Task 1. Read and translate the text

B usiness organizations are established to provide for material wants (i.e. goods and services) and commercial wants (i.e. banking, insurance) in society. The basic forms of private business organizations are sole proprietorships, partnerships and corporations.

Sole proprietorship is a business owned and controlled by one person. A single person who owns and runs a business is known as a sole proprietor. Sole proprietorship is the oldest, simplest, and most common of all types of businesses. Because the financial resources available to one person often are limited, sole proprietorships are enterprises that require small amounts of capital to start and operate. Many doctors, dentists, lawyers, and bakers organize as sole proprietors to provide professional services.

Partnership is a business that is owned and controlled by two or more people. As in the case of sole proprietorships, partnership is a business that requires relatively small amounts of money to start and operate. A partnership begins when two or more people agree to operate a business together. Partnership can be general or limited. In order to avoid later conflicts, the partners usually formulate a written agreement called a partnership contract. A partnership contract distributes all profits and losses. It also details the specific responsibilities of each partner.

Corporation is a business organization that is owned by shareholders (i.e. the individuals who invest in it by buying shares of stock). Often hundreds and even thousands of small investors own the shares in a single corporation. That is why the owners elect a board of directors. The board of directors hires individuals to manage the corporation. These individuals include the president and other administrators of the company.

A corporation can do everything that a sole proprietorship or a partnership can do. It can, for example, buy property and resources, hire workers, make contracts and produce and sell products. A corporation may be either publicly owned or closed. In a publicly owned corporation shares can be purchased by anyone who chooses to invest in the business. A closed corporation is owned by a limited number of shareholders. People outside of this limited group may not buy shares in the corporation.

Profitability is the main aim of private organizations but it is important to realize that a business will have other aims. These include:

1. Survival: most of the time firms will not be worried about this. However, in times of economic difficulty — such as recession — surviving will become an important short-term aim of the firm. In order to survive, the firm may have to discharge workers and close some of its factories.

2. Growth: not all firms want to grow continually but growth is closely connected with survival. Very often, particularly for firms in highly competitive situations, e.g. computing and electronics, growth and development are the only way to survive.

3. Image: how the public at large views a company can be particularly important, and to this end a number of companies have public relations departments that have specific responsibility to improve the image of the company.

Vocabulary:

insurance – страховка, страховой

sole proprietorship – единоличное владение (предпринимательство)

partnership – товарищество, партнерство

corporation – акционерное общество, корпорация

to run (to operate) – вести, руководить

to formulate an agreement – формулировать (составлять) соглашение

responsibility – ответственность

shareholder (stockholder) – акционер

share – акция

to elect – избирать

the board of directors – совет директоров

to hire – нанимать

property – собственность

to fire (discharge) – увольнять

publicly owned corporation – открытое акционерное общество

closed corporation – закрытое акционерное общество

to purchase – покупать (покупка)

survival – выживание

recession – спад, рецессия

competitive – конкурентный

to improve – улучшать