entrepreneurship
accepting the risk of starting and running a business
entrepreneurial team
a group of experienced people from different areas of business who join together to form a managerial team with the skills needed to develop, make and market a new product
intrapreneurs
creative people who work as entrepreneurs within corporations
micropreneurs
entrepreneurs willing to accept the risk of starting and magian the type of business that remains small, lets them do the kind of work they want to do and offers them a balanced lifestyle
enterprise zones
specific geographic areas to which governments try to attract private business investment by offering lower taxes and other government support
incubators
centers that offer new businesses low-cost offices with basic business services
small business
a business that is independently owned and operated, is not dominant in its field of operation and meets certain standards of size (set by the Small Business Administration) in terms of employees or annual receipts
business plan
a detailed written statement that describes the nature of the business, the target market, the advantages the business will have in relation to competition and the resources and qualifications of the owner(s)
venture capitalists
individuals or companies that invest in new businesses in exchange for partial ownership of those businesses
SBA (small business administration)
a US government agency that advises and assists small businesses by providing management training and financial advice and loans
SBIC program (small business investment company)
a program through which private investment companies licensed by the small business administration lend money to small businesses
market
people with unsatisfied wants and needs who have both the resources and the willingness to buy
service corps of retired executives (SCORE)
a SBA office with volunteers from industry, trade associations, and education who counsel small businesses at no cost (except expenses)
management
the process used to accomplish organizational goals through planning, organizing, leading and controlling people and other organizational resources
planning
a management function that includes anticipating trends and determining the best strategies and tactics to achieve organizational goals and objectives
organizing
a management function that includes designing the structure of the organization and creating conditions and systems in which everyone and everything work together to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives
leading
creating a vision for the organization and guiding, training and coaching and motivating others to work effectively to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives in a timely manner
controlling
a management function that involves establishing clear standards to determine whether or not an organization is progressing towards its goals and objectives, rewarding people for doing a good job and taking corrective action if they are not
mission statement
an outline of the fundamental purposes of an organization
goals
the broad, long-term accomplishments an organization wishes to attain
objectives
specific, short-term statements detailing how to achieve the organization’s goals
SWOT analysis
a planning tool used to analyze an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
strategic planning
the process of determining the major goals of the organization and the policies and the strategies for obtaining and using resources to achieve those goals
tactical planning
the process of developing detailed, short term statements about what is to be done, who is to do it and how it has to be done
operational planning
the process of setting work standard and schedules necessary to implement the company’s tactical objectives
contingency planning
the process of preparing alternative course of action that may be used if the primary plans don’t achieve the organization’s objectives
PMI
listing all the pulses for a solution in one column, all the minutes in another and the implications in a third column
top management
highest level of management, consisting of the president and other key company executives who develop strategic plans
middle management
the level of management that includes general managers, division managers and branch and plant managers who are responsible for tactical planning and controlling
supervisory management
managers who are directly responsible for supervising workers and evaluating their daily performance
technical skills
skills that involve the ability to perform tasks in a specific discipline or department
human relations skills
skills that involve communication and motivation, they enable managers to work through and with the people
conceptual skills
skills that involve the ability to picture the organization as a whole and the relationships among its various parts
staffing
a management function that includes hiring, motivating, and retaining the best people available to accomplish the company’s objectives
transparency
the presentation of a company’s facts and figures in a way that is clear and apparent to all stakeholders
autocratic relationship
leadership style that involves making managerial decisions without consulting others
participative (democratic) leadership
leadership styles that consist of managers and employees working together to make decisions
free-reign leadership
leadership style that involves managers settling objectives and employees being relatively free to do whatever it takes to accomplish those objectives
enabling
giving workers the education and tools they need to make decisions
knowledge management
finding the right information, keeping the information in a readily accessible place, and making the information known to everyone in the firm
external customers
dealers, who buy products to sell to others, and ultimate customers (or end users) who buy products for their own personal use
internal customers
individuals and units within the firm that receive services from other individuals or units
economies of scale
the situation in which companies can reduce their production costs if they can purchase raw materials in bulk; the average cost of goods goes down as production levels increase
hierarchy
a system in which one person is at the top of an organization and there is a ranked or sequential ordering from the top down of managers who are responsible to that person
chain of command
the line of authority that moves from the top of a hierarchy to the lowest level
organization chart
a visual device that shows relationships among people and divides the organization’s work; it shows who is accountable for the completion of specific work and who reports to whom
bureaucracy
an organization with many layers of managers who set rules and regulations and oversee all decisions
centralized authority
an organizational structure in which decision-making authority is maintained at the top level of management at the company’s headquarters
decentralized authority
an organizational structure in which decision-making authority is delegated to lower-level managers more familiar with local conditions than headquarters management could be
span of control
the optimum number of subordinates a manager supervises or should supervise
tall organizational structure
an organizational structure in which pyramidal organization chart would be quite tall because of the various levels of management
flat organizational structure
an organizational structure that has few layers of management and a broad span of control
departmentalization
the dividing of organizational functions into separate units
line organization
an organization that has two direct two-way lines of responsibility, authority and communication running from the top to the bottom of the organization, with all people reporting to only one supervisor
line personnel
employees who are part of the chain of command that is responsible for achieving organizational goals
staff personnel
employees who advise and assist line personnel in meeting their goals
matrix organization
an organization in which specialists from different parts of the organization are brought together to work on specific projects but still remain part of a line and staff structure
cross-functional self-managed teams
groups of employees from different departments who work together on a long-term basis
networking
the process of establishing and maintaining contacts with key managers in one’s own organization and other organizations and using those contacts to weave strong relationships that serve as informal development systems
virtual corporation
a temporary networked organization made up of replaceable firms that going and leave as needed
benchmarking
comparing an organization’s practices, processes and products against the world’s best
core competencies
those functions that the organization can do as well as or better than any other organization in the world
digital natives
young people who have grown up using the Internet and social networking
restructuring
redesigning an organization so that if can more effectively and efficiently serve its customers
inverted organization
an organization that has contact people at the top and the chief executive officer at the bottom of the organizational chart
organizational (or corporate) culture
widely shared values within an organization that provide unity and cooperation to achieve common goals
formal organization
the structure that details lines of responsibility, authority and position; that is, the structure shown on organizational charts
informal organization
the system that develops spontaneously as employees meet and form cliques, relationships, and lines of authority outside the formal organization; that is, the human side of organization does not appear on any organizational chart
production
the creation of finished goods and services using the factors of production: land, labor, capital, entrepreneurship and knowledge
production management
the term used to describe all the activities managers do to help their firms create goods
operations management
a specialized area in management that converts or transforms resources (including human resources) into goods and services
form utility
the value producers add to materials in the creation of finished goods and services
process manufacturing
that part of the production that physically or chemically change materials
assembly process
that part of the production process that puts together components
continuous process
a production process in which long production runs turn out finished goods over time
intermittent process
a production process in which the production run is short and the machines are changed frequently to make different products
computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)
the use of computers in the manufacturing process of products
computer-aided design (CAD)
the use of computers in the design of products
computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM)
the uniting of computer-aided design with computer-aided manufacturing
flexible manufacturing
designing machines to do with multiple tasks so that they can produce a variety of products
lean manufacturing
the production of goods using less of everything compared to mass production
mass customization
tailoring products to meet the needs of a large number of individual customers
facility locaation
the process of selecting a geographic location for a company’s operations
telecommuting
working from home via computer and modem
facility layout
the physical arrangement of resources (including people) in the production process
materials requirement planning (MRP)
a computer-based operations management system that uses sale forecasts to make sure that needed parts and materials are available at the right time and place
enterprise resource planning (ERP)
a newer version of materials requirement planning (MRP) that combines the computerized functions of all the divisions and subsidiaries of the firm - such as finance, Human Resources, and order fulfillment - into a single integrated software program that uses a single database
purchasing
the function in a firm that searches for quality material resources, finds the best suppliers, and negotiates the best prices for goods and services
just-in-time (JIT) inventory control
a production process in which a minimum of inventory is kept on the premises and parts, supplies and other needs are delivered just in time to go on the assembly line
quality
consistently producing what the customer wants while reducing errors before and after delivery to the customer
six sigma quality
a quality measure that allows only 3.4 defects per million opportunities
statistical quality control (SQC)
the process some managers use to continually monitor all phases of production process to ensure that quality is being built into the product from the beginning
statistical process control (SPC)
the process of taking statistical samples oof product components at each stage of the production process and plotting those results on a graph. any variances from quality standards are recognized and can be corrected if beyond the set standards
ISO 9001
the common name given to quality managements and assurance standards
ISO 14001
a collection of the best practices for managing a organization’s impact on the environment
program evaluation and review technique (PERT)
a method for analyzing the tasks involved in completing a given project, estimating the time needed to complete each task, and identifying the minimum time needed to complete the total project
critical path
in a PERT network, the sequence of tasks that takes the longest time to complete