1. Developing a Business Mindset
2. Understanding Basic Economics
3. The Global Marketplace
4. Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility
5. Forms of Ownership
6. Entrepreneurship and Small-Business Ownership
7. Management Roles, Functions, and Skills
8. Organization and Teamwork
9. Production Systems
10. Employee Motivation
11. Human Resources Management
12. Labor Relations
13. The Art and Science of Marketing
14. Product and Pricing Strategies
15. Distribution and Marketing Logistics
16. Customer Communication
17. Financial Information and Accounting Concepts
18. Financial Management
19. Financial Markets and Investment Strategies
20. The Money Supply and Banking Systems

No-frills, Objective-driven Structures Simplify the Learning Process

• Uses an objective-­driven structure with easy-­to-­read chapters that eliminate frills, distractions, and wasted energy to help students learn and retain information. Every chapter is divided into six segments of equal importance, each with its own learning objective and comprehensive Checkpoint.
• Checkpoints confirm student understanding and offer opportunities for review. Each of the six segments in a chapter has its own Checkpoint to help students review material in manageable doses, rather than an entire chapter at once. With this approach, each learning objective is addressed almost as a mini­-chapter within the chapter.
• Information “chunking” helps students absorb new concepts in small, carefully measured segments.
• An uncompromised approach to high-efficiency learning, the book offers the same scope as other comprehensive texts while being up to 20% shorter.
• More than 150 Exhibits That Teach, uniquely designed diagrams, infographics, and exhibits that present vital concepts visually, minimising reading time and maximising students’ learning outcomes.
• Clear, concise writing with a conversational, professional style helps keep students engaged.
• Strong pedagogy tools build skills, awareness, and insight.
• Vignettes and case studies bring business concepts to life.
  • Behind the Scenes chapter-­opening vignettes start each chapter with a brief story featuring a business professional facing the challenges that make or break companies and careers. These vignettes offer a preview of the skills and concepts to be covered in the chapter.
  • Behind the Scenes chapter­-closing case studies end each chapter with a case that expands on the opening vignette and shows how the featured business professional used the skills and information covered in the chapter. Three critical­ thinking questions encourage students to apply the concepts covered in the text.
• NEW! Five new chapter-­opening vignettes paired with chapter­-ending case studies concerning contemporary real-world business challenges, have been added:
  • Chapter 2 discusses the forecasting challenges faced by Apple when the company was planning the launch of its iPhone 6 models.
  • Chapter 3 discusses Cisco’s successful merger-and-acquisition process, which defied the odds when it comes to buying other companies.
  • Chapter 8 discusses the Mexican building-materials giant Cemex’s innovative use of custom collaboration platform to help its global workforce solve pressing business challenges.
  • Chapter 11 discusses Zappos’ unconventional strategies for finding and attracting unconventional employees.
  • Chapter 16 discusses GoPro’s smart use of social media to build awareness of and demand for its rugged action cameras.
• NEW! New and substantially revised chapters and sections feature contemporary business topics, including:
  • The Technological Environment (Chapter 1), highlighting the disruptive effects of mobile communication and connectivity.
  • The Trans-Pacific Partnership (PTT) (Chapter 2), highlighting the controversy surrounding this major new trade agreement.
  • Legal Differences in the Global Business Environment (Chapter 2), updating the European taxation controversy that has forced Google, Amazon, Starbucks, and other U.S. companies to change their business practices.
  • Blueprint for an Effective Business Plan (Chapter 6), adding a discussion of the contrary view about the value of conventional business plans and the use of canvases instead.
  • Social Networks and Virtual Communities (Chapter 8), adding an overview of Zappos’ reliance on social networking to keep its growing workforce connected.
  • Gamifying for Healthy Competition (Chapter 10), describing how companies are using game principles to motivate employees.
  • Gender (Chapter 11, in Dimensions of Workforce Diversity), updating the discussion of gender pay imbalance and uncovering the major issues behind the often-quoted statistics about women earning only 70 percent of what men earn.
  • Test Marketing (Chapter 14), expanding the coverage with the new phenomenon of crowdsourced test marketing and crowdfunding as a way to identify potential hit products.
  • Packaging (Chapter 14), broadening the discussion of how packaging decisions are often a tug-of-war between competing economic and environmental concerns.
  • The Outlook for Wholesaling (Chapter 15), adding discussion of how e-commerce technologies let companies such as Amazon jump into traditional wholesaling and distribution channels because some incumbent players were too slow to adapt.
  • The Outlook for Retailing (Chapter 15), expanding the discussion points of overcapacity, the emergence of mobile commerce, the growth of multichannel retailing, and data security and privacy concerns stemming from personalized marketing efforts.
  • Physical Distribution and Logistics (Chapter 15), using Amazon’s new same-day delivery service and experimentation with delivery drones to highlight the importance of competitive physical distribution in the marketing mix.
  • Public Relations (Chapter 16), explaining how social media have upended the traditional practice of public relations.
• NEW! More than three-dozen new review, analysis, and application questions and student projects have been added.
• NEW! Enhanced coverage of the revolution in mobile connectivity and the many ways in which mobile is reshaping business.
• NEW! 14 all-new exhibits and 45 updated or redesigned exhibits, further expanding Business in Action’s unmatched portfolio of value-added instructional visuals.
• Coverage of résumés in the career planning prologue, including three sample résumés that show how to adapt one’s qualifications to an interim opportunity when the ideal opportunity isn’t available yet.

Unique Features Help Students Tie Concepts to Real-world Scenarios and Developments

• Test Your Knowledge consists of sixteen carefully selected questions that help students review information, analyse implications, and apply concepts.
  • Discovering Career Opportunities gives students the opportunity to explore career resources on campus, observe business people on the job, interview business people, and perform self­-evaluations to assess career skills and interests.
  • Improving Your Tech Insights introduce students to such revolutionary developments as nanotechnology, location and tracking technologies, and assistive technologies for people with disabilities.
  • Sharpening Your Communication Skills address one of the key skill concerns among today’s hiring managers; this exercise lets students practice listening, writing, and speaking in a variety of real-­life scenarios.
  • Building Your Team Skills teaches important team skills, such as brainstorming, collaborative decision-making, developing a consensus, debating, role-playing, and resolving conflict.
  • Developing Your Research Skills familiarises students with a wide variety of business reference materials and offers practice in developing research skills.