What is a business application?

Abstract

From a general system theoretic standpoint, a business is certainly a system (organization). The inputs to a business are goods, services, and money. The business transforms these inputs into outputs which again consist of goods, services, and money. The objective (goal, purpose) of a business can and does vary from business to business. Also an objective can consist of reasonably separable sub-objectives which may or may not conflict. I am told by some that what I have defined is an enterprise. These people then view a business as an enterprise whose major objective is to generate (and maximize) profit. I do not want to make this distinction in this and subsequent columns.