Business activity

1.4 Business activity What is ‘business activity’?  The activities or operations carried out by a business, eg making goods, selling goods, providing a service.  The main activity is the organisation’s core business activity.

1.4 Business activity Main types of activity Producing raw goods, eg farmer, fisherman, forestry worker Manufacturing of goods, eg food producer, furniture manufacturer Selling of goods, eg supermarket, furniture store Client services, eg bank, hospital Other services, eg transport

1.4 Business activity Trends in business activities  Firms are attracted towards profitable activities and away from unprofitable activities  Activities are profitable if customer demand for the product or service is increasing.

1.4 Business activity Customer demand Changes because of:  Tastes and preferences, eg Coke v Pepsi  Lifestyle changes, eg working mums  Population changes, eg more old people  Seasonal factors, eg Christmas  Value for money, eg bargains and discounts  Income and wealth, eg winning the lottery  Technological developments, eg DVD v video

1.4 Business activity Examples of changes to business activities  Consumer spending rising/falling  Technological developments  Value of goods and services produced All these affect the number of people employed in different activities.

1.4 Business activity Sector trends 1 Primary sector (producing raw goods)  Overall, output increasing but employment falling. Manufacturing sector  Overall, employment falling  Traditional industries declining  Telecommunications affected by world economic problems  Some growth areas: computers and supplies, paper, pharmaceuticals, furniture, sports goods, many food products.

1.4 Business activity Sector trends 2 Sale of goods (retail and wholesale) Overall output and employment rising. Services (client and other) Overall output rising, especially in business services. Employment rising in many areas (eg health care) but falling in some areas because of increased automation (eg banks).

1.4 Business activity Investigating business activities  Identify core business activity  Identify other business activities  Identify trends which can affect the business  Find out about sector as a whole  Find out if this business is the same as others in the sector – or different in some way. If so, why?