Company Organization in Britain

The organizational structure of a British company is as follows: the Managing Director is responsible for running the whole company, and is accountable to the Board. He is assisted by four executive departments. These are: Human Resources (Personnel) department, Management Services department, Finance department, Research & Development department (R&D).

Human Resources Dpt. is responsible for personnel, training and management development.

Finance Dpt. takes care of corporate finance and accounting.

Management Services Dpt. is in charge of rationalization throughout the company.

R&D Dpt. is responsible for new product development. Under the Managing Director there are five Regional Managers; each of them is responsible for the day-to-day management of a territory (North, South-East, West and Central Regions). The five regions are supported by two sections - Marketing and Technical Services. In addition to the parent there are several subsidiaries. The subsidiaries report to the Export Sales department, which in turn is accountable to the Board.

Export and Sales Dpt. is responsible for selling the company`s product.

Technological Dpt. is responsible for the mode of production and elaborating new technologies.

Marketing Dpt. is in charge of marketing activities of the company.

Production Dpt. is responsible for all the aspects of production.

Promotion Dpt. is in charge of advertising activities.

Commercial Dpt. is responsible for trading activities of the company.

Board of Directors

Board of Directors performs three main functions: appoints the administration, considers general policy questions, makes corporate decisions and exercises control over the activities of the administration. It also sees to it that the enterprise (business) can yield profits that shareholders can get high income on their stocks, and it must also analyse its own activities.

Assembly of Shareholders

The highest managerial organ of a Stock Company is the Assembly of shareholders which elects the Board of Directors, and the latter elect their supreme governor.

Ex. 5. Read the dialogue and act it out.

Partnership

(Two friends, Martin and Barbara, are having lunch together in a restaurant)

Martin: Well, it`s been a long time, Barbara. What have you been doing?

Barbara: I`ve been pretty busy. You know, I went into business with my friend, Jean.

Martin: Oh, yes. How`s it going?

Barbara: Pretty well. We get along quite well and the shop is beginning to attract more customers.

Martin: Good. Are you two a partnership?

Barbara: Yes. I`m very pleased about it. We seem to have the right combination. Jean`s background is in accounting. She`s the one who`s good at keeping the books and ordering stock.

Martin: And you?

Barbara: Well, you know, I`ve always liked talking a lot. I guess I`m rather good with customers. I enjoy selling.

Martin: Sounds interesting. I guess it`s not too risky a business.

Barbara: We haven`t had any problems, although I suppose all business can be risky. Being partners, we`re both liable.

Martin: Did you both put the the same amount of money into the business? Or do you mind my asking?

Barbara: To tell you the truth we didn`t invest the same amount of capital. But we`ve combined our resources very well, I think. It seems to be a good deal for both of us.

Martin: It sounds like it. That is one advantage of a general partnership. One partner can invest less capital than the other-in fact, no money at all-but a partner can contribute important services or skills, sometimes just a name or reputation.

Barbara: Exactly.

Martin: What kind of arrangement do you have for distribution of profits and losses?

Barabara: They`re equally shared. We hope to be in business for a long time.

Martin: Good for you. You`ve really become very knowledgeable about business.

Barbara: Believe me, I`m still learning. The subject becomes quite technical.

Martin: But I`m glad to hear you`re doing so well. Next time you`ll take me to lunch.

Words

1. partnership - партнерство

2. to get along well - ладить

3. to be pleased - быть довольным чем-то

4. to keep the books - вести бухгалтерский учет

5. to enjoy doing smth - получать удовольствие

6. background – подготовка, образование

7. stock - ассортимент товаров

8. be liable - нести ответственность

9. advantage - преимущество

10. skills - умения

11. distribution - распределение

12. the are equally shared - они делятся поровну

13. Good for you! – Молодец! Молодцы!

Ex. 6. Read and translate the text. Answer the questions.