101 Things I Learned® in Business School (Second Edition)

Limited liability company: A hybrid type of ownership that combines some of the simplicity and tax flexibility of sole proprietorships and partnerships with the personal liability advantages of corporations. Corporation: A business

The Yerkes-Dodson Law says that performance increases with stress, but only up to a point. When stress is too high, performance decreases.

Consequently, a business may be short of cash until payment is received.

The price of a share of stock derives from the economic value of the business that issued it. But determinations of value invariably contain subjective factors, ranging from personal biases to imperfect estimates of future revenues or debts—meaning that no economic value is established without an emotional component. Ultimately, the selling price o

A study at the University of Bath found that drivers drove measurably closer to bicyclists who were wearing helmets than those without helmets.

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”

What does the audience already know? The answer will tell you where to begin your presentation.

Their large, consistent purchases can grant predictability, profitability, and economies of scale, but losing them can be devastating. A customer whose regular purchases constitute a disproportion of a business’s sales, and who is aware of his or her consequent power, may demand that the business lower its prices to an unreasonable level. An especi

Accrual accounting is more complex, but it provides a clear snapshot of a company’s financial status at any given time by accommodating the frequent lag between when a purchase is made and when money changes hands. Every transaction is recorded in two places in a general ledger; a debit or credit entry in one account is offset by a credit or debit

Span of control is the number of employees reporting directly to an individual. The ideal span for a department or organization depends on the abilities of managers and workers, the nature of the work being done, and the similarity or divergence of tasks. Highly repetitive processes such as manufacturing can have a very large span, while creative b