Intro to Business
What are needs and wants?
Needs are essentials (food, shelter, clothing); Wants are non-essentials that improve quality of life.
Who founded Amazon, and what was its original business model?
Jeff Bezos – started Amazon in 1994 as an online bookstore before expanding globally into e-commerce, cloud, and AI.
What does scarcity mean?
Scarcity means limited resources to meet unlimited wants.
What is specialisation?
Focusing on tasks/products one does best to increase efficiency.
What are the four factors of production? Give one example for each.
Land (natural resources, e.g., farmland), Labour (workers, e.g., teachers), Capital (machinery/tools, e.g., computers), Entrepreneurship (business ideas, e.g., Elon Musk at Tesla).
Why are businesses created?
To satisfy needs and wants, provide jobs, and make profit.
Which entrepreneur co-founded ByteDance (the company behind TikTok), and what innovation made the app so successful?
Zhang Yiming – TikTok uses a powerful algorithm that personalises content for each user, driving global popularity.
What is opportunity cost? Give an example.
The next best alternative forgone. Example: Buying a phone instead of saving money.
What's one benefit of specialisation?
Higher quality and productivity
A small café in Jakarta wants to expand but is unsure of its strengths and weaknesses. Which business tool could it use, and what does it stand for?
SWOT analysis – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.
Name one stakeholder group and explain how businesses affect them.
Customers – rely on businesses for goods/services; Employees – depend on wages and working conditions.
How has Elon Musk used innovation to make Tesla stand out from other car companies?
By focusing on electric vehicles, software updates, and vertical integration, Tesla disrupted the auto industry.
How do consumers make choices with limited resources?
They weigh price, budget, needs, and preferences.
How has specialisation in the tech industry affected global business?
Apple specialises in product design in California but outsources mass production to China, which lowers costs but creates reliance on overseas factories.
In 2022, which company became the world’s first to hit a $3 trillion market value?
Apple
Give an example of how globalisation has affected a business.
McDonald’s adapts menus in different countries (localisation).
Give one major challenge an entrepreneur might face and how they could overcome it.
Lack of funding → seek venture capital or crowdfunding.
Apply the concept of scarcity to explain why Indonesia imports some products.
Because some resources are limited (e.g., oil, certain foods), imports fill the gap.
Evaluate the risks and rewards of a country specialising in one main export. Use a case study.
Indonesia’s palm oil industry – Reward: jobs, export revenue. Risk: overdependence, environmental damage, and global criticism of sustainability. (Example)
In Indonesia, Indofood dominates the instant noodle market with Indomie. What type of market advantage does this give them?
Market dominance/monopoly power in certain product categories.
What qualities make a successful entrepreneur?
Creativity, risk-taking, resilience, leadership, and the ability to spot opportunities.
Compare how Elon Musk (Tesla) and William Tanuwijaya (Tokopedia) demonstrate different entrepreneurial skills.
Musk – innovation & risk-taking; Tanuwijaya – resilience & understanding local markets.
Evaluate why governments must make trade-offs when allocating resources.
Limited budgets mean they must prioritise healthcare, education, defence, etc. – can’t fund all equally.
Indonesia’s economy relies heavily on palm oil exports, which account for a large share of trade revenue. While this creates jobs and income, it has also led to deforestation and environmental criticism.
Q: Evaluate the risks and rewards of Indonesia specialising in palm oil production.
Rewards – export income, employment, global market share. Risks –environmental damage, overdependence on one commodity, vulnerability to global price changes.
In 2020–2022, many businesses adopted remote work and e-commerce due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some thrived (e.g., Zoom, Tokopedia), while others struggled (e.g., airlines, tourism).
Q: Explain one way the pandemic created opportunities and one way it created challenges for businesses.
Opportunities – growth in online platforms like Zoom and e-commerce. Challenges – loss of revenue in travel, retail, and hospitality.