Getting Down to Business
| Site: | Saylor Academy |
| Course: | BUS101: Introduction to Business |
| Book: | Getting Down to Business |
| Printed by: | Guest user |
| Date: | Thursday, 3 April 2025, 6:37 PM |
Description
Read this section learn about internal and external factors that affect the success of businesses. Pay particular attention to Figure 1.2 to gain an understanding of where each of these factors falls.
Getting Down to Business
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
- Identify the main participants of business, the functions that most businesses perform, and the external forces that influence business activities.
A business is any activity that provides goods or services to consumers for the purpose of making a profit. When Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created Apple Computer in Jobs's family garage, they started a business. The product was the Apple I, and the company's founders hoped to sell their computers to customers for more than it cost to make and market them. If they were successful (which they were), they'd make a profit.
Before we go on, let's make a couple of important distinctions concerning the terms in our definitions. First, whereas Apple produces and sells goods (Mac, iPhone, iPod, iPad), many businesses provide services. Your bank is a service company, as is your Internet provider. Hotels, airlines, law firms, movie theaters, and hospitals are also service companies. Many companies provide both goods and services. For example, your local car dealership sells goods (cars) and also provides services (automobile repairs).
Second, some organizations are not set up to make profits. Many are established to provide social or educational services. Such not-for-profit (or nonprofit) organizations include the United Way of America, Habitat for Humanity, the Boys and Girls Clubs, the Sierra Club, the American Red Cross, and many colleges and universities. Most of these organizations, however, function in much the same way as a business. They establish goals and work to meet them in an effective, efficient manner. Thus, most of the business principles introduced in this text also apply to nonprofits.
This text was adapted by Saylor Academy under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License without attribution as requested by the work's original creator or licensor.
Business Participants and Activities
Let's begin our discussion of business by identifying the main participants of business and the functions that most businesses perform. Then we'll finish this section by discussing the external factors that influence a business's activities.
Participants
Every business must have one or more owners whose primary role is to invest money in the business. When a business is being started, it's generally the owners who polish the business idea and bring together the resources (money and people) needed to turn the idea into a business. The owners also hire employees to work for the company and help it reach its goals. Owners and employees depend on a third group of participants – customers. Ultimately, the goal of any business is to satisfy the needs of its customers in order to generate a profit for the owners.
Functional Areas of Business
The activities needed to operate a business can be divided into a number of functional areas: management, operations, marketing, accounting, and finance. Let's briefly explore each of these areas.
Management
Managers are responsible for the work performance of other people. Management involves planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling a company's resources to achieve its goals. Managers plan by setting goals and developing strategies. They organize activities to ensure goals are met, staff the organization with qualified employees, and direct them towards those goals. Managers also design controls to assess success and take corrective action as needed.
Operations
All companies must convert resources (labor, materials, money, information) into goods or services. Some companies, like Apple, create tangible products such as iPhones. Others, like hospitals, provide intangible services like health care. The person responsible for overseeing the transformation process is the operations manager, who ensures high-quality production.
Marketing
Marketing involves identifying customer needs and designing products to meet them. Marketers determine product features, pricing, delivery methods, and promotional strategies. They build relationships with customers and ensure they are satisfied with the products or services provided.
Accounting
Accountants provide financial information to managers. Financial accountants create statements to assess a company’s financial health, while managerial accountants prepare internal reports, such as cost analyses, to aid decision-making.
Finance
Finance focuses on managing funds. Finance managers address key questions: How much money is needed? Where will it come from? How will it be repaid? They also determine how to invest in research, equipment, and other areas to ensure long-term growth and stability.
External Forces that Influence Business Activities
Figure 1.2 Business and Its Environment
Apple and other businesses don't operate in a vacuum: they're influenced by a number of external factors. These include the economy, government, consumer trends, and public pressure to act as good corporate citizens. Figure 1.2 "Business and Its Environment" sums up the relationship among the participants in a business, its functional areas, and the external forces that influence its activities. One industry that's clearly affected by all these factors is the fast-food industry. A strong economy means people have more money to eat out at places where food standards are monitored by a government agency, the Food and Drug Administration. Preferences for certain types of foods are influenced by consumer trends (eating fried foods might be OK one year and out the next). Finally, a number of decisions made by the industry result from its desire to be a good corporate citizen. For example, several fast-food chains have responded to environmental concerns by eliminating Styrofoam containers. As you move through this text, you'll learn more about these external influences on business. (Section 1.3 "What Is Economics?" will introduce in detail one of these external factors – the economy.)
Key Takeaways
- The main participants in a business are its owners, employees, and customers.
- Businesses are influenced by such external factors as the economy, government, consumer trends, and public pressure to act as good corporate citizens.
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The activities needed to run a business can be divided into five functional areas:
- Management involves planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling resources to achieve organizational goals.
- Operations transforms resources (labor, materials, money, and so on) into products.
- Marketing works to identify and satisfy customers' needs.
- Finance involves planning for, obtaining, and managing company funds.
- Accounting entails measuring, summarizing, and communicating financial and managerial information.
Exercises
- (AACSB) Analysis
The Martin family has been making guitars out of its factory in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, factory for more than 150 years. In 2004, Martin Guitar was proud to produce its millionth instrument. Go tohttp://www.martinguitar.com to link to the Martin Guitar Website and read about the company's long history. You'll discover that, even though it's a family-run company with a fairly unique product, it operates like any other company. Identify the main activities or functions of Martin Guitar's business and explain how each activity benefits the company.
- How has the economy affected the business's pricing, revenue, or expansion plans?
- What role have government regulations played in shaping its product offerings, food safety, or labor practices?
- How have the products or services been impacted or influenced by shifts in consumer preferences?
- Has the business responded to environmental concerns or social responsibility pressures, and if so, how?
Name four external factors that have an influence on business. Give examples of the ways in which each factor can affect the business performance of two companies: Wal-Mart and Ford.