English final exams revisions

downturn

A decline in economic activity

upturn

An increase in economic activity

expectations

Beliefs about what will happen in the future

consumption

Purchasing and using goods and services

Balance of payments

The difference between the funds a country receives and those it pays for all international transactions

Gross domestic product (GDP)

The total market value of all the goods and services produced in a country during a given period

demand

The willingness and ability of consumers to purchase goods and services

supply

The willingness and ability of businesses to offer goods or services for sale

save

To put money aside to spend in the future

equilibrium

A state of balance, for example when supply is the same as demand

deficit

An amount of money that is smaller than is need (when spending exceeds revenues)

surplus

An exceed: a quantity that is larger than is needed

Fiscal policy

Government actions concerning taxation and public expenditure

Monetary policy

Government or central bank actions concerning the rate of growth of the money in circulation

Money supply

The total amount of money available in an economy at a particular time

keynesianism

The economic theory that government monetary and fiscal policy should stimulate business activity and increase employment in a recession

consultant

A person who provides expert advice to a company

crisis

A situation of danger or difficulty

innovation

A new idea or method

objective

Something you plan to do or achieve

promotion

When someone is raised to a higher or more important position

Public sector

The section of the economy under government control

strategy

A plan for achieving success

subordinate

A person with a less important position in an organization

Labor relations

Interactions between employers and employees, managers and workers

Job security

Knowing that there is little risk of losing one’s employment

wages

Money paid (per hour or day or week) to manual workers

benefits

Advantages that come with a job, apart from pay

incentives

Things that encourage people to do sth

promotion

To be raised to a higher rank or better job

unskilled

Without any particular abilities acquired by training

Job rotation

Regularly switching between different tasks

Corporate culture

A company’s shared attitudes, beliefs, practices and work relationships

Hierarchy or chain of command

A system of authority with different levels, one above the other,... a series of management positions, whose holders can make decisions, or give orders and instructions

function

A specific activity in a company, eg production, marketing, finance

autonomous

Independent, able to take decisions without consulting someone at the same level or higher in the chain of command

Line authority

The power to give instructions to people at the level below in the chain of command

Report to

To be responsible to someone and to take instructions from them

To delegate

To give someone else responsibility for doing sth instead of you

glocalization

An invented word combining worldwide and regional concerns

logic

Thought based on reason and judgment rather than feelings and emotions

confrontation

A face-to-face disagreement or argument

compromise

Reducing demands or changing opinions in order to agree

intuition

Understanding or knowing without consciously using reason

connections

People of influence or importance with whom you are associated

improvise

To do sth when necessary without having already planned it

status

Respect, prestige or importance given to someone

collectivist

Believing that the group is more important than the individual

Lost face

To be humiliated or disrespected in public

interrupt

To cut into some else’s turn to speak

Eye contact

Looking directly at the people you are talking or listening to

Inventory

Company’s reserves of raw materials, parts, work in process and finished products

A component

Any of the pieces or parts that make up a product or machine

Capacity

The maximum rate of output that can be achieved from a production process

Plant

A collective word for all the buildings, machines, equipment and other facilities used in the production process

Location

The geographical situation of a factory or other facility

A supply chain

A network of organizations involved in producing and delivering goods or a service

Outsourcing

Buying products or processed materials from other companies rather than manufacturing them

Economies of scale

The cost savings arising from large-scale production

Lead time

The time needed to perform an activity such as manufacturing a product or delivering it to a customer

Embedded

Firmly fixed in something or part of something

Standards of living

The quality of people’s lives

founder

Someone who establishes a company

Risk premium

The potential cost of taking a chance

equity

The value of a business activity

disruptive

Causing trouble and stopping something from continuing as usual

exponentially

Increasing or decreasing more and more quickly as time passes

procurement

The obtaining of supplies

prosperity

The state of being successful and having a lot of money

stability

The situation when sth is not likely to change

accurate

Correct, exact, without any mistakes

agile

Able to move quickly and easily

estimate

A guess of what the size or amount of sth might be

forecast

A statement of what is expected to happen in the future

lean

Using small quantities and avoiding any waste

logistics

Designing and managing the flow of goods, information and other resources

manual

Done with the hands

replenish

To fill sth up again

bountiful

Providing a large amount of good things

headaches

Things that cause difficulties

regulation

Official rules or the act of controlling sth

reworking

Changing or improving a product or service

scrapping

Getting rid of things which are no longer useful or wanted

service

To examine a machine and repair any faulty parts

warranties

Guarantees: written promises to repair or replace products that develop a fault

Distribution channel

All the companies or individuals (‘middlemen’) involved in moving goods or services from producers to consumers

Wholesaler

An intermediary that stocks manufacturers’ goods or merchandise and sells it to retailers and professional buyers

Market segmentation

Dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers who have different requirements or buying habits

Product differentiation

Making a product different from similar products offered by other sellers, by product differences, advertising, packaging,...

Market opportunities

Possibilities of filling unsatisfied needs in sectors in which a company can profitably produce goods or services

Market skimming

Setting a high price for a new product, to make maximum revenue before competing products appear on the market

Sales representative

Someone who contacts existing and potential customers, tries to persuade them to buy goods or services

Product features

The attributes or characteristics of a product, such as size, shape, quality, price, reliability

Price elasticity

The extent to which supply or demand (the quantity produced or bought) of a product responds to changes of price

Advertising agencies

Companies that design advertising for clients

Market penetration

The strategy of setting a low price to try to sell a large volume and increase market share

Advertising campaign

The advertising of a particular product or service during a particular period of time

Brief

The statement of objectives that a client works out with an advertising agency

Target customers

A defined set of customers whose needs a company plans to satisfy

Budget

The amount of money a company plans to spend in developing its advertising and buying media time or space