Origins of an American Legend

Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, was born on a farm near Dearborn, Michigan, in 1863. He had a talent for engineering, which he pursued as a hobby from boyhood, but it was not until 1890 that he commenced his engineering career as an employee of the Detroit Edison Company. In his spare time, Ford constructed experimental gasoline engines and in 1892 completed his first gasoline buggy. Dissatisfied with the buggy's weight, he sold it in 1896 to help fund the construction of a new car. Ford's superiors at the electric company felt his hobby distracted him from his regular occupation and, despite his promotion to chief engineer, he was forced to quit in 1899.

Shortly afterwards, with financial backing from private investors, Ford established the Detroit Automobile Company. He later withdrew from the venture after a disagreement with business associates over the numbers and prices of cars to be produced. Ford advocated a business strategy which combined a lower profit margin on each car with greater production volumes. In this way, he hoped to gain a larger market share and maintain profitability.

Independently in a small shed in Detroit, Henry Ford developed two four-cylinder, 80-horsepower race cars, called the 999 and the Arrow. These cars won several races and helped to create a new market for Ford automobiles. With $28,000 of capital raised from friends and neighbors, Henry Ford established a new shop on June 16, 1903. In this facility, a converted wagon factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit, the Ford Motor Company began production of a two-cylinder, eight-horsepower design called the Model A. The company produced 1,708 of these models in the first year of operation.

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Additional details:

• Public Company ( открытое акционерное общество )
• Incorporated ( зарегистрирован в качестве юридического лица ): 1919
• Employees: 327,531
• Sales: $164.1 billion (2003)
• Headquarters: Detroit, Michigan
• Principal Subsidiaries: Ford Brasil Ltda.; Ford Capital B.V. (Netherlands); Ford Motor Company (Belgium) N.V.; Ford Espana S.A.; Ford European Holdings, Inc.; Ford Holdings LLC; Volvo Car Holding Germany GmbH; Ford Motor Land Development Corporation, etc.
• Principal Competitors: DaimlerChrysler AG; General Motors Corporation; Toyota Motor Corporation
  
  

Ex.11. Find in the text equivalents to the following words and word-combinations:

Головной офис, открытое акционерное общество, конкурент, дочернее предприятие, владеть, производить (2), производитель, транспортное средство, держать контрольный пакет акций, финансовая стабильность, снижение продаж, проблемы качества, финансировать, финансовая поддержка, основатель, частный инвестор, учреждать, коммерческое предприятие, бизнес партнеры, чистая прибыль, объем производства, доля на рынке, прибыльность (рентабельность), привлекать средства.

Ex.12. Imagine that your partner is one of the shareholders of “Gazprom”. Ask him questions about his company. Find out the following:

Где находится головной офис, какого типа эта компания, кто держит контрольный пакет акций, что производит компания, есть ли дочерние предприятия, есть ли конкуренты, кто является бизнес партнерами, является ли компания прибыльной.

Ex.13. Find information about some other world famous companies (both Russian and foreign market leaders). Make a presentation about the company you have chosen, use the vocabulary of the Unit.

Ex.14. Role-play.

You are taking part in a business meeting. Your company needs new investments. Try to interest the proposed investors in your ideas. Be ready to answer any questions about your company they might be interested in. Work in groups of four.

 

U N I T 3

Management

Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of coordinating the efforts of people to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively. (Wikipedia)