Business Organization and the Economy

Businesses involved in making a particular kind of product or providing a particular service are part of an industry and may be classified according to which industry they are in: for example, construction, oil, banking, food.

A sector is a specific part of a country’s economic activity. The productive sectors of the economy consist of the primary sector, the secondary sector and the tertiary sector. The primary sector is a part of a country’s economy that consists of industries which produce raw materials. The secondary sector consists of industries which produce things from raw materials. It is sometimes called a manufacturing or industrial sector. All the companies which make goods from raw materials or assemble components into finished products work in this sector.

The tertiary sector consists of industries which privide a service. We can also call the tertiary sector the service sector.

All the companies which provide services in areas such as tourism, banking and finance, communications, wholesale and retail trade work in the service sector.

Besides, a company may be owned by the state, or by private individuals. Privately – owned and – run companies work in the private sector. It includes large corporations, SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) and individuals working on a self-employed basis. A private enterprise is a system that allows individuals within a society to pursue their own interest without governmental regulation or restriction.

State – owned and – run organizations are in the public sector.The public sector is controlled or supported financially by the government. We can also call it the state sector. It includes schools and hospitals, railways, the post office and so on.

When a private company is bought by the state and brought into public sector, it is nationalized in a process of nationalization. A nationalized company is state-owned.

When the state returns a company to the private sector in a sell-off, it is privatized. This is privatization. The first to be sold off in a privatization programme are often the companies responsible for the public supply of electricity, water and gas: the utilities.

Grammar Revision

Past Simple and Past Continuous We use the Past Simple: for events or actions in the past In her youth she worked hard at English. for events that happened one after another I finished my translation and sat down to watch TV.

We use the Past Continuous: for actions in progress in the past I was doing the translation all afternoon. for action that was in progress when another action happened. The second action is in the Past Simple. When we came she was interviewing a new secretary.

for actions in progress at the same time in the past The wind was blowing and it was raining heavily.

Ex.1. Choose the correct variant

1. He became/was becoming a very rich man when he was just 25.

2. The weather was terrible, it rained/was raining the whole day.

3. While Maria was writing the report, Henry looked/was looking for more information.

4. At 7 o’clock this morning she studied/was studying.

5. The student was reading a magazine while the professor spoke/was speaking.

6. Henry ate/was eating a snack at midnight last night.

7. It snowed/was snowing heavily when he was waking up/woke up.

8. He often borrowed/was borrowing from me when we were students.

9. When he was young he was going/went swimming every Sunday.

10. When I was shopping in Richmond Street I saw/was seeing a car accident.

11. I talked/was talking to my boss when you rang.

12. Last year they were dividing/divided their business into two.