Business english reading comprehenshion

УДК 811.111(075.8)

ББК 81.2 Англ я7

ISBN 978-985-583-057-4

© Березовская М. В., 2017

© Белорусский национальный

технический университет, 2017

CONTENTS

Forms of business. Sole proprietorship ....................................................

5

Help in starting a small business ..............................................................

7

Partnership................................................................................................

8

Corporation.............................................................................................

10

Business partnership in the USA ............................................................

12

Large corporations in the USA...............................................................

13

Franchises ...............................................................................................

13

Types of business organizations .............................................................

15

The steps in starting a business...............................................................

17

Company structure. Doing the business .................................................

18

Company structure..................................................................................

21

Re-engineering the corporation ..............................................................

23

US credit card debt .................................................................................

25

Credit out of control ...............................................................................

26

Change management...............................................................................

28

Theory X. Theory Y ...............................................................................

30

Product portfolio analysis.......................................................................

32

Climbing the career ladder with an hourly job .......................................

35

Resume search ........................................................................................

36

Global business speaks English..............................................................

38

Business etiquette ...................................................................................

48

Culture manners......................................................................................

52

Boardroom culture clash.........................................................................

54

Appraisals ...............................................................................................

56

An introduction to coaching ...................................................................

59

Relationship building..............................................................................

61

Reaction to stress....................................................................................

63

The story of silicon valley ......................................................................

64

Trends in text and e-mail marketing.......................................................

66

Social networks ......................................................................................

70

Unusual television commercial ..............................................................

72

New types of university courses.............................................................

74

Employee handout regarding working with businesses

in other countries ....................................................................................

76

A revolution in knowledge sharing ........................................................

79

Unfair education .....................................................................................

80

The creators of grammar.........................................................................

83

Smart energy...........................................................................................

86

Risk-taking and the monkey economy ...................................................

90

Literature ................................................................................................

93

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

Profits and

As sole owner, the pro-

Losses are not shared

prietor receives all the

losses

profits because he or she

takes all the risks

The proprietor has com-

plete legal responsibility

for all debts and damages

Liability

brought upon oneself

in

doing business. This

is

known as unlimited lia-

bility. If the firm is una-

ble to pay its bills or

if

someone is injured as a

result of the business, the

proprietor can

be

forced

to sell his or her personal

assets as well as the

business

to

pay

these

debts.

Assets are items of value

such

as

houses,

cars,

jewelry, and so on

Decisions on starting and

running the business can

A proprietor must handle

be made quickly because

the owner does not ha-

all decision making, even

veto

consult

with

other

for unfamiliarare as of the

business.

For

example,

people.

the owner of a manufac-

Because a proprietorship

Management

turing

firm

may

know

is usually small, the op-

a great deal about product

eration of the business is

less

complicated

than

design,

but

very

little

about selling. This is a

other

types of business.

severe problem for many

There are generally fewer

sole proprietorships

government

regulations

than with corporations

A proprietor

must

pay

personal income taxes on

Taxes

profits, but

these

taxes

may be lower than taxes

fora corporation

Running a sole proprie-

The

proprietor has

full

torship is demanding and

Personal

pride in owning the busi-

time-consuming. If the

ness. The person is his or

proprietor does not enjoy

satisfaction

her own boss and makes

such responsibility, he or

the business whatever it is

she will

find

ownership

a burden

Because

the

proprietor

has liability for all debts,

it is

occasionally

easier

for a

proprietorship

to

obtain credit than for a

corporation of

the

same

Financing

size.

Lenders

are

more

growth

willing to

extend

credit

knowing

that

they

can

take over not only the

assets

of

the

business,

but also the assets of the

proprietor if the loan is

not paid back

A sole proprietorship

depends on one individu-

al. If that person dies,

goes bankrupt, or is un-

Life of the

willing or unable to work,

business

the business will probably

close. This uncertainty

about the future increases

the risk to both employees

and creditors

Help in starting a small business

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

Profits and

Losses are shared. Several

Because partners share the

losses

individuals can sometimes

risks of the business, they

survive a loss that might

also share the profits

bankrupt a sole proprietor

Partners as a group have

unlimited liability for all

debts and damages incurred

Liability

in business. If a partner is

unable to pay his or her

share of adebt, the others

must make up for the dif-

ference

Partnerships

are

usually

Decision

making

is

often

more efficient than pro-

slow because of

the

need

prietorships.

to reach agreement among

Manage-

They allow

each

partner

several

people. Disagree-

ment

to work in areas of the

ments can lead to prob-

business

that he

or she

knows most about or is

lems in running the busi-

ness

best at doing

Partners must pay person-

al income taxes on their

Taxes

share of profit. These ta-

xes

are

sometimes

lower

than those for a corporation

Partners, like sole proprie-

If partners do not get along

Personal

tors, often feel pride in

with each other, trying to

satisfaction

owning and operating their

work together can result in

own company

constant arguments

A

partnership

combines

Like sole

proprietorships,

the capital of two or more

people.

It

makes

more

partnerships can have trou-

money available to oper-

ble obtaining large amounts

Financing

ate

a larger

and

perhaps

of capital. The amount that

more profitable

business.

partnerships can borrow is

growth

Because the risk is shared,

usually

limited

by

the

creditors are often willing

combined

value

of

the

to lend more money to a

assets of the business and

partnership than to a sole

of the partners

proprietorship

If one partner dies or

leaves, the partnership must

be ended and reorganized.

Life of the

The others may be unable

or unwilling to

continue

business

operating, and the business

may close. This uncertainty

is a risk to employees and

creditors