The Concept of Business

Several years in a row, taking my 20-minute lunch break, I have seen free of charge distribution of goods from cigarettes to popcorn, crackers or candies. These were samples of new goods which the producer companies wanted the customers to get acquainted with. This is one type of advertising.

Another type is showing a product in action. Once we got a call from a company selling vacuum cleaners with a suggestion that we have a look at their new model. We agreed to see it and in the evening of the same day a woman came to our place and cleaned half the house. We liked the vacuum cleaner.

Another way of advertising is the distribution of gifts. From time to time you are mailed strange notices: "Congratulations. You have won one of the following prizes.^’’ Then comes a list of prizes which may include a car, a million dollars, a TV set, a camera, etc. To find out what exactly the prize is and to get it, you have to call the enclosed number: most of the mоnеу spent on the intercity сall goes to the organizers of the whole thing. You may spend $10 or more. Some of my friends called the magic number only to know they had won a оne-dollar piece out of the list. This business has nothing to do with advertising or selling it is simply a trap for the gullible.

Other gift notices are mоrе serious. Often I get invitations to visit car salons. My time to get there and to test-drive a new car is compensated by a gift, such as a portable radio, a beauty set, a turner's kit, etc.

Selling by catalogue is very popular. Every day you are mailed several catalogues. The most popular of them come in the form of colorful big booklets containing pictures of goods_, their regular price, the price in the shop belonging to the firm, and the price of selling by mail. Big companies may also offer you credit on goods they sell.

The art of selling is for the persistent. Without persistent sellers America wouldn't be what it is now.

Commercials, especially television ones, are very expensive and not all companies can afford them. Usually the sellers of similar goods pool their funds to buy one ad. Often producers pay for ads.

Advertising expenditures in the US are comparable to the budgets of some countries. However, it is not for nothing that society undertakes such spending. It helps to move goods more quickly and efficiently. This means that the funds spent on the manufacturing of goods return to circulation more quickly which, in turn, accelerates economic growth.

 

IV. Answer the following questions using the active vocabulary of the text.

 

1. What is the most primitive method of promotion products?

2. What do some shops organize?

3. What kinds of advertising do you know?

4. Who can achieve the art of selling?

5. Who can afford commercials?

6. What helps to accelerate economic growth?

5. Read the text again and decide whether these statements are true (T) or

false (F).

 

1. It takes no efforts to sell anything in America.
2. To organize regular sales at discount prices does not mean that the goods sold at a discount are of an inferior quality.
3. The distribution of gifts is simply a trap for the gullible.
4. Big companies may also offer you free of charge goods.
5. Advertising expenditures in the US are comparable to the budgets of a small town.

 

VI. Find Russian equivalents to the following phrases in the second column.

 

1.be engaged in 2.attract customers 3.inferior quality 4.get acquainted with 5.enclosed number 6.intercity сall 7.portable radio 8.beauty set 9.turner's kit 10.accelerate economic growth

a)привлечь покупателей b)косметический набор c)междугородний звонок d)переносное радио e)плохого качества f)быть вовлеченным g)ускорять экономический рост h)прилагаемый номер i)познакомиться j)токарный набор

 

VII. Choose the appropriate translation of the following sentences.

 

1. In this case the main task is to get people into the shop and make them interested in what you offer.

a) В этом случае главной задачей является привлечь людей в магазин и заинтересовать их в том, что вы предлагаете.

b) В этом случае главной задачей является получить людей в магазин и сделать их заинтересованными во что вы предлагаете.

2. These were samples of new goods which the producer companies wanted the customers to get acquainted with.

а) Это образцы новых товаров, которые производительные компании хотели покупателей познакомить.

b) Это были образцы новых товаров, с которыми компании- производители хотели бы познакомить потребителей.

3. Once we got a call from a company selling vacuum cleaners with a suggestion that we have a look at their new model.

a) Однажды нам позвонили из одной компании, продающей пылесосы, с предложением взглянуть на их новую модель.

b) Однажды мы получили звонок из компании, продающей пылесосы, с предложением, чтобы мы взглянули на их новую модель.

4. Some of my friends called the magic number only to know they had won a one-dollar piece out of the list.

a) Некоторые мои друзья позвонили по волшебному номеру только узнать, что они выиграли однодолларовый кусок из списка.

b) Некоторые из моих друзей звонили по магическому номеру только для того, чтобы узнать, что они выиграли однодолларовый товар из списка.

5. Without persistent sellers America wouldn't be what it is now.

a) Без настойчивых продавцов Америка не будет тем, чем есть сейчас.

b) Без настойчивых продавцов Америка не была бы такой, какой она является сейчас.

 

VIII. Make an outline of the text consisting of 5-8 sentences.

 

IX. Retell the text according to its outline.

 

IX. Commerce

 

2. Go through the following vocabulary notes to avoid difficulties in understanding and find these words in the text.

commerce	торговля	retail	розничная продажа
commodities	предмет потребления	transaction	сделка
raw material	сырье	wholesale	оптовая торговля
foodstuffs	пищевые продукты	representative	представитель
manufactured	промышленного производства	vital	(жизненно) важный
bear losses	нести убытки	insurance.	страхование
conduct	вести

 

3. Match the words in the left column with the definitions in the right column.

 

commerce commodity transaction transport insurance export trade import trade

a) goods or services sold to a foreign country or countries b) the business or system of transporting goods c) the activity embracing all forms of the purchase and sale of goods and services d) the act, system, or business of providing financial protection for property, life, health e) the act of obtaining and paying for an item or service f) goods or services that are bought from foreign countries g) an article of commerce

 

4. Read the statements and decide whether they are true (T) or false (F).

 

1. Commerce is concerned with the distribution of foodstuffs and manufactured goods.
2. There are three branches of commerce: exporting, importing and wholesaling.
3. Wholesalers buy in large quantities and thus reduce costs.
4. Commerce is the same as trade.
5. There are no other branches that help commerce.

 

5. Read the text and check up your answers in ex. III.

 

Commerce is concerned with the distribution of all kinds – raw materials, foodstuffs, manufactured goods. And I have to say that the business of distribution has become very complex nowadays.

There are four main branches of commerce.

The first one is called the retail trade. For example, when you want to buy something, you go to a person or a shop that sell the products you want, then you make your choice and buy the good. This is a simple example of transaction between consumers and retailers.

The second branch is when retailers buy goods from wholesalers, or the wholesalers – from manufacturers. It’s called the wholesale trade. For the retailers it means lower prices because they buy in large quantities and thus reduce their costs. The wholesalers, in turn, get the goods from manufacturers, and the quantity is much bigger. So they have very larger discounts.

Importing of goods from abroad and selling them to local companies is connected with the third branch of commerce. For example, a company produces cars in the USA and sells them in Europe. This company needs an agent who can represent it in their own country. This agent, in turn, should have a warehouse where they can keep the cars before they have been sold. Sometimes they sell the cars themselves.

The fourth branch of commerce is related to the export trade. Sometimes one country cannot sell all its products at home and it needs a representative who can sell them abroad, or exporter.

Well, in general the four branches of commerce are concerned with buying and selling of goods, and represent different kinds of trade. In this way, trade is the basic commercial activity, while commerce is much more than trade.

To carry out trade you should also have some services, one of which is transport. Transportation helps to move goods from one place to another, and if it’s efficient and developed, then you’ll have fewer problems with home and foreign trade. Transport is vital to trade, so it forms an important branch of commerce.

There are also financial services which are important to commerce. For example, banking and insurance. Without them you won’t have money for your business and you may bear losses if your goods haven’t been insured.

Advertising is also important because it stimulates sales, and then it’s easier for everybody to conduct trade.

The four kinds of trade, together with transport, banking, insurance and advertising, form the main divisions of commerce. And to know and understand them is very important for those, who want to connect their lives with commerce.

 

6. Answer these questions using the active vocabulary of the text.

 

1. What is commerce?
2. What are the branches of commerce? Give examples of each branch.
3. How can wholesalers reduce their costs?
4. Why do companies need agents in other countries?
5. What is an exporter?
6. Why is transport vital to trade?
7. What is the difference between commerce and trade?
8. What forms the main divisions of commerce?

VI. Match the halves of the phrases from the text.

 

1.make	a) larger discounts
2.buy in	b) sales
3.have very	c) trade
4.sell goods	d) large quantities
5.bear	e) their costs
6.stimulate	f) abroad
7.conduct	g) consumers and retailers
8.reduce	h) your choice
9.transaction between	i) lives with commerce
10.connect their	j) losses

 

VII. Find Russian equivalents to the phrases in ex.V.

 

1)нести потери	6)сделки между потребителем и продавцом
2)делать выбор	7)иметь большие  скидки
3)вести торговлю	8)связать  свои жизни с коммерцией
4)увеличивать продажи	9)снижать затраты
5)покупать в больших количествах	10)продавать товары заграницей

 

VIII. Make an outline of the text consisting of 5-8 sentences.

 

IX. Retell the text according to its outline.

 

X. Finance and Accounting

 

1. Go through the following vocabulary notes to avoid difficulties in understanding and find these words in the text.

 

profit	прибыль	clearance	погашение
entrust	возлагать	preferential treatment	обслуживание с приоритетом
disaster	несчастье	discount	скидка
debtor	дебитор	monitor	рекомендовать
confront	противостоять	resort	обращаться
proceeds	доход, вырученная сумма, выручка	factoring	факторинг
insolvency	банкротство	ample	изобильный
account	счёт	monies	денежные суммы
exceed	превышать

 

II. Match the words in the left column with the definitions in the right column.

 

1.profit 2.tax 3.transaction 4.debtor 5.creditor 6.credit 7.insolvency 8.commitment 9.invoice 10.factoring

a) a document issued by a seller to a buyer listing the goods or services supplied and stating the sum of money due b) something that is transacted, esp. a business deal or negotiation c) a person or commercial enterprise to whom money is owed d) a future financial obligation or contingent liability e) a person or commercial enterprise that owes a financial obligation f)a person who has insufficient assets to meet debts and liabilities g) the income or reward accruing to a successful entrepreneur and held to be the motivating factor of all economic activity in a capitalist economy h) the business of purchasing debts from clients at a discount and making a profit from their collection i) the sum of money that a bank makes available to a client in excess of any deposit j) a compulsory financial contribution imposed by a government to raise revenue, levied on the income or property of persons or organizations, on the production costs or sales prices of goods and services, etc

 

III. Read the text and say why the business managers need to keep a record of their transactions.

 

The purpose of any business is to make a profit. Profit is not a dirty word. It simply means that the resources which have been entrusted to us have been used effectively. The more effectively the resources have been used, the more profit will be made. If all the businesses in a country were making a loss there would be an economic disaster. The government taxes business profits and uses the proceeds to pay for free education, the National Health Service, unemployment pay, old age pensions and national defense among other things. So one of the reasons the business managers need to keep a record of their transactions is to allow the Inspector of Taxes to calculate how much tax is due. However, there are other reasons why the business managers want to keep financial records. They want to know whether the policies they are applying are proving to be successful or otherwise. They want to know whether modifications are called for. They also want to know who owes them money (debtors) and to whom they owe money (creditors). They want to make sure they collect all the monies which are due to them, and they also want to make sure they are not suddenly confronted by a creditor they had forgotten about.

Apart from retail business the majority of sales are for credit. When manufacturers sell goods to their retail customers, the retailers will not be expected to pay for them until they have had a chance to sell them to the public. That is the way business normally operates. By giving their customers, say, two months' credit, the manufacturers are giving them ample time to raise the funds from the proceeds of the sale.

The manufacturers' suppliers - the people who provide them with the raw materials - will in turn give the manufacturers time to raise the funds. A considerable degree of interdependency is thus developed. The cash flow - payments in and out - are vital to a business. An adequate supply of working capital is essential if insolvency is to be avoided. A firm is said to be insolvent when it is unable to meet its financial commitments.

Since almost all of the business conducted between firms is on a credit basis, credit control becomes significant. Specific credit limits will be allocated to each customer. Thus a new customer, John Turner, might be allowed to have an outstanding account of £5,000 for three months, while Evelyn Corbett, who has been a satisfactory customer for more than a year, has a limit of twice that amount.

Before any order is passed through to the Dispatch Department in the factory, it will be checked against the customer and the credit rating. The salespeople are not allowed to give customers credit when these limits would be exceeded, unless there is a special clearance from the Sales Manager.