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____ needs most careful thought is the one you start from scratch. But you don’t need any original idea to have a good business. If you are worried about starting from scratch, you might want to think about buying a business ____ is already running.
Talking to people ____ have already started up their own business is very useful. You can learn a great deal from both successful businesses and those ____ have failed. Your Enterprise Agency or Chamber of Commerce may run business clubs ____ you can meet other small business owners.
Not having enough finance, ____ is one of the most common problems in small business, can be fatal. It is easy to underestimate the amount of money ____ you will need to set up your business. The time ____ you spend working out your cash needs and monitoring cash flow is time well-spent.
You should have at least a basic understanding of trading laws, ____ protect consumers, employees, the general public and businesses as well.
Failure to respect these laws could even be a crime. For example, every employee
____ employment continues for one month or more, has the right to receive a written statement, ____ is a sort of contract with the terms and details of their employment. You local tax office will send you documents ____ show you how much you need to take out of each employee’s wages, and where to send the money.
8. Translate the following text into English.
Термины “видение” и “миссия” компании часто употребляются как равнозначные, хотя первый из них скорее обозначает то, к чему следует стремиться, а второй – то, что необходимо сделать. В идеале корпоративное видение должно быть выражено одним коротким предложением, способным вдохновить и сотрудников, и инвесторов, и клиентов.
Корпоративное видение компании “Coca-Cola”, например, сформулировано просто, но эффектно: ”Сделать напиток “Coke” доступным для любого потребителя, в каком бы уголке мира он не находился”.
Стратегия бизнес единицы состоит из трёх основных компонентов: миссии, целей и компетентности. Миссия может в значительной степени влиять на диапазон маркетинговой деятельности фирмы, сужая или расширяя поле деятельности конкурентной борьбы.
Компания “Medtronic”, создавшая кардиостимулятор, в настоящее время является мировым лидером по производству кардиостимулирующих устройств. Основатель компании ещё 40 лет назад сформулировал миссию для подразделения по выпуску кардиостимулирующих устройств, которая по сей день остаётся неизменной. Формулировку этой миссии можно увидеть на плакатах в зданиях компании, на визитных карточках сотрудников; она служит источником постоянного вдохновения для работников “Medtronic”.
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Миссия компании “Medtronic”
Способствовать благосостоянию людей посредством применения инженерных разработок в области биомедицины при исследовании, создании, производстве и продаже устройств, облегчающих боль, восстанавливающих здоровье и продлевающих жизнь.
Цели бизнес-единицы (стратегические инициативы)
*Направлять наш рост в области биомедицинских инженерных разработок, где мы демонстрируем максимальные способности.
*Стремиться к максимальной надёжности наших изделий.
*Добиваться прибыли, позволяющей выполнять наши обязательства, поддерживать наш рост и достигать наши цели.
*Признавать личную ценность сотрудников.
*Поддерживать статус компании как “хорошего гражданина”.
Listening
Listen to the interview and make notes. Then speak about strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Marks & Spencer’s company.
You are going to hear Steve Kremmer talking about Marks & Spencer’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Marks & Spencer is one of the biggest and most successful retailers in the world. Michael Marks opened his first penny bazaar in 1884, in Leeds, England. Ten years later there were nine market stores, and Marks took into partnership Tom Spencer, the cashier of one of his suppliers. In 1926 Marks & Spencer became a public company. At that time they developed a clear idea of Marks and Spencer’s mission and purpose. Their later success was founded on this idea. They decided that the company was in business to provide goods of excellent quality, at reasonable prices, to customers from the working and middle classes. Providing value for money was their mission and purpose. One of the strategies they used was to concentrate on selling clothing and textiles. Later on, food products were added as a major line of business.
Case study
The Benson Group is a chain of department stores in the USA. Its chief competitors are HI-Mark and Levinson Brothers.
Read the information about Benson group and its rivals, speak about its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Complete the company profile.
Benson faces uncertain future
Benson Inc., the department store group, announces this year’s annual results on
Wednesday. Once again, profits are expected to be well below expectations.
Benson built its first store in 1952. It now owns ten stores in the southern region of the United States, and two in Ontario, Canada. All the stores are on prime sites in the high streets of major cities. The Group’s head office is in Petersville.
Recently, Benson’s performance has been extremely disappointing. Two years ago, pre-tax profits had fallen just to $8.3m on a turnover of $225m. This year, profits are
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expected to be down yet again. Sales per employee is also much lower than the industry’s average.
Fortunately for Benson, it still has a number of loyal customers who wouldn’t think of shopping elsewhere. However, the group is facing fierce competition from Hi-Mark and up-and-coming Levinson Brothers.
Hi-Mark are well established, with a clearly defined up-market image. It has a reputation for selling good quality merchandise but at high prices.
Levinson Brothers set up its first store seven years ago. Since then, it has expanded fast. It now has eight stores located in big cities. Levinson Brothers’ target consumer is the 16 - 25 wage-earner. Nevertheless, it attracts to its stores people of all ages and from all income groups.
Levinson Brothers’ marketing is more aggressive and effective than that of its two main competitors. It often cuts prices, and even offers goods at give-away prices to get people into its stores. It advertises heavily in local newspapers and on local television. Its special promotions are often accompanied by a great deal of razzmatazz. Levinson Brothers’ share price stands at $12 - its highest rating this year. Even so, the share is still probably a good buy for investors.
In order to compete more effectively, Benson changed its business strategy about eighteen months ago. It began to rent space to outside firms on a concessionary basis.
Almost 20 % of its stores’ space was rented to selected companies from outside the organization. Unfortunately, this strategy has not been too successful. Several firms renting space complain that their sales have been poor.
Benson’s stores were redecorated recently. This ‘facelift’ has met with mixed reactions from its customers. The layout of the stores continues to confuse customers.
The customers complain that departments are not grouped together in a logical manner. As a result, shoppers get tired out looking for the goods they want.
At present, it looks very much as if Benson has lost its dynamism and sense of purpose. Investors holding shares in the group might be well advised to sell.
One of Benson’s biggest problems is that it lacks a clear image. Although some well-off customers have stuck to Benson through thick and thin, many others have moved on and now shop at Hi-Mark. These customers seem to prefer Hi-Mark’s tasteful décor and high-priced, exclusive goods. Another of Benson’s disadvantages is that its merchandise doesn’t particularly appeal to younger buyers. They prefer the self-service, down-market approach of Levinson Brothers - Benson’s other main rival. Both Hi-Mark and Levinson Brothers are profitable organizations. Hi-Mark’s strategy is, essentially, to maintain good profit margins on all its merchandise. Levinson Brothers, on the other hand, aim for high volume and lower margins.
All these organizations - Benson, Hi-Mark and Levinson Brothers - face a common problem. They are all aware of the threat coming from the new multiple stores – retailers like Classic, Marginal and Clique. These are ‘muscling in’ on the other groups’ traditional markets of clothing, home decoration and food. The new multiples
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have been very successful attracting to their stores fashion-conscious customers, both young and old. They seem to have the knack of offering exciting, stylish goods at prices people can afford.
Rising costs have been the main cause of Benson’s low profits. Stock levels tend to be high, but very often goods are not available when required by customers. At present, goods are kept in warehouses at each store. Benson is considering changing this system. It may build one or two huge distribution centers which will supply all the stores. This could be a less costly way of organizing its warehousing facilities. In addition, it has been suggested recently that service at Benson’s stores is not what it used to be. It is believed, also, that staff turnover and absenteeism is too high.
Unless Benson’s management take action soon to revive the company, it would seem that the future of the organization is bleak.
up-and-coming company – стабильно развивающаяся компания fierce competition – жёсткая конкуренция
up-market – верхние эшелоны рынка down-market – нижние эшелоны рынка target consumer – целевой потребитель
well below expectations – гораздо ниже ожидаемых
on prime sites in the high streets – в лучших местах на главных улицах disappointing, bleak, depressing – неудовлетворительная, удручающая merchandise – товар
give-away prices – низкие (бросовые) цены razzmatazz – шумные представления
on a concessionary basis – со скидкой
the layout of the stores – планировка универмагов well-off customers – состоятельные покупатели
to stick to the company through thick and thin – быть преданным компании в трудное время
to muscle in on the market – пробиться на рынок multiple – универмаг
to have a knack of – иметь особый дар (талант) warehousing facilities – складские помещения staff turnover – текучесть кадров
absenteeism – прогулы
to revive the company – возродить компанию
Communication skills: Exchanging information / Making suggestions
Read the following phrases and be sure to use them while discussing the problem with the Benson group.
Firm suggestions
In my opinion we ought to (should) launch the product in May.
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Surely we ought to /must _____
I (would) recommend / suggest launching it earlier.
I recommend (that) / suggest (that) we put it on the market in June. I think (that) / feel (that) we should do a marketing study first.
Why don’t we show it at the National Exhibition Center?
How / What about introducing it just before the summer season?
Tentative suggestions
It might be a good idea to launch it in December.
It might be worth (while) bringing it out in the summer.
You / We could perhaps get a well-known player to try it out. One possibility / option would be to put off the launch for a while. What if we ____
It’s just an idea, but why don’t we ___
Role play
You are directors of Benson Group. Each of you plays one of the roles described below. Some of you can act as assistants to directors.
The purpose of the meeting is to decide:
1.how Benson can improve its performance and increase its market share;
2.what its future strategy should be.
Chief Executive
You will chair the meeting. You must ask people for their opinions and encourage them to discuss fully the questions on the agenda. At the end of the meeting, you and your board of directors must try to agree on the future strategy of the company. Personally, you are not sure what to do in the present situation. You are retiring in five years’ time and you hope there will be no big changes in the organization before you go.
Deputy Chief Executive
You think that Benson should compete strongly against the Hi-Mark stores, and forget about Levinson Brothers. Therefore, Benson should make every effort to upgrade the quality of its goods. By doing this, it will be able to create an image of quality and luxury. It should also concentrate more on fashion clothing. The stores could sell more designer clothes and well-known brands which appeal to young people. They could buy high-quality goods and sell them under the Benson brand name, too.
Company Secretary
In your opinion, Benson cannot compete successfully against Levinson Brothers and Hi-Mark. You would like the company to join with Levinson Brothers to form a merger. Suggest that your Chief Executive should meet the President of the Levinson organization as soon as possible to discuss this possibility. A merger is a good idea because:
1.the new organization - Benson-Levinson - would appeal to all age and income groups
2.Levinson’s cash resources could be used for Benson’s future development