Business basics

A. 1. Define the three common business forms.

Sole proprietorship- one person controls and manages all aspects of his business
Partnership- each partner is responsible for the profit and losses of a business
Limited partnership- an agreement in which the  partner shares all profits but is protected  by law against all losses

A. 2. List and describe the seven departments commonly found in most organizations.

Accounting-deals with the recording, measuring and describing financial information.
Finance- deals with increasing the value of a business while observing laws and social responsibilities Human resources- policies, plans and procedures for effective management of employees
Sales- Increasing customer revenues by increasing customer sales by selling  goods or services Marketing-Promoting the sale of goods or services
Operation/production-Systems that convert or transform resources into goods or services
Management information systems- The use of people technologies and procedures in order to solve business problems

A. 3. Describe a transaction and its importance to the accounting department.

A transaction involves two or more people exchanging goods, services or funds. Transactions are important to the accounting department because the transaction is recorded in a source document that is the first step to the accounting process and is proof that the transaction is made.

A. 4. Identify the four primary financial statements used by most organizations.

Balance Sheet
Income statement
Statement of owners’ equity
Statement of cash flows

A. 5. Define the relationship between sales and marketing, along with a brief discussion of the marketing mix.

Sales and marketing both focus on maximum customer sales at the same time increasing company revenues. Sales deal with the action of selling goods or services. Marketing deals with the promoting of deals or services. The marketing mix uses product, price, place and promotion in order to satisfy customers in the target market.

A. 6. Define business process reengineering and explain how an organization can use it to transform its business.

Business process reengineering is the redesign and reorganization in order to increase efficiency and effectiveness in and between businesses. This can completely transform the efficiency and success of a business by improving all previous flaws.