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Unit 2. Getting the RIGHT STAFF.
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Vocabulary
Employee - служащий
Delicate – нежный, чувствительный, щекотливый
Manpower –рабочая сила
Straightaway – немедленно
Thumb – большой палец (руки)
Cost – стоимость, цена
Sale – продажа
Advantage - преимущество
Recruit – новобранец
Settle – решать, принимать решение
Deciding when to take on an employee is a delicate balancing act. On the one hand, if you increase your manpower, you might not be able to cover increased costs straightaway. On the other hand, extra manpower could free you to spend more time on other activities, such as marketing or planning, which should, in the end, mean increased profits.
A useful rule of thumb for choosing the best time to increase your manpower is to ask yourself if you can generate enough extra sales to cover the cost of taking on that extra employee. If you will not be able to increase your sales straightaway, you could still employ someone; but, in this case, you will need to be able to keep your business going until you have been able to build your sales up to the new level you need. It all sounds straightforward, but in practice it is very tricky. It is like being on a seesaw. One step in the wrong direction can tip the balance against you.
If you are clever enough, or lucky enough, to get your timing right, you will not want to throw away your advantage by employing the wrong person. The whole process can take several months; so finding you have made a mistake and having to recruit again can throw your business off its planning course. Nor should you underestimate the emotional problems of getting rid of an unsuitable employee, which can unnerve the toughest of businessmen or businesswomen and which can unsettle other employees.
Answer the questions according to the text:
Do you think that deciding to take on an employee may turn to be a delicate balancing act?
What must be taken into consideration when using extra manpower?
Is there any balance between increase of sales and cost of extra employee?
What can finding of mistakes in recruiting employee lead to?
Can I make sure that if I offer the job it will be accepted?
Exercises:
Subdivide the text into parts. What part of the text answers the question: When are you lucky enough not to through away your advantage by employing the wrong person?
Underline the job mentioned in the text. Remember some other professions.
personal assistant, shop assistant, sales manager, personal manager.
3) Tick the correct utterance:
- One step in the wrong direction can tip the balance against you.
_____________________
- Extra manpower couldn’t free you to spend more time on the other activities.
_____________________
- The whole process can take several months.
_____________________
4) Fill in the gaps with prepositions:
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1. My friend’s name is Borisov. He is an economist. He works … an office … the fifth floor … our Ministry. His office does business … a lot … firms. They sell very many goods … foreign countries. They also buy goods … them.
2. Mr. Lunin knows English well. He often meets foreign businessmen and speaks English … them. Every day he receives a lot … mails … foreign firms and sends answers … them.
3. Mr. Petrov comes … his office, goes … … the letters and cables … foreign firms and answers them.
4. Take all the letters and cables … … that box and put them … my desk. I’d like to go … all … them now.
5. Shall I speak … our work … the meeting? – Yes, of course.
References: Williams Sara, Small Business Guide, London, UK, - 2007, p. 205
Unit 3. Forecasting
Vocabulary
Forecast –предсказание, прогноз
Negotiate – вести переговоры, совершить сделки
In advance –заранее
Insufficient – недостаточный
Lender – заимодавец
Bankruptcy – банкротство
Estimate – оценка, смета
Cash flow – оборот наличных денег
Balance steel – балансовый отчет
Profit and loss – прибыль и убыток
Forecasts are the kernel of your business. They are the basis on which you raise money, negotiate premises and other raw materials. These are only a few of the decisions which need to be made in advance with only your forecasts as guidance on how much is needed. Making a wildly inaccurate forecast can, for example, lead to raising insufficient funds. When the business fails to meet expectations and begins to run short of money, it may prove impossible to raise further funds. Lenders are very wary of handing out more when forecasting has proved to be mistaken. The result could be liquidation or bankruptcy if you are a partner or sole trader, and the end of your dreams.
However, making no forecasts at all is even sillier. You would have no guidance on when to take certain basic business deсisions.
Given the importance of attaining a reasonable estimate of future sales, costs and cash balances, it follows that making the forecasts is a process which should not be hurried or treated casually. You must constantly strive to seek information on which forecasts can be based; you must constantly curb your over-optimism which can lead to estimates sales figures that are too high and estimated cost figures that are too low. Question your first forecasts for the realism of their assumptions, before accenting any figure as a part of the final forecasts.
Nevertheless, it is realistic to accept that some of the figures will be nothing more than в best guess given the current state of information available to you. However, our figures should have some grounding in fact, so when you present your case to your bank manager or other source of finance you can support the figure when challenged.
It is important to make the forecasts in our plan realistic so that if your business idea does not hold water, you can discover this at the planning stage. You do not want to discover two, years down, the track that your business will not work, after you have committed money, time and effort. Do not underestimate the mental anguish and financial problems which can be caused by a struggling business.
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There are three forecasts you need to make:
-Cash flow;
-Profit and loss;
-Balance sheet.
Answer the questions according to the text:
Why are forecasts the kernel of one's business?
Why is making no forecasts silly?
What kind of information must be constantly strive to seek
Why figures you present to your bank manager should have grounding in fact?
What three forecasts have you to make starting business?
Exercises:
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