Business Fundamentals: Assignment Solution - Course Code & Name

This assignment solution provides a comprehensive overview of essential business concepts. It begins by defining and discussing the advantages and disadvantages of a public limited company, highlighting its legal entity status, ability to raise capital, and free transfer of shares, while also addressing legal formalities and regulations. The solution then explores the stages of a product life cycle, including introduction, growth, maturity, and decline, explaining the characteristics and implications of each stage. Furthermore, it examines various incentives companies use to boost employee commitment, such as monetary rewards, job security, recognition, and promotion opportunities. Finally, the assignment contrasts leadership and management, differentiating between leaders who inspire and managers who control, emphasizing the importance of both for organizational success. The solution is well-researched and provides valuable insights into key business principles.

Introduction to Business 1
Introduction to Business
Student’s Name
Course Code and Name
Instructor’s Name
Institution’s Name
City State
Date of Submission

Introduction to Business 2
Question 1
Advantages and Disadvantages of a Public Limited Company
A public limited company is defined as a company that has its securities not only traded
on the stock exchange market, but whose securities can also be sold and bought by any person.
Another significant characteristic of limited companies is that they are not only strictly regulated,
but they are also by law required to publish their complete and genuine financial position or
status in order for investors to ascertain the true or actual worth of their shares or stock. They are
thus referred to as publicly held companies (Bovée & Thill, 2015). A public limited company pr
PLC can also be defined as a legal designation that implies to a “limited liability company” that
has offered or presented its shares to general public and which also has a limited liability. The
stock of a public limited company is usually offered or presented to the general public and can be
acquired by any person through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) or even through trading on the
stock exchange market. Some examples of Public Limited Companies include among others
 BP p.l.c.
 Barclays PLC
 Marks & Spencer
 Yahoo!
 Burberry group plc
 Rolls-Royce holdings public limited company.
Just like any other company, a Public Limited Company also has its own advantages and
distances and examples of the advantages include but are not limited to:
 Viewed as a legal entity.
 Ability to raise large amounts of capital.

Introduction to Business 3
 Free transfer of shares.
The business entity is actually viewed as being a legal entity that is separate. This implies that
even if one of its shareholders dies or even leaves it, the business can still continue to operate.
They have the ability of raising large amounts of capital. This is attributed to the fact that they do
not have a limit on the number of shareholders that they can serve. The shares of a Public
Limited Company are usually transferred freely (Kumar, 2016). This is quite advantageous since
it provided some form of liquidity for the shareholders.
Despite the fact that a public limited company has numerous advantages, it also some
disadvantages as well. Some of the disadvantages attributed to a Public limited company include
but are not limited to:
 Lots of legal formality requirements.
 Lots of regulations and controls.
There are numerous legal formalities that are required before a Public Limited Company is
established (Halligan et al, 2015). For instance, there must exist at least two shareholders before
its formation. The Secretary of the company must also be certified and it must have at least two
directors.
There are numerous regulations and controls that a PLC must follow to protect the public
investors.

Introduction to Business 4
Question 2:
The Various Stages of a Product Life Cycle
A Product Life Cycle or PLC refers to the sequence of stages that a new product
undergoes or progresses right from introduction to decline. This sequence is usually associated or
linked with numerous changes in the marketing situation which have a significant impact on the
marketing mix as well as on the marketing strategy (Stark, 2015). A Product Life cycle can also
be defined as the succession of numerous strategies as a new product undergoes its own life
cycle. Just like consumer purchase millions of goods annually, the products or goods also have a
definite life cycle. As some of the long developed products ultimately become less popular, the
demand that emanates for new and even more modern products normally rapidly increases as
soon as they are launched (Bovée & Thill, 2015). Owing to the fact that most organizations
effectively comprehend the various life cycle stages that different products undergo and they also
understand that products have lifespan which are limited, most of them have highly invested in
the development of new products so as to ensure that their business entities continue growing
due to product invention.
The Product Life Cycle is usually divided into four major stages which have their own
specific characteristics which imply the different activities for the business entities that are
making efforts aimed at managing the life cycle of their specific products (Neubauer & Lank,
2016). The four stages are:
 The introduction stage
 The growth stage
 Maturity stage
 Decline stage.

Introduction to Business 5
Fig. 1.1
Source:
The introduction stage of a cycle could actually be the most expensive for an organization
that is launching new products. Owing to the fact that the market size of a new product is usually
so small, this implies that there the sales might also be slow though they may increase. For
example in any competitive business environment, the costs associated to consumer testing,
research and development, and marketing could be too high.
The growth stage of the product is typically marked by robust growth in both sales and
profits. This is attributed to the fact that a business entity or firm has begun benefiting from
economies of scale in their profit margin, production, and even general profit (Sydnor et al,
2015).
In the maturity stage, the product has been well established and the major aim of the
manufacturer is ensure that that market share which has been built is well maintained. Product
improvements and modifications are also given consideration during this time. In the decline
stage, the product’s market share begins to shrink due to the saturation of the market and even as
a result of clients opting for other alternative products.

Introduction to Business 6
Question 3
Incentives provided by Companies to Employees to increase their Commitment to work
An incentive refers to anything which encourages or motivates an individual to perform
something or it is a concession or payment that is aimed at stimulating greater investment or
output. An incentive can also imply to monetary gifts that are given to employees and which are
based on their performance and thought as an effective way of enticing such employees to go on
yielding positive results (Ostrom, 2015). An incentive can also be described as an item of value,
object, or even desired actions or events which are capable of spurring employees to perform
more of what has been encouraged by their employers using chosen incentives. It is prudent for
all and sundry to understand that incentive pay can come in various ways such as in the form of
commissions, profit sharing, or even through bonuses.
There are various types of incentives that are used in organizations in order to increase
the commitment of employees or workers to their work. Such incentives might be either in
monetary or non-monetary terms and these include among others:
Money is one of the major incentives that some of the companies use in order to
encourage their employees to work harder towards the achievement of the set organizational
goals. Indeed, money has since time immemorial been regarded as the major source of ensuring
that the needs of the people are effectively satisfied (Bovée & Thill, 2015). It is also important to
note that money is also used in the satisfaction of psychological, social, and security needs of
individuals in any given organization. As a result, most of the companies in the contemporary
business and general environment use numerous bonus schemes and wage plans in order to
stimulate and motivate their employees to work hard and smart.

Introduction to Business 7
Security of service is one of the examples of the non-monetary incentive that is used by
some companies or organizations in order to satisfy the self-actualization and ego needs of their
employees. However, it is prudent to note that non-monetary incentives cannot actually be
measured based on monetary terms.
Recognition and praise is also another good example of a non-monetary incentive used
by organizations in order to not only increase the employees’ commitment to work, but also
ensure their satisfaction of the psychological needs (Christopher, 2016). When employees know
that their jobs are secured, they put it lots of efforts to ensure the set objectives are achieved.
Lastly, promotion opportunities are also a major incentive used by employers or organizations in
order to increase the commitment of their employees to work. This is quite effective because it
provides employees with an opportunity for growth and advancement.

Introduction to Business 8
Question 4
Differences between Leadership and Management and their examples
Leadership is defined as a position or state of being a “leader” or even it is action of
leading an organization or a group of people. In essence, leadership can be defined as the ability
of influencing or inspiring other people towards the achievement of a goal that has been set by a
leader. As a result, it can truly be asserted that leaders actually have followers. On the other
hand, management is defined as a process of controlling or dealing with people or things. Apart
from that definition, management can imply to the organizational process that includes among
other things the strategic planning, setting of goals and objectives, the management of resources,
and the deployment of both financial and human assets that are required in order to attain
objectives and even measure results.
With emphasis on both vision and strategies, leadership is examined through the lens of
strategy. As a result, to ensure that the focal point is achieved, it is always prudent for leaders to
ensure that the development of a strategic mission and vision for the organizations that they lead
is at the forefront. This is quite true since vision is indeed “the core of leadership” and it is
therefore at the “heart of strategy” (Bovée & Thill, 2015). Based on these facts, the major
responsibility of a leader in any organization is the creation of vision for their respective
organizations in a manner that will not only engage the imagination, but also the energies of the
general stakeholders.
With emphasis on the management functions, its functions are known to uniquely
describe the job of a manager. One of the most common functions that are performed by
management includes the planning, organization, leading, and even controlling. Indeed,
management functions include distinct management processes from marketing, finance,

Introduction to Business 9
accounting, and other business functions as well. Managerial functions are tasked with the
personal supervision of the subjects or employees and inspiring them to put forward unified
efforts in order to achieve the set organizational goals and objectives (Rothaermel, 2015). It is
important for managers to effectively understand their subjects and ensure that they set good
examples and treat their subordinates in a way that is consistent with organizational policy.
Leadership and management are quite different in that while leaders have individuals
who follow them, managers on their hand actually have individuals working for them. It is
prudent to business owners to have both strong managers and strong leaders to ensure
organizational success.

Introduction to Business 10
Reference List
Bovée, C.L. and Thill, J.V., 2015. Business in action. Pearson.
Christopher, M., 2016. Logistics & supply chain management. Pearson Higher Ed.
Kumar, A., 2016. State holding companies and public enterprises in transition. Springer.
Neubauer, F. and Lank, A.G., 2016. The family business: Its governance for sustainability.
Springer.
Ostrom, E., 2015. Governing the commons. Cambridge university press.
Rothaermel, F.T., 2015. Strategic management. McGraw-Hill.
Royer, H., Stehr, M. and Sydnor, J., 2015. Incentives, commitments, and habit formation in
exercise: evidence from a field experiment with workers at a Fortune-500 company.
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 7(3), pp.51-84.
Stark, J., 2015. Product lifecycle management. In Product Lifecycle Management (pp. 1-29).
Springer International Publishing.
Van Dooren, W., Bouckaert, G. and Halligan, J., 2015. Performance management in the public
sector. Routledge.