- •1. Four basic factors necessary for any business. Give the arguments for (or against) the statement that business is essential for all economies.
- •2. Advantages and risks of entrepreneurship. How would you initiate the business if you were an entrepreneur?
- •3. Similarities and differences between a sole proprietor and a partnership.
- •4. Favorable and unfavorable points of a corporation. Which of the three businesses would you prefer to work for?
- •5. The difference between intermittent and continuous production.
- •6. Which method of production would you choose for a) custom-made goods and b) standard goods? What are the most important factors in these methods?
- •7. What two methods do employers use to select applicants for an interview? Suppose you are to employ a manager for your firm. Which method would you use?
- •8. The functions of the personnel department. Your first steps as the Head of the pd if you happen to be appointed to this post.
- •9. The general concept of marketing, its constituent parts. Types of markets.
- •10. Modern marketing – new principles.
- •11. The function of distribution from the view of a business manager. The role of a middleman in distribution.
- •12. The distribution system from the view of a customer. Different types of retail outlets.
- •13. The concept of promotion, its main activities. What type of advertising would you use for promoting a new kind of product your firm has just launched?
- •14. Personal selling – what way does it differ from other forms of promotion? Try to persuade a foreign firm to buy a new passenger airliner constructed in Russia.
- •15. Two types of sales promotion activities. What would you do to promote a new type of tea or coffee?
- •16. Interdependence of promotion and market situation. What would you do if the market turns out to be saturated with your goods?
- •17. Four aspects of international business. What is the main difference between Smith’s theory and Ricardo’s theory?
- •18. Discuss the activities of an exporting company and the reactions of the country importing products. How should the country protect its domestic industries?
- •19. The importance of computers. Your opinion about the advantages and disadvantages of using computers. The prospective ways of computer development.
- •20. Types of layout. Compare product layout and process layout.
2. Advantages and risks of entrepreneurship. How would you initiate the business if you were an entrepreneur?
Entrepreneurship includes some important activities. The entrepreneur is responsible for initiating business activity. He must begin his business by bringing together the land, labor, and capital. Next, he must manage the business by deciding the general policies for business operation. In order to be successful, an entrepreneur must also be innovative. He must look for new products or new ways of making things, and new methods of distribution, or he must offer new services. Finally, he bears all the risks of the business.
Everyone connected with a business shares in the risks of the business. When a company goes bankrupt and becomes unable to pay its debts, it causes problems for many people. It is hard for the employees who may have to seek work elsewhere; the customers must look for another place to buy the same products; creditors usually lose some of the money that they have lent to the company. But the entrepreneur takes the biggest risk. If the business succeeds or fails, he must pay them up to the limit of his ability to pay. If he is skillful and lucky the money he receives from his business venture [activity] will pay for the land, labor, and capital, and there will still be some extra money remaining for him. This extra money is the profit. If the money he receives from the business venture is not enough to pay for all of the costs, the difference is a loss.
First of all I should realize what sector of business I would like to work in. Then I would write a business plan with full description of my company’s activities. After that, I would take credit in a bank or borrow money from my friends or somebody else, if I hadn’t any savings. To open the firm I should follow some legal regulations. Then I would rent a place and purchase the necessary goods and equipment depending on my sphere of action. That’s how I would initiate the business if I were an entrepreneur.
3. Similarities and differences between a sole proprietor and a partnership.
There are many legal forms of organization in business. The form of organization means the type of ownership. The main differences between the types of ownership are in their ability to raise capital, the size and continuity of the enterprise, the disposition of profits, and the legal obligations in the event of bankruptcy.
A sole proprietorship is a business owned and operated by a single person. This single person can start a business by simply purchasing the necessary goods and equipment and opening up shop. The sole proprietor owns all the business assets, makes all the decisions, takes all the risks, and keeps all the profits of the business. There are very few government and legal regulations to comply with. The business itself pays no tax, but the owner must pay personal income taxes on his profits. Sole proprietorship is the form which requires the least amount of capital and personnel. If a sole proprietor is not successful and he wants to close his business and start a new one, he simply has to sell his inventory and equipment, pay his bills, close up shop, and begin a new activity.
A partnership consists of two or more people who share the ownership of a business. A partnership should begin with a legal agreement covering the various aspects of the business. Two important items that need to be covered are exactly which assets each partner is contributing, as well as how the partnership can be changed or terminated. This agreement is called the articles of co-partnership. The articles of co-partnership indicate that the initiation of a partnership is not as easy as the beginning of a sole proprietorship. Partners are like sole proprietors because they own all the assets, owe all the debts, make the decisions, and share the profits. They pay only personal income taxes on their share of the profits. A partnership usually has more capital than a sole proprietorship. In a partnership the personal wealth of all the partners can be used to secure loans and credit or to settle the debts of the business. Like the sole proprietorship, the partnership has unlimited financial liability in the event of bankruptcy. Unlike the sole proprietorship where one person makes all the decisions, a partnership requires both owners to agree on management policy. If a partnership wished to cease doing business, the owners would have to agree on how to dissolve it.