Министерство образования Российской Федерации
Тихоокеанский государственный экономический университет
Учебное пособие для обучения с применением дистанционной технологии
Business English
И.Е. Бовина
Владивосток
Издательство ТГЭУ
2008
УДК 802.0
Б 72 Бовина И.Е. Деловой английский язык. Учебное пособие для студентов, обучающихся с применением дистанционной технологии.- Владивосток, Изд-во ТГЭУ, 2008.- 46 с.
Печатается по решению Учебно-методического совета гуманитарных дисциплин.
Рецензенты:
доц. ДВГУ, кандидат филологических наук Хабибулин В.А.
эксперт I категории ГУ ЦБ по Прим. краю Якименко Д.А.
ISBN 5-93362-112-9 Ó Бовина И.Е., 2001 г.
Ó Изд-во ДВГАЭУ, 2001 г.
Введение
Chapter 1. Business Basics
Part 1. Forms of Business Organization
Part 2. Fundamentals of Marketing
Part 3. Management
Part 4. Accounting and Finance
Part 5. International Trade
Tasks
marketing business trade accounting
Что такое деловой английский язык? Это английский, применяемый в ситуациях делового общения.
Чтобы успешно общаться на английском языке в подобных ситуациях, необходимо, во-первых, знать лексику, употребляемую в той или иной сфере деловой жизни, например, в области маркетинга или финансов; и, во-вторых, иметь навыки делового общения, – такие, как навык написания деловых писем или ведения разговоров по телефону.
Исходя из вышеописанного, данное пособие состоит из двух глав – "BusinessBasics", которая знакомит читателя с базовым вокабуляром, применяемым в деловой практике; и "BusinessSkills", которая позволяет выработать два основных деловых навыка.
Каждая глава делится на разделы, сопровождающиеся системой упражнений; поскольку пособие предназначено, прежде всего, для самостоятельной работы студентов, обучающихся с применением дистанционных технологий, ключи к упражнениям приведены в конце пособия. Пособие включает задания для проверки результативности самостоятельной работы (tasks), которые следует выполнить и направить в академию.
What is Business?
Before reading the text try to match the words on the left with their definitions on the right.
Exercise 1.
1. Sole proprietorshipa. A legal entity that exists separately from the people who own it.
2. Partnershipb. An organization formed by two or more people becoming co-owners of a business.
3. Corporationc. An organization that is owned and managed by one person.
Now read the text and do the true-false exercises after each part of it.
A business is any organization that seeks profit by providing goods and services to the economic system. A nonprofit organization also provides goods and services to the economic system, but does not have profit as an objective.
Forms of Business Ownership.
An organization that is owned, and usually managed, by one person is called a sole proprietorship. That is the most common form of business ownership.
When two or more people become co-owners of a business, the organization is called a partnership.
A legal entity that has an existence separate from the people who own it is called a corporation.
Sole Proprietorships.
A Sole proprietorship has lots of advantages:
1. Ease of starting and ending the business. All you have to do to start a sole proprietorship is buy the needed equipment (for example, a saw, a word processor, a tractor, a lawn mower, or a welder) and put up some announcements saying you are in business. It is just as easy to get out of business; you simply stop. There is no one to consult or to disagree with about such decisions. You may have to get a permit or license from the government, but that is usually no problem.
2. Being your own boss. "Working for others simply doesn’t have the same excitement as working for yourself," – that’s the way sole proprietors feel. You may make mistakes, but they are your mistakes – and so are the many small victories each day.
3. Pride of ownership. People who own and manage their own businesses are rightfully proud of their work. They deserve all the credit for talking the risks and providing needed goods and services.
4. Retention of profit. Other than the joy of being your own boss, there is nothing like the pleasure of knowing that you can make as mush as you can and do not have to share that money with anyone else (except the government, in taxes). Store owners and service people are often willing to start working early in the day and stay late because the money they earn is theirs to keep.
5. No special taxes. All the profits of a sole proprietorship are taxed as the personal income of the owner, and he or she pays the normal income tax on that money. Owners do have to file an estimated tax return and make quarterly payments. It is wise for small business owners to pick up a packet of information for small business owners from the local Internal Revenue Service office.
There are also a number of disadvantages:
1. The risk of losses. When you work for others, it is their problem if the business is not profitable. When you own you own business, you have the risk of losing almost everything – your time, your money, and your business. What you keek, if you fail, is the pride of having tried, and the experience.
2. Unlimited liability. When you own your own business, you and the business are considered one. That is, any debts and damages incurred by the business are your debts and you must pay them, even if it means selling your home, your car, and so forth. This is a serious risk and one that requires careful thought and discussion with a lawyer, insurance agent, and others. As the owner, you are liable for everything.
3. Difficulty in management. Most business need some management; that is, someone must keep inventory records, accounting records, tax records, and so on. Many people who are skilled at selling things or providing a service are not so skilled in keeping records. Sole proprietors may have no one to help them. It is often difficult to find good, qualified people to help run the business. Some employees can be careless, tardy, dishonest, unreliable, and incompetent. It is hard to own a business, manage it, train people, and have time for anything else in life.
4. Overwhelming time commitment. Perhaps the most common complaint among sole proprietors is the fact that good employees are hard to find. Therefore, the owner must spend long hours working. The owner of a store, for example, may put in 12 hours a day, at least 6 days a week. This is almost twice the hours worked by a salaried laborer, who may make more money.
5. Few fringe benefits. If you are your own boss, you lose many of the fringe benefits that come from working for others. For example, you have no health insurance, no disability insurance, no sick leave, no vacation pay, and so on. These benefits may add up to 30% or more of a worker’s income.
6. Limited growth. If the owner becomes incapacitated, the business often comes to a standstill. Furthermore, a sole proprietorship relies on its owner for most of its funding. Therefore expansion often is slow and there are serious limits to how much one person can do. That is one reason why many individuals seek partners to assist in business.
7. You are on your own. The greatest advantage of a sole proprietorship can also be a major disadvantage. You have nobody to help or to blame if something goes wrong.
8. Limited life span. If the sole proprietor dies, the business no longer exists.
Exercise 2. True or false?
1. It is difficult to start a sole proprietorship.
2. A sole proprietor doesn't have to share his profit with anybody except the government, in from of taxes.
3. A sole proprietor has limited liability.
4. Fringe benefits are few.
Partnerships.
It is ot difficult to form a partnership, but it is wise to get a counsel of a lawyer experienced with such agreements. Lawyers’ services are expensive, so would-be partners should read all about partnerships and reach some basic agreements before calling in a lawyer. It is often easier to form a partnership agreement than to operate one or end one, and many friendships have ended after friends became partners. With some care, however, partnerships have these advantages.
1. More financial resources. Naturally, when two or more people pool their money and credit, it is easier to pay the rent, utilities, and other bills incurred by a business.There is a concept called limited partnership that is specially designed to help raise capital (money). A limited partner invests money in the business, but doesn’t have any management responsibility or any liability for business losses. The agreement form necessary for a limited partnership is more complex than that needed for a simple partnership (called a general partnership). For example, the agreement must mention the amount of money involved, the share of profits each person receives, and so on. You will need a lawyer’s help with such agreements. The point here is that partnerships feed more money into the business for growth.
2. Ease of management. It is simply much easier to manage the day-to-day activities of a business with carefully chosen partners. Partners give each other free time from the business, and provide different skills and perspectives. Many people find that the best partner is a spouse. That is why you see so many husband/wife teams managing restaurants, service shops, and other businesses.
There are also some disadvantages:
1. Unlimited liability. Each general partner is liable for the debts of the firm, no matter who was responsible for causing those debts. Like a sole proprietor, partners can lose their homes, cars, and everything else they own if the business fails or is sued by someone. Such a risk is very serious and should be discussed with a lawyer and an insurance expert. A general partner, then, is an owner (partner) who has unlimited liability and is active in managing the firm. (As mentioned earlier, a limited partner risks an investment in the firm, but is not liable for the business’s losses).
2. Devision of profits. Let’s say two people form a partnership. One puts in more money and the other puts in more hours. Each may feel justified in asking for a bigger share of the profits. Sharing the risk means sharing the profit, and that can cause conflicts.
3. Disagreements among partners. Disagreements over money are just one example of potential conflict in a partnership. Who has final authority over employees? Who hires and fires employees? Who works what hours? What if one partner wants to buy expensive equipment for the firm and the other partner disagrees? Potential conflicts are many. Because of such problems, all terms of partnership should be spelled out in writing to protect all parties and to minimize misunderstanding in the future.
4. Difficult to terminate. Once you have committed yourself to a partnership, it is not easy to get out of it. Questions about who gets what and what happens next are often very difficult to solve when the business is closed.
Exercise 3. True or false?
1. It is easier to start a partnership than to stop it.
2. A limited partner has no management responsibility.
3. General partners have equal responsibilities for a firm's debts.
4. Partnership is more difficult to manage than a sole proprietorship.
Corporations.
Although the word corporation makes people think of big business like General Motors, IBM, Ford and so on, it is not necessary to be big in order to incorporate (start a corporation). Incorporating may be beneficial for small businesses also.
The purpose of forming a corporation is to get away from the disadvantages of sole proprietorships and partnerships. One of the more worrisome aspects of owing your own business or having a partner is the fear of losing everything you own if someone sues the business or the business loses a lot of money.A corporation is a state-chartered legal entity with authority to act and have liability separate from its owners. What this means for the corporation's owners (stockholders) is that they are not liable for the debts or any other problems of the corporation beyond the money they invest. Owners no longer must worry about losing their house, car, and other property because of some business problem – a very significant benefit. A corporation not only limits the liability of owners, it enables many people to share in the ownership (and profits) of a business without working there or having other commitments to it.The concept of incorporation is not too difficult, even though the procedures for incorporating are often rather complex. Most people are not willing everything to go into business. Yet, for business to grow and prosper and create abundance, many people would have to be willing to invest their money in business. The way to solve this problem was to create an artificial being, an entity that existed only in the eyes of the law. That artificial being is called a corporation. It is nothing more than a technique for involving people in business at a minimal risk. The advantages of such an entity are:
1. More money for investment. To raise money, a corporation sells ownership (stock) to anyone who is interested. This means that millions of people can own part of major companies like IBM, Xerox, and General Motors. If a company sold 10,000,000 shares for $50 each, it would have $500 million available to build plants, buy materials, hire people, build products, and so on. Such a large amount of money would be difficult to raise any other way. So a major advantage of corporations is their ability to raise large amounts of money.
2. Limited liability. It bears repeating that a major advantage of corporations is the limited liability of owners. Corporations in England and Canada have the letters "Ltd." after their name, as in British Motors, Ltd. The Ltd. stands for limited liability and is probably the most significant advantage of corporations. Limited liability means that the owners of a business are responsible for losses only up to the amount they invest.
3. Size. That one word summarizes many of the advantages of corporations. Because they have large amounts of money to work with, corporations can build large, modern factories with the latest equipment. They can also hire experts or specialists in all areas of operation. Furthermore, they can buy other corporations in other fields to diversify their risk. (What this means is that a corporation can be involved in many businesses at once so that if one fails the effect on the total corporation is lessened.) In short, a major advantage of corporations is that they have the size and resources to take advantage of opportunities anywhere in the world. Corporations do not have to be large to enjoy the benefits of limited liability and more money for investment. Many doctors, lawyers, and individuals and partners in a variety of businesses have incorporated.
4. Tax advantages. Once a person, partnership, or group of individuals have incorporated, they often receive significant tax advantages. They can deduct expenses for automobiles, meals, trips, and much more from their taxes. They can reinvest profits into the corporation to postpone paying taxes, and more. One of the most important tax advantages is tax-free fringe benefits, such as retirement funds.
5. Perpetual life. Because corporations are separate from those who own them, the death of one or more owners does not terminate the corporation.