1、Unit 11 setting up a business 设立企业1Unit 11 Setting up a Business设立企业Key Vocabulary重要词汇Many large business in the UK are public limited companies (plc) 1, which means that the public can buy and sell their shares on the stock exchange. Examples include Marks they have limited liability 6. Such a comp
2、any has Ltd (Limited) after its name.私人有限公司或者有限责任公司由至少二个股东来组成。需有理事及高层管理人员。如果公司倒闭，每个股东只需承担一定的风险和负债责任，他们的偿债责任是有限度的。这类公司一般在公司名称后面加上“有限公司”字样。Unit 11 setting up a business 设立企业2In the US, businesses take the same forms. However, American companies are registered or incorporated with the authorities in th
3、e state where they have their headquarters. The abbreviations Inc and Corp refer to such companies. To sell shares to the public they must apply to the Securities Exchange Commission7.美国的企业也是采用以上的经营模式。但是，美国公司需要在总部所在的州政府注册登记。这类公司在公司名称后面以 Inc 和 Corp 结尾。如果要发行股票的话，他们需要首先向证券交易委员会提示申请。重要词汇备注：1 public limi
4、ted companies (plc) 股份有限公司2 Marks “If we got the timing wrong, it was six to nine months, not a year,“ he says.富斯德对下面一个市场趋势没有很好的预测到并最终导致致命的后果,即：IBM 计算机兼容系统的兴起，它开创了微软 MS-DOS 操作系统的新版本，拥有自有的芯片硬件。富斯德承认他在向 IBM 标准转变的操作上有所延误，并说道“如果说我们错失良机的话，那么不是1 年，而是 3 到 9 个月的问题” （这段本人真心不会翻译，请大家原谅，希望不会考到，会的同学请补充）But it wa
5、s too late. Margins on the Apricot computer began to be squeezed following the rise of cost-efficient, PC-Clone manufacturers like Compaq Computer Corp. Sales stagnated in 1986 at around 100 m ($164 m), the high set in 1985. ACTs profit of more than 10.5 m in 1985 turned into a loss of 15 m in 1986,
6、 as the company Unit 11 setting up a business 设立企业5abandoned its non-IBM-compatible inventory4.但是已为时太晚了。随着成本的增加以及诸如康柏电脑公司提供的电脑组装费用的增长，Apricot 电脑的利润日趋减少.销售额于 1986 年停滞在 1 亿英镑（约合 1 亿 6 千 4 百万美元） ，与 1985 年持平。ACT 在 1985 年盈利 1050 万英镑，但到 1986 年却损失 1500 万英镑，原因是公司放弃了非 IBM 兼容的股票。In the end, ACT was forced to
7、sell the Apricot business. Foster had plans to pursue Financial software was the next wave to catch. He went on a buying spree5, adding three financial software companies. ACTs sales soared to 200m in the early 1990s-making it one of the biggest players in its niche.最后，ACT 被迫变卖 Apricot. 富斯德计划下一步继续他的
8、财务软件业务，这个计划掀起了下一个产业风波。他采取短期收购的方案，加创了三个财务软件公司。ACT 的销售额因此于 20 世纪 90 年代骤升到 2 亿英镑-令其在当时成为了最大的赢家。Fleeting victory短胜即逝The companys financial products division was in trouble, mostly due to poor sales. ACT embarked on6 restructuring. The move led to two sudden profit warnings in 1995; the companys shares s
9、lumped. The boardroom was paralysed by infighting between Foster and his managing director. Mike Hart.ACT 公司的财务软件产品一度了出现危机，主要是因为销量不好， ACT 因此开始重组。但这一举措在 1995 年带来了二次利润冲击：公司的股价下降以及董事会内由于监事麦克.豪特与富斯德二派争斗而一度限入瘫痪的局面.Seeing ACTs weak financial position, Misys PLC, a UK software house, stepped in, and bought
10、 the company for 212 m in 1995.Misy，一家英国的经营软件服务的股份制有限公司，看中了 ACT 在财务上的不足，于 1995年出资 2 亿 1 千 2 百万英镑收购了 ACT.Fosters latest brainchild is Financial Objects, founded in October 1995. The company is compiling a library of software components that companies can then slot together as they wish, something lik
11、e Lego software.富斯德最新的计划是建立一个叫“财务对象”的公司，该公司于 1995 年 10 月份创立。这家公司正在编译一个软件构件的库，其它的客户公司可以通过这个库来对他们所希望编辑的数据进行编排，类似的软件如：乐高软件.Foster claims: “In 10 to 15 years, software will be a commodity7 , just like the PC now. We want to be the company with the largest set of banking components in the Microsoft world
12、. We can do dominant for ten years if we do it.“富斯德声称：“在 10 到 15 年内，软件将会像个人电脑一样成为一种商品，我们公司将致力成为一家在微软件界最大的软件公司。如果我们放手去做的话，我们可以持续 10 年引领行业先锋”.Unit 11 setting up a business 设立企业6The company is the second-largest in its field in the UK, behind Misys-but thats a pretty small field. Last year, it posted s
13、ales of 15.5m and made a small profit. Foster remains confident-but he stresses that he doesnt need the money;“Its my swansong8. I dont want other directorships and to go to a board meeting every other month.“该公司是英国同类行业中仅次于 Misys 名列第二位-不过，这个行业范畴并不大。该公司去年的销售额为 1550 万英镑并且有小额盈利。富斯德信心尚存-但是他强调，他不需要钱：“这是我
14、最后的杰作，我不想要董事职位，也不想每隔一个月参加董事会.”Would he ever leave Financial Objects in the same way he left Apricot and ACT ? “Financial Objects has the potential to grow at 30% to 40% as far as the eye can see, and I want to take it all the way .“He predicts. But he adds, “maybe there a size at which it is time to
15、 move.“ 富斯德以后会像离开 Apricot 和 ACT 一样离开“财务对象”公司吗？他预测“财务对象就目前发展的趋势来看，还有 30% 到 40%的潜在成长空间，我会一直做下去。 ”但是，他同时也补充说道“也许，等发展到一定程度，它也会有必要进行转变的.”重要词汇备注：1 prolific: producing a lot 多产的，许多2 a household name: a very famous person 家喻户晓的人名3 Back-office: administrative 办公事务管理4 An inventory: the stock a company has at a particular time 公司在特定时期的股票5A buying spree: a short, intensive period of buying 短期并且密集型采购6A embark on : to start 开始7A commodity: a product that can be sold 商品8A swansong: a persons last piece of work 一个人平生最后的著作
