Business in Action - 'The Business of Business', Andrew Gillespie, Hodder & Stoughton, 2002, paperback

Teaching Business & Economics, Autumn 2003 by Schofield, Michael

Business in Action - 'The Business of Business', Andrew Gillespie, Hodder & Stoughton, 2002, paperback, 235 pages, £9.99, ISBN: 0-340-84820-0, Tel. 01235 827720

This book sets itself the near impossible aim of wanting to make students 'learn about, think about and even fall in love with business' by making them 'passionate about business and eager to learn and study more.' Modesty of ambition is consequently not a fault to be laid at the door of the author. The book does, in fact, succeed in making business interesting by supplying readers with a plethora of business tales, told in a fast moving style and keeping them wanting to know what will happen next!

The book does not aim to be a text book in the traditional sense and indeed its lack of detail and discussion in key areas demonstrates this, eg a section on the marketing mix which treats the issues of price and place in 2 lines each. Where it does score heavily, however, is in the way it is structured and the vast range of business examples quoted.

It follows the 6-module AS/A2 format, but starting with the fundamental question 'What is Business?' and finishing with a look at change and the future. The premise runs through the book that all business is essentially a simple process of transforming inputs of various kinds into some sort of output, an approach I would definitely agree with and which is understandable for students.

This theme is then developed by adding in the main issues with which businesses have to contend. The book also introduces many theorists, perhaps too many for most of our students, some of whom would normally only be encountered at degree or even masters level, e.g. Janis, Mintzberg, Hammer and Senge. Whilst agreeing that we do need to introduce more conceptual thinking into our courses, in particular, Michael Porter, who rightly features heavily in this book, there is a need to avoid 'theory overload'.

The book does, however, provide a huge range of up to date business examples which could prove very useful for both teachers and students. Many students seem to find difficulty in contextualising business problems and consequently lose marks for application and analysis in their work. This book could provide examples for them to use and could certainly provide teachers with a good range of examples to bring alive some of the less interesting elements of the syllabus. It also helps to simplify connections between different areas of the course.

For these reasons I suggest that it would be a valuable resource for teachers to have available, both for their own use and perhaps for those students who would be most likely to benefit from broadening their background reading (and those willing to!). It does represent good value for money but it will not replace a standard comprehensive textbook, nor is it a substitute for students acquiring up to date business knowledge from newspapers and television. However, as many seem reluctant to do so, it could certainly be a useful addition to any department's library.

Does the book fulfil the aims declared by its author? It is certainly interesting and lively and encourages students to think, through a series of 'You Decide' questions in each section. Whether or not passions will be aroused is, however, a much harder question to judge and one of which I would be much more doubtful.

Michael Schofield, Copleston High School, Ipswich