How a Business Works
What Every Businessperson, Citizen, Consumer, and Employee Needs to Know About Business
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
My goal for you in reading How a Business Works is not to understand everything about business after you have finished reading the book. To accomplish that, the book would need to be very, very long. The goal is to create a framework for understanding business in 12 chapters that you can read, understand, and apply in a relatively short period of time. This framework will serve you in three ways: 1. It will help you to understand the behavior of sellers and employers, so that you can be a more informed businessperson, citizen, consumer, and employee. 2. It will help you to predict the future behavior of sellers and employers, so that you can make better plans and achieve better outcomes as a businessperson, citizen, consumer, and employee. 3. It will give you a basic understanding of business (a framework), so that you can effectively and efficiently learn more about business and organizations from the perspectives of your roles: as a citizen, consumer, employee, and possibly businessperson. Some examples of the kinds of questions we would like to be able to answer as a result of reading this book and developing a framework for understanding business are: o As a businessperson: o How do my decisions and actions affect the revenue and expenses of my organization? o How can I increase revenue and decrease expenses in my organization? o How can I operate ahead of the curve (know what is coming and be prepared for it)? o How can I best serve my customers? o How can I add more value to what I do in the marketplace? o Should I love, or dislike my competitors? o As a citizen: o What are the characteristics of a good employer for my community, my state, my country, and the world? o Is globalization a good thing for me, my community, and my country? o How can I get globalization to help me, rather than hurt me? o How do the purchasing decisions that I make affect my community, my country, and the world? o What should the role of government be in business and economic activity? Is there a relationship between government regulation and the prices paid by consumers? o As a consumer: o How can I choose the best sellers for the goods and services that I purchase? o How can I determine what is the best price for the goods and services that I purchase? o How can I ensure that I will get what I think I am getting when I purchase goods and services? o How can I spot consumer opportunities in the marketplace? o How can I avoid unpleasant buying experiences? o How can I get the most for the money that I have to spend? o How can a seller’s brand help me in my purchasing decisions? o As an employee: o How can I determine if a company or organization will be a good place for me to work – both now and in the future? o Is my company or organization a good place to work? o Will my company or organization be a good place to work in three months? One year from now? Five years from now? o Will my company or organization be a good place to receive promotions, pay raises, or bonuses in the future? o How can I make myself more valuable to my employer? Which of my activities are helping my employer, and which of my activities are hurting my employer? o How can I better serve my company’s customers? o How can I spot good employment opportunities? o How can my company benefit from globalization, rather than be hurt by it? o How can I get advancing technology to help me? o How can I deal with all of the information that is out there? In addition to providing a framework for understanding business, this book can be used as a handy refresher…you can do a quick review of any of the 12 chapters whenever you need to do so – quickly and efficiently. As you begin the book, keep in mind the questions listed in this preface. Try to begin answering these questions. And begin thinking of your own questions that you would like to answer. I wish you success in your study of business. William C. Haeberle
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
The goal of How a Business Works is to create a framework for understanding business in 12 chapters that you can read, understand, and apply in a relatively short period of time. This framework will serve you in three ways: 1. It will help you to understand the behavior of sellers and employers, so that you can be a more informed businessperson, citizen, consumer, and employee. 2. It will help you to predict the future behavior of sellers and employers, so that you can make better plans and achieve better outcomes as a businessperson, citizen, consumer, and employee. 3. It will give you a basic understanding of business (a framework), so that you can effectively and efficiently learn more about business and organizations from the perspectives of your roles: as a citizen, consumer, employee, and possibly businessperson. All of us have the roles of a citizen and a consumer. Most of us have the role of an employee of an organization. And, some of us may choose the role of a businessperson. How a Business Works seeks to make business understandable to citizens and consumers. The book can help you in your career whether you are an employee of an organization or are self employed. And, finally, the book can assist you in becoming a businessperson.