More about the English

Like any other country Britain has its manners and customs as well as reputation.

Foreigners often say that English train people never speak each other. But this, of course, it not true.

The English people often say something about the weather when they begin a conversation with the strangers. In fact, people talk about the weather more in England than in most parts of the world. For one thing, the weather in England changes very quickly. One day may be fine and the next may be wet. When you go to bed the stars may be shining brightly and when you wake up it may be raining heavily. You can never be quite sure what the weather is going to be like. The English often say " Other countries have a climate, in England we have weather". For another thing, the weather is safe topic for conversation. When two Englishmen meet, if they can't think of anything else to talk about or if they don't know each other well enough to discuss personal matters, they talk about the weather. If it's nice and warm and the sun is shining brightly, a person usually says, "It's a lovely morning, isn't it?' or "Isn't it hot today?", and the answer is "Yes, it's wonderful weather we're having." After a night of heavy snowfall and hard frost he may say : "A cold morning, isn't It?", and the answer is "Yes, we are having a very cold winter".

Or perhaps the day is dull; it is raining a little, the sky is grey and cloudy, and everyone is wearing a raincoat or carrying an umbrella. As it gets darker a thick fog covers London. Cars and busses put on their lights and move slowly along the wet, slippery roads. As one friend meets another the usual remark is, "Isn't the weather awful"!

As the weather changes so often, it is of course quite important. It plays a big part in the lives of the British people. Every daily newspaper publishes a weather forecast. Both the radio and the television broadcast news about the weather several times each day.

The main types of economic systems.

An economic system is the method society used to allocate its resources (land, labour, and entrepreneurship) to satisfy its needs. What distinguishes one economic systems from another is the control of the factors of production and interaction of business, government, and consumers. In the modern world there are three main types of economic systems: capitalism, mixed capitalism and communism (socialism).

Capitalism as it was originally described by Adam Smith in his eighteenth-century book "Wealth of Nations", is an economic system where the factors of production are in private hands and economic decisions are made freely according to the market forces of supply and demand. In this system the economic questions of

-What is to be produced?

-How much will be produced ?

• Who will produce it?

- How much will it cost?

- Who will get it ?

are determined by the consumers in the marketplace.

In pure capitalism consumers demand more of a product as its price decreases.This follows the common sense notion that people are willing to purchase something if it costs less. On the other hand: producers are more willing to supply a product that can be sold for a higher price. Being motivated by profit, they expect to earn more profit when they supply more.

In pure capitalism the two factors of supply and demand will balance each other out in such a way that some middle ground called an equilibrium price will be achieved. Producers will make as many units of a product as consumers are willing to purchase at the price producers must charge to make a reasonable profit.

In pure capitalism industry and individuals use resources as they choose. The government does not interfere in the economic system it takes hands-off approach. Producers make as much as they can sell and consumers buy as much as they can afford.

In this system each person behaves in the best interests of society .The marketplace is regulated by the interaction of the buyers and producers.

Government does not have to do any regulating.

Mixed capitalism. Over time the United States has evolved to a system of mixed capitalism- an economic system based on a market economy with limited government involvement. The government has abandoned the principle of the invisible hand in favour of a more visible involvement in economic life.

In mixed capitalism the government has two economic tools: the power to tax and the power to spend. By taxing individuals and businesses it acquires funds to provide essential public programmes: defense, education, transportation, and social services. In turn the money spent for these services creates more demand for the goods and services produced by businesses.

Another economic system is communism. This is an economic system under which the government controls the factors of production. Land, labour, and capital are under the control of the government and entrepreneurship is supplied by the government. As a result, all the economic decision about production, distribution, consumption, and property ownership are made by the government. It decides what will be produced, who will produce it, how many units will be made, how much it will cost and who will receive it.

Supply and demand and competition have no influence in this system. Central government planners make all the economic decisions about production and resource allocation.

Historical practice has shown that communism would not change capitalism automatically and directly. Its partisans assure of communism's coming through socialism which is considered as the first stage of communist society, or as an economic subsystem in which much ownership is private, but the government controls the operation and direction of basic industries. This control and direction are based on the belief that there are certain products and services that everyone should have. In essence this means that these need to be controlled so that all people will have them - not just those people who have enough money.

The industries normally are under control of the government including mining, steel production, transportation, communication, health care, and auto-manufacturing. In Sweden, for example, the government owns the transportation network, communications, the banks, and the mining, steel, and chemical industries.

Forms of Business Organization.

One of the major economic institutions is the business organization, a profit-seeking enterprise that serves as the main link between scarce resources and consumer satisfaction. These businesses compete with one another for the chance to satisfy people's wants. There are three major kinds of business organizations: the sole proprietorship , the partnership and the corporation.

Sole- Proprietorship

The most common form of business organization is the sole proprietorship — a business owned and run by one person. The main advantage of a sole proprietorship is that it is the easiest form of business to start and run. There is almost no red tape involved. Most proprietorships are able to open for business as soon as they set up operations. In the event that the owner wants to dissolve the business , a sole proprietorship is as easily dissolved as it is formed.

Sole proprietors own all the profits of their enterprises and are free to make whatever changes they please. They have minimal legal restrictions and do not have to pay the special taxes placed on corporations. They also have the opportunity to achieve success and recognition through their individual efforts. Sole proprietorships are generally found in small-scale retail and service '

businesses such as beauty salons, repair shops, or service stations. The major disadvantage of a sole proprietorship is the unlimited liability that each proprietor faces. Since the business and the owner are legally the same, the sole proprietor is liable for all financial losses or debts that the business may incur. If a business fails, the owner must personally assume the debts .This could mean the loss of personal property such as automobiles, homes and savings.

A second disadvantage of the sole proprietorship is that it has limited financial resources. The money that a proprietor can raise is limited by the amount of savings and ability to borrow. Another serious problem faced by the sole proprietorship is the lack of continuity of the business. When the owner dies, the business also legally terminates.