Three sectors of economy – definitions:

to change from one thing to another - to convert itself (pretvarati se; mijenjati se)

to satisfy people’s desires or requirements - to serve needs (služiti svrsi)

manual work - labour input (radna snaga)

to discover something by accident - to stumble on (nabasati na nešto)

to be uncertain, disbelieving - to be dubious (sumljičav; nepovjerljiv)

to assign resources for a particular purpose - to allocate (rasporediti; namjeniti)

Company structure – definitions:

independent, able to take decisions without consulting a higher authority – autonomous

dividing an organization into decision-making units that are not centrally controlled or
a way of dividing a company into separate departments depending on the tasks they carry out
- decentralization

a specific activity in a company (production, marketing, finance) - function

a system of authority with different levels, one above the other - hierarchy

the power to give instructions to people at the level below in the chain of command - line
authority (lanac zapovijedanja)

to be responsible to someone and to take instructions from him or her - report to (podnijeti
izvešće)

people working under someone else in a hierarchy; employees under someone else’s authority
or control - subordinates (podređeni)

an area with lots of industrial companies, around the edge of a city - industrial belt
(industrijska zona)

the products of economic activity - wealth (bogatstvo)

the amount of output produced (in a certain period, using a certain number of inputs) -
productivity

a company’s ways of working and thinking - corporate ethos or culture

working together and sharing ideas – collaboration (suradnja)

alone, placed in a position away from others - insulated or isolated (izoliran; izdvojen)

breaking something up into pieces – fragmentation (rasprskavanje)

matrix management or matrix structure – an organization system in which people have
responsibility to either a task or project and to their department

hierarchical or pyramidal or line structure – a system with one person or a group of people
at the top and other below at successive level; clear line or chain of command running down
he pyramid - a system in which decision-making passes from the top to the bottom of a
hierarchy

functional structure – including production, finance, marketing, sales and personnel or

resources departments, decisions are made with consulting the some department and functions
are separating.

staff position – assistant who is not integrated into the chain of command, its holder has no
line authority

Describing company structure – company organization chart:

Shareholders
Board of Directors (with a)
o Chairman or President
Managing Director (MD) or Chief Executive officer (CEO)
Executive Directors:
o Vice-President for Production
o Vice-President for Finance
o Vice-President for Human Resources
o Vice-President for Marketing
o Vice President for Research and Development
Department:
o Production, Finance, Human Resources, Marketing and Research &
Development
Units or Section
o Marketing – Sales, Sales promotion, Advertising
o Finance – Financial Management, Accounting
Verbs for describing structure are:
- consists of
- contains
- includes
- is composed of
- is made up of
- is divided into

Verbs for describing company organization are:

- to be in charge of
- to be responsible for
- to support or to be supported by
- to assist or to be assisted by
- to be accountable to
- to be responsible to some on
The role of government

a large number of – a host of

a medical doctor – a physician

expensive – costly

inexpensive – low-cost

done for us – on our behalf

non-serious illnesses – ailments

bad health - illness

someone who arranges funerals – a mortician

someone who fixes water pipes – a plumber

spent, used or consumed – disposed of

to use violence – to resort to force

to compel people to do something against their will – to coerce

obvious – evident

inconsistent with or contrary to – at adds with

remembered or not forgotten – be borne in mind

poor or unemployed people – the underclass

rich or wealthy people – affluent

successes – achievements

unwillingly, not eagerly – reluctantly

global or worldwide – planetary

Work and motivation

to inspire, to induce, to give a reason or incentive to someone to do something – motivate

a person employed by someone else, working for money – employee

relations between employers and employees, managers and workers, management and
unions – labour relations

having control of something as part of your job – responsibility

money paid per hour or day or week to manual workers – wages

a fixed regular payment made by employers, usually monthly, for professional

or office work – salary

advantages that come with a job, apart from wages or salary – benefits or perks

to be raised to a higher rank or better job – promotion

knowing that there is little risk of losing one’s job – job security

having particular abilities, acquired by training – skilled

Management and culture diversity

allocate resources

communicate people

develop strategies

make decisions

measure performance

motivate information

perform jobs

set objectives

supervise subordinates

seemingly – apparently

computer programs – software

work, time and energy – effort

computers and other machines – hardware

young workers still learning their jobs – trainees

knowledge and skill – technical expertise

levels or strata – layers

to make certain that something is true – verify

corrected or slightly changed – amended

collapse or failure – downfall

the use of reasoning rather than emotions or beliefs – rationality

understanding or knowing without consciously using reason – intuition

respect, prestige or importance given to someone – status

having a higher rank because one is older – seniority

to have hurt feelings because someone is being disrespectful – offended

money or something else given in recognition of good work – reward

additional money given for better work or increased productivity – bonus

a felling of shame and loss of dignity or self-esteem – humiliation

to give up a job or position – resign

according to accepted moral standards – ethically

Recruitment

person who applies for the job – applicant (natjecatelj; kandidat za posao)

making of a request, we made an application to court for an enquiry – application (zahtjev,

molba za posao)

form to be filled in when applying for job – application form (obrazac za molbu)

to reply to an advertisement – apply (podnijeti molbu, natjecati se)

candidate – or applicant

brief written account of one’s past history e.g. education, employment used when applying for
a job – Curriculum vitae or CV (GB) – resume (US) kratak životopis

business establishment which helps person or companies to find a job or candidates for job –
employment agencies (zavod za zapošljavanje)

meeting between employers and applicants for formal consultation or examination –

interview (razgovor, intervju za posao)

job description (opis posla)

many people read the job vacancies when looking for work in newspapers or on the internet –
job vacancies (potražnja za poslom, oglasi)

statement about a person’s character or abilities – references or testimonials US (preporuke)

selected to attend an interview – short listed (uži izbor)

work experience or professional experience (radna iskustva ili profesionalna iskustva)

education or qualification (obrazovanje ili kvalifikacije)

computer skills (kompjutorske vještine, znanja)

languages (poznavanje jezika)

hobbies or interests (hobiji ili dodatna zanimanja)

Labour relations

a general term for strikes, go-slows, work – to – rules and so on – industrial action

a deliberate reduction in the rate of production, as a protest – a go-slow (GB) or slowdown

(US)

a stoppage of work, as a protest against working conditions, low pays and so on – a strike

negotiations between unions and employers about their members’ wages an working
conditions – collective bargaining

to protest outside a factory or other workplace, and try to persuade workers and delivery
drivers not to enter – to picket

deliberately obeying every regulation in an organization, this severely disrupts normal

operation – working-to-role

- to go on strike,
- to join a union,
- to picket a worker,
- to reinstate a factory,
- to take industrial action

area of work – trade

employees – staff

function – role

wages – pay

collective bargaining – group negotiations

grievances – complaints

victimized – unfairly treated

sacked – dismissed

to go on strike – stop working

disregarded – ignored

adversary – enemy

uneconomic – unprofitable
people who work with their hands – manual workers

a union for workers with a particular type of job – trade unions

to ask someone’s opinion before making a decision – consult

an opponent or enemy – adversary

to expensive, wasteful, loss-making – uneconomic or unprofitable

unlimited and unfairly used power - becomes tyranny

ending or relaxing restrictive laws – deregulation

areas of economy run by the local or national government – public sector

hostile, almost aggressive, seeking conflicts – confrontational

a large corporation, made up of a group of companies – conglomerate

Efficiency and employment

installed electronic device like a system with extensive memory in some factory or exchanged
people with machines – computerization

dividing an organization into decision-making units that are not centrally controlled or
a way of dividing a company into separate departments depending on the tasks they carry out
- decentralization

deregulation

reorganize an industry - rationalization

world-wide - globalization

easily changed, adaptable - flexibility (flexible, brzo prilagodljiv)

quality of being – stability (stabilan, postojan)

being productive or increase efficiency and the rate at which goods are produced -
productivity

systematic application of knowledge to practical tasks in industry or study, mastery and

utilization of manufacturing and industrial methods - technology

development or process of growing – growth (razvoj, povećanje)

department or branch of public work, government employment; public benefit or advantages;

system or arrangement that supplies public needs - public services (javne službe, dobra)

being employed without any other helps or employment agency - self-employment

sum of money paid by citizens to the government for public purposes; according to income –
taxes (porezi)

trade not hindered by customs duties to restrict imports or protect home industries; hence -
free trade

job-sharing (podjela poslova)

give new structure or arrangement - restructuring

change in organization - structural change (promjene u strukturi, organizaciji)

condition of having well, health, comfortable working conditions - welfare (dobrobit,

socijalna skrb)

appoint – imenovati, odrediti, engage – unajmiti, angažirati, hire, take on = employ someone

fire, lay off, make redundant, sack = dismiss someone

the fear that you might lose your job – job insecurity (nesiguran posao)

the period of holding a job – tenure (mandate)

the extent to which a person has skills that employers want – employability

decreasing the number of permanent employees – downsizing

temporary jobs in companies arranged by employment agencies – agency employment

the central part of something e.g. company’s workforce – core (jezgra, srž)

language used to persuade people to believe something – received wisdom (prenositi

mudrosti)

generally held beliefs (that are probably false) - rhetoric (retorika, generalne fraze)
Business finance

profit not distributed to shareholders, but kept back for investment purposes – retained profit
(zadržana dobit)

a fixed interest security issued by a company in return for a loan of money; the certificate can
be sold and resold, if desired – debenture or loan stock (obveznice)

paying back – redemption (otplata)

a bank that specialises in hire-purchase loans – finance house

a form of borrowing where the good being purchased is the property of the lender up the final
payment, when it becomes the property of the borrower – hire purchase (kupnja na otplatu)

renting – leasing (zakup)

leasing agreement – ugovor o zakupu

the monetary value of the shareholdings in a firm at a particular moment in time – equity

equities – osnovne, temeljne dionice

government grant – vladina novčana pomoć

share – dionica

shareholder – dioničar

shareholding – dionički udio

Entrepreneurs and venture capital

person who start a business - entrepreneur (poduzetnik)

venture capital – ulaganje kapitala

the possibility of providing a new product or services to satisfy particular needs – market
opportunity (tržišne mogućnosti)

people with a lot of money at their disposal – capitalists

adjective describing investors who do not want to take risks with their money – risk averse

adjective describing companies whose shares are traded on the stock exchange – listed
(popis)

money paid to professional people for a job of work done – fee (honorar)

another word for company’s own capital – stock or shares – equity

the day-to-day expenses of operating a business – running costs

the attempt to increase or maximize sales, and get a large number of customers – market
penetration

directors who do not work full time for a company, but advise it about strategic issues –
non-executive directors

individual consumers, households, companies, organizations, etc. – economic agents

(posrednici)

to do what you prefer to do, at the lowest possible cost – to maximize utility (maksimalna
korisnost)

knowing or being conscious of something – expectations (očekivanja)

being quick to see, understand or act in new situations – alertness (pripravnosti, biti
spreman)

not knowing about something – ignorance (nepoznavanje, neupućenost)

seeing what will happen in future – foresight (moć predviđanja, dalekovidnost)

what people think or anticipate will happen in the future – awareness (svijest o čemu)
Products

services, activities, people places, ideas, organizations as well as physical objects (brand
name) offered for sale by retailers or anything what is capable of satisfying a need or want – a
products (proizvodi)

a sign or a symbol or design or the particular form of lettering of a trade mark – brand name
(zaštitni znak, žig)

a group of closely related products (consist of several products, distinguished by brand name)
which usually have the same function and are sold to the same customer groups through the
same outlets – a product line

a company’s items, brands and products together constitute – product mix

process of withdrawing products from the market when they are no longer profitable –
product elimination

lengthening a product line by moving either up-market or down-market (marketing items of

higher or lower quality) – line-stretching

adding further items in that part of a product range which a line already covers (might be done
in order to compete in competitors’ niches or simply to utilize excess production capacity) –
line–filling

the possibility of paying for a product over an extended period – credit facilities

a promise by a manufacturer or seller to repair or replace defective goods during a certain

period of time – warranty or guarantee

a surface in a store on which goods are displayed – shelf

consumers who buy various competing products rather than being loyal to a particular brand –
brand-switchers

the standard pattern of sales of a product over the period that it is marketed – product life
cycle

the extent to which an activity provides financial gain – profitability

possibilities of filling unsatisfied need in sector in which the company can produce goods or
services effectively – opportunities

the sales of a company expressed as a percentage of total sales in a given market – market
share

the se of beliefs that the public at large holds of an organization – image

a small, specialized, but profitable segment of a market – niche

a serving of food designed for one person – lunch packet
an alternative British word for what Americans call French fries – pomes

eye-catching, noticeable – forward, pushy

from which water has been removed – dry out

the components of which a food product is made – raw materials or boor or inputs

a small booth used for selling newspapers, cigarettes, ice cream and so on – kiosk or stand

the owners of a company – proprietors

a large amount of money – capital

uniformity, regularity, sameness (of a product sold worldwide) – universal or all-purpose

Production

any company that provides goods or services for another one – subcontractor

any of the pieces or parts that make up a product, machine, etc. – component

buying products or processed materials from other companies rather than manufacturing them
– outsourcing or contracting out

the maximum rate of output that can be achieved from a production process – capacity

the buildings, machines, equipment and other facilities used in the production process – plant

the geographical situation of a factory or other facility – location

the stock of any item or resources used in an organization (including raw materials, parts,
supplies, work in process and finished products – inventory

the time needed to perform an activity (i.e. to manufacture or deliver something) - lead time

Just-in-time production

In JIT, products are ‘pulled’ through the manufacturing process from the end, rather than
‘pushed’ through the beginning.

JIT originated in Japan manufacturing (1950)

JIT encourages production workers to exceed their production quotes.

Companies using the JIT system and outsourcing many of their components are highly
dependent on their subcontractors.

In a JIT system, a delivery of defective components can not be replaced from the reserve
inventory.

JIT depends on harmonious partnerships between a company and its suppliers.

Japanese production systems generally speed up the entire manufacturing process.

JIT not leads to economies of scale.

JIT production – manufacturing only when a customer places an order – does not
encourage innovation or the creation of demand.