COMPANIES

premises – помещение, производственные площади

to run a company – руководить компанией

to dominate -управлять, контролировать, доминировать

shareholders – акционеры

the day-to-day running of the firm – повседневное руководство фирмой

hierarchical– иерархический

multinationals – транснациональные компании / корпорации

business entity – экономическая / производственная единица

perform services for fee – предоставлять услуги за плату

merchandising companies – торговые компании

There may be occasions when you have to talk about the company you work for. This may be when you’re actually showing someone around the place of work or premises. Or you may need to explain to someone how your company or your department is organized, who is responsible for different aspects of the business and how the company is run.

Companies are very important part of a country’s economy. Businesses produce goods and services, and come in every shape and size. Although the vast majority of the world’s companies are small, in many countries the economy is dominated by large firms. Large businesses differ from small ones in a wide variety of ways. In many countries there are nationalized companies belonging to the state, as well as private companies. A private company might be a small firm with only one owner or with thousands of shareholders“owning” the firm.

In a very large firm the shareholders have very little to do with the day-to-day running of the firm.This is left to the management. Large companies may be organized into several large departments, sometimes even divisions. The organizational structure of some companies is very hierarchical with a board of directors at the top and the various departmental heads reporting to them.

Some firms may only produce one good or service. Others may produce many different products. As a company gets bigger it may expand geographically. Many large firms are multinationalswith manufacturing plants and trading locations in several different countries spread around the world.

A business organization is often referred to as a business entity. A business entity is any business organization that exists as an economic unit. Business entities can be grouped according to the type of business activity they perform.

• Service companies perform services for fee. This group includes companies such as an

accounting firms, law firms, repair shops, and many others.

• Merchandising companies purchase goods that are ready for sale and sell them to

customers. They include clothing stores, supermarkets, and so on.

• Manufacturing companies buy materials, convert them into products, and then sell the

products to the companies or to the final customer. Examples are auto manufacturers,

food processing plants, and so on.