WJEC GCSE Business

## What a business is for A **business** is an organisation that brings together people, money and resources to supply goods or services to customers. The goods are physical things, such as bread, phones or furniture. The services are things done for someone, such as a haircut, a bus ride or a lesson. People and societies have more wants than there are resources to satisfy them, so businesses exist to turn resources into things people are willing to pay for. A **need** is something a person must have to live a reasonable life, such as food, shelter, clothing and warmth. A **want** is something a person would like but could manage without, such as a games console or a holiday. A business may satisfy either, and one product can be both: a coat is a need on a cold day, and a particular designer coat is a want. Businesses also create **prosperity**. They employ people who earn wages and spend them, they pay taxes that fund public services, and the owners may earn profit. When a local business thrives, the money tends to circulate in the area, so the people living there are better off. ## The business environment Business activity takes place in an environment with three features. - It is **competitive**: other businesses are trying to win the same customers, so a business must offer something at least as good in price, quality or service. - It is **dynamic**: it keeps changing, because tastes, technology, laws and the economy change. A business that stays the same tends to fall…