Учебно-методическое пособие по обучению профессиональному общению. Коровина Н.А - 23 стр.

ety of functional areas. Essentially the matrix structure organises a              TASKS
business into project teams, led by project leaders, to carry out certain
                                                                                    I. Match these definitions with the four organisational struc-
objectives. Training is vitally important here in order to avoid conflict
                                                                             tures described in the text:
between the various members of the teams.
                                                                                    1. A cross-functional structure where people are organised into
       During the 1980s a wave of restructuring went through industry
                                                                             project teams.
around the globe. This process, known as delayering, saw a change in
                                                                                    2. A structure rather like the army, where each person has their
the traditional hierarchical structures with layers of middle manage-
                                                                             place in a fixed hierarchy.
ment being removed. This development was driven by new technology
                                                                                    3. A structure that enables a company to operate internationally,
and by the need to reduce costs. The overall result was organisations
                                                                             country by country.
that were less bureaucratic.
                                                                                    4. A structure organised around different products.
       The delayering process has run its course now. Among the trends
that currently influence how a company organises itself is the move
                                                                                   II. Match these nouns as they occur together in the text:
towards centralisation and outsourcing. Restructuring has evolved along
with a more 'customercentric' approach that can be seen to good effect in
                                                                                   A                                  B
the banks. They now categorise their customers and their complex bor-
                                                                                   product                            teams
rowing needs into groups instead of along rigid product lines.
                                                                                   target                             objectives
       Another development can be seen in larger companies, which
                                                                                   borrowing                          lines
are giving their employees more freedom-to innovate in order to main-
                                                                                   project                            units
tain a competitive edge.
                                                                                   delayerin                          company
       Ms Julia MacLauchlan, Director of Microsoft's European Product
                                                                                   country                            process
Development Centre in Dublin, said the leading software company had
                                                                                   business                           markets
a very flat organisational structure. ‘There would not be more than
                                                                                   software                           needs
around seven levels between the average software tester and Bill Gates,’
                                                                                   company                            managers
she said.
       Microsoft is a good example of a company that is structured
                                                                                    III. Use an appropriate phrase from Exercise II to complete
along product lines. In Ireland, where 1,000 employees work on local-
                                                                             the sentence:
isation of the software for all Microsoft's markets, the company is split
                                                                                    1. Banks need to be fully aware of their customers’ __ borrow-
up into seven business units. Each unit controls the localisation of their
                                                                             ing needs____.
specific products while working closely with the designers in Micro-
                                                                                    2. Silicon Valley is full of ___________ .
soft's Seattle Headquarters.
                                                                                    3. Many companies are now organised along ___________, in
       It works, said Ms Maclauchlan, because everyone who works in
                                                                             which each division is responsible for a group of products.
the unit is ‘incredibly empowered’.
                                                                                    4. A matrix organisation groups people into ___________ .
       ‘Without a huge bureaucratic infrastructure people can react a
                                                                                    5. Some companies are divided into different _____________,
lot more quickly to any challenges and work towards the company's
                                                                             often also called profit centers.
objectives.'
                                                                                    6. A multinational company will often have a number of
                                                 (From The Irish Times)
                                                                             _____________, in charge of activities in different parts of the world.

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