7/3/26, 1:51 PM OneNote
Business Activity
Saturday, December 20, 2025 12:33 PM
Some people try to make money by starting a business because:
1. They might want to work for themselves
2. They think they can make more money than if they were working for someone else.
3. They have been made redundant and can't find a job.
Made redundant: To being dismissed by a company because their job is no longer needed
Tool: a piece of equipment that is useful for your job
Premises: buildings and land used by a shop or business
A business is an organisation that produces goods and services.
Organisation: Group, such as a club or business, that has formed for a particular purpose.
Goods: physical products
Services: non-physical products
_________________________
Features of business activity:
1. Business activity produces an output (a good or service)
Output: Amount of goods or work produced by a person, machine or factory
2. Goods and services are consumed
3. Resources are used – money is also a resource → the resources used by businesses are often
referred to as the factors of production (land, labour, capital, enterprise)
4. A number of business functions may be carried out. (e.g Production, marketing, Human Resources,
financial control)
Human Resources in some businesses is the department that deals with employing, training and helping
people.
5. External factors affect businesses (e.g government laws, changes in consumer tastes, the actions
of competitors)
6. Businesses aim to make a profit, most people setting up a business do so because they wish to
make money for themselves.
_________________________
Goods and services:
→ businesses provide a wide range of goods and services
• consumer goods → goods and services produced by businesses for consumers(ordinary people)
(Goods e.g. smartphone, magazine, crisps, handbag, computer games. Services e.g. healthcare, banking,
air travel, education, garden design)
• producer goods → products sold by one business to another
(Goods e.g. delivery van, office furniture, tools, sugar cane, tractor. Services e.g. printing, industrial
cleaning, software design, insurance, market research)
Some businesses serve both consumers and producers. (e.g. Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai which serves
both tourists and business people)
_________________________
Businesses have to satisfy people's needs and wants.
Needs are the requirements for human survival. Some are physical such as food, water, shelter,
warmth, clothing.
Wants are people's desires for goods and services. (e.g. holidays, a better house, a bigger car, a better
education and a cleaner environment)
Wants are infinite and most people want more than what they already have as it is human nature. The
resources available to businesses are finite (there's a limited amount). Economists say such resources
are scarce.
_________________________
The purpose of business activity:
businesses exist to provide goods and services. different types of organisations do so for different
reasons:
1. Private enterprise: most businesses are owned privately by individuals or groups of individuals ->
private sector businesses
https://abbeydldcolleges-my.sharepoint.com/personal/sadafjabari_abbeycambridge_co_uk/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc={eeebb44f-9d89-4f4… 1/3
Business Activity
Saturday, December 20, 2025 12:33 PM
Some people try to make money by starting a business because:
1. They might want to work for themselves
2. They think they can make more money than if they were working for someone else.
3. They have been made redundant and can't find a job.
Made redundant: To being dismissed by a company because their job is no longer needed
Tool: a piece of equipment that is useful for your job
Premises: buildings and land used by a shop or business
A business is an organisation that produces goods and services.
Organisation: Group, such as a club or business, that has formed for a particular purpose.
Goods: physical products
Services: non-physical products
_________________________
Features of business activity:
1. Business activity produces an output (a good or service)
Output: Amount of goods or work produced by a person, machine or factory
2. Goods and services are consumed
3. Resources are used – money is also a resource → the resources used by businesses are often
referred to as the factors of production (land, labour, capital, enterprise)
4. A number of business functions may be carried out. (e.g Production, marketing, Human Resources,
financial control)
Human Resources in some businesses is the department that deals with employing, training and helping
people.
5. External factors affect businesses (e.g government laws, changes in consumer tastes, the actions
of competitors)
6. Businesses aim to make a profit, most people setting up a business do so because they wish to
make money for themselves.
_________________________
Goods and services:
→ businesses provide a wide range of goods and services
• consumer goods → goods and services produced by businesses for consumers(ordinary people)
(Goods e.g. smartphone, magazine, crisps, handbag, computer games. Services e.g. healthcare, banking,
air travel, education, garden design)
• producer goods → products sold by one business to another
(Goods e.g. delivery van, office furniture, tools, sugar cane, tractor. Services e.g. printing, industrial
cleaning, software design, insurance, market research)
Some businesses serve both consumers and producers. (e.g. Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai which serves
both tourists and business people)
_________________________
Businesses have to satisfy people's needs and wants.
Needs are the requirements for human survival. Some are physical such as food, water, shelter,
warmth, clothing.
Wants are people's desires for goods and services. (e.g. holidays, a better house, a bigger car, a better
education and a cleaner environment)
Wants are infinite and most people want more than what they already have as it is human nature. The
resources available to businesses are finite (there's a limited amount). Economists say such resources
are scarce.
_________________________
The purpose of business activity:
businesses exist to provide goods and services. different types of organisations do so for different
reasons:
1. Private enterprise: most businesses are owned privately by individuals or groups of individuals ->
private sector businesses
https://abbeydldcolleges-my.sharepoint.com/personal/sadafjabari_abbeycambridge_co_uk/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc={eeebb44f-9d89-4f4… 1/3
