Unit 1
An Introduction to Business
The Main Idea
Businesses seek profit by providing goods and services in exchange for money. Companies thrive on competition, the contest between businesses to win customers. Competition and profit motivate businesses to continually strive to find new ways to satisfy customers.
How to Define Business
Your wants and needs are usually satisfied by a business.
Business- any commercial activity that seeks profit by providing goods and
services to others in exchange for money
How to Define Business
Goods- physical products
Services- tasks that businesses perform for consumers; includes tasks that people or machines do
Wants- things that you do not have to have to survive,
but would like to have
Needs- things that you must have in order to survive
Apply It
On your Unit 1 Checklist write down 5 wants and 5 needs that you use in your everyday life.
How Resources Limit the Ability to Satisfy
How Resources Limit the Ability to Satisfy
How Resources Limit the Ability to
Satisfy Wants and Needs
Resources- items that people can use to make or obtain what they need or want
No one has enough resources to satisfy all of their wants. You can make the most of your resources by making careful decisions about what to buy.
The Decision- Making Process
How to Define Business
Businesses seek to make a Profit
Profit- the money left over after a business has paid the cost of providing its goods and services
How to Define a Business
- Businesses provide consumers with necessities, such as food, clothing, housing, medical care, and transportation.
- Businesses also provide goods and services that make life easier and better.
The Motive of Business: To make a Profit
- Without a profit, a company cannot survive.
- The wealth created by businesses benefits the entire community because businesses pay taxes and provide jobs.
The Significance of Competition
Competition happens when businesses continually try to improve their products and services and do better than one another.
Competition- The contest between businesses to win customers
Competition encourages...
Businesses to offer…
- Quality products
- Outstanding customer service
- Competitive prices
Business Success
The success of a business depends on how well key activities are coordinated,
managed, and performed.
- Identifying opportunities for products/services
- Evaluating the demand for products/services
- Managing the production of goods/services
- Marketing the goods/services
- Keeping records to satisfy gvmt & improve processes
Business Activities
Some business activities should be supported by market research.
Market Research- the act of gathering and analyzing information about the wants, needs, and preferences of consumers in a certain market
Business and YOU
Businesses make many decisions that impact you, the consumer.
Consumer: a person who uses goods and services
Business and YOU
Businesses Affect Consumers…
- Businesses decide what goods and services to produce.
- Businesses affect the consumer when a product is discontinued.
- Business affects you as a wage earner because they provide jobs.
Business and YOU
Consumers Affect Businesses…
- Consumers decide what kind of goods and services they want.
- Consumers decide where they will buy the goods and services they want.
- The decisions of consumers can determine the success or failure of a business.