Communication 1 страница. 1. The economy of Ukraine

1. THE ECONOMY OF UKRAINE

Lead-in:

1. ferrous metallurgy – чорна металургія

2. domestic market – внутрішній ринок

3. manganese ore – марганцева руда

4. mercury – ртуть

5. mineral deposits – мінеральні поклади

6. black soil – чорнозем

7. precipitation – осадки

Ukraine is a country that is developed in both industry and agriculture. It may be said to be an industrial-agricultural country.

Speaking about the industry of Ukraine, two branches should be mentioned as primary in importance. The ferrous metallurgy industry, centered in the Pridniprovye Region, produces enough iron and steel to satisfy the needs of the whole country, with more left over to export. The Ukrainian machine-engineering industry manufactures diesel locomotives, railway cars, automobiles, tractors, missiles, sea and river vessels, as well as equipment for metallurgy, mining, textile industries, electric motors and industrial robots. The country also supplies its domestic market with many household appliances, including refrigerators, washing machines and TV-sets.

Some other branches of industry that are well-developed in Ukraine are the cellulose paper industry, non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical industry, and oil processing.

Mining occupies an important place in the economy of Ukraine. Speaking about Ukrainian mining, one thinks first of the coal mines of Donbas. But coal is probably not the most important mineral mined in the country. Iron, manganese, titanium and uranium ores, as well as salt, graphite, mercury, gypsum, and mineral paints are among the mineral deposits that Ukraine possesses in quantities large enough to fully satisfy its needs.

Ukraine has always been associated with grain production. That and sugar production are the main branches of Ukrainian agriculture. This is natural because of the characteristics of the country’s relief and climate. The territory of Ukraine is composed mostly of steppes and plains (over 95 % of the land), and the country possesses 25 % of all the black soil in the world. These features provide a great potential for agriculture, especially grain production. Another agricultural asset is the moderately continental climate with 300-600 millimeters of precipitation a year.

It may be said that Ukraine has everything to become one of the most economically developed countries in the world. Whether or not that happens will depend on the success of economic reforms, how well a transition to a market economy is achieved, and free market mechanisms are introduced. Of great importance are foreign investments that could be a great stimulus to Ukraine’s economic development.

ØQuestions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. Is Ukraine developed in industry and agriculture?

2. What industries are primary in importance?

3. What are other well-developed industries?

4. What place does mining occupy?

5. Is agriculture important?

6. Why is Ukraine an agricultural country?

2. THE ECONOMY OF THE USA

Lead-in:

1. free enterprise system – система вільного підприємництва

2. consumers – споживачи

3. have risen enormously – значно зросла

4. purchasing power – купівельна спроможнісь

5. gross national product –валовий національний продукт

6. per capita – на душу населення

7. retail businesses – роздрібна торгівля

The American economy is a free enterprise system that has emerged from the labors of millions of American workers; from the wants that American consumers have expressed in the marketplace; from the efforts of thousands of private business people; and from the activities of government officials at all levels.

The nation’s income and productivity have risen enormously over the past 80 years. In this period, the money for personal consumption tripled in real purchasing power. The gross national product per capita has grown four times, reflecting the growth in labour productivity.

Together all sectors of the American economy produce almost $4.000 million dollars worth of goods and services annually. Their consumption is spread widely. Most Americans consider themselves members of the middle economic class, and relatively few are extremely wealthy or poor.

Despite the fact that the United States government supports many segments of the nation's economy, economists estimate that the public sector accounts for only one-fifth of American economic activity, with the other part in private hands. In agriculture, for example, farmers benefit from public education, roads, rural electrification, but their land is private property to work pretty much as they desire. More than 87% of farms are owned by the people who operate them; the rest are owned by business corpora­tions. With increasingly improved farm machinery, seed and fertilizers, more food is produced each year, although the number of farmers decrease annually.

The bulk of America's wealth is produced by private industries and businesses — ranging from giants like General Motors, which sells $96,371 million worth of cars and trucks each year — to thou­sands of small, independent enterprises. America has traditionally supported free trade. Some 75% of American products currently face foreign competition within markets in the USA.

American industries have become increasingly more service-oriented. Of 12.6 million new jobs cre­ated since 1982, almost 85% have been in service industries. They include retail businesses, hotels and restaurants, communication and education, entertainment and recreation, federal and local government, office administration, banking and finance, and many other types of work. Careers in technical, business and health related fields have particularly experienced employee growth in recent years.

Although the American economy is not perfect, it does do what is expected of marketplace competition — gives Americans the opportunity to compare quality and prices and to decide what they really want to buy. As a result of the creativity, initiative and hard work which free enterprise has encouraged, the USA have become one of the most prosperous nations in the world.

ØQuestions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. How can you characterise the American economy?

2. How much has the national product per capita grown?

3. How much do all American sectors produce annually?

4. What role does the public sector play?

5. Who is the bulk of American wealth produced by?

6. What changes have taken place in American industries?

7. Why do you think the USA have become one of the most prosperous nations in the world?

3. THE ECONOMY OF GREAT BRITAIN

Lead-in:

1. output – продукція

2. employment – зайнятість

3. recession – занепад

4. rate of inflation – інфляція

5. income tax rate – податкова ставка

6. turnover – обіг (оборот)

7. inward investment – внутрішні інвестиції

8. merger – злиття

Britain's economy is based primarily on private enterprise, which accounts for 75% of output and nearly 70% of employment. Just over 2% of the British workforce is engaged in agriculture, a lower proportion than in any other leading industrial country. Services contribute a growing proportion of production — 65%, while manufacturing accounts for 21%. By successfully exploiting oil and natural gas from the North Sea, Britain has become self-sufficient in energy and expects to remain so for some years. Exports, mainly to other EC countries, are equivalent to over half of domestic oil production.

International trade plays a vital role in Britain's economy. Exports of goods and services make up around 25% of national output. From 1981 to 1989 the economy experienced eight years of growth, but in 1990 with the recession in Britain and other major industrialised nations, growth slowed to about 1%. The rate of inflation went down in the early 1980s, went up in 1988, and dropped again in 1992. The unemployment rate in the country is about 10% of the workforce. Growth of manufacturing productivity in Britain is generally faster than in all other leading industrialised coun­tries.

The Government economic strategy is centred on keeping the rate of inflation down, within a range of 1 to 4%. As part of this strategy, public spending and borrowing is tightly controlled. At the same time government policy tries to improve the working of markets and promote enterprise and efficiency. A substantial amount of activity has been transferred from the public to the private sector through priva­tisation and contracting out. Since 1979, forty six major businesses have been privatized, including British Gas, British Telecom and British Steel.

The Government tries to take measures to reduce personal and corporate income tax rates. Industrial relations have been put on a more secure legal footing, and training opportunities have been expanded. Small businesses employ more than a third of private sector workforce and are responsible for one-sixth of total turnover. The Government provides assistance and guidance to help with problems affecting small companies. Britain is considered to have an attractive location for inward investment because of its mem­bership of the EC. Though markets in Britain operate as freely as possible, Government regulates mo­nopolies, mergers and anti-competitive practices.

ØQuestions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is Britain’s economy based on?

2. Is international trade important for Great Britain?

3. Was the rate of unemployment high in Great Britain?

4. What is the Government economic strategy centered on?

5. How does the Government try to reduce income tax rates?

4. MY UNIVERSITY

Lead-in:

1. extra-mural (part-time department) – заочне відділення

2. to be run by – управляти

3. staff – персонал

4. to provide an access to – забезпечувати доступ

5. to be at sb’s disposal – бути в розпорядженнікогось

I am a student of Donetsk State University of Economics and Trade named after M. Tugan-Baranovsky. It is a leading university in our country and one of the oldest ones, it was founded in 1920. Studying at our university has always been prestigious and it is even more prestigious nowadays because our country has stepped onto the road of the transition to the market-based economy and needs qualified professionals in this field. Graduates from our university must be ready to work in state, regional and municipal bodiesof the national economy and they have to meet all the requirements to specialists of present time.

The University comprises 5 faculties in its structure:

¾ the faculty of finance and accounting;

¾ the faculty of economics, management and international economic relations;

¾ the faculty of marketing, trade and Customs activity;

¾ the faculty of public catering;

¾ the faculty of processing and refrigerating equipment.

The University trains specialists for various fields of our economic life.

More than 11.000 students from Ukraine and from foreign countries study here.Students are trained in 12 specialities and you can get two or more professions at the same time. For those who combine work and study there is an extra-mural (or part – time) department, and I am a student of the part-time department.

The University is run by Rector and four Pro-Rectors. At the head of each Faculty there is the Dean and the Vice-Dean. A qualified teachers’ staff work here: a lot of well-known scientists and experts in economics, finance, management, trade and public catering deliver lecture and run practical classes.

The following educational scheme is offered to our students: Bachelor –Specialist – Master – Candidate of Science – Doctor of Science. Those who complete the course successfully are qualified for a wide range of jobs and further courses according to the educational scheme of the University.

There are 6 academic buildings where you can find a lot of lecture-rooms, computer classes, laboratories. Our University provides an access to special literature in Ukrainian, Russian and English, because our library has a large collection of books, journals and other papers in economics, engineering and technology of foodstuffs.

Our University is provided with its own computer classes and students have an access to a wide range of statistical database and software, to the Internet. Students and teachers of our university are involved in a very wide range of research projects, international projects with our foreign partners. There is no need to say that we can’t do without foreign languages, and first of all, English, because it is the language of international cooperation.

No doubt we must get a fundamental basis of knowledge, that is why we study both theoretical and applied subjects.

Our students are provided with sports and recreation facilities, three gymnasiums with the modern equipment are at our students’ disposal and they also have an access to free medical assistance.

I’m proud to be a student of this educational establishment and invite all my younger friends to enter my University.

ØQuestions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What University do you study at?

2. Who is it run by?

3. How many faculties are there in its structure?

4. What is your faculty?

5. Can students combine work and study?

6. What facilities are students provided with?

5. MY SPECIALITY. ECONOMIST

Lead-in:

1. enterprise – підприємство

2. utility – корисність, економічна вигідність

3. assume – брати на себе, приймати

4. responsibility – відповідальність, зобов’язання, обов’язок

5. entrepreneur – підприємець

6. acquire – набувати, здобувати, досягати

7. facilities – засоби, вигоди, сприятливі, умови, пільги

8. income – прибуток, дохід, надходження

9. employment – зайнятість, наймання, робота, служба

10. abundance – велика кількість, безліч

I am a student of the faculty of economics, management and international economic relations.

My speciality is economy of an enterprise and I am going to be an economist. An economist is someone who studies the way in which money and goods are produced and used in the systems of business and trade.

Generally economists focus on the way by which individuals, groups, businesses, enterprises and governments seek to achieve efficiently any economic objective they select. As economists say, they maximize utility.

For their parts, economists seek as much profit as they can extract from their operations. As an entrepreneur I will have to assume the responsibility and the risk for a business operation with the expectation of making a profit.

The entrepreneur generally decides on the product to select, acquires the facilities needed; and brings together labour, capital and production materials.

The job of the research economist is to increase our understanding of economic matters. The tools of statistics and mathematics help the researcher carry out this task. Government agencies and private business firms generate a vast array of economic statistics on such matters as income, employment, prices, and expenditure patterns.

Economics is a social science. The fields of political science, sociology, psychology, and economics often overlap. Because of the abundance of economic data and the ample opportunity for scientific research in the real world, economics is sometimes called the "queen of the social sciences". Once you have developed the economic way of thinking, economics will be relatively easy.

If the business succeeds, the economist gets the reward of profit. If it fails, he or she takes the loss.

Nowadays in Ukraine there is a great need in skilled economists to run small business as well as privatized state enterprises and large corporations. Market economy has not been formed in Ukraine yet. So it is important for economists in our country to be educated and well-trained.

ØQuestions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is the job of an economist?

2. What is the job of the research economist?

3. Do statistics and mathematics help the research economist?

4. Is economics a social science?

5. Why is economics called the ‘queen of the social sciences’?

6. MY SPECIALITY. MANAGER

Lead-in:

1. make decision – приймати рішення

2. assignment – призначення

3. choice – вибір

4. trust – довiр’я, віра

5. relationship – зв’язок, відношення

6. sales – продаж, збут

7. law – закон, право, юриспруденція

I am a student of the faculty of economics, management and international economic relations.

Management is the process of making decisions and issuing commands. The management function of decision-making is aimed at defining the work and behavior of the organisation that is necessary to realise a given mission. Based on these decisions, managers exercise the command function to initiate action on various work assignments.

Managers are people who, collectively or individually, are responsible for running a business or organization.

What makes a good manager? First of all, the ability to communicate, to get your ideas across and to listen to other people. Secondly, a good sense of organization so that working practices are efficient and problems can be anticipated and avoided. Thirdly, managers work long hours and therefore a great deal of stamina is required to avoid stress.

A good manager must also be confident in his/her own ability to deal with difficult situations and show qualities of leadership so that others will want to follow. Managers have to take the initiative and bring fresh creative ideas to old problems. But sound judgement is necessary when a choice of possible courses of action is difficult or risky.

Once decisions are taken, a manager has to make sure they are implemented and obeyed. For this, he or she must demonstrate integrity: this includes a sense of honesty, trust and loyalty to the organization and the personnel under his or her control. Managers should also be accountable to their own boss and be able to explain the reasons for making any decision.

New technology, new ideas, new values and new problems make up the decision agenda of today’s managers.

Management is usually broken down into specific parts, e.g. works management, personnel management, marketing management, etc.

Personnel management is concerned with people at work and with their relationships within an enterprise.

Marketing management includes all aspects of making a product available to the public: product development, pricing, advertising, sales, marketing research, transportation, consumer relations.

A given member of management must undergo a substantial education process in order to become aware of his (her) responsibilities and to become able to perform them adequately. He must receive training on the basis of practically every important area of marketing and business management, finance, production, sales, law plus much, much more.

A good manager is the one who can direct and control people effectively.

ØQuestions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is management?

2. What are the management functions? What are they aimed at?

3. What makes a good manager?

4. What types of management do you know?

5. What is personnel management concerned with?

6. What aspects does marketing management include?

7. MARKET

Lead-in:

1. demand for goods – попит на товар

2. domestic market – внутрішній ринок

3. stock market – фондова біржа

4. market share – частка на ринку

5. consumption – споживання

6. meet the demand – задовольняти попит

An area where there is a demand for certain goods is called a market. A company which sells goods locally caters for the local market. Goods sold in the same country as they are produced are sold on the home (or domestic) market. A company which sells goods abroad is an exporter. An exporter sells goods on the international (or overseas) market. An importer buys goods abroad and imports them into his own country.

There are a lot of markets: stock market, money market, labour market, etc.

Some markets, shops and stalls physically bring together the buyer and the seller. Other markets, Stock Exchanges for example, operate chiefly through intermediaries (stockbrokers) who transact business on behalf of clients. Both of them determine prices that ensure that quantity people wish to buy equals the quantity people wish to sell. Price and quantity cannot be considered separately. All trade depends on supply (having goods or services to sell) and demand (consumers, people who whant to buy). If you increase production but demand remains stable, the price will fall. Therefore many large suppliers do not produce to their maximum capacity. They put a ceiling on their output to keep the price high. A group of companies or countries producing the same sort of goods are called a cartel and when they completely control the market in those goods they are said to have a monopoly. In the USA there are antitrust laws against this sort of practice which kills competition. The percentage of the total of one kind of goods sold by one company or country is called its market share. However, suppliers usually keep stocks of theirs product so that if consumption suddenly increases, they can meet the demand. Certain goods always keep a percentage difference between their prices so if the price of one rises or falls, the others do the same. This is called maintaning the differentials. When several products are linked in this way, the price of one of them is usually taken as the reference price for all the others. If goods cannot be sold in the market, they will cease to be produced.

The market reflects any change in the economy. It is sensitive to interest rates, inflation, employment and political events in any country.

ØQuestions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What do we call an area where there is a demand for certain goods?

2. What is the home (or domestic) market?

3. Where does an importer (exporter) buy and sell goods?

4. Does all trade depend on supply and demand?

5. What is a monopoly?

6. Does the market reflect any change in the economy?

7. What are the factors the market is sensitive to?

8. COMPANY STRUCTURE

Lead-in:

1. body – орган, установа

2. Executive Board – виконавча рада

3. stock holder – акціонер

4. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – головний виконавчий керівник;

5. power – повноваження

6. research and development – наукове дослідження, розвиток (розширення роботи)

7. department – відділ

8. market research – дослідження

9. advertising and promotion sector – сектор реклами та рекламного заохочення до купівлі товару

10. public relations – публічний зв’язок

11. affiliates – філіали

12. parent company – основна компанія

13. chain of command – ланцюг (порядок) влади

The highest executive body in a company is the Executive Board (or the Board of Directors). It is accountable to stockholders, and the Board reports to them at the annual stockholders’ meetings. The President is the nominal head of the company, and is elected at the annual stockholders’ meeting. But the President does not supervise the day-to-day running of the company. That is the duty of the Senior Vice-President, or Chief Executive Officer (called a Managing Director in Britain). He or she has the real executive power. The other members of this board are also vice-presidents.

Every Vice-President is responsible for the operation of one or more departments. Executive departments may vary, depending on the company and its activity, but some that are found most frequently are Production, Marketing, Finance, Personnel (Human Resources), and Research and Development (R&D). The Personnel Department is usually under the supervision of the Vice-President for Finance and Administration, while the R&D Department is under the Vice-President for Production. Department heads are called directors or managers. They are supervised by vice-presidents. Departments, in their turn, may be subdivided into sections or sectors. For instance, the Marketing Department may have a Market Research Sector, a Sales Sector, and an Advertising and Promotion Sector.

There are some peculiar positions in a company’s hierarchy. One of them is a Public Relations Manager who either belongs to the Marketing Department or heads a special sector. His or her responsibilities are to create and maintain the best possible image for the company in the eyes of the public.

Many companies, especially multinational corporations, are also divided geographically. There are special departments, managers, directors, or even vice-presidents responsible for operations in certain geographical territories.

Corporations often have subsidiaries (affiliates) that are more or less autonomous. An affiliate is another company owned by a parent company. An affiliate or subsidiary appears when a parent company becomes the owner (proprietor) of more than 50 % of its capital.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-24