Listening 1: Early stages

1. Charkes cotton mentions some of the most succesful internet based

companies of the previous 20 years. What do you these are?
2. How does he describe the perspective of an early stage company?

He thinks these companies can bring new things to the industry and these new things
is what can make them successful

3. Which companies does he mention?

Microsoft, Ebay, Google and Cisco

4. What does he mean when he says some industries are defined by the new
entrants?

He meant that the market of some industries can be lead by early stage companies

Listening 2

1. What was google's problem at the time the recording was made?

The most able people in the industry wanted to work for facebook

2. Fill the gaps below.

1. Disrupter
2. Dominant
3. Vulnerable
4. Competed against
5. Entrepeneurs
6. Disrupt
7. Compete with
8. Well established
9. evolution

listening 3: Clustering

I What are the two 'well-established examples' of clusters that Charles Cotton
cites?

Route 128 and Sillicon Valley

2 What are the four others?

London, Cambridge, Oxford and Tel Aviv

3 What is the reason for clusters having evolved in these particular places?

Is because of the good universities that can be found in those areas

4 What do people moving into a business environment need?

They need business and managerial skills

5 Fill in the gaps below

1. Patent attorneys
2. Headhunters
3. Landlords
4. Technology
5. Economic

listening 4: Software-based clusters

1. Who does Charles Cotton describe as 'the most creative people on the
planet'?

Software programmers in easter europe

2. Why did they need to become so good at what they did?

They didn’t have the most advanced computers in their time so they did the most of
what they had

3. What is their advantage over competitors from the other country he mentions?

They are less expensive than indian programmers

listening 5: Clusters of the future

1. Which three large countries does Charles Cotton talk about?

China, india and Brazil

2. What factors do they have in common that will make them successful?

They have highly educated people that see business opportunities in their countries.

UNIT 21 Takeovers

Comprehension

Explain the following in your own words:

1. the difference between horizontal and vertical integration.

Horizontal means to buy or integrate other companies or competitors that practice the
same activities and Vertical to buy companies that are in a different part of the supply
chain.
2. the difference between backward and forward integration.

Backward integration means buying suppliers while forward integration means buying
or integrating Distributor or retailers

3. the difference between a raid and a takeover bid.

The difference between a raid and a takeover is that in a raid stocks of the company
are bought from the stock market but in a takeover the stock they are bought directly
from a stockholder

4. the difference between a friendlv and a hostile bid.

In a friendly bid the directors of a company have agreed to a takeover while in a hostile
bid they have not agreed to a takeover

5. asset-stripping.

It means buying a company in with the intention of selling it for profit

Listening l: The role of the Competition Commission

1 What is the alternative American term for a competition investigation

organization?

An antitrust authority

2 When is the competition commission asked to lnvestigate companies?

If a proposed merger might damage competition in a particular market.

3 What is the hypothetical situation that Rory Taylor mentions?

A company that could buy every single company in a market.

4 What have lots of companies told the Commission about their attitude to
competltion in their business?

That having competition is necessary to keep the business innovative and efficient

5 What do you think Rory Taylor means by these phrases?

a a free market attitude: A market without interference from the goverment

b a competition regime: rules and regulations concerning competition

c a necessary check and balance: preventing the abuse of power by big companies

d over-interventionist: too much intervention by the goverment

1 Fill in the gap

1. Player
2. Natural monopolies
3. Utilities
4. Market investigations
5. Handful
6. Groceries
7. Lions share

2. Give synonyms for 1 ,5 and 7

1. Company or enterprise or business

2. Few, a small Number?

3. the biggest part?

3. Give Explanations or definitios for

2. a market in which a company becomes the sole dominant by nature

3. Service providers

6. products that can be found in supermrkets

listening 3: Breaking the law and abusing a dominant position

1 Which of the following things does Rory Taylor say? Sometimes there isn't
much competition in a market because:

a there are large companies which have done nothing wrong, but just acted in
the ways successful companies do.

b companies abuse their dominant position.

c companies are collaborating and working on projects together.

d rival companies agree to charge the same prices.

A, B and D

2. Which two official bodies does he mention?

The office of fair trade and the European competition commission.

3. What can companies be fined 10% of their turnover for?

Price fixing or forming a cartel

 Unit 22 Government and Taxation

Comprehension

1 What do the Friedmans think will be the consequence of increased government

intervention in the economy?

That it threatens to end economic progress.

2 In which sentence do they criticize taxation?

Currently more than 40% is disposed of on our behalf by government at federal state,
and local level

3 What do they say about medical and road safety legislation?

They disapprove of laws that prevent physicians from prescribing some drugs and that
make it obligatory to have seat belts.

4 What is the only restriction they believe to be necessary regarding professional

occupations, business and trade?

All business transactions should be voluntary

5 What is their objection to the law regarding labour contract?

That workers should be free to choose how many hours they work if they agree to It
with their employer

listening: Government intervention

1 Fill in the gaps

1. Free markets
2. Optional
3. Economic growth
4. Market failure

What reasons does Michael Kitson give for government spending on education and health?

That an educated workforce is important

Why don't firms invest in very early-stage technologies?

Because it has high risks

What other areas or activities does Kitson mention?

Infrastructure and helping comercializa science