Riassunto esame Lingua e cultura inglese I, prof. Fusco

TAKEOVER AND MARGERS CAN CAUSE CONCERN TO THE TARGET COMPANIES AND

THEIR WORKFORCES.

Competition Commission

A has been set up to monitor this situation by preventing any

one group from forming a monopoly

or creating unfair trading conditions.

Director General of Fair

to the

It examines the PLANS and REPORTS

Trading ,who may rule against the proposed takeover or marger.

Board of Directors

However the daily organization of the buisnesses is left to a under a

chairperson or managing director.

Industries were situated in areas where

1- there was access to natural resourches

2- transport system

3-where there was often only one major industry.

Many manifacturing industries failed to adapt to new markets and demands, did not produce goods

efficently and cheaply enough to compete and priced themselves out of the world market.

Helped by European Unions grants, governements tried to rivitalize depressed areas with:

financial aid

1. the creation of new buisnesses.

2.

These policies have gradually had a positive effect in places like Liverpool, Glasgow, Belfast, Britain's

principal exports are manifactured goods, fuels, chemicals, food, beverages and tobacco.

SOCIAL CLASS

SOCIAL MOBILITY very low and difficult.

seems to be still

CLASS DIVISION remains a controversial and perculiar aspect of English society.

high levels of inequality.

According to the critics, this system is based on

British class system divided the population into:

the aristocracy the middle class and the working class.

1. 2. 3.

(or UPPER CLASS)

th

Industrialization in 19 ceuntry further fragmented class divisions.

WORKING CLASS

The dicided into:

SKILLED UNSKILLED WORKER

4. 5.

Another level can be added: underclass which identifies

those who never worked, the long-term unemployed

6. 7.

.

MIDDLE CLASS

The spilt into:

LOWER SECTIONS MIDDLE SECTIONS UPPER SECTIONS

8. 9. 10.

Depnding on the JOB CLASSIFICATION or WEALTH.

UPPER CLASS

The was still largely defined by

BIRTH PROPRIETY INHEREDITED MONEY

most Britons declare to belong to the MIDDLE CLASS.

According to polls, Office for National Statics

now employ an classification based on occupation:

Researches

High professional and managerial occuapations

– Lower professional and managerial occupation

– intermediate occupation

– small employers and non.professional self.-employed workers

– lower supervisory and technical occupations

– semi-routine occupations

– routine occupations

– neveer worked and long term unemployed.

–

THE WORKFORCE

Nowadays, SERVICES SECTORS

the majority of British population works in the Only a minority is

still employed in industry and agriculture.

Consequently there is a decrease in manual jobs.

52% o women.

About f the workforce consists of

yet half of them still suffer from unequal job conditions, despite many campaigns fought to achieve

equality.

The majotity of British people, are employed by an organization (this may be a small private firm, a

larger company, a public sector industry or service or a multinational corporation.

Most people are workers who sell their labour in the market.

During the 60s as a result of many female protests:

Equal Pay Acts and

• the Sex Discrimination Act were created.

•

The Equal Opportunities Act monitors the legislation about this matter.

However there are still several female occupational problems.

Equal Pay Acts stipualte that man and women do the same or similar kinds of work should receive the

same wages.

2000s

Though many jobs were created during the 2000s,

unemployment still remains particulary high in:

Northeast England and Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

In areas of big cities

in countryside

among ethnic minorities (such as Pakistains)

JOB CREATION IS IMPORTANT TO THE POLITICAL PARTIES.

The previous labour governements introduced a WELFARE to WORK PROGRAMME

(it consist in training the workforce).

YOUNG PEOPLE AND THE APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM

Young people between the ages of 16 and 18 who become unemployed on leaving school do not receive

social security benefits and are required to enter a training scheme or further education.

The trianing prograamme have been criticized and there is no guarantee that trainees will obtain a job

afterwards.

However there is criticism.

Firms in 2000s have experienced SKILLS SGORTAGES (scarsità), with many having unfilled

vacancies.

It is now recognized thar training and education mist fit te realistic requirements of the workforce and

be something more than disguised unemployement.

The new trend is to make the workforce more mobile and flexible in order to create more job

availability.

Many vacant job are low-paid and part-time.

FINANCIAL ISTITUCTIONS

Despite unemployment, London is still a fundamental business centre for financial activities.

1- The City of London :

The City of London with its banks,

insurance houses,

legal firms (studi legali), and

financial dealers' offices (accodi finanziari)

has always been a centre of British and world finance.

Today it provides financial and

the London Stock Exchange and investement services for commercial interests in Britain and overseas.

many City institutions were founded between the 16th and 18th made England prosperous.

The City is now facing a serious challange in financial dealings from the London Docklands

commercial redevelopment centred on Canary Wharf.

2 - The Bank of England

The Bank of England, UK’s central bank.

It has been an independent institution from govenement since 1997.

It has a vital role of SETTING INTEREST RATES TO CONTROL INFLACTION.

It is organized by a governor and directors

(and its governor and directors are appointed by the government).

It is also:

the government's banker

the agent gor British commercial and foreign central banks

it prints money for England and Wales

manages the national debt

gold reserves

supports the pound by buying sterling on foreign currency exchanges.

The main high street banks wich provide banking services throughtout (=durante) Britain are the

CENTRAL CLEARING BANKS

of which most importants are HSBC,

Loyds Banking Group,

the Royal Bank of Scotland (including National Westminister) and

Barclays.

They are again make profits after the recession.

In addition to these banks, there are the long-established merchant banks (mainly located in London)

that:

1- give advice and finance to commercial and industrial buisnesses;

2- advise companies on takeovers and amrgers;

3- provode financial assistance for foreign transaction

4- oragnize a range of financial services for individuals aand corporations.

3- THE LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE

The London Stock Exchange is a market for buying and sselling of quoted (listed) stocks and shares in

British public companies and a few overseas.

DEALINGS OF TEH STOCK EXCHANGE REFLECT THE CURRENT MARKET TRENDS

AND PRICES.

3- THE “BIG BANG” IN THE STOCK EXCHANGE (1986)

The “big bang” in 1986 revolutionized the Stock Exchange by new developments that deregulated the

financial market and enabled greater freedom of operation .

Some companies were too ambitious, oveer-expanded and suffered from the efforts of the WORLD

STOCK MARKET CRASH in 1987.

The London market returned to earlier profitability levels after:

many redundanciesamong dealers

1. the closure of some companies.

2.

Since 1997 the financial transaction have been organized directly from computer screens in

CORPORATE OFFICES.

4- the FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET

Brokers in corporate or bank offices deal in the buying and selling of foreign currencies.

Others money markets arrage deals

on the EUROMARKETS in foreign currencies;

– trade on fianncial futures (speculation on future prices)

– arrange GOLD DEALINGS on the London Gold Market

– transact global deals

–

(p.192)

5- Lloyd's of London (a famous insurance company)

In addition to Lloyd's there are many individual insurance companies with headquarters in London and branches

throughout the country.

THE TRADE UNIONS

The trade unions were constitutionally recognized in 1871.

Previous similar organizations called “social clubs” were formed to deal with workers’ problems like

sickness and unemployment.

Nowadays about 167 trade unions and professional associations which

there are

represent both blue and white collars.

Members of the unions generally pay an ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION to their unions

and frequently to the LABOUR PARTY

(unless they elect not to pay this latter amount).

There are different approaches to the trade unions by the 2 major political parties especially about

strike action.

The latter is still considered as an important political means to fight possible abuses.

While according to critics, strike can seriously damage a business activity and delay the work.

The modern trade unions are associated with the Labour Party and campaign for better pay, working

and healthconditions for their members.

(There are unoins like:

T & G: Transporrt and General Workers' Union

1. TUC: Trade Union Congress)

2.

EMPLOYER'S ORGANIZATION

There are some 101 employers' and manager's association in Britain, wich are mainly associated with

companies in the private sector .

They aim to promothe good industrial relations between buisness and their workforces, try to settle

disputes and offer legal and professional advice. Most are members of the Confederation of British

Industry.

This umbrella body represents its members nationally.

CONSUMER PROTECTION

In a competitive market, consumers should have a choice of goods and services, the necessary

information to make choices and laws to safeguard their purchases.

The Office of Fair Trading is a government departement which oversees the consumer behaviour of

trade and industry.

It promotes fair trading, protects consumers, suggest legislation to governement.

The OFT is a telephone and online service offering information and companies concerned.

Cap.8 - Social Services

Public and Private Sectors

Today social services are taken as given by most Britons, but they were actually acknowledged

as social support for citizens only in the 1940s.

Social services deal with all main possible people’s problems such as

health, retirement, household etc.

• • •

unemployment, disability,

• •

Health care may represent the most developed and complex governmental achievement in this

field, named: National Health Service.

Social Services History

Historically, STATE SOCIAL SERVICES were non-existent for most of the British

population. Middle Ages,

First hints of social help for cit