A10
194
Rosa Alcaro
English
for Business Studies
Copyright © MMVI
ARACNE editrice S.r.l.
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ISBN
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I edizione: luglio 2006
I ristampa aggiornata: settembre 2006
C o n t e n t s
Introduction.......................................................................................13
Some advice for reading and understanding EAP (English for
Academic Purposes) texts.................................................................14
Chapter
1
Business Administration
IAS (International Accounting Standards):.............................…16
Reading activities: comprehension activity: true-false, open questions
.............................................................................................................19
Vocabulary activity: ………………………………............……...…20
Cloze test………………………………....................………….……21
Writing activity: summary………................……………………..…23
Total Value – Towards the true value of family and privately held
firms:………………...............................................................……...24
Reading activities: comprehension activity: true-false, open questions,
matching……………................................................................……..31
Vocabulary activity:………………...................................……..….. 33
Cloze test…………….………….....................………….…………..34
Readings: ……………………………….....................……..…...….37
American Accounting Association – European Accounting
Association .........................................................................................38
The Family Business Network …………….....................…………..42
KMU-HSG: A University Institute in charge of SMEs ………...….42
Grammar Point: ………………………….…..............................…43
5
Unit 1) Meeting someone for the first time. Articles: the definite
article. The indefinite article ………..................................................44
Personal Pronouns. Adjectives: Possessive adjectives pronouns. The
possessive case. Demonstratives adjectives and pronouns. Plural
nouns. Irregular plurals………………………………….........…..…46
The Present Simple: Verb to be. Verb to have. The imperative…….49
The Present Simple: To work. There is/there are. Wh-questions. The
Present Continuous. Spelling. Quantities. Use of some, any, no.
Something, anything, someone, anyone, somebody, anybody,
somewhere, anywhere……………………........................….………51
Exercises:………………………………………………............……58
Presentation of your company ……………………...............………61
Chapter
2
Organisation Theory
Decision and Motivation: …………………………….................…64
Reading activities : Comprehension activity: true-false, open
questions, matching …………………………………………………72
Vocabulary activity:…….......................…………………………….74
Cloze test………………………….........................……….…….…..75
The Organization of Work and Human Resources: the different
mechanisms governing work contribution: Evaluation, Reward
and Mobility/Development:……...….........………………………..77
Reading activities: Comprehension activity: true-false, open
questions, matching…………………..……...............…………...….82
Vocabulary activity:…………………………..............….......….......84
Cloze test………………………….......................………………..…85
Readings: ..........................................................................................89
Organizations studies ………………………………..............…...…90
Grammar point: ...............................................................................93
Unit 2) The Past Simple: Verb To Be. Regular and irregular verbs.
The Present Perfect. …………………………….....……………...…94
6
Much, many, a lot of, lots of. Little, a little, few, a few………..........98
The Past Continuous. The Present Perfect Continuous. The Past
Perfect. The Past Perfect Continuous…………………....................99
Prepositions. Comparatives and Superlatives. Adverbs. Irregular
adjectives and adverbs ……………………………….....…….……105
Exercises: …………………………………………...........…...…...109
Sending a fax : ……………………….............................................114
Chapter
3
Marketing
1) The Central Role of Strategic Marketing Planning in
Marketing Management: ………………………..…………...…..116
1.1) Corporate and Division Strategic Planning: …………...…116
2) Business Unit Strategic Planning: ………..............……...…..119
3) Product Planning: …………………….......................…..…... 122
Reading activities: Comprehension activity: true-false, open questions,
matching……............................................……………………..…..124
Vocabulary activity: ………………………………….....................126
Cloze test………………….....................………………………..…127
Creating Brand Equity: ………………………………….............130
Reading activities: Comprehension activity: true-false, open questions,
matching…………………………....................................................135
Vocabulary activity: ……………………….........………………....137
Cloze test………………….................………………………….….138
Managing Holistic Marketing Organisation:………........…..….140
Reading activities: Comprehension activity: true-false, open questions,
matching………………………………............................................147
Vocabulary activity: ……………………............………………….149
Cloze test……………………………….........………………….….150
7
Readings:..........................................................................................153
Three working papers on Marketing: (Abstracts) ………...............154
Microsoft ………………………………………...........…………...156
Grammar Point :…...……………………........……………….….159
Unit 3) Relative Clauses and Pronouns. …………………......…...160
The Simple Future. Will. The Future Continuous. The Future Perfect
……………………………………………………………………...161
Dates…………………………….......………………………..…....163
Exercises: …………………………....................……………….…164
Describing your department ………………………….....................165
A telephone conversation …………………………...........…….…165
Chapter
4
Banking and Finance
1) The ECB: ………………………………...……………………168
2) The strategic intents of the Eurosystem; First strategic intent:
...........................................................................................................169
2.1) Second strategic intent: ………………….................……...170
2.2) 2.2) Third strategic intent: …………………............…….170
2.3) Fourth strategic intent: ………………………...............…..171
3) Organisational principles for the fulfilment of Eurosystem
functions by all members of the Eurosystem:…………..……….171
Reading activities: comprehension activity: true-false, open questions
...........................................................................................................173
Grammar activity: ……………….....................…………………...174
Cloze test :……………………….............…………………………175
The Bank of Italy:…………… ……………………......................177
Reading activities: comprehension activity: true-false, open questions
...........................................................................................................181
Cloze test………………………………….............………………..182
The Bank of England: About the Bank……….........................…185
8
Reading activities: comprehension activity: true-false, open questions
...........................................................................................................187
Grammar activity: ……………………………............……………187
Cloze test…………………………………….............…………..…188
The Bank of England: Organisation of the Bank………………191
Reading activities: comprehension activity: true-false, open questions
…………...........................................................................................194
Grammar activity: ………………………............…………………194
Cloze test: …………………………........................………………195
Writing activity: summary………………............…………………197
The Federal Reserve System: ……………………………...….…198
Reading activities: comprehension activity: true-false, open questions
…………...........................................................................................202
Cloze test……………………….............…………………………..203
Overview of Financial Markets: …………………..................….205
Reading activities: comprehension activity: true-false, open question,
matching…………………………..……..........................................209
Vocabulary activity: ……………………….................……………210
Cloze test……………………….................………………….…….212
Money Markets versus Capital Markets: …………………..…..214
Reading activities: comprehension activity: true-false, open questions,
matching……………………….....................................…………...219
Vocabulary activity: ……………………………………......….…..220
Cloze test……………………………..............…………………….221
An overview on Borsa Italiana Group: …………………..…..…223
Reading activities: comprehension activity: true-false, open questions,
matching….....................................…………………………….…..227
Vocabulary activity:……………………………...……………….. 229
Cloze test………………………………..............………………….230
Readings: ........................................................................................233
Two successes of the euro: the single monetary policy and European
financial integration ……………………..………………………...234
Economia USA, accelera la locomotiva …………………………...239
9
Translation: The USA economy accelerates the locomotive ….…..241
Grammar Point :…………………………………............……….243
Unit 4): Like + Infinitive or –ing form?…………………..........…244
Modal Verbs. Uses of Modal Verbs. ……………………................244
Exercises………...…………………..................…………………...248
The Passive Form …...............................................………………..249
Exercises:…………………….............................……………….....252
A company profile ………………………………….....………..…254
Chapter
5
Health Care Management
Managing the care of health and the cure of disease. Part I:
Differentiation..................................................................................256
Reading activities: comprehension activity: true-false, open questions,
matching………................................…………………………..…..261
Vocabulary activity: ………………….………………………..…..262
Cloze test……………….…………………………………..………264
Managing the care of health and the cure of disease. Part II:
Integration …………...................................................…………....266
Reading activities: comprehension activity: true-false, open questions,
matching…............................................………………………...….273
Vocabulary activity: ………………………………................…….274
Cloze test………………………….................……………………..276
Readings: .......................................................................................279
The National Health Service …………………………..........….....280
Grammar Point :……...…………………………................……..285
Unit 5): Conditional Form. …………………….........................….286
Have something done…………………………............................…289
Exercises: …………………………................…………………….289
10
Reported Speech. Question Tags. The Verb to Get. Some common
uses of to get …….....................................................……………....291
Clauses of purpose, clauses of reason, clauses of concession, time
clauses.............................................................................................. 294
Exercises: …………………………………………................….…296
A model of business letter……………………….......................…..299
Glossary: …………………………………………..……….…….301
Bibliography: ………………………………………....................307
11
12
I n t r o d u z i o n e
La conoscenza della lingua inglese costituisce attualmente un requisito
essenziale per l’inserimento nel mondo del lavoro dei giovani. Per
questo motivo, gli studenti universitari, per potersi affermare nella
loro attività lavorativa futura, devono dimostrare di possedere una
formazione adeguata e completa corredata da una solida preparazione
linguistica.
Questo volume ha l’obiettivo di fornire gli strumenti necessari alla
comprensione e alla decodificazione di testi e articoli redatti in lingua
inglese che hanno come oggetto la letteratura economico-aziendale
contemporanea. Per questa ragione, esso è rivolto a studenti
frequentanti corsi di laurea ad indirizzo economico-aziendale con un
livello almeno intermedio di conoscenza della lingua inglese.
I brani proposti presentano argomenti relativi a discipline di studio
prettamente aziendali: economia aziendale, organizzazione aziendale,
marketing, banking and finance, health care management.
Ogni brano illustra contenuti economico-aziendali proponendone il
lessico specialistico. Attraverso una serie di attività come, true-false
questions, open questions, matching, vocabulary, cloze tests, gli
studenti, dopo aver letto il testo per coglierne i concetti principali
(skimming), potranno procedere ad una ricerca di informazioni più
specifiche e dettagliate (scanning) al fine di arricchire le loro proprietà
lessicali relative allo specifico settore economico-aziendale. Inoltre, i
brani e le letture aggiuntive proposte possono essere anche riassunti,
nonché costituire argomento di conversazione in aula con il docente.
Tale volume si propone dunque come strumento didattico flessibile.
Alla fine di ogni capitolo è possibile trovare le unità grammaticali
essenziali della lingua inglese corredate da esempi ed esercizi.
Unitamente alla progressione grammaticale, le units propongono
anche un uso del linguaggio specialistico economico-aziendale con
una terminologia specifica presente negli esempi e negli esercizi.
Inoltre, un glossario inglese-italiano, che raccoglie termini ed
espressioni presenti nei brani proposti, è stato aggiunto alla fine del
volume allo scopo di agevolare la comprensione dei contenuti e
l’apprendimento di vocaboli riferiti, in particolare, a contesti
economico-aziendali.
Rosa Alcaro
13
G
Some advice for reading and understanding English for Academic
Purposes (EAP) texts
General comprehension
x
x
Read the whole passage and ask yourself: what is the text
about?
What are the main points covered in the text?
Detailed comprehension + vocabulary search
x
Read each paragraph. Underline the difficult or unknown
words. Find them in a dictionary.
x
Ask yourself: what’s the key-concept of the paragraph?
Underline the sentence(s) mentioning the key-concept(s).
x
Do not translate the text. Get the meaning of concepts.
14
C h a p t e r
B U S I N E S S
1
A D M I N I S T R A T I O N
15
IAS (INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS)
The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) is a
private technical-professional body, founded in 1973 and reorganized
into the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in 2001,
with the aim to promoting convergence of accounting standards used
by companies and other economic organizations for company
communication beyond natural borders. The IASB is made up of
fourteen board members, who are solely responsible for issuing the
International Accounting Standards (IAS). The publication of final
Standards, Exposure Drafts and their relevant Interpretations (IFRIC
interpretations), requires the approval of at least eight of the fourteen
IASB board members. The IASB publishes annual report on the
activities performed during the previous year in which the priorities
for the coming year are announced. This report supplies a basis and an
opportunity for the parties concerned to make comments.
On April 1st 2001, the IAS were renamed International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS).
The adoption of these accounting standards, provided they ensure a
high level of transparency and comparability of the financial
information within the Union, will be obligatory for all the companies
within the Union whose shares are traded publicly.
Since 2005, all listed companies had to compile their consolidated
financial statements in accordance with the international accounting
standards issued by the IASB.
On this point, Parliament and the European Council have adopted
European Union Rules (no. 1606/2002) 1) concerning the application
of the standards mentioned above and the Organismo Italiano di
Contabilità (Italian Accounting Body) was established.
The evolution underway with regard to accounting regulations will
result in the need for the companies concerned to acquire the
necessary knowledge for the correct application of these standards
with deep changes in the company accounting systems that provide
the necessary data for the preparation of the financial statements.
Adapted from: www.iasb.org
16
The first commitment for the Italian financial and insurance sector is
the absorption of the Community Directive (no. 2001/65/CEE) which
obliges the member states to comply with the IAS 39 on the
evaluation of the financial instruments already beginning from the
2004 financial statements.
To adopt an International accounting standard to be applied within the
Union, this must comply with the basic requirements established by
the directives of the Council, 2) its application involves an authentic
and fair view of the financial position and performance of a firm.
Therefore, the fundamental standard underlying IAS and IFRS is the
so-called fair value. 3) In second place, it is necessary that, in
agreement with the conclusion of the Council of July 17, 2000, the
standard contributes to the European public interest and, finally,
complies with the fundamental criteria concerning the quality of
information expected for the financial reports the users make use of. A
technical accounting committee (Efrag) provides the European
Commission in charge with the support and technical consultancy
necessary for the valuation of the international accounting standards
according to these general guidelines.
An adequate and rigorous application system of the new standards is
also fundamental to strengthen investor’s trust in the financial
markets. Pursuant to article 10 of the treaty, the member states will
adopt adequate measures to guarantee their compliance with the
international accounting standards. The European Commission will
maintain contact with the member states, in particular through the
committee of European regulation authorities for real estate values
(CAERVM), to establish a common approach concerning the
application.
The member states of the European Union will be able to defer until
2007 the application of some provisions for those companies whose
shares are treated on a public market within the Union and on a
regulated market of a third country and which has already applied
another set of internationally recognised standards as the main basis
for their consolidated accounts as well as for the companies whose
securities are treated only on a regulated market.
It is considered crucial that, after 2007, a sole set of international
accounting standards (IAS) is applied to all the companies within the
Union whose shares are treated on a regulated public marked within
the Union.
17
The first application of the IAS by companies will be regulated by the
new and specific IAS accounting standard called “First Time
Application”, in order to guarantee uniformity among the member
countries of the Union and the recognition of possible sanctions on an
international level.
1) Already in June 2000 the Commission published the
announcement “The EU strategy for financial information: the
path to follow” in which it is proposed that all the companies
within the Union whose shares are traded on a public markets
prepare their consolidated accounts in compliance with a sole set
of accounting standards, the International Accounting Standards
(IAS), by 2005 at the latest.
2) Decision 1999/468/CE of the Council, June 28, 1999, reporting
on the methods for the exercising of the execution competences
conferred to the Commission and the statement issued by the
Commission to the European Parliament on February 5, 2002 on
the implementation of the legislation concerning financial
services.
3) “Fair Value” (current value or fair value): compensation for
the exchange of an asset or paying off a liability, among
conscious and willing parties, in an operation among third
parties.
E.g. for financial instrument the market value, exchange value of
the same in active market, is considered the best indicator of fair
value.
These transactions are always considered as carried out or able to
be carried out in “normal market condition”, and not, for
example, as forced sales.
18
Reading activities :
Comprehension activity:
1) Say whether the following sentences are true or false :
1) The IASB is a Committee responsible for issuing the
International Accounting Standards worldwide.
2) The IASB is composed of thirteen members.
3) The IASB does not issue annual reports.
4) IFRS is the new English acronym for IAS.
5) Transparency and comparability of financial information within
the European Union have always been compulsory.
6) An international accounting standard that will be adopted by the
Union must encompass complete and fair view of the
financial position and performance of an enterprise according
to the basic principles fixed by the Council.
7) The Efrag is a committee responsible for providing contact
among the member states.
8) “First Time Application” will be available before 2007.
1
2
3
4
True
False
2) Answer the following questions:
1) What are the IAS?
2) Have the IAS changed their name?
19
5
6
7
8
3) What is their function?
4) What have Parliament and the European Council issued?
5) What do companies have to do in accordance with the
European Union rules?
6) What is “fair value”?
7) What is the Efrag’s role?
8) What may happen after 2007?
9) What does the expression “First Time Application” mean?
Vocabulary activity:
1) Find words in the text which mean:
1)
principle, criteria ……..…………………………...................;
2)
to conform ….…………………………….….........................;
3)
usage ...……………………………….....................................;
4)
monetary assessment, appraisal ………………..........…........;
5)
to ensure, rely on ………………………….............................;
6)
to postpone, delay ………………………...........…................;
7)
to improve, boost …………………………......................…...
2)
Find words in the text corresponding to the following
definitions:
1)
An economic situation in which the price for something is
decided by how much there is of it to sell and how many people
want to buy it.
20