Ch 4Business Services — Class 11 Business Studies, concept-first.

We all feel the effect of business activity every day, often without noticing that some purchases give us a good while others give us a service. Compare a few familiar pairs:

Services have five basic features that also set them apart from goods. Because each feature begins with the letter "I", they are popularly called the five Is of services.

Two characteristics chiefly distinguish services from goods: - Non-transferability of ownership — buying a service does not transfer ownership of anything physical.

The service sector can be divided into three broad categories: business services, social services and personal services.

In today's fiercely competitive world the rule is "survival of the fittest," and there is no room for non-performance.

Commercial banks are an important institution of the economy, providing institutional credit to their customers.

Because banking needs are diverse, we need distinctive kinds of banks. Banks are classified into four types: commercial banks, cooperative banks, specialised banks and the central bank.

Banks perform many functions — some are primary (basic) functions and others are agency or general-utility services. The important ones are:

The growth of the internet and e-commerce is turning the world into a digital global village, and the latest wave in information technology is internet banking — a part of virtual banking and another…

Life is full of uncertainties — risks of death and disability to human life, fire and burglary to property, perils of the sea to shipments of goods, and so on.

The basic principle of insurance is that an individual or a business chooses to spend a definitely known sum (the premium) in place of a possibly huge, indefinite future loss.

Insurance performs the following main functions:

The principles of insurance are the rules of conduct adopted by the parties in the insurance business. Seven principles are of the greatest significance to a valid insurance contract.

Insurance is broadly classified into life insurance, fire insurance and marine insurance.

Communication services help a business establish links with the outside world — with suppliers, customers, competitors and others.

The Indian Post and Telegraph Department provides various postal services across India. For this, the country is divided into 22 postal circles, which manage the day-to-day working of the head post of…

A world-class telecommunications infrastructure is the key to a country's rapid economic and social development and is, in fact, the backbone of every business activity.

Transportation comprises freight services together with supporting and auxiliary services, by all modes — rail, road, air and sea — for the movement of goods and the international carriage of passenge…

Storage has always been vital to economic development. The warehouse was originally a static unit for keeping and storing goods scientifically and systematically, so as to preserve their original qual…

- Business services — services used by business enterprises to conduct their activities (banking, insurance, transportation, warehousing, communication).

- Nature of services — Services are separately identifiable, essentially intangible activities that satisfy wants and are not necessarily linked to the sale of a product.