2.4 What is a market?

Economic and management sciences

Grade 7

The successful entrepreneur

Module 8

What is a market?

“An employee questions that which is already part of the business.”

“An entrepreneur questions the reasons for things not being part of the business.”

What is a market?

Products and services are bought and offered for sale on the “market”. Most people think of the market as an informal shopping centre where you can buy fruit, vegetables and handmade articles. But a “market” does not have to be a fixed place. Wherever there is contact between buyers and sellers, we have a market. This contact does not necessarily have to take place physically between persons. It could happen by telephone, computer or even through an advertisement in a newspaper.

The word “market” is also used to refer to a group of buyers. The market for school clothes, for instance, comprises the learners at school and their parents.

1. Different types of markets

Consumers buy goods and services from manufacturers at the goods and services market .

Manufacturers , again, buy the four factors of production ( land, capital, labour and entrepreneurial skills ) from the factors market . These four factors are required for producing goods and services.

Activity 1:

To make inferences from the interaction between buyer and seller

[lo 1.4.1]

2. Study the following representation and:

1. try to find six examples of contact between buyer and seller;
2. see if you are able to identify products/services that are sold on the factors market.
3. In your groups, discuss the different types of market where manufacturers will be buying the four factors of production.

Assessment