Why We Study Business ? When you graduate from college, where will you work? Do you buy health food or traditional food when you shop? What price are you willing to pay for a compact disk, a ticket to a professional baseball game, a visit to the doctor because of cold? Do you qualify for an automobile loan? Do international trade deficits have an impact on your standard of living? What caused the stock market crash? How maintained a company? None of these questions has a single clear answer. The study of business will help you shape answers, sharpen your skills, and understand the business and economic links between the United States and other nations.
While studying business, you will learn about history, the free enterprise system, how changes in the environment affect businesses, and what skills are needed to have a good chance to be successful. You will also learn about business careers and what will be needed to succeed in a business career. However, the road to business success will be easier for those who understand how business work.
Cause of Business Study:
- Increasing Dependence on others
- International Opportunities
- Standard of Life
- Coping with Change
- Preventing Misconceptions
Increasing Dependence on others:
Over the years, people have become more and more dependent on others. Business is the exchange of goods, service, or money for mutual benefit or profit. Few people today produce everything they need or use; a complex division of labor has encouraged us to not be self sufficient.
International Opportunities:
For individual educated in business, exciting opportunities will exist around the world as we move toward the 21st century. The new era of business performance in an international marketplace will require business leaders who know how to start, operate, and sustain businesses. Business negotiations, joint ventures between companies in different countries, travel across borders, investment across geographical boundaries, working for foreign owned enterprises are becoming commonplace. To function in such a world, each of us must understand the principles of business.
Standard of Living:
Another reason to study business is to protect our way of life. Americans take great pride in being free and independent. Because of the independence, hard work, and values embodied in business institutions, Americans enjoy a comfortable standard of living. Business has contributed success stories. We need to understand these contributions and also to learn how to maintain an acceptable standard of living for future generations. Standard of living describes the amount of goods and services that an average family or individual views as necessary. The standard of living of each generation of Americans has been better than the previous generation. How has this happened? We believe that minimal amount of government interference and a free market business system has been the major reasons for perpetuating our way of living. This free market system, called free enterprise, means that private businesses are able to conduct business activities competitively with minimal government regulation. As a result of this system, the productive activities of people have been as free as possible. The powerful business system that has resulted should be understood, improved, and encouraged.
Coping with Change:
Business is always changing (dynamic). Coping with both predictable and unpredictable events can be easier, more efficient, and less traumatic if we understand business. Price increase or decrease, products are added, needs change, services are created to meet needs, law are passed, and unexpected events occur- for example, stock market crashes, currency value change, inflation, deflation, price war, new business idea. These all have been a part of the dynamic business system.
Preventing Misconceptions:
Understanding business also prevents our accepting misconceptions, misinformation, and inaccurate data as truths. Many people still believe that Japan has the number one economy, that the average U.S. business earns 15 percent profit, that starting salaries for recent college graduates are usually $50000 annually, and that most people work for large businesses. Each of these assumptions is inaccurate.
