Topic 2 - Consumers and Businesses Flashcards
What is consumer sovereignty?
Consumer sovereignty is a concept in which consumers decides what goods and services will be produced through exercising their freedom to choose what to buy. Because of this, business will produce what goods and services are in demand by the consumers
What is structural change?
The change in the structure of an economy
What are some factors which undermine consumer sovereignty? (4)
Marketing
Misleading/deceptive conduct
Planned obsolescence
Anti-competitive behaviours
How does marketing undermine consumer sovereignty?
Advertising and marketing exerts influences over spending patterns in consumers, thus it isn’t completely consumer sovereignty, but the businesses trying to influence consumer sovereignty
How does misleading/deceptive conduct undermine consumer sovereignty?
Consumers are deceived by false/dishonest claims about a certain product.. This leads to consumers paying for items that they don’t exactly want to buy (because misleading), and thus undermines consumer sovereignty (no freedom)
How does planned obsolescence undermine consumer sovereignty?
Because the goods are designed to have a limited life, it forces the consumer to have to pay for further purchases of the product to keep using it. This means that the firms manipulate consumers in having to re-buy, thus undermining consumer sovereignty
What does planned obsolescence mean?
Basically means that goods are designed to make the product have a limited useful life or a frail design so that it becomes dysfunctional quickly.
How does anti-competitive behaviour undermine consumer sovereingty?
This is where there are markets with a few competitors, which reduce the ability of consumers to choose what they want to buy. Because of this, consumers can’t decide how much they want to spend if they need to buy that good or service
What is the return to labour?
Wages
I.e. Fringe benefits, employer contribution, wage/salary
What is the return to land
Rent
I.e. Investment property might generate property income
What is the return to capital?
Interest (return from the ownership of capital)
What is the return to entrepreneurial skills (enterprise)
Profit
From what can a consumer get an income?
Wages (labour), Interest (capital), profit (enterprise), rent (land), social welfare
What is social welfare?
Social welfare is where income is collected through tax and then transferred from governments to certain target consumers. Some examples include:
Age pension
Parenting payment
Disability support pension
Jobseeker payment
What is the aim of social welfare?
To provide a minimum income ‘safety net’ which allows consumers to purchase the basic necessities
What are the top 2 forms of income?
Wages and salary (57%) and then transfer payments (12%) 2020-2021
What are the 5 factors which influence an individual’s consumer choice?
Level of income Price of good or service Price of substitute and complementary goods Consumer Tastes and Preferences Advertising
What is utility?
Utility is the perceived satisfaction or pleasure received from the consumption of a good or service
How is utility maximised?
Consumers make a choice between what goods and services to buy first and thus picks the good or service which has the largest utility for them
How does level of income affect an individual’s consumer choice?
Typically someone with a higher income will be able to purchase a higher range of products, inversely those with lower incomes have a lower range of products able to be purchased.
Because of this, the poorer consumer has to choose the products which are necessary first before choosing unnecessary ones, as they have a lower range of products which they can purchase
How does the price of the good or service affect an individual’s consumer choice?
The consumer has to decide whether they want to pay a nominated price for an item given their income. Some goods and necessities have to be purchased regardless of price.
Because of price, the consumer may decide to purchase a cheaper good or service over another, and look at which one is more ‘worth’
How does the price of a substitute or complement good affect an individual’s consumer choice?
This is because the quantity of a good demanded at a certain time will be affected by the price of other goods that could replace it. If the substitute good is cheaper, then the substitute good is more likely to be bought. Same vice versa. For complement goods, if a complement good is getting cheaper, the good it is complementing is most likely to be in higher demand.
How do consumer tastes and preferences affect an individual’s consumer choice?
An individual will decide whether or not to purchase a good or service that will provide the individual consumer the highest level of utility or personal satisfaction. If it doesn’t provide much utility, it is unlikely to be bought, same vice versa.
How does advertising affect an individual’s consumer choice?
An individual will be affected by advertising as advertising sometimes creates demand for a good or service. Through advertising, potential consumers may find out about a certain product they didn’t know of before, and choose to purchase it
What is a firm?
A firm is any business organisation which uses resources to produce goods and services to satisfy consumers’ needs and wants, normally in return for a profit
What is the process of incorporation?
The process in which a firm becomes a separate legal entity in the eyes of the law. With this comes the benefit of limited liability, in that if a business goes into debt, the owners are not liable to pay off the debts with their own personal wealth.
What is an industry?
An industry is a group of firms producing a similar range of goods and/or services
What are the key features of an unincorporated business enterprise?
These include sole traders, partnerships. The key features include:
Unlimited liability for business debts
Owners of business will be liable for debts
Capital provided by owners or financial institutions
Expands through borrowing and profits
What are the key features of an incorporated business enterprise?
These include private (proprietary company - pty ltd) and public companies. The key features include:
Limited liability for business debts
Managed by a board of directors
Sells shares in the company
Expands through borrowing and profits
(research difference between private and public) (look at sheet printed in bok)
What are the different industries?
Primary Secondary Tertiary Quaternary Quinary
What are primary industries?
These consist of firms engaged in the extraction of natural resources (such as agriculture, mining, fishing, etc)