Business Theory

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

The international environment is very important today. Globalisation, the process whereby businesses develop worldwide brands and products which they supply across the world, and...

Legislation is the process of making laws. This is done through Acts of Parliament, and 'rules', 'regulations' and 'bye laws' made by those who...

For centuries Britain has been a country that relies on international trade. We purchase goods and services from other countries and in return, we...

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....

Businesses work in a wider social environment in which they have a responsibility to a range of stakeholders including the wider community. The term Corporate...

Accounts are records of financial transactions. Information that is used in accounts is initially entered into books of prime entry, which may simply be...

There are a number of ways of raising finance for a business, below we examine the sources and uses of finance. The type of...

By law companies are expected to produce financial statements each year. These statements appear in Company Reports. There are two main financial statements: 1.The profit and...

The profit of a business is the difference between its revenues and its costs. It is important to consider two main types of profit: 1.Gross...

Accounting principles involve the recording and interpretation of business activity in figures (recording accounts). Records are kept of business transactions and full sets of accounts...

Insurance is the business of taking on other people's risks. The UK lies at the heart of the world's insurance market. We were one...

Customer satisfaction refers to the extent to which customers are happy with the products and services provided by a business. Customer satisfaction levels can...

Businesses exist in a competitive environment. For example, supermarkets are in fierce competition with each other to provide the best possible value for money...

Organisations will often set up different structures to deal with different types of customer customers. This is because they will often give some groups...

Market research involves collecting, recording and making sense of all the available information which will help a business unit to understand its market. Market...

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...

A strategy is a long-term plan to achieve certain objectives. A marketing strategy is therefore a marketing plan designed to achieve marketing objectives. For...

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...

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

An important aspect of production management and control is the management of facilities. Facilities management typically involves the following: Buildings and site maintenance Make sure that...

Location of production Production activity should be located where a firm can be most productive, and yield the highest revenues per unit of investment. A...

The term 'quality' in a business sense means 'fitness for purpose'. A supplier supplies a quality product when it exactly meets the requirements of...

There are a number of limiting factors that determine the quantity and nature of output that a producer is able to achieve within a...

In order to operate successfully, businesses today need to operate in rapidly changing markets and conditions, developing a culture which is prepared to respond...

Recruitment is the process of identifying that the organisation needs to employ someone up to the point at which application forms for the post...

An appraisal is a formal and informal process through which an employee is able to discuss their training and development needs with an appraiser....

The UK economy is characterised by a relatively high level of flexibility in work patterns when compared with our continental neighbours. The work force...

Remuneration consists of the rewards that employees receive from their work. Employees that work for modern companies and other major UK companies will receive...

People being human need to be rewarded and encouraged for their endeavours. A number of researchers have investigated the link between motivation and reward....

Delegation involves handing out responsibility to individuals in an organisation to make decisions rather than everyone having to be told what to do by...

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...

Organisations are structured in radically different ways ranging from relatively fixed structures with positions, rules, and established chains of communication to dynamic structures in...

A business plan is a description of a business and its plans for the next one to three years. It explains what the business...

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

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...