1.1: What Is Business Math?
Introduction
Business math is the study of mathematics required by the field of business. You must be interested in a business field such as accounting, marketing, human resources, or economics, simply because you are taking the course using this textbook. Regardless of your path, you cannot avoid dealing with money and numbers.
There is a whole field of mathematics that deals specifically with money. You will work with taxes, gross earnings, product prices, and currency exchange; you will be offered loans, lines of credit, mortgages, leases, savings bonds, and other financial tools. The goal in this course is to help you use financial tools and maximize your earnings and minimize your costs; to help makes smart monetary decisions both personally and for your business.
How Do I Learn about Business Math?
Let’s be realistic. In some areas of life and business, you can achieve a reasonable degree of understanding just by reading. However, reading about business mathematics without doing it would be disastrous. To succeed you must used a structured approach.
HOW TO
Use a Structured Approach
- Always read the content prior to your professor covering the topic in class.
- Attend class, with your notes printed out and ask questions.
- Do the homework and assignments—you absolutely must practice, practice, and practice!
- Seek help immediately when you need it.
Learning mathematics is like constructing a building. Each floor of the building requires the floor below it to be completed first. In mathematics, each section of a textbook requires the concepts and techniques from the sections that preceded it. If you have trouble with a concept, you must fix it NOW before it causes a large ripple effect on your ability to succeed in subsequent topics.
So the bottom line is that you absolutely cannot replace this approach—you must follow it.
Attribution
“Chapter 1: Succeeding in Business Mathematics” from Business Math: A Step-by-Step Handbook (2021B) by J. Olivier and Lyryx Learning Inc. through a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License unless otherwise noted.
