Business Essentials

by Ron Ebert; Ronald J. Ebert

Edition:

2nd

ISBN13:

9780137517107

ISBN10:

0137517106

Format:

Paperback

Pub. Date:

8/1/1997

Publisher(s):

Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference

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Summary

This best-selling book continues to present a brief no-nonsense approach to the fundamentals of business that spans the range of all functional areas- management, marketing, operations, accounting, information systems, finance, and legal studies. Topics comprehensively covered include: the contemporary business environment; the business of managing; principles of marketing; managing information; people in organizations; and financial issues. An excellent reference resource for business managers and executives; also appropriate for entrepreneurs and others involved in business relations.

Preface

xiii

PART 1 INTRODUCING THE WORLD OF BUSINESS

Understanding the U.S. Business System

(25)

Tired of Mickey Mouse Vacations?

(1)

The Concept of Business and the Concept of Profit

(1)

Economic Systems Around the World

(1)

Factors of Production

(1)

Types of Economic Systems

(2)

The U.S. Economic System

(1)

Markets, Demand, and Supply

(3)

Private Enterprise

(1)

Degrees of Competition

(2)

Evaluating Economic Systems

(1)

Economic Goals

(2)

Trends & Challenges

How Hollywood Blows Itself Out of Proportion

(6)

Measuring Economic Performance

(3)

Managing the U.S. Economy

(2)

Business Field Trip

Chaparral Steel

(7)

Summary of Learning Objectives

(1)

Study Questions and Exercises

(1)

Building Your Business Skills

(2)

Exploring the Net

(1)

Conducting Business in the United States

(26)

Avis Tries Harder, Succeeds in Selling Out

(2)

A Short History of Business in the United States

(1)

The Factory System and the Industrial Revolution

(1)

Laissez Faire and the Entrepreneurial Era

(1)

The Production Era

(1)

The Marketing Era

(1)

The Global Era

(1)

Types of Business Organizations

(1)

Sole Proprietorships

(1)

Partnerships

(2)

Trends & Challenges

The Trauma of Legal Separation

(2)

Corporations

(2)

Creating and Managing a Corporation

(6)

Creating a Corporation

(1)

Corporate Governance

(2)

Special Issues in Corporate Ownership

(3)

Trends & Challenges

CalPERs Pressures Little Guys to Measure Up

(10)

Summary of Learning Objectives

(1)

Study Questions and Exercises

(1)

Building Your Business Skills

(1)

Exploring the Net

(1)

Video Exercise 1.1 - Best Practices at Chaparral Steel

(2)

Video Exercise 1.2 - Lands' End, Inc.: A Brief History

(3)

PART 2 UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEMPORARY BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

Understanding the Legal Context of Business

(22)

The Fine Line between Overseeing and Oversight

(2)

The U.S. Legal and Judicial Systems

(1)

Types of Law

(3)

Trends & Challenges

Hooked on Telecommunications

(2)

The U.S. Judicial System

(2)

Business Law

(5)

Contract Law

(1)

Tort Law

(2)

Property Law

(2)

Trends & Challenges

Scientists Search for the Missing Linkage

(4)

Agency Law

(1)

Commercial Law

(1)

Bankruptcy Law

(1)

The International Framework of Business Law

(6)

Sources of International Law

(2)

Summary of Learning Objectives

(1)

Study Questions and Exercises

(1)

Building Your Business Skills

(1)

Exploring the Net

(1)

Conducting Business Ethically and Responsibly

(22)

Mending Imperfections in the System

(2)

Ethics in the Workplace

(3)

Company Policies and Business Ethics

(2)

Social Responsibility

(1)

Contemporary Social Consciousness

(1)

Areas of Social Responsibility

(4)

Responsibility toward the Environment

(2)

Responsibility toward Customers

(1)

Trends & Challenges

What to Do in a Mad Cow Crisis

(2)

Responsibility toward Employees

(1)

Trends & Challenges

Kathie Lee's Labor Pains

(2)

Responsibility toward Investors

(1)

Implementing Social Responsibility Programs

(8)

Approaches to Social Responsibility

(1)

Managing Social Responsibility Programs

(1)

Social Responsibility and the Small Business

(2)

Summary of Learning Objectives

(1)

Study Questions and Exercises

(1)

Building Your Business Skills

(1)

Exploring the Net

(1)

Understanding the Global Context of Business

(30)

For a Few Dollars More

(2)

The Rise of International Business

(6)

The Contemporary Global Economy

(1)

Major World Marketplaces

(1)

Forms of Competitive Advantage

100

(1)

Import-Export Balances

101

(1)

Exchange Rates

102

(2)

International Business Management

104

(3)

Going International

105

(2)

Business Field Trip

``International Markets Are Our Elastic Band''

107

(3)

Levels of Involvement

107

(2)

International Organizational Structures

109

(1)

Barriers to International Trade

110

(2)

Social and Cultural Differences

111

(1)

Trends & Challenges

The Cavalier Attitude toward Murky Tea

112

(14)

Economic Differences

112

(1)

Legal and Political Differences

113

(3)

Summary of Learning Objectives

116

(1)

Study Questions and Exercises

117

(1)

Building Your Business Skills

118

(2)

Exploring the Net

120

(1)

Video Exercise 2.1 - ``So Safe You Could Die''

121

(2)

Video Exercise 2.2 - Doing Business Abroad the Lands' End Way

123

(3)

PART 3 THE BUSINESS OF MANAGING

Managing the Business Enterprise

126

(26)

If the Shoe Virtually Fits

126

(3)

Setting Goals and Formulating Strategy

129

(6)

Setting Business Goals

129

(2)

Formulating Strategy

131

(4)

Trends & Challenges

Booksellers at War

135

(1)

The Management Process

136

(2)

Planning

136

(1)

Organizing

136

(1)

Directing

137

(1)

Controlling

137

(1)

Types of Managers

138

(2)

Levels of Management

138

(1)

Areas of Management

138

(2)

Basic Management Skills

140

(3)

Technical Skills

140

(1)

Human Relations Skills

141

(1)

Conceptual Skills

141

(1)

Decision-Making Skills

141

(1)

Time Management Skills

142

(1)

Management Skills for the 1990s

142

(1)

Management and the Corporate Culture

143

(2)

Communicating the Culture and Managing Change

144

(1)

Trends & Challenges

Culture Shock at Shoney's

145

(7)

Summary of Learning Objectives

147

(1)

Study Questions and Exercises

148

(1)

Building Your Business Skills

149

(2)

Exploring the Net

151

(1)

Organizing the Business Enterprise

152

(32)

United Airlines Gives Managers the Power to Manage

152

(2)

What Is Organizational Structure?

154

(1)

Determinants of Organizational Structure

154

(1)

Trends & Challenges

What to Do When the Corporation Goes into Denial

155

(1)

Chain of Command

156

(1)

The Building Blocks of Organizational Structure

156

(4)

Specialization

157

(1)

Departmentalization

157

(3)

Process Organization

160

(1)

Establishing the Decision-Making Hierarchy

160

(5)

Assigning Tasks: Responsibility and Authority

161

(1)

Performing Tasks: Delegation and Accountability

162

(1)

Distributing Authority: Centralization and Decentralization

162

(1)

Three Forms of Authority

163

(2)

Basic Forms of Organizational Structure

165

(1)

Functional Organizations

165

(1)

Business Field Trip

``You Have to Encourage Creativity Just to Stay in Place''

166

(4)

Divisional Organization

167

(1)

Matrix Organization

168

(1)

International Organization

169

(1)

Informal Organization

170

(8)

Formal versus Informal Organizational Systems

170

(1)

Intrapreneuring

171

(1)

Summary of Learning Objectives

172

(1)

Study Questions and Exercises

173

(1)

Building Your Business Skills

174

(1)

Exploring the Net

175

(1)

Understanding Entrepreneurship and the Small Business

176

(1)

Doll Maker Disarmed by Success

176

(2)

What Is a Small Business?

178

(5)

The Importance of Small Business in the U.S. Economy

178

(3)

Popular Forms of Small Business Enterprise

181

(2)

Entrepreneurship

183

(1)

The Distinction between Entrepreneurship and Small Business

183

(1)

Entrepreneurial Characteristics

183

(1)

Trends & Challenges

The Generation X Files

184

(20)

Failure and Success in Small Business

185

(3)

Trends in Small Business Start-Ups

186

(2)

Trends & Challenges

Eastern Meets East and West at Salami.com

188

(1)

Reasons for Failure

188

(1)

Reasons for Success

189

(1)

Starting and Operating a Small Business

189

(4)

Starting a Small Business

189

(1)

Financing the Small Business

190

(2)

Sources of Management Advice

192

(1)

Franchising

193

(11)

Advantages and Disadvantages of Franchising

194

(2)

Summary of Learning Objectives

196

(1)

Study Questions and Exercises

197

(1)

Building Your Business Skills

198

(1)

Exploring the Net

199

(1)

Video Exercise 3.1 - ``If It's Not Fun, Why Do It?''

200

(2)

Video Exercise 3.2 - Planning in the Coming Home Division of Lands' End

202

(2)

PART 4 UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE IN ORGANIZATIONS

Motivating, Satisfying, and Leading Employees

204

(26)

What Would Capitalism Be without ``Bossy Bosses''?

204

(2)

Human Relations in the Workplace

206

(3)

The Importance of Satisfaction and Morale

206

(1)

Recent Trends in Managing Satisfaction and Morale

206

(2)

Motivation in the Workplace

208

(1)

Trends & Challenges

Employers Embrace the Two Ls (Loyalty and Longevity)

209

(5)

Classical Theory

209

(1)

Behavior Theory: The Hawthorne Studies

210

(1)

Contemporary Motivational Theories

210

(4)

Strategies for Enhancing Job Satisfaction and Motivation

214

(2)

Reinforcement/Behavior Modification Theory

214

(1)

Management by Objectives

215

(1)

Participative Management and Empowerment

215

(1)

Business Field Trip

``We Want Employees to Think Like Owners''

216

(5)

Job Enrichment and Redesign

218

(1)

Modified Work Schedules

219

(2)

Managerial Styles and Leadership

221

(9)

Managerial Styles

222

(1)

The Contingency Approach to Leadership

223

(1)

Motivation and Leadership in the 1990s

224

(2)

Summary of Learning Objectives

226

(1)

Study Questions and Exercises

227

(1)

Building Your Business Skills

228

(1)

Exploring the Net

229

(1)

Managing Human Resources and Labor Relations

230

(32)

Marriott Clears a Pathway to Productive Employment

230

(2)

The Foundations of Human Resource Management

232

(1)

Job Relatedness and Person Job Matching

232

(1)

Staffing the Organization

232

(2)

External Staffing

233

(1)

Internal Staffing: Promotions

234

(1)

Developing the Work Force

234

(1)

Trends & Challenges

New Life on the High-Tech Line

235

(1)

Compensation and Benefits

236

(2)

Wages and Salaries

236

(1)

Incentive Programs

236

(1)

Benefits Programs

237

(1)

Legal and Ethical Issues in Managing People

238

(4)

Equal Employment Opportunity

238

(2)

Equal Pay and Comparable Worth

240

(1)

Occupational Safety and Health

241

(1)

New Challenges in the Changing Workplace

242

(3)

Managing Work Force Diversity

242

(2)

The Contingency Work Force

244

(1)

Dealing with Organized Labor

245

(2)

Collective Bargaining

245

(1)

Unionism Today

246

(1)

Laws Governing Labor-Management Relations

247

(1)

Trends & Challenges

Security Is Job

248

(2)

The Major Labor Laws

248

(2)

The Collective Bargaining Process

250

(12)

Reaching Agreement on Contract Terms

250

(1)

Contract Issues

250

(1)

When Bargaining Fails

251

(3)

Summary of Learning Objectives

254

(1)

Study Questions and Exercises

255

(1)

Building Your Business Skills

256

(1)

Exploring the Net

257

(1)

Video Exercise 4.1 - ``You're Not Paid to Think Jus Do Your Job''

258

(2)

Video Exercise 4.2 - Some Secrets of the Much-Envied Work Climate

260

(2)

PART 5 MANAGING OPERATIONS AND INFORMATION

Managing Production and Improving Quality

262

(28)

Crafty Brewers with a Marketing Angle

262

(2)

Goods and Service Operations

264

(2)

Growth in the Goods and Service Sectors

264

(1)

The Growth of Global Operations

265

(1)

Creating Value through Production

266

(3)

Operations Processes

267

(1)

Differences in Service and Manufacturing Operations

268

(1)

Operations Planning

269

(5)

Capacity Planning

269

(1)

Location Planning

270

(1)

Layout Planning

271

(2)

Quality Planning

273

(1)

Methods Planning

273

(1)

Operations Scheduling

274

(1)

Scheduling Goods Operations

274

(1)

Scheduling Service Operations

275

(1)

Operations Control

275

(4)

Materials Management

276

(1)

Tools for Operations Process Control

277

(2)

Quality Improvement

279

(2)

Managing for Quality

279

(1)

Tools for Quality Management

280

(1)

Trends & Challenges

If You Think You're Good

281

(2)

Business Field Trip

``Keep the Mill Running or Lose $10,000 an Hour''

283

(7)

Summary of Learning Objectives

285

(2)

Study Questions and Exercises

287

(1)

Building Your Business Skills

288

(1)

Exploring the Net

289

(1)

Understanding Accounting and Information Systems

290

(36)

There's No Business Like Show Business

290

(2)

What Is Accounting and Who Uses Accounting Information?

292

(1)

Users of Accounting Information

292

(1)

Who Are Accountants and What Do they Do?

293

(1)

Financial versus Managerial Accounting

293

(1)

Accounting Services

293

(1)

Trends & Challenges

U.S. Business Is Looking for a Few Good Accountants

294

(1)

Tools of the Accounting Trade

295

(4)

Record Keeping with Journals and Ledgers

295

(2)

The Accounting Equation

297

(1)

Double-Entry Accounting

298

(1)

Debits and Credits: The T-Account

298

(1)

Financial Statements

299

(3)

Balance Sheets

299

(2)

Income Statements

301

(1)

Analyzing Financial Statements

302

(4)

Short-Term Solvency Ratios

303

(1)

Long-Term Solvency Ratios

303

(1)

Profitability Ratios

304

(1)

Activity Ratios

305

(1)

Information Management: An Overview

306

(1)

Data versus Information

307

(1)

Management Information Systems

307

(1)

Databases and Applications Programs

307

(3)

Data and Databases

308

(1)

Application Programs

308

(2)

The Marriage of Information and Communications Technology

310

(3)

Artificial Intelligence

311

(1)

Expert Systems

311

(1)

Office Automation

311

(1)

Data Communications Networks

312

(1)

Business Field Trip

``Who Needs Paper Anyway?''

313

(13)

Summary of Learning Objectives

315

(1)

Study Questions and Exercises

316

(1)

Building Your Business Skills

317

(3)

Exploring the Net

320

(1)

Video Exercise 5.1 - The Sound of One Voice Talking

321

(2)

Video Exercise 5.2 - From a Functional to a Team Approach at Lands' End

323

(3)

PART 6 UNDERSTANDING PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING

Understanding Marketing Processes and Consumer Behavior

326

(28)

Still Partying after All These Years?

326

(2)

What Is Marketing?

328

(5)

Marketing: Goods, Services, and Ideas

328

(1)

The Marketing Environment

329

(4)

Trends & Challenges

In the News: ``The World Is Not Going to Be the Same in 30 Years''

333

(4)

The Marketing Mix

334

(3)

Target Marketing and Market Segmentation

337

(4)

Identifying Market Segments

338

(3)

Trends & Challenges

Where's the Market for Skinny Ties and See-Through Track Shoes?

341

(1)

Understanding Consumer Behavior

342

(3)

Influences on Consumer Behavior

343

(1)

The Consumer Buying Process

343

(2)

Organizational Marketing and Buying Behavior

345

(9)

Organizational Markets

345

(1)

Organizational Buying Behavior

346

(1)

The International Marketing Mix

347

(2)

Summary of Learning Objectives

349

(1)

Study Questions and Exercises

350

(1)

Building Your Business Skills

351

(2)

Exploring the Net

353

(1)

Developing, Pricing, and Promoting Products

354

(26)

Charting the Air Jordan Route

354

(2)

What Is a Product?

356

(1)

Classifying Goods and Services

356

(1)

The Product Mix

357

(1)

New Products and the Product Life Cycle

357

(1)

The Product Life Cycle

357

(1)

Identifying Products

358

(2)

Branding Products

358

(2)

Packaging Products

360

(1)

Determining Prices

360

(3)

Pricing to Meet Business Objectives

361

(1)

Price-Setting Tools

361

(2)

Pricing Strategies and Tactics

363

(3)

Price Strategies

363

(2)

Pricing Tactics

365

(1)

Trends & Challenges

The Demise and Rise of Sticker Dickering

366

(1)

International Pricing

367

(1)

The Importance of Promotion

367

(5)

Promotional Objectives

368

(1)

Promotional Strategies

369

(1)

The Promotional Mix

369

(3)

Business Field Trip

``Our Customers Know Us and We Know Them''

372

(8)

Summary of Learning Objectives

375

(2)

Study Questions and Exercises

377

(1)

Building Your Business Skills

378

(1)

Exploring the Net

379

(1)

Distributing Products

380

(32)

The Battle Plan for Attacking Inventory at the Big Store

380

(2)

The Distribution Mix

382

(4)

Intermediaries and Distribution Channels

382

(4)

Wholesaling

386

(3)

Merchant Wholesalers

386

(1)

Agents and Brokers

387

(1)

Trends in Intermediary-Customer Relationships

387

(2)

Retailing

389

(3)

Types of Retail Outlets

389

(3)

Trends & Challenges

The Special Appeal of American Retailers

392

(3)

Nonstore Retailing

392

(3)

Trends & Challenges

The Allure of On-Line Commerce

395

(1)

Physical Distribution

396

(16)

Warehousing Operations

396

(1)

Transportation Operations

397

(2)

Companies Specializing in Transportation

399

(1)

Distribution as a Marketing Strategy

400

(2)

Summary of Learning Objectives

402

(1)

Study Questions and Exercises

403

(1)

Building Your Business Skills

404

(2)

Exploring the Net

406

(1)

Video Exercise 6.1 - ``These May Not Be Clothes for the Street''

407

(2)

Video Exercise 6.2 - Getting the Product Out at Lands' End

409

(3)

PART 7 UNDERSTANDING FINANCIAL ISSUES

Understanding Money and Banking

412

(28)

Accounting for South Africa's ``Unbanked''

412

(2)

What Is Money?

414

(2)

The Characteristics of Money

414

(1)

The Functions of Money

415

(1)

The Spendable Money Supply: M-1

415

(1)

Trends & Challenges

What This Country Needs Is a Good 20-Minute Cigar

416

(1)

Trends & Challenges

Ben Franklin Moves Slightly to the Left

417

(2)

M-1 plus the Convertible Money Supply: M-2

417

(1)

Credit Cards

418

(1)

The U.S. Financial System

419

(6)

Financial Institutions

420

(3)

Special Financial Services

423

(1)

Banks as Creators of Money

424

(1)

Regulation of Commercial Banking

425

(1)

The Federal Reserve System

425

(5)

The Fed's Structure

425

(1)

The Functions of the Fed

426

(2)

The Fed's Tools

428

(2)

The Changing Money and Banking System

430

(3)

Deregulation

430

(1)

Interstate Banking

430

(1)

The Impact of Electronic Technologies

431

(2)

International Banking and Finance

433

(7)

The International Payments Process

433

(2)

Summary of Learning Objectives

435

(1)

Study Questions and Exercises

436

(1)

Building Your Business Skills

437

(2)

Exploring the Net

439

(1)

Understanding Securities and Investments

440

(31)

Stories of Great Expectations in Hard Times

440

(2)

Securities Markets

442

(1)

Primary and Secondary Securities Markets

442

(1)

Stocks

442

(2)

Common Stock

443

(1)

Trends & Challenges

IPO Capitalism: The Marketplace for Entrepreneurial Zeal

444

(7)

Preferred Stock

447

(1)

Stock Exchanges

448

(3)

Bonds

451

(2)

U.S. Government Bonds

451

(1)

Municipal Bonds

452

(1)

Corporate Bonds

452

(1)

Secondary Markets for Bonds

453

(1)

Other Investments

453

(2)

Mutual Funds

453

(1)

Commodities

454

(1)

Buying and Selling Securities

455

(5)

Financial Information Services

455

(4)

Placing Orders

459

(1)

Financing Purchases

459

(1)

Trends & Challenges

The Brave New World of Cyberspace Brokerage

460

(1)

Securities Market Regulation

461

(10)

The Securities and Exchange Commission

462

(2)

Summary of Learning Objectives

464

(2)

Study Questions and Exercises

466

(1)

Building Your Business Skills

467

(1)

Exploring the Net

468

(1)

Video Exercise 7.1 - ``Too Many Touts of Every Ilk''

469

(2)

Appendix I: Financial and Risk Management

471

(12)

The Role of the Financial Manager

471

(1)

Why do Businesses Need Funds?

472

(1)

Sources of Short-Term Funds

473

(1)

Sources of Long-Term Funds

474

(3)

Financial Management for Small Business

477

(1)

Risk Management

478

(1)

Insurance as Risk Management

479

(4)

Appendix II: Business Careers and the Job Search

483

(13)

The Job Outlook in the United States

483

(3)

Learning About Specific Job Opportunities

486

(2)

Preparing a Resume and Cover Letter

488

(3)

The Employment Interview

491

(2)

Assessing Job Offers

493

(3)

Glossary

496

(11)

Notes, Sources, and Credits

507

(10)

Index

517

Business Essentials

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