Fundamentals of Business: A Concise and Practical Approach for Beginners

Fundamentals of Business is a practical guide to the everyday aspects of being a manager, covering all the key organisational functions and offering straightforward tools and techniques, supported by detailed illustrative examples.

The book is very challenge-oriented, dealing with likely real-world scenarios. It tours all the areas of management work to be found in any business large or small, and places these in the context of the whole business. Chapters cover each of the main functional areas such as HR, line management practice, operations, finance, change, and organisational culture. The book also explores relationships with stakeholders and society more generally and deals with key concerns in contemporary business such as sustainability, social responsibility, diversity and inclusion, as well as, most importantly, ethics. Each chapter includes various pedagogical features such as key terms and concepts, learning outcomes, case studies, discussion questions, and chapter summaries, which will effectively support the use of this book by students and instructors alike.

This is an essential approachable book for students studying business and management for the first time in foundation, apprentice, and first year undergraduate studies.

Online supplementary resources include an instructor’s manual, PowerPoint lecture slides for each chapter, and a test bank.

Tom Elsworth is Senior Lecturer at Oxford Brookes Business School in Oxford, UK.