1 Accounts Dept. n. department responsible for administering a company’s financial affairs
2 A.G.M. abbr. Annual General Meeting of a company’s shareholders
3 board of directors n. a group of people chosen to establish policy for and direct or control a company
4 chairman n. person who heads a Board of Directors; head of a company; chairperson
5 director n. a member of the board of directors
6 executive officer n. person who manages the affairs of a corporation – chief executive officer n.
7 headquarters n. a company’s principal or main office or centre of control
8 manager n. person responsible for day-to-day running of a dept.; executive officer
9 managing director n. senior director after the chairman responsible for day-to-day direction
10 Marketing Dept. n. dept. responsible for putting goods on market, inc. packaging, advertising etc
11 organisation chart n. a table or plan showing a company’s structure graphically
12 Personnel Dept. n. department responsible for recruitment and welfare of staff or employees
13 president n. the highest executive officer of a company; head of a company
14 Production Dept. n. department responsible for physical creation of product
15 Purchasing Dept. n. department responsible for finding and buying everything needed by a company
16 R & D Department n. department responsible for Research and Development of (new) products
17 reception n. the place where visitors and clients report on arrival at a company
18 Sales Department n. department responsible for finding customers and making sales
19 shareholder n. person who holds or owns shares in or a part of a company or corporation
20 vice president (VP) n. any of several executive officers, each responsible for a separate division

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Types of company

Here is a simplified list of the different types of legal structures for a business.

● Sole trader (BrE)/Sole proprietor (AmE). This is a one-person business. The person may describe themselves as ‘self-employed’ (eg the owner of a small shop), or as a ‘freelancer’ if they are a professional who works for different clients (eg a photographer).

● Partnership. A group of people who work together as equals (eg a firm of lawyers or architects). They share the risks and the profits.

● Private company. The shares of the company are privately owned, usually by a small number of people. These shareholders typically include the founder of the company, possibly some close family members, and perhaps a few business associates who provided money for the company.

● Public company (BrE)/Corporation (AmE). These are the large companies that are listed on stock exchanges like Germany’s DAX, France’s CAC or the UK’s FTSE. They are called public because anyone can buy their shares. Note: do not confuse a state-owned enterprise with a public company. 

Departments

The list of departments below is typical for many business – each one corresponds to a business function. Companies also have other departments related to their own particular business activity.
●Production
might also include Purchasing and Quality Assurance (QA)
.
●Operations
refers to all the internal processes of a company and might include, for example, Logistics
.
●Sales
might also include Business Development
.
●Customer Services
might include
Technical Support
.
●Marketing
might include Market Research
.
●Communications
refers to all promotional activities including a strong focus on Public Relations (PR)
.
●Finance
has many subdivisions, such as Financial Control, Treasury, Accounts and Payroll (= managing salary payments).
●Human Resources (HR).
●Information Technology (IT).
●Research and Development (R&D).
●Legal
In addition to departments, an international company may also have divisions organized according to geographical area or major product lines.

Individuals within the structure

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) runs the company.
The level below CEO is Chief … Officer, for example Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The CFO is part of the senior management team.The CFO reports to the CEO (= has the CEO as their boss).The CFO is in charge of (= responsible for) all the financial side of the business.
The next level down might be country level for a large international organization, or departmental level. A job title here might be Sales Director or Head of Sales or VP (= Vice President) Sales.The Sales Director for Sweden liaises closely with (= talks to in order to work better with) the Chief Marketing Officer at Head Office in the US.
Below this are people with job titles like Manager, Officer, Coordinator, etc. The words Assistant or Deputy may also occur at any level.
I’m the Business Development Officer for Sweden.
My line manager (= person directly above me/person who I report to) is the Sales Director. The Sales Director delegates (= gives) a lot of the work to me.
We say …senior people at a higher level and junior people at a lower level

Company culture

The structure of a company is often closely connected to its culture.
In a small company it’s easier to be dynamic and innovative, whereas in a large company things are often slow-moving and bureaucratic.
Similarly, if the company is hierarchical (many levels), then people at the bottom aren’t allowed to take initiatives without permission from their seniors; decision-making and communication are top-down.
If the structure is flat (few levels), then the flow of information can be more bottom-up.In all cases you hope that the company culture is honest, open and transparent (= not trying to keep things secret).

Exercise

1.1 Select the correct word:
1 My brother is a plumber. He’s autonomous / self-employed.
2 The people who own a private company might include the founder of the company, some family members, and perhaps a few business associates / companions.
3 In a public company anybody can buy the actions / shares.
4 A public company is listed / posted on a stock exchange.
5 Our railways were recently privatized. I think the service was better before, when they were a public company / state-owned enterprise.
6 The Purchasing Department is responsible for buying parts and raw materials / making the final product.
7 If you have a complaint, please contact Consumer Services / Customer Services.
8 All recruitment and selection is done by our Human Relations / Human Resources Department.
9 Innovation is the key to our success and we have recently expanded the Research and Design / Research and Development Department.
10 In the Legal Department we have three lawyers / advocates trained in commercial law.
11 It’s the CEO’s job to control / run the company.
12 Our Business Development Officer is responsible for / the responsible for finding new business opportunities.
13 I can’t take that decision. It will have to be referred to higher people / more senior people.
14 That decision will have to be taken at a higher level / a more superior level.
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 Marketing.
17 She is part of / makes part of a team of designers.
18 I am the Financial Controller, and I relate directly / report directly to the Finance Director.
1.2 Complete each sentence with a verb from the following: answers / arranges / checks / collects / deals / maintains
1.The Quality Assurance Section ____ that the products have no defects.
2 The Logistics Department ____ the transport of goods and materials.
3 Technical Support ____ specific questions from customers about how to use the product.
4 The Market Research Section ____ and analyzes information about the needs of consumers.
5 The Accounts Department ____ with invoices and payments.
6 The IT Department ____ the computer network.