Miranda Beal
Spears School of Business, Oklahoma State University
EEE 2083-30940
Dr. Steve Trost
February 10, 2023
What is the Market
Per L. Bylund defines the market as the exchange. (Bylund, 2016). To elaborate on that statement, the market is the exchange of goods and services for money or other goods and services. Individuals participate in exchange for their own satisfaction. It would be ridiculous for a person to exchange a good that they value for a different item that they value less. For example, a farmer could take their crops to a local market and sell their items to the public. This would be an exchange of produce for money, which would be a valuable exchange for the farmer. On the other hand, the customer received an item that was necessary and more valuable than the money that gave to the farmer. Both parties received something that hold a higher value to them than what they originally had. If the customer got home and their produce was rotted or did not meet their expectations, fraudulent behavior was displayed by the farmer. He made the items seem more valuable than they truly were. (Bylund, 2016, p.5).
What is Economics
According to Bylund in chapter one of "How to Think About the Economy: A Primer" over the past three centuries economics has been about identifying, learning, and understanding the laws by which the economy works. Generally, the economy is thought to be the machinery, inputs, services, and industries that we use and work in. However, that is a simple explanation that is incorrect. (Bylund, 2022, p. 15).
"Core to understanding the economy is recognizing that it is about human actions and interaction. In fact the economy is people acting and interacting. It is little or nothing else." (Bylund, 2022, p. 15).
The economy is about how entrepreneurs create services and products to satisfy the needs and wants of consumers. The economy is not a thought-out plan, rather it is something that comes about when humans create and interact with others. For example, there was a positive impact on our economy when an engineer used his education and knowledge to build the first smartphone. A negative example would be the introduction of tourism to an area. The cost of living will rise for the locals and the goods and services that were easily accessible is being used by tourists. Resources have become scarce. (Bylund, 2022, p. 18). The production of goods and services is already extremely difficult but having more people trying to acquire products in a small area makes it nearly impossible for producers to meet demands.
The Production Process
In "The Seen, the unseen, and the unrealized" Bylund goes into detail about the production process. The production process is surrounded by uncertainty. An entrepreneur goes in blind, hoping that the good or service they plan to produce meets their expectation and the needs of their consumers. Before their item hits their target market, they have invested an extreme amount of time and money in their product. Not only do they have to meet the consumers' needs, but they must also anticipate them. (Bylund, 2016, p.6). Producers must also think about their cost and return on investment. They must look at whether they could substitute a different input and still get an acceptable output.
"Of course, using wood instead of steel would change the production process, and probably the product too, which means the entrepreneur must change the whole calculus and estimate what profit could be earned from a different product produced using another, alternative production process." (Bylund, 2016, p. 8).
Meaning, using a cheaper resource has production cost benefits, however, it could change the product completely and the process of creating it would be very different. It may no longer be the good they intended to create in the first place.
Per L. Bylund explains the production process in a different light when he wrote "How to Think About the Economy: A Primer". He explains that there is more to the economy than what we can find on shelf at the store. (Bylund, 2022, p. 42). We must think about the bigger picture. He uses a candy factory as an example,
"In fact, candy producers could not make their candy if there were not already producers of the necessary ingredients already available."
We must consider ever other processes required to achieve the machinery, ingredients, the factory, and even the training of employees, as well as the steps taken to produce the candy. Bylund explains how the miner does not think about how the ore he gathered will be turned into steel for a candy machine, (Bylund, 2022, p. 44) or how the farmer growing sugar cane expects it to be used to produce chocolates that will be passed out on Valentine's Day. The resources are not grown or made for specific goods, but rather for other producers to exchange for or buy to then use however they desire.
Entrepreneurs in the Economy
The goal that most entrepreneurs have is to create products and services that will benefit consumers, while making a profit. However, it is easier said than done. They must take into consideration a lot of factors working against them. As I stated previously, they must anticipate the next thing consumers will want to acquire. They have to be thinking in the future at all times. This becomes extremely difficult when the needs and wants of consumers can change in a split second.
"Something a person values in the present may not be something they value in the future." (Bylund, 2016, p. 5).
Entrepreneurs have to provide services and goods that will satisfy consumers. They have to be creative. If they produce something that already exists at the same price of the original product, what will make consumers choose their item? For instance, there are hundreds of different brands of mint flavored gum. Each time a new kind is released they promise something different, longer lasting flavor, better ingredients, no sugar, etc. However, not many people will switch from their favorite brand because they are content with what they already purchase. The ingredients to produce gum are not in high demand, so there is an abundance of it available to consumers.
"And the more we have of something, the lesser the satisfaction of using another one." (Bylund, 2022, p. 25).
In simpler terms, if there is an abundance of something, there is less satisfaction in using it. However, if a new product is available and we acquire it, we will be more pleased and fulfilled by using it.
They must also consider their current and future competitors. In chapter four of "How to Think About the Economy: A Primer", Bylund uses the example of the production automobiles. Manufacturers of buggies did not anticipate someone to invent such a product. Their industry was impacted negatively because another manufacturer created a product that benefitted the customers more than what they could provide.
I found your essay very well thought out, and I like the way you break down some of the points Bylund made in his writing. I especially liked that you began your essay with the definition of what the economy is. Like many others, I always thought of the economy as some well-crafted (or poorly-crafted, depending on who you ask) machine that must be maintained by the government or individual industries. However, I think you defined the economy well in the following quote:
After reading Bylund's writings, it has become more apparent that the economy is merely a reflection of the millions of interactions that occur each day. Whether it is one individual purchasing groceries at a supermarket, or a large corporation signing a deal for millions of dollars of goods, the economy does not control these interactions, it merely reflects them on a larger scale. I found this aspect of Bylund's writings particularly interesting, because I had never personally thought of the economy in this way.
I also enjoyed Bylund's understanding of the supply chain for individual goods, as well as your analysis of this idea. I agree that raw materials are produced, not for any end product, but for those that can (and will) pay the most to turn the materials into a more beneficial good. I enjoyed Bylund's analysis of a candy-maker, who must use steel, sugar, electricity, and thousands of other products created by others (including the coffee that their employees drink on breaks) to create their own goods.
Of course, as you discuss, entrepreneurs must then invest both their time and money into a product that does not exist yet. Because they can not produce their goods until they have the necessary materials, they take on a massive risk that consumers would like to purchase that product at a price that can both pay for the materials purchased and provide a product for the entrepreneur. This risk is even larger when you consider the ever-changing wants of consumers. As you said above, the producers of buggies likely did not realize that cars would make their products all but obsolete in mere decades. Entrepreneurs must always be watchful of new innovations, and be prepared to adapt to these changes, otherwise they could lose massive amounts of money.
I agree that that it would be silly for one to exchange something of value for something of less value. However, each product that has "value" is valued differently to each individual. One may value a car over a house because they do not mind a less valuable house. I like how you stated
I think that is were our generation goes wrong. You see all this reels on social media that talks about "get rich quick". Having this implanted in our heads, people think they can plan or anticipate how the economy will change over time. You can only do what interests you and hope that it will make a big enough impact in the economy. In addition, I would have to disagree with you to some degree when you said that tourism is a negative impact to an area. I think there is a lot of good to tourism. It can bring more revenue to that place, giving more job opportunities to the locals as well as giving the city a chance to grow and expand. Sure, it can make prices go up but that is due to the stream of money increasing as well. In addition, I think it is a good thing if you cannot keep up with demands. It shows business is going well and you have a constant audience that is intrigued in your product. I really like the way you worded how an entrepreneur cannot only meet the needs of their customers but most importantly, anticipate them. Knowing what the consumers want before they even know what they want is a huge way to get a jump start ahead of your competitors. I agree that using the cheaper option is not always the smartest move. Sure it may cut our production cost in half but in return the product may be less reliable and prone to breaking. Ultimately, resulting in less sales. The production process goes way deeper than just a product on the shelf, like you explained. There is the process of getting all the materials, paying the employees, and trial and error, the process that the consumer does not see. I loved reading your article and helped me view economy through a different perspective.
Reading your article, it struck me as being really well-thought out, and I appreciate the way you discussed some of Bylund's writing arguments. I particularly appreciated how you defined the economy at the outset of your essay. Like many others, I've always viewed the economy as a machine that needs to be maintained by the administration or other industries, depending on how well or poorly it was built. I also really like the way that you discussed the market in the opening parts of your article, because it can be a very complicated topic, and it is good to get as much quality information as possible. I also liked how you used the word "exchange" a lot, because I fell that that is a very good word to use when discussing the market. I also really like that you discussed different ways to be more successful in the market such as being more efficient when buying resources and goods.
I really like your quote here because I believe that entrepreneurs are an extremely important part of this nation's economy, and I believe that the economy truly relies on entrepreneurship. Small businesses are crucial to the economy being its most healthy version of itself. Entrepreneurship is a very complicated field to get into, and I really liked how your article dove in to what they must do in order to be successful. There is a lot of different aspects that lead to an entrepreneurs success, but I really like the things that you touched on in this article. Entrepreneurs come at all different ages and have many different talents which is what makes all of them very unique. You also discussed how entrepreneurs often have lots and lots of money and time invested in their field, so it is important for them to be dedicated to their venture in order to be successful. Overall, I felt that you discussed a lot of good things, and I felt that you used your quotes very well. I also thought that your use of pictures was very good, and the overall layout of your article was very well thought out and was easy to follow and read.
The way you formatted this essay really helped me understand each point of your arguments. I enjoyed reading this essay and understanding what your view points were! You went into so much depth with terms and it really helped mw understand the definition more!
I totally agree with this quote. Without entrepreneurs the economy would be nothing because they would not have any products or services to sell to the people. The economy is all about what the people want and needs. I agree with you saying the economy is not a specific plan. I feel like the economy is constantly changing that there is no way it could ever have a consistent plan. The economy is all the wealth that the government gathers from all the products and services that entrepreneurs produce.
I agree with with your point about how there is much uncertainty when it comes to producing a product. Sometimes when we produce a product things don't always go the way we want them to. There is so much that goes into producing the product and I don't think we realize that.
I completely agree with the above quote. Entrepreneurs have to know what the trends are and what's in, in order to make a profit. Entrepreneurs have to make products that are eye catching to the customer. Entrepreneurs have to think outside the box when making a similar product. People get easily bored nowadays so when you want to produce a product you need to make sure it's different and creative.
This essay was awesome to read and opened my mind to seeing how much entrepreneurs effect our economy.
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