A Clear Understanding of Business Studies is Key to Success

Here's an axiom for you: the only difference between adults running a business and children playing in a sandbox is that the adults are playing with real money. One might agree with that statement or not, but the fact is that egos, turf wars, pecking orders and conflicting priorities are as much part of business as they are with children playing in a sandbox. The difference is that as adults we ought to know, and follow, the rules. Anyone expecting to succeed in business - as opposed to just showing up for work - should be well versed in business theory. One could argue that business studies are the key to not only getting better grades in school, but also grasping what business is all about and how it should be organized.

There are, of course, hundreds of topics and areas of study when it comes to understanding and learning business, ranging from basics all the way to intricate economic, mathematical and statistical models. A lot of students make the mistake of engaging in the study of advanced topics before they have a good, basic understanding of what business is all about, and how different parts of business interact with one another. All too often, mastery of a few isolated topics, no matter how complex, is substituted for a fundamental understanding of business principles, and those principles include a good handle on the different areas that make up a business.

Almost all businesses, no matter what markets they are in, include a number of common components such as research and development, production, marketing and sales. Depending on the size of a business and the field it is in, there may also be dedicated functions for human resources, customer service, training, distribution, and so on. One of the biggest challenges for business is to organize all those functions properly and knowing how they interact with each other and complement each other. This may sound simple and not much of an issue, but it is complex and the very reason why many businesses fail or do not perform as well as they could.

The simple problem is that all too often, business areas are seen as competing fiefdoms. It's the people in finance versus the people in marketing versus the production guys versus the executives versus, perhaps, the research department or some other group or division. That is not always the fault of the people working in those companies. All too often, needless and disruptive competition between departments is caused by unclear and/or conflicting functions and responsibilities. The finance department, for example, may control information technology resources that the engineers feel should be their responsibility. Or a marketing group has its own distribution channels that compete with those of another division. The inevitable result is competition for business resources, duplication of effort, and internal conflict.

Cases studies again and again show that successful companies do not only have the right product at the right time and at the right price, they also have in place a business structure that allows them to function as a well-oiled machine with each part fulfilling its function in concert with all other parts. Knowing and understanding the purpose of each business area, and how they all interact and complement each other without encroaching or duplicating efforts, is perhaps one of the most valuable lessons any teacher in business studies can convey to his or her students.

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About the Author

Chris Robertson is a published author of Majon International. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2009 (Sun May 17 2009) Majon International. Majon International is one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing and internet advertising companies on the web. Visit their main business resource web site at: http://majon.com