9. Companies

The world is a chain, one links another.

DISCOVERING CONNECTIONS

1. Which types of business are popular in your country?

2. Do all organizations need structure? Give your reasons.

3. What should be regulated by government and what should be left to the private sector (education, health care, housing, social security, defense, public transport, sale of alcohol, tobacco, press, broadcasting, entertainment)? Why? Give your reasons.

4. Would you like to work in a private or a state company?

5 What kind of organization do you want to work for? (in which department?)

6 Do you think it will later be possible to change departments?

7 What do you think your first position will be?

8 Do you expect to have one immediate boss, to work for more than one superior, or to be part of a team?

9. What motivates people in their work from your point of view?

10. What is the best way to encourage employees to work well, in your opinion?

11. Do you agree with the adage: “You can’t get rich working for someone else”?

12. If you possess a large amount of money, what are the advantages and disadvantages of the following?

■ putting it under the mattress

■ buying a lottery ticket

■ taking all your money to Las Vegas

■ putting it in a bank

■ buying gold

■ buying a Van Gogh painting

■ investing in property or real estate

■ buying bonds

■ buying shares

READING

T E X T 1

Forms of Business Organizations

Read the text and do the tasks that follow.

A business organization is frequently referred to as a business entity. A business entity is any business organization that exists as an economic unit. Business entities can be grouped according to the type of business activity they perform.

1. Service companies perform services for a fee. This group includes companies such as accounting firms, law firms, repair shops, and many others.

2 Merchandising companies purchase goods that are ready for sale and sell them to customers. They include such companies as auto dealer-shops, clothing stores, and supermarkets.

3. Manufacturing companies buy materials, convert them into products, and then sell the products to the companies or to the final customer. Examples are steel mills, auto manufacturers, and so on.

The business entity concept applies to all forms of businesses: single proprietorship, a partnership, and a corporation.

Sole Proprietorship

A sole proprietorship is a business owned and usually operated by a single individual. Its major characteristic is that the owner and the business are one and the same. In other words, the revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities of the sole proprietorship are also the revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities of the owner. A sole proprietorship is also referred to as the proprietorship, single proprietorship, individual proprietorship, and individual enterprise.

A sole proprietorship is the oldest and most common form of ownership. Some examples include small retail stores, doctors’ and lawyers’ practices and restaurants.