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Speaking English Course B
Lesson B6

Business and Employment

Click and listen to each sentence as many times as you like

Say each sentence as many times as you like

Practise saying each sentence until it sounds right

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

	The 'Be A Better Manager' conference.
	John, Michiko and Susan happen to sit next to each other at the conference. They meet during the coffee break and introduce each other.
John:	Hello, I'm John.
Susan:	Susan.
John:	Pleased to meet you Susan.
Michiko:	Hi, I'm Michiko.
John:	Who are you with Michiko?
Michiko:	Clam Oil.
Susan:	Wow! One of the multi-nationals.
John:	What are they like to work for?
Michiko:	So, so. The management structure's a bit too rigid and your prospects for promotion and salary increases are restricted. You know, everything's laid down in rules and regulations and you're more or less stuck in one particular division of the company. It's very difficult to cross over to another division where the chances of promotion might be better.
Susan:	Yes, but you've got maximum job security - almost like working for the Civil Service!
Michiko:	Not quite. You can still get the sack or be made redundant if you don't perform. Who do you work for Susan?
Susan:	Myself - I'm a sole trader.
John:	Oh, that's brave - what do you do?
Susan:	I make soft toys. What products does your company make?
John:	Virtual ones. I work for a small private company developing bespoke computer software.
Michiko:	Is the company doing well?
John:	At the moment, yes, and the prospects for promotion and salary increases are excellent. You can quickly shoot to the top if you're good at your job and happen to be working on the right software at the right time. It's the age-old law of supply and demand.
Susan:	All businesses are the same. I try to keep ahead of demand by spotting future trends - it's amazing how much influence things like the cinema and computer games have on the toy market.
John:	Yeh, I bet. Wasn't that an interesting talk about company expansion? I picked up a lot of useful pointers.
Susan:	Me too. I've often thought about expanding my business and taking on some employees to step up production and I have a much better idea of what would be involved after this morning's talk.
Michiko:	I don't get involved in such high level discussions in Clam Oil. I'm just a lowly Section Manager - the Divisional Managers get to do all the planning.
Susan:	You never know - maybe they're grooming you for promotion Michiko. The fact that they've sent you on this course is a good indication that they have plans for your future.
John:	Come on you two, drink up. They're starting to go back into the lecture hall.

	To keep ahead of something
	To do well
	To shoot to the top
	You never know (what the future will hold)
	Drink / eat up = finish your drink / meal

	Prospects
		Promotion
		Salary
		Job security
		Supply
		Demand
		Expansion
		Employer
		Employee
		Production

   Pronunciation and Vocabulary

	Before you listen to the lecture on types of businesses, use your dictionary to find out what the words below mean. How many syllables does each word have?
		proprietor
		assets
		shares
		partnership
		debt
		liable
		firm
		capital
		shareholder
		liquidated
		liquidation
		bankrupt
		profitability
	Click 'Answers' to see if you were right!

	Types of Businesses.
	Business can be conducted in a number of ways. The simplest is a Sole Trader, selling goods from a small shop, from home or from a market stall. This is known as a 'proprietary' business and the trader, if he owns the business, is known as the 'sole proprietor', and all the private assets of the proprietor are also the business assets.
	If a second person joins the business and shares the costs and profits, the business becomes a 'Partnership'. If the partnership falls into debt and one of the partners has no money to pay off the debt, the other partner becomes liable for the whole debt. It may be necessary for the partners to sell their own houses or cars to pay off the debts. For this reason, partnerships are not a very popular way of conducting business, except where the need to inspire confidence in clients and customers is paramount. Most professional firms such as solicitors or architects operate as partnerships. If a client is dealing with a partnership he knows that every partner will try his very best to do a good job.
	A more popular way for two or more people to conduct a business together is to form a 'Limited Company'. A limited company must have at least two members but could also be a large public company with thousands of shareholders.
	A 'Public Limited Company' (plc) is one whose shares are traded on the Stock Exchange where they can be bought and sold by the public at large. The directors of a plc can be 'voted off the board' by shareholders and so the management of a plc could be forcibly changed.
	A 'Private Limited Company' (Ltd.) has shares which are usually traded privately between individuals under strict control by the company. Shares can only be sold or transferred to people approved by the company so that the directors always have control over the management of the company. The general public can't buy shares in a private company.
	The big advantage of trading as a Limited Company, whether it is private or a plc, is that the liabilities of the company are limited to the assets of the company itself. The shareholders are only liable to lose the amount of money they have spent in buying company shares. Shareholder's private assets can't be taken to pay the company's debts.
	Most companies start life as private limited companies and only convert to plc's (an action called 'going public' or 'floating') when they need to raise capital by selling shares to the public. By that time they will have established a track record of performance so the 'market' has some idea of what the shares are worth and can judge the prospects for future profitability. The life of a company is indefinite and a company only ceases to exist when it is 'wound up' or 'liquidated' by law - usually because it has gone bankrupt.

   Vocabulary Practice

1.	Now use some of the words from the lecture to complete the short news bulletin below.
	'News has just come in that the multi-national software company 'Future Tech' has been declared ____(1)_____. Shareholders have been desperately trying to sell their ___(2)___ over the last week, after the company's annual report showed massive ____(3)___ of over $20 million. Future Tech is expected to go into ____(4)___ next week.
	Click 'Answers' to see if you were right!

2.	Several key words connected with jobs have two forms. Make sure you know the difference in meaning between these forms.
		employer / employee
		interviewer / interviewee
		reference / referee

	Getting a Job: filling out forms.
Maria:	Oh! I'm worn out!
Ricardo:	How did you get on?
Maria:	Well, I went to that agency on the High Street. You know the one.
Ricardo:	Brown's Employment Agency?
Maria:	Yes, that's it. They were very helpful actually and suggested that I fill in an application form, but you know, you can't remember everything all in one go.
Ricardo:	What did you do?
Maria:	I asked them if I could take the form home so that I could look up a few things in my file.
Ricardo:	Yes, you've been out of the job scene for quite a few years now while the children were growing up. It's a good thing you kept up to speed with your word processing on our computer. Did you take your C.V. with you?
Maria:	Well yes I did, but there were a few questions on things I hadn't mentioned in my C.V. and I also have to give the names of two referees.
Ricardo:	That shouldn't be too difficult. Did you have anybody in mind? There must be somebody on those committees you sit on who would help.
Maria:	Oh yes. It shouldn't be too difficult. There's Jim Peterson - with his being Mayor this year a reference from him should carry a lot of weight, and there are a couple of other people who won't mind acting as referees.
Ricardo:	What kind of salary are you hoping for?
Maria:	Well it depends on whether it's a salaried job or if you just get paid an hourly wage.
Ricardo:	You'd probably be better doing part time to start with.
Maria:	Yes, you're right. But if a really good opportunity came up I'd think about taking it if it included benefits like holiday pay, pension schemes, sick pay and so on.
Ricardo:	Well, fill in the form and see how you go.

	The English language has hundreds of 'two part' or phrasal verbs which are used mainly for informal speaking or writing.
	Below are some phrasal verbs used in the conversation, with their more formal meaning on the right.
		Worn out	exhausted
		Get on	to do / to progress
		Look up	to check

	Phrasal verbs often use short words such as 'get' 'go' 'make' 'put' and 'look', followed by an adverb particle such as 'in' 'at' 'on' 'up' 'of' 'out' and 'after'.
	The same phrasal verb can have several different meanings.
	For example:
	Make up
	I'm sorry about denting your car, I'll make it up to you. = compensate.
	I need to buy some new make up - my lipstick is finished. = cosmetics.
	Come on you two, kiss and make up! = forgive each other after an argument.

	Some phrasal verbs are not followed by a direct object.
	For example
	I'm too tired to get up!
	I'm worn out!

	Some phrasal verbs need a direct object.
	For example
	I'll ring her up tomorrow.
	I'll put something on to eat.

	There are phrasal verbs in each of the ten speaking English lessons - usually in the informal conversations. Find one or two phrasal verbs from each lesson and use your dictionary to find out what they mean.
	For example.
	Lesson 1
	Now drink up you guys, cheers! = finish your drink
	Lesson 3
	We need to look after the whales. = make sure the whales are safe and well
	I need to top up my tan. = to increase or maximise

	Getting a Job: the job offer.
	Ricardo:	There's a letter for you dear - looks as if it's from the job agency.
	Maria:	Quick, let me open it.
	Ricardo:	Well; what do they say?
	Maria:	They've offered me the job!
	Ricardo:	Well done! Which one was it?
	Maria:	The one with the firm of solicitors. I hoped my experience as a legal secretary would stand me in good stead.
	Ricardo:	So is it full time then?
	Maria:	Not exactly; it's flexi-time and I don't have to work after 4 p.m. so I'll be back for the children coming home from school.
	Ricardo:	That's good. Have they drawn up a contract?
	Maria:	Yes - it's all here - salary, holiday pay, sick leave . . oh, and after the first year I get a bonus depending on the profits that the partnership has made.
	Ricardo:	That's great. Will you get regular salary increments?
	Maria:	Let me see. I'd better go through this very carefully, but it looks OK so far.
	Ricardo:	I'm sure with your word processing skills and experience you'll have good prospects for promotion. Are there any fringe benefits?
	Maria:	Yes there are. The person I'm replacing told me that last year the partners combined business with pleasure and took the whole firm for a weekend in Paris!
	Ricardo:	Did husbands go too?
	Maria:	I don't know but she said that the partners are definitely invited to the Christmas lunch.
	Ricardo:	Oh good!

   Pronunciation and Vocabulary

	Listen to these words from the conversation and practise saying them until they sound right.
		Application form
		Referee
		C.V. (curriculum vitae)
		Wage
		Salary
		Pension scheme
		Sick pay
		Flexi-time
		Contract
		Bonus
		Full-time
		Part-time
		Fringe benefits

Answers

  Answers to definitions of organisations or businesses.

SME	a small to medium sized enterprise
Charity	a company that is run to help a particular group, not for surplus profit
Multi-national	a company that operates over many different countries
Private company	a company whose shares are bought and sold privately
Public company	a company whose shares are bought and sold on the public Stock Exchange
Sole trader	a business of only one person
Partnership	a company usually run by a few people who are each personally responsible for all the company's debts
Family business	a business run by members of one family

Click BACK to get back to where you were in the lesson.

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		Answers to Number of Syllables:-
		Word	Number of syllables
		proprietor	4
		assets	2
		shares	1
		partnership	3
		debt	1
		liable	3
		firm	1
		capital	3
		shareholder	3
		liquidated	4
		liquidation	4
		bankrupt	2
		profitability	6

Click BACK to get back to where you were in the lesson.

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Answers to completing the news bulletin.
1. bankrupt    2. shares    3. losses    4. liquidation

	'News has just come in that the multi-national software company 'Future Tech' has been declared bankrupt. Shareholders have been desperately trying to sell their shares over the last week, after the company's annual report showed massive losses of over $20 million. Future Tech is expected to go into liquidation next week.
Click BACK to get back to where you were in the lesson.

Tailpiece

Where there's a will there's a way.

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Course  B End of Lesson B6

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Link to Introduction

Links to other Lessons in Course B :  1   2   3   4   5  *  7   8   9   10

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