4 Outcome: What Is Business?

What you’ll learn to do: define the concept of business

What do you think of when you hear the word business? Hold that thought as you complete this course to the end. Then see if your initial idea of business has changed.

Business can refer to a particular organization such as WalMart or to an entire market sector—for example, “the music business.” Compound forms such as agribusiness represent subsets of the word’s broader meaning, which encompasses all activity by suppliers of goods and services in the agricultural industry.  Business can also refer to an individual who earns his or her income by working from home selling items through an online auction site like eBay.  The concept of business has enough definitions and applications that we could almost say that everything is business. Throughout this course we will explore the various functions, roles, and characteristics of business while keeping in mind that business is like the air we breathe—everywhere!

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

The learning activities for this section include:

• Reading: Getting Down to Business
• Self Check: What is Business?

Take time to review and reflect on each of these activities in order to improve your performance on the assessment for this section.