Lecture 1: Intro to Business & The Dynamic New Workplace
● Intellectual Capital: People are the foundation of an organization’s performance. It
refers to the collective knowledge of the workforce, which is essential for creating value.
Knowledge workers contribute to this by adding value to intellectual capital.
● Globalization: The interconnectedness of global markets, resources, and business
competition defines the new economy.
● Challenges in working in the New Economy:
○ Technology: The growing demand for tech-skilled workers.
○ Diversity: Opportunities and challenges arise from respecting different
perspectives.
○ Ethics: Moral principles that guide workers’ conduct.
○ Careers: careers of the 21st century won’t be uniformly full time and limited to a
single large employer.
● What are Organizations like in the new workplace?:
○ Groups working toward a shared purpose by producing goods/services that
benefit society and meet consumer needs.
○ Resources into product outputs (goods/services)
○
● Productivity: Measures the quantity and quality of output relative to resource use.
○ Performance effectiveness: An output measure of task or goal
accomplishment.
○ Performance efficiency: A key factor in achieving goals while minimizing costs.
Who are managers and what do they do?
● Must ensure that people are treated as strategic assets
● Supports the work of others
Management Structure:
● Levels of Management:
○ Top Manager - responsible for performance of org as a whole.
○ Middle Manager - in charge of large departments
● Intellectual Capital: People are the foundation of an organization’s performance. It
refers to the collective knowledge of the workforce, which is essential for creating value.
Knowledge workers contribute to this by adding value to intellectual capital.
● Globalization: The interconnectedness of global markets, resources, and business
competition defines the new economy.
● Challenges in working in the New Economy:
○ Technology: The growing demand for tech-skilled workers.
○ Diversity: Opportunities and challenges arise from respecting different
perspectives.
○ Ethics: Moral principles that guide workers’ conduct.
○ Careers: careers of the 21st century won’t be uniformly full time and limited to a
single large employer.
● What are Organizations like in the new workplace?:
○ Groups working toward a shared purpose by producing goods/services that
benefit society and meet consumer needs.
○ Resources into product outputs (goods/services)
○
● Productivity: Measures the quantity and quality of output relative to resource use.
○ Performance effectiveness: An output measure of task or goal
accomplishment.
○ Performance efficiency: A key factor in achieving goals while minimizing costs.
Who are managers and what do they do?
● Must ensure that people are treated as strategic assets
● Supports the work of others
Management Structure:
● Levels of Management:
○ Top Manager - responsible for performance of org as a whole.
○ Middle Manager - in charge of large departments
