Business Theory

Marketing is designed to achieve profitable sales. It involves the use of powerful tools to manipulate the decisions of individuals and of other firms...

Before creating business plans or making decisions, it is important to 'scan' the external environment. This can be achieved through a PEST analysis, i.e....

Our national government as well as the European Union play a big part in influencing business activity today: through taxation and spendingthrough laws, directives and...

Regulation means providing rules and frameworks for business and other activities. Some aspects of business activity are self-regulating - for example, the Advertising Standards...

Before creating business plans or when evaluating existing ones it is important to 'scan' the external environment. This takes the form of a SLEPT...

Businesses operate in an external environment in which as well as competition from rivals businesses have to take account of legal, political, social and...

Knowing the cost of an item, or activity makes it possible to calculate the profit of that item or activity. This is very important....

Sales of products will eventually decline, as outlined in the four stage product life cycle. Businesses will often attempt to phase out existing products...

A budget is a plan, which is set out in numbers. It sets out figures that an organisation like a company hopes to achieve...

Banks like Abbey provide a number of important financial services to businesses: Loans provide businesses with expansion capital. A secured loan is one that is...

Budgets are statements setting out the planned performance of a business type in a table made up of numbers. Usually, these plans deal with...

Costing is an important aspect of production because: By knowing how much it costs to produce an item or to carry out an activity it...

International marketing involves recognising that people all over the world have different needs. Companies like Gillette, Coca-Cola, BIC, and Cadbury Schweppes have brands that...

Forecasting and business trends a projection into the future that is based on evidence of past results, or on other appropriate information (e.g. what...

A market consists of all the consumers who purchase a particular type of good or service. The market may be subdivided into separate segments...

Some markets are highly competitive, while others are a lot less so. A good example of a competitive market in which there are many buyers...

Customers are people who buy products and services from other people (usually companies of one sort or another). What customers think, and feel about...

Competition occurs when two or more organisations act independently to supply their products to the same group of consumers. There are two bases on which...

Technology is the process of applying the finding of science and other forms of enquiry to applied situations. Production technology, therefore, involves applying the...

The location of a business is where it is situated e.g. in Central London, Silicon Valley, etc. Where to locate a business is a...

Production is the functional area responsible for turning inputs into finished outputs through a series of production processes. The Production Manager is responsible for...

Information Technology (IT) refers to techniques used in business for transmitting, storing, manipulating and retrieving all kinds of data, including speech, text, movies, graphics...

Businesses hold stocks in a variety of forms: raw materialswork-in-progressfinished goodsconsumablesplant and machinery spares. The aim of stock control is to make sure that a business...

Productive efficiency is measured by the number of units of output that can be produced from given quantities of inputs. Organisations depend upon the skills...

Employers and employees have responsibilities to each other, they should also expect their rights to be upheld. These rights and responsibilities relate to areas...

Leadership goes beyond management. Management involves getting things done using the resources of the organisation, and the formal patterns and rules within the organisation....

A motivated employee is someone that works hard because they feel fulfilled when they do so. Motivation is an important area of business research...

Transfers and termination of employment The Human Resources Department of an organisation typically oversees the transfer of employees within an organisation, as well as the...

Management has been described as getting things done by other people. Managers have the responsibility of enabling an organisation to achieve its objectives. They...

Communication is passing on ideas and information. In business, we need good, clear communication. The contact may be between people, organisations or places and...

Developing a plan including external influences Developing a plan including external influences in order to set out a route map to help in achieving business...

There are different views about what makes a successful business. Typically success should be judged by the ability to meet objectives. Criteria for judging...

Businesses grow in a number of ways - e.g. by increasing sales and profits, employing more staff, operating from more outlets, producing on a...

Plans are developed in order to set out a route map to help in achieving objectives. Whilst the plan is made by managers with...

A strategy is a long-term plan for the whole organisation. Igor Ansoff defined corporate strategy as 'The positioning and relating of the firm/organisation to...

Business expansion presents potential benefits and drawbacks, some owners are even unwilling to take the risk of growing a business, instead deciding to stay small....