Understanding Business – Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 PDF

Understanding Business Topic#1 Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  What is Business? All profit-seeking activities and enterprises that provide goods and services necessary to an economic...

Understanding Business Topic#1 Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  What is Business? All profit-seeking activities and enterprises that provide goods and services necessary to an economic system. Tangible goods – Apple Computers by Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak Services Combination – car dealership Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Participants of Business An exchange between a buyer and a seller. Owners Employees Customers Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Business Targets Profits – rewards earned by businesspeople who take the risks involved in blending people, technology, and information to create and market want-satisfying goods and services. Incentive to start and expand. Social goals – people, profit & planet. Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Not-for-Profit Organizations (nonprofits) Businesslike establishments that have primary objectives other than returning profits to their owners. Social & environmental goal. Tax exempted. Managers require effective business skills and experience. Public – government agencies, labor unions etc. Private – museums, libraries, trade associations, religious organizations etc. Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Functional Areas of Business Management Coordinating & Overseeing Planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling resources to achieve organizational goals. Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Functional Areas of Business Operations Process of transforming resources (land, labor, capital, entrepreneurship) into final product. Tangible – iPhones, iPads etc. Intangible – health care, education etc. Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Functional Areas of Business Marketing Identify & satisfy customer needs. Features, price, quality, method of delivery, promotion. Relationship with customers. Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Functional Areas of Business Accounting Measuring, summarizing, & communicating financial and managerial information. Financial accounting – financial statements for users inside & outside the organization, to assess the financial strength of the company. Managerial accounting – information for internal use only. Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Functional Areas of Business Finance Planning for, obtaining and managing company’s funds. How much money does the company need? How and where will it get the necessary money? How and when will it pay the money back? What should it do with its funds? Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  External Forces Influencing Business Economy Government Consumer trends Pressure to act as corporate citizens Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Business and its Environment Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  External Forces Influencing Business Fast-food Industry Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  External Forces Influencing Business Economic Environment Economics – production, resource allocation, distribution and consumption of goods and services – resources/inputs. Factors of Production – land, labor, capital and entrepreneurial skills Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Factors of Production Economics – production, distribution and consumption of goods and services – require inputs. Land – production input or natural resources Labor – physical + intellectual Capital – technology (machinery, equipment), tools, information and physical facilities Entrepreneurial Skills – skills & creativity to organize other resources and take risks Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Factors of Production Production of a Shirt Land – land, electricity used, cotton. Labor. Capital – factory, equipment, money. Entrepreneurship – coordination. Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Factors of Production Also used to improve current products & services. Netflix – once subscription based DVD-by-mail service. Walmart – patent for a system in which drones shuttle products between different departments inside its stores. Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Factors of Production Land, labor, capital and entrepreneurial skills Factor of production Corresponding Factor payment Land Rent Labor Wages Capital Interest Entrepreneurship profit Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Factors of Production Categorize each of the following according to a factor of production: A truck, a professor, ATM machine, Reed Hastings, crude oil, computer programmer, cotton, someone who develops an app to monitor blood sugar levels for diabetics, mineral deposits, robotics for car manufacturing, an inventory control system. Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Economic Environment Input and Output Markets Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Current Business Workforce Trends Knowledge economy – reliance on employees’ intellectual capabilities over physical inputs or natural resources. Integrationof machines & artificial intelligence in the workplace. Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Current Business Workforce Trends Changes in the Workforce Aging of the Population and Shrinking Labor Pool Increasingly Diverse Workforce Outsourcing and the Changing Nature of Work The Need for Flexibility and Mobility Innovation through Collaboration Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Current Business Workforce Trends Changes in the Workforce – Aging of the Population and Shrinking Labor Pool Multi-generational workforce – five-different generations – work style, work expectations, technological expertise. Economists predict labor shortage as Baby Boomers retire. Knowledge workers with advanced technical skills are preferred. Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Current Business Workforce Trends Class Activity What unique skills might each generation bring to the workplace? Think of the businesses that might benefit from the aging “baby boomer" population & that might benefit from hiring employees from Generations X and Y? Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Current Business Workforce Trends Changes in the Workforce – Increasingly Diverse Workforce Diversity – gender, age, ethnicity, culture, religion, physical and psychological abilities. Globalization and migration. Innovation and creativity. Diversity and inclusion must be included in workplace policies as well as in higher-level positions. Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Current Business Workforce Trends Changes in the Workforce – Outsourcing and the Changing Nature of Work Service sector – well-trained employees with knowledge, problem solving, technical skills & ability to communicate. Outsourcing – using outside vendors for the production of goods or fulfillment of services and functions previously performed inhouse – competitive pressure. Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Current Business Workforce Trends Changes in the Workforce – Outsourcing and the Changing Nature of Work Offshoring – relocating business processes – production (manufacturing) & services (accounting) to lower cost locations overseas. India, China, Malaysia etc. Nearshoring – outsourcing production or services near a company’s home base or closer to customers – to protect intellectual property & local job market. General Electric – moved production of water heaters back to the US from China. Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Current Business Workforce Trends Changes in the Workforce – Flexibility and Mobility Millennials – largest demographic group – less about money and more about training, flexibility, diversity, inclusion, and getting along with co-workers, control over physical workspace. Freelancing & contractual work, technology to collaborate online. Exciting work opportunities, trusting relationships, option to choose when, where and how they work. Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Current Business Workforce Trends Changes in the Workforce Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Current Business Workforce Trends Changes in the Workforce – Flexibility and Mobility How do you feel about a traditional 9 to 5 workday with a manager on site? What is the type of work environment and schedule, you would be comfortable working in? Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Current Business Workforce Trends Changes in the Workforce – Innovation through Collaboration Team structure – creativity, innovation, diverse set of skills & knowledge. Technology – global teams are able to collaborate from all corners of the world – physical office presence less important. Crowdsourcing – collection of information, opinions, or work from a group of people, usually sourced via the Internet. Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Current Business Workforce Trends Class Activity What are the pros and cons of telecommuting and virtual teams compared to traditional on-site teams with managers in-place? Is face-to-face collaboration better? Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal  Today’s Manager Assignment Choose a company that interests you—one you have worked for or dealt with as a customer—and read about the company by visiting its website. Learn what you can about the company’s early history: Who founded it and why? Is the founder still with the organization? Do you think the founder’s original vision is still embraced by the company? If not, how has the vision changed? Introduction to Business – Fall 2024 Sana Iqbal