Common Stock and preferred StockA public corporation issues certificates of ownership, called common stock, which may be traded on stock exchanges.Anyone can buy and sell shares of common stock.Owners of stock are referred to as shareholders and stockholders. common stockholders are accorded certain rights by the corporate charter.In the United States, these rights vary from state to state, but in general the articles of incorporation spell out voting rights and rights to receive profits.Common stockholders are the voting owners of a corporation.They are usually entitled to one vote per share.They may vote on numerous issues affecting the corporation (including a decision to sell or merge with another corporation) and elect a board of directors, who, in turn, hire managers to run the business.A majority shareholder is one who owns over 50 percent of the outstanding shares in a corporation and, thus, can call the shots.All other shareholders are minority shareholders.In large corporations no single person or organization owns anywhere near a majority interest.In large, publicly owned corporations a shareholder with as little as 10 percent of the shares may control the corporation effectively.If things go bad, a coalition of so called dissident shareholders may gather enough votes to replace the existing board of directors; the new board may fire the existing management and bring in their own management team.Although common stock represents ownership in a company, it does not guarantee the owners a specified rate of return.As owners, the stockholders receive profits after all expenses, including debts and taxes, have been paid. They receive profits from the business in the form of dividend payments, which represent a percentage of profits.Not all after-tax profits are paid to the stockholders in dividends.Directors usually decide quarterly how much, if any, if the profits they wish to distributed to the owners. The profits are either distributed to the owners in dividends or they are reinvested bank into the company in the form of retained earnings.If the company decides to keep the profits, the company may become more valuable and the price of the stock usually goes up.Some investors prefer profits in the way of dividends while others speculate for an increase in the price of stock.If a company goes broke, common stockholders get last claim on whatever is left over.Corporations may also issue preferred stock to investors.Preferred stock usually has no vote in the election of the board of directors, but does get preference in the distribution of the company’s earnings.It offers investors a different type pf security and may be issued only after common stock had been issued.The term "preferred" applies to two conditions.First, preferred stockholders gain preferential treatment in the matter of dividends; that is, they receive a fixed rate of dividends prior to the payment of dividends on common shares.Second, if the company goes out of business or liquidates, preferred stockholders are closer to the front of the line than common stockholders when distributing the company’s assets.Dividends to preferred stock may be cumulative or noncumulative.cumulative preferred stock maintained its claim to dividends even if the company had a bad year in 1994, they might decide not to pay dividends.But if they had a good year in 1995, and declared stock dividends do not accumulate.If dividends are not declared, noncumulative owners lose their claim to the profit of that period.In short, common stock usually has more control through voting privileges, greater chance for high returns and more risk, whereas preferred stock usually has less control,fixed returns, less risks, and less chance for big gains. The main purpose of the third paragraph is to tell us()
A. the rate of returns to the stockholders.
B. the risk of common stockholders.
C. the distribution of profits to the stockholders.
D. the benefits of common stock.
Passage One Most people don’t enjoy facing the difficult situations that sometimes occur with coworkers in the workplace. Such situations may arise from honest disagreements over design or engineering issues, personnel or benefits matters, management decisions or actions, or from any other situation where human impressions and objectives differ. There could be double trouble for engineers who are more likely to feel at home with electrons and bytes (信息组), and behave in highly predictable ways, than with coworkers, who often appear arbitrary and unpredictable. For those of us who have internalized the strict and measurable rules of the physical world, dealing with other people can be both disappointing and frustrating. Yet how you manage situations of conflict with your coworkers could have a significant impact on your career, often even more than your engineering prowess or your design skills. Those who deal successfully with potential conflicts are far more likely to receive added responsibilities and promotions, in addition to the pay increases and respect that come with them. On the other hand, not dealing successfully with conflict can potentially relegate you to a career, backwater, with technical challenges and high pay passing you by. Why is dealing with conflict an important skill today It’s primarily because there’s more of it now than in the past. Workers Of all types are more likely to speak up for their own ideas or actions, rather than follow the dictating corporate chain of command. Conflict also sometimes arises as a result of unclear company goals, or when those goals aren’t shared equally by all. Rather than working for a single common good, employees and managers seek individual goals, such as promotion, job security, experience, money, and even the proverbial free lunch. Not only is actual conflict greater today, but even the potential for interpersonal conflicts in the workplace is far greater than at any time in the past. One reason for this is increased time-to-market pressures. The need to rapidly make decisions, establish an engineering direction, and meet project milestones adds elements of tension and stress to an already difficult endeavor. This makes the workplace a potential minefield for interpersonal conflict. It’s especially apparent to an engineer in a position of responsibility, like a project leader or an engineering manager. For an engineer who must work with others to complete a project, the need to manage conflict can spell the difference between success and failure. Interpersonal conflict in the workplace is ______ .
A. the bane of all managers
B. the proverbial free lunch
C. an effective management tool
D. more common today than in the past
A PartnershipsOn the whole, this is not a popular form of business organization, but it is often used by people in the professions, like doctors, dentists or lawyers, to expand their business.Greater efficiency is possible because people in this sort of association can spend their time doing what they are best at. If one person is sick, then the remaining partner(s) can carry on the work. The main disadvantage is that even with this form of ownership, the amount of money available to the business may be limited. If people quarrel or disagree over decision-making there can be problems and serious delays.B Public (PIC) CompaniesThese are the largest businesses in the private sector. There is no limit to the number of people holding shares in it and many of the larger companies have their shares listed on the stock exchange. The advantage of big businesses like this is that they find it easier to raise money as banks consider them a "good risk". There are strict laws governing the setting-up of this kind of business and each year the company has to publish its accounts. The larger such businesses grow, the more difficult it is to control them. Workers in such businesses may feel that management doesn’t understand their problems.C Private (Ltd) companiesSuch businesses are not allowed to sell shares to the public. They must consist of at least two members, but there is no upper limit to the numbers who own the company. The larger size makes it possible for such companies to borrow more money from the banks or from issuing additional shares to its members. The advantage is that such a business is able to offer its members limited liability (responsibility) for debts and losses. Many companies of this type exist in England, Europe and the U.S. The company can list on the stock exchange and the share can be sold to the public.
The move to self-service has meant that in many shops, fewer tasks are now performed by store assistants.Typical tasks which remain are making sure that shelves and counters are fully (19) taking the customer’s payment, and (20) the purchases.However, in some shops, the more traditional selling skills are still important.In larger stores, it is normal for a range of (21) to be rotated among staff, giving greater work variety.Every customer has different (22) and different reasons for coming into the store.Some know (23) what they want, ask for it and buy it.Many, however,are not sure, and if they are not (24) correctly they may go somewhere else to buy.The store assistant must (25) when and how to offer help, and gain the customer’s confidence with the (26) amount of questioning about what they are looking for.They can then give information and advice about the products which might (27) the customer’s requirements.This demands both communication skills and knowledge of the product.Finally, they have to persuade the customer to make the (28) to buy, and " close the deal " If the customer is just (29) the store assistant needs to offer efficient and friendly service, hoping that the customer will return when he or she is ready to buy.It is worth remembering that many stores depend on their (30) customers for a large part of their (31) .The actual tasks of a store assistant vary with the type of goods sold.In a men’s outfitters these could include (32) a customer for a suit.In an electronics store,it is vital to be able to (33) how a computer or hi-fi unit works and to ensure that the customer has any accessories they might need. 20()
A. watching
B. surrounding
C. enclosing
D. covering