Task. Read the Case. Make sure you can answer the questions that follow. What disputable issues does it raise?

Sometimes it seems easy to dismiss the role of top executives in an organization; after all, they are not the ones who actually do the work—manufacturing the product, delivering it to customers. They are not necessarily the ones who come up with ideas for actual products. Why, then, are top managers important?

When the chief executive loses sight of the organization's vision and goals, the company suffers. Consider Liz Claiborne Inc.—the country's largest women's apparel maker—which for years enjoyed a lucrative relationship with its customers. Suddenly in 1993, earnings plummeted 40 percent. There were too many Liz Claiborne clothes on the market, under too many different Liz labels, and clothes and labels all looked alike.

Retailers claimed that top managers, chairman Jerome Chazen included, refused to see the problem. One former executive observes, "If the product didn't sell, it was always someone else's fault. The buyers didn't show it right, or it wasn't delivered the right way. They [top executives] didn't allow themselves to think that maybe they just weren’t listening to the consumer. Many critics pointed fingers at Chazen.

But because top managers are human beings just like their employees, they are neither all good nor all bad. Chazen responded to criticism by vowing to establish clear identities for the different Liz lines: career-oriented clothing for Collection; casual sport clothes for Liz Sport; and basics such as jeans and T-shirts for Liz Wear. He appointed Linda Larsen German, formerly head of the company's large-size line, as president of the sportswear division to carry out the new strategy. In regard to the organization's renewed commitment to the customer, Chazen re­marked, "It's up to us to make sure she sees the distinction and value in each brand."

Questions

1.What is you vision of the situation in the company?

2. With regard to the managerial functions, what is the difference between Jerome Chazen's role and Linda Larsen German's role at Liz Claiborne Inc.?

3.Do you think that how clearly a chief executive sees the overall mission of an organization has a direct impact on an organization's performance? Why or why not?

FINAL SESSION

1. Prepare a Round Table Discussion on the topic: Management and Managers in rapidly changing competitive environment.

2. Make Presentations connected with the material you studied in the Unit. Possible topics may be: theoretical and practical contribution of famous management writers, various schools of management now and then.

LESSON TWO

BUSINESS ORGANISATION

Text A: Business Structure Basics

Text B: Organisational Structure and Design

Grammar:

1. Non-finite forms of the verb: Infinitive, Gerund, Participle.

2. Modal verbs.

Phonetics:

1. Consonant Combinations;

2. Intonation (Parenthesis)

PHONETIC EXERCISES

Task 1. Practice the pronunciation of the following words. Pay attention to consonant clusters in word initial, medial and final positions.

proprietorship, partnership, simplest, structure, responsible, seized, reluctant, complexities, treatment, protection, preparation, drawback, double, earnings, dividends, taxed, strategy, trust, corporation, franchise, through, example, statute, stipulate, subject, brand, threaten, spread, crucial

Task 2. Transcribe the following words.

liability, consequences, variety, entity, separate (v;n), preferred, guide, hybrid, participatory, perpetual, circumstances, licence, hierarchical, technically, unencumbered, aligning, appropriate, autonomy, conglomerate, diversify, authority, rigid, empowering, autonomy

Task 3. Mind the stress and practise pronunciation.

Task 4. Read the sentences paying attention to the parenthesis. The “typical parenthesis has three prosodic characteristics: it is lower in pitch than the matrix sentence, it is set off by pause(s), and it has a rising terminal” complemented by diminishing loudness.

With a sole proprietorship, your business earnings are taxed only once, unlike other business structures.

Another big plus is that you will have complete control over your business--you make all the decisions.

Each general partner can act on behalf of the partnership, take out loans and make decisions that will affect and be binding on all the partners (if the partnership agreement permits).

A corporation is an independent legal entity, separate from its owners, and as such, it requires complying with more regulations and tax requirements.

In addition, unlike in a regular corporation, S corporation stock can only be owned by individuals, estates and certain types of trusts.

McDonald's, the franchisor, grants the right to sell McDonald's branded goods to someone wishing to set up their own business, the franchisee.

The franchisee, for all the training and support McDonald's offers, is running his or her own business.

It may also be affected by the factors outside of its control (external factors) such as the nature and spread of its customers.

Task 5. Prepare phonetic reading of any paragraph from the texts. Make sure you know the pronunciation of all the words. Use appropriate intonation.

WORD BUILDING EXERCISES

Task 1. Underline the suffixes and name the part of speech. What parts of speech these words are formed from? Give similar examples.

proprietorship, liability indebtedness, corporation, reluctant, simplest, partnership, obligation, complexity, compliance, subjective, distributor, strategic, compensation, attractive, passed, incorporation, accounting, tax-exempt, entrepreneurship, technically, franchisor, arrangement, standardized, branding, threaten, determined, unencumbered, external, hierarchical, structural, expectation, appropriate, functional, departmentation, conglomerator, implementation

Task 2. Form the antonyms. Use prefixes conveying negative meaning: un~, in~, im~, ir~, dis~, mis~, de~, non~, or the suffix ~less . Consult a dictionary.

encumber, limited, organize, liable, like, trust, responsible, appropriate, profit-making, expensive, position, possession, connect, necessary, determine, employment, use, reasonable, protected, attractive, cooperation, compliance, bound, part, productive, form, profit, centralize, regulate

Task 3. Comment on the structure of the following compounds. Give your own examples of compounds

paperwork, tax-exempt, stockholder, shareholder, downside, drawback, small-business, malpractice, counterpart, throughout, u-form organization, layout, outcome, upwards, vice-president, cutting-edge, decision-making, bookseller, front-line, fast-changing, wholesaler, sole trader, self-employed, double-taxation