Business structure. Staff of the enterprise

What is the structure of a modern business? What positions are necessary at a developing enterprise? Every successful businessman knows it. But what do you know about it? Read the text.

Each company, firm, joint venture, stock-holding company, bank has its own structure and the staff which is necessary for the work. There are some general principles how to organize the work at the enterprise. Most businesses are organized as hierarchies, with a clear chain of command running down the pyramid. All the people in the organization know what decisions they are able to make, who their boss (or superior) is (to whom they report), and who their immediate subordinates are (to whom they can give instructions). The hierarchy might be internally divided into functional departments. A company offering a large number of products or services might also be subdivided into autonomous divisions, each with its own functional sections.

The Managing Director or the Chief Executive or President (in the US) is the head of the company who supervises and leads the company’s employees. The company is usually run by a Board of Directors – each Director is in charge of a department. The Chairman of the Board is in overall control and may not be the head of any one department.

Vice-President or Vice-Chairman is at the head of the company if the President or the Chairman is absent or ill.

Most companies employing a large workforce have separate specialist departments in charge of different functions. There are Finance, Sales, Marketing, Production, Research and Development (R&D), Personnel (Human Resources), Legal, Logistics Departments. These are the most common departments, but some companies have others as well.

Most departments have a Manager, who is in charge of its day-to-day running, and who reports to the Director. The Director is responsible for strategic planning and for making decisions.

Various personnel in each department report to the Manager. One example, present in almost all countries, is the Sales Representative, who reports to the Sales Manager.

Exercise 18 Now work in pairs. Ask each other:

1. how we usually call the head of the company; 2. what collective body runs a company; 3. what departments there are in almost every company; 4. who in charge of the department is; 5. who reports to the director; 6. what managers deal with; 7. what directors deal with; 8. who reports to the manager.

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