Учебнометодическое пособие Петрозаводск 2010 ббк 81. 2Англ удк 811. 11 Г 613 Рецензенты
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4) Is the text information up-to-date or out-of-date? 5) What are the advantages and disadvantages of Royal Household’s functioning? 7.23 How companies encourage ethical behavior 1) Say whether the problem of a written code of ethics in companies is discussed in this text. 2) Look through the text and make a supposition which category of readers it will be interesting for. Prove your supposition. (1) A broad-based effort is under way in corporate America to encourage ethical behavior. Three out of four large companies have adopted a written code of ethics that defines the values and principles that should be used to guide decisions. However, many ethics specialists question the value of these codes. Most take a legalistic approach, spelling out accepted company practices with respect to conflict of interest, confidentiality of information, bribes and kickbacks, political contributions, and handling of corporate assets. Critics argue that many of these codes are designed to protect the company, not to promote ethical behavior. Three-quarters of the codes adopted by the top 200 corporations in America fail even to mention consumer relations, environmental protection, or product safety. (2) While a code of ethics is no guarantee of goodness, it can be an important tool in building an ethical orientation if it is backed up by management commitment. According to a study by The Business Roundtable, an influential group of top executives from 200 major corporations, it takes training, education, and follow-up to upgrade corporate morality. At Chemical Bank, for example, ethics are hammered home during a two-day seminar on corporate values where Vice Presidents discuss ethics cases. To be sure that everyone understands the bank’s commitment to its standards; the company dismisses employees who violate the code of ethics. (3) Another approach used by some companies is to screen potential employees for honesty before they are hired. The simplest but least scientific way to do this is to ask questions during the interview process that reveal something about the applicant’s values and moral principles. A more formal approach involves the use of written “honesty” tests designed to reveal a candidate’s standards. For example, the test might ask, “If you saw a co-worker stealing, would you turn the person in?” or “Do you agree or disagree that stealing from an employer is different than stealing from friends?” (4) Many businesses are also trying to encourage ethical behavior among employees by setting an example of community involvement. Corporations donate over $1 billion to charity each year, and many executives also donate their time to community affairs. At the same time, many corporations have begun to take a stand on moral issues, such as helping to foster the growth of minority-owned businesses or fighting apartheid in South Africa. (5) However, some observers question whether it is truly desirable to allow corporations, rather than the government, to set social policy. Corporations, after all, are private organizations, not accountable to the public; the government is composed, at least in part, of elected officials whom the public can remove from office. Some critics also question whether business should not be permitted to emphasize what it does best – make profits – without having its efforts diluted by the sometimes-conflicting claims of more socially oriented goals. (6) Although most companies attempt to make ethical decisions, they are also concerned about the costs of their actions. Undertaking many socially responsible activities takes money. How much is a little unclear, because no single source of information exists on business’s expenditures for socially desirable activities. However, there are clues that the total cost is very high, indeed. 3) Name the paragraphs which give answers to the questions: a) How are potential employees screened for honesty? b) Do most ethical codes are written to protect the company or the customer? c) What is the cost of actions for making ethical decisions? d) How is ethical behavior among employees encouraged in the company? e) Are there any training sessions organized to upgrade corporate morality? f) Who is to set social policy: corporations or the government? 4) Find professionally-relevant terms in the text. Define them. 7.24 fight against computer hackers 1) Read the headings of the texts 7.24; 7.30 and 7.31, and make a supposition what topic they are devoted to. 3) Read the text and say whether the questions of losses to the business due to computer breaking are covered in it. Most companies think hackers would never break into their computer systems and fail to take even the most basic security precautions. Firms wishing to does business on the Internet will have to ensure transactions are absolutely secure in order to win over consumer confidence. According to one recent survey, authored by Mr. Simple, two thirds of top Irish companies do not have a contingency plan for a breach in computer security. More than half have detected or been infected by a computer virus. The most important thing managers can do is improve their understanding of what the risks are. Often, a high-tech firewall may be less effective than a thorough review of who has, and should not have, access to the company computer system. When hackers break into a system, they always try to find the default log-on name and password, and then invent several innocuous-looking log-ons for them to ensure permanent access to the system. Managers should erase the default log-on once the system is up and running. While many companies have a general fear of a break-in by hackers – and are unclear how to prevent such an attack – they are in fact more likely to suffer at the hands of unwitting or malevolent insiders. Analysts in the United States, where the rate of computerisation is far higher than in Europe, say computer security can only become more essential to business as an increasing number of transactions take place over the Internet. Already, the FBI estimates an annual loss of $7.5 billion as a result of electronic attack. One survey revealed that the US Department of Defense discovered 88 per cent of their computers are penetrable. In 96 per cent of the cases where hackers got in, their intrusions went undetected, according to the report. In one celebrated case, a Russian computer hacker successfully breached a large number of a major bank’s corporate accounts, stole $400,000, and illegally transferred another $11.6 million. In 1994, the US Secret Service uncovered a $50 billion telephone card scam in which many accounts of AT&T, MCI and Sprint cardholders were regularly abused. Companies should undertake some measures to secure for customers sending their credit card information down the phone line. The system would use high-speed telephone lines and firewalls to protect the information in the base, while customers will use a special computer programme to send financial information. The programme encrypts credit card numbers and sends them in separate batches. There have been cases of people breaking through the SSL 40-bit encryption. But there are easier ways to get credit card numbers. In some companies there are hacker-turned-corporate advisors whose responsibility is computer security, telling business executives how to avoid being a victim. 4) Give your own examples to the main ideas expressed in the text. 5) Write an annotation to the text. 7.25 Types of marriage 1) Read the heading of the text and say whether it is connected with the previous and the following texts. 2) Read the text and say whether the questions below are covered in it: a) The type of marriage depends on the country and culture. b) Statistics on a number of marriages and divorces in the world. c) Sexual relations outside marriage d) Wedding ceremonies. The type and functions of marriage vary from culture to culture. In the United States, Europe, and China in the early 21st century, legally sanctioned marriages are monogamous (although some segments of society still sanction polygamy socially, if not legally) and divorce is relatively simple and socially sanctioned. In the West, the prevailing view toward marriage today is that it is based on emotional attachment between the partners and entered into voluntarily. In the Islamic world, marriage is sanctioned between a man and up to four women. In Imperial China, formal marriage was sanctioned only between a man and a woman, although a man could take several concubines and the children from the union were considered legitimate. Most societies permit Polygamy, in which a man could have multiple wives; even in such societies however, most men have only one. In such societies, having multiple wives is generally considered a sign of wealth and power. The status of multiple wives has varied from one society to another. In Islamic societies, the different wives were considered equal while in Imperial China, one woman was considered the primary wife while the other women were considered concubines. Among the upper classes, the primary wife was an arranged marriage with an elaborate formal ceremony while the concubines were taken on later with minimal ceremony. There are also many monogamous societies, where a marriage consists of only two people, a very few polyandrous, where a woman can have multiple husbands. Societies which permit group marriage are extremely rare, but have existed in utopian societies such as the Oneida Community. However, in the 21st century Western cultures, while bigamy and sexual relations outside marriage are generally socially or legally frowned-upon, divorce and remarriage have been relatively easy to undertake. This has lead to a practice which some have called serial monogamy. In particular, some have argued that the pattern of the rich divorcing their first wives and then taking on a trophy wife is similar to patterns of polygamy in other societies. Legally sanctioned marriages are generally conducted between heterosexual couples, although there are countries that recognize same-sex marriage, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, and the American state of Massachusetts. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Germany, France, and the American state of Vermont allow couples to enter legal partnerships, but these partnerships are not considered marriages even if they bestow many of the same legal benefits upon the couple. 3) Which information from the text is redundant? 7.26 Common-law marriage 1) Say whether the text heading is connected with the previous and the following texts. 2) Look through the text and count how many times the keywords from the heading are used in the text. In many jurisdictions, common-law marriage is a legal provision whereby two people who are eligible to marry, but who do not obtain a legal marriage, are nevertheless considered married under certain conditions. Typically, they are deemed married after living together openly as a married couple under specified conditions for a specified period of time. In other jurisdictions, the couple is required to have actually stated their mutual intent to be presently married. Depending on the jurisdiction, a common-law marriage may provide special benefits, such as filiations and adoption, inheritance, and division of property. In some cases the law will impose detriments upon the couple. Australia. In Australia the term “de facto marriage” is used to refer to relationships between unmarried men and women who are in effect living as husband and wife for a period of time. Many laws make provision for such relationships, such as social support laws. Canada. Canadian federal law does not have “common law marriage”, but various federal laws include “common law status,” which automatically takes effect once two people (of any gender) have lived together in a romantic relationship for one full year. Partners may be eligible for various government benefits of married spouses based upon their relationship with the individual who is eligible for some type of family based benefit. As family law varies between provinces, there are differences between the provinces regarding the recognition of common law marriage. In Ontario, a common law province, the Ontario Family Law Act specifically recognizes common law spouses in sec. 29 dealing with spousal support issues; the requirements are living together for three years or having a child in common and having “cohabitated in a relationship of some permanence.” However, the part that deals with marital property excludes common law spouses as sec. 2 defines spouses as those who are married together or who entered into a void or voidable marriage in good faith. Thus common law partners do not always evenly divide property in a breakup, and the courts have to look to concepts such as the constructive or resulting trust to divide property in an equitable manner between partners. Another difference that distinguishes common law spouses from married partners is that a common law partner can be compelled to testify against his or her partner in a court of law. In 1999, after the court case M. v. H., the Supreme Court of Canada decided that same-sex partners would also be included in common law relationships. Quebec, which unlike the other provinces has a Civil Code, has never recognized common-law partnership as a kind of marriage. However, many laws in Quebec explicitly apply to common-law partners (called “de facto unions”) as they do to spouses. As in the other provinces, same-sex partners may become common-law spouses in Quebec. A recent amendment to the Civil Code of Quebec recognizes a type of domestic partnership called civil union that is similar to common-law marriage and is likewise available to same-sex partners. England and Wales. The term “common law marriage” is frequently used in England and Wales, however such a “marriage” is not recognized in law, and it does not confer any rights or obligations on the parties. Genuine (that is, legal) common-law marriage was abolished under the Marriage Act, 1753. United States. Ten U.S. jurisdictions currently recognize common-law marriages. Where the doctrine is recognized, generally if a couple lives together and is reputedly married, a rebuttable presumption arises that they are husband and wife. This must be proven via a three prong test. The three prongs are as follows:
If all three of the prongs are not met a marriage never existed. Even in those jurisdictions where there is common-law marriage, there is no such thing as a common-law divorce. This means that once a couple is married, whether ceremonially through a wedding or informally through common law, a divorce can only be dissolved through a court order. However, in some jurisdictions there is a statute of limitations on certain types of lawsuits made regarding a common law marriage. Where applicable, after the two parties have separated and lived apart for this time period (possibly 1-2 years) a rebuttable presumption is created that the two never agreed to be, and therefore never were, married. 3) Do jurisdictions distinguish common law spouses from married partners? In what countries? 4) Give illustration to the main ideas expressed in the text based on the examples of the country you live in / your neighbour country / the country you have been to. 7.27 A DREAM HOUSE 1) Read the text and say if you have ever had problems similar to the ones mentioned in the text. (1) You have just bought your dream house – or so you thought – but suddenly everything has started to go wrong. Every time you have a shower, the water seeps through the dining room ceiling. The beautifully polished floorboards in the living room have started to splinter. Deep cracks have begun to appear on the walls and the cupboard doors on the kitchen cabinets have started coming away in your hands. (2) Or perhaps you’ve soldyour own house, you’re ready to move into your new home and suddenly you discover that the estate agent has disappeared with your deposit, or that you’ve been galumphed. (3) The experience of buying your dream house has turned into a nightmare. So who can you blame? Where can you turn for help? Or do you simply have to put up with matters as they stand? (4) There are options available if something goes wrong with your house, depending on the nature of your complaint. There are some guarantee or insurance companies. They may guarantee against any loss of deposit in the event of a builder going bankrupt or into liquidation. They also provide a warranty against water and smoke penetration for a few years after completion and a warranty against major structural defects occurring within a few more years of completion. Banks and building societies require insurance registration on most new homes. |