Management

Management is the coordination and direction of the activities towards some particular goals. The word ‘management’ is quite an old one. Its origin lies in the Latin ‘manus’, meaning literally ‘by hand’, ‘power’, and ‘jurisdiction’¹.

All organizations, whether small or large, have to be managed. This means that there is a need for people with special abilities and skills. Managers should carry out the following: setting objectives, forecasting and planning, directing subordinates, coordinating and guiding various activities so that all parts of the business are working towards the same goal. There exist three levels of management: top level, middle level and lower level or first-line managers.

The top level consists of board of directors, managing directors and executive directors. The middle level consists of marketing manager, branch manager, finance manager, chief accountant, and personnel manager. The lower level consists of sales officers and finance officers.

Any organization is usually divided into a number of departments, each being responsible for a specific range of work, such as finance (accounting), personnel (human resources), marketing, research and development, production, and others. The amount of work involved in running a large business is usually too much for the senior managers to cope with entirely on their own. This means that responsibilities, authority and duties have to be passed ‘down the line’ to others – i.e. to middle management and first-line management. This is known as delegation².

The main responsibility of senior managers of any business is decision-making. Decision-making is a characteristic of management at all levels. The more important the matter is, the higher up the management ladder the decision is made. These decisions are connected with planning, organizing, leading and controlling.

Planning gives the organization its objectives and sets up the best way to reach them. It is necessary at all levels of management. An organization without proper plans is like a ship without a rudder. Managers have to decide what to produce, how it should be produced, and for whom. They should also estimate what resources will be needed, consider what problems are likely to arise, and decide how they can best be overcome.

To implement plans in a highly efficient manner, managers should organize the process of arranging work, authority and resources. A good leader inspires employees, boosts morale and encourages effective communication among employees. Excellent leadership can even increase the organization’s income.

Plans are pointless unless there is a periodic check – a control – on what is being achieved. Whereas planning is concerned with the future, control is concerned with the past.

Marketing

If production is to meet the needs efficiently, two things are necessary. These are: producers must know what to produce and consumers must know that it is being produced. Linking these two factors together is the task and responsilility of the marketing staff. Marketing involves keeping producers aware of the needs of consumers and ensuring that their products are made available to consumers in the way and form they want.

Implementation of marketing concept begins and ends with marketing information about customers — first to determine what customers need, and later to evaluate how well the firm is meeting those needs.

An essential part of marketing is marketing research. The object of it is to find out what consumers want and advise producers the standard of quality, style of packaging, choice of brand name and general design of the products.

The most famous marketing term is marketing mix. Its elements are the basic components of marketing plan. Also known as the Four P’s, the marketing mix elements are price, place, product and promotion.

Price includes both base prices and discounts of various kinds. Marketing managers should always be in close touch with market conditions so that they can advise on the best price to charge for products.

Place is also known as distribution. It is the mechanism through which goods and services are moved from manufacturer to the customer. Products can be distributed to consumers in different ways. Some are best distributed through the manufacturer’s own retail outlet, some through a network of wholesalers and retailers, others by direct mail-order. Distribution involves not only transportation and storage but also selection of intermediaries.

For many a product is simply the physical object that they may be buying or selling. But in marketing product is a very complicated component of the marketing mix. It includes decisions about product design, brand name, packing, warranties, and the like.

Promotion focuses on providing information to target markets. It includes advertising and publicity with all the tools available to the marketer for ‘marketing communication’. Advertising involves choice of media (for example, radio, television, press, and boarding). It also involves knowing the best form advertisement should take, and the advertising slogan to be used.

¹ jurisdiction – повноваження

² delegation – делегування, передача повноважень

Exercise 35 Answer the following questions.

1. What is management? 2. What is the origin of the word ‘management’? 3. What are the functions of managers? 4. How many levels of management do you know? 5. What are the main departments of any organization? 6. What is the delegation of authority? 7. Who is responsible for decision-making? 8. What are the main aspects that should be planned within a firm? 9. Which way can a good leadership influence an income? 10. What is the responsibility of marketing staff? 11. What does marketing include? 12. What is the object of marketing research? 13. Why is ‘marketing mix’ sometimes called the Four P’s? 14. Why should marketing managers monitor marketing conditions? 15. What are some methods to distribute the product to the customer? 16. What components does product in economics consist of? 17. What does promotion involve?

Exercise 36 Explain the following concepts:

top management, decision-making, long-term plans, promotion, marketing research, advertising.

Exercise 37 Are the statements true or false?

1. There exist four levels of management. 2. Executive directors represent the first-line management. 3. Senior managers usually cope with the work on their own. 4. The main responsibility of senior managers is decision-making. 5. Planning should only be taken at the top level management. 6. Leadership plays a very important role in the work of any organization. 7. Some firms can do without control as useless activity. 8. Marketing is part of management. 9. The whole organization is involved in achieving its main goals. 10. The term ‘marketing mix’ consists of price, promotion, consumer and place. 11. There is only one way to distribute the product.

Exercise 38 Translate the word combinations.

Направляти зусилля, що буквально означає, спеціальні можливості та навички, ставити ціль, прогнозувати результати, керувати підлеглими, поділятися на велику кількість відділів, відповідати за конкретну роботу, керувати великою фірмою, приймати важливі рішення, оцінювати необхідні ресурси, долати перешкоди найкращім шляхом, найбільш ефективно, обмінювати продукти, задовольняти потреби покупця, давати поради з приводу якості та дизайну, переправляти товари від виробника до замовника, пункти дрібної та оптової торгівлі, цільові ринки.

Exercise 39 The job titles in italics don’t match the responsibilities. Correct them.

1. The Managing Director is in charge of hiring new staff. 2. The Accountant deals with marketing one of the company’s products. 3. The Director of Human Resources manages the whole company. 4. The Brand Manager is in charge of preparing financial reports. 5. The Sales Manager is responsible for marketing research. 6. The Marketing Manager buys equipment the company will need.

Exercise 40 Opinions differ about what is the best way to manage and motivate employees. Which of the following statements do you agree with? Discuss your views with your partner.

1. Employees cannot be trusted and must therefore be closely supervised. 2. Staff should be allowed to organise their own work. 3. The best motivation is money and recognition for meeting targets.

Exercise 41 Read and translate the two texts.

1. You are an environmental manager for a chemical firm. All last year, the company was looking for ways of reducing costs because it was making a loss. It decided, therefore, to cut back on investment in technology.

As a result, the company did not spend money on buying some expensive new equipment. This reduces a special toxin in waste water. At present scientists don’t know exactly how poisonous this toxin is, and your waste is within legal limits. However, the polluted waste from the factory flows into a nearby lake and river. It seems to be affecting fish and wildlife, and a local scientist has warned that people should not eat fish caught in the river.

If you tell the press or the local authorities about the waste water, the firm will have to buy the expensive equipment. The company could go bankrupt and everyone, including yourself, would lose their jobs.

2. You are Chief Executive of a car manufacturer. You visited an overseas supplier some time ago, and when you left, he gave you an expensive watch as a present. On returning, you were planning to tell your colleagues about the present, but forgot.

Last week, you were sitting in your office when another present from the same supplier arrived. It was a magnificent antique clock! At the time, you were considering three competing offers to supply radios for a new range of cars. Your generous supplier had made one of the offers. His firm’s radios were more expensive than those of another supplier, while the quality of the products was similar. You have never done business before with the supplier of the cheaper radios.

b) Match the texts with the following ethical problems.

1. You have information that could damage the company you work for. 2. A company that gave you an expensive present is trying to become a supplier for your company.

c) Are these statements true or false?

1. The company was acting illegally. 4. The expensive equipment could stop the company going bankrupt. 5. You did not tell your colleagues about the expensive watch. 6. You were given an expensive watch, an antique clock and some radios as gifts.

d) In groups of 2 or 3 students, discuss the questions.

1. What would you do in the situations described in the texts if you were: – the environmental manager? – the Chief Executive? 2. Is there a difference between a gift and a bribe?

Exercise 42 a) Read the interview with Jenny O’Sullivan, a human resources expert. She is talking about leadership and leadership training.

Interviewer: Do you think that some people are born leaders?

Jenny: Well, yes, there are natural salespeople – and in a similar way there are people who are natural leaders. However, I think people can also develop into leaders if they have a long-term goal they really believe in.

I: So in your view, do managers and leaders do the same thing?

J: No, I’d say the roles of managers and leaders are quite different. A manager’s work is to make things work well and achieve short-term goals. So management is more the ‘small picture’: you know, running their department and the motivation of the team leaders. Leaders, on the other hand, are ‘big picture’ people who think about the direction the organization is going and its long-term goals. However, don’t forget good managers, just like good leaders, may have leadership qualities.

I: So can you give me some examples of these qualities?

J: Well, let’s see, for example, you need to be able to read situations, understand what others are thinking, and have a clear idea of where the company is going… to have a clear business vision. You need to communicate your ideas – employees think that you care about them. Sometimes though, you have to take hard decisions.

I: And can leadership be learnt?

J: No, I don’t think you can learn it from books. It comes from experience and knowing your own strengths and weaknesses. I would say you can improve on weak areas though.

I: For instance?

J: Your knowledge about your field of work, say. Or your communication skills – you can train yourself to be a better communicator, listener, or presenter.

I: And what about copying from another leader?

J: Oh no! Never do that. Just be yourself.

b) Study the list of leadership qualities below. Which three do you think are the most important; are mentioned in the dialogue?

To have a clear business vision; to be able to communicate ideas; to have a good relationship with the employees; to be ready to make quick decisions; to be fair; to know how to do their employee’s jobs; to be able to take difficult decisions; to lead by personal example.

c) Answer the following questions on the interview.

1. Does Jenny think that leaders are ‘born’ or ‘made’? 2. According to Jenny, what are the key differences between managers and leaders? 3. What do ‘big picture’ people do? 4. Why do you think it is not worth copying other leaders? 5. How can leadership qualities be trained?

Exercise 43 a) Read three opinions about advertising.

First of all, an advert has to be attention-grabbing and powerful. You need a strong image that is eye-catching, a catchy slogan, a joke or something shocking. In advertising we talk about the AIDA formula. A is for attention. I is for interest. D is for desire. A is for action. An ad needs to do more than get our attention. It also has to be effective and persuasive. It must get us interested, make us want the product and motivate us to go out and buy it.

Michael Hamilton, advertising executive

Advertising has changed over the years. Adverts are no longer purely informative and focused on the product. Many of the adverts that we see today are short stories telling inspirational tales that are often witty, humorous and sophisticated. People do not want to remember that life can be dull. They want to see something original and creative. The adverts take away the ordinariness of everyday life and take us to somewhere exotic or romantic.

Miranda Hoyles, head of US advertising agency

Many people talk about advertisements that are exciting and intriguing. But for me, an instantly recognizable logo is really important. Good logos have been built up so they are recognizable. Part of what makes a good advert is a clear symbol that people immediately identify with the company. A good slogan also helps you make a connection. ‘The real thing’ makes you think of Coca-Cola immediately. It’s also important that your slogan does not become irritating.

Christie Peterson, illustrator

b) Are these statements true or false?

1. Michael Hamilton says that adverts must attract attention and be persuasive. 2. He also states that an advert should encourage us to buy the product it is advertising. 3. Miranda Hoyles states that adverts nowadays are different from years ago. 4. Hoyles also says people like adverts that reflect everyday life. 5. Christie Peterson focuses on slogans and logos. 6. She says that excitement is more important than the image of the company.

c) Work with a partner to discuss the following.

1. Which opinion do you agree with the most? 2. Which opinion mentions an advert for a soft drink? 3. Which opinion(s) might these ideas for adverts illustrate? a) a fast car chase with lots of action; b) an advert with a clever use of a few words; c) an advert set on a beautiful island.

d) Find adjectives in the first two texts which mean the following.

1. attracting your attention because it is easily remembered; 2. very noticeable; 3. amusing and enjoyable, easy to remember; 4. very bad, upsetting; 5. works well and produces the results you want; 6. able to make people do or believe something; 7. funny and clever; 8. not interesting or exciting; 9. imaginative, using completely new and different ideas; 10. unusual and exciting because it comes from a distant country.

Exercise 44 Match the words connected with advertising with their meanings.

sponsorship commercial (n) promote misleading slogan endorse logo

1. an advert on TV or radio; 2. financial support a company gives in order to get publicity for themselves; 3. a short phrase that is easy to remember; 4. to say publicly that you support or approve of something; 5. giving the wrong idea or impression; 6. special design / symbol that a company puts on all its products or adverts; 7. to try to sell a product, e.g. by special advertising.

Exercise 45 Read the dialogue and choose the correct answer.

A: OK, let’s brainstorm how we’re going to promote / endorse this product.

B: Well, we could get a famous celebrity like David Beckham to endorse it.

A: I think that would be much too expensive. Commercial / Sponsorship of a TV programme would also cost a lot. And a TV logo / commercial is out for the same reason. I’ve seen some great TV shots which are visually beautiful and really eye-catching / shocking, often set in romantic or dull / exotic locations. But I don’t think they’ve been very effective / witty as people can’t remember the product they’re advertising.

B: I agree, but we don’t want something catchy / dull and boring. How about advertising on the radio – would the budget run to that?

A: Yes, we could stretch to that.

B: And would you like something witty and eye-catching / catchy?

A: Maybe. I want something new and dull / original. But most importantly, it must be persuasive / misleading. It must get people to buy the product.

Exercise 46 a) Read the text and write down the different ways of advertising methods mentioned.

Supplementary text A