Деловой английский язык
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Monopolies As mentioned earlier the MMC can only carry out an investigation where a company has a 25 per cent market share or where two or more companies together having a 25 per cent market share are acting together so as to restrict competition. The DGFT has the duty to keep the UK mar-ket under continuous review and to ascertain the existence of monopoly situations. He decides the priority for references to the MMC. The Commission looks into the supply of particular goods and services and not into the activities of large companies as such. This means that a large muiti-product firm may be the subject of more than one MMC investigation. The way in which the MMC works has been criticised for being a much too lengthy process; there is an average interval of about two years between the initial reference and the publication of the MMC's report. The reports have been wide ranging and have provided detailed authoritative accounts of the structure and performance of the firms investigated. They have greatly extended public knowledge of the way in which the business world conducts its affairs. There has also been criticism because some of the reports and recommendations of the MMC have not been followed by strong legal action by the government. The Secretary of State for Trade has the power to make orders giving legal effect to any recommendations of the MMC, but this power has rarely been used. Even so the reports of MMC have led to substantial changes in business practices. Adverse comments have usually led to voluntary agreements by the firms concerned (in negotiations with the Secretary of State) to modify or abandon the offending practice. The fear of investigation and unwelcome publicity may also have had some beneficial effects on business behaviour. Over the years the MMC have made a variety of recommendations for the control or modification of firms' policies. These have included proposals for price reductions; government supervision of prices, costs and profits; the lowering of tariffs on competing imports; substantial reductions in advertising arid oilier selling costs, and the prohibition of any further take-overs of competitors. Mergers A proposed merger may be referred to the MMC for investigation where it would involve the transfer of gross assets of at least f30 million or where the merger would lead to a monopoly situation (i.e. the control of at least 25 per cent of the market). The Director-General of Fair Trading has the responsibility of keeping himself informed of all merger situations qualifying for possible reference to the MMC. He carries out preliminary investigations and then advises the Secretary of State on whether the proposed merger should be referred to the MMC; only the Secretary of State can refer a proposed merger to the MMC. In fact only a small percentage of mergers have been referred to the MMC and of these about 60 per cent were either found to be against the public interest or were abandoned. The restraining effects of merger control are certainly greater than the official statistics indicate because many merger proposals are dropped after informal consultations with the DGFT Decisions on merger references are taken on a case by case basis. In deciding whether a proposed merger is likely to operate against the public interest the MMC will take into account such matters as: (a) the extent to which competition is likely to be reduced; (b) the possible gains in efficiency from rationalisation, economies of scale and better management; (c) the likely effects on employment; (d) the possibilities of increased competitiveness in overseas markets; (e) whether the merger is likely to stimulate innovation and technical progress; (f) the possible effects on the regional distribution of industry; (g) the effects on consumers and suppliers: for example a merger might create a large preponderant buyer which would be in a very strong bargaining position if its suppliers were numerous and small. Until quite recently the official policy on mergers was based on the view that mergers are generally not against the public interest. Current attitudes appear to be more critical and the tendency is for more proposed mergers to be sent to the MMC for their consideration. This change of attitude is largely due to the fact that several recent studies of the effects of mergers have shown that a high proportion (at least 50 per cent) of them have proved unprofitable or much less successful than had been anticipated. One explanation for this may be the fact that the planned gains from mergers often depend upon substantial reorganisation of production facilities which may include the closure of some plants with inevitable redundancies. Such changes are likely to meet with strong resistance especially from organised labour and hence may take a long time to carry out. There is also concern that many mergers appear to have been motivated by a desire to increase market power (by reducing competition) rather than by a desire to increase efficiency. Consumer protection Although the legal control of monopolies and restrictive practices now has a fairly long history, the idea that government should provide organisations for a general oversight of consumers' interests is relatively new. The Fair Trading Act of 1973 made the Director-General of Fair Trading responsible for safeguarding the interest of consumers. He proposes new laws to end unfair trading practices, encourages trade associations to produce codes of practice for member firms to follow when dealing with consumers, and deals with manufacturers and traders who persistently indulge in unfair practice. In this matter he is assisted by a Consumer Protection Advisory Committee (CPAC) whose functions are to investigate undesirable trading practices referred to it by the DO FT and to consider his proposals for dealing with the practices. The types of unfair practice with which the CPAC is concerned are those which: (a) mislead consumers about the nature, quality, or quantity of goods involved in a transaction; (b) mislead consumers about their rights and obligations; (c) subject consumers to undue pressures to buy; (d) cause the terms or conditions of sale to be so adverse as to be inequitable. If the CPAC is satisfied that the practice adversely affects consumers and agrees with the DGFT's proposals, the Secretary of State can make an order banning the practice. The work of the CPAC and the Director-General has resulted in many codes of practice being adopted by various trade associations (e.g. the servicing of electrical appliances, mail order trading, laundry and dry cleaning services, package holidays and footwear retailing). The Office of Fair Trading has also investigated many other practices (e.g. advertising, door-to-door selling and one-day sales) and has obliged many individual companies to give undertakings to modify their business practices. The DGFT also has important responsibilities as a result of the consumer Credit Act of 1974. Under this Act all businesses involved in the granting of credit or the hiring of goods (including hire purchase) to individuals, sole traders or partnerships require a licence from the DGFT. An important aim of the legislation is that the consumer should be given sufficient information about the credit being offered and its true cost. A court may be asked to reopen a credit agreement which is deemed to be extortionate and a consumer is also given the right to complete payment of hire purchase or credit agreements early and obtain a rebate of the credit charges. Short Revision and Self – Control of the Main Statements of the Fourth Unit. 4.11. Close the right-hand side of the page with a sheet of paper and move it downwards answering the questions and checking yourself:
UNIT V ENTERPRENEURSHIP What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur? We define entrepreneurs mostly as those who launch new ventures, but entrepreneurship is far more widely practiced - in old businesses as well as new ones, and in big businesses as well as small ones. Entrepreneurs are individuals who create their own business and who organize, ran, and assume the risk for the venture. Pure entrepreneurs create a venture from the raw materials of their own ideas and hard work, entrepreneurship is the capacity for innovation, investment, and expansion in new markets, products, and techniques. Unlike the manager, who uses given resources to operate the business, the entrepreneur creates new opportunities for success. An entrepreneur is at work whenever someone takes risks and invests resources to make something new, designs a new way of making something that already exists, or creates new markets. A great deal of wage earners say that they would prefer to work for themselves than for somebody else. Yet few become entrepreneurs. As they are emotionally incapable of taking the fateful first step – unless forced to do so by some crucial event, such as the loss of a job. But of all the men and women who do become entrepreneurs, why do so few succeed? What is it that enables a business to succeed instead of fall? Can we pinpoint the key traits of successful entrepreneurs? One common trait is the need for self-expression; another is the likelihood of being an overachiever. They tend to be innovative, to take reasonable risks, to be self-confident, to work hard, to set goals, and to hold themselves accountable. Another element that entrepreneurs share is that they tend to be children of parents who own businesses. Psychologists say that entrepreneurs are likely to come from families in which parents set high standards for their children's performance, encourage habits of self-reliance, and avoid being strict disciplinarians. But what do entrepreneurs mostly appreciate in their activities? Most entrepreneurs like nothing better than the satisfaction of being their own boss. Personal independence, unlimited profit potential, the opportunity to work at something they really love and at hours they choose are some of other benefits of being an entrepreneur. For the successful entrepreneur the rewards are both monetary and psychological - profits and esteem. Not surprisingly, the costs of failure are also monetary and psychological - financial ruin and a shattered ego. But where is entrepreneurship most likely to be welcomed? The answer is in small business. In fact, the word "entrepreneur" is frequently used to define a small business owner, since the owners of small businesses usually carry out many of the functions of those businesses themselves, in a large business the tasks of organizing and operating are done by many hired managers. Entrepreneurs tend to tackle the unknown; they do things in new and different ways; they weave old ideas into new patterns. In order to make a profit, an entrepreneur must create a useful product, develop an efficient method of production, and market the product at a price that exceeds the cost. Entrepreneurs enter business knowing that the success is not guaranteed, and if things do not go as planned, they could wind up losing money. But still you should also bear in mind that, as Peter Dracker said, no two entrepreneurs are exactly alike, "some are eccentrics, others painfully correct conformists; some are worriers, some relaxed; some drink quite heavily, others are total abstainers; some are men of great charm and warmth, some have no more personality than a frozen mackerel." Vocabulary entrepreneur – предприниматель entrepreneurship – предпринимательская деятельность venture – рискованное предприятие joint venture – совместное предприятие raw materials – сырье capacity – способность innovation – нововведение investment – капиталовложение, инвестиции expansion – расширение, внедрение resources – ресурсы opportunities – возможности wage – заработная плата self-expression – самовыражение key traits – основные черты likelihood – вероятность overachiever – трудоголик self-reliance – самостоятельность independence – независимость potential – потенциал benefits – привилегии, достоинства reward – награда profits – доходы, прибыль esteem – уважение the costs of failure – цена провала, неудачи eccentric – самовлюбленный человек conformist – пассивный, приноравливающийся к обстоятельствам человек worrier – постоянно о чем-то беспокоящийся человек abstainer – непьющий человек personality – личность to run – управлять to operate – управлять, организовывать to earn – зарабатывать to be incapable of – быть неспособным к to be forced to do smth. – быть вынужденным что-либо делать to pinpoint – выделять , заострять внимание на чем-либо to set goals – ставить цели to exceed – превышать to be guaranteed – быть гарантированным to define – находить определение to carry out – выполнять successful – успешный innovative – изобретательный reasonable – разумный self-confident – уверенный в себе efficient – профессиональный, тщательно разработанный frozen – замороженный to undertake – предпринимать to set a target – ставить цель vital – жизненно важный, необходимый meaningful – важный, имеющий значение to evade – избегать, уклоняться to steer clear of – избегать, сторониться fatal – фатальный, решающий decisive – решающий self-assurance – самоуверенность feature – качество, черта характера streak – черта характера self-actualization – самовыражение self-effacement – самоуничижение enhancement – увеличение, повышение outdated – устаревший to risk high – рисковать по крупному steadfast – непоколебимый viable – жизнеспособный, перспективный loan – ссуда, заём advance – предварительный, заблаговременный diverse – разнообразный, разный debt – долг to borrow – занимать, брать взаймы property – собственность lease – сдача в аренду, внаем, аренда to set up – открывать дело, учреждать an agreement – соглашение paid sick leave – оплачиваемый больничный clear – ясный, четкий stamina – запас жизненных сил, выносливость intense – интенсивный, напряженный distinctive – характерный, отличительный change on purpose – целенаправленные изменения to challenge – бросать вызов minority – меньшинство, меньшая часть bias – предубеждение with hindsight – оглядываясь назад to fall below – падать, опускаться ниже survey – осмотр, исследование delivery service – служба доставки redundant – излишний, чрезмерный, сокращенный to be redundant – быть уволенным по сокращению to approach – приближаться, делать предложение to suck up – поглощать store of knowledge – запас знаний, интеллект to double – удваиваться to foresee – предвидеть breakthrough – переломный момент trend – направление, тенденция retailer – розничный торговец wholesaler – оптовое предприятие, оптовик to duplicate – удваивать, увеличивать вдвое irregularity – нарушение норм, неправильность good reasons – веские причины to break away from traditions – поломать традиции, выйти за рамки традиций to invade fields – занимать отрасли to face up to – сталкиваться с executive suite – руководящая должность continuous goal-setting – непрерывная постановка цели to make sure – убедиться, быть уверенным perseverance – упорство strong determination – огромное желание regardless of – несмотря на constant persistence – постоянная настойчивость basic principles – основные принципы accounting – бухгалтерский учет financing – финансирование to deal with failure – справляться с неудачей tolerance – терпение to cope with stress – справляться со стрессом |
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