Топик: Английске тексты
PRODUCTION
1. Production can be defined as the creation of wealth which in turn, adds to society's welfare .It is a vital link in the process of satisfying wants; As man's wants are almost unlimited relative to the resources available, it is important in production, then, that the limited resources be used efficiently in order to create the maximum possible welfare.
2. At a general level, all economies, irrespective of their organisation, face the same basis decisions of what, how and for whom to produce, subject to their production possibilities. In a mixed economy, such as the United Kingdom, some production decisions are left to private enterprise and the market mechanism whilst others are taken by the government: the production by shoes for example, is the result of the decisions of private firms, where as the quantity of hospital services or military tanks produced is the result of political decisions.
3. The firm and its The total level of output in an economy is of objective course, the sum of the outputs of all the individual firms. It is important at the outset, therefore, to explain what is meant by a firm
and to consider some of the main factors which motivates firms to produce goods and services.
4. Definition: A, firm is a decision-making production unit which transforms resources into goods and services which are ultimately bought by customers, the government and other firms.
5. Traditional economic theory has assumed that the typical firm has a single objective-to maximise its profit. No distinction is drawn between the objective of a comer-store proprietor and that of the largest firm. The modern theories of the firm, however, do acknowledge that firms may -have other objectives, such as sales-revenue maximisation or the maximisation of managerial utility.
6. Types of busi ness units. Consider now the legal status of the differant,
types of firms in a western economy, such so the United Kingdom.
7. One-man business. In terms of numbers, the one-man business (or sole proprietorship) is the most common type of firm. Typically it
is a small-scale operation employing the moat a handful of people. The proprietor himself is normally in charge of the operation of the business, with the effect that he is likely to be highly motivated as he benefits directly from any increase in profits. As the one-man business is small it can provide a personal service to its customers and can respond flexibly to the requirements of the market. Decisions can be taken quickly as the owner does not have to consult with any directors.
8. Disadvantages associated with a one-man business are that the owner cannot specialise in particular functions but must Jack-of-all trades, and the finance available for the expansion of the business is limited to that which the owner himself can raise. An even bigger disadvantage is perhaps that there is no legal distinction between the owner and his business: The owner has, therefore, unlimited liability for any debts incurred by the business, so that in the eventually bankruptcy all his assets (for example his house and car) are liable to seizure.
9 One-man business as are common in retailing, fanning, building and personal services, such as hairdressing.
10 PARTNERSHIP. The logical progression from a one-man business is to a partnership. An ordinary partnership contains from two to twenty partners. The main advantages over a one-man business are that more finance is likely to be available the influx of partners, and that each partner may specialise to some extent (for example, the marketing , production or personnel functions). The major disadvantage, once again, is that of unlimited liability. As each partner is able to commit the other partners to agreements entered into, all of the others may suffer from the errors of one unreliable or foolhardy partner.
I I Partnerships are oftcn found in the professions-for example, among doctors, dentist, solicitors and architects, Ultimately, the upper limit on the number of partners is likely to restrict the amount of finance available to the partnership and so place a limit on its growth. This, together with disadvantage of unlimited liability, means that many growing business eventually form joint-stock companies.
12. JOINT-STOCK COMPANY, the Joint-stock company with limited liability developed in the second halt of the nineteenth century. It helped to promote the development of large companies by providing a relatively safe vehicle for investment in industry and commerce by a wide cross-section of the community. The liability of the shareholders is limited to the amount they have subscribed to the firm capital and each shareholder knows the extent of his potential loss it the company goes bankrupt. So make information available to potential shareholders, all joint-stock companies are required to file annually with the Registrar of Companies details of their profits, turnover, assets and other relevant financial information, such as the remuneration of the directors.
13. A joint-stock company can be either a private limited company or a public limited company. The shares of a private cannot be offered for sale to the public and thus are not traded on the Stock Exchange .The shares cannot be transferred without the consent of the other shareholders. Private companies require a minimum of two and a maximum of fifty shareholders (or members), though the upper limit may be exceeded in the case of employees or former employees of the company.
14. The shares of a PUBLIC company can be offered for sale to the public. A public company requires as minimum of two shareholders, but there is no upper limit. Shares are freely transferable and the company is required to hold an annual general meeting where shareholders are able to question the directors, to change the company's articles of association, to elect or dismiss the board of directors, to sanction the payment of dividends, to approve the choice auditors
and to fix their remuneration. In practice, attendance at annual general meetings is low, and normally the approval of the director's recommendations is a formality.
15. Although only about 3% of companies are public companies, most large companies are public companies. Indeed, they account for about two-thirds of the capital employed by all companies.
16. CO-OPERATIVES. In the'United Kingdom consumer co-operatives have been successful since the first co-operative was formed at Rochdale in 1844. The movement, which comprises a familiar section of the retail trade, is based on consumer ownership and control, al-though there is a professional management. In 1985 it was reported that there were 8,5 members of retail cooperative societies in the United Kingdom.
17. Producer co-operatives, on, the other hand, have not generally been successful and are not particularly significant in the United Kingdom. The recession of the early 1980s, however, led to an upsurge in the number of producer co-operatives. In many cases they sprang from on attempt by workers to continue production and to maintain jobs after a parent company had decided to close or to sell a plant. This type of co-operative is sometimes referred to as "phoenix co-operative". The Co-operative Development of producer cooperatives reported the existence of 911 producer co-operatives with around 20000 members in 1984. In some other countries of the EEC, such as France and Spain, producer co-operatives are of more significance than in the United Kingdom.
18. PUBLIC CORPORATION. The public corporation is the form of enterprise that has developed in the United Kingdom for those areas where the government has decided to place production in the hands of the state. Whilst there are early examples of the formation of public corporation, such as the Port of London Authority (1909) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (1927),Boat were formed in the period of the post-war Labour government of 1945-51. The
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government appoints the chairman and the board of directors which is responsible to a minister of the Crown for full filing the statutory requirements for the public corporation aid down by Parliament. The minister is supposed not to concern himself with the day-to-day running the company.
19. Recent government policy has been to return state-owned enterprises to the private sector. Privatisation is the word used when the ownership of a state-owned asset is transferred to private individuals or companies.
20. Examples of privatisation include the sale of British Aerospace (51% sold in 1981 and 49% 1985) and of British Telecom (51% sold in 1984).
Effective Communication
Effective communication is absolutely crucial to good management. You can't get the best out of people unless you can communicate effectively with them, and they with you.
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