2414

a) the interests of the public? b) their own interests? c) the interests of the shareholders?

3. Are leaders born or made? Do men make better managers than women?

VII. Read the story about an American company. What can you say about its managers? What can be acceptable for general managers of other companies?

The Smucker Company began in 1897 Orrville, Ohio. It began as a maker of apple butter and cider from apple trees planted by Jonathan Chapman – the Johnney Appleseed of American Legend (Джонни – Яблочное Семечко, нацио-

нальный герой, основавший в начале XIX в. яблоневый питомник в штате Пенсильвания. Несколько десятилетий путешествовал по землям Пенсильвании, Огайо, Индианы и Иллинойса, повсюду высаживая яблони и призывая поселенцев разбивать фруктовые сады.). From these humble beginnings, Smucker’s has become one of the most effective organizations in the country. Smucker’s is the biggest maker of jams, jellies, and fruit preserves in the United States. With over 600 products and tremendous name recognition, Smucker’s has about 36 percent of the market. It is followed by Welch Foods, Inc., which has a 12 percent share, and by Kraft, Inc., with a 9 percent share.

Smucker’s financial effectiveness is apparent in many indicators. It is number 1 in market share. It has had steadily increasing sales revenues, earnings, and earnings per share. Smucker’s is also effective in its dealing with employees and stockholders. Smucker’s is still relatively small; it has only about 1.400 employees. The company is still largely managed by the Smucker family; the CEO (Chief Executive officer) is Paul Smucker, and the president, Richard Smucker, is the grandson of the founder, Jerome M. Smucker. The corporate climate is friendly and folksy. New stockholders get personal thank-you notes from the CEO.

Smucker’s has achieved his effectiveness through a variety of means. It stays close to employees, growers, and customers. Smucker’s managers know each employee by name. If necessary, the company will extend loans to its fruit growers. The company developed for its customers Goober Grape, a mixture of grape jelly and peanut butter in a jar, and it markets guava jelly in Hawaii. Smucker’s stresses high quality in all of its products; it exceeds label-mandated minimum amounts of real fruit in its products. Smucker’s has also taken step to protect itself from environmental uncertainty by irrigating its fruit crops – a move that paid off in the early disastrously dry year of 1988.

Smucker’s learns from its mistakes. The company once tried to enter the pickle market but failed and has since concentrated on expansion through its traditional product lines. Those expansions have included fruit ice-cream toppings, bulk fruit fillings for bakeries and yogurt makers, Goober peanut butter, and Knudsen juice, as well as the acquisition in 1988 of the British

43

gourmet preserve-maker Elsenham Quality Foods. Smucker’s will continue to strive to expand in the future, too. After all, its market share in 1988 was still smaller than that of Campbell’s in soups or Gerber’s in baby foods.

 Workbook Ex. 18, 19on page 112.

VIII. Read the conversation. What is the purpose of the call? Can you continue? The following phrases can be helpful:

Sorry to have bothered you…; I'm phoning you to…; I would like to…; what about…; I’ll think over…; it's all right with me…; see you at…

-Hello, “Magnolia”. What can I do for you?

-Hello. This is Mr. Parker, General Manager of “Cascade”. Could I speak to Mr. Smith?

-Oh, I’m sorry, he is out of the office now. Will you leave a message?

-That would be nice. I have an appointment to see Mr. Smith next Monday but I have to go away on business. Would it be possible to change it for Friday morning?

-I know for sure that Mr. Smith is going to hold a meeting that day and he will be busy from 9 till 11 am. But I’ll find out… Oh, just a minute. Hold the line please. Mr. Smith is coming. I’ll put you through.

-Thank you very much.

-Hello. Mr. Smith speaking.

-Hello, Mr. Smith, this is Mr. Parker…

IX. Look at your partner and imagine him being a general manager. Tell your fellow students everything you think of him.

X. Write down what a general manager must be able to do (do not look back at the text).

Text 8

I. Listen to a native speaker and try to memorize the pronunciation of the words. Try to imitate the pronunciation.

44

II. What do you associate with the word “market”? Read the information below and add something to your answer.

MARKETING MANAGEMENT

If a man runs after man, he’s money-mad; if he keeps it, he’s a capitalist; if he spends it, he’s a playboy; if he doesn’t get it, he’s never-do- well; if he doesn’t try to get it, he lacks ambition. If he gets it without working for it, he is a parasite; and if he accumulates it after a lifetime of hard work, people call him a fool who never got anything out of life.

There have been innumerable definitions of marketing management. Most contemporary definitions include the following notions:

1.Marketing management is purposeful – those in it are attempting to accomplish organizational objectives such as dollar profit, share of market, political candidate’s success, etc. The most common goal is profit, but it is not the goal in all situations.

2.Marketing management is designed to satisfy the needs and/or wants of constituencies; for managements to achieve organizational goals, some constituency must buy a product, service, or idea from the organization.

3.Marketing management involves trade-offs – an organization’s resources (dollars, skills, location, costs) impose limits on how well it can meet the requirements of its customers. No organization can be all things to all people. Thus, marketing mangers must decide upon a specific customer group to whom to cater and decide what, of the several alternative possibilities, it will offer to that group.

4.Marketing management is competitive – with rare exceptions, organizations must compete for the attention, initial patronage of their customers. Sometimes the competition is very direct and sometimes very indirect. Usually there is a spectrum of competitive offerings a manager must “better” to obtain and maintain customer’s patronage.

45

5. Marketing decision making can be improved via a combination of experience and academic discipline; while only a few would maintain marketing management is a science, most knowledgeable individuals would agree that there are some conventional wisdom and “fundamental concepts”.

The above five points are all essential to an understanding of what modern marketing management entails. Marketing does not equal selling, nor does it equal advertising. Marketing is an approach to improving the relationship between an organization and its existing (or sought-after) clientele.

 Workbook Ex. 20, 21on page 113.

III. Complete the crossword.

ACROSS:

1.The process of purchasing goods or services without paying cash immediately.

2.Certain services or items, which are purchased prior to the period during which its benefits are received.

3.The amount, which remains after all revenues have been added up and all expenses have been subtracted.

4.The «using up» of resources in order to earn revenue.

5.The organization and coordination of an enterprise.

6.The relationship between two quantities, expressed either as a percentage or as the multiple of one to the other.

7.The orderly liquidation of a firm caused by a default on, or non payment of, its obligations.

8.A distribution to the shareholders; may be either a cash payment or payment in more stock.

9.A sum paid for the use of borrowed capital, usually expressed in terms of a rate or percentage of the capital involved.

10.Consist of all the debts or claims owed by the company.

11.Originally the documents that give evidence of the ownership of investments like shares or bonds.

DOWN:

1.The eternal contest between business firms to see which can perform the best.

2.The circulating means of exchange in a country.

3.Represent all of the tangible and intangible goods or things of value owned by a company.

4.The extent to which the manufacturing firm is able to realize the desired production objectives with a minimum of cost, effort and waste.

5.The area within which buyers and sellers interact to effect economic exchanges.

6.The quickness and ease with which an asset may be converted into cash.

46

7.A certificate of long-term indebtedness issued by firms and governments.

8.All the wealth owned by a person or business.

9.The economic phenomenon of a general rise in prices.

1

11 8

47

IV. What do you know about advertising? Why and how do managers advertise their products? Read the text and fill in the prepositions from the list below.

The first step … modern advertising came with the development of printing in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 17th century weekly newspapers … London began to carry advertisements, and by the 18th century such advertising was flourishing.

The great expansion of business in the 19th century was accompanied … the growth of an advertising industry; it was that century, primarily in the United States, that saw the establishment of advertising agencies. The first agencies were, in essence, brokers for space in newspapers. But by the early 20th century agencies became involved … producing the advertising message itself, including copy and artwork, and by the 1920s agencies had come … being that could plan and execute complete advertising campaigns, from initial research to copy preparation to placement in various media.

There are eight principal media for advertising. Perhaps the most basic medium is the newspaper, which offers advertisers large circulations, a readership located close … the advertiser’s place of business, and the opportunity to alter their advertisements on a frequent and regular basis. Magazines, the other chief print medium, may be … general interest or they may be aimed … specific audiences (such as people interested … outdoor sports or computers or literature) and offer the manufacturers of products of particular interest to such people the chance to make contact … their most likely customers. Many national magazines publish regional editions, permitting a more selective targeting of advertisements.

In Western industrial nations the most pervasive media are television and radio. Although in some countries radio and television are state-run and accept no advertising, in others advertisers are able to buy short “spots” of time, usually a minute or less in duration. Advertising spots are broadcast between or … regular programs, at moments sometimes specified … the advertiser and sometimes left up to the broadcaster. For advertisers the most important facts about a given television or radio program are the size and composition of its audience. The size of the audience determines the amount of money the broadcaster can charge an advertiser, and the composition of the audience determines the advertiser’s choice as to when a certain message, directed at a certain segment of the public, should be run.

The other advertising media include direct mail, which can make a highly detailed and personalized appeal; outdoor billboards and posters; transit

48

advertising, which can reach the millions of users of mass-transit systems; and miscellaneous media, including dealer displays and promotional items such as matchbooks or calendars.

V. Answer the questions using the information from the text «Advertising».

1.Is product advertising an important part of marketing?

2.What media for advertising do you know?

3.Is it necessary for a good marketing manager to know everything about advertising? Why?

 Workbook Ex. 22, 23on page 113.

VI. You are going to listen to the text “How to Sell Food: A Question of Image” Read the following sentences and be ready to fill in not more than three words while listening.

VII. Listen to the text once again and circle the correct answer while listening.

1.What the food tastes like is more important than what it looks like.

2.Background music helps to sell food.

3.People won’t eat the food, if its colour looks wrong.

4.If a person drinks mineral water but he was told it is tap water, he won’t like

it.

5.Researchers found out that the same product in a can tasted worse than in a glass jar.

VIII. Give an anti-advertisement to a soft drink. Try to use all the rules you have heard about in the text.

49

IX. Read the conversation of two friends. What are they speaking about? Can you imagine their occupations? Act out the dialogue and think of its possible continuation.

-How are you getting on, Tom?

-Well, I haven’t really started work yet. I’ve been with Mr Grandy, our advertising manager. He was explaining the work to me.

-What do you think of Mr Grandy?

-He seems very kind. But looks very tired. What’s the matter with him?

-He has too much work. There aren’t enough advertising managers in the company. He has to make up advertisements, negotiate with our local newspaper, study product demand, and many other things. Poor old thing!

-But you work in the Marketing Department. Don’t you help him?

-I do help him sometimes. But I’m in charge of sales. I’m usually very busy.

X.Game: He who is the last to say a word concerning marketing management is a winner.

XI. Tell your fellow students everything you know about marketing management.

XII. Write down a letter of complaint expressing your dissatisfaction with the quality of an advertised sofa (fridge, vacuum cleaner). Use the following expressions for your choice.

I am writing to complain about…; I am writing to express my strong dissatisfaction with the quality…; I was shocked by the inferior quality of…; I insist that you replace the item at once…; furthermore, when I ordered…; I was told that if I was not satisfied, I could return…; I insist that you refund my money at once; I trust the matter will receive your immediate attention….; as advertised in the catalogue…; this is unacceptable…; although I have already sent back the items with a letter requesting that my money be returned…; I hope this matter will be resolved….

Text 9

I. Listen to a native speaker and try to memorize the pronunciation of the words. Try to imitate the pronunciation.

50

II. Read the text.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

There are five basic financial goals: profitability, stability, liquidity, efficiency, and growth. To survive, every business must meet each of these goals to some extent, though a business must determine for itself the relative emphasis to place on each of the five goals.

Profitability refers to the generation of revenues in excess of the expenses associated with obtaining it. This is the “bottom-line” test of how successful a firm’s operators have beenas shownat thebottomof the incomestatements.

Stability refers to a business’s overall financial structure. For example, a businessman may wish to invest as little of his own money as possible in his firm and finance his operation mainly with debt. If the debt-equity mix is too out of balance, the firm may go bankrupt should some of the creditors want their money back at an “inconvenient” time. Many of the spectacular financial disasters reported in the newspapers resulted fromneglectof thestabilitygoalofsound financial management.

Liquidity refers to a business’s ability to meet short-term obligations. For example, a manager may wish to invest as much of his firm’s cash in inventory and

51

equipment as possible, but if he overdoes it and cannot pay his employees or creditors on time, he can be forced into bankruptcy.

Efficiency refers to the efficient use of assets. Efficient use of assets has an impact on profitability, stability, liquidity, and the ability of the enterprise to grow.

Growth refers to increasing in size or acquiring more of something. A businesswoman may assess her financial performance by calculating, for example, how much sales or assets have increased this year over last year. While there are many widely held concerns about growth in general (for example, the zero population growth movement) business people and investors remain very interested in financial growth.

There are no clear-cut guidelines on how much or how little financial performance is adequate or on how to trade off performance on the financial goal in favour of another. For example, 10 percent sales growth may be terrible for a firm in one industry but excellent for a firm in another. Similarly, a high level of liquidity may be preferable to growth for a firm at one time and detrimental for the same firm at another.

Financial analysis and management is not just number pushing; judgment must be exercised as to what numbers to look at and how to interpret them. Often, a “qualitative factor, “something not expressed in numbers, is more important to the solution of a problem than all the numbers involved.

III. What notion is described?

-the quickness and ease with which an asset may be converted into cash;

-the quality of being firmly established, not likely to fail or change;

-the process of increasing;

-the ability to work well and without wasting time or resources.

IV. Complete the chain of about 40 words concerning financial activities.

Finance – capital – currency – money – cash – income – …

V. Do you know…

…what goals every business must meet to survive?

…what the “bottom-line” test of a firm’s success is?

…what is implied by sound financial management?

…what role financial growth plays in the life of a business?

…to what extent financial analysis is important for the solution of problems?

VI. Read some additional information about what financial managers do in different situations filling in the words from the box. What financial goals are achieved?

cash risks excess invest new borrow customers expensive

52