International Business Relations

What am I going to do after school or university? Maybe I should consider a job in the financial world. There is a surprisingly wide range to choose from. For example, I could work for a big international company, run my own International Business Research Agency or write about economics as a financial journalist.

What features are characteristic of world economy? You are about to begin an exciting, important and necessary task — the exploration of international business. It is exciting because it combines the science and the art of business with many other disciplines, such as economics, geography, history, language, jurisprudence, statistics, and demography. International Business is important and necessary because economic isolationism has become impossible.

Failure to become a part of the global market assures a nation of declining economic influence and a deteriorating standard of living for its citizens. Successful participation in International Business, however, holds the promise of improved quality of life and a better society, a more peaceful world.

As a nation we must take on the challenge of competing aggressively in the international arena or risk becoming a second-rate power in today's borderless economy.

The system of accounting for transactions between countries provides useful information to policy makers, international authorities, and business people by presenting data in consistent form. An informed user of international accounting data can analyse the financial position of one country relative to others.

The foreign market opportunity analysis is very important. When a firm starts its international activities, basic guidelines must be found quickly and at low cost.

Because major stock markets don't just affect the financial life of their own countries, they also play a vital role in the total world economy. These days, banks and stock-exchanges can move millions at a touch of a button. So, money is universal.

 

 

The Career Ladder

Getting a job

When Paul left school he applied for (= wrote an official request for) a job in the accounts department of a local engineering company. They gave him a job as a trainee (= a very junior person in a company). He didn't earn very much but they gave him a lot of training (= organised help and advice with learning the job), and sent him on training courses.

Note: Training is an uncountable noun, so you cannot say 'a training'. You can only talk about training (in general), or a training course (if you want to refer to just one). Here you can use the verbs do or go on: I did/went on several training courses last year.

Moving up

Paul worked hard at the company and his prospects (= future possibilities in the job) looked good. After his first year he got a good pay rise (= more money), and after two years he was promoted (= given a higher position with more money and responsibility). After six years he was in charge of
(= responsible for/the boss of) the accounts department with five other employees (= workers in the company) under him (= under his responsibility/ authority).

Leaving the company

By the time Paul was 30, however, he decided he wanted a fresh challenge (= a new exciting situation). He was keen to work abroad, so he resigned from his company (= officially told the company he was leaving his job; you can also say 'he quit the company') and started looking for a new job with a bigger company. After a couple of months he managed to find a job with an international company which involved (= included) a lot of foreign travel. He was very excited about the new job and at first he really enjoyed the travelling, but...

Hard times

After about six months, Paul started to dislike the constant moving around, and after a year he hated it; he hated living in hotels, and he never really made any friends in the new company. Unfortunately his work was not satisfactory either and finally he was sacked (= told to leave the company/ dismissed/given the sack) a year later.

After that, Paul found things much more difficult. He was unemployed (= out of work/without a job) for over a year. He had to sell his car and move out of his new house. Things were looking bad and in the end Paul had to accept a part-time job (= working only some or the day or some of the week) on a fruit and vegetable stall in a market.

Happier times

To his surprise, Paul loved the market. He made lots of friends and enjoyed working out in the open air. After two years, he took over (= took control of) the stall. Two years later he opened a second stall, and after ten years he had fifteen stalls. Last year Paul retired (= stopped working completely) at the age of 55, a very rich man.

 

About My Career (Legal Career)

I originally became interested in the law during my 9th form when I realised that my skills as a writer, speaker, and leader — as well as my powers of logic — would probably serve me well in a legal career. That is why I entered an optional class where I could have lessons on law twice a week.

All that I have done and experienced in my studying of the basic aspects of the law has further stimulated and reinforced my interest in the law, especially international obligations and public law, and my determination to pursue a legal career.

Studying to be a lawyer represents the fulfilment of one of my longest held dreams.

Whatever I could do as a lawyer to help people who are victimised by unscrupulous businessmen, as well as their own ignorance of the law, would give me a great satisfaction.

The duty of the lawyer is not only to punish people for various crimes: from espionage to serial murder and terrorism, but they must do their best to prevent crimes, to fight against evil in our society.

They should help those people, who committed an error (broke the law) to find the right road in their life. The lawyers protect the rights and legal interests of citizens, institutions and organisations. I want to help people, businesses to solve their problems, I want to help everybody to know the rules that we all have to get along.

I think that the profession of a lawyer is one of the most important in the law-governed state, which we are creating now.

Banking

What am I going to do after school or university? Maybe I should consider a job in the world of banking. There's a surprisingly wide range to choose from — for example, I could work for a high-street bank. Let us see what's what and who's who. If to take the roof off a high-street bank, one can reveal that lots of people work behind the scenes in banks. There's the clerical staff (sometimes called bank clerks), and their job includes sorting cheques, making sure that each customer receives a statement of his/ her account each month, keeping detailed up-to-date records of all bank's business.

The Enquiries, Desk. This is where you go if you need advice about the bank's services.

The Manager. This is the person in charge of the bank. She or he: (a) gives customers advice about their finances, (b) makes sure that the bank and its staff are working properly.

The Small-Business Adviser. Banks provide a wide range of services to their customers. This includes advice for people with small businesses. "How do I start a business?" "How much money can I afford to borrow?" "How do I plan ahead to make my business successful?" These are questions like these, which the small-business adviser is there to answer.

The Bank's Computer System. Modem Banks keep all their financial data in computers. This makes it possible to check and provide information at the touch of button.

The Foreign Exchange Desk. This is where you go to buy or sell foreign currency.

The Vault. Money, important documents and valuable objects (e.g. paintings, jewellery) are kept here. Vaults have very thick walls and strong, steel doors with complex locks.

Video Camera. Security is vital in banks. That's why many of them use video cameras these days. They can't stop robberies, but can film the robbers.

The Cash Dispenser Machine. You need money but the bank's closed? No problem — use the cash dispenser machine. All you have to do is: (a) put your cash-card into the machine, (b) tap in your personal identification number and the amount of money you want. A few seconds later the money appears. Thanks to machines like these, many banks are now open 24 hours a day.

The Night-Safe. Shopkeepers and business people often can't get to the bank until it's closed. What do they do with money they've earned that day? They put in the night-safe — a strong metal box in the wall of the bank, which can be unlocked with a special key.

So, money is an important part of everyday life. These days, money is hi-tech (modern, well-designed and sophisticated). We have notes and coins, which are specially made. We use credit cards. Banks and stock-exchanges can move millions at a touch of a button.

So, money is universal — but why? The answer is very simple. Without it trade would be impossible, and people in any society need to exchange goods in order to survive.

 

At Work: Jobs

My name is Martha Glass. I'm thirty-nine years old and I'm a doctor. I chose the medical profession because I wanted to help people and at the same time make good money. When I was younger I wanted to become a teacher or a nurse, but I soon realized there wasn't much money in either of those professions.

My parents almost didn't help me, because they didn't want me to have a career at all. They wanted me to do what so many other girls did. They wanted me to become a secretary, marry the boss, have kids and stay at home. Well, I got married, and I had kids, but I have my career as well.

Hi. I'm Billy. 1 left school when I was sixteen. I didn't have any qualification. I just wanted to earn some money. I got a job in a factory. I didn't mind being a blue-collar worker. All I wanted was enough money to take my girlfriend out on a Saturday night. But then they got robots in to do my job and I was out of work.

I was out of work for sixteen months. It's terrible being unemployed. The days seem so long. I finally got a job as an unskilled labourer, working for a builder. I'm twenty-five now. I suppose I should go to night classes and get some extra training so that I can earn more money as a skilled worker can.

My name is George Rushton. I'm a businessman. I'm fifty years old and I've been working for the same company for twenty-five years. I think I've had a very successful career. I started work with the company as a poorly paid clerk. I was one of those nine-to-five white-collar office workers who spend all day with a pencil in one hand and a telephone in the other.

I hated it. So I was transferred to sales and became one of the company's sales representatives. I travelled all over the country selling the company's products and became the most successful salesperson on the staff. In ten years I have been promoted to manager of the sales department. In another ten years I hope to retire with a good pension.

 

Choosing a career

Every person at the age of 14 to 16 has to make an extremely stressful decision, to choose his or her own career. You might be wondering what the difference is between a career and a job. Basically a job is something you do, but don't expect to continue doing forever. A career is what you hope to do for a long time or even for your entire working life. Choosing a career is a difficult and challenging task: the decision once taken will influence your future life. There are, of course, a lot of examples when people have changed their career paths in their twenties, thirties and even forties but, of course, it is better to make the right choice at the very beginning. The earlier you decide on what profession is interesting and rewarding for you, the more you can achieve during your lifetime.

Choosing a career is a challenging task indeed. It is all about finding the perfect match between your personality, interests, and skills. On the one hand, modern society, with its hundreds of professions and jobs, presents a vast range of future job opportunities. Industry and business, farming, science and education, medicine, service, arts and journalism are just a few professional fields a young person can specialize in. On the other hand, modern society with its crises, unemployment and inflation, makes a poor choice of profession a really bad mistake. You can choose a profession you really like, and face problems when looking for a job. Or you can find a job you like, but it will be underpaid. Besides, a young person's parents usually have their own ideas of what career path to choose. Some parents are more democratic and let the child determine his future by himself. Some are oppressive and overprotective and try to force the child to make this or that career choice. In this case, they often try to compensate for their own dreams which have failed and the chances they have missed. Sometimes they see their child is gifted in some field and try to persuade him to choose this profession irrespective of the fact if he likes it or not.

In spite of all the problems mentioned above, the choice has to be made. To make it easier for the young people, there is some professional advice. It's best for the young man to start this process as early as possible, ideally in the tenth form. You should determine if you would like to continue in higher education, or to learn a trade and look for a job. It's up to the person to decide, but you should remember that to get more chances, you should strive for higher education which enables you to be qualified for skilled labour. You should determine what you might like to study or major in at college. You might like to try some of these career assessment tests to help with this step. You will surely also get suggestions from family, friends, and high school teachers and guidance counsellors. You also have to consider the demand for a particular career in the labour market. Choosing a career where there are limited job opportunities can greatly increase the challenges you will face.

 

 

Choosing a career

Every person at the age of 14 to 16 has to make an extremely stressful decision, to choose his or her own career. You might be wondering what the difference is between a career and a job. Basically a job is something you do, but don't expect to continue doing forever. A career is what you hope to do for a long time or even for your entire working life. Choosing a career is a difficult and challenging task: the decision once taken will influence your future life. There are, of course, a lot of examples when people have changed their career paths in their twenties, thirties and even forties but, of course, it is better to make the right choice at the very beginning. The earlier you decide on what profession is interesting and rewarding for you, the more you can achieve during your lifetime.

Choosing a career is a challenging task indeed. It is all about finding the perfect match between your personality, interests, and skills. On the one hand, modern society, with its hundreds of professions and jobs, presents a vast range of future job opportunities. Industry and business, farming, science and education, medicine, service, arts and journalism are just a few professional fields a young person can specialize in. On the other hand, modern society with its crises, unemployment and inflation, makes a poor choice of profession a really bad mistake. You can choose a profession you really like, and face problems when looking for a job. Or you can find a job you like, but it will be underpaid. Besides, a young person's parents usually have their own ideas of what career path to choose. Some parents are more democratic and let the child determine his future by himself. Some are oppressive and overprotective and try to force the child to make this or that career choice. In this case, they often try to compensate for their own dreams which have failed and the chances they have missed. Sometimes they see their child is gifted in some field and try to persuade him to choose this profession irrespective of the fact if he likes it or not.

In spite of all the problems mentioned above, the choice has to be made. To make it easier for the young people, there is some professional advice. It's best for the young man to start this process as early as possible, ideally in the tenth form. You should determine if you would like to continue in higher education, or to learn a trade and look for a job. It's up to the person to decide, but you should remember that to get more chances, you should strive for higher education which enables you to be qualified for skilled labour. You should determine what you might like to study or major in at college. You might like to try some of these career assessment tests to help with this step. You will surely also get suggestions from family, friends, and high school teachers and guidance counsellors. You also have to consider the demand for a particular career in the labour market. Choosing a career where there are limited job opportunities can greatly increase the challenges you will face.

 

Financial Careers

What am I going to do after school or university? Maybe I should consider a job in the financial world. There's a surprisingly wide range to choose from — for example, I could raise money for charities or sell famous paintings or write about economics as a financial journalist or run my own company or...

Fund-raiser. There are thousands of different charities these days — e.g. 'for children', 'cancer research', 'the disabled', 'the third world', 'AIDS research'. They all do important work and they all need to raise funds (collect money).

That's why they employ fund-raisers. What does the job involve? Well, it's very varied, but basically fund-raisers organise special events like concerts
and fun runs, ask governments for money, try to get support from local companies and organisations.

Most major charities have fund-raising departments, which employ teams of workers. Some of these people do office work — others organise publicity, visit companies or arrange special events. Sounds interesting?

Tycoon. A wealthy and powerful person in business or industry. If you are the independent, creative type, why not start your own business? Lots of people do these days. Some aren't successful, of course, but plenty are —j and if you do succeed, the rewards of being your own boss can be. enormous. To become a business tycoon you need to have an original idea; be practical, reliable and well-organised; understand the business world; keep control of your finances. After that it's all a question of hard work and luck, but then that's the key to success in any job.

Financial journalist. Financial journalists work in three main areas — newspapers, radio and television. Their job is to understand what's happening in the financial world and explain it as quickly and accurately as possible. Economic journalists don't just report today's news, though. They need the ability to predict future events, too. "Will interest rates rise or fall? Will the stock market go up or down? And what about trade... are exports going to increase or decrease?"

To become a financial journalist you train as a general reporter first. Then you specialise in finance and economics. And when you've done that? Well, if you are lucky you'll get a job in the media. One word of warning, though — financial journalism is a very competitive career. In Britain, for example, there are only 2,000 jobs available.

Auctioneer. Two of the best-known auction houses in the world are Christie's and Sotheby's. The auctioneer who works there regularly sells famous paintings worth millions of pounds. But you'd be wrong to think that auctioneers just sell Rembrandts and Van Goghs. It's much more varied career than that. Some auctioneers sell farm animals, for example. Others sell houses, antique furniture or even rock and roll 'memorabilia' (i.e. guitars, cars, clothes etc., which ones belonged to pop stars). And what does it take to be a good auctioneer? Well, three qualities are absolutely essential — a calm personality, a quick mind and (last but not least) a strong voice.

Dealer. Dealers work for companies which buy and sell foreign currencies, commodities like oil or steel. They work in large, noisy, rooms, called dealing rooms and do most of their business over the phone and on computer screens. The majority of them are under 35. The majority of them also earn very big salaries because their work involves huge amounts of pressure and responsibility. You don't need a degree to be a dealer. What you do need, though, is talent, energy, confidence and ambition.

 

 

Choosing an Occupation (1)

One of the most difficult problems a young person faces is deciding what to do about a career.

There are individuals, of course, who from the time they are six years old "know" that they want to be doctors or pilots or fire fighters, but the majority of us do not get around to making a decision about an occupation or career.

Choosing an occupation takes time, and there are a lot of things you have to think about as you try to decide what you would like to do.

You may find that you will have to take special courses to qualify for a particular kind of work, or may find out that you will need to get some actual work experience, to gain enough knowledge to qualify for a particular job.

Fortunately, there are a lot of people you can turn to for advice and help in making your decision. At most schools, there are teachers who are professionally qualified to counsel you and to give detailed information about job qualifications.

And you can talk over your ideas with family members and friends who are always ready to listen and to offer suggestions. But even if you get other people involved in helping you to make a decision, self evaluation is an important part of the decision-making process.

 

 

How to Write a Resume

No matter what method of job hunting you use, inevitably somebody will ask you for a resume. Most companies require a resume before seriously considering a job candidate from the outside. Resumes are sometimes also required in order to receive a job transfer within a company.

The purpose of a resume is to help you obtain a job interview, not a job. Very few people are hired without a personal interview.

Effective resumes are straightforward, factual presentations of a person's experience and accomplishments. They are neither over detailed nor too sketchy. A general rule is that two or three pages in length is best.

One page seems too superficial; a four-page (or longer) resume may irritate an impatient employment official. Some writers suggest that a chronological (the standard-type) resume be used; others argue for an accomplishment resume. A useful resume should include both your experiences and key accomplishments. When sent to a prospective employer, a resume should be professionally reproduced, with particular attention to misspellings, typographical errors, and careful spacing.

To attract attention, some job seekers print resumes on tinted paper, in a menu-like folder, or on unusual-sized paper. If done in a way to attract positive attention to yourself, these approaches have merit.

 

 

How to Write a Resume

No matter what method of job hunting you use, inevitably somebody will ask you for a resume. Most companies require a resume before seriously considering a job candidate from the outside. Resumes are sometimes also required in order to receive a job transfer within a company.

The purpose of a resume is to help you obtain a job interview, not a job. Very few people are hired without a personal interview.

Effective resumes are straightforward, factual presentations of a person's experience and accomplishments. They are neither over detailed nor too sketchy. A general rule is that two or three pages in length is best.

One page seems too superficial; a four-page (or longer) resume may irritate an impatient employment official. Some writers suggest that a chronological (the standard-type) resume be used; others argue for an accomplishment resume. A useful resume should include both your experiences and key accomplishments. When sent to a prospective employer, a resume should be professionally reproduced, with particular attention to misspellings, typographical errors, and careful spacing.

To attract attention, some job seekers print resumes on tinted paper, in a menu-like folder, or on unusual-sized paper. If done in a way to attract positive attention to yourself, these approaches have merit.