Business studies

• Business

  Any activity carried out by an organization concerning provision of goods and services with an aim of getting profit
• Business studies


  The activities carried in and around production, consumption and distribution of goods and services
• Goods


  • Tangible items that can be touched and felt, e.g. watches, bags, books, food, cars
• Services


  • Actions that can be bought, e.g. teaching, driving, service of a lawyer, shoe shining, hospitality, medicine, insurance
• Production

  The creation of goods and services/Increasing the usefulness of a good or service
• Distribution

  The movement of goods from where they are produced to where they are consumed
• Activities involved in distribution

  • Transportation
  • Storage
  • Communication
  • Insurance
• Consumption


  Using a good or service
• Consumer


  The person who uses the good or service
• Branches/subjects/components/disciplines of business


  • Commerce
  • Accounting
  • Economics
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Office practice
• Importance of studying business studies

  • Assists individuals to acquire knowledge and skills necessary to start and run a business
  • Assists individuals in appreciating the importance of business in provision of goods and services
  • Assists individuals to relate the knowledge, skills and attitude acquired to day-to-day activities
  • Makes individuals appreciate good business management practices
  • Assists individuals to acquire self-discipline and positive attitude towards work
  • Equips individuals with abilities to operate in the society
  • Assists individuals to understand the role of government in business
  • Helps individuals to promote positive attitude towards the environment
  • Equips individuals with knowledge and skills required to evaluate business performance
• Business environment

  The factors or conditions that affect business operation
• Types of business environment

  • Internal business environment (micro)
  • External business environment (macro)
• Internal business environment


  Factors that are within the business itself, which can be strengths or weaknesses
• Types of internal environmental factors

  • Business structure
  • Business resources
  • Business culture
  • Business owners
• The business has control over internal environmental factors
• Reasons why one starts a business

  • Helps in creating employment
  • Earns revenue to the government through tax and licences
  • Earns income to individuals when they get profits
  • Avail goods and services to the consumers
  • Acts as an outlet for goods and services
  • Assists in utilization of spare time and developing hobbies
  • Helps acquire self-satisfaction by being one's own boss
  • Stabilization of resources
• Types of business activities

  • Extraction activities
  • Processing activities
  • Manufacturing activities
  • Construction activities
  • Distribution activities
  • Trading activities
• Extraction activities


  Obtaining goods from their natural setting, e.g. lumbering, farming, fishing, mining, game hunting, quarrying
• Processing activities


  Changing the form of a good without combining it with other goods, e.g. grinding maize to maize flour, tea leaves into tea, sugarcane into sugar
• Manufacturing activities


  Combination of different raw materials to come up with a finished product, e.g. bread, yogurt, toothpaste, books, detergents
• Construction activities


  Coming up with various structures, e.g. roads, bridges, buildings, railways
• Distribution activities


  The movement of goods and services from the producer to the consumer
• Trading activities


  The selling and buying of goods and services with an aim of getting a profit
• Types of internal environmental factors

  • Business structure
  • Business resources
  • Business culture
• Business structure


  The formal arrangement of activities that is carried out at various levels of the organisation so that the objectives of the business can be achieved
• Characteristics of a well laid down business structure

  • Teamwork is enhanced
  • Every employee knows what is expected of them
  • There will be no conflicts or confusion among workers
  • Ensures proper control which leads to efficiency
• Business resources


  Something that is used to achieve an objective
• Examples of business resources

  • Human resources
  • Physical resources
  • Financial resources
  • Technological resources
• Human resources


  Employees that belong to the business
• Physical resources


  Tangible factors that belong to the business, such as buildings, machines, furniture
• Financial resources


  Money that is necessary for an organization to run and achieve its objective
• Technological resources


  The skills and methods used in production
• Business culture

  The combination of employees' expectations, beliefs and values that are shared with the business