Деловой иностранный язык. Ирина Машукова

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      Task 9. Reading 3

      Getting started

      ▪ Before reading the text, discuss in small groups why planning is significant for successful work of the companies, what types ofplanning you know and what main differences are between these types.

      ▪ Now read the text, title it and check if your ideas are right. Consult Vocabulary p. 140.

      Top management is often under heavy pressure so that immediate problems often absorb much of their efforts. Time to analyse complex data and project future trends is likely to be limited. To combat this problem a long-range planning department might be set up to act in an advisory capacity. The long-term planning team would be directly responsible to the managing director, but freed from routine duties. Such a department would be small and made up of top quality generalists, trained to see the wood as well as the trees.

      It is difficult to decide how far ahead to plan. An accurate long-term forecast is most advantageous to the firm, but the further ahead one looks, the less certain one can be of the outcomes. To overcome this problem a flexible approach needs to be adopted. Long-range plans for, say, three to five years might be mapped out, but there will have to be frequent reviews and re-appraisals so that the direction of the firm can be changed as and when the need arises.

      Firms may want to enter new industries, launch new products, enter new markets (perhaps overseas) or acquire new subsidiaries. Existing activities may be expanded, consolidated or cut back. Whatever the requirements, careful planning is called for. The production side of the business has to be geared to keep pace with changes in the market. At the same time stocks must be kept at just the right level. If the stock level is too high, capital is tied up unproductively. If the stock level is too low, an upsurge in demand will lead to potential customers being turned away, possibly permanently.

      There is also a difficult choice to be made between a policy of diversification and short term profit maximisation. The risk of failure can be reduced by choosing to produce a range of goods and services so that if revenue from any of them contracts it represents only a small part of the whole. A policy of diversification can be equated broadly to an insurance contract, and there is a price to be paid in both cases. In the case of insurance the price is in the form of a premium, and in the case of diversification it is the cost of choosing less profitable but more diversified activities. It is also possible, indeed likely, that the expertise of top management will fall short of encompassing all the diverse skills and detailed knowledge called for in such a wide range of undertakings.

      The managing director, like the conductor wielding a baton on his rostrum, has the often unenviable task of orchestrating the diverse activities into a purposeful concerto.

      Task 10. Writing 1

       Read the text thoroughly again and make a summary (100 words). Consult Writing References, see Appendix I p. 131.

      Task 11. Reading 4

       Error correction. You are the Personal Assistant to Richard Grieves, the Sales Manager at Fenton Floy Ltd. He has been asked for a brief report on sales for the last quarter by Robert Davidson, the Managing Director. The report was drafted and sent down to the typing pool but it has e-merged with a number of mistakes in it. Richard has asked you to go through it correcting any errors you find. 'There are at least ten obvious errors,' he says, 'and there may be more’.

      Sales for the last quarter of 2015 for the first time in six years we have fallen short of our quarterly sales target (by approximately 3 %) and while this was a disappointment to the whole of our team there are some simple explanations for the poor results. I understand you have already been given a detailed breakdown of the sales figures.

      Overseas Division

      The recent falls in the value of the US dollar have had an adverse effect on our sales in that part of the world. We find ourselves in an extremely competitive market, with a number of domestic companies already undercutting our prices. We have until now managed to retain our 10 % share of the market, but the further decline of the dollar has put new pressure on us.

      New Products Division

      This is the other area which has produced disappointing results. The explanation here is, as you will know that the Head of the Division recently suffered a heart attack and will not be returning to work. His replacement, Michael Graeme, had to be brought in from outside the company. While I am sure he will soon bring about a recovery, there has been a temporary downturn in sales in this division.

      Action being taken

      every member of my team has been made aware of the seriousness of the situation and I am glad to say that from the projections in front of me it looks as if our total sales are once again beginning to rise, please let me know if you require any further details.

      Richard Grieves

      Task 12. Reading 5

      Getting started

      ▪ What do you know about the concept of “decision-making”? Discuss it in small groups.

      ▪ Think about situations when you are to make a decision and choose between alternatives: what influences your choice.

      ▪ Now read the text and check your ideas. Consult Vocabulary p. 140– 141.

      When we talk about making decisions in business we tend to think of the major decisions which are made from time to time, such as the decision to go ahead with the Eurotunnel Project, or the decision to appoint a new chairman for the National Coal Board. The fact is that a multitude of decisions are being made in business every day. Certainly there are major decisions in process as the boards of directors and chief executives in large public companies decide to enter new markets, spend millions on new plant and machinery or advertising campaigns, and buy new buildings or make take-over bids against their most threatening competitors. Yet, for every one of these monumental decisions there area hundred thousand decisions made by more ordinary mortals.

      In fact, man is a decision-making animal. He is continuously making decisions every moment of his life. Many of us wake in the morning to the sound of an alarm clock. Here is our first decision of the day. Should we turn off the alarm and go back to sleep? Or should we turn off the alarm and get up? There is even a possible compromise. We can turn off the alarm and stay half awake for another few minutes.

      We come down to breakfast and face another decision. Do we have toast or cereals? One or two slices? And what about something to drink? Fruit juice or tea? Coffee? Black or white?

      Breakfast over we move on to the next bout of decision- making. What shall we wear today? The black shoes or the brown? Shall we take a raincoat or an umbrella? Shall we go by bus or tube? The decisions we are obliged to make are endless, and interestingly, all the decisions we make, to the extent that we are logical in our approach, are dealt with in precisely the same way.

      We are confronted with a problem. We then look for the alternative solutions to the problem, weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of each and select the one which gives us most pleasure and least pain. In business terms we are looking for the options which СКАЧАТЬ