1 Company types and structures

Types of company As well as departments, an international company

● Sole trader (BrE)/Sole proprietor (AmE). This is a one- Individuals within the structure
person business. The person may describe themselves
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) runs the company.
as ‘self-employed’ (eg the owner of a small shop), or
The level below CEO is Chief … Officer, for example
as a ‘freelancer’ if they are a professional who works
Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
for different clients (eg a photographer).
The CFO is part of the senior management team.
● Partnership. A group of people who work together
The CFO reports to the CEO (= has the CEO as their
as equals (eg a firm of lawyers or architects). They
boss).
share the risks and the profits.
The CFO is in charge of (= responsible for) all the financial
● Private company. The shares of the company are
side of the business.
privately owned, usually by a small number of
people. These shareholders typically include the The next level down might be country level for a large
founder of the company, possibly some close family international organization, or departmental level. A job
members, and perhaps a few business associates title here might be Sales Director or Head of Sales or
who provided money for the company. VP (= Vice President) Sales.
● Public company (BrE)/Corporation (AmE). These
The Sales Director for Sweden liaises closely with (= talks to
are the large companies that are listed on stock in order to work better with) the Chief Marketing Officer
exchanges like Germany’s DAX, France’s CAC at Head Office in the States.
or the UK’s FTSE. They are called public because Below this are people with job titles like Manager,
anyone can buy their shares. Note: do not confuse a Officer, Coordinator, etc. The words Assistant or Deputy
state-owned enterprise with a public company. may also occur at any level.
I’m the Business Development Officer for Sweden.
Departments My line manager (= person directly above me/person
The list of departments below is typical for many who I report to) is the Sales Director.
business – each one corresponds to a business function. The Sales Director delegates (= gives) a lot of the work to me.
Companies also have other departments related to their We say …
own particular business activity. senior people at a higher level
● Production might also include Purchasing and Quality junior people at a lower level
Assurance (QA).
● Operations refers to all the internal processes of a Company culture
company and might include, for example, Logistics. The structure of a company is often closely connected
● Sales might also include Business Development. to its culture. In a small company it’s easier to be
● Customer Services might include Technical Support. dynamic and innovative, whereas in a large company
● Marketing might include Market Research. things are often slow-moving and bureaucratic.
● Communications refers to all promotional activities Similarly, if the company is hierarchical (many levels),
including a strong focus on Public Relations (PR). then people at the bottom aren’t allowed to take
● Finance has many subdivisions, such as Financial initiatives without permission from their seniors;
Control, Treasury, Accounts and Payroll (= managing decision-making and communication are top-down.
salary payments). If the structure is flat (few levels), then the flow of
● Human Resources (HR). information can be more bottom-up.
● Information Technology (IT). In all cases you hope that the company culture is
● Research and Development (R&D). honest, open and transparent (= not trying to keep
● Legal. things secret).

1 Read the text for general understanding. 3 Highlight words you know passively, but don’t use
2 Read it again and underline the words you don’t know. actively. Choose some to write sentences of your own.
Check their meaning. 4 Check pronunciation at macmillandictionary.com

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1.1 Underline the correct word in italics. 1.3 Complete the text about operations with the
1 My brother is a plumber. He’s autonomous / words and phrases in the box.
self-employed.
back-office functions behind the scenes
2 The people who own a private company might include
day-to-day basis liaise closely makes a profit
the founder of the company, some family members,
meet their needs recruit step on anyone’s toes
and perhaps a few business associates / companions.
3 In a public company anybody can buy the
Everyone knows the functions of company departments
actions / shares.
such as Marketing and Finance. Marketing is about
4 A public company is listed / posted on a stock exchange.
promoting the company, and making sure that customers
5 Our railways were recently privatized. I think the
can find products that 1 . Finance is
service was better before, when they were a public
about controlling the resources of a company to make sure
company / state-owned enterprise.
that the business 2 .
6 The Purchasing Department is responsible for buying
But what about Operations? The department name is
parts and raw materials / making the final product.
less well-known, yet many large companies are run on
7 If you have a complaint, please contact Consumer
a3 by Operations Managers.
Services / Customer Services.
Operations is about the internal processes of a company.
8 All recruitment and selection is done by our Human
In a manufacturing company an Operations Manager will
Relations / Human Resources Department.
make sure the production process is running smoothly.
9 Innovation is the key to our success and we have
In a hotel they are responsible for bookings, front desk,
recently expanded the Research and Design / Research
maintenance, etc. In a bank they look after
and Development Department.
the administration of accounts and other
10 In the Legal Department we have three 4
.
lawyers / advocates trained in commercial law. Operations Managers have to 5
11 It’s the CEO’s job to control / run the company. with people from other departments. In the factory, it is
12 Our Business Development Officer is responsible for / the with Purchasing Managers who buy the raw materials. In
responsible for finding new business opportunities. the hotel, it is with Human Resources Managers who
13 I can’t take that decision. It will have to be referred to 6
new staff. In the bank it is with
higher people / more senior people. IT Managers who work 7 to keep
14 That decision will have to be taken at a higher level / a everything running. So the Operations Manager has to be
more superior level. careful not to 8 .
15 In the department there are six Sales Representatives
and their line director / line manager.
16 The Sales Department has to liaise / liaison closely with 1.4 Read what Pieter says about company culture at his
Marketing. previous company and his current company. The text
17 She is part of / makes part of a team of designers. has eight wrong words. Find them and correct them.
18 I am the Financial Controller, and I relate directly / report
directly to the Finance Director.
❛❛ In my last job I worked for a large telecommunications
company. It used to be the estate-owned monopoly, but
1.2 Complete each sentence with a verb from the box. they privatized it in the nineties. Unfortunately, the cultural
there hasn’t really changed. Decision-making is very slow-
answers arranges checks
moving and bureaucracy – everything has to be agreed
collects deals maintains
all the way up the chain before action can be taken.
checks I didn’t really like working there, and I moved to a
1 The Quality Assurance Section that
smaller competitor two years ago. It’s much better now –
the products have no defects.
I have more responsible because my boss trusts me and
2 The Logistics Department the
he relegates a lot of interesting projects to me. Everybody
transport of goods and materials. knows what is going on and can make a contribution –
3 Technical Support specific questions communication works well in both directions, both bottom-
from customers about how to use the product. down and top-up. It’s a dynamic, innovation company and
4 The Market Research Section and we’re growing fast. I hope to continue working here for
analyzes information about the needs of consumers.
5 The Accounts Department with
several more years.
❜❜
invoices and payments.
6 The IT Department the computer See page 146 for some discussion topics.
network.

Companies and sectors 7

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