9 Introduction to Business

The word ‘business’ is used in many different ways every day. From ‘doing business’ to ‘getting down to business’ to ’none of your business.’ We also speak of big and small business, business districts, studying business, etc. So what is business? At its core, business involves an exchange, usually of goods and services for money. We can trace the start of goods and services exchanges back to 6000 BC (Hall, 2021), where Mesopotamian tribes, in the absence of currency, bartered with each other exchanging an item of a particular value for another of a similar value. Of course, much has changed since then – the products, the speed and methods of exchange, and the legal structure of businesses – but ultimately, business involves an exchange.

Main Tracks and Programs and Tracks within the Discipline

Areas within the business that you thought of may include purchasing, factory production, transportation, warehousing, marketing and events, sales, accounting, human resource management, information technology, and legal. You may even have more areas than those listed here; well done! As a business student, you could decide to focus on one of these specialties, e.g., accounting, or take a more general approach. At LaGuardia Community College, our degree programs are structured to provide you with a broad overview of many elements of business and the flexibility to choose a specialty should you choose to do so. The business major at LaGuardia has several tracks, including Accounting, Business Administration, Healthcare Management, Hospitality, Tourism & Events Management, and Paralegal Studies.

Details for each of the tracks are included on the Business & Technology department page.

Approaches to Inquiry and Research

The business discipline’s approach to inquiry and research calls upon students to think critically about innovative solutions to the challenges currently facing businesses locally and globally. Companies have multiple stakeholders, including customers, employees, management, and shareholders. Therefore, students’ inquiry and research must involve analyses that include various perspectives and collaborative approaches to propose impactful and sustainable outcomes. The proliferation of data analytics provides unique opportunities for inquiry and research to incorporate previously untapped data stores, thus allowing for decision-making to be informed by the complexity of business issues, the diversity of stakeholders’ needs, and the relevant data.

Three Top Careers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with Salary

1. Accountants and Auditors (Accountants and Auditors salary information)
2. Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing Managers (Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing Managers salary information)
3. Medical and Health Services Managers (Medical and Heath Services Managers salary information)

References, Licenses and Attributions