Mediterranean hegemon

United Group implements a hierarchical management position model, divided into three lines: administration, operation, and technology, with a total of 3 levels and 15 levels. Contini himself is at the administrative and operational level 1, Antonio is at the administrative and operational level 2, and senior management including Leo, Dr. Tote, Francisco, etc. are all at the administrative or operational level 4 (assistant level to the president), and above. (inclusive) are senior management; the director of the functional department of the headquarters and the general manager of the first-level subsidiary are at the administrative or operational level 6 (director level), and their deputies are at level 7-8 (deputy director, assistant director), and the first-level subsidiary Department managers are at level 9, deputy managers are at level 10, assistant managers are at level 11, levels 5-11 are middle management, and levels 12 (section chief), 13 (deputy section chief), and 14 (assistant section chief) count as lower-level managers. .

The group stipulates a strict reporting system and assigned tasks. Generally, each subsidiary reports to the segment, and the segment leader reports to Contini or Antonio. Reporting is generally required level by level or across levels. Reporting can go beyond 5 levels when necessary or urgent. Finally, to ensure smooth communication, all managers can report to Contini or Antonio via letter via the president’s mailbox.

"After Zakaria's transfer, the selection of administrative secretaries continued. In the short term, Monica will be temporarily employed concurrently. At the same time, the management authority for rationalizing suggestions on employee life, company logistics support and other sectors in the president's mailbox was increased. The level was upgraded from level 10 to level 9. class……"

The president's mailbox is a big basket, filled with all kinds of imaginative things, rational suggestions, all kinds of wild ideas, and black technology ideas. Contini attaches great importance to this. Although he has a time-travel bonus, after all, he only has A head is not a particularly famous thing that needs someone to remind it to wake up. Wasn't it that "A Hundred Waves of Breathing" was completed only after Domac reminded it? Therefore, he attaches great importance to the president's mailbox and believes that it is a model of democratic management and scientific decision-making in the United Group. The large team of secretaries is the best helper in handling letters. Generally speaking, each letter will be opened and read first, then classified. Regularly summarize and report to the authorized management, otherwise if Contini has to read every letter himself, then he will not have to do any work, just read the letter.

Regarding black technology, Contini has personally experienced it, because contemporary people are greatly influenced by their thinking stereotypes. What they think is reasonable, Contini knows, may not necessarily work. They think it is absurd, and it is likely to become a thing in the future. , as for things that are actually effective but have been stifled due to historical prejudice, Contini believes that there must be some, but he cannot control this. He can only use history as an evaluation criterion.

Antonio knew a little bit about Monica, because the old Ciano couple mentioned it to him and asked him to pay attention: the current treatment given to Monica is based on her consistent performance and identity. If she cannot correct herself in the future, Position and forgetfulness, then Agnes would not hesitate to take her away. Feelings belong to feelings and career belongs to career. Otherwise, why would Contini not let Adriana serve as the spokesperson of the United Group but let her continue to stay? at ibc? At first he thought Monica was going to take over Zakaria's job, and he was surprised. After hearing this arrangement, he breathed a sigh of relief and went to bed. The young master was still unambiguous in doing serious things, and he was promoted from level 10 to level 9. It’s not surprising at all. Monica has been working for 4 years and has performed very well in all aspects. It’s a natural progression for her to be promoted to a higher level.

"I recommend that Deputy Director of Human Resources Baresi be promoted to the position of Director of the President's Office (Level 6) and appropriately weaken the authority of the administrative secretary." Antonio said, "Theoretically, in the office, the administrative secretary, life secretary, and security secretary The five secretaries, writing secretary and information secretary, are on the same level. However, because Zakaria had the most outstanding ability and the highest level at the beginning, he actually commanded the five secretaries. This situation is not conducive to the relationship between secretaries. It is not conducive to the balance and development of the relationship, so we need to choose a good director, but the new administrative secretary can be under-matched. As for Monica..."

Monica became nervous, she didn't know what Antonio would say about her.

Antonio smiled and said, "Let's set it at level 8. Everyone else around the president is at level 8. You need a bowl of water to keep it level."

Now it was Contini's turn to blush: not because of the matter of level 8 or level 9, but because of the profound meaning of this sentence. Antonio seemed to know about Monica's trickiness, which made him a little uncomfortable. That's nice, but now that Antonio is proposing and Monica is here, how can he refuse?

So he said: "In that case, it's settled..."

Monica whispered: "Can I express your opinion about my affairs?"

Antonio smiled: "Of course, you said..."

"Let's give me level 9. I don't want level 8, and I don't meet the standards for promotion to level 8 - I am 2a2b in the 4-year assessment. Only 3a can advance to level 2. You can't make exceptions for me for no reason. I will work hard. If Everyone feels that my work meets the standards and meets the expectations of the president, and they hope to have the opportunity to discuss my promotion in two years.”

Monica is a smart person and knows that flattering is of no use, especially flattering Contini. Don’t look at the president who flatters a lot in front of the leader. It’s just that the leader likes these things to suit him. In the United He is extremely resentful within the group, so the best thing to do is to do a good job. If the work is done well, even if Contini doesn't want to see her, she can still go to Agnes to complain and act coquettishly. If the work is not done well, even if Contini So what if you slept with yourself? When the time comes, he will kick himself out, find a place in Switzerland or somewhere else to raise as a canary, and occasionally visit him a few times. That kind of life will drive her crazy.

Leo looked at Contini, then at Antonio, then at Monica, and finally smiled: "I think I respect Monica's opinion."

"Second thing, Leo, how much of the remaining capital of the convertible bonds was transferred to Italy?"

"Almost 500 million US dollars, plus 300 million US dollars in gold, are all deposited in the Union Bank."

"How much loan principal and interest will be paid in September?"

"$150 million here in the United States, 800 million lire in Italy... Do you want to apply for a refinance?"

Contini shook his head: "Don't apply for the time being. Sell some of the stocks and sell the stocks that have been released from pledge."

"That's almost 600 million!"

"Gradually reduce holdings, gradually return, and slowly withdraw. The approach must be more prudent and do not interfere with the market. The risk of excessive leverage must be released."

After the meeting ended, Antonio smiled at Contini and said, "Master, although beauties are good, you must avoid flashing your waist..."

Contini complained: "You're laughing at me too... If I wanted to touch her, I would have done it a long time ago. Why do I have to wait four years?"

"Four years is not too late. Madam is right. You need to observe more and communicate more. I think it's good."

Contini didn't expect that Agnes had already told Antonio, and he immediately made a big fuss. However, it would be beneficial to Antonio's work if the matter was revealed, and he was relieved immediately.

On September 11, adhering to Contini's advice, Antonio asked someone to reduce his holdings of US$18 million worth of American Radio. As a result, the water was absorbed without even floating;

On September 12, another 39 million shares of American Radio and 40 million shares of General Motors were reduced, and the market accepted it as usual. However, the two stocks that were reduced did not rise as well as other companies that year;

On September 14, it reduced its holdings in airline stocks by 40 million;

On September 19, it reduced its holdings of bank stocks by 60 million;

On September 24, it reduced its holdings in coal and railway stocks by 58 million;

On September 27, it reduced its holdings in Alcoa by 70 million;

…

From September 11 to October 19, Contini's reduction of 600 million shares was successfully realized. Although the overall stock market was still upward, Antonio made a strange observation when reporting: "It seems that there are still people who are also reducing their holdings. And we are keeping an eye on the pace of our reduction.”

Contini smiled: "I know who it is. I talked to this guy once. His name is Livermore..."

"Master, don't you think the stock market will continue to rise? Why are you starting to reduce your holdings now?"

"Because we are too large, if we were to dump everything at the highest point all at once, the market would not be able to bear it, and the impact would be too bad." Contini explained, "What drives stock prices up is essentially capital, and now the Federal Reserve has Money has started to tighten, so I have to pay back the loans one after another and let these banks release money and invest it in the stock market, so that someone can take our offer."

On October 24, United Group repaid the relevant loans and issued a statement again, considering signing an additional contract of US$1.8 billion and paying a deposit. Subsequently, various companies set off a wave of rising prices.

The prosperity of the stock market and the improvement of the economy made Herbert Hoover more confident in his presidential campaign. On November 6, he won the 1928 election with an absolute advantage. When the American people took to the streets to celebrate Hoover's election as president, The stock market also seems to be on a rocket, rising very high. This election has allowed people to curb panic to a certain extent and have more confidence in the bull market. The new expectation of investors now is "another four years of prosperity"!

Contini issued an order to continue to reduce holdings by US$400 million in November, and at the same time use the proceeds from the reduction to pay additional contract deposits of US$200 million to each company.

Along with this news, the "New York Times" published a news article, "... Mr. Franklin Roosevelt, a famous lawyer and the current Democratic candidate for governor of New York State, died yesterday when he was hit by an out-of-control truck on his way to the hospital for medical treatment. We express condolences and condolences to his family, and call on the public to pay attention to traffic safety and promptly check for mechanical failures... It is reported that the vehicle responsible for the accident is a general heavy-duty truck with a load of 10 tons. The driver is Italian and has been working in the United States for many years. He has been Under police control, no signs of alcoholism or psychotropic drug use have been found yet. He may face up to 7 years in prison for traffic accident crimes..."

Some of the risk Contini was expecting has finally been released...