Essentials of Business Arithmetic [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION What is Business Arithmetic ? Business arithmetic is a subject that treats of the rules and methods used in performing all calculations that arise out of business transactions. Every act of buying or selling involves an exchange in values ; something is given in return for something that is received. The arithmetic that is involved in many of these exchanges is so simple that the answer can be obtained with little difficulty. Some business transactions, however, require more complicated computations. Why study Business ArithmeticBusiness arithmetic is necessary for every individual, even though he may not engage directly in business as a worker or proprietor. We are all consumers, and every day we must buy food, clothing, shelter, transportation, or entertainment. Every time we purchase a book, pay our fare on the train or bus, eat in a restaurant, or go to a cinema, we engage in a business transaction that involves a knowledge of the rules of business arithmetic and of the method to be used to obtain the correct cost of that for which we pay. Persons who cannot determine the correct answer, in addition to suffering money losses, are frowned upon by the world in general as lacking in knowledge of one of the three fundamentals (reading, writing, and arithmetic) that are expected of every person of average intelligence. In business offices machines for computation have now been in use for years. These machines can be operated by most persons after a little practice and give the answer to many everyday business arithmetic problems quickly and accurately. If machines can be operated so efficiently and quickly why should students spend time studying the subject ? The answer is, first, that even machines require some one to manipulate them. Second, and more important, machines have no reasoning power, and many arithmetical business problems require for their solution a thorough knowledge of business practice and the ability to think and to reason. Other Aims. The study of business arithmetic through the solution of problems develops the ability to analyse and to reason out the steps that must be taken to arrive at a correct solution. It is this, the most difficult but at the same time the most valuable phase of the subject, that will be of most importance to you. You should therefore not only learn all the rules and methods and strive for 100 per cent, accuracy— anything less is failure—but by diligent application you should develop the habit of effective thinking as well as that of neatness and systematic arrangement of your work, so that it will be clear to others as well as to yourself. How to solve Problems in Arithmetic. Proper methods in solving