in slum areas. These services are usually provided voluntarily but for some consideration to cover their costs. For example, health care and education services provided by certain Non-government organisations (NGOs) and government agencies. (iii) Personal Services: Personal services are those services which are experienced differently by different customers.
These services cannot be consistent in nature. They will differ depending upon the service provider. They will also depend upon customer’s preferences and demands. For example, tourism, recreational services, restaurants.
In the context of better understanding of the business world, we will be limiting our further discussions to the first category of the service sector i.e., business services. . . Business Services Today’s world is of tough competition, where the survival of the fittest is the rule.
There is no room for non- performance, and hence companies tend to stick to what they can do best. In order to be competitive, business enterprises, are becoming more and more dependant on specialised business services. Business enterprises look towards banks for availability of funds; insurance companies for getting their plant, machinery, goods, etc., insured; transport companies for transporting raw material; and finished goods, and telecom and postal services for being in touch with their vendors, suppliers and customers. Today’s globalised world has ushered in a rapid change in the service industry in India.
India has been gaining a highly competitive edge over other countries when it comes to providing services to the developed economies of the world. Many foreign companies are looking to India for performing a host of business services. They are even transferring a part of their business operations to be performed in India. We will discuss these in detail in the next chapter.
Role of Services in an Economy The services sector — including power, telecom and transport account for - per cent of the economy in most OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. While that may be surprising, even developing countries have significant proportion of their GDP coming from the services sector. Sustained, high and broad-based growth is essential for economic development and poverty alleviation. What is needed