INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
COMMERCE
SS 3 FIRST TERM
WEEK 1
TOPIC:-
Introduction to business management.
CONTENT
a. Meaning of business.
b. Meaning of management
c. Business resources – man, money, materials, opportunity/ goodwill.
d. Objectives of business.
e. Management of business
f. Business organization
g. Business and its environment
h. Social responsibility of business (scholarship employment of people in the community, provision of social amenities.
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SUB TOPIC 1 – meaning of business.
Business can be defined as any activity that people engage directly or indirectly in order to make profit. It can also be defined as the sum total of all economic activities which people engage in order to create, procure or provide desired goods and services to the consumer in proper quantities at suitable times and at satisfactory prices in order to make profits.
EVALUATION
Define the ‘term businesses.’
Some possible definitions of the term businesses include: an organization that produces and sells goods or services in order to make a profit, an activity or enterprise undertaken for economic gain, or a commercial activity involving the production and sale of products or services. Ultimately, the definition of a business depends on its specific context and purpose.
SUB TOPIC 2: Meaning of management.
Management is the process of setting organizational goals, deciding what actions and resources must contribute to meeting goals and then co-coordinating, guiding and encouraging the co-operative work of other people to meet the goals.
We can also define management as the process of using authority to organize, direct, and control subordinates in order to achieve the objectives of the business.
Functions of management.
1. Planning: It is the function of management to set objectives and goals, forecast the future, formulate policies, programmes and procedures and ways to achieve the set objectives and goals.
2. Staffing: This concerns itself with the organization of human resources in a way that the organization has the right people in the right place and at the right time to achieve the objectives of the organization. It involves employment of the right of workers, giving them training and induction courses, disciplining of staff, fixing the salary and fringe benefits as well as the motivating of the workers.
3. Organizing: This involves the bringing together all available resources (people, time, and money, machinery) to achieve organizational objectives. It concerns itself with the identification of tasks to be done, grouping them into sections, sharing of duties and responsibilities, authority relationships established etc.
4. Controlling: Controlling involves setting standards and measuring progress with the set standards to ensure the achievement of the objectives of the organization. It involves setting of standards and achievements matched to the standards set and eventually, deviations from the standard set are corrected.
5. Communication: To establish a good network of communication system in the organization, effective and efficient transmission of information of information from worker to worker, from organization to the public, from department to department is very important.
6. Motivating – This is the process which deals with the various ways by which an organizations leader can channel the inner – force in the people towards behaving in the ways that will coincide with the cooperate goals. Motivation is usually adopted in order to boost the morale of the workers.
7. Directing – This involves getting people to carry out the decision quickly, efficiently and with minimum fuss. It entails using leadership, motivating skills to ensure that people in the organization know what their work is and have it.
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EVALUATION
Explain the following terms;
1 organizing
2 planning
3 motivating
4 controlling, and
5 communication
1. Organizing refers to the process of structuring and coordinating the activities, resources, and personnel of an organization in order to achieve its goals. This typically involves assigning tasks, allocating resources, establishing procedures and protocols, and developing systems for managing information and workflow.
2. Planning is a key management function that entails setting goals and objectives for an organization, developing strategies to achieve those goals, and allocating resources in order to execute those strategies.
3. Motivating is the process of energizing and encouraging people to work towards achieving organizational goals. This often involves creating an environment that supports employee engagement, providing recognition and feedback for a job well done, and offering incentives for meeting specific performance targets.
4. Controlling involves monitoring progress towards organizational goals, identifying potential obstacles or problems, and taking corrective action to address any issues that arise. This may include setting benchmarks for assessing performance, establishing systems or processes to track activities and outputs, or using tools like dashboards to gain visibility into key indicators of success.
5. Communication is the process of sharing information and ideas within an organization in order to facilitate collaboration, coordinate activities, and ensure that everyone is working towards common goals. This may involve formal channels like email or intranets, as well as informal networking and meetings with colleagues from different departments or teams.
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SUB TOPIC 3: BUSINESS RESOURCES
Business resources are the inputs which are required for effective and efficient running of a business concern. These are human, finance, materials, time, and opportunities.
1. Human resources – Human resources refers to the personnel required to run the business to achieve the organization.
Human resources is the most important resources because it plans, controls, organizes and coordinate all other resources to achieve maximum efficiency.
2. Money resources – This include the money to float the business and to purchase other resources. Finance can be obtained through borrowing, selling shares, debentures and retained profit.
3. Material resources – Material resources include input raw and semi- input raw materials, equipment, tools, plant and machinery which are needed for production.
4. Opportunity/goodwill – These include facilities within the environment which the business uses. They include water, roads, electricity, and telephone services.
Evaluation
List and explain the resources required for the efficient running of the business concern.
SUB TOPIC 4: Objectives of Business.
The following are the objectives of business –
1 To derive maximum profit
2 To provide goods and services that will meet the needs of the consumers.
3 To provide job opportunities for people.
4 To help solve some of the country’s social problems of environmental pollution et 5 To provide quality and cheap goods to the consumers.
6 To protect the interest of workers.
7 To explore and find out uses for unutilized products of the business either by selling them to other business concerns that can use them effectively or find out how to recycle them
EVALUATION
1. State five objectives of business.
The objectives of business can include maximizing profit, providing goods and services that meet consumer needs, creating jobs and opportunities for employees, contributing to social and environmental causes, protecting the interests of workers, and exploring new products and uses for existing resources.
2. Describe how each objective might be achieved in practice.
To maximize profit, businesses may focus on reducing costs, offering competitive prices and discounts, increasing sales, optimizing production processes, and pursuing innovative marketing strategies. To provide goods and services that meet consumer needs, businesses may conduct market research to identify trends and preferences, develop new products and services, and engage in targeted marketing campaigns. To create jobs and opportunities for employees, businesses may invest in training programs, offer competitive compensation packages, and promote a positive work environment. To contribute to social and environmental causes, businesses may sponsor charitable initiatives, form strategic partnerships with nonprofit organizations, or adopt sustainable practices in production and resource use. To protect the interests of workers, businesses may promote policies such as equal opportunity hiring, workplace safety and health, and fair wages, benefits, and working conditions. Finally, to explore new products and uses for existing resources, businesses may conduct research and development activities
SUB TOPIC 5:
Business Environment
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The business environment consists of a number of activities that affect the operations of a business. For a business to survive, it must monitor what is going on in the environment. The business environment can be classified as follows;
1 Technological environment
2 Political environments
3 Financial environments
4 Economic environments
5 Infrastructural environments
6 Cultural environments
7 Legal environments
8 Demographical environments
9 Natural condition and ecological environment.
EVALUATION
1. Mention and explain five business environments known to you.
SUB TOPIC 5:
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF A BUSINESS
A business enterprise is not profit oriented alone. It is also set up to contribute to the welfare of the people in its environment. The social responsibilities of the business to the society are classified as follows;
1. Responsibilities to the community –
a. Provision of quality goods and services
b. Business provides funds for developmental programmes in the rural areas or community where they are located.
c. Employment of members of the community
d. Controlling pollution e.g. land, water, sound and air pollution resulting from their operation.
e. Provision of social amenities like water, good roads, electricity to the community.
f. Award of scholarship to students from the business community.
2. Responsibilities to the Government
a. Payment of taxes
b. Complying with rules and regulations governing their operations.
c. Employment of citizens from the community.
d. Acceptance of government role in business affairs.
3. Responsibilities to the consumers
a. Truth in advertising –should avoid fake and misleading advertising.
b. Provision of quality products to the consumers.
c. Provision of after sale services like maintenance, transportation, and installation to customers in some areas.
d. Provision of pre- sale services like credit facilities or storage facilities to store the product.
e. Educating the customers on how to use the product.
f. Prevention of products defects- they ensure that defective products are not sold to the public
g. Attending to consumers complaint – they must listen to and act on the complaints of the consumers.
4. Responsibilities to the shareholders
a. Distribution of dividends to the shareholders
b. Ensure business profitability
c. Annual general meeting should be organized by the business
d. Preparation of statement of accounts – this must be released to show the operations of the business.
5. Responsibilities to the employees
a. Recruitment and promotion – there should be no discrimination in recruitment and promotion policies
b. Payment of remuneration – the business should pay wages and salaries on time .
c. Provision of conducive working environment –they should provide safe place for work.
d. Job satisfaction – they must ensure job satisfaction
e. Welfare package – they have to take care of welfare matters.
f. Training facilities –they should organize training programs for their employees or send them to seminars.
6. Environmental responsibilities
a. Reduction of pollution – they must reduce the rate of pollution in the environment.
b. Waste treatment – they have to treat their waste before disposal to make themselves harmless.
c. Proper disposal of waste –waste are to be properly disposed to prevent outbreak of diseases.
EVALUATION
1. Identify four environmental factors that affect business.
2. Explain how each of the factors mentioned above can affect business operations.
3. Outline some of the ways in which businesses can mitigate the negative effects of these factors on their operations.
4. Discuss some of the social responsibilities that businesses have to their employees, consumers, and communities.
5. What are some of the key ethical considerations that businesses should keep in mind when making decisions and taking actions related to their operations?
SUB TOPIC 6:
BUSINESS ORGANIZATION
There are numerous and functional units of business organization, some of these would be explained below;
Personnel department – This unit is responsible for the recruitment, guidance, integration , motivation, maintenance , supervision, and discipline of the human resources under the control of the firm.
The function of the personnel department include employment, training and development , welfare of employees benefits and wages and salaries administration.
Marketing department – This is also called sales function. This is concerned with the marketing, sales and distribution of goods produced. They make sure that the goods produced gets to the final consumers. Other functions include the following:
a. Conducting research to discover what is needed by which set or class of people at a particular time.
b. Market information system
c. Assisting the company in product quality improvement programmes.
d. Setting price of company’s products.
e. To advertise and sell goods
f. To give orientation to consumers about the goods of the organization.
Production department
This department produces goods under the direction of the production manager, who is the head, the function of departments are:
a. Cost control
b. To produce goods of right quality
c. To produce goods of actual quality
d. To research and develop new products
e. To design products
f. Production of goods at the right time.
Purchasing department
The purchasing department makes arrangement for purchase of all items required by the business. They perform functions such as
a. Purchase of raw materials
b. Purchase of assets
c. Storage and control of stock
d. Warehousing of goods
e. Maintaining accurate record of sources of materials.
Finance department
This is concerned with the financial aspect of the organization. The main functions of the department are
a. To control expenditure
b. To take account of revenue
c. To keep proper book of account
d. To calculate personnel emoluments , wages and salaries
e. Cash control
f. To ensures profit justifies investments
g. To ensure that resources are managed adequately
EVALUATION
1. List four department of a business organization
2. Mention four functions of personnel department of a business establishment
GENERAL EVALUATION
Objective test
1. Which of the following is a function of management? A financing B controlling C opportunity D tallying
2. Which of these is not a component of business environment? A industrial B economic C security D ecological
3. Which of these is not a base for organizing firm into department? A function
B Geography C Authority D ownership
4. Which of these is a classification of social responsibilities? A Responsibility to the individual B Responsibility to the school C Responsibility to the community D
Responsibility to the Nigerian police
5. The following are functions of management except ….. A planning B controlling C motivating D selling.
6. Which of the following is not a function of finance department? A Budgeting B Accounting C Bookkeeping D Auditing.
7. Which of the following is not a function of production department? A Planning B Designing C Purchasing D Marketing.
8. Which of the following is not a function of marketing department? A Conducting research B Advertising C Warehousing D Developing new products.
9. Which of the following is not a function of purchasing department? A Procurement B Auditing C Warehousing D Coordination.
10. Which of the following is not a function of marketing department? A Developing new products B Advertising C Conducting research D Warehousing.
11. Which of the following is not a function of finance department? A Accounting B Budgeting C Warehousing D Auditing.
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ESSAY TEST
1 Mention and explain five ways in which a business discharges its social responsibilities to the society
2 Explain the social responsibilities of a business to the following: A the community B the employee C the shareholder D the government E consumer.
3. What is management b. list and explain five functions of management 4. Mention and explain three business resources and three business functions.
5. What is a department in business organization? Discuss the various departments and functions of a typical large scale business firm.
6. Explain the role of the various departments in a business organization and how their efficient functioning can impact the success of the firm.
7. Discuss some of the challenges faced by business departments in today’s competitive environment and how they can overcome these challenges to improve their performance
8. Discuss the key functions of the various business departments, such as production, marketing, finance, personnel, etc. and explain how each of these contributes to the overall success of a firm
9. How can a business ensure that the various business departments are working effectively and efficiently together to achieve organizational goals? What strategies can be used to improve communication, coordination, and collaboration between departments?
10. What are some of the key skills needed for success in a business department, such as leadership, critical thinking, communication, problem-solving, etc.? How can professionals in these departments develop and strengthen these skills to drive business success?
WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT
Read Essential Commerce for Senior Secondary Schools Book 3 by A O Longe pages 197-203
Pre – Reading Assignment
Read about Marketing – meaning , importance , and marketing concepts.
WEEKEND ACTIVITY
What is marketing? Write out five important points of marketing.
Marketing is the process of creating and communicating value to customers in order to drive profitable business outcomes. It involves understanding customer needs and wants, developing strategies to satisfy those needs and wants, creating and communicating value through products and services, pricing and promotion, as well as customer relationships and experiences. Some key components of marketing include market research, target market selection, product development and branding, pricing strategy, distribution and promotion, relationship management with customers, and customer service.
Marketing is an important component of any successful business, as it involves identifying and understanding the needs and wants of customers in order to create products and services that meet those needs. By creating value for customers, businesses are able to drive sales, profitability, and growth.
REFERENCE TEXTS
1 Essential Commerce for Senior Secondary Schools Book 3 by A O Longe
2 Commerce for Senior Secondary Schools Book 3 by P.S ohuka etel