Services in the modern economy: essence and classification
Services in the modern economy: essence and classification
7. According to the criterion of mediation of services by commodity-money relations, or, in other words, according to the criterion of participation in the sale and purchase, all services are divided into market and non-market, or commercial and non-commercial (paid and free). Note that the free services, as well as physical goods, are very conditional. From the point of view of society, free economic benefits are paid for at the expense of budgets at various levels, including taxes on individuals and legal entities, as well as at the expense of charitable organizations. Currently, on the recommendation of the UN Statistical Commission, all services that are sold at economically significant prices, i.e. prices that cover at least 50% of the costs of providing this service, are considered paid.
8. Depending on the form of ownership of an economic entity providing a service, services are distinguished between private enterprises and state organizations, institutions and enterprises. Often, non-profit (although they can be private and public) and municipal organizations are also distinguished.
9. According to the nature of consumption, services are distinguished: mass (for example, television and other media services); collective (services of public transport, show business, shaping services, etc.); individual (car rental services, household appliances, most medical services). Although mass services have existed as a phenomenon for a long time, they were singled out as a special variety, and A. Sawyer and R. Walker introduced the term mass services into scientific circulation in their work The New Social Economy: Reworking the Division of Labor (1994 ).
10. According to the role of various services in the service activities of an economic entity, the main and auxiliary (additional) services are distinguished. This is due to the fact that often the service is provided in a complex (and in a set) with additional elements that make up the attributes of the service. For example, staying in a hotel can be accompanied by a whole range of service operations: providing breakfast in the room, additional means of communication, ordering a taxi, luggage storage services, etc.
In the scientific and educational literature, the following definitions are most often found:
- basic services – services that determine the profile and specialization of the executing enterprise. For example, for transport services, the main service is the movement of goods and / or passengers, for educational – training of citizens, improving their educational level and / or professional skills;
- Additional services – services designed to improve the quality and competitiveness of the main service. An example of additional services in the field of education is a more in -depth study of foreign languages, the acquisition of work skills, etc. 5 K. Lavlock divided additional services into services that facilitate the use of the main components of the product, and additional services that enhance the attractiveness of the product.
11. On the basis of possible participation in international exchange, all services can be divided into three groups. The first is the services that may be the object of foreign trade (air and sea transportation of passengers and goods, international credit insurance transactions, etc.). The second group includes services that, by their nature, cannot at all be the subject of export (among them state and infrastructure services dominate). The third, large group of services are those that can be produced for both internal needs and for export.
12. In foreign trade for analytical purposes, factor (Factor Services) and Non-Factor Services are distinguished. The first includes payments arising in connection with the international movement of factors of production, primarily capital and labor: investment income, royalties and licensed payments, wages paid to non -residents. The second is the other types of services: transport, travel and other non -financial services. According to experts, the division of services into factor and non -factor is especially important for discussing the problems of regulating international trade in services within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which are concentrated mainly on non -factor services.
13. Since the provision of services in the foreign market often occurs simultaneously with the sale of physical goods or the implementation of investments in a particular country, in accordance with the methods of delivery of services they are divided into three types:
- Investment services (Investment -RELATED SERVICES), – banking, hotel and professional services;
- Trade -RELATED SERVICES, – transport, insurance;
- Services associated simultaneously with investments and trade (Trade-And-INVESTMENT REALATED SERVICES),-communication, construction, computer and information services, personal, cultural and recreational services.
14. Depending on the form of service, subscription maintenance is distinguished, urgent, at the place of work, residence, rest, etc.
15. In modern literature, one can find, albeit in fuzzy form, the division of services also into professional (Professional) and non-professional (non-proprietary); Sometimes intellectual and institutional services are distinguished.
According to Mark Scott, the field of professional services is still a giant dark spot. However, at the beginning of the 21st century. Substantial publications have appeared, which discusses the essence, role, composition, causes and trends of the development of professional services.
The field of professional services provides approximately 17% of jobs in Europe and the USA. In 1997, the annual income of the enterprise of this industry around the world amounted to about 700 billion dollars, and annual growth was 15%. According to the available calculations, only consulting activities, which in 1997 brought about 60 billion dollars, increased about 20% per year in the next 10 years. Over the past 10 years, the sphere of professional services has expanded with impressive pace. And in the future, the industry has good opportunities for further growth and increase in profitability. Firms that have traditionally been peripheral service providers have turned into a vital element of the production cycle of most industrial corporations. Firms of professional services help their customers to solve intellectual and creative problems. Who promotes companies in search of their market niche and gives firms recommendations in which directions it is worth developing, and which should be abandoned? Who estimates the cost of absorbed companies? Who develops advertising, draws up trading places and finds out what consumers think about products of production companies? Who controls relations between corporations and the media, as well as relations between the company's management and personnel? Who cares about reducing tax payments? Independent providers of professional services – from investment banks to consultants for design and design – like a cementing solution are strengthened by many large industrial companies. For what reason, these companies manage to make such high profits.
Scott M.K. Firm of professional services. Managers for managers on maximization of profit and cost / Per. from English. M.: Olympus-Business, 2004. S. 4, 7.
Most of the spectrum of these services can be included in the class of business services. Some authors do not distinguish between business and professional services. For example, V.E. Nikolaychuk writes: Business (professional) services are services that are provided to enterprises, organizations, institutions and other economic and managerial structures, as well as individual individuals, which contributes to successful professional activities or profit. In his opinion, institutional services (i.e., services, consumers of which are not individuals, but enterprises, organizations, institutions and other economic and managerial structures) belong to the type of business services and are their special case 6.
From an economic point of view (for analytical purposes), services are also divided into capital -intensive, labor -intensive and high -tech. You can find attempts to “visual” presentation of the classification of services in the form of a scheme. Here is one of them.
Source. Nikolaev M.A. Marketing of goods and services: Textbook. M.: Business Literature, 2001. S. 153.