Business Concepts and Stakeholders

Study Notes

Businesses are entities, individuals or organizations trying to make a profit by providing products that meet people's needs.
Products include goods (tangible) or services (intangible) that offer benefits or satisfaction.
The goal of a business is to earn a profit which is the difference between the cost of producing and selling a product and what customers pay for it.
Profits contribute to society by providing employment, which in turn generates income reinvested in the economy.
Profits must be earned responsibly.
Non-profit organizations do not have the goal of earning profits, they provide goods and services to achieve their goals.
They also engage in management, marketing, and finance activities.

Stakeholders are groups that have an interest in the success of a business.
They include customers, employees, investors, government regulators, the community and society.
Businesses must produce quality products, operate efficiently, and act responsibly and ethically to achieve and maintain profitability with their stakeholders.

Economics is the study of resource distribution within a social system for the production of goods and services.
There are four types of economic systems: communism, socialism, capitalism, and mixed economies.
Natural resources are things not made by humans, such as land, forests, minerals, and water.
Human Resources, or labor, are people's mental and physical abilities used to produce goods/services.
Financial resources, also known as capital, are funds used to acquire natural and human resources.
Intangible resources are things like reputation for quality or being socially responsible.

All economic systems must address three questions:
- What goods and services, and how much of each, will satisfy consumer needs?
- How will goods and services be produced and with what resources?
- How will goods and services be distributed to consumers?

Communism is a system where the people, without regard to class, own all the nation's resources.
Despite a seemingly efficient concept, communist economies suffer from low standards of living, shortages of consumer goods, high prices, corruption, and limited freedom.