Text 3

of any nationality. The peace prize is given in Oslo on December 10 (on that day in 1896 Nobel died). The others are given in Stockholm.

MARKETING STRATEGIES

Marketing people do not like to admit that they have anything to do with sales, but, obviously, the whole purpose of marketing is to create a situation in which a sale can be made.

Buying, selling, market research, transportation, storage, advertising — these are all parts of the complex area of business known as marketing. In simple terms, marketing means the movement of goods and services from manufacturer to customer in order to satisfy the customer and to achieve the company's objectives.

Marketing can be divided into four main elements that are known as the four P's (E.Jerome McCarthy. Basic Marketing): product, price, placement and promotion.

The marketing strategies of determining product, price, placement and promotion are not planned in isolation. Marketing analysts often look at a combination of these four factors. This combination of the four P's is known as the marketing mix. In order to develop a successful marketing mix researchers first ask two important questions: Who is going to buy the product? What is the potential to sell this product?

The product element of marketing refers to the goods or services that a company wants to sell. Next, a company considers the price to charge for its product. There are three pricing options the company may take: above, with or below the prices that its competitors are charging. Most companies sell their goods or services for average prices established by major producers in the industry.

The third element of the marketing process — placement — involves getting the product to the customer. This takes place through the channels of distribution. A common channel of distribution is: manufacturer —> wholesaler -» retailer -» customer.

Wholesalers generally sell large quantities of a product to retailers, and retailers usually sell smaller quantities to customers.

Finally, communication about the product takes place between a buyer and a seller and is known as promotion. There are two major ways of promotion: 1) through personnel selling, as in a department store; 2) and through advertising, as in a newspaper or magazine, etc.

Vocabulary Notes

storage manufacturer

• хранение

• производитель

• customer placement promotion option

  wholesale retail

  покупатель

• размещение

• стимулирование сбыта

• выбор

• оптовая торговля

• розничная торговля

Text 4

WHAT IS BUSINESS?

Read the text. Answer the questions below.

Business is a word which is commonly used in many different languages. But, exactly, what does it mean? The concepts and activities of business have increased in modern times. Traditionally, business simply meant exchange or trade for things people wanted or needed. Today it has a more technical definition. One definition of business is the production, distribution, and sale of goods and services for a profit. To examine this definition, we will look at its various parts.

First, production is a creation of services or the changing of materials into products. One example is the conversion of iron ore into metal car parts. Next, these products need to be moved from the factory to the marketplace. This is known as distribution. A car might be moved from a factory in Detroit to a car dealership in Miami.

Third is the sale of goods and services. Sale is the exchange of a product or service for money. A car is sold to someone in exchange for money. Goods are products which people either need or want; for example, cars can be classified as goods. Services, on the other hand, are activities which a person or group performs for another person or organization. For instance, an auto mechanic performs a service when he repairs a car. A doctor also performs a service by taking care of people when they are sick.

Business, then, is a combination of all these activities: production, distribution, and sale. However, there is one other important factor. This factor is the creation of profit or economic surplus. A major goal in the functioning of an American business company is making a profit. Profit is the money that remains after all the expenses are paid. Creating an economic surplus or profit is, therefore, a primary goal of business activity.

1. What is one of modern definitions of business?

2. How does this modern definition of business differ from the traditional one? What factors have brought about these changes?

3. What does production involve?

4. What example of distribution is given in the text? Can you think of another example?

5. How do goods differ from services?

6. In addition to production, distribution, and sale, what other factor is important in defining business?

7. What is profit? In general, what do companies do with their profits?

Text 5 GLOBAL MARKET LEADERSHIP

a) Translate the text into Russian. Say, why in your opinion, the Japanese

have been so successful in penetrating international markets.

The Japanese have performed an economic miracle since World War II. In a very short time, they have achieved global market leadership in many industries: cars, motorcycles, watches, cameras, optical instruments, steel, shipbuilding, computers and consumer electronics. They are now making strong inroads into rubber tyres, chemicals, machine tools and even design clothes and cosmetics. Some credit the global success of Japanese companies to their unique business and management practices. Others point to the help they get from Japanese government, powerful trading companies, and banks. Still others say Japan's success is based on low wage rates and unfair dumping policies.

But one of the main keys to Japan's success is its skilful use of marketing. They know how to select a market, enter it the right way, build market share, and protect their share against competitors.

The Japanese work hard to identify attractive global markets. They look for industries that require high skills and high labor intensity but few natural resources. These include consumer electronics, cameras and pharmaceuticals. They like markets where consumers around the world would be willing to buy the same product design. They look for industries where the market leaders are weak or complacent.

Japanese study teams spend several months evaluating the target market, searching for market niches that are not being satisfied. Sometimes they start with a product that is as good as the competitor's but priced lower, sometimes with a product with higher quality or new features. The Japanese provide quick service to their customers. They use advertising to bring their products to the customer's attention. Their entry strategy is to build market share rather than early profits.

Once Japanese firms gain a market foothold, they begin to expand their market share and pour money into product improvements and new models. They spot new opportunities through market segmentation, develop markets in new countries, and work to build a network of world markets and production locations.

Once the Japanese achieve market leadership, they become defenders rather than attackers. Their defense strategy is to continue product development and refine market segmentation.