7 семестр E lance economy

КОНТРОЛЬНАЯ РАБОТА
по дисциплине иностранный язык (английский)
7 семестр 2013/2014

(все студенты выполняют один вариант контрольной работы)

1.    Read the text below about how businesses will be organized in the future and choose the answer (a-c) to  questions 1-2.

1.    Which of these statements gives the best summary of the ideas in the article?
a.    New communications technologies enable information to be shared instantly across the world.
b.    In the future most people will be self-employed or will work as freelancers.
c.    Companies are having to restructure due to developments in electronic communications.
2.    What exactly do the authors mean by the term 'e-lance economy'?
a.    Most work inside large companies will be done using e-mail and computers.
b.    In the future tasks will be done by individuals and small companies linked to the Internet.
c.    Business between companies will increasingly be done through the Internet.

THE E-LANCE ECONOMY

Despite the wave of big mergers and acquisitions over the past few years, the days of the big corporation – as we know it – are numbered. Because modern communications technology makes decentralized organizations possible, control is being passed down the line to workers at many different levels, or outsourced to external companies. In fact, we are moving towards what can be called an 'e-lance economy', which will be characterized by shifting coalitions of freelancers and small firms using the Internet for much of their work.
Twenty-five years ago, one in five US workers was employed by one of the top 500 companies. Today, the ratio has dropped to fewer than own in ten. Large companies are far less vertically integrated than they were in the past and rely more and more on outside suppliers to produce components and provide services, with a consequent reduction in the size of their workforce.
At the same time, decisions within large corporations are increasingly being pushed to lower levels. Workers are rewarded not for carrying out orders efficiently, but for working out what needs to be done and doing it. Many large industrial companies – ABB and BP Amoco are among the most prominent – have broken themselves up into numerous independent units that transact business with one another almost as if they were separate companies.
What underlies this trend? The answer lies in the basic economics of organizations. Business organizations are, in essence, mechanisms for co-ordination, and the form they take is strongly affected by the co-ordination technologies available. When it is cheaper to conduct transactions internally, with other parts of the same company, organizations grow larger, but when it is cheaper to conduct them externally, with independent entities in the open market, organizations stay small or shrink.
The co-ordination technologies of the industrial era – the train and the telegraph, the car and the telephone, the mainframe computer and the fax machine – made transactions within the company not only possible but advantageous. Companies were able to manage large organizations centrally, which provided them with economies of scale in manufacturing, marketing, distribution and other activities. Big was good.
But with the introduction of powerful personal computers and electronic networks – the co-ordination technologies of the 21st century – the economic equation changes. Because information can be shared instantly and inexpensively among many people in many locations, the value of centralized decision-making and bureaucracy decreases. Individuals can manage themselves, co-coordinating their efforts through electronic links with other independent parties. Small becomes good.
In the future, as communications technologies advance and networks become more efficient, the shift to e-lancing promises to accelerate. Should this happen, the dominant business organization of the future may not be a stable, permanent corporation but rather a flexible network of individuals and small groups that might sometimes exist for no more than a day or two. We will enter the age of the temporary company.
Vocabulary
merger – слияние
acquisition – приобретение
freelancer – человек, работающий вне штата
consequent –закономерный, являющийся следствием чего-л.
flexible – гибкий    mainframe computer – мэйнфрейм – главный компьютер вычислительного центра
advantageous – благоприятный; выгодный; полезный
equation – выравнивание; стабилизация

2.    Mark these statements T (true) or F (false) according to the information in the text. Find the part of the text that gives the correct information.

1.    Big corporations will soon go out of business.  
2.    There is a move towards decentralization of decision-making in many companies.
3.    Many companies are now experiencing cash flow and similar financial problems.
4.    No more than 10 percent of workers in the US work for the top 500 companies.
5.    ABB and BP Amoco have sold many parts of their businesses.
6.    Large organizations can save money by centralizing all transactions.
7.    Computer companies have decentralized their decision-making process.
8.    It is possible that the shape and structure of companies will be very different in the future.

3.    These phrases summarize the purpose of each paragraph. Match each phrase to the correct paragraph.

1.    Illustrate the decline of big companies. Para I
2.    Give a prediction about the future. _________
3.    Give examples of changes in the way big companies are organized. _________
4.    Introduce the idea that big companies are starting to change and even decline summary. _________
5.    Describe the new way of working. _________
6.    Explain why these changes are taking place. _________
7.    Describe the old way of working. _________

4.    Find a word or phrase fr om the text that has a similar meaning.

a)    movement of money into and out of a company's bank accounts (summary)
cash flow..
b)    passing tasks to an external company (summary)
o_________________
c)    individuals who are self-employed and work independently (summary)
f_________________
d)    describes a large company that produces everything it needs internally (para1)
v_________________ i_________________
e)    external companies that provide products or services to an organization (para 1)
o_________________ s_________________
f)    parts of a company that operate independently as separate profit centers (para 2)
i_________________ u_________________
g)    where price and quality are the main factors for doing business (para 3)
o X  m X
h)    something large companies can achieve by doing things in big volumes (para 4)
e_________________ of s_________________


5.    Choose the best explanation (a-d) for each phrase fr om the text (1-6).

1.    the days of the big corporation are numbered (summary, line 1-2)
a)    big companies will become less important in the future
b)    companies will have to improve their financial controls
2.    control is being passed down the line (summary, line 4-5)
a)    nobody in the company wants to take decisions
b)    some decisions will be taken at lower levels in the company
3.    what underlies this trend? (para 3, line 1)
a)    is this trend really true?
b)    what are the reasons for this trend?
4.    in essence (para 3, line 2)
a)    basically
b)    necessarily
5.    organizations shrink (para 3, line 6-7)
a)    they become smaller
b)    they disappear completely
6.    the economic equation changes (para 5, line 2-3)
a)    things become cheaper because of the Internet
b)    there is a move in favor of decentrallization

6.    Use an appropriate verb and preposition to complete each sentence.

1.    Large multinationals still exercise considerable power over many people around the world.
2.    It's a difficult problem. It will take time to w.......... o......... the best way to solve it.
3.    In a traditional, hierarchical company, employees are expected to c......... o.......... the orders of their superiors.
4.    To improve flexibility and speed of reaction we have decided to b......... the company u.......... into separate business units.
5.    Our policy is to t............ business only w.......... companies that have a strong environmental policy.
6.    The speed at which you can get information fr om the Internet is sometimes a......... b............ the time of day.

7.    Do a written translation of the text THE E-LANCE ECONOMY.

8.    Write a summary of the text THE E-LANCE ECONOMY in English.

9.    Choose the answer (a-d) for each question (1-17)

1.    Economics may be defined as the science that explains _____.
a)    the choices that we make as we cope with scarcity
b)    the decisions made by politicians
c)    the decisions made by households
d)    all human behavior
2.    Scarcity is a situation in which _____.
a) wants exceed the resources available to satisfy them
b) something is being wasted
c) people are poor
d) there is a shortage of something
3.    Economic choices can be summarized in five big questions. They are _.
a) what, how, who, where, and would you please
b) why, what, how, when, and where
c) what, how, when, wh ere, and why
d) what, how, when, wh ere, and who
4.    When productivity increases _____.
a)    prices rise
b)    living standards improve
c)    there are fewer good jobs
d)    living standards deteriorate
1.    Macroeconomics is the study of _____.
a)    all aspects of scarcity
b)    the national economy and the global economy as a whole
c)    big businesses
d)    the decisions of individual businesses and people
2.    The task of economic science is to _____.
a)    save the earth from the overuse of natural resources
b)    help us to understand how the economic world works
c)    tell us what is good for us
d)    make moral choices about things like drugs
7.    Economists make progress by _____.
a)    lobbying politicians for more money
b)    building and testing economic models
c)    asking people how they feel about things
d)    asking people whether they are better off or worse off

8.    A relative price is _____
a)    a price expressed in terms of money.
b)    what you get paid for babysitting your cousin.
c)    the ratio of one money price to another.
d)    equal to a money price.
9.    The quantity demanded of a good or service is the amount that _____
a)    consumers plan to buy during a given time period at a given price.
b)    firms are willing to sell during a given time period at a given price.
c)    a consumer would like to buy but might not be able to afford.
d)    is actually bought during a given time period at a given price.
10.    Demand is the _____
a)    unlimited wants of consumers.
b)    entire relationship between the quantity demanded and the price of a good.
c)    willingness to pay for a good if income is large enough.
d)    ability to pay for a good.
11.    If, as people's incomes increase, the quantity demanded of a good decreases, the good is called _____
a)    a substitute.
b)    a normal good.
c)    an inferior good.
d)    a complement.
12.    The quantity of Walkmans that people plan to buy this month depends on all of the following except the _____
a)    price of CD players.
b)    price of a Walkman.
c)    quantity of Walkmans that producers plan to sell.
d)    price of tapes.
13.    The quantity supplied of a good or service is the amount that _____
a)    is actually bought during a given time period at a given price.
b)    producers wish they could sell at a higher price.
c)    producers plan to sell during a given time period at a given price.
d)    people are willing to buy during a given time period at a given price.
14.    Supply is the _____
a)    lim ited resources available.
b)    cost of producing a good.
c)    entire relationship between the quantity supplied and the price of a good.
d)    willingness to produce a good if the technology to produce it becomes available.
15.    The quantity of Walkmans that firms plan to sell this month depends on all of the following except the _____
a)    number of producers of Walkmans.
b)    price of a Walkman.
c)    quantity of Walkmans that people plan to buy.
d)    wages of workers in electronics factories.
16.    If the price of the Walkman is below the equilibrium price, there will be a ________ of Walkmans and the price will _____
a)    surplus; fall
b)    shortage; fall
c)    shortage; rise
d)    surplus; rise
17.    The price of a tomato increases and people buy fewer onions. You infer that onions and tomatoes are _____
a)    normal goods.
b)    complements.
c)    substitutes.
d)    inferior goods.
18.    The quantity of a cars that people plan to buy this month depends on all of the following except the _____.
a)    quantity of cars that dealers have for sale.
b)    price of a van.
c)    population.
d)    expected future price of a car.
19.    Kelly graduates and her income increases by $25,000 a year. Other things remaining the same, she decreases the quantity of donuts she buys. For Kelly, donuts _____
a)    are an inferior good.
b)    and coffee has become complements.
c)    and toast have become substitutes.
d)    are a normal good.
20.    Students can rent a video at Campus Video for $4. As the price of a VCR decreases, the _____
a)    demand for videos will increase.
b)    supply of videos will decrease.
c)    quantity supplied of videos will decrease.
d)    quantity demanded of videos will increase.
21.    In the book market, the supply of books will decrease if any of the following occur except _____
a)    a decrease in the number of book publishers.
b)    a decrease in the price of a book.
c)    an increase in the future expected price of a book.
d)    an increase in the price of paper.
22.    If the price of a video rental is below the equilibrium price, the quantity supplied is _______ than the quantity demanded. If the price of video rentals is above the equilibrium price, the quantity supplied is _______ than the quantity demanded.
a)    less; greater
b)    greater; greater
c)    greater; less
d)    less; less
23.    A typewriter is an inferior good. As people's incomes increase and other things remain the same, you predict that the _____
a)    price of a typewriter will decrease.
b)    price of a typewriter will fall and the demand for typewriters will increase.
c)    demand for typewriters will decrease and the price will rise.
d)    demand for typewriters will increase as the price of a typewriter falls.
24.    If the demand for bottled water increases, the equilibrium price _____
a)    rises and the equilibrium quantity increases.
b)    rises and the equilibrium quantity increases.
c)    falls and the equilibrium quantity decreases.
d)    rises and the equilibrium quantity decreases.