Making a Decision

In coming to a decision about this case, debate the following points:

· Tanaka’s measures are pointless. He is not accounting for the cultural aspects, nor is he using business tactics based on sound reasoning.

· Tanaka’s measures are efficient. Radically changing the structure of the company is the only solution.

What other factors should be discussed?

Your decision:

2.8 GRAMMAR BACK UP: The ing-Form & Past Participle

ANTICIPATION

Task 1

Familiarize yourself with the text and fill in the following chart with the italicized words from the text. Consult the Grammar notes below. Translate the text into Russian. Supply it with the suitable title.

The death of Ambrose Harper, one of the two men who founded the company Harper & Grant Ltd., causes a crisis in the firm. Harper & Grant is a private company. It was started originally by Hector Grant's father and the late Ambrose Harper together. A private company can be formed by two or more people. They sign a Memorandum of Association, stating the number of shares they agree to take, and their signature is followed by the signatures of anyone else, often members of the family, who will also take shares in the company. In a private company there cannot be more than fifty members, or shareholders. The authorised capital of Harper & Grant Ltd was originally 5,000, but the company has grown, and each 1 share is now worth about 100. Each share carries a vote at a shareholders' meeting.

Wentworths, a large and successful firm who manufacture mattresses for beds, own 10% of Harper & Grant shares. Mr. Wentworth senior was a personal friend of Ambrose Harper. His firm now has an opportunity of buying some of the shares formerly belonging to Harper. Hector Grant wants to stop Wentworth getting as many shares as he owns himself for fear of upsetting the voting power at shareholders' meetings. If Wentworth owned fifty-one per cent of the shares they would have a controlling interest, and would be in a very good position to take over Harper & Grant completely. This being done, it will become a fully owned subsidiary.

Hector Grant does not want Alfred Wentworth to own too many of the shares. Having raised a loan, he buys enough of the shares to outvote A. Wentworth. It is a personal loan. It is also a short-term loan. Obtaining a loan he does not only have to pay back the money he borrowed, he also has to pay interest on it: in this case nine per cent, this is the rate of interest. The bank manager asked for security. He wanted to hold the deeds of Grant's house. But a building society lent him money long ago to buy the property, and every year he repays a proportion of the loan to them, plus interest. By now, a lot of this loan has been paid back to the building society. Probably for this reason the bank agreed to a second mortgage. If Grant could not pay back the loan within the time limit his house would have to be sold and the first mortgage paid up. Then the remainder would go to the holder of the second mortgage, in this case, the bank. Very few banks will give an unsecured loan, one without any security or guarantee they will get their money back.

Hector Grant has been to hear the reading of Ambrose Harper's will. Having been informed about the distribution of Ambrose Harper’s shares, he summons his nephew Peter, the Production Manager, to talk things over.