Reading Business In Bratislava

In an effort to broaden our knowledge in the subject of business we will embark on a reading program to ensure each student is able to pursue topics which both interest and enlighten him/her. Each week you will read and report on a business article of your choosing.  The article must come from a reliable source - several will be provided but you may submit new sources as you find them.  Your task each week is as follows:

1. find an article from the discipline of business (very broad) 
2. read the article (and understand what it is saying)
3. write a short "report" on the article which should include:
   • briefly summarize the article in your owns words
   • explain what you learned and what you found most interesting about the topic
   • describe how it relates to general topics we have studied in class

Your "report" should be a minimum of 150 words in lenght and should include a link to the article as well as two pictures which assist in explaining the content of the article.

This assignment should be finished and posted on your blog by Friday of each week.
Please include the date of your post in your title.

Types of Business Organizations

For each of the types of business organizations that we have talked about in class, you should do some simple internet research to find examples.
Private limited company
Public limited company
Public corporation
Non-profit organization
Non-governmental organization
Pressure group
Social enterprise
Public-private partnership

For each of these types of organizations, find the name of an actual organization that fits the definition, briefly explain what product(s) or service(s) each provides and identify at least two important characteristics about each type of organization. Please include one picture relevant to each company or organization you find.  This post is due by Monday, September 26th.

Starting a Business

There are as many reasons to start a business as there are businesses - business in the private sector requires entrepreneurs who possess a wide range of skills and ideas.  What does it take to begin and maintain a successful business venture?  Innovation is ever more vital in a competitive global market - a business must not only provide a desired good or service but must also provide something different or improved to attract the consumers that will keep your business alive.
Start-up businesses require much more than just a great idea, they must also have leaders, risk-takers, market opportunities and the ability to bounce back from adversity and persevere.
The list of failed business is long and varied for an equal varity of reasons.  Competition is stiff, building a customer base takes time and reputations can be damaged, finding the capital to persist through difficult economic times can be a job in and of itself. 

Your current task is to identify and understand the most common reasons for failure and find real-world examples of such.  This website - http://www.ranker.com/list/list-of-failed-businesses-and-company-failures/business-and-company-info - will assist you in your initial search for companies which have suffered the fate of so many and failed to maintain success. 

Assignment: post on your blog a brief expalnation of each of the reasons outlined in your book as to problems faced by sart-ups (should be about 2 short paragraphs) - then use the internet to research and identify two different companies which have failed.  Finally, write a brief explanation of each of these two companies: what they were and why they failed.  Please include at least one picture for each of the companies discussed.