1. For use with Business in Context 6e by David Needle 9781408095218 © 2015 Cengage Learning EMEA Ltd 1.0 THE CONCEPT OF BUSINESS IN CONTEXT  What is business?  The ‘Business in Context’ model  The contexts of business  How the model works  The systems and contingency approaches

2. For use with Business in Context 6e by David Needle 9781408095218 © 2015 Cengage Learning EMEA Ltd 1.1WHAT IS BUSINESS?  An organized effort to produce goods and services to meet the needs of society  A broad concept - manufacturing and service industry, not for profit organizations, voluntary sector and public services  The growth of the ‘business model’ in which all organizations are run as businesses

3. For use with Business in Context 6e by David Needle 9781408095218 © 2015 Cengage Learning EMEA Ltd 1.2 THE BUSINESS IN CONTEXT MODEL

4. For use with Business in Context 6e by David Needle 9781408095218 © 2015 Cengage Learning EMEA Ltd 1.3THE BUSINESS IN CONTEXT MODEL II  Business can best be understood as a series of related activities in a number of different contexts  These contexts can be seen as levels and comprise: - Activities or functional level - Strategic level - Organizational level - Environmental level

5. For use with Business in Context 6e by David Needle 9781408095218 © 2015 Cengage Learning EMEA Ltd 1.4BUSINESS ACTIVITIES OR FUNCTIONS  Innovation  Operations  Marketing  Human resource management  Finance and accounting

6. For use with Business in Context 6e by David Needle 9781408095218 © 2015 Cengage Learning EMEA Ltd 1.5THE STRATEGIC CONTEXT  The nature of management and leadership  The formulation of a set of objectives and the means of achieving those objectives  Issues of ethics and corporate social responsibility

7. For use with Business in Context 6e by David Needle 9781408095218 © 2015 Cengage Learning EMEA Ltd 1.6THE ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT  Goals  Structure  Ownership  Size  Organizational/corporate culture

8. For use with Business in Context 6e by David Needle 9781408095218 © 2015 Cengage Learning EMEA Ltd 1.7THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT  Globalization – an overriding factor  The economy  The state  Technology  Labour  Culture

9. For use with Business in Context 6e by David Needle 9781408095218 © 2015 Cengage Learning EMEA Ltd 1.8KEY ASPECTS OF THE BUSINESS IN CONTEXT MODEL  Businesses are a complex network of interrelationships  Business activities are both influenced by and in turn influence the strategic, organizational and environmental contexts in which they operate  Interaction occurs within each level of the model as well as between levels  Decisions that affect one part of the business will impact on other parts as well  Decisions are made by people with all the subjectivity that entails  Interactions are influenced by history

10. For use with Business in Context 6e by David Needle 9781408095218 © 2015 Cengage Learning EMEA Ltd 1.9KEY ASPECTS OF THE BUSINESS IN CONTEXT MODEL II  Interactions and influences operate within each context between the various elements.  Interactions and influences operate between elements at different levels.  Influences operate in every direction

11. For use with Business in Context 6e by David Needle 9781408095218 © 2015 Cengage Learning EMEA Ltd 1.10THE SYSTEMS APPROACH I  All organizations are made up of interdependent parts  Organizations may be viewed as a series of inputs, processes and outputs (see slide 1.11)  The job of management is to balance the inputs, processes and outputs  Equilibrium between the organization and its environment is important  Feedback is an important element of the system - from the outputs to the processes and the inputs and from the processes to the inputs

12. For use with Business in Context 6e by David Needle 9781408095218 © 2015 Cengage Learning EMEA Ltd 1.11THE SYSTEMS APPROACH II

13. For use with Business in Context 6e by David Needle 9781408095218 © 2015 Cengage Learning EMEA Ltd 1.12THE CONTINGENCY APPROACH  Organizations and their activities are shaped by the environments in which they operate  Organizations should adapt to the prevailing environment  Most successful organizations have a ‘best fit’ with their environment  Organizations that do not adapt will fail