Working on the text.

Ex.1. Read and translate the text paying particular attention to the words in italics. Use a dictionary if necessary.

U.S. Marketing in the Future.

The next 10 years promise to be significant ones for U.S. mar­keters as they try to anticipate trends and plan long-run strategies. During the coming decade, there will be consumer affluence, techno­logical advances, worldwide markets, and deregulation, as well as re­source instability, foreign competition, a stable U.S. market, and an un­certain economy.

There will be many demographic trends, including low population growth, an older society, movement to West and South regions, contin­ued home ownership, regional mobility, higher real income, more working women, and increases in education, white-collar jobs, and sin­gle-person households. Two-thirds of adults will be married.

Four newer life-style trends will continue: The me generation* stresses being good to oneself. There is less emphasis on obligations and conformity. Voluntary simplicity is a life-style in which people seek material simplicity, have ecological awareness, strive for self re­liance, and purchase do-it-yourself products. Blurring gender roles* oc­curs when husbands work in the house, share the tasks of managing a household, and feed the family. The poverty-of-time concept* states that for some consumers greater affluence will result in less free time be­cause the alternatives competing for time will expand.

During the decade, a number of environmental factors will affect marketing. The future competitive environment may be analyzed from domestic/foreign, small firm/large firm, generic, and channel perspec­tives. Government actions will be involved with deregulation, less an­titrust involvement, and a lower level of consumer protection than in the 1960s and 1970s. The economy will be difficult to predict and will be influenced by outside factors. The major technological breakthroughs will center on computerization and the resulting changes in consumer behavior and company strategies. Resource availability may hamper marketing and lead to research efforts aimed at finding acceptable sub­stitutes, The media will offer a variety of positive and restrictive trends. Global events will strongly influence company opportunities and risks.

In order to succeed, marketers must develop strategies that are re­sponsive to consumer trends and the changes in the surrounding envi­ronment. The level of marketing planning and research will continue to improve as newer tools, such as portfolio planning, are used more frequently. Formal, systematic product strategies will be enacted with greater emphasis on comprehensive analysis. Companies need to iden­tify growing and mature products and react accordingly. Distribution strategy will take into account rising costs, and the evolving nature of retailing. Advertising strategy will be influenced by new video tools and higher television rates. Personal selling strategy will be affected by ris­ing costs, telemarketing, and computerization. Price planning will care­fully consider costs and offer consumers more alternatives, with greater interest in price bundling*.

* the me generation - поколение, сосредоточенное на себе, на удовлетворении своих

желаний

* blurring gender roles - cмешение мужских и женских ролей

* the poverty-of-time concept - концепция недостатка времени

* price bundling - набор ряда цен

Ex.2. Say what you have learned about:

1. the importance of the next ten years for US marketers;

2. the changes facing the USA in the nearest future;

3. four newer life-style trends;

4. the major technological breakthroughs;

5. new strategies marketers will have to develop.

Ex.3. Think and answer.

1. Why will it be difficult to predict the development of the economy?

2. How can the situation change in Russia during the coming decade?

PART 2

Lesson 1

Unit 1

SUBJECT for STUDY: A Short Course in Management.