Vocabulary Building Introduction

A: Rephrasing ideas

Find sentences from the text which have the same meaning or express the same general idea as the sentences below.

1. Shares of stock are traded on the stock exchange where market forces determine the price.

2. The grocery market is the location where the buying and selling of food takes place.

3. Economists believe that if many people desire a product which is not available in great quantities, the price will increase.

4. In the past the most important function of marketing was sales.

5. Marketing used to be the job of thinking about how to sell the product.

6. People will buy a product if it is promoted by salesmen and if the company advertises it.

7. Part of marketing is delivering the merchandise to the stores where people shop for it.

8. Food products arc classified into groups according to their size and quality. Eggs and meat are graded according to government standards.

9. Modern marketing includes many activities, but it is based on a different concept.

10. Modern marketing is based on the idea that goods cannot be pro­duced for profit unless someone will buy them.

B: Matching

Match the words below with the definitions indicated in exercise A.

1. stock exchange a. consider most important

2. market forces b. distribution

3. desire c. methods to increase sales, like advertising

4. delivering d. amount available for sale

5. concept e. supply and demand

6. consumers f . place to buy and sell shares of corporations

7. promotion g. notion

8. consumption h. purchase

9. supply i . customers

10. emphasize j . demand

Listening and Note-Taking Skills

C: Form and content clues

The material in this lesson is basically a definition or explanation of the term marketing. In order to understand the lesson, therefore, it is necessary to understand the manner in which the terms are defined and explained. There are certain words in the text which indicate the order and method of the explanation. There are other words which actually do the explaining and defining. Look at the words listed below. They are taken from the first four paragraphs. Some of them indicate the form of the definition while others indicate the content. Adverbs of time and limiting adjectives generally indicate the form or method. Verbs and phrases generally indicate content or meaning.

Study the following terms and decide whether they indicate the arrangement of ideas or the meaning of ideas. The terms are listed in the same order as in the paragraph.

Paragraph 1	Paragraph 2	Paragraph 3	Paragraph 4
several	in the past	encompasses	now
refers to	emphasized	but	involves
other	task of	different	first
related to	accomplished by	notion that	solely
another	included	in other words	on the other hand
indicates	in addition	therefore	thus
when	involved
mean	consists of
determine	such as
such as	and
and
includes

D: Comprehension questions

Now listen to Paragraphs 1 through 1. The word list in Exercise С should help you understand the order of the material and the content. The following questions can be answered in order as you listen to the text.

1. In Paragraph 1 there are examples of three types of markets. What are they?

2. In general, what is said about the term marketing?

3. In Paragraph 2 the author mentions two aspects of marketing. What are they?

4. What are two activities of sales promotion the author mentions in the second paragraph?

5. What are three aspects of distribution?

6. Give three examples of related services.

7. How does the beginning of Paragraph 3 contrast with the first sentence in Paragraph 2?

8. How does modern marketing differ from the past ideas and practices of marketing?

9. According to Paragraph 4, what effect docs the theory of modern marketing have on production decisions?

10. What makes solving marketing problems more difficult than solving production problems?

E: Outlining

Listen to Paragraphs 1 through 4 again and make an outline of them that includes the following major headings: I. Market and Marketing; II Marketing in the Past; III. Modern Marketing; IV. The Method of Modern Marketing.

F: Analytic questions

This lesson is organized in two parts. The first part traces the development of the marketing concept historically, beginning with the basic idea of buying and selling and concluding with a theoretical considera­tion of how marketing should influence production. The second part (Paragraphs 5, 6, and 7) discusses the practical side of traditional marketing activities of distribution and related services.

To formulate a clear and concise definition that encompasses all aspects of a problem, it is often necessary to examine many examples. This is true for many fields of activity. For example, a judge can reach a decision only after he has considered all the facts. The solution to a problem can be found only after thorough analysis.

Answer the following questions about Paragraphs 5, 6, 7, and 8.

1. What activity of marketing deals with the need for goods to be at the place where customers can use them?

2. How does distribution add to the value of the product?

3. List three characteristics of bulk freight transport.

4. What type of freight is best suited for bulk transport? Give specific examples.

5. How docs the cost of rail freight compare with truck freight?

6. What conclusions can you draw about the speed of various forms of transport?

7. Why do you think finished products require faster transport than raw materials?

8. Is financing more important for finished products than for raw materials? Why?

9. Why does the author conclude that marketing is a coordinated system of activities?

Reading Comprehension

G: Multiple choice

This exercise is designed to increase vocabulary and reading compre­hension. Select the answer which best completes the meaning of the sentence.

1. In the past the main objective of marketing was sales promotion. Marketers were people who

a. bought and sold stock c. tried to sell products.

b. consumed. d. supplied and demanded.

2. The word market can have several meanings. A person who wants to buy food uses the word to indicate

a. standardization and grading с sales prices.

b. a place where groceries are for sale d. supply and demand

3. Modern marketing aims to satisfy the wants of the consumer. Marketing personnel should consider first of all

a. how to advertise the product с how to distribute the product.

b. what products the customer desires d. engineering problems

4. Marketing is an important consideration for

a. the consumer. с all aspects of production.

b. the distributor. d. the salesman.

5. Raw materials can be transported in bulk at low cost. Finished goods which sometimes require special treatment usually are shipped by truck. Transportation by truck is probably

a. what the customer wants c. slow.

b. the best marketing method d. more expensive.

6. Demand and market forces are considered prior to production. Be­fore designing and producing the product, companies consider

a. the supply of consumers c. distribution to the consumers.

b. the desire by consumers to purchase a product d. all the marketing activities.

7. Between the producer and the consumer certain goods are stored along the way because there may be great distances between the point of production and the point of sale. Storing along the distribution channel

a. is suitable for all products. b. makes quicker delivery to consumers.

c. makes standardization and grading necessary. d. does not add to the cost of the product.

8. Economists use the word market to refer to a set of forces or conditions which determine the price of a product. This particular meaning of the word market

a. is not important for people who are not economists. b. describes in general how prices are determined

c. has no effect on the stock market. d. considers only demand, but not supply.

9. Among other things, modern marketing considers selling the cor­rect product at the proper place. This means that

a. place utility and consumer demand must be considered b. advertising will help increase sales

c. distribution is more important than product design d. if a product is for sale, someone will buy it.

10. Modern marketing is a coordinated system of business activities because

a. it involves solving design problems to meet consumer demands.

b. it involves having the product at the right place at the right time.

c. it considers the profitability of the company.

d. all of the above.

H: Writing a paragraph

The economist's idea of a market is more general than either of the other two interpretations of market in Paragraph 1. Write a paragraph staling how the idea of market can be applied to sales promotion and distribu­tion. You can begin by stating that the two most important market forces are supply and demand. Explain how sales promotion is probably a response to supply, and distribution to demand. Try to conclude with a general statement about how business enterprise reacts to these two forces.