Consumer Protection

A consumer is a person who buys and uses goods or services to satisfy his or her needs (things that are necessary for survival, such as food, clothing, and shelter) and wants (things which are not necessary for survival, but which add pleasure and comfort to our lives). We all are consumers. We buy products and services every day. We buy snacks, clothing, books, pay bills, etc. As consumers, we are very important to business and the economy. The buying decisions we make can lead to either success or failure of many businesses. Consumers’ wants and needs guide business practices. As a result, businesses expand great efforts to attract and pleasure consumers.

However, the rather pleasant relationship that is enjoyed by businesses and consumers now was not always so. Consumers were often cheated in many ways and there was nowhere to complain about the offending businesses. It was not until the middle of the 20^th century that consumer movements to fight against unfair business practices started in America. In 1962 Consumer Bill of Rights was presented to Congress. Later on two more rights were added to the original four. They declared that every consumer had the following rights:

Ø the right to be informed – to be given the correct information needed to make a choice;

Ø the right to safety – to be protected from harmful goods and services;

Ø the right to choose – to be assured of the availability of a variety of goods and services at competitive prices;

Ø the right to be heard – to be assured that consumer interests will be fully considered by government when laws are being developed and enforced.

Ø the right to a remedy – the assurance of the right to legal correction of wrongs committed against consumers;

Ø the right to consumer education – to learn about consumer rights and responsibilities as economic citizens.

These rights underline many other countries’ consumer rights protection policies, Ukraine included, where there are eight following rights, basically covering the same points. In Ukraine every consumer has the right to:

1. state protection in case their consumer rights being violated;

2. guarantee the level of consumption;

3. the proper quality of goods and services;

4. safety of goods and services;

5. be given the true information about the goods and services, their quality, quantity, variety and the manufacturer (the employee of the business, the salesperson);

6. a remedy or legal correction of wrongs committed to consumers through goods or services;

7. be heard in the court or other appropriate state agencies in case your consumer rights being violated;

8. unite into consumer unions.

3. Answer the following questions:

1. Who is a consumer?

2. What is the difference between wants and needs?

3. Where can buying decisions we make lead to?

4. Why was it necessary to declare consumers’ rights?

5. When was Consumer Bill of Right presented to Congress?

6. What does the right to be informed mean?

7. What does the right to a remedy mean?

8. How can you define the right to consumer education?

9. Is it important to have a right to unite into consumer unions? Why?

10. What rights does every consumer in Ukraine have?

4. Give Ukrainian equivalents of the following:

correct information, competitive prices, to underline, to protect, to cover the same point, availability, to attract and please consumers, unfair business practice, consumer movements, wrongs, to add pleasure and comfort, in many ways, pleasant relationship, original, to lead to either success or failure, consumer unions, to be protected from, safety of goods, to state protection, consumer rights, to violate, to unite.

5. Give English equivalents of the following:

закони, різноманітність, боротися проти, юридичне виправлення, працівник, відповідна якість, сплачувати рахунки, вести бізнес, помилки вчинені проти споживачів, відповідальність, речі необхідні для виживання, обирати, впевненість, бути почутим в суді, обманювати, приваблювати і задовольняти споживачів, навчання споживачів, бути поінформованим, громадянин, втілювати в життя, оголошувати, захист, правове врегулювання, відшкодування.

6. Match and learn the synonyms:

A: to make a choice, level, to unite, proper, salesperson, pleasure, goods, mistake, to guide, to assure, consumer, to declare, safety;

B: satisfaction, products, to announce, protection, stage, to choose, wrong, seller, to lead, appropriate, to guarantee, customer, to incorporate.

7. Match and learn the opposites:

A: legal, safety, pleasant, success, fair, to unite, correct, to expand, useful, true, state, to cheat, to complain, competitive, to satisfy;

B: uncompetitive, to ignore, harmful, false, private, unpleasant, to tell the truth, failure, wrong, unfair, illegal, to agree, to separate, danger, to narrow.

8. Complete the sentences using the proper words from the list below:

To be heard, state agencies, protection, consumers, to attract, cheated, wants and needs, violated, laws

1. Consumers were often … in many ways and there was nowhere to complain about the offending businesses. 2. We have a right to be heard in the court or other appropriate … … in case your consumer rights being …. 3. As … we are very important to business and the economy. 4. Consumers’ … … guide business practices. 5. The right … … means to be assured that consumer interests will be fully considered by government when … are being developed and enforced. 6. Businesses expand great efforts … and pleasure consumers. 7. We have a right to state … in case our consumer rights being violated.

9. Put questions to the words in italics:

1. A consumer is a person who buys and uses goods or services tosatisfy his or her needs and wants. 2. In 1962 Consumer Bill of Rights was presented to Congress. 3. It was not until the middle of the 20^th century that consumer movements to fight against unfair business practices started in America. 4. One of the most important in the list of consumers’ rights is the right to the proper quality of goods and services. 5. Needs are things that are necessary for survival, such as food, clothing, and shelter. 6. The buying decisions we make can lead to either success or failure of many businesses. 7. Wants are things which are not necessary for survival, but which add pleasure and comfort to our lives.

10. Match consumers’ rights in column A with their meaning in column B:

A	B
the right to be informed	to be protected from harmful goods and services;
the right to safety	the assurance of the right to legal correction of wrongs committed against consumers;
the right to choose	to learn about consumer rights and responsibilities as economic citizens.
the right to be heard	to be given the correct information needed to make a choice;
the right to a remedy	to be assured that consumer interests will be fully considered by government when laws are being developed and enforced.
the right to consumer education	to be assured of the availability of a variety of goods and services at competitive price;

11. Translate into English:

1. Право бути проінформованим означає, що ви отримуєте достовірну інформацію для того, щоб зробити вибір. 2. Споживач - це особа, яка купує і використовує товари чи послуги, щоб задовольнити свої потреби. 3. Підприємство докладає великих зусиль, щоб привабити і задовольнити споживачів. 4. В Україні, кожен споживач має право на товари та послуги відповідної якості. 5. Ми, як споживачі, маємо право об’єднуватись у спілки споживачів. 6. Рішення про купівлю, які ми приймаємо, можуть призвести або до успіху або до занепаду бізнесу. 7. Потреби – це речі, які є необхідними для нашого виживання, такі як: їжа, одяг, притулок. 8. Споживачів часто обманювали різними способами, але їм нікуди було скаржитись. 9. Бажання - це речі, які не є необхідними для нашого виживання, але додають задоволення і комфорту нашому життю. 10. Право на відшкодування означає впевненість у юридичному врегулюванні помилок, вчинених проти споживача.

Grammar: Appendix #5

v Participle

Exercise 12. Write down the following verbs in Present and Past Participle form:

to stop, to cut, to forget, to begin, to order, to study, to open, to play, to develop, to write, to give, to lie.

Exercise 13. Choose the correct form of the participle and translate the sentences:

1. (Selecting, being selected, selected) a new market the marketer must carry out marketing research. 2. When (producing, produced, having produced) new goods the manufacturer must know the potential customer. 3. (Having determined, having been determined, determined) the customers’ needs we modifier the product. 4. The product (promoting, being promoted, having promoted) by the company is an innovation. 5. (Coming, having come, came) to the office we were shown our new partners. 6. (Having filled, filled, having been filled) water glasses, we were waiting for some surprise. 7. When (praising, praised, having praised), he managed to do anything.

Exercise 14. Define the forms of the participles in bold types:

1. While correcting the managers’ instructions, the director underlined the most important points.2. Being corrected by the director regularly, the instructions are very important to the employees.3. Having corrected the managers’ instructions, the director returned them to the managers.4. Having been corrected by the director yesterday, the managers’ instructions will be returned to them today.

Exercise 15. Make up several sentences from each table:

He\She They

bought sold offered

a product items a good

providing high efficiency. being in great demand. satisfying the customers’ needs. being advertised. guaranteeing high salaries.

He\She They

paid introduced discussed bought evaluated

the opportunities for the goods the decisions new products some goods

offered by the contract. bought on hire purchase. produced by this company. made by the manager. delivered by the firm.

Determining the best strategy Improving the quality Developing marketing techniques Purchasing the goods Introducing a new product

He\She They

choose the best market determine the customers’ needs achieve organizational goals provide the competitive status of the goods consider new trends

Exercise 16. Transform the sentences according to the model:

Model: The employee who is speaking to the secretary is my best friend.

The employee speaking to the secretary is my best friend.

1. Her last projects that we discussed a month ago are very interesting. 2. The man who is waiting there is our new colleague. 3. People who are talking in the hall are our foreign partners. 4. A student who is making a report at the conference is the best in our group. 5. Our new contracts that managers signed are very important.

Model: While they were traveling in America they visited New York and Chicago

While traveling in America they visited New York and Chicago.

1. While the employees of our department were passing the interview in English they had to answer many questions. 2. While our chief accountant was preparing a report she used many new data. 3. While partners were driving to the railway station they got into a traffic jam. 4. While we were discussing some contract points we wrote a letter to our partners. 5. While the president was looking through the papers he prepared the report to the meeting.

Model: As John was very tired he couldn’t finish the work in time.

Being very tired John couldn’t finish the work in time.

1. As he felt home sick he decided to return home from his holiday trip. 2. As she did so she went out of the office. 3. As I knew him well I didn’t tell him the truth about my business. 4. As she was a well-educated person she published a lot of articles on marketing. 5. As we were interested in their project we made them an offer.

Exercise 17. Define forms and functions of the participles. Translate the sentences:

1. We think this new applicant is not capable of doing any harm to our business. 2. The director refrained from mentioning the names of foreign partners. 3. When walking to the office, the participants of the conference were talking about their business. 4. Everybody laughed at his answer and walked on, leaving him alone. 5. While giving applicants some advice, we noticed our chief in the lounge. 6. We watched the secretary with the luggage running to the station. 7. Being very clever our head of the department made some important decisions.

Exercise 18. Translate into English:

1. Всі наші партнери працюють в корпораціях, що знаходяться в західних країнах. 2. Проводячи ринкове дослідження, ми визначаємо потреби споживачів. 3. Проголосивши результати експерименту, він поздоровив всіх учасників. 4. Ми чули, як рада директорів сперечалась щодо умов контракту. 5. Переглянувши всі каталоги, ми вирішили зробити декілька замовлень. 6. Товари, які виробляються нашою філією, користуються попитом у сільського населення. 7. Продавши весь товар, фірма забезпечила вчасну доставку. 8. Так як все було готове для перемовин, ми могли розпочинати зустріч. 9. Зайшовши до офісу, ми побачили що все змінилось на краще. 10. Наші італійські партнери будуть постачати товар за цінами зазначеними в останньому варіанті угоди.

UNIT 6

“A successful business needs strong competition”

Alfred Sloan. (1875 – 1966) -

a long-time President and Chairman of General Motors

Market structure and Competition: Market Leaders, Challengers and Followers

1. Read and learn the following words and word combinations:

market leader – лідер на ринку(має найбільшу частку на ринку);

challenger [´t∫ælindʒə] – претендент на більшу частку на ринку;

follower [´folouə]– послідовник, прихильник (не створює своєї власної ніші на ринку);

at least [li:st] – принаймні;

entire [in´taiə] – цілий, суцільний, повний;

current [´kΛrənt] – поточний;

contrary to – всупереч, протилежно до, навпаки;

belief [bi´li:f] – довіра, думка, переконання;

to enrich [in´rit∫]– збагачувати, підвищувати;

distinct [dis´tiŋkt]– певний, чіткий, окремий;

car hire business – оренда автомобілів;

to attempt – намагатись, пробувати;

merely [´miəli] – просто, тільки, лише;

threat [θret] – загроза, погроза;

niche [nit∫]; [ni:∫] – ніша, притулок, куток;

because of – через, з-за;

differential [¸difə´ren∫l] – відмінний, характерний;

vulnerable [´vΛlnərəbl] – уразливий, ранимий;

in fact – дійсно, насправді, фактично;

soft drinks – безалкогольні напої;

flexible [´fleksəbl] – гнучкий;

narrow range – тут: обмежений вибір;

to cause [ko:z] - спричиняти, викликати, призвести;

fluctuation [¸flΛktju´ei∫n] – коливання;

turnover – обіг, плинність;

recession [ri´se∫n] – спад (виробництва), уповільнення розвитку, відхилення;

psychological [¸saikə´lodʒikəl] – психологічний;

2. Read and translate the text:

Market Structure and Competition: Market Leaders, Challengers and Followers

In most markets there is a definite market leader: the firm with the largest market share. This is often the first company to have entered the field, or at least the first to have succeeded in it. The market leader is frequently able to lead other firms in the introduction of new products, in price changes, in the level or intensity of promotions.

Market leaders usually want to increase their market share even further, or at least to protect their current market share. One way to do this is to try to find ways to increase the size of the entire market. Contrary to a common belief, wholly dominating a market, or having a monopoly, is seldom an advantage: competitors expand markets and find new uses and users for products, which enriches everyone in the field, but the market leader more than its competitors. A market can also be expanded by stimulating more usage: for example, many households no longer have only one radio or cassette player, but perhaps one in each room, one in the car, plus a minidisc player etc.

In many markets, there is often a distinct market challenger, with the second-largest market share. In the car hire business, the challenger actually advertises this fact: for many years Avis used the slogan “We’re number two. We try harder.” Market challengers can either attempt to attack the leader, or to increase their market share by attacking various market followers.

The majority of companies in any industry are merely market followers which present no threat to the leader. Many market followers concentrate on market segmentation: finding a profitable niche in the market that is not satisfied by other goods and services, and that offers growth potential or gives the company a differential advantage because of its specific competencies.

A market follower which does not establish its own niche is in a vulnerable position: if its product does not have a “unique selling proposition” there is no reason for anyone to buy it. In fact, in most established industries, there is only room for two or three major companies: think of soft drinks, soap and washing powders, jeans, sports shoes, and so on. Although small companies are generally flexible, and can quickly respond to market conditions, their narrow range of customers causes problematic fluctuations in turnover and profit. Furthermore, they are vulnerable in a recession when, largely for psychological reasons, distributors, retailers and customers all prefer to buy from big, well-known suppliers.

3. Answer the following questions:

1. How do we call the firm with the largest market share?

2. What is the market leader able to do?

3. How can market leaders increase their market share?

4. Who can become market leader?

5. What do competitors do?

6. What way can market be expanded by?

7. Who is a market challenger?

8. What can market challengers do in the market?

9. Who is a market follower?

10. What do market followers do in the market?

4. Give Ukrainian equivalents of the following:

definite market leader, at least, to have succeeded, frequently, price changes, intensity of promotions, to increase, current, recession, further, to try to find, entire market, contrary to, niche, car hire business, to advertise, market challenger, narrow range, to cause, majority of, to present no threat, market segmentation, market share, soft drinks.

5. Give English equivalents of the following:

частка на ринку, представляти новий продукт, рівень просування товару, захищати, намагатись знайти спосіб, рідко, перевага, користувачі, збагачувати, більше не…, рекламувати, більшість, зосередитись, зростаючий потенціал, встановлювати, немає причин, розподіл ринку, послідовник, коливання, обіг, унікальний, пральний порошок, спортивне взуття, обмежений вибір.

6. Match and learn synonyms:

A: advertising, to be able to, definite, advantage, household, in fact, washing powder, well-known, profit, merely;

B: simply, famous, income, soap powder, particular, benefit, promotion, can, family, actually.

7. Match and learn opposites:

A: seldom, definite, to expand, well-known, advantage, retailer, growth, flexible, to buy, profitable, to increase;

B: decline, inflexible, wholesaler, disadvantage, unknown, to narrow, often, to sell, indefinite, unprofitable, to decrease.

8. Complete the following sentences translating the phrases in brackets:

1. (Ринок може бути розширений) by stimulating more usage. 2. There is a definite market leader in most countries: (фірма з найбільшими ринковими паями на ринку). 3. Market leaders usually want to (захищати свої поточні ринкові частки). 4. (Конкуренти розширяють ринки) and find new uses and users for products. 5. Many market followers (зосереджуються на ринковій сегментації). 6. Small companies are generally flexible, and (можуть швидко реагувати на умови ринку). 7. (Єдиним шляхом зробити це) is to find ways to increase the size of the entire market.

9. Put questions to the words in the italics:

1. Market followers often concentrate on profitable niche products. 2. The first company in a particular market nearly always becomes the market leader. 3. Many householders no longer have only one radio or cassette player.4. The majority of companies in any industry are merely market followers. 5. Leaders are frequently able to lead other firms in the introduction of new products, in price changes. 6. Challengers can increase their market share by attacking various market followers.7. All marketers face the question of how to best allocate their advertising budgets.

10. Define the following terms on the basis of the text:

market, market leader, niche, market challenger, market follower, market share.

11. Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Які бренди напоїв та їжі ви зазвичай вживаєте?2. Маркетологи досліджують бажання та попит на товари та послуги споживачів на ринку.3. Торгові агенти, торговці в роздріб та споживачі переважно купують товари у крупних та відомих постачальників.4. Щоб продати продукт, необхідно зробити гарну рекламу.5. Ви повинні принаймні захистити свої інтереси на ринку товарів та послуг.6. Малі компанії, зазвичай, гнучкі та швидко реагують на зміни на ринку.7. Необхідно стимулювати споживання, щоб розширити ринок.8. Хто представляє новий продукт на ринку?9. З якої причини ви купуєте товари відомих виробників?10. Ми будемо купувати товари вітчизняного виробника, щоб підтримати економіку України.

Grammar: Appendix #6

v Gerund