Content Focus

Task 1. Company structure. The organizational structure of a typical company is shown on the below given chart. Your task is to look through the chart attentively and say whether you think the structure of a printing production or publishing company would be the same or similar. Which other departments do you think a publishing company may have? Explain your answer (You have 10 minutes for the entire task).

Organizational structure – is a scheme consisting of units and individual officers of the company, located by levels of importance and responsibility, which contains the relationship between them and the chain of command.

At the top of the company hierarchy is the Board of Directors, headed by the Chairperson or President. The board is responsible for policy decisions and strategy making. It will usually appoint a Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer, who are responsible for running of the business. Senior managers or company officers head the various departments or functions within the company.

(The text is borrowed and modified from “New Insights into Business” by Graham Tullis and Susan Power as of 27 December 2011)

Task 2. Publishing companies have their own organizational peculiarities. Read the text about a publishing house departments. After reading you will understand whether your answers to Task 1 were correct (You have 15 minutes for this task).

Publishing House Departments

Like any business, a publishing house is driven by supply and demand. Whether it's a traditional publishing entity, a university press or an e-book distributor, the structure of a publishing company is essentially the same. Taking a manuscript from concept to production, however, is either the collaborative task of multiple departments or the job of a single individual, depending on the available resources and the volume and diversity of titles being offered.

The acquisitions component of a publishing house is responsible for seeking out commercially viable projects to develop and produce that are consistent with the company's vision. Although this generally focuses on reviewing proposals and manuscripts submitted by authors or literary representatives, an acquisitions editor may also work with ghost-writing agencies as well as actively seek out marketable talents through referrals, social networking, contests and newsworthy stories. Acquisitions editors work closely with the publisher's legal staff to draft contracts related to payment and delivery schedules, project parameters and subsidiary rights and licensing.

Once a book has been accepted for publication, the company's editorial department works with authors to ensure their material is brought to the highest level of polish and professionalism. The editor assigned to each project engages in line-editing, copy-editing and fact-checking in addition to making recommendations to the writer on issues such as context, consistency and tightening chapters that meander. Editorial staff members work closely with the company's production department to make sure that revisions are processed in a timely manner that will not jeopardize the release date of the book.

Whether a project is ready for release in hardcover, paperback or an electronic medium, its "look" must conform to the standards and specifications that have been set by the company for its existing titles. In an earlier era, this involved complex typesetting equipment and printing presses. Today, the production division of a publishing company performs the layout, pagination and graphic design tasks on computer monitors and often works from text files submitted electronically by the authors themselves. Depending on the size of the publishing house, production is either done in-house or outsourced to printing companies. Cover designers often work with freelance graphic artists, photographers and modelling studios.

Like many industries in a troubled economy, publishing houses have been forced to downsize and trim their expenses. Marketing departments – even at prominent venues – have been the hardest hit by these decisions. In turn, publishers have begun placing a greater burden on authors to promote their own books and, in some cases, base the award of their publishing contracts on whether a writer is already a well-known commodity or has created an aggressive marketing platform. Where marketing divisions still exist, their function is to generate press releases, purchase advertising in relevant media, and assist authors in arranging book tours.

(The text is borrowed and modified from http://www.ehow.com/info_8059597_structure-publishing-company.html: as of 27 December 2011)

Task 3. Match the words with their definitions (You have 5 minutes for this task).

1. demand	a) a range of different people, things, or ideas
2. manuscript	b) food, clothes, and things necessary for daily life or for a particular purpose, especially for a group of people over a period of time
3. newsworthy	c) something that exists as a single and complete unit
4. diversity	d) the need or desire that people have for particular goods and services
5. supply	e) important or interesting enough to be reported in newspapers, on the radio, or on television
6. entity	f) the act of getting land, power, money etc.
7. acquisition	g) a book or piece of writing before it is printed

Task 4. Look through the text (Task 2) once. Give your own interpretation of the underlined phrases (You have 5 minutes for this task).

 

Task 5. Now when you are familiar with the functions of all the publishing company departments, taking into consideration the above given information, fill in the table below. Name all the responsibilities you learned about from the text. Column 1 was filled in as an example for you (You have 10 minutes for this task till 5 minutes brake).

Acquisitions component	Editorial department	Production division	Marketing departments
· is responsible for seeking out commercially viable projects; · reviewing proposals and manuscripts submitted by authors or literary representatives; · may also work with ghost-writing agencies · actively seek out marketable talents; · works closely with the publisher's legal staff to draft contracts.

Task 6. Look at the pictures below. You can see Managing Directors from different publishing companies. The pictures are placed at the websites of their companies. Answer the following questions:

ü Which picture is the best in your opinion? Give your reasons.

ü Which of them do you consider to be inappropriate? Give your reasons.

ü Look at each picture and guess what each person wanted to point out. For example, in picture D the directors may have chosen this picture to show that their company has awards and in such a way is the best one.

ü If you were a Managing Director which kind of picture would you choose?

ü Is there any difference between such pictures for men and women? Explain your answers (You have 10 minutes for this task).

 

A B C

D E F

Task 7. Publishing is one of today's leading creative industries. Publishing companies may vary in the forms of ownership. There are several most common forms of ownership in the industry:

· Sole Proprietorships;

· Partnerships;

· Corporations;

· Limited Liability Companies (LLC).

Now let’s examine some of them. Read the information below about advantages and disadvantages of such forms of ownership as sole proprietorship and partnership.

After reading the text answer the following questions (You have 20 minutes for reading and 5 minutes for answering the questions):

1. Which form of business is the easiest and least expensive form of ownership to organize?

2. Which of these two forms of business has unlimited liability?

3. Which form of business provides moral support and allows for more creative brainstorming?

4. In which form of business would you have complete control and make decisions on your own?

5. Which of these two forms of business requires sharing with others?