read the example that follows, then think of several people you work with. Write their names and job titles. Describe briefly what they do at work.

 

John Mitchell is our Human Resources Director. He is responsible for all personnel matters. He recruits new staff, liaises with health and safety representatives, organises training courses, and also deals with retirement arrangements.

Translate into English.

1. Членами совета (директоров) являются директора, несущие юридическую ответственность за деятельность всей компании.

2. Торговый представитель подчиняется менеджеру по продажам.

3. Начальник отдела кадров занимается вопросами, связанными с персоналом.

4. Наверху иерархической структуры компании находится совет директоров.

5. Управляющие среднего звена в иерархической структуре компании занимают место между управляющими высшего звена и линейными управляющими.

6. В последнее время наметилась тенденция сокращать количество работников и в первую очередь избавляться от управляющих среднего звена.

7. Г-н Роджерс – начальник отдела по связям с общественностью, он занимается имиджем компании.

8. В обязанности совета директоров входит принятие решений и определение стратегии компании.

9. Управляющий отделом внутренних продаж отвечает за действия всей команды.

10. Директор по научным исследованиям и разработкам управляет очень важным отделением компании.

11. Стив недавно был назначен заместителем коммерческого директора.

12. Директор по персоналу набирает новых сотрудников и занимается вопросами, связанными с выходом на пенсию.

 

UNIT 2

Study the following.

The Board of Directors

The board of directors of a limited company is primarily responsible for determining the objectives and policies of a business. It is the directors who determine the direction the business is going to take. They will need to ensure that the necessary funds are available and will appoint key staff to whom they will delegate the authority to run the business on a day-to-day basis. They will need to design an effective organisation structure so that there is both a chain of command linking one level of management with another and an effective communication network so that instructions can be passed downward and information passed upward.

The directors are appointed by the shareholders, normally at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM), at which the chairman of the board will be expected to account for their stewardship during the previous year. The company’s accounts will be presented to the shareholders at that time so that they can judge for themselves whether or not the board has been successful.

Direction in business is like strategy in a war situation. The strategic decisions determine the areas in which the company’s resources will be employed. Above all it involves planning to ensure that the business first survives and then flourishes. Strategic decisions, made by the board of directors, are concerned with the disposition of resources. These contrast with the tactical decisions by means of which the senior executives (appointed by the directors) carry out in detail the plans conceived or approved by the board of directors.

The fact that the boards of directors tend to meet rather infrequently, say once a week, means that part-time directors can be elected to the board. Since they will not have departmental responsibilities within the company they are often described as non-executive directors. There are arguments in favour of such directors though they may lack a detailed knowledge of the company’s activities. They may bring expertise to the board. Some are lawyers, or experts in tax affairs. Some represent influential groups of shareholders whose support is necessary if the board is going to carry out its plans, while others are directors in a number of companies and are used to interlock boards within a group of companies. For example, a holding (or parent) company may appoint a director from their board to serve on the board of a subsidiary company, with a view to keeping a watching brief on the director’s activities.

 

2. Having read the above passage, answer the following questions in your own words.

 

1. How would you describe the role of the board of directors?

2. And the role of the senior executives?

3. What happens at the annual general meeting?

4. What is the difference between a strategic and a tactical decision?

5. What part can non-executive directors play in the proceeding?

6. What objections might be raised against the appointment of non-executive directors?

7. What is meant by an interlocking board of directors?

8. How is it that a board of directors can control a company though they only meet, say, once a week?