Business: An Integrative Approach

"Business: An Integrative Approach, 3e", by Fry, Stoner, and Hattwick is the most integrative introduction to business book on the market. It is built around how business works. The authors start with the mission and vision, look at indicators of success, the assessment of environmental influences, the decisions business leaders must make, and the evaluation of those decisions. Thus, the book parallels how people think in business. The topics covered in the text are contemporary: cross-functional teams, customer-centered thinking, the use of technology both inside the company and between the company and its customers, the role of stakeholders in business decision-making, the need for quality. The authors have added a discussion of crisis decision-making - a compelling need in the current business and social environment. They look at the environment that business faces but treat them from the perspective of how they really affect businesses rather than from an isolated view that is unrelated to other chapters in the text. "Business: An Integrative Approach, 3e" is as integrative as possible. While the functional areas of business are discussed, they have been de-emphasized. The focus then is rather on how business leaders use those resources and the information around them to make decisions leading to successful strategies. Rather than talk about finance, human resources, and production for example, the authors discuss the acquisition of resources that allow the company to function efficiently and effectively. The entire text (its content and pedagogy) is oriented around the big picture for the company - the authors ask readers to look a business as a system that is bound together into inter-related activities.