Designed specifically for students new to the study of business, this book gives context to the subject, exploring the range of environments in which business operates. Part One introduces core political, economic, socio-cultural and technological environments of business, and their inter-relationships. Part Two goes beyond these topics and focuses on a range of contemporary issues relevant to each environment; this enables the reader to access the theory through lively current debates. These include the changing public sector, corporate social responsibility and ethics, globalization, and work-life balance. A range of themes is clearly presented in each chapter to avoid over-simplifying the presentation of the business environment. These themes are designed to demonstrate to the reader that business is diverse and complex and there are many inter-relationships between the environments. There are interesting short cases and examples throughout, as well as a longer case study at the end of every chapter; cases include the Nintendo Wii, BlackBerry, Nike, eBay, Nokia, EasyJet and Toyota. The analytical approach the text takes, showing different opinions and perspectives and challenging key issues, will stimulate lively discussion and debate.