Management demands much knowledge of economics and business. General functions of any managerial system at any managerial level are planning, organizing, directing and controlling. Managers are those people who are responsible for making and carrying out decisions within the system, they directly supervise people in an organization. A manager sets objectives and decides what has to be done to reach these objectives. He makes the objectives effective by communicating them to the people that are responsible for various jobs.
Some basic characteristics seem to apply to managers in all types of organizations. They include hard work on variety of activities, preference for active tasks, direct personal relationships. Managing is a hard job, for there is a lot to be done and relatively little time to do it.
A number of different terms are used for manager including director, administrator and president. The term manager is used more frequently in profit-making organizations, while the others are used more widely in government and non-profit organizations such as universities, hospitals and social work agencies.
When used collectively the term management refers to those people who are responsible for making and carrying out decisions within the system.
As a rule a private company has only one director. A public company must have at least two directors. A corporation is headed by board of directors elected by shareholders. The directors appoint one of them to the position of managing director who is responsible for day-to-day running of the company. Some companies also have assistant general managers. Many directors have also deputies. Big companies have many managers heading departments. They are responsible to the managing director. There can be following department managers: chief manager, sales manager, marketing manager, industrial engineering manager, etc. Career opportunities in management are generally found in three areas: managing people, marketing management and financial management.
IV. Answer the following questions to the text.
1. What are general functions of any managerial system at any managerial level?
2. What are managers responsible for? What do they do in a company?
3. What basic characteristics seem to apply to managers in all types of organizations?
4. What terms are used for manager in different types of organizations?
5. How many directors does a private company have? A public company? A corporation?
6. What other managers may a company have?
7. What are areas for career opportunities in management?
V. Look through the text and find English equivalents of the following words and word combinations:
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VI. Speak about types of managers, their functions and responsibilities.
