Business and Administration Course 2011/2012
Unit 1
Business (1)
1) Are these words familiar to you?
Organization
Goods
Services
Consumers
Capitalist economies
Privately owned
Profit
Wealth
Not-for-profit
State-owned
Company
Owners
2) What is a business?
A business is any _________________ that makes ______ _________ or provides ________________ , or both to ___________________.
Goods Language Assistant: Ms. Brittnee Gilleylen
Module Teacher: Joaquin Guadix Escobar
Business and Administration Course 2011/2012 Are physical products, for example 1 ________________ 2 ________________ 3 ________________
Services Are non-physical items, for example, 1 _________________ 2 _________________ 3 _________________
Businesses Are predominant in capitalist economies. Most of them are privately owned They are administered to earn profit and increase the wealth of their owners. Can also be not-for-profit or state-owned . A business owned by multiple individuals can be called a company.
Language Assistant: Ms. Brittnee Gilleylen
Module Teacher: Joaquin Guadix Escobar
Business and Administration Course 2011/2012
What is it?
A business organization
Money gained in business
A person who buys good or uses services
Object or articles that are produced to be sold
The state of being rich
A company that is owned by private investors
An economic system (the opposite of Communism)
Not making or interested in making a profit
An organized group of people, such as a club, society, union or business
Basic forms of ownership Form Sole proprietorship
Definition
Can you give an example?
A for-profit business owned by one person. The
Language Assistant: Ms. Brittnee Gilleylen
Module Teacher: Joaquin Guadix Escobar
Business and Administration Course 2011/2012 owner has unlimited liability.
Partnership
A for-profit business owned by two or more people. In most forms of partnerships, each partner has unlimited liability.
Franchising
Large companies that sell their names and products to smaller companies in order to make a profit Limited liability business that has a separate legal personality from its members.
Corporation or Company
Limited liability business that can organize for-profit or not-for-profit. A cooperative differs from a for-profit corporation in that it has members, as opposed to shareholders, who share decisionmaking authority.
Cooperative
Unit 1
Business (2)
Departments Language Assistant: Ms. Brittnee Gilleylen
Module Teacher: Joaquin Guadix Escobar
Business and Administration Course 2011/2012
How can we organize a business? DEPARTMENTS
ACTIVITIES
Marketing
To increase brand awareness To create an advertising campaign To change the image of the company’s star product
Sales
Andalusia’s sales are going down There is a distribution problem in Asturias There is not enough money to give a pay rise
Accounting
To reduce payment terms To speed up the billing process
Purchasing
There is not any paper left for the printer There is a problem with the new photocopier The big boss needs some new furniture
Human Resources
There is a selection process
Administration
There are last month’s reports to be filed There are lots of new product codes to be entered into the system There are next month’s billing to be completed
Unit 2
Communication (1)
Purposes of Communication Language Assistant: Ms. Brittnee Gilleylen
Module Teacher: Joaquin Guadix Escobar
Business and Administration Course 2011/2012
Communication involves the Exchange of Information Communication involves transmitting (sending) information from a sender to a receiver. The information that’s sent is called the message Messages are sent using a particular medium. Examples of media include: email, letter, phone... The receiver of the message can send feedback to show they have received it and understood it. Feedback is important for judging how successful the communication has been
• Before sending a message, you need to choose a system A communication system is made up of a method, a channel and a medium of communication
Choose the best method of communication
Written messages can be kept and read many times
Oral messages are spoken (they are more personal, and good for getting immediate feedback)
Visual methods involve images or body language (they express meaning quickly without words
Pictorial methods use pictures (e.g. J is a quick, informal way to express happiness) Graphical methods use graphs, charts and diagrams to show technical information and data
Choose the right channel of communication
Internal and external: Messages that don’t leave the business go through internal channels. Messages sent to receivers outside the firm are sent through external channels
Formal and informal: Formal channels are used for official business (e.g. Formal letters sent to suppliers, or job applicants). Informal channels are less official (e.g. Word-of-mouth messages)
Confidential and non-confidential: Confidential messages (e.g. Financial data) need to be private
Language Assistant: Ms. Brittnee Gilleylen
Module Teacher: Joaquin Guadix Escobar
Business and Administration Course 2011/2012
Urgent and non-urgent: Urgent channels are used to deliver important messages quickly
Choose the right channel of communication The medium means the equipment you use to send the message. This will depend on the method and the channels of communication
Unit 2
Communication (2)
Barriers to communication Barriers can prevent good communication
Jargon: This is technical language to do with a particular subject. People who aren’t experts in that subject may not understand
Noise: This could be traffic noise making it hard to hear a phone call. Or it might be visual noise (e.g. Too much information o a page can make it hard to pick out the important points
Poor choice of channel or medium: E.g. An urgent letter sent by secondclass post may not get there in time. And complex information might be best written down, rather than spoken, so that the receiver doesn’t forget any of it
Inappropriate presentation: A message’s presentation should be suitable for the audience. E.g. An advert should be easy to understand, if it’s too complex, customers might lose interest
Emotional interference: E.g. If the sender and the receiver don’t get on personally, it can affect how the communication is understood
Trust and honesty: If the receiver thinks the sender is dishonest they may be suspicious about the content of the message
Cultural differences: Communicating internationally can be tricky. Foreign languages can easily be mistranslated. Also, what seems polite in one country may be rude in another
The status of the sender: People outside a business are often more likely to trust information if it comes from somebody who’s high up in the organisation
Language Assistant: Ms. Brittnee Gilleylen
Module Teacher: Joaquin Guadix Escobar
Business and Administration Course 2011/2012
Checking documents for errors is a good idea Errors can also be a barrier to communication. They can make messages misleading and confusing. Luckily, written and visual messages can be checked for errors before they are sent
Errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar: In formal business documents, this looks unprofessional (the firm may lose respect if words aren’t spelt correctly)
Errors in tone: This will depend on the sender, message and receiver. A formal business letter to a customer needs formal language. If the tone is too chatty, it can seem disrespectful
Factual errors: Factual errors can cause big problems. E.g. Putting the wrong prices in a catalogue could damage a firm’s reputation. Giving out misleading information could even be a criminal offence
Problems with graphics and diagrams: Graphics are supposed to make information clearer. But if they’re labelled, they could just add to the confusion
P
lease, don’t forget
Checking business documents for error can save embarrassment, confusion, and more serious problems The main drawback of checking for mistakes is that it takes time and money to do it properly. But it’s usually time and money well spent
Language Assistant: Ms. Brittnee Gilleylen
Module Teacher: Joaquin Guadix Escobar