2. Decide what title is more suitable for the text.

1. Factors determining your success.

2. Customer perception factors.

3. Competitive position.

4. Strategic partnerships.

5. Internal operational factors.

3. Find in the text words having the similar meaning to:

to purchase; fancy; to study; to comprise; merely.

4. Answer the questions about the text.

1. What factors will determine your success in comparison to other manufacturers of the same products?

2. Why are the objective features of your product or service rela­tively small part of the competitive picture?

3. What companies will prove to be tough, enduring competition?

4. What factors should be considered when doing your analysis?

5. What do internal operational factors include?

5. These are answers to the questions about the text. Write the questions.

1. Because their widgets are much cheaper.

2. All the components of customer preference, including price, service, and location, are only half of the competitive analysis.

3. Product/service features, indirect/peripheral costs, quality, customer relationships, durability/maintenance, social image.

4. Some internal operational factors that increase competitiveness.

5. Ability of the company to withstand fi­nancial setbacks, and to fund product development and improve­ments.

6. Are the following sentences true or false? If they are false correct them.

1. If you have invented a clearly superior widget, it is not very comforting to imagine that widget customers will buy your product instead of the competitors' and you will not get money.

2. Customer perception factors are the following: financial resources, marketing program, economies of scale, operational efficiencies, product line breadth, strategic partnerships, company morale/personnel.

3. There are few factors that determine your success in comparison to other manufacturers of the same product.

4. The objective features of your product or service may be a rela­tively small part of the competitive picture.

5. Some internal operational factors that increase competitiveness include product/service features, indirect/peripheral costs, quality, durability, style/perceived value, customer relationships, social image.

Unit 5 Text 1

1. Read the text.

Your people determine your success. Overwhelmingly, the qual­ity of the people determines the success of the business. Many inves­tors base their investment choices almost entirely on the strength of the people involved in the enterprise. They know that the experience, skills, and personalities of the management team have a greater im­pact on the long-term fortunes of a company than the product or service provided.

For this reason, investors and lenders are likely to review the management portion of a business plan before they read many other sections and make decision on investment. They read this section thoroughly, carefully scrutinizing the qualifications of the people behind a business.

So, if you are preparing your business plan for financing purpos­es, you need to take particular care in crafting your Management section. Even if you are developing your business plan solely for internal use, an honest evaluation of your key employees' strengths and weaknesses will help you make the best use of your management team.

Most entrepreneurs give serious thought to choosing people for key positions. They may undertake extensive recruitment efforts, often using professional executive search firms, to find just the right person. But what do they do with that man or woman once on board?

All too often, no one gives careful consideration to creating clear lines of organizational responsibility and developing a management style that motivates employees. Even the very best people will only do their best work in a system that encourages, recognizes, and re­wards achievement. If you can create such an atmosphere, you can give yourself a true competitive edge.

Two main areas in management are, thus, the people who run your business and your own management structure and style. Together, these two thrusts represent the core of your management system.

There always exist many questions that a manager should ask him/herself. Some of them are: How will decisions be made? What are the lines of authority? What voice do employees have when company policies and goals are set?

A company's organization and management style act as power­ful invisible force shaping both the daily working atmosphere and the future of the company. But all too often managers, especially new managers, pay only cursory attention to the development of their structure and style.

2. Decide what title is more suitable for the text.

1. Development of your business plan.

2. People are the heart of every business.

3. Factors determining your success.

4. The main area in management.

5. Management style.

3. Find in the text words having the similar meaning to:

to launch; manager; to manage; to employ; to survey.

4. Answer the questions about the text.

1. Why do people determine your success?

2. How do investors and leaders read this section?

3. What factors should be taken into consideration while preparing your business plan for financing purposes?

4. What are two main areas in management?

5. Why should managers ask many questions?

5. These are answers to the questions about the text. Write the questions.

1. The experience, skills, and personalities of the management team have a greater impact on the long-term fortunes of a company than the product or service provided.

2. When you are preparing your business plan for financing purposes.

3. People will do their best work in a system that encourages, recognizes, and rewards achievement.

4. These two thrusts represent the core of your management system.

5. They act as powerful invisible force shaping both the daily working atmosphere and the future of the company.