Section II. Logistics and supply chain management

UNIT 10. Management and Logistics

 

Lead in: definitions of management

Vocabulary: key logistical management terms

Reading: SCM and logistical approach

Grammar: gerund and infinitive

Case study: decision making

Translation: key terms

Writing: cover letter and essay

Culture: humour rules

 

Lead in

Read the two definitions of management and discuss main differences between them. Which one do you think is the recent definition?

 

a) “Management is getting things done through other people.”

b) “Management is working with and through other people to accomplish the objectives of both the organization and its members.”

 

Read the following definitions of management. Make a list of all the different areas/activities/notions of management you can think of by completing the diagram below. In pairs or small groups, discuss the diagram.

1) “Management is about human beings. Its task is to make people capable of joint performance, to make their strengths effective and their weaknesses irrelevant” (Drucker Peter. The Essential Business. Collins, NY, 2005: 10).

2) “Management is the process of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling an organization’s functional, physical, human and information resources to its goals” (Ebert Ronald. Business Essentials. Pearson Education Inc., New Jersey, 2005: 144).

3) “Management is the running of an organization or part of it. Management has 3 main components: an organizational skill, an entrepreneurial sense, and an ability to get out of the followers” (Dictionary of Business and Management. Oxford University Press, NY, 2006: 65).

 

 

Give real-life examples of the use of 5 management functions. Which function is the most important for managers? Why?

 

Vocabulary

These are the terms for you to learn.

A. Make sentences with them.

B. Translate them.

container	distribution	warehousing	customs
contractor	inventory	supplier	quotations
courier	stock	dispatch	carrier
procurement	forwarding	maintenance	vehicle
purchasing	cargo	lading	liaise with partners
replacement	freight	vendor	shipping
replacement	storage	consignee	depot

2. Match terms 1- 10 with definitions a- j:

 

Procurement	a) maintaining inventory data on the quantity, location, and condition of supplies and equipment
Inventory management	b) set of activities involved in receiving and storing of goods and preparing them for reshipment
Stock control	c) act of conveyance of people or goods
Warehousing and storage	d) independent contractor or a commercial entrepreneur who, based on a transport contract, carries out the transport via rail, road, sea, air, etc.
Customs clearance	e) detailed, itemized list, report, or record of things in one's possession, especially a periodic survey of all goods and materials in stock
Supplier	f) involves the clearing of goods through customs barriers for importers and exporters
Freight forwarder	g) acquisition of goods, services or works from an outside external source
Haulier	h) subsector of industry that takes responsibility for storing the goods and keeping them secure
Warehousing	i) a person or company that organizes shipments for individuals or corporations to get goods from the manufacturer or producer to a market, customer or final point of distribution
Transportation	j) enterprise that contributes goods or services in a supply chain