The document discusses the four main types of business resources: human resources, physical resources, technological resources, and financial resources. It explains that human resources include recruiting, performance monitoring, and staff utilization. Physical resources comprise buildings, facilities, and machinery. Technological resources can be software, music, or text. Financial resources come from internal sources like profits or external sources like loans and grants. Proper management of all four resource types is important for business success.

1. Business • Unit 2
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Unit 2
An introduction to business
resources

2. Business • Unit 2
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Business resources
 How well an organisation performs is closely linked to how
effectively it manages its resources.
 Resources allow businesses to generate their outputs
(services and goods to be provided to customers).
 Business resources are categorized into the following four
types:
○ human resources
○ physical resources
○ technological resources
○ financial resources.

3. Business • Unit 2
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Human resources
Managing human resources needs to be done by:
 Recruiting the right people.
 Monitoring and continuously improving their performance.
 Ensuring staff are being utilized in the best way so that
targets are achieved.
 Human resource needs will change all the time. Effective
organizations are ones in which human resources (staff)
can be quickly altered (increased or decreased) to meet
changing business demands, e.g. Christmas tree farm or
Easter egg factory.

4. Business • Unit 2
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Physical resources
 Physical resources are the resources businesses need to
carry out their activities. They include:
○ buildings
○ facilities
○ plant and machinery.
 Management of physical resources is about planning
maintenance and refurbishment of those resources and
includes organising security and insurance to keep
them safe.

5. Business • Unit 2
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Technological resources
 Many people consider technological resources to be the
computer and high-tech equipment used in businesses.
This is incorrect. These things are physical resources.
Technological resources can include:
○ software
○ music
○ text etc.
 In the management of technological resources we need to
consider how to employ, safeguard and protect intellectual
property and accumulated experience and skills within the
company. We may use software licenses, patents and
copyrights.

6. Business • Unit 2
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Financial resources
Financial resources are the funds that are in continuous use
within a business to generate surpluses (in the case of profit
making businesses). Occasionally, businesses require
additional resources, may be to fund the purchase of
additional stocks or new plant and machinery. They will
obtain the finance for these things from two main sources:

7. Business • Unit 2
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Internal sources
 savings
 profits
 interest from savings and investments etc.
 share issues etc.

8. Business • Unit 2
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External sources
 loans, mortgages and overdrafts from banks and building
societies
 hire purchase or lease of vehicles and equipment
 grants
 venture capitalists
Specialists can advise businesses on the best sources
of finance for a given purpose.