Consumer Studies Flashcards: Entrepreneurship, Clothing, Food, and Housing

Flashcards for Consumer Studies Terminology review.

Entrepreneur

A person who sells or produces products in order to make a profit, manages their own business, and recognizes business opportunities, transforming them into successful ventures.

Business plan

A formal statement outlining a business's goals and how it intends to achieve them.

Target market

A specific group of people who are likely to be interested in a product or service and share similar characteristics like gender, age, and income.

Market research

A planned effort to gather knowledge about a potential market, identifying its needs and informing decisions about a product and its marketing.

Start-up capital

The costs or money required to establish and operate a business until it reaches the profit threshold.

Start-up resources

The material and human resources needed to start a business.

Profit threshold (break-even point)

The point at which total costs equal total sales, resulting in no net profit or loss; it's the minimum sales needed to cover expenses.

Operating costs

Costs paid to run the business and produce the product, including all extra expenditure to run the business.

Product specification

The standards that must be maintained in making a product; a detailed statement describing the product to ensure consistent quality.

Quality control

The process of inspecting products to ensure that the required standards are met, maintaining product quality through inspection.

Sustainable production

Using goods and services to improve quality of life and meet basic needs without harming the environment.

Profitable business

A business that fulfills an unmet need in the market place and generates profit.

Trade mark/name

A specific identification that makes it easy to recognize and distinguish a company's products from competitors.

Stock control

The process of ensuring that the business does not run out of raw material and that production will not be interrupted by shortages.

Production costs

The expenses that a business must pay in order to supply goods and services to its customers, including costs involved in manufacturing and packaging.

Fixed costs

Costs that remain the same regardless of how many products are made.

Variable costs

Costs that are likely to change.

Overheads

Additional costs that must be paid in order for the business to operate.

Efficient production

Utilizing material and human resources so that productivity is increased with little wastage.

Selling price

Production costs plus the profit.

Mark up

The percentage or amount that is added to the cost price to cover overheads and leave money over for a profit.

Profit

The reward the business owner receives for investing money in the business.

Cash flow projection (forecast)

A document that shows the movement of money over a future period.

Financial feasibility study

A study of whether a business will be a success after taking into consideration its total costs and probable revenues.

Sustainable profitability

A business that is in production for a long period of time, covers all expenses, and shows a profit.

SWOT analysis

A way to identify and analyze a company's goals by assessing its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Gross salary

Income or salary before deductions are made.

Net salary

Income or salary after deductions are made.

Competitive edge

A business that offers a better product than local businesses.

Work plan/implementation plan

A document that states what tasks are to be done to achieve your goals, with reference to available time and human resources.

Marketing mix

Variables of product, place, people, promotion, and price are five elements of marketing mix strategy that determines the success of the product in the marketplace.

Marketing strategy

A process that can allow an organization to concentrate its resources on the optimal opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.

Fashions

A style of clothing that a specific group of people accept and wear at a given time and place.

Style/Fashion style

The specific characteristics that make one product or item different from another product of the same type.

Silhouette

The outline of your body or a garment, which you can see from a distance, even before you notice the detail of the style.

Classic styles

Garments that are continually accepted because they are timeless and tasteful.

Fads

A fashion with a very short lifecycle that catches on among a large group of people and disappears quickly.

Fashion/standard trends

The directions in which fashion moves; it starts, grows, evolves, and declines gradually with fresh twists and is accepted by fashion leaders.

Retrospective fashion

Clothes that imitate the style of a previous era, often looking to the past for inspiration.

Contemporary fashion

The style that many people accept and wear that is manufactured in large quantities and sold at a low price.

Haute couture/high fashion

New, unique, and exclusive styles that are created by fashion designers, are expensive, and are of excellent quality.

Introduction/launch/beginning stage

The stage at which the fashion is introduced, and fashion leaders accept or reject the style.

Rise stage

The stage at which the fashion gains popularity as more people accept it.

Peak stage

The stage at which the fashion reaches the height of its popularity and is widely accepted by many people.

Decline stage

The stage at which boredom sets in and fashion declines as fewer people wear it until no one wears it, and it is marked down by shops.

Obsolete/obsolescence stage

The stage at which garments go out of fashion, and a new fashion trend has been established.

Brand piracy

When a product is given a name similar to that of a well-known brand, deliberately so that consumers may mistake it for the actual brand name.

Counterfeit

Replicas of the original product or illegal copies of a product.

Eco-fashion

Clothing produced by methods that are not harmful to the environment, using organic or recycled materials.

Sustainable textiles

Textiles that are cultivated and manufactured in eco-friendly or environmentally friendly ways, using renewable resources and little to no chemicals.

Organic textiles

Textiles cultivated without harmful pesticides or weed-killers and manufactured without bleaching agents or chemical colorants.

Glycaemic index (GI)

Ranks food on a scale from 0-100 according to their actual effect on blood glucose levels.

Blood glucose level

The amount of glucose in the blood.

Low blood glucose (hypoglycaemia)

A condition in which the glucose level in the blood falls abnormally low.

High blood glucose (hyperglycaemia)

A condition in which the glucose level in the blood becomes abnormally high.

Diabetes

A chronic disease in which the blood-glucose level is abnormally high because the body cannot control it properly.

Soluble fibre

Fibre that dissolves to form a gel in water, slowing the entry of sugar (glucose) into the blood stream.

Insoluble fibre

Fibre that cannot be digested as it does not dissolve in water, but rather binds and holds water as it passes through the body.

Cholesterol

A soft, white waxy substance produced in the liver and body cells.

High blood cholesterol

High levels of cholesterol in the blood, which can cause a build-up of fatty plaque on the inner walls of arteries, obstructing blood flow.

Atherosclerosis

The clogging, narrowing, and closing of arteries due to the build-up of cholesterol and other fatty substances in the walls of the arteries.

Osteoporosis

Results from a low-calcium diet intake over a long period, making bones smaller, thinner, and fragile.

Saturated fats

Fats found mainly in animals and solid at room temperature.

Unsaturated fats

Fats found mainly in plants and liquid at room temperature.

Hydrogenated/trans fats

Created through the process of converting vegetable oils into solids.

Anaemia

A condition in which the blood contains fewer red blood cells than normal or a lack of haemoglobin in the red blood cells due to a shortage of Iron, vitamin B12 and folic acid.

High blood pressure (hypertension)

Occurs when the blood in the arteries pump at a higher pressure than usual.

Food allergy

Occurs when the immune system responds to a protein which it regards as harmful and acts against it.

Milk allergy

Is caused when the immune system reacts to the milk proteins and regards it as harmful.

Food Intolerance

A non-allergic hypersensitivity to a certain food, drink, or food additive that causes particular symptoms in the body, and does not involve the immune system.

Dairy/lactose intolerance

The body lacks the enzyme lactase in the small intestine that breaks down milk sugars into glucose and galactose so that it can be absorbed into the blood stream.

Gluten Intolerance (Celiac disease)

An intestinal disorder that occurs when the body cannot tolerate gluten causing inflammation and long-term damage to the walls of the small intestine.

Anorexia nervosa

A restricted food intake to the point of excessive and dangerous weight loss.

Bulimia nervosa

When a person eats large amounts of food (binge eating) in a very short space of time and then gets rid of it by vomiting or using laxatives or drugs.

Obesity

A condition of excessive fatness to the extent that it has a harmful effect on health.

Hepatitis A (infective jaundice)

A contagious liver disease that is caused by the hepatitis A virus.

Tuberculosis (TB)

A serious, chronic bacterial infection affecting mostly the lungs.

E-coli infection

A type of bacterium that is found in the digestive track (intestines) of healthy humans and animals and is usually harmless.

Dysentery

Diarrhoea in which the loose and watery stools containing visible blood caused by an intestinal infection.

Gastro-enteritis

An inflammation that irritates the inner lining of the stomach in reaction to an infection caused by a virus, bacterium, toxic substances, or medication.

Food additives

Substances (natural or artificial) added to foods during production to preserve or improve their flavor, texture, or appearance.

Nutrients

Substances found in food that performs a specific function in the body, provide energy, build tissues, and maintain basic health.

Emulsifiers

Allow oil and liquid to mix together to form a permanent emulsion.

Stabilisers

Are added to foodstuff to achieve an even texture and to improve the appearance

Bleaches

A bleaching agent is added to make flour appear whiter as freshly milled flour has a yellowish tint.

Colourants

Natural or synthetic substances used to improve the appearance of food to make it more attractive.

Chemical preservatives

Preservatives prevent or slow down spoilage caused by micro-organisms and inhibit or retard the growth of micro-organisms

Antioxidants

Delay enzymatic browning in cut or peeled fruit and vegetables that are exposed to air and prevent the oxidation that can lead to rancidity and discolouration

Additives

Substances used to improve the flavor of food products that are commercially prepared.

Genetically modified food

Genetic material from one organism is implanted into another organism in order to introduce characteristics from one species into another.

Organic foods

Are grown without artificial fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, growth regulators and live-stock additives.

Food Irradiation

Is a technology that reduces or eliminates micro-organisms and insects in food, improve the safety of food and extends their shelf life

Food security

It is when all people have access at all times to sufficient safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.

Self-sufficiency

Farmers consume some of their own produce which means they are self-sufficient.

Import

To bring something in from another country.

Export

To send goods for sale or exchange to other countries.

Lessee/tenant

It is the person that is renting a house of flat.

Lessor/landlord

Is the owner who lets out the property.

Lease/lease agreement

Is an agreement or contract between the landlord and tenant.

Full title ownership/freehold

The buyer becomes the legal owner of the entire property, the plot as well as the structure on it.