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

Profit is the amount of money a business earns above and beyond what it spends for salaries and other expenses.

The war on terrorism has had a significant effect in drawing many resources from the U.S.economy and led to many additional costs for businesses.

Although employment in the service sector has increased rapidly in recent years,the vast majority of workers are still employed in the goods producing sector.

Mini-Case Sergio Gonzales is employed by Bigbux National Bank,one of the largest banks in the Midwest.He is a loan officer,specializing in home equity loans.Tio Raul,Sergio's favorite (and wealthiest)uncle,passed away last month and left Sergio a sizable amount of money.Sergio is looking at the best way to invest his newly acquired wealth.He is considering many options,ranging from simply putting the money into a savings account to the possibility of starting his own business.Although his bank job pays well and offers pleasant working conditions,Sergio is frustrated because he has little freedom or flexibility to deal with customers since every decision he makes must be approved by his supervisor.Besides,he's a bit bored and looking for a challenge.He thinks he might get a lot of satisfaction from owning his own business.Sergio has not made a definite decision yet,but has talked to a lot of people searching for a good idea for a new business.If he can come up with an idea he likes,he might just quit his current job and use his inheritance to go into business for himself! -As he explores his options for starting a new business,Sergio has looked into the tax implications and government regulations that he would encounter.He wants to maintain an office in a different location from his home.He has discovered that some nearby communities offer tax credits and lower taxes than his town.Sergio's decision will be influenced by the:

Almost all of the growth in employment opportunities since the mid-1980s has been generated by the service sector.

Businesses are supporting single-parent families with:

The statistical study of human population to learn its size,density,and characteristics is called:

What is demography? Identify several demographic trends in the United States and discuss how they will impact U.S.businesses.

As the generation that grew up with smartphones gets older,retailers are trying to connect with them through technology.

Life of Luxury,Inc. ,is a mail order firm that specializes in expensive and unusual gifts for all occasions.The company keeps a large file of information on all of its regular customers,including names,addresses,type of gifts they have ordered in the past,and the size and frequency of their orders.The electronic file which stores this information is a(n):

Public schools,charities and government agencies generally __________.

Describe how businesses can use technology to be more responsive to customers.

Effectiveness means producing the desired result.

The major difference between businesses and nonprofit organizations is that only businesses can increase the standard of living,while only nonprofit organizations can improve the quality of life.

Which of the following entails the greatest amount of risk?

Airline companies around the world are experiencing increased costs in part due to __________.

Successful firms follow a customer-driven strategy,as opposed to the management-driven strategy used in the past.

The capitalist system relies heavily on:

Which of the following statements best describes how firms must treat their front-line workers in order to remain competitive? Front-line workers must be ___________.

In today's competitive environment,good value means: