Big Poppa is sad 

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Past Simple Practice

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Read the text. Answer the questions using no than 5 words in a row from the text (не более пяти слов подряд из текста).

Pros & Cons of Family Business

by Alexis Writing

A family business is a commercial venture in which family members are involved. A family business can include many possible combinations, such as parents and children, husbands and wives, multiple generations, and extended families taking the roles of board members, stockholders, advisers and employees. There are some benefits associated with a family business, but there are also some detriments associated with undertaking a business venture with your family.

Pro: Loyalty

Family-owned businesses are theoretically ideal because family members form a grounded and loyal foundation for the company and because family members will often exhibit more dedication to their common goals. Having a certain level of intimacy among the owners of a business can help bring about familiarity with the company and having family members around provides a built-in support system that should ensure teamwork and solidarity. Other benefits of a family business include long-term stability, trust, loyalty and shared values. Families also tend to be more willing to make sacrifices for the sake of the business.

Pro: Flexibility

Families tend to be more lenient and forgiving when it comes to work schedules, work-related decisions and judgments, and even mistakes. In a family business, there may be more leeway to work a flexible or part-time schedule, or to choose your own hours, so you can tend to your children, parents or other family members in need.

Con: Possible Inadequacies

In a family business, business owners may sometimes automatically promote family members or give them a job even if they do not have adequate skills for the position. Just because the person is a family member does not mean he will be best suited to a given job, and a company that hires only relatives may end up having some bad apples. Sometimes skill and work experience may be neglected. Business owners also cannot expect all family members to love the business.

Con: Conflict

Family businesses bring up a lot of challenges. They can be a source of difficulty when it comes to issues on succession, sibling relationships, and identity development. Succession is one of the most difficult challenges that family businesses face and can become a challenge when the older generation does not permit the younger generation the needed room to learn, develop and grow. On the other hand, sometimes no one in a subsequent generation even wants to assume the leadership position in his parent's business. Oftentimes, relationships between parents and children, or among siblings, tend to deteriorate due to lack of communication within the family. This dysfunctional behavior can result in judgments, criticism and lack of support.

Questions.

1) What is a family business?
2) What are the advantages of a family business?
3) What are the disadvantages of a family business?

Business Management, 1st year

Read two texts about two famous UK entrepreneurs. Compare them in class. Add information about Dagestan famous entrepreneurs in the Comment Section.

Business Management, 1st year

PEOPLE (Market Leader)

Women at the Top

I. Translate the following sentences into English using words and phrases from the text on page 69.

1) Недавно она отметила пятилетие в должности руководителя компании Shrimps.
2) Это дало ей возможность (enable sb to do sth) открыть магазин одежды, вместо того, чтобы торговать обходя дома по очереди.
3) Наша компания доставляет продукты питания до места.
4) Многие известные люди, такие как Стив Джобс и Марк Цукерберг, не окончили высшие учебные заведения.
5) Она бегло говорит на сербском.
6) Родители играют важную роль в формировании наших взглядов на жизнь.
7) Целеустремленность - одно из главных качеств для достижения успеха.
8) В нашей семье никто не бросает работу.
9) Он стал членом компании семь лет назад.
10) Когда он возглавил компанию, ее доходы составляли 5 миллиардов долларов.
11) В смешанных компаниях легче принимать решения.
12) Входя в правление трех топ IT-компаний, он был очень влиятельным человеком в мире бизнеса .

II. Look through the text again and name an important quality for Chinese people. Try to make two or three sentences describing the role of this quality in Chinese culture.

Louis Vuitton to make emergency hand sanitiser

I. FILL IN THE BLANKS USING ONLY ONE POSSIBLE WORD. THEN USE THE LINK BELOW TO LISTEN TO THE REPORT AND CHECK YOUR ANSWERS.

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II. WHAT COULD  BIG BUSINESS IN RUSSIA DO TO HELP FIGHT COBID-19 VIRUS? TYPE YOUR ANSWERS IN THE COMMENT SECTION

As with many countries, France is experiencing a shortage 1 ______ hand sanitiser. To help combat this, the luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton (LVMH) will start making sanitiser to help fight the COVID-19 virus. The company will repurpose 2 ______ perfume production lines to start making anti-viral products. A spokesperson said the company wants to help tackle the shortage of sanitiser across France. He announced: "LVMH will 3 ______ the production lines of its perfume and cosmetic brands to produce large quantities of alcoholic gels. These gels will be delivered 4 ______ of charge to health authorities." He added: "LVMH will continue to honour this commitment for as long as necessary, in connection 5 ______ the French health authorities."

LVMH is a luxury goods conglomerate that owns well-known brands such 6 _____champagne maker Moet & Chandon, watchmaker Tag Heuer and jeweller Bulgari. Its factories manufacture perfume and makeup for brands 7 _____ Christian Dior and Givenchy. In a warlike effort, they will change production to help France's health system. More commercial companies could start helping out in the fight 8 _____ the coronavirus. The UK government has asked the car and jet-engine maker Rolls Royce to start making ventilators. These are urgently required to help 9 ______ hospitalised with the virus breathe. The UK's health service has a huge shortage of ventilators and is readying itself for 10 ______ people to contract the virus.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2003/200318-hand-sanitiser.html 

Business Enterprise Song

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Stop saying 'I'm fine. Thank you. And you'

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ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE

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TASK. Watch the video and type the answers in the COMMENT SECTION

The New Factors Of Production

by Brian Gentile

Classical economic theory describes three primary factors, or inputs, to the production of any good or service: land, labor, and capital. These factors facilitate production, but do not become part of the end product (as a raw material would). While these three factors have been much discussed and extended at different points in economic evolution, I believe that they, in any of the advanced economies of the world today, are vastly antiquated.

Sometime even prior to this new millennium, the primary factors of production have now assuredly become:  Time, Information and Capital.  I submit that the primary relevance of land and labor has diminished, not completely but measurably, from their prominence during agrarian and industrial economic times. In a sense, owning land and employing lots of people no longer highly correlate to a valuable and successful enterprise. Although in certain industries these two factors will remain prominent (think mining and energy production, for example). By and large, land and labor have yielded to two more important factors – time and information. The third factor, capital, has been and will continue to be of primary importance in any Western-style, capitalistic economy. Or perhaps more to the point, an enterprise’s ability to raise and efficiently deploy capital will continue in its historic prominence.

Time

Competing based upon speed and time delivers a primary marketplace advantage. Understanding and translating customer needs swiftly from concept to practice, in many ways, determines the success rate of an enterprise.  In part, the pace of technology innovation itself has set a blistering schedule for the rest of the business world.  And in turn, technology innovation enables all organizations to compete on the basis of time (and speed).

Many timelines describe technology advancements that have accelerated markedly and consistently, quickening even more so during the past 40 years. Now, the “Internet of things,” hastened by cloud computing and network ubiquity, unprecedented gains in microprocessor performance, rapidly declining memory prices (while capacities have skyrocketed), and the more efficient use of computing power and energy (virtualization of most every computing resources) provide new possibilities for dramatically reducing the time to learn, innovate, and execute on a business plan.

It’s claimed that Toyota developed the Prius in 15 months, using techniques and technologies specifically designed to accelerate their product development process. As the first mainstream hybrid drive vehicle, the Prius represents a substantial amount of complex software development (it’s basically a computer on wheels), providing a great case study for both software and manufacturing engineers. Its speed from design through development and deployment enables Toyota to stay ahead of its competitors and better satisfy customers first. To learn more about the concepts behind “Competing on the Basis of Speed,” a fun and interesting Google Tech Talk video provides ample illustration here.

[By the way, speed in project and product development also enables fast failure, which is actually a good thing and probably should be the subject of a completely separate article.]

Toyota offers a great example of using “Time” for competitive advantage, which absolutely relies on putting more data and information to work, bringing us to our second new factor of production.

Information

Much research has chronicled the onslaught of data and its growth, especially during the past decade. A recent study by IDC (and sponsored by EMC) predicts that the amount of digital information created annually will grow by a factor of 44 from 2009 to 2020, as all major forms of media – voice, TV, radio, print – complete the journey from analog to digital.  Speaking at a tech industry conference in the summer of 2010, Google’s Eric Schmidt warned about both the opportunity and the responsibility this much information represents.  “People aren’t ready for the technology revolution that’s going to happen to them,” said Schmidt.

Indeed, Google and countless other companies are thriving at the epicenter of this data explosion, both enabling and taking advantage of it. In many ways, they represent models for any organization to more effectively use information to its own advantage.

To this end, harnessing information as a primary factor of production will mean recognizing and effectively planning for the four “V’s” of data:  volume, velocity, variety and veracity.

• Volume: The sheer amount of data being digitized, maintained, secured, and then used. Knowing the organization’s current needs and having a plan for its growth is fundamental.
• Velocity: The speed at which data must be moved, stored, transformed, managed, analyzed or reported on in order to maintain competitiveness. This will vary by organization and application or usage.
• Variety: The different types of data, from source (origin) to storage and usage, must be well understood because competitiveness requires access to the right types of data more than ever.  From aged flat files to spatial and unstructured data, a plan must be in place.
• Veracity: The truthfulness or quality of data can either lead to poor understanding and decisions that belie progress or deliver a powerful jolt of reality that fuels new insight and ideas. Ultimately, data quality may be the most important frontier.

Being a master of the four Vs puts one in much better position to use information broadly for competitive advantage.  To be sure, broad usage of information is key, because of the need for speed. The greater the latency to insight and decisions, the more likely your competitor will out-maneuver, using the advantages of time and information to his advantage. 

From: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2011/10/31/the-new-factors-of-production-and-the-rise-of-data-driven-applications/#19f10b6817da

Subjects to avoid in British small talk: Salary

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DEGREES OF COMPARISON (COMPARATIVE)

(1ST YEAR STUDENTS)

I. Complete the sentences using a comparative form (older/more important etc.).

EXAMPLE: You were a bit depressed yesterday but you look *** today. (cheerful)

ANSWER: more cheerful It's too noisy here.

1. This coffee is very weak.

2. I like it a bit ***. (strong)

3. The hotel was surprisingly big.

4. I expected it to be ***. (small)

5. The hotel was surprisingly cheap. I expected it to be ***. (expensive)

6.The weather is too cold in this country. I'd like to live somewhere ***. (warm)

7. My job is a bit boring sometimes. I'd like to do something ***.(interesting)

8.I was surprised how easy it was to use the computer. I thought it would be ***.(difficult)

9. Your work isn't very good. I'm sure you can do ***.

10. Don't worry. The situation isn't so bad. It could be ***.

11. I was surprised we got here so quickly. I expected the journey to take ***. (long)

12. You're talking very loudly. Can you speak a bit ***. (quietly)

13. You hardly ever phone me. Why don't you phone me ***. (often)

14. You're standing too near the camera. Can you move a bit *** away?(far)

15. You were a bit depressed yesterday but you look *** today. (cheerful)  

II. Use the words in brackets to complete the sentences. Use much/a bit etc. + a comparative form. Use than where necessary.

EXAMPLE: You’re driving too fast. Could you drive ***? ( a bit/slowly)

ANSWER: a bit more slowly.

1. Her illness was *** we thought at first. (much/serious)

2. This bag is too small. I need something ***. (much/big)

3. I'm afraid the problem is *** it seems. (much/complicated)

4. You looked depressed this morning but you look ***now. (a bit/happy)

5. I enjoyed our visit to the museum. It was *** I expected. (far/interesting)

6. You're driving too fast. Could you drive ***? ( a bit/slowly)

7. It's *** to learn a foreign language in the country where it is spoken. (a lot/easy)

8. I thought she was younger than me but in fact she's *** (slightly/old)