Teamwork in Business: Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Teamwork in Business

• Team defined: A group of individuals working toward a shared goal with complementary skills.
• Group Versus Team: A group involves people working independently with minimal collaboration.
• In contrast, a team involves collaboration with shared accountability and interdependence.
• Five Characteristics of Effective Teams:
  • Shared accountability for common goals
  • Interdependent functioning among members
  • Stability (consistent membership over time)
  • Authority and decision-making power
  • Defined social context for collaboration
• Teams enhance productivity, solve problems, and improve collaboration.
• Productivity increases from using teams.
  • Xerox reported 30% productivity gains using teams.
  • FedEx reduced service errors by 13%.
• Success Factors for Teams:
  • Clear objectives
  • Well-defined roles
  • Open communication
  • Trust
  • Avoiding dominance by one person or groupthink
• Types of Teams:
  • Manager-Led Teams: Controlled by a leader (e.g., sports teams with a coach)
  • Self-Managing Teams: Team members make most decisions themselves (e.g., Whole Foods’ store teams)
  • Cross-Functional Teams: Experts from different business areas collaborate (e.g., product development teams at Nike)
  • Virtual Teams: Members work remotely using technology (e.g., global project teams at Lockheed Martin)
• A good team member possesses good qualities in:
  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills
  • Ability to contribute with technical expertise
  • A willingness to collaborate and compromise

Chapter 2: Foundations of Business

• Core business fundamentals include:
  • Ownership types
  • Organizational functions
  • Stakeholders
• A business provides goods or services to make a profit.
• Revenue Versus Profit: Revenue is total earnings from sales. Profit is revenue minus expenses (costs of running the business).
• Areas of Business Functions
  • Operations: Produces goods/services (e.g., manufacturing, logistics)
  • Marketing: Promotes and sells products
  • Finance: Manages business funds, investments, and financial health
  • Human Resources (HR): Hires, trains, and manages employees
  • Accounting: Tracks financial transactions and ensures regulatory compliance
• Stakeholders: Individuals or groups affected by a business (employees, customers, suppliers, government).
• Conflicting Interests in Stakeholders:
  • Investors want high profits, but customers want lower prices
  • Employees desire high wages, but businesses want cost efficiency

Chapter 3: Economics and Business

• Core is how economic principles (supply & demand and market structures) affect business operations.
• Economic Systems:
  • Planned Economies:
    • Communism: Government controls all businesses (e.g., North Korea).
    • Socialism: Government controls key industries but allows private business (e.g., Sweden, Canada).
  • Market Economies (Capitalism):
    • Private businesses make economic decisions (e.g., USA, Canada).
  • Mixed Economies:
    • Combines market and government control (e.g., Canada’s healthcare is public, but most industries are private).
• Supply and Demand:
  • Law of Demand: Consumers buy more at lower prices.
  • Law of Supply: Businesses supply more at higher prices.
  • Market Equilibrium: Supply meets demand, setting the "right" price
• Measuring Economic Health:
  • GDP (Gross Domestic Product): Total value of goods and services produced
  • Unemployment Rate: % of job-seeking individuals without work
  • Inflation vs. Deflation: Rising prices that reduces buying power, and falling prices that often leads to economic downturns

Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility

• Core is how ethical decision-making in business and corporate social responsibility (CSR) affect business operations and decisions.
• Ethics is defined as right versus wrong behavior in business decisions. Common Ethical Issues:
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Insider trading
  • Bribery
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is where companies should act in society's best interest.
• Social Responsibility model:
  • Economic - Be profitable
  • Legal - Follow laws and regulations
  • Ethical - Do the right thing
  • Philanthropic - Give back to society

Chapter 5: Business in a Global Environment

• Core is how businesses will expand internationally and navigate in global markets.
• Why businesses expand internationally:
• Larger markets
• Cheaper production
• Global brand recognition
• Challenges for Businesses Operating in Multiple Cultures:
  • Cultural differences
  • Legal barriers
  • Currency fluctuations
  • Tariffs & Quotas: Governments limit imports to protect local businesses
• Trade Agreements:
  • USMCA (formerly NAFTA): Free trade between Canada, USA, Mexico
  • WTO (World Trade Organization): Regulates global trade

Chapter 6: Forms of Business Ownership

• Core overview explains how business structures and their advantages/disadvantages relate.
• Sole Proprietorships:
  • Pros: Easy to start, full control, no partners to split profits with.
  • Cons: Unlimited personal liability (personal assets at risk), harder to raise funds.
• Partnerships: Involves partners where equal management and liability is shared.
  • Key facts are:
    • General Partnership: Equal management and liability
    • Limited Partnership: Investors (limited partners) provide funds but have no management role
• Corporations:
  • Pros: Limited liability, easier to raise capital
  • Cons: More regulation, double taxation
• Cooperatives are owned by members who share profits (e.g., credit unions).
• Nonprofits serve public interests, not profit-driven (e.g., Red Cross).