Questions for review

1. Give your definition of an organization.

2. What are the components of the organization theory?

3. What role do power and authority play in building every organization?

4. What is the starting point for the design of an organization?

5. What is delegation and why is it necessary in today’s organization?

6. Which is more important: formal or informal structure?

7. Can you give any example of an ad hoc organization?

8. Do all organizations need structure? Give your reasons.

9. Explain how responsibility, authority, and accountability should be related to each other in the ideal organization.

10. List each organization you belong to. Do they have any impact on your life? List and discuss each impact.

11. What is a business entity?

12. What types of business organizations do you know?

13. What forms of business organizations do you know?

14. Differentiate between a sole proprietorship and a partnership.

15. Differentiate between a partnership and a corporation.

16. Differentiate between private and public company.

17. Who runs a company?

18. Who elects the Board of Directors?

19. What are the functions of the Board of Directors?

20. What is a limited liability?

21. What do the names of companies reflect? Give some examples.

22. What types of international business do you know?

23. Explain the concept of ‘learning organization’

24. Explain the concept of “systems thinking”

25. What is at the heart of P. Senge’s vision of ‘learning organization’?

26. What are the arguments for and against the ‘learning organization’?

27. How do people react to any changes taking place in an organization?

28. Those affected by changes usually tend to fall into three groups. What are they? Describe them.

29. In what way do high-trust and low-trust societies relate to economic prosperity?

LEXICAL MINIMUM

Key words

Organization business entity sole/single proprietor partnership corporation

Words and word combinations

1. accomplish, v 41. authority

2. task, n 42. delegation

3. output, n 43. power

4. staff, n 44. start-up company

5. primary, adj 45. parent company

6. secondary, adj 46. free enterprise

7. component, n 47. owner

8. pattern, n 48. to hold shares/ stakes

9. network, n 49. from a superior to a subordinate

10. measure, n, v 50. single proprietorship

11. de jure 51. to be responsible for

12. de facto 52. to elect the board of directors

13. stake, n 53. limited liability company

14. shareholder, n (Br) 54. to go bankrupt

15. stakeholder, n (Am) 55. to own the company

16. duty, n 56. to meet the needs

17. term, n 57. to act on smb’s behalf

18. temporary, adj 58. to divide by functions

19. permanent, adj 59. profit seeking organization

20. hierarchy, n 60. to meet the standards

21. (dis)connect, v 61. joint venture

22. participation, n 62. production facilities

23. expand, v 63. the general public

24. capacity, n 64. controlling interest

25. rejection, n 65. mixed venture

26. supporter, n 66. in the long / short term

27. ambivalent, adj 67. ad hoc organization

28. adapt to, v 68. weigh up the pros and cons

29. oppose to, v 69. public limited company

30. commitment, n 70. to be responsive to

31. alter, v 71. multinational company (MNC)

32. opponent, n 72. transnational company (TNC)

33. (un)predictability, n 73. revenues and expenditures

34. volatile, adj 74. to invest into

35. anticipate, v 75. hierarchical arrangement

36. flexible, adj 76. personal assets

37. complete, v, adj 77. to share in the ownership

38. input, n

39. regardless of, prep

40. pay for the stock

Examination topic

Business Organization

1. Introduction

2. What is an organization?

3. Structure of an organization

4. Types of business organizations

5. Forms of business organizations

6. International business

7. Becoming a learning organization

8. Conclusion

UNIT 3

CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive.

Warming-up

1. A common piece of advice to people travelling to another country is “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”. Agree or disagree with this advice.

2. How much do you change your behaviour if you visit another country? Why? Why not?

3. Can you think of some examples where cultural awareness is important in work/in everyday life?

4. To what extent do you think company culture is influenced by the country the company is based in? Is it possible to avoid such influence? If so, how?

TEXT 1

Read the text and be ready to answer the questions that follow.