Poslovni engleski jezik II

Sandra Botunac, prof.

Literatura:

Tullis, Trappe: New insights into business, Longman, 2000

Company structures:

Company profile

What is a company?

An institution created to conduct business

A group of persons united for a common interest in business

It is an association formed for profitIt can consist of one or several

establishments (firms)

A company is also:

A business owned by a group of people called SHAREHOLDERS ( they own an interest in the corporation rather than specific property)

A business having its own legal identity separate from its owners (it is independant in front of law)

an organisation having a large number of employees (workers)

Holding company:

A company that owns shares of other companies and in this way dominates them

It has no other function but to own other corporations

It is concentrated on control not investment

Limited liability company (LLC):

A type of corporation owned by a limited number of shareholders in a small business (each member has one or more shares)

Here shareholders have no personal liability (legal responsability) if the company goes bankrupt

The members participate in the management of the company without risking personal liability

Investment company:

A corporation which invests in other companies

It, in fact, invests the funds ( the money, capital) of its shareholders

It does business with its shareholders’ capital

Parent company:

A company that owns a majority (51% or more) of another company’s shares

It can conduct its own business or have the only purpose of owning a smaller company

It owns or controls one or more subsidiaries (dependant establishments)

Isurance company:

A financial institution that sells insuranceits main task is to offer insurance policyIt is a form of risk management usually

against the potential financial lossThe client is obliged (by contract) to pay

monthly or annual rates in exchange for an insurance policy

Mortgage company:

A company that borrows money from a bank, lends it to consumers who want to buy homes, then sells the loans to investors

It issues (gives) loans on account of the real estate (house, apartment...) in possession of the client

Multinational company:

A company that does business in more than one country, usually by setting up branch offices

It is a large corporation with offices, factories and branches in different countries

It has a centralised HEAD OFFICE where they coordinate global management

Partnership is of great importance in companies:

It is a cooperation between people or groups who share responsability in doing business

They agree to share either profits or losses

The partners in partnership share equal risk in business

Public relations (PR) is also one of company’s functions:

It is the act of communicating what you are to the public

Any activities which promote favorable relationship between a company and its clients

Activities used to influence the press to print stories that promote a positive picture of a company

Research and development:

Creative work which increases the amount of knowledge and the use of this knowledge to create new applications

It is an important part of the innovation process

R&D develops new goods and services, new methods of production, new ways of managing organisations

Company structure:

There are three groups of people: the shareholders, the management and the workforce

At the top of the company hierarchy is the board of directors (represented by the chairperson or president)

The board chooses a managing director who has overall responsability for the running of the business

Senior managers come next and they head the variuos departments or functions

These functions are:

MarketingPublic RelationsInformation Technology (IT)Human Resources (Personnel)FinanceProductionResearch and Development

Company profiles:

The Philips storyColgate – Palmolive companyGuinnessVirgin

The Philips story

The foundations of this big eletronic company were laid (the company was established) in 1891.

In the beginning it concentrated on making lamps.

Later on, it established a research laboratory for innovations.

In the 1920s, Philips decided to protect its innovations with patents.

This was the beggining of the diversification (production of various, different products) of its product range (the kinds of products).

Some of its exciting products are the compact disc (in 1983) and Philishave electric shaver

The Philips company

The company’s headquarters are in Eindhoven It employs 250 000 people all over the world, it

has sales and services in 150 countries It employs many excellent scientists and

designers It is active in about 100 businesses (lighting,

monitors, shavers, kitchen appliances...)

The Philips people:

The company is managed by the Board of Management (responsible for general direction and long-term strategy)

The famous company creed is: Let’s make things better, (the company is committed to improving the quality of people’s work and life)

The Philips provided lighting for the Eiffel Tower, the London’s Tower Bridge and for the ancient pyramids of Giza

Colgate – Palmolive company:

It was founded by William Colgate in 1806 as a soap and candle business in New York.

At the beginning of the 20th century the company began to expand its business in Europe, Latin America and the Far East

It sells in more than 200 countries

The company has five main sectors of business:

Oral careBody careHousehold surface careFabric carePet nutrition and health care

However, the oral care is its most successful sector: Colgate-Palmolive is the world leader in toothpaste.

Colgate-Palmolive:

Has had a strong dental education programme in schools throughout the world

It has created a web site for dental professionals

Takes care of the environment: it uses recyclable bottles and packages

Guinness: an employee tells his story

When I first started working I was employed as a general worker

For three years I worked in the bottling plant as a machine operator

Then I was transfered to the engineering department where I worked with technically skilled personnel in maintaining plant and equipment

In both jobs I reported directly to a supervisor

The next position I held was the position of laboratory officer in the quality assurance laboratory

This job involved carrying out a wide range of analyses on all aspects of the brewing process

I was then promoted to the Industrial Relations Manager

In this role I report directly to the Personnel Manager of the company

Virgin:

Is a leading international company based in London

It was founded in 1970 by Richard Branson

The group has seven main divisions. Cinema, communication, financial services, hotels, investments, retail (selling small quantities of something) and travel

Its retail segment is led by Virgin Megastores (music and entertainment stores)

Virgin operates in 23 countriesIn 1999, the combined sales (taken all

together) of different Virgin holding companies exceeded (were bigger than) 3 billion pounds

Verbs and prepositions:

Some verbs are always followed by the same preposition:

The company concentrated on making lamps. This policy consists of laws and regulations...

Exercise1: Match the prepositions with the verbs below:

from, in, to, for, of, on

1. Benefit ___

2. Approve ___

3. Result ___

4. Believe ___

5. Refer ___

6. Succeed ___

7. Belong ___

8. Depend ___

9. Report ___ somebody___ something

Complete the sentences using verbs and prepositions form exercise 1:

1. In the purchasing department there is a manager, and five employees who ________ her.

2. In this company, we firmly _________ the value of creativity and innovation.

3. The development of computer technology has _________ enormous changes in the way that people work.

4. Whether or not we succeed in creating and selling new products ________ a number of factors.

5. Most of our staff ________ at least one of the company’s sports or leisure clubs.

6. The Personnel Manager thinks that we would all __________ further training in how to use the office software.

The present perfect tense:HAVE/HAS + past participle of a verb

We use the present perfect to talk about:

1. the present result of something that happened in the past

He has decided to look for a job.

I’m afraid I have forgotten your name.

2. For actions or situations which started in the past and continue in the present

How long have you worked here?

I haven’t seen him for several years.

We often use the present perfect with

just, ever, never, lately, so far, up to now

They have just signed an important contract.

Have you ever used this type of machine?We have had good results up to now.

The past simple tense:

We use the past simple to talk about actions and events which happened in a finished period of time in the past:

Did you go to the meeting yesterday?

She worked in Paris for five years before moving to Rome.

Exercise 2: Complete with the present perfect and the past simple

Procter & Gamble _________ (be) in the soap business since William Procter and James Gamble _________ ( form) their partnership in 1837.

In order to raise capital for expansion, the partners ________ (set up) a corporate structure in 1890.

It _______ (undergo) further restructuring in 1955.

John E. Pepper _________ (lead) the company since 1995, when he was elected the company’s chairman.

Ivory soap, which ________ (become) a common household name, _______ (come) onto the market in 1879.

The firm’s commitment to innovation in technology _________ (help) Tide to remain their single largest brand over the years.

Perhaps the product that _______ (have) the greatest impact is Pampers, the disposable nappy which they ______ (launch) in 1961.