Theme 4 key definitions from yt

Globalisation

The growth of international trade that has made an increasing number of markets global rather than national.

Economy

The state of a country or region in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services

GDP

Gross Domestic Product - the value of all goods and services produced within an economy over a period of time.

Per capita

Looking at data per member of the population

Human Development Index

A singular, measurable indicator of healthy economic growth. Taken by combining figures on national income, life expectancy and average time spent in education.

International trade

A transaction of goods or services taking place between two countries. This could be a transaction carried out between governments or businesses.

Imports

Where a country buys in goods/services from a seller outside of their own country.

Exports

Where a country sells goods/services to a buyer outside of their own country.

Foreign Direct Investment

A situation where a company invests into a new country, either by setting up a new business abroad or taking over/merging with an existing business abroad.

Inward FDI

Foreign Direct Investment in to a country, such as the UK, from a country abroad.

Outward FDI

Foreign Direct Investment from a country, such as the UK, to a country abroad.

Trade liberalisation

Where governments decide to remove international trade barriers, such as tariffs, quotas and regulations.

Protectionism

Giving preference to home producers by making it harder and more expensive for overseas companies to export to your country.

Tariff

A tax imposed on imports into a country.

Quota

A limit in the number of units or a particular good/service that can be imported into a country from a specific country.

Subsidy

A sum of money given by the government to producers of a particular product. This could be to make it more cost effective to produce, if there is a need for it.

Legislation

Law put in place to protect. This could be: consumer protection, environmental protection, employee protection.

Home market

The number of consumers that can reached without having to jump administrative hurdles.

Single market

Dismantling trade barriers within a trading bloc so that all member nations can treat the whole market as their home market.

Trading bloc

An agreement between countries to have free trade within an external tariff wall.

External tariff wall

Where a trading bloc has a common tariff set for countries outside of the trading bloc, which affects every member.

Push factors

Factors that encourage a business to leave their domestic market

Pull factors

Factors that attract a business into new opportunities abroad

Saturated market

A market that has slowed down in terms of growth or is falling. Usually has a large amount of competition.

Increased competition

Where the amount of competitors in a market increases.

Economies of scale

Where extending operations and increasing output causes unit costs to fall.

Risk spreading

The action of operating in more than one market or with more than one product so that the potential failure of one has a lower potential impact on the business

Disposable income

The amount of remaining money an individual has available to spend after main costs are taken into consideration

Infrastructure

The quality of necessary resources in a country, i.e. roads, railways, water, electricity, broadband

Political stability

How likely a government is to change, which will have an impact on legislation and tax.

Exchange rate

The amount of one currency you will receive in exchange for another.

Labour productivity

A measurement of how much output a workforce or workforce member produces in a given period of time.

Labour force skills

The level of skill a workforce possesses

Labour force supply

The amount of suitably skilled workers available for a business to potentially recruit.

Joint venture

Where two businesses combine operations in order to pursue a common shared goal (i.e. to complete a project)

Merger

Where two businesses combine in order to create a new business entity.

Competitive advantage

A distinctive feature to a business that gives them an advantage over other businesses in their market

Marketing

The process through which a product / service moves from being an idea to getting to a consumer

Glocalisation

Where marketing approaches are amended to suit the different requirements of a local market

Domestic / Ethnocentric marketing approach

Where the marketing approach offered by the business is based around the idea that their original approach will suit any market and therefore won't require any changes

Mixed / Geocentric marketing approach

Where the marketing approach offered by the business takes into consideration some changes for some specific markets but otherwise adopts a more "one size fits all" approach.

International / polycentric marketing approach

Where the marketing approach is specifically tailored to the individual market at all times

Niche market

Where a product or service is targeted at a very small group of consumers, grouped based on demographics, psychographics or other shared characteristics

Global niche market

Where a product or service is targeted at a very small group of consumers, which may be similar or different globally depending on the requirements of consumers within that market / location

Factors influencing cultural diversity

A series of factors that have an impact on how diverse a culture is. i.e. economic development, language, history & traditions, religious & social norms, weather & climate, attitude to "outsiders", legal systems

Multi-national company

A company that has operations in more than one country

Tax avoidance

The process by which an individual or business legally uses loopholes in legislation to avoid paying the higher rates of tax in certain countries

Exploitation of workers & supply chains

Where businesses take advantage of lower legislation or regulation to gain a competitive advantage through unethical treatment of workers and supply chains

Ethics

The morally "right" or "wrong" decision to make

Pay and working conditions

The level of pay given to workers and the quality of the working environment

Environmental impact

The potentially negative impact a business and their operations can have on the environment

Supply chain management

The process of managing the chain of supply from resource gathering to producing finished products to ensure it is ethical throughout.

Political influence

The extent to which a MNC has an impact on the political decisions made in a country

Pressure groups

An organisation with the goal of affecting change in an organisation, usually through protest and raising awareness of unethical behaviour

Consumer action & social media

Where consumers use their buying power or social media to try to affect the operations of a business