Wave-shaped economic line over a city with busy and quiet factories
Marketing & Sales

Quick answer: A business cycle has five phases: depression (very low output and high unemployment), recovery (demand and investment start

Planner viewing a forecast line with factory and materials ready, illustrating demand forecasting
Marketing & Sales

Quick answer: Demand forecasting estimates future sales so a business can plan. Its objectives are to set production policy and

Convex indifference curves between two goods on a graph, illustrating properties of indifference curves
Managerial Economics

Quick answer: An indifference curve shows all the combinations of two goods that give a consumer the same level of

Manager with a degree and ethics code beside a doctor and lawyer, illustrating management as a profession
Managerial Economics

Quick answer: Management has many features of a profession: a systematic body of knowledge, formal education and training, management associations

Manager between a science bench and an artist easel, illustrating management as art and science
Managerial Economics

Quick answer: Management is both an art and a science. It is a science because it rests on organised knowledge,

Specialist managers each directing the same workers, illustrating a functional organizational structure
Managerial Economics

Quick answer: A functional structure groups people by specialist function such as production, marketing and finance. Advantages: specialisation, efficiency, clear

Manager climbing eight steps from problem to feedback, illustrating the decision-making process
Entrepreneurship

Quick answer: Managers make sound decisions in eight steps: identify the problem, diagnose its real cause, collect relevant information, develop

Manager motivating an energetic team with a trophy and growth ladder
Entrepreneurship, Management & HR

Quick answer: Employees can be motivated in six ways: positive (rewards and recognition), negative (fear of penalties, used sparingly), individual

Manager at a planning board with goal flag and alternative routes, illustrating good planning
Entrepreneurship

Quick answer: Good planning is goal-oriented, comes first among management functions, exists at every level, is continuous, flexible and future-oriented,

Manager coordinating production, finance, sales and HR teams, illustrating management in modern business
Managerial Economics

Quick answer: Modern businesses need management to achieve their goals, run large and complex operations smoothly, design a sound organisation