Question

essay on commerce (role,meaning,nature,and functions and branches)

Answer 1

Answer:

Every human being is engaged in some kind of activity. These activities are undertaken with some motive. When the object is to create wealth for satisfying human needs, these are categorised as economic activities. If such activities are undertaken only to serve some cause without any economic motive i.e., to satisfy social, religious, cultural or sentimental requirements, these are called non-economic activities.

The motivating force for doing some work is to satisfy human wants. Human wants are unlimited and go on multiplying. The resources to satisfy the needs are limited. The use of scarce resources for satisfying human wants is very important.

The allocation of available resources is done in such a way that optimum satisfaction is achieved. The production of goods and services and making them available to consumers is the essence of economic activities. The distribution of goods and services from producers to the ultimate users is facilitated by commerce.

Meaning:

Commerce refers to all those activities which are necessary to bring goods and services from the place of their origin to the place of their consumption. In the words of Evelyn Thomas, “Commercial occupations deal with the buying and selling of goods, the exchange of commodities and the distribution of the finished products.

” According to Thomas, commerce deals with only the trading part of commerce and ignoring many other activities known as aids to trade which are also very important. According to Dr. Noel Branton, “Commerce comprises a group of specialised activities which together form an essential part of the process of production.”

It links suppliers and consumers by means of trade and activities auxiliary to trade such as transport, banking, insurance and warehousing. The most important links are provided by a series of markets controlled by the price system.

James Stephenson has given an exhaustive definition of commerce. He says that, “Commerce is the sum total of all those processes, which are engaged in the removal of hindrance of persons (trade), place (transport and insurance) and time (warehousing) in the exchange (banking) of commodities.”