1. Business and strategic management

2. What is a business or enterprise?
A business or enterprise is an organization whose purpose is to produce goods and services.
In order to do so, a business needs the following resources:
Land
Labour
Capital
Enterprise (or ideas)
Small businesses are run by entrepreneurs, while big companies are run by managers.

3. Business objectives
An objective is an aim or a target to work towards, and all businesses have objectives.
The most common business objectives are:
To make a profit
To increase added value
To expand the business
To achieve business survival
To provide a service to the community
Sometimes can appear a conflict between business objectives, and managers should be prepared to change the objectives over time.

4. Business size and structure
Businesses can vary greatly in terms of size. The most common ways of measure a business are:
By number of employees
By value of output and sales
By capital employed
Comparing business size by profit is not an accurate way, because profit depends on more than just the size of the firm.
Businesses will vary according to the legal form they take and their ownership.

5. Unincorporated businesses – there is no legal difference between the owners and the business, everything is carried out in the name of the owner.
Incorporated businesses – has a separate legal identity from its owners. The business can be sued, can be taken over and can be liquidated.
Public limited company (societati pe actiuni) versus private limited company (societati cu raspundere limitata)
Business structures:
Sole traders – the business is owned by just one person. The owner runs the business and may employ any number of people to help.
Partnerships – the business has more than one owner. The joint owners will share responsibility for running the business and also share the profit.

6. Limited partnerships – when some partners provide capital but take no part in the management of the business, they have limited liability and they can only lose the original amount of money invested.
Private equity companies – are organizations that borrow money from banks, add a little of their own, and then use the cash to buy a business, usually public limited companies.
Holding companies – they have enough shares in numerous other public limited companies to exert control, and have a diversified range of business activities.

7. Stakeholders in a business
Shareholder versus Stakeholder
Stakeholders categories:
Owners
Managers
Workers
Customers
Suppliers
Local, national and international communities
Banks
Others

8. Strategic management
Strategic management analyzes the major initiatives taken by a company's top management on behalf of owners, involving resources and performance in external environments.
It entails specifying the organization's mission, vision and objectives, developing policies and plans, often in terms of projects and programs, which are designed to achieve these objectives, and then allocating resources to implement the policies and plans, projects and programs.
A balanced scorecard is often used to evaluate the overall performance of the business and its progress towards objectives.
Recent studies and leading management theorists have advocated that strategy needs to start with stakeholders expectations and use a modified balanced scorecard which includes all stakeholders.

9. Corporate strategy
Corporate strategy deals with how to achieve the main objectives of the whole business.
Corporate strategy business unit or divisional strategy functional strategy
Strategies deal with long term plans, and tactics deal with short term plans.
Decision making tools:
Fishbone diagram
Force field analysis
There are many other tools such :SWOT, PESTLE, Porter’s five forces etc.

10. Fishbone diagram – is used to determine the causes of a problem
Fishbone diagram – is used to determine the causes of a problem. First we identify the problem, then we identify the causes.There are general causes and refined causes.
Force field analysis – it is used to understand the forces of change. Driving forces promote change (e.g. a competitor might bring a new model on the market). Restraining forces prevent change (e.g. the economy might be in recession and it might be difficult to increase orders).

11. Questions
Explain some ways in which the interests of a senior management of a large company might conflict with the interests of environmental groups.
What might motivate someone thinking of starting up their own business?
How can a company seek international development , trough what kind of structures?
Briefly explain the purpose of a business plan.
Explain the possible connection between corporate strategy and downsizing?

12. What is the difference between a merger and a takeover?
Explain two reasons why some businesses remain small.
Explain the difference between a flat structure and a hierarchical structure.
Give two examples of assistance that your government could offer to an exporting business.
Give two examples of products/or services that did not exist 50 years ago.
What is a pressure group? In what ways may affect businesses?