Exam 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits Within the Dynamic Business Environment

refers to the amount of output generated with a given amount of input, e.g., the number of pizzas produced per worker per hour.

Mark recently graduated with honors from his college. He has bragged to his friends that his academic performance has prepared him so well for a successful career that he can forget school or training in his future. In evaluating the future of the workplace, Mark is:

Maintaining a high quality of life requires the combined efforts of businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies.

The knowledge and skills learned in business courses are seldom relevant to students who work for nonprofit organizations or volunteer groups.

Demographic changes create new business opportunities.

Charles Malone recently renewed his card membership at DiscountMania. The card has an annual $40 fee, but Charles believes that it pays for itself because he receives good prices on electronics, contact lenses, and even tires for his car. Shortly after renewing the card, Charles began receiving calls from collection agencies claiming that he owed money. With the help of others, he learned that another Charles Malone also owned a DiscountMania card, and wrote checks with insufficient bank funds when making purchases. DiscountMania had linked Charles' personal information with the other Charles Malone's personal information. Charles experienced .

Jared is supposed to be cramming for finals but his mind keeps wandering to the Colorado slopes. Several years ago, his Uncle Mike made it big and now owns a ski lodge just north of Aspen. He promised Jared a management trainee position and the opportunity to buy into the company by contributing a portion of his paycheck each month back into the business. As he dreams about the opportunity to be his own boss, reality bites as Jared scans his business book and reads, "freedom to succeed also means freedom to fail."

Jenna Leigh is an information savvy, 20-something person who is trying to select between two marketing job offers. She can either join a company that makes small hammers and screwdrivers for the do-it-yourself hardware store business, or she can join a company developing the fourth generation cell phone service. She is quite impressed that the hardware business is growing quite nicely in China, Mexico, and India where people are starting to expand their living spaces. She is also aware of:

Often in business the greater the risk, the .

Land, sometimes called natural resources, is the most critical factor of production in explaining why some countries are poor while others are rich.

The new era of business is likely to be dominated by the:

The service industry represents of the value of the U.S. economy.

The immigrant population (both legal and illegal) is having a dramatic effect on

Businesses use demographic studies to understand where people live, their lifestyles, and what they are likely to buy.

The capitalist system relies heavily on:

Diversity management would not be an issue if firms would treat all of their employees the same.

Efforts are underway to serve the needs of a diverse population. Diversity means:

Businesses and nonprofit organizations often strive to accomplish the same objectives.

To realize his passion, Alex recently opened Original Tunes, Inc., a small state of the art recording studio in Nashville, TN. He probably could have set-up shop in several major cities, but Nashville offered him the two most important factors that he learned in business school would enhance the creation of wealth: labor and political freedom.

In recent years, almost all new job creation in the United States has occurred in the sector: