Services

Services are activities performed at different levels — some serve industry, some serve people directly, and some serve both. Transport systems are a classic example of a service that caters to both industry and individual consumers.

Low-order services like grocery shops and laundries are common and widespread because they meet everyday needs. High-order services — such as those of accountants, consultants, and physicians — are more specialised and therefore less common. The key difference is that high-order services require greater expertise and are used less frequently.

Services are provided to individual consumers who can afford to pay for them. The nature of labour involved varies:

• Physical labour — gardeners, launderers, barbers
• Mental labour — teachers, lawyers, physicians, musicians

Many services today are regulated. Governments or companies often supervise or perform essential services such as:

• Building and maintaining highways and bridges
• Maintaining fire-fighting departments
• Supplying or supervising education and customer care

State and union legislation has established corporations to control and supervise the marketing of services like transport, telecommunication, energy, and water supply.

Professional services are primarily in health care, engineering, law, and management. These require specialised training and are typically high-order.

The location of recreational and entertainment services depends on the market. Multiplexes and restaurants tend to locate within or near the Central Business District (CBD), where foot traffic is high. A golf course, by contrast, chooses a site where land costs are lower than in the CBD — because it needs large open space and does not depend on walk-in customers. …