- •1. Four basic factors necessary for any business. Give the arguments for (or against) the statement that business is essential for all economies.
- •2. Advantages and risks of entrepreneurship. How would you initiate the business if you were an entrepreneur?
- •3. Similarities and differences between a sole proprietor and a partnership.
- •4. Favorable and unfavorable points of a corporation. Which of the three businesses would you prefer to work for?
- •5. The difference between intermittent and continuous production.
- •6. Which method of production would you choose for a) custom-made goods and b) standard goods? What are the most important factors in these methods?
- •7. What two methods do employers use to select applicants for an interview? Suppose you are to employ a manager for your firm. Which method would you use?
- •8. The functions of the personnel department. Your first steps as the Head of the pd if you happen to be appointed to this post.
- •9. The general concept of marketing, its constituent parts. Types of markets.
- •10. Modern marketing – new principles.
- •11. The function of distribution from the view of a business manager. The role of a middleman in distribution.
- •12. The distribution system from the view of a customer. Different types of retail outlets.
- •13. The concept of promotion, its main activities. What type of advertising would you use for promoting a new kind of product your firm has just launched?
- •14. Personal selling – what way does it differ from other forms of promotion? Try to persuade a foreign firm to buy a new passenger airliner constructed in Russia.
- •15. Two types of sales promotion activities. What would you do to promote a new type of tea or coffee?
- •16. Interdependence of promotion and market situation. What would you do if the market turns out to be saturated with your goods?
- •17. Four aspects of international business. What is the main difference between Smith’s theory and Ricardo’s theory?
- •18. Discuss the activities of an exporting company and the reactions of the country importing products. How should the country protect its domestic industries?
- •19. The importance of computers. Your opinion about the advantages and disadvantages of using computers. The prospective ways of computer development.
- •20. Types of layout. Compare product layout and process layout.
6. Which method of production would you choose for a) custom-made goods and b) standard goods? What are the most important factors in these methods?
Goods are called custom-made when they are made to customer specifications. I would choose intermittent method of production for custom-made goods, because many designs and styles are possible with this method and the design can easily be changed to suit each individual customer. When custom-made goods are produced, only a limited number, perhaps only one, of each specification are made. Therefore, automatic machines have limited use, and increased labor is necessary, which makes custom-made goods expensive.
Standard goods suit large number of customers and the demand for standard goods is larger than the demand for custom-made goods. To produce standard goods I would choose continuous method of production, because with this method I could produce standard goods with much lower costs than they would be if I chose intermittent method. It’s because continuous production uses specialized machinery, and labor and equipment work continuously, making one type of product for a long period of time. Standard goods usually carry the manufacturer’s brand and are advertised over a large area to reach many customers.
In deciding on the type of production to use in a plant, the most important factors are volume and the number of models and designs. Intermittent production can be used if volume is small or there are many designs. In continuous production the volume must be large and the products must be standardized. Often a company begins production with job lots using intermittent production. As the company grows and the volume increases, it is more efficient to use continuous production.
7. What two methods do employers use to select applicants for an interview? Suppose you are to employ a manager for your firm. Which method would you use?
The personnel department should have a method for choosing the best candidate from among the applicants for the position. In some companies this may involve testing prospective employees. Civil service or government jobs often require applicants to compete with each other on written tests. Those applicants with the highest scores are selected for an interview.
Other companies may assign points for certain items on the application form, such as experience or education. They may then total the points and select the applicants with the highest totals. After the applications have been evaluated, the best qualified applicants are invited to an interview.
In the interview the applicant’s personality and ability to work with others may be judged.
If I employed a manager for my firm, I would better use the second method to select applicants for an interview, but I would change this method a little bit. I would look at certain items on the application interview, which are important for current job, such as the address of the applicant, his or her education, experience, age, a private automobile if needed, and so on. In addition, the applicants should enclose a personal photo. From my point of view, appearance is not less important factor that influences my decision about employing a manager for my firm than items above. For me personally, it is hard to work with people that I don’t like, or whom I don’t trust. The applicants with the most suitable items and appropriate appearance would be invited to an interview.