книги / Business English for Students of Technical Universities

Example for a Student A:

Originally: 1. Know what type of handshake to give. In China, it may be wise to wait and see if your host offers a handshake.

Transformed:

a)If you are in China, you will need to wait for your host’s handshake to follow it or not. (1st conditional)

b)If I were you, I wouldn’t initiate a handshake in China; I would wait for a host’s handshake. (2nd conditional)

c)If only you had waited for a handshake of our host in China, we wouldn’t have been in such an awkward situation. (3rd conditional)

Task 15. Make a presentation on some peculiarities of business etiquette around the world (choose any country you wish). In your 5-7-minute report on the topic, include the following information:

•Geographical location of the country.

•The place of the country in the world market.

•The main industries and services of the country.

•The main foreign business partners.

•The rules of meeting arrangement.

•Punctuality rules.

•Clothing rules (dress code).

•Greeting and business card exchange rules.

•Behaviour at negotiations, meetings and co-working.

•Having meals etiquette.

•Business gifts exchange rules.

Task 16. If you could work in any country of the world, which one would you choose? What aspects of its culture do you particularly like or dislike? Learn more about some business etiquette aspects in this country and give a 2-3-minute talk.

Task 17. Find out some facts about business etiquette in Russia as it is seen by other cultures. Make a 2-minute talk on specific aspects of running business in Russia.

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Tip:

You may use the following sources or other ones: https://understandrussia.com/business/

https://www.communicaid.com/cross-cultural-training/blog/top-tips-for-doing-business-in- russia/

https://countrynavigator.com/blog/culture-guides/russian-business-culture/

Task 18. Learn more about business etiquette in any country of your choice, then:

•write an essay to give tips to people running business in the country chosen;

OR

•make it in the form of an infographic (can be similar to the “TOP TEN TIPS”) in order to give some tips to people running business in a chosen country.

Task 19. China is playing a growing role in the world economy. Read more about Chinese business protocol and etiquette and write an essay on the topic: “Aspects of having business with Chinese companies”.

REFERENCES

1.https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/ethics

2.http://www.kennycolman.com/the-difference-between-business-ethics-and- business-etiquette/

3.https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/

4.https://www.dictionary.com/

5.https://www.englishhints.com/prefix-list.html

6.http://textappeal.com/cultureshocks/culture-shocks-around-the-world/

7.https://realbusiness.co.uk/infographic-business-etiquette-blunders-across- globe/

8.http://languagelearningbase.com/186/english-tenses

9.https://twitter.com/DynaSpeakNZCEL3/status/652221846671069184

10.https://quizlet.com

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UNIT 2. TYPES OF BUSINESS. STRUCTURE OF A COMPANY

The ability to confront issues is really important

to a successful career, maybe even a successful life.

Bill Gates

PART 1. TYPES OF BUSINESS ENTERPRISES

Text A: Types of Business

Task 1. Learn new words from the Vocabulary:

•business – дело, работа, бизнес; компания, фирма, предприятие

•to run business – вести дела; руководить предприятием; управлять компанией

•the Board – совет директоров

•chairman of the Board – председатель совета директоров

•capitalization – общая сумма акционерного капитала; капитализация, превращение в капитал

•corporation – корпорация, объединение; акционерное общество

•extend credit – предоставить кредит

•failure – неудача, провал; невыполнение

•liability – ответственность, обязанность; обязательство

•owner – владелец; собственник

•partnership – товарищество

•profit – прибыль

•share (n) – доля, часть, акция, пай, (v) – делиться, разделять

•shareholder – акционер, пайщик, держатель акций

•sole proprietorship – единоличное владение, единоличная собственность, индивидуальное предпринимательство

•sole proprietor/ trader – единоличный владелец

•“sleeping partner” – компаньон, не участвующий активно в деле и мало известный;

•Stock Exchange – фондовая биржа, биржа ценных бумаг.

Task 2. Read and translate the verbs and their derivatives:

to employ – employment – employer – employee – unemployment – unemployed to fail – failure

to invest – investor – investment to own – owner – ownership

to possess – possession

to profit – profit (n) – profitable – profitability – profit making – non-profit making

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Task 3. Read the text and be ready to do the exercises below.

Types of Business

Every business must have a business structure. The stability of the structure, the adequacy of capitalization, and the amount of liability of the owners are all critical factors in the decision to buy, sell or extend credit. The way even boards conduct business is subject to judicial scrutiny and board members can experience personal liability for failure to honour business structure rules.

This work discusses the various structures a business can have, how to create them, how to preserve them, and what can go wrong when they are operated incorrectly.

When a business first begins, its owner or owners must decide what structure or form it will take. This structure will determine many things about the business, including the liability of its owners under various circumstances.

In Britain, a public limited company – “PLC” for short – is a company whose shares anyone can buy. You don’t have to work for the company or have any other connection with it. If you own shares, you own a piece of the company and regularly receive a part of the company’s profits, known as your “dividend”. A public limited company must have at least 7 people, but may in fact have several thousand shareholders. If any individual bought more than 50 % of the shares, he would automatically be able to control the company. Once such a company has started business, you don’t buy more shares by investing more money in it. Instead, you buy shares from existing shareholders. In a public limited company, you can buy and sell these shares openly and freely, generally through a Stock Exchange.

In a second type of business – a private limited company – a shareholder can only sell shares if all the other shareholders agree. Such companies have between 2 and 50 shareholders, and the company’s name includes the word “Limited” (or the abbreviation “Ltd”). In both these types of business, shareholders are “liable” for the company’s debts only up to the value of their shares. This means that if the company goes bankrupt, you (as a shareholder) will only lose your shares – nothing more.

But let us imagine you own a British business which is not limited. Maybe you are a “sole proprietor” (i. e. the only owner) or you are in a “partnership” (a business owned by between 2 and 20 people) Then you have unlimited liability for your company’s debts. This means that if the company goes bankrupt, you may even have to sell your personal possessions (car, furniture and so on) in order to pay the company’s debts. If your partners don’t play any active role in the running

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and the work of the business, they are known as “sleeping partners”. But they share the profits with you and run the same risks if the company fails.

Similar to a limited company in Britain is the type of organisation in the United States known as a corporation. Like a British limited company, it has a Board of directors (led by a chairman), who are often the major shareholders and who make the important decisions on company policy. The board normally employs a president and a number of vice presidents to execute this policy and to run the company’s day-to-day business. In some corporations, the chairman of the board and the president are one and the same person.

Task 4. Look through the text and find the English equivalents of the following Russian sentences:

1)вы можете продать свои акции при условии согласия других акционеров;

2)вы можете купить акции у других акционеров компании;

3)вы вынуждены продать свое имущество, чтобы заплатить долги компании;

4)совет директоровнанимает президентаи ряд вице-президентов компании;

5)когда какая-либо фирма зарождается, ее владелец или владельцы должны решить, какую структуру или форму она примет.

Task 5. Be ready to discuss the following questions on the text “Types of Business”

1)What factors are critical in the decision to buy, sell or extend credit?

2)What must an owner decide when he or she first starts a business?

3)What things about a business can be determined by its structure?

4)What are the basic forms of business organization?

Task 6. Study the information below and give some examples of Russian or foreign companies for each type of business:

•PLC, plc – public limited company; its shares are traded on the Stock Exchange and an authorized share capital must be at least £ 50,000 («публичная компания» in Russian)

•Ltd. – private limited company; its shares may not be offered for sale to the public.

•Joint venture – business activity in which two or more people or organizations work together. It involves the pooling of resources of one or more companies in

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a common undertaking. Each party contributes asset in the shape of funds, technological skills (or, know-how), production facilities or labour.

•A sole trader – is a private individual who runs a one-man business.

•A partnership – is an association of two or more people sharing the risks and profits in agreed proportions.

•A multinational (company) [or, MNC] – a firm which owns (or controls) production or services outside the country in which it is based.

•A franchise – a business that is authorized to operate under the name of another company.

Text B. Sole Trader

Task 1. Learn new words from the Vocabulary:

•income – доход, поступление (revenue), прибыль (profit)

•turnover – оборот

•to make a profit – получать прибыль

•loss – убыток

•to make a loss – нести убытки

•deal – сделка, соглашение

•to make a deal – заключать сделку

•retail – n. розничная продажа, розница v. продавать в розницу

•to hire – нанимать (на работу)

•proprietor/ trader – собственник, владелец

•ownership – собственность, право собственности

•valid – действительный, имеющий силу

•valid contract – контракт, составленный в соответствии с действующим законодательством

•tax – n. налог, сбор, пошлина v. облагать налогом

•rate – норма, размер; ставка, тариф; курс, цена

•to raise (money, cаpital) – добывать, собрать (деньги), сколотить (капитал)

•to borrow – занимать, брать взаймы

•enterprise – предприятие

•damage – ущерб

•debt – долг, задолженность

•to be in the red = to be in debt = to make losses – нести убытки

•to be in the black = to make a profit – работать с прибылью

•collection of debts – взыскание долгов

•assets – активы; средства; капитал; фонды; имущество, собственность

•party – сторона

•credit rating – оценка / показатель кредитоспособности заемщика

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•licence (англ.), license (ам.) – лицензия, разрешение

•to obtain a licence – получить лицензию

Task 3. Read and translate the verbs and their derivatives:

•to agree – agreement

•to decide – decision – decisively

•to depend – dependence – independence – dependent – independent

•to exist – existence

•to inherit – inheritance

•to operate – operator – operation

•to regulate – regulation

•to require – requirement

•to sell – seller

Task 4. Read the text and be ready to do the exercises below.

Sole Trader

Sole Trader (or a sole proprietor) is a person who owns and runs a business, and is the only person responsible for it and is personally liable for any debts his business has. They are individuals who operate their small business and sign commercial contracts on their own.

The legal form is not to be indicated in the name of the firm. The hired staff are not referred to as traders. The traders must be registered in the trade register,

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obtain a licence to start and do their business and keep the books reflecting the results of the latter.

Sole traders do not have to prepare annual reports but have to submit the documents about the profit they have made on regular basis.

Many sole traders operate under a “doing business as” (d/b/a) name and that name sometimes hides the fact that the business is a sole proprietorship. It is important for creditors and sellers to verify the nature of the business and find out who is liable for the firm’s contracts and agreements. Indeed, the signature of the sole trader, not the name of the business, is necessary in order to have a valid contract because the business as such has no legal existence and cannot contract – only the owner can.

One of the advantages of a sole proprietorship is its independence. An owner works for himself or herself and can make decisions quickly and decisively without having to consult others. Except for the compliance with statutes and regulations, the owner is free to deal as he or she sees fit.

Other advantages of the sole proprietorship include ease of establishment, secrecy (financial data can remain confidential), and the tax advantage an individual trader, by law, pays fewer taxes and at a lower rate than does a corporation.

There are disadvantages to this form of business organization, however. The limited potential for profit is one of them. Such businesses are typically started with limited resources, because there are limits to the amount of money a single individual can raise. Also, since it is dependent upon the amount of money the owner has saved or can borrow, usually it doesn’t develop into a large-scale enterprise.

Managerial problems may also develop, because the owner may be too personally involved in the business to seek aid or may not be able to afford the help that’s needed. Sole traders also suffer from unlimited liability meaning that any damage or debt that can be attributed to the business can also be attached to the owner. So, there is no one to turn to for the collection of debts except the sole trader. If the losses prove to be greater than the investment, the individual is responsible for paying them, even if this depletes all personal assets. To satisfy a business debt the owner’s home may be taken. The business may also be disadvantaged by limited life. The sole proprietorship ends with the incapacity or death of the owner. The assets can be inherited by a person who may then become the operator, but legally the business dies with its owner.

Because of the ease of formation and the ability to declare personal bankruptcy as a halt to the business, these types of firms present greater risks in credit extension. The credit rating of the firm is the credit rating of the trader.

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Sole proprietorships usually do not last long in this form. They either go on to different forms of existence in order to raise capital or become part of the statistics on failed businesses.

Task 5. Look through the text and answer the following questions:

1)Why is it correct to say that the sole proprietorship is truly informal business?

2)What is a sole proprietorship?

3)In which spheres of business do sole traders normally work?

4)Must the name of the sole traders be indicated in the name of the firm?

5)Are people hired to work in the sole proprietorships considered to be proprietors?

6)How do many sole proprietorships operate?

7)What is the tax position of a sole proprietorship?

8)What does unlimited liability mean?

9)Does the sole proprietorship end with the incapacity or death of the owner?

10)Why do sole proprietorships present greater risks in credit extension?

Task 6. Find appropriate equivalents in the Text B for the following phrases:

1)к единоличному владению не предъявляется никаких требований относительно его создания;

2)заключаются коммерческие сделки;

3)служащие, работающие по договору найма;

4)юридическая форма; быть зарегистрированным в торговом реестре;

5)вести торговые книги;

6)ведет дело под именем;

7)необходима подпись единоличного собственника, а не название фирмы;

8)фирма как таковая не существует с юридической точки зрения и не может заключать договоры.

Task 7. For each word in the left column, find the word in the right one having the same meaning:

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Task 8. Fill in the gaps with prepositions:

1)it is dependent _______ the amount of money the owner has saved.

2)there is no one to turn _______ for the collection of debts.

3)It is important _______ creditors and sellers to verify the nature of the business.

4)who is liable _______ the firm’s contracts and agreements.

5)present greater risk _______ credit extension.

6)the credit rating _______ the firm.

7)do not last long _______ this form.

8)part of the statistics _______ failed business.

Task 9. Write in some advantages and disadvantages of the sole proprietorship:

Discuss advantages and disadvantages of the sole proprietorship using the following constructions:

•On the one hand, the sole trader is the easiest form of business to start, but on the other hand, it has the tendency to be small in size and profit.

•Although the sole trader is easy to start, there is limited potential for profit.

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