Business definition, classificationa and ownwership

Business and Administration Course 2011/2012

Unit 1 Business (1)

1) Are these words familiar to you? Organization

Goods

Services

Consumers

Capitalist economies

Privately owned

Profit

Wealth

Not-for-profit

State-owned

Company

Owners

2) What is a business?

A business is any _________________ that makes ______ _________ or provides

________________ , or both to ___________________.

Language Assistant: Ms. Brittnee Gilleylen Module Teacher: Joaquin Guadix Escobar


Goods

Are physical products, for example

1 ________________

2 ________________

3 ________________

Services

Are non-physical items, for example,

1 _________________

2 _________________

3 _________________

Businesses

Are predominant in capitalist economies.

Most of them are privately owned

They are administered to earn profit and increase the wealth of their owners.

Can also be not-for-profit or state-owned .

A business owned by multiple individuals can be called a company.



What is it?

A business organization

Money gained in business

A person who buys good or uses services

Object or articles that are produced to be sold

The state of being rich

A company that is owned by private investors

An economic system (the opposite of Communism)

Not making or interested in making a profit

An organized group of people, such as a club, society, union or business



Basic forms of ownership

Form Definition Can you give an example?

Sole proprietorship

A for-profit business owned by one person. The owner has unlimited liability.

Partnership A for-profit business owned by two or more people. In most forms of partnerships, each partner has unlimited liability.

Franchising Large companies that sell their names and products to smaller companies in order to make a profit

Corporationor Company

Limited liability business that has a separate legal personality from its members.

Cooperative Limited liability business that can organize for-profit or not-for-profit. A cooperative differs from a for-profit corporation in that it has members, as opposed to shareholders, who share decision-making authority.



Unit 1 Business (2)DepartmentsHow can we organize a business?

DEPARTMENTS ACTIVITIES

Marketing To increase brand awareness

To create an advertising campaign

To change the image of the company’s star product

Sales Andalusia’s sales are going down

There is a distribution problem in Asturias

There is not enough money to give a pay rise

Accounting To reduce payment terms

To speed up the billing process

Purchasing There is not any paper left for the printer

There is a problem with the new photocopier

The big boss needs some new furniture

Human There is a selection process



Resources

Administration There are last month’s reports to be filed

There are lots of new product codes to be entered into the system

There are next month’s billing to be completed

Unit 2 Communication (1)Purposes of Communication

Communication involves the Exchange of Information

Communication involves transmitting (sending) information from a sender to a receiver. The information that’s sent is called the message

Messages are sent using a particular medium. Examples of media include: email, letter, phone...

The receiver of the message can send feedback to show they have received it and understood it. Feedback is important for judging how successful the communication has been

Before sending a message, you need to choose a system

A communication system is made up of a method, a channel and a medium of communication

Choose the best method of communication

Written messages can be kept and read many times



Oral messages are spoken (they are more personal, and good for getting immediate feedback)

Visual methods involve images or body language (they express meaning quickly without words

Pictorial methods use pictures (e.g. J is a quick, informal way to express happiness)

Graphical methods use graphs, charts and diagrams to show technical information and

data

Choose the right channel of communication

Internal and external: Messages that don’t leave the business go through internal channels. Messages sent to receivers outside the firm are sent through external channels

Formal and informal: Formal channels are used for official business (e.g. Formal letters sent to suppliers, or job applicants). Informal channels are less official (e.g. Word-of-mouth messages)

Confidential and non-confidential: Confidential messages (e.g. Financial data) need to be private

Urgent and non-urgent: Urgent channels are used to deliver important messages quickly

Choose the right channel of communication

The medium means the equipment you use to send the message.

This will depend on the method and the channels of communication

Unit 2 Communication (2)Barriers to communication

Barriers can prevent good communication

Jargon: This is technical language to do with a particular subject. People who aren’t experts in that subject may not understand



Noise: This could be traffic noise making it hard to hear a phone call. Or it might be visual noise (e.g. Too much information o a page can make it hard to pick out the important points

Poor choice of channel or medium: E.g. An urgent letter sent by second-class post may not get there in time. And complex information might be best written down, rather than spoken, so that the receiver doesn’t forget any of it

Inappropriate presentation: A message’s presentation should be suitable for the audience. E.g. An advert should be easy to understand, if it’s too complex, customers might lose interest

Emotional interference: E.g. If the sender and the receiver don’t get on personally, it can affect how the communication is understood

Trust and honesty: If the receiver thinks the sender is dishonest they may be suspicious about the content of the message

Cultural differences: Communicating internationally can be tricky. Foreign languages can easily be mistranslated. Also, what seems polite in one country may be rude in another

The status of the sender: People outside a business are often more likely to trust information if it comes from somebody who’s high up in the organisation

Checking documents for errors is a good idea

Errors can also be a barrier to communication. They can make messages misleading and confusing. Luckily, written and visual messages can be checked for errors before they are sent

Errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar: In formal business documents, this looks unprofessional (the firm may lose respect if words aren’t spelt correctly)

Errors in tone: This will depend on the sender, message and receiver. A formal business letter to a customer needs formal language. If the tone is too chatty, it can seem disrespectful

Factual errors: Factual errors can cause big problems. E.g. Putting the wrong prices in a catalogue could damage a firm’s reputation. Giving out misleading information could even be a criminal offence



Problems with graphics and diagrams: Graphics are supposed to make information clearer. But if they’re labelled, they could just add to the confusion

Please, don’t forget Checking business documents for error can save

embarrassment, confusion, and more serious problems

The main drawback of checking for mistakes is that it takes time and money to do it properly. But it’s usually time and money well spent


Documents

Business definition, classificationa and ownwership