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UNIT 1. A COMMON EUROPEAN MARKET

Read and translate the texts. Remember as many details as you can. Render the texts.

The creation of the common market is one of the central purposes of the European Community. The specific activities to fulfil this task can be found in Article 3: Article 3(l) (a) refers to the prohibition of customs duties while Article 3(l) (b) refers to the Community’s common commercial policy, as well as common policies in certain areas, such as agriculture, fisheries and transport. Article 3(l) (g) specifies that the Community shall introduce a system to ensure that ‘competition in the internal market is not distorted’, and Article 3(l) (h) provides for ‘the approximation of laws of the Member States to the extent required for the functioning of the common market’.

Following the SEA, another term was introduced, that of an ‘internal market’. Although often treated as synonymous with the ‘common market’, it is arguable that there is a difference in scope. Article 14 (ex 7a) describes the internal market as: ‘an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty’.

These are referred to together as the ‘four freedoms’. The common market, in addition to the four freedoms, also deals with common commercial policy – commercial relations with third countries – and competition policy. On this basis, the term common market is slightly wider than internal market. The ECJ has, in practice, not tended to distinguish between the terms.

The principle of freedom of movement of goods has been described as a fundamental freedom, the ‘corner-stone’ of the Community. For many Member States the opportunity of access for their goods to a single, Community-wide market was, and remains, a primary reason for membership. The free play of market forces within that larger market would increase economic efficiency, widen consumer choice, and enhance the Community’s competitiveness in world markets. However, since the principle of freedom of movement was intended to apply to all goods, including goods imported from outside the Community, it was necessary to eliminate distortions of competition resulting from different national rules regulating trade with third countries by presenting a common commercial front to the outside world. To achieve these goals the Treaty sought:

(a) to establish a customs union which shall involve (Article 23 EC):

(i)‘the prohibition between Member States of customs duties on imports and exports and of all charges having equivalent effect’, and

(ii)‘the adoption of a common customs tariff in their relations with third countries’;

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(b)the elimination of quantitative restrictions on imports and exports and all measures having equivalent effect (art. 28 and 29);

(c)in addition States were required to adjust any State monopolies of a commercial character so as to ensure that no discrimination regarding the conditions under which goods are procured and marketed exists between nationals of Member States (art. 31 EC).

The provisions relating to the free movement of goods apply to both industrial and agricultural products (save, where agriculture is concerned, as otherwise provided in art. 33–38 EC), whether originating in Member States or coming from third countries which are in free circulation in Member States, even where, in the latter case, the goods have been admitted to the original State of import under special dispensation from the Commission under art. 134.

The Customs Union

Art. 23 makes it clear that the customs union has both internal and external aspects. The external aspect involves the adoption of the common customs tariff. The internal aspect requires the elimination of customs duties and charges having equivalent effect on goods in free circulation within the Community.

The prohibition on customs duties on intra-Community trade is achieved by virtue of art. 25 of the Treaty. The Court has interpreted the prohibition contained in art. 25 strictly in ruling unlawful national levies imposed on imported or exported goods. In Commission v Italy (case 7/68) the Court considered the compatibility with art. 25 of an Italian tax on the export of art treasures. It was unarguable that a duty was levied on items crossing the Italian frontier. None the less, the Italian Government presented two arguments based on the Treaty rules on customs duties in order to persuade the Court that its system was compatible with Community law. Neither argument proved successful. Firstly, it was argued that the items on which the levy was raised were of artistic and cultural, not commercial, significance, and that for the purposes of Community law they did not count as ‘goods’ at all. The argument failed because the Court insisted that even items of artistic merit that can be valued in money and that are capable of forming the subject matter of commercial transactions do not escape the ambit of art. 25. The Court’s ruling was supported by the fact that the Italian authorities were prepared to make an economic assessment of the value of goods concerned in order to fix the amount of tax demanded, which revealed that even Italian law acknowledged the commercial nature of the items.

Secondly, it was submitted that the purpose of the tax was not to raise money for the national exchequer, but instead to retain national cultural artifacts within Italy. This function, it was argued, took the system outside the ambit of art. 25. The Court declined to follow this line of reasoning and found Italy in violation of the Treaty. It explained that art. 25 applied where the price of goods was inflated by a tax imposed by reason of the crossing of a frontier and where,

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accordingly, transfrontier trade was impeded. The purpose behind the tax could not alter the application of art. 25. As a matter of policy this seems entirely in accordance with the Treaty objective of market integration. In fact, an emphasis on effect, not purpose, is a stance that pervades EC trade law.

UNIT 2. GLOBAL COMMUNICATION

Read and translate the texts. Remember as many details as you can. Render the texts.

Three years ago, European Freightways, a haulage company, had a little

“suggestion box”. Its 13,300 staff dropped in about one offering a month. But things have changed. It now has a contract with an outsourced, telephone-based employee feedback service – and receives 200 calls a month from its workforce. Suggestions have ranged from how to maintain equipment to the best way to bid for work on certain routes. “All people have to pick up a phone – it has been very beneficial”, says Mr. John Sherman, vice-president for “people management”. The person behind In Touch is Peter Lilienthal, a Minneapolis businessman. The concept is simplicity itself, yet clients have nothing but praise.

In Touch provides a freecall number, which the client’s employees can dial at any time. Messages are then transcribed verbatim and forwarded to the company’s executives within one working day. For companies with 5000 employees or more In Touch will provide a monthly breakdown of calls, highlighting areas of concern. It can also provide some foreign-language servicesSpanish, for example. It is successful, says Mr. Lilienthal, partly because the service is independent and, unlike typical in-house communication system, callers can remain anonymous.

Having watched tens of companies implement the system, Mr. Lilienthal says it is almost impossible to predict what the response will be. But the notes that there is often a quiet interval at outset, while employees wait to see whether messages will be taken seriously. That is followed by e period when minor, bot- tled-up grievances emerge. Finally, once the system is established, the number of calls typically falls away, and their value increases. This, too, is confirmed by clients.

Mr. Lilienthal has a couple of tips for anyone introducing the system.

First, make sure the service is relatively unrestricted, and advertised as a “complaint” line. Second, convince workers that calls will be taken seriously. European Freightways, for example, promises to get back to all employees who leave their names within ten days. Executives to whom messages are forwarded are given five days to respond. Pillsbury makes a point of publicizing the most relevant messages, together with responses, via its in-house newspaper or internal e- mail system.

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UNIT 3. INTERNATIONAL MARKETING

Read and translate the texts. Remember as many details as you can. Render the texts.

No one contests the economic necessity of geographically extending a product – it is a source of economies of scale, of amortization of rising research- and-development costs and of competitive advantage in local markets. But how far do we push the global idea? For example, the Mars brand is not absolutely global. The Mars chocolate bar is sold as an all-round nutritious snack in the UK and as energizer in Europe (two different concepts and positioning for the same physical product). Nestle adapts the taste of its worldwide brands to local consumer expectations. The Nescafe formulas vary worldwide.

Global marketing implies the wish to extend a single marketing mix to a particular region (for example Europe or Asia) or even to the world. It also denotes a situation in which a firm’s competitive position in one country can be significantly affected by its position in other countries. The global approach sees the role of individual countries as only part of a wider competitive strategy.

The aim of marketing globalization is not to maximize sales but to increase profitability. In the first place, it cuts out duplicated tasks. For example, instead of bringing out different TV advertising for each country, a firm can use a single film for one region. The McCann-Erickson agency is proud of the fact it has saved Coca-Cola $90 million in production costs over the past 20 years by producing films with global appeal.

Globalization allows a firm to exploit good ideas, wherever they come from. Timotei shampoo was developed in Finland and spread to other European countries. The beverage Malibu, which is sold worldwide, was created in South Africa.

In drinking Coca-Cola, we drink the American myth-fresh, open, bubbling, youth, dynamic, all-American images. Young people in search of identity form a particular target. In an effort to stand out from others, they draw their sources of identity from cultural models provided by the media. Levi’s are linked with a mythical image of breaking away down the lonely road – an image part James Dean, part Jack Kerouac, tinted with a glimpse of a North American Eldorado. Nike tells young people to surprise themselves, to transcend the national confines of race and culture.

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UNIT 4. JOBS AND CAREERS

Read and translate the texts. Remember as many details as you can. Render the texts.

Flexible working, often through a job share, is pushing its way up corporate agendas as a way to attract and retain staff in the unceasing ‘war for talent’. More than 90 per cent of job shares are women, and most of them have childcare responsibilities. The industries keenest on job shares include banking and finance, IT and public services. A recent report from Income Data Services says the number of workers in job shares has doubled to about 200,000 in ten years. Management jobs are now being shared, whereas formerly only occupations such as nursing and secretarial work featured.

Angela Baron, adviser (employee resources) at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development from Spain, believes all jobs can be shared, up to the highest level. She says: “After all, hospital nurses and doctors make lifeaffecting decisions based on handed-over information. What is more important than that?”

Most employers who are allow job shares like them. Staff is more motivated because they can work the hours that suit them. There is less absenteeism, staff working half-weeks are often fresher, and two workers on the same job can be more creative. Ms. Baron says: “When there’s a tricky problem, you actually have two brains instead of one”. One disadvantage for employers is potential difficulty finding a replacement if a job-share partner leaves. Extra training and equipment may also be necessary.

Workers like job sharing because it allows them to keep a firmer footing on the job ladder, when returning from maternity leave. There is no blanket legal obligation on an employer to offer a job share or part-time working. If management opposes the creation of a job share, there may be no easy way to secure it. It is often easier in areas with a history of job sharing. They are far more prevalent in the public sector, for example. In your company has a flexible working culture, you are more likely to achieve a job share. Most shares operate on a 50/50 basis, with one partner working from Monday to Wednesday and the other from Wednesday to Friday.

The key to be a successful job share is a compatible and trusting relationship with your partner, underpinned by a satisfactory contract. If you hoard and play power games with information, this sort of arrangement is unsuitable. Sue Monk, chief executive of Family Works, Poland, says: “You’ve got to be prepared to put an extra effort to make it work. For example, if you are busy, you may need to put in a phone call in the evening. You have to very responsible. It is easy to leave things for someone else to do”.

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UNIT 5. MANAGEMENT STYLES

Read and translate the texts. Remember as many details as you can. Render the texts.

After centuries of male dominance, management style has been influenced by more feminine culture in recent years. Amongst many results of this change in attitudes, the importance of “soft” skills in management has emerged. Many researchers examined how the psychological make up of men and women affects their ability to do different things. Men and women are two separate issues; they are good at different things, not being better or smarter than the other.

Some 94% of air traffic controllers are male. It not a matter of tradition – it is biological. The right front portion of the brain relates to visual skill and brain scanners show that most women do not have clearly defined visual spatial areas. Women are not applied for this job, because their brains are not interested in that action. On the other hand, 82% of personnel officers and 75% of language teachers are women. This is because of the communication required. Women enjoy building up relations with other people.

In conclusion, we should say that men really need to get their act together if they want to avoid redundancy in the next millennium. Autocratic leadership, which is typical of men, is a thing of the past. Managers of the future need to communicate effectively, to organize teams and co-operate and work together. Women’s brains are much more required in the work nowadays.

The relationship between language and sex has attracted considerable attention in recent years, largely as a consequence of public concern over male and female equality. In many countries, there is now an awareness, which was lacking a generation ago, of the way in which language can reflect and help to maintain social attitudes towards men and women. The criticism have been directs exclusively at the linguistic biases that constitute a male-oriented view of the world, fostering unfair sexual discrimination, and, it is argued, leading to a denigration of the role of women in society. English has received more discussions that any other language, largely because of the impact of early American feminism. Several areas of grammar and vocabulary have been cited. In grammar -that has attracted most attention is the lack of a sex-neutral, third-personal singular pronoun in English, especially in its use after indefinite pronouns, e.g. If anyone wants a copy, he can have one. (In the plural, there is no problem.). No natural-sounding option exists: one is considered very. Formal, and forms such as he or she are stylistically awkward.

Many other examples of linguistic bias have been given. In the lexicon, particular attention has been paid to the use of ‘male’ items in sex-neutral contexts, such as man in generic phrases (the man in the street, stoneage man, etc.), and the potential for replacing it by genuinely neutral terms (chairman – chairperson, salesman – sales assistant, etc.). Another lexical field that is considered problematic is marital status, where bias is seen in such phrases as X’s widow

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(but act usually Y’s widower), the practice of changing the woman’s surname at marriage, and the use of Mrs and Мiss (hence the introduction of Ms as a neutral alternative). The extent of the bias is often remarked upon. In one computer analysis of child school books, male pronouns were four times as common as female pronouns. In another study, 220 terms were found in English for sexually promiscuous women and only 22 for sexually promiscuous men. It is easy to see how sexual stereotypes would be reinforced by differences of this kind.

UNIT 6. FRAUD AND CORRUPTION

Read and translate the texts. Remember as many details as you can. Render the texts.

A survey of 121 European firms last year by Control Risks Group (CRG), a security consultancy, found that two-fifth had recently held back from an otherwise attractive foreign investment because of the country’s reputation for corruption. Western firms are temping targets for local crooks, who may feel it is less morality reprehensible to steal from foreigners. Besides the risk of robbery, there is the risk of embarrassment from association with mobsters, as when the Bank of New York was apparently used to launder Russian Mafia money. According to John Bray of CRG, fraud is the biggest risk of doing business in emerging markets, but most firms have no training program to prevent it.

Before investing, firms should investigate prospective local partners to make sure that that they are not crooks. In many poor countries, investors will be asked for bribes in return for a swift issue of necessary permits. Until recently, such expenses were tax-deductible for firms from many European countries. However, an anti-bribery convention has come into force for all rich countries. These days, bribery can lead to bad publicity and even to prosecution at home, so firms increasingly refuse to grease the palms held out to them.

Even if top managers are clean, locally hired middle managers may not be. Such reputable American banks as Citibank and American Express have discovered that they had local managers with links to mobsters. And, faced with American – style sales targets, the temptation to clinch deals through bribes may be irresistible.

Local managers are also more vulnerable to threats; they cannot fly home to France or Canada. So, firms should teach them how to refuse demands for bribes without getting hurt. Techniques include insisting that somebody else is responsible for the decision in question and never going alone to meeting with people who may demand bribes. Most important, firms should make sure that all accounts are scrupulously transparent. Fortunately, accountants are exceptionally mobile. All it takes for a big accounting firm to set up an office in Brazzaville to Vladivostok is for a partner to move there, so one can find a competent bookkeeper almost anywhere.

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UNIT 7. E-COMMERCE

Read and translate the texts. Remember as many details as you can. Render the texts.

How often in business do you find a market growing at more than 200 per cent a year, where few participants have any form of dominance?

This is exactly the scenario in Western Europe’s online retail market. With online sales accounting for only two-tenths of a per cent of the entire retail market, the field is wide open – but it will not be for long. Many established European retailers and Internet start-ups are already laying claim to this valuable online territory.

Already, US groups have some 20 per cent of the European online market. Europe’s battle for the online consumer will be fought quickly and won decisively by a few big online retailers. European retailers have more than a fighting chance to be among them but will have to move swiftly and strategically on severally on several fronts.

First, retailers must move quickly to secure space on the online consumer’s virtual shelf. Consumers are becoming familiar with online retail brands and are concentrating their spending on sites they recognize and trust.

Second, retailers need to exploit the interactivity of the Internet to understand and cater for customers. More than half do not track the number of unique visitors to their sites, and only one-third know the number of repeat buyers.

Third, European retailers need to build international scale while preserving local touch. The challenge for European online retailers is to scale their businesses to international levels while continuing to cater to diverse local markets. Their ability to do this will give European retailers a clear advantage over US competitors, whose formidable online retailing experience has been tested only in the relatively homogenous North American market. European companies have the home advantage of being more familiar with local consumer profiles, preferences, cultures and languages.

Finally, retailers must strive for flawless fulfillment and customer service. European online retailers are still struggling to get this right. As online consumers become more demanding and less tolerant of online purchase failures, the big winners in the battle for online market share in Europe will be those businesses that successfully and consistently deliver a satisfying, end-to-end purchase experience. The losers will be those that promise a better online purchase experience than they can deliver.

Task 1. Answer the following questions.

1.What is one of the main objectives of the European Community?

2.Does the Treaty provide for concrete ways to achieve the common market? What are they?

3.When did the “internal market” term appear?

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4.What is the difference between the two terms: the internal market and the common market?

5.Does the ECJ distinguish between them?

6.Is the access of goods to the common market an important consideration for member states?

7.Does the principle of freedom of movement cover only the goods produced on the territory of the EC?

8.What was the subject matter of the Commission v Italy case?

9.What arguments were presented by Italy? What was the Court’s decision?

10.How does the ECJ define CEE?

11.Is a government-sponsored campaign in favour of home-produced goods a barrier to trade?

12.Is it possible for a member to maintain barriers to the free movement of goods?

Task 2. Suggest the Russian equivalents for the following words and phrases.

To specify; internal market; competition policy; to distinguish between the two terms; to enhance competitiveness; to originate in member states; under special dispensation; ambit; to submit; to follow this line of reasoning; to impede transfrontier trade; to pervade; a pecuniary charge; subtle barriers to trade; on their face; to bear a heavy burden of proof; a fundamental tenet; case law; MEQR.

Task 3. Find in the text the English equivalents for the following Russian words and phrases.

Конкретные действия; общая торговая политика; сближение законодательств; потребительский выбор; устранить возможные нарушения правил конкуренции; промышленные и сельскохозяйственные товары; находиться в свободном обращении; признать незаконными национальные сборы; бесспорно; взимать пошлину; провести экономическую оценку; добиться отмены сборов; облагать пошлиной на границе; подпадать под действие статьи; материальное право.

Task 4. Translate the text into English.

Поиск работников

Поиск квалифицированного работника вне компании наиболее сложная часть процесса заполнения вакансий. Успех расширяющейся компании часто зависит от эффективности работы отдела кадров и программы поиска. Данный вид поиска использует многочисленные способы. Так могут быть эффективными рекомендации служащих фирмы. Для того, чтобы стимулировать этот процесс, предлагаются поощрительные выплаты.

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Профсоюзы также способны быть источником рекомендаций претендентов на должность.

Однако фирма обязана сама выполнять самую активную роль по поиску подходящих кандидатов, проводя рекламную кампанию, контактируя с агентствами по трудоустройства, посылая работников отдела кадров в университеты. Согласно одному исследованию, 70% всех вакантных должностей фирм при поиске вне организации заполняются именно с помощью агентов по трудоустройству.

Государственные агентства обеспечивают информацией без взимания какой-либо платы. Частные агентства, как правило, специализируются в поиске исполнителей высокого уровня.

Task 5. Replace the underlined expressions with the words from the box.

Countries import some goods and services from abroad, and export others to the rest of the world. Trade in (1) raw materials and goods is called visible trade in Britain and merchandise trade in the US. Services, such as banking, insurance, tourism, and technical expertise, are invisible imports and exports. A country can have a surplus or a deficit in its (2) difference between total earnings from visible exports and total expenditure on visible imports, and in its (3) difference between total earnings from all exports and total expenditure on all imports. Most countries have to pay their deficits with foreign currencies from their reserves, although of course the USA can usually pay in dollars, the unofficial world trading currency. Countries without currency reserves can attempt to do international trade by way of (4) direct exchanges of goods without the use of money. The (imaginary) situation in which a country is completely selfsufficient and has no foreign trade is called autarky.

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), concluded in 1994, aims to maximize international trade and to minimize (5) the favouring of domestic industries. GATT is based on the comparative cost principle, which is that all nations will raise their income if they specialize in producing the commodities in which they have the highest relative productivity. Countries may have an absolute or a comparative advantage in producing particular goods or services, because of (6) inputs (raw materials, cheap or skilled labour, capital, etc.), (7) weather conditions, (8) specialization of work into different jobs,

(9) savings in unit costs arising from large-scale production, and so forth. Yet most governments still pursue protectionist policies, establishing trade barriers such as (10) taxes charged on imports, (11) restrictions on the quantity of imports, administrative difficulties, and so on.

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