The Business Environment
Introduction to Business 100
July 21, 2012
Businesses have played a vital role in the economy because it gave people a structured way of bartering (exchanging of goods) for services. Businesses in the beginning were not concerned with the consumer as much as it was with making a profit. If a company could create a better way to produce a large amount of a product it will do so. The problem however was that it would quickly eliminate working with the people who were producing the goods by hand and take credit for producing it. According to Kelly and McGowan (2012), almost 300 years ago business in the United States was focusing on making money for the business owner. Kelly and McGowan also explain how businesses were broken down to 5 distinct areas during the 1700 through 1800. The Industrial Revolution happened when huge factories began to produce products that were made by small workshops like tables, chairs, and shoes. After the Industrial Revolution came, the Production Era led to the development of entrepreneurs. The entrepreneur developed large amounts of wealth for themselves and raised the standard of living. In addition the government began to pass laws to regulate how people conducted business and to protect the consumers (Kelly and McGowan 2012, pg. 4-5).
The last two eras that played a role in the business economy are the Marketing Era and the Relationship Era. During the Marketing Era power moved from the producers of products to the consumer’s using the products. In addition, the Marketing Era helped increase competition between other businesses. The Relationship Era used the ideas of the Marketing Era and kept the focus on pleasing the consumer. Most businesses understand that repeat customers (consumers) will refer new people to their business therefore it’s important to keep customers satisfied (Kelly and McGowan 2012, pg. 5).
Most modern businesses where built during the Relationship...