Based on the curriculum for the Understanding the Economic Environment Paper for 1st year students of the New Zealand Diploma of Business, run through polytechnics.

When purchased together with the textbook Understanding the Economic Environment 040979046X the price is $99.00.

What are the forces shaping today's business world? Understanding Business Environments provides key readings which introduce the student to the factors underlying the business environment. Including chapters by gurus such as Anthony Giddens, Stuart Hall and Will Hutton, the book covers: * social forces including the social structure and long-term social change * technological factors including Information Technology and new production technologies * economic factors including the impact of macroeconomic policy and of the financial system * political factors including the legal environment and government-business relations.

This book makes economic concepts more accessible to all those who want to understand the “logic” behind economics, and tries to go a step further in explaining economic analysis and its usefulness. To do so, it begins by analysing the economy the smallest and most detailed perspective, Microeconomics. Once the criteria for the individual economic decisions have been defined, it will move on to analyse how the economic activities of a country are measured and its main economic problems at an aggregate level, i.e. Macroeconomics and afterwards, it gives greater dimension to the analysis, moving the macroeconomic analysis of a country to an analysis of the International Economy. In short, in order to reach our final analysis and understand international economic relations, we must first understand how economic decisions are made at an individual level, as it is the sum of individual decisions that shape the global economic structure.

As we approach the end of the second millennium, we find ourselves in times of radical social change. Orthodox explanations of the economy, the environment and the development process are unable to provide coherent policies for such issues as employment creation, environmental degradation and social progress. Economy-Environment-Development-Knowledge provides alternative perspectives on these fundamental aspects of human existence. Economists, environmentalists, and development theorists have so far been unable to agree on the most successful prescriptions to address problems. To understand, contrast and compare alternative understandings of economic, environmental and development issues, we need to be aware why theorists conceptualise the process of social experience so differently. Part 1 of Economy-Environment-Development-Knowledge addresses the subjective preference, cost-of-production and abstract labour theories of values in economics; Part 2 explains egocentrism, ecocentrism and socioecocentrism as competing theoretical perspectives in environmental theory; Part 3 highlights modernisation theory, structuralist theory and class struggle as ways to account for the process of development and Part 4 examines the generation of knowedge through positivism, paradigms and praxis, legitimating competing perspectives in economics, environmentalist and development. The book concludes by considering why different people find alternative explanations more or less plausible. By addressing the disagreements between theorists, Economy-Environment-Development-Knowledge provides a unique basis to contrast and compare the plethora of theories of, and policies for, economic prosperity, environmental sustainability and social progress.

This book presents theories and case studies for corporations in developed nations, including Japan, for designing strategies to maximize opportunities and minimize threats in business expansion into developing nations. The case studies featured here focus on Asia, including China and India, and use examples of Japanese manufacturers. Five case studies are provided, including Hitachi Construction Machinery and Shiseido in China and Maruti Suzuki in India. These cases facilitate the reader’s understanding of the business environments in emerging economies. This volume is especially recommended for business people responsible for international business development, particularly in China and India. In addition, the book serves as a useful resource for students in graduate-level courses in international management.