ENGLISH FOR

MANAGERS
MASTER,ISSA ISSIFOU

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 Corporate Management

The board of directors (CA) meets every three months.

The board of directors is appointed by the general meeting of the

shareholders (actionnaires). Dividends are (dividendes)

distributed periodically (annually) among the shareholders.

The amounts of a dividend are on the net profit achieved by the

organisations.
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A copy of the annual report (rapport annual) is delivered to all
participants.

The balance sheet (bilan) is attached to the annual report.

Directors are asked to study the documents before hand.

At the meeting, the chairman of the board sits at the head of the
table. The president of the corporation (le président directeur
général de l’entreprise) sits by his side.

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The chairman conducts the meeting according to the agenda (ordre
du jour). The agenda is a list of terms (termes,points) to be
discussed during the meeting.

The agenda is made known ( rendu public) weeks before the

meeting. During the meeting, future strategies (strategies) are
discussed. The general policy (politique) is decided upon. New
ventures (nouvelles aventures) will be taken in consideration.

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Legal aspects of joint ventures (partenariat commmerciaux) will be
carefully studied. Before resolution (résolution) exprime is passed,
every manager may express his opinion (exprimer son opinion).

In most cases, the final decision is determined by majority (la

majorité).

The president can place a veto (opposer son veto) on most decisions.

Merger (fusion) agreement have to be evaluated on great detail. A

merger has to be agreed upon unanimously ( à l’unaminité).

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Risky projects may be cancelled (etre annulés) or postponed until a
more suitable time.

The general director is responsible for executing (exécution) the

decisions. Sometimes he may need to take on (assumer) additional
directors. These executive will be given special tasks( taches).

Some projects will be given to an independent

contractors( entrepreneur independent). These contractors may pass
the job on to a sub contractors (sous-traitant).
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 Department managers (directeurs de service) present their report.
Each department is allotted an annual budget (budget annuel).
Managers are expected to abide by the budget (se conformer).

• The managing directors (directeur general) is one of the directors

chosen to manage the company’s business. He is responsible for seing
to it that board decisions (decisions du conseil) are carried out. A good
manager has to make decisions to direct (coordination), to coordinate
(coordonner) and control.

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In a large and complex enterprise, these functions have to be
decentralized (decentalisées).

Managers should in fact delegate(déléguer) some of their anthority to

their assistants.

All the branch managers (directeurs de succursale) attend to meeting.

The research directors outlines the latest development (exposent les

derniers developpement). The production manager will consult others,
if technical problems occur.

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He will also prepare their training program ( le programme de
formation).

The financial manager will present the expenditure (depenses)

forecast. The chief account prepares the budget report (le compte
rendu budgetaire).

Assets and liabilities (les actifs et les passifs) repesente the two sides
of the monetary balance. At the end of the year, the accounts have to
be balanced (equilibré), the financial status of subsidiary companies
(filiales) is presented.
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Rehabilitation (rehabilitation) of a company is not always worthwhile.
Sometimes, it is better to dissolve (dissoudre) a company. Then, it can
liquidate its debts (liquider).

Our firm always discharges its obligations (obligations). All our

compananies have a limited liability( responsabilté limitées).

In a joint liability (responsabilité mixte) ,each partner is liable for the

partnership debts.

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The chief buyer (l’acheteur principal,directeur des achats) of a big firm
is a specially trained, highly qualified expert. He is in charge of the
purchasing department(service achats).

He makes all the acquisition (acquisition) from the supplies. Large

acquisition have to be approved (approuvés) by the board.

The marketing manager introduces new channel of distribution

(reseaux de distribution). Ideas fort sales promotion( promotion de
ventes) are presented. These ideas are intended to increase the sales
turnover (chiffre d’affaires de vente).
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 Summaries and Report
• The minutes (le procès verbal) are the summary of the meeting. The minutes
are the protocol of the proceedings (le protocole de la procedure). The are
kept to serve a brief(resumé) of the meeting. The managers subordinates
(subalterne) will then receive notice of the new decisions.

• The firm’s bulletin (le bulletin) publishes new directions and policies. It is
assumed that all the employees read the bulletin attentively (attentivement).

• Therefore it is taken for granted that they are up to date( au courant, mise à
jour) .Sometimes, we publishe and distribute a circular (une circulaire).

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• Correspondence within an entreprise is conducted by memos (notes de
service).

• A memo is a reminder(rappel) and it is kept short. A report (compte rendu)

on the other hand, may reach the size of a book. The report should have a
clear self explanatory (explicite) title.

• The report will present objective findings (constestation objective) and

personal opinions. It reaches conclusions (conclusions) that are based on
facts. Pratical recommadations (recommadations) are summurized at the
end. Sometimes, it is followed by appendices(appendices) and a
bibliography. 13
 Management
• We are looking into a new TQM (Total Quality Management)
‘’qualité totale’’.

• This program encourage workers to show initiatives ( initiative)

we hope that it will increase productivity (productivité).

• Incentives (primes) are offered to productive workers. They are

encouraged to think in terms of efficiency (efficience).

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 Import and Export
• This year a lot of emphasis (accent) is being placed on exporting. We will export
domestic (produits locaux) goods word wile.

• The chamber of commerce (la chamber de commerce) can help us in this matter. It
has information about international trade restrictions (restrictions commerciales).

• Parliament legislates ( makes laws), the government enforces( appliquer) them. We

have a worldwide distribution network (distribution).

• We represents (representons ) many local and international firms. The many import
restrictions in force protect local manufactures (fabricants locaux). The restrictions
are enforced by tariff protection (droits de douane).
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 Personel/Human resource management
• Candidates apply, for new openings after reading our classified advertised
(petite annonce classée).

• When a vacancy is advertised, candidates ( candidats) of either sex may

apply. The rule of equal opportunity ( chance égale) in employment law
establishes their right. The law forbids discrimination (discrimination) in
employment.

• Professionnel qualification should be the only consideration for hiring a new

worker. Vacancy (poste à pourvoir) can be specific. For example: ‘’English
speakers only’’ or ‘’ a secretary who can shorthand (stenographie). 16
All applicants have to fill out an application form( formulaire de
candidatures). They are also asked to provide their curriculum vitae. It is
often customary to annex to it recommandations from previous employers
(employeur précédants).

This is impossible if the applicant wishes to be discret (discret) about leaving

his present place of work. The personnal managers( chef du personnel)
hires and fixes the employees. He also decides whether to promote
(promouvoir) workers.

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For hiring professional workers the service of an employment agency

may often be used ( bureau de recrutement).

These agencies also supply part time workers (salaries à temps

partiel). For a big seasonal undertaking temporary workers( projet

intérimaires) are hired.

They are paid a basic wage ( salaire de base) and a bonus.

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A worker gets tenue (titularisation) only after being with the firm for
one to two years.

Workers at all levels receive fringe benefits (avantage en nature).

These benefits are agreed upon by common consent/agreement of

the company and the labour/trade unions (syndicats).

All our employees retire( prennent leur retraite) at the age of sixty.
They are then still covered by a health care plan (assurance maladie),
and they have a regular income from their retirement pension(pension
de retraite).
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 How to consult – comment consulter

•Banking and stock exchange

•Personal banking = operation bancaires du particulier.

I want to open a bank account (compte bancaire). Just a regular

checking account (compte courant/ current account).

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We need two identification documents (pieces d’identité). He is

my identity card and passport.

Please fill out this form (formulaire). Sign here please, this will be

your specimen (exemplaire) signature.

Would you like to open a saving accounts (compte epargne) as

well?
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 Economics and Finance -Economie et Finance

General Terms – Termes Généraux.

• Macro-economics studies economic phenomena (phénomènes économiques) at

the level of the national economy. Micro-economic (Micro économie), on the
other hand studies enterprises, or firms, and their connection with the national
economy.

• Two main economic systems coexist in contemporary society: Market economy,

and central plannned economy. Market economy (economie de marché) is a free
market, which is guided by supply and demand. It is also known as the free
enterprise system (libre entreprise).
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The market-oriented economic system is never static ,it has booms,
depressions (crises), revival and trade cycles- During a recession
(recéssion), production is reduced. This happens because private
consumption (cosommation privée) decreases.

Central planned economy (economie planifiée à un niveau central), on

the other hand, follows a plan determined by a central government
body.

Political economy studies the problems of production, circulation and

consumption of goods (consommation).
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Production (production;intervalle) is the amount of goods actually
manufactured in a given interval of time.

Productivity (productivité) is the average amount of goods produced by

one worker in a given period or unit of time.

GNP, gross national production,(PNB, produit intérieur brut) is the total

wealth earned or brought into existence by a country in a particular
year.

The GNP is usually larger when a country has an economic stability

(stabilité économique).
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Economic planning aims at balancing needs with resources
(ressources).

Productivity will be higher if a country has good means of production

(moyens de production).

These means of production depend on the country’s level of

insdustrialization (industrialisation).

A stable currency (monnaie stable) reflects a country’s political and

socio-economic stability.

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Exports create an inflow (afflux) of foreign currency, and imports on
the other hand lead to an outflow (sortie) of currency.

Import restrictions(restriction d’importation) are enforced to prevent

the outflow of currency with a sharp rise of imports, the deficit of the
trade balance increases considerably( la balance commercial grandit
considerablement).

The economic crisis is a state (crise economique) of low trade activity

which occurs cyclically after a period of boom and one of recession.

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 Terms=Termes
Supply and demand (l’offre et la demande) is a key term in modern economics.

• Planning future strategies requires a study of consumer behaviour

(comportement du consommateur). Consumer goods (biens de consommations)
are products and services that satisfy direct human needs.

Elasticity of demand (élasticité de la demande) show the degree to which demand is

sensitive to or affected by different price levels.

The cost of living index (indice au cout de la vie) is a means of measuring changes
in the cost of living.

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• During the middle ages, barter (troc) was a common form of trade.

• A commercial firm makes profit calculations (calcul du profit) on capital and

income.

• A cost/ benefit analysis (analyse de rentabilité) examins and values if a

project needing large investment is profitable. Cost (Couts) are either fixed
or variable.

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• Fixed costs (les couts fixes) comprise, among other things, amortization
and overheads (frais généraux).Overheads are expenses related to the
functioning of business: rent, employees’ salaries, etc.. Amortization
(amortisement) is a cost, but not and expense.

• Expenses (dépenses) are sums of money spent on the running of a

business, without adding to the value of its assets. An investment in

building, machinery, raw materials is capital expenditure ( dépenses

d’investissement).
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• Manufacturing, sales and financing cost are variable costs (couts
variables).

• Commodities(merchandises)are usually materials that require a

manufacturing processs before they are ready for use. Price of
commodities are established at commodity exchange, by the free
play of supply and demand.

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 The annual (yearly) report- rapport annuel.
The annual report should reflect the firm’s financial standing(situation
financière).

- What is the trend (tendance) shown by the report?

- The trend is stable (stable) for the time being.

Our firm has a large annual turnover(chiffre d’affaires). The figures will be
presented at the annual shareholders’ meeting (reunion des actionnaires).
Dividends(dividendes) will not be large this year.

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The annual turnover(chiffre d’affaire annuel) has increased by 3%.

• All investments(investissements) are mentionned in the annual

report. The report does not show great( profit). The income has

decreased, due to high/heavy taxation (imposition lourde).

• Do the figures include the overhead expenses (frais généraux).

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• Cash flow(disponibilités) cannot be predicted accurately. It can only
be estimated(estimé).

- How do you calculate the value of a brand name(nom de marque)?

• Reputation is considered a variable asset (bien de grande valeur).

- How do you calculate the depreciation(depreciation) of dead stock?

• Please examine carefully last year’s balance sheet(bilan). The value

of fixed assets has been revised(des biens fixes).

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• Fixed assets such as real estate can depreciate (se déprécier)
over a period of time.

• Current assets (actifs circulants),assets which may never be

used up or turned cash soon, include investment in research.
liabilities (dettes) include long term and short term loans.

• The company’s operating profit_résultat d,exploitation has

increased less than expected.

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• We will have to reduce management expenses(dépenses de
gestion) next year.

• Each company has to file a return(faire une declaration d’impots) at

the end of year.

• The tax assessor also receives a monthly report inspector des

impots. Tax is assessed according to (evalué ??) the gross revenue.

• The financial statement(l’état de la situation financière) has to

include the evaluation of stock.
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• A large stock (stock) can be expensive to maintain. Evaluation of

(évaluation) the stock is based either on cost, or market value.

When setting up a budget (budget), both expenditure and revenue

have to be forecast .

• – All departments are required to submit estimates of their

financial requirement (couverture financières).

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 Financing/le financement
• There is not enough capital (capital) to launch a new venture this
year. Private financing campagnies (sociétés de financement)
charge high interest rates on loans.We will try to finance projects
from our own ressources.

In any case, long term financing (financement à long terme )has to be

carefully planned. A carefully planned financing policy ( politique de
financement) always leave an amount on money in reserve.

Due to our steady financial standing, our credit rate (cote de

solvabilité) has always been good. 37
This is why it is easy for us to obtain security for loan(obtenir une
sécurité). We do our best to plan every monetary year(année
monétaire)in advance.

The capital market (marché financier) has been unstable this year.

Last year’s inflation rate(tauxd’inflation) was higher than we expected.

Due to the high inflation rate, we shortened the credit period(avons
raccourci la période de credit) for customers.

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• We hope bank interest rate(les taux d’interét) will be lowered soon.

• Sharp movement in the stock exchange( bourse) have been

recorded.

• Institutional investors (investisseurs institutionnels) had to plan their

investments carefully.

• Many companies tried to issue shares(emettre des actions )last year.

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• It is not certain if you will be able to get a profitable return(un rendement
fructueux) on your investment.

• The taxation policy (politique de taxation) encouraged investment in industry.

• New taxation regulations(reglementation fiscale) have lately been adopted.

• Investment incentives(prime à l’investissement) were offered to private

sectors. One of these incentives was a reduction in the tax on profits(impots
sur les bénéfices).

• On the other hand, an import tax(taxe à l’importation) was legislated, to

protect domestic industries. 40
• The sales tax/purchase tax (taxe à l’achat/vente) on imported goods

was inceased by 5%.

• A higher tax on exchange dealings(taxe sur les transactions de change)

has also been passed.

• The growning exchange rate of the US dollar has accelerate inflation

(aacceleré l’inflation) in our country. Due to this, the local

currency(Monnaie locale) has weakened.

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 Legal aspects- Aspects legaux
The Trial: Le procès
• We have filed a civil action (partie civile) against your firm.

• The company will be tried for negligence (négligence). Since all

efforts to achieve a compromise (arrive à un compromise) have
failed. It is our decision to prosecute (poursuivre) your firm. We
believe we are entitlied to (nous avons droit) compensation. We
presented the statement of claim (demande introductive d’instance)
last week.

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• The court will have to determine liability( la responsabilité)in this matter.

• Did the court receive the statement of the defense (mémoire en

defense)?

• We have provided (given) our lawyer with a power of attorney

(procuration,pouvoir).

• We have complete confidence in his integrity (integrité). We will collect a

deposition (déposition) from all witnesses before the trial.

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• A witness ‘s affidavit (déclaration sous serment) may serve as
evidence.

The prosecuting attorney (procureur) will start the trial. We will present
his allegation (allegation) before the court. The second stage of the
proceeding will be the defense plea(plaidoyer).

• The attorney for the defense (avocat de la defense) will speak on

behalf on his client. The accused can plead innocent or
guilty( plaider coupable ou innocent).

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• When this stage is other, the prosecution will be recalled for a

replication (replique, replication).

A case can not be based on speculations(speculations). Evidence will

be to submitted(presenté) in support of claims.

The prosecute may want to call witnesses to the court to give

testimony(déposition).

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• Of course he will try to offer some conclusive evidence (prevue
irrefutable). Even an eye witness testimony can be controversial
(controversé). All the evidence or testimony must have
relevance (pertinence) to the case. The attorney for the defense
is then called for rejoinder (replique).

• He will offer the defense’s point of view(point de vue) to the

allegations. He will raise objections(objections) to some of the
claims.

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• The defense may want to cross examine(contre interroger) the

witnesses. They will try to present the evidence as

conflicting(preuves contradictoires).

• The proceedings( la procedure) will continue until the judge reaches

a verdict. The judge will take into consideration (prendre en compte)

all the evidence, before making his decision.

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• The judge will give a verdict based on the arguments presented,

after which be he will pass sentence (peine) on the guilty party.

• All law costs(les frais de justice) will be paid by the losing party.

• Either party can lodge on appeal(faire appel) if it feels that

justice has not been served. This appeal will be discussed in the

court of appeal(cour appel).

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 Arbitration
• In case of dispute(differend), the diffences between the parties will
be submitted to arbitration. Both parties would like to reach a
settlement(accord) without going to court.

• Each party will appoint its own arbitrator and the arbitration court
(court d’arbitrage) will nominate a third.

• The arbitration tribunal shall consist of two arbitrators and an

umprise (arbitre).

• The umpire will be nominated ( l’arbitre sera nommé) by the court.

In order to prevent any conflict of interest(conflit d’interets). 49
• Each party will appear before the tribunal and present its arguments

(arguments). The arbitration will suggest a fair

comprise(compromise) to the parties.

• The parties agree that the award (ruling) shall be obeyed and

observed by both. Both parties have to comply with the resolution

(respecter la resolution). The arbitration is as binding as a court

ruling(contraignante).
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 Financial Dispute / Differend Financier

• We are afraid our experience with your firm has not been pleasant.

More than once have we had to remind you that payment was

overdue (retard) and the balance, when paid, was not adjusted

according (conforme)legal rate of interest.

• It seems that you have no intention of discharging your liability

(payer vos dettes, se debarasser de ses dettes)..

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• We insist that your remittance (paiement) reach us within five days

from now

• Otherwise, we will have to place the matter in the hands of our solicitors

(avocats) ,we shall instruct our solicitors to enforce payment by legal

means (moyens legaux).

• Unfortunately, obtaining payment through legal channels is the only

alternative (alternative) you leave us.

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• We should be forced to seek assistance from a debt collecting agency

(agence de recouvrement de dettes).

• This will surely prove an unplerasant experience for (experience

desagreable) your company.

• Our legal adviser (conseiller juridique) has instructed us to sue your firm.

We will demand full payment and compensation (compensation).

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• We also intend to ask the court to confiscate the remaining stock

(confisquer). This matter has caused us indirect damage (dommages

indirect) in many ways.

• The compensatory damages (indemnités, reparations) will be

determined by the judge.

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