An O-K text, with a few gems.
12/16/2004
For your basic introductory business class, this book is good. It offers a lot of vocabulary, and I can see why a lot of people would say the book has no depth since most of the information can be drawn from simply living the real world. (Unless of course you live in a refrigerator.) So why bother grabbing the text if I can get the same exact knowledge from life?
Well, in the beginning, end and throughout each chapter, tons of real life examples are woven in to illustrate each of the "business essentials." On top of that, real quotes from millionares, successful CEOs and entrepreneurs, and trusted business executives allows the average student a valuable glance into what makes up a smart business mindset.
What's my point? To study business, you need to study the principles that real professionals swear by. Texts written by "just" business professors who don't actually participate in the business world really just don't cut the chase. They're probably broke anyway. Now textbooks with information from successful people, that's what's going to make a student of business really churn out a beautiful future.
So while the material is very, very basic. The real life examples are awesome. However, these lessons can be taught by even better books by great people like Stephen R. Covey and Dale Carnegie. But if you do need a book chock full o' business vocabulary and basics, this isn't a terrible pick. And it certainly does spell everything out.
More of a reference book.
2/26/2006
This book does not have a lot of depth to it - and it is somewhat dated (each year a bit more), but there are some handy examples that make it a worthwhile read... especially for the price.