His hopes

Before he (начал работу) for Delta Motors last year, Bob Masters worked for several years at the Foley plant of Universal Motors. There he (отвечал) designing many of the features of the Bandit as well as other major Universal Motor models. Bob Masters is a most welcome addition to the (научно-исследовательский отдел) at Delta Motors. He is now working on the Supreme but he hopes (получить повышение) very soon.

B. Speak about the main duties of a Research Manager in a company. Use the text and your own knowledge.

Reading and Comprehension

Company Profile

Task I. Read the text 3M: An American Star in Europe and answer the following questions:

1. What is the company’s profile? What does the company produce?

2. How did the company get its name?

3. What are the activities of the company in Europe?

4. What do ETAMs do?

Company Profile

3M:

An american star in europe

3M has everything that is best in corporate America. To stay on the top the company must export its virtues to Europe.

3M was born early in the 20^th century as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing. The mining soon finished. Therefore, the company turned to trading in sandpaper. From the beginning, the company was forced to innovate or die.

Today 3M’s headquarters and many of its laboratories are in St. Paul, Minnesota. Most of its customers are other industrial concerns. Its 60,000 products range from medical-imaging equipment to Scotch tape to different systems for the car industry. With that unpromising background, how has the company been so successful?

Non-stop innovation

When asked to explain its own success, 3M begins with technological innovation.

3M is among the 25 companies with the most patents in the world – 11 of the 25 are Japanese, 10 are American and only 4 are European. The company spends some 6.5 % of its total sales on research and development, almost twice the American average. It adds $200 million a year to the research budget.

European action

3M sees its future as lying mostly outside the United States. About 30 % of the company’s worldwide sales and one-quarter of its employees are in Europe. That puts 3M among the 300 largest companies in Europe.

The company has had subsidiaries in the region for almost 40 years and now has 17 different companies on the continent and 14 major R&D centers. Since 1984, a number of European Management Action Teams (EMATs) have been set up under the direction of Joe Warren, 3M’s Brussels-based vice-president in charge of Europe.

Briefly, 3M worldwide is divided into four sectors: industrial and electronics (36 % of sales); information and imaging technologies (28 %); life sciences (22 %); and commercial and consumer (14 %). These four sectors are divided into 15 “strategic business centers” (SBCs) – for audio-visual products, etc. – and each center is responsible for three or four of the company’s 50 operating divisions. The operating divisions are run like small businesses and 3M staff say that each has its own culture.

Global strategy is formulated by the business centers in St. Paul. Each business center is headed by a group director. In addition, the European organization has a number of product managers plus managing directors in charge of each of the 17 European subsidiaries. These subsidiaries are run nationally, with a few exceptions–for example, the MD of the UK is also the MD of Ireland.

Each of the 40-plus EMATs corresponds to an operating division and has between 8 and 10 members drawn from different functions and different countries. Typically, they meet every four weeks. In theory they have collective responsibility for achieving the company’s European goals; in practice they spend much of their time discussing the launch of new products.

Although 3M has only 150 Americans working for the company outside the US, the language of the EMATs is English. Team members are being trained to learn English and to learn how to accommodate different cultures.

The future depends on how well the company has learned to adapt to change. One of the greatest changes in its markets is its operations in Europe, and much depends on the ability of the EMATs to come up with products that will meet the fast-shifting demands of 3M’s European customers.

(from “Eurobusiness”)

Task II. A. (Moodle) Read the text once again and fill in the table:

“Company Profile”

Company name
Company Headquarters
Company customers
Main company products
The Number of company products
The sum of money added to the company research budget every year
The number of company subsidiaries in Europe
The number of major company research and development centers in Europe
The number of strategic business centers
The percentage of total sales of the company’s industrial and electronics sector
The percentage of total sales which the company spends on R& D
The number of Americans working for the company outside the USA
The percentage of total sales of the company in Europe
The working language and the reasons for this
Company specific features (your view)

B. Speak about the company structure of 3M. Say if it is different from a traditional company structure or not. Explain your view.

You may speak about

• Strategic business centers

• Operating divisions

• Group directors

• Product managers

• Managing directors

• EMATs (8-10 members)

Task III. Match these words on the left with their definitions on the right:

1) to innovate	a) results obtained over a period of time
2) patent	b) amount of money used for a specific purpose
3) to increase	c) to make changes and introduce new ideas
4) performance	d) to go up, to rise
5) budget	e) a legal document which gives a person or company the exclusive right to make or sell an invention

Task IV. Agree or Disagree. Use the text and your own ideas to support your point of view.

1. 3M has worked in Europe for over 40 years.

2. Joe Warren has been responsible for European business since 1984.

3. The operating divisions are managed like small businesses and, according to employees, each division has its own culture.

4. The EMATs are responsible for reaching the company’s objectives.

5. The EMATs often discuss the introduction of new products onto the market.

6. In the future, the EMATs will have to think of products that will meet the fast-shifting demands of 3M’s European customers.

Task VI. Complete the passage about 3M using the words from the box and facts from the text.

Since the beginning of the 20^th century, 3M has known that it must continually ___1___ in order to survive. The company has been responsible for the ___2___ of 60,000 products, each of which is protected by a ___3___.

The successful ___4___ of 3M over the years is due to several factors. Firstly, the company spends a large part of its annual __5___ on the creation, improvement and testing of the products. The company also has a flexible structure, which allows employees to change jobs very often, from ___6__ to manufacturing or from manufacturing to marketing. The exchange of ideas and information is also a key aspect of 3M’s activities. Top technical people attend a yearly meeting at the __7___ in St Paul where many 3M laboratories show their latest products. The unusual feature of 3M’s structure is ETAMs that are responsible for reaching the company’s European objectives. All this helps the company do business worldwide successfully.

a) headquarters b) innovate c) selling d) manufacturing e) budget f) patent g) performance

Task VI. Find answers to the following questions in the text:

1. How has the company managed to become such a successful company?

2. What does “the EMAT” mean? What role do the EMATs play in 3M’s European organization?

3. What does 3M’s future in Europe depend on?

Task VII. Choose the best answer from three alternatives and explain your choice:

1. The company structure of 3M is

1. traditional;

2. product-oriented;

3. customer-oriented.

2. 3M worldwide is divided into four main:

1. divisions;

2. departments;

3. sectors.

3. The sectors are divided into strategic business centers

1. to manage operations effectively;

2. to make quick decisions;

3. to establish a common business culture.

4. ETAMs are formed

1. to control the company staff in Europe;

2. to direct the company strategy;

3. to realize the company’s European objectives.

5. The key elements in its organization are

1. people, money and activities;

2. people, activities and time;

3. people, structure and activities.

6. A major advantage of the company structure is the following:

1. the managers become knowledgeable in several areas;

2. the chain of command is clear;

3. morale is improved through participative decision making.

7. Regular meetings of ETAMs help

1. achieve the company’s goals;

2. quick launching new products;

3. formulate strategic planning of the company.

Task VIII. Make up a plan of the text and write key phrases on each item.

Task IX. Look at the text as a comprehension chart. Write down key phrases to speak on the chart.

3M

Its history

Its structure

Its customers

Its products

R&D

ETAMs

Its strategic business centers

Task X. Work in pairs:

Describe the structure of 3M.

• Use the schemes given above.

• Say if this company structure is traditional or not.

• State some peculiarities of this company structure.

• Explain the functions of product managers and ETAMs.