Asking for information on a company

Your Role: You work for Light Imports, a company in the electrical light trade. You are given this advert by your boss and asked to write a letter to Luxor International.

Points to note:

1) Tell them your company works in the electrical light trade.

2) Explain that your company is interested in knowing more about their company.

3) Say you are looking for a partner in Sweden.

4) Explain that you read ad in a trade journal.

Luxor International AB is an international group whose operations are focused on electrical lighting applications. For information on the company and for a complimentary brochure outlining our world-wide activities and product range write to:   Luxor International Marketing Communications, Lighting Division, PO BOX 673, Jonkoping, Sweden.

X. How do you compare with the competition?

Student A is looking for a job and asks student В about competition. Student В is fortunate, because Minitex’s main competitor, Cassandra, is in difficulty, and she can compare the two companies with confidence. Contrasts (comparisons which concentrate on the differences between two things) are made using whereas or while. Example:Minitex is taking on more staff whereas/while Cassandra is declaring redundancies.

Now, contrast the fortunes of two companies, using the information below. MINITEX

ü is taking on more staff

ü is enjoying steady growth

ü is making profits

ü is in credit and has no liquidity problems

ü has an increased market share

ü is launching new products

ü enjoys high productivity

ü has a capital investment program

ü has good workforce morale

ü is highly competitive

ü seems a sound and reliable investment

ü has a secure future

CASSANDRA

ü is declaring redundancies

ü has a falling turnover

ü is making heavy losses

ü has an overdraft and cash-flow problems

ü has a reduced market share

ü has a limited product range

ü is inefficient in production

ü cannot afford new investment

ü suffers from industrial unrest

ü is no longer competitive

ü seems a high-risk investment

ü may soon collapse

ü go bankrupt

ü fold up

ü be wound up

XI. Speak about a British/American/Russian company (its foundation, structure, business activities, main markets, etc.).

UNIT VI

PRODUCTION

I. Practice the pronunciation of the following words:

definition [ ], utility [ ], schematically [ ], technological[ ], polio vaccine[ ], mathematical [ ], equation [ ], specialization [ ], division [ ], concentrate [ ], endowment [ ], specialize [ ], Idaho [ ], Iowa[ ], California[ ], self- sufficiency [ ], emphasize [ ], similarly[ ], niche [ ], inefficient [ ]

II. Translate the following words and word combinations into Russian and learn them by heart:

- utility - input - output - equation - endowment - commodities

- production techniques - to reduce self-sufficiency - capital goods - to increase economic interdependence - comparative advantage

III. Read and translate the text.

PRODUCTION

There are several ways to define production. One definition is that it is any activity that creates present or future utility. Production may be described as the amount of output (goods and services) produced per unit of input (land, labor, capital).

The production function transforms inputs like land, labour, capital and management into output. We get more output from a given combination of outputs today than we would have got in the past.

There are three principle means of increasing production. They are:

1. specialization and the division of labour;

2. investment in capital goods;

3. investment in human capital. ALL three of these means often involve a process of technological change that leads to more efficient production techniques and the creation of more goods and services.

Specialization occurs when an economic unit produces a narrower range of goods and services than it consumes. People concentrate their efforts on a particular set of tasks - it permits each person and country to use to best advantage any peculiar skills and resources. Specialization can be practiced by individuals, business firms, cities, regions, or countries. Regions or countries, for example, normally specialize in the production of those goods and services that are best fitted to produce, given their particular endowment of productive resources. Then they sell most of what they produce to people living elsewhere, and buy whatever else they need from other regions. What they buy may include the raw materials needed to produce the goods and services in which they specialize. Specialization is the basis of trade and exchange among individuals, businesses, cities, regions, and countries. Within the USA, for example, consumers in its various regions buy and use products originating in other regions - Idaho potatoes, Florida orange juice, Iowa corn, California vegetables plus products originating abroad such as coffee, bananas, tea, clothing and cameras. Industries do the same for the raw materials, components and certain finished products they need.

The concept of division of labour is closely related to specialization, but usually refers to the process whereby workers perform only a single or a very few steps of a major production task, as when working on an assembly line. As applied to labour, the concept of specialization usually refers to a person's occupation and the special training it requires, e.g. carpenter, electrician, eye surgeon.

On the one hand, specialization in all of its forms and the division of labour usually increase production. On the other hand, they also reduce self-sufficiency and increase economic interdependence, thereby creating a greater need for the exchange of goods and services.

What determines which goods we produce? Economists emphasize the law of comparative advantage. This law states that individuals or nations should specialize in producing or selling those commodities which they can produce at a relatively low cost. Similarly, an individual or nation should buy rather than produce those goods which they could produce only at a relatively high cost. The surprising feature of the law of comparative advantage is that even people or countries that are absolutely more inefficient than others will find it beneficial to specialize in the production of some goods. Thus, even the low productivity countries of Asia or Africa can find a niche for their products in the international marketplace because they are relatively efficient at producing some goods.