From the Blurb "To provide a handbook for students at third level institutions and people working in the business world who wish to understand more about general concepts of business and the accompanying business terminology. - To help the user survive in an increasingly complex and jargon rich business environment. - To assist readers in following business and economic affairs. - To help prepare students to may wish to study abroad at third level institutions in English-speaking countries"
Does the academic world need another book focusing on general business concepts? The answer to that question is a resounding yes. The authors have put together a compact, useful and very pithy course book geared to students and individuals working in a business environment who have an upper-intermediate to advanced level of English. How is this book different? It is a very "user-friendly" course book divided into 14 chapters that can be studied in sequential order to obtain an overview of the major concepts and ideas in the field of business, or geared to business-oriented students or instructors who want to concentrate on topics of their interests. The 14 chapters cover major business and economic topics ranging from the structure of business, mergers and markets, banking, marketing and insurance to HRM, management and leadership, as well as finance and taxation. The book is written in a very straightforward style and is very readable. Moreover, it isn?t overloaded with complex definitions that only Alan Greenspan would be able to understand. Each chapter opens up with a quotation, e.g. Unit 2 highlighting the evolution of economic science "Q: How many economists does it take to change a light bulb? A: None. If the light bulb needed changing the market would already have done it."
At the beginning of each chapter there is a focus objective followed by a chapter outline which assists the reader in looking for areas of interest. At the end of each chapter subsection there are questions in regard to the text and discussion forum points which help stimulate discussions concerning the material. These discussion points also serve as a useful revision tool for self-study purposes. Another useful feature of the book is the vocabulary lists (English-German, i.e. the book is published in Germany) located at the end of each chapter which does away with the need for specialized economic dictionaries. The book has its own web site which is more than just a series of links to each individual chapter or subsection that provides additional as well as background information. This course book can be used in a self-study reference mode as well as serve as a classroom reader. As previously mentioned, B21 is geared to students as well as instructors of Business English who want to develop a more complete understanding of the subject matter in their field. The information is provided in a precise, straight-forward manner and is easily understood, just to name a few of the positive points. On the downside of B21, the layout and typescript are conventional and the diagrams and pictograms are a bit on the old fashioned side, but the Oldenbourg Publishing Company was never known for its DTP qualities. Besides, the price is a bit stiff for students, but then business students should have enough cash on hand to add this highly recommended business book to their personal library.
