Business Makers

Business refers to the economic activities which are directed towards producing or acquiring wealth through buying and selling of goods and services. Business is carried on by people to earn an income. Generation of income or wealth involves production, sale and exchange of commodities which human beings want. In other words, business is sale and exchange of commodities which human beings want. In other words, business is concerned with that part of production which is actually exchange and results in mutual benefit to both the buyer and the seller. Manufacturing, mining, trading, transportation, banking, insurance and others are examples of business activities.

An activity which requires special knowledge and skill and which is under taken to earn a living within a prescribed code of conduct is called profession. The services of lawyers, chartered accountants, doctors are considered as professions. Person’s who render these services are known as professionals. Members of a profession have their own professional association which exercises statutory control over their activities. Professionals are required to bane embalmers of the statutory control over their activities. Professionals are required to be members’ statutory association.

People who work for others and receive wages or salary in return are said to be in employment. They are know as employees and the persons for whom they work are called employers. There is a relationship of master and servant here. Workers employed in factories, offices, banks, government departments, etc. are in employment. They work as managers, officers, clerks, peons, sweepers, and in various other capacities.

Economic activities or occupations are of three types
Business refers to the economic activities which are directed towards producing or acquiring wealth through buying and selling of goods and services. Business is carried on by people to earn an income. Generation of income or wealth involves production sale and exchange of commodities which human beings want. In other words business is sale and exchange of commodities which human beings want. In other words business is concerned with that part of production which is actually exchange and results in mutual benefit to both the buyer and the seller. Manufacturing mining trading transportation banking insurance and others are examples of business activities.

An activity which requires special knowledge and skill and which is under taken to earn a living within a prescribed code of conduct is called profession. The services of lawyers chartered accountants doctors are considered as professions. Person’s who render these services are known as professionals. Members of a profession have their own professional association which exercises statutory control over their activities. Professionals are required to bane embalmers of the statutory control over their activities. Professionals are required to be members’ statutory association.

People who work for others and receive wages or salary in return are said to be in employment. They are know as employees and the persons for whom they work are called employers. There is a relationship of master and servant here. Workers employed in factories offices banks government departments etc. are in employment. They work as managers officers clerks peons sweepers and in various other capacities.

One of India’s leading global IT services companies HCL Technologies and i2 Technologies, Inc. bringing the power of the i2 Business Content Library to customers worldwide. The companies will leverage HCL’s strength in IT services and vast experience in system integration and implementation, with i2’s deep supply chain management domain knowledge and market-leading products, to create innovative solutions for companies in the supply chain management domain.

“As global supply chain management continues to grow increasingly complex, many companies are facing pressure to become more agile in their supply chain planning,” said Ram Krishna, Corporate VP, Enterprise Transformation Services (ETS), HCL Technologies. “The agreement with i2 is a natural fit for HCL as we share a common goal of delivering customers measurable results through strategic supply chain business transformations. HCL brings the added advantage of an integrated service delivery that spans from high-end process consulting and application implementation/support, to infrastructure setup/management, large infrastructure management and BPO in the supply chain domain.”

HCL Technologies will now have access to i2’s Business Content Library, a robust knowledge base of best practices for supply chain processes that have been successfully implemented across numerous industries worldwide. The i2 Business Content Library will further strengthen HCL’s ETS capabilities and enable HCL’s customers to accelerate the value they receive from supply chain management solutions and resolve their supply chain issues quickly and efficiently.

“Working with HCL offers us the opportunity to expose more companies to the unique business benefits of the i2 Business Content Library. With a focus on business transformation, HCL is well-suited to introduce companies to the benefits of the i2 Business Content Library. The i2 Business Content Library is an excellent tool for companies looking to transform their supply chains, as it allows users to rapidly tailor workflows according to their business goals and requirements, or use components of workflows to build their own and then implement them across the enterprise,” said i2 Interim Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Pallab Chatterjee.

Benefits of the i2 Business Content Library:

– Access to world-class supply chain management best practices

– A framework to allow companies to achieve process excellence and continuous process innovation

– The ability to support new business innovation and make solution changes quickly and easily to keep up with changing needs of business

– Custom workflow development delivered quickly and easily at a lower total cost of ownership

– No waiting for maintenance releases or upgrades; new workflows will be published and available for download as soon as they are produced

– Flexible pricing options include annual subscription and “pay per design”

SOURCE: i2 Technologies

The 12-point resolution that the business sector unanimously approved during the recently concluded Mindanao Business Conference in General Santos City indicates that the sector will always be an active partner of the government in developing Mindanao.

ICT as development agent

Truly believing that information and communications technology (ICT) is a catalyst for development, the business sector believes that it is an essential part of the overall roadmap for the island and that sufficient infrastructure facilities must be laid out for connectivity to be enhanced.

In this modern world, connectivity is as important as physical infrastructure because it allows real time interaction between and among players of a certain sector and even between the producer and the market. It has tremendously shrunk the world to just about a line between two people, even if the distance is between the north and south poles.

The cities of Davao, General Santos, Cagayan and Zamboanga are all poised to become the ICT hubs of Mindanao. These are the areas where connectivity is present along with a rich source of human capital to support ICT developments.

Power, power

Another major issue that the business sector raised during the event was finding ways to ensure sufficient and steady power supply in Mindanao.

Reliable power supply will not only lure more investments to the island, but also sustain growth.

It is not only necessary for government to ensure that power investments are placed in areas where needed most (in case of Mindanao it is in the southern part which consumes nearly one-half of the power produced in the island), it is also very important that power is brought to all the points, particularly to areas where development is slow.

We must remember that reliable power, like infrastructure facilities such as roads, is a key to development.

And according to the analysis of government agencies, like the National Power Corp. and the National Transmission Corp., Mindanao will run out of power within the next three years unless major decisions are made today.

It is good that the national government decided to set up the transmission line that will bring the excess power supply produced in the northern part of Mindanao, particularly from the 200-megawatt coal-fired plant in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, to the rest of the Mindanao grid.

But it is also necessary that new power plants are built in areas where they are needed. But this can only be done if investments in the sector get the much-needed support from government policy-makers.

Efficient shipping services

Considering that Mindanao is a known producer of agricultural products, it is also important to find ways to bring these to the markets in easier and cheaper ways. It is currently more expensive to bring goods from Mindanao to Manila than to send them abroad.

This only shows two things, good port handling facilities are absent and that freight rates are also higher in the domestic shipping sector.

There have been so many attempts to persuade both the government and the industry to find common ground, both in reducing shipping rates and improving port handling facilities. These moves must be realized soon. Otherwise, business will continue to languish and development will not take off.

Business involves producing and selling of goods and services to satisfy human wants and thereby to make money. Business is an economic activity due to the following reason:

Profit Motive: The purpose being every business activity is to earn profit by selling goods or services. Businessmen produce and buy goods to sell at a price higher than their cost. The excess of price over cost is called profit. If a family grows vegetables for its own consumption, it is not a business activity. But if the vegetables are sold in the market to earn profit, it will be a business activity.

Use of Scarce Resources: Business activities require use of scarce resources like raw material, capital. Labor, etc. A businessman has to invest capital; arrange of workers and machinery and buy raw materials for his factory. Thus, business always involves use of scarce resources physical, human and financial.

Supply of Goods and Services: Business satisfies the needs of the general public by making available the necessary gads and services. Every business enterprise involves the production, purchase and sale of gads and services.

Thus, business may be regarded as an economic activity as it is a means of earning income and also a meads of satisfying the wants of people.

Business involves risk. Unless there is the possibility of earning profit no one would like to enter business.

Therefore, profit is the reward for a businessman. Profit is the greatest motivating force for business activity. According to Ducker, “Unless we provide roar risk, we are going to destroy capacity to produce. Therefore, a minimum profitability, adequate to risks which we, by necessity assume and create, is an absolute condition of survival not only for the enterprises but for society”. Profit is the test of business performance. In other words, the efficiency of a bus business cannot be sustained for long and its closure can cause harm to the society.

Business exists and functions in a society, and it must serve the interest of society. The pursuit of money at the cost of service is not business. In the words of uric, “earning profit”.

Business exists and functions in a society, and it must serve the interest of society. The pursuit of money at the cost of service is not business. In he words of Uric, “earning profit can be no more the objective of a business than betting is the objective of a race, making a score the objective of cricket or eating the objective of living.” According to Ducker, “the problem of any business is not the maximization of profit but the achievement of sufficient profits to cover the risks of economic activity and thus to avoid loss”.

Thus, earning of profits is essential for the survival and growth of a business. Profit is a source of income and provides the means of livelihood for businessmen and their families. It is an incentive and a reward for bearing the risks of business. But earning of profits cannot be the sole objective of business. In order to earn profits business must pursue other economic and social objectives. Other economic objectives include maximum utilization of scarce sources, creating customers, innovation, etc. Business also has social objectives such as production of good quality products at fair prices, generation of employment, employment, employee welfare, etc.

On the basis of size, business activities may be classified into two categories;

(a) Small scale, and

(b) Large scale.

A small scale business unit is one which involves a small amount of investment and serves a small number of customers. Small scale units are entitled to certain benefits and privileges which are not available to large scale units. Small scale units employ small number of workers and produce on a small scale.

Some small scale units produce parts or components for large scale units. They are known as ancillary units. Enterprises engaged in industry are called industrial enterprises whereas those engaged in commerce are known as commercial enterprises, On the other hand, large scale units have big investments, produce on a large scale and employ a large number of people.