Speaking Practice. Business Practices.

Read the following words of a practitioner and express your own opinion on the kind of Summary you may use in your Business plan.

“A good Executive Summary gives me a sense of why this is an interesting venture. I look for a very clear statement of their long-term mission, an overview of the people, the technology, and the fit to market. Answer these questions: “What

 

 

__________________________________________________________________________Lesson 14. THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

is it? Who’s going to build it? Why will anyone buy it?” if to paraphrase the movie Field of Dreams, we want to know, “if we fund it, will they (buyers) come?”

Ann Winblad, Venture Capitalist

Read and discuss the following with your partner

“What I’m looking for in a business plan is vision, passion, and experience. The entrepreneur with a dream is the one who makes it happen, but you also need experience. The best team for retail is two people: one with the vision, who’s creative and knows how to select product resulting in a clearly differentiated and focused concept, and the one who knows operations, who can evaluate, develop, and manage people.”

Nancy Glaser, Venture Capitalist

Imagine that you are making a business plan for your own company. How can you give the reader confidence in your competitiveness in the sphere of your activities? You may use the previous texts if you need.

11. home reading

To enlarge your knowledge we recommend Supplementary texts on pages 143-148.

Essential grammar (See essential Grammar Appendix)

OBJECTIVE PARTICIPLE CONSTRUCTION

12. Analyze and translate the sentences

1. I saw him working with the focus group.

2. They observed us making informational interviewing.

3. I found him writing Marketing Section of Business Plan.

4. We saw the widget tested.

5. We watched the new car being examined.

6. I want the data of my market research discussed.

7. I want to discuss the data of my market research.

8. I have the results of my observations published.

9. I have published the results of my observations.

10. We want our translations corrected.

11. We want to correct our translation.

12. He wished these ATM machines widely used by the people.

13. She got her photo taken.

14. He got the engine of his car examined.

15. He examined his car.

 

 

ABSOLUTE PARTICIPLE CONSTRUCTION.

13. Analyze and translate the sentences

А

1. Some new information having been obtained, you determined the focus of

your company.

2. The market changing during the time, the entrepreneur has to conduct the

market research.

3. The competitive analysis portion of the business plan having prepared, he

identified his major competitors.

4. The investor financed his business, there being plenty of reasons.

5. The knowledge of Latin proved to be quite useful for reading the works of the

18^th century scientists, Latin having been the only written language of science

and philosophy up to the end of the 18^th century.

B

1. The assembling of the widget completed, we started operating it.

2. In the evening the tourists camped at the foot of the mountain, it being too

dark to go on.

3. The validity of the new theory proved, it was commonly accepted.

C

1. The experiment over, the students recorded the observation data.

2. The inventor was demonstrating his new widget with the workers watching its

operation attentively.

Self-Study

CUMULATIVE REVIEW EXERCISES

14. Translate the sentences

1. The trees were sheltering the early people from severe north winds.

2. Failure to control natural forces led to immediate disasters or gradual degradation of the environmental.

3. Myths concerned with basic human need for water are widespread in various cultures.

4. The oldest Neolithic settlement ever excavated, and the oldest conserved wooden boat are dated back to the 4^th millennium B.C.

5. The bridge will not sustain heavy loads.

6. Children need a happy home environment.

7. The passengers were informed by radio about the flight being delayed for the

nearest two-three hours.

8. The wind had fallen; the moon was shining over the quiet sea.

9. Pepsi-cola developed a one-way plastic biodegradable soft-drink bottle.

10. The basic concept of the competition is responsiveness to customers.

11. As you begin your competitive assessment, keep in mind that you need

to evaluate only these competitors aiming for the same target market.

12. One of the worst statements you can make in your business plan is ”We have

no competition.”

 

__________________________________________________________________________Lesson 14. THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

13. The problem being easy, the students solved it at once.

14. Some of our students want to study French, the rest preferring to study

English.

 

Check yourself.

Guess the words. Fill in the blanks with the proper letters.

c		m	p		l
c	o	n		i		c	e

Time for fun

16. Compile as many words as you know with the letters of the word

DEMOGRAPHICS

Remember: this is not a burden, but a great opportunity to revise your active vocabulary! By the way, what does the word mean?

17. Read the following proverbs and find their Russian equivalents. In what situations can you use them? Make your own situations.

1. Experience is the best teacher.

2. Politeness oils the wheels of life.

3. Fortune favours the brave.

4. As is the workman so is the work.

5. What is worth doing is worth doing well.

6. Where there is a will there is a way.

7. A good beginning is half the battle.

8. Wishes don’t wash dishes.

9. There is no smoke without fire.

10. We never know the value of water until the well is dry.

11. Time is the best healer.

12. Health is the greatest wealth.

13. Early to bed, early to rise makes the man healthy, wealthy and wise.

14. There is no bad weather there are bad clothes.

 

 

________________________________________________________ Lesson 15

1. Read the text

The evaluation of INDUSTRY

1. No company operates in a vacuum. Every business is a part of a larger overall industry. A business may intersect two or more industries. For instance, you may produce electronic devices utilized in new and used automobiles. Thus, you are part of three industries: electronics, new automobiles, and the automobile after-market. An industry consists of all industries supplying a similar product or service, other businesses closely related to that product or service, and supply and distribution systems supporting such companies.

2. Maturity. Industries don’t remain static. They may change dramatically over time. Generally, the life cycle of an industry ( or the development stages) comprises four phases:

· new;

· expanding;

· stable;

· declining.

3. New industries provide excellent entrepreneurial opportunities. Smaller companies are well-suited to respond to rapid changes, and larger companies have not recognized the field’s opportunities. The market, however, is limited as customers are not yet comfortable with the product or service.

4. Expanding industries enjoy rapidly growing markets as customers begin to recognize the need for the product or service. Competition is brisk as well-funded companies *begin to enter the field.¹ All companies are vulnerable at this stage, even those that looked stronger when the industry was new.

5. Stable industries have arrived at a plateau with markets leveled off at a reasonably high level. The rate of growth is slow, and customers maintain strong brand loyalty. It is relatively difficult to enter these industries.

6. Declining industries result from technological, demographic, and sociological changes, and from overwhelming foreign competition. Corporations leave the field or go bankrupt. The few major companies *fight to survive by stealing remaining customers from weakened competitors². This last phase is not inevitable. Many long-standing, stable industries show no sign of decline.

7. Industries have distinct attributes in different stages of maturity. Even

industries that seem closely related are *quite dissimilar based on development stage³ . For instance, the soft drink industry is relatively stable, and a few major companies dominate the field. Little room exists for newcomers, and it would be

extremely expensive to try to compete. On the other hand, bottled waters are in a

developing industry with lots of competition and variation.

 

8. Sensitivity to economic cycle. Some industries are heavily dependent on strong economies, either nationally or internationally, and it is crucial to understand how vulnerable your industry is to economic downturns. Construction, large consumer items (autos, furniture, etc.), and tourism all suffer substantially when the economy is in recession. Industries dependent on new business formation or business expansion, such as office and technical equipment, also suffer in poorer times.

9. Such industries as discount department stores and used car dealerships are countercyclical, doing relatively better in poor economies than in strong ones. And some industries, such as personal care products and low-cost entertainment, are relatively immune to economic cycles.

10. If a business is located in a smaller community that is heavily dependent on one industry or one major employer, one should consider the effect of the economy on that industry or company and thus, one’s own business.

Considering the economic conditions or cycles that affect business helps a businessperson anticipate and plan for difficult times.

 

11. Seasonality. For many industries, certain times of the year produce higher revenues than others. For example, toy companies are dependent on Christmas sales, while summer is the big season for bathing suit manufacturers. But many other industries also fluctuate throughout the year.

12. Most retail businesses and consumer products are affected by the Christmas season, which may account for one-third to one-half of all sales. This is what the practitioner, Charles Huggins, President of See’s Candie says:“Forty-seven to forty-eight percent of our volume occurs around Christmas. We keep historical records of our sales volume and timing, so we know what the sales pattern is likely to be, both in the stores and when mail order and quantity orders will be placed. If Christmas is on a Tuesday this year, we go back and look at the last time it fell on a Tuesday, to see sales volume by day of the week, so we’ll know what to expect the Friday before Christmas. We put together a ‘game plan’, a complete schedule, so *we can keep fresh product churning⁴.”

13. Spring is an important season for any wedding associated industry. Tourism-related businesses may depend heavily on the summer. And products and services that are nonessential may actually suffer during the Christmas season, as consumers reduce nongift expenses.

14. When preparing your financial forms, it is imperative that you understand and account for the seasonal factors that have an impact on your income and expenses. Your product may be sold in December, but you may have to pay for raw materials in June.

________________________________________________________________________Lesson 15. the evaluation of industry

 

On the worksheet below, describe the impact, if any, the various seasons have on the economic health of your industry and business. Also describe any additional seasonal factors. Do it in the most detailed way.

HOW SEASONAL FACTORS AFFECT YOUR INDUSTRY

Christmas/Any other holiday: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   Summer: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   Winter: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   Other: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Explanations to the text

1.... to enter the field – осваивать поле деятельности.

2. …fight to survive by stealing remaining customers from weakened competitors – борются за выживание, переманивая оставшихся покупателей у ослабевших конкурентов.

3.... quite dissimilar based on development stage – совершенно различны, если исходить из стадии развития

4. …we can keep fresh product churning. – мы всегда можем иметь свежий товар

 

3. Key vocabulary / expressions

be well-suited [ welsju:tid] – v соответствовать

brisk – adj сильный

comprise [kəm'praiz] – v включать, содержать; охватывать

go bankrupt ['bæhkrÙpt] – обанкротиться; bankruptcy – n банкротство,

несостоятельность

inevitable [i´nevitәbl] – adj неизбежный

maturity [mә'tju:riti] – n зрелость; mature adj завершенный

overwhelm – v ошеломлять, подавлять

revenue ['revinju:] – n доход

survive [sз:´vaiv] – v выжить; survival – n выживание

take into account – принимать во внимание

wedding – n свадьба

 

4. Test your own attention. Find English equivalents in the text

стадии зрелости промышленности__________________________________

освоиться с товаром или услугой___________________________________

объем продаж___________________________________________________

предметы личной гигиены_________________________________________

потребительские товары___________________________________________

предприятия, имеющие отношение к туризму_________________________

не быть подверженным экономическим циклам________________________

________________________________________________________________

5. Make up sentences with the given above word combinations

6. Complete the sentences with the information from the text

1. _____other businesses closely related to that product or service,___________

2. Smaller companies are well-suited___________________________________

3. Such industries as discount department stores__________________________

4. ____________________________are relatively immune to economic cycles.

5. Considering the economic conditions or cycles that affect business_________

6.___________it is imperative that you understand and account_____________

7. We keep historical records of our sales volume_________________________

8. _________________________________may intersect two or more industries.

9. ______________ and used car dealerships are countercyclical, ____________

Phonetic Test.