綜合商務(wù)英語(yǔ)（第1冊(cè)）第二版 課件全套 Unit 1 Introduction to Business-Unit 10 Business Ethics

綜合商務(wù)英語(yǔ)（第1冊(cè)）Unit1

（第二版）IntroductiontoBusiness目錄CONTENTS1Lead-inThreeQuestions2TextA

GoalsandResourcesofaBusiness3ExercisesReferenceKeys4TextB5BusinessCycleCaseStudyLead-in第一單元1Lead-inThreequestions1.Ifyoustartabusiness,what’syourbusinessgoal?2.Whatkindsofresourcescanyouusetostartabusiness?3.Howdoyouunderstandthekeyelementsof

entrepreneurship?Open-mindedTextAGoalsandResourcesofaBusiness第一單元2QuestionsonTextA(1)Howdoyouunderstandthemeaningof“abusiness”?(2)WhatisthegoalofabusinessmentionedinTextA?(3)Theprofitsthatafirmearnsaredependentonthreeconditions.Whatarethey?(4)Discusswithyourpartnerorgroupmembersthequestion:Howshouldentrepreneurs

dotoachievethegoalofabusiness?(5)SequencefivefactorsofproductioninTextAfromthemostimportantonetotheleastimportantone,andgivereasonsforyourchoice.QuestionsonTextA(1)Howdoyouunderstandthemeaningof“abusiness”?--Abusinessisanenterprisethatprovidesproductsorservicesdesiredbycustomers.(2)WhatisthegoalofabusinessmentionedinTextA?--Businessesareestablishedtoservetheneedsofconsumersbyownerswhoseektomakeprofits.Byprovidingaproductthatisdesiredbycustomers,peoplemaybeabletomakeprofitsfortheirbusiness.QuestionsonTextA(3)Theprofitsthatafirmearnsaredependentonthreeconditions.Whatarethey?--First,thereneedstobeademandfortheservicethatafirmoffers.Second,afirmneedtoattractcustomers,meaningthattheychooseafirminsteadoftheircompetitors.Third,toearnhighprofits,afirmneedtokeeptheirexpenseslow.QuestionsonTextA(4)Discusswithyourpartnerorgroupmembersthequestion:Howshouldentrepreneurs

dotoachievethegoalofabusiness?First,theentrepreneurswhocreateabusinessshouldhaveastrongincentivetoensurethatitissuccessful,astheyaredirectlyrewardedfortheirefforts.Second,entrepreneursshouldestimateproperlythepotentialprofitabilityofabusinessandmanagethebusinessorganized;inthiswaytheyearnmoneyandachievethegoals.Finally,ontheonehand,entrepreneursshouldbecautiousandrealisticbeforedecidingtoinvesttheirmoneytocreateanewbusiness;ontheotherhand,theyshoulddevelopgoodbusinessideasthatserveconsumerneedsandmanagethebusinessefficiently.QuestionsonTextA(5)SequencefivefactorsofproductioninTextAfromthemostimportantonetotheleastimportantone,andgivereasonsforyourchoice.Themostimportantoneishumanresources.Humanresourcesarethepeoplewhoareabletoperformworkforabusiness.Theymaycontributetoproductionbyusingtheirphysicalabilities.Thesecondisnaturalresources,anditiscommonlyusedbybusinessestoproduceproductsorservicesisland.QuestionsonTextA(5)SequencefivefactorsofproductioninTextAfromthemostimportantonetotheleastimportantone,andgivereasonsforyourchoice.Thethirdiscapital.Capitalincludesmachinery,equipment,tools,andphysicalfacilities.Allofthesetypesofcapitalarecommonlyusedbyhumanresourcestoproduceproducts.Thefourthistechnology.Byusingtechnologytoimprovetheircapital,manybusinessesareabletoproduceproductsandservicesmorequicklyandatahigherquality.Thelastisentrepreneurship.Entrepreneurscancreatesomebusinessmethodsthusbetterrunthefirm.U1:TextAGoalsandResourcesofaBusiness1

Abusinessisanenterprisethatprovidesproductsorservicesdesiredbycustomers.Aproductisathingthatisproducedorgrown,usuallytobesold.Aservicereferstotheparticularskillsorhelpthatapersonorafirmisabletooffer.Acustomerisapersonoranorganizationthatbuyssomethingfromashop/storeorbusiness.Q1:

Howdoyouunderstandthemeaningof“abusiness”?2

Theprimarygoalofallbusinessesistoearnaprofit,thedifferencebetweenwhatitcoststomakeandsellaproductandwhatacustomerpaysforit.Ifacompanyspends$8.00tomanufacture,finance,promote,anddistributeaproductthatitsellsfor$10.00,thebusinessearnsaprofitof$2.00oneachproductsold.Businesseshavetherighttokeepandusetheirprofitsastheychoose—withinlegallimits—becauseprofitsistherewardfortheriskstheytakeinprovidingproducts.EarningprofitscontributestosocietybyGoalsofaBusinessprovidingemployment,whichinturnprovidesmoneythatisreinvestedintheeconomy.Inaddition,profitsmustbeearnedinaresponsiblemanner.Notallorganizationsarebusinesses,however.Nonprofitorganizations,suchasNationalPublicRadio(NPR)[1],HabitatforHumanity[2],andothercharitiesandsocialcauses,donothavethefundamentalpurposeofearningprofits,althoughtheymayprovidegoodsorservicesandengageinfundraising.Q2:WhatisthegoalofabusinessmentionedinTextA?3

Toearnaprofit,apersonororganizationneedsmanagementskillstoplan,organize,andcontroltheactivitiesofthebusinessandtofindanddevelopemployeessothatitcanmakeproductsconsumerswillbuy.Abusinessalsoneedsmarketingexpertisetolearnwhatproductsconsumersneedandwantandtodevelop,manufacture,price,promote,anddistributethoseproducts.Additionally,abusinessneedsfinancialresourcesandskillstofund,maintain,andexpanditsoperations.Otherchallengesforbusinesspeopleincludeabidingbylawsandgovernmentregulations;actinginanethicalandsociallyresponsiblemanner;andadaptingtoeconomic,technological,political,andsocialchanges.Evennonprofitorganizationsengageinmanagement,marketing,andfinanceactivitiestohelpreachtheirgoals.

Q3:Theprofitsthatafirmearnsaredependentonsomeconditions.Whatarethey?

4

Toachieveandmaintainprofitability,businesseshavefoundthattheymustproducequalityproducts,operateefficiently,andbesociallyresponsibleandethicalindealingwithcustomers,employees,investors,governmentregulators,andthecommunity.Becausethesegroupshaveastakeinthesuccessandoutcomesofabusiness,theyaresometimescalledstakeholders.Manybusinesses,forexample,areconcernedabouthowtheproductionanddistributionoftheirproductsaffecttheenvironment.Othersareconcernedwithpromotingbusinesscareersamongdifferentpeoplesfromdifferentcountries.5

Toproduceaproductorservice,firmsrelyonthefollowingfactorsofproduction[3]:??Naturalresources??Humanresources??Capital??Technology??EntrepreneurshipResourcesofaBusiness6

Naturalresourcesincludeanyresourcesthatcanbeusedintheirnaturalform.Themostobviousnaturalresourcethatiscommonlyusedbybusinessestoproduceproductsorservicesisland.Agriculturalbusinessesrelyonlandtogrowcrops.Otherbusinessesrelyonlandtoestablishasitefortheirproductionorservices.7

Humanresourcesarethepeoplewhoareabletoperformworkforabusiness.They

maycontributetoproductionbyusingtheirphysicalabilities,suchasworkinginafactorytoconstructaproduct.Alternatively,theymaycontributebyusingtheirmentalabilities,suchasproposingachangeintheexistingproductionprocessormotivatingotherworkers.8

Capitalincludesmachinery,equipment,tools,andphysicalfacilities.Allofthesetypesofcapitalarecommonlyusedbyhumanresourcestoproduceproducts.Physicalfacilitiesaretypicallynecessarytoproducemanyservicesaswellasproducts.9

Technologycanbedefinedasknowledgeortoolsusedtoproduceproductsorservices.TheInternet,informationtechnologyandartificialintelligencearetheobviousexamplesoftechnology.Byusingtechnologytoimprovetheircapital,manybusinessesareabletoproduceproductsandservicesmorequicklyandatahigherquality.Thus,theyarebetterabletomeettheneedsofconsumers.10

Entrepreneurshipinvolvesthecreationofbusinessideasandthewillingnesstoacceptrisk.Entrepreneursattempttoidentifybusinessopportunities.Whentheyfindone,theyinvestsomeoftheirownmoneytocreateabusinesswiththeexpectationthattheywillearnadequateprofitsasarewardfortheirefforts.However,theyfacetheriskthatthe

profitsofthebusinessmaynotbeashighasexpected.Infact,ifexpensesexceedrevenue,theprofitsmaybenegativeandthebusinesscouldfail.Inafreemarketeconomy,manybusinessesmaybecreatedwithinthesameindustry,whichresultsinintensecompetition.Inthissituation,afirmthatchargestoohighapriceforitsproductorservicemayfailbecausecustomerswillswitchtoitscompetitors.Similarly,afirmthatisnotwellmanagedmayfailbecauseitsexpensesaretoohigh.Thisriskoffailurecanreducethemotivetocreateabusiness.Entrepreneursrealizethatiftheyoverestimatethepotentialprofitabilityofabusinessormanagethebusinesspoorly,theywilllosethemoneythattheyinvested.Thus,theywillincuradirectpenaltyiftheymakeabaddecision.Tolimittheirrisk,entrepreneursshouldbecautiousandrealisticbeforedecidingtoinvesttheirmoneytocreateanewbusiness.However,thoseentrepreneurswhodevelopgoodbusinessideas

thatserveconsumerneedsandwhomanagetheirbusinessefficientlymayberewardedwithlargeprofits.contribute/k?n’tr?bju:t/v.togivesomething,inordertoprovideorachievesomethingtogetherwithotherpeople貢獻(xiàn)；奉獻(xiàn)eg.這三個(gè)兒子也為家族事業(yè)做出了貢獻(xiàn)。—Thethreesonsalsocontributetothefamilybusiness.

stakeholder/’ste?kh??ld?/n.apersonsuchasanemployee,customer,orcitizenwhoisinvolvedwithanorganization,society,etc.andthereforehasresponsibilitiestowardsitandaninterestinitssuccess（組織、社團(tuán)等的）利害關(guān)系人，利益相關(guān)者—Thegovernmenthassaiditwantstocreateastakeholdereconomyinwhichallmembersofsocietyfeelthattheyhaveaninterestinitssuccess.政府表示希望建立一種人人參與的經(jīng)濟(jì)模式，讓社會(huì)全體成員覺(jué)得其繁榮將給每個(gè)人帶來(lái)利益。entrepreneurship/??ntr?pr?’n?:??p/n.thestateofbeinganentrepreneur,ortheactivitiesassociatedwithbeinganentrepreneur企業(yè)家精神eg.沒(méi)有好奇心，我們就會(huì)失去創(chuàng)新精神和企業(yè)家精神。—Withoutcuriositywewilllosethespiritofinnovationandentrepreneurship.switch/sw?t?/v.tochangesuddenlyorcompletely,especiallyfromonethingtoanother,ortoexchangebyreplacingonepersonorthingwithanother調(diào)換；轉(zhuǎn)換switchto:turnto;transforminto...轉(zhuǎn)向/切換到......eg.隨著顧客轉(zhuǎn)而從超市購(gòu)買(mǎi)牛奶，送牛奶的生意受到了威脅?！狹ilkroundsarethreatenedascustomersswitchtobuyingfromsupermarkets.StructureofTextAIntroductionABusiness:anenterprisethatprovidesproductsorservicesdesiredbycustomers.

NaturalresourcesHumanresourcesCapitalTechnologyEntrepreneurshiptoearnaprofitGoalsofaBusinessResourcesofaBusinessAproductAserviceAcustomerHowtoachieveandmaintainprofitabilityExercises第一單元32.Paraphrase:Replacetheexpressionsofthebold.(1)

Businessesareestablishedtoservetheneedsofconsumersbyownerswhoseekto

makeprofits.(2)Thus,ownerswhocreateabusinesshaveastrongincentivetoensurethatitissuccessful,astheyaredirectlyrewardedfortheirefforts.makeprofits:earnmoney;getprofits;creategainsOrganizationsarelaidouttomeettheneedsof

buyersbyownerswhotrytocreategains.haveastrongincentive:haveastrongmotivationAsaresult,ownerswhostartafirmhaveahugemotivationtomakeitbecausetheyaredirectlypaidfortheirefforts.2.Paraphrase:Replacetheexpressionsofthebold.(3)Otherbusinessesrelyonlandtoestablishasitefortheirproductionorservices.(4)Theymaycontributetoproductionbyusingtheirphysicalabilities,suchasworkinginafactorytoconstructaproduct.relyon:use;dependon;baseon;rideonOtherfirmsdependonlandtoprovidealocationfortheirmanufacturingorserviceoffering.contributeto:makeacontributionto;conducetoTheycanusetheirphysicalabilitiestomakea

contributiontoproduction,forexample,workinginafactorytoconstructaproduct.2.Paraphrase:Replacetheexpressionsofthebold.(5)Inthissituation,afirmthatchargestoohighapriceforitsproductorservicemayfailbecausecustomerswillswitchtoitscompetitors.switchto:turnto;transformintoUnderthiscircumstance,ifafirmchargestoohighapriceforitsproductorservice,theymayfailbecausecustomerswillturntoitscompetitors.3.

Vocabulary:Completethejobintroductionwiththewordsandexpressionsinthebox,andyoucanmakeyourownjobintroductiononthebasisofthewordsandexpressionsinthebox.a.workon

b.workfor

c.workunderd.workwith

e.manage

f.dealwithg.run

h.responsiblefori.inchargeof“I(1)_____alargeEuropeancarmaker.I(2)_____cardesign.Infact,I(3)_____thedesigndepartmentandI

b

a

ga.workon

b.workfor

c.workunderd.workwith

e.manage

f.dealwithg.run

h.responsiblefori.inchargeof(4)_____ateamofdesigners:20people(5)_____me.It’sveryinteresting.Oneofmymainresponsibilitiesistomakesurethatnewmodeldesignsarefinishedontime.I’malso(6)_____designingbudgets.I(7)_____alotofdifferentpeopleinthecompany.I’m(8)_____coordinationbetweendesignandproduction:I(9)_____managersatourmanufacturingplants.”

e

c

i

f

h

d4.Cloze:Decidewhichofthechoicesgivenbelowwouldbestcompletethepassageifinsertedinthecorrespondingblanks.[A]doubt

[B]active

[C]system

[D]offer

[E]unfairly

[F]unfortunately[G]motive[H]image[I]peace

[J]demand

[K]assert

[L]superior[M]overcome[N]confidence[O]roarHave?you?ever?been?afraid?to?talk?back?when?you

were?treated?(1)___??Have?you?ever?bought?something?just?because?the?salesman?talked?you?into?it??Are?you?afraid?to?asksomeoneforadate?

E[A]doubt

[B]active

[C]system

[D]offer

[E]unfairly

[F]unfortunately[G]motive[H]image[I]peace

[J]demand

[K]assert

[L]superior[M]overcome[N]confidence[O]roarManypeopleareafraidtoassertthemselves.Dr.Albertithinksit’sbecausetheirself

respectislow.“Ourwhole(2)___isdesignedtomakepeopledistrustthemselves,”saysAlberti.“There’salwaysa‘(3)___’around—aparent,ateacher,aboss—who‘knowsbetter.’Thesesuperiorsoftengainwhentheychipawayatyourself-image.”

C

L[A]doubt

[B]active

[C]system

[D]offer

[E]unfairly

[F]unfortunately[G]motive[H]image[I]peace

[J]demand

[K]assert

[L]superior[M]overcome[N]confidence[O]roarButAlbertiandotherscientistsaredoingsomethingtohelppeople(4)___themselves.They(5)___“assertivenesstraining”courses―ATforshort.IntheATcoursespeoplelearnthattheyhavearighttobethemselves.Theylearntospeakoutandfeelgoodaboutdoingso.Theylearntobemore(6)___withouthurtingotherpeople.

KDB[A]doubt

[B]active

[C]system

[D]offer

[E]unfairly

[F]unfortunately[G]motive[H]image[I]peace

[J]demand

[K]assert

[L]superior[M]overcome[N]confidence[O]roarInoneway,learningtospeakoutisto(7)___fear.Agrouptakingacoursewillhelpthetimidpersontolosehis/herfear.ButATusesanevenstronger(8)___—theneedtoshare.Thetimidpersonspeaksoutinthegroupbecausehewantstotellhowhefeels.Whetherornotyouspeakupforyourselfdependsonyourself-image.Ifsomeoneyoufaceismore“important”thanyou,youmayfeellessofaperson.

MG[A]doubt

[B]active

[C]system

[D]offer

[E]unfairly

[F]unfortunately[G]motive[H]image[I]peace

[J]demand

[K]assert

[L]superior[M]overcome[N]confidence[O]roarYoustartto(9)___yourowngoodsense.Yougobytheotherperson’s(10)

___.?But,?why?should?you??AT?says?you?can?get?tofeelgoodaboutyourself.Andonceyoudo,youcanlearntospeakout.

AJ5.

E-CTranslation:TranslatethefollowingsentencesintoChinese.(1)Askillsassessmenttestcanbeafantasticwaytouncoverhiddenopportunitiesanddirectyoutowardsaparticularcareerpath.(2)Fromearlycareerplanningtohelpfulinternships,yourfocusshouldbeonbecomingawell-roundedcollegegraduatewithaneyeonthefuture.技能評(píng)估測(cè)試有助于你挖掘潛在的機(jī)會(huì)，也是指引你走向特定職業(yè)路徑的一種非常好的方式。從早期的職業(yè)生涯規(guī)劃到成為可造之材的實(shí)習(xí)生，你應(yīng)該集中精力讓自己成為一個(gè)能夠著眼于未來(lái)的多才多藝的大學(xué)畢業(yè)生。5.

E-CTranslation:TranslatethefollowingsentencesintoChinese.(3)AreportpublishedonMondayfoundthatmanyyoungentrepreneursinChinalaunchedstart-upswithlittleexperienceorpreparation,andexpertsurgedthemtobemorerationalwithbusinessstart-ups.本周一發(fā)布的一份報(bào)告指出，國(guó)內(nèi)許多年輕創(chuàng)業(yè)者在經(jīng)驗(yàn)和準(zhǔn)備均不足的情況下創(chuàng)業(yè)，專(zhuān)家敦促他們?cè)趧?chuàng)業(yè)時(shí)應(yīng)更加理性。5.

E-CTranslation:TranslatethefollowingsentencesintoChinese.(4)Onceanemployeetakesleaveforsomedays,hisorherearningsforthemonthwillbereducedalmosttotheminimum.(5)AsurveybytheChinaYouthDailyhasrevealedthat67.1%ofpeopleseebetterpayastheprimaryincentivewhenapplyingfornewjobs.一旦員工休假幾天，他們的薪水幾乎會(huì)降至最低水平。《中國(guó)青年報(bào)》近日開(kāi)展的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查顯示，67.1%的人將更好的待遇視為其謀新職的主要?jiǎng)恿Α?.

C-ETranslation:TranslatethefollowingsentencesintoEnglishbasedonthecuewordsinbrackets.(1)他當(dāng)初上大學(xué)時(shí)主修的是商務(wù)。(majorin)(2)我們?cè)敢鉃殡p方貿(mào)易提供機(jī)會(huì)。(providefor)(3)新市長(zhǎng)被指控未能履行降低通貨膨脹率的諾言。Hehadmajoredinbusinesswhenhewasinuniversity.Wearewillingtoprovideopportunitiesfordevelopingbilateraltrade.Thenewmayorwaschargedwithfailuretofulfillhispromisetodecreasetheinflationrate.6.

C-ETranslation:TranslatethefollowingsentencesintoEnglishbasedonthecuewordsinbrackets.(4)據(jù)說(shuō)當(dāng)?shù)氐男l(wèi)生組織25年前就成立了。(itisreportedthat...)(5)我公司經(jīng)營(yíng)電子產(chǎn)品的進(jìn)出口業(yè)務(wù)，希望與貴公司建立商業(yè)聯(lián)系。(specializein...)Itisreportedthatthelocalhealthorganizationwasestablished25yearsago.Ourcorporationspecializesinimportingandexportingelectronicproductsandwishestoenterintobusinessrelationswithyou.Role-playJobinterview:Interviewaclassmateaccordingtothefollowingquestionsandmakenoteswhennecessary.1.Tellmeaboutyourself.2.Whatareyourstrengths?Bestskills?3.Whatisyourmajorweakness?4.Whatareyourcareergoals?Futureplans?5.Whatthingsaremostimportanttoyouinaworksituation?6.Ifyouhadachoice,wouldyouprefertoworkaloneoraspartofateam?Why?7.Whatareyourhobbies?8.Whatsalaryareyouexpecting?

IinterviewedJasmine.(1)Sheis20yearsoldandcomesfromWeihaicity,Shandongprovince.(2)Sheiswarm-hearted,verypositiveandakindofsunshinegirl.Sheishard-workingandoneofthetoptenstudentsinherclass.Sheisgoodatdancingandsinging.(3)Sheisnotgoodatdetailsandoftenmakesmistakesindetail-basedtaskssuchaswriting.(4)SheplanstogetaMaster’sdegreeinbusinessandworkinafamousinternationalcompanyasabusinesswoman.(5)SheReferenceKeytoRole-playlikestohaveaharmoniousworkenvironmentandthecompany’scultureisencouragingemployeestobeinnovative.(6)Shelikestobeoneoftheteambecauseateamcancompletemorechallengingtasks.(7)Herhobbyistravellingaroundtheworld.(8)Sheexpectsthesalarybetween6,000RMBand8,000RMBpermonth.ReferenceKeytoRole-playTextBBusinessCycle第一單元4QuestionsonTextB1.Summarizethemaincharacteristicsofeachphaseinabusinesscycle.2.CompletethefollowingchartwithfourphasesinabusinesscycleaccordingtoTextB.QuestionsonTextB3.Howwellistheglobaleconomydoingnow?Whataboutyourcountry?4.Whatkindsofbusinesseswoulddobetterthanothersindownturnsinthebusinesscycle?5.Canyoufigureoutwhatcausesthebusinesscycle?QuestionsonTextB1.Summarizethemaincharacteristicsofeachphaseinabusinesscycle.(1)Boom:Aneconomicboomincreasesthedemandforbothcapitalandconsumergoods.(2)Recession:Theeconomyslowsdown,andthelevelofsalesandproductionordersstartdeclining.(3)Depression:Aprotractedperiodofrecessionushersinadepression.(4)Recovery:Thisstageischaracterizedbyanincreaseinconsumers’confidenceofthemarket.QuestionsonTextB2.CompletethefollowingchartwithfourphasesinabusinesscycleaccordingtoTextB.recession,depression,recovery,boom3.Howwellistheglobaleconomydoingnow?Whataboutyourcountry?TheInternationalMonetaryFundandothershaverecentlyreviseddownwardtheirforecastsforglobalgrowth.Potentialgrowthhasalsofalleninbothadvancedandemergingeconomies.Forstarters,highlevelsofprivateandpublicdebtareconstrainingspending,especiallygrowth-enhancingcapitalspending,whichfell(asashareofGDP)aftertheQuestionsonTextBglobalfinancialcrisisandhasnotrecoveredtopre-crisislevels.Thatfall-offininvestmentimpliesslowerproductivitygrowth,whileagingpopulationsindevelopedcountries—andnowinanincreasingnumberofemergingmarkets(forexample,China,Russia,andSouthKorea)—reducethelaborinputinproduction.China’ssocialistmarketeconomyistheworld’ssecondlargesteconomybynominalGDP,andtheworld’slargesteconomybypurchasingpowerparityaccordingtotheIMF.DuetothehistoricalandpoliticalrealitiesofChina’sdevelopingeconomy,China’spublicsectoraccountsforabiggershareofthenationaleconomythantheQuestionsonTextBburgeoningprivatesector.Chinaisaglobalhubformanufacturing,andisthelargestmanufacturingeconomyintheworldaswellasthelargestexporterofgoodsintheworld.Chinaisalsotheworld’sfastest-growingconsumermarketandsecondlargestimporterofgoodsintheworld.Chinaisanetimporterofserviceproducts.Asof2016,Chinaisthesecondlargesttradingnationintheworldandplaysaprominentroleininternationaltrade,andhasincreasinglyengagedintradeorganizationsandtreatiesinrecentyears.QuestionsonTextB4.Whatkindsofbusinesseswoulddobetterthanothersindownturnsinthebusinesscycle?Somebusinesses(likehousing)andregions(likepartsoftheindustrialMidwest)arealreadyinrecession.Othersmayfeellittleornoimpactfromthecurrenteconomicdownturn,whichmayormaynotturnouttohavebeenarecessionwhenalltheeconomicdataarecollectedinafewmonths.Somebusinessesaremorevulnerabletorecessionthanothers.Carmakers,forexample,oftensufferbadlybecausebuyingacarisusuallyalonger-termdecision.Whentimesgetbad,peopletendtoputoffbuyinganewcaraslongastheycan.Otherbusinessesaresaidtobe“recession-proof”(thoughfewreallyare).Funeralhomedirectorsandaccountants,forexample,cansafelyassumearecessionwon’thavemuchimpactondeathandtaxes.Butthelistofreliablyrecession-proofbusinessesisprettyshort.Since70percentoftheU.S.economyreliesonconsumerspending—andconsumerstypicallycutbackwhenarecessionhits—therearefewconsistentlysafesheltersfromthestormofaseriousdownturn.Onewaytothinkaboutwhichbusinessesfacethegreatestriskistoask:Whatproductsandservicesarepeoplegoingtocontinuetobuyevenifthere’sarecession?Healthcarecompaniesgenerallydowellbecausepeoplegetsickjustasmuchinarecession(sometimesmore)astheydowhentimesaregood.Eveninarecession,youcan’tdrycleanyourclothesathome,andpeoplestillneedtobuycarinsurance.QuestionsonTextB5.Canyoufigureoutwhatcausesthebusinesscycle?(1)EconomicDisturbances.Adisturbancetotheeconomyimpactstherateofemployment.Forexample,duringwar,thedemandformaterialstofightthewarincreases,resultinginincreasedemployment.Theincreasedemploymenttranslatestoanincreaseinspending,bothpubliclyandprivately.Whenpeoplearespendingmore,theneedforproductsandservicesrisesaswell.Conversely,ifspendingdecreases,sodoestheneedforproduction.Acurtailmentofgovernmentspendingorawaveofpessimismamongconsumersresultsinaneconomicdownturnorarecession.QuestionsonTextB5.Canyoufigureoutwhatcausesthebusinesscycle?(2)EconomicPolicies.WhentheFederalReservemakesamovethataffectsthesizeandgrowthrateofthemoneystock,itimpactsinterestrates.Achangeininterestratescanaffectbusinessandconsumerspending.Businessesmaypullbackbuildingplansifoverallcostsriseasaresultofthehigherinterestthatnowmustbepaidonloans.Likewise,consumersmaypostponetheirpurchasesiftheyneedtotakealoanout.Ifinterestratescomedown,consumerandbusinessspendingwilllikelyincreasebecauseofloweroverallcosts.Thedemandforproductswillincrease,andmoreworkerswillbeneededforproduction.QuestionsonTextB5.Canyoufigureoutwhatcausesthebusinesscycle?(3)SupplyShocks.Whentheavailabilityofrawmaterialscomesintoquestion,adownturninthebusinesscyclemayresult.Naturaldisasters,weathereventsorinternationalconflictsarealllikelyculpritsinthisscenario.ConflictsintheMiddleEastaffectoilandgasproduction,whilehurricanesandearthquakesdisrupttheflowofrawmaterialsneededforproductionincertainmanufacturingsectors.Similarly,newtechnologyandinnovationcanleadtotheobsolescenceofolderoroutdatedproducts.Thedemandforthenewtechnologyrises,whileworkersaredisplacedbecausethemanufacturingoftheobsoleteitemscomestoanend.5.Canyoufigureoutwhatcausesthebusinesscycle?(4)Measurement.Theterm“cycle”canbemisleadingwhenreferringtoabusinesscycle.Acycletypicallyflowsandebbswithsomeregularity,likeatide.Butbusinesscyclescanoccurforanumberofreasonsandatanytime,andthedurationcanfluctuate.Analystsmeasureacyclebeginningwiththefirstsignsofchangeineconomicactivity.Thepeakofthecycleisthelastmonthbeforekeyeconomicindicatorsstarttodrop.Theindicatorsincludeemployment,productionoutputandretailsales.Thetroughofthecycleisthelastmonthbeforethesesameindicatorsbegintoriseagain.Certainmodern-dayeconomistsprefertousetheterm“short-runeconomicfluctuations”asopposedtosayingbusinesscycles.