1.2 Introduction

As the story of Apple suggests, today is an interesting time to study business. Advances in technology are bringing rapid changes to the ways we produce and deliver goods and services. Companies are expanding international operations, and the workforce is more diverse than ever. Corporations are increasingly being held responsible for the behavior of their executives, and more people share the opinion that companies should be good corporate citizens. 

As you go through the course with the aid of this text, you’ll explore the exciting world of business. We’ll introduce you to the various activities in which business people engage—management, operations, marketing, accounting, finance, and information technology. We’ll help you understand the roles that these activities play in an organization, and we’ll show you how they work together. We hope that by exposing you to the things that businesspeople do, we’ll help you decide whether business is right for you and, if so, what areas of business you’d like to study further.