Entrepreneur, one who assumes the responsibility and the risk for a business operation with the expectation of making a profit. The entrepreneur generally decides on the product, acquires the facilities, and brings together the labor force, capital, and production materials. If the business succeeds, the entrepreneur reaps the reward of profits; if it fails, he or she takes the loss.
In his writings, the Austrian-American economist Joseph A. Schumpeter stressed the role of the entrepreneur as an innovator, the person who develops a new product, a new market, or a new means of production. One important example was Henry Ford. In the industrialized economies of the late 20th century, giant corporations and conglomerates have largely replaced the individual owner-operator. There is still a place for the entrepreneur, however, in small businesses as well as in the developing economies of the Third World nations.
INTRODUCTION
Business Education, field of training in business practices and in specific skills such as accounting, information processing, keyboarding/typewriting, recordkeeping, and shorthand. Business education in the United States is conducted on two distinct levels: education for administrative support personnel in business and industry and collegiate education for business administration and for business teacher preparation.
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
Business education for administrative support personnel is included in the programs of almost every high school and community college, as well as in independent business colleges. Included in such curricula are courses in secretarial skills; bookkeeping and accounting; data processing; business communication, mathematics, and law; computer programming; and business management. These courses are important to the U.S. economy because they provide a steady flow of office workers who are in great demand.
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
Colleges and universities provide professional education for persons who function at the administrative and management levels and also for those who teach business at the secondary and collegiate levels. The first business school at the collegiate level was the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, founded in 1881 at the University of Pennsylvania. Today about 1200 colleges offer programs leading to a bachelor's degree in business administration. More than 600 schools have graduate programs leading to the master's, and about 100 have doctoral programs in the field.
The typical college of business administration offers concentrations in accounting, finance, marketing, manufacturing, management information systems, operations management, and international business. Many business schools now offer education in areas not usually classified as business, such as governmental or public administration and institutional management. Enrollment in undergraduate schools of business administration is now more than 2.5 million students, and graduate enrollment is about 200,000.
ORGANIZATIONS AND JOURNALS
The largest professional organization in the U.S. devoted exclusively to serving business education is the national Business Education Association. Professional associations also exist in each specialized field of business. The professional association serving college business programs is the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. While no single publication covers all fields, Business Education Forum and the Journal of Education for Business deal with a variety of areas included in education for business. Individual fields are served by such journals as the Journal of Accountancy and the Journal of Marketing.
MODERN TRENDS
The development of the computer has effected many changes in business education. At the vocational level it has led to the establishment of training programs for computer operators and programmers. At the collegiate level the emphasis has been on utilization of more efficient management information systems to provide data for making business decisions.
In his writings, the Austrian-American economist Joseph A. Schumpeter stressed the role of the entrepreneur as an innovator, the person who develops a new product, a new market, or a new means of production. One important example was Henry Ford. In the industrialized economies of the late 20th century, giant corporations and conglomerates have largely replaced the individual owner-operator. There is still a place for the entrepreneur, however, in small businesses as well as in the developing economies of the Third World nations.
INTRODUCTION
Business Education, field of training in business practices and in specific skills such as accounting, information processing, keyboarding/typewriting, recordkeeping, and shorthand. Business education in the United States is conducted on two distinct levels: education for administrative support personnel in business and industry and collegiate education for business administration and for business teacher preparation.
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
Business education for administrative support personnel is included in the programs of almost every high school and community college, as well as in independent business colleges. Included in such curricula are courses in secretarial skills; bookkeeping and accounting; data processing; business communication, mathematics, and law; computer programming; and business management. These courses are important to the U.S. economy because they provide a steady flow of office workers who are in great demand.
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
Colleges and universities provide professional education for persons who function at the administrative and management levels and also for those who teach business at the secondary and collegiate levels. The first business school at the collegiate level was the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, founded in 1881 at the University of Pennsylvania. Today about 1200 colleges offer programs leading to a bachelor's degree in business administration. More than 600 schools have graduate programs leading to the master's, and about 100 have doctoral programs in the field.
The typical college of business administration offers concentrations in accounting, finance, marketing, manufacturing, management information systems, operations management, and international business. Many business schools now offer education in areas not usually classified as business, such as governmental or public administration and institutional management. Enrollment in undergraduate schools of business administration is now more than 2.5 million students, and graduate enrollment is about 200,000.
ORGANIZATIONS AND JOURNALS
The largest professional organization in the U.S. devoted exclusively to serving business education is the national Business Education Association. Professional associations also exist in each specialized field of business. The professional association serving college business programs is the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. While no single publication covers all fields, Business Education Forum and the Journal of Education for Business deal with a variety of areas included in education for business. Individual fields are served by such journals as the Journal of Accountancy and the Journal of Marketing.
MODERN TRENDS
The development of the computer has effected many changes in business education. At the vocational level it has led to the establishment of training programs for computer operators and programmers. At the collegiate level the emphasis has been on utilization of more efficient management information systems to provide data for making business decisions.
