1 | Internal and External Business Environments - Business Concepts: Exploring Careers in Business

The Nature of Business

Guiding Questions and Learning Objectives

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Guiding Questions

What are the forms and types of business organizations?
Who are the internal and external stakeholders of a business or organization?
What is the impact of internal and external environments on an organization?

Learning Objectives

After completing Unit 1, I will be able to...

identify the three forms and types of business organizations.
define the internal environment of an organization.
define the external environment of an organization.
describe the impact of internal and external environments have on an organization.

Key Terms to Learn and Understand

economic forces
technological forces
government/legislative forces
sociocultural forces
corporation
sole proprietorship
partnership

Internal and External Environments in Business

Exhibit 1.1 The Dynamic Business Environment (Attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC-BY 4.0 license)

External and Internal Business Environments - Examples

External and Internal Business Environments
EXTERNAL	INTERNAL
Global	Leadership
Technological	Managers
Economic	Workers
Political/Legal	Customers
Demographic	Structure
Social	Culture
Competitive	Operations

The Basics of Business

Learn the Basics of Business

You might want to pursue a career as a physician, florist, game warden, systems analyst, or any of a thousand other opportunities. One thing that all careers have in common is that you need to have a basic understanding of business. We hope that you will consider a career in business, but if not, your success in whatever you choose will partially depend on your basic business skills. And that is why this text is so important.

Choose a Career

Because this introductory business course gives you a detailed overview of all of the areas of commerce, it will guide you in selecting a major should you elect to get a degree in business. Choosing a major in college is one of life’s true milestones. Your major essentially determines how you will spend the next four decades of your life. A marketing major will find a career in sales, marketing research, advertising, or other marketing-related fields. An accounting major will become (you guessed it) an accountant. Never take selecting a major lightly. If you work 40 hours a week for the next 45 years (less vacations), you will put in about 90,000 hours on the job. Don’t you think you should choose something that you will enjoy?

Exhibit 1.2 Finding one’s dream job requires combing through job descriptions, researching salary information, taking career-assessment tests, and shadowing others in the workplace. But sometimes people need some career advice or mentorship to “pivot” to a new career or to fine-tune their current job skills. That’s where Pivot Planet comes in—the company connects people around the world for a reasonable fee with advisors who offer one-on-one video and phone sessions to answers questions and provide insights about their particular profession. How can this type of advice and mentorship help individuals longing to change their career paths? (Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region/ flickr/ Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0))

Careers in Business

Your Career in Business
You might want to pursue a career as a physician, florist, game warden, systems analyst, or any of a thousand other opportunities. One thing that all careers have in common is that you need to have a basic understanding of business. We hope that you will consider a career in business, but if not, your success in whatever you choose will partially depend on your basic business skills. And that is why this text is so important. Ch. 17 | OER Textbook | Introduction to Business
Business and Finance Occupations
In these occupations, workers are involved in day-to-day activities of running a business or with matters related to money. Overall employment in business and financial occupations is projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations from 2022 to 2032. About 911,400 openings are projected each year, on average, in these occupations due to employment growth and the need to replace workers who leave the occupations permanently. The median annual wage for this group was $76,850 in May 2022, which was higher than the median annual wage for all occupations of $46,310. | Occupational Outlook Handbook from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. Government Website)
Characteristics of Entrepreneurship
Do you have what it takes to become an entrepreneur? Having a great concept is not enough. An entrepreneur must be able to develop and manage the company that implements his or her idea. Being an entrepreneur requires special drive, perseverance, passion, and a spirit of adventure, in addition to managerial and technical ability. Entrepreneurs | Ch. 5 Entrepreneurship: Starting and Managing Your Own Business
Getting the Most Our of Your Career
A series of linked articles from the reference book, BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource, from Credo Reference (Library Database).
Articles include topics such as:
- Choosing the Right First Job
- Creating a Career Plan
- Entering an Entirely New Field
- Making the Decision to Take a Risky Career Move
- Knowing When It's Time to Move On
- Researching the Job Market
- Networking and Marketing Yourself
- Building an Awesome Contact List
- Using Social Networking
- Identifying Your Marketable Skills
- Writing Great E-mails
- Making an Impact in Interviews
- Preparing for Different Types of Interview
Taking Charge of Your Career
In an increasingly uncertain world, build on your employability by accumulating skills and experience. Expect to change career direction at least once. | BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource | Credo Reference (Library Database)

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Use this database to understand basic concepts taught in your courses. It's also a great database for the first step in your research process. It contains short articles from encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks and other reference sources on a wide range of subjects. Get started on your assignment or research project by learning about key people, places, dates, events, concepts, and ideas related to your topic.

Professional Organizations

National Business Association (NBA)
The National Business Association (NBA) is a not-for-profit association, committed to assisting entrepreneurs and small business owners in all stages of their business. For 40 years the NBA has served business owners by supplying updated benefits, resource materials, tools, and support programs that help them achieve their goals.