12.International trade

International trade has now developed into an intricate mechanism of transactions. Today trade is not confined to visible exports and imports of goods but also includes invisible items like services, transportation, insurance, expenditure by tourists, etc.

Countries usually specialize in certain products and commercial activities. This specialization depends on such factors as differences in climate, natural resources, labour force skills and technology.

When countries engage in international trade they express their agreement to specialize in order to produce more of certain goods or services.

The balance of trade indicates the difference between the total value of a country’s imports and exports of visible items (goods). The balance of trade is an important part of the balance of payments, which also includes invisible items and capital transfers from one country to another.

What a country can achieve in international trade is shown by the terms of trade. The terms of trade are the rate at which a country’s exports are exchanged for its imports. On a global scale imports must equal exports, since every good exported by one country must be imported by another.

13.My Future Profession

Chernivtsi Institute of Trade and Economics provides a wide range of courses in many subjects such as accounting and auditing, finance and credit, management, marketing, commerce, international trade, economic cybernetics, etc. Over a hundred of students attend courses at the faculty of Economics and Management, majoring in management of organizations. They have chosen this profession because it offers many opportunities in a professional career.

Management can be defined as a set of activities directed at the efficient and effective use of resources in attaining the goals of the organization. Management is complex because of the large number of different activities that managers perform and because managers must change activities very often.

Managers are in great demand in all spheres of modern life. The meaning of the verb ‘to manage’ is ‘to control’, ‘to succeed’. Managers plan, organize, direct and control the activities of the organization they work for. This job is very responsible because the success of an enterprise, be it a little firm or a big industrial complex, depends completely on the management’s effective decision making.

The job of a manager demands a profound economic education as well as certain personal human traits. Managers must understand the current situation in the market they deal with and current trends in their business sphere, be able to set attainable goals for their enterprise and predict its further development.

The profession of a manager is very challenging because the world around us is very dynamic and every day managers face the problems that need to be solved.

14.Controlling

Controlling is the process of monitoring and adjusting organizational activities toward goal attainment. Most organizations have controls to deal with four areas: financial resources, physical resources, human resources, and information resources.

The planning-control link means that control is the other side of the planning coin; it helps management to ensure that performance conforms to plans.

There are three basic approaches to control: steering control, concurrent control, and postaction control. Steering control monitors the quality and/or quantity of various types of resources before they enter the system. Concurrent control focuses on activities that occur as inputs are being transformed into outputs. These approaches to control are usually used together as multiple controls.

There are four basic steps to establishing a control system: setting standards, assessing performance, comparing performance with standards, and evaluating and adjusting.

Managing control also involves dealing with resistance to control. There are four basic things a manager can do to overcome such resistance. First, he should make sure that the control system is properly designed and has the characteristics of effective control. Second, he should encourage participation, which tends to increase acceptance. Third, he can use management by objectives to establish collaborative goals and to enhance acceptance of controls. Finally, he should ensure that the control system has a built-in provision for checks and balances, so that discrepancies do not occur but are corrected if they do.

However, control is the specific responsibility of one or more managers who have the title of controller. The controller’s job is to assist line managers with their control activities, coordinate the overall control system, and gather relevant information and report it to all managers.