If the shop sells a customer faulty goods, it has broken its side of the bargain.

If goods are faulty when a customer first inspects or uses them, he should go back to the shop, say that he cancels the purchase and should ask for complete refund. If he prefers, he can accept a repair or a replacement.

If goods break down through no fault of a consumer, after he has used them for a time, he may still be entitled to some compensation. In some cases it would be reasonable to expect a complete refund. The customer and the supplier must negotiate a reasonable settlement.

There are four golden rules:

Examine the goods your buy at once. If there are faulty, tell the seller quickly.

Keep any receipts you are given. If you have to return something, the receipt will help to prove where and when you bought it.

Don’t be afraid to complain. You are not asking a favour to have faulty goods put right. The law is on your side.

Be persistent. If your complaint is justified, it is somebody’s responsibility to put things right.

20. Costs of economic growth. Labor problems.

One of the advantages of economic growth is the creation of new jobs. Some people have jobs that did not exist 20 years ago. Part of them makes their living operating the computers. Millions of workers have jobs that computers have made easier.

However, the introduction of computers spelled unemployment for many workers, for example for typesetters. It also cut the managers’ stuff, make the management easier. Unemployment is the most undesirable consequence of economic growth. Unemployment causes social and economic problems.

Social problems are that unemployeds who have been mild mannered loose their temper. They feel they are unnecessary.

Those who lost their jobs being in their forties or fifties hardly ever find new full-time job with a former salary. Many of the workers take jobs delivering flowers, polishing glass, stock-clerking, or driving taxes. Others do such odd jobs as painting and home repairs to earn income. Some of them try retraining programs, but find that employers are reluctant to hire older, experienced persons as beginners.

1. Retraining in new skills is only one solution to the problem, and not a simple one. Retraining is more useful to the young than to the old.

№ 21. Annual report of a company.

Just as teachers send out report cards to the Dean’s office each term, corporations issue annual reports summarizing the progress made last year. Stockholders and potential investors use the annual report to evaluate the performance of corporation.

The annual report is a message to the stockholders-the owners-of a corporation from the corporate management. The report tells the stockholders the company’s financial status at the end of the fiscal year and what the management sees for the future. Also, the annual report fulfils a legal requirement. The Securities and Exchange Commission a federal agency in the USA requires corporations to publish financial information about their firm. With such information, investors can make educated decisions.

Annual reports of company generally are divided into two sections. The first section contains a letter to the stockholders from the chief executive officer of a company. Accompanying this letter summarising the company’s performance is a chart of financial highlights. Also frequently included in the first section is an overview of the company’s organization. The second section includes statistics on the company’s performance. Most of the information appears in charts and graphs.

For example, the balance sheet is a chart that includes the assets (items of value the company owns) and it’s liabilities (debts or claims against the assets of the company). The balance sheet represents the financial picture of the firm at the instant in time. The income statement shows the profit or loss of the company for the year. This chart reports the income the company received from sales, interest, and other sources. The operating costs – salaries, advertising, maintenance – deducted from income total the profit or loss. The statement of stockholders’ investment, or equity includes information on the company’s stock such as number of shares outstanding and issued.

Various parts of the annual report can be used to determine whether a company is profitable. In addition to reporting on this current year, most companies include in their annual reports comparisons of the current year and the prior year’s financial information. Also important to stockholders and investors is the company’s return on sales. For example, if a firm sold $1 mln. worth of its products and its profit was $100,000; return on sales would be 10%.

So we can say that annual reports help us to understand financial status of the firm in the end of the fiscal year and to make educated decisions- invest in company our capital or not.

22. Financing a loan.

Borrowing money to buy an expensive item become more and more common nowadays. What is more you may be financing a loan during the next several years. However, financing a loan is not as simply as it seems to be.

Borrowing intelligently requires an understanding of the three basic steps to negotiate a loan. Firstly, you should compare car loan sources. Secondly, it is necessary to compute interest. Thirdly, you should determine repayment time.

Numerous loan sources are available to borrowers. Loans for major purchases can be obtained from credit unions, banks, finance companies, or, for cars, the car dealers. If all other factors are equal, your choice will depend on which source will charge the lowest rate of interest.

Interest rate is one important factor that affects the cost of a loan. There are two basic methods of figuring interest – simple and compound. Using the simple method, the borrower repays the principal – the amount borrowed – and interest in one single payment to the lender. The repayment schedule for most loans actually is calculated by using compound interest – the add-on method. Payments are broken into even parts and that portion of interest and principal is paid back each month. Using the add-on method, the borrower must know the annual percentage rate or total finance charge on the loan rather than just the loan interest as in simple interest. Indeed, it is not necessary to know how to calculate the APR. By law the lender must tell the borrower the rate. Using the APR as a guideline, borrowers can more easily decide which loan is best suited to their purposes.

As to other factor that influences the cost of a loan it the length of time before the loan is completely repaid. Borrowers tend to see the lower monthly payments on longer-term loans as advantage. Although, borrowers often fail to realize that a longer repayment time increases the total cost of the loan

№23. The company's structure and development on the basis of "Harper and Grant Ltd."

The company of Harper & Grant Ltd. was started forty-two years ago by Ambrose Harper and Wingate Grant. Wingate Grant died many years ago, and his son Hector  is the present Managing Director. Ambrose Harper is the Chairman. He is very old man and he  comes to attend the board meetings and keep an eye on the business.

The company started by making steel wastepaper bins for offices. These wastepaper bins are more safer than the old type of basket made of cane or straw. Wingate Grant captured a big contract with government offices.

From wastepaper bins, Harper & Grant began to manufacture other items of office equipment: desks, chairs, cupboards, filing cabinets and smaller objects, such as filing trays, stapling machines and so on, until now when there are fifty-six different items listed in their catalogue. All items are made of pressed steel.

The factory consists of. These are divided into the Tool Room, Works Stores, Press Shop, Machine Shops, Assembly Shop, Paint Shop, Inspection, Packing and Despatch Departments. There is also the Warehouse.

The firm has a history of slow, steady growth. But Peter Wiles - Production Manager, and John Martin - Sales Manager think that they should be more adventurous. They want modernising a business by using modern things to run a business such as electronic data processing, Discounted Cash Flow, budgetary control, corporate planning, P.E.R.T. (Project Evaluation and Review Technique), automa­tion, etc.  Harper & Grant Ltd., like their rivals, must get right up-to-date and enlarge their business, or they will be outpaced by a firm whose business organisation is better than their own.