Introduction to Business - Week 1

• What Businesses do?

  Provide goods or services.
• "Businesses gain, but what do they most importantly try to do?"


  Maximise profits
• What is Demad?


  Customer's desire/ability to buy goods/services at any price.
• What is Value?


  A worth of something based on its usefulness, desirebility, utility
• What is Need?


  Basic requirement for survival (food, shelter, healthcare).
• What is Want?


  Desire (not essential for survival).
• What is Revenue?


  Money, a company brings in through the sales of goods/services.
• What is Business Model?


  A concise description of how a business intends to generate a revenue.
• What is Profit?


  Money, after all the cost involved is deducted from revenue.
• What is Competitive Advantage?


  An aspect of a product/company that makes it more appealing to the customers.
• Give an example of a competitive advantage.

  Quality (Apple)
• What is Brand?


  Something that makes us unique.
• What is Image?


  Reputation that a business projects to its customers. (Coca Cola - Christmas truck)
• What is the difference between Image and Brand?

  Brand is planned (branding is used to establish an image)
• True or False: Branding = Advertising

  False
• Name me the Major Functional Areas.

  R&D, Manufacturing/Production, Marketing/Sales, Finance/Accounting, Human Resources
• What does R&D do?


  Create goods/services.
• What does Marketing/Sales do?


  Identify marketing opportunities and make sure that the customers are supplied/satisfied.
• What does Finance/Accounting do?


  Plan, control spending, report financial matters
• What do Human Resources do?


  Recruit, hire, support employees
• What are the Factors of Production?

  Natural resources (water, land, minerals), Capitals (money, machinery, factories), Knowledge (experience), Human resources (talent, people)
• What are the examples of Impact of Scarcity?


  Competition of resources, trade offs
• What is an Impact of Scarcity?


  Resource has finite supply
• What is Trade Off?


  Choice, where choosing an option means giving up the other
• Who is a Manager?


  Someone, who coordinates/oversees the work of others so the organizational goal is accomplished
• Is it about the Personal Achievement?

  No - it is about helping people.
• Sometimes, people don't want higher positions, why?

  Priorites (personal, family) and responsibilities
• What is an Economic Principle?


  Efficiency and Effectiveness
• What is Efficiency?


  Ability to accomplish a task with minimal waste (time, money, effort)
• What is Effectiveness?


  Achieving the desired result (no matter how it was done)
• What is Management?


  Coordinating/overseeing the work of others, so that their work is completed efficiently and effectively
• Name me the Management Skills.

  Technical, human, conceptual
• What is a Technical Skill?


  Understanding + proficiency in a specific task
• What is a Human skill?


  Ability to work with other people, as well as a group member.
• What is a Conceptual skill?


  Cognitive ability to see the organisation as a whole system and relationships among its parts
• Name me the Managerial Levels.


  Top managers, Middle managers, First-line managers, Nonmanagerial employees
• Tell me the steps how to achieve the organisation's purposes.

  Planning, Organising, Leading, Controlling
• Why is Controlling important?


  To prevent oneself from failure - ability to predict future problems and hence supporting the management
• What are the Economic Systems?


  Communism, Socialism, Capitalism
• What Economic System am I describing? - State owns all resources, no economic classes, few enterpreneurship opportunities.


  Communism