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Образование Политология Производство Психология Стандартизация Технологии


VIII. Role-play. Work in pairs to decide on the capital investment program. After you have decided, present it to the rest of the group.



Unit 5

Text A

Production

Vocabulary

To assemble products Производить сборку продукции
Batch production Серийное производство
Capacity Производительность
Capital intensive Капиталоемкий
Component Компонент
Continuous production Непрерывный процесс производства
Conveyer belt Конвейерная лента
Credit facilities Возможность получения кредита
Declining sales Снижение спроса
Equipment Оборудование
Formulation Разработка
Growing sales Растущий спрос
Guarantee Гарантия
Half-finished items Полуфабрикат
Inventory Инвентарь
Job (unit) production Мелкосерийное производство
Just-in-time production Производство точно в срок
Labour intensive Трудоемкий
Lead time Время выполнения заказа
Maintenance Эксплуатация
Make-or-buy decision Решение о собственном производстве
Manufacture (v) Производить
Manufacturer Промышленник
Mass (flow-line) production Массовое производство
Outsourcing (contracting out) Получение заказов от других предприятий
Overproduction Перепроизводство
Plant Завод
Product defects Брак продукции
Product life-cycle Жизненный цикл продукта
Product line Производственная специализация
Product mix Ассортимент изделий
Productivity Производительность
Setback in production Спад производства
Stable sales Устойчивы спрос
Stock-piling Складирование
Subcontractor Субподрядчик

 

I. Read the text and translate it into Russian:

Types of production

Production methods are conventionally divided into three types: job or unit production, mass or flow-line production, and batch production.

a) Job production

- In this type jobs are carried out individually and usually to the specific order of a customer. Job production can range from small units such as the production of individually designed piece of pottery to the building of a large cargo ship, from made-to-measure clothing to bridge-building.

- Job production is usually very labour intensive since it does easily lend itself to mechanization. Further, the labour employed has to be highly skilled for the most part, and supervision must be constant and very technically competent. There is little opportunity for the use of highly specialized machinery, and the machinery that is used must be able to cope with varying work.

- It is unusual for an organization to be able to make for stock as each order will be different from previous orders and from future ones. In many cases, such as bridge building or in road construction, there can be no question of making for stock.

- Where jobs of high value and extended time-span are the rule problems are often experienced with financing the projects, especially in view of the high labour content which means that large sums for wages have to be regularly found.

 

b) Mass production

- This method, which is also known as flow-line production, is a process of continuous production where large numbers of more or less identical units are manufactured continuously. It is the exact opposite of job production. Little or no individuality can be introduced into the product, and the processes are extremely capital intensive. The labour content is relatively small compared to the capital investment, and most of it is unskilled or semi-skilled. Highly specialized machinery is used and in the most modern mass-production plants practically all of the work and machines are controlled by computer. The small proportion of skilled labour required is employed to set up the machines for production, and is highly paid. This small, very skilled, work-force is a vital element in continuing production and disruption of their operations normally causes severe setbacks in manufacturing volume, and can cause production to cease altogether.

- Mass-produced products which, range from such items as breakfast cereals and paper products to motor-cars, are manufactured in advance of sales, and sales forecasting and marketing of a high order are essential for the success of the manufacturing enterprise.

- A distinction is usually made between two aspects of this method of production. The term ‘mass production’ (or flow-line production) is used for the continuous production of manufactured goods such as those just mentioned. Where the nature of the product is the result of formulations such as petrol-chemical products, adhesives and jams, process production or continuous flow process production are the terms normally used.

- In order to remain profitable it is necessary for enterprises employing mass-production methods to utilise machinery to virtually full capacity. When orders fall short of full capacity it is often more advantageous to keep the plant running and to produce for stock rather than to reduce the volume of output. An example of this is a stock-piling of motor-cars when sales are low. This situation cannot, of course, continue indefinitely. In the case of domestic consumables, such as washing-powders, attempts are made to stimulate sales by variety of means including ‘special offers’, competitions and free gifts.

 

c) Batch production

- This is a method that falls between job and mass production, and may be said to be repeated production but not continuous production. It is employed where orders consist of a significant number of similar items but these orders are not sufficient to justify continuous manufacture.

- Industries offering choices of design or sophistication in their products make use of batch production, a notable one being the furniture industry. A batch of one design will be made and then a batch of another, and then perhaps the first will be run again. Labour is more skilled in this method of production than in mass production because of the variety of the work entailed, and machines are more versatile. It uses more labour, proportionately, than mass production and less machinery.

- Whether goods are made in advance of orders or subsequent to them depends not so much on the type of production method as on the situation in the market. A manufacturer using batch production will set a production run when orders for a particular item are received, but has the problem of making the run economically viable; in other words producing sufficient quantity to make the run profitable. He does this by adding a stock quantity to the ordered quantity. One of the most difficult problems in batch production is, in fact, this one of the deciding what is the economic batch size.

- Batch production can offer some of the cost saving advantages of mass production, but also allows the manufacturer to satisfy individual job orders if necessary because of his more versatile machinery and skilled workers. At no time, however, can the user of batch production methods compete in price with mass-production items.

 

II. Match the equivalents:

1. Batch production a) Капиталоемкий
2. Capital intensive b) Конвейерная лента
3. Continuous production c) Массовое производство
4. Conveyer belt d) Мелкосерийное производство
5. Equipment e) Непрерывный процесс производства
6. Formulation f) Оборудование
7. Job (unit) production g) Промышленник
8. Labour intensive h) Разработка
9. Manufacturer i) Серийное производство
10. Mass (flow-line) production j) Складирование
11. Setback in production k) Спад производства
12. Stock-piling l) Трудоемкий

 

III. Answer the questions:

  1. Which types of production do you know?
  2. What can job production range from?
  3. What kind of labour is used in job production?
  4. Is machinery widely used in job production? Why?
  5. Does an organization make goods for stock in job production? Why?
  6. What problems does job production have?
  7. Does mass production have any individuality? Why?
  8. What kind of labour is used in mass production? Why?
  9. What kind of machinery is used in mass production? Why?
  10. Why is skilled labour required in mass production?
  11. What mass-produced products can you name?
  12. When can mass production be profitable?
  13. Does an organization make goods for stock in mass production? Why?
  14. What is usually done to increase profits in mass production?
  15. How batch production can be characterized?
  16. In what industries is it used?
  17. What kind of labour is used in batch production?
  18. Does an organization make goods for stock in batch production? Why?

 

IV. Match up these words with the definitions which follow:

Capacity, component, inventory, lead time, location, outsourcing or contracting out, plant, subcontractor

 

  1. Any company that provides goods or services for another one.
  2. Any of the pieces or parts that make up a product, machine, etc.
  3. Buying products or processed materials from other companies rather than manufacturing them.
  4. The (maximum) rate of output that can be achieved from a production process.
  5. The buildings, machines, equipment and other facilities used in the production process.
  6. The geographical situation of a factory or other facility.
  7. The stock of any item or resource used in an organization (including raw materials, pans, supplies, work in process and finished products).
  8. The time needed to perform an activity (i.e. to manufacture or deliver something).

 

V. After it has been decided what to manufacture, operations managers have to decide where to manufacture the different products, how much productive capacity their factories and plants should have, and how much inventory to maintain. Read 15 sentences below, and classify them under the following six headings. Some sentences may fall under two headings:

  1. The consequences of insufficient capacity
  2. The consequences of excess capacity
  3. The advantages of large facilities
  4. The disadvantages of large facilities
  5. The advantages of having a large inventory
  6. The disadvantages of having a large inventory

 

    1. A long lead time may allow competitors to enter the market.
    2. Average fixed cost per unit drops as volume increases because each succeeding unit absorbs part of the fixed costs, giving economies of scale.
    3. Finding staff and coordinating material flow become expensive and difficult
    4. If lead time increases, some customers may go to other suppliers.
    5. Lost sales and market share are usually permanent
    6. The working environment might worsen and industrial relations deteriorate
    7. There are costs of storage, handling, insurance, depreciation, the opportunity cost of capital, and so on.
    8. You can be more flexible in product scheduling, and have longer lead times and lower cost operation through larger production runs with fewer set-ups.
    9. There is always the risk of obsolescence, theft, breakage, and so on.
    10. You can meet variation in product demand
    11. You may be under-utilizing your work force.
    12. You have protection against variation in raw material delivery time (due to storages, strikes, lost orders, incorrect or defective shipments, etc).
    13. You may be forced to produce additional less profitable products.
    14. You can take advantage of quantity discounts in purchasing.
    15. You may have to reduce prices to stimulate demand.

 

VI. Read the text below, and insert the words in the gaps:

Capacity, component, inventory, lead times, location, outsourcing, plants, subcontractor

 

Just-in-time production

Manufacturing companies are faced with a ‘make-or-buy decision’ for every item or (1)………. they use (as well as for every process and service). Do they make it themselves or do they outsource, and buy from a (2)……….? If a company assembles products supplied by a large number of subcontractors, they face the problem of how much (3)………..they require.

In Just-In-Time (JIT) production – also called lean production, stockless production, and continuous flow manufacture – nothing is bought or produced until it is needed. Each section of the production process makes the necessary quantity of the necessary units at the necessary time – which is when it is required by the next stage of the manufacturing process, or by distributors or customers.

The JIT system is usually credited to Taiichi Ohno, who was a vice-president for manufacturing with Toyota in Japan in the early 1950s – although he stated that he got the idea from American supermarkets! JIT is wholly contrary to the European and American logic of encouraging greater productivity, and welcoming production that exceeds the agreed schedule or quota, and stocking extras in case of future problems. JIT minimizes the cost of holding inventories, which are regarded negatively, as avoidable costs, rather than assets. The large Japanese manufacturing companies have long practiced (4)………., and generally use extensive networks of small subcontractors. Of course, if a single subcontractor fails to deliver a component on time, the whole production process is sabotaged, but the Japanese industrial system relies on mutual trust and long-term relationships. Small supplies often attempt to situate their facilities close to the (5)……….of a larger company with which they work.

The Japanese also prefer small, specialized production (6)……….with a limited (7)………., in which, wherever possible, all the machines required for a certain job are grouped together. This avoids all the waiting and moving time involved in sending half-finished items from one department to another, although it often requires flexible, multi-skilled employees.

JIT thus greatly reduces transportation and inventory costs, and should ensure that there is no waste from overproduction, or from idle workers waiting for parts. It allows increased productivity because of shortened throughput time. If factories are equipped so that set-up times are short, very small production runs are possible. Any quality problems or product defects should be noticed more quickly, production (8)……….are reduced, and the firm can react more rapidly to demand changes.

 

VII. Translate into English:

1. Существует три основных вида производства: мелкосерийное, серийное и массовое.

2. Мелкосерийное производство является самым трудоемким.

3. Массовое производство является самым капиталоемким из-за большого количества инвестиций в оборудование для обеспечения непрерывного процесса производства.

4. Самым сложным является производство, связанное с различными разработками, такое как нефтехимическое производство.

5. В случае перепроизводства промышленники занимаются складированием продукции.

6. Производительность предприятий зависит от ряда факторов, среди которых производственная мощность.

7. На предприятиях массового производства используется конвейерная лента.

8. При создании предприятия необходимо принять решение о создании собственного производства.

9. Некоторые компании производят сборку изделий из компонентов или полуфабрикатов, поставляемых другими компаниями.

10. Иногда завод получает заказы от других предприятий, которые являются субподрядчиками.

 

 

Text B

Products and brands

I. Read the following text, and write a brief heading for each paragraph:

1………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Marketing theorists tend to give the word product a very broad meaning, using it to refer to anything capable of satisfying a need or want. Thus, services, activities, people (politicians, athletes, film stars), places (holiday resorts), organizations (hospitals, colleges, political parties), and ideas, as well as physical objects offered for sale by retailers, can be considered as products. Physical products can usually be augmented by benefits such as customer advice, delivery, credit facilities, a warranty or guarantee, maintenance, after-sale service, and so on.

 

2…………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Some manufacturers use their name (the ‘family name’) for all their products, e.g. Philips, Colgate, and Yamaha. Others, including Unilever and Procter& Gamble, market various products under individual brand names, with the result that many customers are unfamiliar with the name of the manufacturing company. The major producers of soap powders, for example, are famous for their multi-brand strategy which allows them to compete in various market segments, and to fill shelf space in shops, thereby leaving less room for competitors. It also gives them a greater chance of getting some of the custom of brand-switchers.

 

3…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Most manufacturers produce a large number of products, often divided into product lines. Most product lines consist of several products, often distinguished by brand names, e.g. a range of soap powders, or of toothpastes. Several different items (different sizes or models) may share the same brand name. Together, company’s items, brand names and products constitute its product mix. Since different products are always at different stages of their life cycles, with growing, stable or declining sales and profitability, and because markets, opportunities and resources are in constant evolution, companies are always looking to the future, and re-evaluating their product mix.

 

4…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Companies whose objectives include high market share and market growth generally have long product lines, i.e. a large number of items. Companies whose objective is high profitability will have shorter lines, including only profitable items. Yet most product lines have a tendency to lengthen over time, as companies produce variations on existing items, or add additional items to cover further market segments. Additions to product lines can be the result of either line stretching or line filling. Line-stretching means lengthening a product line by moving either up-market or down-market, i.e. making items of higher or lower quality. This can be carried out in order to reach new customers, to enter growing or more profitable market segments, to react to competitors’ initiatives, and so on. Yet such moves may cause image problems: moving to the lower end of a market dilutes a company’s image for quality, while a company at the bottom of a range may not convince dealers and customers that it can produce quality products for the high end. Line-filling – adding further items in that part of a product range which a line already covers – might be done in order to compete in competitors’ niches, or simply to utilize excess production capacity.

 

II. Answer these questions:

  1. What meaning does the word product have?
  2. What things does it include?
  3. How do manufacturers create their brand names?
  4. What do most product lines consist of?
  5. What can be called a product mix?
  6. Why are companies always looking to the future?
  7. What product lines do companies whose aims are high market share have?
  8. What product lines do companies whose aims are high profitability?
  9. Describe line-stretching
  10. Why do companies use it?
  11. Describe line-filling
  12. Why do companies use it?

 

III Find words or expressions in the text which mean the following:

  1. the possibility of paying for a product over an extended period
  2. a promise by a manufacturer or seller to repair or replace defective goods during a certain period of time.
  3. a surface in a store on which goods are displayed
  4. consumers who buy various competing products rather than being loyal to a particular brand
  5. the standard pattern of sales of a product over the period that it is marketed
  6. the extend to which an activity provides financial gain
  7. possibilities of filling unsatisfied needs in sectors in which the company can produce goods or services effectively
  8. the sales of a company expressed as a percentage of total sales in a given market
  9. the set of beliefs that the public at large holds of an organization
  10. a small, specialized, but profitable segment of a market

 

IV.Preparing a report

Imagine that an international vending machine operator is hoping to increase its activities in your country, and has hired you to report on the existing market and to suggest new products that could be distributed via vending machines.

First you have to prepare a report outlining:

- which products are currently sold in vending machines in your country

- where such machines are usually situated

- what kind of customers generally use them and in what circumstances

Then you have to suggest further products that could perhaps be distributed in this way.

 

I. Read and complete the gaps using the following words:

Assembled, costs, defects, expenditure, implications, investment, pretest, recall, resultant, share, suppliers, unchanged

 

Management of quality control

Perhaps low warranty (1)……….mean spending a lot of money on quality control and the prevention of (2)……….? Not at all. It appears that (3)……….on prevention and inspection is much less than the cost of failure, and the (4)……….need to rework, scrap, recall, and service. On average it appears the cost of quality is less than one half the cost of failure. Obviously, failures must be more expensive to put right after a unit has been (5)………. The cost of the extra hours used to (6)……….a design is cheap compared to the cost of product (7)……….Field service costs are higher than the cost of inspection.

But quality has even wider (8)………..: for example, for market (9)……….and return on (10)……….Thus, businesses with a high product quality have a return three or four times greater than businesses with a low product quality. And businesses which improve their quality increase their market five to six times faster than those whose quality remains (11)……….

It would appear that counterattack is possible. According to the Harvard Business Review, in 1980, Hewlett-Packard tested 300, 000 semiconductors from three American and three Japanese (12)………. At that time, the Japanese chips had a failure rate one-six that of the American chips. When the test was repeated two years later, the American companies had virtually closed the gap. In cars and trucks, the gap is also rapidly closing.

 

VI Look at the words which can be used with the word ‘investment’ to make word partnerships, for example ‘capital investment’.

capital equity real
tax-free investment net
speculative fixed-interest gross

‘Capital investment’ is investment in capital goods, such as machinery or buildings needed for the production process.

Which of the other ‘investment’ word partnerships have the following meanings?

 

11. Investment in goods and services needed for the benefit of the community, not for financial gain investment.

12. The use of money to buy a security or commodity with the intention of selling it at profit.

13. An investment which earns interest at an agreed fixed rate.

14. The gross investment reduced by the amount of capital consumption.

15. An investment which gives the holder a right to receive a share in the profits, usually in the form of dividend.

 

Text C

A Loan Agreement

Article 7. Disbursement

 

1. For the purpose of the Loan provided in article 2, the parties hereto agree that the disbursement shall be made directly to the Seller’s bank account upon the Borrower’s request.

The Borrower shall send the drawdown notice by telefax in the form of Exhibit attached hereto, the ‘Drawdown Notice’. Such Drawdown Notice must be accompanied by the Seller’s invoice.

The disbursement shall be made on the fifth business day after, not including, the Lender’s receipt of Drawdown Notice.

The final Drawdown Date shall not be later than November 29, 20….

2. In case any payment hereunder becomes due on a day which is not a business day, the payment shall be made on the next succeeding business day unless such next succeeding business day fall in the next calendar month, in which case the payment shall be made on the immediate business day. Business day means a day on which banks are open in London and New-York for the type of business contemplated by this Agreement.

 

Unit 6

Text A

Labour Unions

Vocabulary

Bonus scheme Система поощрений
Casual job Временная работа
Collective bargaining Переговоры о заключении коллективного договора
Cost of living Прожиточный минимум
Free market Свободный рынок
Go-slow Забастовка, при которой замедляется темп работы
Gross salary Оклад до удержания налога
Group pension plan Коллективный пенсионный план
Industrial action Промышленный конфликт
Industrial relations Отношения между администрацией и работниками
Labour market deregulation Дерегулирование рынка труда
Labour union Профсоюз
Minimum wage Минимальная заработная плата
Occupational pension Пенсионное обеспечение на рынке труда
Payroll Платежная ведомость
Personal equity plan Программа продажи акций служащим компании
Picket Пикетирование
Piecework wages Сдельная оплата труда
Professional associations Профессиональное объединение
Remuneration Оплата, вознаграждение
Represent the needs of employees Представлять нужды работников
Salary Оклад
Social partner Социальный партнер
Strike Забастовка
Tax exempt special saving account Специальный сберегательный счет, освобожденный от налогов
Time wage Повременная оплата труда
Tip Плата сверх принятого уровня
Trade union Профсоюз
Unskilled job Неквалифицированная работа
Vacation pay Оплата отпуска
Wage rate Ставка оплаты труда
Wage schedule Шкала заработной платы
Work force Рабочая сила
Working conditions Условия труда
Working hours Рабочее время
Working-to-rules Работа строго по правилам
Worth of job Стоимость труда
Fair wages Справедливая оплата труда

 

I. Read and translate this text:

Industrial relations

- Essentially industrial relations are concerned with the relations between management and production workers and concentrates very largely upon the conditions of service, the working environment and wages.

- In the 1960s and 1970s the power of the trade unions grew considerably and its influence was evident in all issues concerning worker-management relations; often it seemed to be greater than that of the employers. Various legislation was passed, some to strengthen and some to mitigate the strength of union power which, while it might be beneficial to workers generally, was seen to be damaging to the economy as a whole. In the 1980s, however, the power of the trade unions in Britain was significantly curtailed by Government legislation, with the result that there is now less anxiety on the part of employers and Government over the strike threat.

- Industrial relations were historically the concern exclusively of the trade unions and the employers’ organizations. As a general rule national level negotiations were carried out this set the pattern for pay and conditions throughout a particular industry. This formed the basis for separate negotiations between individual employers and union representatives, and the results of these negotiations were further modified by agreements at local plant levels. Two circumstances caused modifications to this general pattern. The first was a greater direct intervention of Government into industrial negotiations through imposed pay policies and consequent legislation, and the second was the growth of the demand among trade unionists for comparable pay and conditions throughout the different plants of an organization or throughout an industry. The Government itself is also now a large employer of direct labour which forces is to be a party to industrial relations negotiations.

- In order to reduce disruption through industrial disputes it was historically the practice to resort to joint consultation. Government supported the creation of joint industrial councils (JICs), consisting of equal numbers of members from employers’ associations and relevant trade unions. JICs dealt with a wide range of matters including conditions of work, welfare and training. In many cases there was an undertaking by the industry that matters of dispute had to be submitted to the joint industrial council before any strike action was taken. A further device to endeavour to solve industrial disputes is the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, known as ACAS. These attempts to mediate between the parties in dispute are generally very successful.

- At local level disputes are often dealt with by joint consultative committees composed of representatives from management and workers. All manner of topics may be raised with such committees from safety to discipline, from welfare to training. Such committees do not have executive powers but are able to report and recommend. To ensure that they are trusted by the workers, which is a major requirement for their success, they should be composed of members from both sides who are knowledgeable and competent, whose integrity is unquestioned and whose judgement is dependable. It is also essential that the reports and recommendations made by these joint consultative committees are seen to be given due weight by management.

Worker participation

Neither method involves workers financially, but a third proposition does that of co-ownership. It proposes that workers become actual shareholders in their companies, thus participating in the distribution of profits and having the power to vote at annual general meetings. The actual acquisition of shares by workers poses a problem, especially as they can, if they work for a public company, purchase them through the stock market if they really desire to become co-owners.

- Two solutions have been successfully applied in practice. The first is to offer shares to workers at attractive prices and the second to award shares as bonus payments. The opportunity to share in the profits of their company is considered to encourage loyalty and co-operative attitude in the workers and to provide a positive incentive for greater productivity.

- Although it is assumed that shares will have voting rights, some managements may view this with apprehension and in some cases shares issued to employees have no voting rights so that control remains firmly in the hands of the existing shareholders and management. In such cases it is considered that the fact of profit-sharing is sufficient participation and incentive. Perhaps such managements have learnt a lesson from the experience of an American company which lost control to its work-force through the issue of shares with voting rights as bonuses, where the number of shares subsequently held by workers exceeded those held by the original owners.

 

II. Match the equivalents:

 

1.Casual job a) Временная работа
2. Collective bargaining b) Дерегулирование рынка труда
3. Fair wages c) Забастовка
4. Free market d) Забастовка, при которой замедляется темп работы
5. Go-slow e) Неквалифицированная работа
6. Industrial action f) Отношения между администрацией и работниками
7. Industrial relations g) Переговоры о заключении коллективного договора
8. Labour market deregulation h) Пикетировать
9. Labour union i) Представлять нужды работников
10. Picket j) Промышленный конфликт
11. Professional associations k) Профессиональное объединение
12. Represent the needs of employees l) Профсоюз
13. Social partner m) Профсоюз
14. Strike n) Работа строго по правилам
15. Trade union o) Рабочая сила
16. Unskilled job p) Рабочее время
17. Work force q) Свободный рынок
18. Working conditions r) Социальный партнер
19. Working hours s) Справедливая оплата труда
20. Working-to rules t) Условия труда

 

III. Match up the words on the left with the definitions on the right:

1. Collective bargaining a) a general term for strikes, o-slows, work-to-rules and so on
2. A strike b) a deliberate reduction in the rate of production, as a protest
3. A go-slow (GB) or slowdown (US) c) a stoppage of work, as a protest against working conditions, low pay and so on
4. Working-to rule d) negotiations between unions and employers about their members’ wages and working conditions
5. Industrial action e) to protest outside a factory or other workplace, and try to persuade workers and delivery drivers not to enter
6. To picket f) deliberately obeying every regulation in an organization, which severely disrups normal operations

 

IV. Answer these questions:

  1. What are industrial relations concerned with?
  2. What happened to the power of the trade unions in the 1960s and 1970s?
  3. Was this power beneficial to workers? To economy?
  4. What changed to the power of trade unions in 1980s?
  5. Whose concern were historically industrial relations?
  6. How were national negotiations carried out?
  7. How did Government make a direct intervention into industrial negotiations?
  8. Why were joint consultations created?
  9. What did JICs deal with?
  10. Why was ACAS created?
  11. How do disputes take place at local level?
  12. What topics may be raised at these disputes?
  13. Do joint consultative committees have any power?
  14. Why do employees obey them?
  15. Can workers be co-owners of a company?
  16. Why did companies offer shares to workers?
  17. What problem can appear here for management?

Text B

Who needs unions?

  1. Read and translate this text:

Manual and service industry workers are often organized in labour unions, which attempt to ensure fair wages, reasonable working hours and safe working conditions for their members. British unions are known as trade unions because, as in Germany, they are largely organized according to trade or skill: there is an engineers’ union, an electricians’ union, a train-drivers’ union and so on. In other countries, including France and Italy, unions are largely political: workers in different industries join unions with a particular political position.Industrial relations tend to be better in countries, industries and companies where communications are good, i.e. where management consult workers on matters that will concern them, where neither side treats the other as an adversary, and when unions do not insist upon the preservation of completely uneconomic jobs and working practices. Although some employers and managers (and political parties) oppose the very existence of unions – even though, like doctors, lawyers, accountants and so on, they might themselves belong to a professional association with similar basic aims – many management theorists stress the necessity of unions. In the 1970s, Peter Drucker wrote that ‘Management is and has to be a power. Any power needs restraint and control – or else it becomes tyranny. The union serves an essential function in industrial society’. Yet one of the chief objectives of right-wing governments in the 1980s (e.g. in Britain and the USA) was to diminish the power of trade unions, and to deregulate labour markets in accordance with the ideal of free markets.

As a result of deregulation, working conditions in many industries in many countries have worsened, leading to the creation of a great many casual, part-time, unskilled jobs done by non-unionized workers. France, for example, has the lowest number of workers in trade unions in the industrialized world. The unions now represent less than 10% of the French work force, and most of those are in the public sector. The vast majority of French workers seem to have rejected the confrontational politics of the main unions, notably the communist-controlled CGT. Consequently, when the largely non-unionized French lorry-drivers blocked all the motorways in the summer of 1992, striking over the introduction of a new driver’s licence with a penalty-point system (and over their working conditions in general), the French government found no one to negotiate with.

In fact, a number of politicians and business leaders are beginning to regret of the weakness of unions. Some managers, including Antoine Riboud, the former head of the huge DANONE food conglomerate, actively encourage unionization because they insist that a big company needs someone to represent and articulate the needs of the employees and act as a social partner to the employer. But there is clearly a problem if workers believe that the unions are incapable of doing this, and choose not to join them.

- Peter Drucker: An Introductory View of Management

II Answer these questions:

  1. For whom and why were labour unions created?
  2. Why are British unions known as trade unions?
  3. What unions are there in France and Italy?
  4. In what countries are industrial relations better and why?
  5. Why should management be restrained and controlled?
  6. What is the result of deregulation of labour markets?
  7. What was the problem in negotiations with French drivers?
  8. Why do some politicians and leaders regret the weakness of unions?
  9. Why do some workers try not to join unions?

 

III. Find the words in the text which mean the following:

1. people who work with their hands

2. a union for workers with a particular type of job

3. to ask someone’s opinion before making a decision

4. an opponent or enemy

5. too expensive, wasteful, loss-making

6. unlimited and unfairly used power

7. ending or relaxing restrictive laws

8. areas of the economy run by the local or national government

9. hostile, almost aggressive, seeking conflicts

10. a large corporation, made up of a group of companies

 

IV. Do some research and write a 100-200 word history of unions in your country. (For example: When were they first founded? Have they always been legal? Have there been periods in which they have been more or less powerful, or important, or necessary, than today? )

V. Match the equivalents:

1. Remuneration a) Оплата, вознаграждение
2. Cost of living b) Прожиточный минимум
3. Worth of job c) Стоимость труда
4. Bonus scheme d) Система поощрений
5. Minimum wage e) Минимальная заработная плата
6. Wage schedule f) Шкала заработной платы
7. Tip g) Плата сверх принятого уровня

 

VI. Translate into English:

  1. Отношения между администрацией и работниками всегда являлись сложным аспектом трудовых отношений.
  2. Активную роль на предприятиях играют профсоюзы, которые ведут переговоры о заключении коллективного договора, регламентирующего рабочее время, условия труда и справедливую оплату труда.
  3. Профессиональные объединения необходимы в условиях свободного рынка, так как они представляют нужды работников.
  4. Существует мнение, что профсоюзы способствуют дерегулированию рынка труда, однако именно они являются инструментом защиты прав рабочей силы от привлечения специалистов на временную и неквалифицированную работу.
  5. Профсоюзы являются важной частью социального партнерства в управлении предприятием.
  6. Существует много стратегий поведения работников во время промышленного конфликта: забастовка, замедление темпа работы, работа строго по правилам, пикетирование.
  7. Вознаграждение за труд зависит от ряда факторов, таких как стоимость труда и прожиточный минимум.
  8. Правительство устанавливает размер минимальной заработной платы.
  9. В шкале заработной платы определяются ставки оплаты за сдельную и повременную работу и ставка оклада.
  10. В платежных ведомостях указывается оклад до удержания налогов и оклад после удержания налогов.
  11. Существуют различные системы поощрений: премии, плата сверх принятого уровня, продажа работникам акций по льготной цене.
  12. Предприятия обязаны оплачивать очередные отпуска работников.
  13. Существует несколько способов пенсионного обеспечения на рынке труда: коллективный пенсионный вклад, специальный сберегательный счет, освобожденный от налогов, программа продажи акций служащим компании.

 

Text C

A Loan Agreement

Unit 7

Text A

Vocabulary

Abbreviated account Краткий отчет
Attract additional capital Привлекать дополнительный капитал
Capital costs Затраты основного капитала (инвестиции)
Capital structure Структура капитала
Consolidated accounts Сводный отчет
Contribution ratio Валовой коэффициент
Current assets Текущие активы
Current liabilities Текущие обязательства
Current ratio Отношение оборотного капитала к краткосрочным обязательствам
Curve Кривая
Decline Снижаться
Digressive variable costs Снижающиеся переменные издержки
Direct costs Прямые расходы
Drop Падать
Equity Стоимость капитала
Extraordinary item Статья непредвиденных расходов
Gearing Отношение капитала компании к заемным средствам
Labour costs Расходы на зарплату
Liquidity Ликвидность
Loan capital Ссудный капитал
Long-term debts Долгосрочные обязательства
Overtime work Сверхурочная работа
Owner’s capital Собственный капитал
Pretax income Доход до уплаты налогов
Profit and loss account Счет прибыли и убытков
Profit margin Чистая прибыль
Progressive variable costs Прогрессивные переменные издержки
Proportionally variable costs Пропорциональные переменные издержки
Quick ratio Отношение ликвидности фирмы к долговым обязательствам
Rate Ставка
Regressively variable costs Регрессивные переменные издержки
Return on capital employed Доход на используемый капитал
Short-term debts Краткосрочные обязательства
Total assets Общая стоимость имущества
Trading income Доход от коммерческой деятельности
Unit contribution Единица прибыли
Volume of production Объем производства
Wealth Материальные ценности
Work-in-progress Незавершенное производство

 

I. Read and translate the following text about financial ratios:

There are four critical areas of a company’s business which can be analyzed by applying ratios. These are: liquidity, capital structure, activity and efficiency, and profitability.

Measurements of liquidity should answer the question: Can a company pay its short-term debts? There are two ratios commonly used to answer this question. Firstly, the current ratio, which measures the current assets against the current liabilities. In most cases, a healthy company would show a ratio above 1, in other words more current assets than current liabilities. Another method of measuring liquidity is the so-called quick ratio – this is particularly appropriate in manufacturing industries where stock levels can disguise the company’s true liquidity. The ratio is calculated in the same way as above but the stocks are deducted from the current assets.

The balance sheet will also reveal the gearing of the company – this is an indicator of the company’s capital structure and its ability to meet its long-term debts. The ration expresses the relationship between shareholders’ funds and loan capital. Income gearing is also important and shows the ratio between profit and interest paid on borrowings. Relatively high borrowings would indicate vulnerable rate rise. Highly geared companies generally represent a greater risk for investors.

The balance sheet and the profit and loss account can be used to asses how efficiently a company managers its assets. Basically, sales are compared with investment in various assets. For example, in the retail sector, an important ratio which indicates efficiently is sales divided by stock – the resulting figure should be much higher than in manufacturing sector where stock tends to show a much slower turnover. Another example of efficiency measurement is to calculate the average collection period on debts. This is found by dividing debtors by the sales per day. This can vary tremendously from industry to industry. In the retail sector it may well be as low as one or two days, whereas in the heavy manufacturing and service sector it can range from thirty to ninety days.

Finally, profitability ratios show the manager’s use of the company’s resources. The profit margin figure (profit before tax divided by sales and expressed as a percentage) indicates the operational day-to-day profitability of the business. Return on capital employed can be calculated in a number of ways. One common method is to take profit before taxes and divide by the total assets – this is a good indicator of the use of all assets of the company. From a shareholder’s point of view, the return on owner’s equity will be an important ratio; this is calculated by dividing the profit before taxes by the owner’s equity and expressing it as a percentage. If the company doesn’t earn a reasonable return, the share price will fall and thus make it difficult to attract additional capital.

 

II. Match the equivalents:

1. Attract additional capital a) Долгосрочные обязательства
2. Capital structure b) Доход на используемый капитал
3. Current assets c) Краткосрочные обязательства
4. Current liabilities d) Ликвидность
5. Current ratio f) Общая стоимость имущества
6. Gearing g) Отношение капитала компании к заемным средствам
7. Liquidity h) Отношение ликвидности фирмы к долговым обязательствам
8. Loan capital i) Отношение оборотного капитала к краткосрочным обязательствам
9. Long-term debts j) Привлекать дополнительный капитал
10. Owner’s capital k) Собственный капитал
11. Profit and loss account l) Ссудный капитал
12. Profit margin m) Структура капитала
13. Quick ratio n) Счет прибыли и убытков
14. Return on capital employed o) Текущие активы
15. Short-term debts p) Текущие обязательства
16. Total assets q) Чистая прибыль

 

III. Answer these questions:

  1. How many critical areas of a company’s business are there which can be analyzed by applying ratios?
  2. Which are they?
  3. How many ratios are used to estimate company’s ability to pay short-term debts?
  4. Which is the first one?
  5. Which is the second one?
  6. What can the balance sheet reveal?
  7. What does income gearing show?
  8. What can the balance sheet, the profit and loss account be used for?
  9. How can efficiency in the retail sector be calculated?
  10. What do profitability ratios show?
  11. What does the profit margin figure indicate?
  12. How can return on capital employed be calculated?

 

IV. Match the phrases on the left with a word or phrases on the right which means the same:

 

1. contribution ratio a) turnover

2. fixed costs b) gross profit margin

3. variable costs c) overheads

4. income from sales d) direct costs

 

Y. Match the terms with appropriate definitions:

1.contribution 2. capital costs 3. gearing 4. retained profit 5. work-in-progress 6. unit contribution 7. wealth 8. break-even point

 

a) The number or total value of sales necessary to equal all costs.

b) Net value of a company (total assets less total liabilities)

c) Net profit available for reinvestment in the company.

d) Sales income less variable costs.

e) Selling price less variable costs divided by volume of production.

f) Cost of buying fixed assets such as buildings, equipment, vehicles.

g) Relationship between the cost of borrowing money and the total equity capital.

h) Work done which has cost the company but has not yet been sold.

 

VI.Change the underlined words or phrases in the sentences below to other words or phrases that have a similar meaning. Choose them from the box:

1. abbreviated accounts 2. equity 3. liquid assets 4. capital investment 5. extraordinary items 6. operating income 7. consolidated gross 8. revenue 9. debts;

 

1. Unpredictable and exceptional costs (…………..) should be a separate item in the financial report.

2. The trading income (……………….) needs to increase each year so that the company can make decisions to buy new plant and equipment (………………..)

3. The company accounts have been checked and approved by an independent financial expert (………………….)

4. Shareholders expect to see the short description of the company’s financial position (………………….)

5. Income (………………..) during the present tax year is less than last year.

6. Pre-tax (………………..) earnings are down.

7. The total value (………………..) of a company once all liabilities (…………..) have been paid.

8. A successful company needs property and investments that can be easily converted into cash(……………………..)

 

VII. Match each word with the correct definition:

  1. profit and loss account 2. balance sheet 3. cash budget 4. share certificate 5. tender 6. business plan 7. insurance certificate 8. letter of credit 9. contract

 

a) A plan of cash income and cash spending for a specific period of time.

b) A document which represent a part of the total stock value of a company and which shows who owns it.

c) A formal description of income and costs for a time period that has finished.

d) A formal agreement to provide goods or services.

e) A formal description of a company’s financial position at a specified moment.


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