Rashahi University
EMBA-Marketing
Semester: July-December 2015
Course Outline on Entrepreneurship Development Course No: E-505
by Mizan Akand
1. Definition/Meaning/Description/Explanation of Business:
Business is a concept easy to understand but difficult to define. However, an attempt has been made here to define the term ‘’business’’ a systematic and orderly manner.
Exactly speaking, business means business. In simple words, business means the state of being busy. Broadly, business involves activities connected with the production of wealth. It is an organized and systematized human activity involving production and purchase of goods and services with object of selling them at a profit.
The meaning of business can be better understood if we go through some important definitions of business given by business experts.
According to Urwick and Hunl, “A business is any enterprise which makes, distributes or providers any article or service which other members of the community need and are able and willing to pay for.
In the words of Peterson and plowman, “A single isolated transaction of sale and purchase will not contribute business. Recurring or repeated transactions of sale and purchase alone mean business.
From Wikipedia online version, “ A business, also known as an enterprise or a firm, is an organization involved in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are prevalent in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and provide goods and services to customers in exchange for other goods, services, or money. Businesses may also be not-for-profit or state-owned. A business owned by multiple individuals may be referred to as a company.
Thus in essence, business concerns with buying and selling goods, manufacturing goods or providing service in order to earn profit.
02. Nature and characteristics of Business:
The significant characteristics of business are as follows:
- Sale or Transfer of goods for value: One the basic characteristic of a business is that involves sale or transfer of goods and services for value. It is important to note that the production or purchase of goods and service for personal use does not come under the realm of business. For example, if a carpenter prepares furniture for his own use, it will not come under business because it does not involve exchange or transfer of goods for value.
- Dealing in Goods and Service: In fact business implies dealing in goods and services. The goods may be consumer goods like bread, cloth, watches, etc. and producer goods like tools, machinery, etc. As regards services. They refer to intangible and invisible items. Examples of such items or services may be transport service, supplying of electricity, etc. In other words, services consist of such items which are not stored by consumer but utilized.
- Recurrence/Regular of Dealings: As opinion by Peterman and Plowman, Business involves recurring or repeated transactions of sale and purchases for sale. So, a single transaction, of course, involving buying and selling does not contribute business. If a man, for example, sells his car and earns profit, it is not a business, because it is a single transaction of selling car. But if the same man regularly purchase and sells cars, then his act a business. The reason is that the buying and selling of cars is on a repeated basis.
- Profit Motive: Profit motive is the biggest and powerful motivation for running business. As stated earlier, business involves production and purchases of goods and services with the motive of selling them at profit.
- Risk Involved: Business involves risk also. Business activities always focus on future. Future is highly uncertain. So, risk is always involves in uncertainty. Profit or return depends upon the degree of risk involved. The Businessman is rewarded in terms of profit for his/her risk bearing capacity.
NGO-NOTE 