11. Work in pairs. Discuss the following:

1. The inventions having a revolutionary effect on business management.

2. Why PC is the most effective tool for marketing now.

3. What computer programs are now available to assist a manager.

4. Why it is very important for a marketing manager to simulate potential market conditions.

Additional texts text a

12. Read and translate the text. Answer the following questions:

1. What kind of computers do firms need?

2. Can you explain the term “management information technology”?

3. What are the functions performed by MIT?

4. Where are data collected?

Computers in Business

Today business, government and other organizations depend on computers to process data and to make information available for decision-making. Firma can choose mainframe computers, minicomputers or microcomputers to match their information needs.

A management information technology (MIT) is a means of providing managers with the information they need to perform management functions as effectively as possible. The data that are entered into the system must be relevant, accurate and timely. The information provided by the system must be all of these. Managers in different areas of a business generally require information pertaining to their own areas. The management information technology should match the firm it serves in capacity and complexity.

The four functions performed by MIT are collecting data, storing and updating data, processing data and presenting information. Data may be collected from such internal sources as accounting documents and other financial records, conferences and meetings and sales and production records. External sources include customers, suppliers, banks, publications and information-gathering organizations.

Data should be updated regularly to maintain their timeliness and accuracy. Large groups of numerical data are usually processed into summary numbers called statistics. Although statistics can provide information in a manageable form, the user is responsible for correctly interpreting statistics.

TEXT B

13. Read the text and give the title to it.

Information technology is changing the way that markets operate. The truisms of the industrial age are bucking and giving way. The ease of information transfer – for companies, consumers and, indeed, all players in the market place – means that markets will exhibit a greater degree of “connectedness”. Company boundaries are becoming more porous. The need for carefully thought-out partnership strategies will grow as strategic webs become the optimal mode of competition. The speed of information flow means that opportunities to shape markets will be greater than ever.

The objective of any competitive strategy is to gain advantage in the market. Competitive advantage has two dimensions: superior customer value and lower cost. A company is able to deliver superior customer value when it meets the needs of the customer better than its competitors do. The nature of transactions with customers is changing. Earlier companies sold a product and received money. Companies held nearly all the information in the exchange; the resulting asymmetry in information made the seller more powerful. Companies send messages to a mass audience of buyers – advertisements. Transactions were conducted during business hours in shopping centers; to buy a stock, an investor had to call a broker, who then bought stock during trading times only.

The companies attempt an interchange of emotions with the customer using new interactive multimedia. Transactions take place anywhere and at any time. A customer can withdraw cash at any time too. Investors are able to buy and sell stock whether they are in London, Texas or New Delhi.

Notes:

buck v спешить

conduct v проводить

connectedness n связь, согласованность

dimension n размер

flow n поток

gain advantage извлекать пользу

stock n акция

truism n трюизм (общеизвестная истина)

withdraw v изъять, брать назад