Business Environment

​To be successful, a business must be organized and focused on the customer. A customer is an individual or group who buys products. The customer of a service business is often called a client. A customer can be an individual, a business, a nonprofit organization, or a governmental agency. Customers who purchase goods and services for their own use are consumers.

​Production is any activity related to making a product. There are many activities included in the production function, such as farming, mining, construction, and manufacturing. • Finance includes all business activities that involve money. These activities include receiving money from customers, paying money to suppliers, and paying wages to employees. • Marketing consists of all activities that identify, anticipate, and satisfy customer demand while making a profit. Marketing activities focus on customers. • Management is the process of controlling and making decisions about a business. It includes all of the activities required to plan, coordinate, and monitor a business, as well as hiring and training employees.

​Economics is a science that examines how goods and services are produced, sold, and used. It involves how people, governments, and businesses make choices about using limited resources to satisfy unlimited wants. Understanding the role of economics in the buying decisions of consumers helps businesses make better plans and decisions.

​Think about a typical day, and consider all of the individual goods and services you use. Getting each of those products to you involved business activities that take place in a market. A market, or marketplace, does not have to be a physical place, like a shopping mall or a grocery store. Instead, a market is anywhere buyers and sellers meet to buy and sell goods and services. When buying back-to-school supplies at an office supply store or other retail store, you are shopping in a physical market. Downloading apps for your smartphone is an example of shopping in an online market. A community rummage sale can even be a marketplace. Anywhere a business exchange takes place is a market

• Ethics is a set of rules that define what is wrong and right

• Ethics helps people make good decisions in both their personal and professional lives.

• Business Ethics is a set of rules that help define appropriate behavior in a business setting.

​What career goals have you set for your future? No matter what your passions or career aspirations, your life will be touched by business. Business is all around you and affects everything you do.

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As a student, studying business can help you in many ways. Learning the basic principles of business will help you become a more valuable employee by understanding how the economy operates. Employers seek workers who are knowledgeable about how business operates and contributes to our society.

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Not everyone wants to work for an employer. Maybe owning your own business is in your career plans. Think about the businesses in your community. How many are independently owned and operated? Understanding business concepts will help you learn the processes necessary to create a business and become your own boss.

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​Learning about business can also help you be a more informed citizen. Having business knowledge can help you be a better consumer and investor in your personal life. You can gain personal satisfaction by understanding the business world. The possibilities are endless.

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​What is business? A business is a specific organization, such as Ford Motor Company or a local pet walking service. However, business is the term for all the activities involved in developing and exchanging products. A product is anything that can be bought or sold. Products are commonly known as goods and services. A good is a physical item that can be touched. A service is an action or task that is performed, usually for a fee. Products may be bought or sold to individuals, businesses, and governments.

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To be successful, a business must be organized and focused on the customer. A customer is an individual or group who buys products. The customer of a service business is often called a client. A customer can be an individual, a business, a nonprofit organization, or a governmental agency. Customers who purchase goods and services for their own use are consumers. The consumer market is comprised of customers who buy products for their own use. The business market consists of customers who buy products for use in a business.