Marketing involves keeping producers aware of the needs of consumers and ensuring that their products are made available to consumers in the way and form they want.
Note the emphasis on meeting the needs of consumers. Any firm which accepts this need as its main responsibility is said to be dominated by the marketing concept. This attitude distinguishes firms in free-market economies from those in centrally-planned economies where central government dictates what should be produced and supplied to consumers.
The marketing function involves:
1. Market research
This involves finding out:
a) what consumers want and advising producers accordingly, and
b) recommending the standard of quality, style of packaging, choice of brand-name and general design of the products concerned.
2. Distribution
Products can be distributed to consumers in different ways. Some are best distributed through the manufacturer's own retail outlet, some through a network of wholesalers and retailers, others by direct mail-order.
3. Pricing
Marketing managers should always be in close touch with market conditions so that they can advise on the best price (not necessarily the highest) to charge for products.
4. Advertising
If customers do not know about new products, they will never buy them. They also need to be reminded, from time to time, of the existence of established products. Marketing managers are expected to know the best ways to advertise products. This involves choice of media (for example, radio, television, press). It also involves knowing the best form advertisements should take, and the advertising slogan to be used.
5 Selling
This involves the skills of personal selling, together with display and presentation skills such as those involved in window displays, exhibitions, news releases, and product promotions.
Vocabulary
to advertise – рекламировать
brand-name – название марки, фабричная марка
to charge for – назначать цену, просить
display – выставка, показ
to meet the needs – отвечать потребностям; удовлетворять потребности
promotion – продвижение, содействие
release – выпуск
retail – розничная продажа
outlet – торговая точка, рынок сбыта
staff – штат, персонал
wholesaler – оптовик
1. What factors are important in order that production meets needs of consumers efficiently?
2. What does marketing involve?
3. What decisions are taken by marketing managers?
4. What is the most important thing in marketing?
5. What is the goal of marketing research?
6. Is it reasonable, from your point of view, to use independent marketing research in small business?
7. How are the products advertised?
8. Do you agree that marketing plays a very important role in business?
11. Прочитайте текст и ответьте на вопросы после текста. Подготовьтесь к собеседованию на тему Assets and liabilities, используя вопросы после текста.
ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
The term "asset" means anything of value that is owned by a company and can be expressed in terms of money. Economic resources that provide a potential future service to the organization are called assets in accounting. A company’s total assets include such items as cash, buildings, equipment, any other property and accounts receivable, that is, money owned by its customers.
Assets are usually classified as current and long-term, both types consisting of tangible as well as of intangible items. Current tangible assets including cash, accounts receivable, stock-in-trade are usually converted into cash within one year and sometimes can be used as a means of payment. On the other hand, current intangible assets consist of short-term investments in stocks and bonds.
Long-term intangible assets are not really visible and include such items as goodwill, patents, trademarks, copyrights, these assets often being the most important factor for obtaining future incomes. For example, goodwill means an intangible asset which takes into account the value added to a business as a result of its reputation which cannot be really calculated. In contrast, the real estate (such as farm land, machinery, buildings and other physical objects) belongs to long-term tangible assets.
Liabilities are obligations that a company owes to another organization, to an individual (such as creditors and employees) or to the government. Like assets, liabilities are divided into current and long-term ones. Current liabilities are usually amounts that are paid within one year, including accounts payable, taxes on income and property, short-term loans, salaries and wages, and amounts of money owed to suppliers of goods and services. Concurrent liabilities often called long-term are usually debts, such as bonds and long-term loans.
The amount by which the total assets exceed total liabilities is known as the net worth which is usually called the equity for companies. When the company is a corporation, the equity means the investment interest of the owners (that is, the stockholders) in the organization’s assets. The owners’ equity can be increased either by investing more money in the company or by earning a profit and can be decreased because of the company’s losses.
All companies keep proper accounting system in order to know whether or not they are operating profitably, each of the assets and the liabilities and the equity being shown in a company’s accounts separately. The balance sheet prepared by the company’s accountant is one of the important financial reports showing the value of the total assets, total liabilities and equity on a given date. The relationship of these main categories is represented by the fundamental accounting equation: assets (everything that is owned) are equal to liabilities (owed) plus equity (clear of debt).
ASSETS = LIABILITIES + EQUITY
As all three factors are expressed in terms of money, they are limited to items that can be given a monetary value. The accounting equation should always be in balance, so that one side must equal the other.
Vocabulary
account – счет, финансовый отчет, запись финансовой операции
accounts – отчетность, деловые книги
accounts receivable – счета дебиторов, счета к получению; ожидаемые поступления
accounts payable – счета к оплате; ожидаемые выплаты
capital account – счет основного капитала, счет основных фондов;
баланс движения капиталов
income account – счет доходов (прибылей) и убытков
to take into account − принимать во внимание
accountant – эксперт по анализу балансов и финансовой отчетности, квалифицированный
бухгалтер; ревизор, контролер
accounting – учет, отчетность, бухгалтерское дело; анализ хозяйственной деятельности
accounting cycle – цикл учета; учетный период syn. accounting period
asset(s) – актив, фонд; капитал, имущество
assets and liabilities – актив и пассив
capital assets – основные фонды, основной капитал, основные средства
balance sheet – балансовый отчет
balance sheet account – статья бухгалтерского баланса
to be in balance – быть сбалансированным
copyright – авторское право
current – текущий
current account – текущий счет
current assets – оборотные средства (фонды); текущие (легкореализуемые, ликвид-
ные) активы
current liabilities — краткосрочные обязательства; текущие пассивы
debt – долг, обязательство
clear of debt – без долга
employee – служащий, рабочий, работающий по найму
equation – уравнение, равенство; правильное соотношение
accounting equation — бухгалтерская сбалансированность
equity – капитал компании, акционерный капитал;
активы (предприятия) за вычетом задолженности
goodwill – гудвил, деловая репутация; ценность фирмы, определяющаяся ее клиентурой,
репутацией, деловыми связями; престиж фирмы
invesment interest — процент инвестиций
item – отдельный предмет, вид товара, изделия; статья (в счете, балансе), пункт, позиция, параграф
long-term liabilities — долгосрочные обязательства
net worth – стоимость имущества за вычетом обязательств; собственный капитал (пред-
приятия), чистая стоимость компании
operate – работать, управлять
proper – правильный, надлежащий
properly – правильно, должным образом
real estate – недвижимое имущество
salary – заработная плата (служащих), оклад
stock-in-trade – товарный запас, товарная наличность, остаток непроданных товаров
stock(s) – активы, запас(ы), фонд(ы)
in stock − в запасе, в наличии, в ассортименте
stockholder – акционер, владелец акций, владелец государственных ценных бумаг
syn shareholder
tangible – осязаемый, материальный
tangible assets – материальные активы
tangible item – материальный предмет
intangible – неосязаемый, нематериальный
intangible assets – нематериальный актив
intangible item – нематериальный предмет
term – термин, выражение; период
terms – условия
credit terms – условия аккредитива, условия ссуды
lending terms — условия выдачи кредита
trademark – торговая марка
BOOKKEEPING AS PART OF ACCOUNTING CYCLE
For management of any company to be efficient, extensive and accurate information concerning receipts and payments, assets and liabilities, depreciation of assets and other data about company status are required. Such information being obtained mainly from different records, additional funds and time should be invested in bookkeeping and accounting system.
In general, accounting and bookkeeping mean identifying, measuring, recording economic information about any business, bookkeeping being considered the preliminary stage and part of the larger field of accounting.
The task of a bookkeeper is to ensure the record-keeping aspect of accounting and therefore to provide the data to which accounting principles are applied in the preparation of financial statements. Bookkeeping provides the basic accounting data by systematical recording such day-to-day financial information as income from the sale of products or services, expenses of business operations such as the cost of the goods sold and overhead expenses such as a rent, wages, salaries.
Accounting principles determine which financial events and transactions should be recorded in the bookkeeper’s books. The analysis and interpretation of these records is the primary function of accounting. The various financial statements produced by accountants then provide managers with the basis for future financial planning and control, and provide other interested parties (investors, the government) with useful information about the company.
Modern accounting system is considered to be a seven-step cycle. The first three steps fall under the bookkeeping function, such as: 1) the systematic recording of financial transactions; 2) the transferring of the amounts from various journals to general ledger (also called "posting step"); 3) the drawing up of the trial balance.
Record keeping of companies is based on a double-entry system, due to which each transaction is recorded on the basis of its dual impact on the company’s financial position. To make a complete bookkeeping record of every transaction in a journal, one should consider interrelated aspects of every transaction, and entries must be made in different accounts to keep the ins (receipts) and outs (payments) balanced.
A typical account is known to have two sides: the items on the left side are called debits, while the items on the right side are credits.
Thus, double-entry bookkeeping doesn't mean that the same transaction is entered twice, it means that the same amount of money is always debited to one account and credited to another account, each record having its own effect on the whole financial structure of the company. Certain accounts are increased with debits and decreased with credits, while other accounts are increased with credits and decreased with debits.
In the second step in the accounting cycle, the amounts from the various journals are usually monthly transferred to the company’s general ledger – a procedure called posting. Posting data to the ledgers is followed by listing the balances of all the accounts and calculating whether the sum of all the debit balances agrees with the sum of all the credit balances. This procedure known as the drawing up of a trial balance and those that follow it usually take place at the end of the fiscal year. By making a trial balance, the record-keeping accuracy can be checked. The trial balance having been successfully prepared the bookkeeping portion of the accounting cycle is completed.
The double-entry system of bookkeeping enables every company to determine at any time the value of each item that is owned, how much of this value belongs to creditors, the total profit and how much belongs to the business clear of debt. Thus, one advantage of the double-entry system is that its information is complete enough to be used as the basis for making business decisions. Another advantage is that errors are readily detected, since the system is based on equations that must always be in balance.
Vocabulary
account – счет, финансовый отчет, бухгалтерский отчет, статистический отчет
accounting – учет; отчетность; бухгалтерское дело
assets – 1) активы 2) средства, фонды, имущество
balance – баланс; сальдо; остаток
trial balance – пробный, предварительный бухгалтерский баланс; частичный пробный баланс
bookkeeping – бухгалтерия; бухгалтерский учет
double-entry bookkeeping – система бухгалтерского учета с двойной записью