Intro To Business

 Formal – an organization that produces or sells goods or services to satisfy the needs, wants, and demands of consumers for the purpose of making a profit

 a) type of ownership – i.e. 2 or more owners, called partnerships  b) the goods it produces or services it offers – i.e. “Ford Company” produces cars, “All Languages” provides translators and interpreters for over 100 languages  c) the different functions it performs in its community – i.e. the “Canadian Cancer Society” offers support and raises funds to help people who have cancer

 d) the types of jobs it provides – i.e. meat packing company provides jobs to farmers, inspectors, truck drivers  Entrepreneurs – people who take a risk and start businesses to solve a problem or to take advantage of an opportunity

 Need – an item that is necessary for survival such as food, clothing or shelter  Want- an item that is not necessary for survival, but it adds pleasure and comfort to life  Goods – monetary ($) value, which may change over time (i.e. sneakers – old pair might not be worth as much as a new pair, but they still might be of some good use and value)  -produced and tangible (can see and touch it)

 Services - $ value  -intangible (can’t touch) i.e. dentist, golfing  - some are unpaid i.e. volunteers doing community service work  Not-for-profit-organizations – a business that does not seek to make a profit i.e. charitable organization that helps people (i.e. food bank)

 Co-branding – two or more businesses under one roof  - advantage – allows businesses to share space, reducing costs of operation and increasing the opportunity for profit  Economic Resources (factors of production)  - the means through which goods & services are made available to consumers

 3 Kinds:  a) natural resources – raw materials that come from earth, water and soil  b) human resources- (labour) – the people who work to create the goods and services i.e. banker, farmer  **many businesses have established a human resources department to manage their employees

 c) capital resources – i.e. buildings, equipment, tools, trucks, and factories  - usually last for a long time but large expense for business i.e. money is also needed  Producers – individuals or businesses that provide goods or services to meet the needs and wants of a consumer  Consumers – the people who buy goods and services

 Demand – the quantity of a good or service that consumers are willing and able to buy at a particular price  -we all have different demands  Law of Demand – usually consumers will increase the quantity demanded of a good or service as prices decrease  - as prices increase, the reverse is true

 1) consumers must be aware of or interested in the good or service (advertise)  2) having enough supply of the good or service  3) making prices that are reasonable & competitive  4) accessibility – must be conveniently located – “location, location, location”

 1) change in consumers’ income (i.e. usually income increases, people buy more, or less groceries and increase in restaurant meals)  2) change in consumers’ tastes (i.e. fashion industry-fads)  3) change in expectations of future conditions (i.e. if they expect prices will increase in future, often purchase more now and vice versa)  4) change in population (i.e. create an increase in need for cars, housing)

 The quantity of a good or service that businesses are willing and able to provide within a range of prices that people would be willing to pay  Law of Supply – the relationship of increasing the quantity supplied as prices increase  Conditions that Affect Supply – affected by the cost of producing it, and, to some extent, by the price people are willing to pay for it

 1) change in the number of producers (competition, lower prices)  2) the price of related goods (i.e. the price of gas goes up, consumers may switch to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars or use more public transit)  3) a change in technology – as computer chip technology improved, computers more powerful, cost decreased)

 Goal of Business – to make a profit by supplying goods & services to meet consumer demands  Profit – the income that is left after all costs and expenses are paid  Expenses – those expenditures that are involved in running a business, such as wages

 Costs – the amount of $ required for each stage of production, such as the cost of raw materials  As costs and expenses increase, the owner’s profit gets smaller  Businesses, therefore, try to keep costs & expenses as low as possible by being efficient and well organized

 Competition – demand and supply certainly have an influence on price, but so does competition  - i.e. if only one company offered cars for sale, that company could set the prices and consumers would have to pay if they wanted a car  In reality, however, many companies sell cars & compete for car-buying consumers. This competition helps keep prices at a reasonable level

 A business cannot survive unless it produces goods or services that people need or want  Over the years, many products become obsolete (no longer in use), either people no longer want or need products or new and improved products replace them i.e. 8-track cassettes, manual typewriters

 Businesses are always looking for ways to produce new and better products and to provide better services to consumers  Successful businesses change as the wants and needs of consumers change