ACTIVATING

 

Activating background knowledge 

1. Business organizations belong to either the private or the public sector. The private sector consists of companies belonging to private individuals, and the public sector of companies is owned by the government of the country. Discuss with a partner: 

1) In which of the two sectors would you like to work? Why? 2) Do people working in the private sector have better or worse working conditions compared to the public sector? 3) Do you think there are industries which should never be privatized? 4) Which of the following have been privatized in your country: bus transportation, rail transportation, electricity supply, postal services, water supply, telephone services? 5) What are the advantages and disadvantages of privatization in these industries? 6) Would you like to run a small firm in future?

 

Activating language 

1. Read the passage about business and businesses and then correct the mistakes in the sentences that follow. 

Business is the activity of producing, buying and selling goods and services. A business, company, firm or more formally, a concern, sells goods or services. Large companies considered together are referred to as big business.

A company may be called an enterprise, especially to emphasize its risk-taking nature.

Businesses vary in size, from the self-employed person working alone, through the small or medium enterprise (SME) to the large multinational with activities in several countries.

A large company, especially in the US, is a corporation. The adjective, corporate, is often used in these combinations: corporate culture, corporate headquarters, corporate image, corporate ladder, corporate logo, corporate profits. 

1. Before we employ people, we like to put them in job situations to see how they do the work and fit into the corporate ladder. 2. The company has built a grand corporate logo as a permanent symbol of its power. 3. Our stylish new corporate culture shows our wish to be seen as a more international airline. 4. The economy is growing and corporate headquarters are rising. 5. The rules were introduced to protect women working in factories, but today they make it harder for women to climb the corporate image. 6. Companies hit by computer crime are not talking about it because they fear the publicity will harm their corporate profits.

 

2. Match the sentences in A to the words in B. There is one extra word in B. 

 

A

B

1) It carries passengers and goods, it’s not military. 2) It’s going to be used for offices and factories, not houses. 3) It receives no money from the state to make its programmes. 4) He does advertisements: you can’t find his work in art galleries. 5) It was an artistic success, but unfortunately it lost a lot of money. 6) It is business activity owned by individuals, rather than the state. 7) It is part of a country where business is encouraged because there are fewer laws, lower taxes, etc. 8) It is an atmosphere which encourages people to make money through their own activities and not rely on the state. 9) It is an economy where there is an enterprise culture.

a. commercial artist b. commercial c. commercial airline d. commercial land e. commercial television f. commercial disaster g. enterprise culture h. enterprise economy i. enterprise zone j. free private enterprise

 

3. Fill in the gaps in the passage below with the words from the box. 

 

industries, many, government-owned, as, way, such, investors, nationalized, use, in

 

In 1970s Britain, there were state-owned or … (1) companies in many different industries such … (2) car manufacturing and air travel. Some … (3) had been nationalized and were entirely state-owned, … (4) as coal, electricity and telephone services. … (5) the 1980s, the government believed that … (6) companies were bureaucratic and inefficient, and … (7) of them were privatized and sold to … (8).

Enterprise is used in a positive … (9) to talk about business, emphasizing the … (10) of money to take risks.