Read the text and say if the sentences are true or false.

1. One of the constituents of management is controlling. 2. Manage­ment consists of a number of different activities. 3. Defining objectives is one of the tasks of management. 4. The term "product life cycle" reflects the period of time spent on the production of the product.

5. Product life cycle is always taken into account by managers.

6. Extra sales support helps to solve the problem of products which are at the end of their life cycle.

Marketing Management

Management, by definition, is a function of planning, organising, co-ordinating, directing and controlling. Any managerial system,

at any managerial level, is characterised in terms of these general functions.

Management is revealed in a variety of specific activities. Marke­ting management refers to a broad concept covering organisation of production and sales of products, which is based on consumer requirements research. All companies must look beyond their present situation and develop a long-term strategy to meet changing conditions in their industry. Marketing management, therefore, consists of evaluating market opportunities, selecting markets, developing market strategies, planning marketing tactics and controlling marketing results.

Strategic planning includes defining the company's long-term as well as specific objectives, such as sales volume, market share, profitability and innovation, and deciding on financial, material and other resources needed to achieve those objectives.

In problems of market selection and product planning one of the key concepts is that of the Product Life Cycle. That products pass through various stages between life and death (introduction — growth — maturity — decline) is hard to deny. Equally accepted is the understanding that a company should have a mix of products with representation in each of these stages. Companies can make far more effective marketing decisions if they have time to find out where each of their products stands in its life cycle.

However, the concept of the product life cycle seems frequently forgotten in marketing planning, which leads to wrong decision­making. This may well be seen in the following story.

A supplier of some light industrial equipment felt that the decline in the sales of his major product was due to the fact that it was not receiving the sales support it deserved. In order to give extra sales support to this problem case a special advertising campaign was run. This required cutting into marketing budgets of several promising products that were still in their "young" growth phase. In fact, the major product has long since passed the zenith of its potential sales, and no amount of additional sales support could have extended its growth. This became quite clear in the end-of-year sales results which showed no improvement. The promising products, however, went into gradual sales decline. In short, management has failed to consider each product's position in its life cycle.

2. Pronunciation

E. Match the words from A with their synonyms from B.

 

A. Underline the main stress in each word. Practise saying the
words. Mind the stress shift in the pairs of words.

1) management — managerial; 2) profitability — profitable; 3) strategy — strategic; 4) variety — various.

B. Circle the word in each line which has a different vowel
sound. Listen to the teacher and check your answers.

1) reveal achieve frequently consider

2) sale strategy tactics gradual

3) campaign pass phase fail

4) decline cycle system define

3. Word Study

A. Find international words in the text and write them out.
Learn their correct pronunciation. Say which ones are the easist to
understand.

B. Give Russian equivalents to the following word combinations:

to be characterised in terms of these general functions; to be revealed in a variety of specific activities; to refer to a broad concept; to look beyond one's present situation; a long-term strategy; to define the company's objectives; to be hard to deny; to be equally accepted; to lead to wrong decision-making; light industry; to give extra sales support; to cut into marketing budgets of several promising products; to pass the zenith of one's potential sales; end-of-year sales results; to go into gradual sales decline; to consider each product's position in its life cycle.

C. Give English equivalents to the word combinations:

исследование потребительских потребностей; приспосабливать­ся к изменяющимся условиям; долгосрочные цели; объем продаж; доля рынка; ключевое понятие; жизненный цикл товара; опреде­лить, какое место продукт занимает в своем жизненном цикле; промышленное оборудование; стимулирование сбыта; в фазе сво­ей "молодости"; вкратце.

D. Find in the article the opposites to the following words:

short-term, unprofitability, birth, zenith, admit, rarely, minor, rapid, general, narrow, within, remember, unchanging, right, unpromising, old, worsening, in detail, succeed.

F. Pick out from the article the words which have the same roots as the words given in the list Indicate what part of speech they are:

manage, profitable, mature, denial, frequent, supply, promise, define, vary, require, finance, select, grow, equal, represent, industry, equip, add, improve.

4. Grammar Focus

A. Study the following speech patterns.

A supplier felt that the decline in the sales of his major product was due to the fact that it was not receiving the sales support. The sales dropped due to insufficient demand. The sales decline was due to the fact that sales support was not well organized.

Any managerial system is characterised in terms of these general functions. In economic terms, the innovation was revolutionary.

B. Explain why:

1) the prices were reduced; 2) the sales dropped; 3) you had to stay at home; 4) the airport was closed.

Prompts: poor demand; increased prices; shortage of money; illness; a lot of work; bad weather conditions..

C. Translate into English.

1. Он не мог принять участия в совещании из-за срочной рабо­ты. 2. Его отсутствие было связано с работой. 3. Выставка прошла с большим успехом благодаря спонсорам. 4. Новый товар пользо­вался большим спросом благодаря хорошей рекламе.

D. Translate into Russian.

1. In terms of customer satisfaction, the policy cannot be criticized.

2. The savings, both in terms of time and money, could be considerable.

3. The job is great in terms of salary, but it has some disadvantages.

4. The decision was disastrous in economic terms.

E. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct active or passive
tense.

1. The marketing management (to decide) that the funds (to spend) better on a new product.

2. Products (to plan) to serve markets.

3. Marketing strategies (should / to develop) for markets.

4. The product (to be) a package of benefits the customer (to receive) when he (to buy).

5. Many decisions managers (to make) (to connect) with risk and (to require) that they (to consider) possible future events.

6. How the cultural environment (to influence) the marketing strategies?

The activities of the Wimpy Company, one of the success stories in the United States, (to meet) with different response in Europe. Wimpy (to be) highly profitable in the United Kingdom, but (to fail) in France. McDonald's (to achieve) only moderate success in the French market. On the other hand, Kentucky Fried Chicken (to flourish) in France, Germany and the UK.

What (to explain) these differences? Geographic, demographic and economic factors (to be) partly responsible, but they (to be) by no means the total explanation. The different business success of these companies in Europe (to depend) on the special characteristics of the respective consumer markets — ways of living, habits and values, in other words, cultural factors.

Diving Deeper

A. Finish the sentences according to the text.

1. Management can be defined as.... 2. All the managerial systems.... 3. Marketing management involves.... 4. To manage a company successfully, managers should.... 5. Strategic planning consists in.... 6. The concept of the Product Life Cycle is....

7. Since their conception products pass through the stages of....

8. By defining the place of the product in its life cycle, companies....

A supplier decided to improve the sales of his major product у.... 10. No amount of additional sales support can extend the owth of a product if.... B. In pairs, think of the questions students could ask an economics teacher about marketing management. Swap your questions with your neighbours. Answer their questions.

6. Speaking

Tell your group-mates what you think is important to know

about:

• management as a science;

• marketing management as a specific activity

• the concept of the Product Life Cycle

• wrong decision-making resulting from failure to consider the correct life cycle of the product.

7. Reading & Role-Playing

A. In the following extract, members of the Board of a company are discussing the company strategy. Read the dialogue and comment on the following:

1) the main objective of the company; 2) different ways suggested to achieve that objective; 3) the advantages and disadvantages of price reduction; 4) the reasons for and against price increases.

Hartley: Since our main objective is to gain market share, I believe we must first of all reduce our prices.

Smith: But if we reduce prices, that will cut out profits.

Hartley: That's right, but we can slowly increase production, which will eventually enable us to cut unit costs.

Brown: That's really a long-term prospect. Unit costs can only come down if we invest in new plant and machinery. I personally think we should go for higher profitability. If we upgrade the product, we can charge higher prices and get larger profits.

Hartley: Look, the market is already very competitive. If we increase prices, whatever the quality, the market will immediately respond and sales will drop rapidly. But if we reduce costs in manufacturing, that will put us in a strong position to adapt to the market.

В. Find words and expressions in the text with the following meanings:

1) (adverb) at the end of a process or period of time in which many things happen; 2) the amount of money a company has to pay in order to produce a single complete product; 3) the possibility that something will happen, especially something good; 4) to improve the quality of a service or product; 5) to change something to make it more suitable for a new use or situation.

С Translate the sentences paying special attention to the word "whatever".

1. We are going to buy this machine whatever price they ask for it. 2. Now you are free to do whatever you want. 3. We shall be grateful for whatever help you can give us. 4. Whatever project he works on is always successful. 5. Whatever happened between Julius and me is none of your business

D. Rewrite the sentences using "whatever".

1. If you are unable to find work, no matter what the reason is, our advisers will be there to help you. 2. You know that you have our full support, no matter what you decide. 3. The demand is not expected to be very great due to high prices and it doesn't matter what the quality of the goods is. 4. He spent all the money he had. 5. No matter what reasons he can give, we must insist on the work being finalized as soon as possible. 6. You'll have to take all kinds of measures you think will help to support the sales. 7. No matter what I suggest, he always disagrees. 8. We'll be ready at any time you get here. 9. The building must be saved and it isn't important what the cost is. 10. Any business, of any size, can benefit from a management training programme.

E. Role-Playing.

1) Role-play the dialogue between Mr. Hartley, Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith.

2) Make up a dialogue of your own. Suppose you suggest keeping the prices at the present level and at the same time starting work on a new product of higher quality. Your partners can be of a different opinion.

8. Reading

Read the article about financial management. Six sentences have been removed from the text. Choose from the sentences A — G the one which best fits each gap (I — 6). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

A The plan includes timing and amount of funds and the inflow

and outflow of money. В The solution is to reduce outflows. С One of them is short-term financing. D He reviews them and determines the funding they require. E There are five basic financial goals: profitability, stability,

liquidity, efficiency and responsibility. F Usually businesses have their own financial managers who work

with the banks. G A company used to establish relations with a local bank.

Financial Management

In the past, financial management was not a major concern for a business. (1)... The bank handled the financing and the company took care of producing and selling.

Today only a few firms operate in this way. (2)... They negotiate terms of financial transactions, compare rates among competing financial institutions. Financial management begins with the creation of a financial plan. (3)...

The financial manager develops and controls the financial plan. He also forecasts the economic conditions, the company's revenues, expenses and profits.

The financial manager's job starts and ends with the company's objectives. (4)...The financial manager compares the expenses involved to the revenues. It helps him to predict cash flow. The available cash consists of beginning cash plus customer payments and funds from financing.

The financial manager plans a strategy to make the ending cash positive. If cash outflow exceeds cash inflow, the company will run out of cash. (5)... The financial manager can trim expenses or ask the customer to pay faster.

The financial manager also chooses financial techniques. (6)... Another one is long-term financing.

 

9. Word Study

A. Give Russian equivalents to the following word combinations:

to establish relations; to handle the financing; to take care of producing and selling; to negotiate terms of financial transactions; the inflow and outflow of money; to forecast the economic conditions; to determine the funding; to predict cash flow; beginning cash; to make the ending cash positive; to run out of cash; to trim expenses; financial techniques

B. Match a word from A with a word from В to make phrases.

 

A	В
1) to handle	a) of money
2) to negotiate	b) positive
3) to forecast	c) the funding
4) to run out of	d) rates
5) to trim	e) the financing
6) to make the ending cash	f) terms of financial transactions
7) to establish	g) expenses
8) the inflow and outflow	h) the economic conditions,
9) to determine	i) cash
10) to compare	j) relations

С Find pairs of synonyms and antonyms in the text.

10. Grammar Focus

A. Study the following speech patterns.

Used to do sth is used for saying what was true or what happened regularly in the past, especially when you want to emphasize that this is not true or does not happen now. Be / get used to sth / doing sth is used for saying that you are familiar with something because you have often experienced it before, so it no longer seems difficult or strange.

We used to spend a lot of money on advertising but now we don't. Did a company use to establish relations with a local bank? We didn't use to define our long term objectives until recently.

I found it hard to get used to working late hours. 1 can't get used to a busy schedule of a manager. I expect we'll get used to the noise

but at the moment we find it very disturbing.

B. Put the verbs into the correct form. Translate the sentences.

1. We (not/use/earn) much but everything has changed after a successful advertising campaign.

2. It took me a long time to (get/use/make) decisions on my own.

3. I (not/get/use) to the new system yet.

4. There (use/be) a factory on this corner but it was knocked down.

5. It's completely different from what people (use).

6. I'm the boss. I'm not (use/be) told what to do.

7. They always (use/ring) me and say what they were doing.

8. I'm tired — I (use) to these late nights.

9. Where (use/live) before you moved here?

 

10. I (not/use/like) him, but now we're good friends.

11. It took weeks to (get/use/have) someone else around.

12. Customers (not/use/want) to shop from home but that's in the

past.

13. Deborah (use/work) on difficult assignments and she copes with

them excellently.

C. Маке up four sentences about yourself, saying what you used
to do in the past and what you are used to doing now.

D. Complete the sentences with prepositions where necessary.

1. Many companies are running out... money.

2. Towards the end of the 20th century, business management came to consist... six separate branches.

3. The company used to take care... the financing.

4. The life of the product ends... the decline in its sales.

5. The government was criticized for the way it handled... the

crisis.

6. The company is negotiating... a new contract with the union.

7. A computer can store a vast amount... information.

8. Analysts are forecasting... an increase in profits of up to 16%.

9. The results are then compared... the results of previous studies.

10. We need to trim... the budget by a further Ј5mln.

E. Find a conditional sentence in the article, state its type and translate it.

11. Diving Deeper

Give detailed answers to the following questions.

1. Why didn't financial management use to be a major concern for a business? 2. Who handles the financing nowadays? 3. What is a financial plan? 4. What is the financial manager guided by in his work? 5. How does the financial manager determine the funding? 6. What financial techniques are there?

12. Speaking

Tell your group-mates what you consider obligatory to know about:

• the history of financial management;

• the essence of financial management;

• the responsibilities of the financial manager.

13. Reading

A. What does it mean to be a manager? Is it difficult to be one?
Why (not)? Would you like to become a manager? Why (not)?

B. Read the text and answer the questions below.

1. What different terms are used for the word "manager"? What is the difference between them?

2. What does the job of a manager consist in?

3. What is the crucial part of management?

What Is a Manager?

A number of different terms are used for "manager" including "director", "administrator" and "president". The term "manager" is used more frequently in profit-making organisations, while the others are used more widely in government and non-profit organisations such as universities, hospitals and social work agencies.

What, then, is a manger? When used collectively the term "management" refers to those people who are responsible for making and carrying out decisions within a system. They directly supervise people in an organisation. A manager sets objectives and decides what has to be done to reach these objectives. He makes the objectives

effective by communicating them to people that are responsible for various jobs.

Almost everything a manager does involves decisions. In decision­making there is always some uncertainty and risk. Decision-making is the act of selecting a preferred course of action among alternatives. The act of decision-making enters into almost all of manager's activities. Managers must reach decisions about objectives and plans for their organisational units. They must decide how to direct, how to organise, and how to control.

Making and implementing decisions are crucial parts of manage­ment. Management attempts to improve the decision-making pro­cess. The success of business and non-profit organisations depends on their ability to make good decisions and to implement their decisions well.

C. Give English equivalents to the word combinations:
коммерческая организация; общественная (некоммерческая) ор­
ганизация; относиться к; быть ответственным за принятие и ис­
полнение решений; осуществлять непосредственное руководство
людьми; поставить цель; достичь цели; сообщить о целях другим;
процесс принятия решений; неопределенность и риск; предпочти­
тельный курс действий; принимать решение; приводить решение
в исполнение.

D. Write down a possible headline which best summarizes the
main idea of each paragraph.

E. Choose key words and phrases from each paragraph which
best express its meaning.

F. Summarize the text giving the most important information.

14. Discussion

A. What qualities should a manager possess? Below you will find a list of factors and personal attributes which may be important in reaching key management jobs. Choose six of them and say whether they are imperative, important or helpful. Justify your choice.

1) overseas managerial / work experience;

2) family support;

3) willingness to take risks;

4) the ability to change managerial style to suit the occasion;

5) leadership experience early in career;

6) wide experience in early career;

7) self-discipline;

8) administrative skills;

9) technical training;

 

10) drive and initiative;

11) ability to work with a wide range of people;

12) ability to negotiate and make deals.

B. Summarize your ideas and discuss them. On the basis of class
discussion choose three top factors essential for a good manager.

C. Do you think leaders are born or made? Do men make better
managers than women?

15. Management Structure

A. Read the text and draw a chart representing the management structure of organizations.

Management Structure

As a rule a private company has only one director. A public com­pany must have at least two directors. A corporation is headed by the board of directors elected by shareholders. The directors appoint one of them to the position of managing director who is responsible for day-to-day running of the company. Some companies also have assistant general managers. Many directors also have deputies. Big companies have many managers heading departments. They are responsible to the manager director. There can be the following department managers: chief manager, sales manager, marketing manager, industrial engineering manager, etc. Career opportunities in management are generally found in three areas: managing people, marketing management and financial management.

B. Using your chart speak about the management structure.

C. Compare your management structure charts in class and
choose the most accurate one.

16. Organization chart

A. Study the diagram below which represents the management of a Holiday Tour Company.