Introduction to Business
Unit I, Intro. to Business
Robert Crawford, MBA
West Middle School
Todays topics:
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What is a business?
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What is money?
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A brief introduction to the topics we will be
looking at in the next few weeks.
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Using the IT Industry as a backdrop, we will
consider:
Marketing/Retailing • Communications
Management
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Economics
Accounting
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Business Law
Entrepreneurship
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Finance/Investment
What is a business?
How would you define what a business is?
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Not an example of a business.
We are looking for something more general,
something that applies in all cases.
What is a business?
Investopedia defines it this way:
An organization or enterprising entity
engaged in commercial, industrial or
professional activities.
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A business can be a for-profit entity, such as a
publicly-traded corporation, or a non-profit
organization engaged in business activities,
such as an agricultural cooperative.
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(we will talk more about these types of
businesses later)
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/business.asp
What is money?
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Now that we have seen how terms are
broadly defined, What is money?
What is money?
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Now that we have seen how terms are
broadly defined, What is money?
What is money?
Now that we have seen how terms are
broadly defined, What is money?
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You have probably though of things like:
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Something you can buy stuff with
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Something you can save
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Something we can use to determine the value of
an item
This is exactly right!
What is money?
Now that we have seen how terms are
broadly defined, What is money?
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You have probably though of things like:
•
Something you can buy stuff with
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A medium of exchange
Something you can save
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A store of value
Something we can use to determine the value of
an item
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A unit of account
What is money?
This takes us to our definition:
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Money is any item or verifiable record that is
generally accepted as payment for goods and
services and repayment of debts.
Most modern textbooks list three functions of
money: that of
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medium of exchange,
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unit of account, and
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store of value.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money
What is money?
Most modern textbooks list three functions
of money: that of
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medium of exchange
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Money is used to intermediate the exchange of
goods and services,
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It performs a function as a medium (something
between) of exchange. It thereby avoids the
inefficiencies of a barter system, such as the
"double coincidence of wants" problem.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money
Double coincidence of wants is one of the flaws in
the barter economy and one of the reasnos a
society needs money
What is money?
Most modern textbooks list three functions
of money: that of
•
unit of account
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A unit of account is a standard numerical
monetary unit of measurement of the market
value of goods, services, and other transactions.
Also known as a "measure" or "standard" of
relative worth and deferred payment, a unit of
account is a necessary prerequisite for the
formulation of commercial agreements that
involve debt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money
What is money?
Most modern textbooks list three functions
of money: that of
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unit of account
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To function as a 'unit of account', whatever is
being used as money must be:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money
Divisible into smaller units without loss of value
Fungible: that is, one unit or piece must be
perceived as equivalent to any other, which is why
diamonds, works of art or real estate are not
suitable as money.
A specific weight, or measure, or size to be
verifiably countable. For instance, coins are often
milled with a reeded edge, so that any removal of
material from the coin (lowering its commodity
value) will be easy to detect.
What is money?
Most modern textbooks list three functions
of money: that of
•
A store of value
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To act as a store of value, a money must be able
to be reliably saved, stored, and retrieved.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money
This is why plants and livestock are not useful
forms of money
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They can be bartered or exchanged for money;
but they cannot be money.
What is money?
Money is any item or verifiable record that is
generally accepted as payment for goods and
services and repayment of debts.
Most modern textbooks list three functions of
money: that of
•
•
•
medium of exchange,
•
unit of account, and
•
store of value.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money
Things to know:
What is a business?
•
•
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An organization or enterprising entity engaged
in commercial, industrial or professional
activities.
What is money?
Things to know:
What is a business?
What is money?
•
•
•
any item or verifiable record that is generally
accepted as payment for goods and services
and repayment of debts.
•
Most modern textbooks list three functions of
money: that of
•
medium of exchange,
•
unit of account, and
•
store of value.
Topics we will look at in the
coming weeks.
•
•
•
•
•
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Marketing
Management
Accounting
Entrepreneurship
Communications
Economics
Business Law
Finance / Investment
We will be looking at these with a constant
reference to the IT industry.