This document provides information about business English and business concepts. It begins with objectives for learning to describe businesses, distinguish between business types, and understand prime functions and mission statements. It then gives tips for being a good language student and increasing vocabulary. Various business terminology is defined. The roles of businesses in society are outlined as job creation, product development, and economic strength. Private sector businesses are fully controlled by owners while public sector are government-controlled. Business size and structures like sole proprietorships, partnerships, private and public companies, and franchises are also detailed.
2. OBJECTIVES
In this unit students will learn to:
Describe what a business is and does
Explain the different types of businesses
Distinguish between a prime function and a mission statement
4. BE A GOOD LANGUAGE STUDENT.
10 ways on how to be a good
language student
5. 1. Do make sure you have something to record new items of language
(notebook, netbook, etc).
2. Don’t rely solely on your memory.
3. Do make sure you have access to a dictionary.
4. Don’t miss the opportunity to pick up new words and check their
meaning.
5. Do go over the day’s lesson, make a note of anything you don’t
understand ready to ask your teacher at the next lesson.
6. 6.Don’t be afraid to ask your teacher to go over things or explain things again – it’s an
opportunity to make sure everything is clear before moving on.
7. Do watchTV in English if you have the chance.
8. Don’t feel that you have to understand everything. Relax and enjoy the experience, if
you can get a good overview of the conversation orTV program that might be enough
(then, as in No 6, ask your teacher the next lesson).
7. 9. Do write a learner diary – a few lines after each day’s experience will not only give you
a lovely record of your course, but it is also an interesting and personal way to make a
record of your learning.This can be useful for language recycling and sharing with
teachers and/or classmates.
10. Do enjoy your learning experience
something you enjoy and are absorbed in will be both successful and valuable.
9. 1) Use a bilingual dictionary - look up words you come across but don’t understand and make a note of
them or even better use them straight away!
2)
Choose one lexical set at a time – for example animals, can you, hand on heart, say that you know the
English word for all the animals?Think of all those you don’t know and look them up in your own
language. Do the same for other lexical sets.
3) Sign up to Gap fillers word of the day - it’s free and you can get your word sent by email if you register
as a free member, 5 words a week, 20+ per month, that’s 260 a year and
you don’t have to do anything!
4)
Play scrabble!- you’re allowed to use your dictionary!
5)
Read and translate – choose a short passage in your own language and translate it into good English.
10. 6. Use a thesaurus – write down a list of words you like to use and look up 3 synonyms for each in the
thesaurus.
7. Do crosswords – use a dictionary to help you or do interactive ones online (there are a few on Gap
fillers).
8. Listen to the radio and write down any words you don’t know – choose a short piece, you can
approximate the spelling and then look them up in your dictionary.
9. Choose a short, difficult, reading passage and do the same – make a list of the words and look
them up.
10. Look around where you are now - do you know the words for everything you can see? – make a
note of the ones you don’t in your own language and then use your dictionary to find out the English
word. Do this whenever you have a few spare minutes.
11. VOCABULARY
Share, portion ,lot, proportion, ration, part
Shareholders, an owner of shares in a company.
Capital, money, finance, funds, assets, wealth
Franchisor
Franchisee
Disclose, detect, tell, report, uncover, expose, discover
12. VOCABULARY
-Multinational companies
-witness, observer, spectator, viewer, watcher
-profits, gain, earning, payoff
-stock exchange, stock market, shares market, Wall Street
-distinguish, differentiate, recognize, identify, characterize, set apart
13. PART A
ASSESSMENT 1,2,3,4
Numbers Assessment Grading Time Reference
1 Multiple choice and short answers 15% week 7 or at the end
of unit 6
Based on the topics in units1 to 6
2 Short Essays test 30% Week 9 or at the end
of unit 7
Based on the topics in units1 to 7
3 Project(written report and oral
presentation)
45% Week 12 or at the
end end of unit 8
This project requires students to
utilize the internet to investigate a
particular topic
4 Course work 10% On-going
1- A minimum of 90% attendance is required to pass the module.
2.The teacher will record how active or passive the students are in the classroom.
14. QUESTIONS
What is a business?
Why does the business exist?
What are the business roles in society?
Which business structures are you familiar with?
What are the different between the private and public sector?
What is the legal structure of any company?
15. TERMINOLOGY
Objectives:The precise steps a business needs to take to achieve the stated aims
Prime function: The main activity in which a business is involved
Nine: The maximum number of employees in a micro business in the EU and the USA
Aims: The broad goals a business wants to achieve
Mission statement: Sets out the main purpose and goals of the business
Franchise: For a fee, the right to market a company’s goods and services within a given location
Business: An organization set up by one or more people to produce and/or sell goods and services
16. TERMINOLOGY
Secondary industry: Uses raw materials to manufacture goods
Tertiary industry: Provides services for the economy
Partnership: A business made up of between 2 and 20 people who sign a contract
witnessed by a lawyer
Primary industry: Exploits natural resources
Sole trader: An individual who owns and runs the business by him/herself
Public company: A company owned by the government
Private company: Google is an example of one of these
Needs: are things that we can’t live without, such as food, water, clothing, and
shelter
17. TERMINOLOGY
Wants:
Wants are things we would like, but we can live without, such as cellphones, the
internet, television, and holidays
Goods:
Goods are the things we can see, touch, pick up, sell, such as cars, cellphones, and
clothes
Services:
are the things we cannot see, touch, pick up.
Service is when someone does something for you, such as cleaning, teaching,
dental, and insurance.
18. TERMINOLOGY
capital
The money and equipment invested into a business.
entrepreneur
A calculated risk-taker who sets up a business in return for financial gain.
good
A product that can be touched.
intangible
Without a physical presence and therefore unable to be touched.
19. TERMINOLOGY
profits
The amount of money made after all costs are deducted.
risk
An estimate of the probability of an unwanted outcome. It depends upon the chance of it
happening and the consequences if it did happen.
service
Something a business provides that is intangible, ie not able to be touched.
tangible
Something that can be touched and physically held, for example, a book.
20. WHAT IS A BUSINESS?
the organized effort of individuals to produce and sell for a profit products that
satisfy consumers needs and wants basically
Business is a group of people that makes(produce or invent)and sells us things
that we want or need to make money.
21. WHY DOES BUSINESSES EXIST?
To satisfy human needs and wants to make money
To be the best To be the largest
To have the best quality To be the cheapest
22. ACTIVITY
To make a list of businesses in alphabetical order and the industry that they
belong to
24. PART B
WHAT ARETHE BUSINESS ROLES IN SOCIETY?
To create job opportunities for people to share their
skills and talents.
To create new products that will change the way we all
live.
To help keep the countries economy strong.
To create income for workers, Investors, and the
government (through taxes).
25. PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR BUSINESSES
Private sector:
The owner has full control over the business.
Public sector:
The government has full control over the business..
26. PART (C)THE CLASSIFICATION OF BUSINESS
primary secondary Tertiary( services)
De Beers Coca Cola company Bank of china
BHP Billiton Adidas Amazon.com
Land O’lakes, Inc. Ferrero China Airlines
36. ANSWERTHE QUESTIONS
Which industry is it?
1. Bank
2. Gas extraction
3. Insurance
4. Oil or gas station
5. Retail business
6. Car repair business
7. Bakery
8. Building houses
9. Mining
10. Hospitals
37. TYPE OF COUNTRIES
Developing countries
1.Low income
2.Low level of saving
3.Low life expectancy
4.Birth rates exceeds death rates
5.Low level of education and
healthcare
6. Employed in the primary sector
Developed countries
1.Manefacturing is imported
2.Improved living standard
3. Increased freedom/ self-
esteem
4. Higher income
5.Employed in tertiary sector
6.Good standard of healthcare
and Education
38. PART (C) SIZE
Figure 6: Distribution of private sector employees by business size, 2017
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey; and ISED
calculations.
Canada
business size standards by number of employees
41. SOLOTRADER
An individual owns(someone who runs business by her or himself).
Usually found in trades, such as plumbers, electrician, and hairdressers.
Advantages
Easy to start up or close down the business
Minimal start up cost
Quick decision making(full control)
Few government regulations
Not required to publish accounts
Receives all profits
Disadvantages
Unlimited liability
Full responsibility
Lack of capital
No continuity
Possible lack of expertise
May have to work long hours
42. PARTNERSHIP
Agreement or contract by lawyers between Two people or more usually limited to
a maximum of 20.
Usually found in professional services like accountant, doctors, stockbrokers and
lawyers.
Advantages
Easy to start up
Access to more capital
Few government regulations
More expertise available
Risk is shared among partners
Not required to publish accounts
partners share profits and responsible for debts
jointly
Disadvantages
Possible leadership problem(who is the boss?)
Possible relationship problems among partners
Agreement on goals and directions may be difficult
Lack of capital
No continuity
Unlimited liability
43. PRIVATE COMPANY
Private company or proprietary limited company(pty- ltd)
Buying and selling of shares subject to approval of the board of directors
Advantages
Access to even more capital
Shares are transferable, so ownership can change
Not required to publish accounts
Disadvantages
Tight government regulations
Agreement of goals and directions may be difficult
Usually family businesses that want to keep control
of the business within the family
44. PUBLIC COMPANY
Their shares listed on the stock exchange.
Usually multinational companies such asVodafone, Apple, Google and Mobile
Advantages
-Ability to raise large amounts of cash very quickly
-Careful checking of the accounts
Advantages
-Required to publish accounts
-Control of a business can be lost if large
quantities pf shares are bought by outside
investors(this is called a takeover bid).
45. FRANCHISE
Disadvantages
-Expensive
-Loss control
-The franchisor usually takes a percentage of
the profits
-Franchisor may fail to properly promote its
products
-No guarantee of success
A type of business where a company with a successful product/service(franchisor)
Sells another company(franchisee) permission to sell that product/service in a
given area.
Advantages
-Franchises may be held by sole trader, a
partnership, or a company
-Franchisee is own boss
-Franchisor often supplies training
-Enjoys exclusive right to market a
product/service in a specific location
-Quick way of owning an established business
46. THE PRIME FUNCTIONAND MISSION STATEMENT
The prime function : is the main activity in which a business is involved.
The mission statement: talks about the purpose and goals of the business
Why we need the mission statement?
1.Because it gives is the business direction.
2. Keeps it’s employees focused on the prime function
3. Describe the public image that the business wants to convey.
47. You need to ask your self some questions before writing the mission statement
(“What do we do?What makes us different?”)