Lesson 4: Company Structure, Careers,

and Compensation
Company Structure
The top person in the company is the president. The president can also be
called the CEO. This stands for "Chief Executive Officer." Under the president
is the vice president. A large company may have multiple vice-presidents of
different areas – for example, Vice President of Sales, or Vice President of
Product Development.

Other top positions in a company often include the word “chief” – two
common ones are the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Operating
Officer (COO).

Another senior role in a company is that of a director. Directors are often in

charge of entire divisions/departments (sections of the organization) – for
example, Director of Marketing or Director of Human Resources.

Under the directors are several managers, who are responsible for managing
teams of employees. All of the people working for a company, as a group, are
called the staff.

Some job titles might include the word assistant or associate, for example,
Assistant Director of Finance. This means the person helps the main Director
of Finance. The words senior and junior can also be used to indicate who has
more power and experience – a senior engineer has more authority than a
junior engineer.

Companies can use an organizational chart (or org chart) to show a visual
representation of the company hierarchy (structure of power). We often use
the expression “report to” to describe a lower employee’s relationship to
their supervisor – for example, a Social Media Specialist reports to the
Website Manager, who reports to the Director of Publications.

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Some of the most common departments of a company include:

• sales/marketing
• communications/publications/public relations
• finance/accounts
• human resources
• operations/logistics
• information technology (IT)
• research and development (R&D)
• legal

When talking about a company’s history, we often say the company was
founded (established) on a certain date. For example, “Global Tech was
founded in 1983.” The person who originally created and set up the company
is called the founder. In the beginning, the founder is also the owner of the
company – but if he/she sells the company to someone else, then the new
person becomes the owner.

Companies can grow or expand – get bigger and increase their areas of
activity. Sometimes they acquire other companies (buy other companies).
When two companies combine to become a single company, that is called a
merger.

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A company’s headquarters (HQ) is its main location, where most of its
important functions are handled. The additional locations can be called
branches or simply offices.

Careers and Compensation

When you first start your career, you might get an entry-
level job, which is for people who have little to no work
experience. If you do your job well and there are
opportunities for advancement in the organization, then
you might be able to move up in the company by being
promoted to a higher level of responsibility and salary.
Informally, this can also be called “climbing the corporate
ladder.”

If you perform poorly, you might be demoted – put down to a lower level of
responsibility and salary. If you’re not happy in your current area of work, you
might be able to transfer to a different department within the same company.
When you change to a new job that is at about the same level as your old
position, that is called a lateral move.

One thing that can be helpful for your career is to seek out a mentor – that’s a
person in your general field of work who is older and more experienced than
you. A mentor can give you advice, teach you about the industry, and help you
make good decisions to advance your career.

Let’s learn a little about compensation – what you

receive in return for your work. Some jobs pay
minimum wage, which is the lowest salary allowed
by law. Some jobs pay hourly (so you would earn, for
example, $12 per hour) and others pay a salary
(which is fixed at a certain amount per year,
regardless of how many hours you work). If you
work in sales, you might have the opportunity to get
commissions – a percentage of every sale you make.

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Companies can offer other benefits in addition to paying their staff. Some of
the most common benefits are health/dental insurance (to help pay for your
medical expenses) and a retirement/pension plan (providing money for you
after you are older than 65 and stop working).

What about time off from work? Companies offer their employees vacation
time (time you can take off from work to travel or do other things, while still
receiving your salary) as well as a certain number of sick days per year (time
you can take off for medical reasons, while still receiving your salary).
Companies may also provide maternity leave (time off to have a baby).

Some companies offer additional perks (special “extra” benefits) such as:

• relocation assistance (the company will help pay for your moving
expenses if you have to move to a new place for the job)
• use of a company car
• daycare / child care (a place for employees’ small children to stay
during the day)
• tuition reimbursement (the company will pay you back for money you
spend on education and training)
• profit sharing and stock options (these are ways to motivate
employees by allowing them to get paid more if the company grows)

If a company has a good compensation program, it can attract and retain

(keep) top talent (very skilled/experienced workers).

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Quiz: Lesson 4
1) The ___________ Financial Officer has to approve the company budget.

A. Chief
B. Main
C. Vice

2) I don't see Jen very often because she works in a different ____________.

A. associate
B. director
C. division

3) He has a team of eight designers who ____________ to him.

A. relate
B. report
C. reply

4) Our company has expanded by ___________ smaller companies in our

industry.

A. acquiring
B. branching
C. expiring

5) Frank was never able to _____________ up in the company even after working
there for many years.

A. go
B. move
C. take

6) In addition to your salary, you'll get a 5% ___________ for every new client
you bring in.

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 A. benefit
B. commission
C. compensation

7) I'm going to use three days of ____________ time to go camping, and then save
the rest for Christmas.

A. maternity
B. retirement
C. vacation

8) If you have a cold, you should take a __________ day. Don't come in to work if
you're contagious.

A. leave
B. perk
C. sick

9) The company is willing to help with your ______________ from Chicago to New
York.

A. reimbursement
B. relocation
C. retention

10) We're very selective in our hiring process; we only want ________ talent.

A. best
B. most
C. top

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Quiz Answers: Lesson 4

1.C, 2.C, 3.B, 4.A, 5.B, 6.B, 7.C, 8.C, 9.B, 10.C

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