Business Now
Define “business.”
Business is any organization or activity that provides goods and services to earn a profit.
Differentiate between macroeconomics and microeconomics.
Macroeconomics: Studies a nation’s overall economy.
Microeconomics: Focuses on individual and business-level decisions
What is “absolute advantage”?
It’s when a country produces more of a product using the same resources as others.
What is the purpose of entrepreneurship in business?
To harness resources to create innovative goods and services for profit
What is photosynthesis?
The process by which green plants convert sunlight, water, and CO₂ into glucose and oxygen.
List the four factors of production and briefly describe each.
Natural resources: Inputs from nature used in production.
Capital: Synthetic resources like machinery or tools.
Human resources: Physical and intellectual efforts of workers.
Entrepreneurship: The ability to harness other factors to create value.
What are fiscal and monetary policies?
Fiscal policy: Government uses taxation/spending to influence the economy.
Monetary policy: Federal Reserve uses interest rates and money supply to maintain stability.
Define “trade surplus” and “trade deficit.”
Trade surplus: Exports > Imports.
Trade deficit: Imports > Exports.
What causes a trade deficit?
When a country imports more goods/services than it exports.
Explain the law of inertia.
An object will remain at rest or in uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force.
Explain how “speed-to-market” provides a competitive advantage.
It refers to how quickly a product moves from idea to commercialization. Faster speed-to-market gives a business an edge by capturing customer attention first.
Describe the four fundamental rights of capitalism (4).
Right to own a business and keep profits
Right to private property
Right to free choice
Right to fair competition
Explain the role of the WTO.
The World Trade Organization promotes international trade and settles disputes between nations
What role does the Federal Reserve play in monetary policy?
It regulates the money supply, sets interest rates, and stabilizes the economy.
What is the difference between RAM and ROM?
RAM is temporary, volatile memory for active data; ROM is permanent, non-volatile storage for essential instructions.
Discuss how the “social environment” affects businesses.
Social factors—like demographics, diversity, aging population, and worker expectations—shape consumer behavior and labor dynamics, forcing companies to adapt.
Define GDP and explain its importance.
GDP is the total market value of all final goods/services produced in a nation within a given period; it measures national economic health and comparative performance
Compare foreign licensing and franchising.
Licensing: Grants rights to produce and market under a firm’s trademark.
Franchising: Includes rights plus specific operating guidelines for running a business model abroad
What is the difference between nonprofits and for-profit businesses?
Nonprofits aim to serve communities without generating financial gain
Describe how blockchain ensures transaction security.
It uses distributed ledgers and cryptographic hashing to make records immutable and verifiable without central authority.
Analyze how globalization impacts businesses in the modern environment.
Free trade, technology, and migration of jobs blur economic borders, creating both competition and opportunity, as seen in GATT and international commerce.
Analyze how inflation and productivity interact to affect economic performance.
Moderate inflation with high productivity indicates growth, while low productivity with high inflation signals inefficiency and reduced purchasing power
Evaluate the significance of USMCA replacing NAFTA
USMCA modernized trade rules for North America—adding labor rights enforcement, IP updates, and stricter regional content rules—enhancing fairness and North American competitiveness.
What is the main goal of the World Bank?
To reduce poverty and promote sustainable economic development globally.
Discuss how quantum computing differs from classical computing.
Quantum computing uses qubits that can exist in superpositions, allowing parallel computation and solving complex problems exponentially faster.