Виктория Мороз - English for Small Business Management

Данное учебное пособие предназначено для обучения студентов направления подготовки 080200.62 Менеджмент чтению специальной литературы как самостоятельно, так и в аудитории.

Цель данного учебного пособия – изучить ключевые темы в области управления предприятий, расширить как терминологический словарный запас, так и общеупотребительной лексики, развить умения извлекать необходимую информацию, анализировать и систематизировать ее.

Учебное пособие включает в себя пять разделов, состоящих из специальных текстов, упражнений на освоение и закрепление лексики, грамматических упражнений, глоссария, а также проектных заданий и заданий практической направленности.

В каждом разделе предлагаются специализированные тексты, предназначенные как для самостоятельной, так и для аудиторной работы с использованием технологии развития критического мышления, что позволяет сформировать у студентов навыки работы с текстом, в группе и самостоятельно, не только при изучении иностранного языка, но и других дисциплин.

Тексты в разделах сопровождаются упражнениями на развитие навыков работы со словарем, расширение словарного состава как общеупотребительной, так и профессиональной лексики. Каждый раздел завершается упражнениями практической направленности для закрепления пройденного материала.

1.1 Class work. The family business: a unique institution

1.1.1 Exercise 1. Draw a family tree arranging the following words in a proper order

Son, daughter, mother, father, sister, brother, grandparents, nephew, niece, cousin, aunt, uncle, wife, husband, spouse.

1.1.2 Exercise 2. Before you read, make a chart and put down everything you know about family business

1.1.3 Exercise 3. Divide the class into groups of four to read texts A, B, C, and D. Then share the information read with the group mates

1.1.3.1 Text A. What Is a Family Business?

Vocabulary Notes:

entrepreneurship – предпринимательство;

to strive for – прилагать усилия, стараться, стремиться;

to pursue – заниматься ч. – л., иметь профессию;

to distinguish – отличать, выделять, служить отличительным признаком;

to keep the books – вести бухгалтерские книги;

to some extent – в некоторой степени.

One of the routes to entrepreneurship is that of entering a family business. Many sons and daughters of business owners have the option of joining the firm founded by their parents or grandparents. Family leaders may, in fact, strive for continuation of a family business over several generations, thereby creating opportunities for children or other relatives to pursue entrepreneurship in that business. Young family members must then decide, often during their college years, whether to prepare for a career in the family business. This decision should be based on an understanding of the dynamics of such a business. A number of features distinguish the family firm from other types of small businesses. Its decision making, for example, involves a mixture of family and business values.

Family business– a company in which family members are directly involved in the ownership and/or functioning

A family businessis characterized by ownership or other involvement by two or more members of the same family in its life and functioning. The nature and extent of that involvement varies. In some firms, family members may work full-time or part-time. In a small restaurant, for example, one spouse may serve as host and manager, the other may keep the books, and the children may work in the kitchen or as servers.

Most family businesses are small. However, family considerations may continue to be important even when such businesses become large corporations. Companies such as WalMart Stores, Levi Strauss and Company, Ford Motor Company, and Marriott Corporation are still recognized, to some extent, as family businesses.

1.1.3.2 Text B. Family and Business Overlap

Vocabulary Notes:

to overlap – частично совпадать, перекрывать;

to nurture – выращивать, воспитывать, обучать;

in the short run – в ближайшем будущем, в ближайшее время;

tension – напряжение, напряженное состояние;

consistent – последовательный, стойкий;

to be concerned with – иметь отношение, касаться.

Any family business is composed of both a family and a business. Although these are separate institutions – each with its own members, goals, and values – they overlap in the family firm.

Families and businesses exist for fundamentally different reasons. The family's primary function relates to the care and nurture of family members, while the business is concerned with the production or distribution of goods and/or services. The family's goals are the fullest possible development of each member, regardless of limitations in ability, and the provision of equal opportunities and rewards for each member. The business's goals are profitability and survival. These goals may be either in harmony or in conflict, but it is obvious that they are not identical. In the short run, what's best for the family may or may not be what's best for the business.

In many cases, one decision may serve both sets of overlapping interests. However, the differing interests can also create tension and sometimes lead to conflict. Relationships among family members in a business are more sensitive than they are among unrelated employees. For example, a manager may become angry at an employee who consistently arrives late, but disciplining the employee is much more problematic if he or she is also a family member.

1.1.3.3 Text C. Decisions Affecting Both Business and Family

Vocabulary Notes:

concern – забота, дело, интерес;

to impact – ударять(ся), сталкиваться;

to opt – выбирать;

to complicate – усложнять;

to survive – выживать;

unduly – неправильно, чрезмерно.

The overlap of family concerns and business interests in the family firm complicates the management process. Many decisions impact both business and family. Consider, for example, a performance review session between a parent-boss and a child-subordinate. Even with non-family employees, performance reviews can be potential minefields. The existence of a family relationship adds emotional overtones that vastly complicate the review process.

Which comes first, the family or the business? In theory, at least, most people opt for the family. Few business owners would knowingly allow the business to destroy their family. In practice, however, the resolution of such tensions becomes difficult. For example, a parent, motivated by a sense of family responsibility, may become so absorbed in the business that he or she spends insufficient time with the children.

If the business is to survive, its interests cannot be unduly compromised to satisfy family wishes. To grow, family firms must recognize the need for professional management and the fact that family concerns must sometimes be secondary.

The health and survival of a family business require a proper balancing of business and family interests. Otherwise, results will be unsatisfactory to both.

1.1.3.4 Text D. Advantages of Family Involvement in the Business

Vocabulary Notes:

to derive – получать, извлекать;

through thick and thin – несмотря ни на какие препятствия, трудности;

commitment – обязательство;

reluctant – делающий ч. – л. с неохотой;

to hinge on – зависеть от;

to be at stake – быть поставленным на карту, находиться под угрозой.

Problems associated with family businesses can easily blind young people to the advantages that can be derived from participation of family members in the business. The many positive values associated with family involvement should be recognized and used in the family firm. A primary benefit comes from the strength of family relationships. Members of the family are drawn to the business because of family ties, and they tend to stick with the business through thick and thin. A downturn in business fortunes might cause non-family managers to seek greener pastures elsewhere. A son or daughter, however, is reluctant to leave. The family name, the family welfare, and, possibly, the family fortune are at stake. In addition, a person's reputation as a family member may hinge on whether he or she can continue the business that Mom or Grandfather built.

Family members may also sacrifice income to keep a business going. Rather than draw large salaries or high dividends, they permit such resources to remain in the business for current needs. Many families have gone without a new car or new furniture long enough to let the new business get started or to get through a period of financial stress.

Some family businesses use the family theme in advertising to distinguish themselves from their competitors. Such advertising campaigns attempt to convey the fact that family-owned firms have a strong commitment to the business, high ethical standards, and a personal commitment to serving their customers and the local community.

1.2 Class Work. The culture of a family business

1.2.1 Exercise 1. Look through the text and prove the following statements