Урок 1. What is business?
методическая разработка (11 класс) по теме

What is Business?

Part 1.

Business is a word which is commonly used in many different languages. But what does it exactly mean? Originally “business” simply meant exchange or trade of things that people wanted or needed.

Today it has a more technical definition. Business is production, distribution and sale of goods and services with a purpose of making a profit.

To examine this definition we’ll look at its various parts.

First, production is a creation of goods or services.

Goods are products which people need or want. Cars, furniture, computers, books, clothes and shoes, toys, tableware can be classified as goods.

Services are different activities, for example, physical labor, skilled knowledge or advice.  Services are performed by a person or a group for another person or organization. For example, a mechanic performs a service, when he repairs a car. Laundresses, hairdressers, plumbers, cleaners, gardeners, taxi drivers, lawyers, doctors, dentists also provide consumer services.

Task 1. Classify the following words as GOODS or SERVICES.

• car
• medical diagnosis
• travel agency
• briefcase
• car repair
• financial planning
• computer
• video cassette recorder
• newspaper delivery
• calculator
• suit
• computer programming

Part 2.

Goods are produced of materials, which are also called natural resources.  For example, iron ore can be converted into metal parts, lumber – into paper, clay – into china and so on. Production of goods also includes capital resources (like equipment) and human resources (people who make goods).

Task 2. Match the synonyms in 2 columns (column A with column B).

Task 3. Complete the table with proper forms of nouns or verbs.

Part 3.    

Next these products need to be moved from the factory to the market place, where they will be available for the consumers. This process is known as distribution. It involves the whole line of persons, like wholesalers, intermediaries, agents, sales reps and retailers.

Third is the sale of goods and services. Sale is the exchange of product or service for money.

So business is a combination of three activities: production, distribution and sale.

However there is one more important factor.  This factor is the creation of profit or economic surplus. Profit is the money that remains after all the expenses or costs of production are paid. So the primary goal of any business company and any business activity is creating a profit. If the business is profitable, the businessman becomes richer and many other companies are willing to do business with him. If the business goes under, money is lost and eventually the businessman needs to go out of business.

Task 1.

Listen and agree or disagree.

• Making a profit is one of the main reasons to operate a business.
• Company profits are usually very big.
• The company profits are usually less than 10 per cent.
• If the cost of producing goods is higher than their selling price, the business earns a profit.
• If company’s costs are low, its profits are lower, too.
• Making a profit motivates companies to produce their goods and services at a high quality.
• A business that doesn’t make profit is sometimes able to innovate and expand.

Task 2. Match the name of business activities (column A) with the examples of these activities (column B):