Section 1 The Importance of Business
Key sites for introducing business
http://www.business.gov.au
(The business entry permit to Australian Government
sites).
http://www.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au
(N.S.W. Department of State and Regional Development the
N.S.W. Governments small business web site).
Both of these sites are general introductions to small business and contain sections on establishing and starting small businesses. They have sections on all aspects of business. Read through the sites and identify why small business is so important.
Case Study: Windscreen's O'Brien
http://www.windscreensobrien.com.au
(the business website).
Businesses add value to business inputs as the example in the notes explain. Read through the website and identify the roles Windscreen O'Brien plays in the community.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
http://www.abs.gov.au
(this is the Australian Bureau of Statistics
site).
Business surveys and knowledge often depend on the information collected by the ABS. Browse their website and try and find out things about your local area that would be important in business like the age of the residents.
Coca Cola (CC Amatil or coca-cola)
http://www.coca-cola.com.au
(Coke's website).
Open the Coca Cola website and search for Coca Cola's (Amatil's) environmental policy. See if it has changed compared to the printed article in the notes.
Section 2 Coordinating the Value Chain
Channel 9's Business Sunday Show and Business Review
Weekly
http://businesssunday.ninemsn.com.au/(this
is the Channel 9 Business Sunday Show site).
http://www.brw.com.au
(Business Review Weekly site).
Most Sunday's discuss a business and its management. The Business Review Weekly also has a site full of business examples. Read a story about how a business is being managed by using these sites.
Section 3 The Business Life Cycle
The Business Site
http://www.business.gov.au
(The Australian Business entry point).
This has a section on the business life cycle. Open the site and use the search engine to read about the life cycles.
A Case Study Arnott's
http://www.arnotts.com.au
(The Arnott's company site).
This site has a history section for the company. Open the site and prepare a time line for Arnott's, establishment, growth and maturity.
Bankruptcy
Often past maturity firms cease trading. Many new business
managers go bankrupt. Open a search engine like Looksmart http://www.looksmart.com.search
and use the engine to search for "bankruptcy". Browse some
of the sites found and try and determine some of the rules of
bankruptcy.
Section 4 Types of Business Entity
Business Entities
http://www.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au
(N.S.W. Small Business website).
Open the site and explore the different business structures available to entrepreneurs wishing to start a small business.
Australian Securities and Investments Commission
http://www.asic.gov.au
(Australian Securities and Investments Commission
site).
Open the site and discuss the rules for company's registration and set up.
Exercises on Entities and Structures
http://www.alex.edfac.usyd.edu/method/hsie
A set of activities and exercises about the best types of business entitities for your business.
Section 5 Small Medium Enterprises
Taxation changes
http://www.ato.gov.au
(Australian Tax Office site).
Browse this site and read about how small businesses have to introduce the new G.S.T. and the changes to Business Tax.
Franchising Council of Australia
http://www.fca.com.au
This site is from the Franchising Council of Australia. It contains a
useful overview about franchising in Australia.
Being Entrepreneurial.
http://www.curriculum.edu.au/enterprise/index.htm
This is the Enterprise Education site for the Curriculum
Corporation.
The site has a range of stories about entrepreneurial people who have
started business or managed resources.
Section 6 The Business
Environmental and its Impact on Business.
A Company Report
http://www.asx.com.au
(The Australian Stock Exchange website).
Students can use this website in a number of ways.
i) obtain a company report by clicking companies and downloading a report. The start of a company report describes the trading condition and the external business environment of a company.
ii) Browse the ASX site and read the announcements that indicate changing circumstances for companies.
Comalco and Pacific Dunlop
http://www.comalco.com.au
(Comalco site).
http://www.pacdun.com(Pacific
Dunlop site)
Both these companies are mentioned in the printed notes. Open their websites and identify any changes in their business environment.
Case Study Virgin Airlines
Virgin flies in to shake up airfares : Virgin a credible threat
http://www.fly.virgin.com
( Virgin Atlantic Airlines
)
British billionaire Richard Branson has declared war on the Qantas-Ansett duopoly, announcing he will slash air ticket prices for domestic flights in time for the Olympics. Branson's Virgin Group has earmarked $45 million to get a fleet of five 143-seat 737 jets off the ground, according to this Herald report. Prices could be slashed as low as $100 one-way for no-frills flights between Sydney and Melbourne, and that's just for starters. Although he expects to grow the market in Australia, going on past experiences it's likely the other airlines will play rough. Fortunately though, Virgin is now newbie to stiff competition. A second article outlines how Virgin took on British Airways in Europe and won.
If you think Branson is just a crazy adventurer with little business nous, you'll probably be impressed with his Virgin Atlantic site. With features such as online booking, frequent flyer schemes and easy to use flight schedules, it's at least on par with Qantas and Ansett in terms of organising international services on the Net. ( from the Sydney Morning Herald Icon on December 3rd)
The Competition for Virgin in Australia
http://www.qantas.com.au
http://www.ansett.com.au
Sigh. We don't like to be seen to be recommending foreign
companies over Aussies, but really, will any of us be upset if flight
prices go down? Of if the food gets better? Or if the staff actually
apologise when they keep us waiting in the terminal for four hours?
It's not as it the options we currently have are perfect.
( from the Sydney Moring Herald Icon on December 3rd )
Section 7 Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Business
KPMG Business Ethics Page
http://www.us.kpmg.com/ethics/
A useful site for articles, source materials and ideas on Business Ethics.
Corporate Codes of Behaviour
http://www.asic.gov.au
(The Australian Securities and Investment
Corporation).
http://www.accc.gov.au
(Australian Competition and Consumer Commission)
Both these sites have codes for corporate behaviour. Open the sites, identify some of the codes and read them closely.
The Body Shop
http://www.the-body-shop.com
(The Body Shop)
Famous for its commitment to social values, open the site and identify the charities the business supports and how it produces responsibility.
Greenpeace
http://www.greenpeace.org.au
(Greenpeace)
By opening the Greenpeace site you may be able to identify companies that Greenpeace believes are not good corporate citizens.
Ask
a Question about Topic 1 The Nature of Business.
Mike the Webmaster for this site is a Business Studies teacher. If
you want to ask any question about this topic 1 type in the question
in the question box below and send it.
Mike will respond to your question within a week.