PRODUCTION AND MARKETING.

THE BUSINESS OF BUSINESS.

I. Read and memorize the following words, word-combinations and word-groups:

standard of living — рівень життя

e.g. A nation's standard of living is measured by the amount of goods and services available to its citizens.

productivity — продуктивність праці

e.g. When you produce more or better products with the same time and resources, you have achieved a productivity increase.

input — витрати

e.g. Input can be any resource that goes into the production process.

output — продуктивність, випуск продукції

e.g. Productivity is usually measured in terms of output per worker per hour.

division of labor — розподіл праці

e.g. To use machinery efficiently, producers must use division of labor.

skilled workers — кваліфіковані робітники

e.g. Skilled workers perform their tasks more efficiently than those who are unskilled.

consumption — споживання

e.g. Everything that takes place between production and consumption falls into the category of marketing.

II. Give English equivalents of the following:

рівень життя – витрати – продуктивність праці – піднесення і спад – рекламувати – страхування –

брати участь у чомусь – розподіл праці – добробут – випуск продукції – оптова торгівля –

 

III. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words:

a) a market; b) standard of living; c) technologies; d) promotion; e) productivity; f) firms capacity; g) employers; h) goods and services

1.... is a measure of how efficiently we work

2. New... can be used by business to imp­rove productivity.

3. A nation's... is measured by the amount of goods and services available to its citizens.

4.... is a key part of marketing because it is the way business get their messages to consumers.

5. Societies obtain... either by producing them themselves or by trading what they produce.

6.... is where buyers and sellers come together.

7.... is the maximum number of units it can produce.

8.... are able to employ the optimum number of workers and productivity increases.

IV. Read and translate the text:

A nation's standard of living is measured by the amount of goods and services available to its citizens. One way to calculate living standard is to divide total production (the gross national product) by the population (Production % Population = per capita GNP). When production is increasing faster than the population, more goods and services are available per person, and living standards are likely to improve. Productivity is a measure of how efficiently we work. To measure productivity, economists determine the amount of goods and services produced for every unit of input. Input can be any resource that goes into the production process. Productivity is usually measured in terms of output per worker per hour. Among the principal ingredients of productivity are the education and training of workers. Well-educated and skilled workers perform their tasks more efficiently than those who are unskilled or poorly educated.

Another ingredient in productivity is the enthusiasm workers have for their jobs. Those who like their jobs and feel they gain dignity and respect from the work will produce more than those who lack motivation to do their best. To use ma­chinery efficiently, producers must also use division of labor — the practice of breaking down large, complex tasks into a series of small ones so that each worker can become an expert in his or her particular task. To an economist, everything that takes place between production and consumption falls into the category of marketing. Marketing, then, includes the activities that bring the buyer and seller together. Marketing includes buying and selling, transporting and storing, product planning, market research, product support, customer service, financing, insuring and other activities.

V. Answer the following questions:

1. What is a nation's standard of living measured by?

2. When are living standards likely to improve?

3. What is «input»?

4. What does the quality of labor force depend upon?

5. What is a key part of marketing?

6. What is the final part of marketing?

VI. Define the terms:

production process productivity division of labor skilled worker

consumption standard of living input market research

VII. Translate into English:

1. Один спосіб визначення рівня життя — це поділити всю продукцію на кількість населення. 2. Коли кількість продукції зростає швидше за кількість населення, рівень життя поліпшується. 3. Витратами можуть бути будь-які кошти, що використовуються у виробничому процесі. 4. Освіта та навчання робітників є головною складовою частиною про­дуктивності праці. 5. Люди, які люблять свою роботу та одержують насолоду від неї, виробляють більше за тих, які не мають такої мотивації. 6. Чого бракує некваліфікованим і неосвіченим робітникам для більш ефективного виконання своїх завдань? 7. За допомогою розподілу праці кожний робітник може стати майстром своєї справи. 8. Марке­тинг — це купівля та продаж, транспортування, збере­ження, фінансування, страхування та інше.

VIII. Read and dramatize the following dialogue:

B.: When did modern production methods take a giant leap forward, I wonder?

4'

C.: Modern production methods took a giant leap forward in 1913 when Henry Ford (1863—1947) introduced the use of the assembly line in the production of automobiles. In those days, automobiles were built in much the same way as a house.

B.: What do you mean?

C.: That is, workers simply picked a spot on the factory floor and assembled the car from the bottom up. As business grew Ford began manufacturing many of the component parts formerly purchased from suppliers. Typically the com­ponents were put together by one worker who performed all the operations necessary to assemble them.

B.: The method was likely to be costly, and so only the wealthy could afford to buy automobiles in those days.

C.:For sure. This did not please Henry Ford who wanted to bring the price of automobiles down to the point where most families could afford them.

B.: What was the key to achieving this goal?

C.: The key to achieving this goal, in Ford's view, was through the improvement of labor productivity. He needed to find a way to

1) limit the number of operations performed by each worker;

2) bring the work to the worker rather, than the other way around;

3) perform each operation in the most efficient sequence he could find.

B.: Thus he found what he was seeking in his new creation: the assembly line. Ford's first line, introduced in April 1913, was used to assemble generators. Working in the old way, one worker had been able to put together 25 to 30 generators in a 9-hour day. This transtaled to something around 20 minutes per assembly. The new line broke the operation into 29 steps performed by individual workers on parts that were brought to them by the steadily moving assembly line.

C.: And what about the price of automobiles?

B.: Assembly line methods brought the price of automobiles within the reach of millions of American families. As a result, automobile registrations jumped from 944.000 in 1912 to 2,5 million in 1915 and 20 million by 1925.

C.: So Henry Ford was not an economist, but his innovative production strategies had a revolutionary impact on American industry and living standards.

B.: Well, certainly. As automobiles, appliances and other labor saving goods of the new industrial age became less expensive and more affordable for the average family, it was clear that the assembly lines of a Michigan factory had changed American households as dramatically as its facto­ries.

 

IX. Make up your own dialogue using the following expressions:

principle ingredients of productivity to lack motivation to do one's best to bring the price down to the point to gain dignity and respect to perform one's task

division of labor skilled worker consumption to go into production process

 

X. Put questions to the italicized words:

1. Many appliances and other labor saving goods are becoming less expensive and more afford able for the average familу. 2. The population is growing now at a faster rate than production in that country. 3. Sfeps to restore full employment are increasing. 4. They are producing more and better products with the same time and resources. 5. Union restrictions are preventing employers from laying off workers as quickly as they might prefer.

XI. Replace the infinitives in brackets by the Present Continuous Tense (the Active Voice):

1. What (to do) he now? He (to bring) the price of this commodity down to the point where most families can afford if. 2. Look! The new device (to break) the operation into 30 steps performed by individual workers. 3. Everyone who (to look for) work can find a job. 4. Studying the time and resour­ces that go into production, you (to analyze) productivity. 5. Employers (to employ) the optimum number of workers.

XII. Translate into English:

1. У цих регіонах кількість продукції тепер зростає швид­ше за кількість населення. 2. Він знайде те, що шукає для ефективного використання обладнання. 3. Директори ко­мерційних фірм використовують капітал і робочу силу, щоб максимально підвищити продуктивність праці. 4. Оптові тор­говці та виробники скорочують кількість товарів і рівень виробництва, щоб знизити ціни. 5. Вони знижують тверді ціни за одиницю товару, оскільки випуск продукції зростає.