Many
of my "English as a Foreign Language" students in
companies often need to know the vocabulary words that are used
to describe the various positions in their corporations. Here
is the information that I have given them.
A board of directors is a group of people who either control
or execute (or both) the general business
affairs of a corporation. "Directors"
are usually officers who form part of the Board of Directors.
Chairman of the Board – This person is appointed to be the
head of the Board of Directors. In private companies, the Chairman
of the Board may also be the CEO (as well as the President).
Two Main Executive Officers
The executive officers manage the whole company. They develop
global strategies.
CEO - Chief Executive Officer – This person is the top executive
responsible for a company's operations. This person reports
to the board of directors. This person is sometimes also the
president of the company. Other times, the CEO appoints a president.
President – “President” is a title in many corporations. In
some cases the president acts as the “Chief Operating Officer”
under the direction of the Chief Executive Officer.
"Vice-Presidents in Charge of Departments ("Vice-President"
or another title.)
Departments: There are usually a variety of departments in
companies: Sales, Human Resources, Marketing, Accounting, Finance,
Production, Support, IT (information technology), Legal, Purchasing,
Projects, R&D, etc. The existence and titles of these departments
depend on the corporations themselves (i.e. their needs and
company culture).
There are a variety of titles for the people who are in charge
of the departments in companies: Vice-President, Director, Manager,
etc. There are also a variety of tags that accompany these titles:
Executive (i.e. Executive Vice-President, Executive Director,
Executive Manager, etc.), Country (i.e. Country Manager), Regional,
(i.e. Regional Manager). etc. The title of the departments themselves
can serve as part of the employees’ titles: Sales Director,
Accounting Manager, Human Resources Director, Vice-President
of Sales, etc. Sometimes the titles vary in different countries
depending on the laws governing corporations there.
The titles that companies give their employees depend on
their company’s origins, their cultures and their particular
needs. Workers with very similar job-descriptions working
in different companies may have completely different titles
and salaries. Also, workers with very similar titles can have
very different job-descriptions. Also, the hierarchical structures
in different companies can be very different, which can create
a need for very different departments.
Vocabulary - English to Spanish
corporate - de
la empresa hierarchy - jerarquia Board of Directors
- Consejo de Administración business affairs
- asuntos de negocios corporation - sociedad
anónima, corporación Chairman of the Board -
Presidente del Consejo de Administración CEO - Consejero Delegado develop - desarrollar Vice-President
- Vicepresidente (máximo directivo por debajo del
Consejero Delegado) sales - ventas human resources
- recursos humanos accounting - contabilidad finance - finanzas support department -
departamento de apoyo IT department - departamento
de informática purchasing department
- departamento de compras projects - proyectos R&D - investigación
y desarrollo tags - etiquetas
A Generic 
