GuySuCo- a business that contributes to nation building Large and small businesses make a major contribution to the life of any country, providing important products as well as employment for people. They also contribute to the earning of foreign currency when goods are exported to ather parts of the world Guyana Sugar Corporation inc. (GuySuCo) is or important businesses in Guyana, altho has faced increasing competition from huge sugar-growing producers across the globe (such as india, Brazil, China and Thailand). GuySuCo generates about 2-3 per c annual revenue andis a key part of the agricultural sector. Its famous fo brown sugar produced in the Demerara River basin. On 26 May 1976, the government of Guyana nationalised and combined the large sugar estate owned by private businesses The Guyanese govemment is 2 major stakeholder in GuySuCo because the corporationis such an important provider of jobs, government revenues and a basic staple agricultural product. A stakeholder is someone who has an interest in how a business is run. Other groups with an interest in the success. of GuySuCo include its workers as well as other businesses that benefit from contracts with the company, such as those using agricultural machinery. Most cently, GuySuCo is working towards diversification through value added products such as the production of white sugar (plantation white) and co-generation. Heritage tourism (sugar/plantation} is also being explored Why is GuySuCo considered to be a business? Why does the government of Guyana have a stake in the success of GuySuCo? Who are the other stakeholders with an interest in the succe GuySuCo? Identify their specific interests. at large businesses do you know that make a major contribution to the ‘of your country? To what extent do you have a stake in the success of one or more of these businesses?After reading this chapter, you should be able to: Explain the development of barter 10 Describe the role of money ul Identify the instruments of exchange 12 Interpret information on various instruments of payment 16 Differentiate bedveen private and public sectors 1 Describe the various forms of business organisation and arrangements 20 stems %6 28 Differentiate among the types of economic sy Describe the functional areas of a busi Identify the stakeholders involved in business activities 31 Discuss the role and functions of the stakeholders involved in business activities 33 Explain the ethical and legal issues in the establishment and operation of a business 36 Explain the principles that must be adopted in the establishment and operation ofa business 37 Explain the consequences of unethical and illegal practices in business 38 Describe the careers in the field of business, Once you have complete you can check you answers online at: wnw.oxfordsecondary com/97tPRU So Rtn en Business activity: the activity of producing and selling goods/services to consumers. Barter: the exchange of goods and services for other goods without the use of money, Double coincidence of wants: two people who want what each other has to offer. 1. Identify situations where you have engaged in ‘barter’ with friends. What were the key factors, that made an, exchange possible and desirable? 2. Identify situation where you refused tomakea swap with someone, Why did you turn down their offer? What does this say about barter? 3. Business in action Find a picture ofa cowrie shell online, What are the distinctive features that you think helped tomakethe shella means of exchange? Explain the development of barter Business activity only became possible when a means of exchanging goods and services was developed. As we shall see in the units below, it was the development of money that enabled the development of a trading economy, and therefore the development of business activity. Business activity is concerned principally with producing and selling goods and services to consumers (people who make use of these goods and services). In order to understand how business has developed, itis first necessary to explain the development of money, and how trade took place prior to the development of money. Barter Before money, people would barter, ie. they would exchange goods and/or services for other goods and/or services without the use of money (such as a goat for several chickens). This requires two people who want what each other has to offer (@ double coincidence of wants). An advantage of bartering is that money is not needed; so long as you have what someone else wants, you can barter. It also allows for variety because anything can be bartered so long as its desired by someone else. You could barter a holiday home for an urban flat, or a car for an expensive watch, etc. The obvious disadvantage is that one person may not have enough goods to make the exchange fair, or they may not want a whole goat for example. Over time, people realised that small but valuable items, such as cowrie shells, beads, stones and animal teeth, could be used instead of simply exchanging goods. Bartering does actually still happen to this day, particularly on websites that allow people to swap goods or services. Is not possibleif there is no double coincidence of wants Facilitates trade without money There is often a lack ofan equitable exchange rate Enables the disposal of surplus production There are often difficulties in dividing goods fairly Itdoesnot allow for wealth to be stored over time ‘Advantages of bartering Disadvantages of bartering Increases the availability of goods | Lays the foundation for the organised methad of trading we enjoy nowadaysDescribe the role of money Money: anything that A subsistence economy is one in which people simply produce enough serves as a generally to survive on an individual, family or group basis. The group may grow acceptable means of crops and raise livestock, as well as hunt, gather fruit and berries, and exchange. Includes catch fish, There's little need for exchanging with other groups, so the physical objects, e.g, requirement for money does not arise. cowrie shells and paper money, as well as cards and electronic forms of Subsistence economies were used in early societies before money was invented, However, as soon as these early societies started to look outwards to obtain food and possessions that they didn’t produce payment, themselves, they needed to trade. Barter is helpful for trading, butit Characteristics of only goes so far, because in order to barter you need to have something money: features of a that others want. form of money, such as Over time, monetary systems developed to combat many of the whether it is easy to carry problems associated with bartering, Market or money economies around (portability) developed as a way of making purchases from others, using money. Functions of money: the We saw in the previous unit that objects such as cowrie shells became things that money does one of the earliest forms of money. These shells came to take on the and the purposes it serves, role of money due to their characteristics. Understanding these forexample asa means of characteristics helps us to understand how something (in this case the making an exchange. shells) becomes acceptable as money. Cowrie shells had the following characteristics: * Scarcity: shells were valuable because they were relatively scarce. * Acceptability: people were prepared to accept shells as payment because they knew that they could use them for future trading, * Portability: the shells could be carried easily for long distances. * Durability: the shells were hard-wearing and long-lasting. * Divisibility: shells could be supplied in various quantities, to buy purchases of different sizes. In modern terms, a car can be priced at thousands or millions of dollars. Dollars can be divided into cents for small items such asa packet of chewing gum ora piece —_Cowrie shells were an early formof of fruit, Shells could be divided in a similar way. money The functions of money The functions of money are as follows: ‘© Asamedium of exchange: money is generally accepted as a means of payment for most goods. * Asaunit of account: the price of an item can be measured in terms of how many units of currency itis worth, For example, while a low-quality sweater may cost $10, a high-quality one may be valued at $100 or more.