Channels of Marketing

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Mixed economies

1. A mixed economy contains elements of both market and planned economies. At one extreme we have a command economy, which does not allow individuals to make economic decisions, at the other extreme we have a free market, where individuals exercise considerable economic freedom of choice without any government restrictions. Between these two extremes lies a mixed economy.

2. In mixed economies some resources are controlled by the government whilst others are used in response to the demands of consumers. Technically, all the economies of the world are mixed. Some countries are nearer to command economies, while others are closer to free market economies.

3. The aim of mixed economies is to avoid the disadvantages of both systems while enjoying the benefits that they both offer. So, in a mixed economy the government and the private sector interact in solving economic problems. The state controls the share of the output through taxation and transfer payments and intervenes to supply essential items such as health, education and defence, while private firms produce cars, furniture, electrical items and similar, less essential products.

4. The UK is a country with mixed economy. Some services are provided by the state (for example, health care and defence) whilst a range of privately owned businesses offer other goods and services.

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Channels of Marketing

1. Individual consumers and corporate buyers are aware that thousands of goods and services are available through a very large number of diverse channel outlets. What they may not be well aware of is the fact that the channel structure, or the set of institutions, agencies, and establishments through which the product must move to get to them, can be amazingly complex.

2. Usually, institutions specializing in manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing, and many other areas join forces in marketing channel arrangements to make possible the delivery of goods to industrial users or customers and to final consumers. The same is true for the marketing of services. For example, in the case of health care delivery, hospitals, laboratories, insurance companies, and drugstores combine efforts in an organized channel arrangement to ensure the delivery of a critical service.

3. Therefore, marketing channels can be viewed as sets of interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption. Not only do marketing channels satisfy demand by supplying goods and services at the right place, quantity, quality, and price, but they also stimulate demand through the promotional activities of the units (e.g., retailers, manufacturers' representatives, sales offices, and wholesalers) comprising them.

4. The major focus of marketing channel management is on delivery. Producers of goods (including manufacturers of industrial and consumer goods, legislators, educational administrators and insurance companies) are individually capable of generating only form or structural utility for their «products».

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