Modern Means of Business Communication

People have always tried to convey information. Now, they send letters and documents by post, by fax, by computer. We can make phone calls from home or the office or, thanks to mobile phones, from wherever we happen to be.

The list of services, due to advanced technology, is long and presumably will grow. Today many personal computers have videophone capability which enables business colleagues to see and talk to one another without leaving their desks.

From their offices they can buy things, carry out financial transactions, get information: share spreadsheets, accounts, drawings, diagrams, sales figures and designs etc.

This is the global information age. The worldwide computer network known as the Internet, connects millions of people world­wide. It connects many computer networks and uses common addressing system.

By searching system it is easy to find the proper Web-page. Such a page can contain a survey or a short description, the information of the latest programme version or the reference to other Web-documents.

The World Wide Web, which is the collection of a vast number of archives (= files), enables users easily to examine the Internet sites. Having expanded considerably during the 1990s, the World Wide Web has become the leading informational service of the Internet.

E-mail still remains the most popular Internet service. Most of the people, who have access to the Internet, use the network only for sending and receiving e-mail messages. However, the other popular services are available on the Net: reading USENET News, using the Word-Wide Web, Telnet, FTP, and Gopher.

Since the mid-1990s electronic commerce has become one of the most rapidly growing retail sectors involving the use of computer telecommuni­cation networks. Although e-commerce usually refers only to the trading of goods and services over the Internet, it actually includes broad­er economic activity such as business-to-consumer and business-to-business commerce.

A new form of collaboration known as a virtual company is flourishing now. This type of company is actually a network of firms, each performing some of the processes needed to manufacture a product or deliver a service.

Vocabulary and Cultural Notes:

1. spreadsheet [`spred∫i:t] – (IT) a computer programme that is used, for example, when doing financial or project planning. You enter data in rows and columns and the programme calculates costs, etc. from it: to store data in / on a spreadsheet; to create / fill in / update a spreadsheet;

2. the Internet [`ıntəֽnet] – a computer system that allows people in different parts of the world to exchange information. You can use the Internet to get information from web sites and to send and receive messages by email. The Internet is often simply called the Net;

3. the World Wide Web – a very large collection of documents, pictures, sounds etc stored on computers in many different places and connected through the Internet;

4. Telnet [`telֽnet] – a software programme for getting information stored on another computer on the Internet by typing instructions into the other computer;

5. FTP [ֽef ti: pi:] abbreviation – (Computing) file transfer protocol: a set of rules for moving computer files from one computer to another in a network, especially over the Internet;

6. Gopher [`gəufə] – 1. (Computing) a system that allows people to connect to Internet sites that are not part of the World Wide Web. 2. a small furry animal mainly found in North and Central America. It has a short tail and lives in holes that it digs in the ground;

7. electronic commerce [ֽelek`tronık `komə։s] usually used as e-commerce (also Internet commerce / Net commerce) – the business of buying and selling things using the Internet;

8. m-commerce [ֽem `komə։s] (mobile commerce) – the buying and selling of products on the Internet by using mobile phones / cell phones and other wireless (= without wires) technology;

9. t-commerce [`ti:ֽkomə։s] – 1. the buying and selling of products through interactive television (= that allows information to be passed in both directions); 2. the buying and selling of products by telephone;

10. e-business [`i:ֽbıznəs] (less frequently electronic business) – any business activity that is done using the Internet, such as selling goods and services or linking parts of a business together; a company that uses the Internet in this way;

11. virtual organization [`və։t∫uəl] – a group of companies, employees, suppliers, customers, etc. that work together using computer equipment, telephones and other technology in order to provide a service or a product.

Task 5. Translate into Ukrainian paying attention to the words in italics.

1. Do you have access to the Internet? 2. Students should be encouraged to use the Internet as a resource. 3. The group posted the names of the men on the Internet. 4. It’s almost impossible to police material sent over the Internet. 5. E-commerce has completely changed the way we buy goods and services. 6. The mail-order firm launched an e-commerce operation last year. 7. Our e-commerce sales have increased significantly. 8. Revenue from m-commerce is still low. 9. The company has decided to move into e-business. 10. E-business can fail if they don’t have the right kind of security.

Task 6. Give the English for:

1. огляд;	6. креслення;	11. ймовірно, очевидно;
2. доступ;	7. цифри продажу;	12. наявний; доступний;
3. перелік;	8. функція; здатність;	13. передавати; виражати;
4. рахунки;	9. пошукова система;	14. сектор роздрібної торгівлі;
5. співпраця;	10. надавати послугу;	15. надавати змогу; дозволяти.

Task 7. Give antonyms of the following words.

1. global;	3. popular;	5. common;	7. available;	9. advanced;
2. rapidly;	4. the latest;	6. to enable;	8. to receive;	10. to connect.

Task 8. Supply proper words, filling in the blanks.

1. to convey _____;	8. the latest programme _____;
2. due to _____ technology;	9. the _____ informational service;
3. videophone _____;	10. to have _____ to the Internet;
4. to enable business _____;	11. _____ economic activity;
5. _____ financial transactions;	12. _____-to-consumer commerce;
6. global _____ age;	13. a new form of _____;
7. _____ addressing system;	14. to _____ a service.

Task 9. Answer the questions.

1. Who has always tried to convey information? Why?

2. How do we share information these days?

3. Have you made phone calls today? How often do you communicate on the mobile phone?

4. Can business colleagues see and talk to one another without leaving their desks? What other opportunities are available to businessmen due to advanced technology?

5. How is this age often called? Do you agree with the definition?

6. What modern system connects millions of people world­wide?

7. The Net connects many computer networks and uses common addressing system, doesn’t it?

8. Who is represented on the Internet?

9. How can users find proper Web-pages?

10. What has become the leading informational service of the Internet?

11. How do most of the people, who have access to the Internet, use the network?

12. What are some popular services available on the Internet?

13. When did e-commerce begin its rapid development?

14. What does e-commerce usually refer to? What does it actually include?

15. What new form of collaboration is flourishing now?

Task 10. Translate into English.

1. Люди завжди прагнули обмінюватися інформацією. 2. Сьогодні завдяки мобільному телефону ви можете подзвонити звідусіль, де б вам не довелося бути. 3. Ми живемо в епоху глобальної інформації. 4. У багатьох персональних комп’ютерах є функція відеофону. 5. Завдяки передовій технології партнери по бізнесу можуть співпрацювати, не залишаючи своїх робочих місць. 6. Всесвітня мережа, відома як Інтернет, з’єднує мільйони людей в усьому світі. 7. З допомогою пошукової системи у всесвітній павутині легко знайти належну веб-сторінку. 8. Найбільш популярною послугою Інтернету є електронна пошта. 9. Більшість користувачів, які мають доступ до Інтернету, використовують мережу лише для надсилання чи отримання електронних повідомлень. 10. Крім електронної пошти, в Інтернеті існують інші популярні послуги. 11. Галузь роздрібної торгівлі, відома як електронна комерція, особливо швидко почала розвиватися в 1990-х роках. 12. Електронна торгівля включає в себе насправді широку економічну діяльність. 13. Віртуальна компанія – це нова форма співпраці в бізнесі. 14. Віртуальні компанії сьогодні процвітають завдяки ефективному використанню телекому-нікаційних систем. 15. Без відданості постійним інноваціям у бізнесі неможливо досягнути довготермінового успіху.

Task 11. Read the text.