Note: Successful completion of this course is a prerequisite for Entrepreneurship (649), Marketing Principles (657), and Business Management (656). This course will introduce the student to the exciting and challenging world of business. It will help students become knowledgeable consumers, well-prepared employees, and effective citizens in our economy. It will give the student a better understanding of what it will take to become a business owner as well. Topics to be addressed will include economic systems, social and ethical responsibility, entrepreneurship, human resources, business operations, and management leadership styles. Finance, marketing, risk management and insurance are all addressed as well giving the students a better understanding of how the ever-changing business world operates in a global society. It is strongly recommended for all ninth-grade students to prepare themselves for real world situations in their professional and personal endeavors.