BUSN Ch.1 Business Now: Change Is the Only Constant

Business

Any organization or activity that provides goods and services to earn a profit.

Profit

Revenue minus expenses; the financial reward of running a business.

Loss

Occurs when a business incurs expenses greater than its revenue.

Entrepreneurs

People who risk their time, money, and resources to start and manage a business.

Standard of Living

The quality and quantity of goods and services available to a population.

Quality of Life

The overall sense of well-being experienced by an individual or group.

Industrial Revolution

Era from mid-1700s to mid-1800s featuring mass production and huge factories.

Entrepreneurship Era

Late 1800s era when large-scale industrialists built business empires.

Production Era

Early 1900s era focusing on production efficiency and assembly lines.

Marketing Era

Post-WWII era where businesses shifted focus toward consumer needs and branding.

Relationship Era

Modern era focusing on building long-term customer relationships using technology.

Nonprofits

Establishments with the fundamental goal of contributing to the community rather than generating financial gain.

Factors of Production

Four fundamental resources: natural resources, capital, human resources, and entrepreneurship.

Natural Resources

Inputs that offer value in their natural state, such as land and fresh water.

Capital

Synthetic resources like tools, buildings, and technology needed to produce goods or services.

Human Resources

The physical, intellectual, and creative contributions of everyone working in an economy.

Business Environment

The setting in which business operates, consisting of economic, competitive, technological, social, and global components.

Speed-to-Market

The rate at which a new product moves from conception to commercialization.

Business Technology

Tools like computers and telecommunications that help businesses become more efficient and effective.

E-commerce

Business transactions conducted online, typically via the Internet.

Demographics

Measurable characteristics of a population, such as size, age, gender, and race.

Free Trade

An international movement to help goods and services flow freely across borders.

Instant Skills

The consumer trend of caring more about what they can do or create rather than what they buy.

Fun and Games

Using playfulness and fun as a tool for engaging audiences with short attention spans.

Robolove

The consumer enjoyment and appreciation of early contacts with efficient, time-saving robots.

Virtual Experience Economy

An economic shift where digital experiences carry a status-weight equal to or greater than real experiences.

Millennials

The generation born between 1980 and 1995, currently representing major customer and employee segments.

Generation Z

The generation born between 1996 and 2011, defined by the Great Recession and pragmatic, value-driven habits.

Value

The relationship between the price of a good or a service and the benefits that it offers its customers.

Henry Ford's Assembly Line

Introduced on December 1, 1913, initially for the Model T, allowing unprecedented manufacturing output.

Connection Economy

An economy where successful firms rely on connecting buyers and sellers or consumers and information.

Four Conditions of the Connection Economy

Coordination, trust, permission, and the exchange of ideas.

Coordination (Connection Economy)

Bringing order to areas that currently appear chaotic to make connections happen.

Trust (Connection Economy)

The basic sharing between players required to connect and create value.

Permission (Connection Economy)

A resource that must be earned rather than requested when offering ideas to people.

Exchange of Ideas (Connection Economy)

The deliberate sharing of ideas with established purpose from which true value emerges.

Generosity and Art in the Connection Economy

Seth Godin's principle that you must add value to interactions (generosity) and seek the remarkable rather than the traditional/boring (art).

Chuck Bean

Executive director of the Nonprofit Roundtable who noted that nonprofits are in the business of doing good.

Nonprofit Employment Impact

Nonprofits employ about one in ten workers nationwide, exceeding construction, finance, insurance, and real-estate sectors combined.

Nonprofit Economic Magnets

Nonprofit museums, schools, theaters, and orchestras that serve to draw additional investment to communities.

Economic Freedom

The key ingredient for entrepreneurship, including freedom of choice, freedom from excess regulation, and freedom from too much taxation.

Profit Incentive

The primary reward that drives entrepreneurs to take the risk of launching and operating their own businesses.

Peter Drucker

Management guru who suggested breaking out knowledge as its own category separate from human resources.

Hong Kong's Economic Success

A region with limited natural resources that achieved immense wealth by actively encouraging entrepreneurship.

Agricultural Products and Natural Resources

Agricultural products created through planting and tending are not classified as natural resources.

Five Dimensions of the Business Environment

Economic, competitive, technological, social, and global environments.

Small Business Administration (SBA)

A federal government agency that runs programs to support and assist businesses.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

A government branch that actively promotes fair competitive practices to help enterprises succeed.

Enforceable Contracts

Legally binding agreements that require compliance, reducing risk and uncertainty in commerce.

Impact of Corruption on Business

Low corruption reduces business risk by ensuring everyone plays by the same clear, visible rules.

Corporate Accountability Legislation

Federal regulations passed after scandals like Enron to curb unethical practices and increase transparency.

Loyal Advocates

Customers transformed into vocal promoters who attract new customers more effectively than advertising.

Bleeding-Edge Firms

Firms launching products that fail from being too far ahead of the market, like Webvan.

Leading-Edge Firms

Companies offering products just as the market becomes ready to embrace them, like Apple.

Senior Management Loss Forecast

The 500 largest U.S. companies anticipate losing about half of their senior managers over a five- to six-year period.

Generational Talent Gap

Baby boomers include about 77 million people, whereas the following generation includes only 46 million.

Postponed Retirement Drivers

A growing number of baby boomers postpone retirement or work part-time due to inadequate financial resources.

Uber Syndrome

When a competitor with a completely different business model enters your industry and flattens you.

Torchbearers

A small cohort of highly successful firms that focus more on customers and less on competitors to handle disruption.

Geoff Colvin

Fortune magazine editor who noticed that business leaders increasingly expect new competitors to be outsiders.

Dennis Nally

Global chairman of PwC Consultancy who explained that geopolitical hot spots create instability that business leaders hate.

B2B E-commerce

Business-to-business selling that comprises the vast majority of total e-commerce sales and profits.

Social Environment

Embodies the values, attitudes, customs, beliefs, and demographics shared by groups of people.

Plurality Nation

A nation where no single ethnic group is in the majority, projected for the U.S. around 2043.

Aging Population Trend

The rapid increase in the population aged 65 and older, driven by increasing life spans and decreasing birthrates.

Rising Worker Expectations

Higher demands for salary, job responsibility, and flexibility from new workforce entrants with lower company loyalty.

Sustainability

Doing business today without harming the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Global Environment

The international context where economies interact continually, driven by technology and free trade.

China and India Economic Growth

Rapid growth fueled by foreign investment, low manufacturing wages in China, and skilled tech graduates in India.

GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade)

A 1995 agreement signed by 125 countries to lower tariffs and reduce trade restrictions worldwide.

NAFTA

A free-trade mega-market establishing unrestricted trade between Mexico, Canada, and the United States.

European Union (EU)

A powerful free-trading bloc created by 25 European countries.

Multi-Pronged Threat to Global Economy

Severe economic and human tolls caused by war, terrorism, disease, and natural disasters worldwide.

"Do What You Love" Strategy

Expert advice for graduating students emphasizing less-routine abilities like creativity, communication, and caring over programmable skills.

Drivers of the Changing Business Landscape

Key factors transforming business, including global shifts, advancing technology, and a new focus on ethics and social responsibility.

Manager of New Media

A professional who leads digital marketing campaigns and builds meaningful relationships with consumers.

Positions typically require field experience, a four-year degree in business or communication, and often an MBA.

According to Salary.com, the median base salary for social media marketing managers in 2016 was $93,659