F. The organization is in trouble. Match the departments with their problems (1-8).

Distribution Department Personnel ~ Research ~ Finance ~ Public Relations ~ Production ~ Marketing ~ Information Technology ~

1) One of the robots on the assembly line has stopped working.

2) Cash flow is much worse than I thought.

3) There’s a national newspaper on the phone. They want to talk about water pollution near the factory.

4) There’s something wrong with the network: all the screens have gone blank.

5) We have ten lorries waiting outside the main warehouse and there’s nothing to put in them.

6) The unions have just asked for another 10%.

7) If we don’t start producing some more useful ideas soon, they’ll close down the laboratory.

8) The latest survey shows that the majority of 18-to 25/year-old women think our perfume smells terrible.

 

Listening: Company Structure

(Market Leader, New Edition, Intermediate Business English CB by D. Cotton, Unit 3)

 

Over to you

Setting up a successful business requires careful preparation and planning. There are a number of questions that all entrepreneurs must ask themselves concerning the products or services that they intend to sell, the competition that they will face, the structure of the business itself and the sources of finance that they will need to open their new venture. This means that all of these parameters must be defined in a business plan: a document that shows how the entrepreneur will organize his or her business, how much he or she expects to sell and where the capital will come from. Once this information has been put down on paper, the entrepreneur can then choose an appropriate form for the company, register it with the authorities and open a business.

A. Study the Business plan checklist.

Details of the business Name of business Type of business (limited company, partnership etc.)
Personal details Relevant work experience
Personnel Number of people /job function
Product / service Description
Market Describe your market. Who are your customers? Is your market growing, static or in decline? Who are the main competitors? What are the advantages of your product or service over the competition?
Marketing What sort of marketing or advertising do you intend to do?
Premises / machinery / vehicles Where do you intend to locate the business and why? What sort and size of premises will you need? What machinery / vehicles do you require?
Objectives What objectives do you have for the business