Post-listening

1. Consider the following points. Share your ideas with a partner or a small group. Be prepared to explain your answers to the class.

1. the advantages and disadvantages of the order under discussion for Harper & Grant Ltd.;

2. the requirements of the supplier as to the method of payment;

3. the special requirements of a buyer and the way the supplier managed to meet them;

4. measures taken in order to guard against a loss owing to currency fluctuations.

2. Recount the situation as if you were Hector Grant. Account for your choice of the terms of payment and delivery and the reason why you agreed to a lower price.

3. Suppose you are Mr. Mahawi, the government representative. You are making arrangements to order goods from Harper & Grant Ltd. Speak about the particulars of the quotation, the terms of payment and delivery.

4. Act out

   1. a conversation between Mr. Mahawi and John Martin. Discuss the quotation, terms of payment and delivery. Try to bargain.

   2. an imaginary talk between Mr. Mahawi and his Minister after the visit to Harper & Grant Ltd.

Unit 17

The New Board of Directors

Phrase list

Listen to the tape and practise the pronunciation of the following words and word combinations, quote the sentences in which they are used in the unit. Consult a dictionary and translate them into Russian.

to upset the balance of power

to postpone the possibility (of a takeover)

to be over-weighed with somebody / something

to be tempted away by somebody

budgetary control

to introduce monthly accounting by cost centres

to draw up quarterly accounts

to sound somebody out

to have everything one’s own way

to balance somebody’s power

to put something forward

the Rules of Association

the qualification holding

to put somebody in the picture

to offer somebody a directorship

to be a counter to somebody

to draft (suitable) minutes about proposals

to table recommendations (on budgetary control)

to give an outline of something

to do the accounts

to reduce personnel

PRE-LISTENING

Task I

Consider the introduction to the unit. Answer the following questions and be ready to give a story line. Use the word combinations in brackets.

1. What changes occurred in the structure of the capital of Harper & Grant Ltd. After Hector Grant postponed the possibility of a takeover?

(to buy two hundred and fifty more shares in the company; the remaining two hundred and fifty shares; the rather dynamic owner of a neighbouring mattress factory; to own a large proportion of the shares; be asked to join the Board)

2. In what way did the death of the Chairman, Ambrose Harper, upset the balance of power on the Board of Directors of Harper & Grant Ltd.?

(to become the next Chairman; the present members of the Board; Chairman and Managing Director; to be invited by the Board to become a director; to attend Board meetings; to leave somebody to act for somebody; the Company Secretary)

3. Why does Peter think it is high time John Martin was made a director?

(to have a very successful year; to increase sales by almost forty per cent in the two years; to join the firm; to be an added support for himself; to be overweighed with somebody; to have an up-to-date outlook on business; to be tempted away by somebody; to make it worth somebody’s while to stay)

4. What changes in financial control does William Buckhurst initiate?

(to discuss budgetary control; to attended a course on something; to introduce monthly accounting by cost centres; to have information about the company's trading position more accurately and more often than at present)

5. How does William Buckhurst explain the necessity of monthly accounts?

(to be the forward plan; to spend, to make and to sell during a specific period; a record of what has actually been bought, sold and spent; to be drawn up every three months in a financial year; to discover the profits and losses more often to keep a firmer control; modern management)

Task2

Give the English equivalents for the following word combinations:

подвергаться соблазну уйти в другую компанию	предложить кому-либо место директора
занести предложения в протокол	Правила членства в компании
краткое изложение чего-либо	нарушить равновесие сил
отвести угрозу захвата руко-водства компанией кем-либо	ввести кого-либо в состав действующих лиц
быть противовесом кому-либо	распросить («прощупать») кого-либо
сократить штаты	уравновесть чье-либо влияние
входной барьер – условия членства в акционерной компании	внести (положить на стол) предложения
контроль за выполнением бюджета	быть перегруженным чем-либо
проводить анализ состояния бухгалтерских счетов	ввести ежемесячную отчетность по учетно-калькуляционным подразделениям
делать все по-своему	составлять ежеквартальные отчеты

LISTENING

Exercise 1

You are going to hear a talk between Peter Wiles and John Martin. Before you listen to the conversation look at these statements, which you will mark T (True) or F (False) after you have listened to the tape.

1.	John Martin didn’t deny that Harper's death had caused a big change in the control of Harper & Grant Ltd.
2.	Hector Grant is a strong personality and Harper couldn't have everything his own way while he was Chairman; Peter wanted to balance H.G.’s power a bit by having John on the Board.
3.	John Martin was asked to join the Board now that he owned more shares.
4.	Peter Wiles had a chance to get John elected, because H.G. wanted to strengthen his position in case A.Wentworth tried to make things go his way.
5.	The Rules of Association drawn up by H.G. state that the qualification holding is only two shares.
6.	As a director Peter held only two shares while his mother nine hundred and ninety-eight.