Mannheim, Germany

Business Administration

Language: English Studies in English
Subject area: economy and administration
University website: www.uni-mannheim.de
Business
Business is the activity of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling goods or services. Simply put, it is "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit. It does not mean it is a company, a corporation, partnership, or have any such formal organization, but it can range from a street peddler to General Motors." The term is also often used colloquially (but not by lawyers or public officials) to refer to a company, but this article will not deal with that sense of the word.
Business Administration
Business administration is management of a business. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising business operations and related field which include Accounting, Finance and Marketing.
Business Administration
The administrative function... insures the continuance of the existing order with a minimum of effort and risk. Its fundamental aim is to "carry on" rather than to venture along new and untried paths. Administrators are, therefore, the stabilizers of society and the guardians of tradition. They are stabilizers in both a positive and a negative sense, for not only do they make possible the continuance of the ideas which they convert into institutions: they also frustrate many innovations to which they deny their support. With the weight of their authority they confront every attempt to initiate a new development, and test it with a view to its effect on established interests. They resist change and stow down the rate of experimentation so that the main body of society can keep pace with it. The ponderous social machinery which is so irritating to the impulsive initiator is thus a safeguard against sudden changes which paralyze the Jess adaptable members of society and which would result in chaos if subjected to no check.
Paul Pigors (1935), Leadership or Domination, Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 264-8; As cited in Albert Lepawsky (1949), Administration, p. 9-10
Business
I think any man in business would be foolish to fool around with his secretary. If it's somebody else's secretary, fine!
Attributed to Barry Goldwater in: Conference Board (1978) Across the board. Vol. 15. p. 74.
Business Administration
The technical and commercial functions of a business are clearly defined, but the same cannot be said of the administrative function. Not many people are familiar with its constitution and powers; our senses cannot follow its workings - we do not see it build or forge, sell or buy - and yet we all know that, if it does not work properly, the undertaking is in danger of failure.
Henri Fayol (1900). "Henri Fayol addressed his colleagues in the mineral industry 23 June 1900." Translated by J.A. Coubrough. In: Fayol (1930) Industrial and General Administration. pp. 79-81
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