Business in Context : An Introduction to Business and its Environment,9781861523587

Business in Context : An Introduction to Business and its Environment

by
Edition: 3rd
ISBN13: 9781861523587
ISBN10: 1861523580
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2000-06-01
Publisher(s): Cengage Learning EMEA Higher Education
Upgraded Edition: Click here!
  • Free Shipping Icon

    This Item Qualifies for Free Shipping!*

    *Excludes marketplace orders.

List Price: $48.30

Rent Book

Select for Price
Add to Cart
There was a problem. Please try again later.

New Book

We're Sorry
Sold Out

Used Book

We're Sorry
Sold Out

eBook

We're Sorry
Not Available

Buy from our Marketplace starting at $60.27

How Marketplace Works:

  • This item is offered by an independent seller and not shipped from our warehouse
  • Item details like edition and cover design may differ from our description; see seller's comments before ordering.
  • Sellers much confirm and ship within two business days; otherwise, the order will be cancelled and refunded.
  • Marketplace purchases cannot be returned to eCampus.com. Contact the seller directly for inquiries; if no response within two days, contact customer service.
  • Additional shipping costs apply to Marketplace purchases. Review shipping costs at checkout.

Summary

Business in Context provides an introduction to the key activities of business placed within a managerial, organizational and environmental context. Offering a dynamic and contemporary global perspective on business, key issues are debated and supported by practical cases from well-known international companies. The latest edition of David Needle’s successful text has been thoroughly revised and rewritten with increased emphasis on globalization, updated and additional cases, and web support material for students and lecturers.

Table of Contents

List of cases
ix
List of key concepts
xi
Series foreword xiii
Preface to the third edition xvii
Acknowledgements xix
The concept of Business in Context
1(34)
Businesses and their contexts
1(4)
The European car industry
5(10)
Over-capacity and competition
7(1)
Product strategies
8(1)
New market opportunities
9(1)
Restructuring strategies
10(1)
Mergers and acquisitions
11(2)
Restructuring in the supply industry
13(1)
Concluding remarks
14(1)
The European car industry in a business context
15(3)
Environmental factors
15(1)
Organizational aspects
16(1)
Strategic aspects
17(1)
Functional aspects
17(1)
News International and Wapping
18(7)
A little background
19(2)
Events at Wapping
21(2)
Postscript
23(2)
The News International case in a business context
25(5)
Environmental aspects
25(2)
Organizational aspects
27(1)
Strategic aspects
28(1)
Functional aspects
28(2)
The systems and contingency approaches
30(2)
The layout of this book
32(1)
Summary
32(1)
Discussion
33(2)
The environment and business
35(94)
The economy and business
37(17)
The impact of business on the economy
38(3)
The impact of the economy on business
41(4)
Globalization
45(2)
The multinational corporation
47(4)
The impact of a changing economy on British business
51(3)
Does manufacturing matter?
54(1)
The state and business
54(20)
State intervention and business
56(3)
Thatcherism and the New Right
59(1)
Thatcherism to New Labour
60(1)
Difficulties with state intervention
61(1)
Types of state intervention
61(3)
The business community as a pressure group
64(2)
The World Trade Organization
66(2)
The European Union
68(2)
EU objectives and instruments
70(1)
EU issues
71(3)
Technology
74(12)
Technology: determinant or choice?
75(2)
New technology and information technology
77(3)
Electronic commerce
80(3)
New technology, jobs and labour
83(3)
Labour
86(8)
Employment trends
86(1)
Education and training
87(2)
Germany: a training ethos
89(1)
Trade unions
90(3)
Trade union power
93(1)
Cultural influences and business
94(14)
The `culture-free' hypothesis
95(2)
The `culture-specific' hypothesis
97(3)
Towards a mixed approach
100(6)
The British and business
106(1)
The difficulties involved in using culture as a variable
107(1)
Japanese business and management
108(17)
Cultural explanations
110(1)
The role of the state
111(1)
Economic organization
112(3)
Management and management strategies
115(2)
Japanese management: an alternative view
117(1)
Japanization
118(4)
Japan and the problems of the 1990s
122(2)
Japanese management: some conclusions
124(1)
Summary
125(1)
Further reading
126(1)
Discussion
127(2)
Organizational aspects of business
129(66)
Goals
129(14)
The nature of goals
132(2)
How goals are developed
134(1)
Multiple goals
135(4)
Business and ethics
139(4)
Structure
143(19)
The factors that influence structure
144(6)
Types of structure
150(7)
Alternative forms of organization structure
157(1)
The flexible firm
158(3)
Structure and performance
161(1)
Ownership
162(10)
Ownership and control
163(4)
Management and control in the public sector
167(2)
Privatization
169(3)
Size
172(2)
Small Businesses
174(9)
The extent of the small firms' sector
175(3)
The value of small businesses
178(2)
The small firm as a case for government support
180(3)
Organizational culture
183(9)
The terms defined
184(1)
Strong cultures and the excellent company
185(4)
Culture and performance
189(1)
How useful is organizational culture as a concept?
190(2)
Summary
192(1)
Further reading
193(1)
Discussion
194(1)
Management strategy
195(50)
The strategic process
196(5)
Strategic contexts
201(1)
The uses and value of strategy
202(1)
The environmental aspects of strategy
203(10)
The general environment
203(3)
The immediate competitive environment
206(4)
Environmental threats and opportunities
210(3)
The organizational aspects of strategy
213(14)
The interaction of strategy and organization
214(4)
Resource analysis
218(2)
Core competences
220(1)
The value chain
221(2)
Portfolio analysis
223(4)
Strategic options
227(13)
Types of strategic option
227(1)
Diversification strategies
228(3)
Joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions
231(8)
Other strategic options
239(1)
Strategic choice
240(2)
Summary
242(1)
Further reading
242(1)
Discussion
243(2)
Innovation
245(50)
Identifying the concepts
247(11)
Invention and innovation
247(2)
Research, development and design
249(4)
Entrepreneurship
253(5)
The environmental aspects of innovation
258(21)
The role of the economy
258(1)
Innovation and long-wave cycles
258(1)
Innovation and specific measures of economic performance
259(5)
The role of the state
264(1)
Types of state intervention in innovation
265(6)
Some problems with state intervention in innovation
271(2)
Cultural and national differences
273(2)
R&D in Britain
275(1)
Innovation and technology
276(3)
Organizational aspects of innovation
279(6)
Organizational size and goals
279(3)
Innovation and organization structure
282(3)
The role of organization culture
285(1)
Innovation and management strategies
285(7)
Types of strategy
288(2)
Integrated strategies
290(1)
Constraints to effective innovation strategy
291(1)
Summary
292(1)
Further reading
293(1)
Discussion
293(2)
Operations
295(64)
A central function
295(2)
Some differences between manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries
297(1)
Identifying the operations function
298(8)
Conflicting objectives and changing solutions
301(2)
The relationship between operations and other functional areas
303(3)
The key activities of operations management
306(30)
The design of operations systems
306(8)
Managing the operating system
314(7)
Quality planning, control and assurance
321(1)
Methods of quality control, assurance and improvement
322(3)
Total quality management
325(3)
Supply chain management
328(2)
Purchasing issues in supply chain management
330(3)
Supply chain management techniques
333(1)
Just-in-time
333(3)
Operations and the environment
336(8)
Production, economy and the state
336(1)
Operations and technology
337(3)
Operations and labour
340(3)
Cultural influences and operations
343(1)
Organizational aspects of operations
344(4)
Operations and organization size
344(1)
Operations and organization structure
345(2)
Organizational goals and culture
347(1)
Operations strategies
348(8)
Lean production
352(3)
Evaluating operations strategies
355(1)
Summary
356(1)
Further reading
357(1)
Discussion
357(2)
Marketing
359(56)
Definitions and orientations
360(2)
Marketing in different contexts
362(3)
Organizational marketing
363(1)
The marketing of services
363(1)
The marketing of images
364(1)
Export marketing
365(1)
The elements of marketing
365(28)
Market research
366(2)
The product
368(1)
Price
368(6)
Promotion
374(6)
Place
380(1)
Buyer behaviour
381(2)
Branding, segmentation and the product life cycle
383(1)
Branding
384(3)
Segmentation
387(4)
The product life cycle
391(2)
The environmental aspects of marketing
393(9)
Marketing and the economy
393(2)
Marketing and the role of the state
395(1)
Consumerism
396(2)
Marketing and technology
398(2)
The role of cultural and social influences in marketing
400(2)
The organizational aspects of marketing
402(3)
The organization of marketing
402(2)
Marketing and other functions
404(1)
The strategic aspects of marketing
405(7)
Product strategy
406(1)
Pricing strategy
406(2)
Promotion strategy
408(2)
Distribution strategy
410(1)
An integrated marketing strategy
411(1)
Summary
412(1)
Further reading
412(1)
Discussion
413(2)
Human resource management
415(44)
Identifying personnel/HRM
416(12)
Traditional approaches to personnel
416(4)
Human resource management
420(2)
The differences between HRM and traditional personnel management
422(6)
The environmental aspects of HRM
428(15)
The role of the state
429(5)
The role of the economy
434(2)
HRM and the labour force
436(4)
HRM and technology
440(2)
Cultural influences
442(1)
Organizational aspects of HRM
443(6)
HRM and organization size
443(1)
HRM, orgnization structure and goals
444(3)
The role of organizational culture
447(2)
Human resource management strategies
449(7)
Manpower planning
450(1)
Links to corporate strategy
451(2)
New approaches to strategy
453(3)
Summary
456(1)
Further reading
456(1)
Discussion
457(2)
Finance and accounting
459(28)
Finance and accounting in business
460(16)
Financial management
461(1)
Share capital
461(2)
Loan capital
463(1)
Other forms of financing
464(1)
Management accounting
465(5)
Financial reporting
470(6)
The environmental aspects of finance and accounting
476(3)
The role of the economy
476(1)
Cultural differences
477(2)
The organizational aspects of finance and accounting
479(4)
The accounting requirements of large and small firms
479(1)
Organization structure, cost allocation and transfer pricing
480(2)
Transfer pricing and the global firm
482(1)
Strategic aspects of finance and accounting
483(1)
Summary
484(1)
Further reading
485(1)
Discussion
485(2)
References 487(14)
Author Index 501(6)
Subject index 507

An electronic version of this book is available through VitalSource.

This book is viewable on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and most smartphones.

By purchasing, you will be able to view this book online, as well as download it, for the chosen number of days.

Digital License

You are licensing a digital product for a set duration. Durations are set forth in the product description, with "Lifetime" typically meaning five (5) years of online access and permanent download to a supported device. All licenses are non-transferable.

More details can be found here.

A downloadable version of this book is available through the eCampus Reader or compatible Adobe readers.

Applications are available on iOS, Android, PC, Mac, and Windows Mobile platforms.

Please view the compatibility matrix prior to purchase.