6- Business Operations

6- Business Operations

Business is an organized approach to providing customers with the goods and services they want. The word business also refers to an organization that provides these goods and services. Most businesses seek to make a profit - that is, they aim to achieve revenues that exceed the costs of operating the business. Prominent examples of for-profit businesses include Mitsubishi Group, General Motors Corporation, and Royal Dutch/Shell Group.

However, some businesses only seek to earn enough to cover their operating costs.
Commonly called nonprofits, these organizations are primarily nongovernmental service providers. Examples of nonprofit businesses include such organizations as social service agencies, foundations, advocacy groups, and many hospitals.

Business Operations a variety of operations keep businesses, especially large corporations, running efficiently and effectively. Common business operation divisions include (1) production, (2) marketing, (3) finance, and (4) human resource management.

Production includes those activities involved in conceptualizing, designing, and creating products and services. In recent years there have been dramatic changes in the way goods are produced. Today, computers help monitor, control, and even perform work. Flexible, high-tech machines can do in minutes what it used to take people hours to accomplish. Another important development has been the trend toward just-in-time inventory.

The word inventory refers to the amount of goods a business keeps available for wholesale or retail. In just-in-time inventory, the firm stocks only what it needs for the next day or two. Many businesses rely on fast, global computer communications to allow them to respond quickly to changes in consumer demand. Inventories are thus minimized and businesses can invest more in product research, development, and marketing.

Marketing is the process of identifying the goods and services that consumers need and want and providing those goods and services at the right price, place, and time. Businesses develop marketing strategies by conducting research to determine what products and services potential customers think they would like to be able to purchase. Firms also promote their products and services through such techniques as advertising and personalized sales, which serve to inform potential customers and motivate them to purchase.

Firms that market products for which there is always some demand, such as foods and household goods, often advertise if they face competition from other firms marketing similar products. Such products rarely need to be sold face-to-face. On the other hand, firms that market products and services that buyers will want to see, use, or better understand before buying, often rely on personalized sales. Expensive and durable goods - such as automobiles, electronics, or furniture - benefit from personalized sales, as do legal, financial, and accounting services.

Finance involves the management of money. All businesses must have enough capital on hand to pay their bills, and for-profit businesses seek extra capital to expand their operations. In some cases, they raise long-term capital by selling ownership in the company.

Other common financial activities include granting, monitoring, and collecting on credit or loans and ensuring that customers pay bills on time. The financial division of any business must also establish a good working relationship with a bank. This is particularly important when a business wants to obtain a loan.

Human Resource Management, businesses rely on effective human resource management (HRM) to ensure that they hire and keep good employees and that they are able to respond to conflicts between workers and management. HRM specialists initially determine the number and type of employees that a business will need over its first few years of operation.

They are then responsible for recruiting new employees to replace those who leave and for filling newly created positions. A business’s HRM division also trains or arranges for the training of its staff to encourage worker productivity, efficiency, and satisfaction, and to promote the overall success of the business. Finally, human resource managers create workers’ compensation plans and benefit packages for employees.

Quiz 1 (How to apologize)

•       Q1 Please ....... me for interrupting you, I didn't realize you were busy with someone else.

(a) forget (b) forfeit (c) forbid (d) forgive

•       Q2 I'm very ....... that I'm late but there is a train strike on at the moment.

(a) sore (b) sorry (c) sorrow (d) sorrowful

•       Q3 Please send my ....... to the meeting as I shan't be able to attend.

(a) apologies (b) apologize (c) apologized (d) apologizing

•       Q4 There's really no ....... for my behaviour last night. I can only think that I'd had too much to drink.

(a) exception (b) escape (c) excuse (d) exclusion

•       Q5 I know I shouldn't have made those remarks about your work and I hope you now know how deeply I ....... what I said.

(a) review (b) regret (c) respect (d) restore

•       Q6 I must ....... your pardon, I mistook you for somebody else.

(a) bid (b) bide (c) beggar (d) beg

•       Q7 If it helps to put things right, please let me take ....... everything I said earlier.

(a) again (b) back (c) in (d) across

•       Q8 Please accept this small present as my way of making ....... for all the trouble I've caused.

(a) attempts (b) attention (c) amends (d) arrears

•       Q9 All I can do now is simply beg your ....... and hope that in time we can get back to where we used to be.

(a) interest (b) interpretation (c) inclination (d) indulgence

•       Q10 In their religion as long as they ......., they will be forgiven their sins.

(a) repent (b) restore (c) repeat (d) request

Quiz 2 (Daily Business Activities)

•       Q1 My ....... went very well. I think I will get the job.

(a) interview (b) interstate (c) invitation (d) inspecting

•       Q2 She likes your ....... of writing.

(a) jester (b) paper (c) test (d) style

•       Q3 There is a water ....... in the hallway next to the bathroom.

(a) fling (b) thing (c) hole (d) fountain

•       Q4 This report is ....... next week.

(a) gave (b) due (c) expect (d) date

•       Q5 I cannot print the flyers because the ....... is out of paper.

(a) printer (b) impression (c) machine (d) impersonator

•       We normally serve five hundred ....... every day.

(a) customs (b) customers (c) consume (d) commuters

•       Q7 At the annual picnic we will be ....... hotdogs and chicken.

(a) serving (b) picketing (c) holding (d) rendered

•       Q8 From time ....... time the inspector comes to make sure that everything meets health standards.

(a) in (b) and (c) to (d) for

•       Q9 The bigger they are the harder they ........

(a) cry (b) hit (c) swim (d) fall

•       Q10 Do you keep your files in your desk ........

(a) envelop (b) drawer (c) pocket (d) leg

Answers:

A1 (d) forgive

A2 (b) sorry

A3 (a) apologies

A4 (c) excuse

A5 (b) regret

A6 (d) beg

A7 (b) back

A8 (c) amends

A9 (d) indulgence

A10 (a) repent

 

A1 (a) interview

A2 (d) style

A3 (d) fountain

A4 (b) due

A5 (a) printer

A6 (b) customers

A7 (a) serving

A8 (c) to

A9 (d) fall

A10 (b) drawer