Company structure and business activities – Vocabulary and Phrases
department – a smaller part of a company dealing with specific tasks
The IT department is very small - there are only 3 people in it.
division – a major part of a company
The sales division has many small departments, including a customer service department.
a subsidiary – a company controlled by another company
This bank is a subsidiary of a big European bank.
be in charge of – to control
She is in charge of recruiting new employees.
to work for – to be employed by
I work for a big pharmaceutical company.
legal – dealing with law
The legal department employs 5 lawyers.
be part of – to belong to a bigger structure
Our department is a part of the bigger PR department.
purchasing – connected with buying things
The purchasing department decided to buy Nokia mobile phones for all the managers.
to report to – to have as a supervisor
I report to the PR manager, Margo Silvas. She is my manager.
to be responsible for – to have as a job or duty
In my work I am responsible for sending invoices to all our customers.
accounts – money paid or that needs to be paid for services
an accountant – a person whose profession is to check financial accounts
Our accountant made a mistake and I received less money for my work this months.
an invoice – a list of products or services together with the prices, a bill
I received an invoice for 3 barrels of oil, but I have never received the barrels. It must be a mistake.
research and development (R&D) – a department working on creating new products
He is an engineer and he works in the R&D department of a big car factory.
to set a budget – to decide how much money will be spent on different products and activities of a company
We need to set the budget for next year - we should spend less on salaries and more on training.
sales – a department dealing with selling products and services
He works in sales - he travels around the country and offers our products to different customers. He is a good salesrep.
sales representative (rep) – a person selling products of a company to other businesses
Public Relations (PR) – a department responsible for talking to media
The PR manager gave an official statement about the accident in the factory on the public TV.
CEO – the most important person in the company, Chief Executive Officer
president of the company – the highest position in the company
After 20 years with the company, Jeffers was chosen for the president.
board of directors – a group of top managers responsible for the most important decisions in the company
This decision was taken by the board of directors, so everybody has to accept it.
member of the board of directors – people who are a part of the board
All the members of the board voted for this years budget.
head of the department – the most important person in the department
Heads of all the departments meet once a week to talk about company policies and plans.
a supervisor – a person controlling the work of other people in the department or division
If you want to take a few days off, you need to ask your supervisor.
staff – all people employed in a company
All members of the staff have to wear white shirts and black trousers.
a meeting room – a room for meeting
I booked a meeting room so that we can talk about the programme of our teambuilding session.
a training room – a room for trainings
We have a special training room for our English classes.
to book a meeting room – to reserve a room
coffee machine – a machine that makes coffee
I hate coffee from the machine in the office. It tastes like water.
to found a company – to start a company
Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 by Henry Ford.
to launch a new product – to make a new product available to people
Jennifer Lopez launched a new perfume called Glow after Dark.
to offer services – to give people a chance to use services
Their company offers consulting services to other companies.
to expand – to grow
The firm decided to expand and started selling its products in different countries in Europe.
to increase turnover – to get more money for the products and services you offer
Next year we are hoping to increase our turnover by 3 percent.
to negotiate a deal – to discuss a contract trying to get the best price or conditions
We are negotiating a better deal with the software producer. We want lower prices for their products.