
- Ronald J. Ebert |
- Ricky W. Griffin |
- George Dracopoulos |
- Frederick A. Starke |
Title overview
For introductory business courses.
A focus on the practical skills and important developments in business
Business Essentials is designed to introduce students to the exciting and challenging world of business, both in Canada and elsewhere. The course is designed to fit the needs of a wide variety of students. A student may be taking this course as the first step towards earning a degree in business, or they may be thinking about business and want to know more about it, or they may know they want to study business but are unsure of the area they want to pursue. They may plan to major in another field but want some basic business background and are taking this course as an elective. Or they may be here because this course is required or is a prerequisite for another course. Whatever their situation, this course will be helpful to them.
Hallmark Features
- Exercising Your Ethics: This exercise describes a situation that contains an ethical dilemma. Students are then asked several questions that focus on how to approach and resolve the dilemma. In the exercise, students take on the role of employee, owner, customer, or investor and examine a chapter related business ethics dilemma through the perspective of that role. Students learn how to see an ethical dilemma from various points of view, and to decide what outcome is ultimately best in each situation.
- Business Case: Each chapter concludes with a case study that focuses on a real Canadian or international company, or on an issue that impacts businesses in general. These cases are designed to help students apply the chapter material to a company or an issue that is currently in the news. At the end of each case, several Questions for Discussion guide students in their analysis.
- Building a Business: Continuing Exercise: This team exercise, which is found at the end of each chapter in the text, gives students the opportunity to develop an entirely new business venture that fits with their interests. Questions at the end of each exercise require students to carefully consider how the material in the chapter will influence the decisions they must make about their new venture.
- Application Exercises ask students to apply what they have learned and are designed to help students increase their understanding of how business firms actually operate, and engage students in practical activities such as interviewing managers about concepts and issues that are discussed in the chapter
- Crafting a Business Plan: Found at the end of Chapters 5, 9, 11, 13, and 15, the business plan project is tailor-made to match and reinforce text content. It is software-independent and provides students with an easy-to-understand template that they work from as they create their business plans. The business plan project is divided into logical sections, and each part (marketing, production, finance, and so on) is located at the end of the section where that material is covered. With five parts in all, students can gradually apply the concepts they’ve learned in the chapters to their business plans throughout the course.
New GenAI Study Tool
We’ve heard how important it is for students to use reliable AI tools in responsible and productive ways. To that end, Pearson is focused on creating tools that combine the power of generative AI with trusted Pearson content to provide students with a simplified study experience, delivering on-demand and personalised support that compliments your teaching and aligns with the text you’ve chosen. The Study Tool is available to students who access the Pearson eText on its own or through MyLab.
What can the AI Study Tool do?
- Generate simplified explanations of challenging sections
- Summarize material to help learners focus on key topics and ideas
- Students can ask for multiple choice or short answer questions related to a specific chapter or section to help fill knowledge gaps
- For extra practice, students can also generate flashcards and notes based on their chat interaction with the tool
New and updated features of this title
- New AI and Other Major Disruptions in Business box highlighting how AI is being integrated into manufacturing, service delivery, and the supply chain.
- New AI and Other Major Disruptions in Business box that looks at how AI is accelerating the product innovation process.
- Expanded the economic environment section highlighting the stubborn inflationary period that followed the COVID-19 pandemic (and the government spending) as well as major political and economic shocks like the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
- Added a new Entrepreneurship and New Ventures box that features a successful female entrepreneur in the venture capital industry.
- Updated the new Social Responsibility & Social Justice box on an Indigenous-owned company: Manitobah Mukluks.
- Inserted an updated Entrepreneurship and New Ventures box on an Indigenous-owned company: Steel River Group.
Key features
Digital Assets in MyLab Business
- Ai Study Tool (MyLab) AI-powered study tools available in the Pearson eTextbook combine the power of AI with trusted Pearson content to provide students with a simplified study experience that delivers on-demand, immediate, and personalized support to help them succeed in their course.
- Integrated Reading Assignments (MyLab) Guide student learning in one seamless assessment. Instruct students to read, watch, and practice by assigning specific sections of the eTextbook, multiple-choice or algorythmic problem sets, video assignments, and more for auto-grading.
- AI Classroom Activities. Bring your classroom to life with our innovative AI activities, now available directly within the PowerPoints. These engaging, hands-on exercises teach students responsible and effective use of AI tools, enhancing their critical thinking and creativity.
- Current Event Boxes: Opening Case and E-Business and Social Media Solutions (eTextbook) Current Event Boxes bring currency into your classroom with author written content that connects key concepts with real-life current events. Annually our authors add new or revised content and data to ensure that your students have relevant examples to help them engage with the course.
- Mini-Sims (MyLab) Mini-Sims are short simulations that put students in business roles and give them the opportunity to apply course concepts as they make decisions. Students begin by making a series of decisions to better understand and apply course concepts. The Mini-Sim then changes, branching and creating various scenario paths based on the answers given. This provides students with a personalized learning experience and the opportunity to build and develop their critical thinking skills.
- Whiteboard Videos (MyLab) Sketch animation–style videos are available in the MyLab. These videos are a valuable resource for students as they illustrate key concepts in a short, entertaining package.
- Canadian Video Series (MyLab) Interview-style videos featuring real business owners and Canadian business professionals can be assigned in the MyLab. Students will see chapter content come to life as they learn from entrepreneurs and business leaders representing a wide range of business types from across Canada. The video interviews are accompanied by multiple-choice quizzes.
- Additional Cases (MyLab)Additional standalone and multi-chapter cases can be assigned to students in the MyLab. These cases expand on key topics from the text and are accompanied by multiplechoice questions that encourage critical assessment of the presented issues.
- Dynamic Study Modules (MyLab) Using a highly personalized, algorithmically driven process, Dynamic Study Modules continuously assess student performance and provide additional practice in the areas where they struggle the most. Each Dynamic Study Module, accessed by computer, smartphone, or tablet, promotes fast learning and long-term retention. .
Table of contents
- Understanding The Canadian Business System
- The Environment Of Business
- Conducting Business Ethically And Responsibly
- Entrepreneurship, Small Business, And New Venture Creation
- The Global Context Of Business
- Managing The Business Enterprise
- Organizing The Business Enterprise
- Managing Human Resources And Labour Relations
- Motivating, Satisfying, And Leading Employees
- Operations Management, Productivity, And Quality
- Understanding Accounting
- Understanding Marketing Principles And Developing Products
- Pricing, Promoting, And Distributing Products
- Money And Banking
- Financial Decisions And Risk Management
Author bios
Ronald J. Ebert is Emeritus Professor at the University of Missouri–Columbia. Professor Ebert's work has been based on more than thirty years of teaching experience at such schools as Sinclair College, University of Washington, University of Missouri, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu (Romania), and Consortium International University (Italy). His consulting alliances have included such firms as Mobay Corporation, Kraft Foods, Oscar Mayer, Atlas Powder, and John Deere. He has designed and conducted management development programs for such diverse clients as the American Public Power Association, the U.S. Savings and Loan League, and the Central Missouri Manufacturing Training Consortium.
His experience as a practitioner fostered an advocacy for integrating concepts with best business practices in business education. The five business books he has coauthored have been translated into Spanish, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Malaysian, Bahasa Indonesian, and Romanian languages. Professor Ebert has served as the Editor of the Journal of Operations Management. He is a Past President and Fellow of the Decision Sciences Institute. He has served as consultant and external evaluator for Quantitative Reasoning for Business Studies, an introduction-to-business project sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Professor Ebert retired from his role as co-author of this book after the publication of its 11th edition, but his imprint and myriad contributions can still be found in many different places throughout the text.
Ricky W. Griffin joined the faculty at Texas A&M University in 1981. During his career at Texas A&M, he has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in management, organizational behavior, human resource management, and international business. Professor Griffin's research interests include workplace aggression and violence, organizational security, workplace culture, and leadership. His work has been published in such journals as Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, and Journal of Management. He served as Associate Editor and then as Editor of Journal of Management.
Professor Griffin has led executive development programs and/or consulted with such firms as Halliburton, Concho, KBR, Ascend, Shell Oil Company, Six Flags, and WinCo. He has also delivered invited presentations in England, Italy, France, Switzerland, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Hong Kong, and Australia. He has also served as a consulting expert in numerous legal cases involving workplace violence and bullying and general human resource and talent management practices.
In addition, Professor Griffin has authored or coauthored several leading textbooks and coedited three scholarly books. His books have been used at more than 500 colleges and universities on five continents and have been translated into Spanish, Russian, Polish, and Chinese. He has served the Academy of Management as Chair of the Organizational Behavior Division and as Program Chair of the Research Methods Division. He also has served as President of the Southwest Division of the Academy of Management and on the Board of Directors of the Southern Management Association. Professor Griffin is a Fellow of both the Academy of Management and the Southern Management Association. He has also won several awards for research and has been supported by more than $1,500,000 in external research funding. Professor Griffin has served as Director of the Center for Human Resource Management and Head of the Department of Management at Texas A&M University. He has also served as Executive Associate Dean and Interim Dean at the Mays Business School.
George Dracopoulos is a member of the Business Administration Department at Vanier College. He has served as department chairman and is now the International Business Exchange Coordinator. In the past 15 years, George has built bridges with universities, government organizations, and multinational corporations throughout France and Belgium. Hundreds of students have benefitted from his initiatives. He is also the co-organizer and co-founder of the national BDC/Vanier Marketing Case Competition and was named the Vanier VIP for his dedication and devotion to the community.
Mr. Dracopoulos also serves as a lecturer at McGill University. He created an online pilot project, designing courses geared primarily to aboriginal students in remote communities. He was also honoured (among a select group) as “Professor of the Year” by a McGill University publication for his work in the Desautels Faculty of Management. He earned his MBA at McGill, as well as a graduate diploma in Education and a graduate degree in Applied Management. He earned his BA at Concordia University.
Outside his teaching career, Mr. Dracopoulos is an award-winning entrepreneur. George does not simply write about disruptive technology. A few years ago, he co-founded a company called Zero-Ohm Systems after negotiating and acquiring the global licensing and manufacturing rights to a patented invention (United States, Europe, and Russia) serving the audio industry. He has successfully marketed the device at international trade shows. In 2017 the company made a breakthrough in Orlando, Florida, when it was honoured with the Best New Product Technology Award at InfoComm (North America's biggest trade show for the AV market). In this capacity, Mr. Dracopoulos has been interviewed by top industry media and trade publications in North America and Europe.
George is continuously engaged in executing real-world strategies. He provides marketing and management consulting solutions (e.g., brand audits, customer relationship surveys, strategic consultations, and IMC campaigns). He has also built web-based materials and training documents for clients in various industries, including aviation/IT solutions, publishing, and higher education. Mr. Dracopoulos has been invited to provide motivational speeches and/or keynote addresses at events across North America on topics such as Connecting with Millennials, Effective Communication, and Transformational Leadership. He has worked on various other text projects, including Business in Action, 2nd Canadian edition (2009), co-authored with Courtland L. Bovée and John V. Thill; and Business, 8th Canadian edition (2014), co-authored with Ricky Griffin, Ronald J. Ebert, Frederick Starke, and Melanie Lang.