Useful terms and expressions

1. bailout -выкуп

2. TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) - план Полсона (США): правительственная программа по оказанию помощи, по спасению компаний путем выкупа проблемных активов

Reading and speaking

READING AND SPEAKING 1

Please read the following excerpt from the lecture delivered by Robert Nijki, a professor of business studies, on how companies can analyze their competitive position in a market. Complete the diagram with the terms which he mentions:

“Competition is one of the most critical factors for any business, and knowing where you stand in relation to your competitors is crucial. And this has become a permanent preoccupation for many businesses. But how do you find out? There are various ways you can approach it, but one of the principal tools that’s used is based on a theory developed by Michael Porter, a professor at Harvard Business School. According to him, there are five fundamental forces that affect a company’s competitive position.

If put this into the form of a diagram, then at the centre you would have ‘Competitive rivalry.’ Then you would put in four forces or factors that are going to influence this. In the box right at the top you would have ‘Threat of entry.’ Now this just means: what is the probability that other businesses will attempt to enter our sector? Then you have two other factors: ‘Power of buyers’ and ‘Power of suppliers,’ let’s say one on each side. This is pretty straightforward and it just refers to the power that both of these groups can exert. So, for example, if you are a company selling to a major distribution chain, then your buyers can impose certain conditions on you. The same is true for suppliers: if you depend on one source, then you don’t have much room for manoeuvre. Lastly, there is ‘Substitution’ or ‘Substitute products’ – now, this is quite easy to understand, too: most products can be replaced by others, so, of course, the ideal situation is to have one which can’t be. But that’s not often the case.

In practice, Porter’s theory is very helpful because it suggests a number of ways that businesses can build barriers to prevent other companies from entering into direct competition. Among these, there are four which are particularly important: differentiation – making your product or service unique; economies of scale – getting a cost advantage over your competition by reducing cost per unit; distribution – having a network which gives you access to markets; and switching costs – making it prohibitively expensive for your customers to change to a rival product or service.

Useful terms and expressions

1. substitute products – альтернативный продукт, товар-заменитель, эрзац

Give the Russian for the following:

a critical factor; a crucial force; to know where you stand in relation to your competitors; a permanent preoccupation for businesses; to affect the company’s competitive position; threat of entry; principal tools for assessment; it is fairly straightforward; to exert power; to refer to the rival groups; to sell to a major distribution chain; to impose certain conditions on sb; to replace products; a helpful theory; economies of scale; to prevent other companies from entering into direct competition; product differentiation; to reduce cost per unit; distribution network; switching costs; prohibitively expensive goods

Suggest the English for the following:

выйти на рынок; оценить положение конкурентов в своем секторе экономики; разработать систему оценок; рост конкуренции в определенной нише рынка; негативно повлиять на конкурентоспособность компании; оценить вероятность появления новых конкурентов; простое и доходчивое объяснение подходов к оценке показателей; замещать товар аналогичным; не иметь возможности для маневра; уникальный товар; создавать препятствия прямой конкуренции; обеспечивать доступ на рынок; стоимость единицы продукции

READING AND SPEAKING 2

Read the article below, paying special attention the underlined expressions.

Mark one letter (A, B or C) for each statement 1-7 listed below, choosing ‘Right’, ‘Wrong’ or ‘Doesn’t say’ (if there is not enough information to answer ‘Right’ or ‘Wrong’).

Do you agree with the author of the article?