Business and entrepreneurship

UNIT 1. BUSINESS & BUSINESSES

Lesson 1

Task 1. What do you think the English equivalents of the following Ukrainian sentences have in common?

1. Після університету він розпочав свою власну справу.

2. На війні як на війні (У торгівлі сентименти зайві).

3. Гарненькі справи! (Гарненька історія!)

4. Гірка праця – солодкий відпочинок.

5. Я керую малим підприємством.

6. Не пхай носа до чужого проса.

7. У семи няньок дитя без ока.

8. Це нікого не стосується.

9. Що вам тут потрібно?

10. Я кажу серйозно.

Task 2. Study the etymology of the word “BUSINESS” and its equivalents in some modern languages.

Etymology:	BUSY + NESS
Old English (before year 950) bisig (busy) + -nis → bisignis
bisignis – solicitude (заклопотаність, турботи); attentiveness (пильність)
The word got its modern two-syllable pronunciation in the 17th century.

Language	Equivalents of “BUSINESS”
Ukrainian	бізнес, підприємництво, справи, комерція, виробництво;
Russian	бизнес, предпринимательство, коммерция, производство;
Danish	business, forretning;
German	Busineß, Business, Geschäft, Unternehmen;
Finnish	bisnes, liiketoimi[nta];
French	business, affaires, activité commerciale;
Italian	business, affari, attività commerciale, imprenditoriale;
Spanish	business, negocio, atenciones;
Turkish	biznes, iş, ticaret.

Task 3. a) The word “BUSINESS” has a wide range of meanings:

b) Which meaning of the word is revealed in the following sentences?

1. After graduating from the university he started his own business.

2. Business is business.

3. A pretty business!

4. Business before pleasure.

5. I run a small business.

6. Mind your own business.

7. Everybody’s business is nobody’s business.

8. It’s nobody’s business.

9. What is your business here?

10. I mean business.

Task 4. Compare the following meanings of “BUSINESS”:

Which word?

A business vs. Business

[countable] [uncountable]

A business (also called a firm or an enterprise) is a legally recognized organization designed to provide goods and / or services to consumers, governments or other businesses. A business needs a market. A consumer is an essential part of a business. Business is the activity of making, buying, selling or supplying goods or services for money.

Task 5. Distribute the following sentences into two groups according to the meaning of the word “BUSINESS”:

1. невелике промислове чи торговельне підприємство; фірма, компанія;

2. бізнес, підприємницька діяльність; справа, що приносить прибуток.

1. Their little shop has turned into a thriving business. 2. He may be a friend, but business is business and he’s not the man for the job. 3. He runs a small business in the town. 4. It’s a pleasure to do business with you. 5. How’s business? – Business is booming. 6. The company has been in business for almost 100 years. 7. Her parents own a small clothing business. 8. Many small businesses fail in their first year. 9. It was a mistake to go into business with my brother. 10. She didn’t want to work in the family business.

Task 6. a) The words below frequently occur after “BUSINESS”:

park interruption angel BUSINESS case gift friend administration banner

b) Which of the above word-combinations means:

• a type of advertising in the form of a banner which contains a company name, its site and other items related to its business;

• a client, customer or firm that is related to a given firm; a correspondent (that carries out missions on behalf of another person or organization);

• an investor who helps new companies develop by lending them his / her own money, which may involve a lot of risk;

• a document that presents the reasons that show why a product, project, etc. would be successful and make money, used to try to get people to invest in the project;

• a small item that a company gives free to people in order to advertise itself; an amount of money that a company gives to a charity (it may be used to obtain a reduction in the amount of tax a company has to pay);

• a situation where a company loses money when it has to stop work because of a disaster;

• the study or practice of planning, organizing and running a business;

• an area of land, usually outside a town or city that is especially designed for offices and small factories?

Task 7. Translate into English.

1. Зупинення діяльності підприємства; 2. “бізнес-ангел” (“ангел бізнесу”; “діловий ангел”); 3. діловий подарунок; 4. бізнес-баннер (реклама у формі баннера, що містить назву компанії, її сайт, та будь-які найменування, що пов’язані з її бізнесом); 5. клієнт; замовник; фірма, пов’язана з даною компанією; 6. обґрунтування ділової пропозиції; аналіз господарської ситуації; завдання щодо підприємництва; 7. бізнес-адміністрування; 8. комерційно-промислова зона.

Task 8. Translate into Ukrainian paying special attention to the words in italics.

1. Tens of millions of dollars were paid out on business interruption insurance claims as a result of the computer virus [`vaı^ərəs].

2. In their early stages many businesses raise money from business angels.

3. Business gifts are indispensable part of business practice.

4. Business banner is an important tool of advertising.

5. We need to expand the circle of business friends.

6. The website teaches you how to build a business case for a new product range.

7. Harvard Business School invented the Master of Business Administration degree (MBA) in 1921.

8. The plant is located on a nearby business park.

Task 9. Think and answer:

1. What can cause business interruptions?

2. Is it risky to be a business angel? Why?

3. Have you ever got business gifts? What is their expected effect?

4. What can make a business banner attractive?

5. Does the old saying “One who has many friends never needs a full purse” apply to business friends?

6. Can well prepared business cases facilitate business?

7. Are you studying for a degree in business administration (BA)?

8. Are there business parks in your neighbourhood?

Task 10. a) Translate some possible answers to the question “How’s business?”

All is well.* All write [O:l `raıt].** Sour. Not too hot. Growing. Right on the money.

Heavenly. Up and down. Right on the line. Having no pains. All washed up. Sew-sew [`səu `səu].***

* well – добре, гарно, відмінно; здоровий;

** [O:l `raıt] – all write / all right

*** [`səu `səu] – sew-sew / so-so; sew – шити, пришивати, зашивати.

b) Classify the answers into two categories:

1. Those reflecting well-being and success;

2. The ones which denote troubles and problems.

c) Can the above answers reflect the essence of some professional activities? Relate the answers to the following occupations.

1. The architect; 2. the author; 3. the banker; 4. the cook; 5. the dentist; 6. the doctor; 7. the farmer; 8. the laundryman; 9. the lift operator; 10. the milkman; 11. the minister; 12. the tailor.

Task 11. Think and answer.

1. What makes many people go into business?

2. What are the most common words for those who transact business?

3. Is it easy to start your own business these days?

4. Who usually runs a business?

5. Does it take much time and effort to build up a business?

6. Why do many firms go out of business?

7. What can help business owners expand their business?

Task 12. Practice reading the following words.

to acquire [ə`kwaıə] / [ə`kwaıər] all-inclusive [ֽO:l ın`klusıv] among [ə`mAŋ] commercially [kə`mə:∫əli] continuous [kən`tınjuəs] to contribute [kən`trıbju:t] cycle [`saıkəl] debate n [dı`beıt] either [`aıðə] BrE 87%; AmE 16%; [`i:ðər] BrE 13%; AmE 84% to encompass [ın`kAmpəs] to ensure [ın`∫O:] / [ın`∫u:ər] to excel [ık`sel] enterprise [`entəpraız] etymology [ֽetı`mOləGi] exact [ıg`zækt] generalized [`Gənərəlaızd] giant [`Gaıənt] however [hau`evə] / [hau`evər] increasingly [ıŋ`kri:sıŋli] manufacturing [ˏmænju`fækt∫ərıŋ] to occur [ə`kə:]

particular [pə`tıkjulə] period [`pıəriəd] / [`pıriəd] persuit [pə`sju:t] / [pər`su:t] primary [`praiməri] profit [`prOfıt] prosperity [prO`sperəti] series [`sıəri:z] / [`sıri:z] singular [`sıŋgjulə] / [`sıŋgjələr] social [`səu∫əl] / [`sou∫əl] society [sə`saıəti] sophisticated [sə`fıstıkeıtıd] successful [sək`sesfəl] to supply [sə`plaı] therefore [`ðeəfO:] / [`ðerfO:r] though [ðəu] / [ðou] through [θru:] throughout [θru:`aut] unfortunatelly [An`fO:t∫ənətli] venturesome [`vent∫əsəm] viable [`vaıəbəl] violence [`vaıələnts] whole [həul]

Task 13. Read the text.