Vocabulary notes

to challenge подвергать сомнению; оспаривать

(un)challengeable (не) вызывающий сомнение

machinist’s apprentice ученик механика

mechanical engineer инженер-механик

chief engineer главный инженер

interchangeable взаимозаменяемый

assembly line сборный конвейер

labor turnover текучесть рабочей силы

to assign назначать, устанавливать

wage зарплата

to reduce сокращать, понижать

to discontinue прекращать, прерывать

preeminence превосходство, преимущество

to compete соревноваться, конкурировать

competition конкуренция, соперничество

competitor соперник, конкурент

halt остановка, полустанок

EXERCISES

I. Read the text and translate it.

II. Correct the statements according to the text:

1. The Ford Motor Company was not large and leading in motor vehicles manufacture of 1920’s in the United States.

2. Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company in 1863.

3. In 1927 the Ford Company initiated production of the Model T.

4. The Ford Company was always the largest producer and seller of automobiles.

5. Model A was superior to its competitors and the Ford Company remained the first till nowadays.

III. Describe the most important facts of Henry Ford’s biography.

IV. Put up the items of the plan into logical order and make up a brief summary according to it.

1. Production of Model A, which, however didn’t help to occupy the leading position in car manufacturing industry.

2. The Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903.

3. Henry Ford is the founder of the Company.

4. The beginning of the Model T manufacturing and its importance for the company’s development.

General motors company

General Motors was founded by William C. Durant in 1908. General Motors was the major Ford’s competitor and was able to defeat Ford’s Company nit only due to the Ford’s mistakes but also because of Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., one of the greatest organizing geniuses in the American industry. After Durant bought Sloan’s business, which was pretty successful, Sloan came to work for General Motors too. Soon he was promoted to vice president and became president of the General Motors in 1923.

In 1920 General Motors began to experience big troubles with quality control and sales William Durant was forced out of his job and Pierre Samuel DuPont took his place. Sloan was in charge of operations at the time. He had to reorganize the whole company because management team was unorganized. Few different lines of cars were produced: Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac, Pontiac, La Salle, and more. None of them had production planning but they all competed among each other. Only Buick and Cadillac were known for quality. Company had no inventory control.

When Sloan familiarized himself with the mess in the company, he realized what the company could be if it was organized. He noticed few main advantages over Ford: General Motors had variety of cars when Ford only had Model T in production, also GM’s cars were in different price ranges. GM started making cars with 4, 6, and 8 cylinders.

He established inventory control, and discontinued any line of cars, which wasn’t popular with consumers. Also he formed a policy of annual model changes to attract customers. Also he set up advertisements and banquets to help him to sell cars.

In 1921 General Motors sold 457,000 cars and their profit was 61 million dollars. Next year 800,000 cars were sold and profit was 80 million dollars. President DuPont was so pleased that he retired and named Sloan the president of General Motors. In 1929 the profit of General Motors was 248 million dollars with 1,9 million cars sold. During the Great Depression sales dropped by a lot but General Motors still made a huge profit compared to all other companies because the company so organized under Sloan that it was able to adapt fast to any major market change.

When Alfred Sloan took charge of the General Motors, company was a mess and was on the edge of collapse. Alfred Sloan basically made General Motors the company that became first on the market and kept that position.