AP Business Unit 2 Vocab

Vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture notes covering foundational business concepts, organizational structures, supply chains, ethics, and corporate departments.

Goals

Something an individual or business wants to accomplish, such as reaching $1\,\text{million}$ sales or having all goods delivered within $3\,\text{days}$.

Specific Skills

Something you know how to do for a particular task that is very narrow, such as editing a video, using Photoshop, or changing a tire.

Core Competencies

Broad and transferable capabilities, skills, or expertise that contribute to the ability to outperform rivals and achieve a competitive advantage.

Core Values

Defining beliefs and principles that guide an individual's or business's actions.

Mission Statement

A statement that defines what a business does and how it will achieve its long-term goals.

Vision Statement

A statement that expresses a business's core values and aspirations.

Business

An organization that seeks to earn and increase profit, fulfill its stated mission and goals, and remain competitive and viable over the long term.

Social Enterprise

An organization that seeks to generate profit while simultaneously achieving a social outcome through its products, operations, or financial model.

Non-Profit

An organization whose only goal is to serve the public good, reinvesting all extra money into the organization rather than distributing it to owners.

Ethical Behavior

Actions and conduct that involve doing what is right and responsible.

Unethical Behavior

Actions that go against what is right and responsible or cause harm.

Ethical Dilemmas

Situations that arise when a core value conflicts with another core value or with a business goal.

Internal Stakeholders

Individuals directly involved in the business, such as owners, managers, and employees.

External Stakeholders

Individuals outside the business who have a personal interest in it, such as customers, government agencies, and community members.

Supply Chain

The connected network of individuals and businesses involved at each stage of production and distribution, spanning from raw materials to final customer delivery.

Raw Material

A basic material, grown on farms, mined, or pressed, used to produce a product.

Supplier

An individual or business that provides resources or raw materials needed by another business.

Factory

A location where workers and equipment turn materials and components into finished goods.

Distribution

The process of moving finished products toward the final customer through warehouses, distribution centers, and various modes of transportation.

Retailer

A business that sells finished products directly to the final customer.

Customer

The person or entity that purchases and uses a product or receives a service.

Artisan Production Processes

Production processes reliant on skilled labor and attention to detail, producing smaller quantities with greater opportunities for customization and higher quality differentiation.

Mass Production Processes

Production processes utilizing technology, machinery, and assembly lines to produce larger quantities of standardized products with high efficiency and lower costs.

Sole Proprietorship

A business structure owned by one person who makes all decisions, receives all profits, holds all responsibility, and has unlimited personal liability for business debts.

Partnership

A business structure where $2$ or more partners work together, share decision-making, profits, and responsibility, and carry unlimited personal liability for all business debts.

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

A business structure where owners maintain control of decision-making and profits while benefiting from limited personal liability for business debts.

Corporation

A business legal structure where owners elect a board of directors to control decision-making, while the company itself holds liability for business debts and earnings are taxed twice.

Executive Leaders

Individuals responsible for a business's vision, operations, strategy, and performance who oversee managers and report to the board of directors and shareholders in a corporation.

Outsourcing

The practice of hiring another business to perform the functions of a department to reduce costs or increase efficiency.

Specialized Departments

Departments are created as businesses grow so employees can specialize in specific tasks. This improves efficiency and allows businesses to outsource work when it saves money or improves performance.

Sales & Marketing

The department that conducts market research, develops sales strategies, manages brands, and builds customer relationships to attract and retain customers.

Research & Development

The department that innovates new and existing goods, services, and processes using specialized expertise to better meet customer needs.

Operations

The department responsible for managing the technical process of manufacturing goods and developing services to deliver products to customers.

Accounting

The department that tracks expenditures and earnings, identifies and records financial transactions, and prepares financial statements.

Finance

The department that secures and manages funds, analyzes financial data, and recommends strategies to improve business performance.

Human Resources

The department responsible for recruiting, training, and evaluating employees to ensure the business has the workforce needed to operate.