Introduction to Business

How businesses create value: the economic environment, forms of ownership, management, people, marketing, operations, accounting, finance, trade and ethics in Canada.

BUS-101 Year 1 3 credits 12 lessons · 5 h 46 min

Offered by HSM University · Business Foundations

This is the Canadian version of this course. See the American version.

What you'll learn

  • Explain how a business creates value and calculate revenue, costs, profit and margins.
  • Describe how markets, competition, the business cycle, inflation and interest rates affect business decisions.
  • Compare sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, co-operatives and franchises in Canada.
  • Test a business idea, calculate break-even and margin of safety, and identify suitable sources of start-up financing.
  • Apply the four functions of management, SWOT analysis, SMART goals and basic organizational design.
  • Describe the main human resource activities and the employment standards, human rights and labour relations laws that govern them in Canada.
  • Use segmentation, positioning and the four Ps, and evaluate marketing with acquisition cost and customer lifetime value.
  • Analyze an operation's capacity, productivity, quality, inventory and supply chain risks.
  • Read a balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement under IFRS and calculate key financial ratios.
  • Apply the time value of money, compare debt and equity, explain the role of banks and capital markets, and calculate NPV.
  • Explain comparative advantage, exchange rate risk, market entry modes, trade barriers and the current North American trade environment.
  • Analyze ethical dilemmas, legal duties and sustainability issues, and write a one-page business brief.

Course content

12 lessons · 5 h 46 min total · final exam

  1. 1 What business is and how organizations create value 32 min · quiz
  2. 2 The economic environment: markets, competition and the business cycle 28 min · quiz
  3. 3 Forms of business ownership in Canada 28 min · quiz
  4. 4 Entrepreneurship and small business 28 min · quiz
  5. 5 Management and organization 29 min · quiz
  6. 6 Human resources and the workforce 28 min · quiz
  7. 7 Marketing: understanding and reaching customers 28 min · quiz
  8. 8 Operations and supply chains 28 min · quiz
  9. 9 Accounting and reading financial statements 28 min · quiz
  10. 10 Finance, banks and capital markets 33 min · quiz
  11. 11 Global business and trade 28 min · quiz
  12. 12 Ethics, law and sustainability, and writing a business brief 28 min · quiz
  13. E Final exam 20 questions

Description

How businesses create value: the economic environment, forms of ownership, management, people, marketing, operations, accounting, finance, trade and ethics in Canada.

Part of the Business stream, typically taken in year 1.