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ensures that bad decisions are generally avoided (but good decisions also take a very long time to make).
6. This will be the source of the company’s ultimate downfall.
The slowness of IBM’s decision-making process (and the consequent lack of competitiveness of their products) will eventually destroy the company.
2c Vocabulary p18
Find word in the text that mean the same as the words or expressions below. 1. seemingly apparently 2. computer programs software 3. work, time and energy effort 4. computers (and other machines) hardware 5. young workers still learning their jobs trainees 6. knowledge and skill expertise 7. levels or strata layers 8. to make certain that something is true verify 9. corrected or slightly changed amended 10. collapse or failure downfall
3 The retail sector
You will hear part of an interview with Steve Moody, the manager of the Marks & Spencer store in Cambridge, England.
What do you know about Marks & Spencer?
M&S, as many people call them in Britain sell clothes, household goods and food. They have branches all over Britain, and are expanding into continental Europe.
3a Listening
listen to part One, in which Steve Moody describes the role and responsibilities of a store manager. Tapesript Part One
STEVE MOODY so, as the store manager in Cambridge, which is probably the fortieth largest of the 280 stores we have got, I am responsible for the day-to-day running of the store. All the product is delivered to me in predescribed quantities, and obviously I’m responsible for displaying that merchandise to its best advantage, obviously I’m responsible for employing the staff to actually sell that merchandise, and organizing the day-to-day logistics of the operation. Much more running stores is about the day-to-day operation. And ensuring that that’s safe, and obviously because of the two hundred people that we would normally have working here it’s ensuring that they are well trained, that they are well motivated, and that the environment they work in is a pleasant one, that they are treated with respect, and that they are committed to the company’s principles.
Which of the following tasks is he responsible for? 1. designing the store and its layout 2. displaying the merchandise 3. employing the sales staff 4. ensuring the safety of staff and customers 5. establishing the company’s principles
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6. getting commitment from the staff 7. increasing profits
8. maintaining a pleasant working environment 9. motivating staff 10. organizing the day-to-day logistics 11. pricing the merchandise 12. running 40 out of 280 stores 13. selecting the merchandise
14. supervising the day-to-day running of the store 15. training staff
3b Listening
Listen to Part Two, and answer these questions. Tapescript Part Two
INTERVIEWER How much freedom do those people have within their jobs to make decisions themselves? How much delegation is there of responsibility down the chain?
STEVE MOODY We would , as a business, like to encourage as much accountability and delegation as possible. Of course that does depend on the abilities of the individuals, the environment in which you’re working, and the time of year. With 282 stores we have a corporate appearance in the United Kingdom’s high streets. It is quite important that when customers come into Marks & Spencer’s Cambridge they get the same appearance and type of looking store and the same level of service that they would expect if they went into Marks & Spencer’s Edinburgh in Scotland, for example, and it’s very important that we have a corporate statement that customers understand. So, there are obviously parameters and disciplines that, you know, not only the staff but supervision and management would follow. Within that, in terms of development and training, training is obviously an investment for all staff. If staff are trained to do their job well and they understand it, they will feel confident in what they’re doing, that in turn will give a better service to the customers, obviously from Marks & Spencer’s point of view it could well lead to increased sales.
1. Why are Marks & Spencer’s store managers limited in giving accountability to their staff and delegating responsibilities?
Although marks & Spencer ‘would like to encourage as much accountability and delegation as possible’, they have a corporate appearance for all their stores, in all of which customers should get the same level of service. This limits the freedom of individual mangers to change the stores: there are ‘parameters and disciplines that not only the staff but supervision and management would follow’.
2. What do they concentrate on instead?
Instead, they concentrate on staff development and training.
3c listening
listen to Part Three, and answer the following questions. Tapescript Part Three
INTERVIEWER Do you have meetings for members of staff where they can express views about what’s going on in the store?
STEVE MOODY We have a series of meetings, management and supervisory
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every week we have something which Marks & Spencer’s call a focus group, which is members of staff who get together regularly from all areas of the store, so from the food section and perhaps the menswear section, from the office who do the stock and accounting, and indeed the warehouse where people receive goods. They have meetings, they discuss issues, they discuss problems that they feel are going on in the store. They also discuss suggestions of how they can improve that we run the store, and they discuss that amongst themselves first. They will then have a meeting with members of management and obviously myself, and we will discuss those issues and work together to try and provide solutions. However, Marks & Spencer’s philosophy, I suppose, is that meetings should not be substitute for day-to-day communication and therefore if problems do arise in terms of the operation, or an individual has got a problem in their working environment, or indde their immediate line manager, or indeed if they have a problem outside, which might be domestic, or with their family, we would like to discuss that as it arises and would like to encourage a policy that they will come and talk to their supervisor or their manager, to see what we can do to solve the problem.
Steve Moody mentions two kinds of regular meetings. The first is weekly meetings for management and supervisory staff. 1. What is the second kind of meeting called? A focus group.
2. Who attends them?
Members of staff from all areas of the store (e.g. the food section, the menswear section, the stock and accounting office, the warehouse, and so).
3. What are they designed to achieve?
Staff can discuss problems in the store, and make suggestions for improvements. After this, they will meet with members of management to discuss those issues and try to provide solutions.
4. What kind of problems cannot be dealt with by meetings?
Individuals’ problems with their work or their line manager, or even family problems
5. How are such problems dealt with?
Individuals are encouraged to discuss such problems with their supervisor or manager.
3d Discussion
After reading and hearing about management, do you think you have the right skills to be a manager? Would you be able, for example, to set objectives, motivate and coordinate the staff, and manage a department store, or a computer manufacturer?
Some learners may decide that they have the necessary abilities to become a manager or even a top manager; others may envisage more specialized careers in a particular function such as marketing, finance, computing, accounting, and so on, which will not involve managing and coordinating a large number of people and operations.
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New words in this unit 02
Allocate, banker, board of directors, chairman, competitive, customer, director, distributor, function, hardware, innovation, investor, logistics, manageable, management, manager, measure, meeting, merchandise, motivate, objective, organization, pay, performance, promotion, resources, software, staff, strategy, subordinate, supervise, supplier, tactics, team, top manager, trainee.
Unit 3 Company structure
One of the most important tasks for the management of any organization employing more than a few people is to determine its organizational structure, and to change this when and where necessary. This unit contains a text which outlines the most common organizational systems and exercise which focuses on the potential conflicts among the different departments of a manufacturing organization, an example of an organization chart, and a critical look at the flexible organizational structure of an American computer company.
1a Discussion
This discussion activity follows on naturally from activity 3d in the previous unit, about managing companies or having more limited responsibilities in a particular department.
1b Vocabulary
1. Autonomous: C independent, able to take decisions without consulting a higher authority 2. Decentralization: E dividing an organization into decision-making units that are not centrally controlled. 3. Function: B a specific activity in a company, e.g. production, marketing, finance 4. Hierarchy: A system of authority with different levels, one above the other. 5. Line authority: F the power to give instructions to people at the level below in the chain of command 6. Report to: G to be responsible to someone and to take instructions from him or her 7. Subordinates: D people working under someone else in a hierarchy
1c Reading
The text summarizes the most common ways in which companies and other organizations are structured, and mentions the people usually credited with inventing functional organization and decentralization. It mentions the more recent development of matrix management, and a well-known objection to it. How arte most organizations structured?
Most companies are too large to be organized as a single hierarchy. The hierarchy is usually divided up. In what way?
What are the obvious disadvantages of functional structure?
(Discuss briefly in pairs) give some examples of standard conflicts in companies between departments with different objectives
Are there any other ways of organizing companies that might solve these
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problems?
A. Functional structure B. Matrix structure C. Line structure D. Staff structure
British: personnel department = American: staff department or human resources department
1d Comprehension
The only adequate summary is the second. The first stresses the disadvantages of hierarchies much more strongly than the text, and disregards the criticisms of matrix management and decentralization. The third is simply misleading: matrix management and teams are designed to facilitate communication among functional departments rather than among autonomous divisions.
Second summary
Most business organizations have a hierarchy consisting of several levels and a clear line of command. There may also be staff positions that are not integrated into the hierarchy. The organization might also be divided into functional departments, such as production, finance, marketing, sales and personnel. Larger organizations are often further divided into autonomous divisions, each with its own functional sections. More recent organizational systems include matrix management and teams, both of which combine people from different functions and keep decision-making at lower levels.
1e discussion
The text mentions the often incompatible goals of the finance, marketing and production (or operations) department. Classify the following strategies according to which departments would probably favor them.
Production managers: 1.a factory working at full capacity 4.a standard product without optional features 11.machines that give the possibility of making various different products. (1, 4 and 11 would logically satisfy production managers, although 11 should also satisfy other departments.) Marketing managers: 2.a large advertising budget 3.a large sales force earning high commission 6.a strong market share for new products 7.generous credit facilities for customers 9.large inventories to make sure that products are available (2, 3, 6, 7, 9, would logically be the demands of marketing managers) Finance managers: 5.a strong cash balance 8.high profit margins 10.low research and development spending 12.self-financing (using retained earnings rather than borrowing) (5, 8, 10, and 12 would logically keep finance managers happy.)
1f Describing company structure
Now write a description of either the organization chart above, or a company you know, in about 100-150 words.
Here is a short description of the organization chart illustrated.
The Chief Executive Officer reports to the President and the Board of Directors. The company is divided into five major
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