Task 6. Integrated speaking

Task 6. Integrated speaking

In business, integration typically means creating efficiency. Today I'll discuss two distinct types of integration. First is vertical integration, which is when one company controls two or more steps in the production process of an item. For example, a global company might control three steps in the production of clothes, first, the clothes are made in its own factories. Next, the clothes are shipped using its own stores. Typically, businesses get an advantage from vertical integration because it allows them to reduce costs and avoid delays in the supply chain. Horizontal integration, on the other hand, is when one company controls two or more companies that offer the same, or a very similar, product. So, for instance, a manufacturing company might sell two brands of televisions in different ways. It might sell one brand of TVs, call them brand A, in retail stores, and sell another brand, brand b, only through online channels. Companies usually engage in horizontal integration to get  more market share. 

 

Structure

The professor discusses

He defines this as

First, he talks about

He goes on to explain that

Next, he discusses

He then points out that

The professor discusses two types of integration, which helps businesses be efficient. 

First, she talks about vertical integration, which is when a company controls several steps in producing an item. She gives the examples of a company that controls three steps in the production of clothes. She goes on to say that vertical integration reduces costs and delays. 

Next, she discusses horizontal integration, which is when a company controls companies selling the same product. She mentions the case of a company that controls two companies that both sell televisions. She then points out that horizontal integration increases market shares. 

Exercises

1 One interesting trend over the past two decades has been the growing number of people offering software for free download via the Internet. Broadly speaking, there are two overlapping categories of free software: one is freeware, and the other is open source software.  Freeware gets its name because it’s free software. Typically, freeware is written and published by one or two programmers working on their own, or by a small independent software company. In other words, freeware is not usually published by major software companies, although that does happen from time to time. The vast majority of freeware is what I call single function software, which is software that does one thing and does not have a huge variety of features or functions. For example, on my computer I have a freeware program that lets me easily and quickly rename multiple files.  Open source software is also often  free and so technically could be called freeware, too; however, it differs from typical freeware in a couple of important ways. For one thing, open source programs are by definition available to download in the form of computer codes as well as published programs. This means that you or I could download an open source program and make changes to the code, if we wished. For freeware, though, the source code is not available. And for another thing, open source software is often worked on by hundreds or even thousands of people all over the world.  Using points, and examples from the lecture, describe the two types of free software that the professor discusses.

2 As we’ve been reading, stocks of many wild fish are declining, mainly as a result of overfishing. Despite this, demand for fish continues to rise because consumers feel that fish is a healthy food choice. Whenever there's demand, businesses see an opportunity, and companies have turned to fish farming to meet the growing demand for fish. Initially there were just a few supplies of farmed fish, but over the past few decades, the number of suppliers has grown significantly.  Fish farming, as its name suggests, involves breeding and raising fish or shellfish for food in the same way that a farmer on land might grow wheat or corn, or raise pigs or cows. The fish farmer must feed the fish, protect them from predators, make sure they are free of disease, and so on. When the fish are ready - that is, when they are large enough - they are harvested and sold as food.  Salmon, tilapia, carp, and catfish are all species of fish that are commonly farmed. I was reading recently about a less well known species called cobia that is also very suitable for farming. For one thing, cobia grows very quickly -at least twice as quickly as salmon - and can reach a size of over 60 kilograms, uh, that is around 130 pounds. It handles the stresses of commercial fish farming relatively well, and it's cheaper to farm -and so likely to be more profitable to farm- than most other kinds of fish because it does not require expensive food in order to grow. Finally, its taste is considered to be particularly good. All of these factors make it ideal for fish farming.  Using the points and examples from the talk, explain what fish farming is and why cobia is a suitable species for farming.

3 Ok, let's continue our discussion of business law by talking about the corporation. We'll talk about corporations a lot in this course, but for now I just want to introduce the concept.  It's actually quite hard to define a corporation in simple terms, but I'll do my best. A corporation is a company created by one or more people which is considered to be legally separate from those people. The corporation also has certain legal rights and responsibilities of its own.to make that clearer, let's think about paying taxes. A person who owns a corporation has to pay taxes on any income that she receives, of course… Well, the corporation also has to pay taxes on the income it makes because its separate from its owner and has its own legal responsibilities. Another important point to understand about corporations in the concept of limited liability. Let me give an example to make this clear. Imagine that a corporation has to pay a fine, for example, but only has enough money to pay 50% of the fine. In such a case, the executives who work for the corporation and the stockholders who own it would not have to pay the additional 50%. They would have no liability, er, no legal responsibility, to pay, because the corporation is a separate entity. This contrasts with other forms of business, such as a sole proprietorship, where the owner of the business would be fully liable to pay any fines that the business incurred, because the sole proprietorship is not a separate entity.  Using points and examples from the seminar, describe the legal responsibilities of a corporation.