Fundamentals of Business - Canadian Edition

Reviewed by Robert (Coach Bob) Farmer, MPS, Affiliate Faculty - College of Business, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 9/12/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The Contents is clear and effectively indicates the subcategories in each Chapter indicating the Key Learning Objectives of each Chapter.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

There is important clarity in each chapter indicating an easy to understand definition of key subject elements, definitions, and aspects of each topic covered. This is essential since many students who will access this course may have minimal or limited experience in the world of business domestically and internationally. As an instructor of an Introduction to Business course, I find there is limited knowledge as well as a variety of preconceived ideas and viewpoints about the world of business based on personal observations and experiences which can result in an initial biased perception of business.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

From firsthand experience in teaching a variety of business courses I feel this textbook does represent the realities of the current business environment. The challenge of fundamental and introductory textbooks is the susceptibility of content shift and current relevance based on current events (domestically and internationally - geopolitical, sociological, and country conflicts) that result in and influence business processes and in local, domestic, and international business realities. Thus, providing OER current events supplemental is important and should be updated annually to compliment the textbook for a course.

Clarity rating: 5

I found the clarity of the content in each chapter to be easy to understand and logical. The pattern from topic to topic was consistent and offers a pace and an intellectual cadence that is easy to follow from topic to topic. This causes the learning process to be uniform and avoids any confusing content and layout inconsistencies.

Consistency rating: 5

The text relative to layout and terminology presents a consistent structure relating to terminology, organization, and flow from topic to topic within a particular section and overall throughout the textbook. Linkage from one topic to another is important in exploring the diverse elements of the fundamentals of business. The content of this textbook does well to maintain the need for consistency and clarity starting with the Learning Objectives, the subject matter discussed (including the graphic renderings), and the Key Takeaways.

Modularity rating: 5

From the Contents section and throughout the entire flow of the textbook I found the structure of each topic to be intellectually manageable and understandable. Complex topics are sectioned into logical and easy to process incremental learnings, which is important in an effort to take broad scope business topics and distill them into easy to comprehend and process learning components.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The easy to understand learning pattern of each topic is helpful especially to a novice to business student. The pattern of the learning process is consistent throughout the textbook and offers a logical manner in which the learn the lessons in each topic and to be prepared for a similar learning process from topic to topic.

Interface rating: 5

From the beginning of the text in the PDF version the interface and navigation is user friendly and it is easy to adapt to the learning process designed for this open textbook. The images are complimentary to the learning objective at hand and all images are visually clear. I found no outstanding distractions between the text content and the complimentary images.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

I found no specific grammatical errors, although being human I may have overlooked something observed by another review. This includes the review process followed during a check of the text that complements the graphics pertaining to each respective topic.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I found the textbook content to be respectful of global diversities relative to race, ethnicities, and social matters. There is fair representation of many cultures and the realities of business conducted domestically and internationally.

Comments

One does need to consider the understandable focus on the Canadian aspect of this Fundamentals of Business textbook. Although there is primarily reference to Canadian based examples ("Monetary policy is exercised by the The Bank of Canada, which is empowered to take various actions that decrease or increase the money supply and raise or lower short-term interest rates, making it harder or easier to borrow money. When The Bank of Canada believes that inflation is a problem,") this can be remedied through the use of global examples of similar and interrelated business topics from other countries.
A suggestion is to provide as a compliment to each annual edition of any textbook current events "links" that will address relevant issues that impact the Fundamentals of Business in today's business environment (i.e. The impact of the Ukrainian war on global food supplies.)
Note: The length of this textbook is in alignment with other Introduction to Business textbooks.