CHAPTER ONE – BUSINESS ORGANIZATION AND ENVIRONMENT
Unit 1.1 – Nature of Business Activity • A business is a decision-making organization that uses inputs to produce goods and/or services  Inputs: resources used in the production process  Outputs/products include:  Goods: physical, tangible products  Services: intangible products  Exist to satisfy the needs (basic necessities) or wants (desires) of people, organizations and governments  Important to have clearly defined functions/processes  Ex. human resources, production, marketing and finance Customers: people/organizations that buy the product Consumers: those who use the product Consumer goods: sold to the general public and can be split into:  Consumer durables: products that last a long time  Non-durables: products that needs to be consumed very shortly after purchase Capital goods: purchased by other businesses Added value: difference b/w the value of inputs and the value of outputs  Allows a business to sell its products for more than production cost (leads to profit)  Comes in the form of:  Speed/quality, prestige, brand image, feel-good factor, perceived value, inability to achieve cheaper products elsewhere Opportunity cost: best alternative decision that is foregone when making a decision  Leads to rational decision making  Choose options that will generate the highest valued benefits to the business Role of profit:  Acts as incentive to produce  Acts as the reward for risk takers  Encourages innovation and invention  Acts as an indicator of growth  Signals when to switch b/w low-profitability and high-profitability business activities  Survival in the long run  Money for owners (surplus, on the other hand, is put back into the business)

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Factors of production: resources used to produce a good or provide a service  Land: natural resources incl. renewable