Business Essentials

 For introductory business courses.

Focus on the practical skills and important developments in business

The recent events in domestic and global economies are presenting unprecedented challenges, excitement, and disappointments for businesses -- and a need for change in introduction to business courses and texts. Business Essentials captures the widespread significance of these developments and presents their implications on companies today. The 12th Edition includes new real-world examples and research findings, helping students to see how entrepreneurs are putting into practice the concepts that they are learning about, and making this text the most current and relevant one available on the market.

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Ronald J. Ebert is Emeritus Professor at the University of Missouri—Columbia, where he lectures in the Management Department and serves as advisor to students and student organizations. Professor Ebert draws on more than thirty years of teaching experience at such schools as Sinclair College, University of Washington, University of Missouri, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu (Romania), and Consortium International University (Italy). His consulting alliances have included such firms as Mobay Corporation, Kraft Foods, Oscar Mayer, Atlas Powder, and John Deere. He has designed and conducted management development programs for such diverse clients as the American Public Power Association, the US Savings and Loan League, and the Central Missouri Manufacturing Training Consortium.

His experience as a practitioner has fostered an advocacy for integrating concepts with best business practices in business education. The five business books he has coauthored have been translated into Spanish, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Malaysian, Bahasa Indonesian, and Romanian languages. Professor Ebert has served as the Editor of the Journal of Operations Management. He is a Past President and Fellow of the Decision Sciences Institute. He has served as consultant and external evaluator for Quantitative Reasoning for Business Studies, an introduction-to-business project sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Ricky Griffin joined the faculty at Texas A&M University in 1981. During his career at Texas A&M, he has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in management, organizational behavior, human resource management, and international business. Professor Griffin’s research interests include workplace aggression and violence, organizational security, workplace culture, and leadership. His work has been published in such journals as Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, and Journal of Management. He served as Associate Editor and then as Editor of Journal of Management.

In addition, Professor Griffin has also authored or coauthored several leading textbooks and co-edited three scholarly books. His books have been used at more than 500 colleges and universities on five continents and have been translated into Spanish, Russian, Polish, and Chinese. He has served the Academy of Management as Chair of the Organizational Behavior Division and as Program Chair of the Research Methods Division. He also has served as President of the Southwest Division of the Academy of Management and on the Board of Directors of the Southern Management Association. Professor Griffin is a Fellow of both the Academy of Management and the Southern Management Association. He has also won several awards for research and has been supported by more than $400,000 in federal research funding. Professor Griffin has served as Director of the Center for Human Resource Management and Head of the Department of Management at Texas A&M University. He has also served as Executive Associate Dean and Interim Dean at the Mays Business School.

PART I: THE CONTEMPORARY BUSINESS WORLD

1. The US Business Environment 

2. Understanding Business Ethics and Social Responsibility 

3. Entrepreneurship, New Ventures, and Business Ownership 

4. Understanding the Global Context of Business 

PART II: MANAGING THE BUSINESS

5. Managing the Business 

6. Organizing the Business 

7. Operations Management and Quality

PART III: PEOPLE IN ORGANIZATIONS

8. Employee Behavior and Motivation 

9. Leadership and Decision Making 

10. Human Resource Management and Labor Relations 

PART IV: PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING: BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH

CUSTOMERS FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

11. Marketing Processes and Consumer Behavior 

12. Developing and Pricing Products 

13. Distributing and Promoting Products 

PART V: MANAGING INFORMATION FOR BETTER BUSINESS DECISIONS

14. Information Technology (IT) for Business 

15. The Role of Accountants and Accounting Information 

PART VI: THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM AND ISSUES IN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

16. Understanding Money and the Role of Banking 

17. Managing Business Finances 

Appendices

Appendix I: Risk Management 

Appendix II: The Legal Context of Business 

Appendix III: Managing Your Personal Finances 

Appendix IV: Unions and Labor Management 

Glossary 

Index 

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