Business activity
.
14
What is ‘business activity’?
 The activities or operations carried out by
a business, eg making goods, selling
goods, providing a service.
 The main activity is the organisation’s
core business activity.
1.4 Business activity
Main types of activity
Producing raw goods, eg farmer,
fisherman, forestry worker
Manufacturing of goods, eg food
producer, furniture manufacturer
Selling of goods, eg supermarket,
furniture store
Client services, eg bank, hospital
Other services, eg transport
1.4 Business activity
Trends in business activities
 Firms are attracted towards profitable
activities and away from unprofitable
activities
 Activities are profitable if customer
demand for the product or service is
increasing.
1.4 Business activity
Customer demand
Changes because of:







Tastes and preferences, eg Coke v Pepsi
Lifestyle changes, eg working mums
Population changes, eg more old people
Seasonal factors, eg Christmas
Value for money, eg bargains and discounts
Income and wealth, eg winning the lottery
Technological developments, eg DVD v video
1.4 Business activity
Examples of changes to business activities
 Consumer spending rising/falling
 Technological developments
 Value of goods and services produced
All these affect the number of people
employed in different activities.
1.4 Business activity
Sector trends 1
Primary sector (producing raw goods)
 Overall, output increasing but employment falling.
Manufacturing sector
 Overall, employment falling
 Traditional industries declining
 Telecommunications affected by world economic
problems
 Some growth areas: computers and supplies,
paper, pharmaceuticals, furniture, sports goods,
many food products.
1.4 Business activity
Sector trends 2
Sale of goods (retail and wholesale)
Overall output and employment rising.
Services (client and other)
Overall output rising, especially in business
services. Employment rising in many areas (eg
health care) but falling in some areas because of
increased automation (eg banks).
1.4 Business activity
Investigating business activities





Identify core business activity
Identify other business activities
Identify trends which can affect the business
Find out about sector as a whole
Find out if this business is the same as others
in the sector – or different in some way. If so,
why?
1.4 Business activity